Be warned, this chapter takes a creepy turn.
'Which way?' The alien hissed to himself, running through the shiny silver halls of the Torrens, trying to find where Amanda was. She was still screaming, begging to be let go from whatever had her in its clutches.
Had he been wrong?
Was there something on this ship besides the two of them?
Following the sound, he finally came to a door. Behind it, he could hear Amanda. But because he was going so fast, he had to dig his feet into the floor to keep from slamming into the door, as he had accidentally done once or twice in the past. For a moment he stood there, waiting for the door to open. To his irritation, it did not. The alien growled and flexed his claws, getting ready to tear the thick metal apart. Just as he was about to dig in, the door began to open. Annoyed and impatient beyond belief, he ducked under the door before it was finished opening and ran into the room.
Quickly coming to the middle of the small space, the alien opened his maw and let out a ferocious roar, hoping to draw whatever was attacking Amanda away and lure it towards him. Her screams still continued, and he charged towards them. Near the back of the room, over on the right, was movement inside a small space cut into the wall.
He was there in the next moment, reaching out a hand and grabbing the thing struggling with Amanda. The creature fought against the alien's grip, and in response he pulled back and threw it against the wall. Though instead of a loud thump and the sound of a body hitting the floor, the thing only collapsed on the floor with a soft rustle.
Momentarily confused, he cocked his head and studied the strange thing for a moment, only to discover that it was not a creature at all. In fact, it looked like a huge piece of fabric, similar to what the humans wore to cover their fragile body structures.
He turned back to Amanda, who was still screaming and fighting against a nonexistent foe. A soft, perplexed hiss escaped his mouth as he approached her side. There was nothing there, yet she yelled and struggled as if she was fighting for her life. And her eyes, he noticed, were squeezed shut, which only confused him further.
How could she be fighting if she could not see?
And what was she fighting? There was nothing there.
He stood pondering for a few moments.
'Is she still asleep?' he wondered. 'That might be it. Then why…'
Pushing the thought aside, he reached out and grasped her shoulder with his hand. Her response was to screech and bat his hand away, now struggling with him instead of an imaginary enemy. Growling in irritation, he climbed into the space with her and pinned her down underneath him, effectively immobilizing her.
Amanda fought even harder, twisting her limbs while bucking violently, trying to get him off her. She was screaming even louder too, if that was possible. After a minute or so, she gave up and went limp underneath him, soft cries escaping her quivering mouth every so often. Taking advantage of her stillness, the alien took the opportunity to adjust his grip on her arms, as he had been nearly to the point of digging his claws in to keep them still.
He observed her, trying once again to figure out what was going on, but gave up after a few minutes of thinking provided nothing but more questions. With an irritated hiss, he glanced back behind him, where his legs pinned the human's on the soft material underneath them. Without a second thought, the alien allowed his right leg to slide off Amanda's left. She was calm now, so maybe if he slowly backed away, she would remain that way until her eyes opened again.
No such luck. Before he could even set his knee down, she was fighting again. This time though, caught off balance with one leg in the air and the other in an awkward position, Amanda managed to throw him off her.
He hit the ground beneath him. The sudden impact of the hard surface against his arm and side paralyzed him momentarily, but was on his feet the instant he recovered. The alien snarled, teeth barred and saliva dripping from his jaws. Claws flexing, he advanced towards Amanda's side again, whom was now curled tightly into a corner of the small space she was laying on.
The alien forced himself to freeze just as he was about to attack her. Muscles flexing to keep him still, he forced his instincts down and slowly backed away. He snarled again and tried to relax, but that was easier said than done. Though his deep, inner fighting instincts told him to tear her apart, his head spoke differently.
He needed her, as much as he hated to admit it, having no idea how this…metal ship worked or how to control it, but she did. And until he found some other world to live on, she was his best chance at survival. The alien let out another low growl before settling down beside her again, glaring hatefully at her curled up form. After a minute or so, he turned his head away and glared at the wall instead.
