Chapter Text
Heat was beating down onto you, nearly scorching your scalp as you stood beside (Y/F/N), eyes narrowed and focused. The beads of sweat from your brows remained in place for the time being, deciding not to obscure your vision quite yet. The heat however was threatening to obscure the energy you were certain you’d have for this trip. For hours you had been driving through miles and miles of nothing but dirt roads and red rocks, not one sign of civilization in sight. Now stopped on the side of the road you were both basking in the Nevada heat, still staring at the same scene that had been blurring past your windows for hours on end. At this point in your trip you were both desperate for a change of pace and scenery.
With a huff (Y/F/N) nearly threw their phone to the ground, “Damn it. There’s still no service out here.”
You shrugged as you looked to the physical paper map in your hands, “It’s fine (Y/F/N), honestly. Chill.”
(Y/F/N)’s brows narrowed, “(Y/N), look around us. We are in the middle of nowhere! I can’t chill because who the fuck knows what’s out here!”
You huffed out a laugh as you shook your head and nudged towards the map, “Get your panties out of a bunch, shit. We’re like an hour away from Vegas.”
Suddenly (Y/F/N)’s interest seemed to peak, “We are?”
You hummed in acknowledgement, “Yes. You’re an hour away from being able to soak in sin.”
(Y/F/N) chuckled, “Just how I like it. How do you know that though?”
“I highlighted the highway we started on.”
(Y/F/N) huffed, “Nerd.”
You rolled your eyes with a smirk as you looked back to the map before you.
“You’ll thank me later.”
As close as Vegas technically was, it was still another long trek. You both felt disgusting and lethargic. The last thing you wanted to do was walk into a city like that looking as though you had been climbing the red rocks for 2 days. Sure it wasn’t the fanciest place, but there was certainly something about showing up looking so drab and exhausted that felt wrong.
Suddenly as your eyes scanned over the map, your eyes began to expand. One particular point, not too far from the crossway where you were located captivated your attention suddenly. In the back of your mind you knew you would hear about it or see it on your venture, but you never actually considered stumbling upon it. That scenario seemed like more of a joke to you than a reality. Surely you wouldn’t end up there. The legend, the myth, the large and unanswered conspiracy theory. Area 51.
The stories ranged for decades to all sorts of ludicrous things. Whether it was talk of alien autopsies, reconstructing UFO technology that had fallen from space or holding experimentation, it was wildly vast. And no matter how close someone seemed to get it always seemed as though someone behind the scenes had a different idea.
You were about to nudge (Y/F/N) and ask to make a pitstop, until you saw their face. They were visibly hot, overwhelmed by the heat and most certainly done for the day. At least for the moment. Your shoulders slumped in slight disappointment.
Squinting you looked off into the distance, suddenly catching sight of a neon sign. In the dessert sun it looked more muted in color but considering the shade of green it adorned, it was obviously nothing that would be considered a natural or regular shade of green. Smirking a little you suddenly noticed what the green was for.
You turned to (Y/F/N), “Hey, you wanna catch a break and go to the restaurant up there?”
(Y/F/N) squinted their eyes, “Up where?”
“A couple miles up the road, its a restaurant and Inn. We can take a little break, get a change of scenery then finish the night with our drive.”
(Y/F/N) sat there thinking for a moment, pondering over the idea. You knew they were looking forward to just getting to Vegas, being able to live it up as much as possible. Not necessarily considering what the venture there really consisted of. They shrugged as they turned towards you.
“I could use a coke or something.”
You smiled, “Its settled then. Lets roll.”
Soon enough you were both seated inside the restaurant in question. The restaurant which earned an eyeroll from your friend. Considering it was called the AleInn. Sure it was a little cheesy, but it made you smile a little. It must have helped some small businesses here to capitalize off the legend that was Area 51.
(Y/F/N) turned to you with a mouth full of fries, “So when do we bust this joint?”
You snorted slightly at the sight before you, “Could you not talk with your mouth crammed?”
(Y/F/N) shrugged with a little chuckle.
“Well once we’re both done we should be good to head out. Course we could always take a little extra time, I mean, its Vegas. Everything is basically 24/7.”
(Y/F/N) nodded, “That’s a good point.”
Suddenly a rather gritty voice cut into your conversation, causing both of your skins to crawl. Even before setting eyes on the individual.
“You looking for an adventure before Vegas?”
You both turned to see a man sitting off to your left, and his looks most certainly matched his voice. His entire appearance nearly embodied the word gritty to a tee. His crooked teeth were yellowed, his facial hair rather patchy and unkempt. His eyes seemed glazed over, with one being almost entirely black while the other was a stark contrasting green. The clothes he wore seemed both unfitted and unimaginable in the climate you were in. The heavy leather coat with long sleeves seemed so out of place, and so odd and yet the poor condition of it suited him so well.
