Chapter 76: What's in a name?Once they were alone, Rhylent simply stared at Chasm and Norwell. He tapped his drinking tentacle against his thigh as if lost in thought. For the second time today, Chasm was subject to inspection. Oddly, this review didn't feel as strange to him. The Dagerstanteen wasn't a healthy woman like Jazz, and even though Rhylent could probably tell that Chasm was missing parts, Chasm got the feeling Rhylent had seen worse. Rhylent scanned his body from his shaved head to where his toes would be if he still had them. He then did the same thing to Norwell. He noted her messy golden hair and her skinny naked frame. The alien even eyed the dried blood on her skin.After a few more minutes, Rhylent turned to his dashboard and tapped on a new glass plate."Your name is Norwell?" Rhylent directed his words to the console as if he spoke to his ship instead of them. He moved a joystick and didn't appear interested in her answer."Yes, Master." Norwell bowed her head and
Chapter 77: A meeting with the family."You-God-Damn-Alien-Asshole!"The hollered words had Chasm's eyes popping open and his muscles tensing. Wildly, he scanned for Norwell to make sure she was alive. Where was he? The only thing he was sure of was that they weren't on the ship anymore. As Chasm lifted himself to all fours, he shook off his dizziness from losing so much blood. Immediately, his eyes met the strangest thing he'd ever seen. And that was saying a lot since he'd been around the universe. A blue-haired human with a blond goatee tackled Rhylent. The alien warrior stumbled but did not lose his standing position. In the pink tiled room, Rhylent simply threw out his two middle tentacles. He snatched the mystery male and lifted him upward toward the ceiling of glass and windows. Chasm's new master held the stranger slightly off the pink floor. Instead of throwing him like Chasm thought he would, Rhylent didn't move. Rhylent's eyes flashed to a hard black giving the only notice
Chapter 78: Yes, what is this?Before the ruler of the Dagerstanteens could get an answer to his question, there was a shriek. At the back of the room came a second scream of delight."Sloan?" From the rear of the room, Jazz called out, and her voice cut off the king. "Sloan!" Her shout switched from a question to an excited high-pitched squeal. The woman skipped across the pink-tiled room and threw herself into Sloan's arms. "You look great. I missed you!" She held out a piece of his hair. "I love the color!" She stepped out of the hug and noted all the stern faces. "Sorry I interrupted.""No." Sloan shook his head. "It's not you. It's this whole thing." He waved to Chasm. "What the shit?" "You-all ain't vibing the slave humans? Yeah, me neither. It was probably good that Rhylent saved them, yo." After her sentence, Jazz hugged Sloan again."You saved them?" Sloan tugged out of Jazz's embrace as his jaw hit the floor. "You did? Rhylent did this? Mister-kill-all-the-humans? You saved
Chapter 79: Heading to an alien lab is never good."I think I've had my fill of old men with their dicks cut off and messed up stories of aliens making a child scream." Sloan shook his head and then leaned over to Octnavin. "My majesty." He kissed the alien's cheek. "I think I need a minute. May I have permission to go to your wing of the palace? I'm going to unwind.""You have a tender heart, little pebble." Suddenly Octnavin scooped Sloan into his tentacles and hugged him. "Go.""You won't let anyone else hurt them? He's just an old man, and she's just a skinny chick." Sloan licked Octnavin's cheek, and Chasm had the feeling he saw something he should not have. It was an intimacy that was shared. His eyes skidded to Rhylent, and the alien looked as uncomfortable as he felt."I will take handle this situation with great care, my love." Octnavin set Sloan on his feet again. "Maybe you would enjoy visiting with your friend, Human Jazmin?""Thank you, my mountain." Sloan slipped out of t
Chapter 80: Norwell's dying.The dream was relaxing, and Chasm held on to sleep. He floated in warm water, and nothing hurt. His stumps didn't throb, and every ache was gone from his bones. For the first time since he was a child, there was no burning sting from whip marks. Even the peela wasn't harassing him.That was how he knew he was dead. Only in death would he feel this good.Sleep wouldn't stick, and gradually he opened his eyes. The warm water wasn't a dream. Chasm was floating. He was dead, and this was his next life. Maybe? He inhaled and got a lung full of water. When he tried to cough, he ended up breathing more water. This wasn't the afterlife, unfortunately. His new owner placed him in a water-filled tank. He started to recall JP's lab and being placed in the cylinder. Chasm guessed that this must be the first experiment they were performing on him. It wasn't like alien experimentation shocked him, but for a fleeting second there, he almost trusted Rhylent wouldn't be lik
Chapter 81: This keeps getting worse.The nitch was now after Chasm. The alien liquid moved slowly like thick blood, and the creature wiggled toward him as if knowing exactly where Chasm stood. He stumbled further back into the strange healing tube, but his movement seemed to catch more of the attention of the black liquid. As if part of the blob was a kind of head and neck, the nitch lifted slightly and turned to Chasm. He could almost feel eyes on him."Get to high ground," Rhylent called as he broke a glass plate in half. The alien then threw the jagged pieces at the new puddle heading to Chasm's spot. The sharp glass severed the liquid in half. When the nitch split, gray Nebos slipped over the black goo. The silken fabric then turned a disgusting shade of brown. While the Nebos helped him, Chasm looked for a place that wasn't close to the floor. He needed to stay as far away from the evil creature as possible."We need help." JP shot at the muck, and drops splattered before re-form
Chapter 82: One problem at a time."Everyone off the floor, and nobody move." From the doorway, Keltrix emerged with his black tubes bouncing. He eyed the lab and the nitch that was trying to kill them. "Humans, cover your mouth and nose." The alien shoved his curls over his shoulder as a flood of Nebos poured in from the doorway."How did this happen, JP?" Behind Keltrix appeared Octnavin, the great ruler. "We have not had a nitch in the palace since our creator's creator was a young Dagerstanteen."The two aliens held weapons that started to shoot fire from the barrels. The black fire lit the goo causing giant puffs of yellow smoke. All around the room, the Nebos rose to eat the smoke like big mouths consuming at a rapid rate. Chasm covered his mouth and nose as instructed."After I removed the peela from Norwell, she ripped the nitch from her neck. She still has four more." JP nodded toward the black bands around her wrists and ankles.Chasm stayed on the counter as the Nebos flippe
Chapter 83: Still in an alien lab.As consciousness returned to Chasm, a few things hit him all at once. The first thing he noticed was that his cheek was pressed to a warm chest with smooth skin. He thought he caught the scent of fresh apple blossoms. Once again, not a single ache or pain bothered him. That wasn't normal.As his eyes fluttered open, he inhaled. He discovered that he was still in JP's lab but not in the water tank. If he recalled correctly, he died, or maybe he'd hoped that he had died. Another beating didn't sound fun, and if he was still in an alien laboratory, his life hadn't improved.Tentacles slipped up and down his spine in a soft rhythmic pattern. The gentle petting had Chasm glancing up to dark stormy blue eyes. Rhylent held him on the exam table. The alien's warm blue skin smelled like apples. A tiny memory of eating an apple on Earth was one that Chasm had cherished his whole life. Now he could smell the apples as if he held a fresh piece of fruit in his han