Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
Author’s note
Anna and the Alien
Alien Abduction Book 1
Honey Phillips
Copyright © 2018 by Honey Phillips
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author.
Disclaimer
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design by Melody Simmons (bookcoverscre8tive.com)
Edited by Nikki Groom @ Indie Hub Editing services (www.indiehub.co.uk)
Prologue
The plane lurched again and Anna’s stomach lurched with it. God, this was the last thing she needed. She should have been on a tropical beach sipping an umbrella drink. Instead, she was returning from her vacation three days early because her boss had decided he couldn’t close the deal without her, and because she had been stupid enough to answer the phone when he called. At least he had promised her a full week’s, all expenses paid vacation in return. Right now, sitting on a small plane that was getting more and more erratic by the minute, it didn’t seem worth it.
They hit another air pocket, and once more the plane dropped. Her seatmate gasped and they exchanged a tremulous smile before Anna forced her gaze to the window and the deceptively clear blue sky. Everything will be fine, she told herself but her nails were digging holes into her palms. For a long moment, the flight was blessedly smooth, then a loud explosion split the air. The oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling as the flight attendant’s voice came over the intercom and, in a tightly controlled voice, told everyone to assume crash positions.
Fear pounded through her as she lowered her head to her knees and grasped her legs. This couldn’t be happening. There was another loud explosion and the plane shook wildly, twisting from side to side and throwing Anna against the back of the seat in front of her. Pain wracked her head as she slipped into grateful unconsciousness.
The smell of burning surrounded her as she regained her senses. Every inch of her body felt pummeled but, as she carefully extended her arms and legs, everything was still working. Cautiously, she lifted her hand to her head, wincing as she touched an enormous knot, but relieved to see there was no blood on her fingers when she withdrew her hand. She looked around, squinting against the bright sunlight, barely able to make sense of the scene of destruction that surrounded her. Chunks of burning wreckage were everywhere – seats, luggage, and, oh God, bodies. Biting back the sickness that filled her throat, she turned away. A trail of destruction, half obscured by smoke, led from the beach where the plane had landed deep into the surrounding jungle.
The air was curiously still, only the crackle of the few remaining flames and some low moans breaking the eerie silence. One of the moans was coming from Anna’s right and she forced herself to her hands and knees, heading for the noise. Her seatmate was crumpled on the sand, one leg at an unnatural angle and her hand reaching for her shoulder, blood streaming from there to the sand.
“Oh, no.” Anna looked around frantically but no one was upright and walking. She tried desperately to recall any first aid instructions but all she could remember was that she needed to stop the bleeding. Stripping off her tank top, she pressed it hard against the shoulder. The woman moaned again and opened her eyes.
“It’s all right. You’re going to be fine.” Anna tried to sound confident even though her teeth were chattering so hard from shock she could barely speak. The woman’s gaze locked on hers and then drifted over her shoulder. Her eyes widened just as Anna felt the presence of someone behind her. As she started to turn, a sharp sting pierced her neck and then darkness claimed her once more.
Chapter One
Anna drifted back to awareness slowly. A low humming noise was the first thing to penetrate her consciousness, swiftly followed by a faint but perceptible vibration. The pain in her body was the next thing to emerge, every muscle bruised and aching and her head throbbing along with a muffled hum that sounded like engine noise. Her pulse started to pound as she suddenly remembered the plane crash. Images of burning wreckage strobed behind her closed eyelids. The memories were confused but she remembered the explosions, the beach, the wounded woman.
She forced her eyes open. Above her was a metal ceiling, gleaming softly in the dim light. Gritting her teeth against the dizziness that threatened to send her back into unconsciousness, she turned her head and forced her eyes to focus on what looked like metal bars. Slowly and cautiously she scanned her surroundings, but the truth was inescapable; she was in a cell, a very small cell. She was lying on a metal bunk tucked into the back wall. Metal walls continued on both sides, meeting with the set of bars across the front wall—a set of bars with no visible door. Through the bars, she could see a corridor and then another set of cells across from her, although the light was too dim to see if they were occupied.
Grabbing the metal bunk with one hand, she pushed herself to a sitting position, gasping as the movement started her head spinning again. For one long moment, a wave of sickness threatened to overwhelm her before she pushed it down, leaving her dizzy and shaking. A cold sweat covered her skin and she shivered, noticing for the first time how she was dressed. Instead of her own clothing, she was now wearing a type of white shift that only fastened at points on each shoulder and each side of her waist. Every movement revealed flashes of skin down her sides and up her legs. She supposed it could be some type of hospital gown but she had never worn one this revealing.
