Starward Bound

Chapter two: The Journey Begins

I slowly blink awake and stare at the ceiling. Everything hurts. Well, maybe not everything... but still. My nose is obviously the biggest sorce pain, I wonder if it's broken. My legs, arms, and stomach all have a dull but manageable throbbing, which I'm not yet sure as to why. I try to recall what happened, but my eyes practically pop out of my skull as my slow memory finally catches up.

One of those things knocked me out, what happend!? I jolt upwards and feel a searing pain in my head. "Aaaguhh!" Grabbing the sides of my skull and slumping backdown. Laying still for a few minutes, the pain slowly dies down into a throbbing feeling like the rest of my body. "Okay....just take a breath...I'm not dead." I say as I inhale deeply and exhaling in a big sigh. It was true, despite being knocked out and at the mercy of...whatever the hell those creatures were, I was still alive and in somewhat decent health as far as I can tell. Slowly sitting up against the soft surface, I take in my surroundings.

I was laying on a mattress in a small white room, with one of the walls being a completely transparent wall of thick glass. Beside the bed was a bench attached to the wall with a few pieces of equipment and a tablet-like device with strange symbols on it, the bed was pushed againt the far corner of the room, at the end of the bed was a folded blanket and some sort of container. What is this place? Glancing down, I also notice the reason I'm so cold is because I am completely naked.

"W-what the fuck!" I snatch the folded blanket that lay at the end of the bed and quickly bundle myself up and look around for any cameras. "Jesus christ where the hell am I..." just then my attention is drawn to small vibrations coming from the glass wall, more specifically somewhere outside. The rythem was unmistakable. Footsteps. No...no no no. I whirl around and search for anything I can use as a weapon or a place to hide. The bed and bench all had no space underneath them leaving the items left on the bench as my only hope.

Settling on the the tablet thing as it hopefully it had a glass screen and could hurt one of those creatures if I swung it hard enough. Jumping back onto the bed and huddling myself into the furthest corner from the door, I watch as a hulking figure walks towards the glass wall. This one looked just like the others, wolf-like with crimson skin, and very tall. Though the uniform it was wearing was a dark grey with some sort of patch on the shoulders. It stops in the middle and glances at me through the glass.

I watch those amber eyes glance over me slowly and then snap back, homing in on my huddled form. We stare at each other for a few moments, it's jaw dropping open a few inches as it stares. I try not to look terrified but I think the involuntary trembling and hiding under the blanket like a child probably gave that away a long time ago. It suddenly starts to rummage around in it's uniform pockets for something in an excited manner, clutching the device close I prepare for a fight. A few seconds later the creature pulls out a small little black rectangle, alot like a smartphone and presses it once.

Like magic, the middle of the glass wall lowers and a doorway wide gap Is made. It stumbles into the room hurriedly and looks towards me. "Hello there! i-" the tablet thing sails through the air and hits the glass behind its head before it can finish. I shout and push myself as far as I can into the corner. You have to be kidding me! I missed the easiest shot I had, it was standing still! The creature raises it hands or paws and speaks...in crystal clear English. "Woah! Hold on, please calm down I don't mean you any harm..."

I freeze In place, wide eyed as I process what just happend. t-they can talk?! I distinctly remember hearing it one of them speak before I was knocked out...the two In the hallway, one of them said something and it definitely wasn't English...I stand up and clutch the blanket to my chest with one arm and keep my other hand in a defensive blocking position as I stare at the creature. Still holding its arms up, it takes a cautious step towards me. "Hey j-just calm down...I understand you might be in a bit of, emotional distress? I'm not here to hurt you I promise."