Starstruck Page 7

  And it certainly wasn't a flying saucer.

  We turned a corner, and suddenly there were voices. Lots of them. Angry voices. And horses? Why were there horses?

  “Gruik, get back here,” bellowed someone over the din. “The dragons are back. I'm not putting this on pause for you!”

  I peeked into the room. It looked like a cargo bay, large and wide enough for lots of crates, but it fitted into a kitchen or dining room. There was what looked like a bar with a fridge on it and some dull-looking patio furniture. A lone man sat with his feet propped on a small, metal table, a desktop monitor in front of him. It was hooked up to cable, and I saw our abductor was enjoying a recent episode of Games of Thrones while eating popcorn.

  Miko didn't wait. With a murderous war cry that could have meant anything from “This is the end!” to “I will murder your family,” she rushed into the room and slammed the chair into the man’s head. Before he could turn around, he collapsed. She thwacked him again repeatedly until he stopped moving. The grimace etched on her face could mean only one thing—murder.

  She turned and grinned at us, giving a thumbs-up with her lizard hand. Her long, blonde hair was still silky and straight, barely disheveled. There wasn't a splash of blood on her.

  “Nice going,” I said, trying not to act too freaked out, though my levels of panic skyrocketed when I saw the man on the floor. It was the man from the park bench, the guy casually reading his newspaper, or so I had thought when I had seen him this morning. I guess he was spying on me, too. Now that was just creepy. Who else was involved? Marcy? Matt? Dany?

  Arthur?

  “We need to get out of here,” Taylor said, tugging my sleeve.

  I didn't need to be told twice. I followed them to the door, a big metal thing large enough to dwarf a garage. My heart pounded at the thought of freedom.

  It pounded even harder when I heard footsteps.

  “Open the fucking door!” I screamed as the fake detective shuffled into the room, groggy but obviously furious. He held a hand to his head. His wig had been ripped, revealing parched, red skin underneath. “Do it now!”

  Taylor slammed their hand against the red button, and the cargo door creeped open. The metal slab lowering into a ramp wasn't in the rush we were. Sunlight poured in, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw with absolute certainty we were still on Earth.

  “Hurry it up!” I shouted.

  “I'm doing what I can,” Taylor snapped, banging the button even harder. It wasn't helping

  “Pancakes,” Miko snorted and slammed her chair on the button.

  The door flew open with a defective clunk. Before I could thank her, the detective roared and rushed at us with a sudden burst of energy. I jumped out of the way and kept running.

  The world outside, thankfully, was not the cold, uncaring void of space, but the warm woods of the local forest. Still, a shitty place to sprint through. But we ran anyway—we had to. Our abductor was right behind us. Right now, Miko and Taylor were not my friends—they were competition. All I had to do to be safe was outrun them.

  The cold air burned my throat, making my breath shallow. My heart pounded so hard I could feel its beat in my fingertips. My feet slapped the ground as I ran; each stride was like stabbing myself with a knife.

  Running absolutely sucked.

  I didn't know how people did it in the movies. I had expected the adrenaline to help more. The only reason I kept running was because I knew that if I slowed down, it would mean getting abducted by aliens—again—and I wasn't going to let that happen. Even if it meant setting my lungs on fire and forcing my legs to move more than they had in the last three years combined. The only marathons I ran were on Netflix, and those were from the comfort of my couch.

  I heard cars in the distance; a road, please, Lord, let it be a road. But as I ran, it sounded more like the road was coming toward me. The sound grew louder, rising until it was on top of me, and a car—my car—burst through the underbrush, flying over leaves and twigs. It let out a honk, and shock propelled me to the side.

  It might have been old and battered with a huge dent in the fender from the incident the night before, but at this moment, it looked like a chariot made of gold. At its reins was Zander, complete with sandy robes and those big, red stains.

  The car spun and skidded to a halt before me and the passenger side door flew open. I dove in, slamming it shut behind me, breathing heavily as I gripped my seat.