Now that he was just sitting there, his mind was drawn back to the others, the ones he left behind. Guilt rose and lashed out as he thought of them. Though in a way, he was not part of them anyway.
He had always been different than others of his kind. The odd one out. The alien among aliens. The human in one of their kind's bodies, as some had even taunted him. Where the others had wanted to capture all the humans and use them as hosts as soon as possible, he preferred to observe them from the vents and only use some of them as hosts.
Emotions put distance between himself and his siblings. Their species were only supposed to have limited emotions and feelings. They worked for the good of the hive. They gathered hosts for their young and kept the hive in order, only two among many other responsibilities. Their anger, hatred, and ambition drove them to do what needed to be done. Other emotions did nothing for them or got in their way, therefore were looked down upon, as well as anything who dared indulge in it.
He was a different story. He watched from the vents, observing the humans and trying to satisfy his curiosity. Their lifestyle intrigued him, and he yearned to know everything about it. He had watched more than a few. Males and females alike. When they were alone, with close companions, in large groups. He had learned a lot from them, and therefore was the best at hunting them. Not one human was exactly alike, so he knew better than to expect any specific patterns from more than one human, or sometimes there was no pattern at all. Some hid, some ran, some fought, and some hid behind or used others to preserve their own lives for a few seconds later.
Because of this, he was responsible for bringing over half their population into existence. He was sure it was the only thing that kept him alive.
He had tried to explain himself in the past, like why it was important to learn from their prey, to adapt. But those who would listen numbered at less than five in a hive of hundreds. And, as he learned later, they stopped listening soon after the teasing, humiliation, harassment, and accusations started. All of them turned against him in the end, and made sure to make a public announcement about whose side they were on.
His claws dug into the floor as he recalled the memory, teeth grinding together to the point that he thought they would break. The very few that he thought were his friends had convinced him to follow them from his private nest, claiming that they had something interesting to show him. He should have at least questioned it when they ended up inside the hive, and he really should have left once they reached the center where he found everyone else had been waiting for them, but he did not, because he actually trusted them.
It happened so fast after that. Once second everything was fine, the next his so called 'friends' were verbally attacking him without restraint. He tried to leave immediately after he realized what was going on, but some of the other spectators restrained him before he could. They were ruthless, calling him names that he had been forced to deal with since his birth. It hurt even more coming from the ones he had trusted, and they knew it.
"WEAK," one yelled.
"COWARD," shouted another.
"HUMAN-LOVER," the last one screeched at him, standing only centimeters away. So close but too far to hit with his inner jaws.
It went on forever. Eventually the other spectators joined in. Now all he could hear were the insults they threw at him, so loud that his head hurt from the intensity of it. It dug into his mind, into any sanity he might have had left, driving him nearly insane with pain, anger, and sadness. After a long while, they stopped, and he collapsed from the shock of it all. The only thing that kept him up were the ones who were restraining him before.
They drug him outside the hive and threw him to the ground. The others were grinning at him, the idea of him broken down and suffering like the hosts they captured feeding their inner beasts. That was what they did after all, feed off the suffering of others. Eventually most turned away and left the area, until only his former friends remained.
"Why?" he asked them.
"Because," one answered. "You are not like us."
"We are of the same race," he argued.
"We are," another replied. "But you are far too flawed to be accepted. From your abundance of emotions to…" his tormentor said, pausing to glance at the soft spot between his legs, something that their race were not supposed to have. "You know…The mistake in your genetics."
He was torn from the memory when Amanda let out a low, pain filled moan. At that moment, he found himself not wanting to know what the cause was, like he would normally. He was to overcome with negative feelings to care about anything else. He shook his head and focused his attention on the floor. If he had the ability, he knew he would be crying right now.
