A New Planet

I slumped to the floor. All the fight in me gone. My brain fried trying to understand the situation. I was still staring blankly at the back wall, when J picked me up by an arm. He held me tightly, and drug my legs on the floor. He threw me hard against the stone wall. My head cracked into it making my eyes water. 

He still held me up by my left arm. And when cold metal clamped around my wrist. I didn’t even fight him. He locked my right arm up the same way. My head hung down, my feet dangling a foot off the ground, and blood now pounding in my ears. I didn’t even hear what he was saying to me. 

He swung a fist into my stomach. I heaved. He shouted again. I ignored it. Maybe he would just kill me if I didn’t respond. He grabbed my hair and held my head up. His snarling face was right up against mine. I held my breath, expecting him to bite out my throat. But it didn’t happen. He let go of me. And the last thing I saw was the desk next to me. As J snapped his fingers and the lights went out. The door opened and closed shortly after. And everything was quiet in the room. 

I could hear my own heartbeat. And a soft hum. But I couldn’t see in this darkness. My leg was throbbing in pain. I was sure my head was bleeding. I wasn’t even sure if J hadn’t broken any of my bones. With as much as my body hurt it wouldn’t surprise me. 

My arms were already going numb. I couldn’t hold my head up anymore. I tried to take a breath, but I was only able to get shallow draws of air. I closed my eyes. The pain and exhaustion was finally getting the better of me. I didn’t know how long it had been since they had abducted me. 

That sunset I watched from the back porch seemed like so long ago already. The face of the boy from my school, mangled and bloody. The scream of my foster brother as he was brutally murdered. Tears were rolling down my cheeks. I couldn’t hold back anymore. This had all been to much. I couldn’t even fight back. J was just so strong. And even when I thought I was giving a killing blow, it was as if nothing had happened. It could have been for seconds, or even hours. But I let myself cry until sleep finally took me.

The sound of the door sliding open woke me. I didn’t have enough strength to lift my head. My arms were numb. It was cold enough I could see my breath, the steam of it rolled over my exposed chest and then back up the sides of my head. Each breath was shallow and painful. Footsteps echoed off the wall. Someone was coming closer to me. Instinct had me letting out a warning growl. Low and cracking, my throat was dry. The footsteps stopped.

“I was told to bring you food.” A soft voice said. They were quiet, I couldn’t tell if it was a male or female voice. They took a few more steps towards me. A click of a tray being set down. Then I caught a whiff of something warm and oniony. I opened my eyes as much as I could. Through the barely open slits I could make out a spoon being held towards my face.

“Here, eat, and please don’t bite me.” There was fear in their voice. I followed the end of the spoon, looking up to the arm outstretched. To a small delicate frame. The wolfish features barely noticeable. She was mostly human looking. Her eyes had a fearful gaze, but the dull amber color of them was amazing. We stared at each other for a moment longer.

“If you don’t eat now, Alpha J will come back and take me away. And then you will have nothing.” She said softly. I parted my lips slowly. The dryness made it painful when the warm soup touched them. But having food again after so long made me ignore the pain. It wasn’t particularly good soup. Just broth that tasted of beef, and some onion chunks. 

I didn’t even know the last time I had eaten. So I started to suck greedily on the spoon each time she offered it. Sooner than I would’ve liked, the bowl was empty. The female stood, she took a step closer again. Her face inches from my bare chest. Even with it being so cold I felt a rush of heat flood my face. This was the first time I was aware of being nearly naked in front of strangers.

“How long have I been here?” I croaked out. My voice raspy.

“You’ve been in this room three days now.” The girl whispered. She pulled her sleeve over her hand. “You have some soup spilled over your chin. I’m going to wipe it off, ok?” She was talking like she was approaching a dangerous wild animal. Is that what they thought I was? Of course if she hadn’t known who I was and just saw me running through the hall half naked and in full on wolf mode. Then maybe she had the right idea to be scared of me. 

I could tell she was terrified of J. Just like everyone else here. And maybe he had told them to be wary of me as well. I just nodded at her. 

