Adopt a Space Alien (Part Two)

Author's note. This is a part two of what will likely be three parts total.



"Thanks a lot, Bernadette, for that enthralling tutorial on ways to clean our bottoms once we've run out of the good ole tp," Burt Kelly said cheerily into the camera. He'd really taken over his role as the only news person with gusto. "Up next we have Sheila's segment on cooking inside your bunker. Delicious recipes that only require canned foods, since that's all most of us have. Before she begins, we want to remind everyone that no one should be hungry. It's scary out there, but we have some brave men and women who've signed up to be runners. They'll bring food to your home. Give us a call." 

Fiona stabbed a ravioli with her fork. She ate them lukewarm from the can. Luckily, she had plenty of canned foods before the alien invasion began. One of the perks of living alone and lacking motivation to care for herself. While she chewed, she scratched behind Captain Mitten's ear. He purred peacefully beside her. I should be a runner. I've never done anything important, really. I have the kitty to think of now, but that's nothing compared to people with full families. Captain Mittens is strong. He's a survivor. 

Peeling back the living room blinds, Fiona glanced outside. The grass and shrubs were gone, replaced by swirling clouds of dust and tumbling weeds across a barren stretch of sand. A reddish purple haze clouded the sky. Red lightning flickered through it. It had been weeks since she’d seen another human, and she rarely heard from Emma. A few things in the chat gave her hope Emma survived, but the loss of connection hurt. Even if it was logical. 

Sheila instructed viewers on how to make a delicious pinto bean and pumpkin mole chili. The runners must have handed out a lot of pumpkin puree this round. Usually the recipes matched the abundance they rationed out.  

A knock on the door startled Fiona, and her jumping startled Captain Mittens, who arched his back and dug his claws deep into the flannel sofa. Fiona crept towards the door, and grabbed a long kitchen knife on her way. Through the peephole, she saw a beautiful woman with buffalo sauce colored hair and unnaturally vibrant blue eyes. Her pale cheeks were speckled with freckles. 

“Who’s there?” Fiona yelled through the door. 

“An ambassador. All I want is to talk.” 

“About what?” 

“The future relationship between humans and intelligent beings from True Blue Planet 42. You’re not in any kind of trouble.” 

“What if I don’t want any relationship with them?” 

“Well, that would be a shame. The details of option two aren’t very desirable. I hope we can discuss one first.” 

“Who are you?” 

“Someone you can trust.” 

“Your saying that makes me trust you a lot less.” 

“Understandable. I imagine it’s not so easy. A lot of change in such a short time and all. Let me explain.” The voice sounded robotic. 

Fiona latched the chain lock, but unlocked the deadbolt. This woman could speak to her through a crack, but that was all she’d allow. When she opened the door though, she noticed the woman floated. 

“You’re one of them,” Fiona said. 

“Yes. We are...shape shifters.” 

“What’s your natural form?” 

“I’m not sure you’re ready to see that. Perhaps in time.” 

“I don’t trust you or anything you say.” 

The creature sighed. “I understand. We’re here to help though. You might not be aware but earth was so close to destruction.” 

“Oh, I’m aware. Global warming and all that. We know.” 

“And yet you do nothing?” 

“We...recycled,” Fiona said weakly. Some people did more, but she never followed the news on it all. 

“Right. Well, we’ve stepped in to heal your planet.” 

“How? It all looks dead to me.” Fiona peered out at the dust and haze. 

“It’s different and it’s a process, but it’ll work.” 

“You killed people.”

“We sedated people and moved them to a space pod so we’d have room to work.” 

“They’ll all come back?” Fiona regretted the hope that danced through her heart. These creatures couldn’t be trusted. 

“That’s the hope. It’ll take time though. We need to educate.” 

Fiona laughed. “Good luck with that.” 

The creature cocked her head. 

“You think you can force change and then educate and people will just comply? No one trusts you. They’ll fight.” 

The creature smiled and her soft pink lips seemed to glow. “From our time monitoring people, it seems like force is how you do things. We’re taking your lead.” 

“It won’t work. There must have been a better way.” 

The creature shrugged. “Then it won’t and we’ll kill you all. The life of a planet matters so much more. There’s much more here than just humans.”

Fiona swallowed, trying to push a lump down her throat. “What’re you going to do with me?” 

“It depends. Will you work with us or against us?” 

“Can I think about it?” 

The creature smiled in a way that felt mocking. “There’s no time.” 

“I don’t want to die...I...I have a kitten.” 

“Then come with me. We adore kittens. Bring it along.” 

“If you came to help our planet, why did we find you first?” 

The creature laughed. “Oh, the arrogance of people. You’re too much.” 

“We didn’t find you?” Fiona whispered softly. 

“I guess we kind of let you think that.” 

“Let me get the Captain. I’ll be right back.” Fiona’s heart beat so hard, she thought it might break through her skin and bones and pop out of her chest. She scooped the kitten in her arms. Her eyes kept looking back to the door, where the creature patiently waited. 

