Aries

by Enid Titan

  Her car would be the only problem but it was a problem that Ramses promised to fix with a new Audi once they’d settled.

  “This is it,” Rory replied, “My flat.”

  “It’s cold.”

  “But it’s ours.”

  Osiris gurgled and Rory took him off Ramses’ chest. He sighed and sat in her armchair that had been a gift from one of her university boyfriends.

  “This is cozy. But we need to find a way to heat it.”

  “No problem. I’ve got to find Candice soon so she doesn’t worry.”

  “Right. Alert the world that you’re back. I should get started on the mission.”

  “They should be arriving in the next two months. It’s scary to think how quickly this will all change.”

  Ramses rose and kissed Rory on the forehead.

  “Don’t you worry about that. Let me take Osiris for a while and you find your friend Candice. We’ll be waiting here.”

  Rory hated leaving Osiris alone. Luckily, he didn’t exactly need her to look after the child for a few hours. Arietan babies typically don’t drink milk — strange for mammals. It comes from being abandoned by their mothers often, Ramses explained. He could prepare the baby’s strange blend of dark leafy greens better on his own anyway.

  Rory walked over to Candice’s apartment. She knocked on the door. The lights came on and she could hear Candice’s tired footsteps as she approached.

  “Who the ‘ell is it?”

  “It’s me, Rory.”

  She opened the door, her eyes wide with terror.

  “What in the bloody hell are you doing here?!”

  “I thought you wanted to see me.”

  “I thought you’d DIED, Rory!”

  “Sorry. I was… I was traveling.”

  “You were bloody traveling and you didn’t leave a sick note? I can’t leave you alone without you updating Instagram but you expect me to believe you went twelve months without so much as a status update?”

  “I’m sorry. I meant to be in touch. I did.”

  “You’re really alright,” Candice replied, her voice softening.

  “I’m so sorry, Candice. I know it was a long time ago and I should have messaged you but believe me… I’ve been for a hell of a ride.”

  Rory couldn’t tell Candice the full truth, but she also couldn’t help collapsing in her friend’s embrace. Candice held Rory close and patted her on the head.

  “There there. I know you’re not lying.”

  “You do?” Rory sniffled.

  “Darling, you let your roots grow out. You never let your roots grow out. Wherever you were, whatever happened, I know you had a good reason.”

  “Thank you.”

  “How’s little Benjamin?” Rory added.

  Candice raised her eyebrow in suspicion. Rory hadn’t cared much for “little Benjamin” before she’d gone missing.

  Candice replied, “He’s sleeping.”

  “I’ve got a son now myself.”

  “What?!”

  “Yeah… It’s a long story like I said.”

  “Oh my… Well, you’ve got to tell me. Halloween’s tomorrow and I’m going to drag you out.”

  “It’s tomorrow?”

  “Yup. You’re just in time.”

  “But I can’t…”

  “Oh don’t give me that excuse. I’m taking you out and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

  “I’d better tell my mate…”

  “What?”

  “I meant… my husband.”

  “You’re married?”

  “Sort of. Like I said,” Rory replied, “It’s a long story.”

  “Well, darling. I hope you’re prepared to catch me up,” Candice replied.

  “I’d better head home then.”

  “See you tomorrow.”

  “Right. I need a last-minute costume,” Rory replied.

  She turned around and walked home. Osiris was asleep again. Arietan babies typically sleep around 23 hours a day. Rory’s last-minute crash course was hardly necessary because despite growing into devilish adults, Arietan babies were disturbingly easy to keep happy.

  Ramses hugged her tightly as she crossed the threshold of their flat.

  “How was it?”

  “She was angry but I think eventually she understood.”

  “Good.”

  “Are you ready to send your broadcast to The Alliance?”

  “Yes,” but after that, I’ve got a brilliant idea.”

  Rory’s hand stretched out to Ramses’ crotch. She could feel his cock growing tumescent beneath his pants.

  “Are you going to keep me busy all day tomorrow? ‘Cause I’ve got to go costume shopping with Candice.”

  “Costume shopping?”

  “It’s Halloween.”

  Ramses grinned, “My favorite night of the year. I think you two girls should have fun. I promise I won’t tire you out too much.”

  Ramses grabbed her thighs and lifted Rory off the ground. He pressed her against the wall and kissed her hard. As his fangs grazed her lips, Rory pressed her tongue down his throat. She pulled away, grabbing onto the spikes on his shoulders.

  “Make love to me all night long,” she whispered.

  “I intend to,” Ramses replied.

  THE END

  Turn the page to read the epilogue which contains a hint at what’s coming next for Enid Titan, as well as FREE samples of previous releases and a FREE short story as your gift for reading this book.

  Epilogue

  Broadcast To The Alliance

  Ambassador Ramses of Ogneb, Aries

  * * *

  Outlined are the final 5 steps of our First Contact plan with the alien planet Terra I, known as “Earth” to its inhabitants. Every government shall send a report detailing the physiological, genetic, and anatomical data about their selected specimen before launch day in 14 planet rotations.