After their conversation, his former friends informed him that they were letting him go now, but soon he would be hunted just like the humans. They claimed that there were little hosts left alive on the station, therefore they no longer needed him to help reproduce. They would take care of the rest on their own.
Of course, that all changed a few hours later when Amanda blew up the nest and killed all but a handful of his kin.
After that, they tracked him down and proposed an offer. They promised that if he could track down and kill the human responsible, they would welcome him back with open arms. At first he gladly accepted, thinking that they were actually telling the truth.
He realized later that they were lying, after the excitement died down and he could think more clearly. Even if he killed Amanda, no matter what he did, he still was not what a member of his kind was supposed to be like. Nothing had changed from before. They despised him for everything that he was, including that he thought differently from the rest of them.
'Not to mention that I am…actually a male. And that means…' The alien shook his head before that thought could go any further.
After a while, he figured out what they had done. They had used him, sucked every last drop of usefulness out of him before banishing him. What he had done may have been for the good of the hive, but he was different, too different to be accepted, and therefore must be eliminated. And even though they claimed they would welcome him back, they would simply betray and kill him once Amanda was dead.
It had happened before, he knew, from memories of his already deceased kin. The different ones never lived long. Either they were killed in battle or betrayed by the hive. The only way to save themselves was to leave the hive for a long life of solitude. That was his only chance of surviving long term. Otherwise, he could have stayed among his 'kind', and died much sooner than was necessary.
Looks like he made his choice.
"Why are you on the floor?"
The alien snapped his head in the direction of the sudden sound. He found Amanda sitting up and staring at him. Pushing away the painful memories and focusing on her, he observed her to check for any signs of abnormalities, and found that for some reason her eyes were narrowed and the skin on her forehead was pinched.
"Why are you glaring at me?"
"I asked you a question first."
He growled at her, watching in satisfaction as she pressed herself in a corner, fear present in her eyes. She obviously remembered their conversation from earlier. The thought gave him some relief, knowing that she took him seriously. It would help keep his temper under control.
His threats earlier were empty, but she did not need to know that.
"I…I wasn't glaring at you," Amanda finally said. "I was squinting."
"Why?"
"It's dark in here."
The alien nodded. That explained it. He could see perfectly, whether there was light or not. He had forgotten that, for a human, if there was no light, their vision became very limited. To her, it was nearly pitch black in here.
"How long have you been here?"
"Not long," he curtly responded, going back to staring at the wall again.
Silence followed. It was uncomfortable for them both, he noticed, though that was not a huge surprise.
"So, will you tell me why you're on the floor now?" she cautiously asked.
"You were having some sort of…panic attack, and I came to investigate." He chuckled slightly. "It was certainly entertaining, watching you flail like a helpless animal."
If she was not glaring at him before, she was definitely glaring at him now. He could literally feel waves of anger rolling off her.
"I was just having a nightmare!" she nearly yelled. "Why the fuck didn't you wake me up!?"
He let his gaze travel back to her momentarily, baring his teeth at her. It was enough to silence anything else she might have said, and caused her to shrink back against the wall again. She was shaking too, and he could see bumps appearing on her now bare arms and legs. That was new; and with a quick scan of her mind, he found that fear was not the only reason she was shaking.
"By the way, your heavy fabric is over there, by the wall." He gestured behind him in the direction of the object in question.
Amanda blinked and looked around her, obviously looking for it, before standing up. The alien watched her as she walked around him until she disappeared around the corner to grab it. A moment later, she appeared with the fabric in her arms.
"How did my blanket end up over there?" she asked, climbing back into her sleeping space.
'So that is what they call it,' he thought.
"You were struggling with it, so I pulled it off you."
He thought she would glare at him again, but all she did was stare at him as she laid back down, pulling the blanket over her in the process. The two stayed like that for a little while, staring at each other, until Amanda let out a loud sigh and rolled over, turning her back on him. He continued to stare at her clothed back and let his mind wander. And when it kept wandering back to his deceased kin, he stood and went to Amanda's side again.
