Ester Lopez's Blog: Writing on the Edge of Reality, page 2

Guardians

When I first chose this name for my next story, I didn't realize that Space Force also uses the term Guardians. I chose mine beause some of my characters were Guardian Angels at one time and because one of my readers helped me come up with the title: "Guardian Investigations." I ran a contest to help me with the title, so my reader, Crystal Stewart, who won, is now a character in the book! I'm posting chapter one of the story, as it is now. I hope you enjoy it.

   

Chapter One

Two young women sat in an empty room at an anime convention in downtown Miami, Florida.

Crystal Stewart thumbed through the program, looking over the panels being offered. Her friend, Eva Rawlins, poked Crystal in the shoulder.

“Look!” Eva whispered.

Crystal glanced up and saw two greenish-blue, bird-like creatures walk past them. “Nice costumes,” she whispered.

Eva stood up and walked toward the stage where a red door stood next to it, on the floor. Eva grabbed the knob and opened the door, walking through the entrance. Just as she walked through, the door and Eva disappeared.

Crystal jumped up. “Eva!” She ran toward the stage, walking completely around it, searching for the door. “Eva!” she called out. Eva and the red door were gone.

*** 

Alona and Luke held hands while walking behind Teresa and her fiancé, Renaldo. Alona watched them holding hands as well and whispering to each other. She thought about how young love was cute to watch from a distance. Even though Alona had centuries of love experiences, with Luke, everything was new and different. She smiled at the thought of being alone with him later tonight.

Once the four of them bought their tickets, the group studied the program and map.

“Since this is day two of this convention, why don’t we do this panel,” Alona suggested. She pointed at Anime Con 101.

“Yes,” Teresa said. “Afterward, we can figure out what to do and where to go.”

The four of them headed down the hall, searching for the room. Alona did a double take when costumed people passed by. The costumes were elaborate, but she didn’t recognize any of the characters.

Luke elbowed her and pointed at someone coming toward them. The person looked like a Jedi knight, walking with Yoda. She nodded and smiled, remembering how Luke had imitated Yoda when they first met.

“You never told me what other voices you do,” she said to Luke.

“Which voice do you want to hear?” Luke asked.

“Han Solo,” she said.

He pulled her tight. “Maybe you need a few scoundrels in your life,” Luke said, imitating the character.

“Ooooh, that sounds good.” Their faces were close. “I think I just need one scoundrel right now.” She caressed his face. Before she could kiss him, she heard Teresa call out.

“Come on! We’re going to be late!”

Luke took Alona’s hand and they raced to the room. The four of them sat together in the back and listened to the speaker go over the things they could expect at the con. He went on for thirty minutes.

Afterward, Alona and Luke decided to go to a different panel than the one Teresa and Renaldo wanted to attend.

“Let’s meet near the entrance when you’re finished,” Alona said.

“Great idea!” Teresa said. She and Renaldo headed toward their panel.

*** 

Teresa and Renaldo sat together during their panel. Renaldo held her hand in his lap. She half listened to the speaker and half planned what she wanted to do with Renaldo after the con was over. When the speaker finished, she leaned toward Renaldo and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for doing this with me,” she said.

“I’m enjoying this so far,” he said. “I think it would be fun to dress up in a character costume, don’t you?”

Amazed at his response, she smiled. The two of them walked out into the hall. Crowded with costumed people, Renaldo grabbed her hand.

“What character would you dress up as?” she asked. She glanced up at Renaldo when someone bumped into her hard, breaking her connection with Renaldo. Just a glimpse, the character-clad person resembled someone from Star Wars.

“Teresa!” Alona’s voice sounded.

Teresa spun around. She didn’t see Renaldo, but instead saw Luke and Alona. “There you are!” Teresa said.

“Where’s Renaldo?” Luke asked.

Teresa spun around again and still didn’t see Renaldo. “He was with me a moment ago,” she said. She glanced around again, with no luck.

“Why don’t you call him?” Alona said.

She made the call and counted the rings. It went to voicemail. “He’s not answering,” her heart fell. It wasn’t like him to ignore her calls.

“Try texting him,” Luke suggested. “Do you see him?” Luke asked Alona.

Teresa watched Alona and Luke glance around while she texted Renaldo.

“No. How about you?” she asked.

Teresa paced while she waited for Renaldo’s response. “This is not like Renaldo to not respond,” she said.

“Did he say anything to you?” Alona asked.

“No. We were holding hands until someone bumped into us. That’s when I lost contact with him and I saw you at the same time. I didn’t realize he was gone until I turned around.”

Luke reached out and touched her shoulder. “I want you to picture the image of the person bumping into you, the way it happened, when you lost contact with Renaldo.”

Teresa closed her eyes. She pictured the Jedi-clad person with black eyes that walked through her as if she wasn’t there. His face was covered by the dark, brown hood but she couldn’t forget the soulless eyes. He had no beard or mustache, but his brows were dark and menacing.

“I saw him,” Luke said.

“You saw Renaldo?” Teresa asked.

“No, I saw the entity who bumped into you, and I’m getting a bad feeling about him.”

“What do you mean?” Teresa asked.

“Let’s see if we can find Renaldo. We’ll check every room on this side,” Luke said.

Luke checked every men’s room they passed with no luck. The panels had already begun, so they took turns checking each room and calling out Renaldo Perez’ name with no luck.

“Check your phone again, Teresa,” Alona said.

She glanced at the phone, but there were no calls or messages and no responses to her calls or texts. Then she tried calling and texting once more. “It’s going straight to voicemail now,” she said.

“Let’s report this to the authorities,” Luke said. The three of them headed to the registration desk and asked to speak to security. They explained the situation while Teresa pulled up a picture of Renaldo on her phone.

“Maybe his phone died and he had no way to charge it,” the security officer said.

“Can I send you his photo so you’ll know him when you see him?” Teresa asked.

The security officer was reluctant, but finally acquiesced.

“Should we also report this to the police?” Teresa asked.

“I think it has to be twenty-four hours before they will start an investigation, unless he’s on medication or has a disability,” the security officer said.

Teresa glanced at Alona, then Luke. “I just can’t leave here without him. What should I do?” she asked.

Luke put his arm around Alona and Teresa. “Hang on.”

*** 

In the next instant, the three of them transported into the office of Guardian Investigations. There were three others in the office as well. A blue-eyed red head sat on a comfortable looking chair and she was speaking with Pete and Elena Cummings, the owners of Guardian Investigations.

Luke stepped away from the two women. “We need your help.”

*** 

“Hello Luke, this is Crystal Stewart. She just lost her friend at the Anime Convention down the street,” Elena said.

“You, too?” Luke responded.

“What do you mean, you, too?” Pete asked.

Pete Cummings stood up at the sudden entrance of three people into his new office in downtown Miami. “This is Luke—”

“Matthias,” Luke responded.

“And this is Alona Gabriel and Teresa—”

“Martinez,” Teresa said.

“And this is Crystal Stewart, our first client,” Elena Cummings said.

“Yes, who’s missing?” Elena added.

“Renaldo Perez, my fiancée,” Teresa said.

“Have a seat, Teresa,” Elena said. She pointed to another comfortable chair beside Crystal.

“We’re going to need more chairs,” Pete said. He glanced at Elena.

Luke manifested two more comfortable chairs and offered one to Alona. Then he took the last chair.

Pete and Elena moved their desk chairs closer to the group. Elena pulled out her notebook and began writing.

“Tell us what happened, Teresa,” Pete said.

“We were down the street at the Anime Con as well,” Teresa began. When she finished her story, Pete walked toward her.

“Can you picture the person who bumped into you?”

“Sure,” she said.

Pete touched Teresa’s shoulder. “I see him,” Pete said. “You haven’t seen this man since then, have you?” Pete asked her.

“No, and I haven’t seen Renaldo, either.”

“Did you happen to see the bird people?” Crystal asked.

“Yes, we did,” Alona responded. She glanced at Luke.

“What bird people?” Elena asked.

“They came through the red door just before Eva went through the door and the door and Eva disappeared,” Crystal said.

Luke stood and touched Crystal’s shoulder. “Can you picture the bird people for me, Crystal?” Luke asked.

“Sure.” Crystal closed her eyes.

“Yes, those are the same people we saw,” Luke said, “but I don’t think they were human.”