  * * *

  (1) Select an alien specimen well suited to enduring multiple alien environments not limited to temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius and 100 degrees Celsius. Specimens should expect harsh testing by the primitive species during captivity.

  * * *

  (2) Selected specimens shall be launched into Earth’s atmosphere on their assigned due dates and capsules should land within 400 meters of major scientific labs dedicated to studying astronomy or extraterrestrial life.

  * * *

  (3) Specimens should be trained to induce captivity if humans appear unwilling or terrified to capture them.

  * * *

  (4) While in captivity, specimens will begin making scientific observations about human behavior and are expected to explore every aspect of human behavior possible.

  * * *

  (5) When enough data has been collected after a period of 1/2 solar rotation (six Terran months) on Terra I, specimens will return to their home planet and send detailed reports to Alliance representatives.

  * * *

  Once these reports have been received, affiliated members of The Alliance will decide the best way to induce official First Contact with the primitive world.

  * * *

  -R/O

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  1

  Late Summer ‘95

  Warm humid summers in Preble were always the same. The highways flanked by tall corn. The air so muggy that you couldn't step outside without sweat pooling on your brow or your shirt sticking to your neck. Summer was meant for berry picking, shucking corn and rolling your shrinking Levi's up over your ankles and running down to Song Lake for a dip in the murky green waters and to see if the owners of the impressive summer cabins had arrived with any new children to play with. I lived on the farm right across the highway from the lake over the summer. Pawpaw had us kids from June to September since Mama could barely afford to manage all seven of us when we were high-
energy reckless little young-uns who are always up to outsmarting her.

  At seven, I was the kid right smack in the middle. The twins, John and Jeremy had come first. They were 15. Annie had come next, and she was the first of us to be born with red hair, although hers was darker than mine and more definitively auburn. I was next, then there were two more boys, six and five, Charlie and Peter, then Daisy had come along a couple years before.

  After a long day of helping grandpa pick berries we had brought baskets and red stained fingers for inspection. Once he had found our efforts satisfactory, he sent us out to play until the streetlights came on. Each day went by almost exactly the same, but that day, when our baskets were overflowing with blueberries, I remember clearly now.

  John and Jeremy went off duck hunting with some of the other big kids and Pawpaw left Annie in charge of the rest of us. She offered to take us down to the lake for a swim and all of us happily obliged. Annie at the ripe age of 12 swung Daisy on her hip and I held Charlie and Peter's hands as we crossed the highway (which wasn’t busy) carefully, and walked down to the Polanski's dock.

  “The Poles” as grandpa affectionately called them didn't come until August and they had given us permission to use their dock and rickety canoes so long as we left everything the way we had found it. Annie spread her towel on the grass and lay Daisy on her stomach. Charlie and Peter stripped their clothes off and sprinted towards the water without hesitation, screaming as they raced towards the murky green with pale, freckled backs. I tapped Annie on the shoulder.

  "What?"

  I pointed towards the field, the uninhabited lot next to the Polanski's.

  "Why?"

  "Frog huntin’," I mumbled.

  As much as school had attempted to smooth out my central New York country accent, I clung to my dropped participles and flat vowels.

  Since I had lost my front teeth, I had taken up the habit of mumbling to stop them from showing. That made the sound worse. Annie’s brow knit together with distress and she fluttered her invisible lashes quickly, deciding whether I was worth as much trouble as I was giving her. She had tried to correct my speech herself many times but today, she had her hands full and I suspected that I wouldn't have gotten into much trouble if I had simply run over there without asking permission. On the other hand, she could have whooped me, so it was better to play it safe.

  "Fine don't get lost," she huffed.

  I nodded and brushed my red hair out of my eyes as I walked towards the field. I began skipping a little. I remember the scent of fresh cut grass and the rays of sunlight searing into my freckled skin. I didn't think I would find any frogs, but I loved running through the field alone, feeling the grass tickling my ankles and rubbing on my pale legs as I pretended to be a coyote, hunting for rabbit. I stepped into the tall grass which came up to my waist at that age and I started walking away from Annie and my siblings until I could barely make out their figures on the dock.

  I crouched down and started crawling forward on my hands and knees, searching for interesting critters in the soil. Once, I had found a mouse. Another time I had caught a large grasshopper that had inspired the fear of Christ in Annie when I’d unveiled my present by dropping it down the back of her dress. So, no more grasshoppers. No frogs either. I parted the grass and crouched down lower.

  A low sound like the whirring of pawpaw's truck but a bit higher pitched came from overhead. I shot straight up onto my feet, my heart racing. My toes sank deeper into the mud. Gasping for breath, I scanned the field and looked over at Annie who appeared unperturbed. She mustn’t have heard the noise, although it was so loud, I wondered how she had missed it. I tried to call her name but my mouth was sandpaper dry.

