Chapter 1: New Home Across the Universe

Ellis sat under the blistering heat of the sun, basking in its glow, and wondered why she felt that way. She had set out her supplies. 

An unsent message to her parents telling them she was moving far away. Check.

Her suitcase filled with all the stuff she had in her room. Check.

A backpack filled with food for the journey. Check. 

All her identification and paperwork. Check. 

The beauty of the sun shining over the sea had always comforted her soul. She drew her knees to her chest and hugged them. On the horizon, the sun was setting, painting the sky red. The purple filtered through, making the clouds dance in the fiery sky above. Closing her eye, she savored the sound of the waves and the cries of the seagulls, the scent of salt permeating through her senses. She felt mildly sticky but didn't pay much attention to it. 

She had felt the happiest here since she was born. It was right to end her journey in this city by visiting there last. 

One last time, she went over the list in her head, making sure she hadn't left anything unfinished. She had cleaned her childhood room so that her parents wouldn't have to do it on her behalf. She just needed to send the message to let them know she was leaving.

She had managed to dispose of all the belongings she couldn't take with her to homeless shelters and shelters for abused children and women. They would be of better use to them than her overprotective parents. 

Her exams were over and she started her job in a week. The job she had not informed her parents about because they would never let her go. They would tie her down by cutting off her funds and emotionally blackmailing her, which had led her to take this drastic step.

The sun had slipped beneath the horizon, the last strand of brilliant light vanishing behind the waves. It was time. Ellis picked up her backpack and the luggage. 

As she was about to walk towards the more populated areas of the beach, something caught her eye. She looked back. 

It was something like one could see on a hot day. The air shimmered for a couple of seconds before a door appeared in its place. Ellis widened her eye, trying to process what she had just seen. 

Her mind went to the magic door Doraemon used and for a bizarre moment, she wondered if she was getting a robot from the distant future. 

A woman stepped out of the door. For a second, Ellis tried to look past the room and through the door. Pitch black. To be more precise... it was not darkness, just nothing. She was about to go into a trance when her focus snapped back at the woman. 

Her eyes swept around until they landed on Ellis. 

"Found you!" she exclaimed. Ellis took an involuntary step back. The woman's smile was nothing short of creepy. "I made it on time." She lifted her hand, holding something small like a button of a bomb that one could see in action movies. 

The woman pointed it towards Ellis and in the next second, her world went black.

- - - - -

Ellis struggled to open her eyes. Her lids felt too heavy to open and her mouth tasted like sand. The place between her eyelid and eyebrow throbbed uncontrollably. It was a familiar sensation. She had been feeling it for the past couple of months. 

But she couldn't remember what had happened before that. What had led to her fainting?

It took her a really long time before she finally opened her eyes. The light blinded her immediately and she had to squint to stop the pain. She cursed under her breath, colorful words squeaking out of her mouth. 

"Oh, you're awake," she heard a woman say. The voice was familiar. She opened her eyes again, her eyes stinging less. It was the same woman from the beach. The one with the Doraemon door. Ellis recoiled away from the woman and looked around frantically, trying to understand where she was. 

She sat up. White walls, a plethora of machinery that wasn't available to civilians, and a narrow bed with white sheets on which she was currently sitting. 

She was sure: she had somehow caught the attention of the government and they were going to use her as a lab rat to test out new drugs or technology. There was no other way this was possible. 

There was another. This was all a prank and the cameramen were going to jump out screaming that she had been punked. 

"You're finally awake, Ellis," the woman said, her tone cheerful and friendly. Ellis knew from experience that it was all pretense. Airline hostesses' often forced a similar smile that everyone knew was not genuine. 

The woman wore a tunic reaching her mid-calf in a color that Ellis couldn't describe. She could also see some sort of leggings underneath. The look was quite bizarre. The whole look had a sterile feeling to it. 

The woman even looked slightly familiar but Ellis couldn't place her. 

"Are you someone I know? Is this a joke?" Ellis fumed. She was done with this shit. "I will have you know that this is illegal detention!" It was good to put her years of schooling to good use. 

"Oh, shush. My name is Nadia. Don't panic. You're safe and no one will harm you."

"Where am I?" Ellis asked darkly. 

"This is the hard part, dear. I've been sent to bring you to your new home." She smiled. 

Ellis nodded. It wasn't a surprise that the government would detain people, especially someone like Ellis who had been an active member of exposing the human rights infarctions of the government agencies. "What is the name of this project? And where can I see the person in charge? The government official who has signed off on my abduction won't get away with this."

Nadia chuckled. "Ellis, I think you misunderstood. You're no longer on Earth. Your new home will be a new solar system by the name EN-4396."