Thuds sound against the wall of my pitch black room, making me flinch every few seconds. Mom's screams stopped a few minutes ago, but that never seems to slow him. He goes until he is finished or exhausted.
Fear and a sense of utter weakness pass over my chilled body. I pull my thin blanket up a little higher and squeeze my eyes shut. He was coming for me, and mom saved me as usual. I was too weak to work today, and to my father, that is unacceptable. A coughing fit begins to build within my chest, and I panic. If I cough with him this close to the door, he will be reminded of my existence. To save myself I press my lips together as hard as I can and squeeze my eyes closed. "Please," I pray just as one of my brothers speaks. "Dad. Stop. She is unconscious. Mam worked today. It's the wee shrimp that didn't," he practically snarls, and the thuds cease as my blood goes ice cold. Seconds feel like years before I hear the devil sigh. "The bure is jammy the old soith exhausted me. Bring me a drink. These females always stick together. Sick or not, that gammy bure will work tomorrow," he grumbles, and my heart rejoices as I hear their footsteps move away. When I am sure they are on the other side of the house, I creep out of my narrow bed and tiptoe across the room. Adrenaline aids me as I slowly open the door and pull my bruised mother inside. When I manage to get her on the mattress, my cough wins, and I go into a full-body fit. I feel the blood and spit spray from my mouth as I try to keep the volume of my coughs as low as possible. Mom's face doesn't look as bad as I thought it would. Just the usual bruises on her cheekbones, but it's her stomach I am worried about. He kicked he several times before one of his devil spawns saved her. "Mam," I whisper desperately as I gently stroke her face. Her eyes flutter, and her dry lips spread into a smile as she comes to. "It's okay. I'm okay," she whispers, and I shake my head before another round of coughs hit me. She tries to sit up to aid me, but she winces and grabs her stomach just like I feared she would. I wipe my mouth to hide the evidence of blood and Mam closes her eyes. Silence falls between us as we both accept our own pain. This is life for us. Our doom for being born female.****Three years later**** "We have to go now. You are dying," Mam whisper yells, and I shake my head. I know what will happen to her if I disappear. The devil loves control. He likes torturing us. He wants to slowly watch as I die, and he wants her to see it too—punishment for giving birth to a bure...a weak, sickly bure. I am going to die anyway...and soon. She doesn't need to be punished for taking me somewhere else. Let me die here like he wants. "Fiadh, listen to me! I cannot watch you die. I have spoken with dochtúirí. You have been placed on a list. You are weak right now, but if they can get you healthy...Please Fiadh. Don't make all my sacrifices mean nothing," Mam says desperately, and my insides feel as if she dumped a bucket of ice water. She has sacrificed everything for me. She has bled for me. She has survived several broken bones for me. I can't even lift my hand any more without getting exhausted. I know I'm going to die, but she still has hope. I can't take that from her. She has suffered enough. I can't abandon her when she needs me. If she needs to believe I will survive if she gets me to the clinic, I will do whatever I can to make it there. She deserves that. She deserves to think she saved me! She deserves to think she didn't take beatings and hateful words for nothing. She deserves to think she saved her daughter from the evil man and her disease. I refuse to die here and abandon her hope, her fight! "Okay, Mam. I'm sorry. Let's do it! If the dochtúirí get me healthy, I can come back to you. I can save you. We can run away together," I whisper past my blood-covered lips, and her smile stretches across her face like a wide river.That's always been her dream. We both know it won't happen, but I will not break that illusion here in our final hours together. She knows I will die...she knows he will kill her when he finds me gone. We will be together again, happy and free, but it won't be here. He got his three clann mhac. His bean cheile has no further use. He will kill her, and she will join me in heaven. Mam doesn't waste a second before she transfers me into the wheelchair she got from somewhere, and even though she did all the moving, my body still feels exhausted. Talking...blinking... even breathing is tiring at this point. But Mam is still pushing for me to make it. Hoping I survive to at least be free of this place. My eyes look at her one last time before I slip unconscious. I am too tired to stay awake for the trip. I only want rest.*******Fiadh's Mam****** "I don't know what to say. I thought I was meeting with a person that would help her," I whisper frantically as the sharp-dressed American gives me a smile filled with pity."I have to have her consent...and I can only speak with her about the reasons I am here," she repeats, and my frustration grows. "The doctors told me they would be calling someone for me! Who are you? I don't understand! She is dying," I cry as I look down to make sure Fiadh's chest is still moving. The woman looks toward the front door before stepping into my personal space. Her voice drops down to a whisper. "I can help. But you have to sign for your daughter...Let me take her. You will never see her again, but I promise she will be happy and healthy. No illness...no violence...nothing will hurt her," the American says with a tender smile, and I immediately nod.Anything to save my angel. Anything!Bright colors paint the walls around me as I try to figure out where I am. One thing is for sure I am not in my dark bedroom, and I'm not in a hospital. The bright green person touching my head is definitely not a doctor...not a human doctor. The thing smiles at me, and I see little pointed fangs where its canines should be. "Please...where's my Mam," I whisper, and the creature holds up a finger before stepping towards a bright panel. It presses something and steps back toward me cautiously. "Please remain calm," it says, and my eyes widen. "Where's my Mam," I question as my muscles instinctively prepare for pain. "Your Mam is on Earth. You have been transported to Kea. My home planet. Your illness and injuries have been healed. You have been sent from your planet to participate in a Harvest tournament. I am your correspondent, Jali (jail-ee). My job is to inform you of rules and traditions relating to the Harvest. I understand you have many questions, but your body needs susten