Although you wanted to turn away and not acknowledge him, (Y/F/N) seemed to jump the gun for you and speak.
“No thanks.”
The sound of metal scraping against the floors of the restaurant send a shiver down your spine. You didn’t need to look over to know he was scooting closer to the both of you.
“But I haven’t even told you what it is.”
(Y/F/N)’s nostrils flared, “Look sir, we’re not interested. We just want to enjoy our food and leave.”
The man eerily laughed, “That’s it?”
“What have you got that’s so amazing we should give you the time of day to listen?”
He flashed his yellowing teeth, “An exclusive and private tour of the country’s biggest secret.”
(Y/F/N) snorted, “Oh really?”
The man nodded. Something about the look of confidence in his eyes seemed both fascinating and terrifying. It almost seemed as though he was luring you into something, a monster trying to sink its claws into its prey. Then again, he could have been a con man looking for some money. It was Vegas after all.
“What exactly makes this national secret so special?”
“Hackers can get into the oval office itself but ooohhh they could never break through this one. Area 51 is iron clasped shut.”
Suddenly you perked up at the mention of the infamous site. You had been thinking about it since seeing it on the map, but dismissed the idea entirely when you saw (Y/F/N)’s reaction to it. As creepy as this man seemed, you couldn’t help but to wonder what he was possibly offering up. It was obviously not anywhere that would let you in as a visitor or tourist, you were only allowed a certain distance from the fences by yourself. If someone could get you further than that, you weren’t sure how ecstatic or nervous you would feel. Then again, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for scammers and liars to get someone’s hopes up and make a profit.
“You know something about Area 51?”
The man smirked, “Damn right I do.”
(Y/F/N) turned to you with furrowed brows and a look of concern, “(Y/N) what the fuck?”
You leaned in trying to keep your voice lower than a whisper, “Remember that creep you talked up at Coachella? How we somehow got backstage and ditched the creep?”
(Y/F/N) nodded, almost visibly hating to recall the memory. You knew exactly the hesitations they felt with that person. Their face always seemed to make a statement before any words passed their lips.
“Who’s to say this guy isn’t the same? What if we can say we went to Area 51 and saw some crazy shit then partied it up in Vegas? Would that be so bad?”
“Pretty sure if we ever revealed anything we saw there we’d have someone from the government knocking on our doors within a very short amount of time.”
You sighed, “I mean yes thats a possibility, but I’m saying think of the positive!”
(Y/F/N) whispered back in a hushed tone, “I don’t like this, but for you, you little freak. I’ll play along.”
You winked at them before suddenly swiveling back around to the creep of a man waiting for your response.
“Before we even consider hearing what you have to say, what exactly would you know about Area 51 that anyone else here wouldn’t?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, looking almost cocky about whatever he was going to say.
“I know some of what goes on in there, when their security guards do their rounds, where their cameras are.”
“I don’t care about the security, what do you know?”
“You ever seen UFO technology?”
“I’m not sure I believe in such a thing.”
He smirked deviously obviously somewhat amused by your counterspeech, “It may not be like the ones you know from the movies, but there is some there.”
“From what I know they’re building more aircraft to stop potential incoming and unspecificed crafts from coming through our atmosphere. So what makes you think that’s not one of the so-called UFO’s you’ve supposedly seen?”
(Y/F/N) smiled at you, proud of how you were standing up to this man. They knew what it meant to you to go and see what was really going on there.
“Oh what they’re building does not have technology we’ve ever seen before.”
“Is it extraterrestial?”
“Might be.”
“So you don’t know?”
He huffed in frustration, “Well if you’re such an expert then you tell me what you know.”
“I know people have speculated about it for years. Everything from nuclear testing, to building military weapons, to investigating UFO sightings. Nobody really knows. There’s even the story about the alien autopsy.”
The man smirked once again, “You ever hear how that one ended?”
You shrugged, “Turned out to be a hoax, the guy who lied about being a former employee was exposed.”
“If it was just a hoax…why’d he go missing not too long after?”
Your brows furrowed, “What?”
“You didn’t hear about that?”
Both you and (Y/F/N) exchanged a look, obviously intrigued and put off all of a sudden. You were certain you knew the whole story. A scientist had lied that he worked in the facility, found footage of some sort of creature autopsy and claimed it to be an alien. Once he was denounced however, you had never heard of him after. Suddenly that set off something in your mind. Was this creep onto something?
