Throughout her life, Summer knew she had made a few bad choices here and there.
When she was four, she stole a candy bar from a store her mother had brought her to. When she turned 11, she looked at all of her birthday presents before her mother could wrap them. When she got her first phone at 13, she bluntly went over the data limit just to show off to her friends that she had a phone. When she was 15, she was drinking one night she went to Toby Matthew's party without her parents' permission. Last year, she shouldn't have cheated on that one test once because she partied and wanted to skip studying because that was what the cool kids did.
But by far, at age 17, stealing a portal gun and jumping ship to come to this place was by far the worst thing she'd ever done.
After an extremely exhausting hike, she'd made it into the town she'd saw on the horizon.
The relief, however, didn't last long, and it didn't take her long to get the general theme of this town. Rundown looking buildings and dusty roads greeted her when she'd first arrived. She couldn't tell the exact time of day, because with the sky so red and no sun, it seemed like it was a dark planet constantly. Diverse, mean and intimidating aliens surrounded her as she awkward shuffled through the streets, trying to find something she could make sense of. Some stared at her, others glared. She didn't exactly feel welcome, but she wouldn't let it show. Not when her pride had already been drastically reduced as she had run away from home because she couldn't handle an argument.
She saw some aliens holding up pictures of their own mug shots – their own wanted posters, she assumed – proudly, and laughing with others as the lists of words beneath them.
So this was where she trapped herself: a criminal alien world. Fantastic.
Summer could have kicked herself for destroying the portal gun so quickly. She should have hopped a few dimensions before settling; picked one she liked.
But what was done was done, and she knew that.
She did her best to ignore the whispers in languages she'd never know as she passed the creatures through the streets. All she wanted was to get somewhere no one would keep analyzing her like she would make a good meal.
She turned a corner and breathed a sigh of relief as she'd found herself a mostly empty street, and saw what she assumed to be a bench.
Plopping down and taking a long breath, she tried to think about all the things she could do here. She didn't see anything that she even remotely understood; the signs and buildings and people all spoke different languages. So she assumed she'd honestly just starve to death before she could try to make something of a life here, not that she'd really want to. And if she could find some kind of way to survive, she'd probably get eaten by one or more of the things surrounding her.
It seemed kind of hopeless, and she slowly came to the conclusion that she might have signed a death wish by coming here. And honestly, that prospect didn't bother her as much as it should have. She knew she should care; be more concerned, but honestly, what was the point? There really wasn't one.
So she sat there for a while, just watching for changes in the sky, lost in her thoughts. She hoped to see stars or clouds or anything, but the sky just remained its dark, blood red color for however long she looked at it. Summer didn't notice the figure watching her from a short distance away. He kept his eyes on her, totally bewildered.
Minutes later, when she felt the bench shake beneath her, she looked to her side to see a tall but skinny purple alien had taken a seat next to her. She tried not to stare, but she found herself looking all over this stranger, analyzing him.
This stranger, aside from the purple tinted skin, looked somewhat human. He had two arms and two legs. He was average height. He also had two eyes, albeit yellow with only black pupils, a normal-looking nose, a somewhat larger mouth…no hair, four ears. He didn't look too harmful, but his face was long, nose-less and filled with curiosity.
"Human?" he asked her, his voice completely electronic.
She blinked a few times, confused, but nodded an affirmative.
"Language?" he asked again.
"Uh, English…" Summer said slowly.
With that, the alien looked up and twisted a knob on some kind of collar he was wearing. Summer waited, not knowing what was going on.
A few clicks later and the alien looked back down at her.
"Strange seeing a human here," he smirked somewhat; a voice completely different was now speaking fluent English to her. "We don't see too many of your kind in this part of the cosmos."
Summer started a little bit at the sudden change.
"Oh, uh, yeah," she stammered, feeling awkward. "I guess not; it is kinda far from earth and all."
She slumped back down and looked forward, not really knowing what else to do, or what this stranger wanted, exactly.
"My name is Calgone," he said. "What's yours?"
"Summer," she replied. "Did you need something, exactly? I mean I don't get why you're talking to me here."
Calgone looked over her again without her noticing as she continued to focus on the sky. She didn't want to make eye contact with him, because something felt off about this guy. Or maybe it was just the general vibe on this planet and its residents. She couldn't tell; she just knew she had an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"You just look a little lost is all, I figured I could try to help you out," he smiled sincerely, scooting just a little bit closer to her.
She didn't miss the movement. Summer looked back to him, slightly suspicious. Although she appreciated the sentiment, she still didn't exactly trust it. But she was curious as to what kind of help he could have been offering.
She still hadn't taken any notice of the figure watching her interact with this alien from across the street.
"I'll figure it out," she said evenly, hoping he could understand she didn't want anything from him.
"I doubt you can read Flengblorb, which is all you'll find around here," he said right on back, condescending and still smiling. "Or can speak any language other than one found on your planet. So honestly, I think you'd be better off just trusting me here, sweetheart."