  “Are you all right?” asked Zander, jamming his foot on the accelerator and throwing the car forward.

  “I'm fine.” I panted, trying to catch my breath as my head slammed against the headrest. “But we have to get the others.”

  “On it.” Zander slammed his foot down on the accelerator, propelling us forward.

  “This is my car.”

  “I needed a rescue vehicle. I didn't think you'd mind. Up ahead.”

  I leaned into the backseat and grabbed the handle to the back door, throwing it open when Taylor was upon us. The alien jumped in without hesitation.

  “What's this crappy car?” Taylor asked, panting.

  “It’s my car,” I replied. “Where's the guy?”

  “After Miko,” they said as they buckled their seat belt. “I think he had her. Who's that?”

  “A friend, I think. Which way?”

  Zander didn't need me answering questions for him; he was already driving in the right direction, weaving through the trees like they weren't even there. I bit my lip, urging myself to calm down, feeling somewhat safe with Zander at the wheel and yet utterly terrified for Miko.

  “Grab the wheel,” Zander shouted, shattering my illusion of safety.

  “What?”

  “Grab it!”

  I leaned over the stick shift and put both hands on the wheel. Zander, meanwhile, gazed out the window, searching for something. We saw it at the same time: Miko standing strong, feet planted like roots, swinging the chair like a fiery sword. The false detective dodged it easily, grinning like it was a grotesque game.

  Without warning, the driver's seat was empty. My hands were the only ones at the wheel, and we were heading right for Miko. I grabbed tight and hoisted myself into the driver’s seat, just in time to swing the car around to miss careening into them, but not fast enough to miss the scene that would change my life forever—the sight of Zander knocking out our captor cold.

  But only after he appeared out of nowhere.

  I slammed my foot on the brakes. Zander grabbed Miko and hauled her to the car, tossing her into the back as Taylor opened the door, before climbing into the passenger seat beside me.

  I guess it was my turn to drive.

  “Petals to the medals!” Miko shouted.

  “What?”

  “Drive!”

  “Yup.” I floored it, and we took off into the forest, hopefully in the direction of my home.

  Zander had made navigating around the trees seem easy. They tested my reflexes, forcing me to swerve at every turn. I didn't have any sense of direction; all I knew was that I had to drive and keep driving.

  “Holy shit, you're him,” Miko said with a fangirlish squeal.

  “Who?” Zander asked.

  “You're, like, him.”

  “What she means to say is that you're the guy everyone's after,” Taylor supplied. “Thanks for the rescue, anyway.”

  “Can I get an eggplant?” she asked.

  “I beg your pardon?” Zander stammered.

  “Her translator's on the fritz,” I relayed. “Makes her spout gibberish.”

  “Oh, I can fix that,” he said. “Hand it over.”

  “It's in my pumpkin.”

  “Oh,” he replied as if he understood.

  “No offense,” Taylor said, “but what the heck are you doing here? I thought you were some kind of—”

  “I'm a lot of things.” Zander glanced at her, and, though I couldn't see his expression, from what I could see of hers in the rearview mirror, he had given her
a meaningful look. “I'm a lot of things, but I'm here to help. Speaking of which, you may want to cover your ears.”

  The draconic sound of a jet taking off above us shook the car and everyone inside. It hovered over the treetops, and it was coming for us.

  I guess our abductors didn't care much for the ‘alive’ part of dead or alive because they started shooting at us.

  Plasma beams. Actual plasma beams. Well, I think they were plasma beams, but I was too busy driving to check them out.

  “Pickle,” Miko shouted.

  “We're all going to die,” Taylor snarled, “in a car with the criminal that time forgot.”

  “Hey, come on,” Zander said. I wasn't sure which part of the sentence offended him most. “Give me some credit. This has been just saved your life, and I'm not a criminal; I probably should have started with that. Oh, and no, you're not going to die. Well, you are going to die, one day, but—”

  “Zander,” I snapped. “What do we do?”