Turning back to him slowly you gradually relaxed your brows, trying to seem as even-keeled as you could. You’d be lying however to say you weren’t dying to know more. He was right in claiming that the facility was air locked in terms of secrets. Just about everything that went in, out or around the area was never really revealed. Either that or very brief statements were released. But of course, for those who possessed a curiosity such as yours, no statement would ever suffice.
“What do you mean he went missing after?”
The man chuckled to himself, shaking his head of questionably miscolored hair as he settled his elbows comfortably.
“He did his interview, confessed it was all a fake. A week or so after that interview, he somehow goes missing. Nobody hears from him, lab doesn’t see him. Nothing.”
(Y/F/N)’s brows furrowed, “So he fell off the grid?”
He shrugged, “Embarrassment would only lead a man so far from home.”
“Embarrassment that big though?”
“He had quite a few people that still believed him.”
Your brows rose slightly at the mention, “…That’s true.”
(Y/F/N) turned towards the man again, “So where’d he go?”
The man raised a brow to both of you, insinuating something that he likely deemed obvious. Although you could figure out why, he didn’t exactly explain how or where.
“Nobody knows.”
“But somebody wanted him gone?”
The man nodded, “That they did.”
You dazed off for a moment, taking the information in. As sketchy as the man seemed, you were almost considering the offer. It certainly wasn’t a place that offered up tours, and considering you knew no one and had no idea of how to get around, this creep was about your best option. Not to mention his knowledge of things that surrounded the facility and those involved with it seemed impressive. He continued sharing facts with (Y/F/N) as you were lost in your train of thought, seeming just as confident in his knowledge as before. You couldn’t see (Y/F/N)’s expression or reaction, but their sudden outburst with a slap down to the table snapped you back to the present.
“Shit that’s it I’m in.”
You turned to them with furrowed brows, “(Y/F/N)!”
“(Y/N)! You’ve always been curious about this sci-fi crap, we could finally see one of the biggest figments of said sci-fi crap!”
You rolled your eyes, crossing your arms over your chest. Of course (Y/F/N) would be like this. In certain ways they were almost too easy to persuade. If the right words or buzz lines were used, they were yours.
“Come on (Y/N), we all know the governments lying to us, we might as well get a little adrenaline rush while trying to expose at least one lie.”
You scoffed, “You don’t know that we’re going to expose anything.”
“Noooo, but are you going to be able to live with it if we miss this opportunity?”
The table fell silent for a moment, leaving you to your thoughts with only the soft ambience of music from the aged jukebox. You had already pondered over the idea, considered how cool it would be to see, how (Y/F/N) would react. The only thing you hadn’t calculated was the man taking you on this venture as your guide. Everything seemed tempting, until you considered who he really could be. As if the universe was dangling something in front of you on a barbed wire, seeing if you would take the risk.
You gave them a look, skeptical but open, “You’re sure?”
(Y/F/N) nodded confidently, “The hell I am.”
The man laughed, nearly giving you both the chills. His release of air sounded like that of someone struggling on oxygen support. You could only imagine that he had a history with chain smoking or something of that nature. Not that it was a surprise nor relatively shocking. The insinuations were practically written across his face.
You turned to the man, giving him a nod, “Then I guess I’m in too.”
“Let’s get to it.”
The sun was slowly gliding across the sky as the hours ticked by, relieving you of some of its earlier burning pressure. Considering you had only driven your car to the outskirts of the area as well, it was also greatly appreciated. The trek from then on felt far easier than with the sun beating down on you all. Not to mention your newly filled bellies and hydrated insides, just about everything felt better for you.
Everything aside from the reality of following this cringey stranger out to Area 51. The only thing that really relieved you about the scenario was that he brought his own vehicle. It also matched his rather questionable appearance. It was definitely beat-up and not even in the slightest chance a car released within the last two decades. Considering how proudly he had driven it ahead of you both, seeming to admire it once he was out, you knew for certain at least your getaway was secure.
Even with all of that knowledge, (Y/F/N) was still not entirely comforted. As on board as they had been back at the restaurant, something seemed to creep over them the closer and closer your venture brought you to Area 51. The car ride was only the beginning for (Y/F/N)’s nerves to be set on edge. The walking trek you were making now was sending goosebumps up their skin.
The heat was no longer a factor, their mind was far too consumed by the path ahead of you both. Or the lack thereof. They wanted to be as into this as you were, seeking the adrenaline and possible answers, but something would not let them take it all in. Even with the confidence and jubilant ‘ok’ they had given seemed to become more of a regret.
(Y/F/N) jogged up to you, trying to keep up with your footing. Finally catching up to you, (Y/F/N) quickly tapped your shoulder, trying to catch your attention.
