The Queen's Gift (Stories of the Alien Invasion Book 2) Read online

  *Rafu pulled her into his embrace, and held her close. He wasn’t there, though, the Queen was looking out through his eyes. The redskull—as the earthens called them—was in charge, not the man he would have been had he not been honored by the Queen.

  “We’re glad, wife,” *Rafu said.

  !Estraith swallowed.

  “Sit with us,” *Gri said.

  !Estraith sank to the floor. Her children watched her with wide, excited eyes. !Nith was always glad to see the Honored Ones, and even !Trinu had grown to enjoy her Honored Family’s presence.

  *Rafu sat on the cushions behind her, and pinned her in his arms. !Estraith forced herself to breathe evenly. Since the earthens came, her life had been turned upside down. She didn’t need to anger any of her Honored Family.

  “We think perhaps too much responsibility is being put on you, daughter.”

  Too much responsibility? What did that mean? None of the errors today had been hers.

  “You and your sister have been too long without the guiding hand of the Queen,” Father said.

  “The Queen’s will always guides my actions,” !Estraith answered, the words coming unbidden as they did in their weekly service.

  “This is true of any loyal servant to the Queen, but the Queen believes it is time I returned home,” *Rafu said.

  “I didn’t do anything wrong,” !Estraith said. “I filed the appropriate paperwork and was assigned a flier. I did not know the flier had two instructor seats, and I did not choose the seating that put my weakest student in the other instructor seat.” And, she added to herself, she had not been responsible for the other flier’s errors. This near accident had been an Honored One’s fault, yet she was the one losing freedom. Losing responsibility.

  The Queen had not kept her safe, only the actions of the earthen, Ken, had saved her. The Queen’s goal was not, and had never been, to keep her people safe. !Estraith couldn’t put her faith in the Queen any longer.

  “No one said it was your fault, dear one,” *Rafu said. “I worried for you when I heard of the problems today, and we and the Queen feel you are too much among earthens and children. It is time you had more honored company.”

  !Estraith leaned back in her husband’s grip. “Thank you, dear husband. I appreciate your returning home.”

  “And our sister will be assigned her own husband shortly so that she too may begin to honor the Queen with new children,” *Gri said.

  “!Omas will be leaving our home?” !Estraith asked.

  “She already has, dear one,” *Rafu said. “And your instructional hours will be reduced so you may spend more time teaching the children how best to become Honored Ones.”

  !Estraith swallowed. Did they know how she felt about the children becoming Honored Ones? After *Gri had been chosen, he had changed so. She did not want the same for sweet !Nith or even the boy Calvin, !Trinu.

  *Rafu traced his fingers down her arm. Her father stood, spilling the children onto the floor.

  After her father and brother had taken their leave, and she had put the children to bed, !Estraith and !Rafu stared at one another. She felt the Queen’s appraising gaze through his eyes.

  “You are fertile yet, wife,” *Rafu said. He traced his finger down the front of her gold jumpsuit. “Perhaps you and I shall have a new child at the same time as !Omas and her husband.” He pulled her into a kiss. His hands finding holds on her body. “Then, we will have more children to be chosen to serve among the Queen’s Honored few.”

  She needed to find somewhere safe from the Queen for her children. Somewhere the Queen could not reach her. Somewhere like Earth.

  THIRTY-EIGHT

  MARY

  Mary swallowed as she stared at row after row of metal drawers set into the wall. She felt like she was in a morgue with stone floors and pillows littering the floor. Where were the kids? Illis had given each woman a bag of nyah fruit and led them to supposedly be assigned the children that they were to watch and care for. Illis had said that today each woman would receive three children who would be her responsibility. Tomorrow, they would each receive three more so that they each were in charge of six children. Mary had expected something like an orphanage or a room like she’d woken up in, not this strange, sterile room.

  Illis had yet to open a drawer. The drawers were labeled in the blue script, but she couldn’t read it yet. They’d been taught the language with the English alphabet. Illis called Mary forward. Of course, she would be first. First row, first bed next to the door, first for everything.

  “Yes, mistress Illis,” Mary said in the blue tongue.

