I let out a long yawn as I struggled to keep awake on the long drive back from my parent's house. After an evening of Mom nagging me about finding a husband and giving her some grandchildren, I was all pooped out. I was 22 for God's sake, I had plenty of time before I needed to settle down. Little did she know, I had been on a few dates with a sweet guy. There was no way I was going to tell her though or she'd probably find him online and badger him into proposing, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to be with him yet.
The dark shapes of the trees flickered by as I drove through the night, eager to get home so I could get to bed. Suddenly, a blinding light flashed in front of the car, causing me to slam on the brakes. I sat there stunned for a moment, trying to process what had just happened.
There were no cars on the road and there was nothing but trees on either side of me. Where the hell had that light come from?
As I sat there in my car with my heart beating out of my chest, I noticed that the light was all around my car, like a giant searchlight was shining down from above.
It's just a helicopter or something, I told myself, knowing that didn't seem quite right. I'd have heard it if there was a helicopter above me and yet the night was eerily quiet. I grabbed my phone and saw I had no signal and less than 10% battery. I should've charged it before I'd left my parents' house.
I fidgeted in my seat, unsure of what to do next. Suddenly, my car began to vibrate and shake as if it were caught in an earthquake. The blinding light grew brighter, and I shielded my eyes with my arm. An intense heat seemed to radiate from the light, and I could feel my sweat begin to bead on my forehead. My mind raced as I tried to rationalize what was happening. Was this an attack? Was it terrorists? But why would they come after me? I was just a normal girl driving home from her family's house.
Just as suddenly as the shaking began, it stopped and I found myself sitting in the dark with just my own headlights lighting up the road before me. I needed to get out of here. Now. I tried to start the car but the engine wouldn't turn over. I was stuck in the middle of nowhere with a mysterious light that seemed to be tormenting me. It was then that I heard a low rumble coming from above. I could either sit in the car and wait and see how this weird happening played out or I could make a run for it.
Never one to wait around, I grabbed my almost-dead phone and pushed open the car door. I stepped out into the warm night and immediately the spotlight came to life, casting brilliant white light all around me. That's when I saw it - a spaceship hovering above me. It was huge, metal, and covered in flickering lights. It was something straight out of a science-fiction film. I couldn't believe my eyes. Aliens were a thing of fantasy, not reality. But there it was, staring down at me with a bright light. I couldn't move, couldn't scream. Fear gripped my heart and I felt my legs give way. As I fell to the floor everything around me turned black.
I regained consciousness slowly and found that I was no longer outside. I was on my back, cold metal touching my bare skin, and a plain white ceiling above me. I blinked a few times, trying to adjust the well-lit room. I turned my head and that's when I saw them. Two short, humanoid figures with large eyes and slender bodies. Their skin was a light shade of blue that shimmered in the light. They were dressed in tight-fitting grey suits with strange symbols printed across them. They were both short, about 4'5 giving them an almost childlike appearance.
I tried to scream, but nothing came out. My mind was racing, trying to figure out what was happening to me. Were these creatures going to hurt me? Study me? Eat me? The possibilities were endless, and none of them were appealing.
My heart was beating so hard in my chest that I thought it might explode. I went to sit up and that's when I noticed I was completely naked. The little aliens had stripped me!
I jumped off the operating table I'd been lying on and squatted behind it so only my head was poking above, the rest of me was safely hidden from their gigantic eyes.
"Please calm down," one of them said in perfect English. I raised an eyebrow in shock as the creature continued to speak. "I know this is a lot to take in, but we have been searching for a species like yours for a very long time. We mean you no harm."
I stared at them in disbelief. "I'd find it easier to be calm if I wasn't naked on an alien spaceship!" I said angrily, refusing to calm down.
"I offer my profound apologies. We needed to remove your clothing in order to conduct our examination," it said, its voice was distinctly masculine and I decided it was a he.
"What examination?" I demanded, wrapping my arms around myself.
"We conducted a physical examination, a blood test, urine analysis, and genetic structural analysis," he said.