  “You?” he said. “Keep driving. Don't look back.”

  “And where are you going?”

  Before I could finish my sentence, he was gone, from the car at least, leaving the three of us to flee from the flying hell-beast of a ship as fast as we could.

  “He's hot sauce.” Miko chuckled from the backseat. She didn't seem all that scared anymore.

  “Did you mean—”

  “I know what I said.”

  The forest floor rumbled, and, just like that, the thunder was gone. Just … gone. I breathed a sigh of relief.

  “You think it's over?” Taylor asked.

  “It's done.” Once again, Zander had found a way to appear in my car without any kind of warning, making me jump a foot in the air. He didn't open the door. He didn't climb through the window. No sound to announce his approach; no flash of light. One minute he was there, when a second before he wasn't.

  “Holy shit,” Taylor said, snatching the words right out of my mouth.

  “Don't you ever knock?” I asked.

  He gave me a glowing smile. “When I'm not busy making sure everyone's in one piece and saving lives and all, yes, I do. You're welcome, by the way.”

  I grumbled my thanks, and his smile widened.

  How was this man smiling? I was sure he had taken down an alien spaceship with his bare hands, wearing nothing more than a bloody toga. One that was still, somehow, dropping sand in my car—and now pine needles too.

  “Is it over?” Taylor asked, pragmatic as always. Well, I say always, I hadn't known them for much more than an hour. But after an ordeal like that? It felt like the longest hour in my life, a real eternity.

  “Yes,” Zander said. “It’s over.”

  I hoped he was telling the truth. In any case, I slowed the car. Just so there was no chance we'd ruin this victory by having me crash into a tree.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  I Finally Get Some Answers Around Here

  “Will I ever see you again?”

  Miko grasped Zander's forearms as she stood before him on the platform. Her hands were covered by pristine, white gloves now. Much better than having her lizard hand exposed for everyone to see.

  “Probably not,” he said curtly. He was still in the bloody, sandy robes. “I'm not staying on this planet long.”

  “Oh.” Her face fell. “Well, thank you for saving us.”

  I turned to Taylor, who rolled their eyes. The two of us sat on a bench, waiting for the train. Taylor was still on the run from—I never did get their names—more bounty hunters, but, for now, it was safe enough for them to recover their things and create a new identity elsewhere.

  I was happy for them.

  “Be careful around that man,” Taylor said, jerking their chin toward Zander. “He might not be the criminal from years ago, but the bounty hunters want him for something. He's trouble, Sally.”

  “Miko seems to think he's the guy from her local legend.”

  “I was in a cell with her for three days.” Taylor sighed, “Miko believes a lot of things. Believes in a lot of things.”

  Which was the moment Miko chose to grab Zander's face with both hands, bringing it down for a very large, very loud kiss. His eyes widened. For all we had just witnessed of him being an alien action hero, he was completely incapable of ripping away from her grasp.

  “I'd love to trade numbers, you know.” Taylor’s cold exterior broke, and they put a hand on my shoulder. “I know I'm the first extraterrestrial you've met. Well, that you know of. I'd love to keep talking, but it's going to be tough with the new identity and all.”

  “I wouldn't even know where to start. With the questions, I mean, not with changing identities. I guess. I just … where are you from? Which planet? What species? What brings you here? And … I don't know. My mind's spinning.”

  “I've always known we weren't alone in the universe,” Taylor replied, “so I can't imagine how hard it is for you to deal with the fact that, well, aliens exist. Though I guess we're not the only illegal aliens in this country, there'll be others.” They paused. “My real name is Gorrin of the Second Setting House, the last offspring of Maveen. I was born on a small planet named Kel, in a binary system. My species? We call ourselves 'us' I guess. It's hard to translate concepts you don't have words for. If I weren’t wearing my skin wrap, you'd probably pass out. My real body isn’t exactly corporeal like yours. My life, my customs, the history of my planet could fill books on Earth, but, you know, it doesn't have a Starbucks. For me, Kel was kind of dull, which was why I left.”

