Project X

All Rights Reserved

© 2015 Luna Black

~*~

"Did you get in touch with your brother?" Alexa asked quietly, trying not to look suspicious as they ate the temperate food from the foam trays.

Jess nodded and glanced down at her tray as a couple of guards walked by them. "Yeah, they're already waiting for us in the port. They even offered to send some guards with us to the hotel and your mom's house."

"Are you serious?" Alexa widened her eyes, "That's great! What do we have to do in return?"

"Nothing," she beamed, "when I told my brother that it had to do with Parkinson & Associates he was more than willing to help. Apparently Parkinson overcharged him for a legal case and buried him in jail for ten years. Luckily my brother managed to get evidence that proved the cargo wasn't his. Anyways! What I'm trying to say is that he really wants to kick Parkinson's ass."

Alexa smiled inwardly, lowering her eyes when a guard raised his eyes at her. They were making the girls feel like prisoners, but in a couple of minutes they would exit the ship and be somewhat free.

She had contacted her mother and told her she needed a couple of spare rooms and money from her trust fund to be able to afford the hotel. The girls were already checked in the hotel, they just needed to show up and keep to themselves until they found a way not to be used as test subjects.

To think that all of the planning after they reached the mainland have been achieved by flashing a guard their breasts was comical and quite sad. Those guards needed to get laid.

Seth entered the room, his eyes falling on Alexa and he glared at her as he limped towards the middle of the room. "We will be reaching the port in a couple of minutes. Once we reach the port, we will be taking a couple of cars that will take you back home. The guards will give you a number and that's the car you will be taking."

Jess snickered quietly, biting into the sad excuse for an apple and Alexa gave a quiet laugh. Every time she saw him limping, a part of her lit up in excitement. She was about as happy as a turkey that survived Thanksgiving Day.

"After they give you the number you may move towards the upper deck. Am I understood?" They nodded quietly.

Once he was gone, the eight women that Jordan and Alexa had chosen to be leaders stood up and began standing near the women in their groups. Since Alexa only had four women with her, the remaining girls were distributed amongst the other groups.

After Jess flashed the imprudent guard, Kelly stole the phone in his pocket - she had been sent to jail for pickpocketing - and they managed to make the calls necessary. Most of them felt exhilarated and full of adrenaline; if all felt like they were part of an unscripted movie.

"My brother will have ten black Hummers waiting for us at the port. He even has armed men just in case something happens."

"Good," Alexa stood up taking the number a guard handed her, "I'll see you girls later?" They all nodded and began walking towards the upper deck in a file line. Jordan nodded hear head once; giving her the "clear" signal and soon they were all standing around armed men.

Surprisingly, none of them felt afraid. They were all filled with anger and adrenaline; they were ready to fight for one last time.

The fresh cool air greeted them swiftly as they waited for the ship to finally dock. The ramp began to open and a sudden wave of exhilaration began to take over the women. Instead of walking towards the cars with the American flags waving around, they would walk to the Hummers.

"Welcome home, ladies," President Goodhart spoke loudly as they began walking down the ramp.

Alexa snickered and said, "You took me from my home twice - I don't want to hear any bullshït you say."

"You will respect-" One of his men began, but he held his hand up and smiled at Alexa.

"That is her right; she may speak her mind. Even though you do not think that my actions were good, they benefit us all. Those Aliens are monsters, if we left you with them any longer they might have brainwashed you girls-"

"Shut the hell up," Kelly drawled, staring at him with pure disgust, "stop trying to feed your fanatics bullshït! You don't know them like us - and don't try the brainwashing shït on us because you out of everyone know that that's the only way you got votes."

"Kelly!" An older man walked over to the group, holding a wooden cane with a hand covered in jewellery. "Do not disrespect the man that is running this country!"

"You mean fücking this country over," Jess rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips.

The President sighed, speaking loud enough for the cameras that began appearing from behind the crates could hear. "Once you assume a position as rigorous as this, you must be willing to face all types of comments, Mr. Parkinson."

