Alien Read online

  Hudson nodded, walking across the room to fulfill her request. “Do you need medical attention?”

  “No, I just haven’t had anything to drink for a while. I may need an exam, but I wasn’t pregnant, so let the doctors take care of them first,” she said, nodding toward the exam rooms.

  Both men nodded to her, indicating they would like her to continue.

  “So, where was I? Oh yeah, I prepared for my escort to arrive. Two warriors showed up. I had never met either one of them and they didn’t really talk much. I can’t even say that I would be able to describe them for you. I was just trying to keep up. They were in such a hurry. I don’t remember them even saying their names.”

  She paused to take a sip of the water Hudson had fetched her. “We got to a room on a part of the ship I had never been to. There were four men in the room. Again, none of them were familiar. Before I could ask questions, they handed me paperwork. I read it and saw that it was the same forms I had filled out previously.”

  “When you saw this, did it raise any concerns for you?” Kaine questioned.

  “Not really, paperwork gets lost all the time on Earth. I just figured that my forms had been misplaced and you guys needed me to do them again,” she gave as an explanation.

  “Continue,” he said with a nod.

  “While I filled out the forms, the main guy said he had a vaccine I needed to take. I asked him why I needed it. He said that it was protocol for the human brides to be vaccinated. He pointed out that he had vaccines for all of us for our own safety.” She rolled her eyes. “Since I was still messing with the paperwork, I didn’t immediately take it. No offense, but I wasn’t about to take a medication without a list of the side effects. I palmed the pill and distracted him with questions about the paperwork instead. Then a couple of the warriors worked on removing my bridal band. I remember one of them saying that he should have gotten the proper tool to cut it off, but hadn’t had the time. I thought that was strange, but didn’t want to be accidently nicked while they cut it off so I kept my mouth shut and stayed still. Once it was loose he tossed it into the trash and said I was no longer a Phaeton bride. It felt strange to have it off my wrist…I’d worn it since I arrived and guess I’d gotten used to the feel of it.”

  “What happened then?” Hudson questioned.

  “I handed the papers to him and was told that I would be shuttled to Earth today. I started to feel uncomfortable at that point. I remember Zane had said we were too far from Earth for a shuttle make the distance. When I asked the warriors about it, they explained I would be taken to a passing ship. It seemed plausible so I followed them to the docking bay,” she explained.

  “They took you to the main docking bay?” There was surprise in Kaine’s voice when he interrupted.

  “There’s another one?”

  “As a matter of fact, there is. We have a smaller bay for overflow shuttles to land,” he replied.

  “Oh, well. As far as I can tell it was the main bay. I remember it was the same bay where Zane worked since he had shown me around there when I arrived.” Andi sipped her water again, wetting her lips. She tried to remember every step she had taken in case even a small part was important.

  “When we walked through the bay, the men who were escorting me seemed to block my view. I remember that specifically because I was watching for Zane.”

  Hudson raised his eyebrow at her, causing Andi to continue.

  “He was, actually is, one of my best friends. I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye.” Andi made a sad face. “Part of me thinks if I had seen him and gotten his attention, he might have realized something was fishy and stopped me from getting on that shuttle.”

  “Do not doubt your actions. It will accomplish nothing. You were following what you assumed were council orders. The actions that you later took to help the brides should erase any doubt that you have for being there. Imagine what would have happened if you did question the warriors? What if you hadn’t been on that ship? Those women would have been alone without anyone who had medical training,” Hudson argued, smiling at her sadly.

  “That makes me feel a little better, I guess,” she admitted. “Well, after I got on the shuttle, I noticed there was another woman there. She was already strapped in a seat and was sleeping. I didn’t pay much attention because I was starting to feel nervous about everything. A few minutes passed before I noticed another group of warriors walking up the ramp of the shuttle, but this time they were dragging someone.”

  “Dragging?” Kaine’s voice was incredulous. “And not one warrior stopped the group?”

  “Yeah, it was Isabel. She was kind of propped up between them with the other warriors in front and back. I wouldn’t have even noticed her except I saw one of her shoes fall off. The men carrying her just kept moving like they didn’t notice it. When I pointed it out, they told me to shut up.” She huffed angrily. “First, don’t ever tell me to shut up. I don’t care who the fuck you are. Second, it was obvious something was wrong with her. She kept mumbling about her husband and asking for him. I remember her saying something about it all being a mistake.

  “By the time she was buckled, there was another group of warriors bringing up more women.” Andi shook her head at the memory. “Both of them were being carried as well. I knew without a doubt at that point there was something definitely wrong with what was happening. I was about to start screaming when the guy in charge walked up the ramp.” She swallowed hard.

  “Then what happened?” Kaine prodded when she didn’t speak for a moment.

  “By that point, I was in full-blown panic mode. The only other woman on the ship who was conscious was scared out of her mind. She said her name was Brandy and they were taking her from her husband. I started to unbuckle my belt and before I knew it, the little guy was in my face.” Andi frowned. “I kept trying to undo the buckle, but my hands were so sweaty I couldn’t get a grip.”

  Andi felt a tear slide down her cheek. “I could hear the women behind me moaning and then I heard Brandy get sick.” Pausing to wipe her running nose, Andi took a deep breath.

  “We need to know everything you remember.” Hudson’s soothing voice helped calm her slightly.

  “I said something to the man in front of me. I remember his face clearly. He seemed so…satisfied. It made me mad. I remember spitting in his face and then he hit me.” Andi stopped and pointed to the bruise on her cheek. “I was stunned. I haven’t been hit since I was working in the ER and we had a drunk come in one night. It helped clear my head a little bit and I focused on the pain in my face instead of my stomach.” Stopping for another sip of water, Andi pushed her bangs from her face. “After that, everyone strapped in and the shuttle left.

  “I tried to pay attention to where we were going, but nothing was familiar. It was just a blur of stars until I saw a ship that was just like this one. Now that I know there is more than one docking bay, it makes sense,” she said directly to Kaine. “Where we landed, it was quiet and much smaller than the main bay area here. All the shuttles were tied with tarps like they weren’t in commission. Anyway, from there they took us to a room with a cell in it. One of the warriors stayed there to guard me and Brandy since we were the only ones awake. The rest were carried in by the warriors one at a time.”

  “And then what happened?” Hudson prodded, his fingers typing quickly on the tablet.

  “Well, they put all of us together, locked the cell and left. Nobody said anything or explained what was happening. They just left us.”

  “How many warriors total took part in the entire kidnapping?” Kaine’s voice was strong with anger.

  “I remember seeing ten total, including the men who escorted me to the meeting this morning. But after we left this ship, I saw only six of them. It was the leader and then five of the goons who came to the cell for the next few hours.”

  “Please go on.”

  “Well, it wasn’t long after we got there that three of the women started bleeding.” Bot