• ‘Wh-who are you?’ I gave the breathless question to the man looming over me for about the tenth time. He smiled wider. I shifted back into the corner of the windowless room. ‘Who are you? Wh-what do you want? Where am I!? What do you want?!’
    He only came closer, smile growing wider with ever step before it became taunting and I could see a pair of glimmering fangs as sharp as needles escaping from his gums. His crimson eyes ran over like soulless hands, touching and probing every part of my soul. I couldn’t take looking at him anymore but my body didn’t want to move; couldn’t move. I was mesmerized by the very strange cruel beauty he possessed. I was intrigued by the way he glided on air with every step and how his pale skin seemed so flawless. I wanted to touch him and yet I wanted to run. But I was backed in a corner and he was approaching me quickly.
    He held out both his hands, in one was a shot filled with a crimson liquid, and in the other was a small stuffed bear.
    ‘Please,’ I screamed, ‘I don’t want that! Please, don’t make me do that! I can’t do that! Stop it!’
    He laughed, crouching down and inching closer to me. He placed the bear to the side, as if saying I’ll get that as a prize if I cooperated, and lifted his free hand. I felt like someone was pulling my clothes, as if he was a puppet master and I was the puppet. I was on my knees, facing him with hot tears running down my face. Again, he offered me the needle. I shivered, shaking my head and he just smiled.
    ‘It wont hurt for but a second,’ he coaxed.
    I screamed again. He glared at me, crimson eyes burning into my soul. I pressed my back into the wall, burring my face into my hands.
    ‘Be a good girl,’ he said, cold hands wrapping around my wrist. I couldn’t resist as he pulled my arm out slowly. I thought he was going to bite me as he leaned in and kissed my wrist. Fear climbed in my chest. I began panicking, thrashing around like a child, but his grip was like iron. I pleaded for him to stop again, but he ignored me and dragged me out of the corner. He loaded the liquid into the shot gun and gave a faint smile. He pressed the cold metal against my stomach.
    ‘My name’s Boomer, Discovery,’ he whispered, ‘and you’re mine forever.’

    My body gave a jolt of panic. I took in a gasping breath and looked about. I was washed over with a wave of relief. I wasn’t in the windowless room with the strange man who’s name slipped my mind. I wasn’t given a shot and I definitely wasn’t a puppet. I looked up, feeling my mind slip onto more comforting things.
    Night, a strange combination of starlight and the rings of Saturn, beautiful and harsh in reality. To think just one small break in the sensitive membrane surrounding our station could kill every single person; man, woman and child, made fear climb in my chest as I watched a small chunk of space rock float by. Then again, the station was surrounded by an electro-field, sending any dangers flying back into deep space.
    I laughed, lying on the roof of the tallest building in the station. I loved it on the roof. No one could get up there unless they held a generals pass, and I had my connections; AKA, my dad, commander of the whole station. I could slip the card in and out of his pockets without his knowledge any time I felt like it. I wasn’t bad, I was just misunderstood. Heck, every Wabbit on the station was misunderstood.
    I have to admit, being a wabbit was fun, party all night, relax all day, causing trouble wasn’t one of our things, making the club parentally approved. The costumes, the hats, the music, the parties; we were all wild, daredevil kids. But I was the worst.
    I sat up, looking over the edge. The world I knew was a mere twenty stories down, each story being around ten to twelve feet from floor to ceiling. If I wanted to, I could just jump and land on the ground. I could’ve, but where was the fun in that?
    I took a running leap, twisting as the air blew wildly by me. I wanted freedom, craved it with every breathe. I hoped that the feeling of weightlessness would never end and that I would free fall forever. But the station had its precautions, and the sudden pull of the anti-fall system gently landed me on the ground, the cold metal ground. Nothing like earth, as far as I knew. I always wanted to visit earth; see the Statue of Liberty, the pyramids, the Eiffel tower, all the wonders. I wanted to sleep in the shade of a tree while the sun shone around me. I wanted to swim in the beach and-
    The sound of sirens interrupted my ‘earth pout time’ as my father called it. I was in trouble now. Not only did I jump, but I jumped from a building closed for the day, er, whatever time it was, probably three in the morning. Or maybe it was two or one, twelve thirty…whatever time it was, I didn’t know. The point was I wasn’t supposed to be there.
