The Place Where

by Rodion Pretis

  - Oh well ...

  - Few! Amanda slowly shook her head. - Lord Jesus, some people, when you try to offer them help, simply do not want to receive it from you.

  Driving the car away from the city center, from time to time Amanda looked at the newcomer, in a tense pose sitting to her right. On the whole, her disguise was made quite convincingly, Amanda thought. Maybe all the little details were wrong - different external little things - but in the end the alien looked like a man, spoke like a man and even smelled of him humanly. He could very well make up the heads of ninety-nine out of a hundred observers, and maybe even more. But Amanda always had a good eye for small details, and at that particular moment when she noticed an alien in South Maine, she was more susceptible than usual: all - bare nerves, all antennas out.

  Of course, she did not specifically engage in alien hunting - she just needed some entertainment, a little excitement, something to fill the huge gaping void that Charlie Taylor had left in her weekend.

  Amanda has been planning this weekend with Charlie all month. Her parents gathered for three days on Lake Tahoe, her little sister asked her permission to go with them, and Amanda was left alone in the whole house - only she and the Makaviti cat. And charlie. He was about to drive up to her Friday night; they would cook dinner together, smoke her stash of selective grass, and watch five to six adult films from her parents' collection. And on Saturday we would go to the city for a ride through the evil neighborhoods and go to that bathhouse in Folsom, where everyone undresses and gets into the giant jacuzzi; and then on Sunday ...

  Well, in a word, none of this happened. Charlie called her on Thursday and refused. “Something important happened,” he said, and Amanda had a very good idea of what it was: his bawdy little cousin from New Orleans, who flew in from time to time without warning, that's all. This insensitive bastard, apparently, had no idea how Amanda was waiting for this weekend, how much he meant for her, how painful it was for her to be sewn like that. She went over so many times in her mind the events planned for the weekend that she felt almost the same as if she had already experienced them - they were so real for her. And suddenly all this became unreal.

  For three whole days by itself, the whole house is at her disposal, and the semester has just begun, and you can not think about homework yet, and Charlie threw it like that! And what was she to do now - ring in desperation the whole city in the hope of pulling out some old friend so that he could keep her company? Or pick up a stranger in the city? Amanda hated having fun with strangers. She was half ready to succumb to the temptation to go to the big city, and let it be what will be - but after all there are all scum and perverts; she knew what to expect from them. What a loss it is that there is no Charlie! She was ready to kill him for taking away her weekend.

  However, now she had an alien. A dozen of these inhabitants of the stars arrived on Earth last year - not in flying saucers, as everyone expected, but in small capsules floating in space like milkweed seeds. They landed in a wide arc between San Diego and Salt Lake City.

  Their natural appearance, as far as it was possible to understand from fragmentary rumors, was a kind of huge jellyfish with a number of unblinking purple eyes along one of the swaying edges, but their usual tactic was to borrow the body of the first of the aborigines encountered - and devour it, turning into its exact copy. One of the aliens made a mistake turning into a brown mountain bear, and the other into a lynx - they must have considered them to be the dominant forms on Earth. But then all the rest were clothed already in human bodies, which cost at least ten human lives.

  After that, they went to establish contacts with government leaders - and of course, they were quickly caught and distributed: some to insane asylums, some to district prisons. But in the end - as soon as the truth about what they were leaked out - all the newcomers ended up in a special internment camp in Northern California.

  Naturally, a terrifying fuss was raised around the aliens: the endless chatter in newspapers and on television, the arguments of one or another theorist regarding the essence of their mission and the nature of their biochemistry, wild speculation that a certain number of their fellow tribesmen still remain somewhere undetected, In plotting, God knows that - and all sorts of other nonsense like that.

  Then the government covered this topic: there were no more official notifications, except that “negotiations are being held with visitors”. After some time, the whole incident degenerated into stupid jokes about aliens (“Why did the alien cross the road?” - “Because he was on the other side!”) And frightening Halloween masks. Soon he moved to the background in human consciousness and was firmly forgotten.

  And it remained forgotten until it was announced that one of these creatures somehow managed to escape from the camp, and now it walks free in a radius of hundreds of miles around San Francisco. No matter how Amanda was absorbed in her suffering due to Charlie's heartlessness, even she could not miss such news. And now this alien is sitting in her car! So in the end she will still have some entertainment for this weekend.

  Amanda was completely unafraid of the alleged death threat posed by a star creature. Whoever this alien is, he is still not an idiot if he was chosen to travel through half the galaxy with a similar mission. Amanda understood that it was hardly in his interests to harm her. The stranger needed her, and he knew that. Yes, perhaps, Amanda herself in a sense - she was only just beginning to realize this - needed an alien.

  She braked near her house - a compact structure with rooms on different levels, in the western end of the city.

  “Arrived,” she said.

