You Don't Belong Here

Chapter Fifty One

"I want to learn to use the throwing disk."

"Absolutely not."

"But Ghost, I'm doing really well with the other weapons!"

"If you are lucky you will lose an arm. If you are unlucky you will lose your head or half your body."

Brielle groaned as she looked over the dozens of weapons that decorated the wall of O'kaor's dwelling. Dhadtoudi and T'ahrou were currently on a hunting trip, but O'kaor remained behind to keep an eye on their human counterpart. This was the first time that she had been inside his dwelling despite being on this planet for over four months. It was smaller than Dhadtoudi's dwelling but the layout was similar. Skulls lined most of the walls, and where there wasn't a skull, a weapon filled its spot.

"Okay, so what do you suggest?"

O'kaor's mandibles clicked together slowly as he thought, his amber eyes searching for something in particular. "You will train with this." He retrieved a spear from a high mount on the wall and handed it to Brielle who inspected the intricate designs that were engraved on the dark silver metal. It was a large weapon, but surprisingly light. "This is Dhadtoudi's chosen weapon. She is abrasive but is also a skilled warrior. This should be simple for you."

"Yeah but the difference between me and her is that she's skilled. I'm not."

"You will learn. Dhadtoudi did not master the ki'cti-pa in a single day."

"How long did it take?"

"Two days." Brielle was about to voice her displeasure at the idea of being compared to the other female when a deep, rumbling sound accompanied by a series of rapid clicks.

"Were you just fucking with me Ghost??" The male erupted into an all-out fit of laughter now and walked to the center of the room that served as a personal training dojo. "You're such an ass! Just for that, I'm swearing a vendetta against you!" She jabbed a finger towards him for emphasis as she moved to stand opposite of him. "We won't stop until I beat you...not that it'll take very long anyway..."

"I believe the pyode-amedha have a saying: 'pride cometh before the fall'."

Brielle nodded as she got into a fighting stance. "Yeah, but I have the skills to back it up. You're going down one way or another Ghost, and when you do, I'm going to pick your punishment."

"Punishment?"

"Yeah! When I lose I always have to do some kind of miserable task like try to bathe Dhadtoudi's demon dog even though he hates water. Or I have to do an ungodly number of squats and lunges."

"It builds endurance and improves combat posture."

"Well it's miserable and I'm going to get vengeance!"

O'kaor tilted his head to the side, amused at her brazen threat. "You have until the end of the first match to decide my fate, soft one."
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Brielle watched as Doc Martin used his scalpel to carve a large slit across the lower part of Dhadtoudi's stomach. At first her eyes went wide with shock and she remained silent, but when he began to cut through the layers of muscle, the woman lost her composure and began to scream in pain. She had been given no form of anesthetic, nor painkillers, nor muscle relaxers.

Dhadtoudi's wrists and ankles had been placed in metal restraints atop the surgical gurney as she was left to the nonexistent mercy of the facility's lead scientist. Despite the tortured cries of the would-be patient, Doctor Martin made small talk with Brielle about such things as the weather, how the latest sports cane had ended, and how his new grand baby would be at his home for the holidays.

He prattled on relentlessly until finally the room fell silent. Brielle's eyes darted to Dhadtoudi's chest and watched as it shakily rose and fell; she was still breathing. The woman had passed out from the sheer amount of pain. Brielle felt a strange pain erupt in her chest and her stomach began to do flips as she watched the middle aged man shove his gloves hands into the newly-formed hole in Dhadtoudi's stomach.

"Oh...oh dear God..!" Martin exclaimed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothings wrong," he began, "quite the opposite! There's a mass in her uterus..!" Brielle's heart sank as she felt the blood rush from her face. "This might be the single greatest discovery that our foundation has ever come across!"

He retrieved a handheld flashlight and shone the bright light against the organ in question, revealing a shadowy figure inside that had small tendril-like appendages protruding from its skull. The tiny creature was curled into itself, its small feet kicking out every so often. "She was pregnant..." Her words came as a whisper as she thought aloud to herself, feeling a strong, sudden onset of nausea overcome her body.

Brielle grabbed the first thing she saw: a small tool used to cauterize internal wounds. With all of her might she slammed the device into the side of Doctor Martin's head. The tool found purchase in his temple and the man fell to the floor with a thud.

Brielle watched Dhadtoudi's unconscious body for several minutes before finally reaching down to grab hold of the scientist's arms and dragged him to a corner of the room. His bloodied surgical gloves left crimson streaks across the floor as she moved him.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she looked down at the body. Her shoulders heaved with every adrenaline-fueled breath. Her grey eyes shifted to the unconscious form atop the gurney and she approached the woman, once again taking in the view of the small bulge inside the uterus. Against her better judgement, Brielle took a curved needle and thread and began to stitch the large incision. Once her task was complete she rummaged through some drawers and cabinets until she found gauze and bandages. She used them to tightly wrap around the taller woman's abdomen to help prevent her insides from falling out.

"I can't move you on my own..." she whispered as she contemplated her options.