Enchanted by the Alien Explorer

by Ashlyn Hawkes

  9

  Rix

  Mark, Simon, and Lloyd have been doing their best to keep me happy and preoccupied. Even though we haven’t been friends for very long, they realize and recognize that I’m hurting. I doubt any of them realize why I’m hurting, and it’s all my own fault. There’s no denying it. I wanted to see if there could be something between Ava and me, and I blew it. Plain and simple, I fucked up, and I don’t know if I can get her to trust me again.

  The boys, though, they drag me from place to place, and there are always so many women. They flock to us and not just because of me. Plenty of them have their eyes on my friends. They seem to love a man in uniform.

  All I want, though, is another chance with Ava, but I’m scared. Yes, I’m scared. It’s pathetic really for me to be nervous. What’s the worst thing that can happen if I show up at her place? But I don’t want to stalk her, and I don’t want her to feel like she can’t be safe in her own space. It’s not really a home, though. Does she have a home? That place has to be her workspace, right? Not where she stays all the time?

  The days pass, one by one, and I find myself getting into a routine. As much as I can't help myself, I dream about Ava every night. It's always the same dream, although the circumstances are a bit different each time. Every dream stars Ava and me, and we're going at it like rabbits, fucking each other every way and upside down too. It's amazing, and, unsurprisingly, I wake up each morning harder than a rock, which means I have to flamindulis. I have no choice in the matter, but I hate it because it’s a waste. It’s also damn frustrating to have sex dreams while lacking a sex life.

  Then, I tend to eat with the boys. They don’t have much in the way of work right now, so we can do what we want for most of the day, and then at nights, we go to barbeques and picnics and dances and parties.

  By the time the night has come, I'm exhausted. In a daze, I hit the hay for the cycle to repeat again and again.

  One morning, after a week since I last saw Ava, before it’s time for me to catch up with the boys for breakfast, my chip chirps.

  “Hello?”

  “Rix,” my dad says.

  “What’s up?”

  “What’s up? What’s up, he says.” I can picture my dad shaking his head. “How’s Earth?”

  “It’s great.”

  “Good. You want to know what else is great?”

  “What?” I ask even though I already know his answer.

  “Kuria, that’s what,” he states. “When are you coming back home?”

  I hesitate.

  “Rix, what’s going on?” my dad asks suspiciously.

  “Nothing’s going on,” I say maybe a tad defensively.

  “You met a girl, didn’t you?” he asks.

  “Maybe.”

  “Either you did, or you didn’t.”

  “Actually, I’ve met a ton of girls,’ I say.

  Dad snorts. “And…”

  “And what?”

  “Is one of the many women the reason why you haven’t returned home?”

  I grit my teeth. “Actually, Dad, I’ve been thinking.”

  “That’s dangerous,” he quips.

  Normally, I would’ve teased him right back, but for once, I’m being serious. “Dad, I don’t think I plan on it.”

  There’s silence.

  The quiet lasts so long that I have to call out, “Dad?” to make sure he’s still there.

  “Yeah, yeah,” he mumbles. “You didn’t even give your mother a proper goodbye.”

  “Dad, it’s not as if I can never return to Kuria to see you all again,” I protest.

  “I realize that, but it won’t be the same.” Dad grunts. “Tell me about her.”

  “Her name is Ava. She’s strong and smart, and…”

  “And what?”

  I say nothing.

  “Let me guess. She wants nothing to do with your sorry ass, right.” Dad bursts out laughing.

  “Go ahead and joke,” I mutter crossly. “I don’t care. I just… There’s something about her.”

  "Listen. I get that," Dad says. "I really do. When I first met your mom, I was blown away. She called to me like a siren, and I answered. At first, we took things slow, and when we finally gave in to our feelings for one another…"

  “Dad, I really don’t need to know about all of this.”

  Dad grunts. “You’re asking for advice, aren’t you?”

  “No, actually, I can’t say that I am,” I say a bit crossly.

  “Are you sure?” he presses. “I would like to hear about this Ava. You know your mom. If I don’t answer, she’ll be furious with me, and you don’t want your mom to be furious with me, do you?”

  “You don’t want to be in the dog house, huh?” I tease.

  “Not at all.” Dad burst out laughing.

  Not that we have a dog or a doghouse, of course, since dogs are native to Earth, not Kuria.

  “I… There honestly isn’t much to tell,” I say haltingly.

  “You’re drawn to her. That’s enough for you to get to know her, don’t you think?” Dad asks.

  “Yes, but you don’t understand. She’s not like other girls.”

  “I figured that,” Dad says, his tone a bit dry.

  “Not because… She’s a loner. I think she might’ve been in trouble in the past. I don’t know, but I don’t think she has a lot. She’s a fighter, and when she laughs, you can’t help smiling.”

  “Hmm.” Dad tsks. “You’ve got it bad, son.”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” I say stubbornly.

  “I mean that you’re enchanted by this Ava, aren’t you?”

  “Maybe,” I say slowly, drawing out the two-syllable word.

  “There’s nothing wrong with that. Talk to her. Date her—”

  “We went on one date already.”

