Unnatural Instinct: Abduction

11.

Lying in bed, you stare up at the ceiling. He said it's night and you assume he's right because you feel tired, but it all seems so odd without a sun or moon or any sense of real time. And what does he mean by night anyway? Night for him on his planet? Or night on Earth? And which part of Earth? The northern or southern hemisphere?

Even the simplest of things are difficult to comprehend, even scary.

Everything is scary.

Before he left, the alien had shown you how to switch the lights off. You've done that and yet a warm glow remains, filtering through a little gap where the wall meets the floor. You don't mind. You'd rather that than total darkness. But it does throw strange shadows everywhere; shadows that make your eyes flick around nervously.

You can't believe you're on a spaceship. Rolling on your stomach, you look behind you at the big viewing window and the space beyond. You can see Earth. That's Earth. You've never thought your life as small, with all its difficulties and troubles, but it does now.

Strangely enough, being so distant from your life doesn't frighten you but fills you with a strange sort of peace. For the moment, your money and work and love problems are over. But it's not enough to ease the dread of your current situation. On the other side of the door are aliens. You've been abducted and experimented on, terrorized and abused. You're stuck, trapped, and can't get home.

There's no way you're going to get to sleep. You suddenly think of how the tall alien placed his hand on your forehead. That seemed to relax you. How did he do that? Maybe he could do that for you again.

You sit up with a start at the sound of a mechanical noise on the other side of the door. You clutch your knees to your chest as the quiet hum of the spaceship itself rings in your ears. Despite the warmth of the room, your skin prickles with goose bumps.

Your head whips around at a sudden movement. There's a weird plant in the corner of the room. It's like nothing that would come from earth. Instead of branches it has what almost looks like feelers. In place of leaves are squashy-looking ugly bulbs. It hangs over the pot like a giant hand, as though searching to grip onto something.

Your eyes widen. You stifle a scream. It's moving! One of its 'branches' is moving! Like a finger! When one of the bulbs suddenly rolls open and blinks at you, that's it for you.

With a shriek, you scramble from the bed and race for the door. You're hardly dressed. You're not wearing your suit but a flimsy top and pants of a white linen-like material you found folded up in the cupboard.

They're much too big for you and you're holding up your pants as you race through the door. You squint against the light. The corridor is empty. There's only one place for you to go. It's ironic to think now that your kidnapper could be considered anything close to safe. But he's the only thing on board that's familiar enough not to fill you with dread.

His room isn't far, only a few doors up. You freeze, stifling a scream, at the sight of more grey aliens up ahead. They're walking away, their smooth, amphibious backs shining in the light. They haven't seen you. They turn a corner and once they've disappeared from sight, you hurtle towards the tall alien's door.

The door opens before you can pound your fist against it. Like yours, a soft glow beams from the lower walls. You step inside, squinting in the gloom. Your heart sinks. He's already in bed; you can see his figure beneath the sheet. You turn with a start as the door shuts behind you.

You grip onto yourself, not knowing what to do. You've never been in such an awkward situation in all your life. You turn back towards the door, but the thought of returning to that room with all its strange noises and zombie plants and those creepy aliens only a wall away terrifies you.

Swallowing, you gaze at his inert form. He's on his back, breathing gently, his white hair spread out upon his pillow. Before you can tell yourself to stop, you find yourself beside his bed, wanting a closer look. Despite your pounding heart, you manage to calm your ragged breathing; you don't want to wake him.

An alien. He's an alien. Both at once it's so easy to believe and yet so hard.

He's not wearing his suit, his chest bare, his arms lying over the sheet. He's very pale but nicely muscled—surprisingly-so for a so-called scientist. For a moment you wonder why he looks so odd, and you realise it's more than just because of his beautiful face.

It's his skin. Like his face, it's perfect. Not a scar or freckle or mole on it.

Or hair. Other than what's on his head and his perfectly arched eyebrows, he doesn't seem to have a single stray hair on his arms or chest. And when you think about it, even his chin looks too smooth to be shaven.

Before you know it, you're reaching out to touch him; more specifically, you reach out to trace your finger along one of his thick, perfect black eyebrows. You can't stop staring at him. His eyelashes are so black and long. A great artist couldn't have done better, neither in stone or paint, not compared with the real thing. You've never wanted to touch a man so much in all your life.

But he's not a man—he's an alien. And it was his intention to hurt you.

Was his intention, you remind yourself. Not anymore.

You have enough wits about you to stop yourself before you do anything silly, closing your fist just above his face. He hasn't stirred. He knows nothing of this. You have a chance to leave and pretend it never happened. Backing away, you glance at the door and immediately reconsider.

Your eyes fall to the couch.

It's surprisingly comfortable, even without a pillow. There's a blanket draped stylishly over the back of it and you wrap yourself up in that. You're watching him breathing as you fall asleep.

You dream of returning home and encountering Mellissa for the first time. Instead of being welcoming, she yells at you, throwing things at you from across the room. 'Why couldn't it be me! Why couldn't it be me! He should have abducted me!'

The next time you wake, you sit up with a start, spooked by a sudden noise. The room looks exactly as it should, all except for one thing: the alien is awake—and he's not wearing a shred of clothing.