Skylar's Guardians (5 page)

“Where did you learn that speech pattern? She responded immediately to it.”

“Reading. You’ll catch on quickly, don’t worry.”

“And the spanking? Do you know how to do it if she does not obey you next time?”

“Those discs you brought have many moving illustrations of the different techniques. They are very easy to follow. I’ll play them for you when we awaken.”

“Very well. She’s still leak… crying. What should I do?”

“It won’t hurt her. Please, just sleep.”

“Very well. Good repose, brother.”

“Good repose to you as well, brother. Sleep tight, Skylar. Things will look better in the morning.”

“What is morning?” Troy asked.

“When Solaris rises.”

“It’s already in the sky. How…”

“It is an expression. I am begging you. Sleep before my gills flare.”

“We wouldn’t want that,” Troy said, flicking off the intercom switch. “I am serious, Skylar. We never want Daddy’s gills to flare. It does not happen often, but when it does, everyone around disappears very quickly.”

“Gills? What gills?”

“Sleep, Skylar. We’ll talk when I awaken.” He used the crisp tone demonstrated by Tralec.

Skylar stiffened on his chest and then sighed. “Yes, sir. ’Night.”

* * *

The lid to the unit opened automatically when Troy’s body registered restoration. He opened his eyes, immediately aware of the wiggling body on top of his.

“I need to pee,” she whispered, her face red as he frowned down at her.

“Let’s get Daddy to help. Tralec? You up?”

“Lid just opened. I’m on my way in there.”

Tralec easily lifted the naked girl and turned her to cradle in his arms like an infant. Her limbs were still weak and she could do nothing more than reach with her arms and kick her feet.

“She has to ‘pee.’ I’m assuming she is referring to elimination,” Troy said, sitting up and hopping out of the cubicle. Skylar’s face paled as she followed his length with her eyes.

“Holy shit. How fuckin’ tall are you?” she muttered, suddenly alert and aware of her environment.

“Those phrases are not permitted, young lady,” Tralec scolded, remembering the list of designated profane words posted in her manuals. “Do you need to go potty?”

“Potty? Do you think I am like three years old? Where is the bathroom?”

“Your tone has changed. Why?” Troy asked her, touching her chin.

She jerked from him, her eyes narrowed. “Whatever I said, it was under the influence of drugs. Put me down!”

“The medication you were given has worked well with initiating your healing, but you still cannot support your own weight well yet, Skylar. It takes a couple of days for the soft tissues to regain their strength,” Tralec said, carrying her to a stationary chair.

“I’m fine. And…
Fuck!
Where are my clothes? Oh, my God…” Skylar tried unsuccessfully to cover herself with her arms.

“You were told to watch your language,” Troy said firmly, covering her with a blanket. He sat across from her. “Daddy asked if you had to go potty. Answer him.”

“Daddy? Are you insane? You are not my fucking daddy!”

“Young lady,” Tralec lifted her angry chin with his finger. “Although no harm would come to your body at this point in your healing, I hesitate to put you across my knee right now because I do not wish to cause you any more discomfort. However, if you insist on continuing these outbursts, I promise to send you directly over my lap for a well-earned spanking. Do you want that?”

“Oh, my God, where am I?” Skylar burst into tears. “What is this nightmare I’m in the middle of?”

“It is not a nightmare. The life you were living with that animal was a nightmare. That life is over, and you are with us now,” Troy said sternly.

“What is wrong with your face? You are turning blue!”

“Let’s get you to the elimination unit and then feed you. Afterwards, we will answer all your questions. Troy, calm yourself.”

Skylar gaped at him, staring at the blue streaks on Troy’s face as Tralec lifted her and carried her to the closet used for cleansing. Troy followed them and watched as Tralec pointed to a round raised platform with a cover.

“We are designed differently than you are, but our needs are the same. You should be able to sit there and eliminate,” Tralec said, placing her bottom on the cold surface.

“She does not void from the bottom of the foot either?” Troy asked with curiosity.

“I was looking at the images recorded during her probing and discovered that their internal organs are located in a different area of the body than ours are. Their digestive and urinary tract are compacted in the same area as their reproductive organs. Before you say anything,” Tralec raised his hand to prevent Troy from spouting his disbelief, “remember they are very primitive and very small. Our ancestors were not much different, according to history.”

