The city lights were a smear against the dark sky. Sarah walked. Streetlamps cast yellow pools on the wet pavement. Each step was a quiet splash. Home wasn't far. She pulled her coat tighter. The late autumn air bit at her cheeks. Her dark hair, long and thick, whipped around her face with a gust of wind. She tucked it behind her ear, her green eyes scanning the empty street. She was alone. It was late.
Sarah was soft. Her body had curves. Full breasts pressed against the fabric of her sweater. Her hips were wide, swaying gently with her stride. She never thought much about it. It was just her body. Warm. Alive. Now, in the sudden chill of the empty street, she felt a prickle of awareness, a vulnerability she usually ignored.
A light. Blinding. White. It swallowed the street, the buildings, everything. Sarah stopped. Her hand flew up to shield her eyes. A sound. High. Piercing. It drilled into her ears, into her skull. She squeezed her eyes shut. Pain. Her body went stiff. She couldn't move. Not a muscle. Paralysis. Cold. It spread through her limbs like ice. Terror. Sharp. Pure. Then, nothing. Darkness took her. A vast, empty black.
She woke to warmth. Not a comfortable warmth. A damp, clinging heat. Sarah lay on her side. Her cheek pressed against something soft. Yielding. She was naked. Her skin felt clammy. The air was thick. Humid. It filled her lungs with a strange smell. Musky. Sweet. Sickeningly sweet. Her eyes fluttered open. Dim light. Amber. It pulsed. Slow. Like a heartbeat. The light came from the walls. They were close. Too close. Curved. They looked wet. Slick. Organic. Panic, cold and sharp, stabbed through her groggy mind. Where was she? She pushed herself up. Her limbs ached. Her head throbbed. The floor beneath her hands was the same as the walls. Soft. Warm. Like flesh. It was a room. Small. A cell. No doors. No windows. The walls pulsed with that dim, amber light.
She could see faint veins, like a network under skin, glowing faintly within them. Fear choked her. She scrambled to her feet, her bare skin sticky against the strange surface. Her heart hammered. A wild bird trapped in her ribs. “Hello?” Her voice was a dry croak. It sounded tiny in the oppressive silence. Only the soft, wet sigh of the pulsing walls answered. She touched a wall. It was warm. Resilient. It gave slightly under her fingers. Like living tissue. A living prison. Tears welled in her eyes. Hot. Stinging. She had to get out. She pushed against the wall. Harder. It didn't budge. She ran her hands along its seamless surface, desperate for a crack, a line, anything. Nothing. Trapped. Her breath came in ragged gasps. The thick, sweet air was suffocating. Her body. Exposed.
Her full breasts, her wide hips, the dark triangle of hair between her legs. She felt a sudden, sharp awareness of her own nakedness, her vulnerability. The curves aliens might value. The thought hit her with the force of a blow. Aliens. The word echoed in the silent, pulsing chamber. What did they want? A soft sound. A wet, tearing sound. Like fabric ripping slowly. Sarah froze. Her head snapped towards the noise. One section of the wall shimmered. It rippled. Then it split open. An iris. A perfect, dark circle opening in the living flesh of the hive. It wasn't a door. It was an opening. A sphincter. A shape filled the opening. Tall. Slender. It stepped into the chamber. Sarah’s breath caught in her throat. A silent scream built inside her chest. The creature was grey. A pale, smooth grey. Like polished stone, but it moved with a horrifying fluidity. Its limbs were long, powerful. Each movement was precise. Silent. It had no face.
Where a face should be, there was only a smooth, featureless expanse of grey skin. The head tilted slightly as it looked at her. Or, where she assumed it looked at her. There were no eyes. No nose. No mouth. Just smooth, unbroken alien flesh. Sarah couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic drum against the sudden, absolute silence. Terror, raw and primal, flooded her. This was it. This was why she was here. The drone advanced. One slow, deliberate step. Then another. Its presence filled the small chamber. Cold. Purposeful. No words. No sounds from the creature. But a thought slammed into her mind. Not her own thought. An understanding. Cold. Clear. Chilling. Prey. Vessel. The drone’s purpose was clear. Utterly, terrifyingly clear.
It emanated from the creature like a foul stench, an undeniable pressure in the humid air. It was here for her body. The horror, a tiny seed of dread moments before, bloomed. It spread through her veins like ice, roots of terror taking hold deep in her belly, in her womb. This was not a nightmare. This was real. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Only a choked gasp. The drone was closer now. Towering over her. Its featureless head tilted again, a slow, appraising movement. And Sarah knew. Her life was over. Something far worse was about to begin.
