Volunteer (Selected Book 3) Read online

  We watched some sort of weird gladiator fight. At first, I thought it was a movie, but Tasmin said, "This is what they do at The Center. Those women are going to become wives to the aliens."

  That took some convincing, but Tasmin seemed to know all about it.

  I don't know who spilled the beans, but someone talked to his parents, and that parent talked to the aliens. Tasmin wasn't at school for a few days. But then she was back at school, and there were a few new channels available to us to watch on television.

  Watching the challenges became the new, hot entertainment.

  * * * *

  As I said, I was eighteen when I met my first mating candidate. Sapphire Fletcher was one of the favorites. Everyone knew her story -- and the story of the Temier female named Moirai who gave up being a space alien tiger for her chance to marry a human woman.

  I thought it was deeply romantic.

  And so to actually meet Sapphire and Moirai -- although I had to be sure to call her Bronze -- was the highlight of my year. I was working as a waitress at a place called Sunset. There were actual alien restaurants in our little town, but this was a human restaurant. But we served as many of the aliens as we did humans, and if you could imagine a type of food, we probably made it.

  I saw them arrive -- Sapphire and Bronze -- although I didn't recognize them at first. I should have, but they both looked so different in the clothes they wore. It's probably excusable I didn't recognize Sapphire, as she looked entirely different in the dress she was wearing. But I should have recognized Bronze. Ah well.

  But I saw them arrive. The mating candidate was actually shackled, which caused most of the humans to stare.

  We never got mating candidates. Our human customers all lived here, and I'd never heard of the mating candidates being allowed outside The Center.

  But we stared as the tall alien guided the human to a seat, helping her to sit before removing the shackles on her hands. Her feet stayed locked together.

  It shouldn't have been my table, but Will was a jerk, so when I volunteered to trade a table with him, he agreed.

  And then I was an idiot. Oh, it was so embarrassing. I had complete star envy, even before I realized who they were. Oh, I knew the human was a mating candidate. That was obvious. But to find out this was Sapphire Fletcher and Moirai, well... I sort of made a fool of myself.

  It was Sapphire that did all the talking for them, and she was really nice about it. I told her I wanted to be a mating candidate. She looked at me like I was touched, but I thought it was the most romantic thing in the world.

  I was young. Everything was the most romantic thing in the world, or the scariest thing in the world, or whatever it was.

  I didn't get to ask remotely as many questions as I wanted, but you can bet I was glued to the television whenever Sapphire and Bronze were due to compete.

  I cheered when Bronze put her in the cage at the end of their final challenge. And I sighed a lot.

  I wanted it to be me.

  But then life went on, at least for another few weeks.

  * * * *

  "Skye Andrews?"

  I was just stepping out of school, and there were two women dressed in the uniforms of guards from The Center. They moved into my path, and I came to a stop.

  "I'm Skye," I said. "Oh god. Did something happen to Mom?"

  "Not that we know. Jasmine Brighteyes would like to speak with you."

  We all knew who Jasmine Brighteyes was, and I immediately remembered my conversation with Sapphire and Bronze.

  "Really?"

  "Yes. Will you come with us?"

  "Of course, but I have to tell my Mom if I'm going to be late."

  "Your mother has been informed," one of the woman said. "Please come with us."

  Then the led the way to one of the cars. They helped me in, got me buckled up, and then we were moving forward.

  I'd never actually been to The Center itself. It was a large complex five kilometers from town via the only road that left the village. We went past our small airport first, and then we were passing through the rather imposing gates of The Center.

  I turned my head everywhere. Oh, I wasn't looking for aliens. We saw them all the time. I was looking for mating candidates. I didn't see a single one.

  We parked in an underground parking lot, and then I discovered I couldn't release my own seatbelt. Both of the guards climbed out, and once they were ready for me, the belt released me, and I stepped out of the car.

  They each took one of my arms.

  "Am I in trouble?"

  "Not that we know," said the woman on the left. I didn't know either of them, which was odd, because it wasn't a big village.

  "Are you going to handcuff me or something?"

  "Only if you fight us. Are you going to fight us?"

  "No."

  But they pulled a hood over my head anyway, reassuring me that I wasn't in any trouble. I went complacently as they pulled me forward.

  It wasn't a long walk, but it was still several minutes including a brief trip in an elevator before we entered some sort of room. They set me in a chair and then took my hands and set them on top of a table. A moment later, my arms all the way past my elbows were absorbed by the table, just like the chair had once swallowed me during our trip to Africa, eight years previously.

  That was when they pulled the hood from my head, and I saw how completely my arms were swallowed.

  I stared at it and gulped.

  "It's only a precaution," said the guard. "Please remain calm."

  Then without another word, they left.

  Remain calm. I wasn't sure I was going to remain calm. I struggled to free my arms, but the table held them tightly. I couldn't move the table, either, even though it didn't look that heavy.

  I was still struggling to pull my arms loose when another door opened. I hadn't even noticed it. But in walked one of the Catseye.

  I knew it was a Catseye named Jasmine Brighteyes who ran The Center, but I'd never seen or met her. But she stepped forward, looking at me.

