Page 3 of The Alien’s Mate

She hadn’t been able to shake the feeling when she entered the Howland & West Industries building, and it didn’t lessen when she had to go through security. The men that checked her all looked as though they were extras on Men in Black, with their black suits, their com-radios, and their slicked-back hair.

When she was cleared, she was told to wait at the reception. Then again outside Mr. West’s office. When Margery came to pick her up, she felt completely out of place. The pen skirt felt wrong, her pumps felt nearly vulgar, and her blazer felt cheap. Why did she put her hair in a bun? Why did she put on lipstick? Why did she use the golden earrings when she knew she wasn’t allowed to wear any jewelry down in the labs?

A thousand thoughts ran through her head as she entered the office, and there, she met both Mr. West and an older gentleman with thick, grey hair and a proud beard.

“Miss Vernon,” said Mr. West and smiled. “Welcome. This is Dr. Jacob Howland, my partner.”

Lila was nearly starstruck. Jacob Howland was not only the son of Boris Howland and one of the owners of the company, but he was also a world-renowned scientist who was known for the breakthrough with the cure for Spellburg’s Disease.

“Miss Vernon,” said Dr. Howland and reached out his hand. “A pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, doctor!” Lila said and enthusiastically shook the man’s hand.

“I read your application. Very impressive, I must say.”

Lila could hardly breathe. He was such a role model to her, and to hear him say how impressed he was truly made her heart burst. “Thank you, Dr. Howland.”

“Well, with that introduction out of the way, why don’t we sit down with these contracts?” Mr. West gestured for them to sit by his desk while he sat down behind it.

Lila resumed the seat she’d had about a week earlier and nervously pulled at her collar.

“Project Titan is our most ambitious and important project as of yet,” said Dr. Howland when he’d sat down. “And I doubt we will ever have such a project again. It is a unique opportunity for us, and you will play a very important role, Miss Vernon.”

She looked at him. “As… a laboratory assistant?” Both Dr. Howland and Mr. West began laughing, but Lila didn’t know what was funny. In a sense, it made her a bit uncomfortable.

“My dear,” said Dr. Howland, “even the smallest position could play a huge part.”

Lila swallowed and smiled, but wasn’t completely convinced.

There were four contracts she had to sign. Mr. West and Dr. Howland gave her time to look through them all, but after two, she was so tired and confused, she couldn’t even bother looking through the last ones. She pretended to, and she caught a few words from them. Basically, they would sue the hell out of her if she broke the contracts, if she revealed classified information, or if she broke protocol. The rules applied even after she’d quit or been fired; the secrecy was for life.

Signing the contracts, the feeling of being an imposter grew; what if they changed their minds? What if they realized that she wasn’t whom they were looking for? What if she wasn’t as “perfect” as Mr. West said she was? What if she signed her life away for nothing?

When the contracts had been signed, her hand was clammy as she shook theirs, but they welcomed her to the team. After Margery had picked up the contracts, Dr. Bryce was called up to the office to share a toast with them, but the stern woman seemed more annoyed and stressed than happy as she stood with her hand deep into the pockets of her white coat.

“Well, now that Miss Vernon has been hired and the papers have been signed,” said Dr. Bryce, “I see no reason to postpone the project any further.”

Mr. West nodded. “You’re right, Melinda.” With a deep breath, he motioned Dr. Bryce to lock the door and turn the lights off. Once the room was set in darkness, a projector lit up. “Miss Vernon,” said Mr. West and started a presentation on his computer. “Project Titan is unlike anything this world has ever seen.” He changed slides to a black-and-white picture that seemed like some sort of crash site. “We all know about the Roswell incident, about Area 51. Well, five years ago, an anomaly was sighted above the Rockies in Colorado, and reports of an impact came pouring in. Our team was first on sight, and what we found astounded us all.” He changed slides again, this time to the wreckage of some sort of aircraft. “The metal, the technology, the design—none of it was known to man before. Highly advanced, and completely out of this world.”

Lila stared at the images shown in the presentation, and her chest tightened. “W-what am I looking at, sir?”

“You’re a smart girl,” said Mr. West. “I’m sure you understand.”

“No…” Lila breathed. “No, it’s impossible.”

“So did we think,” said Dr. Howland, “at first.”

“Until we found him.” Mr. West’s face was serious, and the room was steeped in silence. “Miss Vernon, before I show you the next set of images, I want you to take a deep breath. Some find them… disturbing.”

Lila did as told, her whole body tingling with trepidation. When ready, she gave a short nod.

Mr. West pressed down a key on his keyboard, and the image that appeared on the projection made Lila freeze; on it, there was a creature, large and imposing, lying unconscious or dead on a cot. It looked like a man, with very similar anatomy and shape, but it was much larger; its muscles were bulging and terrifying, but well-shaped and well-built; its hands that rested on its sides were large with big, black claw-like nails; its feet looked like a mix between feet and paws, but the strong legs were definitely humanoid; its face was symmetrical, with a strong jaw, full lips on a rather normal mouth, a somewhat flat but well-shaped nose, heavy black eyebrows, deep-set eyes, and defined cheekbones. It looked like a man, but still so different, so feral.

On its head, black dread-like tubes ran along the top, cascading down his back, almost like a mane; its ears were a dead giveaway that it wasn’t human—they were pointy.

Another image showed the creature’s mouth, with long, thick, sharp, and terrifying teeth set in front of a purple tongue. Its skin was a bluish grey or a greyish blue, with faint dark speckles. Its skin seemed leathery, almost like a reptile’s hide, wrapped tightly around defined muscles.

Lila’s throat ran dry. She was looking at an alien. It was a fucking alien. “How—” She tried to talk, but it came out as nothing but croaks. “How come you’ve got… him, and not the government?”