  The air swam from the heat, and the hills behind the house, scorched by a long, dry summer, were the color of a lion's skin.

  Makaviti, Amanda's old tabby cat, was laying on a ragged front lawn in the shade of a banana tree. When Amanda and the alien approached, the cat raised himself warily, pressed his ears and hissed. The alien immediately took a defensive posture, drawing in air.

  “This is just a pet,” said Amanda. “Do you know what that is?” He's not dangerous, he's just always a little suspicious of strangers.

  That was not true. Even an earthquake would not have taken Makawiti out of a nap, and a dozen mice dancing a minuet on his tail would not have received any reaction from him. Amanda ruffled his hair reassuringly, but even so, the cat did not want to have anything to do with the alien, and sullenly, sneaking away into the bushes. The stranger watched him closely until he was out of sight.

  “But don't you, on your planet, have anything like cats?” Amanda asked as they entered.

  - Once upon a time we had small wild animals. They were redundant.

  “That's how it is,” Amanda said, immediately losing interest. The air in the house was stale, stagnant. She turned on the air conditioner. “By the way, where is your planet?”

  The alien emphasized ignored the question. With gentle steps, he walked around her living room, very similar to a crouching cat, exploring a stereo system, TV, sofas, a coffee table and a vase with dried flowers.

  “Do earthlings usually look that way?”

  “More or less,” Amanda answered. “At least here in the county.” Here we have what we call a suburb - from here is a half-hour highway ride to San Francisco. San Francisco is a big city; if you're interested, I can take you there to see tonight or tomorrow. - She turned on the music, quite loudly. The alien seemed to have nothing against, so she cut the sound to the fullest. - I'm going to take a shower. By the way, you can too.

  - What does it mean to “take a soul”?

  - Not a soul, but a shower. This means body cleansing procedures. We earthlings love to wash ourselves to scrape off sweat, dirt and other rubbish from ourselves. Stink from us is considered bad form. Come on, I'll show you how to do it. You understand, you need to learn how to do everything that I do, if you do not want to be caught.

  She led the stranger into the bathroom.

  - First of all, take off your clothes.

  Th
e alien undressed. Under a cloak, he wore a soiled T-shirt with the words FISHING FISHING over the silhouette of San Francisco and unfastened jeans. Under the shirt was a black bra - also unfastened and turned so that the cups were on the shoulder blades - and under the jeans were black shiny tight-fitting shorts with a red heart on the left buttock. The alien had the body of a thin, well-built girl; there was a long scar on the inside of one arm.

  “By the way, whose body is this?” Amanda asked. “Did you know her?”

  “She worked in an internment camp.” In the kitchen.

  “Do you know her name?”

  - Flores Concepcion.

  - On the contrary, probably - Concepcion Flores? I will call you Connie, unless you want to give me your real name.

  “Let Connie be.”

  “Very well, Connie.” Now attention! You turn on the water - right here; then adjust the mixture of hot and cold water to your liking. Then you turn this knob, and from here water begins to pour from above. You drench your body, lather it, and then wash off the soap. Then you wipe yourself and put on clean clothes. You also need to clean your clothes from time to time, otherwise she will start to stink, and people will not like it. Come on, see how I take a shower, and then repeat.

  Amanda washed quickly: her head was buzzing with plans. It is unlikely that the alien will be able to hold out for a long time in the body of Concepcion Flores. Sooner or later, someone will notice that one of the kitchen girls has disappeared, and a universal wanted list will be announced on her. Interestingly, the alien has realized this or not? The stranger, Amanda thought, needed to get herself another body as soon as possible.

  But not mine, she told herself. “Of course, not mine.”

  “It's your turn,” she said casually, turning off the water.

  The alien, a little tinkering, turned it on again and stood under the stream. Clouds of steam rose above the bathtub, and the alien's skin turned red as if scalded, but it did not seem to bother him. Does he not feel pain?

  “Wait a minute,” said Amanda. - Step back a little.

  She adjusted the temperature.

  “You made her too hot,” she explained. “So you can ruin your body.” And anyway, if you don't feel the difference between hot and cold water, you better just take a cold shower, okay? This is not so dangerous. Here is a cold tap from this side.

  She left the alien in the shower and went to look for clean clothes. When she returned, he still stood in the shower under icy water.

  “Enough,” said Amanda. - Here, put it on.

  “Before, I had more clothes.”

  “A T-shirt and jeans are all you need in such heat.” With your body type, you can easily do without a bra, and in any case, I doubt that you would be able to fasten it correctly.

  - Now we will apply paint on the face?

  - While we are at home, we can do without it. And in general, all this is just stupid childishness - all these tribal coloring books. If we go outside, we will do it, and I think we will colorize you with the tones of a Walnut Creek. Concepcion wore San Jose, for we need to knock people off the trail. How about smoking a jamb?

