Sign On The Dotted Line

Chapter 3

Part 1

Sign on The Dotted Line.

You spend your whole life thinking you got everything figured out, but you don't want to spend your life winging things. You're one of those people who like to prepare for the future. So, you decide to have every detail of your future life mapped out. Down to the tiniest of detail. There should be no mistakes. Everything should go according to plan, right? You spent your whole life mapping out the details, preparing, and creating solutions for the errors that might occur. Nothing can wrong, right? So, you activate your plan, and everything goes smoothly; until you meet that one problem you did not account for. This problem was always there; you were just too much of a stupid control freak to notice it. It's one situation you never even thought could occur. Turns out you did not have a solution to all your flaws. Turns out you didn't know shit, and neither did I.

"Alright, I think that's enough nap time. Time to wake up girls."

I sluggishly blinked, squinting as my eyes began to water. I cleared my dry throat. I swallowed my spit, wincing when it traveled roughly down my parched throat. I shielded my eyes when the light shining in them became too painful to look at. Well, at least this time I wasn't strapped down to a bed. Others joined my groan. I froze and searched for our bind. I relaxed slightly when I felt everyone in our link here. But only slightly. I was supposed to be alone. The fact my team was here was definitely a hitch in my plan. "Oh, good."

I heard a sugary-sweet tone say. I tried not to frown, but I failed.

"Oh, what the hell is that irritating ass noise. Kira, did you hear someone speak the natural tongue of bitchadom?" Zaylee's South village accent permeated the fogginess in my brain.

I fought the smile rising to my face. It was rare for Zaylee and Kira to team up, but when they did it was always a show to have a front-row seat in.

The only time they teamed up, the other exception being the arena was when the Captain was near. My lips twitched. Thank the gods for Zaylee and her no filter of a mouth. I sat up in my seat. My limbs feeling heavy as I jiggled them out to my side. It felt like pins and needles were being used to stab the muscles throughout my body. I shook my head when the room tilted a bit. Kira answered to my left after sitting up with a groan.

"I don't know Zaylee. I think I heard more Grilf speak than bitch speak." Kira rubbed the back of her neck. One of the things we all had in common was that we all watched the Bio-show Star Trek. The alien curse words they used were what we picked up most when we younger. Everyone single one of us chose to use it as a way of connecting. When you lived in a world like ours, you choose to rejoice in the little things given to you.

Her lips, twisting. A guffaw of laughter sounding a lot like Zaylee's laugh echoed around the room. I reached my hand up to rub my eyes, careful to keep my searching gaze from prying eyes. My stomach dropped. A heavy feeling, settling deep within my gut. Shit. We were indeed in the devil's lair. That was what I wanted. The only problem was I wasn't alone. Zaylee was on the end to my right, with Masha sitting closest to me. Kira sat right next to me with Daisha on her other side, who moaned as she sat up straight. The sound of Daisha's neck cracking poked through the quiet tension rising in the room. Her face inscrutable. Her emotions through our bind, on the other hand, reflected my own. Curiosity, anger, and worst of all, fear. We all sat in a room with a panoramic view of land with red sands and roaring yellow waves. However, the sounds of the waters and winds were muted to the ear. I sat in a large black chair. Covered in some type of material made from an animal's hide. In front of me sat a large mahogany desk with papers stacked neatly on the corner of it. In the middle-sat rows of pens. Behind the desk with her elbows posed on the surface and her hands linked; sat the Captain of the Snake Armada. Elvira. I gritted my teeth. The room swayed slightly, but this time, not from the drugs running through my system. We were in transit. Again. We were probably being shipped to a new area to test another one of Biotech's teams. Usually, we would get a week of splurging. A rest period that genetics like us needed. It was our moment to charge up our abilities and regain our energy. I was counting on that for the rest of my team members. Unfortunately, I had a strong feeling a week of splurging was out of the question for everyone. Even as the room titled from the ship's motions. Everything still stayed in place. Neat with a capital T showing Elvira's habit for having everything organized down to the teeth. The marble colored metal floors underneath us practically sparkled. I scrunched my nose up. The room smelled of limeons and disinfectant. Nothing was out of place except us. Even the storage compartments fit perfectly in its corner. I didn't have to look down at myself to know we were now cleaned and thrown into fresh clothes.