“No? What were they?” Elena asked.

“They were either from a different density or planet,” Luke said.

“That’s interesting,” Elena said.

“We’re going to have to use some unconventional methods to solve this,” Pete said.

“Like what?” Elena asked.

“I have an idea,” Luke said. He touched Elena’s shoulder and Pete’s shoulder.

“Wow, that’s what they looked like?” Elena asked.

“I see what you mean, Luke,” Pete said.

“Come here, Alona,” Luke said.

Alona joined the three of them. Luke put his arm around Alona and Elena. Pete also wrapped his arms around Alona and Elena. They moved closer together and within seconds were gone.

*** 

“What just happened?” Crystal said. She stood up and glanced around the office.

“Luke is an angel,” Teresa said.

“For real?”

“Yes. I just hope they can find our people,” Teresa said.

“Well, if an angel can’t find them, then no one can,” Crystal said.

The phone rang. Crystal ran to the desk and answered it.

“Guardian Investigations, this is Crystal, how may I help you?”

 

 

 

 

New Year and New Ideas

Sorry I missed the Christmas post. I hope everyone was able to enjoy time with their families and friends.

With that being said, I feel the need to focus more on my spiritual growth, change my eating habits, and get back into regular exercise. While I have always worked on my spiritual growth, I let my eating habits and exercise routine take a back seat to everything else. At my age, I want to make things more simple and still enjoy life.

I noticed too, that when I don't feed my creativity, I become less creative. I've been struggling with my current WIP, "Guardians." Not only that, but my computer has given me so many problems that I'm ready to trade it in. It's only a year old, but I didn't realize that the hard drive was only 450 G. Most of that is taken up by applications, that there isn't room for it to "process" things, let alone, save items. Even with an external hard drive, it won't save anything to the external drive. So, that's on the agenda for the coming year.

In the mean time, in order to do some brainstorming of ideas for new stories, I need 'input.' To get this 'input' of information, I plan on doing some reading, watching movies, walking and exercising more. All these stories and movies start cooking up new ideas in my head when I exercise and keep my mind free from any serious thoughts (except getting through the exercise.) I sometimes have great ideas when I'm washing dishing or folding clothes--things that don't require thinking.

How about you? What do you do to acquire new ideas?

Post Election

Now that the elections are over and I can look forward to the golden years of the United States, I still feel like something is not right. Do you feel it? The Democrats are usually not this quiet after a loss. And it wasn't just a presidential loss, it was Congress and the Senate.

We saw the riots last time with the destruction of cities and businesses. Are the Democrats in shock? Are they re-grouping to take on the whole country? I think I'll be praying and fasting for this country the rest of the week. And then, I'll be praying for the Veterans who served this country in honor of Veterans Day.

With the disclosure that is coming, the military is still the only way. If you are craving information about what is going on, here's a list of Podcasts that I follow on Rumble:

www.redpillprojectmedia.com

www.newstreason.com

www.Qspecialforces.com

www.FreedomForce.live

www.themelkshow.com

www.patriotstreetfighter.com

www.candaceowens.com

www.bennyjohnson.com

www.vivafrei.com

www.andweknow.com

www.x22report.com

www.thealphawarriorshow.tv

www.ninoscorner.tv

Or go to www.Rumble.com and search for the above as well as the following:

RealGeneDecode

McAllister TV

Juan O Savin Presentations

Restored Republic

Redacted News

Tucker Carlson

The Dan Bongino Show

I'm sure there is more, but you'll hear news that isn't reported in the main stream media. Good luck, Keep the Faith, and God Bless You!

Thanksgiving

I give thanks to God that I'm alive at this time in history. The past four years has been hard for me. I've been struggling with creativity and writing. I usually enjoy writing so I can see how the story will end, but this past few years felt like the creative process has been sucked out of me.

Now, with the upcoming election, I feel something big is about to happen. I've thought that since Jan. 20, 2021. I think waiting for the disclosure all this time has drained me of my creativity.

When I was a child and my mother told me about the end of the world, I knew in that moment that I would be there. And here I am. But it's not the end as most people think of it. It's the end for the evil cabal who has ruled over this world. After reading the three books by Melissa Redpill the World, (freedomforce.live) everything makes sense. "End Times and 1000 Years of Peace"; "End Times Major Clues from Minor Prophets"; and "End Times This is Biblical." Not just that, but many podcasts that I've watched have confirmed some of these very bible passages.

You've all seen the corruption going on around us, haven't you? Well, I'm ready for the disclosure. I want to know the truth about everything. I want to see those guilty of crimes against humanity and treason punished for their crimes. I want to see the 600 technologies Trump has talked about that the government has kept from us. The Med Beds are over due. We need them now! Many of the "conspiracy theories" I've written about are no longer theories, they are facts.

I may go through some dark days and some of the disclosures may be hard to take, but I need this so I can be the person I was meant to be, so I can contribute and help our country be the country we were meant to be. I need to move on because I want to see what Trump was talking about when he said the best is yet to come. I can feel it coming, can't you?

A September to Remember

I've been through a lot of hurricanes growing up in Florida. I knew about cloud seeding years ago when the powers that be wanted to stop a hurricane, they could. But Helene was a different ball game altogether. The technology available now, allowed the powers that be to manipulate the hurricane and send it north, going through four or five states. Hurricanes don't move that far and make a left turn! And where is the news media asking questions about this event? This was not a normal hurricane. This was pure evil what they did. They murdered innocent people to confiscate their land for crystal and lithium mining in North Carolina.

Think back to those other strange hurricanes like Camile, Katrina, Andrew and Michael. The damages they caused was unreal. Remember the hurricane that sat on Texas for almost ten days. That wasn't normal. And there was another one that sat on the Bahamas for almost a week and then hit along the coast of the Carolinas. What is going on is not science fiction but fact. Our own government has used the power to manipulate the weather. They have been able to do that since the 1950's and have the technology to move these storms where they want them. They can also create earthquakes and tsunamis, as well as fires. Think about the recent fires in Hawaii. They were all man-made for land grabs.

In a perfect world, controlling the weather should be used to help the farmers grow their crops, to put out natural fires started from lightening, stopping the destructive hurricanes and tornadoes, not create them. They can even make artificial auroras which people have seen recently. Research HAARP (High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program) to get more answers. The government may be using other things to manipulate and control the weather as well, but It's time they stopped. When a government resorts to killing it's own people for greed, it's time we voted those people out.

Redemption, Chapter Three

Dram thought about what Thadus had heard her say to the prisoner down the hall. How could anyone do that to a child? Let alone, their own daughter? Well, his cellmates took care of him. And what was he thinking? It was not like him to show emotion to anyone. He didn’t even show emotion to his son, Adam.

Why did he touch her nose and speak softly to her? What was it about her that made him do stupid things? He thought back on his brief time with Emma, Adam’s Earthen mother. Had he been that stupid? She was the first and only woman he ever loved. Maybe he was stupid. He mated with her and knew she would bear him a son, but she refused to go with him when he finally got a salvage ship to rescue him.

Tam was the first woman he had shown any kind of affection to, in all that time, and it wasn’t much. Prison was no place for a woman or relationships. She had to go. He would speak to Jardan about it in the morning.

*

Marla stood before the prison reform committee. “I think you will see a difference in production in a short time,” she said.

“How do you know that?” Admiral Whitson asked.

“When you’ve had a good night’s sleep, don’t you feel as though you could take on the world the next day?”

“What makes you think they would feel that way?” Ms. Montooth asked.

“It’s simple human behavior. We’ve been studying the effects of deprivation and fulfillment in our research labs on Vestra Major. And after meeting with the Earthen Delegation from the prisons on Earth, we’ve learned more things.”

“And what’s this next phase you have here?” Denton asked.

“To install a cleansing unit in each cell. That will save time in the long run. They can cleanse themselves in their own cells before or after meals. There would be privacy for each cellmate,” Marla said.

“They are being punished for crimes. Why would we worry about their privacy?” Montooth asked.

“It’s not so much the privacy, but the fact they can utilize their time more wisely in their own cells. It would create less work for the guards.”

“How are we supposed to get this accomplished?” Admiral Whitson asked.

“We have all the manpower we need. We just need the supervision of an engineer,” Marla said.

