Page 6 of There’s an Alien Down My Chimney

I spared a regretful look at her kitchen, wondering if I could snatch some food before I headed out, except I didn’t want to just take anything without asking. There were ration bars in my emergency bag, I’d locate that and fill my stomach from that stash. I picked my boots up by the door, quietly slipped outside, and appraised my changed surroundings while I wriggled my feet into them.

More snow had blanketed the forest and the cabin, you couldn’t even tell that my landing on the cabin’s roof had knocked loose a lot of snow. Except maybe for the observant people, they’d note snow piled up around the side of the small house. Was wind enough of an explanation? I shrugged, it wouldn’t matter, it wasn’t as if anyone was going to come here and accuse Stella of hiding me.

Then worry wormed its way across my mind, I was on Earth according to Stella, Earth was space-faring. They had to have noted where my ship had crashed and gone to investigate. Orienting myself, I tracked across the clearing surrounding the cabin, heading for the lake where the Scintilla had gone down.

*

Stella

I woke to the sound of pounding on my door, my body toasty warm beneath a huge pile of blankets. Sitting upright, I stared around in confusion, rubbing sleep from my eyes as I tried to figure out where I was exactly. Right, grandpa’s cabin, issues with the chimney… Ru! Alert at last, I scrambled out from beneath all the blankets, staring around my grandfather’s small home to look for my strange guest.

He wasn’t here, had he left? Gone back where he came from? I felt a sudden pang of regret for not seizing my chance and jumping his bones when I had the chance, I’d let him lull me to sleep with his cozy warmth instead. Idiot, when’s the last time you had such a sexy guy spend the night?

The harsh knocking on the door jolted me from my regrets, someone was at the door. Was it Ru? Had he locked himself out? I jogged to the door, skidding on my thick socks across the hardwood floor. A little breathlessly, I swung open my door without looking, and then I furiously scolded myself for doing something so dangerous.

It wasn’t Ru standing on my threshold, looming impossibly large with his deep black antlers, glowing red eyes, and alien-looking skin. The two suits standing on my porch looked miserably cold in their cliche trench coats, suit, and tie. I knew before they raised badges in synchronized moves who they were. They never held their badges up long enough for me to get a proper look but that didn’t matter, they didn’t exist, not officially.

“Ma’am,” the first one said in a nasal voice, his nose a sharp hook that had tinted red from the cold. He had otherwise very unremarkable features and like his partner, I wasn’t sure if I’d even recognize them should they be out of their suits. If I were to run into one of them on their day off at the supermarket, would I know? I doubted it, they had those kinds of faces.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I frowned at the two men, both of average height, I didn’t have to look up much, but they were still making me feel uncomfortable. Last month I’d had a letter in the mail with an offer from the government to buy my grandfather’s plot of land from me. The wording had been quite insistent but I didn’t want to sell, since then I’d seen an unmarked car outside my apartment in the city a few times.

That these two were here now… I had a feeling this either had to do with Ru, which was bad but at least I could do my best to hide him. Or it had to do with the tract of government land bordering my own land, they were expanding. Now I was curious what they were doing on it, it had to be something top secret, or they wouldn’t be sending these goons.

“What do you want?” I demanded, “It’s cold and I’d like to stay indoors.” I nudged my head to indicate the interior of the cabin, which was only a little warmer than it was outside, with the lack of heat situation right now. They didn’t need to know that, but their eyes were razor-sharp as they peered into my home. Sharp enough that they would have noticed that there was no smoke coming from my chimney.

“There’s a very generous offer on your property,” the first guy said in his nasal voice. His brown eyes pierced me with a serious look, his mouth pinching into a sour expression as if he didn’t like what he was seeing. I couldn’t blame him, I had terrible bed hair, and it was standing up around my face from static. Not to mention my snowflake-themed sweater and the blanket I had wrapped around my shoulders, I looked like a hermit.

“I know,” I said with a shrug, staring at the two men but not saying much else. I knew their type, there had been plenty of bureaucrats I’d had to deal with in the Air Force just like these two. If I showed even a hint of uncertainty, they’d keep on pushing. I’d gotten to be an expert at stonewalling, so that was what I was going to do.

Guy number two had brown eyes too, but they were soft and doe-like. He could be trying out for the more sympathetic role, I wasn’t sure. “I urge you to take the offer, Ma’am. It is due to expire in two days.” No, not the sympathetic one, that was definitely a threat. If I didn’t take this offer, they were going to go another route about it and I wouldn’t like it.

