by Jada Cox
Chapter 2 - Gino
I wake to a pounding head and a face full of dusty pillows. I shield my eyes and cough as the dusty curtains are ripped open, revealing harsh sunlight.
“I told you not to drink too much, Gino,” Kalino says, motioning to the empty whiskey bottle hanging from my hand.
I grumble and pull one of the pillows over my face. “One night of release doesn’t make me a drunk, Kal.”
He grabs the pillow and shakes his head. “There are other ways to get release, G.”
I growl at his implication, refusing to accept the potential of being with other women. “I have a mate, Kalino, I don’t need another,” I respond stiffly as he places a plate of enticing food in front of me.
He shakes his head again. “Had, G. You had a mate. She died. You didn’t. You know what that means. Besides, Yamira wouldn’t want you to suffer like this. All she ever wanted was your happiness.”
My chest aches at his words. I swallow the food I had stuffed in my mouth before responding. “I don’t care what the elders said. They’re dead now anyway. I don’t need a new mate. I need to raise my daughter and find our brother.”
He hands me a cup of dark liquid. I take a sip and make a face at the bitter taste.
“Drink it, G, it will help with the hangover.”
I grimace and down the hot liquid, growling at Kalino’s pushy ways. He’s always been the one to pull me out of my spirals, even when I didn’t want him to. I’m grateful for his intervention, but I can’t bring myself to admit it, so I switch off my emotions and send my mind into military mode.
“Where’d you get this food?” I ask, waving toward the now-empty plate.
“There’s a small town nearby. I figured we’d need some supplies, so I went and got some food and other essentials. You know, tools and the likes. Stuff that we didn’t have with us. I also rented a car.”
I nod and hand him the plate, then stand and stretch my back, cracking my stiff neck and rolling my shoulders to alleviate some of the tension. “Is everyone up?”
“Yep. You’re the last to wake.”
I cross the room, expecting Kalino to follow, but he doesn’t. He just stands there, plate and cup in his hand.
“You can’t raise Yelena alone, G. She needs a female role model.”
I growl at his persistence. He holds up his hands and drops the subject as we cross into the sitting room, where we find Adelmo, Vittorio, Faustino, and Yelena sitting on the floor playing an unfamiliar board game. I smile contentedly, pleased to find my daughter in good hands and unscathed from the harsh conditions surrounding our arrival at this new home.
“Lena, love, how are you this morning?”
“Papá!” She jumps up and runs to me, crashing into my legs and nimbly climbing up into my arms. I laugh and kiss her tiny forehead, rocking her back and forth as my brothers put away the game and take seats on the couches and chairs around us.
“Now that you’re finally awake,” starts Faustino, “we can plan our next steps. I’m sure Kal told you that we made a trip into town earlier. It’s fairly small, too small for us to just pop up. We’ll need to integrate into the town to some extent if we hope to stay here for any length of time. These humans are suspicious by nature. Right now, we don’t really have another place to go but here, so staying here is our best bet. And we’ll need some type of income to sustain ourselves. I know we’ve brought money, but it’d be good not to eat into our reserves too much.”
“OK, what do you suggest?” I ask, surprised at my brothers’ initiative. Usually, all of the planning falls to me.
“Well,” Faustino glances at Kalino as if asking for permission to continue. When Kal dips his head in encouragement, Faustino continues. I quirk my eye at the interaction, looking between the two smallest of the Vollmer brothers. “One of the establishments in town is hiring. They’re a manual labor company.” He clears his throat nervously. “I put in an application.” I look at Faustino sharply. He holds up his hand before I can begin to speak. “We need to blend in, integrate with the locals. I’m the one who did the research into Earth's customs and culture. I’m the one who was charged with collecting the Earth's currencies. All of you would draw too much attention. Let me be our point man with the town. I can integrate with the locals while you all work on fixing this place up and repairing the communicators.”
