Casina cried herself to sleep. When she awoke, she sensed a presence behind her.
Turning over, away from the wall, she gasped in alarm at sight of the man standing near her. She knew he was an alien.
He was of darker-than-average hair and skin color and stood taller than any man she had ever seen. He wore a forest green tunic and leggings, and his long, graying hair was drawn back in a queue.
She hurriedly yanked the unfamiliar white gown she was wearing down over her knees, as she drew them closer against her.
Sitting up, she hastily scooted across the bunk to the corner at the head end, wanting to get as far away from the alien as she could.
"Who are you? What do you want?" she demanded, fearful under his intense scrutiny. "Go away and leave me alone." She waved a hand to shoo him away.
But he didn't go. He just stood there with arms crossed, studying her reaction to him, his dark eyes intense in their perusal.
When he remained silent and moved closer, she edged off the bunk to crouch down in the corner, near the port hole. Wide-eyed, she watched him with uncertainty, shaking with terror at being in such close proximity to an extraterrestrial being.
"What is it you want?" she demanded with trepidation, as she looked him over. "Why did you bring me here?"
As if enjoying her discomfiture, he inched even closer. She instantly recoiled from him but found herself trapped against the wall.
"Please," she begged, cringing as she buried her face in the corner. "Don't...hurt me."
At this, she sensed an immediate change in him. Curious, she sneaked a peek up at him, surprised now by his troubled expression. A frown graced his lips as he studied her.
After a moment, he sighed.
"Forgive me," he began, in a deep, slightly-accented voice. "You don't need to be afraid. I am a...physician. I am called Paxis."
Her eyes widened in surprise.
"You...speak...English?" He gave a slight nod and stepped back.
"I only came to check on you. To see if you needed anything."
She blinked in disbelief but gave him her full attention then.
Her fear slowly waned as she considered his sincerity.
"How about a ticket home?"
At this, the corner of his mouth curled with humor.
"I am afraid that is not possible."
"And why not?"
"Kaanig Altair would not allow it."
"Who is that?"
The man's demeanor quickly changed to one of wariness. She sensed uncertainty in him as he considered whether he should answer the question.
As he did, he came around to where she was hugging the wall. Not sure of his intentions, she huddled in the corner, knowing she had no time to escape across the bunk.
Meeting her frightened gaze, he slowly reached down to draw her to her feet, which she allowed him.
Then he gently took her arm so he could examine her wrist. Only then did she notice the strange mark in it.
She choked back her outrage at sight of it, at this desecration of her body, then tried to free her arm from his grasp.
"What is...What is that? How did that...get there?" He abruptly released her.
"Another will answer your questions," he said. "I only came to see if the implants were causing any pain. If they were bothering you." They?
"Does this one bother you?"
She angrily snatched her hand away, drawing her wrist up to examine the queer, blue, diamondshaped 'thing' the aliens had put there.
Panicking at sight of it, she struggled to breathe.
"No," she said at length, trying to calm her racing heart as short gasps of air escaped her. "It's okay. I didn't even know it was there until now.
What's it for?"
But again, he ignored her question.
"Is there anything I can get you?"
"Passage home!"
He snorted at her insistence, returned to the other side of the bunk, and headed for the door. "I will bring you some sustenance," was all he said as he exited the room.
Frustrated, she stared after him with uncertainty before turning to lean against the port hole, wishing she had gotten some answers.
The fact that she was under another doctor's care was disheartening.
Swallowing, she blinked back more tears as she considered that perhaps everyone did think she was nuts.
And as she considered the strange mark, she wondered if she was now someone's slave or possession. That alone frightened her.
The alien returned sometime later with a tray of something called mesantine.
But Casina defiantly refused it and flung the tray and its contents across the room, so the food splattered against the wall and door after he left. "How do I know it's not poisoned!" she shouted after him, not caring what he thought of her behavior.
Furious at another hopeless situation, she flounced back to the bed. Laying on it, she crossed her arms in a huff, stewing over her captivity.
But, too upset to relax, she got up and began pacing. At one point, when she chanced too close to the door, she was startled when it opened of its own accord.
She tiptoed to the doorway, to peer out, fully expecting someone to be guarding her. When she realized no one was, she was quick to make an escape, chiding herself for not checking the door sooner.
Grinning at her discovery, she dashed down the corridor, seeking a way of escape, although she was still terrified.
She did fine for awhile. But every so often she would hear voices that sent her scurrying in another direction.
