Elena

There’s no reason that I should enjoy this as much as I do. Sneaking around, trying to get the whole story, this is the fun part of being a journalist. Uncovering the lies and exposing them, that’s why I do what I do.

I slip my camera out of the pocket of my cloak, pulling it tight around me. It’s freezing down here and I can’t see anything. I turn on the light feature and illuminate the metal steps that are leading me down into a tunnel below. Bane follows behind me and once he closes the door above us, there’s a change in the air. It feels like we’re trapped in a musty cave. But as I shine the light around us, this certainly isn’t a dirt filled cave. Instead, it has metal stairs that lead down to a corridor which has some sort of material covering the walls and ground.

Bane stands next to me and as soon as we start walking down the corridor, a light flicks on above us. We both freeze in place and look around, wondering if we’ve already been caught. But there are no sounds and no sign of anyone else.

“Motion sensor?” I ask Bane.

He nods.

We slowly start moving again. When we’ve gone a few more feet, another light flicks on once we have passed underneath it. It must be motion sensors. The creepiest thing about it though, is once we’ve moved down the corridor, the lights behind us eventually turn off. It’s almost like we’re walking in a spot light. I can picture someone sitting at a desk in a small room watching us on a monitor right now. The thought of it gives me the chills. I’d hate to have to stay down here for an extended period of time.

Eventually the end of the tunnel comes into view. There’s a solid metal door blocking our path, but thankfully, no guards.

“So this tunnel led us underground from the warehouse to the main building?” I ask. I have a horrible sense of direction.

Bane nods. He studies the door before taking the handle and pulling. To my complete and utter amazement, the door opens.

“That’s strange,” I tell him. I know he feels it too. He’s very cautious about opening the door and inspecting the area before just walking through. He leans his head through the doorway, looking around while I wait right outside the door. Soon, he peeks back out and motions for me to follow him inside.

What I see before me doesn’t match the outside of the building. We are standing in a very sophisticated looking lab. And like the rest of the building, there’s no sign of anyone.

“Where is everyone?” I ask. There’s a feeling in my stomach that I can’t shake. Something about this is off. We slowly walk through the room, taking in everything that we see. There is a huge tank-like container that takes up one entire wall with numerous tubes inside that stretch all the way to the ceiling. Aside from a liquid inside of the tank, it’s also empty.

“I don’t know,” Bane says quietly. “I didn’t expect this.” We’re both standing in the middle of the empty lab. There are work stations set up around the room with tools and equipment stacked all over the place. Computers sit on the counters but their screens are black, unplugged.

“I’d say we either missed the party, or they’re moving their operation somewhere else.” I walk around the room and start taking pictures of everything. The tank, the equipment, the work stations, everything. It’s impossible to know what all is relevant right now. One of the things I’ve noticed since being on Kosmora is the lack of paper. No one uses paper for anything here. Everything is done on the computers. Information is transferred from computer to computer or device to device but there are no incriminating paper trails to come across. They don’t exist.

I’m busy taking pictures when Bane says, “Elena, look.” I walk over to where he’s standing, in front of another door. “This one’s locked, and I don’t see how we could get through. It has the fingerprint panel. My guess is that whatever was happening down here is finished and now they’re moving on to something else. Whatever is in there.” He points to the door and I’m already nodding in agreement.

“Isn’t there a way to hot wire it or something? Override the system?”

He looks at me strangely and it’s in these moments that I remember we are from two different planets, literally. I feel so close to him lately that it’s easy to forget our circumstances. It’s easy not to think about the fact that eventually, I have to go home.

“No, not without setting off alarms and drawing a lot of unwanted attention to ourselves. If anyone is here, they’ll be in there.”

I’m disappointed to say the least. We made it this far and my story feels incomplete without knowing the specific details of their plans. “We should go,” Bane says, putting his hand on the small of my back. Hesitantly, I let him lead me back through the lab and out into the tunnel where we came in. I have the proof on the files that our diplomats have agreed to have women from Earth be used as breeders. It would bring everything together if I had the pictures of the actual facility to share as well. But, for now, I believe what I have is enough to cause a disruption in their plans.

Hours later I’m lying awake, listening to the breeze blow through the window next to the bed. Bane lies sleeping next to me, his body rising and falling with a hypnotic rhythm. I should be exhausted, especially from the numerous orgasms I had to help me along to sleep. Sex is the best kind of bedtime story.

I can’t convince my mind to shut off and let me sleep. Everything about today was wrong, and I can’t stop thinking about it. I mean, a completely deserted research facility, no one in sight to guard all of their expensive equipment as well as their secrets. We walked right in the door and saw things that gave us just a glimpse of what had been going on. No real evidence of wrong doing. Nothing is ever that easy.

A brisk breeze rustles the curtains, carrying frigid air over to the bed. I quietly slip out and wrap myself in an extra blanket, covering the goosebumps on my skin. I pull out my camera and plug it into my device so I can take another look at all of the pictures from today. One by one they load and flash on the screen, evidence of being in that room but not much beyond that.

I’m sitting on the floor of the room studying each picture when I notice a light flick on somewhere on the floor. All of our clothes were dropped and tossed on the floor as we undressed each other and made love like our lives depended on it. I grab the light and pull, only to realize it’s coming from Bane’s pants pocket.

I reach inside and pull it out, surprised to see some sort of small electronic device. It isn’t like anything I’ve seen before. The screen lights up, illuminating a line of Outrathi symbols on the screen. My heart starts beating faster. According to Bane, he isn’t in contact with anyone, so who could possibly be sending this message?

My camera is already on my lap so I grab it and snap a quick picture of the screen. I can’t figure out what these symbols mean on my own, so I copy the photo to my device so I can utilize the translating software. It doesn’t take long before the words sit in English on my screen. At first I sit, confused.

“Time is gone” is the literal translation.

I let that phrase roll around in my head for a little bit, trying to figure out what it could mean. Before it comes to me, I hear Bane move around the bed behind me. I slide the small device back into his pocket so he doesn’t know I was snooping and toss it onto the clothes pile. Seconds later, Bane says, “Elena, are you alright?”

I look back to see him propping himself up on his elbow, looking down at the floor where I’m currently sitting.

“Yes,” I say, quietly. “I was just looking at the pictures from today.” I get up and climb back into the bed.

He already settles back down, his breathing calm and relaxing. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to get rid of the sinking feeling inside of me. Bane is the only one I’ve trusted since this whole ordeal began. Now I’m starting to think that I shouldn’t have been so trusting. This is my life, my career…my everything.

But, if I can’t trust him, then I’m on my own. And as I lay here willing my mind to turn off and let me get some much-needed sleep, I don’t know where that leaves me.

Time passes and eventually I relax enough that sleep is within reach. It’s possible that I’ve even dozed off when somehow it comes to me. The saying in English is “Time is up.”