  “Wonderful! That will please your mom. How did it go?”

  “It went well…”

  Dad grunts. “Until what happened?”

  “Well, you see, I thought… We only went on the date in the first place because I bartered for it.”

  “You bartered what to gain a date night with Ava?” Dad asks firmly. “With my potential future daughter-in-law?”

  I burst out laughing.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “I wouldn’t really call her a potential future daughter-in-law,” I explain.

  “Why not?” Dad challenges. “Let me tell you. When love hits a Novan, it hits you like a million bricks. It can happen very fast, and it’s very powerful.”

  “I wouldn’t say that—”

  “You must be open to it,” Dad continues.

  “First you say I’m enchanted by her. Now you’re saying that I’m in love with her. Wow, Dad, you certainly seem to know all about me and my feelings from all the way on Kuria. That’s impressive.”

  “Go ahead and deny it all you want,” Dad says. “Your mom and I always knew that you would most likely find love with an Earthling woman.”

  “Well, considering my options are either an Earthling woman or a female Kurian…” I shrug and smirk. “Do you want me to start clapping.”

  “No, I don’t want to hear your sarcastic clapping.” Dad sounds a little annoyed. “What I meant is that we knew you would find love on Earth rather than on Kuria.”

  I hesitate. “Are you trying to say that you let me come here because you knew this would happen?”

  “That you would have your head all wrapped up in a female? Yes, I figured that would be the case.”

  I consider this. “The overlord, do you think he suspects too?”

  “Most likely. He’s getting a little older, a little wiser. He knows that love can happen, and when it does, it’s better to accept it versus fight it.”

  “We still need more babies,” I mumble.

  "Yes, of course, but also, we aren't meant to be alone, Rix. We're meant to be with others. I know plenty of men who say we are a sexual species, and yes, that's true to some extent.
However, I think it's far better to say that we're a social species. We can't survive in a vacuum. We need others, not just friends. To be accepted, love… Back in the day—"

  “Dad, I really don’t need to hear another story about how you used to fuck every female you saw,” I say dryly.

  “Maybe I wasn’t going to say anything like that,” Dad says after a slight pause.

  "Dad, I know you, and every time you start a sentence with back in the day, you start talking about your cock. It's more than a little uncomfortable."

  “Sex is a natural part of life,” Dad protests. “There’s no shame—”

  “I know you have no shame.”

  Dad grunts. “You made it sound like women were interested in you, other women than Ava. Have you fucked any of them?”

  “No.”

  “Had sex with any of them?”

  "No!" I wipe a hand down my face. The guys will be around for breakfast any minute now, so I need to wrap this up.

  “My point is that you have eyes set on Ava and no one else,” Dad continues. “Why?”

  “Let me guess,” I grumble. “You’re going to tell me why, and you’re going to say that it’s because of love.”

  “Well, don’t you think that might be the case?” he presses.

  “I barely know her,” I argue.

  “You don’t have to know all about her past or her hopes and desires to love her. You can love and accept a person at any point in your life. All it takes is a bit of faith.”

  “I don’t think that’s how love works,” I mutter.

  “Why not?”

  “Not for her at least.”

  “It’s been over a week,” Dad says. “You don’t have to come back, and if you don’t, let me guess what you’re going to do.”

  Dad and guessing. He likes to guess all the time and enjoys having others guess too. Mom told me once that this only started after I started with all of my thousands of questions. Dad turned it into a game and tried to get me to guess what might have caused this or that.

  “You’re going to eventually find a way to get past Ava’s defenses and get to know her. The two of you will acknowledge your love, and all I ask is that when you two get married, either on Earth or on Kuria, is that your mom and I can be there for it.”

  “Dad,” I protest.

  “Please.”

  “If it happens, sure. Fine. Whatever.”

  I hear the centuricmobile pull up out front. I’ve been staying at a hotel. The owner is just like the one from the sushi place—willing to let me stay for free. In the days I’ve been here, more and more people are now, and the owner makes it sound like they’re here because they want to catch a glimpse of me. It’s a bit strange and unsettling, and I’m sure that it’s not something Ava would be too fond of, not if it happens everywhere we go. When I can, I try to help clean up the place, not just my room either. I spied a spilled drink and found the utility closet and started to clean it up until a maid came over and hurried to do it for fear she would get fired. The maid was one of the few women to not flirt with me, and I really appreciated that. Her name is Opal, and I guess you could say we’re friends. She has a kind heart, and she’s saving up her pennies to be able to get out of her tiny apartment and into a small house. She has three young kids to support. Her husband died two years ago. A heart attack. She doesn’t complain, though, and I almost wish she would find happiness again. No. Never mind. Her face lights up when she talks about her kids. She has happiness, and she’s more happy than sad when she talks about Rick, so maybe she doesn’t need a second husband. Who knows? I don’t, that’s for sure. Love is confusing.

  “I have to go,” I tell Dad as I hear the vehicle door slam.

  “All right. I’m glad we had this chat. Maybe next time, you can call me?”

  “Maybe,” I grunt. I end the call and leave my room to head on down to meet up with the guys. I’ve given Ava enough time and space, haven’t I? Maybe I can go and see her soon.

