Kite Johansen jerked up from her book. The rumbling thunder miles to the south had stolen her focus and was becoming quite irritating. Go away. She repeated over and over deep inside her mind as if the weather was some dog that could be trained to stop and go. The rain was the last thing she wanted right now with her monthly hike up into the mountains being only a day away. Of course she would go anyway but the pelting rain would slow her down and building a fire in the soggy mess would only prove useless. Inwardly the teen shivered. She hated breathing in damp and heavy air and much less of how it felt on her skin.
Kite heard her dad's dress shoes click on the marble floors of the kitchen, her signal that he had return home. "Still planning on going on that hike tomorrow?" he called out already knowing she would be in the living room reading.
She pursed her lips, "of course I am".
He poked his neatly combed head in her line of sight, his huge glasses reflecting the lamp light making his eyes look aglow despite the gray weather outside. "You could postpone and go after the rains".
Kite's brow furrowed in irritation, "Dad come on you know I have to leave in a week. Basic training doesn't like postponers". The Hike. She would call it like it was it's own title. Her mother, before she died of lung cancer three years ago, started a tradition with her. On the tenth of every month, if they were home, they would pack up supplies for a four day hike up into the looming mountains behind their house, stay one night, and come back. There was a small lake in one of the crevices of the hills and they would stop to camp there. Not that it mattered much to her dad but it was the only thing that she could do to get away from her life and remember the times she had with her mom, her best friend. Now it was her last Hike before she would be shipped away to Colorado for boot camp and OTC school. The Air Force, she heard, was a great way to get away from home and that's exactly what she wanted to do. To get away from her dads crazy life and job.
Her dad was some kind of scientist that worked for NASA and the government. When she asked for specifics he would always start garbling some nonsense that sounded more like 'blah blah blah' to her. So she quit asking. He had his own huge laboratory with books that looked three times bigger than a Webster dictionary stacked high everywhere. It was a plain and simple observation. Her dad was a huge nerd and she swore she would take a completely different path. She wasn't that fit for a person going into the military. She wasn't fat or super skinny just somewhere in between but that would change once boot camp kicked in.
"Well good you don't need to go anyway" her dad muttered back in a barely audible tone. She heard it of course but didn't answer. Her dad, Wallace, wanted her to follow in his footsteps and become a crazy scientist working for the government like him but naturally she rebelled and found his work none too interesting.
There was a sharp crack that followed a jagged flash of light less than a mile away. The storm was getting closer, it's dark clouds massing like the ones in her head . She snapped her reading book shut after folding a page to mark her place. Walking to the kitchen she yanked open a bag of pretzels and grabbed a Sunkist soda can, "how was work?" He would always complain if she never asked.
Her nerd of a father smiled his goofy nerd smile, "can't say much but it we're working on something big".
"Sounds fascinating" Kite mumbled in disinterest and popped the lid on her soda . "Making contact with aliens yet?" Obviously she meant it as a sarcastic joke but she could have swore she saw something in his eyes that took the question more serious than she meant. But, as quickly as it was there it was gone and he grinned yet again.
"Sure Kitey," she hated that nickname. It was bad enough she was named Kite. "Found one yesterday, his name is Bob".
Despite herself she stiffled a giggle then straightened back up heading over to the couch in front of the T.V. "Did you hear about what happened on the news?" she clicked the remote and turned on the news channel. "There was a huge explosion in some place in Antarctica, had something to do with that Weyland guy".
Kite felt her father edge behind her, "yea he's dead".
Kite craned her head to give him a serious stare, "how do you kn- never mind I forgot you're like a secret agent man". She listened as the news lady finished up another report on a robbery at a local convenient store then talked a little more about the Alaska explosion. "Do you know what happened?" It was foolish to ask him that, but she decided against her better judgment.
He gave her a solemn stare then shrugged, "nope".
Rolling her eyes she scooped up her pretzels and drink, "gonna go check my Facebook". There was hardly any point asking her dad anything. She was never close to him, it was her mom who practically raised her since Wallace was always out working for months at a time. It was hard months after the death of her mom, Jenny, her dad mostly sat in his laboratory, grieving. She was eighteen now, school had just ended for her and she was leaving at the first opportunity. After one last Hike.
