Pet - Chapter 2 (Patreon)

The sound of trickling water fills the room. The only sound that is being made. The being sits in a seat, across from the tub as the servants clean his newest toy. He doesn’t look up once as they clean her until he finishes with his calculations. He sets down the thin screen on the table and stands to gaze upon his newest prize.

He moves across the room with such catlike grace, even if he hadn’t announced the arrival of his race so terrifyingly, any human would have been able to figure he isn’t human. His movements are too fluid. The servants immediately stop what they’re doing, stepping away quietly. He briefly glances at the inhibitors around their necks.

He stands over the frail human's naked form, her body still submerged in water up to her face which is barely above the liquid. She was filthy when he found her. Covered in dirt and grime, blood caked on her, and clothes that were the color of the ground around her. Even the pungent smell that radiated off of her was disheartening.

It’s taken a good and long soaking, and excessive scrubbing, but her skin finally peaked through the dirt, and the smell was gone. They even had to cut 2 inches of her hair due to its damage. So now her hair rests barely at her shoulders. The water causes the texture to tighten into ringlets. It’s a curious thing.

She is not servant material whatsoever. If anything, he should have placed an inhibitor on her so that she won’t be an issue at all. But she is strong. A strong soul, and a strong spirit. And if there is one thing he enjoys most in this world, it’s breaking those that believe themselves to be strong. People will talk due to the lack of an inhibitor, but it won’t matter. He is the highest-ranking in his society. So all that is all they do. Talk.

He can see the bones as they jut out of her body, due to lack of food. She is too skinny, making some of her features harsher than they should be. Her hands are rough and callused from fighting to survive. After a few weeks of regular feeding, and treatment, he’ll have her just how he likes his slaves. Except she won’t be a slave to him. More like something he likes to keep around for fun. Joy. Something he takes care of and expects to obey his every whim because she knows he owns her now.

He smiles to himself. Not a slave, but he knows the earth term for it.

“Pet.”

Iris

Something lightly tickles my nose. I scrunch my face, lightly swiping it, and rolling over into the soft material under me, just in time to feel that tickle on the rim of my ear. I try and sink deeper into the warm...

My eyes fly open as I register the unfamiliar textures around me. I try not to move much, but I’m in a bed. A large, circular bed. The material under me is so soft, I feel as though I’m going to sink into the floor. I can only see one side of the room from my position, and the wall I’m facing is dark. In fact, the whole room is dark except for the ceiling which is a very realistic-looking starry night sky. The tickling continues, and I realize it’s cool air.

I try and rack my brain for my memories, but they are very muddled. The last thing I remember is walking back to town, and finding it up in flames. Everything from there is just images. A boy, A bloody man, rubble and fires. Panic is setting in as the images get more rapid and vivid, my memories clearing up with each passing second. Tears are forming as everything comes back to me, Margo, the rubble, everyone else was still missing.

“I see you’re awake.” Just as I remember the last even before my forced slumber, the very cause shocks me out of my thoughts. I sit up quickly, a loud scream leaving my lips. The man, or being is standing in the doorway of the room. I vaguely take note of the hallway before he steps into the room, causing the door to appear. And I do mean appear. There is no automatic door that miraculously slides into place, he didn’t even use his hands to close the door. As soon as he steps into the room, it appears out of nowhere.

He’s wearing a black top without sleeves, and I am able to see the thick muscle that is his arms. I take in his face, trying to force myself that this man exists, but it’s really hard. He is the epitome of perfection. As if a group of horny women gathered in a room and genetically created him to fit every aspect that they could possibly want. Right down to the unusual hue of his hair that falls down his back.

My heart rate involuntarily speeds up as he gets closer to me. Crushing fear grapples at my nerves.

“Stop!” I scream. I don’t know why I scream stop of all things. Maybe I just want it all to stop. The emotions, the memories, the fear. All of it. I open my eyes, not even realizing I had closed them, and to my shock, he’s already here. Sitting inches away from me at the edge of the bed.

The way he looks at me is terrifying. There is no expression on his face, but I can tell that he’s thinking something. I can tell there is so much to his mind that I couldn’t possibly begin to understand.

