Break the Hunting Ground

Chapter Five

The ship you’re hiding out in is a total mess. The moment you scurried up the ramp you were met with clutter upon clutter, trash overflowing from the trash cans, and discarded clothing on the floors, tables, and beds. You wrinkled your nose as you carried on deeper inside until you reached the very back where you ducked behind a trash bin that was fixed to the wall. Behind it was a small crawl space with vents on the floor, and you thought it would be the perfect hiding spot. Hiding under one of the beds would be too risky, as would the table. But you took the room being messy as an advantage. Whoever owned this ship obviously wouldn’t spend too much time near the trash can, and you thought you could ride it out here until they landed. You stationed yourself on your stomach and stayed as still as possible. This wouldn’t be so bad as long as your plan would work.

Just a short time later you heard some people board. You stiffened, stayed as quiet as you could as the two gentlemen discussed their next assignment. It would seem like you were about to fly to a planet called Corboa. You hadn’t heard of it, but anywhere would be better than here. They sounded so relaxed as they laughed and joked with one another, but you knew not to take it as a sign of weakness. You thought that any moment the loud, thunderous footsteps of the Alpha that had been hunting you could pound up the ramp and snatch you up, but you were praying to every higher power that wouldn’t happen. His scent was just barely readable above all of the garbage that was on this ship, which, again, you took as a good sign. Oddly enough the two men smelled nothing like the pack of Alphas that existed all around you. In fact, when you took a big enough whiff you could tell that they were Beta men. You had to wonder what two Betas were doing in the middle of Alpha territory; perhaps they were not from the First Order.

“Hey, do you smell that?” One of them said so suddenly. You could hear the ramp to the ship rising closed and let out a quiet gasp. “The hell is that smell?” The same man said, and you could hear both of them sniffing. It was then that you were reminded of your own scent glands functioning properly, and they were probably smelling you. Panic rose in your throat as you wondered how exactly you were able to make it so far without anyone of the other Alpha stopping to smell you, or maybe they did and you just hadn't noticed. You thought this was it, that you’d be caught and hand delivered to the Commander for your execution, but as time passed it seemed like this wouldn’t be so.

“Probably just some garbage back there. We need to clean this shithole up before the big boss sees it or he’ll have our heads,” One of them joked; the other laughed at him. After that you heard buttons being pressed, heard things being shifted around, and then suddenly the ship came to life beneath you. It shook. It rocked. It rumbled, and the vents beneath you began to emit cool air. You held your breath the entire time, unwilling to press your luck too hard. You still expected at any moment to be caught, didn’t even expect this to work to begin with. 

But it did. You could feel the ship lifting, could feel it moving forward and eventually feel it drop suddenly. Your body hovered in the air for half a second before the gravity of the ship kicked back in and you were stationed on the ground again. A relieved smile broke out over your face and you pushed yourself to lay on your back. Being wedged between the wall and the fixture created an obscure feeling of comfort, and you almost found yourself feeling safe enough to go to sleep, but even then you didn’t want to get too comfortable. Should you miss your stop and get caught because you were asleep it would have been devastating. You were so close to your freedom you simply did not want to take the chance. 

So you forced your eyes open. You focused on the sounds of the men talking in the cockpit. You focused on the cool air being blown on your back. You counted the lug nuts holding the ceiling together, traced the lines of the panels on the wall next to you. It seemed like you had been flying for hours, but eventually your patience did pay off. Although you were dead tired you were able to feel the ship slowly begin to descend and eventually come to a stop. This was it. Your freedom was beyond that door. You just had to take it.