Read Online Beauty and the Fleet (Intergalactic Fairy Tales Book 2) by Robert McKay - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Robert McKay
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Beatrix's mind was scientific experimentation. When she thought of the early tests performed on Colarians that were taken captive, she shuddered.
She saw no one except for the Colarian guards that resumed the every four hour supply drops. One of them was Woolly from their trip in on the aircraft. She preferred his open animosity to the bored indifference of the other guards. Something about their blank looks prevented her from giving them any sort of nickname like Woolly.
On his third supply drop, Woolly paused to glare at her for a moment and Beatrix again noticed that the tentacle of his symbiont had been cut away from his left eye. His snarl also gave her a decent view of his teeth and the slightly elongated canines. She wondered if the missing tentacle was the source of his bad attitude.
"I don't like you, either, Woolly," she said, snatching up her tray and moving to sit on her bed. "Now, take away my dirty dishes like a good little servant."
He didn't say anything, just like she expected. Maybe the one who killed her father was the only one that could talk. To her surprise, Woolly didn't take her tray. He just grunted and wheeled his little cart away. Somehow, that actually made her like him a bit more. It also meant that even if he couldn't talk, he did hear and understand her. That was good information to have.
The next delivery was by one of the mindless guards and he took both of her trays without seeming to notice that there was anything amiss.
Days passed with nothing to mark them except Hands' watch and the supply deliveries. There was still no sign of the murdering bastard. She couldn't help looking up every time she heard the door open, expecting to see his gleaming yellow eyes and hear that smooth voice.
"Maybe they just want to figure out what our lifespans are and they just plan to feed and water us until we die," posited Hands during one of their idle conversations at meal time.
"Well, it won't give them a very accurate count when we all lose our minds and decide to save up enough of this grey stuff to choke ourselves to death with." Beatrix pushed the grey mush aside and ate the vegetables around it.
"Torch says you should try it. Apparently, it's delicious." Beatrix could actually hear the shudder in his voice.
"I'd rather eat the dishes," she replied.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
One morning, her book appeared lying next to her bed when she woke from a fitful sleep. She rolled onto the floor and poked at it cautiously with a toe, expecting it to disappear. She'd dreamt of it for the last several days. Every time she was about to grab it, it would vanish. This time it was real and she clutched it to her chest like a long-lost lover.
A tiny sob escaped her throat. For several moments she rocked back and forth, trying to staunch the flow of tears streaming down her face. Once they finally stopped, a burn erupted in her stomach and slowly spread throughout her body. How had her mind become so warped that she would cling to a book that was provided by the monster that had murdered her father?
When the fire reached her fingers she hurled the book away, meaning to throw it outside her cell and out of her reach. It clattered against the bars and she sighed with relief. For a full day she left it where it fell, staring at it like it were a live snake. The debate about what to do with it raged until those trivial thoughts were crushed by grim reality.
The Colarians had decided to start there experiments.
A group of guards tromped down the hallway outside their cells. It hadn't been four hours since their last food drop. They hadn't even taken away the dirty dishes. Besides, no more than one guard ever came with the food. This was something different. Beatrix counted four of them, including Woolly. They didn't pause at her cell door. "Hands?" she called.
"They didn't stop," he replied. "Gadget?"
There was the loud clunk of a lock being released. "No, no, no," said Gadget, and there was the
She saw no one except for the Colarian guards that resumed the every four hour supply drops. One of them was Woolly from their trip in on the aircraft. She preferred his open animosity to the bored indifference of the other guards. Something about their blank looks prevented her from giving them any sort of nickname like Woolly.
On his third supply drop, Woolly paused to glare at her for a moment and Beatrix again noticed that the tentacle of his symbiont had been cut away from his left eye. His snarl also gave her a decent view of his teeth and the slightly elongated canines. She wondered if the missing tentacle was the source of his bad attitude.
"I don't like you, either, Woolly," she said, snatching up her tray and moving to sit on her bed. "Now, take away my dirty dishes like a good little servant."
He didn't say anything, just like she expected. Maybe the one who killed her father was the only one that could talk. To her surprise, Woolly didn't take her tray. He just grunted and wheeled his little cart away. Somehow, that actually made her like him a bit more. It also meant that even if he couldn't talk, he did hear and understand her. That was good information to have.
The next delivery was by one of the mindless guards and he took both of her trays without seeming to notice that there was anything amiss.
Days passed with nothing to mark them except Hands' watch and the supply deliveries. There was still no sign of the murdering bastard. She couldn't help looking up every time she heard the door open, expecting to see his gleaming yellow eyes and hear that smooth voice.
"Maybe they just want to figure out what our lifespans are and they just plan to feed and water us until we die," posited Hands during one of their idle conversations at meal time.
"Well, it won't give them a very accurate count when we all lose our minds and decide to save up enough of this grey stuff to choke ourselves to death with." Beatrix pushed the grey mush aside and ate the vegetables around it.
"Torch says you should try it. Apparently, it's delicious." Beatrix could actually hear the shudder in his voice.
"I'd rather eat the dishes," she replied.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
One morning, her book appeared lying next to her bed when she woke from a fitful sleep. She rolled onto the floor and poked at it cautiously with a toe, expecting it to disappear. She'd dreamt of it for the last several days. Every time she was about to grab it, it would vanish. This time it was real and she clutched it to her chest like a long-lost lover.
A tiny sob escaped her throat. For several moments she rocked back and forth, trying to staunch the flow of tears streaming down her face. Once they finally stopped, a burn erupted in her stomach and slowly spread throughout her body. How had her mind become so warped that she would cling to a book that was provided by the monster that had murdered her father?
When the fire reached her fingers she hurled the book away, meaning to throw it outside her cell and out of her reach. It clattered against the bars and she sighed with relief. For a full day she left it where it fell, staring at it like it were a live snake. The debate about what to do with it raged until those trivial thoughts were crushed by grim reality.
The Colarians had decided to start there experiments.
A group of guards tromped down the hallway outside their cells. It hadn't been four hours since their last food drop. They hadn't even taken away the dirty dishes. Besides, no more than one guard ever came with the food. This was something different. Beatrix counted four of them, including Woolly. They didn't pause at her cell door. "Hands?" she called.
"They didn't stop," he replied. "Gadget?"
There was the loud clunk of a lock being released. "No, no, no," said Gadget, and there was the
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