Out Of This World

I woke up to the dank smell of damp wood. A clammy layer of condensation rested on my skin and I lifted an arm to whipe some off my forehead. I fluttered my eyes open and peeked out from beneath my eyelids. I appeared to be in a wooden crate; the only light came from severel holes punctured through the roof. I felt like an animal in captivity. Next to me, a figure was sprawled on it’s back and in the dim light, I could only just make out the steady rise and fall of it’s chest. I pulled myself over using my arms and shuffling with my legs; when I got a little closer, I knew it was Ben.

“Ben,” I whispered, my lips at his ear, “Ben, wake up.”

Artificial sleep- he didnt even stir. I rested my head on his collar bone, holding him to me and closing my eyes, listening to the soft, steady thud of his heartbeat. Except for the shh! of what I supposed were air vents, and a curious humming sound, outside the crate was silent. I lay there, matching my breathing with Ben’s, struggling to keep my mind blank, struggling to keep the vomit down and struggling to keep the tears back.

Suddenly there was a thud and then a clack and I heard footsteps treading towards us. There was another thud and I suspected it to be door closing. The feet paused and something rested over a few of the holes, making it even harder to see. I was tempted to reach up and poke it, find out exactly what it was, but fear kept me frozen and clinging onto Ben’s unconscious body. There was more noise,then more footsteps; a woman’s I was guessing, with them being light and clipped.

“Are they still unconscious?” she said, and my eyes widened in shock. The voice was not just familiar, but recognizable.

“I didn’t check,” said a man, drumming his fingers against our crate. His accent held a twang, typical of an American and his voice growled deep within his chest. He sounded to be in his late forties or early fifties.

“I’m not getting out in Nevada,” Ada said, “I’ve decided to take the next flight to Alaska.”

“Some where cold,” the man acknowledged.

“Yes, some where cold,” she confirmed.

Beneath my head, Ben’s breathing pattern changed. He sturred, inhaled sharply and opened his eyes. He lifted his head off the wooden floor. I quickly shifted upwards and made my presence known before placing a hand gently over his mouth. I felt his lips move beneath my palm and I shook my head furiously, bringing my other index finger to my lips and signalling for him to be quiet. He sighed, his shoulders relaxed and he brought his head back down. I took my hand off his mouth and we lay there, holding each other.

“Thankyou, Ada, for all your help,” the man said lowly. He didn’t sound very thankful. Next to me, I felt Ben stop breathing and his chest stiffened.

Ada made no response. There was the tone of the fasten seat belt sign being turned on and I heard the clack of her heels as she took leave. I heard the door open and close behind and the man drumming his fingers on the crate once more before he too left the room.

“Are you alright?” I was sure no one else was in the room, but I kept my volume at a whisper.

Ben nodded, “Yeah, are you?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Was that...?” he pointed a finger at the cieling.

“Mhm...” My nose began to prickle. I gasped and the tears began to flow, “Ben I should have said something earlier, I had thought about it for days but I was too scared and its all my-“

“Shh,” he said, pulling me into a hug, “Don’t talk like that.”

I whimpered against his chest and he strengthened his hold. The door opened and we both froze, holding our breath. I pulled away and my eyes widened as behind the heavy thud of footsteps came the sweeping sound of something being dragged. Quietly, we lay back down, seperating a little and keeping our clasped hands concealed beneath my thigh. We closed our eyes, and feigned sleep.

The dragging stopped and whoever it was outside began fiddling with what sounded like chains, keys and locks. The inside of my eyelids turned red as the crate was burst open and light seeped through. I kept my breathing level, fought to keep my eyelids from flickering at the sudden light. I heard hard breathing and the lid of the crate slam down on the outer wall as the figure stared down at us. Suddenly, a great weight was dropped down on my body and I bit down on my tongue to keep from yelling out. My breathing became gasps so I just held it to keep from making a noise. As soon as the crate was shut again and the door closed, I threw the weight off my stomach and gasped.

“Kim? Kim what’s wrong?”

“Winded,” I said, as my lungs began to fill again. Ben straightened my back as best he could in the confined space and rubbed my back.

“Better?”

“Yeah, thanks...what the fuck was that?” I turned and glared at the black shape next to me.

Ben poked it.

“I think it’s a human,” he said, crawling over me to get a better look. He felt around a bit before lifting it’s head to the light.

“Oh my God...” I breathed.

Ben looked at me, the same shock on his face before lowering the body down and laying it gently on the ground. I raised my brows at his humanity- I would’ve just dropped her.

“She’s alive,” he said, and I was glad to hear a touch of resentment in his tone.

“Goodie,” I sighed.

Ben chuckled softly and shuffled back over to my side. He sat behind me and put his arms around my torso, pulling my back so I was resting my head against his chest and he was leaning -bending his head to fit under the roof- against one of the walls.

“Are you scared?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah,” I admitted.

“Well don’t be. I’ll get you out of here Kimmy, I promise.”