by Darien Cox
“Tim—”
“Aliens or not, this is my town, those are my mountains, and this is my life. Not yours. You guys involve Myles in your missions. You trust him. It’s time you put some faith in me too.”
Growling, Tyler rested his face in his hands. “Jesus Christ. How do regular people do this?”
“Do what?”
Tyler’s head lifted. “Get through their daily lives when they feel like this. Worrying about someone else all the time. I...I can’t figure out how to make it work, Tim.”
“Make what work exactly?”
“My instincts, my job, my...everything. I can’t seem to figure out how to care so much about you and still be me.”
Damn. Just when he’d start thinking Tyler was a robot again, he’d stun with some emotionally open confession like this and turn the whole thing on its head. It was dizzying and annoying and wonderful. “Ty...for the record, I care about you too. Don’t you think I worry about the shit you do? Did you expect caring about someone would be easy? It never is. Even for normal people.”
Tyler chuckled. “Thanks, Tim.”
“You know what I mean. It’s hard even for people who don’t have all these alien problems. You can’t expect that this will be smooth sailing all the time, right?”
“I didn’t expect this at all, that’s the problem. I’m not trained for it.”
Tim chuckled. “I think this is one of those learn-as-you-go situations. But Tyler, give yourself some credit. If you’re brave enough to protect the world from monsters you’re brave enough to handle caring about me.”
“One would think so. But I just behaved unprofessionally in front of the group. And I purposely provoked you so you’d want to skip the meeting. I was cruel because I care too much. This...this thing with you?” He shook his head. “It makes me feel all fucked up. I’m not handling it right. I don’t know how.”
“You gonna shut down now?” Tim asked softly. “You finished with this? With me?”
“I don’t want to be. But you’re already mad at me because I said that stupid shit about Baz in front of the group, and I feel shitty as hell about it. And I’m so bad at this I don’t even know how to apologize to you.”
“I think you just did. And I accept your apology.”
Tyler looked up. “Just like that?”
“Just like that. I don’t like what you did, but I understand now why you did it.”
“So...you’re not mad at me anymore?”
“Oh, I’m still mad at you. And I’ll probably get mad at you again, and you’ll probably get mad at me again. But we’ll get over it and we’ll make compromises. Because it’s worth it.” He studied Tyler’s eyes. “At least I think it’s worth it. Do you?”
Tyler took Tim’s hand in his. “Yeah. I do.”
“You sure about that?”
“I’m sure. And to prove it, here’s my first compromise. You stay in the car until I can check out the situation in the cabin. Then you can come inside to the meeting with Baz. Not before.”
Tim nodded. “Deal.”
“Okay. Good.”
“And if things go okay today and there are no emergencies, you’re coming to my house for dinner tonight.”
“I am?”
“You’ve got to eat, right?”
“But you said you’re still mad at me.”
“I am. Do you want to come for dinner or not?”
Grinning, Tyler nodded.
“Okay then. That’s settled.”
Brett stepped into the room. “Hey, guys? We’re ready to go to the cabin. You coming?”
Tyler stood. “I want to bring weapons.”
Laughing, Brett nodded. “I know you do, sweetheart. Don’t worry. Already packed the truck. Let’s go.”
Brett darted out of the room, and Tim and Tyler followed. Tyler let out a long sigh, hanging his head as he walked. “What’s the matter?” Tim asked.
“That discussion with you was very stressful.”
Tim laughed. He slid his arm around Tyler. “I think it’s kind of hilarious that you find personal relationships more stressful than hunting aliens.”
“It’s not hilarious. It’s pathetic and I can’t believe you haven’t told me to fuck off yet.”
As they made their way down the hall, Tim stopped Tyler, pushed him against the wall, and risked a short but passionate kiss. Tyler blinked up at him, expression soft. “I haven’t told you to fuck off yet because I’m not going to,” Tim said. “I really like you, you weirdo. Just the way you are.”
Tyler’s shoulders relaxed. “I think I might actually believe you.”