  “IhMary, this will be your first child. When she wakes, give her a nyah fruit and comfort her in your own earthen tongue.”

  Mary nodded. Illis opened the door and a two or three-year-old brown-skinned girl lay on her back with her arms crossed over her chest like a mummy. She wore the same silver jumpsuit that Mary and the others had before they were brought to teacher training. Mary stifled a gasp. The girl looked dead.

  “Do not worry, it is just the suspended state. She should wake shortly.” Illis touched Mary’s arm, breaking the spell of frozen horror. “Please pick her up and carry her to the cushions in the corner.”

  Mary scooped up the little girl. The girl didn’t cling to her the way that a half-asleep child would, or droop the way a child deep asleep might. Instead, she remained in the same rigid position. The girl felt stiff and cold like the boys’ hamster had after it died.

  “She feels dead,” Mary said.

  “She will wake soon,” repeated Illis.

  Mary retreated with the girl to the far corner of the room. She laid the girl on a cushion and knelt beside her, careful not to touch her. While Mary waited, Illis called other women to pick up children from the sterile drawers. She watched fascinated. Illis didn’t move at all. Instead, the drawers rotated one slot at a time. Mary’s stomach sank. Each drawer held a child in the same state as this girl. None of the children Mary saw could have been older than five.

  Thwack! Something hit Mary’s leg. She glanced down. The girl was twitching. Her arms spasmed, hitting Mary. Tapping more than hitting, the girl didn’t have the strength to truly hit her. The girl’s cheeks flushed. Mary had seen adults wake from this state in the holding cell. They twitched before they woke up nauseated and disoriented. Mary put her hand on the girl’s forehead. The icy coldness was gone, and heat burned at Mary’s hand. Other children around the room began the same twitching.

  “Comfort them when they wake,” Illis said. “Speak to them in their tongue. Tell them all is well.”

  In Mary’s opinion, all was not well. These children had been kidnapped. Taken from their parents to a strange world, and now she was supposed to feed this little girl lies about how she would be alright in this strange new world.

  The twitching intensified, rising to a fever pitch. The girl’s whole body shuddered, her limbs spasmed. Even her head pushed up against Mary’s hand. Mary released the girl’s head, so she could thrash against the pillow. This was worse than the adults she’d seen waking.

  The movements stopped suddenly. The girl froze. Her cheeks and forehead burned red, her dark hair tangled and sweaty. Mary touched her arm, and it flopped weakly. The girl whimpered.

  Mary rolled the girl onto her side, in case she vomited like some of the adults. Mary swallowed back her nerves and began stroking the girl’s hair again. She felt helpless. There was nothing she could do but watch this little girl suffer. The least she could do was make sure the girl woke with some sort of human contact.

  Mary risked glancing around the room again. All the women knelt over young children dressed in the silver jumpsuits. Illis walked through the room, glancing at twitching children and nodding.

  “Mommy,” the girl whispered. Her eyes were clenched shut, even as Mary continued stroking her hair. “Mommy, I no feel good.”

  “Shh. I know baby, I know,” Mary said. “I’m not mommy, but I’ll take care of you.”

>   The girl’s eyes shot open when Mary said she wasn’t mommy. She saw Mary sitting over her in the strange brown jumpsuit and started screaming for her mommy.

  Mary picked up the screaming child, but she only fought harder.

  “It’s okay, baby,” Mary said. “It’s okay, you’ll be alright. I’m Ih Mary, and I’m here to take care of you.”

  The girl screamed and screamed. As the other children woke, they joined in her panic. Mary felt tears surge in her own eyes as the girl’s screams slowed, and she wore herself out. Mary had had no energy when she woke until she’d eaten. As the girl settled, Mary reached into the small bag and withdrew the nyah fruit. She eased the girl away from her.

  “I’m Ih Mary. Maybe I can help you find your mommy if I know your name and your mommy’s name,” Mary said. There was no hope of finding the girl’s mother. The redskulls wanted them separated for a reason.

  “I’m Pilu. Pilar Gutierrez. My mommy is Leticia Gutierrez.”