“That can be arranged,” Denton said.

“What about the program that’s in place now?” Montooth asked.

“Which one?” Marla asked.

“The one where they can buy a pillow or blanket with the bonuses they earn?”

“That can be upgraded to where they can earn a bonus of credits to trade in for things like sweets, books, food or beverages they don’t usually get in their meals,” Marla explained.

“I think we should think about all these changes before deciding anything,” Montooth said.

Marla had a feeling that Montooth would be a problem for all of them. Just getting Kellen to agree on sheets and pillows was the hardest thing she had to deal with up to this point. And it wasn’t Kellen so much as the warden. He put a stop to anything good the committee had tried to do in the past. He was definitely not a humanitarian.

“We’ve been dragging our feet long enough,” said Admiral Whitson. “All in favor?”

Marla, Denton, and Whitson raised their hands.

“Well, Montooth? What have you got to say?” Whitson asked.

“I don’t like it. They are being punished for committing crimes. I don’t think we should make it easy for them.”

“This won’t make their work any easier, just their life after work,” Marla said. Now, they must convince the warden.

*

The day started out as usual for Tam. Now that she had a pillow, sheets and blanket, what else did she need? More reading material? More hygiene products? Maybe there was a list somewhere. She would save up for something. She worked hard, getting at the larger rubies and wedging them out of the rocks.

When it came time for the mid-day meal, they all ate outside on the shaded patio. She enjoyed the pleasant Plumaris atmosphere. All the surrounding mountains had a purple hue to them that faded into pinks and reds, depending on how the sun’s rays hit the mountains. When it was time to get back to work, she felt invigorated.

“Thank you for the sunshine,” she said to Jardan.

“Uh, you’re welcome?”

“Tell me, is that a glass ceiling in our cells?” she asked.

“No. Those are holograms, set to show you the night sky by the corresponding hour, up until daylight to help you get sleep,” Jardan said.

“Nice touch, then,” Tam said. She followed the other guard back to her work site.

After she got back into her harness, the guard over the ruby mines hoisted her up and she began her tedious chisel work. A slice of rock broke off and she caught it before it fell. It had a white underside, different from other pieces of rock. She stroked it against the hard surface of the mine and it left a white mark. “Hmm.” She pocketed the shard. Maybe she could use it to keep track of her days here, or at least she could keep track of her monthly. The more she chiseled, the more the rock changed. Finally, a big hunk fell below her.

“Watch out!” she yelled.

“Hey!” the guard shouted back.

“The rock is different here,” she called out.

“Keep working,” the guard yelled up at her.

“Whatever you say, boss,” she mumbled. She tapped the rock surface a little harder and more pieces fell away. There were no rubies visible in the area, but she felt compelled to chip away at the softer rock surface. It finally exposed part of a large geode with red crystals in a circular pattern. The geode was so large, she could almost crawl into it.

“Thadus! Give me a hand, will you?” she called out.

“Oh, my worlds! What a find. Don’t break them off,” he said.

“How do I get this out?”

“We’ll tap around the geode. That should bring quite a bonus.”

The two of them worked on the bottom and moved to the top, chiseling around it. It took most of the afternoon. By late afternoon, they were able to break it free, with all the crystals intact.

“Bronin!” Thadus called out to the guard.

“What the Vaedran hell is that?” the guard asked.

“This is our bonus for the month,” Thadus said.

“Yeah, we’re sharing this one,” Tam added.

Bronin lowered the two harnesses while they hung on to the giant egg-shaped geode. “Move to the scanner,” Bronin ordered.

Tam stood with Thadus in front of the scanner, while still in their harnesses. After they were scanned, they set the geode down on the table while Bronin called for his supervisors.

Once the supervisor acknowledged their find, they were hoisted up to continue their work.

“That was exciting. Did you ever find a geode before?” Tam asked Thadus.

“No. That was a first for me. It was a beauty, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. Do you think there are more, here?”

“I guess we’ll find out,” Thadus said. He went back to work on his area, while she continued with her area.

There were no rubies in sight, so she continued working on the softer rock. She was able to locate a smaller geode, but this one had pink crystals. Carefully, she worked it out of its encasement. She reached behind it and felt another smooth, roundish object. Could it be another geode?

Tam quickly placed the geode into her pouch. When she glanced at the cache behind where the geode had been, it looked more like a nest of eggs than rocks or geodes. None of which had been smooth like this egg-looking thing. It appeared several had hatched, but this single egg. All sat in a nest made of straw and sticks. That was the largest bird egg she had ever seen.

She lightly tapped it and heard it tap back. She glanced around the nest area and realized it had been hollow. She pulled herself as close as she could to get a better look. Light streamed into the area from the far left.

“Thadus, I see daylight,” she called out.

“What are you talking about?”

“Come here!”

Thadus pushed off from his wall and moved toward her.

“Is that what I think it is?” Thadus asked.

“Um, it looks like a large egg to me,” Tam said.

“Yes, but eggs that large can only be one thing,” he said.

“Well, this one wants out,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

She tapped the egg lightly and it tapped back. This time, the shell cracked and opened.

“Thadus, what is that?”

He glanced at her. “A dragon, Tam.”

Thadus caught it in his hand when it broke free and handed it to her. “He’s your find.”

She glanced at it. “What do I do with it?”

“Let’s see what the guard says.”

“Wait! Let’s keep this to ourselves. He doesn’t have to know, does he?”

“They grow pretty big.”

“He’s kind of cute,” Tam said. She petted his head.

“Yeah? Well, they eat meat, and he’s probably hungry.”

“Hey, this one has wings,” she said.

Bronin shouted, “What are you two doing?”

“We thought we had another geode, but it turned out to be nothing but rock,” Thadus said. He pushed away and returned to his work.

Tam slipped the tiny dragon into her pouch. She counted the broken eggshells. There were eight total. Seven baby dragons escaped through that hole. If the mother came in to lay the eggs, it must be big enough to climb out of.

Tam carefully continued her work, trying not to hurt the tiny dragon.

Finally, Bronin lowered them to the ground. She put her crystals on the table for Bronin to measure and weigh.

Tam kept quiet about the dragon, reaching her hand into the pouch to pet it.

“It’s break time.” Bronin led them out onto the patio, where there were some snacks and drinks. All the other inmates were also on break.

Tam pretended to eat her snack but put some into her pouch for the dragon. She thought she heard it squeal, but the noise of everyone talking drowned out the sound.

‘It’s okay, baby dragon. It’s going to be okay,’ she said with her mind.

“How big do these things get?” she whispered to Thadus.

“As big as a mountain,” he said.

Dram and Gomet joined them. “What are you whispering about?” Dram asked.

She motioned him to come closer, so he did. She opened her pouch and showed him her find.

“Where did you find that thing?” Dram asked.

“It was in a nest with other broken eggs. This one wanted out right away,” Tam said.

While she ate and fed the dragon, she thought of a name. She checked to see if it was a female. “I’ll call her Ruby, since I found her in the ruby mines.”

“Good choice,” Thadus said.

*

When the break was over, they were returned to a different area.

“Hey, what gives?” Thadus asked.

“We’re moving you to another area for mining,” Bronin said. Another guard led the four miners to a different area. This one didn’t have the rubies they had hunted, but pink crystals were stuck in the rocks.

“Are these valuable?” Tam asked.

“Yes, they are, but not as valuable as the rubies,” Bronin said.

Once everyone was back in their harnesses, they were hoisted up to the rock wall where they began chiseling for the crystals.

Tam slipped her hand into the pouch to pet Ruby, every now and then. She spoke to Ruby telepathically to make sure she was okay. She didn’t want to let anyone know she had this tiny creature, for fear of never seeing her again, or worse.

*

Kellen met with his supervisory guards about the new find.

“Well, our only female prisoner managed to find the mother-load of rubies in a giant geode.” He pulled the cover off the geode to let them get a good look at the prize. “She’s sharing the credits with Thadus.”

“Wow, that ought to give them a bonus for life,” Jardan said.

“Not so fast, Jardan. I think I’ll let them have bonuses for a couple months, but that’s it. They can have up to ten credits each for two months each.”

“And what’s the second thing you wanted to tell us?” another supervisory guard asked.

