She had been kidnapped!
Kiara Biardi came awake with a scream lodged in her throat as she recalled the events in her darkened hotel room. Someone had come into her room during the late hours and drugged her. Trembling in fear, she could still feel the cold, rough grip moving over her skin, feel the bite of the injector as the drug seeped into her bloodstream. She never had the chance to see who it was, or to even call for help.
Now, her head ached terribly as the last remnants of the drug slowly wore off. An acrid stench filled her senses, choking her with its pungency.
Kiara tried not to breathe deeply and opened her eyes to confront who or whatever held her prisoner.
To her relief, she was alone, lying face down on a rotting mattress. With a grimace of distaste, she pushed herself up and nearly fell as a wave of dizziness buzzed through her head. She caught herself against the wall next to her, a roughened spot of rust scraping the palm of her hand.
"Great," she mumbled. "No equilibrium. What am I supposed to do now, wait patiently until they come back?"
Even as she spoke the words, Kiara knew she wouldn't— couldn't— do that. Her father hadn't reared a stupid daughter, and she had learned many tricks over the years, including the ability to pick a lock.
A smile curved her lips as she headed toward the door on unsteady feet. True, it had been years since she'd picked the locks on her house to sneak outside and meet her friends after curfew, but Kiara was sure she would remember how. She had to.
Kiara ran her hand over the smooth keypad. The lock appeared to be standard military issue— not too different from her father's. In fact . . .
She stopped, a chill rushing over her. A military lock. A lump of dread burned in her throat as she realized she wasn't kidnapped for money. She was a political prisoner!
"Oh, Papa," she whispered, wondering what he had gotten them involved in.
This had always been their worst fear, for her to be taken by one of his enemies. Kiara had never given proper credence to her overprotective father's warnings. Now, she wished she had.
"Stop it," she comm anded herself. If her conclusion was correct, then she m ust free herself and return home before her father jeopardized their government for her.
"This lock will be easy enough," she assured herself with confidence.
Popping her knuckles, she entered a code. The keys beeped melodically as she pressed them in. A light flashed across the top of the pad, displaying her chosen code.
Nothing happened. Kiara tried again.
After almost half an hour of trying, she was ready to give up. "Come on, Kiara," she said aloud. "All you've got is time. There's nothing else for you to do, except sit around and feel sorry for yourself!"
With a sigh, she glanced about the room, noting the inordinate amount of garbage strewn across the floor. Kiara wrinkled her nose in distaste. The thick, steel walls were covered by huge spots of rust and corrosion. She wondered how this craft ever passed space inspection. Surely it wasn't fit enough to carry socks, let alone human occupants.
She turned back to the lock and began pressing more buttons. As the light hummed on again, she heard footsteps approaching in the corridor outside. Kiara bit her lip in indecision. She cast her gaze around searching for a weapon. Only the wilted garbage met her sight. Kiara sighed. The only help the garbage offered was the possibility her kidnappers might faint from the stench.
Clenching her teeth in determination, she tried another code.
*
"I think we ought to get some pleasure out of this," a man said, his voice slowly drawing near her room. "Did you see her?" Kiara swallowed the sudden lump of fear in her throat and backed toward the far wall, her heart pounding while her mind raced to think of something, anything to do.
"I don't know, Chenz," another m an spoke. "I think we oughta wait till we get further out. I keep thinking about Poll's message that Nemesis is out to get us. I just think we oughta kill her like we was paid to and forget about her."
Her stomach knotted. They might kill her, but she intended to take a large piece of them with her!
Chenz's laugh echoed in the hallway. The bitter sound sent a shiver down her spine.
"Nemesis ain't nothing to fear. We done been paid, I say we ought to enjoy this."
The gears hummed in the door as it slowly slid upward.
Please, God, Kiara begged silently, let them kill me before they rape me.
Two of the nastiest beings she had ever seen walked inside. If she thought the room stank before, that odor couldn't compare to the stench that clung to them. Kiara wondered if they had ever taken a bath in their lives.
She conceded they were human, though neither did honor to their race.
"Looky." Kiara recognized the voice as belonging to Chenz. "The beauty's awake."