  I stopped trying to pull my arms loose and looked up at her.

  "There is no reason to be afraid, Skye Andrews," she said, her English perfect.

  "Why did they do this to me." I looked down at my arms.

  "Because guards tend to be paranoid people."

  "Am I in trouble?"

  "No. Do you know who I am?"

  "They said I was meeting with Jasmine Brighteyes. Is that you?"

  She inclined her head. "You should call me Administrator Brighteyes, or just Administrator."

  "All right, Administrator Brighteyes. Please, are you going to let me go?"

  "After we've talked, Ms. Andrews." She took the seat on the other side of the table, folding her hands and looking at me.

  I'd served aliens in the restaurant before, and while I wouldn't say I was jaded about it, Catseye were about the least strange in appearance of all of them. This wasn't the first time I'd talked to one. Little did I know about their full appearance.

  "I talked to Dr. Moirai about you," she said.

  "The Temier." I sighed.

  "Yes," Administrator Brighteyes said. "She relayed the contents of a conversation you had with her and Sapphire Fletcher."

  I smiled. "Are you going to let me be a mating candidate?"

  She smiled for a brief moment. "That is what we are here to discuss. This is quite unusual. You are aware that humanity at large does not know what we do here."

  "Yes. You take the mating candidates from their beds, and they don't find out why until later. Does that mean I can't be a candidate, because I'd know about it?"

  "Not necessarily," she replied. "We get people who are, well, you might consider them groupies."

  "Like bands have."

  "Right. The thing is, these groupies aren't necessarily the sort of people we want for our mates."

  "Oh." I thought about it. "You think I'm a groupie, don't you."

  "You haven't been test
ed yet."

  "It's during Testing that you decide who you want."

  "Yes."

  "But you Test us starting at sixteen. Why haven't I been tested yet?"

  "It's complicated, and I'm not going to explain."

  "But what if I want to be tested?" I asked. "I'm eighteen now. Will you tell me how to pass? What do I have to do to become a mating candidate?"

  She didn't answer right away. She simply blinked her big, big, blue eyes at me for a minute. I studied her carefully then slumped. I didn't think she wanted me.

  That was when she asked me, "Tell me what you know about our process."

  "I know you Test us. Then the people who would make good mates are taken from their homes. You bring them here, and then you fight over them."

  "Hmm. What else?"

  "Well, I know about the challenges. We all watch them."

  "Ah. All right. Do you know why we take the candidates the way we do, from their homes, practically from their beds?"

  I shook my head, and she spent the next several minutes explaining the vast array of differences in alien mating rituals. In short, the things they did here were designed to satisfy the needs of as many of the alien species as possible while not necessarily customizing the process for each one.

  "I guess I understand. So some species need brides that way, so you take all of them that way. But you could take me from bed. I'd let you take me right from bed, if you wanted to."

  "That isn't the issue," she said. "You realize that some of us want willing mates and others want to fight for a mate."

  "You explained. What do Catseye want?"

  "Willing," she said. "But we are also exceedingly picky."

  "Oh."

  "Which isn't to say a Catseye wouldn't want you, Skye Andrews. You are younger than I personally would want, but there might be others."

  "But you don't fight over us."

  "No. Catseye do not fight."

  I looked away. As I said: I was young. I was caught up in the romanticism of being fought over.

  "Skye Andrews, none of the humans who end up in the arena wants to be there."

  I looked back.

  "None?"

  "None."

  I felt crushed. "You don't want me."

  "I personally don't want you, because I would want someone older. But whether I want you as a mating candidate isn't yet determined."

  "I'll do anything," I vowed.

  "Why?"

  "What?"

  "Why would you do anything for this?"

  "Because... um."

  "That's not an answer."

  "I don't know. I guess because it's just so romantic."

  "Romantic."

  "And exciting."

  "I see." I wasn't sure she did. She was an alien. Could she even understand human reactions. "So in the challenges, you wouldn't do your best."

  I stared at her. I didn't have an answer.

  "But you would want the challenges? You wouldn't accept an offer from a race that wishes a willing mate?"

  "Yes, I'd want the challenge. But the humans never win."

  "That's not entirely true, but it is largely true," said the catseye. "You get good grades in school."

  "I guess." I got good grades, but not great grades.

  "Your teachers say good things about you."

  "How do you know that? Have you talked to them?"

  "I am the administrator here, Skye Andrews. I know everything." She paused. "Have you thought about college?"

  "I suppose," I said. "Mom said I should start applying."

  "Your mom is right."

  "But if you're going to take me-"

  "You're too young."

  "But-"

  "Do not argue with me," she said firmly. "Yes, we sometimes take women younger than you, but I don't like doing it. And I find that in this case, I don't have to. Eighteen-year-old humans are still maturing and deciding what sort of people they want to become. I feel this is as true about you as anyone else."

  "But-" I sighed.

  "If I told you I would accept you, but only for one of the species that wished a willing mate, what would you say?"

  "I-" I closed my mouth and thought about it. "What species?"