“What are you called.” His voice rings out and I once again have to stop myself from closing my eyes just to take in the sound. I take a few deep breaths trying to steady myself before answering.

“Where are my friends,” I ask. My voice comes out surprisingly strong, and I’m proud of myself at that moment. For the first time since I’ve met this being, his face changes. A small change. He raises his eyebrow at me, and the corner of his mouth turns up slightly.

“I don’t like repeating myself,” he says. Even though his face shines amusement, his voice makes me want to crawl under the covers and cower in fear. Gone is that soothing charm. Now there is nothing but cold. There’s also something sinister about his gaze. As if he’s waiting for me to challenge him. He’s craving it.

“Iris,” I say. He scoffs at me.

“I see you possess some sense of intelligence.” He stands and walks across the room, to a drawer pulling it open.

“Which is saying a lot since you were about to attack one of my men.” I vaguely take note of the fact that he said “men”. So they were human?

“Where are my girls?” I say a little stronger this time. He is coming towards me with fabric in his hands.

“Dead. Most of them are anyway. There were 3 that were taken by others,” he says so simply as if he hadn’t crushed my spirits in the span of 3 seconds. I look up through my tears.

“H-how do you know they’re my girls,” I say. He didn’t even know my name. And for all I know, he could be talking about someone else. Anyone else. There were plenty of groups in the blight. How does he know who specifically was a part of my group?

“They were the only group of females that attacked us stupidly. Even though most were young, they were reckless. Like you.” He opens the fabric, placing it on the edge of the bed revealing a dress. It’s black with white trim.

“Also, I had been watching you since you spent 45 minutes pulling at the heavy boulders that crushed some of them.” My heart stops. He’d been watching me since then, and I didn’t even know it.

“Put this on,” he says motioning to the dress. I look down at my body and notice that I’m in a strange-looking top that only covers my breasts and underwear. I grab the dress, and slowly stand out of the bed, to put it on. His gaze never wavers as he watches me with those strangely colored eyes. I even notice the blue flecks burning a brighter tone. I pull the dress over my head, feeling slightly squeamish at the unfamiliar texture that tickles my skin.

He stands, walking towards the door.

“Come,” Is all he says. So I follow behind him, feeling a deep pit of despair.

Just as it did when he came in, the door disappears into thin air upon our approach. We’re walking down a hallway, completely of glass except for the white carpet beneath my feet. I look out the glass window, but I can barely see anything other than the clouds that blow gently against the glass. Which means it's really foggy, or we’re really high up. The man walks in front of me, not even bothering to look back.

“Why did you bring me here,” I say. He ignores me though and keeps walking. I literally have to pull out a light jog to keep up with his pace. We reach the end of the hallway, and a door opens, revealing a small, square room. He steps in, facing me as if expecting me to do the same.

I gaze at him like he’s crazy.

“Don’t make me have to force you in here,” he growls. I immediately hasten my steps and stand in the room with him. The door slides closed, and a sudden dip in my stomach tells me we’re moving downwards. It’s scary being this close to this being and knowing absolutely nothing about him. Not his name, who he is, what he is, or even why I’m here. But I try and keep a brave face. Because the last thing I want is to show him weakness. I can tell by his last reaction, he likes it when I show fear. He also wants a chance to do something horrible to me. Each time I hesitate, he gets this look in his eye. And it’s scary.

The room we’re in stops moving and the door opens revealing a whole new hallway, though it isn’t a hallway. It’s more like a grand hall. I look around in awe at the beauty around me. I’ve never seen anything like it. The being steps around me and continues to walk obviously not expecting me to follow. We walk a long way until we finally reach a room. It’s a large room, with a long table and chairs on either side. He walks around motioning for me to take a seat in one of the chairs.

I slowly sit down eyeing him untrustingly, and he doesn’t speak another word. Out of nowhere plates of food are being set in front of me. I look up startled and see that the plates are being carried in by more humans. My eyes widen, and when I look to my left the being isn’t there anymore. I quickly whisper to the nearest woman.

