The Interstellar Slave

Chapter 16: Between Punches And Kicks

“Tell me, Wyatt,” Bituin requested, after giving Colt multiple hard punches that knocked him out eventually. “How can I escape from here?” She straightened when the second guy disappeared from the cage.

Wyatt had no choice but to face her in the middle of the cage. Both of them endured the stones raining on them.

Bituin found out that Wyatt was the fastest and the strongest of the three. His jabs and punches were rapid, and so were his kicks. He didn’t even put his foot as he delivered spring-like kicks to the face, side and stomach. She was able to dodge some of these but a few landed on her body, sending her backward or kneeling on the floor.

X-formed arms in front of her while still kneeling, she defended herself from his kicks. She back flipped, twisted her body while being supported by her hands on the ground, she delivered powerful kicks, hitting Wyatt in the face and shoulders. His stance was broken but didn’t go down though. She maneuvered her body upward in a cartwheel kick, landing her foot on the crown of his head. That brought Wyatt down on one knee, with a hand to keep his balance.

“You’re strong for a woman your size,” he remarked. His eyes regarded her seriously.

“Thanks!” she answered monotonously.

Thanks to Injenite, her mind added.

“Tell me. Have you been given a shot?” he asked curiously.

“Were you given one?” she questioned him back.

He chuckled and slowly stood up, face to face with her again.

Bituin caught the stones before they landed on her head and spun, hurling them at him. He dodged them easily by sidestepping or ducking with such agility. Before she knew it, he was already behind her. He caught her easily by the waist and threw her down. They grappled, trapping her with his body. He pushed himself up, legs clipping hers so that she couldn’t kick him.

Bituin punched him in the face, but her fist slipped to his ear instead. He didn’t seem bothered by that and tried to catch her neck into a death grip. She elbowed his forearm and unceasingly wriggled underneath him. She twisted her body, arching it and trying to get him off her back. She elbowed him, didn’t care where she would hit him in the process. Her elbows either landed on his side and face. While recuperating from her attacks, she kicked him in the face.

“Who brought you here? Do you know who the leader of these green creatures is, huh?” she questioned, panting and crawling out of his reach.

“I’ll tell you if they would just stop stunning me everytime I want to open my mouth!” he answered and let out an angry oath.

She stood up, looking down at the bloody handsome face of Wyatt. “I’m so sorry about that. But tell me, does that neckband transport you anywhere?”

“Cool technology they have, right?” he chuckled, getting up.

“Wyatt, I need to get out of here.”

“And where would you go?” he asked.

“Home.”

He snorted and shook his head. “There’s no going home, sweetheart. You’re stuck here with them just as I am stuck right here. We only have to do what they want us to do until we die.” There was resentment in his green eyes as he swept his gaze all over the stadium. The onlookers were still feeding on their raw emotions.

Bituin caught him by the face, forcing him to look at her. “Look at me, Wyatt. We need to get out of here!”

“Do you have a good plan without them hearing you or knowing it?” he mocked.

She kneed him on each side, making him grunt. “You should’ve at least hope for something instead of resigning to your death sentence here.”

He pushed her away and kicked her in the stomach. She fell backward, wincing at her hurt backside and elbows. Stones hit her face a couple times, before she rolled over to dodge his kick.

“What kind of hope? We’re all slave fighters here, SF98889!”

“I’m Bituin, not SF98889!” she corrected him.

“It doesn’t matter! Your name doesn’t matter here anymore!” he told her harshly.

Somehow, it hurt.

Will my name disappear in time and all that I’ll be left with is this assigned alphanumeric designation like a prisoner? she wondered with bitterness. Her throat constricted by this thought. She couldn’t let this happen to her life or to the others!

“What kind of person are you? You have a name, not just a darn couple of letters and numbers! We’re humans, not animals or products on the market!”

“Whether we like it or not, we’re now their property, sweetheart. And properties just have a few letters and/or numbers assigned to them!”

She refused to stay that way for always, from here on out. She wouldn’t let that happen to her. She must get out of here no matter what things or events she must undergo. But she realized that she had to at least render Wyatt unconscious. She had to think how to save herself from this whole situation first.

Bituin gritted her teeth when a bigger stone hit her forehead. And yet, her wound healed fast when the nanobots stitched her. Wyatt saw it and was amazed.

“You’re like me.” He snorted and chuckled.

“I know that already.” She glanced at Chao and Shanice. “But they’re not like us. They need to be out of here before they die.”

“Why do you care? You can’t even save yourself.”

“I will save myself first! I’ll show you!” she yelled.

He chortled and attacked her again with his fists and kicks. He also seemed to fly up in the air frequently, which amazed Bituin. This guy was a great fighter. She could clearly see that. Now she concluded that every fighter or had potential must have been abducted by these green ETs to be the food source of the others, like them reptilians.

Bituin caught Wyatt mid-air before his kick landed on her face. She hurled him against the wall using his momentum. He hit his back pretty badly before he fell to the uneven floor. She dashed to him and jumped on him. Her knees landed on his chest, knocking the air out of him. Then she delivered a punch while saying “Sorry” to him.

He smiled before he closed his eyes, as though telling her that it was okay and he hoped to see her again.

Somewhere. Not here.