by Ross Buzzell
He bows and the feed cuts off. Emma exits the bedroom dressed in jeans and a black short sleeved t-shirt with a red and blue logo on the chest, her “costume” boots poke out from under the jeans’ length. Danielle nods at her once she sees Emma.
“You read my mind: get out there, find Konner or Natalie any way you can, but do not fly.”
Doug shakes his head as he mutes the TV. The talking heads of the anchors fill the screen as the words scroll under them. “Alien invasion brings about the end of the world.”
“He’s smarter than any of us; there is no way she’s going to find him without help.”
Danielle nods; he isn’t lying. Konner will be next to impossible to find unless he wants to be. They will need to bring in many more eyes.
“You’re right, Doug. Emma, you do what you can on the streets, Doug, you stick to Konner’s plan. Go to public records and try to find us a place to work. I will stay here in case he comes back, and I’ll get my computer genius friend to get into the city surveillance grid. We will have every digital eye in the city looking for him.”
Emma nods as she heads into the hallway. Doug is close behind her.
“Got it. I’ll message you if I find anything,”
he calls back. Danielle yells after them,
“I will do the same. Stay safe!”
Danielle looks at the TV and shakes her head. Shrugging, she speaks softly to herself as she walks back to the computer.
“So much for going to the mayor first thing to get the story out.”
She slides back into her seat. Opening her computer, she turns it on. The fan whirs to life as the screen turns white before bringing up the windows that were previously up. After a few clicks, she opens a fresh email addressed to Jeff, and with her fingers doing a quick dance across the keys, she types out a message meant only for him.
“I need your help.”
Chapter: 17
Raincheck
After helping bring Kassie peace, even if it is fleeting, Konner spends the rest of the night in his human form walking the chosen battlefield. He hopes, with all his heart, that he will have a couple of days to help evacuate and that the leader of this city will believe him and take the proper precautions to ensure that there is no loss of life. Something deep in his gut tells him that he will not be so lucky. The warrior strolls down the long park, taking note of every little aspect, sculpture, and statue in case he needs to use them as a weapon in the battle to come. He reaches a tall white building with pillars at the top at the opposite end of the park from the arch. Konner turns back to face the arch. The sun begins to rise from behind it, and with a heavy heart, he sighs.
“Computer, is there any way to divert this fight to a less populated area?”
“We have been over this, Konner. He knows you are here, and when he arrives, if you are not, he will destroy this city, and every other one he comes across to get to you.”
Konner nods at the computer’s assessment as he begins to walk back towards the arch, the night air fogging up as he exhales. It is peaceful at this time of day; it brings back memories of when he would walk on Caelum before the hustle and the bustle of the citizens.
“That is what I was afraid of. What about teleporting? Do I have the juice to drop him on a different planet or at the heart of a star?”
The computer is silent for a moment. After about ten meters of silence, it finally speaks up.
“Unknown, too many variables to take into account, would need a sample of his DNA and his technology to see if he is compatible anymore for teleportation with your technology. He was brought back to Boron and Earth somehow, so the likelihood is high.”
Konner nods as he begins to explore alternate routes to his fight, accounting for unpredictability. The entire walk back, he keeps silent and mulls over in his mind different strategies that would never be taught at the Sol’lor Academy. The sun continues to slowly rise, its golden beams bathing Konner in its warm light. Eventually, he stops at the beginning of the park, next to the building with the café in it. Closing his eyes, Konner takes off his jacket, holding it in his left hand as he extends his arms out to his sides, opening up his chest by rolling his shoulders back and lifts his face to the sun. He takes a deep breath as he feels the warm light bathe him as he drinks in its radiation. No star has ever given the prince the sensation that this one does. It is like a warm blanket being wrapped around him on a cold night. A sense of calm and peace takes over his stressed and clouded mind, giving him clarity and a sense of renewed vigor and hope. As he exhales and opens his eyes, a man with darker skin, black hair, and brown eyes passes him with an apron in his hand that matches the logo of the coffee shop he is supposed to meet Natalie at.
“Yoga to start your day?”
he asks, stopping a few feet past Konner. “Yoga?” Konner thinks to himself. He never heard of this in his studies either; clearly, there is more to this planet than what the historians were able to record. Not wanting to get in a conversation about something he has no knowledge of, he shakes his head.
“No, just enjoying the sunrise and waiting for you all to open.”
The man smiles and waves for Konner to follow him.
“Well, we open right at seven, which is now. I’ll let you in.”
Konner quickly throws his jacket over his shoulder as the apron-toting man walks towards the building he dropped Kassie off in just hours before. Jogging, Konner catches him with ease.
“Does this location get a lot of visitors?”
Konner asks, curious about this new world around him. The man shrugs.
“Not this time of the year, but when the schools are out, and since we are next to a monument, yes, we can get very VERY busy. But we manage; we have a good team here.”
A good team; that is the key to success in anything. The man takes a set of keys from his pocket; he unlocks the door and holds it open for Konner.
