Only one day had passed and I was heading up to the attic again. I cringed inside at the thought of it.

Another car had arrived, this time with two strangers inside. That couldn’t be good.

Did Mae see me after all? Did she tell someone? It didn’t seem likely that she would have seen an alien in Jarath’s house and not bat an eyelid. I pushed those thoughts away as I climbed the ladder once again.

There was a knock on the door just as Jarath closed the attic’s hatch. I moved silently toward the front of the house in order to hopefully hear what was said.

I could hear the door open and then a male alien’s voice as he greeted Jarath. If I put my ear to the floor, I could hear more clearly.

He told Jarath that they were from the government and introduced himself and his partner, then asked if Jarath lived alone.

“Yes, it’s just me here.”

The alien cleared his throat. “I see. What do you do here? On this property.”

“I breed horses. Working horses. I also run some cows and chickens.”

“I see.”

He asked a few more routine questions, then got down to business. “Has there been anyone staying with you or have you seen anyone in the area recently?”

My heart rate accelerated. They knew something.

“No. Why?”

“We have reason to believe that a group of youths have been stirring up trouble on the outlying properties.”

“What do you mean?”

I strained to hear them better.

“Well, they have been dressing up in costumes and scaring the public.”

What the? What’s that got to do with anything?

“What kind of costumes?”

“Alien costumes.”

Oh no. Not good. Did someone see me? Did they find the ship?

Jarath chuckled. “You mean, they’re dressed like little green men with big heads and bulging black eyes?”

“Not quite. More like blue body paint with black spots all over, and long black wigs.”

My stomach sank. No.

Jarath laughed. “Wow. They sure have an imagination.”

The man ignored him. “Have you seen them?”

“No.”

My heart pounded in my ears.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m pretty sure. I wouldn’t forget an outrageous costume like that.”

They exchanged a few more words that I didn’t really pay attention to, and then the man left. I felt numb.

It was a long time after the sound of the car’s motor had faded before Jarath dared to open the hatch. He looked worried. “They’re looking for you,” he breathed. “They’re trying to make out like it’s some local kids dressed up so no one suspects anything and panics about it, but their description was dead on.”

I tried to calm my breathing as I climbed down, concentrating on one rung at a time. It didn’t work. My breathing was shallow and I felt sick. “Yeah, I know. I heard them.”

He sighed loudly. “What are we gonna do?”

“Um, not panic?”

He ran a hand through his hair. “But what if they find you?”

I tried taking a deep breath and let it out slowly. “They won’t find me. I just need to lay low a little bit longer.”

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“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I think I’ll be outta here very soon. Did you hear what he said? A group of kids. It wasn’t me that was spotted. I think my brother is here looking for me.” The irony of using the word spotted wasn’t lost on me as I looked down at the black spots of varying sizes on my arms.

There was a flutter of excitement in my chest as I thought about being rescued. But then it turned to pain when I thought of leaving Jarath. I’d kinda gotten used to having him around.

His face became expressionless. Was he panicking about more aliens being here, or was it that he didn’t want me to leave? Or maybe he was worried about getting caught harbouring an alien. It was hard to tell. He may just want his life back. He might want to be with Alien Girl after all.

I couldn’t read him.

I’d come to think of him as a friend. Maybe more than a friend, but I couldn’t go there. Alwyn told me to move on, but Jarath was an alien. And I wasn’t ready.

I didn’t want to say goodbye, but I couldn’t stay here. I didn’t belong here. I couldn’t keep hiding out in this house. Sooner or later, I’d be found. Their government probably had people watching the house right now. That meant that I couldn’t go back to the Viper. I stepped away from the window.

How was I going to tell Laith where I was? If I’d had a portable homing device, he could be here picking me up right now. We were between missions, so I didn’t have any of that gear with me. That was also why I didn’t have a translator chip in my head. They had to be removed after a certain period of time, so we’d normally give our bodies a rest from them for a week or so and get another one implanted for the next mission.

I’d make sure I was more prepared next time.

What was I talking about? Next time? I didn’t plan on ever doing this again.

I followed Jarath to the kitchen and he started making us both some tea. Tea would be nice. I needed something to help calm my nerves.

Sitting at the table, I had a view of the back yard area through a small gap in the curtains. I started looking further out to the tree line. Laith was out there somewhere. He was looking for me. He was coming for me. The feeling I’d had the day before returned. I wanted to rush out there, calling Laith’s name and waving my arms around like a crazy person. I wanted off this rock.

I looked at Jarath’s back as he busied himself while waiting for the water to boil and I felt a pang of sadness. I’d miss him, but what else could I do?

What would it be like for him once I’m gone? How could he go back to life as usual once he’d discovered that there was life on other planets? Nothing would be the same again. And worst of all — he couldn’t tell anyone.

If it was me, I’d have to tell someone. I couldn’t stand keeping something that big to myself.

“We have to have a plan.” That just came out of nowhere. But we needed to work out what to do.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Any ideas?”

I went to run my fingers through my hair and stopped before they hit the wound. “I’m pretty sure the house is being watched.” He nodded. “So we can’t go to the ship or set up some kind of sign for Laith and the others to let them know I’m here.”

He nodded again, deep in thought.

“They will have equipment with them that will detect my presence, but it only works at a short distance. He’d have to be outside in the yard, pointing it straight at the house, so maybe he’ll try each of the houses under the cover of darkness. We’ll have to be ready in case they show up. Starting tonight.”

“Okay.”

There wasn’t much we could do in preparation, and there wasn’t anything to pack. I needed my shipsuit. “My shipsuit. Do you still have it?”

A smile crept across his face and the dimple magically appeared. “Yep. I’ll get it for you.”

Why was he smiling like that? It was only an item of clothing. No big deal.

Once he walked back into the room and handed me the garment, I quickly worked out what the smile was about. He’d sewn up the leg for me. Now it was my turn to smile. “So, you’re not just a pretty alien face. You can do useful stuff too.”

He laughed out loud at that.

I looked up at him. “Thank you. I appreciate it.” I could have kissed him. But that would’ve been a bad idea. How could I stand to leave him behind if I did that?

He bowed low and added a little flourish of his hand. “I live to serve.”

My eyes stung. Oh, I was going to miss him.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

After yet another tasty meal, I put on my shipsuit and waited impatiently for darkness to creep in.

Every noise had me on edge. It could mean Laith was out there, but it could also mean that the people from the government were back. I was a complete mess. I stopped myself from pacing the floor and sat down on the lounge chair.

Jarath sat next to me and took one of my hands in his. “It’s gonna be okay. You need to slow your breathing and try to think about something else. Do you want to do something to keep your mind occupied?”

I frowned. Like what? My mind went to a few places that I knew it shouldn’t, but yeah, it didn’t care. It went there anyway.

“I could teach you how to play cards.”

I nodded dumbly. Anything to keep from thinking about everything. And from thinking about making out with an alien.

Then he gave me a smile that showed his dimple.

Did he read something in my eyes? I hoped not. I didn’t want to give away what my traitorous brain had been thinking.

It turned out to be a simple, but interesting game. The cards themselves were primitive, but charming. Kings and queens adorned the cards. I liked the jokers and was disappointed when they were cast aside so we could play. Once I got the hang of the game and the rules, I liked it.

“Take the deck with you when you go,” he told me.

“The deck?”

“Yeah. The whole set of cards is called a deck.”

“Oh. Okay. Are you sure?”

“Yes. I can buy some more next time I’m in town.”

I smiled up at him. “Thank you.”

And that’s when the front door burst open and Laith came barging in, laser pistol in one hand, stunner in the other.