Generation 3, Chapter 2: Against one's will

My previous bravado left me as soon as I realized I'm deep trouble. This was no simulation, prank or whatnot. This was real. Even though all rational thoughts should have left me as that person came closer, it didn't. I still had a clear head, able to making plans of escape. If I couldn't fight my way out of it, I may as well talk myself out of it.

"Please...," I whimpered as I took another step closer to the wall. So perhaps my head was still clear, but my voice certainly was not. "I haven't done anything to you... Please don't kill me."

"I'm not gonna kill you," the thing chirped, her lips turning into a smile. What? Since when were aliens friendly, and for that matter, since when could they speak English?

"You...can speak? In my language?" I frowned, not knowing if I should be more freaked out at that stage. "You understand English?"

"Not naturally, no. But we studied your brain while you were...passed out, as your kind would say. We extracted parts of your language to be fluent in it, albeit with a few...hiccups."

"You studied my brain?!" It definitely wasn't my place to ask questions, nor scream for that matter, but hearing that put me over the edge.

"Just with scanners and stuff," she gestured to the window. "Our room of operations is in there. We were monitoring most of our findings on the computer screen, and discussing what we could do with it... That was, until you woke up."

"Spouting out all our secrets to this alien here, Chambray? I knew I should never have pulled you into my research. You're not disciplined enough," one of the doors behind the blue girl slid open, and through it stomped the red entity, not looking too happy with the girl. So she must be Chambray. Never had I thought aliens would have names as simple as hers. But what bothered me most was that they referred me as the alien.

"Were it not for me, your subjects wouldn't be co-operative at all. You'd probably kill them all had I not stepped in," Chambray smirked at him, her eyes shifting from him to me in sequence.

She might not kill me, but apparently the other one might. Great.

Survival instinct kicked in. I was being threatened, and I had to do everything in my power to save myself from it.

So I ran.

But not fast enough to escape their clutches.

"Get your grubby aliens fingers OFF of me, you freak!" shouting at the top of my lungs, I used my legs to try and kick him, but to no avail. He seemed to have a body of steel, not feeling any pain, and the strength of Superman himself. There was no escaping his arms.

"Jeez, brother, you need to learn how to handle these prisoners, otherwise you're never gonna get anything out of them," Chambray moved to the side, avoiding my swinging limbs. "Just...put her down."

"And what do you propose? One of us get to know her better so she'll give up anything she knows willingly? As if that'll happen," he smirked. The energy to fight quickly left me, and with an exasperated sigh, I relax my limbs.

"Actually, that's a good idea, Copper." The excitement in her voice was easily recognizable. "How about I take her out of here and show her around? That always gets them settled."

Them? So there were other people before me? Other humans they experimented on? Oh dear God, help me.

The one called Copper carefully heaved me from his body and back onto the floor, grinning from ear to ear. He seemed to be enjoying the whole kidnapping thing. 


"Follow me, please," Chambray caught my left arm, and led me through one of the doors ahead of us.


"What is this place?" my hand reached out to touch it one of the counters, but I pulled it back, for fear that it might be booby-trapped. With aliens, you never knew.


"This? This is what you...humans, I think...would call a kitchen. We produce all our substances in here."


"Oh. How fascinating. I thought it was some kind of lab...it all looks so techno, you know?"


"I do, indeed. It's our architectural style...mostly. Some of us do live in buildings that are not up to standards such as these," she bit her lip, looking as if she were afraid that she might have said too much to me. After a moment's contemplation, I could see that she had decided something. What it was, I couldn't figure out. "Come on, there's a lot of stuff you need to see."

Through the door on the left was a room inhabited by a single machine that enveloped most of the space on the floor. "What might this be?" I inquired, pointing to the ground.

"Only the best thing our civilization has ever discovered," she yelled to the roof, pride shining through her persona. "This machine can take you anywhere, anytime, anyplace...okay, maybe not all of that, but it serves as transportation between this floor and the one above. You see, we're currently underground."

