Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
They were actually giving me what I wanted? No beatings? No anal probing?
It seemed a little too good to be true, and when I flashed a suspicious look at the big guy, his mouth twitched a little, like he was holding back a smirk.
He didn’t say anything, gesturing down the hall toward where I’d seen the hospital bed things before.
I was a little afraid that if I gave any of them my back, they’d shoot me when I wasn’t looking, but when I took too long to move, the big one turned on his heel and walked away, leaving me to follow him.
The one who captured me fell into step beside me, his expression relaxed and almost… happy. Like he hadn’t just snatched a human who was trying to run from him.
Aliens are weird.
They walked me to the end of the hall, the guards not far behind us, and the big one put his hand on the keypad thing by the door.
It flashed blue, and the doors opened, revealing what looked like a hospital inside.
There were maybe twenty-five beds with people in them.
They weren’t strapped down, and they had no tubes in any areas that didn’t belong.
A few had what looked like IV bags attached to them, but no one looked too bad off.
I scanned the room, my eyes falling onto a bed in the middle. Knightley.
Jogging over to him, I gave him a once over. He looked alright, his face no longer pinched with pain. He had color in his cheeks, and his breathing was steady, but he wasn’t awake. I jerked my head over my shoulder, frowning at the only alien who I knew spoke English.
“Is he alright? Why isn’t he awake?”
A nearby alien who wore a badge on her vest handed a tablet to the big guy and murmured something in their language. The big guy nodded and studied the table for a moment before answering me.
“He was put into a sleep-like state because his pain levels were too high. After healing could be administered, the state was reversed, and he woke up, but healing takes a lot out of the body, especially for a human. Your bodies aren’t designed to heal this way, and it takes some getting used to. He is resting now.”
Relief flooded through me. I felt awful toting Knightley around while he was in so much pain and so damn grateful that he was better now. My brain finally caught up to what he said, and I blinked a few times. “Wait. Not designed to heal this way… What does that mean?”
I glanced down at Knightley’s leg, but not even his uniform had been disturbed. What the hell did they do?
The big guy tapped a few buttons, and a hologram appeared over Knightley’s body. He pointed at the spot on Knightley’s leg that had been injured, which was lit up in red.
“This part here was broken. We injected him with a serum designed to heal injuries such as these. The bone was fixed first, and the muscles are still in repair, but he should be well by the morning.”
My mouth fell open in shock. A broken bone healed in a day. How the hell did they accomplish that? What was in that serum?
The alien next to him, the one with the badge, who looked female to me, said something else and pointed at the tablet.
The big guy nodded and spoke again. “He also had some injuries to his hearing, and some pain in his lower back, too. Those issues will be handled before we move him to his own room.”
I spluttered, looking around. This had to be some kind of prank.
A game show or something. They’ve been fucking with me since I woke up this morning.
Not only was this alien guy saying they could heal broken bones in a day, he was also saying they could fix the shit that developed from a career in the military.
Tinnitus and back pain were just part of the job. And they were going to fucking fix it?
“Uh… Can I get some of that serum?”
The alien guy next to me, who still hadn’t left my side, stiffened and his head whipped around to face me. He said something that sounded kind of urgent, but I still couldn’t understand him, so I shot a questioning look at the big guy, who was frowning at me.
“He’s asking if you’re injured. You didn’t appear injured when you were extracted.”
I realized my mistake and grimaced. “Oh. No, not really. I mean, the hearing stuff and the back pain are pretty normal for most of the military, but it’s nothing you did. Perks of the job, I guess.”
The guy next to me spoke again. This time he sounded demanding, and he looked frustrated when the big guy shook his head.
I rubbed the back of my neck, worried I just pissed this guy off by making a joke.
They were nice enough to let me check on Knightley.
I didn’t want to repay that by causing trouble.
“I swear, it was nothing. Just a joke. I’m fine,” I tried to reassure the guy.
He only got more demanding, and it was making my head spin, trying to figure out what he wanted when I only had sharp demanding gestures and a scowl to go off of.
“Is there any way we can get like a translator in here or something? I have no idea what he’s saying, and he looks really upset. ”
The female alien with the badge walked away for a minute and came back with a huge fucking needle.
I backpedaled immediately, nearly climbing into bed with Knightley, but the needle wasn’t for me.
It was for the demanding guy. He shifted lower, giving her access to his neck, and didn’t even flinch as she jabbed the thing into him.
