Chapter 48: Learning to fight.When Sloan woke, he was alone in the muddy cell. Octnavin was gone and with him went the warmth and Sloan's ability to see better in the dark.Struggling, Sloan tried to remember where the water stream was located. His eyes adjusted to the slivers of brightness here and there. The tiny lights flickered just enough to help him find the hole to pee in and then stumble to the fruit.Earlier, Octnavin said the light came from the arena and the other cells. He told Sloan that some aliens produced a glow, which Sloan was seeing through the cracks. Even though Sloan was getting better at navigating the low light, he still missed his alien. Without Octnavin letting him use his eyes, he was at a disadvantage. Stumbling around, he finally found the dripping water. He used his hearing to figure out where the drops hit the tiny rock pool. After scooping up the water, he splashed his face and then drank. When he was finished, he sat back on his heels and listened.Af
Chapter 49: Sloan's first fight.Sloan stood in the center of the arena. His blood pumped with excitement. He shook his arms outward and bounced on his toes. He was so ready for this. Octnavin said that there were tons of aliens watching and betting on the other side of the mirrors. Sloan wished he could see the cheering crowd.-No, you do not. A cheering crowd would distract you. Focus.- Octnavin snapped in this head.Sloan jumped up and down to shake out his jitters. He stretched his shoulders. He could do this. Another platform rose near the other side of the dome. A human-sized hamster charged him. What the hell was that thing?-Assess your opponent.- Octnavin admonished in Sloan's mind. -What are you doing? I told you to focus.-Sloan had no fucking idea what he was doing. Razor teeth went for his jugular. Narrowly, Sloan escaped as he rolled to the side. Blood washed down the front of his chest. The giant hamster's teeth had got him. Only his adrenaline shielded him from the pai
Chapter 50: Bigger pebble.By Sloan's count, he'd died once when the snake bitch shot him in the head. Then he'd died four times in the ring. Well, that was it. Five was enough. He wasn't going to end up in that revival tank again. He was going to do this. He had to win this time. Octnavin warned him that the folantos were now bored. His sense tentacle said that they were not even cheering any longer.As Sloan rose up toward the dome, he could hear Octnavin in his head giving a steady stream of battle tips. Sloan had to live this time.When the platform stopped, this time, Sloan didn't wait. He'd learned that lesson already. Sloan rolled off the metal and into the dirt as the hamster rushed him. "Not this time, mother-fucker." Sloan got to his feet. He spun and did a sold kick to the hamster's face. He was never going to own a hamster if he ever got back to Earth. Sloan dodged a swing from the hamster's claws. With wide fingers, Sloan nailed the Malzian in the eyes. The rodent reared
Chapter 51: Helping the great ruler.Sloan snuggled into Octnavin's strong tentacles and listened to a new pair of fighters who entered the arena. After a few minutes, his alien broke their companionable silence."I hid my hunger," Octnavin said with a sigh. "I did not want you to get scared, and it is my burden, not yours. Besides, I am a great ruler.""I'm not scared of any of this weak ass shit." Sloan grinned and then glanced to the empty rind. "And being hungry and needing help doesn't make you any less of a great Dagerstanteen ruler. Okay?""That is an interesting thought." Octnavin fluttered his thick black eyelashes over his green eyes and scanned Sloan's body draped over him."Do you want more fruit smoothies?" Sloan chuckled. "It's not the best, but I can make more for you.""No." Octnavin hugged all six of his tentacles around Sloan and adjusted him until Sloan was straddling the alien's lap. When the alien had Sloan where he wanted him, Octnavin opened the top button of Slo
Chapter 52: Devour.The next few days passed in a blur. Octnavin fought, and so did Sloan. Sloan won his next two fights, but the winning lost its dazzle. Now Sloan felt like a dog in the dogfights that Octnavin called this. He had hated the idea of being a pleasure slave to the great ruler of the Dagerstanteens, and yet now he was a slave to the folantos. Sloan didn't think the irony was funny at all.Sloan didn't remember falling asleep, but he was in Octnavin's warm embrace when he woke. He thought the mighty ruler was supposed to enter the arena again, but he was happy to find that Octnavin had not left yet.The alien was awake, and he traced Sloan's tattoo as if distracted. After Sloan rubbed his eyes and yawned, he caught the flickering lights of the dome. Aliens were fighting in the muddy arena as per usual. In the silence, they both caught the muffled sounds of screams and the breaking of limbs. Sloan wished he had a clock or a way to scratch lines into the walls. He had no ide
Chapter 53: Meeting a cat in a dream.Sloan realized he was in a dream when he looked around, and the blue haze had become white. Glancing down, Sloan discovered he was dressed in his band t-shirt and jeans. Everything he wore was clean. The room was a pleasant seventy degrees, and he was warm and comfortable. A chair appeared. The seat was an oversized overstuffed wingback like he would find in an old library. Sloan sat and leaned back on the cushion. He traced the logo on his shirt. This must be a dream because the shirt was pristine. Fuck. It was nice to have a seat instead of curling in cold mud. He didn't realize how much he missed a simple thing like a chair. Ahead of where Sloan sat, a man appeared in the fog. Sloan stared at the newcomer as he approached. The guy was taller than Sloan and wiry with only a few muscles. His plain brown hair was trimmed to his shoulders, and his eyes were plain brown as well. His clothes had Sloan lifting one eyebrow. The twenty-something man wa
Chapter 54: Octnavin can't always win.After Sloan was yanked out of his dream with Murry, he rubbed his eyes and glanced at the walls of the empty cell. When he finally shook himself awake enough to move around, he headed to the water basin and washed his hands and face. He tried to clean his teeth. After he stripped out of his tattered shirt, he washed the garment in the water hole. He rung out the cotton and then gazed at his once prized band t-shirt. The fabric was splattered with so much blood and dirt the logo wasn't visible anymore. He recalled the one from the dream and sighed.Wiggling, Sloan slipped off his pants next. He tried to wash them in the rock basin. He wrinkled his nose at his ripped jeans. Never in his life had he been so filthy. Not even after his mom lost their apartment and they were homeless for six months.A low hum signified the platform was heading his way. Sloan glanced to where he expected to see Octnavin stepping off the elevator. Typically, the king of t
Chapter 55: Saving the great ruler.Sloan wasn't sure how long he knelt next to the still form of Octnavin, but suddenly, it was all too much. Octnavin's death started to sink in and wrap its icy claws around Sloan's heart."Fuck you," Sloan screamed over his shoulder at the platform. "Fuck all of you. You want to fight, you cowards? You're all pussy-ass wimps. Come and get me." Furious, Sloan jumped to his feet. They had killed Octnavin. He couldn't believe the ruler of the Dagerstanteens was dead. His warrior, his alien, was gone.Again Sloan hollered at the platform. The wound in his heart and soul was more profound than any loss he'd ever felt on Earth. As his pain and anger enveloped the cell, Sloan found a chunk of rock. He threw the stone toward the platform. When the rock struck the metal, it made a loud ping."Come and get me, bitch-ass snake girls. I'll fuck you up."Once again, the silence pressed in from all sides. Sloan sank to his knees next to the ruler of the Dagerstant