Anna tried to force herself to think past the pain in her head. The steady vibration seemed to indicate that she was on a ship of some kind. Perhaps a boat had come to the rescue at the site of the plane crash and they were using any space they had for temporary hospital quarters. She inhaled thoughtfully and realized for the first time that the air smelled wrong. It was an odd combination of stale and astringent with an underlying foulness that raised the hairs on the back of her neck. The caustic smell supported the idea of a medical facility and yet, if this were a hospital—even a temporary one, surely someone would have been waiting for her to wake up. She opened her mouth to call out but was suddenly frightened at the idea of breaking the silence surrounding her. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.
The longer she sat, the more the dizziness receded, so she decided to try standing and moving to the bars. As she reached over to the wall for support, her arm brushed against her breast and pain shot through her. Pulling aside the gown, she saw that her breasts were bruised, her nipples red and swollen. A
horrified gasp escaped her lips. The sight caused a frightening memory to resurface. She had been strapped to a cold metal table, naked and unable to move, half-blinded by a white light from high above. Cruel hands had twisted her breasts and probed between her legs, and she had tried to call out but couldn’t make a sound. As she tried to struggle, loud growling sounds had erupted around her, terrifying her even more, before another sting to her neck sank her back into darkness.
Shaking now, she pushed the hem of her gown aside to check between her legs. Her thighs, too, were heavily bruised, but there was no other soreness and it didn’t appear that she had been raped. Tears of relief slipped down her cheeks before she drew herself together enough to resume trying to stand. Another wave of dizziness swept over her but passed even faster than before. She raised a cautious hand to her head—the knot on her forehead was still tender but seemed smaller now. The metal floor was cold beneath her bare feet as she moved the few steps to the front of the cell, one hand on the wall for support.
Just as she reached the bars, a loud scream sounded and a body threw itself at the bars of the cell directly across from her. Anna stumbled back instinctively, but lost her balance and collapsed to the floor. She blinked desperately, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. The thing in the other cell paced back and forth eying her through the sets of bars and she saw enough to realize it was some type of animal. The creature was huge, perhaps the size of a lion, but instead of fur it had scales, with a ridge of spikes running from its crest to its tail—a tail that was thrashing angrily as it paced. Its head was broad and also shaped somewhat like a lion’s but the ears and nostrils were only slits. The mouth, on the other hand, was wide and filled with pointed teeth. Slit pupils glared at her across the distance separating them.
“Is safe. Is cage.” Anna’s head whipped around at the sound of a soft voice to the left, sending a spike of pain through her head. A figure was standing on the other side of the cell wall. The wall that she had assumed was metal was translucent enough that she could see the outline of a person. She scrambled frantically away, still on her back, and rammed hard against the bunk, jarring her head and forcing a cry of hurt from her lips.
“Is safe,” the figure repeated, its voice still soft. Chills crept up Anna’s spine; she understood the words but the sounds underneath the words were wrong, a series of chirping notes that didn’t match what she was hearing. She tried desperately to see the details of the person behind the wall but could only detect an outline. That outline was somehow wrong—the limbs and hands too long, the body too short, and the hair…the hair was moving even though no air was blowing. With a desperation inspired by panic, Anna pulled herself up on the bunk and curled into a corner, trying to watch the animal across the way and the figure next to her at the same time.
This couldn’t be happening; there must be some kind of rational explanation. But no matter how much she tried to deny what she was seeing, she knew that neither of her cell mates existed on earth. Her experience on the examining table took on a new horror as every tale of alien abduction she had ever heard flooded her head. The figure to the left stood a moment longer, then moved back behind the solid part of the wall. Across from her, the animal continued to pace and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the threat in every move it made. Tears began to slip down her face again and she stopped fighting them. She gave in and sobbed until, overcome with exhaustion and fear, she slept.
Brightening lights awoke Anna the next time. For a long moment, she remained curled in the corner, unwilling to face the thoughts flooding through her mind, before finally sighing and sitting up. Despite everything, she felt better. Her body was still stiff and sore but her head no longer throbbed and the dizziness was gone. Cautiously she glanced toward the cell next door and realized with a shock that the bright lights rendered the front half of each side wall completely transparent. Her neighbor was curled on the floor next to the wall, eying her curiously.
Despite her conviction of the previous night, astonishment held Anna motionless for a long moment as she took in the other figure—the other purple figure. Her companion was clad in the same open, white shift and it was apparent that she, too, was female. Even curled on the floor, Anna could see the length of her arms and legs and the white hair moving softly around her face—a face that was undeniably alien, with a small nose and mouth, a pointed chin, and tilted wide-set eyes, but also undeniably beautiful. The woman’s complexion was a soft lavender, her eyes deep purple as they met Anna’s curiously before she politely looked away.
