A faint whimper escaped Alex's mouth, so faint only his advanced senses picked up the sound. He cut out the other voices in his head and concentrated on the man sleeping next to him. Once again he felt his mind drift and immediately he picked up Alex's dream...
********
Northern Alaska
March 13, 2085"I wonder where they took everyone?" Marie said after she finished her meal of bread, dehydrated chicken, and crackers and cheese.
Marie was the one who found the underground storage bins in the mess hall, so they tore into the packaged food left over from the old United States Army. The food had to be over ten years old, but it was still edible.
Alex didn't want to think about what happened to the former occupants of Camp B so he took another bite of chicken and chewed quickly, the food was so tough it took him about three minutes to break it down and swallow. He couldn't remember being this tired, his father made them run across the snow covered meadow, and as much as he tried to keep up, his shorter legs held him back, but he made it to the other side, and no alien scout planes dropped out of the sky yet.
Maddy said they needed to rest for five minutes, but Alex had a feeling that twenty minutes wouldn't help him catch his breath. After the small break they were on their way again. A non stop fast walk through snow drifts and trees. He didn't know how his father knew the way and he didn't have the energy to ask.
They arrived at the Camp B with twenty minutes to spare, but the camp was deserted. Alex was too afraid and tired to mention his fears. His father would know what to do.
Overturned chairs in the tents and half-eaten dinners testified that their worst fear probably came true. The aliens found the camp and stole everyone. His father told him and Marie to stay in the mess hall until they returned.
He stuffed a piece of bread in his mouth and chewed quickly, not knowing when his father would return to the dinning tent and force them to run again.
"Well what do you think?"
"About what?" Alex answered with his mouth full; Maddy wasn't here to snap at him for his bad manners.
She sighed, "What do you think dummy? Weren't you paying attention?"
Truthfully he tuned her out sometimes, besides he was eating she should know not to bother him. He looked down at his food scattered on the wooden table in front of him, and shivered as a gust of wind blew the tent flap open letting more cold air into the tent. "Umm... I didn't hear what you asked?"
"I said I wonder where everyone went."
"Oh I didn't think you wanted a answer for that."
She chewed at her bottom lip and rubbed her hands together and blew on them. She was starting to feel the cold now that her mind was off her empty stomach. "Well I assume you probably hear more stories than me. You hang out with a lot of boys whenever we come by the camps."
He brought another piece of bread to his mouth, buying more time for him. He didn't think it was such a good idea to scare his sister with the stories his friends told him. Some of them were horrific and he wasn't sure if John and Steven were telling the truth. Why would the aliens plant more aliens inside of humans? Didn't they have their own females? After he finished swallowing his food he answered timidly, "I think the aliens took everyone to work on farms or something?"
"Well that doesn't sound too bad." She fell silent after that and opened another package of freeze-dried food. If it weren’t for the cold he would feel at home.
He finished his second packet and started playing with the wrappers by trying to stuff everything into a tiny cardboard box. A small inkling of unease pressed at the back of his mind, as he glanced up at the clock again and noticed that thirty minutes passed and his dad still wasn't back from investigating the rest of the camp.
"Alex this isn't right, they should have returned by now."
He felt tears well up in his eyes because he knew she was right, they needed to get out of here fast. "Shhh.. be quiet. We need to hide before they find us." He whispered.
Marie reached over to turn off the lantern so he slapped her hand away from the switch. "No if we turn off the light anyone outside will know where we are, come on we can crawl on the ground and hide in the storage bins. "He felt confident that he could protect his sister and make it to safety. His father's lessons although tedious might just save his life. Trying not to think about the distance from their table to the kitchen he slowly slid to the floor and crawled after her, concentrating on following her feet. He didn't hear or see anything when the light went out. "Oh shit! He scrambled to his feet and tried running but tripped over Marie who was just jumping to her feet. Alex made out a dark shadow running around the tent, but every time he turned to see where it was heading, the dark shadow was somewhere else. Every instinct in his body screamed that the shadow wasn't human, or from this planet. He whimpered and started backing away with Marie's hand on his shoulder. She saw the dark shadow as well and her hand trembled.
