The soldiers took Alan away, and Etia was just watching, bewildered.

He had a weird color of skin. It was very pale pink, similar to nothing she ever saw.

Etia also noticed that he didn't have a tail.

“He walks just like me.” Etia thought it was odd, but that's because she dropped out before she could learn about it in school.

Because of her taillessness, she had to walk like a human.

No one moved for a few seconds until a person dressed in red mustered up the courage.

— You're going to come with us. — One of the soldiers walked up to her and declared before grabbing her and throwing her into a car.

— What?! You can't do this to me! This is Illegal! — Etia rightfully screamed at him.

— We're going to ask you about the alien you talked with.

— I'm not going to help you, so just take me out of the car.

— No. If you don't comply, we're just going to arrest you. — The man didn't give a rat's ass about what she was saying. It's not like anyone cares about what happened to the freak.

— Let me out! — Etia screamed, but the man still held her.

— Shut the fuck up! — He slapped her, and she stopped struggling.

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At the police station, Etia had a very long and exhausting talk with the authorities.

She said all that she knew, but no one trusted her, and instead, they put her into a cell.

But it wasn't all that bad because through a small barred window she saw Alan looking at her.

He spoke a few words, and the guards gave him a notebook, with something to write.

“Why the hell do they treat him better than me?!”

The police feared angering Alan because of his unknown capabilities, but they didn't care about Etia, so she would get mistreated and be unable to do anything about it.

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— Hey Etia! — Alan said something before her name, but she didn't understand what.

She thought for a while, and after realizing what he meant, she answered him.

— Hey Alan! — Etia answered him cheerfully since he was the only person, which didn't avoid her because of her disability.

Alan wrote something in the notebook and showed it to her. On the paper, there were two signs. One looked like a crude drawing of a mountain. It was the letter 'M'. The second one was a vertical line with three smaller horizontal lines coming out of it. That sign was the letter 'E'.

— Me. M, E—Alan taught her how it's written.

After that, she started learning how to write and speak English.

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A few days later, Etia was spending her time learning.

She was moved to the same cell as Alan because no one else wanted to share rooms with her, and the police needed more space for people who committed crimes during the fake doomsday.

— Now, just sign it, and the test will be complete. — Alan was giving her lessons like in first grade. With a small exception that a first-grader can't learn the whole alphabet in a week.

She did as he said and wrote her name in the notebook. Etia was actually a very good learner, and Alan was the first person to notice it.

— Here. — She passed her work to him.

— Nice work. — Alan stood up from his chair and went for a water bottle.

— Oh. We're out of water.

On Zhar, the ocean and river “water” is the same, so zharians have a lot to drink. Sadly, it's toxic for humans.

— What are you going to do now? — Etia asked, concerned.

At first, Alan wasn't planning on living a long life on the planet he landed on, but now he wanted to live with Etia.

This just became a problem.

— I don't know. — After he said that, Etia sat next to him.

— I'm sure we can find something for you to drink.

Alan looked at her and came up with a plan. He grabbed her hair and licked it. It was always wet because zharians filter the pink fluid they drink. They use their hair roots to remove the indigestible part from the body.

— W, wait, what are you doing?! I told you it's inedible!

— It's sweet. — Alan liked the way it tasted. — Also, you can't drink it, but maybe I can.

— Sure. If you can drink it, then I don't have an issue.

— Thanks.

A man opened the doors to their cell and took them for interrogation.

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Since they got locked up here, every day they were asked the same questions.

The authorities didn't understand Alan, so Etia had to help.

— Can we go now? — Etia asked.

— Yes. We have decided that none of you are a threat, so you can go now. — That was a lie. The real reason Alan and Etia are free again is that it would be illegal to hold them any longer.

— We can go now. — Etia said in English and grabbed Alan's hand

— Yup. Let's go.