You Don't Belong Here

Chapter Eight

It had been weeks since the motorcycle crash, and Brielle was slowly making progress in both her healing and her research. She had nearly weened herself off of the painkillers altogether, and Ghost watched as she hobbled without crutches around the room, the brace on her leg still complicating the most basic movements. The summer temperatures continued to climb, as did the temperature of the lab. The creature seemed to react better in hotter environments, so Brielle tried to accommodate as much as she could.

She had resorted to stripping down to her white lace bralette and matching underwear as even tank-tops and shorts were proving to be too excessive in the heat. The woman place a "Knock Before Entry" sign on the outside of her door, but so far she had no visitors.

She was placing various scientific instruments out around the exam table and cast an expressionless glance over her shoulder at the extraterrestrial being. "Remember our deal?" A familiar trill of clicks was her answer, and she looked back to the equipment before her. "Are you ready?" Another trill, and she hobbled over to the laptop and turned the music up to full volume. Despite having the sign on the outer portion of the door, Brielle overrode the administrative locks on the door so that no one would be able to enter the lab.

When she was sure of their privacy, she limped across the room to the tank while Ghost tracked her every movement with his amber eyes. She typed in a system override code on the tanks control panel and a dull whirring sound erupted from above the creature. His eyes never left the human as she continued to move her fingers along the panel until finally the seal on the top of the containment system retracted and Ghost turned his piercing eyes to the ceiling.

Ghost reached a clawed hand out of the water and grabbed hold of the edge of the reinforced glass before doing the same with his free hand and slowly lifted his body out of the thick liquid. He climbed with the ease and grace of a dancer spinning through a sultry ballet, and the silent stealth of a lion stalking its prey.

Moving his legs over the edge, he carefully and silently dropped to the floor below. Ghost turned to face the exit but was met with the female's fiery gaze. He matched her eyes for a moment, staring down at her as his mandibles flared in a show of intimidation, but she didn't move. His tusked mandibles flicked lightly through the air as he tasted the various scents around him. He could smell the fruit salad on her desk...the pungent floral odor of the air freshener in the far corner...the salty sweat that coated her scarred and bruised skin...but he smelled no fear from the woman. There was a strangely sweet aroma, but none of the putrid stench of terror that he had become so accustomed to when the others came near.

Brielle couldn't move. Her feet were glued to the floor; her body felt heavy as cement. She could only crane her neck as watch as her stepped closer. His stature was shocking when he could stand to his full height, and she was impressed. At best the top of her head was level with the upper portion of his abdomen. Nearly eight feet tall, she guessed. She was sorry to admit that she hadn't paid all that much attention to his physical attributes when she was looking at his charts; she was solely interested in his vital statistics.

Yet here stood this Goliath of an alien with dreadlocks hanging nearly below his shoulder blades, muscles out the wazoo, and a reproductive unit that would make the most "blessed" porn star blush in embarrassment. Normal protocol would dictate that she run for her life, that she scream and try to fight it away, maybe even pee a little...but she stood silent and motionless as he did. The scientist in her mind took control of her body, and she felt pure amazement at the sight before her.

Ghost tilted his head to the side as he often did when he watched her, his eyes narrowing as he clicked softly. Was he analyzing her, or was he deciding how best to kill and eat her? More amazement flooded the human's senses as she stared him down.

After what felt like an eternity but was more accurately 5-7 seconds, Ghost sidestepped the female and moved to lay on his back atop the metallic exam table. Once he was in place, Brielle turned and moved to the platform and strapped his ankles into the restraints before doing the same with his wrists. She could feel the heat radiating from his leathery skin as she locked the restraints into place. "Are they too tight?" She was met with silence and looked up from his left wrist to see that the creature was once again watching her with those fascinating amber eyes.

Brielle turned and gathered various sizes of electrodes and began attaching them to his temples, chest, abs, and sides before a monitor on the far wall registered his breathing patterns, blood pressure, heart rate, and brainwave activity. Steady, rhythmic beeps chimes out every few seconds to announce each powerful thump of his heart.

"I'm going to take some X-ray scans of your skeletal structure." She retrieved a led-lined blanket from the side and draped it over Ghost's torso. "This will protect your body from the radiation. Just bear with it for a few moments, and I'll be done soon. You just need to lay still." Again she was met with the sounds of hypothetical crickets, but she disregarded the one-sided conversation.

Instead she focused on the blaring music that would overpower any noise that may try to escape through the sealed doorway. Most of the facility workers were used to her obnoxiously loud tastes in music, but if anyone decided to question her methods as of late, she could say that she was conducting experiments on the asset in regards to how various fluctuations in sound may affect his mental activity. Now if only she could keep Brooks away after hours...