Hide to Stay Alive (Club Release 1) Read online

  Eventually, the rumbling of my stomach lets me know hours have passed. The birds are still chatting so I feel confident enough to come out of the decayed tree trunk. The sun is riding low in the sky. Not a cloud in sight—normal or strange. This eases my frayed nerves.

  At the demand of my belly, I pull out a few pecans and crack them open with my rocks. I look around as I eat my meal. The grove is such a lovely place. The smell of plants and a hint of water fills my lungs. I long to stay here forever.

  Deep down I know that isn’t logical. This place is too good to stay vacant for long. I pat Backpack. “Do you think we could dig out some kind of underground shelter that no other human’s will ever be able to find?” I hear the faint trickle of water in the distance. The sound intensifies my longing to stay here. “I wish we could.” Backpack doesn’t answer, but I know she would love to stay here too.

  After eating a couple more pecans, I start feeling tired. “We’ll just rest for a bit then we’ll head back to our safe spot.”

  With a full stomach, I curl up on the soft grass and put my head on my ever silent best friend.

  Life is good.

  ♥ ♥ ♥

  Splat, splat, splat…

  Water hitting my face wakes me up. Every muscle in my body stiffens. I jerk my eyes open looking for the threat. Only a human tossing water on me could cause water to hit me in the face.

  Nobody is around. What the…

  More water drips down on me. Stunned, I look up.

  Rain!

  “Look at that, Backpack! It’s raining. We haven’t seen rain in a long time.”

  The thrill of seeing water falling from the sky overwhelms me. I jump to my feet and run out from under the cover of the trees. I love the feel of raindrops hitting my body. After dancing around in the glorious wetness, I laugh out loud and look up into the morning sky.

  A chill snakes up my spine. That strange cloud is back. As the hairs on my arms stand at attention, I take off running for cover under the trees. I hear a whooshing sound and look over my shoulder.

  Oh, shit! Something came from the sky and hit earth.

  Not wanting any radiation burns or shrapnel from an explosion or some other harmful thing getting me, I run as though a hungry lion is after me. In no time at all my legs are burning and my breath is sawing through my lungs. Pushing through the pain, I run on.

  I glance back and to my horror, I see an alien coming after me. The thing could also be a fucked up animal that’s insane because it just got hit by whatever came from the sky. I’m too scared to care which one it is. I just need to get away from it.

  Fear squeezes my chest. I’ve heard stories about aliens coming to Earth, but I thought they were just stories.

  I speed up or at least it feels like I’m going faster. Deep down I hope I am. I have to get away from the creature that’s chasing me. I dart around the next tree and start zigzagging through the trees just as I was taught. This time when I glance back, I don’t see the beast anymore.

  Looks like my training has once again paid off.

  I know better than to stop. I keep running even though my thighs are screaming. Looking for a place to hide is my top priority. As I run for my life nothing seems safe enough. My heart is beating so hard I fear it’s going to pound its way out of my ribcage. I can’t stop. I was taught to never give up. Life is important.

  With my heartbeat hammering through my ears, I whisper, “Hide to stay alive.” The words give me a measure of comfort.

  I glance back and just catch movement rounding a tree. Fuck! The beast is still trailing me. My gaze darts around wildly. I try to calm down enough to think. The trembling of my legs lets me know I can’t continue at this pace for much longer. It’s hide or die time.

  Not looking back, I dart around another tree and see a hallowed out trunk up ahead. Using the gushing adrenaline that’s pounding through my veins, I push myself harder. If I can make it to the tree before my pursuer catches sight of me again, I just might survive this without injury. Fear drives me on. It keeps me going like nothing else can.

  Taking a chance, I look over my shoulder and don’t see the thing following me. Hope flares through my chest as I near the hollowed out tree. As I jump into the hollow trunk I feel a sting in my thigh. Ignoring the slight pain, I continue to scrunch down into my hiding spot. My breathing is coming out in harsh gasps. Knowing I have to be quiet, I place my hand over my mouth and focus on breathing in a shallow quiet way.

  A strange feeling in my leg has me looking down. Black dots start to form before my eyes. I shake my head and try to focus my gaze on my leg. Shock storms through me as I realize I’ve been shot.

  The tranquilizer dart hanging from my leg proves I wasn’t fast enough. As my stomach sours and blackness fills my world, I whisper, “Looks like I failed, Backpack.”

  CHAPTER

  3

  ~ Hallie ~

  ♥

  The scent of piss and dirty bodies has me jerking awake.

  I sit up. My stomach sours when I realize I’m in a filthy cage with a big lock on it. I look cautiously around and see a woman in the cage next to mine and one in the next cage over.

