Abstract Shadows and Painted Stars

I was unsure as to why I expected the alien's audible voice to be more automatic, or unnervingly abnormal, but I was glad to find that it wasn't. On the contrary, his tone was as lovely as the one I'd heard in my head. It was smooth, and carried the same deep tone as a voice actor reading an audiobook. It was remarkably... pleasing to the ear.

"Have you noticed anything unusual going on around here, Greyson?" A heavy-breathing and older-sounding man asked.

"No, Sir. Should I have?" The alien, evidently named "Greyson," asked.

"Not sure," the older man said, as he walked closer to the back of the room – past me – near the cupboards where Percy was hiding. I held my breath until it was unbearable. "We're looking into it now."

"Why are you carrying such deadly weapons, sir?" Greyson asked as if he were asking about the weather. My stomach twisted into a million knots. "Am I to believe that I am in some sort of danger, Mr. Chapton?"

"I'll let you know in a minute, Greyson," the older man named 'Chapton' said, a note of annoyance marrying his words.

How could they have such a well-spoken alien lock up like this, I asked myself. If what Greyson said was true, and he was wrongfully imprisoned, why then would they insist on keeping him in here?

I ask myself that same question, every day, Greyson chimed in.

A small gasp escaped me. 

I could have strangled him for being so blatant with his telepathy. In a situation such as this, it was dangerous to use this ability all willy-nilly with a girl who barely had time to adapt to these... sudden mental intrusions.

Wait until they're gone before you decide to comment on my every thought!

Sorry!

There was a long silence. Everyone seemed to have stopped moving. No one was even breathing anymore. And I had a sickening feeling that they might have just spotted me.

I grit my teeth together. Fuck me, they know I'm here. Don't they?

I thought it might be the end of me, until Greyson spoke again and rescued me: "Maybe I can help you somehow?" He said in a nonchalant sort of way that - again - didn't match the tense atmosphere suspended above all of us. "I've been here this whole time, after all."

A long silence.

"Me and my men were wondering if anyone had visited you, today?" Chapton said, voice weary.

A chuckle. "Only the same boring people I see every day, sir," Greyson said, mirth coating his words, "was I supposed to receive a new visitor?"

"Not to my knowledge," Chapton's voice trailed off, as if his attention had zeroed in on something.

Shit.

My eyes squeezed shut as I repeated over and over in my head, "Please don't see me. Please don't look inside this dumb box!"

"Sir," another man cut in, his voice younger and military-like. He must have been standing near the entrance, because his voice was barely audible. 

"Yes, David?" Chapton prompted.

"We just received word from head of security," David said. "There was a malfunction in our electrical system. Even the security cameras went down, sir." David knocked on something metallic. "The boss thinks it might have been a momentary power outage. He's still trying to find the cause of it, as we speak."

Chapton grumbled. "Well, if Everett is on it, I don't see why we should spend any more time in this freaky place. Better leave it to him to figure it all out."