CHAPTER ONE

 

Frigid air hit her body hard as gravel over an open wound. Ava pried open her heavy eyes to an assault of bright lights and monsters hovering over her. Her brain churned through a miasma of fog inside her skull, trying to make sense of the hissing and terrified screams that sounded as though through a tunnel.

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But she wasn’t in a tunnel. She was in some sort of metallic tube that pressed tight around her body. So tight she could barely move when the monsters reached for her with long black claws that popped through the skin on her biceps as they hauled her out. The red-hot pain helped to clear her mind enough for terror to inch its way into her psyche.

 

Her shins hit the edge of the unforgiving side of the tube before her feet slapped to the ground, her knees buckling beneath her weight as she stared up at a face straight from her nightmares. Olive green-scaled fingers tipped with black claws pinned her in place. Her crimson blood pooled from the puncture wounds and thick drops slid down her skin and splatted to the floor.

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The monster hissed and shook her and Ava’s attention seized on the face of a creature she had no name for. It narrowed its yellow eyes and cruel intelligence pinned her in place. The terrifying crocodile opened its jaws and a thick red tongue darted out over sharp yellow teeth. The creature hissed and pushed its snout into her face. Ava twisted away and almost wished she hadn’t.

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Other terrifying crocodiles pulled women from bullet-like, silver tubes through hatches that opened like the lids off aluminium cans. A moan from the woman next to her snapped her attention to the crocodile pulling her out, that somehow had developed from a primordial creature to something that walked upright, dressed in a black sleeveless top, combat pants, and thick, heavy-soled boots.

 

The woman screamed and kicked, her feet slipping on the ground. Even though the creature’s arms looked too short for its body, it dug its claws into the woman’s arms, locking her tight in its grip.

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The croc brought the back of its clawed hand down across her jaw and the women’s knees gave out. The creature let her crumple to the floor before it aimed the tip of a gun behind her ear and pressed the trigger.

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Ava screamed, every muscle locked tight, but there was no booming sound of a bullet leaving its chamber. No shards of red and bone and brain over the floor. There should have been blood. Instead, the woman jerked and clasped her head. The creature hissed at her.

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The woman’s head jerked up. “No!”

 

The crocodile hissed and kicked its boot into her stomach. The woman folded about its boot, curling into a ball. The creature grabbed her arm and hauled her upright. Its snout pushed into her face, hissing.

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“Go fuck yourself,” the redhead wheezed.

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The crocodile’s lip peeled back, revealing a row of gleaming teeth. It lashed out with its claws and ripped her t-shirt from neck to hem. Thin tatters of cotton parted and hung off her shoulders. The creature continued to rip the woman’s clothing from her until she was completely naked. She trembled, sobbing as she hung from its grip by one arm, trying to cover her nudity as best she could. A black bruise was blossoming on her stomach. The crocodile hauled her to a huddled group of woman Ava hadn’t yet noticed, in a far corner of the steel-walled room they were in.

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Around her, all of the crocodiles were in the process of stripping women and shoving them into the group.

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“What’s going on?” Ava whispered.

 

The creature that pinned her in its claws chuffed, before it turned her in its iron grip so that her back was pressed against its solid body. She glimpsed the same type of gun that was used on the redhead as it was pressed behind her ear, and then pain exploded in her head.

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Her throat constricted and white blanked her vision as she rode out the wave of fire that seared her brain. The creature tugged her clothing, and the sound of ripping material preceded cold air washing over her bared skin.

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“Hold still, female.” The rasping voice sounded in her ear.

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Her chest went tight, “I can…”

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“Understand you. That’s the idea of the translation device. They’re not cheap, but you lot are worth more sold understanding your new masters. We’ll have enough to get off this dump of a Quadrant after the sales. We’ll finally be rid of the lot of you. Humans. You’ve been nothing but trouble,” the crocodile said.

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The creature’s grip tightened about her bicep as it hauled her across the room and shoved her into the group of naked women. Ava crossed her arms about herself, trembling. Women sobbed. One began to wail. The acrid stench of urine stung her nostrils as someone lost control of their bladder. She didn’t blame whoever it was. Not one bit.

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“Shut up!” One of the crocodiles shoved another woman into their group.

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Ava caught the girl before her knees gave out and held her in her shaking arms. The poor thing looked no older than sixteen. The creature bared its teeth and growled and the women cowered, bodies pressing against bodies until Ava couldn’t move another step.