“Why can’t Kalino go?” I ask, worried about Faustino’s health. He was a sickly whelp, unable to even lift his wings until five summers. His first shift wasn’t until nearly ten summers. He hatched early and was the only surviving whelp from the clutch. I close my eyes and fight down the instinct to protect my brother, knowing full well that he is more than capable of protecting himself at this point. I carefully let out a breath that I didn’t realize I was holding before speaking again. “No, I understand, Faust. You’re right; it has to be you.”
He nods in satisfaction before laying out a plan and giving us the outline of the nearest dwellings and establishments. We decide to venture into town and check things out as a group.
“While we’re out here, I’ll work on determining who holds the rights to the land we’re on. Hopefully, we can figure something out to take legal control of the property. That way, we don’t have to worry about any unwanted visitors,” says Kalino as we walk outside and hop into a large, metal coach. As the beast rumbles to life, I glance around curiously, noticing the similarities and differences to transportation methods used on our home planet. The sound reminds me of some of the older inter-stellar units, but surely it’s simply domestic transportation. Ella mentioned that Earth dwellers were centuries of development behind us.
By the time we finish exploring the town, the sun is setting, and we head back towards our new home. We pass the only tavern in the town on our way home, and I make a mental note to plan a night out there for Yelena. Certainly, she doesn’t want to eat our cooking every night. None of us are that good at anything in the kitchen beyond basic meals, especially with the strange ingredients on this planet. I stroke Yelena’s hair as she snores sweetly, her head in my lap. I smile down at her as we pull up in front of our new home and carefully lift her out of the vehicle and carry her to her room as my brothers file into their chosen quarters.
Chapter 3 - Rosana
Tap, tap, tap. I jump at the sound, looking around frantically before remembering where I am. Bumfuck nowhere, Georgia. Running from Samael. Sleeping in my car. I look around at another tap, noticing a uniformed policeman tapping on my window. I hesitantly roll the window down and lift my driver’s seat to an upright position. “C-can I help you, officer?”
“Are y’OK, little lady? Y’know, it’s not safe to sleep in parkin’ lots in these parts,” he says kindly, his southern draw and smiling face putting me more at ease.
“I know, sir, I was just passing through and got too tired to drive.” I smile hesitantly at him.
He nods and writes something on a note pad before responding. “What’s yer name, little lady?”
“Rosana, sir.”
“Rosana, what?”
“Rosana Malka, sir.”
He nods, shining his flashlight around my vehicle. “Are you livin’ in yer car, miss?”
“No, sir, just moving cross-country.”
“I see.” He glances around, the look in his eyes making me nervous.
“Am-am I in trouble, officer?”
“What? No. I do need t’see yer license and registration though, ma’am. Protocol, y’know.”
I nod and reach for my glovebox, hands shaking. I hand him the documents uncertainly, swallowing nervously. He flashes his light across the documents and walks back to his vehicle. I swallow convulsively as I notice that he’s riding a large fat boy motorcycle, ATLANTA PD plastered across its tank. He says something into his radio and glances up at me. My eyes widen as he turns around and I notice the skull tattoo on the back of his neck. I bring my shaky hand up to my mouth as tears threaten to leak from my eyes, the familiar tatt
oo terrifying me. The officer turns back around and begins walking towards my car, smiling reassuringly.
“Looks like yer all good, ma’am. Have a good evening, and please sleep in a safer parking area,” he says, patting the side of my window as he hands back my paperwork. I smile nervously and mutter some incoherent response, rolling up the window hastily as he turns to walk away. I start my engine and wait for him to mount his motorcycle and drive away, the image of The Outlaws’ tattoo on the back of his neck flashing tauntingly in my mind. The tears I had been holding back begin to fall, drowning me in sobs as I break down once more.
Is nowhere safe? I’m over six hundred miles away from Fort Lauderdale, and still, an Outlaw found me. I take a shuddering breath and straighten up, determined to escape before Samael sweeps down. I’m certain that the officer alerted him to my presence in Georgia. I’m not even in Atlanta. There’s no reason for Atlanta PD to be out here unless they were sent for a reason. The thought terrifies me. I flick on my Ford Escort’s headlights and pull out of the Walmart parking lot, heading down the road and turning onto the freeway, heading Northwest.