The soft fabric of her sleeve brushed against my mouth, then down over my chin. She was glancing back and forth between my mouth and my eyes. Like she was waiting for me to open up and clamp my teeth on her hand. I just stared down at her face. Meeting her eyes each time she looked up. 

When her hand moved down to wipe my neck, my breath caught. She hesitated and looked up quickly. Our eyes met, and I saw the fear in her eyes. I lifted my chin slightly, an invitation to continue. 

The warmth of her touch was starting to make me feel better. Even just the barest hint of warmth was welcoming at this point. And so far this female was the only one here that had shown any sort of kindness and respect to me. She wiped from my left around to my right. I found myself closing my eyes and pressing into her touch.

“Your freezing aren’t you?” She asked quietly. I didn’t answer. “J will come in soon, but for now.” She was barely whispering now. “I might have something to help with the cold.”

She pulled her sleeve back, her bare hand now rested on my collarbone. She put her other hand on my hip. Suddenly a rush of warmth spread throughout my torso. Like a current of power was passing from one of her hands, into me, and back out her other hand. 

My eyes flew open, my back arched away from the wall. I let out a moan of pleasure at the sensation. Whatever this power was I didn’t want it to stop. More than just the warmth she was spreading into my body, the pain I had been feeling was vanishing. Incredible. Never before had I experienced something like this.

“Out.” A rough deep voice said. The girl pulled away from me immediately. Her face dropping to stare at the floor. The heat leaving my body. She took a few steps back and turned to meet J. She bowed slightly and then walked out of the room. The door shut behind her.

“She’s quite the specimen. Having her around has made playing with prisoners more fun.” J was smirking, his voice steady. 

The cold seeped back into my body. I shivered. How I wish I could go back to the life I had known before these savages massacred the town I lived in.

My chains clinked as J grabbed my wrists. I dropped to the floor as he released the chain from the wall and let me go.

“Come with me.” He growled. He tossed a heavy coat at me. The black material was rough and stained with smelled like blood. The freezing ground made me embrace the coat though. It was already helping warm me up. Even if it was about three sizes to big. I wrapped the extra around and tucked it into what remained of my pants. I put my arms through the sleeves, the chains dangling from my wrists. J shoved me towards the door. As we walked, the chain bouncing against me, J smacked my face with the back of his hand. 

“Don’t get used to her coming to save you.” He grumbled.

J walked back to the door, he held it open and waited for me. As I got near the door, the sounds of several people rushing around and yelling orders at each other could be heard. The hair on my arms and neck stood on end as I heard someone say,

“Landing in five, be prepared for immediate action!” Over a loud speaker system. I glanced around the hall, I couldn’t see the speakers. Or even any people in general. I looked back at J, thinking some trick was being played.

“Did ya hear that?” He shouted as he banged on the door across the hall from where I had been held. “Or are you gonna sleep through this battle as well?” 

The door opened slowly. And a giant of a man, no, wolf, stepped out. His brown fur was wiry and patchy. The muscles in his arms and legs were as large as my whole body. As he stepped through the door way, he had to duck and turn sideways to fit. It took me a second to notice though, his every movement was silent. 

His arms didn’t brush against the walls, his footsteps fell softly, and I couldn’t even hear a heartbeat from him as he passed within inches of my face. My head was barely above the level of his waist. I watched in aww as the beast of a man rounded the corner down the hall. 

Only then did I turn to see J glowering at me. There was hatred in his eyes. Jealousy? Maybe that’s why he had taunted the giant before locking me in that room.  

The empty pit in my stomach was making itself known. J gave me a shove to force me down the hall. Following where the other wolf had gone, I finally saw where all the commotion was coming from. A doorway that led down a flight of stairs. The massive room was bustling with wolves both in full wolf form and hybrids alike. 

Then, for the first time since being captured, I saw a window. And I nearly tripped down the last few steps. The ocean that spread out before me went on forever. At the left of what I could see, it curved away sharply. The same on the right, but before it curved, a small brown and green patch spread out up and down. 

