The Rain: The End, Marietta Standlee [year 7 reading list TXT] 📗

body are sprayed with Ryan's blood, parts of bone, and brain. I barely manage to close my eyes to not get any of that mess in them.

He slowly tilts to the left, and with what little movement I can muster, I buck again, and he rolls completely off me, falling to the ground with a thud.

"No, man, that wasn't the deal." I hear Jason's frightened voice before another shot loudly reverberates throughout the room.

I can't see my savior, but I feel a wave of gratefulness before another; a computerized voice speaks out, making my blood freeze. "Your usefulness expired."

"Ka!" I call out.

And then he comes into my field of vision. He has changed, he's all decked out in finery, and when he grins his alien smirk at me, I notice his teeth have not only been tattooed but are set with gems like the others of his race seem to prefer.

"Ah good, you seem no worse for the wear. Sorry about the way we got you here." He rubs his ear the way I know him to do.

"What is all this about, Ka?" I ask with trepidation.

"It wasn't easy to get you here. But those two minions worked pretty well." He nods towards where I assume Ryan's and Jason's bodies lie.

"You freed them?" I ask incredulously.

"Not me personally, no, but I have friends." He laughs his cackling laugh, which is now making the hairs on my arm stand up. "Humans are so easily paid off and are always ready to kill each other."

My head pounds and my ears still ring from the shots fired as I take in the alien who used to be my friend. "How did you get them off the ship?" I ask stunned.

"Oh, that?" He makes a waving motion with his hand. "That was the easy part. After bribing the guards, all the morons had to do was jump overboard. The guards gave them locators, and one of my spaceships picked them up."

I still have a hard time comprehending what is happening here. "But why?"

"Because I knew they would find a way to get to you," he states simply.

I remember then, how I had sensed somebody watching me these last few days. I'm sure now it was Ryan and Jason who did that. They were spying on us, trying to figure out the best way to get to us. And Colin. Oh God, Colin!

The pain in my chest is unbearable, and hot tears well up in my eyes as I remember the growing bloodstain on his chest. There is no way he survived that.

"Don't cry; it's not that bad," Ka says.

I lift my head as best I can and spit into his face. "They killed Colin!"

He wipes the spit off his face and shrugs his shoulders. "Couldn't stand that human anyway."

I just want to curl up into a ball and die, but even that is denied to me due to the metallic cuffs holding me mercilessly in place. I start to notice the walls, the way they seem to vibrate and realize I'm either on a space station or one of the three planets. They must have given me something after they tazered me, to put me out for a while.

"I'm so sorry you got hurt. I should have come sooner." Ka continues as if nothing happened.

He pets my hair, and I try unsuccessfully to move my head out of his reach.

"Why?" I choke out.

"I told you, we would create great offspring. Since you were not willing, I had to resort to force." He informs me.

Nausea once again wells up inside me, and I use all my willpower to keep the rising bile down. "I don't understand Ka, you rescued me and the others; what happened to you?"

"It was the only way to make sure I'd get a place on the Council. It had to be big and elaborate. My father and I've been working on it for years."

"But your father's company took a hit." I still don't understand, and at least this conversation is distracting me from thinking about Colin.

"Yes, but it'll gain more, much more. Sometimes you have to take a step back in order to go forward. And me being on the Council was always our number one priority. Everything else… you, the way the other women can carry our children, the flower, all icing on the cake as you humans say."

"So, you were looking for fame?" I ask incredulously.

He shakes his head and rubs his ear again. "No, silly. Power. It's hard to cheat our system the way it's set up, but as a Council member, especially as an appointed one, I wield a lot of influence. For years to come. I'll be one of the few who ever served two terms as a Councilmember since my mentor abdicated. And after that, I'll be President, and by then, our company will have grown to so much power that nobody will be able to stop us. The army will be mine!"

I wish I could say he lost his mind, but I see the calculating look in his eyes, the hunger for power and prestige, and I know his words are true. Billions of people died to raise Ka to his current position. And why? Just for power? Money?

Colin. Again, a wave of despair hits me. Colin is dead because of him. The anger starts to rise inside me, my blood is beginning to warm up. I can feel my whole body vibrate with hate for this creature, for his kind. One thought fuels me. Vengeance!

"I'll kill you." I snarl between clenched teeth.

"I know you'll try," he states severely. "That's why I'll keep you tied down until you give birth. After that, unfortunately, I'll have to dispose of you."

He actually looks sad and puts his despicable fingers with their tentacles on my face and caresses it. "I wish it could be different, but I know you'll never forgive me, so I'll enjoy our time together and, after that, our child."

I look at him disbelievingly.