Kellen re-covered the geode. “The warden is coming to inspect this place in the next day or so. I expect everyone on their best behavior. Have the inmates clean their cells and toilets tonight.”

“Are we doing cleansings again tonight, sir?” Jardan asked.

“No. The inmates are clean enough for inspection,” Kellen said.

“What about haircuts? The inmates are overdue for those,” Jardan said.

“They can wait until after the inspection. The inmates are already getting more than they have ever had in the past,” Kellen said. “You’re dismissed.”

*

Finally, the day was over and all the miners turned in their rubies and crystals. Bronin led them out to their cell blocks. Tam kept Ruby in her pouch and petted her. Ruby seemed content to curl up in her bag.

Once she was inside her cell, Bronin announced that there wouldn’t be cleansings tonight.

“Why not? I thought this was going to happen every night?” Thadus asked.

“There’s been a change in plans,” Bronin said.

“What change?” Dram asked as he entered the cell with Gomet.

“Tomorrow, you will all be cleaning your cells and toilets. The warden is coming to inspect this place.”

“What about our haircuts?” Gomet asked.

“We haven’t had one in six months,” Dram said.

“Yeah. Orders from the top. You’ll get your haircut after the inspections.”

“What did you do this time?” Dram asked Tam.

“Why do you think I had anything to do with it?”

“None of this happened before you came along,” Dram said.

“Yeah,” Gomet agreed.

“Are you complaining?” Tam asked.

“Not at all,” Dram said.

Then he noticed her hand. “What’s that?”

“Oh, this?” she asked. “This is Ruby, my dragon, remember?”

She showed Ruby to Dram and Gomet.

“The hell you say,” Gomet said. “You’re thinking of keeping it?”

“She found a nest of dragon eggs while working the ruby mines. They all had hatched but this one. Plus, she found the mother-load of rubies in a geode as big as she is,” Thadus said.

“You’ve been busy today,” Dram said.

“That I have,” she said.

“How long are you keeping Ruby?” Gomet asked.

“I don’t know. She bonded with me, so until she gets too big to hide, I guess.”

“You know they get really big, right?” Dram asked.

“I was told that, yes.”

“And they eat meat,” Dram added.

“I was told that, too.”

“Well, you are meat to them,” Dram added.

“I hope to train her to eat other meat,” Tam said.

“Good luck with that,” Dram added.

Tam petted Ruby and whispered to her until it was time to eat. When the guards and prisoners brought their food, she shared what she had been given with Ruby by letting her eat from her dish.

Afterward, she showed Ruby where the toilet was and explained to her how to use it.

“You actually think that thing is listening to you?” Dram asked her.

“That thing’s name is Ruby. And yes, I think she can understand me. She seems very smart,” Tam said. Tam sat Ruby on the edge of the toilet seat. Ruby clung to the edge of the seat with her back legs and leaned forward. She drizzled into the toilet. ‘I am very smart,’ a female voice came into Tam’s head.

“See that. She is smart,” Tam said to Dram. She scooped up Ruby and headed to her bunk. She set Ruby on top of the bed, then climbed up herself. She put Ruby on her belly and spoke to her telepathically. ‘Did you speak to me a little bit ago?’ Tam said with her mind.

‘Yes, I did. If I spoke to you with my voice, you wouldn’t understand me. My vocal cords haven’t developed yet.’

Tam ran a finger down the spines on Ruby’s head and back. ‘I love your beautiful scales, Ruby. They look iridescent in the light. Even the ridges on your head seem colorful. And your green eyes look almost human.’

‘Thank you. I’m growing fond of you, too.’ Ruby responded.

‘You are doing quite well for a newborn,’ Tam said.

‘Thank you. Can you tell me how many siblings I have?’

‘There were seven other eggs besides yours. You hatched after the others, so I don’t know how many brothers and sisters you have.’

‘If it’s possible, can I see the others at some time?’

‘I don’t know where the rest of them went or when they hatched. I haven’t told anyone about you except my cellmates.’

Ruby jumped off Tam’s belly and curled up near her pillow and went to sleep.

Tam thought about the tiny creature. Ruby’s underbelly was yellowish-white, while the rest of her was dark gray with the iridescent highlights. Her front legs were shorter than her back legs, but she used them for crawling and holding her food while she ate. Her nostrils were large and her beak was wide. Just how big was Ruby going to get? Tam rolled over and went to sleep.

*

By morning, Tam woke earlier than her cellmates and took care of her needs. When she climbed back into bed, she watched as the tiny creature flew from the bed and down to the toilet. Apparently, Ruby took care of her needs as well, then flew back up to the bunk with Tam.

‘Very good! You amaze me, Ruby. You learn so fast. I’m proud of you.’

‘Thank you. Aren’t we getting up for the day?’

‘We’ll sleep a little longer until the alarm goes off, then we’ll get up.’

Ruby curled up near Tam’s head and they both drifted off for a few minutes more. When the alarm, finally went off, Tam reassured Ruby that they had a few more minutes before the food arrived.

Once the guards and prisoners came down the hall with their food, Tam had Ruby in her pouch.

After getting their morning rations, the guards announced a change in their daily routine.

Redemption Chapter Two

 

The next morning, Tam climbed down from her bunk first to use the toilet. The increasing daylight through the transparent ceiling woke her. She splashed water on her face. When she realized the others were still asleep, she climbed back up to her bunk. Maybe she would finally get some sleep. She dozed off until a loud, blaring alarm went off. She sat up in bed and glanced around. Dram and Gomet stirred. She turned toward her wall to give them privacy and catch a few more minutes of sleep.

Another few minutes brought the clanging of the plates against the bars. She grabbed her plate and implement and climbed down from her bunk. She joined her cellmates at the bars. She caught a glimpse of Dram whispering something to the guard. Then the guard glanced right at her. She swallowed hard. What did Dram just tell him? But the guard said nothing to her. She took her food and sat on the floor to eat. What she would give to have some capu right now. She drank her juice and was thankful she had food. Something scurried across the floor and it made her jump. “What was that?” she asked.

“A drizit. They’re looking for food. Make sure you rinse your plate and implement well, or you’ll find them in your bed,” Dram said.

She realized she would be giving up a lot by being in this place. Her life was no longer her own. After her sleepless night, though, she was thankful for Berto. Yes, if it wasn’t for Berto, she would still be living in hell with her father.

“You must have had one hell of a dream last night,” Thadus said to her. Her heart skipped a beat.

“Why do you say that?” she asked, trying not to look surprised.

“The squeaky springs under your mattress gave it away,” Thadus said.

“It was more like a nightmare,” she said. She stood to wash her plate and implement. “Are you all lifers?” she asked.

The three of them stood to rinse off their plates. “Yes, we are,” Dram answered.

“From what I hear,” Thadus began, “we’ll be in this prison until we die.”

“Well, that puts a damper on my plans,” she said.

“You got plans?” Gomet asked.

She rolled her eyes.

“That was a joke, Gomet,” Dram said.

“That wasn’t funny,” Gomet said.

“What isn’t funny?” Thadus asked.

“This life. We’ve all done some terrible things to get

here. It’s supposed to be a time to think on those things and be sorrowful.”

“Well, I’m finished thinking on those things,” she said. “It’s time to move on.”

“Move on to where?” Thadus asked.

“The next step,” she said.

“There is no next step,” Dram said. “There’s working, eating, and sleeping. That’s it.”

“Well, everyone in the universe is doing the same thing right now, whether they are here on Plumaris, or somewhere else. I’ll find something else to do.” She had to. She couldn’t face another night like last night.

After everyone took care of their bodily needs, a guard came to escort them to their workstations.

“Hey, is there anything to read around here?” she asked the guard. She read Jardan on his name tag.

“Read? Like what?”

“Stories, articles, anything written by another human,” she said.

“Hmm, no one ever asked me that. I’ll check around and see if I can find something for you,” Jardan said.

“Thanks.” She was back working with Thadus in the ruby

mines. The work wasn’t too difficult, but she couldn’t imagine

doing this exact same thing for fifty years or more with nothing

else to look forward to. One thing she learned from her short time being an I.S.P. agent was that reading kept her mind busy. She needed something to take her mind off her past. She didn’t want to go back to those dark places she had been mentally, when she was a child.