He noticed that she was still awake. She must have heard his footsteps, for she turned around and glanced at him before, very quickly, going back to facing the wall. He could see her body tense up in response to her sudden nervousness, and gave his version of a laugh in response. She apparently heard that too, because her muscles tightened even further. Finally after a small period of time, she rolled over onto her back.
"Are you going to stand there long?" she asked, eyeing him cautiously.
"I might," he said, baring his teeth in a smile. "Why do you ask?"
"You know why," she said. "Look, can you please just leave me alone. I need to sleep."
"And if I do not?"
She sighed again, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You want to survive. Right?"
The alien was silent for a second, shocked at her sudden boldness. "Are you threatening me?"
"Not...But just listen for a sec," Amanda said, sitting up in the process. "This ship being in good condition is what's going to keep us both alive. Do you agree?" When he nodded, she continued. "Well, I've noticed that there are some things that need to be fixed in order to keep the ship in good condition; and they need to be fixed. Soon. But I can't do that if I'm tired."
She gave him a pointed stare. He stayed silent, so she shook her head before continuing again. "What's more important? Bugging me or surviving?"
The alien growled, not liking her tone one bit. It almost sounded like she was talking to a newborn with no intelligence. At that moment, the thought of punishing her was starting to sound like a pleasant idea, but she was right. He did not even know how this ship worked, so fixing anything would be out of the question.
Instead of answering her, he simply stomped towards the door, irritated that he had just been talked down to by a weak, useless human, and laid down on the floor. The door opened in response to his movement, but closed as soon as he settled down.
He could feel her eyes on him for a short time, but she eventually turned away and laid down herself. The alien laid there for a long time, unwillingly remembering his former 'family' and thinking about his current unfortunate position.
"If only I was not so afraid of death, this would all be over," he thought to himself. After a while, though he was not very tired, he fell into peaceful, thoughtless oblivion.
…
Amanda cursed as she dropped the soap again, and bent over to pick it up. She winced at the brief flash of pain the followed using the muscles in her hands. Ever since what she'd been forced to do last night, her hands were currently in no condition to do something as simple as wrapping around a small object. And while she was cursing, she cursed the alien's existence as well.
The first couple days they spent together weren't terrible, surprisingly; just awkward and irritating. The alien was gone when she woke up on the first day, which was a bit of a relief for her. After their first night on the ship, the last thing she wanted to do was spend an extended amount time with him.
That didn't last all day, however. After a few hours without seeing any sign of him, he seemingly showed up out of nowhere, startling her greatly since she had forgotten that she was not alone. He sat back and watched for a while, but was soon asking question after question about anything and everything. Amanda had no choice but to answer each and every one of them, or face possibly being injured again, and she had no desire to bandage any more wounds.
Still, even with the alien's constant bantering, she managed to fix any major problems on the ship by day two. After that, she moved onto less important issues. And, for whatever reason, she had seen fit to let the alien know that there were no longer any life threatening issues with the ship.
Big mistake on her part. Amanda took a moment to shake her head at her past, stupider self.
She had learned to keep an eye on him if he was with her by the middle of the third day. Or in other words, she was always keeping an eye on him. If she didn't, anything important that she picked up would be plucked right out of her hands, mainly tools. Then she had to waste time trying to get them back, which involved chasing the alien around the ship like a mad woman. And it really pissed her off. Especially after he started climbing into vents, dangling the objects above her head, and making her jump and beg for them until he got bored and gave them back or dropped them on her head.
Then last night, after chasing him around, playing 'grab the power tool', and then chasing him some more, he had the nerve to demand incentive to give her blow torch back.
She'd sat down when she got tired of chasing him, lungs burning and chest heaving, after sprinting for what felt like forever. When a couple minutes passed, he came to her, only to tease her with the torch. Still breathing quite heavily, she watched him slowly inch closer to her. Once he was within reaching distance, he held the blow torch out to her.
