I waited patiently for my chance to escape—although it wasn’t easy. I was dying to get free of the damn leash and lose myself in the crowd—I was certain it wouldn’t be too hard because F’too’sh Beta was definitely one of the most colorful and strangest places I had ever seen. As I told Sir, it reminded me of a cross between a craft fair and a farmer’s market—well, if everyone manning the stalls was an alien, that was.
Everywhere I looked there were strange people and even stranger products. Sir even bought me a little wand that blew edible, candy bubbles. They changed flavor with every bubble I blew, but I couldn’t name any of the flavors, since they were all based on alien fruits I had never eaten. Still, I enjoyed the sweet treat immensely—it was much tastier than the bland nutritional gel cubes I’d had for breakfast.
I was wondering if I ought to try and get him to buy us lunch here too, before I escaped—there was a merchant with two heads and four arms selling something that looked like purple corndogs across the way—when I saw my chance. It was literally right out in the open—a knife so sharp the guy behind the counter, (who looked a lot like a vampire, by the way)—said it could cut a strand of hair in two. The leash Sir had synthesized for me appeared to be made of some tough, hardy leather, but the way the knife blade gleamed gave me hope that I could sever it without too much trouble.
I bided my time, though. I asked for permission to play with the “shiny toys” on the counter, even though the words almost stuck in my throat. If Sir wanted to treat me like an animal or a child, I would absolutely play the part—anything it took to get away.
And sure enough, he went for it. He even gave me more slack in the leash so I could stand farther away from him—that was when I knew I was going to get away. He trusted me—at least enough to take his eyes off me. And that trust was what would help me slip my leash and find a ride back to Earth.
At first, I was worried—I wasn’t sure how long I would have to cut the leash and get away. But I had underestimated my new Master’s love of shopping.
Everyone knows that one person who, when they want to buy anything, sits down and researches that product exhaustively online before they set foot in the store. My fiancé, Don, is like that. He once made a spreadsheet to decide which kind of running shoes to buy. (This was back when he was considering getting into jogging, which never actually happened.) But anyway, it appeared that my new Master was also that type—the brainy, researcher type, I mean.
I didn’t really mind this kind of thorough research before buying, though I’m more of a buy-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of gal myself. But I was glad that Sir was a researcher, because it meant his attention was wholly focused on the pet beds the vampire guy was showing him. Even his tail, which had been very focused on me earlier, seemed to be immersed in the bed-choosing process. It waved its metal-capped tip over each new offering as though scanning it thoroughly and never even turned in my direction.
This meant my Master was completely distracted and I had my chance—the one I’d been waiting for from the moment he first kidnapped me.
Would you believe I almost had second thoughts as I grabbed the leash and casually brought it up to the shiny silver-blue knife blade? (I had wanted to grab the knife and bring it down to the leash, but it turned out to be fixed in place on its display stand.) Would you think less of me if I admitted that I hesitated before making that first cut, wondering if I really wanted to leave Sir?
The problem was, I didn’t hate him enough. I didn’t hate him at all, to be honest. I knew I should—he was an arrogant bastard who was open about the fact that he thought he was better than me and who had abducted me to serve as his pet. He kept me naked, fed me flavorless Jell-O, and let his tail fuck me. I should hate him with all the fires of a thousand Hells, right?
Except…I didn’t.
I think it was the way he made my body react when he touched me. I had never felt anything sexually before Sir had abducted me and started running his big, warm hands all over me. It was like my body had been numb—asleep—and he had woken me up. I couldn’t help wondering if going back to Earth also meant going back to sleep—sexually, anyway.
I still haven’t even had an orgasm, I thought uneasily, as I brought the brown leather leash down on the curving blue knife blade. What if I never do? And what’s so great about my life back on Earth, anyway? I barely get to work at the library—I’m mostly Great Aunt Maizy’s lackey and dog-walker. And it’s not like my relationship with Don is so great. We’re bored with each other—he can’t turn me on and he knows it and worse, he doesn’t care. He’s never made me feel even a fraction of what Sir has, even when he was trying—and he doesn’t even bother to try anymore. But what about Taylor…what about Mom? They must be worried sick by now!
Ultimately, it was the thought of my mom and my big sister, Taylor, that made me cut the leash. Even though they were both always trying to put me on a diet and, (in Taylor’s case) giving me unwanted advice, I still loved them dearly. Also, I worried about my mom’s anxiety.
After my dad died of a sudden heart attack when Taylor was twelve and I was ten, my mom had been terrified of losing someone else she cared for so deeply. I knew it was her greatest fear because she had to check in with both of us every day—it was the reason I got my first cell phone before any of my classmates, even though Mom could barely afford it as a single parent. She needed to be sure we were safe.
The thought of her looking for me and not being able to find me and probably bawling her eyes out day and night was what made me cut the leash at last. I needed to get back to her and let her know I was okay—even if it also meant returning to my humdrum existence and possibly never having that elusive orgasm.
