My Big Green Alien Orc

2. Vruhag

2

VRUHAG

I killed three guards before they managed to close the collar around my neck. As soon as it snapped shut, a searing pain ran down my spine, making my legs collapse under me. I crumpled to the floor while the guards jeered and laughed.

They were going to suffer. As soon as I got out of here and rescued my mate, I was going to kill them all. Slowly. Taking them apart piece by piece. They would regret attacking my ship and abducting me every painful click until the moment they’d die. And then I would mutilate their corpses and feed them to my hyggena. My beasts would be hungry after my long absence.

They dragged me backwards and propped me against a wall. With the collar doing something to my spine, I couldn’t move. Even snarling at them was almost impossible.

A drone floated into the cell, expanding into a large screen.

The guards left, grunting foul insults as they did, then shut the door, leaving me alone. The collar was still active, forcing me to stay in place and look at the screen. Some sort of t*****e, most likely. It flickered to life, showing a small figure in a sea of light.

The camera zoomed closer, exposing the figure as a female. She stood on a platform, resembling a version of my cell with the same sort of bed and pisspot, but much smaller. The female wavered on her feet, clearly unsteady, but she managed to stay standing. She blinked into the light, unaware of the drones circling the hovering platform, of the crowd in the distance.

Even though I only saw her on the screen, I knew it deep within my heart. She was mine. My mate. The female I’d scented.

“Welcome to the Trials of Kalumbu.”

The announcement stole my breath.

Kalumbu. Of all the cursed places in this universe. Now it all made sense. Why I was brought to this cell without a word, without a reason for the attack of my ship. Why I could smell my mate.

Kalumbu. This planet has made people rich. It’s changed lives. But most of all, it takes lives. A thousand deaths every rotation. It is said that the plants in the planet's jungle can no longer survive without blood.

“The bride is Fay Machalin. Welcome her.”

The shouts of hundreds of spectators echoed the announcer’s dramatic voice. They’d paid exorbitant amounts of credits to be here, to witness the Trials in person. Billions more would watch via the black channels on their ships, in their homes. It was illegal to even view the Trials on most civilised planets, but when have laws ever stopped anyone.

The female - my female - turned back and forth on the platform, as if trying to decide what to do. She must not have realised yet that this was Kalumbu. If she’d even heard of the Trials. The show’s audience fell among the very rich – who’d increase their wealth by betting on contestants – and the very poor – who for once could feel like they had it better than the poor sods dying in the Trials. Middle-class society either ignored Kalumbu or had no knowledge of it. I hoped my mate fell into that category. I wanted her to have grown up safe and happy, without the taint of poverty or the arrogance of wealth.

Three of the circling drones shot bright rays at the female. She cried as her clothing dissolved, leaving her n***d. I growled, fury filling every cell of my body. They were humiliating her.

I didn’t recognise her species. She was tiny, pale and at first glance lacked any natural defences. Two arms, two legs, no tail, no horns. Her pink skin looked soft and vulnerable. Not a single scale in sight. As much as I craved running my claws over her skin, test just how soft it was, right now scales or armoured plates would have served her better. Her auburn mane was tied into a knot, making it hard to see how long it was. I hoped that she had hidden talons or at least some poisonous fangs. Without them, she’d be dead within ten clicks of the Trials.

“You may not have seen a specimen like this before,” the announcer boomed, sounding excited. “This is a rare Peritan from the planet Peritus. They only recently discovered spaceflight and think they’re alone in the universe.”

Roaring laughter followed his words. It only made me angrier. They’d abducted a female from some primitive backwater planet. She wouldn’t have any experience in dealing with aliens. She wouldn’t even have a universal translator implant. That would explain her confusion. If she knew what was going on, she’d be terrified. Instead, she slowly made her way to the edge of the platform, curiosity mirroring on her fine features. I found it surprisingly easy to read her emotions. Her mimic was not unlike that of my own species, even though she was so much daintier.

