I woke up, but something wasn’t right. The air was cold, and my body felt stiff. I blinked a few times, trying to clear the fog from my brain. Where the hell was I? It wasn’t my bed. Definitely not my living room.

I shot up, panic creeping in as I realized I was in some kind of metal room—not a room, a cell—no windows, just smooth, cold walls and a strange, soft hum buzzing through the air. My head was pounding, and there was a weird metallic taste in the back of my throat.

"Okay," I muttered, more to myself than anyone else. "Okay. It’s gotta be a prank. Some kind of government test or a nightmare or something. Just find the camera, get out of here, and—"

A voice interrupted me, and my blood went cold. “You’re awake.”

I spun around, eyes wide. Standing across the room was… well, it looked like something from a bad alien movie. It had six legs, four arms, antennae, and eyes—way too many eyes. It blinked at me, and I could’ve sworn it smiled.

My heart skipped a beat. "What the hell is going on here?" I demanded, trying to sound braver than I felt.

It tilted its head in that way animals do when they’re confused by something. “We’ve brought you aboard for our examination. Don’t worry, it’s completely non-invasive.”

“Examination? Non-invasive?” I repeated, my mind reeling. “What kind of exam? Where am I?”

The alien clicked its mandibles and squinted at me. “We’re here to catalog species from unknown planets. Your planet was chosen.”

My brain stuttered as it tried to process what it was saying. "Wait, Earth? You’ve—you’ve kidnapped me?" I shot back, a surge of panic rising in my chest.

“Not kidnapped,” the alien said, waving its many arms in a dismissive gesture. “Acquired. This is for academic purposes. We are students—"

"Students?" I cut it off. "You’re telling me I’ve been abducted by some kind of alien university project? Seriously?"

“Yes,” it said, nodding proudly, “for our final exam. We are cataloging species for our studies. You are our subject.”

I blinked. “So, I’m just some kind of specimen to you?”

“Exactly,” it said, totally unconcerned, as if it were the most normal thing in the universe. “You’re part of the curriculum. No need to panic. It’s all very scientific.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

I rubbed my forehead. “I’m not panicking. But I’m definitely not okay with this.” I looked around the room again, trying to steady my racing heart. “What exactly is the goal here?”

"We study you," the alien repeated, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "We observe how you survive, how you think, how you adapt. Then we record the data for our final report."

“Yeah, sure,” I muttered, pacing the room. "I’m guessing that report isn’t getting back to Earth anytime soon."

It blinked at me. “That’s part of the grade. Keeping you alive—well, not alive, but your species’ survival—proves we’ve done our job correctly.” It paused, clearly uncertain. “We didn’t expect you to—uh, react the way you did.”

I frowned. “React?” What the hell was it talking about?

Suddenly, I heard a loud mechanical whirring noise from outside the room. I froze, instincts kicking in. I wasn’t about to just sit there and let this alien whatever-the-hell-it-was finish talking.

I bolted, slamming into the door, which—thankfully—swung open with minimal effort. The alien behind me shouted something in a language I didn’t understand, and I didn’t stick around to ask for a translation. My feet hit the cold, metallic floor and I started running—blindly.

I turned a corner and—bam! Slammed right into something solid.

“What is happening?!” a deep, confused voice barked, and I looked up to see another alien—a bigger one this time. It was strong, muscular, built like someone who spent too much time lifting weights. It didn’t even flinch when I crashed into it.

I didn’t even bother apologizing. “Sorry! Just trying to find the exit!”

I didn’t wait for it to say anything else. I pushed off the alien and took off running down the hallway. I had no idea where I was going, but I didn’t care. I had to get out.

Of course, as I was running, alarms started blaring. Red lights flashed, and I heard the screech of a ship’s automated systems locking down. Doors started slamming shut, lights flickered, and the entire place felt like it was going into panic mode.

Great.

I rounded another corner and ended up in what looked like a control room—way too many buttons, blinking lights, and a view of stars outside the ship. There was no exit in sight, but I wasn’t about to give up just yet.

I dove for a console, slamming my hand down on whatever button I could find. The whole ship groaned. There was a split-second of pure silence, and then—the entire place went dark.

I blinked into the blackness, confusion flooding my brain. Did I just do that? I had no clue what I had pressed, but apparently, I’d hit something important. A few moments later, the ship let out a loud, whining noise, and everything jerked forward.

The emergency lights flickered back on, and—oh, hell—I was in an escape pod. I had no idea how I’d gotten here, but I wasn’t going to question it. I reached for the controls, but they were alien and, naturally, didn’t make any sense.

Then the pod shot off with a deafening screech.

I barely had time to register what was happening before the pod was hurtling through space. And that’s when I heard it. The distant scream of that same alien voice I’d heard earlier.

“What did he do?!”

I leaned back, staring out into the void of space. "Well," I said to no one in particular, "that could’ve gone better."