Alexa scrounged her face in disgust, looking around for the Hummers and breathed out in relief as they began appearing behind the cars that they were supposed to take. "You know, one day I would love to sit down and chitchat over our differences, but you see," She motioned for the other women to follow suit and they began running towards the Hummers.

Armed men ran out of them, telling the girls to run faster and they watched out for Seth's guards to start firing; they didn't. The President and Mr. Parkinson watched in utter horror as the girls all ran towards safety - and they couldn't do anything about it.

It hadn't been rehearsed and Alexa was nervous that something would happen and mess up the plan. But she was pleased to see that everything was running as smooth as butter.

"Don't just stand there!" Seth roared, limping out of the wheelchair they had forced him in, "Bring them back you idiots!"

Alexa laughed, helping Kelly into the Hummer and watched as Jess jumped into who she believed was her brother. His arms were tatted up completely and if he didn't have a massive scar running down his face, he would've been an almost carbon copy of the Xrions.

Hell he probably had Xrion blood running in his veins because he was one hell of a man.

"Ms. Dominick?" A dark skinned man asked, his dark chocolate eyes shining brightly as he helped her in the car. She nodded. "My name is Hector; I will be this car's personal guard for the time being."

"Thanks," she smiled and then turned back to the President to shout out her final statement, "but we've got a ride to catch!"

The doors slammed shut and they sped out of the port. A walkie-talkie beeped and Alexa raised an eyebrow. "Way to make an exit, Alexa," Jordan laughed.

She smirked, shrugging and looked out the window, chuckling at the pissed off faces they left behind. Hopefully the ride back home was as safe and smooth as the trip on the dock had been.

"Jess," Jordan's voice came from the talkies again, "why the hell didn't you tell us your brother was one fine specimen? If I wasn't in love with Hugh, I'd be all over his fine ass tattooed body."

They laughed and Alexa shook her head.

"Mio amore," A smooth voice spoke in return, it was thick and rich as if he smoked when he was younger and the thick Italian accent made it even hotter, "I am sure I can rock your world better than the Alien."

"Ooh!" Kelly giggled, clapping her hands together.

Beep. "Nah, baby, your Hummer is nothing compared to his spaceship," Jordan drawled, smirking even though the Italian man who was saving them couldn't see her.

~*~

Alexa took a deep breath, brushing her fingers through her hair as she entered the room and searched Kelly's face for any signs of good news. "Is she any better?" She whispered, biting her bottom lip.

"No," Kelly croaked, clearing her throat and said, "her fever just entered the 100's."

She nodded, breathing in deeply as she felt all the stress piling up on her. Kai couldn't die; none of the women present could die. They were in her charge and it would haunt her the rest of her life if something were to happen to them.

"What are we going to do?" Millie whispered, fear evident in her voice and eyes as she looked between the two women.

"I'm not sure," Alexa sighed, "we can't call a doctor because we don't know what we're dealing with and they'd probably find a way to profit out of this."

Kelly placed the thermometer on the nightstand and stood up. "What about the mafia? We can ask them for another favour."

"Uh-uh," Kai whispered meekly, "I don't want you guys doing anything because of me; especially with the mafia. They already did something for us and we don't know if they'll turn us in."

"We have to do something!" Millie hissed, "We can't just let you die! Zak would want us to try something."

Kai's gaze hardened and she forced herself to sit up. "Zak would want us to try something, but not this! Don't bring him into this as if you knew him!" She groaned, lowering her voice to a broken whisper, "And if he would want me to be okay he would be here with me; not leaving."

"They don't have a choice," Alexa sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. She hadn't slept more than two hours for the past couple of weeks; she needed to make sure that all of the women were protected and taken care of.

Her mother grew tired of reminding her that she needed to rest in order to think straight, but the nightmares that haunted her at night prevented her from sleeping. They were so vivid that the only way she knew they weren't real was through Xander's absence.

It didn't help that he wasn't by her side, but she at least knew that Seth wouldn't be able to hurt him. Her dreams consisted of a war breaking out between the Xrions and the humans. During the battle, Seth would somehow reach Xander and break through his armour - killing him with a swift stab to the chest.

Alexa would wake up screaming and drenched in sweat. She would always get there late; too late. He would die in her arms with so much blood, he was barely recognisable. She would wake up and see everything red, even her hands.