“(Y/N), (Y/N) hold on a second.”
You hesitated, turning to them swiftly. Their eyes seemed wider, filled with more concern, their mannerisms far more inverted than before. They were visibly showing their discomfort.
“I don’t know about this.”
You rolled your eyes with a groan, “Are you fucking serious?”
“(Y/N) listen to me! We’re just following this guy out here! What if this is some shady shit and he’s gonna try something?”
You sighed, “You would wait until literally the last moment to have this thought.”
(Y/F/N) threw their hands up in the air, “Well!”
You narrowed your brows as you glared at them, “If we ditch now something bad could also happen to us. So how about we go along with this, get our adrenaline rush and if he tries something I still have a pocket knife on me and so do you and if we need to we will use them. But what isn’t going to help us right now is being a little bitch and backing away in the middle of nowhere. You with me?”
(Y/F/N) sighed dramatically, “Ok, but why do you have to be so mean about it?”
You slapped their bicep with a smirk, “I’m not mean but sometimes you need to be hit with a truck more than a nudge.”
(Y/F/N) shrugged, “Yeeaahh.”
You both laughed as you brought your hand to gently slap (Y/F/N)’s back.
“Come on.”
After another 15 minutes of trekking over rock and dirt, wiping sweat off of your brows you finally saw your “guide” halt in his steps. Coming up just behind him (Y/F/N) and you both tried to get a glimpse ahead of him. Sure enough as you peered over his shoulder you could see the object of your entire venture laying before you. A view of it you had never seen before.
As you and (Y/F/N) both went wide eyed the man smirked to himself in pride.
“Welcome to Area 51.”
(Y/F/N) scoffed out a laugh creating an almost odd sound as if they were gasping for air, “Holy shit! I thought you were making all this up.”
“How much closer are we going to get?”
He turned to you both giving you another odd sort of smirk in response, “Just wait.”
As he turned back around and went to began the trek down the hillside you and (Y/F/N) exchanged a look. It didn’t require words for you both to know the other was wondering what the hell he meant by that. So far he had proven to be true to his word, with no malice or strange motions towards either of you. It still didn’t take away the little creeps he gave both of you. It certainly brought forth a lot of hesitation as well as questions.
Turning forward once again you both began to follow behind him as he trekked down the rocky hillside towards the ellusive facility. Although there wasn’t any smooth plains to set your foot on for the venture down, the rock proved to be just dry enough to not slip. The last thing you needed was to get a concussion or worse on your Vegas trip in the middle of nowhere with a weird stranger.
To no surprise the further down the hillside you went, the better you could make out a rather tall and impressive barbed wire fence. The metal rods holding the whole thing up seemed to be firmly planted in the rocky ground, as if the solid foundation was not a problem. The overhead lights surrounding the area seemed to be far smaller and dim than you had expected. It seemed as though they were determined to keep out of plain sight even in the later hours.
Finally reaching the end of the hillside, reaching the front of the wire fence (Y/F/N) turned to your “guide” with furrowed brows.
“What the hell are we gonna do now? They’re gonna kill us if they see us outside the fence trying to get in.”
He shook his head, “They’re not going to.”
“Not going to?”
He put up his index finger, signaling for both of you to wait. What you were waiting for you weren’t entirely sure but you certainly had a couple assumptions. Considering how odd this man was you wouldn’t be surprised if he pulled out an entire tool kit from the inside of his jacket to break you all in.
After a moment of assuring neither of you was going to pipe in, the man reached into his jacket pocket and surely enough pulled out a tool. A tool that was, however, not what you were expecting. Although you could tell they were plyers there was also other things wrapped around it that made its overall purpose and design a mystery to you.
(Y/F/N) seemed to share your thoughts and curiosity as they blurted out, “What in the hell is that?”
The man smirked, “Specialty plyers. Get us in with no trouble.”
“No trouble except electrocution?”
The man shook his head as he began turning small nobs on the side of the odd plyers he held. Within a couple short moments he took the odd tool and began cutting into the wire fence. Seemingly like an expert in this sort of thing he began cutting a perfect circle out of the barbed fence, getting a raise of your brows in response. While you knew he could get you there, you would have never thought he’d be capable of this. Perhaps your first judgments were wrong.
After another clip of metal, getting the metal to snap perfectly for him, your tour guide swiftly kicked out the circle. The precision of the cut and his surprising agility had you speechless. He looked hardly physically active, let alone like the type of person who would be able to pull this off. Then again, he definitely gave you the impression of a scammer.
Sliding through the cut metal he made his way through, ducking his head carefully. As his body slid over to the other side, successfully getting him onto the Area 51 side he motioned to you and (Y/F/N).