Amanda knew better. If she tried to reach for it, he would move his hand. And if she tried to act quickly and lunge for it, he would jump back. Then she would end up on the floor with him laughing at her. This time she did nothing, except glare at him.
"I'm not…gonna try…to grab it," she managed to get out. She was still getting her breath back after the marathon he had forced her to run.
He said nothing, only moved a little closer, and then started dangling the torch right in her face, daring her to grab it. Amanda's glare deepened, but then sighed and face palmed. What did she expect?
"I can't… run anymore…alright. I'm done."
She guessed she got through to him this time, for he dropped the hand holding the tool back to his side and straightened up. He stared at her for several long moments. The silence seemed to stretch on forever, only interrupted by Amanda's now slowing breaths.
"You are no fun," he finally said. "And you have such little stamina."
"Well that's not my fault!" Amanda said defensively. "I'm an engineer, not an athlete. I'm not used to running like that."
"Well, get used to it then."
Amanda bristled. "Listen you," she hissed. "My heart feels like it's going to give out! Is that what you want?" Nearly shouting by the end, but she quieted when he barred his teeth and growled. So she tried a different approach.
"Look, can you please give that torch back now? We've been running around for nearly an hour. Isn't that enough for you."
He barred his teeth again. This time in a smile. "Not really. I am nowhere near my limit of physical exertion right now."
"Well…Is there something else that can convince you to give that back? Something that I can handle without killing myself?"
"Hmm…Let me think…" The alien said to her, bringing his left hand up to his face to tap his chin with his finger, crossing the other over his chest. Amanda sighed irritably. He did that sometimes, imitated human gestures in front of her. Sometimes it impressed and intrigued her when he did things like that. But now, it was doing nothing more than pushing her buttons.
"Ahh, I have it," he finally said. "I want you to massage my back."
"What!?" Amanda gasped. "You want me to…"
The alien let out a series of hisses, his version of a laugh.
"Are you even going to feel it through that thick exoskeleton of yours?"
"I should. You will just have to press down hard enough."
Her eyes narrowed. "Absolutely not. I'll probably have to stand on you in order to get you to feel anything!"
The alien was unmoved. "Well then. I suppose you had better develop a better set of lungs with greater air capacity. Soon too, if you want your torch back."
Amanda sighed again, now thoroughly annoyed and fighting the urge to shout, knowing that it wouldn't do any good. She didn't want to ruin her hands by rubbing them against his thick armor, but her chest ached at the thought of running again. And she knew she would collapse if she was forced to move like that again.
With another heavy sigh, Amanda finally said, "Alright damnit. I'll massage your back. Just let me finish fixing the temperature regulator first. It's starting to get cold in here."
The alien smirked again. "Deal," he said before handing the torch back to her.
Amanda took it and headed back to finish up with him close behind, and he watched her until she was done. To her dismay, it didn't take very long. And once she was finished cleaning up, she followed him back to the bunk room.
"Oh, and by the way," he said on the way there. "Use your hands only. Do not attempt to stand on me." She sighed again, thoroughly defeated. Off course he had to make this as difficult as possible.
Upon hearing a noise nearby, Amanda broke from the memory and stared at the shower curtain, the only thing separating her from the bunk room. Well, it was more like an extra bed sheet Amanda had found, but it was better than nothing. She did not want the alien staring at her while she was taking a shower. Even if he was of another race, he was still male, and the thought of a male watching her without clothes on was nerve racking to say the least.
"Hello," she called out. "Is anyone out there?" Silence was her only response. After a few seconds of it, she shook her head and quickly finished up her shower.
Amanda braced herself as she stepped out into the bunk room, her skin prickling at the sudden change in temperature. Going from a warm, steamy shower environment to a numbing, freezing one was never something she'd been a fan off. She quickly grabbed a towel and began drying off, keeping her eye on the door in the process. Just in case the alien 'forgot' about her request to stay out of the bunk room when she was showering. Or more likely, walked right in for no reason whatsoever. At least if she kept an eye on the door and listened for noises in the vent, she could hopefully cover herself before he saw too much.
