“Don’t ask,” I snort, folding my arms, annoyed that Carmen is ruining this fun experience for me. This shower would be perfect if she wasn’t here and I could nudge this lovely heat up a touch more. But like everything on this awful ship—it’s tainted. “Carmen thinks the water is scalding, when it’s clearly not.” I roll my eyes, knowing the gesture is likely lost in the thick steam swirling around us.
“Oh,” Sandra nods, the freckled lightbulb of her mind switching on. “Itdoeslook hot.” Her eyes sweep up and downthe cascading waters with a scrunched face, looking annoyingly cute doing so. “Let’s see,” she mutters, moving her hand towards my stream so slowly, I’m tempted to yank her closer.
“Aww!” she squeals in pain, recoiling as if stung by a bee. I grimace looking at her sucking her fingertips, the only part of her that even touched the water. They’ve planned this—Carmen and Sandra conspired to play some trick on me. I’m tempted to ask Kazumi, but she’s likely in on this stupid joke too.
So random.
“That’s boiling, Alexandra,” Sandra insists with surprisingly convincing concern on her face and tone. Sheisa good actress; I’ll give her that.
“Sure, sure,” I mutter, already bored by this stupid farce. “Haha, very funny. Lukewarm water is actually scalding. Yes. You’re both hilarious.” I turn away from the tiresome pair, my voice dripping with sarcasm and contempt.
Sandra just shrugs, turning back to her washing, while Carmen lingers with a foreboding smirk. “Princesa... lizard skin,” she taunts in a low, teasing hiss, mimicking a snake.
“Shut up, Carmen!” I snap back, so done with this stupid joke. This is too close to those horrible years in boarding school—the old, cruel nicknames echoing through the halls of my memories—Heifer, Bigfoot.
Never again.
I’m relieved to see Carmen turn away, though she’s still wearing that annoying smirk, far too pleased with herself. But I force it from my mind, enjoying the sensation of the water hitting my face and head, and trickling down my body like a gentle, liquid massage. I never thought I’d miss something so mundane as a shower, but I guess being abducted and shoved into a prison cell will do that.
The sound of falling water mixes with sighs of relief and groans of pleasure, filling the steamy air around us. I scrub awaythe grime and stink of captivity, savoring the feeling of being clean again. A clean slate, a fresh start for this new life I’ve been forced into.
“This is class,” Sandra murmurs, eyes closed as the water streams through her long ginger hair.
“Yep,” I agree with a relaxed sigh, “If only we had some products.” I glance around, struggling to pierce the thick haze of steam, squinting to make out my surroundings. All I see is a flat wooden or stone object resting to the side. “No soap, no conditioner, not even body wash.” Ah, I can almost smell the fruity and floral scents if I close my eyes.
“Use this,” Kazumi’s voice surprises me, snapping my eyes open. She holds aloft the strange stone-like object. “To scrub skin,” she adds, running it across herself, leaving shocking reddened skin in its wake.
“Please,” I hold up a halting hand, “That looks more like a torture device.” I scoff, wondering why everything to do with theClown-dathiansinvolves pain.
“Maybe it’s a comb?” Sandra suggests, holding the object up to examine it before running it through her hair with a wince. “If only it had some teeth,” she says with a frown. I don’t know why they’re wasting their time. Stupid thing probably unclogs the drains and they’re rubbing it all over themselves.
Barf.
“Makes a nice shank!” Carmen chimes in excitedly. I peer down at her grimacing, seeing her stabbing the air like it’s a dagger. Of course, why am I not surprised? Our nice shower, now a weapons store for our trigger-happy Carmen. “I’ll hang onto this,” she adds, grinning, while I force down the urge to tell her to stop being an idiot.
Thud!
Chapter 18
Alexandra
Boy
Theheavyslappingsoundreverberates through the room, cutting through the hiss of the water and sending a jolt of fear through me. My blood runs cold. “Um, what the hell was that?” I ask, looking around. The others have stopped too, tension clear on their faces as our wide eyes dart about looking for the source.
“Sounded like it came from over there,” Sandra says, pointing toward the darker end of the room, shrouded in heavy plumes of steam.
I glare at her with disbelief. “Did you check the room before deciding it’d be a great idea for all of us to get naked?” I demand, as my pulse quickens.
Sandra avoids my gaze. “Well, um... no,” she turns to Kazumi as if to pass on the blame. “You were here first. Did you see anyone?”
Ah, there she goes—throwing Kazumi under the bus. Ourlittle miss good-girlindeed.
Kazumi shrugs, her eyes darting to the source of the disturbing sound.
“No noise at first,” she replies, her tone calm, but her eyes betray a flicker of uncertainty.
“Wonderful!” I throw up my hands with exasperation. “Just four naked women with some alien pervert hiding in the corner.” The image of creepy yellow fangs, glowing green eyes, and a bald, tattooed head flashes before me. “What if it’s Demon Egg-Head spying on us?” I gasp, instinctively crossing my arms over my chest and clamping my legs together. Just the thought makes me shudder.