"Alright" her dad called after her, "Hey hun, some important business men are coming over in a few minutes so can you stay upstairs until they leave?"
She gave him a lazy wave from behind as she tromped up the stairs "sure dad".
-
Kite had just got done packing up for The Hike. It wasn't much just one change of clothes that consisted of a black hiking tank top, tan shorts, wristbands, leather gloves, socks, extra hair bands, and a small first aid kit, granola bars, one water canteen, compass, flashlight and matches. Around her neck she wore a silver, circular locket that encased the picture of her, her dad and her mom. All of it fit in a snug backpack that was light an maneuverable. She was busy counting her contents to make sure she didn't miss a single thing which was why she could barely hear the black car pull in their gravel drive way. She peeked out her white curtains from the second floor of their home. Kite made out three black suited men with sunglasses on through the heavy rain. This didn't come as a surprise to her since she was used to these type of men but they had never came to her home before. Her eyes narrowed in on what they were carrying. It appeared to be a flat looking black box. Curiosity instantly flooded her. She had never taken an interest in her dad work but something was up and she wanted to find out what.
It was early the next morning and her dad was, as always, asleep after a late nights work that had gone til two o'clock. She had waited patiently all night for her opportunity. The men stayed chatting in hushed tones to Wallace. Finally she gave up waiting and fell asleep only to wake again at four thirty. She had her hiking clothes on but left the supplies on the couch. After her curiosity was fed she would leave a note and set out immediately. It was still raining, although only a small drizzle, still The Hike must go on.
The house was a little too quiet. So quiet that all she heard was her light footfalls and a snoring father upstairs. Man he needed some breathe rights. Kite made her way across the marble floors of the kitchen, each noise she made she winced waiting for her dad to pop down from the stairs any moment. Stop freaking out you're just gonna get a peek and be gone. The basement door was right in front of her now but it was guarded with a fingerprint scanner. Brushing back a stray lock of brown hair she slipped out a transparent piece of paper and pressed it against the lock. She grinned as the light on the door blinked green and a lock twisted with a 'click'. She had stolen her dads finger print from a wine glass he had carelessly left out on the coffee table. The door slid open and with a satisfying grin Kite continued toward her destination. Her dad had taken her down here before but it's been a while.
It was all mostly metal walls and floors that clicked under her hiking boots. Shelves stacked high with books and chem lab equipment of all kinds. To her it looked like a dissection room with cutting tools and prongs everywhere that glistened silver against the white lighting. A large microscope laid on the main table beside a tray of different types of substances. Her deep gray eyes caught the object she was looking for. A sleek black suitcase, propped open, laid on the table beside the tray of goo. Cautiously she touched the case. It was smooth, make of a soft leather. Slowly and hesitantly she lifted the lid and held her breath. Then let it out in an unbelievable gasp. Inside the case, what looked like some sort of futuristic remote, laid on some padding in the case. It was a deep, gray metallic looking object that was sort of triangular in shape. Red hieroglyphs blinked on the edges. She leaned closer, trying to make out what type of writing it was but it was all for not. Kite took another breath, she had never seen anything like it despite all the weird things her dad brings home. Her gloved finger brushed the ragged surface, it felt as if the object had been through a lot. A blinking red button surrounded by others sat in the middle of the triangle.
Kits brows furrowed in wonder. What would happen if she pushed it? No, she backed her fingers away from the temptation. There was no telling what would happen, an explosion, gas or probably something worse. She turned away, preparing to leave. Her back could almost feel the alluring red button blinking at her. She stopped turned around and bit her tongue. Maybe nothing will happen. Maybe it will just simply sit there. Alright just do it and get it over with Kite. She picked the object up, it was heavy, at least ten pounds and about the size of her whole hand. Hesitating once more for only a second she pressed it.
"Kite?" the sound of her name made her jump around to face her father. Damn, I left the door open.. His hair and nightclothes were a mess and he was bare footed. "Kite, what are you-" he stopped suddenly when he saw where her finger had pushed.
