Page 3 of Accidentally Abducted
"Fine," I grunted, looking at the ring. I wondered what I'd look like as a human. They were soft, short, and vulnerable. Not armored and strong like Terruxians.
"Anything else I should know?" I asked the scientist when his team had finally scurried away.
"No. Your briefing video is available in the shuttle. I have already entered the coordinates. All that's left for you to do is go to Earth."
I'd never been to Earth, but I was sure I could handle whatever was waiting for me there.
CHAPTER TWO
- LOLA -
THE LATE afternoon sun beat down on the backlot. It was so hot that the rising air distorted the parking lot in the distance.
I shuffled back and forth, waving my hand in front of my face in a futile attempt to cool myself down. Today was not a day to be dressed from head to toe in black, but here I was in over one hundred degree heat waiting for the director to decide about a shot.
A self-driving golf cart rolled by slowly, heavily laden with bottles of water.
I pressed my lips together. As soon as this shot was done, I was going to drink my weight in free water. How much longer was this going to take?
Greta Yurk shifted in her folding chair, shaded by an enormous umbrella. She flipped her auburn hair over her shoulder and let out a sigh.
I didn't like Greta, but the fact that I looked just like her was the reason I could pay my bills.
I was a professional body double for Greta. I did all her stunts and dangerous shots. I spent most of my day standing around waiting for my turn to switch out with her to do a jump or a fight scene. Then I was shooed away like a pet until I was needed again.
These days, most celebrities could afford a robotic stunt double, but not Greta. She was "just one movie away from her big break!" as she would say. In the mean time, her agent hired me at a miserable wage to dodge punches and jump out windows while pretending to be her.
We, Greta and I, could almost pass for twins. We were the same height, same structure, same tanned skin, same bright blue eyes. The only thing we didn't share was hair color, so her agent had me dye my dark hair auburn, which was a monthly ordeal.
"Lola," Greta said.
"Yes?" I asked, wondering why she was talking to me. She ignored me most of the time.
"I'm hot. Go get me some water."
I clenched my teeth in order to hold in a sarcastic reply. I was not her assistant. She couldn't afford one. But my precarious financial situation made me do lots of things that weren't in the usual body double description. She treated me like a robot that she could order around and never even bothered to thank me. The worst part was that I let her because I needed this job.
"Sure," I forced out.
At least I could walk around and get some water for myself at the same time. I could hear the director yelling at one of the camera men, so who knew how long we'd be waiting to be dismissed.
I glanced upward. In a few hours we wouldn't have enough light to film the scene. Then I could go home to my closet-sized apartment and feast on leftover food I stole from the caterer every afternoon. Was it stealing if they were going to throw it out, anyway? I told myself no, just to ease my conscious.
I found the golf cart parked under one of the pop-up shelters and grabbed two waters from the cooler. I popped an ice cube in my mouth to help me cool down and enjoyed the brief relief of the shade. Greta had the umbrella, I got to sweat to death in the sweltering heat.
A drone buzzed overhead, probably getting some footage for the behind-the-scenes clips the director posted to his social media. He was an up-and-coming director and under a lot of pressure, according to the workers I eavesdropped on.
Greta was the same. A consistent B-lister who acted like a global celebrity, when she barely had enough talent to film a toothpaste commercial.
I grabbed another ice cube before returning to Greta.
"Took you long enough," She snapped, snatching the water bottle from my hand.
I nearly choked on the ice; I turned away, pretending to cough so she wouldn't notice the rage in my eyes. One day I would get a proper job and be free from her. One day, hopefully soon.
The director sauntered over, calling the crew together.
"Ok folks, let's get the last scene in before we lose light." He glanced at me briefly and then to the actors. The stress was getting to him.
