Eden

With all the eyes on me, I couldn't help but blush in embarrassment. I'm sure I looked like absolute shit. Being in a room with Maddox made me nervous, but being in a room with at least 20 aliens made me terrified. They may have looked human, but their gazes told me they weren't.

Maddox dragged me over to a clear table and sat me down at the end. He then stalked off without a word, leaving me alone. It didn't help that I was on the side of the table facing all of them. There was nothing I could do to hide my fear but try to be fearless.

"What are you looking at!?" I tried to intimidate them. They only laughed, and some of them stood up. I was a dead man.

They approached me slowly with their trays of food. I was surprised to see that the food on it was human and not some alien mush like in the movies. They sat their trays down before sitting around me, jeering with one another.

"So you're the little human we've been hearing about," one of the men to my left said. "I've heard you're not as strong as we thought you to be. In fact, they've said you're weak."

"Well considering you know Jack shit about humans, you're probably wrong."

One of them raised his hand as if to smack me and I flinched heavily.

"Not so tough now are you?" Another said, shoving my shoulder.

"Please, don't touch me," I said, closing my eyes and trying not to remember things.

I felt a hand grab my chin and pull my face towards them, making my eyes fly open. The words "you're kinda pretty for a human" met my ears and I cringed.

"Let g–"

"Guys, leave her alone," Maddox's voice met my ears and I sighed in relief. The hand let go of my chin and then men cleared space for Maddox. He sat a tray of food in front of me and in front of himself before sitting down. He looked towards me like he wanted to ask me something but didn't.

I looked down at my food, trying to ignore the talk about me. They were commenting on everything I didn't want to hear; how scared I was, how small I looked, my breasts, and now my tears. I was crying? I quickly wiped the stray tears on my eyes away.

"Fuck off!" Maddox yelled, making me jump. I was surprised by the sudden action in my defense. "Not. Another. Word."

The men stopped to gawk at Maddox's sudden outburst, looking from me to him and back again. Eventually they resumed conversation, this time talking in their own alien language so I couldn't understand. I could tell by Maddox's expression that they had stopped though. That was the first kind thing he'd ever done for me, and it would probably be the only one.

"Did I use it right?" He asked me suddenly, making actual conversation.

"W-What?" I asked, trying to blink away my remaining tears. Was he actually talking to me?

"Did I use 'fuck you' right? I've been studying your language for two years, but some of it still confuses me. For example, what is a 'nae-nae'?"

I almost laughed. It was interesting enough that he would protect me from them, but now he was asking me about my language. It was almost like he was trying to understand me. But maybe I was just overanalyzing the situation. Oh how I wished I was with Amelia getting coffee right now. She would know exactly what was going on. She always did.

"Yes, you used it right. And a 'nae-nae' is a dance move, but it's terrible."

He smiled to himself and turned back towards his food, reminding me how hungry I was. I looked to my tray, deciding what I would eat first. There was a cup of apple sauce, a plate of meat balls, a plate of fries and a glass of water. I didn't want to eat like a pig, my parents–or well my parents maid–taught me to eat with poise, but I was terribly hungry.

Picking up the fork beside the plate I dug into the meatballs barely chewing one before moving onto another. I felt the stares on me before I saw them. Maddox was staring too.

"What? I'm hungry!" I yelled, rolling my eyes. I returned to my food, ignoring their stares and before I knew it, I had finished the apple sauce and all of my meat balls.  Now I only had my fries left. "Do you have any ketchup?" I asked.

"What's ketchup?" Maddox asked, gaining the attention of all the other soldiers.

"It's a sauce you put on French fries. How have you never heard of ketchup?"

Maddox shrugged and went back to his meal. I guess they didn't get out much. Returning to my meal, I finished my French fries, but my stomach was still demanding food after being empty for days. I was afraid to ask for more to eat. What if they don't let me eat for a long time again?

My gaze fell to Maddox's tray, which still had a plate of fries left untouched. I thought I might be able to sneak a few, but I could tell he had noticed my plan when he looked from me to the fries and back again. Then he did something surprising; he lifted the plate and set it on my tray, giving me all of his fries.

"To make up for not feeding you," he said.

The men around us seemed to notice the gesture and began laughing and talking to one another. I couldn't tell what they were saying, but suddenly Maddox's face got very red and he yelled at them, making me jump again.

Maddox suddenly gripped my arm, and dragged me from the table. I managed to grab a handful of fries before he pulled me away and out of the cafeteria.

"What was that for?" I asked after I had finished stuffing my mouth with my remaining fries.

Maddox only ignored me and dragged me on down the hall. Now that the smell of food was gone, the smell of my own gross body odor had returned. That, and I could still smell the blood in my hair and the blood on my shirt. I was sure that if I'd look in the mirror, I would look like a zombie.

"What did they say to you?" I asked. I could tell that was what had made him mad. But why did it upset him so much?

He stopped mid stride, making me bonk into him. He looked conflicted. But whatever had bothered him, seemed to be resolved. He said "nothing" and moved on.

He lead me to a new room. It was full of showers. Today really was my day, I got food and now a shower. I almost wanted to smile.

"You can take a shower. I'll bring you some clothes. You have five minutes."

"Okay," I said before rushing down the row of shower curtains until I made it to the last one. I wanted to be as far away from him as possible so I could shower in peace.

Stepping into the shower I closed the curtain and stripped down to nothing. Turning on the water, I walked into the downfall, not bothering to wait for warm water. I was too filthy to wait for that.

The water immediately began to wash away all the grime and blood from me. It wasn't fresh anymore, it had turned brown and now just looked like dirt. I turned around, allowing my hair to soak in the waterfall before pulling my hands through my hair. Getting out the knots must have taken forever, but once it was done my hair actually felt somewhat clean. I looked at my arms, my legs and my abdomen before determining I was clean enough to get out.

A single drop of blood fell into the floor of the shower stall, making me stop my exit. I pulled my hand to my nose to see if I had a nosebleed. I didn't. The blood was from somewhere else. I looked down again, seeing another drop of blood fall. I knew where it was from.

"Fuck."