Page 27 of The Alpha

She opened her eyes. Dr. Charles had a wicked grin on his face. “I’m going to enslave them, of course. And then I’m going to breed myself an army. Mankind will benefit in unimaginable ways. I’m not about to let some alien race take over our planet. They’re here uninvited, after all. It’s only a matter of time before they get it in their heads to try something. I plan to beat them to it.”

A chill went up her spine, and then another, and her heart went out to the unconscious man on the table.

Pari looked at him a little closer as Dr. Charles casually sipped his tea. Was the man unconscious? Could he be faking it?

“So, I’ll ask you again, my dear,” the doctor said, breaking into her thoughts. “What do you know about him? Why did he attack those young men dragging you toward your apartment building?” The lustful look he sent her way was unnerving.“Though I think I know. With four young men manhandling you, their intent was clear enough.”

Pari froze. Jeffrey and his friendswereintent on something that day, and she couldn’t bring herself to think about it. Talk about going from out of the frying pan and into the fire! “What are you going to do to me?”

Dr. Charles glanced at the handsome man on the table. “That depends on what the other tests we took tell me. Rest assured, we’ll take more, but if you turn out to be just a silly, stupid, human girl, then I have no more use for you.”

Her jaw trembled. “So… you’ll… kill me?”

He looked her in the eyes. “Of course.”

Her breathing turned jagged as she blinked back tears.

The man on the table jerked once, twice, and his eyes flew open.

Pari went perfectly still. She didn’t want to alert anyone to his wakeful state.Please close your eyes. If you don’t, they’ll knock you out again.

“Eat,” Dr. Charles ordered.

Oswald entered the lab, took one look at the man on the table and went to him. “Dr. Charles…”

“What is it, Oswald?” He looked that way.

Oswald was staring at the man with big eyes. “He’s up again, sir.”

“Ah, excellent. Give him ten cc’s, then we’ll put him in his cell and see if he eats.”

Pari watched as Oswald prepared a syringe, then administered it through the man’s IV. As soon as he did, the big man’s eyes closed, and his breathing evened out. They’d knocked him out again.

Pari busied herself with opening her bag of potato chips as they unstrapped the alien, transferred him onto a gurney, and wheeled him back into his cell. Once again it took five men tolift him off the gurney and onto the bed. If he was human, it wouldn’t take that many, no matter how tall he was. But if he truly was not of this world, then maybe his body mass was much different, and he weighed a lot more than a human male.

Pari absently ate a potato chip as they put a tray of food on the floor near the wall between her cell and the alien’s, then exited and locked the door behind them. She noted the locks were electronic, and there was no way for her to open her door from the inside. She was good and trapped. As was her alien neighbor.

She sat on her bed and stared at him. Pari could see him better, now that her head had cleared and her vision was no longer blurry. She continued to study him and didn’t realize her jaw had dropped until the doctor spoke.

“Magnificent, isn’t he? My beautiful prize. He’s the key to mankind’s success. I don’t care if I have to cut him to pieces to find out what I want.” He gave Pari a wicked smile. “After all, there are more of him out there.” He turned on his heel, then raised his hand and made a circular motion.

As soon as he did, everyone began to leave the lab. They even dimmed the lights. Was it quitting time?

Pari caught the sound of the camera in her cell, not to mention a few more. She looked up and saw her cell’s camera trained on her. Along with the ones in her neighbor’s cell they would capture every move they made.

She got off the bed and noted there were cameras in every corner of the lab. Every last one was pointed at the two cells.

Now more than ever she felt like a fish in a bowl, every eye trained on her and the… alien.

Pari gulped as she stared at him. Not three seconds went by, and his eyes opened.

10

Pari sucked in a breath. He was looking right at her with those glowing blue eyes of his. He slowly tried to rise, failed, and fell back onto the bed.

“Don’t try to get up,” she advised. Pari swallowed hard. She didn’t even know if he spoke English.

He tried again, his eyes brighter than before, and fixated on her.

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