be too old to catch her, and Tess definitely wasn’t athletic looking.
“However, ye haven’t been told the truth. This isn’t a cult.”
If the button didn’t open a door, she could always smash the glass and escape. She inched her way to the edge of the couch.
“It’s a human breeding program.”
Her eyes darted back to Duncan.
“On the planet Hyborea.”
Her butt froze to the cushion. “What?”
Duncan turned to her with a great smile and, stretching his arms wide, said, “Welcome to HuBReC!”
Addy couldn’t do anything but stare. Did he believe her about the creatures? Or was he making fun of her?
“I know it’s a big shock.” Tess took Addy’s hand and patted it. “But you take all the time you need to come to terms with it. You should rest. We’ll explain more later.”
“No.” Addy jerked her hand away. “You’ll explain now.”
Tess gave her father a questioning look. He nodded and downed his drink. “HuBReC,” she said, “is an acronym for Human Breeding and Research Center.”
“You mean they breed human’s for f-foo—” She couldn’t say the word.
Tess laughed. “They don’t eat us, silly. We’re their pets.”
Looking back and forth between Tess and Duncan, she didn’t want to believe them. But hadn’t she already seen proof with her own eyes? Heck, an alien had cradled her in its arms, for Pete’s sake. How could she argue with that? She touched her choker, remembering Max’s words. It’s how they keep us in line.
She glanced at the wall again, legs itching to run. She bolted to the button, slapped it, and was instantly rewarded with white fog. A quick leap through it, and she was outside sprinting toward the tree line. Duncan and Tess called her back, but their voices soon faded as she raced into the woods.
When a glance behind her proved no one gave chase, she stopped and listened in order to get some sort of bearing on her surroundings. Birds chirped overhead. Rushing water splashed in the distance.
Bending over to catch her breath, she noticed her new footwear resembled moccasins. Almost weightless, they formed perfectly to her foot, bending with it when she flexed and twisted her ankle, cushioning her like a sock but with a thin, hard, rubberlike sole that didn’t allow her to feel rocks.
“Addy. Addy.” Duncan’s and Tess’s voices grew louder.
Little hairs on her neck prickled. Her heart pounded from more than the exertion of the sprint. She’d never told them her name. Nor had she told Max.
She took off toward the sound of the waterfall, easily hurdling downed logs in her path in her high-tech shoes. A clearing peaked through the trees up ahead, so she slowed her pace, making her way to the edge of the woods. Laughter, splashing, and the slapping waterfall filled the air. She ducked behind the trees.
A woman standing in the pool with her back toward her reached out to catch a naked little boy as he jumped. Squeals of delight followed his splash, and the woman set him on the grassy edge to do it again.
How could they seem so happy and carefree? They were captives on an alien planet.
“That’s a bathing pool,” Duncan said when he caught up to her. His breaths were labored. “The Hyboreans built it. The water is recycled, filtered, and completely separate from our drinking water.”
That explained how water seemingly coming from nowhere cascaded over a fifteen-foot tall rock pile into a pool with no stream or visible outlet for overflow.
The woman stepped out of the pool naked and very pregnant. Addy’s stomach lurched, remembering her purpose on this planet. Another urge to run away twitched her leg muscles. But where could she go? Not back the way she came. Not ahead to the bathing pool. Not toward Duncan.
She turned right, darted around trees, shoved branches out of her way, tried keeping an even pace. Who knew how long she’d have to run before getting out of this nightmare. She hurdled brush, smacking full force into a solid
“However, ye haven’t been told the truth. This isn’t a cult.”
If the button didn’t open a door, she could always smash the glass and escape. She inched her way to the edge of the couch.
“It’s a human breeding program.”
Her eyes darted back to Duncan.
“On the planet Hyborea.”
Her butt froze to the cushion. “What?”
Duncan turned to her with a great smile and, stretching his arms wide, said, “Welcome to HuBReC!”
Addy couldn’t do anything but stare. Did he believe her about the creatures? Or was he making fun of her?
“I know it’s a big shock.” Tess took Addy’s hand and patted it. “But you take all the time you need to come to terms with it. You should rest. We’ll explain more later.”
“No.” Addy jerked her hand away. “You’ll explain now.”
Tess gave her father a questioning look. He nodded and downed his drink. “HuBReC,” she said, “is an acronym for Human Breeding and Research Center.”
“You mean they breed human’s for f-foo—” She couldn’t say the word.
Tess laughed. “They don’t eat us, silly. We’re their pets.”
Looking back and forth between Tess and Duncan, she didn’t want to believe them. But hadn’t she already seen proof with her own eyes? Heck, an alien had cradled her in its arms, for Pete’s sake. How could she argue with that? She touched her choker, remembering Max’s words. It’s how they keep us in line.
She glanced at the wall again, legs itching to run. She bolted to the button, slapped it, and was instantly rewarded with white fog. A quick leap through it, and she was outside sprinting toward the tree line. Duncan and Tess called her back, but their voices soon faded as she raced into the woods.
When a glance behind her proved no one gave chase, she stopped and listened in order to get some sort of bearing on her surroundings. Birds chirped overhead. Rushing water splashed in the distance.
Bending over to catch her breath, she noticed her new footwear resembled moccasins. Almost weightless, they formed perfectly to her foot, bending with it when she flexed and twisted her ankle, cushioning her like a sock but with a thin, hard, rubberlike sole that didn’t allow her to feel rocks.
“Addy. Addy.” Duncan’s and Tess’s voices grew louder.
Little hairs on her neck prickled. Her heart pounded from more than the exertion of the sprint. She’d never told them her name. Nor had she told Max.
She took off toward the sound of the waterfall, easily hurdling downed logs in her path in her high-tech shoes. A clearing peaked through the trees up ahead, so she slowed her pace, making her way to the edge of the woods. Laughter, splashing, and the slapping waterfall filled the air. She ducked behind the trees.
A woman standing in the pool with her back toward her reached out to catch a naked little boy as he jumped. Squeals of delight followed his splash, and the woman set him on the grassy edge to do it again.
How could they seem so happy and carefree? They were captives on an alien planet.
“That’s a bathing pool,” Duncan said when he caught up to her. His breaths were labored. “The Hyboreans built it. The water is recycled, filtered, and completely separate from our drinking water.”
That explained how water seemingly coming from nowhere cascaded over a fifteen-foot tall rock pile into a pool with no stream or visible outlet for overflow.
The woman stepped out of the pool naked and very pregnant. Addy’s stomach lurched, remembering her purpose on this planet. Another urge to run away twitched her leg muscles. But where could she go? Not back the way she came. Not ahead to the bathing pool. Not toward Duncan.
She turned right, darted around trees, shoved branches out of her way, tried keeping an even pace. Who knew how long she’d have to run before getting out of this nightmare. She hurdled brush, smacking full force into a solid
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