*Mae*
I felt like an idiot.
Truly.
And perhaps I was an idiot after all because only an idiot would've been able to get themselves in this type of tricky situation with no clear way out of it.
This wasn't just me being a pessimist, I was merely pointing out the facts here.
A smarter person would've known that this planet wasn't Earth in the slightest bit.
A more intelligent sentinel being would've had the guts to fight off their attackers and construct a way to get back into outer space within the first few minutes of touching down after breaking through the thick atmosphere with an abrupt crash landing.
Those kinds of smarts in a brain belonged to someone like Mama.
Someone like Lettie or Indie.
People who have survived harsher conditions, traumatizing situations and unpredictable circumstances.
People who had both the smarts and the gut instincts to know when to slit their own throat or try to stay alive for as long as possible.
But I didn't think of myself as one of those types of people.
Why, you may ask?
Well, the answer was relatively simple, when you really take the time to think about it.
Perhaps it was because I was inexperienced when it came to flying a spaceship that caused me to mistake this undoubtedly gorgeous and definitely deadly planet for Earth but I knew that wasn't the case.
It certainly couldn't be the fact that I hadn't thought this all the way through when I set a course for Earth because I had already known that this was one of my brightest, and dumbest, ideas altogether so it really wasn't that either.
And while part of me wanted to blame it on chance alone, Hell I'd even blame it on my eyesight right now if it wasn't still good even after suffering oxygen deprivation over the course of several months, I just didn't blame in the fact that it was a dumb stroke of unfortunate luck that I ended up on this planet.
Whilst I wasn't sure where exactly I stood on the spectrum of believing in otherworldly beings when it came to the spiritual aspect, I definitely knew where I stood when it came to the physical aspect of such beings.
I've encountered maybe a handful or two extraterrestrial lifeforms in my entire lifetime, though most were just some blurry glimpses through concealed door windows back on the Celestial before the Commander banned me from entering the lower decks of the space station after word got around that Commander Ophelia may be harboring extraterrestrial beings onboard the Celestial, but I can't say for certain that I've never encountered some as uniquely dangerous as these individuals.
They were one hundred percent deadly predators and if their appearance could only speak volumes of what their words might be, I know I would be a goner if they thought I was a threat.
My best chance at staying alive was pretending that I was meek, that I couldn't hold my own even amongst those that were closer to my own kind, and truth be told, I absolutely didn't stand a chance at survival if these things attacked me right now.
And by right now, I literally meant right now since one of them was still holding a knife that could slice my body into little tiny chunks and pieces of kibbles that they would probably scarf up if given the prime opportunity to.
My nose wrinkled unnoticeably at that disgusting thought, I don't think I would taste that good though since I haven't had a decent shower in forever and I'm pretty sure the acid wearing down my teeth from the mush I would continuously eat on the Celestial had worn wouldn't leave a pleasant aftertaste in their mouths.
Or at least, one could hope it wouldn't but who knows.
These things are clearly carnivores and if I'm not careful, I'm gonna be their next meal soon.
They suddenly shouted at me in their strange language, one of them repeatedly pointing at and tapping the shattered tailwind as the other gestured with the knife to start speaking unless I wanted my trichia to be cut out of my throat without consent.
Gulping nervously as I tried to think of a way out of giving away too much information, like the fact that I wasn't supposed to be here which might spur them on further to finish me off, my voice was hoarse when I finally managed to get it to work, broken from screaming for help and the rough material of the cloth that had bound my mouth shut had scratched open a deepening cut on my bottom lip, the clean slice split open and a small trickle of red blood was trailing down the corner of my mouth and dripping past my chin.
"Um….That-That's the tailwind to my ship. It w-was still intact when I landed…"
I said meekly, my voice barely audible against the overpowering rustling of the woods surrounding our secluded group, and the one holding the knife leered over my captive body, bending its knees with thudding cracks as it bent down to survey my profile, trying to guess, or perhaps understand, if I was telling the truth or not.
That's when I realized that these creatures may indeed be male in species.
Because when my eyes darted down to show my obedience, not trying to disturb or provoke these predators further, I could feel my heart thud in my chest with a resounding booming clap when I saw the loincloth covering the creature's lower half, the protrusion of something that resembled male genitals only monstrous in size pressing against the abrasive material and I gulped once more as I took a mental note of the fact that these predators were also male, who knows how many of them were are, which also meant that they were going to realize that I wasn't exactly swinging around a huge dick like they were and that was going to be an issue.
My gaze skimmed upwards from the loincloth of the male creature crouching down before me, my mouth suddenly going dry as my eyes took in the sight of rippling abdomen muscles beneath a fine layer of thick brown hair, well defined pectoral chests that moved with every breath this unknown male took, the bulging skin that layered over mountains of biceps and boulders of shoulders.
How is it even possible that I'm even thinking of how ripped this one is?
I must have sustained some brain damage upon crash landing because there's no way I'm in my right mind now.
My eyes visually moved past the sex on legs for muscles, though I might have to start calling him Muscle Man since who knows what their actual names are, and my breath hitched in my throat when my eyes finally connected with his.
His eyes were beautiful.