My brain wasn’t comprehending completely. Was this, another planet? My planet? An image being projected and not the real view? I stood in the center of the open room. Wolves rushing left and right around me. J was standing imposingly at my back. He was close enough that he kept a hand on my shoulder.

“Alpha.” A quick higher pitched voice said as a she wolf stepped up and bowed before us. “All preparations for the landing team are ready. Twelve ships in all. Yours is ready to be boarded.” She waved her arm showing the way to a tunnel. Above the doorway it said “Transport Dock” and several lights flashed inside it. J’s hand shoved me in the back, forcing me to take a step towards the tunnel. Several loud clangs of metal sounded as ships from the other docks departed.

“Hurry.” J growled into my ear. He kept on hand on my shoulder as we walked to his ship. The interior was simple. A few metal benches with cushions for passengers, and his huge throne with the command console were all that were inside. White washed walls with windows spaced out every few feet along the sides. A large open glass front was showing the rest of the eleven ships igniting as they broke atmosphere.

So we really were in space....at another planet. A new world. How? Why? Was I just hallucinating all of this? A nightmare that wouldn’t end?

The hiss of locking mechanisms made me jump. J had sat down on the throne of a captains chair.

“You better put on your harness and sit tight. I don’t wanna have to scrap your blood off my windshield.” He muttered to me.

I did as told immediately. Finding two straps that crossed over my chest and buckled by my waist on the bench seat. I nearly lost my stomach as we were launched. From what I thought was a stand still, to a full on nose dive, I made myself hold it in. Forcing my eyes closed and holding my head with both hands. A few moments later the heat started to make me sweat. The glowing orange and red even through my closed eyes was blinding. Then suddenly it all stopped and I felt a noticeable tug downwards into my seat.

Gravity?

The ship slowed and came to a soft bump of a landing only a few short minutes after our launch. J stood and walked back towards me.

“Up. Now.” The commands were short and absolute. I fumbled with the buckles for a few heartbeats before getting them to click undone. As the hatch opened, the breeze hit my face. 

Smells of ocean and fresh grass washed over me. I could hear the waves. I could also hear someone screaming. A lot of someone’s screaming. Then I could smell their blood. J grabbed the collar of my shirt and tossed me through the open hatch. I landed on a pile of dirt that had been scorched recently. 

The two small engines on either side of the landing ship we had just exited gave small spits of flame to prove there guilt. I just frowned. A sour, pungent odor suddenly made me crinkle up my nose. I tried to ignore it. I even tried to wipe my face clean of it with the back of my hand. 

But something in the air was radiating a smell so foul, it was over powering the death and blood I had smelled just before being tossed from the ship. I looked around. The cliff side we had landed on was empty other than the scattered ships. The ocean was on my left, and to my right, smoke rose. 

Down the hill and covered in dense trees, a small village could be seen. The small houses were hidden amongst the trees and people had climbed their way out of reach. Or so they thought. The wolves had crashed upon them hard as a tsunami wave. 

But unlike the tidal beast, these monsters wouldn’t spare you if you got to higher ground. Several of the wolf-men had already begun climbing after the residents. Most of the people who had lived here must’ve already been dead. Judging by the amount of blood I could see even at this distance, hundreds of lives had to have been spilt on the ground. 

I could hear individual cry’s for help now that I was focused in on them. A mother yelling at two children to flee. The language was unintelligible, but her frantic waving away helped me understand. The wolf that had started to follow her up the tree stopped and turned towards where she was waving.

“No!” I screamed out. I couldn’t help it. I had reacted without even thinking. And J smacked the back of my head so hard I fell forward onto my knees.

The two children must’ve been too scared to move. Because within seconds, the wolf had abandoned the women in the tree, and had pounced upon them. Ripping the little boys arm away like it was made of paper. The boy had thrown it up to shield the other child. I couldn’t even tell if it was a boy or girl, and it no longer mattered. Both of their life’s blood was now covering the wolf. The dark grey fur covered in dripping crimson as he turned back to the women in the tree. Her cries now of pain and loss instead of terror. Beyond them, several more acts of violence played out in the same fashion. The wolves giving up the stronger adults to chase and kill the young and elderly.