Mom needs to have her own Broadway show, Paige concluded right before she remembered those no longer existed. Even with that sad thought, Paige found her mother’s act entertaining, and the soldiers bought it.
“I didn’t spend millions on this trip so my family would be interrogated by random staff!” she continued to rant.
If Paige didn’t know better, she’d probably think Angela was a very rich lady. She acted like the one on the Genesis who demanded special treatment.
And that was clearly the point.
If they managed to distract the soldiers by making a scene, maybe they would stop asking questions. Wanting to do her part, Paige raised her chin and adopted a bored expression, acting as if she, too, was fed up with the current situation.
It worked.
The soldiers were completely taken aback by Angela's angry demands.
Angela quickly flashed her Elite 20 card, making sure the soldiers wouldn’t have a chance to take a proper look at it.
Nice one, Mom! Paige cheered.
Angela stormed out of the Viper and on board the mothership. AJ and Paige quickly followed behind her and away from the confused soldiers.
Paige glanced back at them, unable to help herself. The men conversed amongst themselves as Chesters still spoke to someone through his com device. She imagined he spoke to the real people in charge.
Paige couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing. He didn't look well.
Paige felt a little sorry for them, but better them than her.
The three of them walked across the docking area as fast as they could, hoping the soldiers they left behind on the Viper wouldn’t come running to question them again. Still, Paige couldn't stay worried about them for too long. The sight in front of Paige instantly fascinated her.
The mothership she’d heard so much about surpassed her wildest dreams. She felt eager to explore every inch of it.
Their current location on the dock was enormous, and the walls around them were made of something glass-like. Paige could see the Viper and the space surrounding them clearly. The contrast between the brightness of the mothership and the darkness of space was eerie but mesmerizing, nevertheless.
Paige had somewhat acclimated to the view as she constantly looked through the window of the ship. She had almost 360 degrees of the view. It was impressive and terrifying at the same time.
Luckily, the soldiers didn’t follow Paige, Angela, and AJ, but as they left the docking area, they were stopped by more soldiers.
These guys hadn’t witnessed Angela’s little tantrum back there in the Viper.
Here we go again, Paige thought, ready to play a spoiled little brat. She knew she was a terrible liar, but she hoped if she channeled some of the girls she met at the college, she would be just fine.
“What color are you assigned to?” one of the soldiers, Wraith, asked without preamble. He looked much older than the rest of them with a bushy mustache and thin lips. He looked as if he pressed them together constantly.
Paige looked at Angela, curious to see what she’d come up next.
To her disappointment, she stayed silent for a few seconds, and the soldier answered for her.
Figures, Paige thought when looking at his name tag again. She felt like snorting. He looked like a wraith for sure.
“You’re just stowaways. We knew it from the beginning.”
Great, Paige thought in exasperation.
Once again, someone had called them that horrible name. Paige had hoped since they left the Genesis, it was the last time it would be mentioned but no. No such luck.
“The captain of the Genesis already contacted us,” he added.
They were still stowaways, even though they were on a different spacecraft. By the looks of the soldiers in front of them, Paige was certain they would be treated like they had been on Genesis. That instantly pissed her off because it wasn’t fair.
It saddened her as well. People were so divided while living on Earth, and it was a shame nothing had changed in space.
Maybe if they were more united in the first place the aliens wouldn't have been to defeat them so easily.
Apparently, we learned nothing, she thought.
Angela didn’t say anything to respond to Wraith’s accusations. Paige couldn’t say if she remained silent because she ran out of ideas or because the guard’s words surprised her.
On the other hand, they should have known. Of course, Captain Zoya would rat them out the second she learned they were still alive.
How could she do that to us? Paige wondered, even though the answer was clear as day. She already threw them to the wolves once. Of course, she would do it again.
“So, what does that mean?” AJ stepped up and asked the question that was on everyone's mind.
What now? What would happen to them?
Will they ask us to leave? Paige couldn't help but stress about all those things.
“You can stay, but conditionally,” the soldier replied.
Conditionally? What does that mean?
“Your color is green,” another soldier informed them. He carried three plastic zip bags containing green items inside. Paige assumed they must be their new uniforms. “Here, take these,” he continued.
“You must be decontaminated first. Afterward, you can move to your assigned locations and be put to work.”
Bingo, Paige thought. She knew there would be a catch, not that she minded too much. She would rather do something while on the ship than allow her mind to wander.
Wait, did he say decontaminated? That made her grimace.
Paige didn’t like the idea of decontamination. Truth be told, she didn’t fully understand what it meant, but she didn’t like the sound of it.
Even with their rules and gifts of new assigned uniforms, the soldiers didn’t seem to be forceful. They seemed more annoyed about the extra work.
If they acted like this for the three of them, they would be extra pleased when Genesis finally cleared for docking.
“Can’t we skip that part?” Paige gently asked the soldier standing closest to her. “I mean the decontamination part…”
If looks could kill, Paige would have been dead as a door-nail.