Kite was so startled than she hadn't noticed the static dance around her body and the bright, illuminating light emit from the beeping and vibrating triangle.
"Kite, NO!" her father reached for her but it was too late. She felt her mind go numb and her body fade into the white light. She tried to scream but no sound came out. She looked at her hands and feet only to find that they were not there. It's a dream. Kite prayed in her head. It's just a dream. All the oxygen had been choked from her lungs and she grasped for air as if she was drowning in water. Then, after hearing her father somewhere off in the distance, everything slowly faded into a blur of colors then blackness.
She tried to breathe but she might as well have tried to breathe in fire. The air was thick and sour and left the taste of mud in her mouth. Her head pounded with pain in sync with her heartbeat. A high pitched ring echoed in her ears the way a mosquito would. Her body pulsed with an odd feeling.
Kite heard something that sounded similar to a bird but had the hissing of a snake. It must have been a dream. The lab, the triangle, the light, everything was all a silly dream and she was camping by the lake where she should have been. Her rusted eyes opened. What the hell? She expected to see a clear blue sky but instead it was a reddish yellow, a deep, gray, singular cloud stood aloof on it's own. There were no birds flying around, no gentle breeze. What was this?
Her back and arms hurt like hell but with effort she sat up. Instead of a beautiful, wildlife filled forest she was in a large field with knee-high reddish yellow grass and far off to her left laid a thick and muggy jungle. Her mouth hung open in astonishment. Questions flooded through her. Picking at her nerves for an answer but she had none. What had happened? She tried to search her memory and instantly triggered something that brought a flash of events through her head. The triangle, the light, what did it do to her? Her lungs burned and her head spun and she fell on her ass fighting not to lose consciousness. A voice echoed in her head but she couldn't remember whose it was.
It took almost ten minutes but she finally stood, her legs feeling like numb noodles. She looked in all directions. It seemed as if she was in a clearing amidst dense, strange looking jungles. Something shadowed her and for a split second the air went cold. Looking up her eyes went to the size of basketballs when she saw a huge, scaly birdlike creature crying out over head. "What the hell-" Kite couldn't find herself to finish she had never seen anything like it. Nonetheless it looked none too friendly. Slowly it began to descent sending out a shrill banshee call. Something in her head began to scream and she ran as hard as her nub legs took her. A gust of wind brushed against her flailing hair as the reptabird, she decided to call it, made a dive with it's five claws and missed by barely inches.
Diving into the protection of the jungle, the creature let out a furious cry, circled the area a few times and flapped away. Kite laid curled up against a massive trunk of a tree, her body shook tremendously and her cold gray eyes froze over. What kind of place was this? The jungle was an expanse of massive, alien trees with strange marking and colors, thick thorned brush that harbored needles the length of her forearm and the thickness of her fingers. She forced herself to breathe in the foul air to clear her mind.
Okay, all she had to do was get her bearings. First things first, she must figure out where the hell she was. Kite stood up, brushing her underside off. She craned her neck to see past the thick canopy of trees and found herself even more puzzled when two pinpricks of light shone through. Two suns? Could it possibly be that she wasn't on Earth? Maybe it really was a dream. She smacked her cheeks hard and pinched the squishy part of her arm hard enough to screech from it. YEOWW Okay bad idea. So this wasn't a dream and she really was on another planet. Her mouth opened slightly in realization. That triangle must have been some alien transporter device.
Her brain ticked miles a minute as she started walking in some unknown direction. Kite found it more difficult than expected. The underbrush was a pain to cross. Large needles, jagged leaves and some very colorful ones that reminded her of the poison dart frog were constantly in the way. Soon her thirst started kicking in after the first two miles and not long after that hunger , but that would have to wait. Horrific animal cries pierced the fog ridden air and when one sounded close she would curl up within the giant roots of a tree until the forest silenced then would continue on her way. Every once in a while the reptabird shadow would pass over the canopy, still hunting for it's dinner.
