by Cook, M. L.
Drying her hands, Jannette twisted the knob under several large pots on the stove. Standing back, she considered how much food she’d put on. With that many noodles, there’d be more than enough for their group. After shrugging it off, she started opening doors, searching for coffee.
After only searching for a few minutes, Jannette stood beneath a very tall cabinet. staring at a large white bag, with dark brown letters, she muttered, “Why?” Striding across the room, she was reaching for a chair when she heard someone pounding down the stairs.
She was about to step through the door when she reached back inside and grabbed her rifle. Rushing toward the stairs, she met Stacy halfway, “What’s going on?”
Stacy paused to catch her breath, then panted out, “There’s a bunch of cars headed our way.”
With a nod, Jannette motioned for Stacy to proceed. As the run up the stairs, Jannette heard a shot. “Who’s on guard duty?”
Stacy glanced back down, then hesitantly replied, “Macie.”
“Son of a bitch! Whose brilliant idea was it to put a gun in that child’s hands?” Jannette pushed past the other woman. As she neared the front of the church, the single shot had escalated into an outright gun battle. Before exiting the church, she grabbed a pair of binoculars and a radio.
As she ran, she stared through the glasses at the cars and trucks several yards away. There had to be at least fifteen vehicles lined up three abreast. The only advantage Jannette had was the number of cars surrounding the church, especially since they didn’t have near the numbers the other group had. Travis’s idea might be their only saving grace.
She slid in the grass, dropping behind a huge dually beside Travis. A few feet away, sat Macie, arms crossed with a scowl on her face. Turning back toward Travis. Without looking at the young girl, he knocked his head toward Stacy. Rolling her eyes, Jannette gave him a quick nod. At least now she knew who gave stuck Macie on guard duty. Glancing back, Stacy shrugged, mouthing, “Sorry.”
Pressing the radio to her lips, she pushed the button, and growled, “Identify yourselves.” When she got no answer, she tried again, “I repeat. Identify yourselves or we’re going to blow you off the fucking map.”
A second later she nearly wept at the sound of the voice of someone she’d thought lost to her forever.
“We don’t need to identify ourselves to no hillbilly terrorist.”
Flipping around, Jannette fell against the truck, then slid to the ground. The radio slipped out of her hand while the glasses fell to dangle around her neck. Staring at nothing in particular, she mumbled, “No fucking way.”
Hope welling, she reached for the radio again. Pressing the button, while staring over the hood, she queried, “Bree?”
The radio crackled to life, “In the flesh! Is Brooke with you?”
Jannette ducked back down and tried to figure out how to answer Aubree’s question.
“Jannette? Where’s my sister?”
Jannette could hear the panic in Aubree’s voice. Shortly after driving into Alexandria, all she’d been able to pick up was static over the radio. Any hope of communicating with Brooke was gone. In her heart, she prayed her friend was alright. But did she really know for sure?
The next thing she heard was the shaky voice of her best friend’s baby sister as she stepped into the street, “Jannette. Where’s my sister?”
Jannette whispered, “Oh, no.” Standing, she stepped from behind the truck, knowing she was going to have to at least act like she believed Brooke was alright.
Chapter Five
Jannette was trying hard not to notice the huge alien that followed Aubree around like a lovesick puppy. She decided that shooting him would be a whole lot easier if he weren’t so freaking tall and broad shouldered.
As the day turned into evening, Jannette found herself torn between wanting to shoot the green-skinned lizardman or pull him into a dark corner to have her wicked way with him.
His deep voice distracted her again, “No. I’m sorry to say, but most of my people have no honor. They’ll gladly accept help from these humans. But in the end, they’ll all be killed. They won’t stop until this planet is drained of all its resources, leaving it void of human life. After that, your world will be left for the beasts. Even then, it will be a struggle for them to survive. I’ve seen it too many times.”
