In Alien Hands: Meeting Merle

Day two - Lunch -Holli

When I heard the knocking, I shrunk lower into my bed. When I heard the door creak open, I held my breath. All I wanted was for this monster to go away. I'd been kidnapped, humiliated, and abused. I wished I could curl up and die right there and then.

I could hear him approach me. He kept repeating a name - Holly? I realized with an audible groan that he had named me that. He had no right. He was neither me nor my parents, my name wasn't his to change or choose. I realized I didnt know his name. I thought for a moment that it wouldn't matter, I was going to get out of here anyways - until I remembered the sky. I was stuck here, stranded on this alien planet, and I had no way to get out. I'd have to learn it sooner or later, and I had no choice.

At this thought, I felt his furry hand touch me. I drew back, nearly yelping out of surprise. His hand was still there. Without thinking, I whipped around to glare him down and got the first good look at his face I'd ever had.

I looked at his face and calmed down. He was tremendously doglike. Big, Brown eyes, long fur, huge ears. He even had a muzzle ending in a big, wet nose. His nose twitched at me, and I remembered how much I had loved dogs before being kidnapped by one. I was so focused on his face that I didn't realize my glare was long gone and I was staring at him, dumbfounded. Worst yet, he was smiling at me.

I quickly changed my face to a scowl and ducked my head back under the covers. I heard the Dog-man chuckle and repeat my name again. I felt his hand touch me through the covers again. He clicked his tongue at me.

"What??" I popped my head out from under the covers and skipped at him. He drew back a bit before smiling a bit, touching my cheek, and saying something back to me. He rose to his feet, walked out of my room, stopping at the doorway to glance back at me. He continued out of the room and sat on the couch, still where I could see him. He pulled out a book and started reading.

I watched him for several minutes before growing bored. I slid out of my bed, climbed to my feet, and slowly slinked out of my room. My cushion was on the couch, but I didn't go towards it. I turned left towards the kitchen, the gate was up. I wandered towards the dining room, all while watching the Dog-man in the living room. He didn't do much as put the book down, he seemed to have no interest in what I was doing.

I approached a chest of drawers. Slowly and quietly, I slid a drawer open. To my surprise, there was a small container with a few jelly beans inside. I lifted it up to smell it, and succumbed to the impulse to pop one in my mouth. It tasted fantastic, reminding me of the candy I loved back on earth. I ate each one in a few moments.

I opened the next drawer, and found a small piece of chocolate. Now a bit too eager, I popped it in my mouth. The next drawer I couldn't open right away. It had a little latch, which I twisted open. There were three gummy bears inside. Each drawer had candy inside, and each one was harder to open than the last. The last one was a full on puzzle box, with multiple steps I needed to complete to open it the rest of the way to access the sweets. After quite a while, I realized I need to open the drawer below it to press a button and open it.

With the chest empty, I looked around for something else to do. Glancing at the living room, I heard the Dog-man say my new name again. Looking at him, I saw him save me over. Hesitantly, I took a few steps over to him. He kept waving me over. Once I was in the room, he patted the cushion. I sighed, but climbed up to it anyways. If I was stuck here, I could at least get on his good side.

I sighed as I settled down into my seat. I waited for him to flip on the TV like earlier, but he didn't. I watched as he marked his head book, placed it on the end table, and pulled out a bin from under the table. He rummaged through the items until he pulled out a deck of cards. My curiosity peaked and I tried to get a better look. They were flash cards.