"And why would you live underground? The idea is just...silly."

"You might think so...," she sighed. "It's to avoid the awful circumstances that linger above ground. I'll show you that in a minute."

"You're so cryptic...," I ended up muttering, taking a step onto the platform. Apparently, she wanted me to test this thing out. Complying with their requests might help me gain their trust, and ultimately allow me to escape...if that was even possible.

As soon as my feet reached the middle of the platform, whirring sounds filled the room, and Chambray quickly stepped behind the safety of a door. "Chambray! What's happening?!" Anxiety grew more and more as I noticed blue tendrils of light sneaking around my body.

"The machine's working, obviously!" she yelled over the noise. "Just relax and let the light take over. It won't hurt, I promise!"

It didn't hurt. Truth be told, I didn't really feel anything. Perhaps a minor case of "pins and needles" sneaking through some parts of my body, but that was hardly anything. The idea of this kind of travel might have frightened be before, but now, I was fascinated by it.

And when the lights dissipated and I could see clearly again, I was stunned.

"Oh...my...God... This place...it's beautiful," my eyes reveled at the trees' branches hanging overhead, and the strange way their leaves bent into patterns. This definitely wasn't Earth.

"Welcome to Lunar Lakes, the world where everything is not what it seems to be," Chambray announced behind me, chuckling at the sight of me.

"This has got to be a dream... I mean, I can't think of a logical way I could have gotten here. Our shuttle wasn't made to be able to go further than the moon, not to mention out of our solar system."

"You'll have to ask my brother about how he got you here...," she quietly smirked. "Listen... Let me apologize on Copper's behalf. He's just so excited to continue my parents' research, he completely throws manners out of the window. Please, just do what we ask of you. That's the only way no harm will come to you."

"You're saying he can hurt me?"

She sighed. "He has his ways. But now that he's out of hearing distance...we can talk a bit more freely about things. Let me show you why we live underground."

She gestured to the front door, signalling that I open it. Remembering her previous words about following their commands, my fingers envelop the knob, turning it so the door would open. It revealed a sight not pleasant to the eyes.

"It looks....horrible," I confessed, biting my nails in fear that some kind of creature might jump at me.

"I know. It's our parents' fault that we were subjugated to this lifestyle. The first act of atrocity they committed was interbreeding. My mother and father were of completely different colors, and because of their...um, I believe you would call it 'feelings'...because of that, we were spawned. Completely different than all of the other people of my kind, not knowing where we could fit in. Their second mistake that caused us to be exiled, was their research experiments. It was too dangerous, causing their deaths and many others. We, unfortunately, pay the price for their carelessness."

"You really believe all of that?" I stared into her eyes. "I don't believe they would intentionally leave you with this burden."

"Well, we're the outcasts now, the ones suffering. If they were still alive, I wouldn't be able to forgive them...," she shrugged.

"I think you would...," I whispered. "Now, pardon me for asking, but...even though you live in this...for the lack of a better word, 'disgusting' place...do you have an extra set of clothes for me? This outfit is a wee bit uncomfortable for moving around."

~*~

No change had occurred whatsoever when doctor McHugh hooked up different kinds of medication. It didn't make things worse, at least.

"Richard... Perhaps you should go rest. It doesn't help to just sit here. You can't do anything. If I can't help her, neither can you." Liam laid a hand on one of Ric's shoulders.

He shook his head. "No, that's not an option. I just want to let her know someone is here, waiting for her when she wakes up. Someone that cares, you know?"

"I do... Have you told Daniel and Darcy about her condition?"

"I haven't... I'm not sure how to present it to them. It'll be a shock, that's for sure."

"That's understandable. Well, if I can't convince you to go and rest, what are you gonna do the whole time?"

"Maybe... Maybe I'll tell her all about the things that she's missing out. It's a place to start, isn't it?"

The doctor smiled. "And a good one at that."