After all, how do you approach this situation? This was a human, probably someone that wouldn’t understand. I don’t know what to do about it, how to approach it, or anything of the sort.
Would I be better off telling her? I mean, she seemed to have her own problems as well, which meant that she probably didn’t have the time or energy to deal with me. Women were frustrating, and frankly, even I didn’t know what to do about any of this.
I sat there at my desk sighing, unsure of what to even do now. I mean, I could see her calls, her texts, and I wanted to see her again. I decided to bite the bullet after a while, and I picked up.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Are you okay?” she replied.
I sighed. I mean, I didn’t really know if I was.
“Yeah, I am. Sorry, I just got busy once again. You all right?” I asked her.
“Yeah, I do want to see you though,” she said.
I paused. I wanted to see her too, but I didn’t know if I should tell her what I was feeling.
“I do as well. I just... I have a lot on my mind,” I replied.
I really did. But of course, she knew just what to say, at the right time as always.
“You can always tell me, you know,” she said.
I tensed. There was no way she would understand. They told me nobody ever would, so why was she saying such asinine things? I didn’t even know anymore.
“Okay. Well, if you want to see me tonight, we could meet up either at your studio, or somewhere else,” I said.
“You want to maybe go see a movie? My treat. I just got paid for a huge commission, and I feel like doing something fun.”
A movie. That would give me less time to talk to her. I knew that humans loved being quiet during movies.
“That’s fine. Let’s do that,” I said.
I hung up the phone, sitting there and wondering if she would actually get it. If I could tell her everything. I mean, maybe she would. It’s just… it’s a risk I feared taking.
That night, I drove over to the studio. She got in the ship, and she directed me to the theater. She talked, and I listened. I mean, it’s nice that she did this. I didn’t want her to feel like she had to.
“Are you sure you’ve got this? I have money, you know,” I said.
“Seriously, Jives, this is my treat. Don’t you worry,” she replied.
I sighed. I didn’t want to be indebted to her. But the woman seemed insistent. Humans were like that.
The movie was okay, nothing to write home to mom about. I frankly found it quite boring and trite, but she seemed to like it. It was one of those romantic comedies, and while I didn’t understand the jokes, I tried to stay in there and watch it for her sake.
After that, we walked out, and she took me over to the pier nearby. When I looked around, I started to notice something out of the corner of my eye, causing me to freeze up.
“You okay?” I heard her ask.
“Yeah. Just fine,” I said.
“You’re hiding something,” she said.
“I’m telling you, it’s fine. It’s just... I thought my eyes were deceiving me,” I told her.
“What did you think you saw?” she inquired.
Man, this human didn’t seem to get it. I stood up, looking at her and sighing.
“I told you, it’s nothing that you have to worry about. It’s that—”
But I did have a hunch, and unfortunately, my hunch was right. She was soon attacked. She screamed out, but we were so far away from the pier that nobody saw it. I knew I wasn’t seeing things. I knew that she was back.
It was an alien, one that reminded me of a hell from long ago. I began to grow wary, mostly because I didn’t know what to do. Immediately, Tracey was held there, and I freaked out. She tried to get out of there, and I knew that time was running out. I had to save her. I just had to.
That’s when I did it. I finally revealed who I really was. I morphed, a change that I never thought would come. After a moment, I started to get bigger, showing off the true form that I had. I was unlike the other aliens on Klanden, and I saw her eyes widen. She didn’t understand.
But would she? That’s what I feared. I would figure out how to tell her when the time was right. Right now, I needed to fight off this alien.
I started to punch at it, feeling the tentacles trying to wrap around my arms. But it was too much. I had to use the attack, the one that I forbade myself from using unless someone was in danger. Right now, I needed to save her.
I stood up, putting my hands together, and cried out, a giant purple shape forming in my arms. I pushed it out, seeing the energy immediately rush out, and it hit the other creature square in the chest. I watched as it faltered about, letting Tracey go and I rushed to catch her as she collapsed on the ground. I looked at it, and the creature seemed to be almost smiling.
“It seems that you’re still here, so we can’t invade the humans yet,” the creature said.
It jumped into the water, and I watched as it swam away. Invade the humans? What the hell was going on? I didn’t even know anymore. There seemed to be something amiss about all of this. But what I was worried about, was Tracey.
Did she see it? Did she have questions? Did she even trust me? I don’t even know. I felt ashamed that I had to show her like that. Maybe I should’ve told her sooner, but I don’t know, I feared doing so. Right now, the only thing that I could think of doing, was to put all of this to bed, and that’s what I did. I brought her back to the studio, laying her down there. I wanted to tell her, but I needed to make sure she got some rest first. Plus, I feared what I saw could be the start of it all.
I was scared though. How do I tell her? Do I even want to? Maybe I should end all of this with this human now, not get involved any further. But, I felt like this had already gone too far, and I was in too deep. For now, I’d just take care of her, and when she came to me, I’d figure out what to do next.
If I even want to tell her that is.
Chapter 6
~Tracey~
I woke up in my studio the next day. How did I get there? I didn’t remember coming back there.
