CHAPTER 2
I had no idea how long I’d been stuck in this box, but the fear had faded somewhat, and I was bored out of my mind.
The alien pilot checked on me now and then, knocking on the transparent door to see if I would move, but of course, I couldn’t.
Sometimes it disappeared down a hallway, but mostly it stayed at the helm, chittering in a language I didn’t understand.
I couldn’t turn even my head, despite many frustrating attempts.
I kept trying to move, but my muscles simply didn’t respond.
With nothing to do, my mind catastrophized.
Would I starve to death in here? How long could I go without water?
How long had it been? I dreaded reaching wherever we were going, but at the same time, I desperately wanted something - anything - to happen.
I figured several days had passed, given my sleep cycle.
I dreamed mostly of the kidnapping - walking across campus after our last performance of Cabaret.
It was the last musical theater performance of my college career, and it was bittersweet.
I was excited for graduation, but also worried about my uncertain future and planned move to New York City.
Lost in my thoughts, I heard a noise behind the dumpsters next to my dorm.
I expected to find a stray cat or dog - maybe even a raccoon - and instead, there was a thin, gray being that my mind struggled to comprehend.
We both froze as we stared at each other, then it lunged.
There was a flash of light as it locked a bracelet around my wrist, and that’s how I woke up in that pen.
Stupid, stupid, Andie, I scolded myself for investigating noises alone in the dark. I knew better. Well, I did now.
This “morning” I was able to twitch the fingers on both my hands.
Overjoyed, I surreptitiously tried flexing all of my muscles in sequence, starting from my toes up to my eyelids.
I wasn’t able to move much, but some feeling was returning.
I was careful not to flinch when the insectoid pilot banged on the box again.
I didn’t want it to realize the drugs were wearing off.
I could turn my head a tiny bit and saw the ship was approaching a planet or a moon.
I didn’t know, really. The alien pilot became more animated, and if I didn’t know better, it sounded like it was arguing with a disembodied voice.
Suddenly, I felt a jarring impact - how could the ship hit anything out in space?
I was jolted in the box and thrown against the wall.
Thankfully, I was able to right myself with some effort.
The alien, for lack of a better term, went bananas.
As the ship rapidly descended into the planet’s atmosphere, lights started blinking, alarms sounded, and the alien was shouting and slamming buttons all over the dash.
The ship began to shake with the force of reentry, and I suddenly felt cold water at my feet.
Looking down, a blue jelly-like substance started to fill the box from the bottom grate.
I panicked at how quickly it was filling my cubicle.
I wasn’t sure which was the worse way to die – fiery spaceship crash or drowning in slime, but I really didn’t want to find out.
I tried to punch and claw at the door, but my arms and hands still weren’t fully cooperating.
Once the thick gel encased my torso up to my chin, I realized I was in deep trouble. The alien pilot ran to a compartment across from mine and buckled itself in. Gel started to fill its box as well, but it didn’t seem to fear it the way I did.
I closed my eyes as the jelly covered my face. I held my breath as long as I could, but eventually I felt my lungs would explode, and I involuntarily exhaled. On the subsequent inhale, I dragged the fluid into my lungs, coughing and sputtering.
I managed to lift up a final prayer to my Creator for a merciful passing and prepared to die.
After a few minutes of not dying, I realized two important things:
One - I could somehow breathe the slimy gelatin. This made no sense, but once I stopped resisting, I found I was able to breathe somewhat normally, although the gel felt a little heavier than air.
Two - I was suspended, floating peacefully in the goo while everything went to hell around me.
For someone encased in space jello, I could see surprisingly well.
I looked in horror as everything outside my compartment seemed to come apart.
Anything that wasn’t bolted down – and a few things that were – were flying through the shaking cabin as the ship hurtled towards the surface of the planet.
It was like watching a tornado whip through a building on television while I floated serenely in the ocean.
I met the eyes of the alien across from me.
The gel was only halfway up its cubicle, and it was getting knocked around in its box. Good, I thought.