“You should, because it’s the truth.”
“Let’s go!” Nolan shouted from downstairs. “You can fuck later!”
Without another word, they went outside and piled into Brett’s big SUV with the others. As they headed down the mountain road, Tim stared out the window, wondering about the things Myles said to him. About whether or not he was prepared for the changes that would come if he dated someone on Ogden’s team. If he made Tyler part of his life. And he knew that Myles was right about one thing.
It was already too late to consider consequences. He was falling in love.
Chapter Thirteen
Tim was getting impatient. He was told to stay in the vehicle, but couldn’t take it anymore, so he got out and stretched his legs. The earlier rainstorm had left the sky cloudy and overcast, but the morning was warm, mountain breeze fragrant and refreshing. Leaning his back against the hood, he looked at the cabin. It was hidden within an isolated crop of woods very high up the mountain, but this place was not unfamiliar to him. He really did know every inch of these mountains and knew this cabin had been empty for a long time after the elderly couple who used it as a vacation home no longer made trips up.
What he didn’t know was that apparently it no longer belonged to that elderly couple. Now it was a meeting house for Baz to stay in contact with the group. Tim tried to imagine how an alien-human hybrid had managed to procure property, then realized Ogden had probably handled it. There were six lanterns on the porch, each a different color, and Brett explained on arrival that the lanterns represented different members of the team, including Myles. Whoever needed to speak with Baz at a given time would light their own lantern so the hybrid would be alerted.
Would Tim ever get his own Baz-lantern? Did he want one? He wasn’t sure, but what he did know was he was curious as to what the fuck was going on inside right now. And he was irritated no one had come to get him yet. Tyler, Nolan, Brett, Elliot, and JT had gone in twenty minutes ago, with promises that Tyler would be out to retrieve him once he assessed the safety of the situation. If this was just a ploy to keep Tim out of the meeting altogether he was going to be really, really pissed at Tyler.
Hearing the door squeak open, he stepped away from the truck. Tyler trotted off the porch and walked toward him, expression unreadable, but he’d taken his jacket off, which was probably a good sign. He appeared on-alert as always, but his gait was relaxed as he strolled across the lawn. “Hey. Ready to take you in now.”
“Well, you look less worried than when you went in.” Tim examined him, looking for the gun he’d gone inside with, but saw no evidence of it. Only a tight black tee shirt and jeans on Tyler’s perfect body. “Where’s your...stun thing?”
“Baz made me and Brett lock our guns up in one of the bedrooms. They were making the twins nervous.”
“The twins?”
“Yes, they’re twins. Two hybrids, a boy and a girl.”
“What are they like?”
“Weird.”
“What do they look like?”
“Weird.”
“Tyler. Use your big boy words.”
“They look a little like Baz I guess. They’re over six feet tall, but according to Baz, they’re adolescents. And they remind me a little of human teenagers, kind of sulky with a lot of sighing and eye-rolling. But they’re dressed real freaky and they’ve got...weird hair.�
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“Are they...nice?”
“I don’t know, but they don’t seem dangerous. Baz is acting like a disappointed parent with them so they’ve got the spanked-puppy vibe going on. Pretty sure they don’t want to be here, so let’s get this over with. They’re ready to talk.”
“Okay.”
“Let’s go.” Tyler did an about-face and Tim followed him to the cabin.
“What are their names?”
Tyler opened the door and glanced back. “Baz said we can call them Fi and Fo. Hybrids and Whites don’t like to give us their real names, so I assume those are either nicknames or fake, but I don’t know.”
“But...isn’t Baz’s name Baz?”
“No. Baz is short for Ambassador. No one knows Baz’s real name either.”
“Okay.” Tim blew a breath out. “Then let’s go meet...Fi and Fo.”
The front room was empty, just a few worn throw-rugs, and that wet-wood smell of old cottages. But Baz appeared in the doorway to the next room. “Hello, Tim Patterson.”