Nearly six hours later, I pull into a small gas station on the outskirts of Memphis, Tennessee. I grab some chips and a rubbery hotdog to munch on and fill up my gas tank, prepared to drive several more hours before the sun sets again. I’m checking the time on my phone when the rumble of an approaching motorcycle sets my nerves on edge. I glance around nervously, mentally urging the pump to finish already so I can get moving. Finally, the pump clicks and stops as several men on motorcycles pull into the gas station. I inspect them as I hop into my car and turn the key in the ignition. As my engine rumbles to life, one of the riders pulls off their helmet, revealing the flowing locks and plump lips of a woman. I breathe a sigh of relief at the sight. No Outlaw would allow a woman to ride her own bike. Outlaws relegate women to riding tramps since we’re things to be bartered rather than people to be appreciated. The thought leaves a bitter taste in my mouth and a frown on my face as I pull out of the station, merging onto a Northwest-bound freeway once more.
Six hours later, I putz into a sleepy town called Deepwater, Missouri, as the sun sets once more. I’m nearly 1400 miles away from Fort Lauderdale. Surely no Outlaw can find me here. I breathe a sigh of relief as some of the tension melts from my neck and shoulders. I decide to stop at a small motel called The Higgins Motel that has a flashing red VACANCY sign. For the first time in weeks, I decide to sleep in a bed and eat a meal that doesn’t involve a gas station or Walmart.
After checking in with a nice gentleman named Carl Higgins, I shower, put on some makeup to hide the dark circles under my eyes, and walk across the street to Carol’s Place, which is apparently the only place open after dark in this sleepy little town.
I’m startled by a loud laugh upon entering the building. Jumping slightly, I look around for the source. My eyes land on a group of large men in the corner booth. I count five men and one adorable little girl with strange hair and bright eyes. She looks up as I enter and smiles sweetly, waving at me. I smile and wave back when one of the men turns to glance at me, drying my mouth out at the attention. I avert my gaze quickly as a woman approaches me, smiling gently.
“Yeah, those boys are gorgeous, aren’t they?” She nods at the table.
I glance back and quickly avert my gaze. The man is still staring at me. I swallow before answering the woman. “Yeah,” I say in a shaky voice. “I heard you have food here?” I ask as my stomach rumbles loudly.
She laughs at the sound, and I blush furiously. “You must be another newcomer.” I nod before she continues. “Those boys just got here a few days ago themselves. Maybe it’s fate? I’m Carrie.” She grins at me and winks before grabbing a menu and turning away, motioning at me to follow.
I slink nervously behind her, glancing at the man still staring at me from the corner of my eye. He has a frown on his gorgeous face as he looks at me intently. I do my best to pretend to ignore him as the woman sits me in a booth across the room, looking directly at the table of men.
She winks at me as I take my seat then sets a menu in front of me. “Got you the best seat in the house, girl.” She grins suggestively and wiggles her eyebrows. “I’ll be right back with some water unless you want something a little stronger?”
I hesitate before shaking my head. Best to keep my wits about me, just in case. She nods and crosses to the bar, disappearing between two doors.
I lift the menu before me, quickly deciding on a smaller Margherita-style pizza. I keep the menu up in front of me and take a chance peeking over, hoping to catch a glimpse of the man who was staring at me. I find the little girl looking my way once more. She winks when she sees me staring, eliciting a small smile from me. The child is just as gorgeous as the men, with strange ombré hair that fades from dirty-blonde to raven black. The same raven black hair that the man next to her has. I begin to notice similarities between the little girl and the man. They have the same slant to their eyes, the same aquiline nose, the same full lips. The girl looks like a softer, paler version of the man. Her eyes are a striking emerald green, noticeable even from across the room. I look to the man next to her, admiring the pin-straight, raven-black hair tossed carelessly over his shoulders. His wide shoulders and chiseled jaw draw my eyes. I can’t help but wet my lips as I admire him.