While she dug out her rubies, she remembered what Thadus had told her about the bonuses at the end of the month. She definitely wanted a pillow and a blanket.

***

“Kellen, we need to do something about the woman on Level A,” Jardan said.

“We aren’t set up for women here. I’ve put in a request to move her to another facility,” Kellen said.

“Have you heard back?”

“Not yet.”

“She’s also asking for reading material.”

“What?”

“Yes, anything written by another human.”

“Geez. Next, she’ll want to cleanse herself every day.”

“Well, the men have been asking for that for a while now,” Jardan said.

“Do they think they are staying at a luxury hotel?” Kellen asked.

“How long do you go without cleansing yourself?” Jardan asked.

“I cleanse myself daily.”

“Well, what’s so bad about the prisoners doing that daily? I mean, they aren’t going anywhere, right? What would it hurt? Besides, the smell is strong in those cells after a couple days,” Jardan said.

“They are being punished for their crimes. They lost all their rights and privileges.”

“I’m talking simple hygiene. They are putting in ten-hour days as it is. They get no unicrin, bedding or pillows when they get here. I know we can afford it,” Jardan said.

“Jardan, there’s nothing I can do about it now. It’s up to the warden and his superiors.”

“Yes, sir.”

*** 

Tam was back in her harness, cutting out a large ruby when the cramping started. It was always mild, but what followed was not pleasant and her unicrin was white. Strapped in tight, she continued to work, knowing she had to deal with the clean-up

somehow.

By the end of the day, the harness was lowered, and the guard helped her out.

“You’re going to need to sanitize this harness before anyone else uses it,” she said.

“Oh, on whose authority?”

She pointed to the stain in the bottom.

“Did you wet your pants?” the guard asked.

“No.”

He gave her the once over, but she walked away. The darkness of the mines hid the reality. She was able to slip out without drawing any more attention to herself. As she walked with Thadus and the guard back to their cell, someone called out her name.

“Tam!”

She turned toward the familiar voice behind a set of bars.

“What are you doing here? Did you take out the man who killed your brother?” her father asked.

“No, but I did find out my brother was a pedophile, just like you!”

The men in the cell turned toward her father.

“Did he tell you he raped me when I was four anos? Did he tell you he killed my mother when she tried to stop him?” Her hands closed into fists. “My brother was a monster, just like you!” she shouted.

Thadus ushered her to their cell. Moments later, she heard

the sound of men fighting. The guard quickly locked them in and

ran toward the other cell.

“Good gosh, Tam, what happened to you?” Thadus said.

She turned around. “That bad, huh?”

“Your clothes look like someone died in them.”

“It’s my monthly. I warned the guards, but they didn’t think it was important.”

An alarm went off. Shortly after that, Dram and Gomet arrived. She felt drenched in blood. It looked far worse than it felt, but what could she do?

Dram glanced at her and immediately shouted, “Guards!” He waved his arm through the bars. “Guards!”

Two guards came running up to the cell.

“What is it?” one of the guards asked.

“We have an emergency here,” Dram said. He pointed at her.

“Good Lord! What happened?”

She rolled her eyes. “I warned the two guards that brought me here.”

The two guards escorted her back down the hall. The front and back of her unicrin was now covered in blood.

“Can I just get some hygiene products and cleanse myself. Please?”

They brought her to an office.

“Stand here. Don’t sit,” one guard ordered.

The other guard left and came back with two other guards.

One she recognized as Jardan.

“Damn!” Kellen said. “Take the shuttle to my house and bring my mate. Tell her what’s happened.”

“Yes, sir.” Jardan left.

Tam crossed her arms. She read Kellen’s name tag. This will take a while, she thought. “Will I get to eat? I’m pretty hungry,” she said.

“Yes, yes, you’ll get to eat. One of the guards told me you spoke to a prisoner earlier. What was said between you?”

“What does it matter?”

“The prisoner is dead, so I need to know what happened.”

“I called him out as a pedophile.”

“And how do you know this?”

“Because he was my father and he deserved to die.”

“I see,” Kellen said. “You know you put us in a predicament.”

“Really? How’s that?”

“We aren’t set up for women prisoners.”

“I see that. What I don’t understand is why you couldn’t

put a cleansing unit in each cell. I mean, all this kashish you’re making off slave labor should afford some type of hygiene in this place. And why can’t you supply each prisoner with a pillow and some bedding? Aren’t we working hard enough for you? After each of us spends a lifetime here, we should at least get

a good night’s sleep.”

“You’re asking a lot for a prisoner,” Kellen said.

“Not really. I’m just asking for what any human would want after a hard day’s work.”

“You forget you are being punished.”

“I get it. The rest of my life, I will work hard to compensate the family I’ve wronged. Is it too much to ask for clean clothes and a cleansing unit? Have you smelled those men, lately?”

After a few more minutes, Jardan returned with Kellen’s mate.

“Oh, Kellen, what’s happened?” a woman said as she walked into the room.

“I’ve done nothing, Marla. Can you please help this prisoner?”

“Sure. Come with me, honey.” Marla took Tam to the far end of the hall. There were rows of cleansing units lined up against a wall.

“Go ahead and cleanse yourself. When you finish, put these

on,” Marla said. She handed Tam some clothes and some hygiene products.

“Thank you,” Tam said.

While she washed and dried herself off in the unit, she wondered about this woman. She seemed genuine. Was it any better at a woman’s prison? When she felt human again, she stepped out of the unit and Marla walked her back to Kellen’s office.

“Thank you,” Tam said to Kellen.

“For what?”

“For giving me back a little dignity.”

Marla smiled, while Kellen grimaced.

“There’s your food.” He pointed at a tray on his desk. “When you finish eating, Jardan will escort you back to your cell.”

Tam sat in a chair beside his desk, putting the tray in her lap. She ate quickly. Not because she wanted to get back to her cell, but because the vibes she was getting from the two mates was palpable. She wanted to get the hell out of the office.

***

When she returned to her cell, her cell-mates were lying on their bunks, staring at the ceiling.

Dram sat up.

“Oh, here are some reading materials,” Jardan said. He pulled some rolled up magazines out of his jacket pocket and

handed them to her.

“Thanks,” she said.

“What’s that?” Dram asked.

“PRMs,” Jardan said.

Dram looked puzzled.

“Portable Reading Materials. Inmates aren’t allowed to have comm-pads. These were hard to find.” He locked the door and left.

“You want one?” she asked Dram.

“Sure, why not.”

She handed one to Dram.

“How’d you get new clothes and wet hair?” Gomet asked.

“Kellen’s mate brought these for me and let me cleanse myself before putting them on.” Her new clothes were a worn t-shirt and some stretchy, long pants.

“How decent of them,” Thadus said.

“What’s in the container?” Gomet asked.

She had been clutching the container since she left Kellen’s office. “Hygiene products, if you must know.” She climbed up to her bunk above Thadus’ bunk.

“Can I have one of those PRMs?” Thadus asked.

She leaned over her bunk and handed one to Thadus.

“Thanks,” he said.

“Just for the record,” she began. She flipped through one of the colorful PRMs. “I put in a word for everyone’s benefit.”

“Oh?” Dram said.

“Yes. I told Kellen the smell around here was quite pungent.”

A pillow hit her in the face. She sat up. Dram stood

staring at her, his hands on his hips. “We smell?”

“Yes, and thanks for the pillow.”

He reached for it, but she pulled it out of his reach. Dram jumped up and tried to grab it, but she stuffed it under her back. In seconds, she felt the bed shake. When she looked up, Dram had climbed up to her bunk. He was on top of her, his face close to hers. “I’ll take that,” he said. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the pillow with one arm and pulled the pillow out with the other.

“Do you know how long I worked for this pillow?” he whispered.

“Tell me.” She whispered back. Their faces were close and a spark of electrical energy shot through her. Did he feel it, too?

“Too long,” he said. He tossed the pillow onto his bunk from across the cell, then backed off her and the bed.

The few moments of his nearness brought warmth to her body. She realized how cold she was when he backed away. These newer clothes were comfortable but not as warm as her I.S.P. unicrin had been. Maybe it had been the cleansing unit’s water that cooled her off. Anyway, she hadn’t been that close to a man in years. At least, not willingly. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she never had a meaningful relationship with any man before. At least not one she wanted to remember.

