A screech preceded the sounds of rapid breathing, slaps, tearing cloth,
and stamping feet. "Stop it!" I yelled, trying to see through the
crack. "She only brought some water!"
"Check the criminal alien!"
Soon the wooden hall floor creaked and rattled. The door rolled up.
Lights blinded me. Three striped toothies streaked for their holes.
"Search him and the room," ordered a Dominant, apparently the man who
originally arrested me.
"You don't get much sleep, do you?" I asked.
"Silence!" he said. "Ordinance 55: Criminal--"