Fallen + Marli & Lalo (Fallen Invasion, #3) (2 page)

“No.”  I shook my head.  I pat my chest again, “Marli.”  I walked up to him and put my hand on his chest, “Lalo.”

He touched my chest, “Marli.”

I nodded.

He nodded.

I smiled.

He smiled.

I figured I would have to take him in until I could come up with a plan of how to present him to the public.  Lalo seemed like he had a gentle soul.  He seemed harmless.  I had to raise him, at least help him to learn a little more about our world before I let anyone know he existed. 

I peeked at the meteorite.  It was broken for the most part.  There were some gigantic pieces left.  I decided I would take care of that in the morning.

As if it had a mind that tracked mine, the rock exploded without warning.  I sprung back.  I caught Lalo smiling.  I guessed I wouldn’t have to worry about the rock anymore. 
And did Lalo just read my mind, or all of that was just a coincidence?

I shook my head, as if shaking would knock away some thoughts, and stepped back up to Lalo.  I took off my sweater and wrapped it around his shoulders.  He wasn’t too much taller than me, about 6’2,” so my sweater jacket covered him pretty well.  I drew my sweater close together in the front.  Then I took his hand, and made him hold the jacket together.

Lalo smiled again.  I wrapped my arm around and walked him back into my home.

Marli and Lalo

I
f someone told me this would have happened an hour ago, I wouldn’t have believed them.  How could I believe that an alien would be sitting at my kitchen counter staring at me?  Lalo’s appearance was exactly as most humans were, but he gave me the impression that he only understood gestures.  Every attempt I made to talk with him fell short.  Although frustrating this quality was good to have because if he ever went outside without me, people would just think he spoke a different language.

I sighed, for what felt like the tenth time that night, as I wondered what to do with him.  He seemed so harmless.  But letting my guard down and risking the consequences was too hazardous. 

For all I knew he could be a killer.  One who charmed his way into convincing his victims to let their suspicions go.  Attacking when they least expected.  Hmm, attack.  Actually, if an attack was on his mind, the little lock on my bedroom door would do nothing to stop him.  In fact, I should be the one charming him.

I broke contact with his large, golden brown eyes to admire the ground.  Those friendly eyes were distracting, and I needed help thinking.  Okay, so he was sitting there, still covered by my jacket only.  Perhaps if I found him some clothes and had him lay down on the couch, he would feel comfortable and fall asleep.  Then I could think about calling someone to help. 

But was he hungry?  I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I was hungry.  Sharp pains would cross his abdomen as his stomach would growl, keeping him awake.  Keeping me distracted from figuring out what to do.  Did he even have a stomach?  What did aliens eat anyway?  I hoped it wasn’t humans. 
Now, who should I call?

“Call?” he said.

I flinched.  That had to be a coincidence.  But why would he say that word?  He waited until I was done thinking too.  There was no way he read my mind.  Was there?

“What?” I said as soft as possible.  I returned my eyes to his.

“No call?” he said.

I had no idea what to say next.  Was this his way of asking me if he was wrong?  Agh.  How would I ever find a way to talk with him?  What type of language did he speak usually?  Please be English.  Please be pretending to not know what I was talking about or please be very shy.

Lalo continued to stare at me and didn’t move.  I slowly stepped out of my petit, rectangular kitchen area, curved around the bar he was sitting at, and paused when I was aside him.  His expression didn’t change when he glanced at me, so I continued to gradually advance my way through my house.  I passed through my open family room/dining room area, towards the back, to my bedroom. 

Under my door frame I shuddered before spinning around to see Lalo one more time.  It seemed as though he followed me and would be in my face when I turned around.  Apparently this was not the case.  I was glad to see he kept his seat at the counter.  He merely had swiveled to keep his eyes on me instead.

Even though Lalo remained harmless, I imagined living in some apartments, there in Millsee, rather than being forced to rent out a one bedroom home.  I never would have met the alien, and if I did, at least my next door neighbors would have run to my aid.  But no.  I lived alone.  The closest person to me was Kallen across the field, about a three minute walk away.

I thought this type of stuff—aliens—interested you though so why are you scared?

Remembering my ramblings about charming Lalo, I smiled at him.  He did the same.  I gave thought to closing my door, but I needed to check on him every few seconds to make sure he didn’t move.  Make sure he wasn’t going to attack.

I whirled around and took two quick steps to switch on the light.  I added a couple more steps to my left and I slid my closet door open with speed but as little noise as possible.  Keeping quiet and being unintimidating was number one on my list.  I wasn’t sure if loud noises would frighten Lalo or make him anxious for action. 