The last thing that I remember was the whole thing at the pier. I was talking to Jives, he seemed like he wanted to tell me something, and then, I got attacked by that strange tentacle monster. I immediately froze, remembering that he turned into that giant… thing that didn’t look like the normal Klanden aliens. Why did I get attacked? Why did he do that? I needed answers, and I wanted them fast.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen though. I tried to call him, desperately dialing him in hopes that he would respond. But there was nothing, and I immediately froze. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all. I started to wonder just what I should do. I mean, he couldn’t avoid me forever, and neither could I.
But I was scared. I didn’t want to think that he did something bad. It’s obvious that the reason why he avoided this whole mess with me was because he feared something was wrong about it. I mean, why did he hide that form of his? What did he suppose he’d get from this? I didn’t know, and frankly, I tried to get my mind off it the moment I saw it.
But I couldn’t. It started that day when I tried to call him, he left me a voicemail, and then I continued to paint. I couldn’t get the sight from last night out of my head. So I painted it, drawing him and how he looked, along with that tentacle monster. I even drew myself, though it might not be entirely accurate. But I couldn’t stop thinking about the mess with him. I couldn’t stop thinking about all that was going on. I wanted to know, I truly did, but I feared he wouldn’t tell me.
Would he let me know? I don’t know. I tried the next day to call him again, but there was nothing. I did so again and again for the next week or so, but to no avail. This meant one thing.
He was trying to avoid me. He was ashamed, scared of what I saw, and feared what he could’ve seen at that moment.
I did understand the fear. It was justified. I mean, I could tell
this was something he hadn’t shown anyone else. From the moment he hesitated, I could tell immediately. But, why did he refuse to talk to me about it after all was said and done? This was bizarre.
Maybe I should go see him? After yet another week of silent treatment, much to my dismay, I finally did. I got the address to the embassy, I hopped in my jalopy, and headed over there.
When I got to the building, I immediately marched to the reception hall. The Klanden man that was on duty there, some little young guy that probably wasn’t into chicks at all, stared at me.
“You all right there, miss?” he asked.
“Been better. I need to see someone though. If you could help me, that would be awesome,” I said.
“Who?” he asked.
“Jives. It’s important,” I said to him.
He dialed the number, stepping away into the corner to discuss with the other person on the line. Immediately, he came back, looking at me.
“He says he’s busy.”
“Bullshit. Tell him I know. I remembered what happened, and I’m not going away until he comes here, and gives me a goddamn explanation. I’m serious,” I told hm.
I didn’t think Jives would be so worried. But the receptionist shook his head.
“I’m sorry, but he’s got meetings booked through the afternoon.”
“Then tell him I’m going to sit here, wait until he gets out of those meetings, and he and I are going to have a little chat,” I said to the other.
The young man nodded, sitting back down at the reception desk. Time passed, about three or four hours, and it was soon the end of the night. People were leaving, and I just sat there, looking at my phone, and a few of the magazines in the area. I started to shiver, wondering if it was worth it to try here. Would he hide in his office until I left? Was he really that ashamed?
After a while though, I noticed that he was at the entryway, going down the grand staircase. I stood up, looking at him with a glare.
“Fancy of you to finally come down. I’ve been waiting all day,” I muttered, annoyed.
“You didn’t have to, you know. You could’ve just left,” he stated.
“But I didn’t want to. I want the truth, Jives. And I’m not leaving until you give it to me,” I said.
He looked terrified. Was he really that ashamed of me to the point where he feared even uttering the truth, not just some half-baked lies that were put there to make himself feel better?
“Are you… sure?”
I paused. I could tell he wanted to say something, but was hesitant.
“Of course I’m fucking sure. I waited here for hours, you know. I could’ve painted today, worked on commissions, but I wanted to see you. I’m sick of your hiding, sick of you feeling like you can’t be honest with me. In fact, I just want you to be honest right now, or else I’ll leave, and we’ll never speak again,” I said.
That did it. He looked at me with widened eyes. All the talk of him saying that he could live without humans was utter bullshit, and the look on his face immediately showed that.
“Are you terribly certain that you won’t leave? Because, I just… I don’t know what to think,” he said.
“Jives, I just told you that I’m not leaving until I get answers. You don’t scare me. You never have. Yeah, you’re an alien, and that whole debacle the other week was a bit… worrisome for sure, but I want answers, and I want you to know that I’m not leaving, and I’m not going to leave you,” I said.
The conviction in my voice was certain. I think that’s what he wanted to hear. He relaxed, looking at me, his gaze unwavering.
“Come with me to my office. We’ll discuss this matter there,” he said.
I did so, following him as I felt the shiver ghost up my spine. What was he about to tell me? What sorts of secrets was he hiding? I didn’t even know.
The embassy was quite different from what I expected. I never even came here when Audrey was still on this planet. I just never made the effort to come out this way, and I guess that’s just the way that I roll. After a little while, I finally saw the door at the very end of the hall open, and soon we were in a huge office.
