The Alien on my caravan roof

Lab rats don't like radioactive cheese

There was no sun that day. Usually when someone decides to do something big and important, the sun is beating down o their backs and there's a spring in their step. But on this day, it was raining. Annika lay on the bed, and stared at the sputtering rain slam into the caravan roof. She glanced over at the clock on the radio, and cursed under her breath. "I hate coin flips" She muttered, rolling up. When she'd flip the coin to decide her fate, it'd chosen the freaky laboratory. Three days later, and now she had to follow through with her decision. The letter had been folded neatly inside a satchel bag along with a water bottle, her purse and two polo packets. Annika made her bed and turned off the radio, its spluttering static fading away and allowing fresh birdsong to take its place. She darted over to the sink and unfolded a mirror from the cabinet. The rain continued outside as she drew up her hair into a ponytail, and wiped the sleep from her eyes with a wet towel. Grabbing an umbrella from above the door, Annika pulled her bag over her shoulder, slipped her feet into a pair of trainers and exited the caravan. She pulled up the umbrella and hopped down the steps into a small puddle, and splashed around the caravan until she reached something covered in a waterproof tarp. In one swift movement, she revealed from beneath the tarp an old fashioned blue bike with a basket on the front. It was a Sunday, so the closest bus was pretty unreliable today. Luckily the location was around ten minutes away. She pulled the bike out of the undergrowth, and slotted her umbrella into the umbrella holder behind the seat. She placed her satchel into the basket, carefully to keep it dry under the umbrella. The rain trickled over the side of the umbrella slowly, creating a melody with each landing. Annika pushed it out of the clearing and through the secret entrance. She continued to guide the bike up the squelching muddy field and through a variety of cobbled paths. Arriving at the road, a barrage of cars screeched by, sending cascades of water in every direction. Annika finally hopped one leg over the bike, and pushed off onto the tarmac. Her legs moved automatically, allowing her to enjoy the fresh morning sun that was now cutting through the grey cloud. A select few rays landed on the puddles, creating pools of honey all around her. Annika calmly cycled, ignoring the shouts and swear words thrown at her from behind. She tried to keep upbeat as they drove past her, purposefully splashing her with the muddy water. 

The lab was soon looming over the horizon. It had a glass roof seemingly filled to the brim with plant life and trees. Its white exterior had sections of mosaic decorating it, and a large rotating door at the front. Annika stared in wonder, her eyes twinkling. 'Maybe I should make my entire roof glass...' she thought ambitiously as she veered her bike into the immense car-park. Surprisingly, almost every space was taken and none of the cars were the same colour. Only one red. Then a darker maroon. Then a deep purple. Then Lilac. Each parking space also had an electrical outlet to charge your car at. How eco friendly...

Annika pulled up to a bike rack near the entrance, and jumped off. She pulled out the bike lock and kissed her vessel goodbye. For how long, she didn't know. The perfect windows on each door of the rotating entrance sparkled in the bright lights. As she emerged from the spinner, the ground became oddly soft. She looked down to see an almost foam feeling ground underneath foot. It was bouncy and allowed her to jump across the room in spirts of giggles. The main lobby's ceiling extended up into the sky, and had many glass balconies around that lead into different rooms. People in different coloured lab coats ferreted about. One ran from the building just as Annika entered, dropping their coat on the ground as they went. A large circular desk was at the room's centre with a tall tree in the centre. The tree was coated in twinkling independent fairy lights, each one programmed to go off in a specific order. They were gold. Annika heard her shoes squelching as she dripped up to the desk labelled 'reception'. A man with several face scars was typing delicately on his laptop, unbroken gaze. That was until Annika awkwardly tapped on the desk. His head snapped up, and a plastic smile set onto his face. "Good Morning! My name's Tom, welcome to Gravity Limited! How can I help you today?" His overly friendly new persona caught Annika off guard for a moment, before she readjusted herself in a panic.

"Um... A few days ago I was given this letter... I'm not sure if it was a prank or not, but do you recognise..." Annika dug into her bag and extracted the wet letter "This?". She handed the man the letter. He took it slowly and slid it underneath a blue light behind him, before spinning back around and handing her the letter. "Nope! This is no prank! You have been selected" He then bent down to a tiny microphone, coughed twice, and pressed a small green button. "Can I have a volunteer representative to the reception, please? That's a volunteer representative to the reception, thank you". A pause. 

"Should I sit down or...?" Annika gestured to the armchairs behind her. 

"Go ahead, someone will be with you shortly" The man smiled warmly. Annika could feel him watching her find a seat. She kept her eyes forward. She didn't know why, but he had scared her. Truly scared her. She sat down awkwardly. The seat weren't comfortable either. She couldn't slouch in it. It was angled so she could only sit upright. Minutes passed. One or two scientists pointed and grinned happily at Annika. She wasn't sure if she felt welcome or not. Suddenly, after zoning out on a potted plant in the corner, she felt a light tap on her right shoulder.

"Hello, miss?"

"Yes! Hi!" Annika span around to see a man looming over her. He had a white undercut tied up in a small bun. Wearing a black lab coat he was a walking monochromatic god. He giggled at her reaction, and readjusted himself in front of her. 

"My name is Professor Newton, and I believe I have an opportunity to offer you"