Prologue:
They came from the sky, . People said we were alone but they couldn't have been more wrong. They said we were killing the earth and offered to help. The one thing we shouldn't have done, which was to accept their offer, we did. And that sent each an every human into a sleep lasting three hundred years.
Chapter one: Awake
I felt a massive weight being lifted from my consciences. Like a thick, heavy black curtain being removed from the insides of my eyelids. I could see light, tinted red through my eyelids. I missed light being trapped in a dark lifeless cage of your mind can make you miss a lot of things, but light is most assuredly in the top three. I immediately clung to it, savoring the familiarity and the warmth of the dim filtered light.
My eyes felt thick and dry from lack of use even before I opened them. I flitted them about to fix this discomfort and slowly but surely I opened them. Instantaneously gaining the feeling in all the seemingly dead nerve endings in my body. I could hear, smell, and feel my weight pressing down on a hard metal surface. It was like stepping back into a hollow yet perfectly functional skin that one had vacated years ago.
I felt the sting of a solid metal thing being pulled from my arm that had obviously been buried inside my skin for a long time. The feeling was absolutely horrid, making me gasp and pull my arm away with jerky, clumsy movements. I felt the foreign object rip at my skin, pulling this way and that.
A hand took hold of my arm and muffled cloudy words from a man attempted to reach my ears. Panic spread like tangy electricity throughout my entire body. It started in my stomach and raced through my blood veins. I ripped my shoulder away from a new hand That was attempting to restrain me as well. Only this time the hand didn't want to give me up so easily, it pushed y shoulder down with a painful force. Soon multiple people had hold of me as I tried, failed and succeeded to force my way out of their stinging grasp.
I writhed and twisted, struggling to be free. I found my self colliding with cold hard linoleum floor below. Pain shooting up my spine.
"Stop!" A man shouted to the hands that were greedily trying to restrain me again. The room fell silent immediately. Everyone paused, a hollow silence cascaded on everything, like a soft fleece blanket.
The blinding white light that was all I could see began to dim finally and I could make out murky shapes of at least nine humanoid figures before me. My ears were ringing painfully from the lack of noise. I had backed up harshly, slamming into a corner, my head collided with the wall, sending stars into my already poor vision. I was encased in a defensive position with my arms wrapped around my knees, an my knees pressed tightly against my chest. My breath was heavy and fast from the physical exertion, blatantly giving away my fear and anxiety.
"Alasdair, listen to me, we are not going to hurt you" said the same man who had called off the people. He said so with a note of urgency in his voice. This man was older and kind looking. His hair had long since turned grey and he was tall and had an average build. "Please calm down" he added lowering his hands in a gesture that told the end of the frantic scene.
"This isn't how the others reacted" a severe looking bespectacled woman said looking over a clipboard with wide frazzled eyes. I narrowed my eyes at her. She was the only one not garbed in a white scrub. She looked utterly terrified of me. I'll be honest, I felt a twinge of satisfaction from this fact.
The man ignored her and took a step towards me extending a hand down to me. I stared at him, my breathing began to regulate and calm. For at least forty five seconds I made no intention of moving and accepting the offer the man before me gave. When I finally decided I could trust him I accepted his offer and he helped me to my feet, steadying me when my trembling muscles failed to keep me up right.
"Welcome back to the world of consciousness my dear" he said finally as he lowered me into a cushioned chair adjacent to the examination table where I was just previously. "My name is Alden" he said extending his hand in greeting. I knew this man was not human, that he was an alien. But part of my brain told me it was okay. That he would not lie to me.
I was still out of breath and only was barely able to shake it. He dismissed those around him and each of them obliged except for the woman who was out of place. She had to huff indignantly before dismissing her self. Alden took a seat in a chair across from mine a merely watched me. He had a pleasant smile upon his face I made a point not to look at him
"Do you remember what happened before you were asleep?" Alden asked gently. I gave a small nod, still avoiding his gaze, my eyes transfixed on a tiny chip in the floor "Can you talk?" Again, I only nodded. He paused in waiting. "well?..." He added patiently.
At last I looked into his eyes "That's not my name" I mumbled averting my eyes almost as quickly as ours met.
"I'm sorry?"
"Alasdair is not my name" I repeated a little more loudly, clenching my fists, my eyes fixed upon that nicked linoleum again. I heard him sigh.
"I know it's not. It's the name I gave you. You see; You and around eight hundred other humans were chosen out of all seven billion of you. You all were chosen to awaken early, to learn as we do, no one will hurt you here. I promise that" he said with a light smile. I stared at him skeptically reading his deceptively human-looking face.
The clicking of a door handle made me jump. The woman who stood out earlier walked in again. Her heels clicking on the tiled floor and she had a fake smile plastered to her face "Alden that's enough, she most start he training, like the rest " She said in a sweet high pitched voice. I blinked at her in disbelief. I really hope she didn't think I was stupid.
Alden stood and took a few steps toward the door as though he were trying to keep the conversation from reaching my ears "I'm doing my job Iliana" he replied calmly. "There is no rush in that"
The woman whose name was evidently Iliana shot a glance at me and lowered her voice so severely I almost couldn't hear it. "None of the others reacted so... violently"
"It was simply human nature" he said with a chuckle. He then he turned to me holding out a hand again "lets get you out of this place, it must be wearing on you quite a bit" Alden said with a smile.
I accepted his assistance staring directly into Iliana's eyes. Not for any reason in particular, just to piss her off.
-hey guys! Welcome to my first ever story! I know it's not a traditional fairy tale, but what the hey. If you like it please please please review and/or follow! I will post as often as I can.
-Lou