“Crawl through. Just watch your heads.”
You both nodded. You went first, crouching down to the dirt to effectively get yourself through the fence. Although you were confident in your general flexibility and coordination, you knew this wasn’t a time to get too cocky. To your good fortune, you made it through seamlessly with no hassles. It was as if your guide had measured it out perfectly by just glancing at you.
(Y/F/N) climbed through next, taking a little extra caution than you had. You weren’t sure if they were hesitant to mess up their hair or if they were legitimately concerned about walking onto the other side of the soil, but either way it earned an eyeroll from your guide.
“The fence ain’t gonna hurt ya.”
(Y/F/N) aggressively whispered, “But the authorities will!”
You snorted as you shook your head, carefully grabbing their arm to steady them out as they stood both feet on the “new” patch of soil. As they got more comfortable in their stance they flashed you a smile, letting you know they were ok. Perhaps it was also assurance that their tested patience was not because of you.
As you both turned forward you saw your guide eagerly gesturing for you both.
“Come on now! Adventures to be had and all.”
(Y/F/N)’s eyebrows crinkled, “I swear I will never get over how he talks.”
You giggled, “Cut him a break, he got us in.”
“Let’s hope he keeps up his good streak.”
You nodded as you gave (Y/F/N) a slight nudge on the trek down the hillside. To say the least, this would be quite the adventure to add to your many stories and mishaps you had gotten into together. As you began sauntering down the hillside you couldn’t help but think over it. You had already shared so many good memories, and now you would be sharing one of the best trips of your life with them again. How could you have gotten so lucky?
Shaking off the thought as your guide made a ‘psst’ sound, you and (Y/F/N) turned your full attention to him. As you made it onto the flat ground he held out his arms wide, quietly allowing a wide grin to spread across his face as he announced to you.
“Welcome to Area 51!”
You both looked around in awe for a moment, while it was definitely still a wasteland, partially, inside the fence, there was definitely an energy in the air that felt different. The adrenaline you felt alone was contributing to that as well. You knew this was special, and you knew you would remember it for years to come. Everything from the wasteland of sand, to the random shipping crates sitting out in huddles, to the barbed wire fences, to the rather impressive jets awaiting take off only a couple dozen yards away from you.
(Y/F/N) chuckled as they held out their arms wide as if the excitement was finally washing over them as you all took a couple steps forward, “We made it!”
All of a sudden, as if in immediate response to their outburst, a blinding flash blocked out your vision. It was as if a sonic blast had just gone off and the impact was too bright and brilliant to stare into. Although unlike a blast, no heat or loud thundering roars of the earth followed. Instead you heard a voice through a megaphone yell in your direction, echoing off of the vast and empty landscape past the wire fences.
“Intruder alert! Intruder alert!”
As your vision came back to you in full, adjusting to the bright white light in your eyes, you felt your heart sank into your shoes. Your blood felt as though it was freezing into a solid within your veins, the fear of what was about to happen slowly settling into you. Within seconds a blaring alarm sounded off, combating the sound of the booming voice from earlier. If your partners in this adventure hadn’t been aware of what was happening before, their expressions now certainly made it clear. They were caught up and looked just as petrified as you.
Releasing a deep breath you trembled, “And now we’re fucked.”
Your tour guide seemed to release a shaky breath before he attempted to mildly advise you both, “Run!”
Without hesitation you all went scrambling for the nearest getaway. It was obvious none of you were on the same page as you all went running in different directions. Your odd “tour guide” who got you into this whole mess went straight back towards the fence, carefully but hurriedly crawling through the cut metal. (Y/F/N) went to run off into the open field that was a part of the field, only to hesitate when they saw you flustered and assessing your surroundings.
“(Y/N)!!”
With a snap of your head you turned towards them, seeing them frantically gesture towards you.
“We gotta get off of the property!”
“We can’t get through that fence fast enough!”
(Y/F/N) quickly started looking around, trying to think of something on the fly. While they were usually crafty in situations like this, they weren’t usually put up against the military and federal government. Suddenly as their eyes scanned the surroundings they quickly yelled.
“The crates! Get inside one of the crates!!”
Your brows furrowed, “Are you fucking insane?!”
“Do you wanna get fucking arrested?!! Go now!”
Before you could even think to continue the argument they went running off towards one of the larger crates on the outskirts. In their defense it was a rather smart idea. They would likely find your odd tour guide and arrest him first, likely sending out patrols to find you both soon after. Which from your hiding places you would be able to hear said patrols approaching.