"Now, come on girls. Let's just hear what Elvira has to say." Daisha spoke up this time. Elvira leaned forward on her elbows smiling brighter. She wore her white snake's armor this time. Her armor skintight against her body pronouncing those ridiculous bosoms of hers. Her long silky blonde hair, tied in a tight low bun. Her cold yellow eyes surrounded by clear jewels scanned us as she smiled at us more plastic than the sun roses placed on the edge of her desk. "Thank you, Day-shah. Now, I have…"

"It's Di-shuh. Not Day-shah." Elvira's bright pink lips twitched down slightly. Daisha leaned back a look of indifference passing over her face.

"Do you mind telling us why you picked us up so early? And please refrain from using bitch or Grilf speak. We aren't yet fluent in that tongue." Daisha's face remained ignorant. A smile as sweet as sin stretching her face. Zaylee tossed her head back as she laughed loudly enough to her hurt my eardrums. My smile was all teeth as I watched as Elvira's smile start to slip. The lids of her right eye twitching slightly. It was also a rare sight to see Elvira slip from her composed, emotionless state, but when she did, I reveled in it. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Masha raise her hand to hide her smile as Zaylee quipped. "Holy gattle balls! Daisha! Girl, I did not see that coming from you. Grozit girl. Now, that was funny. You even got Masha over here to smile!" Zaylee wiped at the tears leaking down her face. I braced for it. No one saw it coming, but I did. A blur of white flashed across my vision. A sharp pain radiated across my face as it smacked against the cold; wood of the desk. I grunted, trying to struggle out of her hold. I froze when I felt a chilling metal slide across the skin of my throat. Elvira was not happy. To accentuate my thought, she pressed the sharp blade deeper. I gasped. Gritting my teeth. Chairs scraped against the floor as everyone stood. The tension in the room racked, nearly choking the air of my lungs. My dragons writhed against my skin. Heating. Ready to strike. I squeezed them against my chest, preventing their attack. "The next person who says something offspringish or unintelligent. I cut her throat. Do we comprehend?" Silence filled the room. Multiple thoughts and feelings came across the line before zeroing in on one thing. Rage. I unlocked the link allowing everyone to speak.

"I've had enough of this, bitch. First, she takes us a week early before we had time to splurge. Now. She wants to be a punk ass bitch and go after Mute. I got one question. How the hell are we going to take her out?" Zaylee spoke first. "For once I am not opposed to kicking some ass, especially hers. Unfortunately, not only would we lose, but we could hurt Mute in the process." Daisha retorted, her voice sounded monotone, but her rage sparked through the line as clear as day. "Daisha, your cussing is all types of wrong girl. Stick to keeping your language at a young offspring level." Zaylee said. "Daisha's right. I'm not going to risk Mute's life even if the urge to rip her entrails out would be a lovely sight to see." Masha threatened her white wavelength jumping as her power surged higher. "Girl, you got issues, but I'm down for seeing something brutal happen." Zaylee interjected. Kira's green wavelength wiggled as she inquired. "Zaylee I'm all for throwing down, but we have to be smart about this. She went after Mute for a reason." "So? There is nothing for us to further investigate. It's simple. Mute was in the middle. She was a closer target. That's it" Zaylee retorted. "No, that's not just it. Sure, reaching for Mute had an easier advantage, but the force and aggression she used is a completely different story.

