Page 40 of Accidentally Abducted
Every time a member of the crew came around, she put on her best Greta impersonation, acting the a spoiled actress and demanding everything under the stars. It made me smile and almost laugh, so much so that I usually had to turn away.
I rolled out of bed, careful not to disturb Lola as she slept.
Thanks to her acting, we’d secured one of the finest rooms on the shuttle. It had large windows for us to look out to the stars, in case one got bored of the screens with endless entertainment and music that were available at the push of a button. The bedroom was separate from the sitting room and a dining area where custom meals were sent up from the kitchen. The bathroom had a large shower and tub, unlike anything I’d seen on my home planet, where we were careful to conserve water.
The large screen in the center of the sitting room flickered on.
Connecting … Incoming message from the Captain … Please stand by…
White words scrolled across the black screen in several languages.
“Hello passengers,” The Captain’s voice came a moment before his face. He was an older human with a grey beard and strict expression. When he spoke, his words were written underneath at the bottom of the screen.
“It is currently July 7, 2200, 12:45 Greenwich Time, on Earth. We will be arriving at Earth in a few hours. Please prepare your cabins. Crew will be available to assist.”
We didn’t have any baggage. We had nothing to our names except the clothes on our back and Lola’s human ID cards that were in her black clothes that she called leggings.
Lola stirred in the other room, stretching under the soft sheets.
“What was that?” She said.
“We’re approaching Earth,” I said. “We’ll begin reentry in a few hours.”
Lola slipped out of bed and padded over to me, kissing my cheek. “We’re almost free, my mate.”
I pulled her close, running my fingers through her soft hair. “I know. I’m so happy.”
Lola turned to the large windows. Earth was in the distance, a glowing blue orb in a mess darkness and scraps of old satellites and other space junk. She rested her hand against the glass, as if wanting to reach out and touch her home planet.
“No one is going to believe me when I tell them what happened,” She said.
I stiffened. “That you were abducted and got back to Earth?” I asked.
She nodded.
“Uh, Lola, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said slowly. “The Earth has a treaty with the Terruxians. If someone found out that the occassional abduction still happens, that might ruin our peoples’ relationship. The people on Mars and the Terruxians have agreements and deals to uphold.”
Lola turned to me, sparks in her eyes. “So I should just keep quiet about it?”
“No! No,” I added in a gentle tone. “I know you’re upset, but we need to lie low until we decide what to do about the Commander.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean the Commander will follow us to Earth if he finds out where you are,” I explained. “We need to be smart about what to do next.”
“I don’t want to live in hiding,” She protested.
“I don’t mean that. We just need to wait for the heat to die down. Yeah?”
Lola bit her lower lip, considering what I was saying. Finally, she nodded. “I understand,” She said, resting her head on my chest.
“We’ll find a way to make this all work out,” I promised. “Hopefully in a way that lets me not use this disguise all the time.”
“You make a handsome human,” Lola said with a smile. She leaned in, kissing me gently.
“Do you prefer me like this?” I asked.
“I love you either way,” She said. “But I fell in love with a Terruxian.” She pulled the cloaking device from my neck.