He slid towards her again, making it more obvious this time. Summer's face contorted into a glare; who was he to speak to her like that?
"Look," she said, not bothering to hide the displeasure in her voice. "I appreciate it, but I made it this far without any help, and I'd like it to stay that way. It's why I came here in the first place."
Calgone's smile faded slightly, and she swore she could see a twinge of frustration in his eyes. But she held her ground; she wouldn't back down from a creep like this. She would prove to everyone and herself that she was more than capable of making it on her own.
"I'm trying to be nice here," the frustration was more evident in his voice than on his face, and Summer didn't miss it. "There's a tavern right through that alley down there. I can take you there and get you something to eat or drink."
"I'm fine," Summer lied. "I'm okay, I don't' need anything."
In truth, she did want some food or even some water. She'd been wandering for hours before getting here, and although resting on this bench helped, it didn't quell the growing discomfort in her stomach. But she knew with absolute certainty at this point she shouldn't go anywhere with this guy. Something seemed off with him when he first approached, and now her body was triggering its fight or flight instincts. Her fingers twitched and she sat on them, trying not to show her growing discomfort.
She heard Calgone exhale and stand up.
"Your loss I guess," Calgone huffed, finally starting to walk away.
Summer exhaled, relieved that the whole strange social exchange was over. She rested her back against the back of the bench and closed her eyes.
The conversation with Calgone did raise some questions in her mind; where would she go? What could see eat or drink? What could she do if she couldn't communicate with, uh, people here if she had no idea how to speak her language?
Like she had resolved earlier, she was essentially screwed. Maybe she could try to find that tavern Calgone had told her was just a short walk–
Instantly, she was aware of a small pain in her neck, similar to a mosquito bite. She swatted at the spot, only to be met with a hand pinning it down on to the bench.
Summer jerked her hand back, standing up and spinning around. She came face-to-face…Cal…Cal– wait, what was his name again?
Calgone watched with a satisfied grin as his serum took effect almost instantly, Summer swaying slightly and trying to make sense of things that were slowly going out of focus for her.
"What this fu–" she tried to say, but her lips went numb before she could finish.
Everything was switching between blurry and clear. There was a weird ringing in the back of her ears that was steadily growing louder. Suddenly, the ground was rushing up to her, and she closed her eyes to brace for the impact. It never came.
Calgone grabbed her, tentacles coming out of his sides. Summer could barely make them out, and she could barely register the pain that was coming from being gripped so hard. The only thing she was 100 percent certain of was that she wasn't on the ground anymore, but suspended in the air…being dragged away? Maybe? Maybe not?
Calgone's form had completely changed without Summer's ability to comprehend what was going on. His arms and legs were gone, replaced by countless tentacles. His mouth had expanded to a huge size, and razor sharp sets of teeth popped out, drool spilling out of his lips.
"I like the ones who fight me," he hissed to Summer in her ear, not that she could understand anything anymore; the ringing in he ears was getting too loud. "They usually taste better."
Summer barely understood him. She was just trying to breathe, which was becoming just as difficult as thinking clearly.
He slipped into the alleyway, making sure no one could see him as he went. All Summer could see was blurry shapes and colors. Nothing made sense anymore, not even the thoughts in her head. Calgon dropped her on the ground before him, examining his prize. As a result, Summer's body tumbled and rolled a bit, gaining a few cuts and bruises, not that she could feel them, but Calgone loved the site of her blood as it leaked out.
He decided he was done wasting time; he hadn't eaten a human – a female, no less – in a long time and he was ready to remember the taste. He lowered himself down to her, mouth open and ready.
But instead of human meat, he was met with a laser shooting straight through his mouth and out the back of his head. He stumbled back, losing the feeling in his body.
"Wha–" before he could finish his question, another blast hit him straight between the eyes, and his head partially exploded.
He fell backwards, dead.
Summer was hyperventilating on the ground; she had no sense of reality anymore. Breathing was becoming way too difficult and she couldn't tell if she was going to be able to keep breathing, darkness creeping into her vision.
The figure watching her earlier emerged from his hiding place, and ran up towards her body on the ground.
"Stupid motherfucker," he spat on Calgone's body, then turned his attention to the poisoned girl on the ground.
He wasted no time in falling to his knees next to her, his fingers on her neck searching for a pulse. He observed her eyes, large and unfocused, and her breathing, erratic and out of control.
"Shit, shit, shit…" he hissed. "Summer, you better not fucking die on me. Not like this."
He picked her up, bridal style, and started darting away from the scene, paying no more mind to the dead alien he left behind in that alley.
Summer's mind was swimming; she didn't know what was happening, but she did know she wasn't in the same situation she was in moments before. Through her ragged breathing, she recognized something: a scent.
The scent of whiskey permeated through her nose, and she had her last moment of clarity before she passed out.
Rick Sanchez looked down and grunted as he noticed Summer had finally passed out in his arms.
"Fuck," he seethed, pushing himself to run faster.