The urge to kill him was just too strong to resist. Mumbling under her breath, she said, “Son of a bitch. I knew we couldn’t trust them.” When she reached for her gun, a vice-like grip locked onto her hand, ripping her weapon from her grasp. Turning to the silent man who’d just stepped out of the corner, she raked her gaze down his perfect form. From his nearly white-blond hair, down his lean torso, to the shoes that had to be at least size thirteen, she decided he would do just fine. At least then she could get her mind off tall, dark, and green.
Jannette twisted back toward Seth. “I don’t think you’re his type.”
After raking his gaze down Seth’s powerful body, James admitted, “Not even a little.”
Then she heard a low growl coming from Aquino. Stunned, she watched him for a few seconds. The big guy must have quickly realized what he’d done, because after clearing his throat, he said, “Back to the business at hand.”
Jannette was in information overload. James was obviously gay. She thought Seth was with Aubree, but now she wasn’t sure. And what was up with the green guy? Then the conversation around her sank in.
“I’m going for my sister.”
Aquino grabbed Aubree’s wrist, and snapped, “No. It’s not safe.”
Feeling her own growl surface from the back of her throat, Jannette found that she wanted to rip the dark green fingers from around Aubree’s wrist. And then she was floored when she realized the overwhelming need stemmed from jealousy instead of protectiveness. Struggling to regain her emotions, she snapped, “He’s right.” Jannette toned down her words when Aubree, her mouth gaping, stared back at her, “The roads are all but impassable. I’ve been trying to reach Brooke on the radio. I’ll keep trying, especially now that you’re here.”
Pushing her way back down the stairs toward the kitchen, she mumbled, “What’s the matter with me?”
“I would say there’s nothing wrong with you.”
She spun around so fast; she nearly fell down the stairs. If it weren’t for tall, green, built like a brick house, she would have. Finding herself plastered to the front of Aquino, her mouth suddenly felt very dry. She wondered if she could stand just one night with him. Just to satisfy an itch, that is. Then the faces of the slaughtered returned. Pushing against his solid chest, she glared up at him, “What did you say?”
His gaze shifted to something over her head. With his arms still locked around her, he declared, “Whatever is cooking smells amazing.”
Jannette decided it was his comment that distracted her, not his body. When he looked down again, she allowed herself the time to really study him. If you could get past his leathery skin, plus the fact that he was green, he was quite attractive. Mossy green eyes, with their peculiar slitted pupil, moved independently, just slightly, but enough to notice. His hold on her was tight, but only enough to keep her from falling. She could feel every rigid muscle flex then relax as his grip loosened.
While she studied him, she noticed his gaze was focused on her. His eyes twinkled as his thin lips curled into a sly smile. She could feel his rumbling laughter bubbling up as he leaned closer. Warm breath tickled her ear when she heard his seductive voice whisper, “There’s someone standing at the bottom of the stairs watching us.”
A shiver raced down her spine as she continued to watch him. Her gaze moved from his eyes to his lips. Then his statement sank in. Shocked by her reaction to him, she threw her arms back, knocking into his. He obviously wasn’t expecting her reaction when he lost his hold. Finding herself no longer anchored by his grip, Jannette’s eyes rounded in surprise. Her arms pinwheeled while she searched uselessly for something to grasp onto. Ha
ving found nothing, she felt herself falling backwards. Her scream was cut off when she was lifted into Aquino’s arms.
“Silly human,” Aquino mumbled as he effortlessly lifted her into his arms and carried her down the stairs.
Jannette found herself speechless while he took her into the kitchen. She watched him search for a moment before he smiled and walked across the room. He stopped, opened a door, flipped a switch, and kicked the door shut again. After he released her, for some reason she couldn’t stop staring at him.
He brushed a finger down her cheek, then whispered, “I’m really quite hungry.”
Jannette blinked up at him, nodded, then leaned closer. With her hands on his chest, she wrestled with her thoughts for a moment. Could she do this? Yes, she could definitely do this. What could it hurt, just a quick… “Wait? What did you say?”