Shaking your head in disapproval you went scurrying towards a huddle of large gray metal crates. Although it was likely not the crate most would choose to hide in, you couldn’t help but be drawn to it. If they were going to search these, this would at least seem like the least obvious choice. As opposed to the one far separated from the rest of the property.
Frantically trying to choose one your eyes began to bounce from one to the other. Had they moved any faster you would have likely made yourself dizzy. Passing out on the ground however was not an option at this point. You were not looking to get locked up in a highly secured prison by the government. There was no amount of explaining that would make your endeavors not sound absolutely stupid to them, and you weren’t ready to serve time.
Finally landing your eyes on one in the middle you went scurrying towards it. Nearly slamming yourself into it, you slowed your footing to focus on the large metal door before you. You had never really dealt with these types of containers much in your life, but you had hope that just standing before it would answer your questions. That however was not the case.
“Shit” you muttered.
Part of you almost couldn’t reason with what to do at this point, caught between the adrenaline of trying to hide and the self loathing that it had been your idea to come here in the first place. Had you not had the weird interest in Area 51, you wouldn’t have landed yourself in a highly illegal and more than stressful situation.
Releasing a deep breath you stood before the door, now determined to get inside. The fear of what could happen to you even flashing through your subconscious was enough to motivate you. You weren’t ready to find out to people who disobeyed the laws at one of the governments best kept secrets.
Swiftly your hands began pulling at all of the different dips and edges of the door, attempting to find a way in. Every little crevice in the front seemed to be a dead end for you, not allowing any type of leeway or success. That did not stop you however for quickly trying every other thing you could come up with. The left side of the crate however was coming up with nothing for you.
Now your heart was beating with a ferocity you didn’t recall from before. Everything seemed to become a daunting and foreboding presence lurking over your shoulder at the moment. The sirens, the unknown presence of life that was going to come looking for you, your friend, the authorities. All of it was beginning to consume your psyche. Before you could fall into a breakdown however, you pulled yourself together and began repeating your process for the right side of the crate door.
Eventually something would have to give.
Hearing the sirens still blaring, obnoxiously announcing your intrusion, you kept your fingers heavily but swiftly digging into the metal. As a light swung over the top of the crates surrounding you, causing you to crouch for a moment, you suddenly heard a creak under the pressure of your grasp.
As if everything in time and space had ceased and your heart had flown straight into the heavens themselves, you gasped in relief. Without even trying you had opened the gateway to your safety. Without hesitation you stood back up properly, rushing to pull the crate door open with all of your strength. Hearing the loud metal contraption strain you nervously cursed under your breath. You hoped none of the security was close enough to hear you. Not when you were this close.
Finally getting the door opened wide enough for yourself, you pushed your body in as swiftly as you could. Within seconds as you got yourself inside, taking note of the change in the air and its content of humidity, you pulled all of your weight once again. Luckily, you weighed just enough to pull the door back in at a decent pace as opposed to when you were trying to open it. If anything, this was a much better sign of how things were going to go.
To your misfortune however, your seeming success with pulling the door back resulted in something you were not anticipating. Falling. As soon as the metal clicked shut and you felt the weight leave your fingers, you suddenly felt yourself tumbling back. You had put so much of your body into opening and closing that door that you hadn’t anticipated the sudden ease at the end. Stumbling backwards, your arms began to flail slightly as if they were going to balance you out. The backpack on your back however was only solidifying that you would not be successful in bringing yourself upright again. You cursed to yourself again, wondering why in the hell you hadn’t thought through things like this earlier.
Stumbling back another step or so you finally felt your feet fall out from under you, no longer keeping you steady. With the seeming loss of balance you went flying to the floor. What should have been a short fall and straight thud to the floor seemed to take a couple seconds longer than you were anticipating. Then again, due to the adrenalin and very high levels of stress your perception of what was going on could have been totally warped. There was no real way to tell except to ride it out and see what unfolded next.
As you finally collided with the ground, hearing a combined thud and squeak against the steel surface you gasped. It felt as though you had fallen further than just that short distance as the sudden feeling of weightlessness left you entirely. Now you were laying on your side, face pushed into the highly uncomfortable and cold metal.
You probably looked as ridiculous as you felt, it shouldn’t have been such a big deal to just fall backwards with your backpack. It’s not like you had gone tumbling off of a cliffside. Keeping your eyes closed with a groan you attempted to lay there, allowing yourself just a moment. Even if someone was after you, you wanted to at least get yourself centered again before you even tried running or rushing to hide again.
Suddenly, as if in response to your thoughts and on cue you heard an alarmingly close thud of boots marching against the metal. Although compared to the material you had pried open to the crate, this sounded foreign. Something was wrong.
“On your feet scum.”
