Elle flailed, coming to life as she slammed the hand holding the needle and jerked away from him. “Stop! What are you doing?”
He looked at her, his eyes so blue they almost took on a surreal glow in the dim light. “The man said it would make you feel all right.”
“What man?” She tried to push up but was weak. “Where are we? What happened to the truck? How long have we been here?”
She eyed her arms, making sure there were no marks from having been shot up.
“The man who took the paper from your pocket and said that this place with the other circus freaks would be safe because the cops never bother junkie row as long as we don’t front and keep cool. I told him I was, in fact, cool, so he traded with me for the magic cure to fix what ailed you.”
Realizing what had probably happened, she felt her pockets. The wad of cash was gone.
“He said it was the best this side of the border,” Ice assured her. Before admitting, “I do not know which border. It was supposed to wake you up and give you energy.”
Elle frowned as she crawled her way out of the box into a dim alleyway. The light made it look like dawn and a line of people were outside a door with a large sign stating, FOOD HERE. Bottles and old syringes littered the alley.
“You gave three hundred dollars to a drug dealer for a cardboard box and a syringe full of poison?” she asked in disbelief. She had her bank card, but by now the Milano team would be tracking it.
“Not poison. Magic,” he stated.
“Ice, I want you to listen to me very carefully.” She reached up to touch his face. “Magic is not real. At least not here on Earth. That was a bad man you talked to. He lies to people. You need to stay away from men like that.”
“Blue tattoo man. I see you, blue tattoo.” Laughter followed the words.
Elle couldn’t tell if the man who approached them was high or drunk, but by the way he swayed, he wasn’t operating at full capacity. “Someone wants to talk to you.”
“Who?” Elle asked suspiciously. She glanced around. Had someone tracked them down? Milano or the police? She wasn’t sure which was worse. Since they had ditched the car, she doubted the people who owned it could figure out who they were or where they went.
The man pointed at the sky and laughed.
“Get out of here,” Elle ordered, waving him away.
Ice was looking up at the sky. “I do not see anyone.”
“We need to leave.” Elle felt dizzy and sore, but she ignored the pain in her body. Now was not the time for weakness.
Ice held up two syringes. “What should I do with these?”
Elle took them from him and squirted the liquid on the ground. She tossed the needles in a dumpster.
“Blue tattoo man, I see you,” the man yelled.
“I see you, too,” Ice stated, his loud tone matter-of-fact.
“Stop talking to the crazy man.” Elle grabbed Ice’s arm and pulled.
She led him out of the alleyway, trying to get her bearings.
“Maybe I do not need to take the baby aspirin. Humans have not been as averse to my coloring as we were led to believe on the ship.” Ice held up his arm. The blue color had changed some, darkening, but it still was obviously a non-human tone.
“The police will be looking for a blue man. I think it’s best you do whatever it takes to hide.” Elle touched his face. His skin was cool, unlike in the refrigeration trailer. “But don’t take that to mean I don’t like the way you look. I do. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t change a thing about you.”
“Thank you for those words.” He placed his hand over hers, keeping her pressed against his cheek. His jaw was smooth with no stubble. At first, it had been hard to see past the blue, but she saw it less and less as she looked at him, not because of the baby aspirin, but because she felt like she was beginning to see him as something more than an alien from outer space who she needed to save. He didn’t grow a beard though he had eyebrows. His black hair had a blue tint to it that only showed when the light hit it. His lips were darker than the rest of his face. He had a strong European nose and distinct eyes that were hard to forget.
“Did your people come from Earth? I’m trying to understand how we look so similar.” Elle dropped her hand and led the way in the direction that seemed to have the most activity passing across the sidewalk.
“Many humanoid aliens look as we do. I have heard speculation as to why that is, but I don’t think anyone really has the answer. Sometimes—I believe you call it genetics—sometimes those match up and sometimes they do not.”
He walked alongside her, and for a moment she felt as if everything was normal. He was a man. She was a woman. This was simply a stroll.