She had no interest in attracting attention from any other aliens on board. She had no clue what they might do to her if they caught her snooping about.
She soon found what looked like an elevator. This, too, opened automatically, so she stepped inside to play with the controls, glad no one was in it.
The strange markings on the panel gave evidence of her alien abduction, and it was with some apprehension that she pressed a few buttons.
She had no idea where her daring might lead her, but what choice did she have? She only knew that if she wanted to get off the ship, she would have to seek the landing bay for smaller vessels, if there were any.
Of course, she was going only by what she had learned from Hollywood movies and television shows. She just hoped she was right.
When the door whisked open, she slowly peeked her head out. She knew God was with her still because the corridor was free of life.
Hurrying from the elevator, she made her way along the wide, metal-colored hallway, stopping at each intersection for signs of movement.
When she turned down one hallway, she halted in surprise. Before her were two huge, red doors.
She groaned because they reminded her of the fairy tales she had often shared with her brother. Jimmy had loved tales of giants and dragons.
But the doors also impressed upon her how lost and alone she was. She choked back a sob, overcome by emotion.
Until the aliens had arrived, she had resigned herself to spending her entire life at St. Christi's, alone and forgotten.
After her parents' tragic deaths in a car accident, she had thought that that would be the worst for her. But nothing had prepared her for life with the Zacks where she had been forced into servitude and practically starved.
Had it not been for a schoolmate, Jenny Tompkins, and her family, she didn't think she could have survived it.
When Casina and Jimmy planned an escape from the Zacks, even that plan was thwarted. Jimmy had fallen into Norman's evil hands, and she...she had been discarded like an old lost shoe.
Sent to a place where she would be locked away from society...forever.
Groaning as nightmarish memories raged through her brain, she stepped toward the doors, surprised at how easily they whisked open at her entrance.
Only when the deafening gong began to sound did she know she had made a mistake.
The lights brightened instantly at her presence.
Turning, with hands covering her ears, she backed away from the door, uncertain whether to hide or flee through it.
Why she didn't run, she wasn't sure. Curiosity perhaps. Either way, she wasn't prepared for what was behind her.
The room was of tremendous length and housed what seemed to be at least a hundred or more large cylinders, with glass on one side and dark metal on the backs. Inside were people.
Women, in fact.
A fear unlike anything Casina had ever felt before came crashing down upon her.
She trembled as she gaped at the women who appeared frozen in time. Clothed in similar short, blue dresses, it was as if they were all asleep standing up.
"No," she whispered, her fingers moving to her lips, as she realized now the danger she was in. This sort of technology was foreign and frightening to her, troubling.
She inched away, every cell in her body now springing to life.
With adrenaline pumping through her, she tore through the doors and blindly down the corridor.
Too many sci-fi movies, too many pictures in her brain of what aliens could and probably would do to her, washed over her in droves. All she knew was that she had to get away.
Turning any way Casinailable, she continued until the sound of male voices halted her. She whipped around and ran frantically, hoping to outrun and hide from the men, the aliens, who were obviously seeking her.
Never before had such terror overwhelmed her as it did now. Faith, what would the aliens do to her once they found her?
It was quite by accident that she stumbled upon the bay of shuttle crafts she had been seeking earlier.
Since the aliens were searching for her in other places aboard the ship, there was no one present in the bay just then.
Relieved, she made a quick visual for confirmation, then hastily trotted across the wide expanse and jumped into the shuttle closest to the outer bay doors, thankful the door on it was open.
Strapping herself into the captain's seat, she quickly examined the panel before her.
Everything was in alien, she noticed, frowning.
Drat.
"Just need to use the poke-and-hope method, I guess." Immediately, she began hunt-pecking the buttons that held the most promise, fear making her fingers fumble as she sought the right ones.
The whirring sound of the shuttle door being secured immediately bolstered her confidence.
A few more buttons and the shuttle was soon turning around to face the outer bay doors for launching.
When positioned, those doors slowly opened, as if of their own accord. Shaking, she nervously dashed away the hair hanging in her face, then put her hand to the large lever beside her.
To her amazement, the engines of the small craft sprang to life, rumbling with excitement.
She gave a squeal of impatience as she made ready to launch the vessel into space.
It didn't matter how much fuel or how many provisions were aboard, to see her safely home.
All she knew was that she would worry about all of the details once she was free of the spaceship and her captors.