Lilia Everly loved herself a bit too much, in her mind. She loved herself so much that she put rules and regulations over each and every movement, action, and thought she produced. She did so, she told herself, to keep her safe and healthy. Keep a healthy distance from that person, they give her a bad feeling. A healthy distance from those clothes, that food, these thoughts. No, don’t act like that, it's dangerous. What should I act like? I’m not sure, but definitely not like that. You know what, it's just safer to not do anything at all. So Lilia sits there, unmoving, silent, and unnoticed. It’s much safer that way. Not a single person, object, or physical being can hurt her ever again.

At least, that's what she believed. She was fully and completely convinced she was safe from all harm. What a fever dream… I mean, the thing that is her Achilles heel has never really been recognized, even by her. The thing that kills her in the end, is her loneliness. Such rules and regulations are as dangerous as they are protective if you don't have anyone to support you. You become self-restrictive, self-destructive, and self-hating. Lilia Everly hated herself a bit too much, in her mind.

The day before she got sent to prison, everything was barely okay. But that was pretty much normal, so… She was in school, high on anxiety, as usual. She barely made it through half the day when all her hopes and fears came true. Let me introduce… the fucking apocalypse. The school walls all collapsed, retreating smoothly into the ground. Lilia looked up. Holy shit, she thought. Never thought this day would come. And damn, I'm all prepared. Who would’ve thought? My hard work and panic paid off.

Machines rained down from the sky. The Aliens came green and blue-skinned, big black eyes, squeaking to one another. They inspected each human, one by one. Lilia had the supplies and skills to survive on nothing but herself. Knowing this, and feeling completely calm, she stood up, her shoulders straight. A small smirk crept onto her face.

This'll be an interesting event, she thought, as she felt excitement rise in her stomach.

When the alien came to inspect her, she had all her necessary possessions on her back. The alien looked her up and down, squeaked some random shit to whoever, and then proceeded to grab her. Lilia wasn't even fazed. She took a deep calming breath as she was dropped into one of their ships. Surprisingly, she had been dropped into some sort of suite bedroom. The whole place smelled clean and fresh, like citrus cleaning supplies. She sat on the bed. It was heavenly. She found a nice-looking bathroom with lots of space to spare. She looked in the mirror at her freckled pale skin (a result of a fear of the bugs outside), her bright red hair, and her glassy bright sunny blue eyes. She turned and left the bathroom.

“Huh.” She said aloud, once she made sure she was alone. “I might not even need my survival kit…” She shrugged and found a nice cubby to put her bag in. Then she went to see what was happening outside. There was a huge window, with a nook and window seat.

Aliens were looking around, and then picking a select few humans to add to their ships. They stopped and occasionally squeaked to some of the humans, to which Lilia guessed they were trying to talk to them. No luck, though. It was kinda hilarious to watch. She stretched out onto her plush window seat. Soon enough though, there was a knock at her door. An alien stood there, maybe about four feet tall, a foot shorter than herself. His big black eyes stared at her as he handed her a sheet of paper. It was written in some language she couldn’t read. She shook her head. The alien looked at her quizzically.

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“I don’t speak your language,” she told the alien. “I'm sorry. But I would totally fill this out for you if I could,”

The alien tilted his head. Lilia got an idea.

She pointed to herself, then the page, and then acted confused. Then she moved her hand in a talking motion and shrugged all confused again.

The alien jumped up and squeaked, startling Lilia. Then the alien held out a finger signaling her to wait, and ran down the hallway.

“He’s actually kind of adorable,” Lilia cooed. “Aww, he got all excited and ran off because he had an idea-”

The alien came running back dragging a human about two feet taller than him, which was quite a funny sight to behold. He pushed the human in front of Lilia and squeaked. Surprisingly, the human responded with an alien squeak. Then he sighed.

“Hi,” He smiled at her. “Sorry, I'll get you an English copy. This dumbass always forgets, I swear.” He pointed to the alien who smiled up at them.

“He’s so cute,” Lilia giggled.

“Isn’t he?” He gave her a soft smile. Lilia actually looked up at him this time. He had blond hair, soft brown eyes, and tanned skin. His lips were slightly red like he had just eaten a cherry lollipop.

“And your name is…” she prompted him.

“Oh, sorry! Yeah, my name is Edian. And yours?”

“Lilia Every.”

“Pretty name…” He commented, to which she smiled shyly. “Hold on, let me get you your paperwork.”

He walked off before Lilia could ask any more questions. She didn't really care, though. It was more fun to guess. He probably was abandoned as a young kid, and the aliens found him and raised him. I mean, it's not like the aliens flew from space, they flew in from somewhere east. They were probably here for a while before they decided to take action. Or if not that, then they probably had a scout stationed east and just met up with them first.

Either way, Lilia sighed and retreated back to the window. Edian returned with the paperwork, and promptly left again, promising to return in about half an hour to pick up the packet of paper. Lila looked at some of the questions.

What is your age, date of birth… pretty standard.

Lilia paced around the room, scanning the questions.

Any medical conditions, mental health included…

“Woah, mental health awareness… smart aliens,”

We, as the Momentlia species, want you to know we have no intention of harming you in any way, and are simply just curious about your biology… we are looking for a cure for a disease and are investigating different species to see if they have any information that could help us find an antidote…

“Damn, okay, I mean science is science, so honestly, valid...”

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“Alright, time to write all my existing medical records! So fun..” Lilia sighed and got to work.

After a couple of wrist cramps and excessive erasing, Edian knocked on the door. She handed him the sheets of paper.

“Oh yeah, just as an update, the ship will be taking off soon, but we aren’t leaving Earth. We will just attach our ship to the main base, which is located in the sky.”

Lilia nodded like this was totally normal.

“Right,” he continued. “And on a side note, dinner will be in about two hours. Either I or someone else will stop by your door to escort you. In the meantime, feel free to explore the ship, or like basically whatever, just don't be rude to other people. Any questions?”

“Nope.”

“Great.”

Lilia watched as Edian left and walked off to relay the message to another room in the hallway. She closed her door and decided to shower and take a nap. Taking her lounge clothes out of her bag, she gently lay them on the huge white hotel-like bed, admiring how pristine the sheets were.