Laurel
I didn't remember hitting my head, but I must have. It was the only thing that explained what had just happened. How I'd moved from rainy Glasgow to this, a brightly lit space with no rain, a ceiling, lots of creepy looking machines, metal coffins and, worst of all, two aliens. Bright blue aliens that only wore boots and black shorts.
My first reaction had been to scream, but as soon as the sound had echoed around the room, I'd stopped. Screaming wouldn't help. I was either in a coma or hallucinating, neither of which could be cured by screaming.
"It's okay," Michelle said gently and squeezed my shoulders again. "This wasn't the way you were supposed to find out, but yes, aliens are real and yes, we're on a spaceship. Any questions?"
I twisted my neck to look up at her. "Are you for real?"
"Aye. I know it's a shock and everyone reacts differently, but try to stay calm. As soon as they've treated your foot, I'll show you our introductory video and-"
"Stay calm?" I repeated dumbly. "Calm? I am calm. Totally calm."
She gave me a funny look. "Great. I just said that because you were screaming, which isn't exactly a sign of being calm."
She had me there. I rubbed my eyes, then looked back at the two blue men. Aliens.
I was almost a little disappointed in my brain's imaginary capabilities. Of all the aliens it could have dreamed up, this was a little lacklustre. There were no tentacles, no tails, not even horns. They were very humanoid, except for their blue skin and hair, and their size. They were huge. I wasn't a small woman, but I felt both short and slim in their presence. One of them smiled at me, exposing pink teeth with two of them lengthened into fangs, like a vampire. Alright, that was better. And maybe my hallucinating brain had kept the best thing for whatever they hid under those simple trousers. Maybe they did have tails after all, just hidden away. A girl could hope.
"They are called the Vikingar," Michelle explained carefully. "They're not here to hurt you or invade Earth or steal our women. Those are always the first three questions we get asked. They-"
"You wasting time," the bigger of the two growled, a heavy accent making him hard to understand. Oh my poor ovaries, how could he make his voice sound so deep and dark and sexy at once? He didn't look at me, keeping his arctic blue eyes fixed on Michelle instead. "She injured. Klav, fix her."
The other guy, his long navy hair braided into a ponytail, knelt by my side, ready to lift me from the floor. I prepared myself for more pain - not that pain mattered, it hadn't mattered ever since I'd started to feel like my body melted and our surroundings changed from rainy night to this.
"Stop!" the larger alien roared suddenly. “Not touch her!"
He pushed the other one aside before finally looking down at me. My heart skipped a beat when I gazed into his eyes. His expression was unreadable, as if he was holding back emotions he didn't want us to see. His dark hair fell loosely to his shoulders, while a shaggy beard graced his angular jaw. I dared to look at his chest for a moment, before forcing myself to focus on his face once again. I didn't want to drool. I'd accused my brain of being boring in its choice of aliens, but it had outdone itself in making this one utterly lickable. I hated objectifying him like that, but with those shiny muscles that seemed to have been oiled, it was hard as fuck.
"I carry her," he announced before kneeling by my side. A shiver ran down my back when I realised just how close he was now. I could reach out and touch him. His gaze was so intense that I had to look away from those beautiful arctic blue eyes before I did something I'd later regret. Even in a hallucination, I had manners.
“You in big pain?" he asked surprisingly gently.
"It's okay," I muttered, before realising something important. Should I be feeling pain while hallucinating? Could you feel pain while in a coma? Did the universally accepted trick of pinching oneself to find out if you were dreaming apply here? If it did, then I most definitely wasn't dreaming. The pain in my ankle was much stronger than any pinching could be.
"It over soon. The medpod fix you. I promise."
His voice was so intense, so full of earnestness, that yet another shudder crept down my back. I couldn't look up at him without being overwhelmed. He was too much. Too intense.
Before I could protest, he scooped me into his arms. He was careful not to touch my injured leg, but the movement itself was enough to make me wince in pain.
"I so sorry," he whispered. "This should not happened. I should been there. I should protected you."
"From the ground?" the other alien snickered behind us. He also had a foreign accent, but I couldn't place the origin. "This is not your fault, Rune. Stop sulking. Medpod 3."
He tightened his grip around me, pressing me against his chest - a cliff would have been jealous of how rock-hard his abs were - and carried me halfway across the room to one of the metal coffins. It was rounded at the ends, so maybe not quite a coffin, but it still didn't look inviting in the slightest.
"I'm not going in there," I protested.
"Yes, you are. It will treat injury and take away pain." His voice was firm but gentle. He didn't leave any doubt that I'd end up in that coffin, no matter whether I wanted it or not, but I also felt that he wasn't going to let me get hurt further. Those icy eyes couldn't lie. He was staring down at me, lost in thought, with still enough intensity to make me clench my thighs. I instantly regretted that when pain shot up my leg.
The coffin's lid slid open with a hiss and a puff of steam escaped. Something like red leather covered the inside walls. The perfect home for a corpse.
"I don't want to go in there," I insisted.
He lifted me higher, until the tips of his hair brushed my cheek.
"I do it for you if could," he whispered so quietly that I could barely understand him. "I do anything for you. I know this sound…crazy to you, but I explain it later. After you healed. Hush now. It over soon."
I stared up at him, speechless. He behaved as if he knew me. More than that. He wouldn't say that to an acquaintance, would he? This guy was crazy. Maybe he was confusing me with someone.
No, this wasn't real. This was all just a figment of my imagination. So I shouldn't read too much into it. Eventually, this would all fade and I'd be back on that muddy, rainy field outside of Glasgow. Or maybe I was in a hospital by now. There was no way to tell.
"It will only take few clicks, if injury small,” he reassured me before he carefully lowered me into the coffin. The red leather was soft against my wet clothes, but it instantly hardened around my injured ankle. I hissed in pain, tried to sit up, but the lid was already sliding shut. A small circular window gave me a view of the blue alien. His eyes were full of regret and guilt as he watched me. That didn't soothe me in the slightest. What was this machine going to do to me?
I slammed my hands against the lid.
"Let me out!"
The coffin swallowed my words. I doubted they could hear me outside.
"Michelle! Let me out!"
I couldn't see her through the tiny window. Only him. The blue alien with the sad eyes.
The coffin began to vibrate ever so slightly. At the same time, heat brushed against my body. My clothes, wet and sticking to my skin, dried within seconds. A deep rumble sounded from beneath me, followed by more vibrations around my injured foot. There wasn't space to sit up and see what was happening. All I could do was lie there and wait for it to be over.
After a few minutes, a new sensation stopped me from falling asleep. My foot was surrounded by icy water, wave upon wave of it crashing against my skin. I grit my teeth, trying not to scream out in pain. The alien had said this machine would take my pain away. Right now, I felt as if it wanted to torture me instead. Again, I pushed against the lid. The window was fogged over, but even through the mist I could make out the alien. He was still there, still watching me.
"You lied!" I shouted at him, even though I knew he couldn't hear me. "It hurts!"
His lips moved, but whatever he said was inaudible. The icy waves kept washing over my foot, but by now, the cold was numbing the ankle enough to take away some of the pain. Exhausted, I tried to relax back into the soft mattress. Warm air blew over my face, like a breeze on a sunny day. I forced myself to close my eyes. If I managed to fall asleep, it would all be over faster. I might even wake up in real life. Without aliens. Without metal coffins that turned my foot into an ice block.
But when I woke, the alien was still there. And he was furious.
"Your machine changed the colour of her hair!"