Displaced

Chevelle - Seven

Paul unlocked the door again. We all moved away from it and stayed close to one another. When Paul stepped inside, he took a look around and tilted his head to the side.

"You didn't turn on the lights," he said. He reached over and flipped a switch, illuminating the apartment. With the lights on it reminded me more of a penthouse.

We were standing in a rather spacious entryway. Not too far off was the kitchen which had plenty of walking room, an island counter, and brand new appliances. Fresh fruits were on the countertop, along with a number of utensils. There was a dining room with a large wood table that was a lot larger than we'd need for just the three of us.

Beyond that was the living room. A large flatscreen TV hung on the far wall above a fireplace. Black leather couches rested in front. Directly across from us was a large window overlooking a beautiful blue sky. Trippy, since I didn't understand why there was sky in the middle of outer space. They'd so far managed to replicate most of Earth perfectly, so why not the sky too? Everything about the apartment seemed rather homey upon first glance. It sure didn't look like a prison, but it was. Just because it was nice didn't mean I wanted to be there.

I moved to the living room so I could sit down on the couch. My shoes clicked against the white tile of the entryway as I went. Timber and Lara followed. We were all able to fit on the couch with ease, and I missed the close proximity we had had with one another from earlier.

Paul followed us into the room and sat down on a chair across from us. He crossed his legs, still smiling. "I hope your home is pleasing. It's by far the nicest of the units designated for our kind. The Achlivans have done their best to replicate only the finest of lifestyles for those they wish to reward."

"The what?" I asked, leaning forward.

"Sorry, the Achlivans. That is the name of the race who has so kindly taken us in."

"Kidnapped us, you mean," Timber said, his tone like ice.

Nodding slowly, Paul raked his teeth over his bottom lip. "Yes, you're right. Like I said, it's for the best. Earth is dying. The Achlivans are taking as many of our species as they can in hopes of preserving us from extinction."

"By kidnapping us?" Timber repeated.

"Would you have come willingly?" Paul asked.

I know I wouldn't have. If some guy I had never met gave me the option of dying on Earth or living in space and preserving the human race, I would have laughed in his face. No question about it. Only lunatics would willingly agree to come with someone making such outrageous claims. I'm guessing these Achlivan people didn't want to save a bunch of crazies. Of course, I wouldn't exactly call myself a fine specimen of humanity either.

Timber looked away. "It's still not okay. What if we don't want to do this?"

"You will. Give it some time. The Achlivans are demanding a trial period. After this time is up, then the idea of you going home again will be reevaluated."

Groaning, I ran a hand over my face. "This is a bunch of crap. You know that what you guys are doing is wrong. Newsflash, the world is going to end someday no matter what anyone does. Why test fate like this?"

With an incredibly sad-sounding sigh, Paul stood from his chair. "Just give it a chance and keep an open mind. All we're asking you to do is try. You might like it better here than you did there. I'll be back tomorrow to give you a complete tour of the ship, or our portion of it at least. Perhaps some sleep and some calm will help you listen more clearly."

I watched him leave, my jaw dropped. Did he really think I'd be happier on a spaceship, hundreds of thousands of miles away from my friends and family? Fat chance. I glanced at Timber. He was hard to read, that's for sure. While his body was tense, his face was rather stoic and expressionless. That seemed to match up with what I knew about guys, though. They were good at stonewalling their emotions when they needed to.

Slowly, he stood. "I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

The irrational girl part of me wanted to curl up with a gallon of cookie dough ice cream. Eating myself sick wasn't going to make any of my problems go away, though. Instead, I shook my head.

"Not hungry," I mumbled.

"Lara?" He raised an eyebrow.

The girl nodded and she brushed some of her soft brown hair away from her face. "Yes, please."

"All right! How do you feel about grilled cheese and soup?" He smiled for the first time since we arrived on the ship.

Lara nodded again and got off of the couch to follow him into the kitchen. I didn't understand how they could have so easily pushed everything Paul had said aside. Distraction, I suppose. That was the only logical way I could explain it to myself. I couldn't distract myself as easily, however. We'd just been told we were kidnapped by aliens to help preserve our species. To me that raised a whole bunch of other questions. Mainly, what exactly did they expect us to do?