“After you, sir.”
“Sir? Did he mean sire?” Konner thinks to himself as he walks into the building, which is inlaid with wood on the ground and partly up the walls. It is beautiful, with chairs and tables of cloth, metal, and wood scattered throughout the room positioned next to the windows to get a good view of the street and sunlight. A smile forms on Konner’s face. This would be a place that he would like to see back home if he could ever return. The man that let him in walks past him and waves for Konner to follow as he puts the loop in the apron over his head and ties it behind his back. He glances back at Konner as he descends four steps on the far side of the room.
“What are you drinking?”
Konner quickly follows. Descending the stairs in a flash, he stops and gazes in awe. There are three other people already there in the same clothing as the man who let him in and all of them are smiling. The air is filled with an earthy aroma that is near intoxicating. A glass half dome covers fluffy pastries, the likes of which he has only seen scattered in different parts of the galaxy. Metallic machines pouring a brown liquid into cauldrons behind the bar with more tucked behind a pane of glass, only with a reservoir of dark brown beans at the top. The entire image overwhelms Konner and he shakes his head; the only words he is able to mutter, with a half-smile on his face are:
“I… I do not know. I have never been here before. I am actually meeting someone shortly.”
The man smiles widely at Konner. He grabs two white cups from a metallic dispensary and walks behind the large metallic machines with the beans on top.
“Well then, allow me to introduce you to us by making you one of our signature drinks that’s called a latte. It’s espresso and steamed milk and since this is your first time here, it will be on me.”
Konner watches in fascination; he steps closer to the pane of glass and peers over as the man presses a button on the machine and puts both cups onto a small tray. He grabs a metal pitcher and fills it most of the way up with milk before placing a wand in it and pulling a lever. The wand roars to life and the man pulls the pitcher down
until the end of the wand is nearly out of the milk, making the sound of tearing paper. After a few seconds, he places the wand back into the pitcher and leaves it there until the swirling milk and soft roar of the machine stops. The man pulls the cups away and swirls the milk after wiping the wand down and pulling the lever once more, allowing steam to erupt from the end in a glorious display. Konner watches with the fascination of a child as he pours the milk into the cups of espresso, creating a shiny film of foam on the top. He puts white lids on the top and a brown piece of paper with the logo of the company around the middle before reaching over the bar and handing them both to Konner. With a smile on his face, Konner grabs them. They are warm, and he pulls them to himself.
“Thank you very much, sir. I promise I will be sure to come back here often.”
The man smiles and nods to Konner as he turns to leave a second door on the opposite end of the store that he entered.
“We are glad to hear that. Have a good day, sir!”
the man calls out. As Konner exits into the main lobby of the hotel, he looks over at the receptionist desk, the one that called security on him. Glancing to his left, he notices there is a small store with knickknacks for sale that has just opened. The proud warrior turns and walks away from the people who called the authorities on him into the small store. He pays no attention to the paraphernalia around him and walks right past the counter; the woman behind it doesn’t even notice him and keeps her eyes down on her phone. As he exits the carpeted floor and enters the main lobby once more, the exit doors are directly to his left, and in the blink of an eye, he is through both sets and on the street. As he exits, he comes to a stop, nearly running into Natalie as he does. She jolts to a stop as well and lets out a laugh.
“Oops, sorry about that…”
As Konner lays eyes on her, his heart nearly stops. She is wearing his family colors on her shirt. He feels heat rush to his cheeks, a sensation he has never felt before. He can’t help but notice a playful glimmer in her eye or how her freckles seem to dance across the bridge of her nose, then over to her cheeks, which gradually turn pink against her pale skin. Her soft, luscious lower lip folds behind her front teeth as the ends gradually curve into a smile. She clears her throat.
“One of those for me?”
she asks, he must have been standing there longer than he thought, just staring at her. She lets out a nervous laugh and he nods his head, all the while thinking to himself, “Dear Konner Lorian… you’re an idiot.” He quickly holds one of the cups out to her.
“Oh yeah, sorry, yes it is. I got you a latte. I hope that’s okay.”
She gives him a nod as she takes the cup, her soft fingers lightly caressing his own as they pass it container. The contact is not much, but Konner’s senses around her are in involuntary overdrive. The moment their skin touches, Konner’s perception overclocks itself, causing the world around him to slow down. Never before has this happened without him intentionally triggering it, nor has it ever happened outside of battle. As her finger draws across his, he feels every soft micron of her skin, like the finest Boronian silks. His heart begins to pound so hard, he fears it will rocket out of his chest or that she will see it physically move his body; the moment that her hand ceases touching his, time snaps back to normal and she immediately draws the beverage to her mouth and takes a sip, letting out a groan of approval.
“Now this is a good latte.”