  “Whoa.”

  I couldn't think of anything else to say. My head hurt from all this new information, and I felt exhausted. My hands trembled on my lap as I sat in silence. Miko returned, leaving Zander and his bashful-looking face to lean awkwardly against one of the trees lining the platform.

  “That's us, Taylor.” Miko indicated to the train approaching the station. My new friend nodded.

  “I'd love to say we'll talk soon, but I think this is goodbye,” Taylor said, getting up. I stood and wrapped my arms around them. I was hugging someone not born on my planet. It was pretty cool.

  “You can track me down on Facebook once you're settled,” I told them.

  “I'm adding you the second I get home,” announced Miko, next in line for a hug.

  “I look forward to it.” I grinned, squeezing the petite reptilian. Her grasp was tight and strong, and somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind, I knew that she could easily crush me if she wanted to.

  I watched them climb aboard and waved as they rode away. Soon, their train was just a speck of dust on the horizon. They were gone, and I knew I would never see either again.

  It was a weird feeling. We had been through something awful together, something no one else would ever know, something life changing. There was a new kind of confidence running through my veins that hadn’t been there before, and the warmth was readily welcomed.

  Plus, I had met aliens, which meant my personal world had gotten about a zillion times larger. It was kind of amazing. No, who am I kidding? It was incredibly amazing to know that we were not alone in the universe.

  Or to know that some aliens had a thing for Starbucks, which I would never have expected. Maybe there's hope for Earth yet.

  Zander was waiting for me by the tree line at the edge of the platform. I hadn't expected him to stick around. I honestly thought he would take off like he had last night, but I was glad he stayed. It was time for answers.

  I walked to him, the thousands of things I wanted to say running through my mind. Why was he here? Who was he really? What was going on? Why was he able to do what he did? All questions I was desperate to ask. But when I reached him, I just stood there, mouth opening and closing like a fish. No words came out.

  “Um,” he started, the opposite of the self-assured man from the car. “Are you going to be all right?”

  “Yeah, I think so. I just—I don't know where to start. I mean, you saved my life—why?”

&nb
sp; “Oh, come on. He scratched the back of his head. “They only wanted you because of me. I couldn't let you suffer because of my mistake.”

  “You realize they were counting on that? It was a trap. If we hadn't gotten out, you might be …”

  “Not to sound boastful, but I did bring their ship down in four minutes and thirty-three seconds—by myself. Trust me, I would have gotten you out of there no matter what.” He shrugged. “I guess they were counting on me having a conscience. I didn't realize I had gotten so … predictable.” He twisted his mouth around the word like it was rot on his tongue.

  “Hey, would you like some coffee or something? Or dinner?” I offered, seeing the look on his face. “As a thank you for saving my life?”

  “That's not necessary.”

  “I insist,” I said. “Have you eaten since last night?”

  “No.”

  “Then come on.” I didn't know why but I had the urge to help him, maybe out of relief from being saved or maybe out of a need to have him around so I could fill my curiosity about the universe. I knew that if he walked away, it would leave me feeling guilty for the rest of my life.

  Plus, I sure as heck needed answers.

  “I don't want to impose …”

  “It's no bother. We'll see about getting you cleaned up, too. You can't walk around town like that.”

  “Oh?” He looked down at himself. “Is it the clothes? They don't seem to be the norm around here.”

  “Bloody rags haven't been the fashion for over a thousand years, and probably not on this continent. And why are you still wearing them?”

  “I slept in them.”

  “I'll help you track down something to wear,” I assured him. “Come on, let's get you cleaned up. You've been walking around looking like an axe murderer for long enough.”

  I decided I would drive. I wasn’t expecting him to get behind the wheel again, though it was obvious he knew where I lived seeing as he had taken my car from the street outside my apartment. I didn't want to think about how he knew these things. If he had been stalking me, it had helped to save my life.