While she occupied herself with drying her body, her mind wandered back to what happened the night before. As she'd predicted, it was not easy giving an alien who was covered in thick, heavy exoskeleton armor a massage. She literally had to put most of her body weight on her hands. And even then he claimed he barely felt anything.
Not to mention that the exoskeleton was unyielding. Unlike human skin, which could be pinched between one's fingers, his would not bend or shift no matter what she tried. So in order to keep him from complaining, she had to not only put her body weight onto her hands, but she also had to run them along the uneven patterns on his back. All the hard bumps and crevices caused large amounts of pain for Amanda within the first few minutes, but the alien refused to let her stop until at least a half hour had passed. Not to mention that his back spines only served to hinder her efforts.
Amanda glared at the floor as she wrapped the towel around her hair and gently rubbed her hands to ease some of the pain. After a few seconds, she turned and glared at the bunk they were on last night. That glare only deepened when she thought of what happened next.
After he let her stop, she collapsed next to him on the bed, grateful to finally let her throbbing hands have a break. Facing away from him, she laid there for around ten minutes, trying her best not to focus on the excruciating pain in her hands. A short time later, she felt the alien move around a little, and eventually his weight left the bed. She thought he would leave, but she never heard the door open.
Then, bracing herself for the pain, she grasped the blanket and pulled it over her, thankful that she had thought to change into her night clothes before massaging the alien. Curling into a ball, Amanda closed her eyes and tried to ignore the pain and focus on falling asleep, cursing him all the while. She hadn't been sleeping very well. Just like on the first night, she had horrible nightmares that plagued her mind at night, making sleep nearly impossible. And now with the pain in her hands, sleep would be an even more impossible thing to achieve. Not surprisingly, it took a long while, but eventually she started to drift off.
But of course, the alien wasn't done yet.
Just when she thought she was going to fall asleep, she felt the bunk sinking beside her as something put weight on it. Before she could say a word, the alien wrapped his body around hers. She jumped in shock, but was stopped when he wrapped his arm around her waist. Amanda tried to get up, but he forced her back down on the mattress. She quit fighting a short time later, and let him get comfortable.
When he was finally finished moving around, the bottom of his jaw was pressed against the top of her head, his arm remained draped over her waist, and, when she tried to uncurl from her balled up position, she accidentally kicked his tail with her feet before curling back up again. She could see the tail was wrapped her as well, not touching her but not very far away, with the blade resting on top of his head.
Amanda shivered under the blankets, partly from discomfort and partly from the cold that seemed to radiate from his body. Even with the thick fabric between them, she could still feel cool temperature of his skin seeping through the blanket. She tried to wiggle away from him, if only to out distance between their bodies, but his arm tightened on her waist before letting out a warning growl.
Knowing that fighting anymore was useless, she went limp and allowed him to pull her back against his freezing, armored chest. A few seconds later, she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep again. That was easier said than done, especially thanks to his cold skin, but she still managed to fall something like asleep after a long while.
Sighing again and rubbing her tired eyes, Amanda quickly finished drying her hair and dropped the towel on the ground. While promising herself that she would pick it up later, she walked over to her storage locker to grab her night clothes to change into. On the way, she wondered briefly why the alien had done that. Just like on day one, he slept on the floor in front of the door. And if he was uncomfortable there, he could've easily climbed into one of the other bunks.
Amanda shook her head in wonder and irritation as she opened the locker door. 'Maybe he liked my body heat or something. The hive was warm, so he probably likes heat. And with the entire ship being freezing cold…'
Her thoughts cut off a moment later after she saw what was in her locker.
Or, more accurately, what wasn't in the locker.
