That Alien Empire

Elyx

“Why can’t we kill him?” the guy asked, sounding exasperated.

Aelion jutted his chin out, looking like he was willing to die on this hill. “Because he’s my friend!” he said adamantly.

The knightly-looking guy gave him the most obvious 'what-the-fuck-is-wrong-with-you?' look I’d ever seen. And I was part of a reckless group of mercenaries.

My eyes widened imperceptibly, even as every part of my body ached at each small movement. I hadn’t been aware that I had a friend, or that he thought of me as such. But it didn’t seem wise to mention that when it was the only reason I was still alive. The only one left alive.Part of me couldn’t help but marvel Aelion’s simplicity.

The ropes dug deep into my wrists, and for the life of me, I couldn’t remember where my pocketknife was. I’d probably lost it during the fight. Or maybe one of my comrades had stolen it to defend themselves. It was probably fucking Roan.

A shitload of good it had done them though, considering they were now bleeding onto the polished floor, their eyes lifeless and their faces frozen in expressions of utmost horror.

Bleak, almost savage thoughts entered my mind.

It would be hilarious if their bodies floated around the universe for the next few million years, frozen in ice, and they would, due to lack of needed decomposing organisms. It would be even more hilarious if I were one of them.

It was more common than one might think, considering all the intergalactic wars.

Fire tore through everything around us, making the air scarce while Aelion argued with his boytoy.

The ship we were on was one of the best in the galaxies. Large, sleek, and glorious, it was the reason we’d made it out of the many tight spots we’d found ourselves in. And I mourned its loss more than I mourned all the bodies ablaze around me.Good fucking riddance.

Soon, the flames would reach me, too, and I’d die burning for at least a thousand days, considering my skin was almost imperceptible. But you don’t have to worry about it too much, my brain supplied warmly. You’ll die due to a lack of air first.A wire hung dangerously close to me, and everything flashed red as the silent alarm went off and on, trying to warn us that something was wrong with the ship.

Which was even more useless than I was, considering all I was doing was lying on the floor, covered in green fluids and looking pretty. Like, yes, darling, I’ve noticed the giant hole in the spacecraft created by Aelion’s boyfriend, I thought as Aelion fought for my right to live far harder than even I would’ve fought for it.

It was a weird feeling, honestly. A small, fuzzy emotion stirred deep within my soul. I wanted to live, primarily not because I wanted to, but simply because someone else found so much value and preciousness in my life.

A life I wouldn’t mind throwing away for a pack of gum.

It struck me once again what a good species I’d kidnapped, and even though he was the sole reason I’d lost everything, I was glad he was being saved from us. Relieved that he could return to a life that was kind to him, unlike the way we’d treated him for the last two weeks we’d had him.

Little more than a slave. I try to keep out all the shit my teammates gave him, and how I turned a blind eye.

Potent shame curdled in my lower stomach, but I shoved it away, clenching my jaw.

No. I was only doing what I could to survive.

While I tortured myself mentally, loathing yet pitying every part of my existence, Aelion and his knight continued to bicker.

“Excuse me, Mr. Boyfriend?”

Both of them stopped to turn towards me, and I swore Aelion looked slightly surprised to see that I was still there, as though he’d forgotten what he was arguing about in the first place.

“Can you please untie me if you’re not going to kill me?” I asked. Then, for good measure, I added, “Please.”

Should I bat my eyelashes?

I batted my eyelashes.

The knight glared at me as though he’d rather throw me out and bash my head against a burning star. Meanwhile, he was grinning in an impossibly good-looking way, which, considering our circumstances, wasn’t exactly impossible for him.

“Wha—? He’s not my boyfriend!” Aelion shouted, looking offended, as though that was what mattered right now. His voice was mostly drowned out my the sounds of rushing air as another part of the spaceship ripped off due to a passing asteroid.

The knight gave him a dry look before muttering, “Thank the stars.”

Seriously, all that tension between them and all those enemies-to-lovers jabs, only for them to be just friends?

This time, I stared at them with an unimpressed expression. I’d pacified myself by thinking they’d won because of the power of love, even though we were all trained assassins who could walk through the depths of the underworld without blinking, and killed more species than we could count.

Finding out that all of us had died in a pathetically short amount of time because of the power of fucking friendship?

Ugh, kill me now.It was like a slap in the fucking face.

My actual ship disintegrating, my fictional ship destroyed—why the fuck was I the one still breathing?

