We last left Chelsea after an encounter with her neighbor Dom. The next part of her story involves an extraterrestrial encounter.
The chapter ended somewhat early, but there will be plenty to make up for it!
*****
Chelsea's blue eyes fluttered open, and her eyelids continued to move with the pounding in her head. She lay on the sofa for awhile, her mind becoming awake as she took in her surroundings. It hurt to force her lids open; after the crying and drinking she had done earlier in the evening she was dangerously dehydrated. She lurched her body up into a sitting position and felt the ooze of liquid sluice out of her pussy. Dom, she thought.
Her stomach roiled as she stood up and stumbled to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet in time. When she had finished releasing the contents of her stomach, she started up a cold shower. She disrobed, then stood in front of the mirror as she had in the morning, back when her day had been full of promise. Back when she had been so completely infatuated with Alex, so trusting when he had said there would be a romantic surprise for her. She looked at her reflection and almost threw up again.
She was a mess to say the least. Her hair was stuck to one side of her head from when she had cried herself to sleep on the sofa. Black streaks of mascara marred her cheeks, which were flush bright red. They were nothing compared to her eyes though, it looked as if bright red marbles had been pushed deeply into her eye sockets. There were marks all over her breasts, her nipples were still red at the tips after the punishing attention they had seen throughout the day. She felt dirty. The shower would help.
She took her time performing her ablutions, caressing the tender skin of her thighs, then reaching up higher with her soap covered fingers to cleanse her most intimate parts. She kept the water cool until the final five minutes, when she cranked the heat as high as it would go. She winced at first at the temperature change, then sighed deeply as the water warmed her skin. When she could no longer take the pounding of her pulse in her temples, she turned off the water and grabbed a towel from the rack.
Wrapped in the towel, Chelsea made her way into the bedroom she and Alex shared. She stopped suddenly in the doorway as a flash of red caught her eyes. There on the bedside table, next to the alarm clock was a dozen red roses arranged in a bouquet with baby's breath and ferns. A card was placed in front of the floral arrangement, and next to the card was a small box, wrapped in red paper and tied with a white satin bow. Chelsea felt her heart skip a beat and she moved toward the table.
She plucked a rose from the bouquet and inhaled deeply. It smelled musky yet sweet, and the petals tickled her nose as she inhaled. She loved the smell of roses, and this one did not disappoint. She felt calmed instantly, and picked up the box with her left hand, letting the towel fall to the floor, as her right was still clutching the sweet smelling rose. Chelsea sat down on the bed and placed the box and rose across her lap. With trembling fingers, she slowly worked the ribbon out of its place and tore into the paper.
The box looked like it might contain a bracelet or piece of jewelry; it was small enough to fit in the palm of her hand. But when she lifted the lid she was surprised by what she found. A clunky piece of metal in the shape of a rectangle. Curious, she picked it up in her hand and discovered it was a lighter. Turning it over she spotted the engraving.
"Our love can never be extinguished."
She flipped the lighter over.
"C and A forever."
Alex, she thought as she sighed. Just when she thought she would hate the bastard forever, with a small token of love and a corny line, she was ready to forgive him.
Then suddenly, her back stiffened straight as if she had been struck by a burst of electricity. The lighter dropped to the floor as her palm opened automatically. She was frozen, unable to move. Panic seized her mind then. She tried to stand but it was as if she had no control over her body. Then suddenly she was moved upwards, her back end was lifted until it was level with her shoulders, leaving her suspended in mid air.
She felt a breeze then, blowing across her still damp skin. Then she felt herself being moved, or carried, toward the window that overlooked the bed. How is this possible, Chelsea wondered, her fear forcing goosebumps to appear up and down her arms. To her shock and horror, her naked body continued its movements through the window and out into the night air. Her eyes remained wide open and she was shocked to see that the window had in fact remained closed.
Chelsea had never felt a terror like this. She was moved past the window and her building, her head stuck looking down at her feet. Then she felt herself being pulled upward, higher and higher, past the second story windows, then the third, then over the top of the building. Her head was reclined then, though not of her own volition. She was staring up into the brightest white light she had ever seen. It felt oddly pure, as if the beams of light shining down on her were cleansing her skin.
Oh God, Chelsea's mind screamed. What is happening?
Then the light intensified, and she felt as though her body was rushing through the stars. Time ceased for Chelsea and she had no idea how long she was suspended like that. Despite her terror, despite this new journey into the unknown, Chelsea fell into a deep and blissful sleep.
*****
"Subject Gamma-Epsilon-Sigma. Sex Female. Age nineteen Earth Years, five Earth months, six earth days. Blood pressure one hundred four over sixty five as subject is in a deep R.E.M cycle. Subject has recently engaged in sexual activity, evinced by swollen labia and clitoral hood. Permission to begin scan, Doctor Malki?"