Your heart nearly stopped inside your chest as your eyes flew open. While you knew that any authority catching you on the private property would be absolutely pissed at you, you knew there was a level of professionalism they had to keep. Calling you scum likely wasn’t one of them. That however ended up being the last of your concerns once your eyes peeled open.
The first thing to catch your attention was the sudden presence of far more light than what you had walked into. Although the floor was dark, you could make out every detail, unlike before. Which raised another red flag for you. The flooring before you looked absolutely nothing like what you had walked into. Although you didn’t spend a ton of time running around or investigating shipping crates, you knew exactly what it was supposed to look like on the inside. Sleek black marble floors with steel lining was certainly not it. Not to mention the width of the area just before you. If you were still laying on the ground, still feeling the cold marble under your flesh, then the crate had grown 15 feet in width since you had closed your eyes.
In addition to all of that, you also took instant notice of the apparent sea of white boots before you. You weren’t certain you had seen boots like that ever before, nor had you ever seen a division of the military or government enforcement that wore such things. Had they changed uniforms lately? How hard had you hit your head on the way down from your small stumble? How hard would it have to be for you to be essentially hallucinating?
“I said on your feet scum!”
Trying to process all of these new details and shocking visuals, you were suddenly ripped out of your thoughts by an aggressive set of hands clamping down on each of your arms. You seemed to be in a complete blur for the moment not only from the stress, but the sheer amount of confusion muddling your thoughts. Your eyes still glued to the floor, watching your form finally come to a fully standing stance, seeing the peculiar white boots on either of your sides.
Daring to look up you slowly turned your gaze to the left, hoping to get some type of answer as to what was going on. Although you weren’t going to fully confess that you had fallen so hard due to running away from possible arrest, you certainly wanted them to tell you if you had sustained damage to your head.
And considering what you saw once your eyes moved from the dark marble, you were certain you had done more than just hit your head. You must have fallen into some sort of concussion. Your gaze was met with the familiar white mask of a Stormtrooper. You audibly gasped, in complete shock of what was staring right back at you. As your eyes began to wander a little further, you realized you were surrounded by them. White masks with little black lines for eyes were all directed towards you. Blasters and attention. The ceilings were far higher than you remember, and definitely a steel material you had no recollection of once you had walked inside the crate.
You muttered under your breath nearly out of breath from the attempts you were taking to breath normally, “What the fuck.”
One trooper on your right tugged your arm harshly, “Watch it.”
Your brows furrowed. How was this really happening to you right now? Why were you dreaming that you were under arrest in the Star Wars universe? Had your grandeur dreams of seeing extraterrestrials at Area 51 prompted this? Were your nerves about being arrested by the federal government so high that it was causing you to be delusional on a whole other level? Anything rational you tried to come up with didn’t seem to be computing.
Another trooper from the crowd surrounding you stepped forward, giving the two holding you back a slight nudge of his head. “We’ll take her to interrogation with Ren.”
“Interrogation?”
“You’re an intruder. What did you think was going to happen?”
Your brows remained furrowed for a moment, until something flew across your mind. A lightbulb if you will. (Y/F/N). You shook your head with a sudden and unexpected smirk as a little snort escaped you. You couldn’t see what the individuals surrounding you were doing or thinking of your sudden change in demeanor but you weren’t going to really consider that at this point.
“Alright…I see what’s happening.” You giggled as you held up a single finger, “I got it.” You shook your head and laughed again, “This is all a setup.”
One of the troopers tilted their helmeted head at you, “Excuse me?”
“It’s a setup! (Y/F/N) set this up as a joke! She was giving me shit the whole trip over to Vegas anytime I brought up something nerdy or space related and now her grand vision has come through. I just wish I had known she was that bitter about my senior prank.”
“Quiet!”
“But-”
“I said quiet! You’re being sent to interrogation now.”
You shook your head, “Ok very funny. Am I going to be interrogated by Darth Vader or something? I mean this is Vegas, you guys have impersonators of him here right?”
The troopers all seemed to exchange glances for a moment before all turning back to you.
“Are you disrespecting the Lord Vader?”
You snorted, “You guys are really good at staying in character huh?”
Both of the troopers holding you back jolted you forward, aggressively pulling you with them as they took a few steps down towards what appeared to be another corridor.
“Hey (Y/F/N)! You can come out now!”
One of the troopers suddenly smacked you upside the head with their blaster. The weight of it alone sent a shock through you. As if the metal colliding with your skull instantly flipped a switch inside of you. That wasn’t supposed to happen was it? Prop guns weren’t usually that heavy…right?
“Shut it scum! Or we’ll blast your skull clean off.”
One of the troopers chuckled, “Phasma would be proud of that huh?”