"What the fuck?" They'd stripped me naked, examined my body, taken my blood and urine, and somehow looked at my genes. I'd never felt so violated. Never. This was even worse than when I'd been groped by an old man on my way home from school.
"We have spent many years looking for a compatible species and tonight we finally found one," he said.
"Humans are compatible," his companion said, nodding for extra emphasis.
I knew I wouldn't like the answer but I had to ask the question all the same. "Compatible with what?"
The alien hesitated for a moment before answering. "Our species. We have been searching for a compatible species to procreate with and save our dying race. Your kind is the only match we have found in all our travels through the galaxies."
I opened and closed my mouth several times, unable to find a suitable response to the most disturbing thing anybody had ever said to me.
"Procreate?" I said in a strained whisper, feeling both disgusted and intrigued at the same time. "You mean you want to have sex with me?"
"It is a matter of necessity, not desire," he said matter-of-factly.
"Speak for yourself," the other one said, a small pink tongue flicking out and snaking over his lips. I shuddered and pulled my arms around me tighter.
"You've always been into weird stuff," the main alien said to his companion.
"So you just abduct random people and use them as breeding stock?" I exclaimed incredulously.
The alien turned back to me. "No. All the others were incompatible. You will be the first."
I shook my head, unable to believe that this was happening. "I will not," I croaked. I looked around for some kind of escape. There was a door to my left but what was beyond it? I was on a spaceship in the sky and there was no way of escaping. And yet I was not going to stay here and allow them to try to impregnate me like I was some kind of farm animal.
"You will, and if the experiment is a success then we shall colonize this planet and save our race," said the second alien.
"Not tonight, however," said the first alien. "Tonight has been fruitful enough. We will show you to your room where you can get some rest. Tomorrow we will begin our most important work."
I stayed on the floor shaking my head slowly in disbelief. The way he spoke was like he was describing the start of a new job and not an inter-species rape.
"Follow me," the second alien said, taking me by the arm and helping me to my feet.
"What about my clothes?" I asked, too afraid to resist him.
"This is a sterile ship. We had to burn them. You don't need them anyway," he said. "If you cooperate maybe I can arrange for you to be given a gown to wear."
I had to earn clothing? They really did intend on treating me like an animal. I was going to be imprisoned naked and fucked until I got pregnant. And if it all played out well then the rest of the human race would be subjected to the same treatment.
I was shown to a small barren room, holding only a single metal bed with white sheets. The walls were white and featureless, the only light coming from a small dome stuck on the ceiling. It was like a prison cell.
"My name is Grabanimo. I hope we can become more than researcher and subject," he said.
"Not likely," I replied.
"There is no need to try to escape. We are airborne and there is no way for you to leave this ship without killing yourself. Sleep well," he said before turning and walking away.
The door slid closed behind him and I was left alone in my sad little room. I crawled into bed, feeling warmer as the blankets cocooned me. It felt better just to cover my nakedness. I didn't know how I was going to get out of this situation. It seemed impossible. I was alone in a spaceship, in a completely alien environment, surrounded by aliens who wanted to use me to save their race.
I tried to shut down my brain, focusing on my breathing and trying to drift off to sleep. But my thoughts kept coming back to the aliens and their plans. I was scared and violated and I didn't want to go along with their plans. I wanted to be free.
Maybe the alien had lied. Maybe he had told me there was no way off the ship just to stop me from trying to find one. They got me on the ship somehow so clearly there was a way to and fro. And since it was the middle of the night maybe they'd all gone to bed too.
I got off the bed, keeping the sheet draped around me, and made my way to the door. I fully expected it to be locked but as I approached it slid open graciously. I gasped in surprise. I was expecting guards, a security system, something to keep me in. But nothing stopped me from leaving.
Feeling hopeful, I left my room and started searching for a way off the ship. It was surreal, like I was in a dream. The corridors were eerily quiet, just the sound of my bare feet slapping against the cold floor. Every corridor and every door looked exactly the same making it impossible to figure out which door led where. I approached a random door and it slid open for me. Stepping inside I found myself in some sort of ward. There were three wide metal beds in here and as I looked around I saw Grabanimo standing at a computer on the far side of the room.
