Chapter 1

The harsh shrill of the quarter hour whistle brought me back to reality like a crisp slap across my face. I was still in that horrid room with those horrid creatures awaiting a fate too horrid to imagine.

Horrid… was that the best I could do? This place was beyond horrid. It was so bad there was no description for how bad it was.

My mind was fuzzy.

I needed to focus.

Those creatures, what were they? They went beyond horrid to look at, horrid to be around, horrid to interact with. My brain would not function properly. I could come up with no word to equal what they were. I gave up. Horrid would have to suffice.

I smiled to myself. What did it matter what word I used to describe what was happening? Was it really that important? In the not too distant future I would become a nothing, a thing of the past. What I thought and the words I enunciated with would mean less than they already did.

“You smile human. Do you take pleasure in this?” said a deep surly voice.

My head shot up and I looked directly into the beady, yellow eyes of my scaly captor.

“Does it matter?” I slurred boldly.

“Not in the least,” the lizard beast muttered as it moved away to inspect a woman to my left.

“I thought not,” I mumbled as my chin fell back to my chest.

“Silence,” a deep masculine voice from the back of the room roared. “I will have silence!”

I could have been defiant and said something else just to irritate them. After all, I was a dead woman soon enough. What could they possibly do to me for breaking their precious code of silence that they weren’t already going to do anyway? But, I didn’t. My brain thought it, but my tongue stayed immobile. Also, something deep inside my feeble brain shouted for me to shut up and behave myself and I just might get out of this thing alive. Imagine that? I knew it was a fairy tale wish, but I obeyed the command and kept quiet anyway. Maybe somewhere in the recesses of my mind I was holding out for a miracle.

My long, bony arms had been trussed over my head for so long I could barely feel them. The numbness was traveling down my back and into my equally bony legs. I looked around at my fellow captives. They made sense. Each one had enough meat on their bodies to feed these lizard beasts in fine fashion. If they dined on soup then perhaps I could understand their reason for including me in the mix, but from what I’d been able to decipher they only ate meat; and they ate it fresh and uncooked. My scrawny five-foot three-inch physique barely hit the one-hundred-pound mark on a scale while soaking wet.

I didn’t belong here.

But then, did any of us?

Another quarter hour whistle pierced the air. I felt the conveyor belt jolt as it slowly moved me to the left toward the dreaded room. How many were ahead of me? The great hall was long and filled with bodies. Where did they all come from? My eyes were blurred from whatever they’d injected into my neck a few whistles ago. It was a calming agent of some sort. Apparently the lizard beasts preferred their food not fight back. It was working. I reckoned that by the time I reached the end of the line I would be a drooling fool without a care in the world. Do with me what you will creep! I could give a damn!

Rough, scaly, and incredibly powerful hands started poking and pawing at my naked body. I was disgusted by the vile assault, but couldn’t even manage a flinch. Yep, the injection was definitely working.

“What is this doing here? Is this a prank?” the owner of the assaulting hands demanded with disgust. “Wumonan, I just asked you a question and I expect an answer. Why is this scrawny female here?”

“I… I ... She was here when I came on duty, boss,” replied a very worried lizard-like guard that I assumed was Wumonan.

“It never occurred to you to question her presence?” growled the one he called boss.

“Ahh… no boss, I did not think…” Wumonan began.

“That’s right, you did not think!” Boss interjected. “Had you used that tiny worthless brain of yours, you would have realized this female is far too inferior to be presented at our table. In fact, she is an insult to even the lowest Dragos table.”

My body swayed in response to his shove of disgust.

“Get her out of here,” he ordered.

“Yes boss,” Wumonan replied with a mixture of fear and respect in his voice.

Wumonan pulled my drugged body from the hook holding the rope that trussed my wrists together and flung me over his broad, reptilian shoulder as if I was nothing more than a sack of flour. My arms flapped against his thick, scaly back with each step that he took, but he seemed not to notice. I fought back the vomit as my face slammed into his abrasive leathery flesh. Not only was the sensation atrocious, but the stench was overwhelming. I had heard about the Dragos off and on while growing up, but always in a fairy tale. I recalled the stories stated they did not have an elimination system like humans. They eliminated waste through their skin. I now knew this to be true. My conveyor stunk in the worst way. He reeked of dirt, something that resembled sweaty urine, and blood. Having been raised near a farm in Upstate New York, I can tell you that I’ve been in pig pens that smelled better.