As Jali explains basic Harvest practices, my peripherals catch two figures heading our way. My ears immediately tune out Jali's words, and my body goes on the defensive. I don't know if the approaching figures are friends or foes, so I keep my eyes on Jali and my body ready. When they stop inches from the table, Jali looks up with a smile, and my nerves ease a bit. I give the two a few timid glances, and I am shocked to see what appears to be another human. Since her eyes seemed trained on Jali, I let myself look her over. She seems to be the same age as me. She is super pretty with her dark hair, green-bluish eyes, and straight nose...I wish I were as pretty as her. "Morning Jali, I see your harvested has arrived," the tall purple being says, and Jali nods smoothly. "This is Fiadh (f*e-ah). She was the closest to death I have ever seen. We were just discussing the tournament," Jali says, and the other human looks at me for the first time. She practically beams at me, but I
I snuggle deeper into the blue blanket I pull from my massive bed and sigh. Tranquility is as foreign to me as the beings around me, but I am finding I like both. A shooting star catches my eye, and I smile as I watch it zoom passed this oddly beautiful world. Deep rich hues of color are everywhere you look. From the people to the soil, this world is like a rainbow. I know I won't be able to sleep in the massive bed, so looking out the window until I grow drowsy will be fine. There is so much to look at. I lean my forehead against the glass, and within seconds, a soft knock vibrates off my door. I freeze on instinct before slowly thawing. I am no longer trapped in my father's home. I am safe. I whisper those three little words over and over as I climb to my feet and straighten out my nightgown. I take even measured steps to keep my heartbeat down before opening my door to find the tall chocolate-skinned human I met at breakfast. "Hey Fiadh, right," she says, and I nod as my finger
"You seem happier," Jali says softly as she hands me another small book. I smile, and nod. I don't just seem happy. For once in my life I am happy. I am safe. No one has hit me. I have friends. I am allowed to read and learn. Everything is perfect. "What else would you like to know about the Harvest. It's only four days away," Jali says, and I shrug as I open my book. I haven't asked about the Harvest very much because whatever happens I don't have a choice in the matter. I am apart of an alien competition, and when it ends, a male will ask me to be his. "You don't have a single question," she asks, almost desperately, and I look at her. "If you had a choice, what planet would you want to live on," I ask, and she smiles. She sits down at the small table and leans forward excitedly. "During our training they have us tour the planets and get familiar with each planet's customs. I really enjoyed it. My favorite places were Shikaz, Glortinon, and Vaal. The planet
My breaths are coming out in short pants, and my legs won't stop pacing. I haven't been this scared in two weeks. "Fiadh," Jali says softly, but I still flinch. I twist the beautiful white fabric of my skirt even harder in my hand as I force myself to meet her worried eyes. "Meeting the females will be stressful, but do not forget you have four other women who will be standing beside you...including Zuri. She will protect you," Jali says, and I nod as a sliver of calm slips down my spine. She is right. My friends will be with me. They will be nervous too. We will be a team...Like mom and I were. "I don't like thinking about how outnumbered we are," I whisper, and Jali nods as she approaches me with a bottle of liquid. "This is a nice fragrance spray," Jali says, and I nod as she mists the front of my dress. "Think of each group as its own. Technically you all are equal. It will be planet vs. Planet in that room. Not everyone against the females from Earth," Jali says,
"Attention, after meeting with your next group, you may retire for thirty minutes. For the last switch, please listen up," the male Kea says, and the chatter around our table halts. The rest of the room falls silent also and I lift my eyes from my lap. I have been avoiding eye contact for the last two rounds. I am emotionally exhausted. Every group since the Froles has been pleasant, but I have never been exposed to this many people. I feel like my energy has been zapped away from me. I want to make friends. I really do, but I don't know how to interact yet and my anxiety makes me tired. The male Kea lists the names and colors just like he has this entire time and I breathe out a rather loud sigh of relief. This is the last group. Then I get to escape to my room and scrub my face. I get to curl up on my soft bed and read a beautiful book. I grin as my mind conjures up the image of my escape, but I quickly regain control. I don't want my friends thinking I dislike spending time
"We have to go back," I softly whine, and Jali nods while giggling. "Yes. If you had paid attention, you would have known that," Jali says, and I gaze at my bed longingly. I was hoping I could shower and jump into bed after meeting with the females. I completely forgot we were expected to eat dinner with the males. "I'm exhausted," I mumble as she fusses with my hair. She nods and dabs at my cheeks with something I can't see. "That's normal," she replies, matter-of-fact-like, and I groan. I am quickly realizing I can't get out of this. I am going to be stuck eating dinner with a whole bunch of guys. Males make me uncomfortable on a good day; then factor in my exhaustion, and this is a recipe for disaster. "But I'm not hungry. We had a bunch of finger foods while meeting the other women," I grumble, and she laughs. "While I am enjoying you showing more emotion, I can't excuse you from this. This is day one of the tournament, Fiadh. Everything must go according t
"The rest of the evening is all about enjoying each other's company and getting to know one another on a more intimate level. Have fun," the male Kea says, and I watch as the males begin to approach the females rather eagerly. Xia and Zuri get asked to dance almost immediately and disappear into the thick crowd. Jia and Krystal get asked next, and I start to get nervous. I don't find the idea of attempting to dance appealing, but I don't want to be left standing here, either. As I begin to chew on my bottom lip, I see something rather large out of the corner of my eye. I turn to see what it is, and I find a massive orange man looking at me with brown eyes. The fact that he was able to approach me so stealthy is rather alarming, but I try to keep the fear from showing on my face. I told Jali I would try, and I intend to uphold that promise. "Evening Fiadh of Earth, would you care to join me for a dance," he says, and I give him a forced grin before nodding. He offers me his elbow,