This office was as big as my apartment and my studio combined. I looked around, seeing a small little meeting area that probably was used for more private and informal discourse. Then there was the desk, which was stacked with papers, and a computer that looked different from the ones on Earth. I saw the towering bookshelf, filled with books that were both in alien languages and in human dialect. He looked at me, and I looked at him.
“Well, where do you want to sit? I can get you some coffee as well?” he said.
“Don’t treat this as some sort of diplomacy meeting, Jives. Just get some coffee and let’s sit on the couch. Remember, we’re friends, and I’m not going to betray you,” I said.
Even though I was still pretty fucking pissed about the whole mess back there, I could see he seemed to be fighting his own battles. I felt for the man, and I could tell that he needed someone to talk to, a force that would listen to his problems, lend an ear and, in the end, would actually help. That’s what I wanted to be, and I wanted to prove to him that I wouldn’t leave him.
I sat down and he sat next to me. The tension in the air was so thick you could probably cut it with a knife and the knife would just bounce back like it was jello. I shivered, trying to put the words together. Then, he spoke.
“What I’m about to tell you is private business. And… if you really do need to leave, I understand. I just hope… maybe you don’t hate me after what I’m about to tell you,” he said.
“It’s going to take a lot for me to do that, you know?” I muttered.
“You say that, but I don’t know if I can believe you,” he replied.
Oh geez. I mean, I was pretty annoyed, but I wanted the truth. I then smiled at him, giving him a gentle grin.
“Then tell me. Allow me to shoulder the burden with you. Because I know it’s too much for one man,” I uttered.
He looked almost relieved, and as he sat back, I moved closer to him. I wanted him to tell me everything, to explain this whole mess, and to tell me the truth about what I saw there that night.
~Jives~
When I saw her at the embassy, I almost considered jumping out the window. With the form that I have, and with how late at night it was, I could make it. But, there was that part of me that looked into her eyes, and I saw something I never saw in anyone else.
Trust. Acceptance. I felt those things when I looked at her, and that made me feel almost relieved to let her in. Of course, I was still scared for my life, hoping that she didn’t leave. I mean, I didn’t show emotions most of the time, and this was the first time I felt that maybe, just maybe, vulnerability could be shown. I sat there, and she was right there, looking at me. She told me that I could speak, and she said she’d help me shoulder the burdens.
“Well, what you saw back that… that night, that’s my true form,” I told her.
“How so?”
I then stood up, blushing slightly. I never did this. It’s such a human emotion. I always had my shit together, and yet here I was, feeling almost ashamed of what was going on.
“Well, I’ll show you again,” I said.
And then I did it. I morphed into the creepy, rock alien that I was. The one that was huge, and in my hands was the purple energy. It also surged through my body, illuminating it.
“So it’s true,” she said, awe present on her face.
“You’re not mad… right?”
“Not at all, Jives. I mean, I’m happy you’re telling me this. I honestly wanted to know the truth when I saw you that day, what you… really were. I was scared, yes, but you did save my life, and that means a lot to me, way more than the shame I would feel by seeing you like that,” she told me.
“Thanks. So you know now that I’m not like the rest of the men from Klanden. Well, there’s a story behind that,” I told her.
“What kind of story?” she a
sked.
“A terrible one. One that I’ve never told anyone,” I simply muttered.
The room got insanely quiet once more. She looked at me, and I hung my head.
“I’m sorry. This is just… it’s the first time I’ve ever told a human this, or anyone for that matter. I mean, ever since Remi took me in as one of his assistants, and then later on as his main advisor and right-hand man, I’ve shoved these memories away. I’ve never even told Remi about this, so it’s pretty important,” I said.
“Well, he doesn’t need to know everything. But I promise, you don’t scare me, and I’m not going to walk away from you,” she told me.
I listened to her, and for a human, she sounded pretty damn honest. I looked deep into her eyes, taking a deep breath before continuing with my story.
“I guess I should start this whole thing by describing what I am,” I told her.
“Yeah, you can tell me.”
“I’m not like the rest of the men from Klanden. Most men from Klanden are humanoid, with nothing more to them than their strength. But me, I’m a bastard child. My mom, she was a harlot, slept with anything and everything. It’s a wonder how she didn’t get pregnant sooner. I guess it was one of those strokes of good luck. You know how most women on Klanden are few and far between, and are generally ugly?” I asked her.
“Yeah, that’s why they go for human girls. For their beauty, and for the fact that they have brains, since most Klanden women lack all of that.”
“Well, my mother wasn’t a person from Klanden. She was a refugee, escaping another planet, and she hid on a cargo ship. Up until she met my father, she was a prostitute, sleeping with every single man that she could. Most of the men saw her as weak. She wasn’t smart, and she wasn’t bulky like the women of our land. She really wasn’t good for anything but sex,” I told her.
“Sheesh.”
“Yeah. Well, fast forward to before I was born. My father… was a mad scientist. He was one of the most intelligent men on Klanden, but he kept to himself as well. He was also partially Klanden too, which was why most of the men and women avoided him. Well, he found my mother, took her in, and they fell in love. It was the last man she ever slept with,” I explained.
The Artistry of Love Page 7
