CHAPTER 5 #2
Atlas steered her deeper into the enclosure, navigating the man-made forest as if he knew it by heart—which he probably did, after five years—and they steered clear of any cameras. Dr. Bryce had said the surveillance system was complex, but not complex enough to fool Atlas.
Finally, they came to the face of a mountain. Lila wondered if Howland he had led her to his lair, where he meant to violate her. She was sure of it.
“Please, Atlas,” she breathed, feeling the tears well up again. “P-please, don’t do this.”
The alien’s face turned into an agitated scowl, and his body tensed. It was a clear sign; he did not like refusal. Slowly but surely, he walked toward her.
Lila dropped her gaze and cried. Her whole body shook as she sobbed. It would be no point fighting the creature, no point in trying to run. All she could do was beg. “ Please ! Please, don’t do this!”
Atlas chuffed again, a sound that made her look up. He was close, but the scowl on his face was turned into a frown. He leaned down, his breaths exhaling in low rumbles. A large, clawed hand reached out and yanked her chin up, forcing her to look into his vast pools of liquid fire and smoke.
His lips moved, strange sounds filled the room with deep growls and hisses; he was speaking, but she couldn’t understand him.
His eyes roamed her face as he spoke his alien tongue, and his thumb gently wiped a tear from her eye.
And then, as if he forced the words out of his depth, he said, “Ell-ah.”
She gasped and stared at him. He had said her name. He had said her name in English. Almost desperate, she grabbed his hand and nodded. “Yes— yes ! That’s me, that’s my name! Lila!”
“Ell-ah,” he repeated and chuffed.
“Yes, Atlas!” She was smiling now, despite the tears. “I’m Lila!”
He said something else in his language, sounds that sent shivers down her spine. Whatever he said, it sounded comforting. Perhaps, Lila thought, he understood her fear. Maybe, if she was lucky, he would respect her boundaries.
But just as hope had flared up inside of her, he circled her, taking deep whiffs of her hair. He touched her, wrapped his large hands around her throat, and explored her body with a strange and possessive kind of curiosity.
Lila breathed shallowly, her legs trembling and her knees nearly giving out.
His skin was warm against hers, opposite of what she’d imagined, and his touch left fire in its wake.
He touched her hair, ran his thick fingers through her dark locks and grabbed onto it tightly, almost painfully so.
She tried to wiggle out of his grip, but he growled at her, deeply and darkly, and she stilled.
He blatantly cupped both her breasts in one of his massive hands, kneading them slowly.
His touch was mostly careful at first, but soon, it grew demanding, impatient.
He got tired of the fabric shielding her skin and ripped the shirt from her shoulders; Lila could do nothing but whimper and sob as the giant undressed her.
His claws tore through the fabric of her sweater without much effort, shredding it to the ground before he attacked her bra with the same ferocity.
When he had exposed her chest, Lila closed her eyes hard, feeling the redness bloom on her cheeks as her nipples perked. Atlas found her hardened buds fascinating and pinched them between his fingers, rolling them until she gave out an involuntary moan.
He growled again, encouraged, it seemed, either to silence her or to entice her; Lila couldn’t understand which, because even though she bit her tongue, her body responded to his growl in earnest. She had to submit. Nothing else would do.