Once she was through, she took the tablet back from the big guy and pressed a few buttons before giving the demanding guy an expectant look.
He frowned, almost like he was forming the words in his head before speaking again. “You… have the hurt?”
I blinked a few times, but before I could answer, the big guy spoke first. “The translator needs time and exposure for his words to come out clearly. He’s asking if you’re hurt.”
“Oh. No, I’m good. Most humans have something weird going on with their bodies. It’s just the way things work.”
The demanding guy shook his head again, frustrated. “No. No you pain. We fix.”
He spoke in his own language to the woman with the badge, who looked like she was just as confused as I was. She shot a questioning look at the big guy, who sighed.
“He says he’s fine. We can reassess when things have settled more. I need to–”
The demanding guy actually growled, glaring at the big guy, and jabbed a finger at me. “Fix. Him.”
Well, shit. He wasn’t going to let this go, was he?
In the end, after a lot of arguing and attempted reassurance, it was eventually decided (without my permission, I might add) that I’d get a medical exam and a dose of the serum if necessary.
I wasn’t happy about it, and I made them promise they wouldn’t actually touch me or do anything probe-y, but eventually I was herded into a bed nearby.
I fidgeted uncomfortably, staring at the ceiling.
This was what I got for opening my damn mouth.
This had to be my punishment for sneaking out. I absolutely hated needles.
A hologram appeared over my head, and when I lifted up to look at all of it, the hologram’s head lifted, too.
“Woah. That’s kind of insane.”
A tentacle came up and pushed against my forehead to force me flat again and the demanding one shot me an impatient look. “No move.”
A small part of me wanted to laugh. One small joke, and I suddenly had an alien hovering over me and fussing like a mother hen. For invaders, they weren’t really selling the terrifying and dangerous bit.
The female alien appeared at my side, her eyes shifting between the tablet and the hologram. She said something in their language before glancing down at me.
“You broke your thumb. It didn’t heal right.”
I wiggled the thumb in question and shrugged. “It clicks sometimes, but it’s fine. It doesn’t bother me.”
She hummed, looking back at the tablet. “Same hearing issue. No back pain. Knee pain? Did you hurt yourself?”
I snorted. “No. When I was younger and stupid, I jumped off of stuff a lot. Now that I’m thirty two, I’m paying for it.”
“So it’s degeneration based on age,” she murmured, more to herself than me.
She tapped on her screen again like she was noting it, and then nodded.
“You will benefit from the serum, but it is not pleasant. It is taxing on human bodies. We will need to develop it further to make it easier on your more fragile systems.”
That sounded almost like an insult, but I didn’t think she meant it that way, so I let it go. “I don’t need it. I’m fine. I was just joking.”
The demanding guy growled his displeasure at the idea, and I shot him a wary look before beckoning the female closer and whispering, “Is he okay? I mean, I know I pissed a lot of people off by sneaking out, but he seems a little unstable.”
She looked thoughtful for a moment. “What he is experiencing is normal for our species. You are in no danger from him. But it would help him if you agreed to the serum. He won’t stop hovering otherwise.”
Well, that both explained and didn’t explain anything.
I was going to refuse. As an enlisted military member, I had plenty of experience with hovering.
Colt was an excellent example of that. But when the demanding guy wrapped a tentacle around my wrist and tugged to get my attention, he gave me a look that bordered on a pout and said, “Please.”
Well, fuck. Aliens could be cute when they wanted to be.
Glancing at the female, I fought a grimace. “Will you use a needle?”
She studied me for a moment before jerking her chin at the demanding guy. “Focus on him. I promise you will not feel it.”
Which meant– Yep. She disappeared into another room and came back with another big ass needle. Panic swept through my system, and I actually tried to launch myself off the bed.
“Nope. I don’t think I can do this. Needles aren’t my thing. I’m totally fine with the way things are, and I don’t need any serum. I’m good.”
Demanding guy wasn’t letting me run, and the more I struggled, the more his tentacles wrapped around me until I was completely immobile. Unlike last time, this time I was facing him, and he took my face in his hands, murmuring something in his language. I shook my head quickly.
“I don’t understand you, and I promise, I’m fine. I don’t need–”
A sharp pinch pierced the side of my neck. He wasn’t holding my face to comfort me, he was keeping my neck exposed.
“You bastard…”
Then the room went dark.