"So why are you afraid of humans Tep?" Ben asked curiously, trying to break the tension of his situation.
"I was once hunted by humans when I came to a planet called Earth. Back then, Earth was not accepting of aliens. They tried to kill me when I came to find a certain flower to take back to my planet." Tep said sadly.
"Hunted?" Ben said in surprise.
"Yes, they almost killed me!" Tep said, almost looking like he reliving the same thing. His eyes widened and he began to shake!
"Woah woah easy! Don't be scared!" Ben said, gently pinning him down.
"L-Let me go!"
"Calm down! You're going to wake the guards!" Ben said, now putting his hand over his mouth.
"M-MET ME MO!" Tep pleaded.
"Tep, I said calm down!" Ben said, now accidentally touching Tep under his arms. Tep's eyes widened in surprise and he gently chuckled. Ben looked down curiously.
"What was that?" Ben chuckled, moving his hand away from his mouth.
"What was what?"
"That chuckle. You did that when I did…this." Ben smiled deviously, now gently poking under his arm again. Tep once more began chuckling and tried to pull Ben's hands out.
"S-stop it Ben!" He chuckled a bit more.
"Well, well so the Thep Khufan has a weakness huh?" Ben chuckled, now running his fingers down his sides, making the alien laugh a bit more, but being careful not to make him laugh too loud. He didn't want to alert the guards.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH BEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEN! STOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOP!" Tep laughed.
"Still afraid of me?" Ben chuckled, now running his fingers gently over his feet.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAA NOHOHOHOHOHOHHOT REALLY!"
"Oh, that's not good enough. I need to hear that you're not afraid at all." Ben smirked, now gently poking his neck and ribs.
"AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH OK OK! I AM NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHT AFRAID AT AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHALL!"
Ben nodded and then let his new friend up. He had to steady him to make sure he didn't fall over because he was still chuckling and laughing.
"You are not like the other humans, that's for sure." Tep smiled, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. He then put his hand out for Ben to shake it. Ben smiled softly and then shook his hand, feeling that he did indeed make an ally and a new friend.
"So...what's it like to have skin and organs?" asked Tep.
Ben blinked. "Uh, it's okay. I guess.."
Tep curiously poked Ben in the stomach. Ben giggled.
"Wow! It's squishy!" Tep kept poking him.
Ben laughed as the poking and prodding tickled him. "Ehehehehehe! Quit it!"
Now Tep has discovered that humans were ticklish! He kept poking and tweaking Ben's stomach as the human laughed like crazy.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OKAY! OKAY, TEP! That's enough!"
Tep stopped. He helped Ben recover. "Forgive me. I had no idea humans were ticklish! Or that they were so soft and squishy!"
"Glad you trust me now. But we do have another issue."
"What's that Ben?" Tep asked.
"We need to find a way outta here." Ben replied. Ben was looking around the cell, looking for something, anything, that looked like a way to escape. He had to get away from there; his life and Tep's life depended on it!
"What are you going to do?" The alien asked him.
"I have to get out of here." Ben said looking at him sadly. "We have to get out of here before they kill us."
"I don't see how we can Ben. It's bolted tight in here. The only semi-chance we have is if there was a fire and they sent us in the escape pods."
"A fire huh?"
"Don't even think about it Ben. Many have tried and all have failed." The Thep Khufan said sadly.
Ben rubbed his hand down his face and stood up off of the wet and filthy floor. He turned to speak with his friend when suddenly their door was swung open.
"Mess time!" The guard said, now walking in and cuffing them again.
"What?! We have to wear these even in the mess hall?!" Ben said angrily.
"No, these are just special wristwatches that we made for you. OF COURSE YOU HAVE TO WEAR THEM YOU RUNT!" The guard snapped, now snapping the handcuffs on their wrists harshly. Ben winced in pain and his friend just endured the painful binding. Once they were cuffed, they were practically drug down the stairs and into the mess hall. The entire room was filled with thugs and dangerous aliens and they were all hissing at each other and trying to steal each other's food. Tep groaned, hating that he had to eat in there again.
"Is it really that bad in here?" Ben asked, picking up on his discomfort.
"Ben, dinner time can cause the other prisoners to be unnecessarily dangerous. Many of us are only allowed to eat twice a day rather than three times. This causes fights and sometimes death over food." Tep shuddered. Once they were seated, they were given horrible plates filled with gray glop and a yellowish meat that appeared to still be moving! Ben almost shouted in surprise!
"I can't eat this!" Ben said.
"Ben you must try; you won't get served anything else." Tep said sadly, now trying to wolf down his quickly before another alien could fight him for it. Ben tried to eat some of the gray glop when he felt something grab his shirt! He turned and saw a sickly and angry alien staring at him! He spoke in a language Ben couldn't understand!
"What does he want?!" Ben asked in horror.
"He wants your food!" Tep said, now trying to get Ben away from him. But the alien then picked Ben up by his shirt and licked his lips, as if he wanted to eat Ben!
"LET GO OF HIM!" Tep yelled, but he was quickly pushed aside. Ben struggled in the grasp of the beast until everyone suddenly went silent. Ben was about to ask why when he heard yelling and screaming as the guards were fighting against a creature. A creature that was making them all scream in terror!
"HE'S AWAKE!"
"THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!"
"AREN'T THEY EXTINCT?!"
"GET HIM IN THE HOLDING ROOM!" Another one yelled.
Ben squinted and noticed that the creature, whatever he was, was giving them a run for their money. Ben was even able to squirm out of the alien's grip since the alien was distracted.
"Tep. Someone out there wants to get out even more than we do!" Ben whispered.
"I agree. But who or what are they?"
His answer was given as the creature threw a guard through the mess hall door and everyone gasped at the sight of the creature. He was tall, intimidating, and his flashed his fangs in a terrible hiss! The other prisoners began to scream and panic, running to escape the new beast!
"Th-that's a Vladat!" Tep said in horror! "They're supposed to be extinct!"
"RUN!" An alien screamed.
"He'll suck all of our energy!" Another one hollered.
"Another Vladat?!" Ben said in amazement. "Whampire is not the last one?!"
"Ben what are you waiting for?! MOVE!" Tep yelled, running back to pull his friend by the arm. But Ben was stuck in place, staring at the new alien who was currently hissing and roaring, keeping the guards and other aliens at bay!
"Wow…" Ben said in pure amazement. But he jumped in shock when the alien turned and they were now staring at each other. The alien flew at him but stopped short when they were only an inch from each other's face! The alien's narrowed and angry eyes seemed to soften a bit, but he then turned and ran off, leading the guards into another frenzy.
"Ben! Why didn't you run?! He could have sucked your energy!" Tep said, now shaking Ben by his shoulders.
"Tep. That Vladat. If we can get him to join us, he can be the key to helping us get out of here!"
"You're kidding right?!"
"No! There is another Vladat on Earth and if I can bring him back to Earth, they may be the keys to restoring their species." Ben said. "But first we need his help to escape!"
"Well, we better come up with a plan soon! The guards are coming back!" Tep said, now pointing at the door as the guards came running back in to restore order.
