Like a twisted mockery, Jenny's phone vibrated in her pocket. Either it was her parents, wanting to know if she’d arrived yet, or it was Phil.
She hoped it was her parents. Because she didn't want to deal with another text from Phil.
The soldier glared at her.
She put her head down.
Mister Fluffikins meowed in protest again. Not because he was in his travel kennel, but because she wasn’t moving. If he had to be in here, then he should be moving. Jenny’s standing and waiting, however, was not pleasing to his furriness. His little paw darted out between the bars of the door, ready to swipe at something.
"Shh," she whispered.
Mr. F didn't appreciate that. And did his whine-growl, but the doors in front of them slid open, and he stopped, jerking in the kennel so much she almost dropped him.
The doors revealed a huge freight-like elevator with bright lights and light metal walls.
And out bounced a woman with shoulder-length brown hair, a big smile on her face, and a very round, pregnant belly.
"Hi there," she said, coming just outside the door. "I'm Polly. Welcome to The Bridge!"
She sounded way too eager.
"Polly," Mitchell said, unimpressed.
Jenny, however, was.
"Are youthePolly?" Jenny asked, shocked that she was standing before her.
Polly was known all over the world. The girl who married the alien and returned to Earth to tell the tale and wound up bringing alien contact and a wave of change with her.
Polly was a modern legend of sorts. Depending on which social media world you followed, she was either a saint or the devil for bringing aliens to Earth in a big, public way, and rattling every major religion to their core.
She’s been in the middle of quite the storm, for sure.
Still, she looked so, well,normal.
Jenny couldn't believe it was her. Like really her. Her green husband, Erzo, was an immense beast of a guy, at least from what Jenny had seen of pictures of them together, and he had a big tail.
And he was very protective of Polly. He always seemed to be touching or even guarding her.
She wondered where he was, and was he about to jump out and scare them all in a minute?
Would they meet him? How many others would they get to meet?
Jenny had been intrigued by them from the beginning.
From a genetic point of view, she had so many questions. After all, how did everything work? The chemistry. The biology. The anatomy.
As her gaze roamed over Polly's shape, she blushed, thinking that yes, everything seemed to work just fine.
"I have so many questions," Jenny burst out, staring at Polly.
"We can talk about them," Polly said. She gestured toward the elevator, her attention moving to everyone in the group. "Please, come in, and we'll get you to the station."
They all stepped inside the freight elevator. It wasn't particularly pretty, this elevator. The ceilings were very high, making it not seem so closed in.
The motor worked fairly smoothly as the elevator rose.
Fast. It moved very fast. Jenny felt the general rising direction, and it felt like her stomach tried to stay on the ground floor for a moment. She took in a couple of breaths, centering herself in the sensation.