He took me to their garbage dump outside the eatery. I’m pretty sure I felt a rib or two snap when he dumped me unceremoniously onto a raunchy pile of human discard. As I lay amongst bones picked clean of flesh and smelling like blood mixed with vulgar creature saliva, my body purged whatever contents my stomach contained. When it was empty, I continued to heave. It was as if my on/off switch was broken.

By the time the wrenching subsided, I was overwhelmed by the accentuated pain in my ribs. The powerful contracting of my diaphragm as I purged and purged and purged intensified the damage from being tossed onto the pile of bones. I had no doubt at least one rib was broken, possibly two.

As much as I wanted to be free of the pile of human remains, the injection was taking hold full force. I was disoriented with virtually no motivation to move. I could feel the hollow darkness off in a distance calling; waiting to consume me. It was only a matter of time now. Although the substance they injected wasn’t lethal, I got the sense I would be out long enough to be buried alive when the next load of remains was dumped on top of me. With my slight frame, my weakened condition, and a broken ribcage, it was a pretty sure bet I would be trapped beneath the rubble. Instead of meeting my death as food for the Dragos, I was going to meet my death from those who had been their food.

How droll.

I decided I’d rather not be aware of my ultimate demise. I closed my eyes and willed the darkness to overtake me.

****

I was warm; cozy, in fact. I kept my eyes closed while I tested my limbs. They were functioning. I felt my rib cage. It was bandaged. Puzzled, I slowly raised my lids to view my surroundings. I found myself in what looked like a cave that was furnished with fairly lavish tapestry of red, green, and gold woven together to create what looked like a coat of arms. The flying dove with an olive branch led me to believe the owner was of a peace loving clan. Thick, lush carpeting from the orient was spread over the hard packed dirt floor. Strategically positioned on top of it were an ornate table and two chairs, one comfy looking overstuffed chair, and the bed I occupied.

Was I dreaming?

Had I died?

I’d heard when you die you select the era and time you’d like to play out eternity in. From what I could see, I’d gone back in time, but I had no clue how far back.

I inhaled deeply. The rich aroma of a thick stew made its way into my nostrils and my stomach reacted with a vengeance. I’d purged its contents in that pile of human remains and it demanded solace. Even the visual remembrance of that horrific place did not deter it from demanding its rightful due.

I looked around the room. Was I alone? Were angels going to come in to serve me?

Spirits maybe? I gasped in trepidation. I was in heaven, wasn’t I? My mind raced through my actions prior to my capture. I could think of nothing I had done that would have warranted my going to hell. Surely this was heaven. It just had to be.

The faint rustling outside the cave caught my attention. Since I was uncertain about everything right then, I decided it best to play possum. I had just enough time to close my eyelids far enough to appear asleep -while leaving them cracked open just enough to view the activity in the room from beneath my abnormally long, thick lashes- before he entered. I had all I could do not to gasp with admiration. That settled it! I was in heaven and some sort of god just entered the cave. His six-foot-tall, muscular physique moved with the power, grace, and presence of someone possessing an undeniable abundance of self-confidence. His feet practically glided when he walked. His lean, well-formed muscles rippled with each movement as he fed newly chopped wood to the embers of what had once been a roaring fire. Thick, dark hair framed his pale, aristocratic features as he fanned the fire until flames once again danced to his satisfaction. His perfectly formed mouth made me aware of my own thin, overly broad lips. I’d wager his mouth didn’t consume his face when he smiled like mine did. His only apparel was a pair of black leather pants that fit like a second skin. The rest of him -including his feet- was bare. I could have admired him all day. I’d never encountered so perfect a man.

But then, he wasn’t a man.

He was a god and I was in heaven.

I found heaven very different than what I’d expected it to be. There were no angels playing harps and singing as they floated by on clouds. I struggled to remember my early religious education. If memory served me correctly, heaven consisted of various levels. Perhaps I’d entered one that didn’t have angels in it. After all, they worked closely with the creator God. My deeds may not have been bad enough to force me into hell, but they were also surely not perfect enough to get me seated next to the creator of all. That was it. I was in one of the lower levels of heaven. It made sense. Didn’t I learn that in the lower spiritual realms they ate and drank and felt just like humans? Well, if that was the case, it was perfectly fine with me. That stew that my handsome god was stirring smelled delicious and my mouth was watering for a taste of it.

