Page 9 of There’s an Alien Down My Chimney

“I’m so sorry this is happening to you,” Ru said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and clutching me tightly to his brawny chest. Even his tail was coming in for the hug, wrapping around my legs to press me closer to his. “Is there nothing we can do?”

It was that we in his statement that got to me, making me burst out into quiet tears against his chest. He sounded so willing to just go out there with me, to fight this battle for me if he could. It was the first time in a year that I didn’t feel alone, for a little while, Ru was there to carry my burdens, and I could do the same for him.

Chapter 6

Stella

I didn’t like it, but Ru insisted on going out again to investigate what was going on with his ship. I’d offered to reach out to my contacts but he’d asked me not to, he didn’t want to put me at risk, and he thought they might trace such a thing back to me. I personally thought I couldn’t get in any deeper than I already was, I was certain that the finding of Ru’s ship was what had spurred them into kicking me off my land now rather than take this through proper legal channels.

I couldn’t believe this was happening to me only days before Christmas but that was sadly the reality. I wasn’t getting that final Christmas in my grandpa’s cabin, and if we didn’t figure out a way to get Ru to his ship and back to space, I’d have to figure out a way to smuggle him home to the city somehow. Selfishly, I kinda hoped it would come down to that, then at least I wouldn’t be alone celebrating Christmas.

Pacing across the small space in front of the fireplace, where a cozy fire was burning, I contemplated how long he’d been gone. Dark had already set in, and with the snow blanketing everything, there was a deep hush in the forest. My thoughts spun away from my future worries, turning to the immediate. What if Ru was caught? What if they were chasing him down right now?

It had been a good two hours since he’d left. His own clothes were all dark in color and he’d kept my grandfather’s Santa hat on, red and black were not colors that blended in the snow but somehow he’d made it work. Maybe it was his antlers, he just had to crouch and my brain would automatically think I was looking at a stag or something.

The lake wasn’t that far of though, just a five-minute hike, what if they’d already taken the ship somewhere else? Was he looking for it now? We needed more information. He’d asked me not to, but it was time to call in some favors. It wasn’t like I ever needed those favors for myself anyway, they couldn’t help me keep my cabin.

Dialing my first port of call, I listened as the call clicked before going through. The connections were often bad up here in the woods, but I had the feeling my calls were being monitored, I had to be careful what I said. “Hi, Daria,” I greeted my friend when she picked up the call after a few rings.

A breathy, husky voice came on the line, my friend’s voice still in sultry, seductive tones. She probably had a date over and was putting that on for the guy’s benefit. Daria was one of the best people I knew, but she also liked to play the field in sometimes rather unscrupulous ways. Point in case, as soon as she realized it was me, her tone changed to a sharp, alert one. “What’s going on Star? You never call me unless it’s an emergency.”

“You’d be right,” I said, feeling a little ashamed for not being a better friend. “I need some help,” I added. Daria was all business on the other end of the line, directing her date to leave her home immediately. There was no explanation, no apology, she just kicked the poor bloke out without so much as a see you later.

“What do you need help with?” she asked the moment I heard her front door slam shut. I hesitated on how to respond, wondering what to say that wouldn’t tip off my extra listeners. God, how paranoid was I? I had been feeling so on edge even before Ru had crashed into my roof, feeling like I was being watched in the city, and at the cabin.

“Just some boy trouble, he’s not respecting my privacy, I think he’s stalking me,” I said, which I knew was extremely out of character for me to say. Sure, like Daria, I’d taken home a one-night stand or two during my time, I’d even dated a guy for a while. Though never had I considered dating any of my coworkers, those were my buddies, my brothers, not dating material. And a stalker problem? I would have solved that issue on my own, and then called her to whine about it.

Daria’s voice was even sharper than normal, but I heard the curiosity in it. “Seriously? Boy trouble? You made me kick out my date for that?” she said. “What the fuck Star, call me back later or something. I’m going after my date.” The phone line clicked and she hung up without saying goodbye.

My heart was racing, but I knew Daria would come through for me. She hadn’t been a pilot like me, though we’d met on base our job descriptions had been vastly different. I still didn’t know exactly what it was she did, still did, for the military. I was counting on our friendship for her to help me out, she knew she could trust me.