"Alex when I say run, move behind me and run to the kitchen and go out the back entrance. I'll try to keep whatever that is stalking us distracted."
"But... "
"Shut up Alex baby and do what I say." Her voice steadied with resolve and she slowly pulled him to her body so as not to alarm the monster in the tent. He felt her strong arms wrap around his waist and for a moment her head rested on his and he heard her whisper, " I love you." before she picked him up and swung him around and yelled, "Run!"
As soon as she flung him away from her he sprinted for the kitchen not looking back. The back tent flap was partway open so he dived through and rolled when he hit the ground. He came up on his feet and sprinted for the woods. He had to escape and make it to safety. He couldn't think about Marie.
He heard the dogs before he saw them, they came around the side of a tent and he twisted to the right and ran through another set of tents. Why did his father make them hide in the middle of camp? He saw men step out of a large tent and he ignored them as he ran past the startled group. He almost made it to the trees when a large animal jumped on his back and jaws clamped to the neck of his jacket. He screamed and fell backwards on top of the dog. He continued to scream and scream as more dogs surrounded him growling, snarling, and nipping at his jacket. Finally, an eternity later, someone came and pulled the dogs off him. He continued to cry even after the tall man stood him up, shooed the dogs away, and forced him to march back to the camp, with his hands tied in front of him.
"Please where are you taking me?" he begged the tall man. He tried twisting out of the man's grip, but instead of loosening the hold, the man tightened his hands more firmly around the rope attached to his tied wrists.
The tall man led him straight to the tent he passed earlier. "So you caught the little runner." A cold voice sneered. He looked up at the tall man wearing a parka.
"The dogs brought him down near the trees." An equally cold voice stated back, this time in a weird monotone way. The man sounded like a machine.
"Hmmm… the boy's family is dead. The sentries say they found the body of a dead girl in the food tent, and apparently our scouts killed the mother and father outright. Gruesome site I might add. "
Alex bowed his head so the man couldn't see how much his words hurt him. Marie. His dad. He didn't know how he was going to live without them. A sob escaped his throat and he clamped down on it immediately, but it was too late.
"Ah the poor baby is crying for his mommy and papa. Human emotions disgust me. Get this piece of filth out of here and make sure he dies slowly. "
Not caring anymore about his future, Alex didn't struggle against his captor.
"Stop!"
The man holding his leash halted so suddenly at the command he bumped into him. He jerked his head around to see what was happening. A young man, in his early twenties stood in the entrance of the warmly lit tent, wearing only jeans and a black T-shirt. Authority radiated off the man. " I need a bed warmer tonight and since your stupid "scouts" killed the boy's sister. I need a replacement. Bring the boy to me, I need to see if he's worth the effort." The man in the parka looked angry for a moment before he stalked off.
His captor dragged him to the man in jeans. His legs trembled when strong fingers grabbed his chin and jerked his head up and twisted his face from one side to the other, studying him. Abruptly, the fingers left and he turned around, but before he stepped back into his tent the words that would change his life forever, left the man's lips. "I want him clean and in this tent in one hour."
****
Sunlight filtered through the tent and with a faint moan of pain he opened his eyes. Heavy arms wrapped around his body kept him from moving. He closed his eyes again and tried not to cry. At least he was alive, and he could try escaping back to… back to.. His chest ached from repressing his grief. He didn't have anyone to go back to, just people who lived like his family, one day at a time. Always running and hiding from the aliens and their human slaves.
He closed his eyes hoping to fall asleep again and forget last night. He wiggled around trying to get more comfortable, but instead he caused the faint throbbing in his ass to sharpen. He sniffled back his tears and tried to concentrate his other injuries. The bruises on his wrists looked nasty but didn't really hurt. His legs had scratches, and his back had abrasions where his violator scratched and bit him. Why didn't his father ever warn him of this possibility?
