I followed the strange kid that was asking about Tony back to the Woodrow manor. I was reluctant to put off my report on the fracking site, but Anthony Woodrow was the closest thing I had to a family left.

So when he actually let the kid in I was more than a little surprised and hurt. I mean he hadn’t even spoken to me since Carol died. I figured some time and space was all he needed, that in a few months he would be back to his old routine.

However, I knew the kid did something wrong when the yelling started. “I told him not to push it.”

Getting out of the car and rushing to the front door I was expecting to have to kick the shit out of the kid or pull Tony off of him. Then push him out the door, maybe even have a laugh with Tony about the lack of respect kids had these days. So when I opened the door to see a rock monster standing over a living pile of fungus, I was a little shocked.

“Lizzy, what are you doing here?” The rock creature’s voice was rough, but had such a familiar tone to it. One of caring discipline that left me feeling homesick.

“Lizzy…Tony, is that you?” No one had called me Lizzy in months, the only person to call me Lizzy was Carol. And by the end she slept so much we never really talked. I was still a little shocked, looking at the creature before me. It…it looked like…well I couldn’t really tell what it looked like. It had eight floating limbs made from a combination of gray stone and shining amber pillars.

While the other creature leaning against the wall was a teal mess of moss and mushrooms. The fungus creature had several sets of tiny eyes split between looking at me and the rock monster. While its ears were pointed and sticking out the side of its head, its chin was sharp and the mouth split into an upside down ‘T’. Although the most striking feature being the skull, it was nearly three times bigger than what a body that small could support.

I looked back to the rock creature that was staring at me with what could only be a horrified gaze. “Tony what the hell happened to you.”

“Lizzy, I am sorry, I didn’t want anyone to see me like this.” He tried to cover his horrendous features with his ‘hands’, slowly backing into a corner and lowering himself to the floor.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Tony what the hell happened to you? Where is the kid, what the hell is that thing?” I moved forward, kicking a pile of dry flesh piled by the front door.

“Please just leave.” Tony tried to hide in the corner, but his mass just made him look like a massive out of place crystal collection.

“Tony, please talk to me. What is happening here?” I reached over to put my hand on the creature. It felt like cold glass, it was hard and I didn’t want it to be Tony.

I backed away, shaking my head to wake up from whatever nightmare this was. This made the pile of minerals curl even further into itself. “Tony, I’m sorry I just don’t understand what is happening.”

“What is happening is the introduction of new species to this planet. Your friend here believes he is being punished by God. While we are searching for answers to that very same question.” The teal plant in the corner spoke, its voice echoed within itself. As if several voices were all speaking in unison. It’s presence felt strangely calming, like it knew what I wanted to say before I even asked. It rose from its position against the wall, standing straight and tall.

“So this is what…aliens…monsters? What the hell are you?” I looked at the thing, it was so focused on me that I felt like I needed to cover myself. Its gaze was locked steady on me, while we talked.

“Since me and your friend here are of different species the most likely scenario is some sort of alien civilization. Seeding this planet with varied forms of life, although the reason is still unclear.” Its gaze shifted to Tony and for a second I was scared of what it was going to do. Before remembering that Tony was now a two ton rock monster. “We sought out this one for more answers. Although it is clear he has even less knowledge of our origins than we do. We still wish to see the capsule that you found, we believe it has markings that could reveal our purpose here.”

Tony lowered an arm to reveal the crystals that made up his face and pointed to the basement door. “It is in the basement.” The creature moved to the door, without making a sound. Slowly opened it and went down, a few minutes of silence later, the door opened and the creature returned. It carried a small metal container that looked like it had been sitting in a freezer for the last few months.

“Since you don’t seem to care about finding the reason this occurred. We will be taking this, if we find answers we will return here. Whether you wish to hear them at the time will be up to you. And Miss Suzu, Tony here will need your help. It is difficult to go through this change, but we don’t think we would have been able to do it alone.” The creature’s voice echoed within my head. It was so alien and yet so caring it was hard to tell what was going through its head. With a nod to both me and Tony it left through the front door, going into the kids’ car and drove away.

I looked at Tony, sitting in the corner huddled into a ball. I got flashbacks of an old man, sitting in the corner of his bedroom crying as his wife laid still and unbreathing in their bed. It was hard to see him like this, scared and alone all over again. He pushed me away when Carol died and I thought maybe that was for the best, to give him some time. But now I knew that what he needed was support and care. I wasn’t going to abandon him like I did before, no matter how much he complained and told me to leave.

“It’s alright Tony, we’ll get through this together.” I leaned over to hug what I was pretty sure was his head. It was hard to tell with the rough voice but I could hear the soft sobs emanating from the giant rock collection. I didn’t know how but, me and him were going to get through this, together.