Before the zombie/alien invasion, Paige would have felt the need to take a step back, but not anymore. She continued to look him straight in the eyes as if she wasn't impressed by his cold stare. Truth be told, she wasn't. She’d seen a lot worse and still stood tall.
That filled her with a certain amount of pride. She might be a stowaway, but she and her friends were survivors also.
“What are you talking about, stowaway?” he snapped, getting red in the face. “You must pass the whole process, and don’t even think it’s a pleasure for us. We’d be better off in our common room, having a cup of coffee instead of having to work for the likes of you!”
Again, Paige refused to get intimidated or hurt by what he said.
She murmured an ‘excuse me,’ with a little attitude, even though she didn’t want to provoke him further. Yes, she wasn't scared, but she wasn't stupid either.
Even though AJ and Paige could handle being shot by their bullets, Angela couldn’t. So, it would be dangerous to get into any conflict with them.
Fortunately, the soldier in question simply scowled at her. She could live with that.
“This way,” Wraith said, his voice hoarse as if he just awoke. Paige hoped he wasn’t woken up because of their arrival.
The soldiers led the small group through a narrow corridor and came to a halt in front of the doors. Two on each side of the passage.
“Get inside,” the soldier said and waited back until they did as they were told.
The stowaways each chose randomly, and as Paige closed the door, she heard footsteps moving away.
The soldiers left, Paige realized. That instantly relaxed her into a slower, calmer breathing pattern. She didn't feel threatened by them exactly but having an armed escort made her feel unwelcome.
/> Just a bit, she thought sarcastically.
The first thing she did was try the door, but there was no handle on the inside, it was all automatic. So, if someone from the other side wanted her there, she was screwed.
“Great,” she murmured, not liking the idea of being kept in a small, locked place.
Seeing no other way out, she started to look around. In the small room, there was a metallic bench and a few cubicles made with opaque glass.
Suddenly, a voice startled her as it came from the speakers in the corners of the room.
“Put your uniform on the bench, then strip and throw your clothes into the wastebasket in the corner. Then move to the shower,” the voice commanded. It was more than obvious that insubordination wasn't an option.
I guess I have no choice, Paige thought to herself as she put her green uniform on the bench and began to undress. Afterward, she entered one of the cubicles to shower.
She'd worn the same clothes for such a long time, it was kind of liberating and nice to have them off. Her terrible scent and filthy hair hadn’t escaped her either. She was a complete mess.
It would be a miracle if she didn't find some zombie remnants in her hair somewhere.
Gross. She shuddered from that thought.
As she stepped into the cubicle, the glass door closed on its own, and Paige had a hard time not thinking back to the time when she was trapped in a pod on an alien mothership.
She started to hyperventilate as the PTSD welled up. She desperately looked around to find a way out.
Paige, calm down. You're safe! She tried to reason with herself, but it didn’t work.
Nothing else existed in the shower aside from a small shower hose that switched on within moments of the door closing. Warm water rained down on her, trickling through her hair and down her shoulders.
The warmth of the water soothed her. It didn’t fill the area—it drained at the bottom. She wouldn’t be consumed and drown by it. Her body relaxed slowly, and soon she could feel how calming the water pressure was.
While Paige washed her face with pleasure, she tried to remember when she last took a shower.
Obviously, it was while they were still on the Earth. She thought it was probably while she was at school, but she couldn’t recall exactly. Paige had lost all perception of time while fighting to survive. All the things she took for granted while on Earth now felt like pure luxury.
The warm water felt incredible as it ran down her body. She enjoyed it so much that she didn’t care much about the chemical smell.
She thought she heard Angela humming a tune even though she was in a different room. It was the same song she hummed on the Viper.
Dillon’s song. Paige already learned it by heart. The song brought back vivid memories of what Dillon had done to Paige with his scary tentacles and what she did to him in return.
The bastard deserved that! she reminded herself sternly.
Paige shoook her head vigorously, trying to block out the memories and the song.
The water turned icy cold suddenly, and she tried to move out of its way.
“Ack!” she screamed, jumping around.
She guessed her time for washing was over.
“Turn the damn water off!” she screamed to whoever might be listening. She assumed there was a sadistic bastard who enjoyed her moments of discomfort. Blissfully, the water stopped running.
Paige quickly stepped out of the cubicle and tried to dry herself with the towel next to the cubicle. If she could call it a towel in the first place since it was the tiniest one she had ever seen in her life.
Are they kidding me?! This is ridiculous! This thing is the size of a handkerchief!
Paige’s hair still dripped wet as she put on the uncomfortable green uniform. She left the decontamination room altogether to wait for Angela and AJ.
She wondered if their showers turned cold or if she had special treatment for some reason. That would be just my luck...
When AJ saw her, he flashed her a broad smile. Paige felt like blushing, hoping she looked pretty.
He, on the other hand, looked very handsome. His hair was still wet, and it was styled with his own fingers. The green uniform strangely suited him. It made him look like a doctor.
Yum, Paige couldn’t help but think to herself, making her blush that much harder.