Nightfall came and her mouth was dry and dusty. Her stomach growled at her like an angry bear. I should have brought my knapsack with me. She saw an open space within the gnarled roots of a giant tree and decided this was sufficient enough for a campsite. Emptying the contents of her pockets she decided to account for what she had. A very small switchblade knife, she would use it to skin fish on her hiking trips, plastic wrapper of what used to be a granola bar. The thought made her stomach grumble. A paperclip and string was all she had left. Not a very useful survival kit but it was better than nothing. Kite felt for the locket around her neck and was relieved to find it still there. At least she had something that connected her to earth.
Night fell around the forest as long shadows of the trees stretched until they devoured the entire jungle floor. Since she had no matches there was no fire. Her hunger was causing a sharp pang in her stomach that wouldn't go away and soon she knew she would need food or she wouldn't last much longer. The night was more terrifying than she imagined. She was constantly jerked from sleep by the slightest snap and sound. The ground sometimes seemed to be moving underneath her. Sometime in the middle of the night a large cockroach like insect crawled inside her hair causing her to scream frantically until she got it out. The rest of the night she sat leaned up against the tree. She hummed to herself until sleep would carry her away, her finger resting on her locket and the other hand clenched around the small switchblade pocket knife.
Kite Johansen awoke to what seemed to be morning. A reddish hue shone through the canopy and birds, or what she thought was bird made a shrilling greeting that jerked her awake completely. Dirty and sleep still blurred her vision. Which is why she didn't see the animal staring at her with big, round eyes. She froze when she caught sight of it. It looked similar to a komodo dragon but only three times bigger. It's orange reptilian eyes stared at her with hunger, a long purple tongue slid in and out of it's mouth, tasting her scent. It was a muscular creature, with four powerful legs and a large dragon like head. Thick, black scales covered it's body head to toe.
Kite didn't move, or even breathe fearing the slightest move would set it off. Lord only knew how fast it could run. Minutes passed and neither figure in the groggy morning mist moved. Kite felt her bones and muscles begin to ache and the temptation to move nagged at her body but the orange slits of the giant lizard held her fast in place. I have to do something. She looked around, maybe she could climb a tree and hope it couldn't follow. It was a lizard anyway, a big ass ugly lizard perhaps it lacked climbing ability. She shifted her feet, testing it's reaction. It didn't move, only glared at her through it's hell pits. It's tongue flicking out momentarily, savoring the meal to come. Kite took a breath, maybe it was just curious? That was stupid.
She leaned up on her knees and then to her feet all in one motion eliciting a response from the creature immideatley. It twisted it's massive head and split open it's mouth to reveal two rolls of hooked, black teeth with a green ooze dripping between them. With it's mouth still open the lizard shifted it's feet, preparing to charge, orange jewels still fixed on it's target. This all reminded her of Jurrasic Park, the creature was the ferocious T rex and she was the helpless human. I'm so fucked! Then something in her snapped. Her instincts screamed that this was her last opportunity to run and so she did. She almost stumbled on her first step since her legs were practically numb but adrenaline kicked in and she kept going. Kite didn't want to look back but she didn't need to the monster had waited a few moments for it's prey to get a head start. It wanted a nice chase before dinner. Then with it's four powerful legs it had full on charged at her. It didn't bother to mask it's coming either, it tromped through brush and knocked over small trees during it's pursuit. The ground shook under her booted feet, thank god she had thought to get dressed before going down into the basement but proper clothes wasn't going to help her situation. With effort she leaped over fallen logs and prickly brush, her eyes stung with tears. She wished this were just a nightmare, she wanted to go home. The thing was so close now she could feel the heat of it's breath and the glare of it's hungry eyes. It let out a terrifying hiss, like steam escaping a vent and leaped.
The next thing that happened was all a surreal blur. She heard it jump and prepared for her back to get ripped to shreds, a small scream escaped her throat as she waited for death. But, death never came. Behind her she heard something whiz through the air and then a painful yelp from the animal. She didn't look back until she was at least twenty feet from the struck down creature. She felt cool liquid on her arm and when she looked at it she saw four clearly defined claw marks running from her back right shoulder down to her elbow. Kite felt great pain but the adrenaline pumping through her veins blocked most of it out. The animal, she saw from where she ran, was dead on the ground with a silver spear straight through its head. It twitched once then went still. Someone had saved her. She looked around, saw nothing, then walked slowly and cautiously back to the lizard that lay a cold heap on the ground. The forest was still, more still than previously and it made her uneasy but someone had saved her and whoever it was could help her.