“Trust me,” she whispered to the kitten. Then, holding the kitten tightly to her chest, she bolted out the back door and ran as fast as she could. Where can I go? Where can I go? 

An impulse to look back rose within her, but she kept running. She didn’t want to die, but she didn’t want to work with those creatures either. They couldn’t be trusted. Even if they were telling the truth, the way they went about it, with deception and fear, made them wrong. 

Captain Mittens laid still in her arms like he knew this was a serious situation, but she could feel him trembling. He was scared. So was she. 

Once far enough away, the tunnel vision of panic broke and her surroundings became realized. Massive creatures towered high above her. Their heads were lost in the clouds, but she noticed their long brown limbs marching. They were taller than any building or mountain she’d ever seen and she couldn’t comprehend how their feet didn’t crash through the earth. They walked like people, but their flesh was unlike anything she’d seen. It appeared armored like a beetle maybe. Everything spun and she threw an arm out for balance. Captain Mittens cried. 

“Hey! Hey! Over here!” A familiar sounding man’s voice yelled. 

Fiona whirled around and saw Burt Kelly standing in a doorway with a baseball bat spiked with nails in his hands. A group of people stood behind him. She raced for the door. They reached out, pulled her in, and slammed it shut. 

“What were you doing out there?” A man yelled in a squeaky voice. “We saw you from the window and–” 

“They came to my house,” Fiona cried. Captain Mittens jumped from her hands and hid behind her feet. 

“Don’t scare her. Give her some space,” a woman said. “I’m Bernadette.” 

“The toilet paper woman?” 

Bernadette laughed. “Yes, that’s right. Camila’s here for the same reason. They came to her house and she ran.” 

Fiona glanced at the black-haired woman who shivered and chewed on her shirt sleeve. 

Bernadette looked sympathetic. “She told us their plan.” 

“About healing the planet?” 

“Yes. Would you like some hot chocolate? Lock the door and let’s go to the kitchen. There aren’t any windows there.” Bernadette wrapped an arm around Fiona’s shoulders and guided her down the hall. 

The man picked up Captain Mittens. “Fiona? I recognize this cat. It’s me, Lyle.” 

“Lyle!” Her heart slowed and joy washed through her body. At least these people were somewhat familiar. 

They all sat around the kitchen table while Bernadette poured cups of hot chocolate. Sheila offered the chili she made on the show, which the crock pot kept warm. Being surrounded by people like this felt new to Fiona. Almost like what she’d imagined a big family supper would be like. I’m so glad I’m not alone. “Thank you for taking me in.” 

“It’s better if we’re together. The more minds working to make a plan, the better,” Burt said. 

Sheila opened a can of cat food and set down a bowl for Captain Mittens. 

“What can we do though? There’s so many of them and they’re huge,” Fiona said. 

“I won’t go down without a fight!” Burt slammed his fist onto the table. 

“We need to free the other people. See if they’re really alive,” Lyle said. 

“How? They’re in space?” Fiona gripped the cup for warmth. 

They all sat quietly. 

“If we can’t physically fight them, which we can’t. We need to outsmart them,” Bernadette said. 

“We need a weakness,” Burt added. 

“We need to spy,” Lyle concluded. 

“What if they’re telling the truth though,” Fiona said. “I mean they obviously went about it wrong. I don’t trust them. But what if they are healing our planet?” 

“Do we just stick together and wait it out a bit?” Lyle asked. 

“We need more information,” Burt said. “They might be saying one thing, but be after another.” 

“The water’s out,” Sheila said. She continued turning the sink knobs but the faucet remained dry. 

“It’s weird they say they’re helping the planet, but have you seen it out there?” Fiona asked. “It’s all so dusty, lifeless, and dry.”

“Could they be after water?” Lyle’s eyebrows furrowed. 

“It would explain some of the equipment I saw.” Camila held her cup white-knuckled like she’d fall through the floor without it. “Large tanks, drilling type stuff.” 

“They’re robbing us of our resources!” Burt slammed his fist again. “Those evil little–” 

“We’re gonna stop them!” Lyle seemed to be catching Burt’s excitement. 

“We need a plan,” Bernadette said in a calm-down voice. 

“Maybe we can use the tv show to get everyone together. We need more people,” Fiona said. 

Burt’s eyes went wide. “I should’ve thought of that. I’ll do it now.” 

Working together, they wrote out a script to call to all remaining people. If they wanted to end this, they’d need to work together. Knowing how many people remained couldn’t hurt either. They’re probably relying on our isolation. Coming door by door to sucker each individual in. 

For fear the aliens might also be observing the news, they had to be careful. Burt decided to write important details at the bottom of the screen with the assumption no one taught the aliens to read. They could be wrong. 

Burt put out the message and the phone lines started ringing off the hook. The rest of them went to work answering and figuring out where everyone was. They’d worked out meeting grounds to get small groups together. Then those groups would connect with other groups. They’d build any army and push the aliens out.