She blinked a few times and shook her head, even rubbing her eyes again to make sure she wasn't seeing things due to lack of sleep, but the image remained the same.
Her clothes, which she had stored in the locker before her shower, were gone.
'The fuck?' she whispered to herself, momentarily wondering where her clothes could've gone, before turning to glance around the room. 'Did I set them somewhere else and forget about it? Maybe lack of sleep is getting to me more than I…'
Her current thought suddenly stopped as the pieces finally fell together.
She knew for sure that she had set the clothes in the locker. She wasn't sleep deprived enough to forget that. So that meant that someone else had to have moved them. And since there was only one other individual on board the ship with her…
"God damn that slimy alien bastard!" she growled to herself, but silenced any nasty thoughts a second later. The last thing she wanted was for the alien to hear them and risk being punished as a result; even if said thoughts were completely true.
"Hey," she telepathically sent to him, after a few seconds of deep, heavy breaths to calm down.
"What?" He asked a second later. "Are you done bathing yet? I have run out of things to entertain myself with."
"Yes. I'm done. Will you come here please? I need to talk to you."
"I will be there in a moment."
Amanda crossed her hands over her chest, thinking about what she was going to say to him, when the action reminded her that her breasts, and the rest of her body, were nude and on display. She quickly bent over and grabbed the towel she'd discarded earlier before wrapping it around her bare frame. Just in time too, because a moment later the door opened and the alien strode into the room.
"What is it?" he asked, curious because of her strange request, but suddenly halted. "Where are your clothes?"
"I should be asking you the same thing," she hissed. "Where are they?"
He smiled at her. "Why, I have idea what you are talking about," he said, but the wide grin he had plastered on his face said otherwise. "What would I do with them?"
"I don't know and I don't give a fuck. I just want them back."
His grin disappeared. "Such harsh language," he chastised her. "How can you be sure it was even me?"
Amanda's fists clenched, extremely close to drawing blood. "Are you kidding me?" she growled. "How could it be anyone but you?"
He was still for a while, long enough that Amanda questioned what he was doing, then that grin came back.
Only this time, instead of displaying obvious false innocence, it told of a more predatory intent.
His voice suddenly echoed through her head, deep chuckles that vibrated in her skull. She was used to that by now; but she wasn't used to him using a tone as dark as this one was. The way it promised that she was going to suffer… Almost like when he first spoke to her. The thought sent chills down her spine and goosebumps along her arms and legs.
"You are afraid." he observed.
"Where are they?" she asked again instead, unwilling to admit what they both knew was true. "Quit playing games. I'm getting sick of them. What did you do with my clothes?"
"Your voice is quivering," he told her, taking a step forward. To Amanda's disappointment, she took a step back. "So admit it then. Admit you are afraid."
"Will you give me my clothes back?"
His grin widened again, enough so that Amanda could see his back teeth. "No, I will not."
By now, the alien had backed her against the wall. He'd done this before, but this time seemed to be worse than any others since she was nearly naked this time. Sure, she had the towel, but it wouldn't take much to tear it away from her.
"What do you want?" she whispered after a few seconds of silence had passed.
He braced his hands on the wall, on both sides of her head, and leaned in until their faces were inches apart. "I was wondering when you would ask that."
"Just stop," she said. "You want something, so tell me what it is." She paused for a moment. "And please back away."
To her surprise, the alien did just that. He took his hands off the wall, wiped that grin off his face, and stepped away from her. Then he stared at her, eying her body up and down. She could tell by the movement of his head that he was doing just that, and even though he had no eyes and his face remained blank, it still made her uncomfortable all the same. He continued this for a short while, and just when Amanda was about to say something, he spoke.
"I want to see you without your clothes on."
…
Sorry for the long wait. High school, my job, weight loss, and the usual bullshit that comes with being a teenage girl is partially responsible. I hope to update the next part of the story soon, but I'm not sure when that will happen. I'll try my best thought. That much I can promise.