That’s when she saw that she was now standing in front of the industrial size range. The heat she’d been feeling wasn’t from him, but from the large pot of beef behind her. Anger and embarrassment fought for dominance. She was sure her cheeks were nearly glowing. It was difficult to resist her first impulse, which was to slap him upside his head, but she managed. Instead, she gritted, “Get out of my kitchen.”
Ignoring her command, Aquino stepped away, then asked, “What can I do to help?”
Fifteen minutes later, she was surprised to find out how easy it was to talk to him. He was very helpful and had quite a sense of humor. She could now see how he’d charmed Aubree into such a profound friendship. Mostly because she found herself ignoring the fact that he wasn’t human.
After the last person had been served, Jannette decided it was time to get the fire going, dishes be damned. If she cooked, someone else could clean. After stepping into the cool autumn air, she shivered. Fall had arrived, and winter wouldn’t be far behind it. Although she had a large farm, there wasn’t nearly enough room in her small house to accommodate this many people. They’d have to come up with something before it got too cold, or they’d have more problems than aliens to worry about. Thoughts of the coming bonfire, she went to retrieve the axe she’d picked up in town.
As she passed the church, a hand closed over hers, “Allow me.” Aquino took her axe, then smiled down at her and inquired, “So what are we doing with this? Is this a weapon like Seth’s sword?”
Jannette laughed, “I guess if you’re a tree… It’s for chopping wood.” She pointed toward an old dead tree at the edge of the parking lot. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to knock it down, but we could at least use some of the lower branches.”
Aquino looked from her to the tree in question, “And then what are we going to do with those branches?”
Grinning, she looked up at him. Then when she realized he wasn’t joking, her smile faded, “You’re serious.” She shook her head, then said, “We’re going to have us a big ol’ bonfire. It’ll be the perfect opportunity for everyone to get to know each other. Plus, it’s kind of cold.”
Aquino nodded, then walked over to examine the tree. Fifteen minutes later, he was standing over the felled tree whacking off branches.
The night had passed in comfortable camaraderie. The fire she’d stoked up was one for the record books. She’d even managed to find some marshmallows. Everything was going great, that is until a voice rang out above the others.
“Halloween.”
It was a grim reminder that the world as they knew it, would never be the same. There would be no need to dress up like monsters when the monsters were real. A somber mood fell over the crowd. It was time for everybody to start settling in for the night.
After watching people filing into the church, Aquino joined Jannette in kicking logs away from hot coals. They sat in comfortable silence until the last of the embers died. Together they walked back into the church. Then wordlessly walked down the stairs and closed themselves into one of the darkened classrooms.
Stretching her arms above her head, Jannette smiled, while slowly coming awake. Squinting up at her watch, she brought it down. While trying to focus on the tiny face, she peered through one eye, then came suddenly awake. Cursing the late hour, she grumbled, “Oh, shit! Six o’clock! Fucking six o’clock! How the hell did I…” Then, throwing the blankets off, she made ready to get up to get her day started. She never slept this late. “Fucking alien,” she grumbled, then winced. Looking around, she noticed she was alone. “Figures.”
As she tried to sit up, a painful spasm wracked her body. Beginning in her lower back, it spread outward from there. Rolling to her hands and knees, she inched her way up to a standing position. Twisting and turning, her back popped and cracked while the stiffness began fading. “This sleeping on the floor is for the birds,” she complained.
Then pushing her way into the kitchen, she started opening cabinets and drawers. Before she even considered starting breakfast, she would seriously need to find coffee. Blinking away the sleepiness, she stood back and stared at the opened doors, “Where did I … Ah ha! That’s right. Some idiot put it as far from the pot as they could. Not only that, but….” Standing on her toes, she stretched toward the plane white bag. After several tries, she glared up at the impossibly high shelf, “Why the hell would anyone put coffee clear up there?”