I wondered what Peritan males looked like. They had to be enormous to be able to take care of their vulnerable females. Did she have a male? Was there someone waiting for her back on her planet?

That thought made me even angrier.

She was mine.

A drone zooms down to the edge of the platform, blocking her way. I assumed there were other safeguards to prevent people from throwing themselves off. It would be a quick death compared to what awaited her.

What awaited us.

I’d watched the Trials often enough to know what was about to happen. Yet seeing a large drone swoop down and pick up my mate in its spindly metal arms broke my heart.

I’d never make it to her in time. She was too fragile. They’d even removed her clothing. They hadn’t given her a weapon, which meant nobody had claimed her as her sponsor. Her blood was going to water the jungle, yet one more forgotten victim of this cursed entertainment industry.

While I watched the drone carry her away into the distance, I tried to remember the times I’d watched the Trials of Kalumbu. I’d been young, brazen, arrogant. Watching people die without showing emotion had been a test of my strength. Or so I’d thought. I’d been an i***t, trying to impress females that weren’t my mate. But if I hadn’t, I would be in an even worse situation. I’d be going into this blind, while at least now I had an idea of what was about to happen.

They’d had weak females before, always paired with an especially strong male. In any other situation, this would have flattered me. But how often did these females survive? I couldn’t remember a single time. And whenever the female perished, her mate would go insane, becoming the most effective weapon in the Trials. They had nothing to lose. They were willing to take the other contestants into the abyss.

That was my fate. If my female died, the madness would take over. No orc could survive long without his mate. I may not have seen her in person, may not have touched her, but her scent had activated the process. We were bound together now, our fates entwined. And if she died, I would kill anyone and everything that got in my way. I would fight and murder and destroy until someone stronger ended my life.

I was a dead orc walking. There was no way either of us was going to survive this.

The screen flickered off before I could see where they were taking my mate. She could have been anywhere on the planet.

A guard entered the cell, his three tails curled around his waist. “Your sponsor offers you one weapon of your choice. What do you choose?”

The collar wasn’t letting me speak. I glared at the guard. He must have been aware of my predicament. And yes, the ugly grin spreading across his scarred face was proof that he knew.

“You don’t choose a weapon? Such a pity. You will have to fight unarmed.”

“Klet, that’s against the rules,” someone drawled from outside my cell. “We’ll all be disciplined if they find out.”

“I’m not going to switch off his collar,” Klet grunted. “Did you see what he did to the others?”

He pulled his axe from his belt and threw it on the floor in front of me. “That’ll have to do. It’s not like he’ll make it for long anyway.”

He gave me a nasty grin before leaving the cell, locking the door behind him. The drone and its screen had disappeared, taking away any chance of distraction. Now all I could do was sit and worry about what my mate was facing at this very moment. Had she been dropped on the planet’s surface yet? Was she injured?

She wasn’t dead. I’d know. I’d feel it.

Already, the madness was scratching at the edges of my mind. I needed to get to her before it was too late.

The cell shook and the lights turned dark. The collar vibrated and with a flash of pain, it sprung open. I ripped it off my neck and threw it to the other side of the cell.

My limbs felt weak. Pins and needles ran over my skin, and when I gripped the axe, I almost let it drop again. I sat back against the wall, gathering my strength. I was too weak for the Trials. I’d not eaten or drunk in days.

I cursed the guards who’d tortured me in every language I knew.

“May your mother’s crotch wither and pull you back into its shrivelled womb.” That was Old Tangaeitean, one of my favourites. I only knew a few choice curses in it, but every single one of them was superb in its vulgarity.

The walls lifted, blinding light taking their place. I squinted into the light as my name echoed through speakers all around me. I ignored the announcer, ignored the camera drones, ignored everything. Instead, I focused on the bond that connected me to my mate. Faint, barely perceptible, yet it was there, in my heart. I was connected to her and I’d find her.

The platform trembled as I was transported down to the surface. I didn’t know what awaited me there, but I didn’t have a choice. I would have to fight, kill, survive in order to get to my mate and make sure she was safe.