"Doc," I said. My voice came out strained and hoarse. "I'm so happy to see you."

I was still lying on the floor. Above me, Doc's face flashed with shock, then smoothed into a more neutral, guarded expression. I heard the bed creak under his weight as he sat down, still leaning over me so I could see his face.

"I failed my mission. They got me," I choked. "Did they catch Shaun and Rosalie and...Kyle?" My voice faltered on his name. I'd avoided even thinking of it, much less saying it aloud.

"I'm not allowed to—"

"There's no way out this time, is there, Doc?" I whispered. "I felt unstoppable for a while. Did your son, Jason—did he tell you our secret?" The words were spilling from my mouth before I consciously thought them through. They blurred together, sounding slurred as they left my lips. "Kyle and I, we put everyone at risk. We came here and walked around in the middle of the city, in broad daylight. I—"

"Yes, the Federation—" He spat the word, as if he were angry at the government, but I didn't understand how that could be. They had given him his life back. "—informed me of the man who reported your presence in the Amour Nightclub. He was badly hurt; he had to be hospitalized."

"He was also a known criminal—true scum of the Earth." Doc's eyes were hard and distant, but they gradually softened. "He didn't hurt you, did he, Tess?" His gruff voice also became much gentler. "Kyle is...well, a good man, so I assume the beating was warranted."

Something about Doc's presence was sobering. The fog had not lifted, but it was momentarily easier to see through it.

"Kyle got there just in time, before anything could happen," I breathed. I relived the scene in my mind again, closing my eyes and watching the images flash behind my lids.

This time, I felt distant from the intense emotions that were usually inseparable from my memory of the experience: the fright and revulsion when the man's arm slithered and constricted around my waist like an anaconda, abject horror once he made his intentions clear, utter helplessness as I realized I was not strong enough to fight him off, and resignation to my fate when I believed no one would hear me scream—then pure, overwhelming relief when Kyle burst through the door. These feelings were still present, but I could observe them all from a distance, from some detached place in my mind.

For the first time since I initially noticed them, I recalled the other set of shoes in the room. Van was standing by the door with one foot casually propped against the wall. He didn't make a sound as Doc and I spoke.

Doc was also silent. His eyes were far away, lost in some abstraction.

Abruptly, he leaned down closer to me. "Kyle is safe," he murmured barely audibly, certainly out of Van's hearing range. Doc heaved a deep sigh. "Our dear government didn't keep their promises to me. I should have known..."

At his words, I lost much of my will to cling onto concentration and consciousness. There was nothing else I needed to hear from Doc.

"I can't let them suspect I'm becoming too sympathetic." He glanced over his shoulder at Van, then whispered, "This is only for show."

Doc unleashed a barrage of shouts at my face, seething with anger so convincing that it was difficult to believe it didn't stem from true emotion. I winced, though none of his words really registered, only the fury behind them.

Doc kept at it, but the fog quickly began to roll in and wash away my coherence. I allowed my eyes to drift shut. My body was limp—every muscle untensed. It felt as if I was about to melt into the floor.

I heard Van step forward. "I'd say she's too far gone, Doc. I need to take her in for the biopsy." His voice sounded strangely distant. Everything around me was becoming muddled and distorted in a manner reminiscent of being submerged underwater.

Van walked over and knelt by my side again. I felt the rigidness of his lean arms as he slid them underneath me. The pressure of the hard floor against my back disappeared and was quickly replaced by the forgiving softness of the bed. I closed my eyes for what felt like only a second.

When I opened them again, though I still found myself lying on the same bed, the backdrop was entirely different. I spotted several figures in blue medical scrubs darting around the new room, in constant motion, like worker ants. My eyes were drawn to the reflective shine of sharp metal instruments on the table beside me.

I heard hushed breathing and realized Van was sitting close by on my other side. It took all of my effort to turn my head toward him; my body didn't want to cooperate. When he finally looked down at me, his eyes widened. He seemed surprised I was awake.

"Hey, Tess," he breathed, leaning in even closer, blocking my view of much else. Vaguely, I thought this seemed intentional.

I felt something squeeze my hand, and I realized his fingers were laced with mine. "Everything will be okay." Van stared deeply into my eyes, and I stared back, losing myself in the blue ocean of his irises. I thought I could see the rippling of gentle waves in their depths.

"We're only doing this because we need to know what they did to you when they took you, and what their species wants from us." He sighed deeply. "I'm so sorry it has to be against your will, and I feel terribly guilty about being involved in this. But...it must be done."

I felt a pinch at the crook of my elbow, then the discomfort of an IV line being forced into my vein.

I began to sink into unconsciousness.

This felt distinctly different from normally falling asleep. Rather than drifting peacefully deeper and deeper, it was as if something had taken hold of my ankle and was forcefully dragging me under, into a dark, empty abyss.

___________

This is the twentieth chapter (which I think is the furthest I've ever come in writing a story).

Thanks so much for sticking with this! I truly hope you're enjoying it. Honestly, sometimes I still can't believe anyone wants to read my work.

I would have maybe entered the Wattys, but there's no way I could finish above the 50k word minimum in time (while maintaining any semblance of quality).

The word count is currently about 22500. I'd eventually like to reach at least 50k, or maybe up to 75k.

The earlier chapters are still unchanged from when I wrote them years ago. So this story actually functions as a sort of time capsule, documenting my writing growth from then to now and as I continue into the future. I'll probably rework those chapters after I finish the entire thing.

I'm also forming a clearer idea of where this story will go and its ending. I had a big epiphany about it while walking alone in the woods one night. lol

It should be an interesting ride.