Bay's Mercenary [Unearthly World Book 1] (3 page)

Blu
said something to the doctor who
took her blanket into his hands. He held it up and pointed at the wet spots her
damp hair had made. Bay’s teeth were clacking together; the room was cold. The
doctor tossed the blanket on the floor, and Bay realized he didn’t want to wrap
her up in a wet cover.

The doctor
creature cast his glance around the room, strode to a desk and returned; he
covered her with a rumpled sheet he scooped off a chair. The thought of a
doctor not using a sterile covering was confusing; she was clean now. An idea
occurred to Bay: she didn’t know what these beings were; perhaps they didn’t
know what she was. Bay had no idea where she was in space; for all she knew, it
could be a million miles, a billion miles from home. Why would these creatures
know what she was? Or even that she was intelligent?

Both creatures
conversed and Bay found her eyelids drooping with exhaustion. Her tummy rumbled
loudly, catching the males’ attention. Both widened their eyes and crept
closer. Bay could feel the red blush creep over her face. She couldn’t remember
the last time she had eaten.

Both captor and
doctor creature stared at her when her belly rumbled again; the doctor peeked
under the sheet as the noise was heard again and examined her belly button. The
doctor creature gazed at her thoughtfully and strode to a silver box that
looked a cross between a microwave and a fridge. He opened it, pulled something
out and came back over to the table. He helped Bay sit up and opened the container
in his hands.

She heard her
captor groan when the doctor creature produced a smooth, wooden, flat-surfaced
utensil and dipped it into the contents. The substance looked not unlike yogurt
and smelled nice. Bay opened her mouth when the creature offered her some; she
felt it best, her hands were shaking so hard the food would have been tossed
across the room.

The food
was
like yogurt, she had never tasted anything as creamy and delicious. It was hard
to swallow, but she choked it down. The doctor fed her the entire contents of
the container then tossed both the utensil and the container into a steel
garbage bin. Bay yawned tiredly. Neither of the creatures seemed inclined to
hurt her, and she was exhausted. She was settled back onto the firm, bed-like
stretcher. Before long she was asleep.

* * * *

“Baby
food?”
Blu
was
incredulous. “It eats
baby
food?”

“It’s probably for
the best for now. Your little pet is injured. It’s dehydrated and half-starved.
It hasn’t been cared for very well. It’s been abused; no wonder it’s so
skittish. I don’t think those odd colored areas on its body are natural,
they’re damaged parts and there’re a lot of them. Someone has come close to
crushing its throat.”

“The
Tonan
.”

“That
Tonan
should be vaporized. I abhor cruelty to anyone, but a
pet is helpless. Look at this tiny thing; it’s going to need constant care.”

“I can’t give it
constant care,”
Blu
said in distress.

“You should have
thought of that before you brought it here.”

“I was only
thinking of Zane and my nephew. You know
Draven
has
been distressed since losing his toff.”

“You can’t just
replace a pet,
Blu
. They become part of the family.
What were you thinking anyway? This being is like nothing I have ever seen; we
know nothing about it. I can only hope it isn’t allergic to the baby food.”

Blu
sighed and ran a hand over his
face in annoyance. “Look, can you just keep it here and try keeping it alive. I
swear, if Zane isn’t interested, I’ll find it a good home. In the meantime, I
have duties that need attending or Titus will slaughter me.”

“I’ll keep it here
in my office during your working hours. But that’s pushing it. I need a sterile
environment; I don’t think the female is diseased, but again—I don’t know what
it is. After that, it’s your responsibility. If the female’s not supervised, it
could get into anything on this ship and seriously injure itself; it could chew
on exposed circuits and accidently fry itself or the ship. I won’t turn the
little creature over to you if you won’t learn to care for it properly; your
pet could be hurt or maimed if you’re not dependable. I’ll euthanize it if I’m
not satisfied with your care of it.

“That means you
not only keep it clean but fed, watered, warm and most importantly, a pet needs
your time. As you train it, you’ll need a gentle hand. No cuffing it as you
would a toff; you might break its nose. And lots of positive reinforcement when
your pet does something well.”

“Fine.”

Blu
stormed from the room. Finn
looked down at his new charge. It was cute lying there sound asleep, all
wrapped in a sheet. It wouldn’t be responsible pet ownership to leave the
female alone on a table; it could fall off, and its bones were so tiny, Finn
didn’t doubt for a second they wouldn’t break. The idea of a broken bone was
mind boggling—Finn had never once seen such an oddity.

Finn picked the
little creature up and marveled at its slight weight. With his foot, he pushed a
pile of fairly clean sheets together that sat on the floor to be washed. It
couldn’t hurt them—they needed a good cleaning anyway. He set the female on the
pile and went back to his research.

Chapter 3

Bay woke and
winced when she stretched. She was lying on a pile of sheets on the floor.
Feeling a bit disorientated, she rose to a sitting position; she was alone. The
sheets were okay, but something softer would be better. Bay gazed around the
room curiously and noted a large, stuffed piece of furniture. She rose stiffly
and made her way to the comfortable-looking fixture.

There was no
escape from these creatures; out a large portal, she saw the void blackness of
space. She was on a vessel; there would be no hiding. Bay settled onto the furniture
feeling relieved they were no longer inclined to keep her in a box; the glowing
bars had zapped her when she had touched them, it hurt. The material on the
couch-like furniture she lay on was like soft velvet and seemed to radiate
warmth. Soon, she was once more sleeping, exhausted from her ordeal and the
horror of a captivity that no longer felt so overwhelming.

