We all watched her stride over to one of the guards nearby. He was human, but still a fairly big guy. And he had a gun, not that any of us thought he was going to use it.

Women were too valuable to the alts.

We were there because one or more of them was trying to decide if he wanted or needed us.

We all knew that. It had been all over the internet since they announced their existence a few years ago, and we realized they’d taken over every government on Earth.

Now, we were at their mercy.

Whatever they were.

The internet as a whole was fairly confident that they were supernatural creatures from a parallel realm—creatures like dragons, vampires, demons, and whatnot. But there wasn’t much evidence.

All we really knew was that they were big and powerful, and they needed women.

“What’s going on?” the woman who had been standing behind me demanded, speaking to the human guard. “We’ve been here all day, hungry and freezing our asses off. At this rate, it’s going to be tomorrow afternoon before we make it to the front of the line. We’re starving. We’re thirsty. We’re cold. Can you at least let us go home for the night and come back in the morning?”

The man studied her for a moment. His hold on the gun no longer looked threatening, but it hadn’t from the beginning.

“I’ll make a call,” he finally said.

“I’ll wait.”

Silently, I cheered the woman on.

I wasn’t about to risk my life to wrap up this hellish experience, but I was glad she didn’t have the same qualms.

The man eyed her. “Take a few steps back.”

She didn’t look like she was going to, but after a moment, followed the command.

He pulled a phone from his pocket and dialed. After it rang a few times, his expression stiffened. Someone must’ve answered.

I couldn’t hear what he said as he looked at the line, speaking quietly.

The conversation didn’t last long before he hung up and looked back at the determined woman.

Lifting his voice, he said, “I’ve informed the alts of the situation. They’ll come to a decision and let us know. Go back to your place in line.”

I let out a soft sigh of disappointment as the woman stormed back to her spot behind me.

The alts obviously weren’t going to do anything.

We were objects to them. Broodmares. Useful only for our⁠—

The line suddenly moved forward much faster than it ever had before.

That had to be a fluke. Right?

But it didn’t stop.

The guard answered another phone call, then stepped up nearer to the line. Looking down the beach, I could see another doing the same to his portion of the group.