Earth is an unfriendly place. So many aliens think that way, and they visit our planet quite often, even though it's not completely legal ... They easily manage to hide among us, because 'homo-sapiens' are too busy eating burgers and calling grumpy aunts to notice a couple of aliens with red eyes or extra limbs and heads. 'Delirium tremens!' — doctors will diagnose exceptional observers, even if they are a teetotaler. Or maybe you should check your eyesight?

Yes, Earth is an unfriendly place. But if it's any consolation, the universe itself is inherently unfriendly. And this is due to the fact that instinctively all living beings are afraid of everything new and unknown. Their natural reaction to the chemical process in the body that causes fear is an attack.

Fortunately, Gabrielle had had a decent scare this morning and was absolutely convinced that she had earned lifelong immunity. So she didn't think about attacking the aliens. She could only hope that their day had not started any better.

The forest was burning. Helicopters shook the air over the UFO crash site while the pedestrian services shouted something to each other through the horns. A streamer of ash swirled over Willowbrook, and Gabrielle smelled smoke long before the first fire truck met on the road.

'I'm looking for aliens,' she said out loud, hardly believing her own words, 'In the best traditions of Doctor Who!'

The girl slowed down a little, continuing to turn her head around and peer into the space around. Simple observation seemed problematic. The smoke squeezed between the trunks and thickened along the road with every meter, impairing overall visibility.

Soon the smoke became even denser and more agile. He streamed through the cracks in the windows and greeted the driver in its own way. In response, Gabrielle narrowed her eyes and coughed, which was not very polite on her part! For a moment she was distracted from the road, when suddenly something rushed under the wheels and hit the bumper. The girl involuntarily screamed, pressed the brake hard and filled up the vocabulary of her language with completely new words. They don't exactly write them in explanatory dictionaries.

The first decent phrase was:

'Dear God, I hit a man!''God, God, God!' The girl came to her senses and flew out of the car on shaky legs.

A man sprawled on the road in front of a slightly dented Volkswagen. He was writhing in pain, and his rumpled and sooty clothes were stained with fresh blood.

'You... you... uh... for God's sake, don't die! I don't want to go to jail!' She pleaded, helping the man up. 'Let me take you to the hospital! Just please, please! Don't... don't go to court if you survive or... even if you don't. I'll pay! And I'll even condone that you messed up my car!

Gabrielle's face lit up with the most strained, crooked smile of all that her facial expressions were capable of.

Pushing the victim into the back seat, the girl hurried to slam the door. However, the injured pedestrian did not allow this to be done, putting his leg out of the transport.

'I'm trying to help!' The savior switched to a squeak. Not to mention about you dirtying my cabin! My car is one of those rare things that haven't changed today!'After persistent attempts to resist the man, Gabrielle left the door alone.'Well? What's wrong?!'

The man was silent, continuing to make painful moans.

The girl looked around in search of a problem and saw a green suitcase on the side of the road, covered with road dust.

'A suitcase? Is it yours?' She guessed.

The man nodded his head approvingly.

'I almost lost my mind because of this freaking suitcase!' Gabrielle shouted. 'Why didn't you say so right away?'

Silence.

With a sigh, Gabrielle picked up the property of the downed pedestrian that had caused so much panic.

'Are you satisfied?'

Consenting silence.

The Volkswagen let out its usual roar.

'I'll just turn the car around and go to the hospital,' the girl calmly explained, adjusting the driver's mirror.

The man looked at her carefully.

'Do you even know how to talk?'

Gabrielle took a closer look at the passenger. Big eyes and low-set thick (just a shade darker than the strange silver, almost white, hair) eyebrows — aroused confidence. With perfect proportions of the face, an even-outlined nose line and a wide chin with a lovely dimple, he combined the cute appearance of modern sex symbols and that 'primitive courage' that Jack London wrote about in his novels.

Seizing the moment when the driver turned his gaze to the road, the man lifted his sleeve and typed some code on a device resembling an electronic clock.'Seriously...' she continued to say, 'this is already starting to get on my nerves'.

While the speech was coming out of the girl's mouth, the victim patiently held a button on an amazing bracelet with the index finger of his left hand. Then he gave the data that popped up on the holographic screen a searching look and ran his hand over the round sensor hidden under the strangely silver-colored hair on his right temple.'Hey!' Gabrielle reminded of herself. 'What are you doing there?'

'The connection is established,' an electric voice rang out, 'The language of the object is defined as: 'International Terrestrial'. To find out more information about the languages of the planet — click one. Information about the coordinates of the planet, about its climatic features — press two. Find the nearest catering — press three. To contact the operator, press zero or wait for the end of the beep: Pip—pip-pi...'

'What is it?' The curious driver asked.

'Uh-uh…'

'Oh, I know, I know. A smart-watch? My friend spent a fortune on them! Well, for her it's 'pfft', and for someone it's just 'wow.' I've never understood it. Why you need a watch if you have a phone? What do you think? Although what am I talking about? You bought it for yourself… Oh, forget it,' she finished annoyingly, 'Um... did you want to say something? I'm sorry, did I interrupt?'

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

'Uh, it's all right!'.

