Hello everyone! Thank you so much to those who waited eagerly for another chapter. I apologize for the wait. I'm going to be pushing myself to write again as much as I can before the school year starts. I'm starting my first year of college. Woohoo! If I can, I'd like to try to finish this story before my classes start, but we'll see how my summer goes. I'm going to aim to make a total of about 20 chapters. I have updated the first few chapters to fix spelling errors and a few storyline details, nothing major though. My next update should be out within the week. Happy reading!

Eden

"Fucking hell," I said exasperated. Of all the things to happen to me today, it had to be getting my period. Why does the world hate me so much?

I quickly grabbed some toilet paper to wipe the blood dripping down my leg. My flow was somewhat heavy so stuffing toilet paper in my underwear wouldn't cut it for long.

Getting dressed as quickly as possible using the clothes Maddox left near the shower, I debated what to do. I didn't want to risk bleeding through the first fresh pair of clothes I've gotten here, but asking Maddox for some pads and tampons didn't sound like the greatest idea either.

"Toilet paper it is," I sighed, heavily wrapping toilet paper around my underwear. I would have to pray this would last until I would be allowed to go to the bathroom again.

Maddox entered the bathroom, hand on his gun again. He looked pleased to see me clean, but also somewhat annoyed that he had to wait for me.

"Let's go," he said, coming to guide me. "Wait- why do you still smell like blood? I thought you showered."

I could feel my face heat up in embarrassment. Ugh, I knew this was coming.

"Um, I got my period."

"You got your what?"

Of course he didn't know what a period was. For a species that seems to think they are superior to humans, they didn't bother to learn enough about their enemy.

"My menstrual cycle. Most individuals assigned female at birth get it every month. It's when the lining in our uterus sheds and... uh... comes out."

"Your Uterus?" Maddox looked lost.

"Yes, the uterus is what holds the baby if we get pregnant. Do females of your species not have a menstrual cycle?"

"They do but it is very different. Do you, uh, do you need something for your... uh... period?"

"Yes, that would be ideal," I said. Now you were getting somewhere! "Typically we use pads or tampons. Do you have any of those here?"

"No, I don't think so, but I can check."

"Jesus Christ, for a bunch of superior aliens you guys are dip shits! You literally kidnapped a woman and you don't know the first thing about-"

I was cut off with a slap to the face. Did he just slap me? I tried to control my anger, but I knew I always got overly emotional on my period, especially angry.

"Did you just fucking slap me? I am on my period and you'll do well to quell my rage before I go donkey Kong on your ass."

Maddox actually looked a little shocked at my language and behavior. I honestly couldn't believe I just said that to an alien, but I tried hard to conceal my astonishment with myself. He must have expected me to cry. Little did he know I can be a bitch on my period.

"Can you get me some pads or tampons now please?"

"Yeah, let's go."

We finally left the bathroom. Maddox guided me down the hallways of the compound to the lab. Going there made me a bit nervous. What if he wanted to continue testing poisons on me and Maddox agreed?

"Do we have any... uh... what are they called again?" He looked towards me for help.

I rolled my eyes and answered, "pads or tampons. I got my period."

"Ahhh the female menstrual cycle, how fascinating! I'll need to take a sample!"

"The hell you are! You are not going to touch me down there. At all. If you even try, I will not hesitate to bite off your fucking fingers."

"You can... you can bite down there?" The doctor asked, astonished.

"You bet," I lied, trying to keep my face believable. There was no way in hell I was going to let another alien, or anyone for that matter try to touch me down there again without my consent.

"Just get her these things she needs," Maddox ordered. The psycho doctor quickly ran off and returned with an armful of menstrual products.

"Thanks," I said, grabbing them all. Who knows when I'd get a chance to access more. "Now I need a bathroom."

"You can't just do it right here?" Maddox asked, confused.

"I'm not getting naked in front of you."

I could swear I saw Maddox's face get a bit red. He led me to the bathroom in the lab where I quickly removed the toilet paper and replaced it with a pad. I wasn't sure when I'd be allowed to change it so I didn't want to risk using a tampon.

I washed my hands and quickly left the bathroom before Maddox would get more angry with me. He then led me back to, surprise, my cell. I rolled my eyes.

"So how long do you guys plan to keep me here?"

Maddox returned to his post as guard by the door and ignored me.

"Hellooo?"

"You'll be here as long as we need you."

"And how long will that be? Am I gonna be here until I'm 80? Because if so, I might as well provoke you until you shoot me."

"I don't know how long you'll be here. Now stop asking questions or I will shoot you."

"Oh my, the horror!" I rolled onto the floor and tried to lay my head on my arm. The ground was cold and damp. Surprisingly someone had come and gotten rid of the blood.

Closing my eyes, I tried to get some sleep. I had almost fallen asleep when I felt something touching my leg. I quickly opened my eyes and looked towards my leg. It was a giant spider, at least half the size of my hand.

"Ew! Get it off! Get it off!" I shrieked, shaking my leg vigorously. Thankfully it flew off my leg and into the corner of my sell where I smacked it with my shoe.

With all my commotion, Maddox had drawn his gun from his holster and was holding it in firing position. He was now watching me, gun still drawn.

"What was that?"

"A spider was on my leg," I admitted.

"A spider? You mean those small crawly things that you humans irrationally fear?"

"Oh shut up. Some of them are actually poisonous and I'm sure you had some similar on your planet that you feared."

"My planet no longer exists."

Maddox had turned around and gone back to his post. I had no idea what to say, but I started with, "I'm sorry about your planet, but that doesn't mean that it's right to go to someone else's and kidnap people. How would you feel if we came to your planet and kidnapped someone from your family?"

"My... my family is dead."

Holy cow. I mean, I felt bad, but what was it with this man and his traumatic responses.

"Listen, I'm really sorry about your family. I'm sure they meant a lot to you, but you're missing my point. What you're doing is wrong! Just like you miss your family, I miss mine!"

Maddox turned now, his was a mix of sadness and anger. As usual his hand rested on his gun.

"You can't even begin to understand what it's like. My entire home-world is gone. My parents, gone. My sister, gone. And you miss your family, so what? It doesn't seem like they ever gave a shit about you."

It felt like someone had slapped me. So he knew more about me than I thought he did. All for the mission, I guess.

"I'm sorry, that was mean–"

"It's fine, thanks for the reminder that I've never mattered to anyone."

I turned back around and laid down, making sure not to rub my eyes too much so it was noticeable I was crying. What I said wasn't entirely true though, I hoped I mattered to my family even if it didn't always feel like it. And I know I mattered to Amelia, at least, I thought I did. I wonder how they are all dealing with this. Was my disappearance on the news? Was my missing persons case being broadcasted everywhere?