A few minutes later, the man behind him started to stir and come awake. He tried holding still so the man wouldn’t hurt him anymore. He hoped. The hands lying over his naked stomach roamed up and started pinching his nipples and one drifted down and touched his dick. He lay on the bed holding his body stiffly; hoping the man would grow bored and leave him alone. Instead the man continued to play with him until, the man with the parka opened the tent flap and waltzed in. The man sneered at him with obvious disgust. He buried his head in the pillow and tried to ignore the conversation going on around him. A flush of shame swept through his body and tears formed behind his tightly closed eyes.
Suddenly, the pillow was jerked out of his hands and he blinked in confusion at the naked young man sitting on the bed next to him smoking a cigarette. "Come on don't hide behind a pillow. It makes you look like a baby. Lets see what I have here. Last night I really wanted to fuck, so looks didn't matter as much. "
He paused and sucked in another lung full of smoke, before he looked down at him again and frowned. " Stop your tears now, or you can forget about me keeping you. I can just as easily feed you to the aliens that killed your family."
Alex sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes, and glared at his enemy.
The man laughed in delight. "Oh yes, you look much better now that you aren't crying. I think some of the redness and puffiness is a result of tears. Green eyes, brown hair, smooth young body. My peers are going to be jealous. What's your name boy?"
"Alex."
"Last name?"
"Krycek."
"Okay now how old are you? I need to know how long I'm allowed to keep you. You do know that once you turn sixteen all human males are sent to breeding camps, and then at twenty-two, its incubation camp. After that its bye bye earth." Alex flinched at the man's insane laughter.
"I'm twelve."
"Okay this is good. It looks like you're going to be my new fuck toy for the next four years or until I find someone better than you. As far as you are concerned I don't have a name. You can call me master. Obey my orders and mind your own business and you’ll be fine. Also you look ugly when you cry so don’t do it anymore. Last night is forgotten, after all it was your first time, the pain was to be expected. If you prove to be untrainable, I'll have no choice but to execute you myself. Do I make myself clear?"
Alex reeled in shock he had to let this "master" use him every night for the next four years. No fucking way! There had to be a way to escape, till then he would please this man, and bid his time till he gained more strength, then he would escape and somehow gain revenge on the aliens that took over his home world.
He remembered the pain and humiliation of last night and cringed inwardly knowing it was going to happen again, but he would escape. Someday. With his decision firmly in mind he picked his head up stared at the charcoal eyes boring into his green ones and answered. "Yes Master."
His owner stood up and walked to a chest at the foot of the bed and grabbed a neat pile of clothes and laid them on the end of the bed and started dressing. "Good learning already. Come on get dressed, there is something I have to show you so you can forget about your old life and start to enjoy serving the aliens and their allies."
Sitting up proved to be somewhat of a chore for him, all the muscles in his body ached. Goosebumps ran along his arms and made his nipples harden, the heater in the corner didn’t keep the tent as warm as his keeper’s body. He found his clothes thrown on the floor in the corner. Maddy would have yelled at him if he left his clothes like that overnight. He sniffed back more tears, he didn't know why he felt like crying over the old nag? She was always mean to him, but she brought Marie into his life, and when she forgot why she hated him she sometimes talked to him like she cared.
A slap on the back of his head brought him out of his thoughts.
"Stop daydreaming and get dressed, or I'll drag you outside in the buff."
A brief glance showed his master already halfway dressed. He quickly pulled on his pants, two shirts, a brown knitted sweater, and socks and shoes. He felt a moment of panic when he couldn't find his jacket, but before he could say anything, a strong hand grabbed his arm and dragged him outside into the cold winter camp.
He winced when the sun hit his eyes, the storm from the night before blew over, and now the compact snow in the campground reflected the sun like a laser beam. "Where are you taking me?" He asked once his master slowed down and allowed him to walk on his own feet.
With the suddenness of a striking snake, his master stopped, twisted around and punched him in the stomach. Air burst out of his chest and he dropped to his knees in the snow holding his hands to his chest. He tried to cry out in fear and pain, but he couldn't breath. Tears leaked out of his eyes and his ribs expanded with each deep breath he attempted. Finally after an eternity he pulled in small tiny bits of air, the last time he ever had the wind knocked out of him so badly was when he and Marie jumped from the roof onto a pile of snow, and on his turn he jumped too far and landed on the hard packed snow surrounding the cabin. Marie of course ran inside for help, terrified that he broke his ribs. Once he got his breath back his father punished both of them for playing instead of working.