I startle as someone clears their throat in front of me and glance up to find Carrie standing before me with a pad of paper in her hand, her eyes glittering humorously as I blush at having been caught ogling the strangers.
“Do you know what you want, dear?” she asks humorously. “Unfortunately, those gorgeous beasts aren’t something I can give you, but I make a mean pizza!”
I let out a surprised laugh, the first in years, and I feel my eyes widen at the realization. I clear my throat a few times before finding the ability to respond and give her my order. Almost without my permission, my eyes glance up once more, almost like they’re drawn to the stranger. I find him staring at me intently once again. I swallow as I make eye contact, a jolt going through my body. Chills race up and down my arms and spine as I meet his ice blue eyes with my hazel ones. His eyes flash silver as we stare at each other. The change startles me, and I shake myself, looking at the other occupants of his table to avoid looking at him.
I notice similarities between the men. The same nose, and the same set to their jaws. The little girl whispers to the object of my newfound obsession. He nods at her, and she lies down, placing her little head in his lap. His hand reaches out and begins stroking her hair fondly, a small smile tracing his lips, transforming him into the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. Liquid heat pools between my thighs, shocking me at the force of my desire. The man’s nostrils flare, and he looks up, grinning in my direction as his eyes flash once more. My whole body flushes in response. I shake my head as Carrie crosses in front of me, breaking the strange connection and placing a delicious looking pizza before me.
“Can I get you anything else, love?” she asks kindly.
I smile and shake my head before digging into the first real meal I’ve had in weeks. I moan and enjoy every crumb, licking sauce and cheese from my fingers.
“I’ll see you soon, Rosie.” The words freeze me, and I look around, eyes wide. I see the child passing by and smiling at me. I shake my head, certain I imagined the words. Bye-bye, I hear as she waves. Her lips don’t move, but I’m certain she just spoke. I stare at her as the men close ranks around the child and step out of the building. I numbly pay for my meal and cross back to my motel, convinced that I’m imagining all sorts of things today because I’m so exhausted.
Chapter 4 - Gino
A few days after my silent promise to Yelena, I make good on it. We plan a night out. Kalino drives Adelmo, Vittorio, Yelena, and myself, into town to meet Faustino after work. We meet at the little tavern on the edge of town. I notice a small woman pull into the lodgings across from the tavern as we step out of the vehicle. I frown at the flash
of brunette hair and caramel skin and realize that Yelena is trying to channel a vision to me. I look down at my daughter, and she smiles at me as we cross into the tavern. I read the sign, Carol’s Place, and pray to the great dragon that their food is better than what I cook. Just recalling the burned bread from the previous night makes me grimace. We follow Kalino in, crossing to a large corner booth that has an exuberant Faustino waving excitedly at us.
Everyone piles into the booth, and I arrange Yelena between myself and the overly exuberant Faustino, smiling down at her excited face. Once we arrange ourselves in the seats, a comely middle-aged woman with a mischievous smile approaches the table with five plastic menus in her hands. Her eyes twinkle, and her smile widens as she places the menus upon the table, inspecting my brothers and me intently.
“I can only assume that these are the brothers you mentioned, young man?”
Faustino smiles at the woman, causing her grin to widen further. “Yes, ma’am.” He gestures around the table, introducing us all while her eyes twinkle in merriment.
“Well, perhaps with young men as gorgeous as you five, we will get some excitement around our little town,” she says with a smile. “I’ll bring you boys some water while you look over the menu. Can I get anything special for the little one?” She smiles kindly down at Yelena, who shakes her head in response. The woman nods her head and walks away, returning a moment later with six cups filled with water. She places the cups upon the tale and takes out a pen and paper from her apron pockets. “Do you boys know what you want to eat yet?” I look at Faustino, awaiting a recommendation.
“I think we’ll do five large pizzas, Carrie,” he starts, “Two cheese, one Margherita, one loaded with meat, and one veggie,” he says, collecting the menus and handing them back to the woman. She looks us up and down before responding.