The Rings Fighter

THE RINGS FIGHTER

An Alien Apocalypse Story

by

JC Andrijeski

Copyright © 2016 by JC Andrijeski

Published by White Sun Press

Cover Art 2015 by White Sun Press

Ebook Edition, License Notes

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Synopsis of
THE RINGS FIGHTER

Chloe never expected to live long as the house slave of Agnon, one of the alien Nirreth who colonized Earth. Being the house pet of a sociopathic alien came with a time stamp and she knew it, but things were tough all over since humans became a slave caste on their own planet. She could only hope life would be better for her little sister, Kiji, who she struggled to protect.

When Chloe catches the eye of the infamous Ringmaster Trazen, she figures her time is finally up. But Trazen may not be exactly what he appears…and not only because he’s the hottest alien she’s ever laid eyes on.

THE ALIEN APOCALYPSE SERIES
is a dystopian new adult romance about a tough girl named Jet Tetsuo who grew up on Earth following an alien invasion. Forced into living among her conquerors, she has to navigate a treacherous world full of enemies who pose as friends, even as she becomes their most famous fighter in the Rings, a modern day version of the coliseum.

THE PENS

THE FIRST TIME she saw him, she hoped fervently he wouldn’t notice her.

She crouched in a corner of the pens, as much behind the others as she could manage, even knowing it wouldn’t help.

Her owner, Agnon, was bragging.

He was always bragging, but she remembered thinking that time, he was really going all-out. He wanted to impress this male Nirreth, whoever he was.

She knew that probably wouldn’t bode well for her.

The hiding bought her no time at all.

“There she is!’ Agnon said loudly, his voice slurred with Nirreth wine. “That’s the one I told you about.” She could almost feel him pointing at her and cringed lower. Agnon broke out in a drunken laugh. “She is hiding…always hiding. These mammals are so stupid…does she think I cannot see her there? Hello! Hello, little sexy mammal!”

She bit her lip, thinking loudly in response,
Do you really think I don’t understand your language, you mouth-breathing egomaniacal lizard-skin asshole?

He didn’t hear her think it, of course.

He hadn’t stung her since the night before, and anyway, the venom connection only worked when they were touching, skin to skin.

The idiot was waving at her, his long tail lashing behind his back in humor-laden flicks. He rested a jointed, three-fingered hand on the shoulder of his taller, more muscular friend. He triggered the door to the pens and it opened, disappearing silently into the glass-like wall.

“Chloe!” Agnon said, louder. “Chloe! Come here, girl... I want you to meet someone!”

Another of his little “jokes.”

He loved to pretend like she was at a cocktail party with him, not naked in a pen filled with other naked humans he owned. When she didn’t come out of her crouch, the cocktail party pretense dropped. So did the indulgence in his voice. She heard nothing but the psychopath when he spoke next, using English, the human tongue.

“Chloe... come,” he said, cold. “To me. Now.”

She hesitated even then.

Exhaling in resignation, she rose stiffly to her feet. Folding her arms in front of her––which did nothing to take away from the fact that she was stark naked––she walked over to him with her head held high.

Well, as high as she could manage.

The other humans got out of her way, a few aiming sympathetic looks in her direction. She made sure not to look at Kiji, who she knew likely watched from the other side of the pens.

They’d learned to separate––and quickly––as soon as the lights came on.

So far Chloe had managed to hide the fact that her little sister was here, in the pens with her, from Agnon himself––although she didn’t know
how
she’d managed to hide it. She didn’t let herself think about her sister at all while under the influence of the venom, so that was part of it. She’d gotten better at controlling her thoughts while under the influence, too, just from practice.

Even so, she wondered
how
Agnon didn’t know.

However it happened, she was beyond grateful for it.

Kiji was too young to interest Agnon in the ways that mattered––thank goodness. Whatever their other faults, lizard skins avoided sexual contact with children of any race, not just their own. He still would have used Kiji to torment Chloe in other ways however, if he knew how much her sister mattered to her. Chloe was certain of it.

