Alien Dragon by Sophie Stern Read Free Book Online Page B

all the signs, so everything seems straightforward to me. We’re foreigners in a foreign planet, but I’m lucky enough to have read the guidebook.
    The other girls are going to be fucking shocked when they find out what we’ve gotten ourselves into.
    The train is long and, like my dress, bright green. It hovers just above the ground.
    Nothing like the trains on Earth.
    A couple of mouths drop open and I hear a few people going nuts talking about the train. Hal and a few of the security men move to shut the girls up. Rule number one? They want us quiet. Quiet girls look like meek girls and even if we aren’t meek on the inside, we need to look it on the outside. No one wants a servant or toy who is going to give them trouble. Going nuts over something as simple as transportation isn’t going to bode well with the customers.
    I step up onto the train and turn down a narrow walkway to find my seat. I slide into my spot next to the window and stare out of it while Hal gives us instructions on how to behave. His instructions mostly consist of, “sit still” and “don’t touch anything.”
    The trip will take two hours, which is nothing compared to four years, so I zone out as he gives warnings and reminds everyone to stay in their seats. It’s good advice, though there are a few girls who look ready to run. They were all set to come to the new planet, but now that it’s happening, they’re starting to freak out.
    Hal also warned me about this.
    Sometimes a girl will do just fine until it’s time to actually go to the auction house. Then she’ll have a sort of stage fright and try to run away. Unfortunately, this doesn’t make the Taneyemms very happy. They already don’t want humans in their midst. Why would they let a bunch of slave girls wander around unsupervised?
    Running away is not allowed.
    Ever.
    If one of us runs away, we’ll be considered a threat, and the guards can keep us themselves or put us down.
    Hal says we don’t want to know what happens if a guard keeps a runaway. It’s that bad.
    There are armed guards at either end of the car we’re in on the train, basically to prevent any ideas about running. If someone needs to pee, they’ll have to get special permission to go. Once, a few girls actually tried to escape from the train. They actually jumped off, thinking they’d be able to roll away and be fine.
    The problem is that with hover trains, you’re already far up off the ground and the area beneath the train creates a sort of suction, which pulls you under and can smash you.
    No one who has ever jumped from a train here has survived.
    That’s why we have guards now.
    When Hal is done giving instructions, he turns back to me. He holds my eye for just a moment too long, a silent question of whether or not I’m okay. I nod so he can see, and he leaves.
    “What was that about?” The girl next to me turns to glare. Dark circles under her eyes indicate she hasn’t been sleeping well. She’s nervous.
    And jumpy.
    “What?” I act like I don’t know what she’s talking about. Obviously, she saw Hal looking at me, but what would I say? None of the girls here know I was awake the whole time. If they knew, I’d be public enemy number one because they’d all try to kill me. They would think I got some sort of preferential treatment. In reality, I wouldn’t consider anything I went through to be “preferential.”
    It was just necessary.
    “Why did Hal look at you like that?”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    She narrows her eyes, and suddenly, I completely hate her. She’s got this bright, frizzy yellow hair that looks like it hasn’t been washed in months. I know for a fact she had a shower this morning, so what’s with the grime?
    “You do know! Is he giving you special treatment? Did he tell you anything we don’t know?” Maybe she’s not crazy, I tell myself. Maybe she’s just tired and nervous like everyone else.
    But that’s the thing: everyone is tired