    I sighed, placing my hands on the top of my head. I tapped one of the bracelets on my wrist.
    “Coming home, Commander,” I sighed loudly.
    “You better be coming home,” he bellowed. I imagined his face, angered to the point where it was red and he was grinding his teeth together. His eyes were probably bloodshot and his hair on the verge of being pulled out. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that jumping off of buildings regardless of the anti-fall system is illegal! You never know when the system may fail!”
    “Well, it hasn’t so far,” I shrugged, looking back through the ceiling of the station. “Dad, why did you agree to come out here in the first place?”
    He huffed loudly, muttering something under his breath before speaking to me again. “I told you before; I was born here like you were.”
    “Yes, but you went to earth once,” I held my wrist communicator close to my mouth so I didn’t have to shout. “You saw everything I wanted to see and what did you do? You came back to this floating hunk of metal. Why? You had a whole planet to explore and you chose to come back?”
    He gave a small grunt. “I came back because I had a pregnant wife waiting for me,” he said in a kind and loving voice. “Now Discovery, come home. Your mother and I have jobs and you also have to go to the hospital tomorrow.”
    “And April?” I asked slowly.
    “April’s in her bed trying to sleep but she has indigestion,” Dad answered. “The babies’ acting weird, she says.”
    Ah, April, my pregnant sister. Her husband was John. The only reason they didn’t live with each other was because their request for house was still being examined by my father. He had a stack of papers to go through and he didn’t want to be viewed as a commander who favored family over the people he protected. We were all on the same level.
    “Earth to Discovery,” my father said.
    “This isn’t earth,” I said, dramatically flailing my hands in the air. “And I have one stop to go to before coming home. I’ll be there soon, promise.”
    “Alright,” Dad yawned. “Just remember, come home.”
    I laughed. Last time I called to come home I completely spaced out and didn’t go home until twelve the next day. When my mind wonders it takes me with it.
    I started down one of the alley ways. The street lights turned on as I walked. Motion detectors were used everywhere to save energy. If no one was there, there was no used to waste it.
    I got to my destination, a corner shop that was closed. Inside were two adults dancing with each other slowly. I tapped on the window, tilting my head so they could see my face. The man gave a laugh and rushed to the counter. He picked up a bag and rushed to the door.
    “Here you go, Discovery,” he said, handing me a few pounds of the red heavenly fruit. “Your order.”
    “What would I do without you,” I whispered, taking a strawberry and eating it slowly. I gave a small squeal. “Oh! So sweet! Thank you!” I gave a small bow and dashed off.
    I turned toward my house, walking quicker. As a wabbit, I knew which house to party in. When I heard the music coming from my neighbors’ house, I knew something weird was going to happen.
    There was a sudden shuffle, a quick shriek and I felt like I just hit my head against cement. It was metal. I stood face to face with a drunken older woman. One of her hand squeezed my arm tightly while the other gripped my shirt, stunning me.
    She hissed. “You. He wants you, and there’s nothing you can do about it! He’s going to get you! There’s no escape, no escape for all of us!”
    I froze. The woman’s breathe was thick with the smell of alcohol. She pushed me hard against the wall. My head spun again. She hissed louder, gritting her teeth.
    “You, YOU!” she growled. “He won’t give up on you! Never! He’ll never stop looking for you, no matter where you run and hide! He’ll always be waiting for you! You’ll be his; you’ll be his forever!”
    She let go, scowling at me as she hobbled away. I stood in shock for a few minutes before taking a quick intake of air. I turned back to the house. Three guards rushed me, sending me stumbling back into the wall.
    “Are you alright?” one asked.
    My head swam. I grumbled. “I’ll be fine when people stop giving me concussions.”
    “What just happened?” the first asked.
    “I think I was just mauled by a drunk,” I whispered. That was about all I could say at the moment. My mind whirled around suddenly and I lost my balance. One of them caught me. I sighed.
    “Are you alright?”
    “No, no, not at all,” I wanted to say, but my brain shut down. I was too tired. My body just failed me.