  Tears threaten to slip from my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. Crying won’t save your life. My father taught me that too. Right now is the second time in my life that I wish crying could make everything all right.

  Buck up, Hallie Mead, I mentally admonished myself. I scoot closer to the thick wire imprisoning me. The woman laying down in the cage next to me isn’t moving at all. I press my face closer to the wire and whisper, “Are you awake?”

  The woman in the last cage whips her head around and stares at me with cold blue eyes. “She’s not awake, idiot. Do you see her moving or hear her crying?”

  I rear back as if slapped. Mental note to self, ignore the bitch in the last cage. I look her over as best I can through the wire separating us. Satisfaction rises up in me. I’m pretty sure I can beat her in a race. If we get free, all I have to do is out run, Miss Nasty. Guilt prickles my conscience. It’s not nice to wish ill upon others.

  A moan comes from the woman in the cage next to me. I shift and when I do my hand touches something wet. I look down. Through the dingy light, I see a puddle that appears to have a slight yellow color.

  No!

  My hand trembles as I bring it as close to my nose as I dare. I gag when the scent of stale urine slaps my nose. Crude laughter comes from Miss Nasty. I look around and see pee and poop at the back of the cage I’m in. The pee has traveled down to where I am. Franticly looking around, I see that one spot in the cage has an excrement-free zone.

  I wipe my hand along the wires at the side of the cage trying to get some of the pee off. When that doesn’t totally work, I wipe my hand on the bottom of my pants leg. After getting as clean as I can, I ease myself into the clear spot and blow out a sigh of relief.

  If my faithful backpack had been with me, I would have had a change of clothes and a lot of extra food. Sorrow for the loss of my best friend floods my chest and once again I feel like crying. Blinking my eyes, I will the tears away.

  As the stink in the air envelopes me, I know that Backpack is better off where she is. The cotton she is made of would have absorbed the bad smells and been permanently damaged. At least this way, she has a chance of being found by someone else who will take good care of her.

  The woman in the cage next to me stirs and then moans before she sits up and looks around. She pushes her messy blonde hair out of her face. I figure my own light brown strands must look terrible.

  “Where are we?” she asks in a scratchy voice.

  “In Hell, don’t you recognize it?” Miss Nasty answers staying true to form.

  I frown at the mean woman and then look at the confused female. “I think we are on a craft of some sort, but we could just be in a dungeon. Either way, we’re in deep shit.”

  Miss Nasty sighs long-sufferingly as if she’s surrounded by idiots. “We are on a spacecr
aft that left Earth a day ago. You two had the good fortune to be knocked out all this time.”

  My stomach tries to crawl up my windpipe and then suddenly drops as if weighted down by a heavy stone. I wish I’d paid more attention to the people telling their stories about alien sightings.

  The woman in the cage next to mine asks, “How do you know we’re on a spacecraft and that we left Earth?”

  “Because I was taken from my bed by an alien and then brought here and thrown into this stinking cage. Unlike you two, I saw the craft we’re on. It’s just as dirty on the outside as it is on the inside.” Miss Nasty’s tone is sharp as though she doesn’t like having to tell us anything. As though she’s better than us.

  I hate people who think they are better than me. Given the chance, I will definitely out run her. I smile as I picture her and the aliens eating my dust.

  We all sit in silence for a long time. Then the female in the cage next to mine asks, “What do our captors look like?”

  Miss Nasty laughs. It’s an ugly sound. “They’re the ugliest creatures you can imagine. You’ll see what I mean when they come for us.”

  That was not informative at all. I’d like to know specifics but know that the bitch in the last cage is not going to relieve our nervous curiosity at all.

  The female in the cage next to mine asks another question. “What exactly do they look like?”

  Miss Nasty snorts unpleasantly. “You’ll see.”

  Once again the female in the cage next to mine asks a question. “Would you stop playing with us and tell us what they look like? It’s cruel to make us wonder.”

  Laughter comes from Miss Nasty. “You’ll see soon enough.”

  Yep, it’s official, Miss Nasty is purely a bitch through and through.

  The female in the cage next to mine looks at me. Her big brown eyes have flecks of blue in them. Right now they are filled with fear. “Did you get to see them at all?”

  “Not well enough to describe them. I was too busy running for my life.” I shudder as I remember being chased by the alien. “The one that was after me didn’t seem to be very tall but it was wide as though it were strong.” I close my eyes trying to remember more. “I believe its face was skinny.”

  “That’s more than I know. The last thing I remember is going to sleep under a tree and then waking up here.”