“It’s so… inconvenient! And unsanitary.”

“I’ll show you the anatomy later and how it functions. Skylar, have you finished?”

“I am
not
going to piss in front of you!”

“I am going to tell you this one time, little girl,” Tralec said patiently, squatting in front of her and still gazing down at her from a good foot. “You have needs that you cannot meet on your own just yet. You have to depend on us. I suggest you do so nicely or the consequences will be unpleasant. I am learning several different ways to discipline your species and will not hesitate to try them. Am I understood?”

“Species? You talk like you are aliens from outer space and…” She stared blankly before letting loose a bloodcurdling scream that caused both men to hold their ears.

“Make it stop!” Troy begged. “It hurts!”

“Skylar! Stop that at once!” Tralec demanded, wincing as her screams increased. “Our ears cannot take that decibel level. Cease, now!”

Skylar did not cease. Instead, she screamed with renewed strength and determination. Gills flaring, Troy pushed past his brother, pulled the girl off the pedestal by the waist, planted her over his right knee, and administered a hard smack to her bare backside. Skylar screamed again, and a second swat, then a third fell, leaving bright red imprints of his huge hand etched in her flesh.

“
Owwww!
” she yelled, unable to protect herself as he planted two more smacks to her quivering flesh.

“Are you prepared to behave yourself yet?” he asked, his gigantic hand suspended in the air over her stinging posterior.

“Yessssss! Oh God, yesss!” Skylar sobbed.

Troy planted her back on the pedestal and pointed his finger in her face. “Pee!”

Tears ran down her cheeks as Skylar obeyed. Her face was as red as her sore bottom while her bladder emptied with a loud splash below her. She looked up at Troy with fear and humiliation, the question of ‘what next’ plastered across her face.

Tralec shook his head and pressed a button that sent streams of warm solution against her bottom region, cleaning her. A warm gush of air followed, and he reached down to lift her into his arms.

“Was your defiance worth that spanking?” he asked softly, and she threw her face into the base of his neck and cried.

“You let him hit me!” she sobbed.

Tralec glanced at Troy, who shrugged. He wrapped the blanket around her body and kissed her temple. “He spanked you because you were behaving very poorly. I was close to doing the same thing.”

“He
hit
me!”

“He spanked you and you deserved it. If you keep this up, it will happen again. Understood?”

“This whole thing is impossible,” she cried into her hands.

“Improbable, but not impossible. We were only coming here to observe and found you in a broken ball next to the cliff.”

“I was going to throw myself over that cliff but I couldn’t move once I fell down on the ground,” Skylar numbly confessed.

“We are both happy that you did not do such a thing. We never would have found you,” Tralec said, cupping her face.

“What are you going to do with me?”

“Love and care for you as ours.”

“Even that big blue meanie?” Skylar asked in a tiny voice, eyeing Troy fearfully.

“Especially this big blue meanie,” Troy said, squatting next to them. “I am sorry I frightened you. I do not tolerate disobedience.”

Skylar sniffed as she looked up into their faces. “I have never seen anyone as big as you two.”

“We are average size among our people. We’ll talk more about that later. You are hungry. We were not sure about your food preferences and gathered a small collection of various items for you,” Tralec said, sitting her at the table and turning to gather food.

“She can barely see over the edge,” Troy commented. He gathered several blankets and a box, gently lifted Skylar from the chair, and placed them under her.

“I don’t need a fucking… a stupid booster seat,” Skylar scowled.

“How else are you going to see what I scrounged up for you, little one?” Troy asked humorously as he sat next to her. “You look funny when you do that with your mouth.”

“What is she doing? Oh, that is called pouting. It generally is seen when the subject is unable to get what she desires and tries to manipulate using expressions. They also will kick objects,” Tralec said, pointing to Skylar kicking the chair with her feet.

“I am not pouting. I’m just pissed. I want answers.”

“Very well. After you nourish yourself, you may ask your questions, and we will do our best to answer,” Tralec informed her as he pushed a plate of food in her direction.