  “Nice to meet you, Pilu. I’ll tell the authorities to look for your mommy for you,” Mary said, her voice hushed and soothing.

  “If your tummy hurts, this will make it feel better,” Mary said, pulling the golden nyah fruit from the small satchel. Pilu relaxed and took the round, ball-like fruit.

  “Tell them this is a daycare for lost children,” Illis said in bluespeak. “And we have other lost children to wake up. When you have done that, meet me at the front in the same order as I called you before and carry the children to the front with you.”

  THIRTY-NINE

  MIKEY

  Mikey shivered as he hurried through the cool underground corridors to the posted schedule. He hadn’t checked last night, but he was sure to get garden duty again and need the grungy shorts and short sleeves to go under the overalls while he worked. He pushed his way to the schedule, checking that he still had the good digging-in-the-dirt job and not the crappy turning-the-humanure-and-compost-pile job.

  He found his name—no, that couldn’t be right. That couldn’t be right at all. He had to be looking crooked. He traced his finger across the line from his name to the word kitchens. He swallowed. What had happened? This was his rotation to work the garden, and he should be working it with Andrew.

  He had one friend, who had promised to try and get Mikey to work the garden shift with him, and now Mikey was in the kitchens. What had happened? Had he offended Andrew somehow? His finger raced to Andrew’s name, and he saw the traitor was still set for garden duty, the cush planting and watering job, not the kitchens.

  He wouldn’t even get to ask Andrew what had happened. He shivered again, the cool underground air getting to him. Shoot! He wouldn’t be allowed to wear the t-shirt and shorts in the kitchens, even though it was hot. He’d need to wear the damn BDU pants and civilian issue shirt.

  He raced back through the corridors to his own room to change and then back to the kitchens. He couldn’t be late for his shift. He’d already lost one cush job, he couldn’t lose another. Mikey skidded to a stop outside the kitchen door, tucked in his shirt, smoothed his hair and took a deep breath.

  The cook spun to the door as Mikey pushed it open.

  “Look who finally decided to grace us with his presence. One worker late, the other not even on my roster—”

  “I’m sorry, sir. She asked me to trade with her,” Andrew said. He winked at Mikey.

  Mikey’s jaw dropped.

  “I don’t care, just wash up and get to peeling the potatoes that I have set out over here.” The cook gestured to a large industrial sink. “You both know how to peel potatoes without cutting yourselves, don’t you?”

  Mikey shrugged.

  Andrew shook his head.

  “Of course, not. Not like either of you has worked kitchen rotation before.” The cook sighed. “Scrub your hands and arms up to your elbows in this sink with the hottest water you can stand. Then I’ll show you how properly peel the potatoes.” The cook grumbled to himself and stormed off.

  At the sink, Andrew grabbed the bar of soap and started the water.

  “What are you doing here?” Mikey whispered.

  “Dad was pissed at you back talking to him in bio, so I couldn’t get you on the gardens.”

  “Your dad in bio?”

  “You didn’t think they hired a science teacher after the apocalypse, did you?”

  “That was... Mr. Gunderson is your dad?” Mikey asked.

  “Doctor Gunderson. Yeah. He’s my dad and the biologist in charge of the gardens project. He was particularly pissed off about how you said none of this matters anymore.”

  “Shit.” Mikey shook his head. “I thought he was just a teacher. Can I—Can I do anything to worm my way back into the gardens?”

  “Well, you’re still in my good graces,” Andrew said, snagging the soap out of Mikey’s slippery hands.

  Mikey chewed his lip.

  “Why don’t you eat dinner with us and see if you can convince him you think the gardens and biology matter?”

  FORTY

  KAILEY

  *Dro grinned at her across the low table. Kailey met his eyes and found that the red skull eating his face didn’t bother her so much anymore. He wore his dark blue jumpsuit, ready for another day serving the Queen. She’d been with him for weeks now, and after the first day, he’d forbidden her from dressing until after he left. So, she knelt naked across from him.

  Despite his insistence that she show herself off to him, *Dro was sweet in his own way. He had tried to sneak her away from the celebration so that they could have privacy, and he took his meals with her most mornings and evenings after she’d told him that was the custom of her home.