  The bottom wires of the cage start to dig into my ass so I shift. Needing a distraction I say, “That could be a good thing. At least you don’t have to live with the remembrance of being chased. What’s your name?”

  “Megan Blaker. What’s yours?”

  “Hallie Mead.”

  Megan turns to Miss Nasty. “What’s your name?”

  Miss Nasty rolls her eyes. “Not that it’s any of your business but since we don’t have anything else to do but talk and wait, my name is Gayle Balwin.”

  “It’s nice to meet both of you,” Megan says politely.

  Gayle snorts. “I don’t think so, idiot. Look around.” Miss Nasty gestures to our surroundings. “We are not at some kind of party.”

  Megan frowns. “You don’t have to be so ugly, Gayle. We are not animals.”

  Once again Miss Nasty snorts. The sound is not a pretty or comforting one by any means. “To the aliens we are. Wake up, dumbass. Our lives are over. We don’t have to be polite anymore. It’s not going to get us out of this situation.” Gayle tosses her head sending her brown hair flying.

  Megan stiffens. “Maybe not but you don’t have to be so rude and nasty.”

  I silently agree with Megan. We are in deep shit but that’s no reason to turn on each other. An eerie quiet settles over us as we each wait to see what will happen next.

  Hours pass by without anyone coming to check on us. My nerves are stretched taut and feel as though they could snap at any moment. Why haven’t the aliens come to look in on us? Do I want them to check on us? Probably not. A moment later, I realize that I don’t want them to come in here at all. What if they want to do experiments on us? I shudder at the thought.

  Megan’s stomach rumbles and mine echoes the sentiment.

  Megan turns to Miss Nasty. “Did they bring you any food yesterday?”

  “No. It looks like they aren’t going to today either.”

  I pull a few pecans out of my pocket. “I have some pecans.”

  Megan whips around and looks at me hopefully. “Can I have a couple?”

  “Yes.” I pass her two and then look over at Gayle. “Would you like a couple?”

  She snorts gruffly. “How would I crack them? Do you see any rocks in our cages?”

  Her sarcasm pisses me off. “With your teeth, dumbass.” God, had Miss Nasty been hand fed all her miserable life?

  “I’m not dumb, you idiot. I just don’t want to crack my teeth. How could I eat the pecans without my teeth?” Miss Nasty rolls her eyes again.

  I’m really starting to hate her. “Fine, starve.”

  Gayle snorts again. “We are important to the aliens. Surely they will feed us soon. There is no way they are going to let us die. I’ll wait.”

  I shrug and crack a pecan with my teeth. Megan is already eating one of her pecans. She moans and gives me the thumbs up sign. I smile and nod at her. These are truly some of the best pecans I’ve ever had. It looks like Megan feels the same way.

  Hours pass and my eyes start to droop. I’m determined to stay awake. I want to see these bastards coming. In my experience surprises are usually not good. In this stinking craft I’m sure all surprises are bad.

  Staying awake is my top priority. I must succeed.

  CHAPTER

  4

  ~ Hallie ~

  ♥

  I startle awake as I fall over. Pain rips through my head and shoulder as I hit the wire and the hard floor my cage is sitting on. I rub my head but don’t have the strength to sit back up. Within minutes I doze off again.

  Pain flaring through my head, shoulder, and hip causes me to wake up. In the dimly lit room, I’m not sure if it’s day or night. I sit up and rub my aching head and shoulder. I wish the cage was tall enough for me to stand up but it’s not.

  The need to pee hits me hard. I try to ignore it. Looking around my drab environment, I guess we are in a cargo hold. There are crates to the right of me. The stink in the room is ever present. With a heavy heart, I wonder what has happened to the people that once inhabited the cages we are now forced to stay in. Are they still alive? Do they wish for death? Are they happy?

  My bladder screams for relief. I squeeze my thighs together in an attempt at stemming the need to go. It doesn’t work for long. I tap my bare foot on the cage but that doesn’t distract me for long either. I force myself to think of other things.

  Looking at my feet, I realize that I don’t have my only pair of shoes. Backpack, is still holding them for me. Sadness washes over me at the thought of never being able to see my only friend ever again.

  I wallow in pity for quite some time. Then the need to pee hits harder than ever. Fuck!

  I look over and see that both of my companions are awake. They are staring at nothing. My guess is that they are sinking deeper into hunger, exhaustion, and depression. Much like myself.

  Unable to hold out any longer I lean back, unbutton my pants, and then raise up enough to slide my pants down over my hips. As I’m inching back to the corner where past people had relieved themselves both of my unwilling companions look my way. Heat sears my checks.