the woman didn’t answer, falling prey to the darkness that took her mind away from the pain he had caused.
Chapter 3. Scorpifly
The man unpacked a little bundle, and leaned over the stone, looking at the bug, encased in clear resin. The golden chitin armour of the Veluthian Scorpifly glimmered in the dim fire of the torches around, its see-through wings shimmering with greens and blues, and its venomous tail suspended as if the bug was about to strike. He thought for a moment, then turned to the woman, who was still chained by the rock.
Realising that every bit of information the woman had said to him was impossible to be known by someone other than Serena, the man felt guilt crawling into his heart. He sighed, collecting himself, and walked over to the woman, beginning to unclasp the chains.
When her body, no longer held by the bindings, fell to the stone floor, the man froze for a few moments, reaching out to her face and putting her hair behind her ear to get a better look. Even though her skin was dirty from sands and blood, he saw that the bruises he left on her were already healing – her Veluthian body was recovering.
One fact bothered him, though – the way she was becoming unconscious for these few days meant there was something he never considered happening to her. The man carefully picked her up and carried her over to the sleeping corner, where a flat slab of rock, covered by some thick fur served him as a bed. He laid her down, slowly undoing her jacket and pulling up her shirt. When he saw her sides blackened by bruises, he thought that she must have gotten her ribs broken during her fall.
Gritting his teeth, the man walked off to the boxes he stored near the kitchen and took out a small hand-held scanner and a bag of medical supplies. He returned to the woman, putting the bag aside for a bit and scanning her from head to toe, his eyes becoming even darker with each injury the scanner registered.
After the scanning was complete, the man forced down an urge to throw the scanner into the wall, and quickly opened the bag, unravelling rows of empty compartments where capsules of medicine were usually kept. He grabbed the last two and shoved one into the automatic syringe, then stabbed the woman in her thigh, administering the liquid. When the empty capsule flew out, ejected by the syringe, he shoved the second one in and stabbed the unconscious woman in her neck.
After this was done, he threw the syringe onto the bag and took a few moments, taking in the severity of the whole situation. He knew very well that the woman’s regeneration was already working hard on fixing every bit of damage dealt by both – the fall and his beating – but the thought that he caused some of these injuries hit him hard.
The man gritted his teeth again, looking at the woman, and took a deep breath, before collecting the medical supplies and returning to the kitchen, deciding on distracting himself from what he had done.
Hours passed, as Serena lay on his bed, recovering, until she slowly came to her senses again. She felt different, and at first didn’t understand what happened while she was knocked out, but then felt the soft fur that emanated a thick, heavy scent, and the warmth of a thin blanket thrown over her. She gave herself a bit of time before moving, but as soon as she tried to push herself up, she felt her body protesting with a sharp pain that hit her in the gut. A quiet groan escaped her mouth, as she gave in and lay back down, understanding that even if she does get up, she won’t be able to go anywhere in her current state.
Instead, she turned her head, still feeling the faint aching at the base of her skull, and looked around.
The cavern she was in was dimly lit by torches, which flickered and danced in the obvious airflow, which occurred inside due to the imperceptible cracks in the walls. The smoke must have been filtering out the same way – through the same cracks up in the ceiling, making it impossible to suffocate when inside. Serena heard the trickle of water somewhere near, but couldn’t see where it was, because it seemed to be hidden from her sight by a set of stones.
The woman tried hard to see any way of exiting the cavern, but didn’t see a single arch or pathway that could have been leading out. Closing her eyes and feeling herself helpless, she forced through the pain in her arm to reach up and feel her ear for the communication earpiece, but found it missing.
Through her scrambled thoughts she remembered the stranger who kept her chained up and understood that he must have taken the device from her when he captured her.
Serena tried to take a deeper breath, and felt her ribs aching, denying her of air. Closing her eyes, the woman thought if she could even do anything when her tormentor will return. She tried to feel around for any sort of weapon she could use, but the only thing she found caused her to frown. The woman couldn’t sit up to see what lay beside her, but she could feel the object being formed like a small brick – smooth sides and rounded edges, big enough for her to grab it. She couldn’t know if it was fragile or not, but decided that it was enough to at least withstand one hit she could land to her captor’s face. She felt a little better, knowing that she had a chance to at least try and fight back.
She must have drifted into sleep, because she came to her senses only when she felt someone sitting next to her on the bed and touching her neck, checking the pulse. The woman gripped the brick in her fingers, hoping she will have enough strength to make the blow hard enough to knock her captor out.
Serena slowly opened her eyes, seeing the man leaning in, and noticed his eyes widen in surprise. Without a single moment to waste she jerked her hand up, landing a perfect hit onto his temple, crashing the object in her hand exactly onto the point she wanted. The man flew off the bed, and Serena fell with him, hitting him again and feeling her strength already failing her. As she hit him for the third time, she heard him whisper:
“I yield…”
She didn’t hear what he said next, falling on top of him and her consciousness slipping away once more.
The man lay there for a few seconds, before gently embracing the woman with one arm.
“You’ve grown up strong, my little Scorpi.” he sighed, feeling proud and happy that the woman he found was, in fact, his ward in the distant past.
He waited for any sort of reply, but the woman remained silent, and he carefully raised her face, noting that she had passed out again.
“I’m so proud of you, Serena.” the man sighed and rolled her over to the side to get her back to bed.
When he was picking her up, he heard something fall and looked at what the woman had used to knock him down, surprised to see the resin-encased Scorpifly on the floor. Smirking at the fact Serena used this trinket to defend herself, he laid the woman down and sat next to her, picking up the preserved bug and looking at the thing with a smile on his lips.
“You really are a Scorpi, Serena…” the man chuckled, touching the woman’s shoulder. “You sting like hell.”
He stayed with her, until she finally opened her eyes again. Seeing the man there, she closed her eyes for a few moments, forcing down the painful feeling of defeat.
“Hi, Scorpi.” the man said quietly, watching her face. “Please don’t sting me again.”
Serena looked up at him and saw the deep gash on his temple – the one she left when landing her blow to his head. The man raised the bug for her to see and Serena frowned, recognizing the critter.
“The Golden Veluthian