Konner puts the plastic lid to his lips; tilting it back, he feels the hot liquid splash against his tongue. The flavor is something he’s never tasted before. There is a tinge of bitterness that is quickly snuffed out by the warm milk, which is sweetened by the heat. A tint of a caramel flavor flickers on the tip of his tongue as it dances down his throat, warming him from the inside. He waits for a moment, rolling the flavor around in his mouth; it is strange that such a thing can have so many different properties. On the tip of his tongue, he tastes the caramel sweetness of the dark bean with the fatty sweetness of the milk. At the center, he picks up the bitterness of the shot while the wings hone in on the smoky flavor that would be far more prominent if milk were not involved. The initial sip blows him away; how in the entire galaxy has no one discovered this aside from this world? This planet holds wonders that he clearly cannot even begin to imagine and the prospect of experiencing it all excites him. He gradually nods in agreement with Natalie.
“You are right; this is absolutely amazing!”
Natalie turns and begins to walk back towards her apartment building. She glances back at Konner and nods for him to follow.
“Come on, Ryan!”
she calls out. He immediately begins to follow her, and she stops at another one of the crosswalks and waits for the little man to appear. As he does, she turns and walks away from the hotel and subsequently her apartment. Konner keeps up as they both continue to drink their lattes. As they walk down the street, she sees a stand on a corner with postcards in a small cart.
“Oooo, one second.”
She walks over and begins to look at the cards. Konner tilts his head as he gets a glimpse of them as well. Each one has a different facet of the city on it. They are just rectangles of slightly stiff paper with a glossy front and lines on the back. He cannot quite wrap his head around why she is so infatuated by them.
“What are you looking for?”
he asks curiously, watching as she burrows through the paper.
“I promised a friend that I would send him a postcard from wherever I ended up… that is here, so I need to get him one!”
She flashes Konner another infectious smile and holds her drink out to him. He takes it and looks around as she continues to flip through the cards. Eventually, she stops and pulls one out. It is a picture of the arch with fireworks exploding in the background.
“Here we go; this will do perfectly.”
She reaches into her pocket and pulls out one of the pieces of papers similar to what he had in his pocket, but it only has a one on it. She hands it to the man, who nods and thanks her. Before putting the card in her sling, she turns and takes the latte from Konner.
“Thank you, Mr. Burns.”
she says with a sweet smile.
“You are welcome, Miss Weredon,”
Konner retorts with a grin. Even with her arm in a sling and the world on the brink, there is something about her that just will not break. Even Konner himself has a pit of worry in his gut so deep, so wide-spreading, that he is fighting to hide it, but in her presence, he cannot help but smile. Natalie’s phone vibrates. She sets her cup down on one of the flat tops of the cart, and with her good arm, she pulls the phone from her pocket.
“You don’t mind, do you?”
she asks. Clearly, she does not want to be rude, but he is not about to tell her no. With a shake of his head, Konner responds,
“Not at all.”
She opens the message on her phone as Konner finishes his latte. Her face goes white as a sheet and her smile disappears. She puts the phone back in her pocket and looks around in a minor panic.
“I’m really sorry to cut our date short, but I really need you to come with me.”
Konner’s brow rises in concern as she passes him. Her hand grasps at his, her fingers interlocking with his. It makes his heart race, but clearly something is terribly wrong. She left her latte without a second thought. Konner spins around and follows her. Jogging along with her, he notices her face grimaces some with each jarring step. It must be painful for her to move like this with such a fresh injury. His mind begins to race with any number of horrible scenarios; he completely forgets about the exhilaration of her taking his hand and instead focuses solely on what horrors could have come to his team since he has been gone.
They rapidly approach the intersection and hardly looking the only way traffic is coming, from the right, she cuts diagonally across the road. A car swerves to miss them, and while he would not have been harmed by the impact, she most certainly would have been. She takes off into an
all-out sprint, gripping Konner’s hand so tightly that he almost feels it. Without skipping a beat, she leads him to her apartment building and they go straight to the elevators. Fortunately, one is already at the ground floor and opens for them. Natalie slides into the elevator and releases Konner’s hand to press the button to her floor. She is breathing heavily, trying to catch her breath; Konner, on the other hand, has steady breathing. That little exertion did not even get his heartrate up.
“I’m really sorry about cutting our date short, but there is something big happening regarding that guy I told you about last night. You can have a raincheck on our date and we will do whatever you want, but this right now supersedes everything else.”
Konner’s heart nearly stops; there is no way that this is going to end well. The excitement and exhilaration of their date vanishes like a wisp of smoke. The only question is who made their play, Disa’ani or Xero. In all the excitement, Konner never even realizes he dropped his cup on the short run over. The elevator dings and the doors slide open. Natalie runs out and goes straight to her door. Konner follows closely behind. She twists the doorknob, and with a swift push, the door flings open. Danielle quickly stands up from her computer and turns to face them, one of Disa’ani’s spears in hand. Once she sees them, she relaxes. There is a face on her screen, a man with dark hair and a beard exactly like Konner’s. Danielle turns and faces the screen; she whispers something to him and shuts off the call. She turns back to face them and leans the weapon against the wall, a look of relief falls over her face.