*** 

Dram watched her from his lower bunk. The thought of kissing Tam had crossed his mind. All he wanted was his pillow, but after holding her, he realized she was the first woman he held in his arms since Emma and that was so long ago. When Emma wouldn’t join him, he never let another woman enter his mind or his heart.

*** 

The next morning’s routine was the same as before. Tam got up earlier to take care of her needs, then crawled back into bed until the alarm sounded. Breakfast came and went, and she was back on the job.

The first thing she noticed was her harness was different. “Did you clean this harness from yesterday?” she asked the guard.

“It’s new. We had to burn the last one. Next time, warn us in advance.”

That’s hard to do. “I’ll try.” She worked hard on digging out rubies. She wanted a pillow. The thought of what transpired the night before made her smile. By mid-day, she was ready to eat. The rest of the day was like the day before, but when it

was quitting time, that’s when things changed.

She was back in her cell with the others. She lay on her bunk as Dram and Thadus paced the floor of the cell. Her stomach growled and she heard someone else’s stomach make the same noise.

“Something’s happening,” Dram said. He pressed his face against the bars. “All I can see is people moving out of their cells.”

“Is that normal?” she asked.

“Only once a month when we get to cleanse ourselves,” Dram said.

“Yes, but it’s only been a couple weeks,” Gomet said.

“You cleanse yourselves once a month?” she asked.

“I smell food,” Thadus said.

Several long minutes later, the guards moved to the cell next door.

“They’re being taken to the cleansing compartments,” Dram said.

“Is that a fact?” Tam asked. She picked up her PRM and thumbed through it. The smell of food made her stomach growl again. A few minutes later, the cell next door was served their food.

Dram, Gomet, and Thadus had their faces pressed against the bars. “They’re back,” Dram announced.

“Our turn,” Thadus said.

The guards unlocked their cell and escorted all of them to

the cleansing units. Tam grabbed her container with hygiene products and fell in line with the others. When they finished, they were each furnished clean clothes, a set of sheets, a

blanket, and a pillow.

“What’s the occasion?” Dram asked.

“We are tired of getting complaints. Once a week, you will turn in the dirty sheets and get a new set,” the guard said.

“What about the clothes? Thadus asked.

“You’ll get a fresh set daily when you head to the cleansing compartments.”

“Daily cleansing?” Dram asked.

“Yes. The cells apparently stink,” the other guard said.

“Here,” the first guard handed something to Dram. “Use this to sterilize your mattresses and old pillows before putting the new sheets on.

Dram turned and glanced at Tam. She shrugged her shoulders, then followed the first guard out.

Once they sanitized everything, their food arrived. The four of them ate then made their beds.

“I’m going to sleep good tonight, Gomet said.

“Me, too,” Thadus said.

She didn’t want to mention that the temporary prison cells

at the I.S.P. station came with bedding, pillows, and a unicrin. But she would at least be comfortable when she slept. The problem was trying to sleep without the recurring nightmares from her past. She rolled over to face the wall, once the lights were out. Then she heard a whisper in her ear and felt the

warmth of someone’s breath.

“Sleep tight, little one.”

She opened her eyes and turned to see Dram’s head above the side of her bunk. He touched her nose with his finger and turned to leave, but she was quick to grab his wrist. He didn’t pull away.

“Thanks,” she said. Mariposas jumped in her belly, when they exchanged glances. She released her grip, and he walked back to his bunk. Why would he do that? Was he thankful for being able to cleanse himself? Or did he appreciate the new bedding? She watched him a few minutes before turning away.

Something was happening between them, but she didn’t know what it was. Maybe it was her imagination. Without having something to compare it with, she had no idea. She pulled her new sheet and blanket over her shoulder as she turned to face the wall. She pictured his face once more as he tried to retrieve his pillow earlier and fell asleep, thinking of Dram.

***  

Dram lay in his bed, thinking about what this woman was

doing here in Leviticus Station. He already felt punished for slave-trafficking. He had made a good living off it all those years. The people he sold were just products. He never gave them a second thought. So why was he thinking about it now? Was it something Tam had said when she first arrived? Or was it something she had done? He remembered she tried to kill Berto for killing her brother. Her brother had raped Berto’s little sister. Berto himself had told him that story years ago. But for someone to hold a grudge like revenge for so long and then not act resentful, there must be more to the story. Was it that she didn’t know how evil her brother was? The one thing he had never done was to take advantage of any of the young women or girls that he captured. They were off limits to him and his men. The house maidens were another thing. He let his men take them whenever they wanted. He had to keep them happy so they wouldn’t touch the products he was selling. He glanced up at Tam’s bunk. He wanted to learn more about this new cellmate.

 

 

Redemption

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter One

As the shuttle flew over Plumaris, Tam could see the southern portion was inhabited with small clusters of villages among wooded or forested areas with lakes and streams flowing nearby. It was beautiful. She had heard otherwise. Finally, the shuttle moved north. The farther north they went, the more the terrain changed.

The northern portion was a desolate place. The treeless, rocky terrain was depressing. A voice came over the comms unit.

“If you look closely, you can see some definite shapes in the rocks. Buildings inside these rock formations house the single guards who patrol the area, so there’s no escaping.”

The shuttle set down in front of a massive door and the voice came back. “This is Leviticus Station. Welcome to the Gates of Hell.”

A guard stood before her. “Let’s go.” He stepped between two seats and ushered her and the other two prisoners out of the shuttle.

She stood up and moved slowly out of her seat, her legs shackled, and her wrists bound. The two males accompanying her were also shackled and bound, making the exit laborious. Another guard led them toward the massive doors, while the first guard brought up the rear. Both guards were armed.

She followed behind the guard and entered through the massive doors. The place was big enough for several shuttles to fly through, but the one she arrived in sat outside the cave. The rock walls were smooth. Two more guards joined them after removing the shackles of each prisoner. Their wrists remained bound as they walked to a people mover. Wide enough to accommodate all of them, they stepped inside and went down a couple levels when the doors opened again. This time, the two male prisoners were escorted off with two guards. The doors closed and the three of them continued down. When the doors opened again, they got off and walked down another hall to a guard station.

“Hey, wait a minute. We were expecting a male prisoner,” the guard said.

“Sorry. This is what you get,” the escort guard said.

“Where are we going to put her?”

“That’s up to you. We were just supposed to escort her here.”

“You could release me and pretend you never saw me,” Tam said.

“You wish,” the guard said. “I have a place for you, but you’re not going to like it.”

“I don’t even like being on this planet,” she said.

“Let’s go.” The guard grabbed her arm and escorted her down another hall.

“Don’t I get a unicrin or something?” she asked.

“Nope. You get nothing for free here,” the guard said.

She still wore the I.S.P. unicrin from when she was arrested. In the prison on Tarsius, they at least let her cleanse herself every couple days. It would be interesting having to go through her monthly cycle without cleansing herself or having clean clothes to change into.

The guard pushed her forward further down the hall.

“Who do I speak to about my monthly cycle?” she asked.

“Your what?”

“My monthly, you know. It’s due soon.” She stopped and glared at him.

“Oh, uh, I’ll speak to my supervisor. He’ll have to get back to you on that.”

“Please do, or we’ll have a hygiene problem.”

He stopped at a corner and spoke to another guard. “I’ve

got you another gem miner,” he said.

“Bring him here.”

“It’s her,” the guard said.

The other guard gave her the once over. “What are we supposed to do with a woman in here?”

“The same as the men, I suppose.”

“That won’t work, and you know it,” the second guard said.

“I’ll speak to Kellen about it,” the first guard said. “She’s your problem now.”

***

Dram aimed the AI powered plasma drill at the target and squeezed the handles. In a matter of minutes, liquid tulin poured into the wheeled vat below the hole. When it reached the fill line, he had the next vat lined up.

“Vat’s up!” he yelled. He pushed the full vat down the track and concentrated on filling the new vat.

Gomet grabbed the vat and pushed it to the next link, where the tulin would be poured into the grand vat. From there, it would be made into coins or bars or melted into exquisite furniture.

Dram remembered when he owned furniture made of tulin and spent the coins on ships to increase his business. It had been months since he was locked up, here on Plumaris. His was a life sentence, so he was adjusting to a different way of living.

Besides, it beat the alternative.

