Sasha White

He glanced around the big and spacious room. It looked like something out of Star Trek.

Solid steel walls, full of various sized, different-colored lockers, and a door directly across from him with no handle. Like a NASA space shuttle, only bigger and more luxurious. There was no denying that wherever he was, it was a far cry from his spartan bachelor pad.

One corner of the room housed a sleek lounger next to a window, out of which Max saw only darkness. He started to swing his legs over the edge of the bed, intent on looking outside and searching the room for a weapon, and maybe some clothes, when the wall on the opposite side of the room shifted, revealing a doorway.

A shirtless man casually strolled in. “Hey, Max. I was wondering when you’d wake up,” he said before taking a bite of some fluorescent piece of fruit in his hand.

“Where am I, and who the hell are you?”

Max’s voice was rusty from disuse. He hadn’t lost his ability to talk in the accident, but when he’d gone deaf, he hadn’t wanted to talk, for a number of reasons. He hadn’t had much to say to anyone, and when he did have something to say, he couldn’t hear himself, which made him write things on a notepad. He didn’t want people to make fun of him.

The guy’s eyebrows shot up, and he swallowed. “I’m Jason. You don’t know where you are? Didn’t you go through the ‘tests’ like the rest of us?”

Max didn’t think this man posed a threat, but a tingle of unease went through him at the mention of any sort of testing. He hated tests; he never did well on tests. Of any kind.

Uncaring of his nudity, he rose from the bed and met Jason’s curious gaze. “What testing?”

“The stamina and sensitivity tests?” When Max didn’t answer, Jason’s expression grew animated. “The girls? You didn’t meet the girls yet?”

Hands planted on his hips, Max shook his head. What was the guy talking about?

“The aliens?” Jason started to chuckle. “You haven’t met any of the aliens yet?”

Aliens? Where the hell was he, and what the fuck was this guy on? Max shook his head and started to brush past the loser.

“No wait!” Jason reached for Max’s arm.

Max didn’t wait for the hand to land on his arm. He sidestepped, grabbed Jason’s wrist, and spun around behind him. In the blink of an eye, he had Jason’s arm twisted up between his shoulder blades, and firm fingers pinching off his larynx.

“I want straight answers and I want them now! Do you understand?”

“If you want straight answers, please ask me.” The dulcet tones of a female voice filled Max’s ears.

He spun around, keeping Jason between him and the being that had appeared behind him.

She was gorgeous. It was his first thought when he’d seen her in The Ghost Zone, and it was his first thought once again. Only now, she didn’t look as small and delicate as he remembered. She looked lethal, actually, with her leanly muscled body covered by scraps of leather and metal held together with belts containing full weapon sheaths. Her brown hair appeared darker, her green eyes brighter, and her fair skin glowed silver. She looked less human, and yet, even more beautiful.