They all seemed to collectively laugh. As one nudged the one who had hit you, “You know she’d wanna see that one herself. Can’t leave her out of a free show.”
You wanted to keep believing this was a prank, that when they said Phasma they meant (Y/F/N) and not the actual Star Wars character Phasma, but part of you was starting to reel into another realm of panic after that hit. That metal was far too heavy to be just a prop and no paid actor would actually assault you just to keep up an act. (Y/F/N) wouldn’t have allowed it. Your surroundings wouldn’t have changed this drastically if you were still at Area 51. There was no way you had fallen that easily into the underground of the base. They couldn’t risk that easy of exposure from an intruder like you or (Y/F/N). They couldn’t possibly be that stupid either knowing just how many people wanted to get inside.
Now it was all becoming too much. And as your feet mindlessly followed your captors steps, carrying you further and further into sleek and foreign hallways, you couldn’t help but to start internally panicking. Where the hell were you?
Your thoughts came to another reeling hit when you saw a head of firey red hair waiting at the middle of the corridor you were walking through. The color of their hair alone was a stark contrast to the all black ensemble they wore. The rather clean and well kept appearance of their gelled hair however seemed to suit their very stiff attire, or rather uniform. You wouldn’t know at this point. You weren’t even sure if you were still conscious.
“General Hux!” one of the modulated voices called out from behind you.
A chill ran through you at the name. You knew the movies well enough to know the name, and you dreaded the moment that he would turn towards you. And sure enough, your panic only grew as the pale and stern man turned to face you and the huddle of troopers. Certainly if you were dreaming, or hallucinating, it would be easy to recreate Star Wars before yourself. This however, the exact facial features to a T, the uniform to the very lines and buttons on his overcoat were sending your brain through a whirlwind. Not even your imagination held onto that many details in your fantasies. This was far too detailed and far too real to be possible.
With his hands clasped behind his back General Hux turned towards you all, giving you an obvious look over before crinkling his brows. He looked just as pissy and stiff as you had imagined he would be if he were a real person. That of course begged the question, was he even real at this moment?
“What in blasts is going on? Who is this?”
His piercing blue eyes scanned over your form, obviously passing judgment on you. You could just tell from the way he looked at you that he was judging your likely messy hair, your now soiled makeup, your less than ideal attire. Everything about you. From how small you felt under his gaze as well, you could have sworn he was looking into your soul and judging your very being as well. It was both embarrassing and terrifying. He was so true to the character you imagined that it was starting to scare you, make you question reality itself.
“We retrieved this intruder in Sector 3 sir. She appeared from nowhere. No alarms set off, no damage to the interior or exterior of the base. She doesn’t appear to match any profiles we have on the base either.”
His brows crinkled again as he gave you a look of disgust and mild annoyance, “What sort of supernatural garbage is that?”
“We’re not certain General. We thought it wise to bring her to you for interrogations.”
Now the word sent a chill through you. Interrogation seemed to be much more real now that you couldn’t seem to shake out of this dream world. Everything about it was too real, and as Hux looked at you once again, the trooper to your left adjusting his grip on your forearm, you felt like bursting into tears. You couldn’t honestly tell if you were insane or if you were in legitimate danger. And the vast difference between the two was not bringing you any comfort. There was an outcome for both possibilities and neither of them were going to work out well for you. You could already tell.
He gave them a nod, seeming to shift to a more neutral expression. “Very well. It is wise to interrogate her however you know I do not deal with that of the supernatural. I have no such time nor care for it.”
The trooper nodded beside you, “What would you suggest sir?”
He tilted his well polished head for a moment, nearly smirking at you as you nearly saw the idea flash through his mind. He was obviously pleased with himself.
“Take her to Ren.”
A stark and noticeable silence seemed to fall over the troopers for a moment before the one on your other side gave Hux a curt nod, “Yes sir.”
“Report back when you have answers.”
“Yes sir.”
With that they began dragging you off, gripping onto your arms again with a rather aggressive nature. You could tell they were not invested in your comfort nor were they going to take the time for you to catch your footing. Now you were really starting to panic.
“Wait! Wait where are you taking me?! Please I didn’t do anything!”
The trooper to your left shoved your arm, assuring to point his blaster towards you, “What part of quiet don’t you understand?!”
You fell silent, trying to find a happy medium between going into your inevitable breakdown and keeping up a strong front. You had no idea where you were, what was going on, if you were even still conscious or if (Y/F/N) was standing over your unconscious body trying to wake you up. All you knew was that everything here before you was starting to feel too real. Too tangible. And far too real and bizarre to possibly process or come to grips with.
What had you gotten yourself into?