Bo and the Beast (Book #1) (Completed)

9. Accepting the Bargain

"Fine. I'll be your little slave," she spit out.

The Beast blinked, and Bo could almost think that he was surprised by her answer. "You'd take the place of someone else? You'd give it all up just so an elderly man with not much longer could go free?" He seemed to not understand this thread of logic, and shook his head. "Do you really mean it when you say that you are willing to take your father's place as an indentured servant in my household for as long as it takes to repay the debt that he incurred?"

Her dad inhaled sharply, but Bo made sure not to look his way. She wasn't sure she'd be strong enough to do what she had to if she saw his face. "If my dad is let go, and he's not harmed or followed, then yes. I agree." Her voice cracked a little but she thought she did well to keep most of the agonizing tearing of her heart hidden from the alien's cruel eyes.

"Very well." The Beast snapped his fingers and another robot appeared from the hallway outside the cell room. It floated forward, unlocking her dad's cell and opening the door. Instead of stepping out, her dad took a step back and shook his head.

"I won't go," he said, trying to be loud and authoritative, but only ending up underlining the wobble of his weakened voice. "Bo, the group needs you far more than they need me. What use have they for an old man who only has a few more years left, at best? They all look to you, and you're better equipped to keep them safe. They need you."

Bo bit her lip to keep the tears from rising to her eyes. "I can't do it, Dad. I can't leave you here to die when it's in my power to save you. It may be selfish and it may be an incredibly stupid thing to do, but I have to do it. I've already lost one parent to the aliens, and I won't lose the other."

The robot went into the cell after her father, clamping him around the arm and dragging him into the hall. He fought against it, but his strength was no match for the robotic relentlessness.

"Sir, please just keep me," her dad said, begging the Beast as the robot slowly pulled him down the hall. "She's nothing to do with this."

The Beast didn't say anything, only followed the robot as it took her dad out of the room and up the rotting stairs. Bo's own robot began to move as well, her wrist still clamped, though she went willingly with it. The strange procession climbed the stairs and exited to the entrance hall. Everything glistened in the daylight, crashing garishly with the sight of her dad being dragged wincing and injured toward the front door.

The Beast threw open the door for the robots to float with their prisoners out into the fresh air. Bo and the Beast waited on the porch, and the robot lead Bo's dad down the steps and into the lawn. The greenness of the grass still shocked Bo, but she trained her eyes on her father and tried to drink in every single detail about him while she still could.

"Bo, please, don't do this!" her dad shouted, still struggling weakly against his robot.

She thought she'd be iron-willed. She thought she could endure the whole thing without showing the Beast a single weakness. She'd been wrong. With a shuddering breath, she lurched forward, hoping somehow that she could break free from her robot. It was useless, of course. The robot's grip was perfect, as always, and she was brought up so sharply that she nearly fell backward. Her dad, seeing her trying to get to him, renewed his efforts.

"Bo!" he shouted, his voice cracking on her single syllable.

"I just want to give him a hug," Bo sputtered, spinning to face the Beast. It ate her insides like acid to have to ask him for anything, to be begging an alien for a favor, but she couldn't let her dad leave without saying goodbye. "Please, just one hug."

The Beast shifted his gaze to her, but made no move to stop the robot that hauled her dad down the lawn. Bo's chest heaved with trapped sobs as she panicked when she thought of being left behind.

The robot took her father to the wreckage of her hopper which still lay in the yard. They were so far away by that time that she couldn't pick out his face anymore. She only saw his form strain one more time in her direction before they stepped through the mysterious mist and vanished from view. With their disappearance, Bo's lungs released a rush of air and she sagged in place.

Nothing happened for a while. They just stood on the porch, staring out at the perfect yard with its impossible greenery. A moment later and the robot returned through the mist, zooming off to some other job it was programmed to do. Bo watched it with the sluggishness of a resigned mind.

"Take her in and have her injuries seen to," the Beast finally said.

"Of course, Master," the robot said as it pulled Bo toward the door. She didn't struggle, but she made sure to stare the Beast in the eyes as she limped past. He may have ripped her heart out this day, but in taking away the one thing she cared about in this world he had also removed any leverage he might hold over her.

From now on, she'd be planning her escape. The alien might have forgotten in the peace years just how troublesome a human could be, but she had every intention of reminding him.