This time no one was going to run for help and he wasn't sure why he was punched in the first place. As before, once he got his breath back he started sobbing, which angered the man controlling his future. Rough hands picked him up and set him on his feet, then his world darkened and pain exploded inside his head. He fell to the ground again and grunted when heavy boots kicked him over and over again. Through the rush of blood roaring in his ears, he heard someone shouting, "Stop crying, stop crying, stop crying." He curled into a ball whimpering and praying for the pain to stop.
He didn't know when the kicking stopped his small body ached and his mind felt so tired. He just wanted to sleep and never wake up. Eventually, his master picked him up again and set him on his feet, which immediately threatened to collapse out from under him. A few muttered oaths reached his ears but he didn't understand what they meant. "Come on Alex. Take it one step at a time, after I show you what you need to see you can go to sleep. "
The voice hypnotized him and confused him, how could the man sound so cruel and insane one minute and gentle and kind the next?
"You broke a rule Alex so I had to punish you, do you know what rule your broke?"
"N..ng...no. " Alex tasted blood in his mouth and his lips felt numb.
The man didn't seem to care that Alex's answer was slurred and unintelligible. "You are never to speak unless asked to. Next time you'll get more than a beating. Whipping is the common method of punishment for slaves, and a fitting one considering you are lower than animals. Just remember if you are scarred too badly I'll have to get rid of you."
He didn't know if he shivered due to the cold or at the ominous words. He wrapped his arms around himself; his sweater was soaked with melted snow. Warm snot started running out his nose and he wiped his nose with the sleeve of his sweater, and stared at the beaten down snow under his feet, waiting for his master's next command.
"Follow me."
Alex concentrated on placing one foot in front of the other as he trudged after his owner, until suddenly the man stopped in front of a tent at the edge of camp. Alex felt a moment of curiosity, before his owner untied the tent flaps and opened one of the flaps and tied the rope to the nail sticking out of the wood.
The stench of the tent hit him like a slap, he didn't know what caused such a smell, but it was nasty. He saw a foot sticking out of the shadows and took a step back in shock. His owner grabbed his arm and pulled him to the opening, to show him what was inside the tent.
"I don't want to see it! Please no." A small voice cried out in his soul. Slamming his eye's shut didn't cut out the image of his family dead and mutilated laying on the floor of a tent. His sister's head faced the entrance of the tent and her wide eyed expression looked so blank and empty. If dying meant losing himself and becoming nothing, then he didn't want anything to do with it. A surprised look graced his stepmother's face and his father's faces. Whatever attacked them did it so quickly they didn't even have a chance to react. His sister was taken so quickly by the monster she didn't have time to react either, instead he realized, her face was blank in concentration. Frozen blood pulled around his sister's body, and her clothes looked like something had shredded them.
He twisted out of the hands holding his shoulders, and turned toward the taller man, his head reaching the man's chest, and held his breath. Throwing up was not his favorite thing to do, but right at that moment, he felt like retching till his stomach came out and the scared butterflies went away.
Without saying a word both males walked back to the busy center of camp. He was led to the tent he woke up in, his owner didn't speak until Alex was in bed. "Alex the reason I showed you your family, is because of your age. Most boys think they are immortal, that is not the case, and definitely not now, humans like you and your family lived in hiding most of the time. I needed to show you what death looks like so you can learn how to avoid it. Now get some rest."
Every time he closed his eyes, pictures of Maddy, dad, and Marie dead flashed in the black space of his closed eyes. Eventually, he ignored the pictures and fell asleep.
*******
Mulder started awake, as the man in his arms thrashed on the ground. So that is what happened to Alex's family. He closed his eyes, and rested his head back on the rock behind him. Restless sounds escaped Alex's throat; he hugged the man tighter, so much pain in such a short life, how did Alex retain his sanity? He could feel the murmur of Alex's thoughts in his dream.