“Of course I know it’s not true! But Minnie, Dr. Trout is dead. How did he…” John trailed off.
“Vidar didn’t kill him,” Minnie insisted before I could explain myself.
“There was glass everywhere. Blood. A recovered bullet and a gun.”
“The bullet bounced off Vidar’s skin.”
“This alien has a name? How can you know its name when none of us have ever heard him speak.”
“I can speak,” I uttered words for the first time to another one of my captors. John Billings scared me the least. He was frightened and despite his best efforts to impress Minerva with his tough face, he was more frightened than she was.
John thrust his hands into his pocket, looking me up and down in the ridiculous earth clothing I’d put on. His expression softened once he took a closer look at me. Hearing my voice apparently humanized me to him — made me seem like less of a monster despite the fact I towered over him about as much as I towered over Minerva.
“You two sit. I’ll make some tea for you both and we’ll discuss what happens next.”
“He needs to rest a day or two before we get on our way.”
“You’ll have to get on your way quickly. We’ll all be brought in for more questioning tomorrow and if anyone finds out that I’ve spoken to you, I’m toast.”
“No one will find out.”
“Sit,” John replied with a sigh, “I’ll have your tea soon.”
Minerva sat, but I couldn’t. His house was small, cramped compared to Polluxian dwellings. Even a large house for a large human was inadequate for me.
My ship would be better, but the hunk of metal sat deep in a Vermont forest, obscured by my camouflage devices. Only my implant could drop the camouflage enough to reveal it.
“Vidar, your pacing is making me nervous,” Minnie confessed.
I’d been so lost in thought that I hadn’t thought of her in a few moments. She was still worried, but it was only natural.
“Sorry. I worry that we are not safe here,” I murmured.
“John is cooperating. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Your country’s military might be primitive, but they believe there’s an alien on the loose. They’ll throw everything they have at this and more.”
“Don’t worry,” she insisted.
Her friend, Dr. Billings, returned with the tea. Although she trusted him, I wasn’t sure if I could. Still, I sat for tea and tried to ignore his stares. He was a scientist, I told myself, and that meant he had a natural desire to sate his curiosity about how alien I was. Once Minerva explained our situation, he asked me questions about my home planet.
“How far away is your home world?”
“Why did you decide to come to earth?”
“Is this an alien invasion?”
I avoided revealing the true nature of my mission. While the situation had expanded beyond my control, there was no need to risk the lives of the other two who had come here.
I tried to answer him honestly. I told him about Pollux, and how far away it was. I talked about the twin stars and the twin planets and I explained the war with the artificial lifeforms that our ancestors had created.
The Castoreans, a race of metallic robots, had risen up from their servitude and as they attempted to escape and forge their own home world, my people slaughtered them. When the artificial intelligence fought back, a long and bloody war that lasted five hundred years ensued. Now, we were at relative peace, but the tension between our races could break at any minute.
I even had to explain that yes, I was 200 years old. Minerva hung onto every word and so did John. She wanted these questions answered as much as he did. She rested her hand on my shoulder. Her closeness eased my mind.
Once we were finished our tea, John announced that he was exhausted and needed rest. My implants could sense he was honest about his tiredness. He sent us to his guest bedroom and Minerva shut the door behind us, sighing.
“You are worried,” I murmured, holding her close to me again.
