An Alien Love B. 02

Hi. To all of you who follow me or comment or like my writing, a big thanks. It's just nice to see that I have found some kindred spirits here... people who don't mind a little alien fun. So... back to Sloan and Octnavin. This chapter is short, sorry about that. But there is more to, um, ah, come.

Cheers.

~M. From C.M. Moore.

***

*Chapter 10*

Not dead yet.

As soon as Sloan opened his eyes, he panicked. He was drowning. He gulped for air and got a lung full of water. He thrashed as he floated and waited to die.

When he tried to swim to the top of wherever he was, he got nowhere. Sloan was in a tube of liquid and there was no air. There was no place to escape. He pushed at the white frosted glass cylinder. The glass didn't move. It was all over for him.

~Sloan.~ Octnavin's voice speared into his fear and a calm wave flowed over his mind. ~Be still. You are not drowning.~

Sloan obeyed but it might have been one of the hardest things he'd ever done in his life. He inhaled and took in the water. He exhaled. Water came out of his nose.

~How am I breathing water?~

~They decided to bring you back to life. You are in the Folanto's revival cylinder. Stay calm. That is not water.~

~Are we royally fucked right now?~ Sloan asked.

There was a pause.

~For the moment.~

Slowly, the water began to drain from the tube, and Sloan was no longer floating. He stood in the narrow tank as the liquid dropped to his chest and then his waist. The fluid was sucked into small holes at the base of the cylinder as the casing was lifted.

Stumbling, Sloan fell out of the container and dropped to his knees. He inhaled. The room was something out of a horror film. Some tables and devices looked like items for torture. A dead creature was in pieces on one of the counters.

Sloan got ready to sprint, but only tipped to his side. Tentacles wrapped around his frame and he lifted his eyes. JP's and his eyes met. Sloan knew the alien by how free and open Octnavin was with his brain. Sloan could probably point out all Octnavin's siblings by now.

JP's red tube hair brushed Sloan's naked frame. The alien had four of his tentacles hooked behind his back by some type of flexible metal rope. After JP helped Sloan to a standing position, the alien handed him his blue jeans and his ripped band shirt. As Sloan dressed, he caught sight of himself in the reflection of a different mirror tube. His hair was no longer blue but all blond. There wasn't a mark on his body and no wound in his forehead from the alien gun.

Sloan didn't have time to celebrate his body being magically healed and restored. A Folanto appeared in the doorway. She, or it, or whatever, didn't look happy.

The Folanto grabbed Sloan's arm and snapped a plastic cuff around his bicep without the tattoo. This must be the language band from before.

"Let the Earthling go. Step away." The small girly Folanto had the voice of a lumberjack that smoked six-packs a day.

"What no boots?" Sloan glanced around for his boots and socks. No leather jacket either.

JP stepped away from Sloan. Quickly, Sloan took a few steps but felt like he'd just drank a bottle of whiskey. The Folanto stuck him with a rod. Sloan face planted the floor.

"That doesn't help." Sloan swung at the Folanto.

The teenage snake girl grabbed a wad of Sloan's now blond hair in her tiny fist. When he tried to push her away, she snapped at his face with her teeth.

Once again, he was struck with the metal rod. The hit stung and left a red mark on his chest. So much for being totally healed.

"Walk."

The Folanto let go of him and started for the exit. She threw open a large wooden-looking door. Sloan scanned JP and the murder room. He felt guilty leaving JP here.

~My sibling will be fine.~ Octnavin soothed his mind.

JP inclined his head to the exit. Sloan hated ditching the alien, but he didn't know what else to do.

Rubbing his whiskers, Sloan followed the Folanto out into a muddy hall. The walkway was a long square, and everything was cool slimy muck. He trudged after her as he considered running away. He could turn on his heels and just book it. The only problem was, he didn't know where he was and he guessed he was underground. If he was underground, that might mean he was on another planet. He was soooo out of his element.

The hall opened into a large mirrored dome. He stared up at the cracked glass surrounding him as mud squished between his toes. All the matching panels of the arena looked like cracked sunglasses. He could see his reflection in the broken rainbow mirrors. When they got to the center of the mud field, they stepped onto a smooth metal rectangle. This platform was the only thing not covered in dirt. Instead of going up, the small dais went down into the ground. A square area of the ground opened and like an elevator. They began to drop.

Sloan lost his balance and knelt as him and the Folanto were lowered faster than any elevator he'd ever been on. The Folanto glared down at him and smirked. Bitch was laughing at him.

Suddenly, the platform halted with a jolt. At first, Sloan could see nothing. His eyes had yet to adjust to the darkness. All around him was utter blackness except for tiny slivers of light. This must be what it was like to be buried alive. At this moment, he thought about Octnavin. He wished the Dagerstanteen was with him. The alien might be a dick, but he would know what to do.

~I will take that as a compliment.~ Octnavin laughed in his mind.

Sloan's heart started to beat a little faster. ~Octnavin?~

The Folanto pushed him and Sloan stepped off the platform onto nothing. He was going to fall to his death. Why bring him back to life just to kill him?

Tentacles wrapped around Sloan's body and he was cradled into Octnavin's chest.

"I see that the pebble has survived."

"You're a dick." Sloan hugged Octnavin. Right now, he could use a hardened dick-head warrior.

"You missed me?" Octnavin asked.

"No."

Octnavin laughed. "Now do as I say." Octnavin set Sloan on his feet. Like everywhere else, he stepped in cold mud. "I can see perfectly well and you cannot."

"I'm glad you pointed that out," Sloan said dryly. "I wouldn't have known."

"Connect to my mind and use my eyes to see around the cell. We are under the dome waiting to fight. While we are here, you should eat, drink the water from the basin, and rest. Over time your eyes will adjust to the darkness."

Sloan did as he was told. He needed Octnavin. He found the connection and made himself at home in the alien's brain. As Octnavin said, he was able to look around their cell ad if it was daytime. They were in a mud hole.

"This place sucks."

"I agree."