I shuffled forward, ignoring the large, gushing wound in my stomach as it pressed against the ground.

“Listen, while this is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, and I’m thoroughly impressed and hooked on whatever you guys have going on”— I winced when I saw more green, gooey shit flowing out of me—“not to, like, rush y’all or something, but you guys should really get going. I’d say we have around another five minutes before the fire reacts with all the chemicals in the air and this entire ship explodes.” Pain was second nature to me, and dying an old friend who was finally about to visit me.

I stare at them dead in the eye as my tail whipped behind me. I could usually control its movements, but the thing had a mind of its own when I was distressed. It felt oddly exposing, the way anyone who took one look at it would know I was afraid.

The red-eyed knight sighed so loudly and for so long that you’d think I’d just given him a five-hour-long speech. He then stared down at me with eyes full of distrust and something akin to disdain.

“...Are you sure you want to be saved? Like, isn’t it much more honourable to die alongside your friends?” he asked, waving his sword around.

Was he really trying to convince me that dying wasn’t so bad?

Aelion punched him in the arm.

“Carry him. We’re bringing him back,” he ordered before giving me a small smile.

That was what sealed my decision.

“It’s unnecessary for y’all to save me.” I took a deep, strained breath. “I’m a member of The Syndicate,” I informed them hoarsely.

Both of them looked at each other before turning back to me.

“...That’s great! I’m part of a band!” Aelion told me proudly.

Though I didn’t know what a band was, I could tell it was nothing like The Syndicate. No one ever talked about The Syndicate with a smile on their face or with light in their eyes.

“No, I mean,The Syndicate,” I emphasised, as though that would somehow make them realise what I was talking about.

In my defence, fear and shock were hell of a drug.

The knight gave me a vaguely irritated look.

I cleared my throat before coughing up thick, muddy-green blood.

“The Syndicate is the largest assassination agency in the universe.” I give them a meaningful look “It’s feared,” I stated bluntly because I didn’t have the energy to drag this out. “Spoken of in whispers and approached only by people who have nothing left to live for. I belong to them.”

Another coughing fit seized me.

“When they find out I’m still alive...” I shook my heavy head. “They’ll track me down just to kill me. They never give second chances, and they’re vindictive little bitches.”

I gave them a small, pathetic smile.

“Leave,” I told them, almost desperately, before allowing my head to fall back onto the ground.

A large wave of relief washed over me, and until then, I hadn’t realised how hard I’d been struggling to keep my head off the ground.

I closed my eyes, feeling more at peace than ever.

And as I imagined meeting my sister again, perhaps in a pretty Nightflower field, the only true smile I’d experienced since I was five appeared on my face.

I heard a very audible groan, wrecking the moment.

“Oh, my stars.” I could practically imagine him throwing his hands into the air in exasperation. “Can you please not be such a dramatic little weasel for ten fucking seconds?!”The knight let out a frustrated noise.“We’re willing to take you back with us even after all the mooseshit you pulled, but you’re all like, ‘Oh, look at me, I’m gonna die now because The Syndicate, which is a feared, deadly organisation, wants me dead.’ You utter imbecile! If it’s all that omniscient and shit, I should’ve heard of it! Shut the fuck up and stand, dumbass!”

The knight finished with a loud huff, and though I couldn’t see him, I imagined his face was red with annoyance.

My brain short-circuited as I wondered how to reply to that.But I wasn’t given the time to formulate an articulate sentence before I was lifted into the air by sheer muscle.And then I was half-dragged towards a smaller spaceship, the one the knight had used to break into ours.I felt as though I were having an out-of-body experience, and my mind couldn’t keep up with all the shit that had happened that day.And all the while, Aelion wouldn’t stop gushing about how perfect and pretty and unique the place we were going to was.

All those deep emotions I’d felt when he’d defended my existence?

Evaporated into atoms the second he started talking about how they needed someone at home to do the cleaning anyway, so I wouldn’t be intruding.

Bloody brilliant.

Both of them dutifully ignored my pained grunts and the blood seeping into the knight’s shirt, which I appreciated because there was nothing to be done about it now, and I’d rather not be the recipient of pity.

My light-grey hair fell into my face, matted and grimy, as I struggled to stay conscious.

For all I knew, they were planning to kill me anyway, and this entire thing was some sick, twisted game to give me hope before watching it bleed out of my eyes.

But I could barely keep my half-lidded eyes open, and soon, just as I was thrown into the spacecraft, everything went hazy.

Huh, maybe I’ll see my sister after all...