Day 48 Part 3 (Comms Series #8)
01 Apr 2018Viridian
Having given the keycard to Acacia, Viridian had to find another route into the slavers quarters. When she had climbed to the fifth floor, she found them all locked. Most of the slavers kept at least one slave in their room at some point. Some for punishments. Some for pleasure. For Isaac Bryant, it was a bit of both. He kept a slave in his quarters for bait.She knew better than bother knocking on the door. Each slaver quarter had a camera, both within and without, so that if slaves ever got out of hand, they could barricade themselves. Also, if a slaver got a little too heavy handed, security would unlock the doors before one of the sadistic bastards killed one of the stock. Her last option had been to climb through the air ducts that were never cleaned. Soot speckled across her face and she squinted her eyes in the vain attempt to keep the dirt out. For a floor, she slid along her stomach, edging around until she found a ladder to the fifth floor and spent half an hour sliding along until she was able to look down the grates.
By the time she slid over the top of his room, she could barely see. She wiped dust from her eyes to see him sitting at his flat desk. A few orange screens were lit and Isaac, a once-handsome man with tanned skin and olive eyes, rubbed his chin.
Viridian slid her Federation pistol, a standard laser handgun, from her hip and looked at the grate. It was too narrow to fire without shredding herself in the process.
Isaac crossed the room. Raven lay on the bed, her body clothed in tatters and her legs exposed. She could see the bruises on her upper thighs. When he approached her, her legs curled up against her torso. Rage darkened her vision as she reached for the grate, pulling it back slowly.
"Your friend has been busy, Riley," Isaac said, his tone calm.
Raven said nothing.
"She'll come for you," he said.
Raven looked up at him.
When Viridian saw his hand approach her, she slid through the opened grate and jumped down to the floor. She cocked the pistol. "Don't you fucking touch her."
Isaac turned and laid his eyes upon hers. He smiled. "Holly. And I thought I'd never see you again."
Viridian kept the gun pointed on him. "Stand away from her."
He casually raised his hands. "Of course. She's not my preference, anyway. But you knew that."
Viridian's hands began to tremble. Flashes appeared before her. His hands. The pain all over her body. The degradation. The hopelessness.
"Did you know your last name is Bennett? Your family was desperate when they sold you. You were still healthy at the time, so you were worth a few credits. They couldn't take care of you. I did. I did since you were nine."
Viridian spit when she spoke through her teeth. "You raped and beat me senseless."
Isaac approached her casually and Viridian's arms began to tremble. "Because you never behaved. Still don't. It took you forty eight days to find your best friend. It took you forty eight days to come up with the courage to return here, to me. And all you brought were two pistols."
Rage took over and all sense left her. She took the gun and sent it in a back-fisted swing to Isaac's cheek. It connected with his cheek bone, denting it, and sent the tall man lumbering in a corner. Fury filled his gaze and the playful nature of his tone vanished. Despite the pain, Viridian had paused long enough for him to lunge for her. He grabbed her by the throat and his fingers clenched around her windpipe as he slammed her against the wall. The gun fell from her hands, bouncing a few feet behind Isaac, as Viridian held her breath. She clenched her hands on his, her nails digging into his skin until blood formed around the punctures.
"Enough," he hissed.
Raven began to climb off the bed.
Viridian's legs kicked against his knees, which caused him to release his grip just enough for her to catch her breath. Isaac was unamused. He sent a fist into her nose.
Raven took careful, but wobbly steps across the cold, metal floor.
"You'll," Viridian said as blood poured out of her nose, "have to, kill me, before..."
Raven picked up the pistol that Viridian dropped.
"Fine," Isaac said right when three thumps of the laser went into his back. The energy seared through his clothes, blood bubbling up to the surface and his hands around Viridian dropped. She slid to the ground and grabbed her red throat, coughing as she tried to regain breath.
Isaac stumbled back and roared as the pain hit him. Raven kept her arms raised, the gun level with him, and her arms did not tremble. Viridian pulled Hyde's pistol, an old-fashioned Desert Eagle, from her belt and cocked it.
Isaac stared at Raven, "You littl--"
The Desert Eagle fired and the bullet blew off half of Isaac's head. Viridian kept the gun raised even when he slumped to the floor, blood pooling around his body among the bone fragments and bits of brain. Raven's arms immediately dropped when she saw the body and Viridian looked over at her. Both women raised their eyes to each other.
"We need to run," Viridian said.
"Vi," Raven said and Viridian froze. That's right. She was the first person to call her, 'Vi.' "You saved my life."
"Not yet I haven't," Viridian said.
Raven stepped over Isaac's body and wrapped her arms around Viridian's neck. For a moment, she stood there frozen, unsure of what to do with her arms or the rest of her body. As Raven clenched her, she encircled her arms around her and placed her head on her shoulder.
"Let's get out of here."
----
"C'mon, let's go!" Edge roared from within the cockpit of Larkspur.
Viridian and Raven walked up the ramp slowly. Viridian's neck was purple in places and dried blood caked around her nose and mouth. Raven had splatted blood across her face and she was limping.
Acacia stood quickly from her seat behind the canopy, her eyes suddenly frantic. "What happ--"
"He's dead," Raven said.
Acacia nodded tersely.
The ramp to the ship raised and Edge set the thrusters. "We can catch up once we have a place that isn't shooting at us."
The towers' defense turrets turned and aimed for Larkspur. Bullets made a dull echo against the ship's shields and Viridian turned to help Raven sit down on the bench next to Acacia. "Take care of her," she said. Viridian stepped towards the canopy. "Set a course for Shenich, Wafer Station. We have friends there."
Edge entered the coordinates into the navigation panel and Viridian pushed the throttle. She didn't look back at the planet once they left orbit.