However, part of her was somewhat relieved that the Xrions were leaving and avoiding war. She could understand Xander's point of view on leaving her behind. She would rather know he's alive somewhere rather than die because of some stupid humans.

Just because she understood his concerns didn't mean that the pain she felt, lessened; it had been too long and she was beginning to miss him more terribly than ever. His sweater was the only thing pulling her through; it smelled just like him and it was helping her sleep a bit more comfortably.

A soft knock startled the ladies out of their thoughts and Alexa stood to see who it was. Just as she reached the door, it opened slowly and her mother entered with a tray of food. "Good evening, girls." She spoke quietly, "Luis sends some sandwiches because you guys haven't eaten anything."

"Thanks, mom," Alexa smiled, giving her a soft kiss, "but I'm not really hungry."

"Nonsense, Alexandra," she chastised, placing the tray on the bureau and turned to look at them, "you have three pregnant girls here; we have to take care of them and make sure you eat. And in order for you to take care of them, you need to eat. So eat up, ladies or I'm kicking you out of my house."

Kai shook her head, "I'm not really hungry, Ms. Veronica; anything I eat, my baby throws back out. I'd rather sleep."

"If you know what's good for you, young lady," Veronica began using her motherly tone of voice, "you will at least drink something. How's your fever?"

"It keeps going up," Kelly sighed, running her fingers through her ponytail and then placed her hand on her small bump. She was five months pregnant and it was now that she was beginning to show.

Veronica pursed her lips and said, "I'll go see if Luis knows any tea remedies or something for a fever. If not, I'm calling a doctor."

"Mom, you can't!" Alexa felt her heart begin to beat faster with fear.

"Sweetie, this girl needs medical attention; we can't just keep hoping for a miracle to happen. Those Aliens aren't going to come just for her."

"They better not," Millie muttered, "if they're coming, they better take all of us."

Alexa nodded and said, "I know she needs medical attention, mom, but we can't risk them finding out that there are Alien babies here."

Veronica sighed, but didn't press the matter anymore. "Fine, but if she gets worst I'm calling a doctor. Now please eat something so I can sleep a little better."

She nodded, walking over to the tray and picked up a couple of crackers. After she watched her mother leave the room, she nibbled on a couple of crackers and drank some juice. Her stomach surprisingly welcomed it and she found herself eating a little more than usual.

Kelly walked over to the tray and picked up a couple of sandwiches; Millie followed suit. "Have you heard anything from Jordan? Are they okay?"

"Yeah," Alexa gulped, "everything is going well; they're complaining a bit about the hotel's food, but other than that they're fine."

"Thank god we have Luis," Millie mumbled, flashing them a bright smile, "that man can cook."

Alexa gave a light chuckle and said, "Don't let my mom hear you say that or she'll kick you out."

She raised her hands in mock surrender and said, "Hey, I'm just saying! Lucan is the man for me, but I wish he could cook like Luis."

"I honestly wish I could just be with Chandler," Kelly whispered, sitting on the chair next to Kai's bed.

The girls nodded in agreement and all fell in a thoughtful silence. After a couple of minutes of perturbed thoughts, Alexa stood up and cleared her throat. "I'm going to make sure the other girls are okay. Let me know if anything changes with Kai, alright?"

They nodded and she forced out a smile before closing the door behind her. She had already checked up on Jordan before checking on Kai, but she couldn't be around the girls with the constant reminder that there were only two weeks left before the Xrions departed from Earth.

And Xander still hadn't visited her.

Alexa took a deep breath, glancing at her reflection on her mother's hallway wall mirror. It extended until the far left of the house and at night it could be eerie if people forgot it was there. She looked extremely tired; her eyes were sinking in with horrible dark bags under them and she seemed to be dropping pounds by the minute.

When she was taken from the island, she weighed 130lbs - which was mostly muscle - but she was currently pushing 105lbs; all in a span of two weeks.

She tried to eat and be positive for she was the leader trying to keep everyone from losing their minds; but she had lost hers. No one was there to keep her upright and remind her that she could take a breather.

