Alone Among the Stars

Dr. Eli Carter didn't realize that the wall clock said it was 11:30 PM. He didn't have time to talk because he was too busy looking at tiny cells that lit up green through his lens. Everyone else had left for home hours ago. That's how Eli liked it.

Eli said in a low voice to the rooms, "Just you and me now." He rubbed his blue eyes, which were tired, and pulled his black hair out of his face.

It was a big building that was tucked away in the mountains, away from any towns. The long halls were empty and quiet at night, with only the sound of machines running. Everything felt cold, like a big fridge, because the floors and walls were white. But Eli didn't mind. He was used to being by himself.

Eli wrote some notes in his notebook and sighed. He had been working on the same job for months. The cells were meant to help cure diseases, but something wasn't working right. Still, Eli kept trying. That's what he did—he solved problems that nobody else could figure out.

"Maybe tomorrow," he said, closing his notebook. His stomach growled. He realized he hadn't eaten dinner. Again.

Eli stood up and stretched. His lab coat was wrinkled, and his shoulders felt stiff. He looked at the pictures of mountains and forests he had pinned on the wall. He hadn't been outside in days. Sometimes he wondered what he was missing out there in the real world.

He walked to the break room and opened the refrigerator. Inside was a lunch from yesterday and an apple. Not much of a dinner, but it would do. As he ate, he looked through the large window at the night sky. The stars were so bright here in the woods, away from city lights.

"I wonder what's out there," Eli said softly, feeling the cool glass. "Something more interesting than this place, I bet."

His phone buzzed with a text from his mom: "Call me tomorrow. We worry about you."

Eli felt a pinch of guilt. He hadn't called his parents in two weeks. He had been too busy with work. Or maybe he just didn't know what to tell them. That he spent all his time alone in a lab? That he couldn't remember the last time he had an actual talk with someone that wasn't about science?

He texted back: "I will. Sorry. Working late again."

Eli finished his lunch and walked back toward his lab. The institute felt like a maze at night, with its identical white halls and locked doors. His footsteps echoed in the empty space. Sometimes he felt like the last person on Earth.

"You're still here, Dr. Carter."

Eli jumped at the voice. He turned to see Dr. Victoria Kane standing in her office doorway. She was tall with perfect stance and gray hair pulled back so tight it looked painful. Her face never showed much feeling, but her eyes were sharp, missing nothing.

"Oh! Dr. Kane. Yes, just finishing up some tests," Eli said, his heart still racing from the surprise.

Dr. Kane studied him with cold eyes. "Always the hard worker. That's why you're my best researcher." There was no warmth in her praise.

"Thank you," Eli said, moving his weight from one foot to the other. Dr. Kane always made him nervous. She ran the school like a military base, and nobody knew exactly what happened behind some of the locked doors. There were whispers about secret government projects, but Eli tried to focus on his own work.

"Come into my office, Dr. Carter," she said. It wasn't a request.

Eli followed her into the large room. Unlike his messy office, everything here was perfectly organized. The desk was clear except for a single box. Through the window behind her desk, Eli could see the mountains outlined against the night sky.

"Sit down," Dr. Kane said, pointing to a chair.

Eli sat, wondering what this was about. Was he in trouble? Did he make a mistake on his last report?

Dr. Kane sat across from him and folded her hands on the desk. "I have a new task for you. Something very important—and very secret."

Eli's curiosity perked up. "What kind of assignment?"

"The kind that could change everything we know about biology," she said. For a split second, Eli thought he saw excitement in her eyes, but it disappeared quickly. "This isn't just another study project. This is something... special."

Eli sat up straighter. "I'm listening."

"This stays between us. Nobody else can know. Not even Dr. Reed." Marcus Reed was Eli's friend and the only person at the school he sometimes had lunch with.

"I understand," Eli said, though he didn't like keeping secrets from Marcus.

Dr. Kane pushed the folder across the desk. "Take a look."

Eli opened it and froze. Inside was a picture unlike anything he had ever seen. It showed what looked like a cell, but its structure was totally different from any human, animal, or plant cell he had studied.

"What is this?" he whispered.

"That," Dr. Kane said with the smallest hint of a smile, "is why we need you. Our team collected these samples lately. They don't match anything in our databases."

Eli looked through more photos, each stranger than the last. His mind raced with possibilities. "These cells... the structure is amazing. Where did they come from?"

Dr. Kane ignored his question. "Starting tomorrow, you'll be working in Lab 7. It's being prepared for you now."

Lab 7 was in the high-security area of the institute. Eli had never been allowed in there before.

"You'll have access to equipment you've never used before," she added. "The best technology we have."

"But what exactly am I supposed to do with these samples?" Eli asked.

"Study them. Learn everything you can. Figure out how they work." Dr. Kane leaned forward slightly. "This could be the breakthrough of your career, Dr. Carter. The kind of finding scientists dream about."

A mix of joy and unease filled Eli's chest. This was the most interesting thing to happen since he started working here three years ago. But something felt off about it.

"Why me?" he asked.

"Because you're the best we have. And because you don't have... distractions." The way she said "distractions" made it clear she meant friends or family or a life outside these walls.

Eli should have felt hurt, but she was right. Science was all he had. "When do I start?"

"Tomorrow morning, 8 AM sharp. Your new keycard will be ready. Come straight to Lab 7." Dr. Kane took the folder back and locked it in her desk drawer. "Remember, complete silence. If anyone asks, you're working on a classified medical study project. That's all."

Eli nodded, his mind already spinning with questions about the strange cells.

"One more thing," Dr. Kane said as Eli stood to leave. "The samples are extremely sensitive. Handle them with extra care. We can't get more easily."

Something in her voice made Eli pause. "Where exactly did these samples come from, Dr. Kane?"

She stood up, saying the meeting was over. "That's not relevant to your work, Dr. Carter."

But as she turned to look out the window at the night sky, Eli saw something in her face that sent a chill down his spine.

"Let's just say," she added quietly, "they came from very, very far away."

As Eli walked back to his office, his heart beat fast. For once, he wasn't thinking about being alone. His mind was filled with those strange cells and what they might mean. Whatever he was about to work on, he knew his life was about to change.

What he didn't know was just how much—or that within these walls, something was waiting that would change everything he thought he knew about life, the world, and his own heart.