Chapter 3 - The Walk to the Ship
1054 Words
The doors of the medical wing slid open with a soft hiss.
Mira hesitated on the threshold.
Beyond the doorway stretched a massive docking corridor carved from dark metal. Blue energy lines pulsed along the floor like veins of light, guiding traffic toward the station’s enormous hangar bays.
But what stole the breath from her lungs were the windows.
Huge viewing panels ran along the curved wall of the corridor. Through them she could see open space—endless darkness filled with stars and drifting alien ships.
Dozens of them.
Some were smooth and silver.
Others looked like jagged mechanical beasts floating in silence.
Mira stopped walking.
Her heart began to pound harder.
The sight was beautiful… and horrifying.
Because Earth wasn’t there.
Not the blue glow of the atmosphere.
Not the moon.
Not even familiar constellations.
Just stars she didn’t recognize.
One of the aliens behind her nudged her forward with two fingers.
“You stopped.”
Mira didn’t move.
She was staring out the window, trying desperately to find something familiar in the endless darkness.
Anything.
“There’s… nothing,” she whispered.
The leader glanced back at her.
“What are you looking for?”
“Earth.”
The word felt strange leaving her mouth.
Her voice trembled slightly.
She finally turned to face them.
“…Where are we?”
The silver-haired alien tilted his head slightly.
“You were told this is an interstellar trade station.”
“That doesn’t tell me where it is,” Mira said.
Her fingers curled nervously against the sides of her arms.
“How far away am I?”
The aliens exchanged brief glances.
Finally the silver-haired one answered.
“If you traveled with the technology of your planet, the journey would take approximately thirty thousand of your years.”
Mira stared at him.
“…You’re joking.”
“No.”
The word landed like a stone.
Her stomach twisted painfully.
Thirty thousand years.
Her home might as well be another universe.
She turned slowly back toward the stars.
“I’m really not on Earth anymore,” she whispered.
“No,” the leader said calmly.
“We are far beyond your system.”
Mira’s throat tightened.
Her parents.
Her friends.
Everyone she knew.
Even if she somehow escaped… she had no idea how to get back.
She hugged herself tighter.
The five aliens continued walking.
After a moment she forced her legs to move again and followed them down the massive corridor toward the open docking bay ahead.
Through the enormous hangar doors she saw their ship.
It dwarfed everything around it.
The vessel was long and dark, shaped like a massive spearhead. Blue energy lines glowed across its armored hull while enormous docking arms held it in place against the station.
Mira slowed again.
“That’s… yours?” she asked quietly.
“Yes,” the leader replied.
Her stomach twisted.
That ship was the thing taking her farther away from Earth.
They had nearly reached the docking platform when another group stepped out from a side corridor.
Mira froze.
There were four of them.
Aliens taller even than the ones who owned her.
Their bronze skin was ridged with thick armor-like plates, and their glowing yellow eyes locked immediately onto Mira.
Then shifted to the five warriors escorting her.
The air changed instantly.
Tense.
Hostile.
One of the bronze aliens stepped forward and folded his arms.
“So,” he said slowly.
“You won the auction.”
The silver-haired alien beside Mira sighed faintly.
“Unfortunately.”
The bronze alien’s gaze drifted down to Mira again.
He studied her slowly.
Like merchandise.
“I offered more after the close,” he said.
“The auction had ended,” the leader replied calmly.
“That is not our concern.”
The bronze alien’s eyes narrowed.
“It should be.”
Another member of his group stepped closer.
“You know how rare a human is,” he said. “Sell her to us.”
Mira’s pulse spiked.
The thought of being passed between aliens like an object made her stomach churn.
The leader didn’t move.
“No.”
The corridor grew quiet as other travelers slowed to watch.
The bronze alien gave a humorless smile.
“You always were difficult.”
“And you always talk too much,” one of Mira’s captors replied flatly.
The bronze alien took another step forward.
Too close.
His glowing eyes locked onto Mira.
“She would be more valuable with us,” he said.
Mira instinctively stepped back.
Immediately one of the five warriors shifted slightly in front of her, blocking the bronze alien’s view with his massive shoulder.
Protective.
The bronze alien noticed.
He laughed softly.
“You’re guarding her already?”
“She is ours,” the leader said.
His voice wasn’t louder.
But the temperature in the corridor seemed to drop.
For a moment Mira thought a fight might break out.
Two groups of massive aliens stared at each other like predators deciding whether the hunt was worth it.
Finally the bronze alien exhaled sharply.
“Enjoy your toy,” he said.
His glowing eyes flicked to Mira one last time.
“Humans break easily.”
Then he turned.
His group walked away down the corridor until they disappeared around the curve of the station.
Only then did the tension ease.
Mira let out the breath she had been holding.
“Were they going to fight you?” she asked quietly.
“Possibly,” the silver-haired alien replied.
“That didn’t seem to bother you.”
“It did not.”
That was not comforting.
The leader gestured toward the ship.
“Come.”
They stepped onto the docking bridge leading toward the massive vessel.
The floor vibrated faintly beneath Mira’s feet as the enormous ship powered up.
At the end of the bridge, a giant hatch stood open.
Inside waited a dark corridor glowing with soft blue light.
The leader stepped through first.
The others followed.
Mira paused at the entrance.
Beyond that doorway was the ship that would carry her deeper into the galaxy.
Farther from Earth than she could even comprehend.
The silver-haired alien noticed her hesitation.
“You are delaying.”
Mira took a shaky breath.
Then she stepped inside.
Behind her, the docking hatch slowly began to close.
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