Baz was not wearing human attire today. His long white hair was a stark contrast to the one-piece black jumpsuit. Form-fitted and shiny, the jumpsuit made Baz appear even taller, his skin whiter, eyes weirder. Tim was startled for a moment, because Baz definitely looked more alien dressed like this. “Oh, hello, Baz. Wow. Look at you.”
“Yes, okay,” Baz said. “I need to be in uniform today for this.”
The hybrid seemed tense, white brows pinching as his long fingers fidgeted, clasping and unclasping. “You look good,” Tim said.
“Thank to you, Tim Patterson.”
“You can just call me Tim.”
“Okay. Tim. Tyler, is okay?”
“Yeah,” Tyler said. “The twins ready to talk?”
“Yes. Okay. Twins have good English from work with me and study. But if communicate get difficult, you say to me and I tell in their language. Okay Tim?”
“Yeah, sure. Sounds good.”
“Okay. This way.”
Tyler motioned for Tim to go ahead of him, so he followed Baz down the hallway. The height was still jarring, but Baz seemed familiar with the cabin, ducking low here and there so his head didn’t whack into hanging light fixtures, then ducking again as they turned into a big room with a television and a high, sloped wooden ceiling.
“There he is,” Nolan said. “Come on in, Tim. You can sit here.”
Tim paused as he stepped into the room. Nolan patted the cushion beside him on a loveseat. Next to him, Elliot sat in an old-looking puffy chair, JT resting on the floor at his feet. Brett leaned against the far wall, an amused smirk on his face as he watched Tim, who stared at the empty couch against the wall. “Can’t you see them?” Brett said. “The hybrids are invisible.”
“What?”
“He’s screwing with you,” Elliot said. “We wanted you to get settled before we bring them in.”
“Oh. Okay. Sure.”
“It’s all right,” Tyler said softly. “Go sit down.”
Tim walked around a coffee table and sat next to Nolan on the loveseat. Tyler took up position against the wall next to Brett as Baz held his hands up and said, “I bring you here to speak with two who work at base, because I find evidence on them. I question, and they say they visit with one who build gator-worms many times. They spend time with. Is okay for you to ask question to them now too. Okay?”
“Yeah, if they know something we’d like to talk to them,” Brett said.
“Okay, to start now?”
“Yeah, go ahead,” Brett said. “Bring them in.”
Baz shouted something over his shoulder in another language, short, choppy syllables with a lilt at the end. Then two tall white figures strode into the room.
Tim couldn’t stop his sharp inhale, and he knew Nolan heard it, because he placed a hand on his shoulder. The twins were tall and even thinner than Baz. Their faces were nearly identical, but it was obvious which was the female, she had very tiny breasts and a slight curve to her hips below a long stretch of waist. They strolled on long legs through the room and sat beside each other on the couch, immediately crossing their arms over their bony chests, looking bored.
And now he knew what Tyler mean when he’d said they were weird. Their one-piece jumpsuits had a white background, but colors appeared airbrushed onto the fabric as decoration. The girl’s jumpsuit had soft pastel shapes like tear drops, and the boy’s jumpsuit was slashed with bright colors like tiger stripes. His hair was brushed straight up and crafted into a point, a high white flame atop his head. The girl’s white hair was arranged in an array of small twisted spirals across her scalp.
Odd flattened ears fully visible, Tim’s mind had trouble reconciling that the twins were real, actual living beings. They looked more like costumed aliens from a low budget science fiction film. He shuddered, remembering the nightmare that woke him up last night.
“This you can call Fi.” Baz pointed to the girl. “And this Fo.” He pointed to the boy.
The boy’s large, colorful eyes shifted up to Baz, long white lashes blinking rapidly.
“Do not give me this look!” Baz said to the boy. “You the one who did wrong.”
“Okaaay. I just looking!” The boy’s voice was soft, raspy like Baz’s, but a little higher-pitched.
“Baz,” Brett said. “Give us the big picture here. What’s going on?”
Baz’s head bobbed and he looked around the room, his large eyes finally falling on Tim. “The one who sent things to spy on you? Twins say is gone. Has left base.”
