Page 33 of The Alien's Major Dilemma

Chapter 15

The transition from the light of the cave to the tunnel felt like being plunged into darkness again and Marissa did her best to stay calm.

She could feel Cooper's presence getting farther and farther away as they moved down the tunnel and panic rising up to grip her throat. A deep breath filled her senses with the damp smell of dirt, the sharp burn of old sand and a strange musk she'd always associated with lizards and snakes.

She sent her breath out through clenched teeth and pursed lips and felt her heart rate start to slow, even as her limbs trembled with the effort to keep still. Everything in her wanted to jump up and run to Cooper but she could still feel the bindings around her arms and legs and knew she wouldn't be allowed to move until her captors were ready.

Even if their conversation had seemed to indicate that they considered themselves her rescuers, she couldn't know what they considered a rescue.

And she didn't think they'd be as kind to Cooper.

At least she still had her clothes on, she thought. That was always a good place to start.

Light started to reach them from further down the tunnel and Marissa's heart started to pound again. The strange itching at the back of her brain started again and she realized she hadn't noticed when it stopped. Cooper had said something about sound dampeners being used to increase their ability to speak telepathically and she knew that had something to do with the strange feeling.

They turned down a tunnel and the itch increased, along with a strange buzz, as though there was a swarm of bees that she could just hear through the thick stone walls. Another turn brought them into another cave with bright lights and the low hum of people talking.

Her assumption that she was secured to the cot she was being carried on was confirmed when she tried to shift to look around at the cave. She was facing a wall that had obviously been worked smooth instead of left as natural stone and she couldn't move to see any of the people she could hear.

"Is that her?" a woman's voice asked. "I've got the room all set up. I wondered when you'd get around to bringing her to me."

Marissa couldn't hear the reply but she knew there had to be one because the woman spoke again.

"She can't be that much trouble," she said. "He didn't have her long enough to-"

To what? Marissa wanted to ask. What was Cooper supposed to have done to her?

"Well, let's get her in there and I'll take a look," the woman said.

A door opened and she was carried past a door frame before they set the cot down on what looked like a tiled floor.

"Let her loose and then go," the woman said. "No, I'm not talking to her tied up like this. And you can't stay. I don't care that she's some kind of soldier, you know what the women they bring in here are like."

Marissa fought the urge to explain she wasn't a soldier, she was a Marine. Fortunately, whoever the woman was arguing with released whatever had been holding her on the cot and she fell backwards to lay flat. The disorientation of the abrupt change was accompanied by a familiar wave of nausea and she fought to focus on the people around her.

Her eyes darted first to the cloaked backs of the people that were walking away, leaving the room if they were doing what they'd been told, then to the woman bending over to study her.

At least, she thought it was a woman.

Her skin…wasn't.

If she'd been standing still, Marissa would have thought the woman was carved out of a pale, milky jade. Instead, as she moved, the edges of the scales that covered her caught the light and shimmered briefly.

She was so fascinated by the movement of colors and light that it took her a moment to realize the woman had asked her a question. A hard blink let her focus her gaze on the woman's face. Her mouth and nose were shaped like Cooper's though her eyes were a deep, chocolate brown and definitely human.

"What?" Marissa asked. "What's going on?"

The woman gave her a close mouthed smile. "You're a little disoriented," she said. "That's normal for girls in your situation. I asked you what your name was."

"I am Major Marissa Ozark of the United States Marine Corps," Marissa answered and sat up. The worst of the nausea had subsided and she started to look around.

"Oh, they did mention you were some kind of soldier," the woman said, her voice soft and lilting. "They don't usually get their hands on female soldiers. Can you tell me where you're from, dear?"

"I am Major Marissa Ozark of the United States Marine Corps," Marissa repeated. "Please identify yourself and this location."

The room looked like it had been built into a natural cave, with the walls smoothed to make them easier to use and more pleasant to look at. The tiled floor was actually made of thousands of small mosaic tiles in a pattern that looked abstract from where she was sitting.

"My name is Ae-cha, a healer of my people, and you are in my office," the woman said. "I'm here to help you."

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