Page 42 of The Alien's Major Dilemma

What happened to you?She asked.When I fell asleep, it sounded like they weren't going to torture you.

Monsters seem to be universal,he said, hoping the vague answer would keep her from pressing. He didn't have the strength to keep her out if she felt like looking through his most recent thoughts. Thankfully, she didn't seem to realize that or she decided to leave him some privacy.

Do you know who they were?

I have some ideas,he said.And if I were on my home planet, I'd think they were impossible.

Impossible good or impossible bad?

Depends on who you ask. And which side you're on. And what happened to the rest of them.

How long have they been there?

No idea. I don't think they've lived in that cave system very long but I do think it used to be inhabited. Maybe by their ancestors, maybe by someone else entirely.

So, we've had lizard people living in caves under the surface of the Earth for a while, then?

Marissa sounded amused and Cooper didn't know why. More things to ask her about later. The vibrations in the floor of theship that indicated a change in the engine cut their conversation short as the space ship moved.

Only the change in the sound warned him about what happened next but it was enough to make him sick. The marine guarding his door looked in at him and talked into a radio on his shoulder.

Cooper struggled into a sitting position with his back against the wall and his head on his knees to breathe through the nausea. Doc stepped into his cell with two more guards with him and Cooper snorted.

"Are you ill?" he asked. "Injured somewhere I didn't know about?"

"Space sick," Cooper said with a laugh. "Kinda like sea sick but from flying."

"I thought you got here in a space ship? Did you have something to help with that?"

"It's not the flying," Cooper told him. "It's the engines. Can you hear them?"

When all the marines shook their head, Cooper sighed. "Whatever they're doing, they hum as just the right frequency to make me want to hurl. I'll be fine once we've landed and I'm off the ship."

"Can I get you anything to help? A peppermint or something?"

Cooper made a face at the thought of the hard candy. "Thanks but no. I'm just glad I didn't have anything on my stomach to lose but bile. You might want to check on Marissa, though."

Chapter 19

Doc showed up at Marissa's door with a sandwich, a bottle of water, and two guards.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Bored, sore, uncomfortable," she said. "Hungry, now that I see the food."

"Cooper mentioned you might need it," he said. "No nausea? Vomiting?"

She shook her head. "No, should I be?"

"It was a possibility," he said. "Not everybody deals with space flight well."

Marissa shrugged as much as she was able. "I'd be happier with a window to look out of but I don't tend to get motion sickness."

"Good to know. Want a sandwich?"

"Are you going to remove my restraints so I can eat it?"

"Nope but I will move them so it's easier."

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