'Oh, so you can talk after all!' Gabrielle exclaimed happily. 'How are your wounds?' You look better now.'Fine... '

'Really?'

'Except for you broke my shoulder and a couple of ribs,' the man calmly remarked, 'You broke my shoulder and a couple of ribs! Where did you learn to drive a ship?!' The victim recovered, feeling a dull pain again.

'A ship?' Gabrielle did not understand. 'Oh, you hit yourself really hard'.

'I... did? '

'Well, okay, okay, I hit you really hard. I repent,' the girl turned away guiltily.

'Where are you taking me?'

'I told you, to the hospital.'

'No, turn around!' The passenger ordered.

'You're such a grouch! Worse than my aunt!'

'Turn around!'

'There's blood all over your shirt!' the girl blinked her eyes.

'I'm fine!'

'And the bones?'

'Healing…'

Gabrielle made a skeptical sound.

"UGSRCDSI. Terra" took care to sponsor the introduction of "rega-bots" in their employees,' the man explained.

'Eh?'

'United Galactic Service for the Rescue, Conservation and Distribution of Single Individuals. Terra'. This is an organization that is…

'...rescuing, conservating and distributing?..'

'Yes,' the victim agreed, '... single individuals.''Like, uh, Greenpeace?'

'Um... maybe…'

'Is it in America?' The girl suggested.

'Why in America?'

'And why not? It sounds American. And what kind of 'nano-bots'? She caught on to another incomprehensible term.

'Rega-bots,' he corrected, 'are miniature robots that are implanted into the body in order to accelerate regeneration processes.''Oh... Japan, then?''Why Japan?'

'And why not?'

After another five minutes of meaningless dialogue and hundreds of counterarguments to the idea of visiting the hospital expressed by the victim, the silver car clumsily turned around and sped back.

The inflamed fire evaporated all the moisture in the cabin, which caused the sharp metallic smell of blood mixed with the aromas of the campfire to beat into the nose. Gabrielle gave the last drops of water to the wounded man, and her whole body ached for the life-giving moisture. A pathetic semblance of oxygen was not even enough to make a desperate sigh.

The foggy consciousness of the travelers was disturbed by the policeman's whistle.

'Excuse me, but I ought to ask for your documents,' a plump man in a uniform with a curly mustache demanded sternly.

'Excuse me,' Gabrielle looked out of the slightly open window, 'Where did I fu... I mean, what's the problem?

'Don't worry, miss. A routine check. Security measures. You know about aliens, right?'

Gabrielle nodded weakly.

'What's wrong with them?'

'We were told to check everyone who enters or leaves the protected area.'

The policeman grunted disgustingly!

'Oh, hah, laughter and that's all! Imagine, they think that aliens can disguise themselves as humans or even look like us! Isn't that silly? Man is created in the image and likeness of God, and the aliens are little green freaks with antennae! Even a child knows this!' He chuckled, and then suddenly made a serious face and silently prayed, folding his hands in the appropriate gesture.

The policeman returned the driver's license and addressed the passenger in the back seat. When he saw the blood, he blinked often and prayed again, either for the health of his neighbor, or for his mental health.

'He... he, 'The girl woke up, 'He's a cosplayer! We're from the festival. From London. Well... got lost... a little,' she stammered, 'He cosplays a zombie!'I see,' he replied cautiously.'Excuse me, but why are you guarding the crash site?' Gabriel's companion spoke up, puzzled.

The policeman squared his shoulders proudly.

'The British police are protecting humanity from invasion!'

'Why do you think this is an invasion?'

The man stroked his mustache and thought:

'Hmm... and why not? What else can it be?'

Gabrielle laughed, but when she caught the incredulous look of the police officer on her, she immediately pulled herself together and seriously added:

'I'm sorry.'

'And what will you do with them when you find them?'

'Oh!' the latter perked up. 'We will arrest and send them for experiments, of course!'

The passenger of the Volkswagen grimaced in anticipation.

'And if the aliens are kind?' he asked hopefully.

'There are no good aliens!' the policeman replied confidently. 'Well, drive on, Mrs. Phoenix…'Miss!' Gabrielle corrected sharply.'Oh, Miss Phoenix, I'm sorry, and... Mr....' The uniformed man stared pointedly at the man in the bloody clothes.

'Name… Tell him his name,' the girl prompted with a stupid smile and a blush on her cheeks.

The passenger started up:

'Oh, yeah...' his strangely purple eyes ran around the cabin in panic and stopped at the badge that hung on the chest of the policeman.

'Uh... Adam Davison...' he drawled uncertainly and smiled innocently.

'My God!' the policeman rejoiced. 'What a coincidence! My name is Adam Davison, too! This is a good sign! '

With an awed look, he pulled back and pointed to the road, letting the car pass.

'Hey,' Adam Davison said softly as the Volkswagen pulled away a few meters from the pious policeman. 'Gabrielle... Miss Phoenix, let's get out of here...'

'You can call me Gabriel,' the girl sighed, and the car turned one hundred and eighty degrees again, leaving the smoky Willowbrook to the joyful tunes of the policeman who believed in a good omen of fate so much that he did not even hear the roar of the engine.