Excerpt

In my story Stranded on Grzbt my Earth women are free from their captors in this selection but lost on a high tech space station. They have tiny bit of local currency, and a spaceship they inherited from their captors. No knowledge of the language or laws. No one to ask for help. They decide more money could only help.

EXCERPT

They sang in one area and made several more cubits. Feeling bolder, they moved closer to the outdoor dining. Three children left their table and came to listen.

The children looked nearly human, two with dark curly hair and tan skin. The small girl had a greenish skin color. She wore a red sheer scarf which obscured a third eye, closed, in the middle of her forehead. All had three long fingers and a human-type thumb, though none had fingernails.

They were accompanied by enormous cat-like animals. Their fur was almost non-existent, just on the ears and tail, and they had snakelike skin. Two were black and one had the same markings as an orange tabby, only in snakeskin, not fur.

As the children listened to their selection of carols, their already striking hazel eyes lit up like light bulbs. Hannah, who stood right behind Mimi, clutched her arm. Mimi could tell by the way she lost all breath control that Hannah was upset or scared.

Suddenly, Chloe yelled, “Velvet!” Velvet had leaped out of her normal place in Mimi’s pocket in her belt. She scampered across the white walkway and leaped on one of the lizard cats, chirping and whistling the whole time. The alien cat growled back.

The children tossed a handful of cubits in the cloth hat and went back to their table, with Velvet riding on one of the lizard-cat things.

“Velvet! Hey, that’s my pet!” Mimi took off at a run, followed by Chloe.