So I sliced the leash—the knife was every bit as sharp as vampire-guy had promised—and started drifting discretely away, losing myself in the crowd. And Sir never even saw me—he was too busy looking at pet beds, trying to find one that would fit in the crate, no doubt, I told myself sourly. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about being stuck in there again! So long, Sir—have a nice life and good luck finding some other girl who actually wants to be an Alien Overlord’s Pet.
But now that I was free, where did I go?
When I had been plotting my escape, back on Sir’s spaceship, it had all seemed so easy. I would just find a kind-hearted alien and explain my situation and then ask him or her to give me a lift back to Earth.
But now that I was actually free of my Master, who did I dare to ask? There were lots of aliens here, but none I felt comfortable asking for a ride. The Vorns with their red skin and pointed horns intimidated me. And the Braxians were all built like bulls and had weird eyes. The Majorans seemed nice, but they were all couples that seemed completely wound up in each other—I doubted they would want to be saddled with an Earth girl as their third wheel.
I wished I could find the guy with wings—he’d had a nice face—but I didn’t see him or any other aliens like him in the crowd. In fact, I didn’t see any friendly faces in the crowd. And if I didn’t move quickly, Sir was going to realize I was gone and come looking for me.
Well, for starters, I needed to get away from the main area of the spaceport, I decided. After I lost myself in one of the side halls that sprouted off the main space, I could find a kindly alien to help me. Maybe I should look for a nice old alien man, or—even better—an alien woman who could sympathize with my plight.
It didn’t help that I was naked under the clear “rain sleeve” thing Sir had given me to wear. And I’d had to beg for that! He’d said that in his culture, a Master liked to show his pet off and besides, clothes on a pet looked ridiculous. It was only after begging him to realize I would be cold that he had agreed to give me the see-through sleeve to wear.
Still, it was better than nothing, I consoled myself. And at least it wasn’t made of stiff, crinkly plastic. Instead, it was a soft, silky material that was apparently completely water repellent. So it wasn’t uncomfortable to wear—except for the part where it showed my entire naked body. I crossed my arms over my breasts and moved quietly and quickly through the crowd of alien shoppers, heading for the nearest side hall I could see.
I slipped down the hallway, which was more dimly lit than the main hall, and found myself in another kind of crowd—most of them women. I saw all kinds of alien girls—some with three breasts and some with four, some with long hair and some with hair that went in a single Mohawk-like stripe from the top of their heads all the way down their backs. There were all kinds of skin colors too—red and green and purple and blue. I actually felt pretty nondescript, being the only tan girl I saw.
It was then that I felt a hand on my arm. Startled, I looked up and saw a woman about my own age staring at me with a curious expression on her face. She had striped skin—red and white like an old-fashioned barber pole—and pale pink eyes. The striping went all the way up to her hair, which was also red and white. She had on a bright orange dress that seemed like it was meant to clash with her skin and hair, which I thought was odd, but she also had a kind look in her eyes.
“You look lost, my dear,” she said or rather sang, because her words made a little tune as they left her lips.
“Uh…um, yes, I guess I am,” I said cautiously. “Lost, I mean.”
“I thought so. My name is Lolli,” the girl sang to me. “I was lost once, too. But then I found someone to take care of me.”
“Um, I don’t need anyone to take care of me,” I said, stepping away from her. “I just need a ride home—back to my planet. It’s called Earth—have you heard of it?” I asked her hopefully.
“Earth?” she sang, a puzzled expression on her barber pole face.
“The planet that was locked by the Ancient Ones?” I said, repeating what I’d heard from Sir and the Commercians. “The one with the, uh, Alien Mate Index?”
“Ah, you must be a Pure One!” she sang, her pink eyes opening wide in excitement. “How rare and valuable!”
“I don’t know about that, I just know I need to get back to my own planet,” I said hopefully. “Um, do you know if we’re far from there? From Earth, I mean?”
“No, we are not far. Why, we’re barely three purns away,” she sang.
I had no idea what a ‘purn’ was but I was hoping it was a really short distance.
“That’s great!” I said eagerly. “Um, I don’t suppose you know anyone headed in that direction? I really need a ride. I left the guy who brought me here and I could use some help.”
I wasn’t quite sure if I ought to admit to leaving Sir, but I was hoping the singing barber pole lady would sympathize—I mean, what girl hasn’t gotten out of a bad relationship before, right?
To my relief, she nodded and smiled at me.
“I can help you,” she sang. “I know someone who is headed in that direction—I’m certain he can give you a ride.”
“Oh, really?” I felt weak with relief. “That would be so nice. Er…I don’t have any money to pay, though,” I added apologetically.
“That is of no consequence,” she sang. “Shadrack loves helping females in distress—come with me.”
And she took my arm and led me deeper into the crowd of women who were all milling around. I went with her willingly, feeling relieved that I had found someone so nice to help me on the first try. I was betting I would be back on Earth before dinnertime that night.
I had never been more wrong in my life.