Maddox

"You wanted to see me General?"

"Yes. Maddox, I wanted to tell you that we'll be keeping the girl somewhat longer than expected, so I'll need you to continue your duties as her guard and escort."

"Yes, general sir. I won't let you down. Can I ask what you have planned for her, why you want to keep her longer?"

"We're getting the media coverage we'd hoped for, however many of the Oevolo's from homeship have discovered members of our ranks and are slowly rooting us out. So I thought why not lay low for a while, and let Zarkov continue his experiments."

"I'm not sure letting Zarkov continue his experiments is best for the mission. He would have killed her the first day she got here had she not corrected his understanding of their species."

"Well, he learned something from it, didn't he? I suggest you just leave the decision making up to me, Maddox. You are dismissed."

"Yes, General," I said, turning to leave. I however couldn't keep myself from stopping at the doorway. "General, there is one more thing I wanted to ask. What are you going to do with her when the mission is over?"

"She'll be disposed of."

I swallowed the mysterious lump that had formed in my throat and left. After all of their experiments they would just kill her? They wouldn't even send her back come to her family?

Walking back down the hallway I picked up the Oevolo chatter from the cafeteria. They were talking about Eden as usual, but this time instead of their usual disgusting topics they were talking about something she'd done.

"I can't believe she stabbed Julius with a fork!" Someone said in Oevolan.

"I know right, and in his neck!"

I had to slow my pace down to allow myself to laugh. It wasn't anything Julius didn't deserve. He was a complete asshole, as the humans said.

Part of me wanted to tell her that what she'd done was incredibly brave, but as I entered the cafeteria I could see her scared, tear stained face and hear her rapid heart. Maybe now wasn't the best time, especially in front of all of the other recruits. What would they think if I took her side?

Eden

After Maddox and I had finished eating, he escorted me back to my cell. However, he didn't move back to his post as guard and instead continued watching me.

"What?" I asked.

"I heard what you did in the cafeteria."

I could feel my face flush and hear my heart beat in my ears again. Oh no, I knew he heard. Maybe he was just waiting until we were back here to punish me.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen ag–"

"I'm not," Maddox interrupted, a surprising smile playing on his face. "He had it coming."

I was somewhat surprised he was defending my actions instead of Julius's, but then again it was Maddox who had shot him in his leg after he– he...

"So I'm not in trouble?" I asked, hopeful.

"No, you're not in trouble."

I sighed in relief and slouched against the wall. I tried to slow my breathing and calm myself down. It would be okay for now. Now I just had to survive my period cramps.

Seeing that Maddox and I were now on... nicer terms, I wanted to ask him for at least a blanket and some pain medication.

"Is there any chance I can have a blanket and maybe some pain medication. I have really bad cramps."

"Cramps?" Maddox asked, turning around to face me again.

"Yeah when my uterus sheds itself, it really fucking hurts."

"I'll see if Doctor Zarkov has anything," Maddox said, leaving me in the company of another guard. Thankfully it wasn't Julius.

After a while of waiting, and a while of worsening cramps, I laid down on the floor in the fetal position. I was so used to taking painkillers for granted, I'd forgotten how bad my cramps were.

To quell my boredom I traced the tiles on the stone floor and hummed to myself, "say it ain't so, I will not go, turn the lights off, carry me home... na na na na na na..."

Maddox finally returned and relieved the other guard of his position. In his arms he was carrying a rolled up, thin, cot-like mattress; a blanket; a water bottle; and a bottle of painkillers. He handed me everything through the bars of the cell.

I put the mattress and blanket on the floor before taking some pain meds. I prayed they would worked quickly, and stashed the rest in with my other supplies in the corner of my cell.

The mattress was old and somewhat uncomfortable for a mattress but it was better than the stone floor. I laid down and tried to contemplate my options. I could talk to Maddox or I could lay here silently. On one hand, I wanted to know more about him, but on the other, I was unsure how much patience he had.

"So..." I started. "How'd you get a name like Maddox?"

I tried to stare at the ceiling instead of at him, hoping it would convince him to turn around and engage in the conversation. I noticed he made very little eye contact with me, and when he did look at me he avoided my eyes.

"My mother chose my name," he said, only turning around slightly.

"My mom picked my name too. She decided on it when she was going through her whole crazy religious phase. She used to call me her garden of Eden."

"What's the Garden of Eden?" Maddox asked, more interested in the conversation now.

"Oh, well in the Bible, which is this book certain religious denominations believe is the word of God, there's a garden called Eden. They believe that in the Garden of Eden God put the first man and woman ever to exist. They didn't live there for long though because like most people, they took what they had for granted."

"And do all your people believe in this story?"

"No, only some do. Earth has a lot of religions. Some people follow one god, some follow many, and some follow none. That's the beauty of the freedom of choice. People can choose what makes the happy."

"It was similar on my planet, but most of us believed in many gods, each responsible for different things. Do you believe in these gods or god?"

"Well, in a way, yes, but I'm not religious. I do believe that there is a higher power or consciousness in the universe, but I think that my time on earth shouldn't be spent trying to understand a power we'll never know or truly understand, and should instead be spent making ourselves and others happy."

"And leaving this place, that would make you happy?" Maddox asked, watching me now.

I turned towards him a bit to fast, clearly showing my eagerness at his question. He was facing me somewhat more now, but his eyes were on the floor.

"Yes, that would make me happy. What... what would make you happy?"

Maddox did not look at me, but instead turned around and faced the hall.

"It's getting late, you should get some sleep," was the only response I got from him. I wanted to ask him more questions, but I could tell he was finished answering. His question had surprised me and made me hopeful, but maybe my hope was just false and he had no intentions of letting me go.

And if no one was ever going to let me leave, I was going to have to plan my own escape. I looked towards the gun on Maddox's belt and my brain started turning.