“You’re awake,” he said with his back still turned to me.

I cleared my throat and whispered, “Yes.”

“Don’t be concerned, your faculties will all return in no time,” he assured me as he bent down to fill a bowl with the delicious smelling fare.

His emerald green eyes touched mine and he flashed the most dazzling smile my way.

I was probably hallucinating, but I would have sworn his teeth sparkled like the actors in a gum commercial I’d seen on television. I squeezed my eyes shut briefly and gave him a renewed appraisal. Nope, I wasn’t hallucinating. His strong, well defined teeth were a brilliant white and glistening to the point they almost hurt my eyes. Had his flesh been darker, it would have made a hideous sight. As it so happened, his pale complexion blended naturally with his brilliant teeth, creating an alluring, almost irresistible effect.

“Are you a god?” I asked meekly.

His chuckle echoed through the cave as he said, “Hardly. It’s a nice thought though.”

“I am in heaven, right?” I urged.

“Heaven?” he said with a puzzled look. “You believe this to be heaven?”

He stood up and carried the much anticipated steaming bowl to me. I extended both hands to receive it and almost dropped it. A bit of hot broth spilled onto my leg. It was then that I realized I was still naked.

He watched me with interest as I struggled to maintain control of the precious bowl of stew while pulling a quilt that had been barely covering me over my nakedness as best I could.

“I’ve already seen everything you have to offer. I see no reason risking a serious burn for non-essential modesty. Please,” he gestured toward the stew, “enjoy and relax. If it makes you feel better, I promise I won’t look.”

With that, he left the cave.

“Are… are you coming back?” I called after him with a scratchy voice that could barely be defined as audible.

I cleared my throat multiple times in hopes of lubricating my vocal chords into working condition.

“Of course,” came his faint reply from the distance.

I noted how far away he’d gotten in a very short period of time. He’d moved abnormally fast.

With the stew commanding my attention, I gave my strange rescuer minimal thought as I dove into the most delicious fare I could recall ever eating. My stomach churned and hurt as I stuffed it, but I kept going. When my bowl was empty, I looked around to be sure I was alone before I slowly made my way to the boiling pot for a refill. I would probably regret it in the long run, but I didn’t care. The food was delicious and I had no idea when I’d be able to eat again. It was better to stuff my gut as full as I could and hope I was able to keep it all down.

I’d completed my second bowl when he returned wearing a smirk that made me want to slap him and kiss him at the same time. His emerald green eyes twinkled with what I took to be amusement as he stared at my empty bowl, but he said nothing as he extended his hand to take it from me. As he moved to put the bowl on the nearby table, I noticed he carried a small bundle wrapped in cloth. He returned to my side and handed it to me.

I pulled the ties slowly while I puzzled over what he could be giving me. It was a soft bundle. Could I be so bold as to hope it be clothes? The thought hastened my speed of opening the wrap. An enormous smile consumed my face as I looked down at

neatly folded, one on top of the other- black leather leggings, a tan woolen tunic and a beaded belt. I smiled my thanks and donned the tunic without hesitation. It reached my mid-thigh, which afforded me enough modesty to stand and step into the leggings. Everything fit as if it was specially made for me.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, “They fit perfectly.”

“I should hope so,” he said, with no further explanation

“Where am I?” I asked, deciding I didn’t want to know how he managed to present me with leather pants that fit like they were made for me.

“You’re safe,” he mumbled as he started back out of the cave.

“Safe… where?” I urged.

“Here,” he tossed over his shoulder before disappearing.

I waited for what felt like hours for his return, but to no avail. I had no idea who he was, but he was my only contact at the moment and from what I could tell he was also my savior. I didn’t want him to leave me. I didn’t want to be left alone. I felt tired and abandoned. I longed to leave the cave and look for civilization; at this point I’d settle for anyone to keep me company. I would have at least explored outside my cozy sanctuary, had I trusted my ribs not to shift and puncture a lung.

Somewhere over time, I managed to relax enough to drift off into sleep. The warmth of the fire and a satisfied belly promoted one of the deepest rests I’d had in ages.