Altered Dimension

Every step he took struck pain through my body. Every sway that I did caused an ache in my stomach. For over an hour we walked. All in silence. I wasn’t about to strike up a conversation with the thing that killed my parents and also tried to kill me…twice. But the strangest thing about the whole ninety minute walk wasn’t the utter terror inside of me, it was the mere fact the he wouldn’t stop humming. He was humming different tunes in different pitches. He was just fucking humming, and even worse, it was calming to me. To the point I almost dozed off a few times. I couldn’t bring myself to close my eyes for more than a minute. I was afraid I might slip from his grasp and be left behind by him to become rabid dog meat.

Just when the pain in my stomach became almost unbearable, I felt him tighten his grip on my thigh. “Base. Your new home.” He proclaimed. I tried with the remaining strength I had to push myself up and peer over his shoulder. I caught a glimpse of it before falling to his back. The whole area was laced with black barbed wire, and the ten foot tall cement fence was topped off with the same decoratives. It reminded me of a prison. “You’re going to hate it here.” He muttered. I honestly didn’t care. It was a roof over my head and I was going to eat, sleep, bathe and be looked after. It sounded more like heaven to me.

When we crossed into the giant fence, an alarm sounded and the gates immediately closed behind us. I felt my heart skip a beat as the alarm kept growing. “They think you broke in. Our heat signatures picked you up and now a group will come out to investigate.” I was confused by this. Why would the heat signatures only pick me up and not him? I didn’t have time to ask because as soon as my thought ended the main door to the four-story base shot open and solider upon solider flooded out. Each carrying a different gun. One man even had a bazooka. I watched as Erik eyed the bazooka man.

“Is that really necessary…” He mumbled as he raised his hand to the men. They all stopped before us and lowered their weapons. The next thing I knew, Erik was speaking, but it wasn’t English. It wasn’t even words. It was similar Latin but I wasn’t completely sure, but it was beginning to concern me that I couldn’t understand what he was saying.

Within a few moments, Erik lowered his hand and the soldiers all nodded. They turned around in unison and started marching back into the base. I just sat there, stunned at what just unfolded before me. Mouth agape, I panted to try and catch my breath. I looked around frantically and tried collecting my thoughts. We began walking again and I bounced around trying to hold myself up. I needed to look at his face. I needed to see Erik. I needed to know if he was human. All the signs pointed to no, like the “human form” and the weird scene that just happened, but I needed to know for sure.

“Erik.” I panted out quietly. I wasn’t sure if he heard me or not.

“Hello.” He spoke. I closed my eyes and collected myself.

“What are you?” I asked frugally. I heard him chuckle slightly as we reached the giant metal doors that lead inside.

“I already told you. I’m your *savior*.” I felt him reach for the doors and I spat out my words as quickly as I could, fearing what may lie on the other side.

“No. I meant *what* not who.” He hesitated and froze himself. We stood there for a moment in utter silence and I started to regret my question. I wasn’t sure if it pissed him off or irritated him, but I was afraid of his reaction.

“That, my dear, is a story for another day.” He pulled the door open and brought me inside. “I don’t think you can handle that information right now. You need healing and time.” The more he spoke, the more and more confused I became.

He carried me through what I assumed to be the main headquarters of the base. There was a large circular table in the center of a round room. The table looked like blocks of black wood topped with crystal grey marble, and person upon person sat behind it, all on heavy duty laptops. Each person was in a military suit with medals lining their uniform, the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, and each person was wearing a Bluetooth headset. I couldn’t quite see what they were doing on the laptops but I could tell one person was playing Tetris…typical.

He shifted me on his shoulder and I yelped out in pain as we passed through clear sliding doors. I looked up through the glass as they closed behind us and saw that every single person in the headquarters was staring at me, begrudgingly. I quickly shot my gaze to the ground, remembering how Erik told me that they “don’t take kindly to my species,” whatever the hell that meant. But either way, it wasn’t good.

We were now walking down a long hallway with doors lining each side. I looked back at the sliding doors and was thankful to see that no one was staring at me anymore. I turned my attention to the doors and studied each of them as we passed by. They were all painted black and seemed to be made of wood. They had heavy duty locks on them and numbers painted in white across the center towards the top. Forty-seven, forty-nine, fifty-one, the numbers to my left were increasing in odds and the numbers on my right were increasing in evens.

We finally stopped in front of a door and I gazed up to see the number. Sixty-three. He reached out and pushed the door as a burst of cold air hit me. My body broke out in goose-bumps and I felt a shiver run through me. He walked me over to the large bed on the left of the room and gently placed me on it. “Welcome home.” He spoke. I quickly glanced around the room and took in my surroundings. It was a small room, clearly made for one or two people. The walls were made of a dark wood and glistened in the light of the sun. The carpet and comforter of the bed were black. There was a fan overhead in the middle of the room and it was spinning on the lowest setting. A single window was centered in the back of the room. I looked up to it and saw the sun dancing between the clouds. I glanced back at the room and noticed a door across from me, to the right of the main door. It was open and I could see that the white tiles on the wall meant it was a bathroom. On the opposite wall there was a large flat screen TV and a desk with a laptop on it. The spinning chair caught my attention as Erik sat down in it. He began spinning as he stared up to the ceiling. He let his arms and legs drift out as he leaned his head back. I looked to the TV and noticed he had an Xbox hooked up…an Xbox. Why am I not surprised. Even in this time of death and destruction, a man cannot go without his video games. And finally, seated perfectly in front of the TV, was a crimson red bean-bag chair.

“Are you hungry?” He spoke, startling me from my thoughts. I was too overwhelmed to answer and just spat words out.

“Fried taco pizzas.” He blinked for a moment and stared at me slightly confused.

“Uh… I’ll take that as a yes then.” He stood up and made his way to the main door. “For your own safety, stay here. Don’t let anyone in besides me. I’m heading down to the mess hall and will pick you up some food. I will knock three times.” And just like that, he left. I had no idea when he’d be returning but I hoped it was soon since he was only going to get food.

I decided to lean back and make myself comfortable while I waited. I tucked my arms behind my head on the pillow and crossed my legs, feeling the pain skip through them. I focused my attention to the fan and listened to the constant hum it produced. I couldn’t believe the twists and turns that have happened in my life right now. I went from losing everything I have ever known and loved, to facing death head on, and winning, to being saved by something that is not human, to now being cared for to my hearts desire. I still have no idea what to do. I guess I’m just going to wait for my food. Military food. I hope it’s not MRE’s.