Ari's tone was all business, but her emotions ran rampant. It should have been a normal day for her. She was an apprentice to the doctor aboard ship Ethereal. This was her fourth Earth month under Dr. Malki's tutelage. Her home planet, one the Earthlings referred to as Kepler-296f, would always be dear to her heart, but from the time she was in introductory school she had dreamed of traveling to Earth, to study these strange misguided beings that called themselves humans. The reality of that dream had left her feeling quite unfulfilled. From her eyes, humanity was a sad lot. Self-indulgent, narcissistic, murderous, convinced of their superiority, wasteful...the list went on and on. She thought that studying the humans would bring her to a greater understanding of her own race, but these creatures were so far removed from her own physiology and biology she had started to rethink her choice in joining Ethereal's crew.
Subject Gamma-Epsilon-Sigma was different. Ari recalled the time she first spotted her favorite subject, at the age of eight earth years, four earth months and nine days. The girl had been walking in earth's twilight as she stepped on the form of a dead frog. The creature had been smashed to bits by other earth children just moments before the girl had reached it. Ari remembered observing the scene, as was part of her training before entering her internship. She had anticipated the girl would act as any Earth girl, wipe the slime from the creatures innards on the grass and continue her walk. Gamma-Epsilon-Sigma did not act as an ordinary Earth girl. She stepped back from the amphibian, sank to her knees, and sobbed, loudly and openly. Then she turned her piercing aqua eyes upward, directly to Ari's, and exclaimed.
"Why? It's not fair. He didn't hurt anybody, he was just being a frog! Why would anyone do this?!"
Ari immediately felt a pull toward the Earth girl. Most Earthlings gave no regard for any survival but their own. Sure, some kept animals as pets, and some even regarded other humans as "property" or "subjects" and gave no thought to their survival. The girl wept over the frog for approximately nine minutes, then sat quietly. Ari continued her observation, curious as to what the young girl had planned.
The girl picked up the dead form of the frog, then carried the corpse to the bank of the river, a good half mile away. She placed the frog on the waters edge and spoke quietly to it.
"I'm sorry this happened to you," She began. "You are dead, and there's nothing I can do to save you. Even though you're dead, you have a purpose. Some living creature may eat you. Flies might use you to lay their eggs. But you won't feel it, you can't feel anything now..."
With a heaving sob, the girl pushed the frog into the water, and watched as the corpse bobbed and floated. Tears streaked her face, but she didn't leave until the frog was safely out into the current, swept down river.
Ari was hooked then. For a young earthling to show such compassion for life, not even a human life, Ari was amazed. She continued to observe her subject through the rest of her training, whenever time would allow. Ari worked hard in her studies and labs, just hoping that with enough work and dedication, she would one day be able to meet this earthling who was capable of such compassion and understanding.
Her time with humans had been disappointing thus far. Ethereal mainly claimed male subjects, and they were always left unconscious. If a situation arose when they did awake prematurely, the mantra was always the same.
"Be at peace. We mean you no harm. Be at peace."
Before the subject could say anything, Ari was there with a needle, paralyzing the subject then using her hands to collect his "specimen." When it was finished, the poor man would be returned to his bed, unharmed except for the stolen sample.
The scientists and doctors aboard were obsessed with unlocking the secrets of human life. Female abductions were rare. When they did occur it was generally a reproduction experiment, the women themselves were boring, heavy, unattractive things, but were fertile. Virgins were the most common. Women who were unattractive to the Earth males, but highly useful to their studies.
The truth was, Kepler-296f was suffering from a population crisis. Women had stopped conceiving. After the year of Ari's birth, children had ceased to be produced. Their scientists had studied everything in those early years, from the possibility of contaminants in the ground to a possible increase in radiation from their star. All research had resulted in nothing. Ari refused to give up though.
From her observation of the earthlings, she had witnessed conception, birth, love. She desperately wanted, in a secret part of her, to hold her newborn babe to her chest and cradle him as he fell asleep. To watch him grow and change, from his first steps to his first days in introductory school, from his first love to his first child. The humans had to be the solution. They reproduced so rapidly, in such numbers. Their science had tied it to certain events within their subcultures. There was a factor at work there that was crucial for her race to unlock. Ari knew it to be true.
"You may begin the scan Ari." Dr. Malki replied finally.
Ari moved to the foot of her subject and began. In her palm she held a device that emitted a blue ray of light in front. The beams of light reflected harmlessly off the human's cells and picked up data as to the human's temperature, blood pressure, viral or bacterial infection, and any concentration of white cells, or swelling. If any foreign substances or objects were present, the device would also alert her.
"Subject Gamma-Epsilon-Sigma scan beginning. Subject has sub dermal swelling on left and right thighs, visible welts on the dermal layer. Subject has engaged in recent sexual activity, though swelling in the labia has decreased by approximately twenty percent since initial inspection. Blood pressure has increased slightly, one hundred fifteen over seventy five. Subject is dehydrated, recommend IV infusion before continuing in further examinations."
"Ari, are you proposing to tell me what to do?" Dr. Malki's tone was even and light, but Ari still felt a pang of fear. Dr. Malki was the most respected scientist on her planet, did he really believe she was giving him an order?