He’d developed a sort of obsession with Chloe since he bought her.

Because of that obsession, Chloe didn’t expect to live a very long life.

Her only hope now was that Kiji might do better. Kiji was young enough that she still might find a way out. She might find some way to make herself useful to the Nirreth that didn’t involve sex––before something truly bad happened to her.

Not all Nirreth slaves were miserable. Many had families, friends, a community to which they belonged. If she got a decent owner, Kiji might even have a
good
life.

They even had a female Rings fighter now.

The idea of a human female in the Rings had taken hold of Nirreth society of late––Chloe had heard about little else for the past two months during Agnon’s lizard-skin parties. The topic had risen to a fever pitch this week, with the first live match approaching on Saturday.

They would want a female fighter to be tough and pretty, Chloe knew.

She hoped maybe Kiji could catch the eye of some Nirreth rich enough to want to groom her for that role. If Kiji learned enough fighting skills before she came of age, Chloe could maybe find a way to get the word out through Agnon’s friends.

Chloe knew that life as a Rings fighter would be difficult for Kiji. Yet, such a life would have significant benefits attached to it, as well––benefits that might vastly outweigh those risks.

Chloe was also a realist. Already, Kiji was far too pretty. It wouldn’t be easy for her to avoid becoming a house slave, not once she got old enough. The Rings might be one of the few options left where Kiji’s looks could be a real asset.

Rings fighters were too valuable to abuse.

From what Chloe knew, they were too valuable to rape, as well.

Kiji would not have this life,
she promised herself.

Chloe would endure this so Kiji didn’t have to.

She reached the gate between the pen walls and the walkway where the two Nirreth stood. Barely hesitating, she stepped carefully over the metal grid that lay over the threshold and came to a stop on the other side, waiting.

At that point she still hadn’t spared much attention for Agnon’s big-shot friend.

“I know you prefer those wiry skags, Trazen,” Agnon was saying to the other Nirreth, still leaning on him and grinning like a jackass as he spoke in that loud voice. “…This one is Green Zone, born and bred. I don’t think she’s even
been
outside the dome. But look at her, will you? She’s like sex on a stick.” He let out a Nirreth chuckle, grinning at her as he lashed his tail suggestively. “Half my staff’s had her…I think they’d take her every night if I let them,” he added, laughing again.

Only then did Chloe find herself looking at Agnon’s friend.

Part of what caused her to turn was his silence.

Unlike the other Nirreth Agnon dragged down here, Agnon’s new friend didn’t cackle along with his stupidity or add any of his own. He didn’t say anything, not even to fill the silence after Agnon spoke. When Chloe studied his face and characteristically dark Nirreth eyes, he didn’t look drunk, or bored. He stared back at her appraisingly, his gaze sharp, clear––and nearly unreadable despite that clarity.

His black eyes were flecked with some lighter color, she noticed––what might have been amber or gold. It was difficult to tell precisely under the sickly-green tint of the flickering pen lights.

All Nirreth had dark, nearly black eyes. A few had dark brown or blue eyes. She’d once seen one with eyes such a dark green that the tint could only be seen in direct sunlight. A few also had eyes patterned like this one. Those were even more rare.

This Nirreth’s eyes and his stillness got her attention enough that she found herself looking at the rest of him.

For a Nirreth, he was almost... pretty.

Hard muscles shone on his arms below the sleeves of his Nirreth-tailored shirt, which fit him tightly across the chest to taper in a near triangle to his narrow hips and waist. He looked like an athlete, maybe a boxer or even a field soldier. As was the style with Nirreth males, he wore form-fitting pants under the long shirt, the latter falling to the middle of his upper thighs. A heavier black cloth wrapped around his head, the knotted ends of which hung down his back like a ponytail. He wasn’t very adorned for a Nirreth…no jewelry at all that she could see.

He wasn’t with a companion then, at least not a regular one.

In addition to rings and bracelets and other jewelry worn purely as decoration, Nirreth with companions wore stone pendants around their necks. The more serious of those companions lived in their Nirreth’s homes, often sharing their beds.