Page 4 of Meat

As she often did, Alyx had disobeyed.

As soon as her dad had disappeared into the building, she had hopped out and snuck inside. She could remember slipping through a door hung with wide strips of clear plastic. The smell of bleach and disinfectants, which did little to cover the death stink. The horrible squealing sounds on the killing floor.

What she had seen in there had given her nightmares for months. She’d never eaten meat again after that. It wasn’t some kind of moral decision on her part. She just couldn’t do it.

And now what? These slavers, these nith…they thought they could force her to work in a place like that, slaughtering the alien equivalent of pigs.

Well, fuck that. She wouldn’t do it. She couldn’t.

Then there was the way this robed nith had cringed away from her when she had said she was sick. The way he had pronounced the word infirmary. Something in his tone that made her think he was lying.

This fucker wasn’t really taking her to see a doctor. Not the good kind of doctor anyway.

Alyx had a choice to make.

Would she take the “safe” route? Simply roll over and accept whatever unpleasant fate lay in store for her at this place? Or was she going to grow a pair and make a run for it?

The massive iron and concrete structure loomed over them now. In a few more seconds they would be inside. It was now or fucking never.

Alyx bolted.

For a sickening instant, the leash pulled taut, vibrating like a guitar string under the tension. The collar tightened at her throat, choking her. The nith snarled in surprise at the sudden jerking of its arm.

There was no turning back now. The nith would punish her for attempting to escape, and God only knew what that punishment might entail.

She had to follow through.

Or die trying.

Adrenaline surged through Alyx’s veins, powering her muscles beyond their normal capabilities. Primal, instinctual regions of her brain were overtaking her conscious fear. She growled between bared teeth and flung her body backward with a violent effort.

Snap.

Alyx tumbled back onto the tarmac, scraping her butt in the process. The broken leash hung limply in the shocked nith’s ugly fist. For a dazed second, Alyx could hardly believe she had really done it.

She had broken the leash.

“Skizkkuzkt! Uki kkkzt szkizkkutkt!”

The nith’s frantic shouts brought Alyx back to her senses. She scrambled to her feet and started to run. She had no clue where she was going. Somewhere away from here, that was all she knew.

Behind her, the nith’s weird clicking shouts continued.

Alyx saw a group of guards rushing across the tarmac, intending to intercept her.

Time to take evasive action.

There were other ships here, similar to the one that Alyx had arrived in but parked in a different section of the landing area. Perhaps these were outbound ships?

Briefly, the thought of stowing away on one of the ships crossed Alyx’s mind. But she quickly canceled that idea. No chance she would be able to hide there with the nith actively hunting her.

Still, the parked ships might provide some temporary cover. An obstacle between Alyx and her pursuers. A chance for her to run away.

She darted for the ships with the sounds of shouting nith guards not far behind.

Her feet pounded the hard concrete of the landing pad. Already, her soles were screaming with pain, but Alyx did her best to ignore it. The adrenaline helped. She dodged in an out of the spacecrafts’ landing legs.

Escape. Escape. Escape.