“Please, you have to help m-” She doesn’t even look my way. Her eyes are trained ahead, and dull. As I gaze into her eyes, I can see that her pupils are dilated. The blacks causing the blue to be a small ring on the outer edge of the eye.

She walks away, without even glancing in my direction. Another woman walks towards me so I try with her, but she does the same thing. But I’m desperate. So I grab onto her arm.

“Please listen t-”

“She can’t hear you.” I jump, letting go of the woman and her dull expression doesn’t falter as she walks away. I look at the being in shock. I hadn’t even heard him enter the room. His gaze wanders slowly from me to the left, and out of nowhere, another woman appears. He grabs her roughly, exposing her throat.

“They have inhibitors. They can only do as I say. What I program them to do,” he says with a cruel smile. He pushes back the hair from her temple, and I can see it. The silver dot is placed directly on her temple. My large gasp fills the room as I stare in horror. She is literally a slave. All of them are. Their free will is taken away by this monster in front of me.

“Why am I here?” I all but shout. He lets go of the woman, and she simply walks away with a blank expression. Fear is blooming deep in my chest, but I try my best not to show it. I can’t show him he scares me. He’ll feed off of that.

He pushes off the edge of the table he was leaning on and takes slow and deliberate steps towards me. His smile is painfully beautiful but utterly terrifying. It’s literally inhuman. He’s standing directly in front of me now, and he leans in, pushing my hair behind my ear. I’m gripping the table with all my might, trying to channel my fear elsewhere.

“Right now, to eat,” he says simply. My breathing catches, and I blink trying to figure out if he’s serious or not. But when he reaches to the right and pulls a plate directly in front of me, I see that he is serious.

He reaches out, grasping my cheeks in between his fingers and squeezing so hard, he causes a whimper to escape me.

“Do try your best to outsmart me. I haven’t had a challenge in years. I’m looking forward to the one you’ll put forth,” he smiles. At this close proximity, I am in full-blown panic mode. Call it my natural-born survival instinct, but this creature is a predator, and I’m the prey. And every single nerve inside of me can sense that.

His gaze roams over me for how long, I don’t know. But he finally lets out a soft laugh and steps away from me.

“I expect that food to be gone once I return.” He calls over his shoulder. He walks to the door, and just like it did in the room, it disappears. The room is silent. I look around and there are servants in each corner, but they aren’t even watching me. Their gaze is blank. Unfeeling and emotionless. I push back from the chair, heading straight for the door he just disappeared through. Maybe it’s just some kind of visual trick, and maybe the door doesn’t even exist.

I get to the door and run right smack into it.

“Ow.” My groan of pain fills the room just as I land on my butt. I look around me, but the servants still haven’t moved. So I stretch up on my knees, pressing my fingers lightly against the door. It’s solid. There is no doorknob either. How is that possible?

I stand to look around the room. The floor is a glossy texture, but it’s black. And so are the walls. Yet there is a warm glow illuminating the room. My gaze wanders to the long table made of glass, and all the chairs surrounding it. What is this place? And who is this being that has me here? And why?

I trudge back to my seat at the table as all of these questions play at me. As I take a seat and take in all the food before me, I feel anger. All of this food, yet we could find none in the blight. I choke on a sob.

All of us. Either dead or some enslaved. And he won’t even tell me who. Or where they went. He only does as he pleases. Margo’s lifeless face flashes across my mind. She’s gone. All of them are gone. I will probably never see them again, and that devastates me. They were the only family I knew. I barely remember my family.

I immediately reach up, feeling around my throat. Terror grips at me. It’s gone. My necklace is gone.

I sit on the edge of the bed, waiting for the being's return. A servant brought me back to the room, and since I have been waiting for his return to confront him about everything, including where the hell my necklace is. I refuse to let him walk all over me and intimidate me like he has been.

The door disappears, and I stand from my spot on the bed. I pull my shoulders back and tilt my head. Showing him I’m not scared. Even though on the inside, I’m terrified.

His eyes find me immediately and he takes in my stance, the only indication that he’s acknowledged it is the small twitch of the corner of his mouth.

