Page 33 of My Alien Angel
“Areyouready to answermyquestions?” I shoot back, clinging to my irritation. It’s the only thing keeping me from succumbing to a very real, and very justified, fear.
“You aren’t in any position to be asking questions, Ms. Young,” the voice replies, and then it’s quiet again.
Screaming loudly, I kick the door in frustration. Bad idea because now my foot hurts. I’m tempted to throw my food at the camera but a deep-rooted sense of caution holds me back. If I piss them off too much, they could move me to an actual prison cell or somewhere even worse. Some dark, dank hole where they keep illegal prisoners, a place where no one ever leaves to tell the world about it. The second reason for not making a mess is a little more pragmatic. I’m hungry and I don’t know when, or if, they’ll bring me any food again. So far, I’ve avoided touching the food and water, thinking perhaps it could be drugged, but I won’t be able to keep this up for long. I wassonot made to be a black site prisoner.
“I just want to know if Omni is okay,” I whisper, desperately blinking away the tears as my bravado falters. There were so many weapons aimed at him in that parking lot. What if they just shot him? What if they brought him to some creepy lab and are hurting him right now?
To my surprise, the voice responds. “The extra-terrestrial is alive and unharmed.”
“Thank you.” They could be lying, of course, but a sense of relief still washes over me. Omni is okay. That’s all that matters. “Can I see him?” I don’t really expect a positive answer, which is why the prompt “soon” throws me for a loop. “Wait, really?”
“Step away from the door,” the voice commands, just like it did earlier when the woman brought in the food. This time, I scramble to obey without hesitation or cursing, throwing a pointed look at one of the cameras as if to say,See? I can be a good prisoner when you actually communicate with me.
Two men in uniforms enter, both carrying assault rifles and eyeing me suspiciously. I don’t blame them. If they’ve been stationed outside my door, listening to me scream and curse at them, my sudden compliance must seem rather suspicious. “Come with us,” one says. His hand hovers over the handcuffs clipped to his belt but, after a quick inspection of me, he doesn’t grab them, pointing the rifle instead. I don’t know if I should be flattered, offended or frightened out of my mind.
One walks out of the door in front of me, the other one gestures for me to go next while he follows. Unlike when they brought me in here, they don’t bother blindfolding me this time, so I’m treated to the view of identical grey corridors dotted by the occasional door. I’m not sure that foregoing the blindfold is such a good thing, though. It kind of seems like they’re not bothering with it because they don’t expect me to ever leave this place again.
As we enter a large conference room, my eyes immediately scan for Omni, finding two other figures instead. “Caleb! Imani!”
“Fin!”
Hovering by the door, the guards don’t stop us from engaging in a lengthy group hug. Tightly squeezing my best friends, guilt assaults me so hard a few tears slip down my cheeks despite my heroic efforts to hold them back. “I’m so sorry for dragging you into this, guys.”
“Oh, please.” Caleb waves his hand. “Getting into Area 51 has been on my bucket list forever. Although, I have my suspicions that these military people are actually robots,” he stage-whispers.
I cast a startled look at the two soldiers who seem completely unperturbed by Caleb’s comment. “What do you mean?”
“Well, not one of them responded to my flirting! I mean, seriously? They’re clearly not human.”
“Caleb!” Imani smacks him upside the head. “Stop being an idiot. This is serious.”
He shrugs. “It’s not like there’s anything we can do. Did Omni make it out?”
“No. There were so many people with guns I—”
As I start tearing up again, Imani rubs my shoulder. “They won’t kill him. An alien is worth much more alive than dead.”
“Jeez, girl, your bedside manner sucks,” Caleb quips. “How did they even get you?”
“Came to my house in the middle of the night.” Imani shudders. “It was fucking scary. This place is even scarier. You do realize what us being here means, right? They’re never letting us go. At best, we’ll spend the rest of our lives locked up in here. At worst, they’re going to transfer us to some third-world country black site prison. Or kill us.”
“Wow,” comes a familiar voice from the doorway. “Doctor Rhodes, you really do have a very low opinion of the military.”
Colonel Lewis strides in, all smug grins. Before I know what I’m doing, I march up to her. “You bitch! Where’s… Omni!” I yell. He enters the room behind the colonel. Heedless of our audience, I’m immediately launching myself into Omni’s arms and tugging his head down for a kiss. He obliges, our mouths meeting in a soft, reassuring caress that quickly turns heated. Someone clearing their throat pulls me back to reality, only now realizing that my legs are wrapped around Omni’s waist and he’s holding me up by my ass. Uh. Oops?
“I’m guessing it’s safe to assume that exposure to extraterrestrialfluidsisn’t lethal,” Lewis quips a little too smugly for my liking.
Glaring at the woman, I snarl, “You’re an insufferable bitch. Has anyone ever told you that?” Seeing Omni safe and sound seems to have reanimated my bravado. “This is a private moment, do you mind?”
Lewis doesn’t move a muscle. “Actually, Ms. Young, I do mind. We have more important matters to deal with than your alien love affair. I’m more interested in getting Doctor Rhodes’ cooperation on this very time sensitive problem, so if you could please shelve your hurt feelings…and your impropriety, for a later date, that would be greatly appreciated ”
“What problem?” I ask through gritted teeth. I’m desperate to keep arguing with the condescending bitch for no other reason than to release some of the pent up frustration I’m feeling, but the way Omni’s tension is rising next to me reminds me that she’s right. There’s more at stake than my hurt ego.
“What makes you think I’d help you?” Imani bites out, scowling at Lewis. “You literally kidnapped me from my house when I’ve done nothing wrong!”
Lewis hikes up a brow. “Nothing wrong, doctor? Aiding and abetting an undocumented immigrant while actively helpingthem avoid authorities is a crime, even if they aren’t from another planet.”
I scoff. “Right, because protecting someone from being cut open and experimented on is such a fucking crime.”