Anna took a deep breath. “Hello?”
The woman raised her eyes as Anna spoke and tilted her head to one side. “Greeting.” There was the same dichotomy between the word she understood and the sound behind it but it was the same soft voice from last night. Or had it been night? For a moment, Anna’s head spun as she realized that she had no concept of time—neither how long she had been here nor how long she had been asleep—but she pushed it aside and concentrated on the woman in the next cell. Because they were wearing the same clothes and held in the matching cells, she had to assume they were fellow prisoners. The fact that they were both female made her wonder uneasily exactly what type of prisoners they were but then she remembered the animal in the opposite cell. Rising cautiously, and relieved to find she was no longer dizzy, she moved slowly to the front of the cell. The woman in the cell next to her just watched her.
The lion creature was still in the cell across the corridor, curled on the bunk but following her every movement while its tail whipped slowly back and forth. The cell on her right and the one across from that were empty. However, the cell across from her neighbor was occupied. A giant masculine figure was sprawled unmoving across the bunk. Even from her cell, Anna could see the muscles on his broad frame and was relieved to see that he appeared to be unconscious. More empty cells stretched down either side of the central passage to doors at each end.
She turned to her neighbor who had risen as well and was watching her inquisitively through the wall. The alien woman was only slightly taller than Anna but so slender that she felt enormous in comparison. Close up, she was even more exquisite and Anna was suddenly aware of her tangled hair and unwashed state. The thought of water immediately reminded her that she was thirsty and, even worse, that her bladder was full. She looked around the cell, hoping that she had missed something the night before.
She turned back to her neighbor, knowing her face was turning red. “Is there a bathroom?” A blank stare was her only response. “A place to urinate?” The woman tilted her head but did not respond. In desperation, Anna squatted and mimed. An understanding smile broke over the woman’s face and she moved back to her bunk. Pushing against one end caused a section to roll forward. Anna went to her bunk and ran her fingers along the edge. There was a small hidden button, which she pushed. A section rolled out, revealing a metal lined cavity inside. She looked back at her neighbor who nodded encouragingly before turning away.
Anna took a quick look around and sat down hastily before her neighbor turned back. As soon as she was finished, a quick blast of cleansing liquid and another of cool air almost startled her into falling off but she stood up feeling much better. She pushed the metal section back under the bunk and heard a quick swoosh like an airplane bathroom. The familiarity of the sound was oddly comforting.
Her neighbor was still politely turned away but looked back as soon as Anna spoke. “Thank you.” She hesitated and then tapped her chest. “I’m Anna.”
“Ann-Ah?”
Anna nodded and the women smiled and tapped her own chest before letting loose with a string of syllables that Anna couldn’t even begin to comprehend. “More slowly, please.”
The woman tried again, and this time Anna thought she picked up the first couple of syllables.
“Melia?” Melia nodded eagerly.
“How can I understand you? We’re not speaking the same language, are we?”
“Is ear talk.” She motio
ned to Anna’s right ear. Anna ran her finger over her ear but couldn’t feel anything different. Cautiously she probed deeper into her ear canal, recoiling in disgust as something warm and smooth pulsed against her finger tip. It felt more organic than technological and her skin crawled. She had to fight the instinct to pull the foreign matter from her body but the idea of being unable to understand anything was even more frightening.
“A translator?” She forced her voice to remain calm. At the other woman’s nod, she relaxed a little. Knowing that it was a machine was easier to handle and she pushed aside the memory of the warm pulsation. “But you seem to understand more of what I say. Why?”
Melia flipped a wrist. “Is cheap.”
“Great, I get the cheap translator,” Anna muttered. She knew she was avoiding the real question but was terrified about the answer.
“Melia, why are we here?”
The other woman turned partially away, dropping her head. “Are slave.”
Chapter Two
Even though Anna had been half expecting the answer, a wave of nausea swept through her and she gazed at Melia in shock. Of all the women on Earth, why would they have chosen her? She was reasonably pretty, especially with her recent vacation adding color to her pale skin and highlights to her shoulder length hair, but there was nothing special about her. Compared to Melia’s delicate, exotic beauty, her brown eyes and light brown hair seemed remarkably ordinary. Not to mention that her plump curves were a striking contrast to the other woman’s slim elegance. She couldn’t believe that anyone would have chosen her for intergalactic slavery. A giggle escaped her at the absurdity of the idea, but she heard the edge of hysteria behind it and bit her lip.
“But why are we here?” she repeated.
Anna and the Alien: A SciFi Alien Romance (Alien Abduction Book 1) Page 1