Nothing happened, no one came and claimed the spear or the animal. She screamed out but nothing answered other than birds off on the horizon. Kite sighed huskily, maybe she scared whoever it was off or they could be watching her right now just not sure what to do. She took hold of the gleaming silver spear and pulled it loose. It was strangely light. "I think you dropped this!" she shouted awkwardly toward the trees and pointed to the spear. Still, nothing answered.
She waited for what seemed like minutes then shrugged inwardly and with the two ended spear in her hand she turned around. Something, like an invisible wall had knocked into her, causing her to stumble back. Then what happened next made her blood run cold. The bending light moved, pressed something on it's wrist, and slowly the figure started appearing. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't human. It was freakishly tall, at least seven feet. It had a manlike, muscular body covered partially in silver armor and a loin cloth drifted between it's legs. It had hair, or something that looked like hair, in dreadlock fashion decorated in silver rings and bones. A metal mask covered it's face where two dark gray eye slits stared at her curiously. A audible clicking sound tapped underneath it's covering.
Kite had her mouth all the way open in an unbelievable gape. This definitely wasn't Earth. The spear that was in her hands fell to the ground with a plop. She back up from the towering manlike creature, nearly tripping over her own feet in the process if not the dead animal behind her. It took a step forward making a low threatening growl. Kite turned fully and ran the opposite direction only to bump into another creature, similar to the other one only taller. It growled then clicked under the mask at her. Kites fingers went numb and her face pale. Could this day get any worse? The two creatures encircled her, one of them grabbed her arm, his grip like a gritty iron. In reflex she used her spare elbow to knee the thing in it's groin, which worked quite well because it released her in a flash making a low moaning sound. But, before she had time to make a run for it the taller one roared and clutched her neck with it's massive hands. Before everything went black all she heard was the continual clicking.
"Kite?"
Kite followed the voice through the woods. The birds overhead chirped and the small fauna surrounding her chattered lively. She saw a brown coated deer and her fawn slid through the shadows of the forest. Kite smiled, she knew this place. A place where the flowers bloomed beautiful. A carpet of red, blue and yellows littered the forest floor and crunched every so lightly under her feet.
"Kite over here".
She slipped through an opening in the bushes. Her mom was sitting by the waters edge with a fishing pole in one hand and a fish in the other. Her beautiful brown/ red hair was tied back, and green eyes sparkled against the water. Tears came to Kites eyes. She stepped closer and knelt down on the soft grass.
"Mom" was all she could say.
Her mother smiled, "you can't sleep forever Kite, you have to be strong".
Kite's expression puzzled but couldn't find herself to say anything. There was too much for words to form.
The gorgeous smile was still on her moms face when she leaned down and put the fish back in the water. The green scales glistened as the fish calmly swam away. They watched it until they lost it in the blue glisten. The trees and flowers swayed, dancing to the wind. The scent of the woods reached her, calmed her nerves.
"Wake up Kite, there's too much to do" her mom stood up, fishing pole in hand. Maroon hair swishing against the wind. She gestured to Kite who followed suite "don't blink or you'll miss it all" she said over her shoulder. "Come on now".
Kite inhaled sharply, her back arching up as if something pulled at it. She expected to feel pain on her arm where the scratches had caught her but strangely it didn't hurt or even sting. The air burned her throat and made her spill into a coughing fit. She rolled over on her stomach, propping herself up on her arms. Blackness flooded her vision, she could still feel the squeezing around her throat.
She blinked her eyes, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness. It was all a blur of red before she could see clearly. The room in which those creatures had brought her wasn't big or had anything in it. It was just metal floors, walls with a small window far above that let in a yellowish red light. There was a door but it was protected by thick, red beams. Each were about the thickness of her arms. She sat up and looked at her arm. Where the claw marks were there was visible scars and a sort of white substance that was partially peeled off. The things must have healed her while she was unconscious. The creatures still popped up in her head. The clicking, the roar it was terrible and horrific.