Jannette pushed through the swinging kitchen doors and stomped into the large room filled with row upon row of tables. She then grabbed a folding chair and dragged it into the kitchen. After shoving it in front of the cabinet, she stepped onto the cold hard metal. After climbing onto the countertop, she snatched the elusive bag, walked it across the long stretch of granite, and dropped it beside the large urn.
Putting her hands on her hips, she glared at the beige chair that suddenly didn’t look as safe as it did when she was using it to get the coffee. With a sigh, she mumbled, “Why is it that when standing on top of the counter the floor seems so much further away than it did when climbing up?” She reached for the chair back with one hand, while hanging onto the open cabinet door with the other. Shaking her head, she mumbled, “Nope. That’s not going to work.” Turning around, she knelt on the counter, then began searching for the chair with her bare foot. After waving her foot around, she finally found the chair. The only problem was when her foot came down, it ended up on the back end of the seat, which resulted in the chair folding around her leg and nearly dragging her to the floor with it. A surprised yelp echoed around the empty kitchen, while visions of her writhing in agony danced around in her head.
Chapter Six
Instead of falling, she was lifted off the counter and set on the floor. Whipping around, she stared up at a tall, very angry, green man.
Aquino glared down at Jannette with his arms crossed, and inquired, “What were you doing?
She felt the blush spread across her cheeks, which only pissed her off. What was it with this man? Nobody had ever caused such a reaction in her, at least not for a very long time. Crossing her own arms, she returned his glare. She then waved a hand toward the white bag, “I was getting the coffee?”
Raising a brow, Aquino looked from her to the bag and back, “This substance, it’s important?”
Jannette didn’t hesitate, “Yep.” She spun around and started spooning grounds into the pot. “It is the single most important substance on this planet. Without it, thousands of men would die.”
Aquino reached for the bag, then brought it to his nose, “It doesn’t smell like anything so important. I also don’t recall seeing any vids about a dark powder that is essential to human males.”
Jannette snorted, “Trust me, if you saw Brooke without her morning coffee, you would see just how important it really is.”
Setting the bag down, he leaned against the counter, “Brooke, Aubree’s sister?”
Jannette paused, then took a deep breath, “Yes, Brooke is her sister.”
Aquino pinched a small amount of the dark grounds and tasted it, “But she’s not here.”
Jannette shrugged, “Still… I’m sure there a
re other people just as serious about their morning cup of coffee.”
Aquino squinted down at her, “Is this really that important, or is it another one of your human indulgences, like chocolate?”
Jannette punched his arm, then teased, “Do not disrespect the chocolate. You have a lot to learn about how important these things are to human women. Chocolate is the number one cure for PMS.”
“Is that some kind of disease?” He asked as he started following Jannette around.
“Look, I’m not going to try to explain all this shit to you. You’re just going to have to trust me.” She pushed past him and opened the refrigerator. “You have no idea how happy I am to see all this food. In a little while we’re going to have a lot of very hungry people coming down here.”
Aquino nodded, “What can I do to help?”
An hour later, the aroma of breakfast started luring people down the stairs. Jannette and Aquino stood side by side in front of the large range. She was flipping pancakes, while he was frying eggs. Glancing over, trying to sound casual, she asked, “Where’d you go last night?”
Aquino slid half a dozen eggs onto a large plate. Then, grabbing the carton, he dropped the same number into the hot oil. Without looking up, he answered, “Aubree needed me.”
She stopped and turned her full attention to him, “Why, what happened?”
He nodded toward the griddle, “They’re burning.” Then looking back to the eggs, he added, “She left.”
Jannette scooped up the dark brown disk, dropped it in the trash and poured out more batter. Then dividing her attention between pancakes and Aquino, she asked, “What do you mean, she left?”
“I got up last night to check the parameter. That’s when I noticed her missing. I had a feeling… You know, she took being separated from Brooke really hard. I think, for some reason, she blames herself. I know she wants to go to her, but she needs to be smart about it. I’m not sure someone as small as her would survive what my people would do to her.” His eyes narrowed, and what could pass as brows, were he to have any hair, creased.