  - What are you talking about?

  - Grass. Marijuana. This is a drug that is widely used by local earthlings of our age.

  “I don't need drugs.”

  - Me too. But I like them. You must learn how to do this, just in case you find yourself in such a situation. - Amanda took out a pack of Filter Golds and pulled out a cigarette. With an experienced gesture, she pinched it from the incendiary end and took a deep puff. “Like that,” she said, handing a cigarette. - Hold her as I hold. Bring to your mouth and take a breath, draw in the smoke as deep as possible. - The alien took a drag and burst into a cough. “Well, maybe not so deep,” said Amanda. - Try to inhale a little bit. Now hold your breath ... and let it out. Well, that's much better. Now give me the cant back.It must be transferred to each other all the time, this is important. Do you feel anything?

  - No.

  - The action can be completely invisible. However, it doesn't matter. Are you hungry?

  “Not yet,” said the alien.

  - Well, I - yes. Let's go to the kitchen.

  Constructing a sandwich - peanut butter and avocado on cereal wheat bread, with tomato and onion - she asked:

  - What do your guys eat?

  - A life.

  - A life?

  - We never eat the dead. Only that in which there is life.

  Amanda suppressed a shiver.

  - Clear. Anything what life is in?

  - We prefer animal life. We can also absorb plants, if necessary.

  - Yeah ... Hmm. And when are you hungry again?

  “Maybe tonight,” said the alien. - Or tomorrow. Hunger, when it comes, comes very unexpectedly.

  “There aren't so many here in the district that you could eat alive.” But I will think about it.

  - A little fluffy animal?

  - No! My cat is not good for dinner. Better throw this thought out of your head. The same applies to me. I am your patron and adviser. It would be unwise to eat me. Do you understand what I'm telling you?

  “I said I'm not hungry yet.”

  “Well, just let me know when you feel the first bouts.” I will find you food.

  Amanda took on the second sandwich; the stranger meanwhile began to scour the kitchen, studying kitchen appliances. “Probably, he notes the design of our sink and microwave,” thought Amanda, “then to copy it in her world.” Out loud she said:

  “But why did you come here?”

  - That was our mission.

  “Well, yes, I understand, but for what purpose?” What do you need? Do you want to take over our world? Or steal our secret science?

  The stranger, without answering, began to remove the jars from the shelf for spices. Gently licking his finger, he touched an oregano, tried it, then turned to caraway seeds.

  “Or is it that you don't want us to go out into space?” - continued Amanda. “Do you consider us a dangerous species, and therefore want to isolate us on our own planet?” Well, come on, you can tell me something. I'm not a government spy!

  The alien sequentially took samples from tarragon, from basil, from sage. When he reached for the curry, his hand suddenly trembled so much that the open jars of oregano and tarragon fell to the floor, sprinkling spices.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Amanda asked.

  “It seems I'm starting to want to eat,” said the alien. “Are these things drugs, too?”

  “These are spices,” Amanda explained. “We add them to our food so that it tastes better.”

  The stranger looked very strange: his eyes were glazed, his cheeks were burning, sweat appeared on his forehead.

  “Aren't you feeling good?” Amanda asked.

  - I am very excited. These powders ...

  - They catch you? And which one?

  “It seems this one,” the alien pointed to the oregano. - It was either the first or the second.

  “Well, yes,” said Amanda. - Oregano. This is such a thing, you can really fly away from it.

  She doubted whether the stoned alien would start to run amok. Or maybe oregano stimulates his appetite? She needs to carefully monitor his appetite. “There is a risk in what I do,” thought Amanda. She quickly tidied up the spiced spices and closed the jars with lids.

  “You have to be careful,” she said. “Your metabolism is unaccustomed to this thing.” A small amount can last a very long time.

  - Give me some more.

  “Later,” said Amanda. “You don't want to sort out this stuff early in the morning?”

  - Yet!

  - Take it easy. I know this planet better than you, and I do not want you to get into trouble. Believe me. When possible, I will give you more oregano. Look at how you pound! And sweat whips. - Putting a jar of oregano in her pocket, she led the stranger back to the living room. - Sit down. Relax a bit.

  - Yet! You are welcome!

  - I appreciate
your politeness. But first we need to talk about important things, and after that I will give you some more. Okay

  Amanda closed the window through which the hot afternoon sun shone. Friday, six o'clock. If everything went as it should, Charlie would have to appear just around this time. Well, she found herself another entertainment. The weekend stretched before her, like a wide road leading to wonderland. The stranger opened up a wide variety of opportunities for her, and she still could have something to amuse herself with over the next few days, if she worked her brains properly. Turning to the alien, Amanda said:

  - Well, how did you calm down a bit? That's great. So, first of all, you need to find yourself another body.

  - Why is this?