The color of his irises were the most exquisite caramel color I've ever seen before.
The color reminded me of the homemade caramel that Mama once made for Lettie and I as a treat and an homage to our shared heritage, the fond memory encompassing my mind for a brief second as we locked eyes for what felt like an eternity.
His bare chest was heaving, almost as if he was suddenly exhausted from merely scanning my body profile over, and when his eyes glanced over my form, lingering on the one-piece jumpsuit I wore which was the standard uniform back on the Celestial, it gave me one more chance to check out his physique again.
I noticed a few more odd things on my second time inspection, such as the smoothness of his shaved head where there was black stubbles growing in, dark black markings that resembled inked tattoos tracing down the sides of his skull in intricately woven patterns, the markings almost appearing as if they were moving across his skin down his neck and the tattoos disappeared behind the broad planes of his back muscles.
I was so intrigued by the markings that I hadn't even noticed that the man had moved closer until he was almost standing right on top of me and when I became aware of his overpowering presence, and the musky woods and blood stained scent that trailed along after him, I cringed as my feet automatically pushed against the ground in an attempt to scoot farther away from him.
Because even though this man was built like a mountain, that didn't mean he was as still as one.
These things acted more like volcanoes, in my opinion.
Dormant one second, erupting with rage the next.
The man growled at my lack of an answer and I whimpered as he bared his sharpened canines at me, trying to invoke some fear into my system and it was clearly working.
"P-Please….Please. Don't hurt me. All of this was a mistake. I didn't mean for any of this to happen, I swear!"
I swore to them but the men weren't listening and the muscular one only growled once again before he yanked the cloth back over my mouth despite my protests.
Tears of both anger and terror streamed my face as I tried my hardest not to panic but it was hard not to.
What were they going to do with me?
Was I going to live?
Was I going to die?
God only knows what these cavemen had in store for me now.
*
*Third POV*
"Ms Tove? There's a small child here to see you?"
Indigo Tove glanced up from peering down her usual dark rimmed glasses to look through the microscopic lenses at the bacteria on the microscope slide to see the younger sister of her best friend, Collette, waiting patiently outside of the medical lab for her.
Indie smiled at her assistant, a young blonde haired blue eyed man whom she might've found to be attractive if Indie could ever think of feeling something other than mutual respect for her coworkers.
She blamed it on a lack of biological chemistry and hormones that had been stripped from her system after enduring chemotherapy as a small child.
"Thank you, Tomas, for informing me. I'll be taking my break now."
Indie said to Tomas as she left her workstation, her heart skipping a beat in her chest as she was nervous about what illegal acts she was about to commit that were almost mirroring that of her best friend who recently vanished from the Celestial.
Well, Indie knew she hadn't vanished as the rumors were floating about.
She knew exactly how Mabel left and while she was furious at first for her friend not giving her any forewarning about the escapade she was planning, Indigo knew she couldn't be too angry with Mabel since she was about to do the exact same thing.
Except her plan was a little less obvious and a bit more dangerous.
Because Indigo wasn't just leaving by herself, she was also taking Collette with her.
She knew she couldn't leave the young girl behind, Collette deserved some answers as to where her older sibling went and Indigo deserved to find Mabel if to only smack some sense into the younger woman.
With the dinging sound of the doors opening, Indie left the medical lab and pulled off her white coat that lay over her white jumpsuit as she brushed a lock of honey blonde hair out of her pale face.
"Lettie! I wasn't expecting you until later, kiddo. Is something wrong?"
Indie asked loud enough for those closest to her to hear and Collette glanced around as she crossed her arms over her chest, bright red hair lying in frizzy tangles around her face.
Indie noticed that Collette hadn't been keeping up on her appearance since Mabel left the Celestial and she wouldn't allow anyone else to help her clean up her appearance, Indie could only assume that with Mabel gone, Collette had realized just how much she missed her elder sister which is why she had let herself go temporarily.
But Indigo was about to fix that situation.
She was going to find Mabel.
End of story.
"Um…No, nothing's wrong. Just wanted to talk about…um…my sleep schedule?"
Collette lied terribly and Indie could only sigh as she pulled the young girl out of the viewpoint of others, she would have to teach the kid to lie better if they wanted to get away with this plan after all.
Once they were out of sight, Indie reached out to squeeze Collette's shoulder, trying to reassure the young girl that they would be just fine.
"Hey…Relax, Lettie. Everything's gonna work out just fine, don't start freaking out on me now, kiddo, okay? We're really close to pulling this off and we will pull it off, I promise you this."
Indie said assuredly and Collette nodded, her eyes wide with rapidly building anxiety and Indigo then wrapped her arms around the small girl, squeezing her into a tight hug that Collette quickly returned.
And for the first time in a long time, Indigo believed her own words for she couldn't remember the last time she felt so certain over something as major as their unique situation.
Nor could she remember the last time she had been hugged but she wasn't one for much human contact.
She was a loner of sorts and her best friend was jaunting around who knows where in the numerous galaxies but Indigo knew she had to find her before something terrible happened.
And every second she wasted was one more second that Mabel was lost in space and Indigo was the only true detective who cared enough to find her.
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-Ro♥️