Tears welled in her eyes as it slowly dawned on her that there were exactly 13 days until the chances of being with Xander would wane forever.

"Alexa!" Her mom called out, a slight edge of panic rising in her voice.

Alexa quickly sniffled, trying to compose herself and followed her mother's panicked voice. She entered the living room and widened her eyes at the group of men standing next to the couch.

"Chandler?!" Her eyes widened and her mouth broke off into a contagious grin. "What are you guys doing here?!"

He smiled, dimples appearing on his cheeks and he said, "General Jenks could not ignore the tacto's stress signal any longer. It was that or Lieutenant Xander was bringing his squadron to check up on you."

Her heart skipped a beat. "Xander's here?" She turned to look through the faces of the couple of men present and her grin suddenly turned into a frown. He wasn't in her line of vision - and her line turned into squiggles by how many times she spun around.

Chandler grimaced, lowering his eyes and said, "I apologise, Ms. Dominick. Lieutenant Xander could not be present due to a couple of finalising things they must do back at the island. But he sends his kindest regards."

"Kindest regards?" She repeated, her voice but a small whisper, breaking at the end with emotion. She nodded and quickly tried to compose herself. "Did you guys bring a doctor? Kai-"

"Where is she?" Zak stepped up, concern all over his face.

Veronica raised her eyebrows in confusion and then her eyes widened in realisation. Her jaw dropped open and she sent a sly wink towards Alexa. She forced out a smile in return and cleared her throat. "She's right this way."

The group of men all followed her down the corridor, whilst Veronica watched with an agape expression. What Luis didn't know wouldn't help him; her thoughts were simply that. She wouldn't act on them - she'd just think of the Aliens later on that night.

"What are her symptoms?" Zak asked quietly.

"She's been throwing up anything she eats or drinks and her fever is reaching dangerous levels," Alexa said as she turned into Kai's room.

Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. One minute they were checking Kai's temperature and trying to get her to drink some juice and the next they were gaping at the men standing under the threshold.

"Chandler?" Kelly whispered, tentatively walking up to him.

"Mia bella amore," Chandler susurrated, taking her cheeks in his hands before giving her a tempting kiss. Alexa raised an eyebrow at Kelly and she blushed.

"He sounds sexy speaking Italian!" She turned back to Chandler and kissed him again.

Alexa looked away, feeling as if she were invading their privacy by even glancing at them and smiled when Kai's eyes brightened up.

"Zak!"

He ran towards her, quickly kneeling and pulled her in for a hug. They exchanged sweet kisses and loving words. Millie ran towards Lucan, who hugged her as if his life depended on it and Alexa cleared her throat before slipping out of the room.

"Are you alright?" A man she didn't recognise spoke quietly. He was a Xrion, that much was clear, but she had never seen him before.

"Yeah," she forced out a smile and blinked quickly, trying not to let the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes, do so. "Just a little tired. How did you guys get here?"

"The tacto," he cleared his throat, still eyeing her suspiciously, "Lieutenant Xander was watching it every second of the day. If it even blinked a colour different than green, he was in the General's office asking for permission to check up on you guys. The General always declined because the tacto would return to normal. However, these past couple of days the stress signals had not wavered and Lieutenant Xander was preparing to step down from his position just to make sure you were alright."

Her heart skipped a beat and she bit her bottom lip to keep from breaking out into incontrollable sobs. "Is he okay?"

He smiled and nodded. "Other than missing you terribly, he is doing well. He was the only Xrion that could not attend because of his high rank; the other men are with their partners in the building over."

"I wish he could've come," she whispered.

"Well it was nice speaking to you, Ms. Dominick, but I must check up on Ms. Evers and her child."

Alexa nodded and shook his head, "Same. I'll be in my room if anyone needs me."

He bowed his head in respect and entered the room with a medical kid in hand. She sighed after the door was closed and begrudgingly made her way to her bedroom. Each of the girls had their own room with bathrooms in them and Alexa thanked her mother for being moderately wealthy.

As she entered her room, she felt her tears prickling her eyes and soon she was sobbing. Her vision was blurred as she stood under the showerhead, letting the hot water turn cold against her body.