“Where did you get this stuff? Mmmm,” Skylar said, diving into the chicken with gusto. “It’s cold! Ick!”

Tralec sighed, removed the plate to heat the contents, and returned it to her. She began to attack it ravenously. “Slow down before you make yourself sick, young lady. You act as though you haven’t eaten in days,” Tralec cautioned, placing his hand over her plate to slow her.

“I haven’t. He didn’t even leave me a can opener or anything I could use to open the cans of whatever shit was there. I’ll slow down, I promise. I’m starving. Please,” Skylar said pleadingly.

“I should feed you myself. There is no way you can even taste this when you eat so quickly, nor could it be good for your digestion.”

“I can feed myself, damn it!” Skylar snapped, diving into her meal again.

“Remember what I said about babies and being a huge pain in the ass?” Troy asked his pod-mate, who nodded tiredly. “Are all humans this obstinate? Skylar, I have never had anyone make my gills flare like you do. Do you not exercise manners on this planet? I obtained this food through theft for you and had to listen to a follow-up scolding from him because of it. How about a display of appreciation? At least do me the courtesy of taking some time to enjoy it.”

“Excuse me, but you kidnapped me! As far as I am concerned, that eliminates the necessity to offer you any social graces associated with appreciation. Seriously,” Skylar said with a mouthful of food.

“Now see here…”

“I’ll handle this, Troy,” Tralec said, sitting at the table and reaching across to tap her nose. “You will start with saying please and thank you, young lady. You will speak to us with respect and use appropriate language. You will do as you are told, for your own good, and you will do so cheerfully. There will be no more screaming, profanity, or defiance. These are your first set of rules as you adjust yourself to living in our household. Disobedience will result in punishment.”

“You can’t make me stay here. I want to leave and…”

“Where are you going to go? Where will you stay, and how will you survive? Who will care for you?”

“I have skills…”

“You, my darling, have nothing except us. You were in grave condition when we found you, beaten near to death by one of your own kind. Your shelter was void of fresh food and what was there you had no means of opening. The half-container of water the Paul left was contaminated,” Troy said as he leaned forward to stare directly into her scowling face. “In addition, you have already commented about our sizes. You know neither of us will hesitate to discipline you, yet you insist on arguing and pressing us to exert ourselves. That would not be wise, would it? I strongly urge you to reconsider your position and realize that we, Tralec and I, are your only chance of survival right now. We want to take care of you, Skylar. We want to belong to you, and you to us.”

“Are you really aliens?” Skylar asked timidly.

“If you are asking us if we are little green men from Mars, no. If you are asking if we are intergalactic travelers of a different species and cultural practices, yes,” Tralec answered, sipping from his canister and making a wry face. “Now, if you ask me if my race is more advanced than yours in every aspect, the answer will be no. Your food smells much better than this nutritional supplement.”

“Have you ever tasted real food?” Skylar asked quietly.

“Yes, but not like what you are eating. You look confused. Explain.”

“I can’t wrap my mind around this. I don’t know whether to be terrified or excited, angry or grateful… this is too surreal.”

“We understand. However, that does not give you the right to misbehave or be rude to us. Agreed?”

“I’ll try to watch my temper.” Skylar looked down at her plate. “Sorry.”

“Does your temper exceed what we have witnessed?” Troy asked, eyeing Tralec with a wince.

“Sometimes. I can get a little hot under the collar,” Skylar admitted honestly.

“Well, we know how to handle it should you fail to exercise self-control, don’t we, young lady?” Tralec asked firmly.

“Yes, sir,” Skylar forced out uncomfortably, eager to change the topic. “Do you want to try this?” She stabbed a piece of the chicken with the double-pronged eating utensil that was too large for her mouth, frowning as the meat fell back onto the plate.

“Our bodies cannot digest animal flesh well. Not in solid form, anyway. Our race primarily consumes agricultural products and synthesized liquid supplements.”

“We do not have meat products on Calipi that remotely resemble this human food. I wish to try it,” Troy said boldly. Skylar picked up a piece with her fingers and offered it to him, her mouth forming an ‘O’ as he gently wrapped his lips around the meat, fingers and all.