She was not alone.

The hunched creature that brought her here had lingered, remaining cloaked.

Connelly believed her thoughts must be an open book to the creatures as one by one, ten of the hulks shimmered into view. Their long appendages were folded down in a nonthreatening way and their eyes glowed with the same blue light as the Europhids coating the walls. They stood still and silent, like guardian statues. But Connelly knew better. They were brutishly strong and agile. She would be dead already if they desired. Her PMS may protect her from lacerations, but they could just as easily pummel her to death. She understood it would be effortless for the creatures. So why were they delaying? What did bringing her here accomplish?

Without thinking about communication problems that inherently existed between species that developed on different worlds, Connelly spoke rhetorically. "What do you want with me?"

The creatures remained motionless, silhouetted by the blue light emanating from the Europhid walls.

Connelly pushed herself onto her knees, waiting for some kind of attack. "Why am I here?" she asked.

Two of the creatures moved, causing Connelly to shirk away. They were going to pounce. This was it…

But they simply stood to either side, opening a path to a section of the Europhid wall. Then they were motionless again.

Connelly stood to her feet and looked around. The creatures stood all around her. It was clear they wanted her to move through the open space, to walk towards the wall, but why? Lacking options or the means to plead her case, Connelly moved slowly towards the wall. She stopped a foot away, looking into the glimmering blue flesh of the fragile Europhids.

A smile crept onto her face. She took another step forward, peering at the internal workings of the translucent Europhids.

Amazing.

Connelly didn't have a chance to scream or react as a barrage of blue tendrils snapped out of the wall, wrapped around her body and pulled her into the wall. Connelly sank deeper and deeper into the wall. A jolt, like an electric shock, paralyzed her. There was no pain, just immobility.

Like jellyfish tentacles, she thought. Even humans weren't immune to the effects of jellyfish, whose tendrils caused severe burning and immense pain. The effect of the Europhid tentacles on Connelly's body was overwhelming, even with the PMS on.

As Connelly was swallowed up by the wall, the view through her facemask became stark blue…like she was floating in the sky. She felt her mind slipping away. Her thoughts became jumbled, tired, like sleep induced by a sedative. A blanket of total and complete peace had been laid over her. Her anxiety had been reduced to nothing. Here she was, about to face a death unlike any human had experienced before and she felt better than she had in all her life.

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