Sold To The Beastmen Princes

The coarse, pilled texture of the cheap motel bedsheets scraped against Riley Lane's cheek, dragging her out of a fitful sleep. Her stomach cramped violently, a sharp, twisting pain that radiated through her ribs. Hunger was a familiar companion on Terra-3, but today it felt like a hollow blade carving her out from the inside.

She rolled over, her breath catching as the cracked screen of her datapad lit up on the nightstand. A flashing red message icon pulsed like a warning siren. It was from Uncle Eddy.

"Pay up by tonight, Riley, or you're out on the street. Blood doesn't pay my bills."

Riley stared at the words, her vision blurring. Her fingertips turned ice-cold. This dingy room, smelling of stale smoke and damp carpet, was her last refuge. She dragged herself to the window, parting the grimy blinds. Down below, Mr. Kowalski, the motel owner, was glaring up at her window, his eyes filled with the kind of sneering disgust reserved for stray dogs.

A heavy knot formed in her throat. There was no way out. No money, no family worth the name, no future.

Then, a flash of unnatural light caught her eye.

It wasn't the sickly yellow of the streetlamps. It was a brilliant, pulsating blue-purple hue, bleeding out from the narrow, trash-filled alley behind the motel.

Riley's heart skipped a beat. Her initial instinct was to lock the door and hide. But the gnawing pain in her stomach and the flashing eviction notice on her screen pushed a reckless, desperate thought into her mind. What if it was something valuable? Illegal tech dropped by a smuggler? A chance to flip her life around?

She grabbed a thin, frayed jacket, her hands shaking so badly she could barely manage the zipper. She slipped out of the room, the cold, damp air of the alley hitting her face.

The source of the light was a hovering, shifting orb of energy, suspended a few feet off the ground. It emitted a low, thrumming hum that vibrated in her chest, strangely soothing against her panic.

Riley took a hesitant step forward. The light bathed her pale skin in an otherworldly glow. She reached out, her fingers trembling, driven by an inexplicable pull.

The moment her fingertip brushed the edge of the light, the orb violently expanded.

A blinding flash swallowed the alley. Riley felt the air sucked from her lungs. The ground vanished beneath her feet. She was thrown into a silent, spinning vortex, the pressure crushing her chest until her vision went black.

Time lost all meaning. Awareness returned slowly, heralded by the biting scent of antiseptic and cold metal.

Riley's eyelids felt like lead. When she forced them open, she was blinded by a seamless expanse of pure white. Ceiling, walls, floor-everything was constructed from a smooth, glowing material that radiated a sterile chill.

She shifted her weight and froze. The air brushing against her skin was freezing. She looked down.

She was completely naked.

A wave of pure, paralyzing terror crashed over her. Her breath hitched, and she violently scrambled backward, her bare back hitting the freezing wall. She crossed her arms over her chest, her nails digging into her own flesh.

"Hello?" she croaked, her voice cracking.

She pushed herself up, her bare feet slipping on the frictionless floor. She slammed her palms against the walls, frantically searching for a seam, a handle, a button. Nothing. The surface was impenetrable.

"Is anyone there? Let me out! Where am I?" she screamed, the sound bouncing off the walls, amplifying her isolation.

Her legs gave out. She slid down the wall, pulling her knees to her chest, her entire body shaking uncontrollably.

A soft, mechanical hiss broke the silence.

The wall opposite her slid open, revealing a dark corridor. Two massive silhouettes filled the entryway. They were impossibly tall, their shoulders too broad to be human. They stood in absolute silence, staring down at her.

Riley pressed herself harder against the wall, wishing she could phase through it. Her lungs forgot how to work.

One of the figures stepped into the light. He spoke, a harsh, guttural string of complex syllables that sounded like grinding stones.

Riley shook her head frantically, tears spilling hot down her freezing cheeks. "I don't understand... please..."

The second figure let out a low, impatient rumble. He raised a metallic device that pulsed with a faint, ominous light and closed the distance between them in two massive strides.

Riley stared at the approaching shadow, her mouth opening in a raw, throat-tearing scream. She tried to crawl away, but her limbs were useless on the slick floor.

The cold metal of the device pressed against her forehead.

A sharp, electric shock snapped through her skull, and the white room faded into absolute, merciful darkness.