He lined up the plasma drill once more when the flow of tulin stopped. Pressing the handles, he tried to get more tulin to pour out, but this vein was done. He reached up and pulled the sensor down to locate more of the shiny gold-colored metal.

Moving the sensor around, up and down the rock wall, it finally beeped. He marked the spot and moved his vat into place and began the same routine. More liquid tulin flowed after the plasma drill did its thing.

He couldn’t imagine doing this kind of work without these tools. The only reason humans were needed was to move the vats along and to manually use the sensor. Oh, and the fact that it was penance for living a life of crime. Yeah, that’s the reason.

“I heard we were getting another cell-mate,” Gomet said.

“Did you, now?” He pushed the filled vat to Gomet.

He walked back a distance to pick up another empty vat and pushed it along to his target area. He could only get so much out of a vein with one blast. He was glad he didn’t have Gomet’s job. It was boring as hell, standing around and waiting on someone else to do the work.

“So, when is this new cell-mate coming in?” he asked. He aimed his plasma drill again and blasted another vein of tulin.

He watched the liquid pour into the vat.

“Tonight,” Gomet said.

“Hmm.” Gomet usually got good intel. A new cellmate didn’t come along too often. It would be amusing for a while, but then he would get bored harassing the newbie. But cellmates didn’t mean they would be working together. They would just be sleeping in the same cell. Right now, it was him, Gomet, and Thadus. After this newbie, there were no more beds.

Thadus worked the gem mines. The work was harder, but not as hot. Here, in the tulin mines, the high heat to melt the tulin into coins, bars, or furnishings kept the whole place sweltering. His tank top was grimy and worn and so were his pants. Once every six months, they were given some clean, recycled clothes and the old ones were washed and passed along to someone else. He would have to talk to someone about that. The smell was getting unbearable in their cell. Six months was too long to wait for clean clothes.

 

***

 

Thadus used his chisel to work the rubies out of their rock enclosure. He had an eye for detail, and this was slow, tedious work. The more he was able to pry the bigger rubies out, the bigger his bonus at the end of the month.

He hung from his harness over a wall of sparkling rubies. Besides himself, there were two others who could dislodge the beauties in big pieces. They all wanted that bonus. He was

planning on buying a pillow with his earnings. The flattened pillow he had was giving him neck pains and he dreamed of a good night’s sleep.

Once a month, when the bonuses were given out, they had a small market set up where the prisoners could buy things they needed or wanted, luxury items that normal people took for granted.

“Thadus!”

He turned to see who called him. That was odd because no one ever called him. He caught a glimpse of movement below him on a ledge.

“Coming up!” a voice called out.

Within seconds, a woman was hoisted up next to him in a harness. Her hair was black with orange spikes coming out from it, reminding him of a matchstick.

“I’m Tam,” she said.

“Well, I’m Thadus. I guess you’re the newbie I heard talk about.”

“I guess so.”

“Let me show you what I’m doing and then you can attack that wall over there.”

He reached above her head and pulled her rope closer to

his. He showed her how to hold the chisel and the mallet, then went to work.

“It’s simple really. If you take your time and do it right, you get a bonus each month for the big rubies. If you break them, you get nothing.”

“I didn’t think prisoners got paid at all,” she said.

“We don’t. The bonus helps to buy things like a blanket or pillow or clothes. Just a little something to make our hell on Plumaris a little easier to bear.”

Thadus reached up to the rope above her harness, and shoved Tam further away.

“That’s the end of your lesson. You’re on your own now.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled.

Thadus went back to work. Each ruby he extracted was carefully placed into a bag he had on his waist.

“Where’s my bag?” Tam asked.

“Didn’t they give you one?”

“Nope.”

Thadus patted his grimy clothes and found a spare bag. He pushed off from the rock wall and slid sideways to reach Tam.

“Here. You should have gotten one when they hooked you up to the harness.”

“I guess they overlooked that part,” she said.

Hours later, an alarm sounded, and the harnesses were lowered to the ground.

“What’s happening?” Tam asked.

“It’s quitting time,” Thadus said.

A guard unhooked each of them from their harness and pointed to a wall with a box protruding out from it.

“Deposit your rubies with your code over there,” the guard said.

“What code?” Tam asked.

“Weren’t you given a code when they processed you?”

“I don’t remember a code.”

“Name?”

“Tam.”

“Your code is 043,” the guard said. He glanced at his comm-pad. “Don’t forget that number. You need it for everything.”

“Yes, sir.” Tam walked to the box and pressed her code into the keypad beside it and it opened. She deposited her rubies inside the box and the box closed.

“Now what?” she said.

“You go to your cell,” the guard said.

“She’s a newbie,” Thadus said. “I don’t think she has been assigned a cell yet.”

“Wait there,” the guard said. He pointed to a spot against the wall.

After Thadus and two others deposited their rubies and went on, the guard approached her.

“Come with me,” he said.

“Is this our daily routine, then?” Tam asked.

“You came late today. Tomorrow, you eat the morning meal and put in ten hours with two breaks and a lunch then go back to your cell at the end of the day.”

“Sounds like fun.” Tam said, sarcastically. “But I’ll need a bag for tomorrow.”

“A bag?”

“You know, to put the rubies into as I collect them.”

The guard gave her a side glance. Then he produced a bag for her. “Don’t lose this one.”

“I never had one so why would you say that?”

The guard shook his head and kept going. She followed behind, silently. They walked through the tunnel before getting into a people mover. After a few minutes, the people mover stopped, and they exited.

“This is your cell block.” The guard checked his comm-pad again. “This way.” He turned right and she followed him down a hall. It looked more like a building than a cave. Each cell appeared to have four men in them. There were cells on each side of the hall. The guard stopped at the last one on the right and unlocked the cell.

There was Thadus, along with two others.

“There must be some mistake,” she said.

“No. This is your cell.”

“Where are the women’s cells?”

“You’re the first, so there aren’t any,” the guard said.

All three men stood frozen, glancing at each other, then her, then the guard.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” a tall Chromian said.

“Enjoy the company, boys.” The guard shoved her inside and closed the cell.

“Hello, Tam,” Thadus said.

Her eyes had adjusted to the light, and she could see clearer. She realized he was Caucasian and so was one other man. All three were a bit grimy and...old.

Her stomach growled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten all day. She hoped there was a meal tonight.

“There’s your bed,” the Chromian said. He pointed to the bunk on top. It had a mattress, but that was all. No sheets, no pillow.

“Thanks,” she said. She climbed up the side to get to her bunk. She was tired. But then, she remembered she had to pee. She climbed back down.

“Where’s the toilet?”

All three men stepped aside, and she could see it, out in the open, with a sink beside it.

Great. No privacy. And no shower. Well, she had to go and there wasn’t anything she could do about it. She just pretended they weren’t there and did her business. Maybe it would get easier. But when she finished, she realized, they had all turned their backs to her. Hmm. Is this what they did for each other, too?

Before she could climb up to the top bunk, the Chromian grabbed her arm.

“What are you doing here? You’re just a kid.”

“I’m older than I look, old man.”

“Old man?” Thadus asked.

The other Caucasian laughed.

“I asked you a question,” the Chromian said.

She glanced at his hand, still holding her arm, then glared into his eyes.

“I poisoned a man, sabotaged a couple ships, and tried to kill another man, is that okay with you?”

“Did you say you sabotaged a couple ships?” Thadus asked.

“That’s right.”

The Chromian pulled her toward him as the other two gathered around.

“I remember you. You’re the one that helped us find that traitor, Berto,” Thadus said.

“Yes. You were with the pirates that boarded the ship we were on,” she said.

“Berto? The man with telekinetic powers?” The Chromian asked.

“That’s the one,” she said.

“How do you know Berto?” Thadus asked the Chromian.

“He worked for me,” the Chromian said.

“Well, it looks like we all have something in common, don’t we?” she said.

The Chromian turned her loose. She looked him over. For an old man, he had a nice body, which was more than she could say for the other two.

“How do you know Berto?” The Chromian asked her.

“He killed my brother.”

“Was that the incident when Berto was fourteen anos?”

“That’s how old my brother was when he died,” she said.

“I don’t suppose you know why he killed your brother?” the Chromian asked.

All three men surrounded her now. Were they curious? Or were they planning something else?