  Annie couldn't see me as her attention was focused on Daisy who lay on her back, arms flailing like an insect's. I kept watching them for a few moments more, digging my bare toes into the rich black clay earth. Soil spilled between my grubby dirt-caked toes and my red hair whipped around my head as a large gust of wind swept over the neighbors lot. A twig cracked behind me and I turned around, gasping in shock as I saw him. The figure towered over me, his dark shadow blocking out the light of the sun. I had always been taught to be polite to grown-ups. And in those days, our town was so small that there wasn't such a thing is stranger danger. There were no strangers. I felt no fear.

  “Hello.”

  He stared down at me. He didn't speak, yet I heard a voice ringing loud and clear in my head, as if coming from another room in my mind.

  <>

  I gasped. He tilted his head to the side in confusion. My hands balled into fists and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. His expression was strange, as if he had never heard anyone gasp before. I glanced over my shoulder to see if Annie was still there. And she was. But her attention was still fixated on Daisy. She had not noticed me, or the strange man. He was a big man. Bigger than pawpaw, who was the tallest man I knew at the time.

  "Sorry," he said out loud. His voice was strange and his r’s rolled heavy in his mouth. I had never heard that accent before.

  I managed to squeak out, "it's okay."

  He glanced at his wrist as if he were checking the time, but the device on his wrist had no face and didn't look like any wristwatch that I had ever seen.

  "It appears I am early," he replied in that strange robotic accent.

  "I should go," I mumbled, starting to get uncomfortable in a deep, primal way.

  The more I stared at this man, the more uneasy his appearance made me. He was a man, I was relatively sure of that. But he did not look like any of the men that I had seen. I heard about men from India or Japan, and even the Puerto Ricans who were different than us, but from the television I knew that he didn't look like any of those people either.

  “Yes,” he replied, "Of course you should, Ariana."

  My knees started to tremble. I had never met this man before, yet somehow he knew my name. I would have to run. I worked up all the courage I could, willing myself to make a break for it. The man could sense how terrified I was, and that seemed to snap him out of his current preoccupation. His voice grew gentle, and the robotic accent that I had noticed at first vanished.

  “How old are you?” he asked gently, his giant body blocking out the sun still.

  “S-s-seven.”

  He crouched down to my eye level and while he was less intimidating at that height, I began to notice more and more about him. His eyes… Something wasn't quite right with them. They were almost hazel, but they were closer to the yellow eyes on a black cat and his hair was long, shimmering white blonde, almost silver. His skin wasn't quite pale, but a desaturated silvery color that almost didn't strike me as human. Maybe the color would have been better described as blue. He tilted his head to the side again as he noticed me staring and then his skin went back to normal, a reddish pink color, like my own, and he was no more tan and freckled than I was. He smiled.

  “What month is it Ariana?"

  “July.”

  Strange. What kind of grown-up doesn't have a clue what month it is? Couldn't he tell from the height of the corn? Or the blazing heat? There was no mistaking July in central New York.

  "You must wait, then."

  "I think I hear my sister calling." I made up an excuse to get me out of there quick. If he could tell I was lying, it didn’t seem to matter to him.

  "Right. Of course."

  "G’bye."

  I turned around to head back in Annie's direction, hobbling along as fast as my legs could take me through the thick mud. I heard the voice speaking to me from the other room inside my head again.

  <>

  I whipped my head around, but there was nothing there. No man, no voices, no one but me standing in a field. I ran. I ran through the grass, no longer concerned with frogs or mice and especially not grasshoppers. I was not concerned with the condition of my dress as I ran through the high grass, splattering thick clumps of mud all over my freshly pressed froc
k. I arrived at the boundary of the Polanski property, out of breath, twigs and brambles stuck in my hair with my red braids undone and mud caked around my legs all the way up to my knees.

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  1

  The Creature

  DAMIR UL’HAD

  The onyx bowl squirmed with a thousand mealworms that smelled like sand and fear. They were about to die and each one knew it. Their bodies wriggled and writhed together. Uraz stuck the claw on his index finger through the center of one; white flesh spurted from the center of the worm.

  "A big one," I remarked.

  Uraz growled satisfactorily and wrapped his long tongue around the still squirming creature sucking the guts out of the exoskeleton and biting down on what remained with the satisfied crunch.

  “The first bite is the best.”

  Those were the first words he said to me since I arrived, ready to do business. Business, I scoffed quietly to myself as Uraz stuck his hand deep into the onyx bowl, pulling out another squirming handful of mealworms.

  I waited for him to finish before dipping my hand into my own bowl. I could feel the mealworms squirming around my fingers with their delicious scent of fear wafting up to the slits in my nose. Uraz and I ate slowly without much talking, me staggering behind him until that last delicious bite. Once we were finished he let out a long loud belch. I followed suit.

  Uraz growled, “Are you ready to talk business?"