  “Today is a big day,” *Dro said. “I’ll receive my new assignment, and hopefully I’ll be able to serve the Queen as an autonomous.”

  “Autonomous?” Kailey echoed. She didn’t know that word.

  *Dro held out a Nyah fruit to her. “I’ll be more than a hatchling then.”

  “I thought you were an Honored Master,” Kailey said. She took the fruit, but her stomach roiled. She had felt off all morning. She’d forced away the nausea when *Dro had woken horny as always, but now it was back.

  He laughed. “The Queen has honored me, but I still must serve her. As I gain in experience She will grant me more freedom in my serving her. We are preparing more ships.”

  “Why?” Kailey asked. “Isn’t Earth already conquered?”

  “Mostly. Our last reports state there are still pockets of resistance hidden deep beneath the surface. Besides, soon we will be settling your planet. Perhaps you and I can live in your San Diego, and you can show me how to surf.”

  “Is that serving the Queen?” Kailey asked. She didn’t understand his attitude towards the Queen. He talked as if she were all knowing like God, but at the same time she directed all of the redskulls actions.

  *Dro shrugged. “She might want to know what surfing is and what it feels like. Our Queen can be honored in many ways.”

  Kailey studied the Nyah fruit in her hand. Usually the scent made her mouth water, but this morning, she couldn’t bring herself to bite into its ripe skin. She set it down.

  “Mkailey,” *Dro said. “Why aren’t you eating breakfast with me? Is this not how it was done on Earth?”

  Kailey shook her head. Her stomach roiled and the food wasn’t helping.

  “It is. My stomach hurts.”

  *Dro put his hand on hers. “Please eat, companion. Some of the other earthen companions have been refusing to eat and wasting away. I do not want this. You’ll be taken from me if I can’t provide for you.”

  If she were taken away from *Dro, she would be a courtesan and not a companion. Any redskull might fuck her just for fun or share her. With *Dro, at least she could pretend she had something of a normal life. She could pretend she were a happy housewife.

  Kailey picked up the Nyah fruit and bit into it. The juices flooded her mouth, but tasted rotten. Her stomach heaved. She dropped the fruit and ran
for the toilet. Her stomach heaved again, and she puked into the open hole. The small stream washed away the puke. She puked again and again, until the remains of her dinner were gone.

  “Mkailey?” *Dro put his hand on her shoulder.

  Kailey wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and leaned back into his touch. He was sweet for a redskull. He actually seemed worried about her.

  “I’m okay. Dinner last night…” but no. Dinner last night hadn’t been anything strange. All the food had been thoroughly cooked except the fruits that they always ate.

  *Dro stared at her… stared past her, his face blank for a moment, like he was somewhere else. Then his eyes refocused on her, concern evident in them.

  “Mkailey, my Queen asks when was the last time you bled? But I don’t understand. Why would you bleed? I haven’t injured you, have I?”

  Kailey’s stomach sank. She’d assumed the vitamins they gave her when she joined the other companions for exercise during the day were birth control to keep her from getting pregnant. All those redskulls at the ceremony, and then she and *Dro had done it two, sometimes three times a day since she’d become his companion. She’d been with him nearly two months and hadn’t had a period in all that time.

  “Mkailey? Why are you so pale? Are you okay?” *Dro pushed her loose hair out of her face. His eyes searched hers.

  “Not since the courtesan class…” Mbnath had taught them the word for pregnant and for baby. What was the word? “*Dro, I’m going to have a baby.”

  He kissed her there on the bathroom floor. Vomit mouth and all.

  “A baby!” he laughed, pulling her to her feet as he stood. He kissed her again. “We honor the Queen. She is very pleased.”

  FORTY-ONE

  !ESTRAITH

  *Rafu paced between the flashing controls. The speakers crackled with voices of the various pilots requesting access to perform their duties. Her husband authorized fliers access to different ports and different levels of atmosphere. His shoulders rose with tension as a dozen requests came in at once. She resisted the urge to massage them back down. Half the requests were transports asking permission to leave the atmosphere and head into the inky blackness of space to rendezvous with the massive interstellar ship he’d left only days before.