Get a hold of yourself. That's just AJ. You've seen a lot of him lately. Even kissed him once. So, there’s no need to exaggerate.
Yet, even knowing all that, she still couldn't help herself. He had been her secret crush for so long that she still couldn't shake how he made her feel sometimes.
Not that she would act on it.
She was very much content as she was for the time being. Especially since her last boyfriend turned out to be a major tool. “Hey, Paige,” he said, still smiling. “You look … nice.” It was obvious he’d wanted to use another word.
“Thanks,” Paige mumbled. “You, too.”
His gaze locked with hers for a moment before dropping briefly to Paige’s lips. He focused on them a few seconds. He bit his lower lip as he continued to stare, and Paige felt a bit embarrassed. They were on a foreign ship, and there was no telling how many people were watching them at any second.
We can't, she reminded herself.
“My mom will be here soon.” Paige blurted out the first thing that popped into her head. Smooth, Paige, she chastised herself.
AJ smiled and nodded. “I guess so.” Still, his demeanor didn’t change, and Paige had to concentrate hard on her breathing to calm her racing heartbeat.
Speaking of the devil, Angela chose that moment to step into the corridor. She’d managed to dry her hair, which surprised Paige. She looked beautiful after being freshly showered and in clean clothes. She looked like the mom she remembered.
Maybe she found a bigger towel than the one I got, or maybe she had the skill to do stuff I didn’t know she could, Paige mused.
“You’ve gone through the decontamination process already?” A woman in a blue uniform walked towards them with a nasty expression on her face. That put a damper on Paige’s raging hormones immediately. A part of Paige was grateful for the distraction, but that didn't last long.
The woman looked at them in disgust, her nose wrinkled like she’d just stepped into mud while wearing her favorite pair of shoes.
Lovely, Paige thought to herself sarcastically. Just what they needed, another person to look down on them and torment them without any cause.
“We should really stop these stowaways from being accepted,” she muttered under her breath. “I don’t understand why they continue accepting them when we’re running out of rooms!” she complained, clearly stressed.
The three of them looked at her wide-eyed.
“Excuse me,” Paige barked, unable to help herself.
The three of them had gone to hell and back, and they were still treated like lepers. It was maddening. It was like they didn't deserve to be alive simply because they didn't have any money. That made Paige sick to her stomach.
The woman looked back at them, a bit startled. From the look on her face, Paige deduced the woman felt bad for saying what she had in front of them. “It’s not you, really,” the woman said somewhat apologetically. “I just had a long day.”
“Who didn’t?” Paige muttered in return.
AJ sneered, and Paige couldn’t blame him. Unfortunately, that made the woman pissed off again, but it seemed that was only because she was embarrassed.
Paige didn’t care either way.
“You’ll get all the information at the orientations,” the woman replied in a curt tone to Angela. “Now, all of you must follow me. You’ll be given your assessments.”
She walked away as if she expected to be followed, but Paige, AJ, and Angela stayed put. She turned and locked eyes with each of them before walking back.
“I said come with me,” she snapped, clearly displeased that she had to repeat herself.
�
��Excuse me, but what assessments are you talking about?” Paige asked her, trying hard to be polite.
“To see what kind of job you’ll do on this spaceship,” she replied hastily.
“Job?” AJ asked confused.
Oh, yeah, the guard mentioned something like that when they’d first arrived, but Paige forgot everything about it.
“If you don’t work, you’re floated out,” the woman replied flatly before striding off. The three of them hurried behind her with identical expressions on their faces.
Floated? Just freaking perfect!
Chapter Three
Paige couldn’t believe how easily the rude woman talked about murder. She hadn’t even introduced herself, but she was more than happy to talk about them like they were nothing.
This place is even worse than Genesis, Paige realized glumly. Still, she was determined to do everything in her power to make sure they survived this. She vowed that no one would float them.
“Come this way,” the woman called after them again as she continued to walk ahead along a corridor.
It was a long corridor lit with silver lights on the ceiling. Solid walls had replaced the glass walls of the docking bay. Paige started to miss the view. Everything felt slightly claustrophobic to her, even though she knew how ridiculous that was.
There were many identical doors on either side of the corridor, and she couldn't help but wonder what was behind them.
She wondered about that in general. Genesis was fairly small compared to this place, but it still contained all the luxurious additions for the Elites. Paige hoped the mothership held the same advantages, but one she could use as well.
It would be so good to have a McDonald's on board, she thought to herself wistfully.
Her stomach growled a little, reminding her she hadn't eaten anything in a long while. She had an alien substance inside her body, but even it couldn't run on air alone. Thinking about a nice, juicy, perfectly made Big Mac made her mouth water.
Paige needed something to distract herself and fast.
She looked around as they walked, trying hard to remember the way, even though she’d never been all that good at remembering places. It didn’t matter if she was in a Museum of Natural History, a military base, or a spaceship; she could easily get lost in any of those places, especially while trying not to.
Mothership (Invasion Survivor Book 4) Page 2