Eminent domain, that’s what they weren’t saying. They’d do that, and I wouldn’t be able to say no, and I wouldn’t have recourse to fight it. I would try, but I would lose, and I’d bleed myself dry in the process. Cold invaded my body at the thought, but I didn’t let it show on my face, “Two days ain’t over yet gents.”

I wanted to slam the door in their faces, a little bit of a petty win in the face of such terrible prospects. I hated the thought of losing my grandfather’s old home, even if it had seen better days. I’d grown up here, running wild in these woods, but the woods weren’t the same anymore. We no longer had campers or backpackers, the town had emptied out, leaving but a shell of what I remembered as a kid. The school had shrunk so they didn’t even have the drama classes anymore that I’d so loved growing up.

The two men turned around without saying anything else, tipping their heads in farewell. Watching them trudge through the deep snow in their inappropriate clothing was a little satisfying at least. Their car was a four-wheel drive, kitted out with snow chains however, so I wouldn’t get to see them slip and slide down my un-shoveled drive.

By the time I could no longer see their taillights, I was trembling from the cold. I should have gone inside and preserved what heat that I could, but I thought it prudent to watch them leave. Once they were gone, I shook myself from my sad, angry thoughts, and started to close the door. Startling badly when Ru seemed to appear out of nowhere, leaping onto my porch in a few quick, agile jumps.

Had the government agents seen him? They were gone now, but what if they’d seen Ru walking through the woods? He certainly didn’t seem worried about being seen, and he looked kinda adorable in my grandfather’s Rudolf sweater. A Santa hat perched jauntily on his head that he must have grabbed from a peg by the door that morning.

“Stella,” he rumbled with what sounded like a reprimand in his tone. He manhandled me through the door, shutting it quickly behind me. I hadn’t realized how cold I’d gotten, which was dangerous, I should have been more careful. My limbs felt numb as I stumbled back to the couch under his urging. He had a huge black duffel with him that he plunked down at my feet.

It was strange to have someone fuss over me like he was, urging my feet up under the blanket while he wrapped me up in the whole pile I’d left behind on the couch. I noticed during it all that he’d taken a quick moment to kick off his boots near the door, so when he jogged to the kitchen, tail lashing, I could hear the soft patter of his bare feet on the wood.

With my teeth chattering, I asked where he’d been, but I got no reply. There was the clang of a pot hitting the stove, some kind of deep rumbling noise. I thought I heard him inhale deeply, so I wiggled around in my tight cocoon of blankets to see what my alien visitor was up to. Was he… Yeah, he was making hot cocoa.

I fought to contain a giggle at the sight of Ru holding the tin of chocolate in a coil of his tail, a frown of concentration on his face while he peered into the pan he’d put on the stove. I had noticed how much he’d liked the stuff, but I hadn’t realized he’d paid such close attention to the process.

Five minutes later he proudly presented me with the end result, which smelled alright even if he’d forgotten the pinch of cinnamon I liked to add. At the expectant look on his face, I carefully took a tiny sip, the bitter taste of chocolate hitting me hard. Oh, boy, forgot about the sugar too. I still smiled, because it served to make me warm and I loved the gesture.

I was almost entirely through my cup when he picked up his own mug and tried it. The aghast expression was worth drinking the better part of the brew for, he looked so shocked that it didn’t taste like it was supposed to. He was already reaching out to grab my cup, rapidly talking to me in his deep voice, probably apologizing.

“It’s okay Ru, thank you. It’s not too bad actually for your first try, you just forgot the sugar, that’s what makes it sweet.” I shrugged out of the blankets, the heated drink and his warm presence had taken care of my shivers for now. “Here, let me show you.”

In the kitchen, I pulled out the tin of sugar but when I turned around I realized he hadn’t followed me. He was digging through the bag he’d dragged inside with him, it looked black and sleek, but when I glanced over I could see shiny objects glistening inside it. He pulled something out of it, looked up, and offered me a smile.

When he walked towards me this time, he wasn’t so fast, his red eyes sliding over my body, lingering on my face, and my chest. “Stella,” he said, and he held a metallic, small object out to me. I gazed at the squiggly bit of metal lying on his palm with confusion, what was it? It didn’t look like anything I could recognize.