Survivor Planet III by Juliet Cardin Read Free Book Online

important.
    He’d said he would have to keep me alive.

Chapter 9
    Darkness was just beginning to fall when Cade came to collect me. I’d washed and eaten, and dressed in a fresh short tunic that Thena had given me. Though I’d done my best to pump her for information on details of the game, she’d remained stoically silent. I suspected due to her low status, partaking of leisurely pastimes was not common, so she probably didn’t have any information to share. She’d told me she was from a planet from far away and that she and many other females had been captured and brought here to Calixtus in a large ship as slaves. Cade was a kind master, she’d assured me, and he would treat me well. She’d hinted he, along with most men in this world, had a voracious sexual appetite but I would be safe from his attentions. Being a virgin was a qualifying prerequisite of the game, so I assumed she knew that much about it.
    Cade led me outside into the yard and over to an area that had a short circle of hedges growing around it. I noticed the pool area was now vacant, and there appeared to be nobody around. Two guards had accompanied us, both of whom held a bag in one hand and another slung over their shoulder. Cade pulled a small device out of his pocket and pointed it in front of him. The ground began to rumble and I momentarily feared we were experiencing an earthquake. The grass area inside the hedges dropped slightly, and then began to slide inside the earth, opening up a space beneath it. I watched in amazement as Cade pushed another button on his controller and a strange black almond-shaped craft rose from the ground upon a large pedestal. I stepped back out of fear.
    The craft began to hum and a couple of lights turned on illuminating the dark ground around us. “Do not be afraid,” Cade said, as moments later a doorway swished up and a row of narrow steps descended. Since the pedestal took up almost the entire area of the ground that had disappeared, there was only a small half-foot gap remaining around it. Cade easily stepped over and then turned to me and held out his hand. “Come.”
    I had no choice but to obey him. Reaching out my hand he took it into his strong grip and helped me to step over beside him. “I guess we’re not taking a wagon,” I said.
    â€œNo.” he smiled down at me. “It’d take us months to get there.”
    â€œIsn’t this your home?”
    He smirked. “Yes. One of them. The other is more what you’d call modern .”
    Judging by his space ship, and the fact I’d obviously be brought here by some high-tech means, despite the old Roman games and appearance, this world was highly advanced. Even more so than Earth.
    â€œTake the bags onboard,” he instructed the guards. They hastened past us to the stairway and unloaded his bags onto the ship. Once they’d exited he gave them a few final instructions and then sent them back to the house. He still held my hand, whether to give comfort or to keep me from fleeing I knew not which. His thumb gently stole across my palm sending a slight shiver down my spine. “Ready?”
    I swallowed over the lump in my throat and nodded.
    â€œCome then.” Still holding me, he led the way up the stairs and I got my first real look at a spaceship.
    We were the only ones onboard. The interior I could only describe as futuristic. At the front I saw two seats set before a control panel, much like I’d seen in planes, but vastly superior. Through the front windshield I could clearly see outside, whereas from outside the ship I hadn’t been able to see within at all.
    The guards had placed the bags against the farthest wall. Cade let go of me and waved his hand over a small square area beside the door. The stairs instantly pulled up inside and then disappear into a foldaway compartment. The door swished shut next making me jump a little. I swallowed hard and felt my