She didn't know how long she was there, but she desperately wanted to feel something other than heartache and the cold water was beginning to sting and leave her somewhat numb. Her skin turned red and blue in certain spots and she finally decided to leave and dry herself.

After rummaging through her drawers for a T-shirt to wear, she crawled in bed and held unto Xander's sweater tightly. Sobs began to tremble through her body and she hid her face against her pillows. It seemed as if though she were staying with his sweater after all.

"You will catch a cold, if you do not dry your hair," A soft voice whispered from beside her.

Alexa snapped her eyes open and almost cried even harder at the sight before her. Xander smiled softly and gently ran his fingers alongside her cheekbone. "You are shivering, mielle." The bed creased under his weight and he wrapped his arms around her small waist. "Come here," he murmured near her ear.

She quickly snuggled up to him and began sobbing quietly. Her face was pressed against his warm chest and she suddenly felt soothed. "I thought you weren't coming."

He shook his head, not wanting a centimetre of space between them and whispered, "The General would have to tie me to the XISC if he wanted to keep me from seeing you one last time. I finished all my duties as fast as I could so that I could make sure you were well."

"I think I'm going crazy," she mumbled, pressing her forehead against the curve of his neck, "it's so much responsibility to keep all these women safe from these idiots. Kelly's father was the reason we were forced to come and Seth was the asshole that tried to carry everything out."

At the mention of her ex, Xander tensed against her. "I always despised that repulsive human."

Alexa smiled and said, "I didn't always hate him, but now I hate him more than anything."

Xander stayed silent and pulled her closer to his side. After a couple of minutes of basking in a comfortable silence, he cleared his throat and softly said, "You are losing weight, mielle; you have to eat. I do not want you to get sick."

"I don't want to get sick either," she sighed, "but I literally can't eat without getting sick. I don't want to waste food, if I know I won't eat it. I know I have to try because I have to set an example to the other girls and whatever, but it's like the life is being sucked out of me."

His hand moved from her stomach up to her cheek and he rubbed his thumb under her eyes. "Your eyes have lost their light."

She frowned. "My eyes have lights?"

He gave a soft chuckle, watching her intently and whispered, "I remember them bright and filled with happiness. When you were first in the island you did not look this bad. Do not get me wrong, you will be beautiful anyway you look, but right now, you look insalubrious."

"I can't sleep," she muttered, "I can't eat." Tears began to brim in her eyes again and she laughed humourlessly, "I didn't think that loving someone would affect me this much."

"Non per si viti," he whispered, "I did not think it would be literal as well, mielle, but we have to try and see the positive."

She snorted. "Paint it out for me because I can't see any positive outcomes by you guys leaving."

"We will be preventing a war," he pointed out, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Fück them;" Alexa muttered emotionlessly, "they probably deserve to be fücked over by you guys. I'm sick and tired of this corrupt government and these stupid laws. If there was a war, I would fight by your side."

Xander turned on his side to better look at her and said, "Alexa, you are letting the hurt in you speak. You do not want us to be in a war with your people. We would not lose; millions would die for a petty cause. Mothers would lose their daughters and sons. Spouses would lose their spouses. Children would lose their parents; entering a war without an evident cause is useless."

"You guys should've come here in the 1900's; maybe the World Wars would've been avoided."

"I do not like fighting in impractical wars," His voice rumbled through his chest quietly, "I am a warrior, but I prefer a peaceful negotiation. If there is no other way, I will fight - and I will win. There are sides of me that you do not know; I try not to let them show because I do not want to frighten you. But to put it in simple terms; when I fight for a good cause, I become an unstoppable killer. Your people would not stand a chance against our warriors; it is best we avoid this war."

Alexa stayed quiet, just listening to his subtle heartbeat and slid her leg in between his, searching for comfort. He quickly wrapped his arms around her, trying to get her accommodated and she began tracing a scar that was peeking through the collar of his shirt. "Thank you for coming today, Xander."

"I would run thousands of miles just to see you, mielle," he sighed, kissing her forehead gently. And they both knew it was true; it would just result in a lot of deaths.

~*~