Beyond our Earth

19: Astonished

~~~~~~~~~Braden's POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I moaned, rolling over in the hotel bed. My head throbbed and my mouth tasted vaguely of alcohol. Opening my eyes, I saw a lump laying beside me in the covers. My heart jumped. What the...? 

My eyes widened, letting in the painful light that made them water. Now who in the hell was this? I slowly lifted myself and peered over top of her, trying to see her face.

Holy fuck! It's Elizabeth!

My heart started pounding along side my head. This could not be happening. Had I really been that weak? Had I given in to the attraction I had for her?

She rolled over, waking up. Her eyes opened and she stared up at me, smiling.

I started breathing heavily. "We didn't...?"

"Sleep together?" She clarified.

I gulped, nodding my head.

"No. You passed out the second we got back to the room," She said.

"Oh, thank god." I let out a breath of relief.

She frowned.

"Oh, no. I didn't mean it like that. You're very pretty Elizabeth, but I have a girlfriend." I said.

"I know. But there's a ninety percent chance she's dead." She murmured under her breath.

I lay flat on my back, relaxing.

Elizabeth got up and went over to the counter.

I hadn't gone too far, I hadn't done anything compromising. But then I remembered why Elizabeth was even here in the first place. That big wad of cash was still in my back pocket. She had bribed me and there was no question as to what she wanted in return. 

The smell of fresh coffee wafted through the room.

I got up, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. I found my shirt on the floor and put it back on.

"I'm going into town," I muttered slipping on my shoes, "I have to someone to meet up with."

She came to the door and handed my a mug of piping hot coffee.

"Thanks," I mumbled, opening the door.

I used my new found wealth to pay for a cab to take me to the public library. It was where I had agreed to meet with someone.

The taxi dropped me off in front of the building. I got out and strode into the library a few minutes before ten o'clock. As I waited in silence, I browsed a display of books. I wasn't really paying much attention to them. I just kept looking up every time the front doors opened.

The person who I had arranged to meet with was a woman, age forty-seven who had quite recently gone public with the report of an alien abduction. She was the first on my list of hundreds of alien abducties who I was hoping to gain knowledge from.

See, The plan was pretty simple. I realized there would be no hope of getting to Sara with any man made space craft. We humans just weren't that advance. I would have to be abducted, like her. If I could get into an alien spacecraft, I could find a way to commandeer it, then fly through space in search of Sara. Sound far fetched? Probably.

But it was the plan I was going with. The way it came across, alien abductions weren't all that rare. It was happening to thousands of people world wide. My plan; to gather as much information about abductions as I could so that I could figure out how to get abducted and who exactly to get abducted by.

It all started with Ella Bardell. She walked into the library at ten after. She was late but who was I to care. I knew it was her by the way she looked. Her raven black hair was streaked with highlights of grey. She was short, petite, and wore thin framed square glasses.