“I’d like to know,” Thadus said.

“I know his story,” she said.

“But you don’t believe it, do you?” the Chromian asked.

She shook her head. “I find it hard to believe, that’s all.”

“Tell us,” Thadus said.

The Chromian turned toward Thadus. “Her brother and two others were taking turns raping Berto’s sister, who was seven anos. When Berto entered the scene, he used his powers to throw two of the boys against a wall. One died instantly, the other, a few days later.”

“What about the other boy?” the other old man asked.

“I heard he turned himself in after getting caught raping another child,” the Chromian said.

Thadus glanced at her. “I don’t think we’ve introduced ourselves, Tam. You know me, but this is Gomet. He was part of the pirate crew with me. And this is Dram.”

“I’ve heard about you,” she said to Dram. “You’re the one who was a slave-trader.”

“That I was.”

“How is that different than what my brother was accused of?” Tam asked.

“I didn’t rape anyone. I located people for a price. Most of my clients wanted a labor force, so that’s what I brought them. What they did with them was their business. I didn’t ask questions except what ages and what sex they were looking for.”

“Hmm. That certainly sounds like a reputable business,” she said. She crossed her arms.

“Me and Gomet got caught by the I.S.P. shortly after we boarded your ship,” Thadus said.

“The I.S.P. got me shortly after that,” she admitted.

Should she mention she was an I.S.P. agent for a brief period of time? She glanced at the three men and decided against it. Afterall, they were all in this place because of the Interplanetary Space Patrol. She only joined the agency to get close to Berto. She turned and climbed up to her bunk. She lay there, her arms folded behind her head. She had a lot of time to think since she poisoned the I.S.P. officer on Meta. Revenge meant for Berto had driven her to that decision. An innocent man was dead while Berto was free. She was living with the consequences, sitting in a prison cell on Plumaris for the rest of her life. But the rest of her life would be more tolerable if Berto had eaten the food she brought him instead of the officer.

She glanced at the ceiling and realized she stared into space. Is the ceiling transparent? The stars were beautiful at dusk and the sky was a gorgeous violet, pink and orange. She couldn’t wait to see the sunrise.

A commotion down the hall drew her thoughts away from the sky. She sat up in bed and glanced around. She could barely make out a cart being pushed by a couple prisoners, followed by two guards. She smelled food. “Is this our dinner?” she asked.

“You better have your plate ready,” Thadus said.

“What plate?”

Her three cellmates had lined up along the bars, holding

metal plates. One at a time, they held out their plates through a thin slit in the middle of the door. She quickly climbed down from her bunk.

“Where do we get our plates?” she asked her cellmates.

“Well, well. What have we here?” One of the prisoners asked.

“Well, hey darlin,’ no plate, no food,” the other prisoner said.

She glanced at the guards. “I just arrived today. I wasn’t given a plate, but I am hungry.”

The guard nudged one of the prisoners. “Give it to her,” he said.

The prisoner reached under the cart and pulled out a metal plate and an eating implement and handed it to her, after filling the plate with food.

“Thanks,” she said.

“That’s all you get,” the prisoner said.

The other prisoner handed her a beverage in a metal cup. “If you want water, use the sink.”

“Is the water drinkable?” she asked.

“It won’t kill you, if that’s what you mean,” he said.

She turned and sat on the floor to eat her meal. The floor was quite dirty. Did they ever clean it? Her cellmates all sat on the bottom bunks of the two beds. She ate her food

gratefully. It was trew, but it was made with real ingredients, not the food paste she had on the I.S.P. ship. When she finished, she rinsed off her plate in the sink. “Where do we keep these?” she asked no one in particular.

Dram pointed to a pouch on the side of her mattress.

“Thanks.” She climbed up on her bunk and stowed her items in the pouch. Then she lay back down and stared at the stars.

This was the first time she didn’t have a goal or plan. So far, this prison life wasn’t so bad. If all she had to do was chisel out rocks all day, she could handle that.

She tossed and turned trying not to think of her brother as she slept. How could her brother be so cruel to a little girl he didn’t know and then be kind to her? Maybe there were signs, she just hadn’t seen them.

Her father was a different story altogether. He had been cruel to her as far back as she could remember. It started before her mother died with the nightly visits and the touching when she had been four anos. Then he started gambling and coming home drunk. She tried hiding from him, but he always found her.

She curled up into a ball, trying to forget, but the thoughts kept coming. The faces of the men her father brought home from time to time when he lost. She had been the prize. Nights were always hard for her. Then she realized, her brother had become just like her father.

                         ***

Dram lay in his bunk. He was beat as usual, but for some reason, he couldn’t sleep. No, that wasn’t true. It was Tam that kept him up. This young girl needed a cell of her own. She didn’t belong here, but she committed crimes like the rest of them. She was a distraction, that’s all. He would speak to the guards about this. Something had to be done. They needed to move her to a different cell or even on the other side of the mountain. There were mines there as well, weren’t there? He turned over onto his side facing the wall where Tam slept. He watched her fitful sleep. She curled up into a ball. He thought he heard her sobbing. Should he wake her? That would just embarrass her. He would observe her for now. This girl must have had a hard life. He faced the ceiling from his bottom bunk, glancing at the stars until he fell asleep.

 

 

 

 

May the Force Be With You

I was debating on posting a chapter from my current work in progress, but instead, I decided to talk about writing. My story began 25 years before my first book was published. A lot of life and learning the craft happened in between, but that doesn't mean it would take another aspiring author that much time.

I recently attended a craft show in North Carolina where an aspiring author came up to me and explained how frustrated she was in getting her book published. I know that feeling well. I did it the old fashioned way, and that's part of the reason it took so long to get published. Then I heard from another aspiring author with a similar problem and a rejection story. I mentioned that now was a good time to self-publish. She didn't respond, but perhaps I planted a seed?

Self-publishing is not for everyone, but if you feel you have a story that needs to get out, or you've tried the traditional way, then maybe it's right for you. I've been thinking about this a lot, especially after giving a talk on self-publishing at the IRC Convention one year (Indie Romance Convention). I'm working on a plan to have a convention here in the Smoky Mountain area, like Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I belonged to a group of writers (Smoky Mountain Romance Writers, a chapter of RWA (Romance Writers of America). Our group held a convention several years in a row. It brought a lot of aspiring authors together with published authors to share and network. Sometimes there were editors seeking new authors there, which was an opportunity to get in with the big publishers. When RWA changed the rules for the chapters, ours was forced to disband. I miss those chapter meetings and the conventions. I was always inspired by both to go home and write, write, write!

Well, I'm in the planning stage of holding one of these conventions. I want to help aspiring authors work on their craft, learn what it takes to self-publish, network with published authors, meet editors, and have a chance to purchase books from the authors they meet. I want to help published authors learn more about marketing their books, meeting readers, and network with industry insiders. If this sounds like something you are interested in, then sign up for my newsletter. I will update the newsletter as I receive the information. I'm looking towards 2026, where we will be celebrating our 250th birthday as a country. What better way to celebrate than to be published in 2026? Keep writing and may the force be with you.

My Favorite Month

April is my favorite month. It signals new growth, new ideas, new adventures. It's also my birth month and my anniversary month. I will be updating my Amazon pages for my books this month as well as Goodreads. I want people to be able to find my books and purchase them. I hope to finish my first book of 2024 this month. I've had a lot of things come up that prevented me from finishing the book earlier, so I'm giving myself a deadline of April 30th to have it ready to send to the editor.

As far as new growth, I feel like it's time to plant some flowers after our dreary winter months. I hope to have time to do that as well as working on "Redemption." Besides my roses, I plant periwinkles every year because they last so long and brighten up the yard.

I'm working on some ideas for having a book convention of sorts for 2026. I'm hoping to have speakers for aspiring authors as well as self-published authors who must do their own marketing, and a time for authors to sell their books. If this sounds interesting to you, stay tuned. It will be in the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee area.

My new adventure for April will be a craft show in Charlotte, NC, April 20th from 10am-3pm. This is an outdoor event, rain or shine. I'm praying for sunshine! Hope to see you there at the Spring Sun Valley Commons Market.

In closing, I hope that the peace and love that abound on Easter Sunday, carries throughout the rest of the year. May God Bless you all.