When Bay awoke
again, she found herself lying once more on the pile of sheets on the floor.
They didn’t exactly smell, but it was apparent they needed to be washed. The
doctor creature was now seated on the comfortable-looking furniture with a mug
of something steaming in his hand and paperwork in the other. Granted the pile
of sheets was nicer than anything the
Tonan
had
offered, but this was ridiculous. These creatures didn’t treat her like a
captive—more like a pet dog.

The more Bay
thought about it, the more it made sense. She had been smacked on her nose when
they thought her being out of control and biting—they didn’t see it as her
fighting back. She had been washed like a mutt at a poodle parlor, the doctor
creature had pet her head and let her sniff his hand and now she was being
forced to sleep on the floor. Good God, she was surprised they hadn’t stuck a
collar around her neck or had a pooper scooper nearby.

Bay got to her
feet and approached the doctor creature stiffly. Her entire body ached as she
moved, but she was determined. They had to learn she was intelligent—then
again, would they turn her into a slave? The idea was frightening, but Bay
couldn’t stand the thought of sleeping on floors and being fed by hand or
lapping water from steel bowls.

The doctor noted
her approach and smiled at her, he motioned for her to sit at his feet.
Like
a good doggy.
It was all
Bay
could do to keep from
growling. She shook her head and pointed at her chest as best as she could with
the sheet wrapped securely around her. Surely they must see she wasn’t a pet
simply because she felt the need for modesty.

“Bay,” she said
and damned her raspy grunt; she sounded like a disgruntled chicken with a lump
in its throat. She then pointed at him. The doctor looked at her questioningly
and Bay stomped a foot.
“Bay.”

The doctor shook
his head somewhat quizzically. Bay went and sat beside him on the furniture and
was immediately pushed to the floor, though not harshly; she landed with a bang
onto her bottom. The doctor pointed at the mound of covers on the floor in the
corner and spoke a sharp word, making her jump. He picked up the paperwork that
he had placed in his lap and ignored her.

Bay stared up at
him for a few moments, rose and, rubbing her derrière, made her way back to the
mound. She glanced back at him as she went, but he continued to ignore her.
This
is not going to be easy.
She settled down onto the pile that was
her
spot. These creatures actually thought she was an animal. She had gone from
being a tortured captive to a pet. Why hadn’t the
Tonan
explained what she was? Then again why would he? He had been so hell bent and determined
to be rid of her, she imagined he had told her new ‘owner’ anything he had
wanted to hear.

She was so lost in
thought,
Bay was startled when the doctor suddenly
appeared before her. He held something in his hand that he motioned her to
take. The words he was speaking were clearly meant to know she had made him
happy with her obedience. The food in his hand was her reward.

Good grief.
Would there be no end to this embarrassment?

Bay hoped he
didn’t expect her to lick his hand in gratitude. Whereas the backs of his
fingers and hands were covered in a much finer layer of silky white fur, his
palms and the front of his fingers were hard wrinkled flesh. The item he held
was shaped like a
popsicle
; it was white and Bay wondered
if it was frozen yogurt. She was torn between refusing it out of principle or
taking it, knowing it would soothe her throat.

With reluctance,
Bay reached for the treat; the doctor patted her on her head and Bay groaned.
He rattled off a few more words and stroked her hair as though she were a good
girl. Bay narrowed her eyes and thought—
if you think I’m going to lick my
own ass, you weird freak, or chase a
ball,
I really
will piss on your furniture.

The doctor rose
and returned to his reading. Bay stuck the
popsicle
in
her mouth and sucked hard trying to deal with her pent-up emotions; she was
fuming. The frozen substance soothed her throat, but the hard sucking hurt and
she ceased her assault to lick at it normally. She studied the doctor while she
ate. The creatures hadn’t been cruel—except for the smack to her nose. They
were huge and scary-looking, different. They weren’t too bad now that she was
used to them, perhaps it had been their great size that had really frightened
her.

Bay wondered if
they thought she was ugly. The
Tonan
had been
handsome, spoke English and looked like a large human man under his armor that
seemed to absorb into his flesh on command. He had also been brutal with her,
making him appear more hideous than these new creatures. These creatures were
no less scary to gaze upon, but they seemed concerned for her well-being. They
seemed intelligent—although a bit dense when it came to her.

Bay finished her
popsicle
; she glanced around and noted a container on the
floor, she rose and walked towards it and as she got closer, she realized it
must be a garbage of sorts. It held a few more of the long flat sticks she was
holding onto as well as the container the doctor had tossed. Bay dropped her
garbage in and turned to go back to her mound of sheets. She was stopped by the
doctor’s incredulous words and expression. When he rushed towards her Bay was
terrified. He may be a doctor of sorts but he was still at least seven feet
tall and built like a tank that meant business. She dropped to the floor and
curled into a ball wondering if she had done something awful.

When the doctor
picked her up, he took her to the soft furniture and held her on his lap
crooning to her. It took Bay a moment to realize he was praising her—not angry.
Her breathing slowed as she had been hard-pressed to take in air. The erratic
pounding of her heart calmed. It was then she noted he repeated the same two
words over and over. She had heard those words before, from
Blu
when she had stopped struggling in the bathtub. Her mind racing she realized he
was telling her she was a good girl or perhaps good female. Bay was amazed, if
her throat hadn’t hurt so badly she would have repeated what he said. She could
learn this language; she could learn it and speak to them if she concentrated
and studied them. Once her throat healed, Bay could make them understand she
was intelligent.

* * * *

Blu
walked into the doctor’s office
and glanced around the room; his female pet was curled in Finn’s arms, sound
asleep, while he looked over paperwork. Finn looked up, smiled sheepishly and
set his papers down.