It didn’t take long, the throwaway phone I had out on the kitchen table rang shrilly before I snatched it up and answered. The number had never been used and I had bought it in cash almost a year ago so the phone couldn’t be traced to me. At the time I thought Daria was crazy for suggesting I do that, but now I was glad that my suspicious friend had.

“What is going on, Star! Boy trouble, you?” Daria demanded on the other side of that phone. She was tapping with her fingers on something on the other side of the line. It was a little annoying to listen to, but she once told me it was on purpose, though she hadn’t gone into detail as to why exactly.

I huffed, “Well, I guess part of it is boy trouble.” Thinking of Ru, I felt a flush creep over me, followed quickly by a pit of worry opening up in my belly. Where the fuck was he? “Do you believe in aliens Dar?” I asked, distracting myself by curiously awaiting her response. Knowing my friend she wouldn’t just start laughing, she’d answer anything seriously if you just asked it seriously enough.

She didn’t even pause to think, “I know they exist. Did you run into one?” The woman said it in the most normal tone of voice, and while I was the one dealing with the alien, I still grappled with the reality of it all. It just confirmed that I was right for reaching out to her, she did know something, and if she didn’t know enough, she could probably find out.

“Yes, one crashed into my grandfather’s chimney,” I said, and then I hurried to explain the predicament we were in, including that the government was taking my land from me. I rattled off the badge numbers and names of the two ‘UAR’ agents that had visited me twice now. She made a tsking noise when I mentioned the name of the agency I was dealing with, as close as she would come to openly disparaging any government arm.

I expected her to just get down to business, but she made a soft noise and then asked, “Please, I have to know, is he hot?” I was so surprised by the question, though I shouldn’t be, that I lifted the throwaway phone from my ear and looked at it for a second. Was she serious right now? This wasn’t the important part.

At my stunned silence, she prompted me a second time and I finally answered, aware that answering was easier than getting her to move on. “Yeah, he’s smoking hot and super sweet to boot,” I said, my eyes darting to the door, half expecting Ru to walk in at right that moment, but he didn’t and I was filled with renewed urgency.

“Come on Dar, he’s gone out to look for his ship and I’m worried sick,” I said to my friend and she finally got on track. With a promise to look into it and to stay safe, she agreed to call me back tonight. She also agreed to contact some of my other buddies for me, calling in any favors they owed me. She didn’t comment on how serious I was about this if I was willing to forfeit all the favors I’d collected along the way.

Once I hung up with her, I was left with an empty silence, the fire still crackling but no longer sounding cozy. Ru was still outside, and while this had filled me for a bit with purpose, and provided a distraction, I was struck with the urge to go look for him. Decision made, I headed for the bedroom and kitted myself out in warm winter gear, strapped my private gun to my hip and my grandfather’s shotgun over my shoulder, then I headed out.

With binoculars dangling from their strap around my neck, I walked through the woods at a steady clip. The snow was soft and sometimes knee-deep, but I was used to walking out here so I made good time.

First, I checked the lake, but it was calm and quiet, with no sign of any kind of activity. There was a bit of a breeze going on the shore and it had blown most of the tracks right out of the snow, I thought maybe Ru had been here but if so, it had been a while.

Next, I headed for the nearby hilltop, it was a climb, but it was the only way I could get any kind of look onto the government property bordering mine. It was on my own land, and likely the reason they wanted to take my land from me. The cold was chafing at my cheeks, turning them red, my breath misting in front of me though a light sheen of sweat was starting the small of my back from the workout.

I approached the hill from the opposite direction as the government land, making sure they wouldn’t see me climb it. The top had some trees and rocks on it, but it was a pretty barren place, so I resorted to crawling across it for a proper vantage point. The wind had really picked up on the elevation but it was thankfully not snowing, the night clear enough, with stars and a moon out to light the way.

With the binoculars to my eyes, I scanned the woods, searching for the boxy gray buildings that had been scattered in a clearing for as long as I could remember. Immediately I saw the lights, big stadium ones that had been pointed at a massive shape. Smooth, with a cylindrical form and short, sleek wings, it looked like a combination of a stealth plane and a jumbo jet. Sized like a jet.