Kite felt herself trembling and balled up one of the corners in the darkness. She started crying. Now more than ever she wanted her mom. The pain of losing her took forever to get over but now she had lost her dad as well. Everything was gone. She felt a horrible feeling toward her father. One of hatred. She blamed him for this. If he would just live a normal life without all the secret government crap then this would have never happened. Why couldn't he be a fireman or a lawyer or something like that. Why couldn't he spend more time with mom before she died. He never loved her! He never loved me! All he cared about what his stupid science work damnit!
Kite stopped herself, her knuckles were white from how hard she had been clenching her fist. She let out a shaky breath as she wiped away the pouring tears. There was no use blaming anyone until she was out of this mess. "Okay" she whispered into the cell, hearing her words echo back. "I just have to find a way out, maybe talk the things into letting me go". It was a foolish plan but it was better than sitting here feeling sorry for herself. Brushing her long, dirty hair back she stood up and walked close to the red beams that kept her confined. The teen could feel the heat radiate from them but just as a test she took the small string from her pocket and threw it against it. The fabric sizzled at once, burned in two pieces and lit afire before turning to ashes.
"Well that's a bad idea". Kite paced, running her fingers through her gritty brown hair. She stopped, frustration welling up like a volcano, "hey, is anyone there?" No answer. "You ugly assholes show your face!" The minutes ticked by and she sat down again. Her stomach grumbled and her throat was dry. It would only take another day without food or water and she would die. Why would they let her die? They could have killed her back in the jungle. She gave up yelling curses at nothing and quieted. The silence was painful. Her ragged breathing reverberated off the metal walls. Damn this place, damn this cell. She felt alone and stranded. It hurt. More minutes that faded into hours passed and yet nothing. At some time, Kite couldn't remember, she curled up using her arm as a pillow and fell asleep.
Kite woke up to a pounding noise outside the cell. She sat up immediately and pushed herself into the shadows of the corner. Two creatures, ones dressed in more armor than the last, waved their hand over something on the other side of the blockade and the beams disappeared. Her fierce gray eyes traveled to the wicked looking staff with blades jutting out the end and she edged farther away. Their faces came into the light and she almost feinted. They looked similar to a mutated crab. With four mandibles that surrounded a small mouth with sharp teeth jutting out. Their eyes were amber colored and their skin was creamy with diamond shaped birthmarks. Kite realized she had stopped breathing and her lungs burned even more.
They spoke in an unknown language to each other for a second before one of them pulled out what looked like shackles. The left one took a step closer causing me to scoot back, which didn't prove to be too good because I was already one with the wall as it was. It clicked it's mandibles and pointed to me then the shackles.
"You're joking right?" She laughed but it was more of a terrified laugh.
It grunted, not amused, and took a lumbering step closer. It was so damn tall and huge. Then gestured more sharply to Kite then the shackles. It's eyes burned with irritation.
"No!" She shouted but it didn't help because it grabbed her wrist with intense pressure. Kite kicked at whatever she could and could only catch it's shin which proved useless. "Get off me you ugly crabbed face fuck!" his friend twisted her other arm behind her back and clamped another pair of shackles on her wrist. She yelped, he had put them on skin tight and already they made her hands bleed.
Gruffly Kite was pushed from the cell with one in front and one behind. There was no chance of escape. She was led up some twisting stairs, her breathing hoarse and footsteps loud and clanky against the metal floors. Calm down Kite. You can't think on a panicky head. She studied the figure in front. His great muscular back showed through the gaps in silver armor where scars criss crossed in zigzag patterns. They led her through several hallways decorated with banners and that similar language written on them and bordering the floors. More of the creatures stood watch at some entrances. She felt their amber eyes on her form. One of them made a low chuckle at her, or at least she thought it was a chuckle. Kite searched deep within her memory. She had heard of things like this from her dad but it was always just stories to scare her. He would tell her of another sighting of great warrior aliens that would kill for sport. Could this really be them?
They dragged her through a huge hall that was decorated in the same fashion but on the ceiling was the skeleton of a huge monster with an extremely long, sharp tail and a head that took up nearly half it's length. It was some kind of trophy to them. Like a deer head on a wall. When she lagged the guard pushed her roughly ahead.