“Gone?” Tim let a breath out. “Gone is good. Are they sure?”
“Gone,” the female hybrid said. “Fly away.”
Brett stepped away from the wall. “Can you confirm that, Baz?”
Baz’s shoulders slumped. “No. I cannot. Because these two say he was prisoner aboard hybrid craft that leave base this morning. Is not possible. Many craft leave base this morning, but no with register of transport prisoner. So I do not know what is true.”
“So how do you know they’re not just making it up?” Tim said, and both hybrids on the couch shot their gazes his way. He shrank on the loveseat, those double-irises making him uncomfortable. “Sorry. Just asking.”
“We no to lie,” the boy said. “They lie. The ones who keep him lock up. Keep him lock in hidden part of craft. Alone.”
“If prisoner was on craft sensors would have found,” Baz said. “No extra passengers on any craft that leave base!”
The female hybrid made a sound, like a groan of frustration, then her skinny arms were flailing as she chattered at Baz in another language.
Sighing, Baz said, “She say two hybrids had prisoner locked in chamber with shield so no to detect. She say this is why he make robots that can go to surface, so he can see the humans with eyes, with camera. Because not allow to leave craft, even to wander base, and no signals.”
“A prisoner?” Tim scowled. “I’ve had a prisoner spying on me? What did this...person do to be locked up?”
“Nothing!” Fi shouted, and they all jumped.
“He say to us that he do nothing,” Fo said. “No crimes. Just they hate because his face.”
“What about his face?” Tim asked.
“Is complicate,” Fi said. “His face.”
“Okay, slow down,” Tyler said. “If whoever this is was a prisoner, locked away, how did he have access those highly sophisticated drones? Pretty fancy toys for someone in prison transport.”
“Craft...” Fi looked up at Baz. “Ship?”
“Either is good,” Baz said.
“Okay, craft?” She looked at Tyler. “Stay at base to rest craft. He? Not allow to leave craft. No nothing to do. They let him have to play with. Technology. He build himself. Build things to pass time.”
“They let a prisoner have advanced technology to make drones that can manipulate matter to travel to the planet’s surface,” Nolan said. “That doesn’t sound likely.”
“The ones
hold him prisoner do not know what he can do with these things they give him,” Fo said. “Not to know he send to surface. Intelligent more than they know. He is genus.”
“Genius,” Baz corrected.
“Genius. He is so intelligent and they do not know when they give him.”
“I’m confused, Baz,” Nolan said. “How do these two know all of this? Are they saying they hung out with this prisoner?”
“They say they were let onto craft to visit him,” Baz said. “But that he could not leave. That he was kept there against his will.”
“Who is he?” Tim asked. “Does he have a name?”
“George,” the female hybrid said.
“George,” Fo concurred.
Elliot laughed. “George? Baz, you know any aliens called George?”
“No,” Baz said. “This is human name.”
Elliot looked at the twins. “Is George human?”
“Is no human,” Fo said. “Just very interest in humans for long time. Take human name probably? He tell us George.”
“Is he a hybrid?” Tyler asked.
The twins looked at each other. The boy shrugged, then looked at Tyler. “Complicate.”
“Why is it so complicated? Either he is or he isn’t.”
“Is hybrid but not like hybrid,” Fi said.
“Great,” Tyler said. “George the hybrid who is not like a hybrid. That’s helpful.”
“And are you two also very interest in humans?” Brett asked.
Both hybrids slumped down a bit on the sofa, then crossed their legs, their movements in sync like they were one organism. “We learn from him. From Baz,” Fi said to Brett. “He teach us about being ambassador to you.”
“And it doesn’t go beyond that?” Brett said. “Because you say this George is very interested in humans, but George expresses this in an unhealthy way. Spying on Tim up at the ranger station? Stealing and putting hidden cameras on his clothing? Did you two know this was happening?”
“Yes but...” Fi’s shoulders hunched. “We did not do, we only listen when George tell.”