  Or maybe that Earthling expression about absence makes the heart grow fonder is a load of crap, and she’ll want nothing to do with me when I show up.

  Either way, I can’t just ignore the feelings I have for her because I do have feelings. Whether or not those feelings are love remains to be seen.

  10

  Ava

  A scowl crosses my features when I wake the next morning. I stare at the phone I swiped from the base on my way out. It has a lot of numbers programmed in for high and important people, and I opt to start calling around.

  They aren't the most receptive people, military guys and gals, and I have to be put on hold more times than I would like for a much longer period than I prefer. Each time I give my spiel, they either interrupt constantly with questions or else they say nothing at all. Very quickly, I get the impression they aren't giving me their undivided attention.

  “I would love to show you what the device can do in person,” I always finish up with.

  “I don’t think that will be necessary.”

  Click.

  That’s how almost every single one of the calls ends. Not one of them is impressed, and it makes me wonder what’s going on. Are they focusing solely on their ships, on space stuff? What about life here on Earth? Why can’t we do the space stuff, yes, but also stuff here too? I don’t understand why it seems like it has to be an either/or type situation.

  Life isn’t black and white, but I don’t think the military will ever get that. There’s no one else I can turn to, though. There aren’t billionaire tycoons like there used to be in the past. The war really crippled the world for a long time afterward, and we still feel some of the effects to this day. It’s unnerving how strict some things are, and the military is a powerful entity, more powerful than anything else. The entire world has a global government now, and the military is the enforcer of that government. Maybe… maybe this phone can help me to talk to someone at the government instead of the military. That’s my only other option.

  I scroll through the contact list again, this time looking for anyone who isn’t military. There are only two names without rank, and I call the first, a woman named Karen Yeardly.

  “Hello, General,” Karen answers almost immediately.

  I swallow hard. She’s the first to answer like this, although I did have to explain to every person I’ve called so far today how I got their number.

  “Hi, Karen. This is actually Ava Kyle calling. I’m a—”

  “I don’t have time for this.”

  “Please let me know when you have time so that we can talk about something big.”

  “Something big?” she asks skeptically. “I don’t know who you are, Ms. Kyle, but I am not in the mood—”

  “I’m sorry you aren’t in the mood, and I don’t want to waste your time. I’m certain you have a busy day ahead. If you can tell me when you might have time—”

  “Every day is a busy day,” she snaps.

  “I understand that. I purse my lips. She’s not going to give an inch. “Is it possible that you could hand me off to someone else, Karen? Can I talk to your supervisor?”

  She hangs up on me.

  Oh, well. I knew she wouldn't help me, anyhow. She was too high and mighty for that.

  I call the other number, but there’s no answer, and I groan. I’m not getting anywhere with the government either, and the military already told me no.

  Where does that leave me?

  I eye the levitation device. I've tried to fiddle with it to make the wagon levitate again, but it's too light. My device is too powerful for something that weighs so little. In order to make the wagon lift, I would need an entirely new device, and I'm not going to worry about that because who wants a floating, hovering wagon? But this device doesn't just make things hover. No, this is levitation. This would mean flying cars. This would make it possible for the streets to be cleared of vehicles. We could build houses high up off the ground, allow nature to have the surface. We could live in a new age, one where
we can prosper and be closer to the heavens versus the soil. Not that we don't need to be down here. Not that we would all have to live up high. We need crops and animals and food to eat that can only be had here. Well, we could maybe have farms up high above the Earth.

  It’s fun to wonder and contemplate what my device could mean for the rest of the world, how it could radically change our way of life. The wildfires… They wouldn’t reach us if we lived up high. Natural disasters? Hurricanes, tornadoes… We would all be safely out of reach. There wouldn’t be any issues with congestion on the roads. None of that. We could go wherever we wanted in levitating vehicles.

  The possibilities are limitless, and yes, I know I’m talking about a future that would take a lifetime to build. I realize and recognize that, but that future can start now. Why can’t the government and the military realize what a boon this is?

  Well, fine. If my leaders won’t see this for what it is, then I’ll just have to go and find another leader who will.

  My heart is in my throat as I conceal the levitation device. Where I’m going, I don’t need it. Not yet.

  My heart pounds faster than my swift footsteps as I make my way to Rix’s spaceship. Along the route, I wonder and even fear that he left already. I haven’t seen him, and I haven’t wandered about town lately to know if the alien is still around. Would he leave without saying goodbye? Of course he would. We haven’t seen each other since I refused to sleep with him.

  Finally, I arrive, and I grin to see that the spaceship is still here. I rush onto the ramp. “Rix?” I call.

  But he doesn’t come out to greet me, doesn’t respond.

  “Rix?”

  I climb on board and do a quick search. The Kurian isn’t here.

  I've come too far now to back down, so I head to the cockpit and examine the dashboard. There must be a way to communicate with those on Kuria, more than just through the chips in their heads.

  Eventually, I find a manual. It’s clearly meant to teach others how to pilot, and it looks well read. There are notes in the margin, and I flip through until I find a labeled picture of the dashboard.