Elvira could have stopped by slamming Mute's head on the desk. She didn't have to use a knife. That's a little bit excessive even for someone with a sinister personality like hers. She was excessive for a personal reason. Something else is going on here." Kira retorted. "Kira's right. This was way personal, but the only time Mute was around her was when she…" Daisha paused. I felt everyone's wavelengths go still as they all came to the same conclusion. "Mute, What the hell did you do?" Daisha asked, disappointment resonating in her voice. Each and everyone's link poked and spiked with fear. I stayed silent. "Please, don't make me repeat myself." Elvira ordered. When all she received was silence, she strengthened her threat by pressing the knife deeper into my skin. I grimaced from the tense pain. Something wet and warm dripped down my neck. My dragons went ballistic. Hissing against the palm of my hand. Wriggling against my arms trying to find a way out so they could strike. I squeezed my hands tighter, inching my arms underneath my body to hide their movements while still being wary of the knife pressed against my throat. "We'll discuss this later." Daisha added over the link. Her wavelength jumped as she switched to speaking out loud. "Okay, you win. We apologize deeply for our ungracious behavior. We let the pride from the win of earlier get to us. It won't happen again." Her voice quivered not from fear, but from her barely hidden fury. I could feel Daisha staring at the knife pricking my skin. I didn't have to look up to know Elvira was smiling wider. I gritted my teeth harder as she spoke. "I'm glad you understand your mistake Day-shaw, but I want to hear not just from you, but the others as well."

"Fucking snake." Zaylee grated over the link.

"Daisha's right. We apologize for our actions. It won't happen again. Right Zaylee?" Kira spoke up.

I couldn't see, but I knew Kira had her hands raised in front in her signature move. Posed slightly for surrender, but ready to react at any minute. "Yeah sure." Zaylee muttered. Masha's white wavelength jumped as her anger spiked. I hissed when Elvira used her long nails to pierce the skin above my shoulder. "Okay! Yes, captain, I forth give my apologies just let her go." I forced myself not to cringe away from Elvira when she bent low whispering in my ear. "Learn from this, Mute. Your actions have extremely devious lately. Continue, and those last ten lashes will only be the beginning of your punishment. I can't protect you anymore. Now, do you understand?" Her hot breath on my ear made my skin crawl. I stared at the glass cup full of plastic plants on her desk. Even though my face was on the desk, and a blade was inches away from taking my life. All I could think about was how I wished those flowers were real. I slowly nodded my head. Elvira released her grip on my shoulder, throwing me back in my seat. I kept my eyes on her as I pressed my fingertips lightly against my throat. She clapped her hands before resigning in her chair. That plastic smile of hers seeming to stretch to impossible lengths on her face. She cut me, but not deep enough to leave any permanent damage. The blood dripping from the cut stuck to the skin of my neck, making it sticky to the touch. The wound had already stopped bleeding, and the blood had begun to dry. I wiped at my neck, scraping away the dried blood. My shoulder was another story. I could already feel the swelling from her deep marks start to grow, and I knew there would be an ugly coloring to it tomorrow. I rolled my injured shoulder, keeping my face as straight as possible. Everyone gave me searching looks making sure I was okay.

I tilted my head slightly. Everyone seemed to relax, but only to a certain degree. We weren't out of the snake's den yet. "Now, that that cruel subjective is out of the way. Why don't we discuss why you were brought here." She paused for a moment waiting for one of us to object. No one moved muscled. "I have received a message from Biotech again. The exciting message held such delicious details. After, your astonishing progress of defeating each of their young Bio-teams kept climbing at an astounding record. It not only has your success caught the eyes of the Bio-elders, but they have decided to honor you with their permission to play in…" She stared at us like she was waiting for some dramatic drum roll. She slammed her hands on the desk, making us all jump. "The one and only Glacial tournament." Her smile was all teeth. My breath whooshed out of me when it felt like someone had punched me in the gut. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Zaylee's mouth dropped open. The rest of us just blinked at her. My heart stopped beating before picking up at a faster pace. I fought to keep my mouth from dropping along with Zaylee's. My palms felt slick to the touch. I curled my fingers into fists. I gripped my dragon heads tighter, seeking their radiating warmth a comfort against the panic rising in me.

Incoming Bio-message from Plotwist/Nightshade.....

Hi everyone! I know it has been so long since I've posted. Please excuse me, but I am now officially working two jobs to pay for my school, and I didn't let myself comprehend the stress of my idea. Lol. I will try to keep up with my weekly schedule posting on Saturday, but please bear with me. I hope everyone is doing okay. Please, let me know your thoughts on the story so far. I am also going out of my comfort zone and asking you to comment and show the story some love by rating it and doing the other things required to boost my algorithm thingy. Hehe... It really helps me out, but only if you enjoyed it. Thank you and remember to stay Bio-safe.

Bio-message terminated by Plottwist/Nightshade.....