“Where is it,” I say. He doesn’t respond.

“Where is my necklace!” I shout. My voice comes out strong even though I am feeling scared.

“It’s not your necklace anymore,” he says simply, walking away from me. My feet are moving before I can think, and as I get closer to him, I reach out to yank the thick ponytail down his back. In one instant, I am reaching for his hair, and in the next, I am locked against the wall, with my arm clasped tightly in his grasp.

The world around me shakes and a wave of horrible nausea washes over me. I squeeze my eyes shut trying to calm my nerves. I feel as though my skin is on fire where he has me in his grasp. He’s gazing at me with excitement, and it terrifies me.

“Reckless,” he says. My breathing is coming out in shallow pants from the panic I feel. He squeezes my wrist, and I flinch from the pain.

“Just like the rest of your race.” He brings his other hand up, and places it against my chest, right over my heart. He laughs.

“Do you feel that? I know you fear me. I know your body senses the danger that I give. Yet you ignore your biological chemistry and attack me anyway. With no weapon, or skill, or even a simple battle plan.”

“Do you know what my purpose for today is?” He raises a brow at me. I shake my head vigorously just wanting him to let me go.

“I wanted to give you a sense of depth. To see how smart you would be, and how reckless as well. But you have given me everything I need to know about you. So I think that it is time to give you a brief lesson.” He drops me, and I immediately cradle my wrist. There is already a bruise forming from his tight grip.

He takes a seat across the room, and motions for me to follow him. I eye him hesitantly, but I see his irises flash dangerously.

“Don’t make me have to tell you.” He growls. I make my way over to him, and he grabs me forcing me on his lap.

“I am a Leviathan. We came to this planet, to conquer it and add it to our empire. Compared to all the others, you are a very primitive species. Do you want to know your weakness as a race?” He begins to play with the front of my dress. Chills already begin to break out across my skin.

“You are selfish. Instead of banning together, you close off borders, play the blame game on who caused this, even when the first crew discovered our planet, instead of your superiors telling you about it, they kept it to themselves.” His odd gaze travels up to my face.

“But you are probably curious as to why you are here. Correct?” I timidly nod my head. He smiles, his finger playing with a curled strand.

“You are here because I am bored. My time on this planet is far from over. And I need something to keep me... entertained. When we destroyed your little... city... no one tried to fight. They all ran. Some even baiting their own to get away. But your little group of weak females stood up to us. Now some of them, didn’t make it. While some caught the eye of others. Yet none of them appealed to me. I knew that they were fighting for each other. Which is admirable. But when I saw you about to attack someone you know nothing about, to save the life of a stranger.” He laughs in disbelief.

“It’s something I haven’t seen since I’ve arrived at this planet.” He reaches out, tracing my cheeks.

“Even in your weakest state, you were willing to risk it all for someone you’ve never met. And I saw that you were strong.” He tilts his head, and I feel like he’s studying my very soul.

“Even now I can see that your spirit is not broken.” My eyes widen and fear coils deep within my belly as he speaks his next words.

“But I can’t wait to break it. Until you are nothing but a hollow former shell of yourself.”

I try and be brave.

“Why not just put an inhibitor on me. Then you won’t have to break me,” I say hoping he’ll take the bait. I’ve always been strong. And I can already see this foreign being wants to break me down. Maybe if he just puts an inhibitor on me, he won’t have to break me and I won’t have to go through the pain of it.

He laughs. A laugh that is low, and filled with amusement. Then he catches my eye, His purple gaze burning my soul.

“Now where would be the fun in that?”

I sit on the edge of the bed, trying to calm myself. One month. He’s going to be gone for one month. He expects me to fill out my form and look the way I should if I weren’t half-starved in the time that he’s gone.

I smile to myself. He’s left me alone in this place with brainless slaves that can’t even hear me? He’s pretty much given me my escape. I’ll fill out alright. I’m going to make myself strong, and train myself in that month. Not to fight him hell no. But to escape before he returns.

I’m going to make him regret the decision to keep me against my will. His foolish decision to make me some kind of pet.