  "That would be the next conversation. No arena. No challenges. Answer me honestly."

  "Would I have any say in the matter at all? I mean, I think I might like some of the species more than others."

  "If you go into the arena, you have absolutely no say at all."

  "Would I?"

  "I might allow some flexibility. Will you answer me?"

  "If I'm willing to be a mating candidate, I can't have the challenges?"

  "I didn't say that. I asked whether you would let me place you with a race that prefers a willing mate."

  "If I asked to go the arena, what would you say?"

  "I haven't decided."

  "Fine," I said. "I want to be a mating candidate. I want to go to the arena. I want to be on alien television and have aliens fight over me. I want the challenges, even though I know I'll lose."

  "Would you fight to win?"

  "No."

  She frowned again.

  "I mean-"

  "If you lie to me, this interview is over, Skye Andrews."

  I lowered my head and didn't say anything.

  "So it's not that you want to be a mate. It's that you want to be a mating candidate."

  "That's not true," I said, looking up. "Sometimes you show what happens later. The women are always so happy and have such nice things to say about their mates."

  We studied each other for a while. "I'm going to ask once more. If I told you that you could accept a mate that wishes a willing mate, or nothing at all, what would you take?"

  "This isn't fair."

  "Life isn't fair. What would be your answer?"

  "No challenges?"

  "No. No challenges. No television. No bio. Your friends wouldn't know what happened to you."

  "I don't care about that part," I said.

  "You would meet a number of aliens. Some of them will like you. Some won't. Eventually, one would ask you to become a mate."

  "That's not how I want it."

  "And yet, this is the choice we're discussing. Yes or no?"

  I sighed. "Yes."

  "Yes."

  "But I'd rather it be the other way."

  "But if I presented you tomorrow to a Catseye who wants an eighteen-year-old female?"

  "Yes."

  She smiled again. "Are you aware that Catseye are only female?"

  "No, I wasn't aware of that," I admitted. I thought about it. "How do you have children?"

  "That's complicated, but we do," she said. "And Temier mate as a female pair."

  "I've seen male Temier."

  "Yes, but they mate only temporarily. There are two female Temier, and they find a male only when it is time to produce young. Then they drive him away."

  "Could you make me into a Temier?"

  "No. I was using it as an example."

  "But Temier fight for their mates."

  "Ah, but they do not require their mates be unwilling. They fight for the role in the relationship."

  "Oh. I didn't know that."

  She tapped her fingers on the tabletop. "Who have you told you want to be a mating candidate?"

  "My friends and I sort of talk about it, but they all say 'no way', so I haven't said anything to them." I paused. "I think some of them think it's romantic."

  "You've told Sapphire Fletcher and Dr. Moirai. Who else?"

  "You. That's it."

  "All right. I'm going to do something I haven't done before."

  I began to smile broadly.

  "Don't jump to conclusions. I'm going to Test you."

  "Oh."

  "Unofficially."

  "What does that mean?"

  "As far as you're concerned, nothing. But I'm not going to let your Test results go into the system."

  "Oh. Why not?"


  "Because you're young, and I want you to go to college first. If I Test you, and you Test positive, then I have to take you right away."

  "Oh."

  "But I think you would want to know the results, wouldn't you?"

  I smiled. "Yes."

  "We're going to pick you up from school Friday afternoon. You will go through two days of Testing."

  "I thought it was usually only one."

  "Sometimes it's an hour, when someone is a poor candidate."

  "Oh."

  "Is this what you want?"

  "Yes, Administrator Brighteyes. Can you tell me how to pass?"

  "No. There's nothing you can do to sway the results. They will be what they will be."

  I sighed but didn't say anything.

  Again she tapped the table a few times with her fingers. "Have you ever seen a Catseye without her shirt on?"

  "No."

  She didn't wait but began to unbutton her blouse. I immediately turned away, embarrassed.

  "Why aren't you looking?"

  "You're taking your shirt off!" I said.

  "Does that frighten you?"

  "No, but it's wrong."

  "Why?"

  "Because you'll have your shirt off."

  "So?"

  "I don't know you that well."

  "If I were male, would it bother you?"

  "With my hands locked to this table it would!" I said, looking back at her. She was still wearing her blouse, and it was only partly unbuttoned.

  "Because?"

  "A guy who starts taking off his shirt around a helpless woman has one thing in mind."

  "Oh. I see. I assure you, I have no such intention. If you were to go to the space station as a mate, you would find the Catseye there do not dress the same as I am dressed. I am not about to show you anything you wouldn't see on every passing Catseye. Do you want me to stop or not?"

  "What are you going to show me?"

  "You'll see, or you won't. Are you going to watch?"

  I had to admit, at least to myself, now I was curious. And so I nodded.

  And I couldn't have been more surprised when she pulled off her blouse. "Those are tentacles!"

  "Yes, they are." She had four of them. They appeared to come from underneath her arms, and so they looked a little like that Indian goddess with all the arms. Except tentacles, not arms. She waved them in the air around her.

  "Do you control them?"

  "Of course." And they immediately settled down. "Do I frighten you?"