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“Is this a nightmare?” someone from the back whispered.

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The girl clutched Ava as though she was a life-saver, her fingers digging into her shoulders, her breathing shallow and fast. Her body trembled as much as Ava’s.

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Ava tightened her arms about the girl, not really knowing who kept who upright.

 

“I think we’re awake,” someone else said.

 

“That makes it worse than a nightmare,” another woman said to Ava’s side.

 

The crocodiles were getting to the last tube. One opened the hatch while another wrenched out the unconscious Asian woman. The woman struggled to gain consciousness as she was unceremoniously stripped and the strange gun shot behind her hear.

 

A translation device, the crocodile had said. So they could understand their new masters.

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“What do you think they want with us?” the woman whose shoulder was crushed against Ava’s whispered. Her curly blonde hair was tangled into matted lumps and hung in limp strands to her shoulders. Her eyes were round and wide enough that it was white all around her blue iris. Her pupils had shrunk to pin points.

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Ava’s blood ran cold. Her lips went numb as her breath shook from her lungs. “I think they’re going to sell us.”

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“Sell us? They can’t sell us. We’re human beings,” she said.

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“I think they can damn well do whatever they want to do to us,” Ava whispered.

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The last woman was thrust into their tight group, shaking with fear. Ava estimated there were about twenty of them and forty of the crocodiles.

The crocodiles towered over every one of them, a head and shoulders taller than her, and she wasn’t a short woman. They were built from solid muscle, had long teeth and sharp claws. Powerful tails with protrusions of triangular ridges running from base to tip whipped behind them and ended in a scorpion-like stinger. Add to that the weapons they wore attached to straps that criss-crossed their bodies and they were predators, pure and simple.

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Ava didn’t consider herself to be a coward, but she also wasn’t stupid. There was no way she would be able to fight her way out of here—wherever here was. No, she would wait. She would wait and then she would run and then when she had a chance, she would try and work out what the actual fuck was happening.

 

“Just do what they say,” she said, her voice low.

 

“And who are you to offer advice?” the talker at the back said.

 

“I’m no-one, but I know how to survive, so keep your mouth shut and do what they say. Escape later,” Ava said.

 

A chime sounded and the crocodiles surrounded them.

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One of them lumbered towards them, “Come.”

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A collective whimper broke over their terrified group. Nobody moved. They pressed harder away from the threat.

 

The crocodile’s lips peeled back, revealing razor sharp teeth. It lunged, taking the first unfortunate woman it caught—the blonde with the matted hair.

She screamed, struggling against its grip, but she didn’t stand a chance. Her legs buckled beneath her and he dragged her across the floor towards two massive closed doors.

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“Get the others,” one of the crocodiles said.

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Shrill screams rent the air as the crocodiles pounced on the women. The girl Ava clutched was wrenched from her grasp no matter how tight she tried to hold onto her. One of the creatures snarled. Ava barely felt its claws sink into her arm as it dragged her behind the others towards the doors that loomed bigger and bigger with each step the crocodile took. Thick, dark dread swirled in the pit of her stomach and sticky perspiration coated her skin.

 

It was bad enough in this room, but somehow Ava knew that whatever was behind those doors was going to be worse. Much, much worse.

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Her mind spun, trying to make sense where there was no sense to make. The last thing she remembered was training Joe Black in the park. It was sunset. She’d pushed him harder in the last session, having worked out the best way to increase his cardio for the marathon he wanted to run in six months’ time. He wasn’t totally unfit, but he had a lot of work to do if he wanted to make it without injury. She was the best fitness coach in town and that was why he’d hired her. She had a reputation. If anyone could knock someone into the best shape of their life, it was her.

 

She’d built her business from the ground up, slowly day by day. She had a waiting list of clients and a gym that was packed solid every day. She’d just been on the verge of partnering with a fitness drink that would take her from New York City, to become a nationwide brand. Things were good and poised for excellence. She was on the cusp of a career she’d sacrificed and worked hard for.

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She’d told Joe what she’d wanted him to do between now and their next session, had hightailed it to the subway to get back home and get ready for her date and then…nothing. Absolutely nothing existed between grabbing her backpack and waking to…whatever the hell this was.

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Then there was no more time to wonder about where she was or how she got here as the massive doors swung open.

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