"Will you quit pushing me already!" she screamed back catching the whole attention of all the other manlike aliens gathered in their circles chatting gruffly. The guard roared and pushed her once again, this time she didn't challenge. They could probably crush her with ease if provoked. Her stomach panged with stifling hunger once again, this time it was painful as if her stomach was trying to eat itself. She moaned clutching her sides and took a few steady breaths to force it away. The next room they entered was a dome shaped building with a long, red carpet that lead to five pedestals in which five more aliens sat, watching them impatiently. Two of them were females and three were males. It was odd, the females looked much bigger than the males. Fires glowed steadily in a line along the circular walls, casting an eerie scene upon the five who stared.
The guards kneeled and when Kite didn't one of them forced her down with a painful shove. She bit back the urge to punch him in his ugly face.
Kite peered up through a curtain of hair, anger flashing in her gray eyes. The one in the middle stood up, his golden armor gleamed defiantly, red cape billowing out behind. She noticed he had spikes protruding from his upper face. Muscles budged, scarred and intimidating.
He regarded her for a second, clicking his dark mandibles in thought, then raised his clawed hand and pointed at her, "why is human here?"
Kite's ears perked. He spoke English? She wondered how many others could speak English. For a little too long she remained quite. Unable to speak or even move but the guard behind her removed a whip and sliced it lightly across her back. Giving her a small taste of pain, a warning. She cried out and went down on one knee again.
"You answer human or become trophy!" the High Elder warned, his voice a menacing hiss.
Kite choked once then swallowed her fear and stood straight. No more cowering you have to be strong.
"A device brought me here!" she shouted back meeting his challenging stare, she balled her fist in an effort to keep her voice straight, "by accident, I did not mean to come to this shit hole of a planet!"
He took a step down from his pedestal, red cape billowing. He had noticed her change in tone and he did not like it, "you weak human, you speak to High Elder with respect!" his reddish eyes burned into hers, looking for the defiance he had caught earlier. Kite had made it disappear when the guards behind her raised their whips again in warning. When he was satisfied he raised his clawed hand again, "what device you speak of!" he questioned impatiently.
With a lighter tone she explained to him what happened, and what the object looked like. She wasn't going to make it out alive by pissing off the natives. The Elders mandibles clicked as they listened, they hadn't moved save the one since she arrived. When she was done the High Elder laughed.
"Foolish weak humans", the laughter rang throughout the dome. "Trying to use stolen technology against us" he continued laughing for a few seconds then stopped reverting back to his serious leader self. "You be punished for foolish act".
My knuckles went white under pressure, "I didn't try to use it against you! I told you it was an accident. It was my father and his government cronies who tried to make it work!" Her anger against her father flared up again and lit inside her eyes. "I had nothing to do with it!"
Another Elder grunted, this one wore copper colored armor with bones for decorations in his dread locks and muttered something to his companion beside him. A series of whispers filled the room, tensing her nerves for what was to come. After seconds of silence and meager talk the High Elder gestured for silence and took another step down from his high. "Device was transport device, prototype" he waved dismissively. "It gone now that used" he clearly had trouble speaking her language.
There was another series of mutterings then silence once again, mandibles clicked all around her in thought.
"Human may lie, may tell truth", the High Elder continued then shrugged. "Make no difference. So what we do with you human?" it wasn't a question for her to answer but merely a statement that he would answer for himself. He thought to himself for a moment while Kite waited, knotting her fingers together through the shackles and biting her inner cheek.
"You would make an acceptable trophy," her face went sheet white but the High Elder continued. "but you are weak and defenseless so, by the law of the gods, we cannot kill you so you must become slave".
"W-why can't you just take me home?"
He laughed again, a grating noise that echoed throughout the chamber. "There is no reason to go to Earth, long journey not worth it. You will be sold as slave". He pointed to her releasing a menacing hiss, "work hard and serve well human and we will not have reason to kill you".
They took her away from their presence without another word and without giving her a chance to speak further. Tears started welling, threatening to spill over but she held them. She would find her way out. There's always a way out.