I shot my eyes back and forth across the clothes.
Hurry!
 What could he wear? 
Nothing in that closet. 
Oh!
What?
 My gym clothes.  They were in the drawer on the other side of my room, across the doorway.

Tiptoeing across, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lalo still focused on something in my direction.  At least he stayed where he was.  I was thankful for that.  He could have decided to give me more problems.  Problems that I didn’t know how to deal with. 

I slid open the third old oak drawer of my dresser and rummaged around.  The first thing I found were some oversized sweat pants. 
Thanks me from the past who bought oversized clothing!
  Sifting through the rest of the drawer gave me a free T-shirt that I had scored from a college science conference.  It was, or would have to be, the perfect match.  Underneath that shirt I found a few more.

Although the shirts were free and too spacious for me to wear, they had become my pajama tops.  They also became the punchline for teasing about me and my frugalness.  Well, it saved me money back then and it was going to deliver me from having a naked alien sit around my house.  Maybe that’s why he wasn’t talking.  He was trying to decipher why this human was making him stay naked and cold.

Happy with my discovery, I closed the drawer and wandered back towards my door, back to Lalo. Before I actually saw where I was going, I ran into something warm. 

A scream soared from me, aiding me to jump backwards, halfway across my room, only to end up falling to the floor.  He finally moved!  Lalo had been standing in the doorway inspecting me when I walked into him.

Lalo rushed to bend down and pull me back up to my feet.  It wasn’t like I was light to lift, but the effort he used to lift me was as if he found a piece of paper on the ground.  It made me curious. 

Was extra human strength a feature of all of his kind, or was he simply one of the stronger ones?  The fact also reminded me to not get on his bad side.  He wasn’t human.  And I couldn’t be sure that battling females was frowned upon by his kind.  With that type of strength he could be unstoppable.  What if I was staring at the destructor of human kind who was simply curious to see how a female human would react to him?

What am I doing? 
My mind had been constant in its part torturing me with possible fears, part racing to solve issues dealing with Lalo that giving him a bath never crossed my mind. 

The black soot from the meteorite hadn’t magically washed away.  He was covered in it.  And so was my bar stool.  He probably destroyed my carpet too.  The image of my tub being covered in black began to occupy my mind. 

Well, I couldn’t deprive him of a bath.  Not offer him the peacefulness of being clean.  Tomorrow, I’d get some cleaner from the store to wash all the soot away.  But would man-made cleaning agents work on iron and stone particles with a touch of shinny crystals?  At least his meteorite gave me the impression that it was made of simply that.  But then it again, he was covered in black soot as were the rock pieces.  Nevertheless, time to give him a bath.

Wait a minute!  Shouldn’t I take a shower first in case the soot causes a reaction to my skin?  Hmm.  I would most likely need to call into work sick anyway so I’ll wait.  I could take a shower at Kallen’s, but then I would have to tell him about Lalo.  And with Kallen’s theories about aliens it probably wouldn’t be safe for either one of them.

My thoughts were interrupted by a shift in Lalo’s expression.  His eyes narrowed, and he peaked back toward my bathroom.  Every organ in my chest clamped down to hide.

So his telepathic ability is real?  Oh yeah.
  I had forgotten to protect my thinking, like I knew how to do that.  Another thing I needed to learn, so I wouldn’t cause him to attack me.

Lalo smiled.  I sharply inhaled.  My eyes were wide awake. 
Oh no!  He’s happy that I’m scared!
 

If my bed wasn’t behind me, I would have run when he reached out to rub my arm.  Instead I flinched and found it suddenly hard to breathe.

“No,” he said, not in a mean way but kind, caring.  Was he an alien of an angelic family?  Did he actually come to help?

I didn’t get a chance to finish my brainstorm before his hand became an instant burst of frost gently stroking my cheek. 
What’s going on? 
My tortured breathing became softer and lighter.  The bone breaking tension that filled my body dissipated, and I stopped worrying about Lalo seeing my thoughts.

For a moment I wasn’t there in my room.  Lalo was nowhere to be found.  I was sitting in the middle of a sunny beach in California.  The sun warmed my skin.  The cool breeze blew as the early morning waves crashed, rolling the water back into the ocean. 

I enjoyed the peaceful waves for a while until they became threatening. They became so high that they could soak me, or worse, carry me back into the ocean.  The sun blended into the sky, which turned grey. The wind became angry.  And that was when the waves came in too close and too fast for me to get up and run away.

To make matters worse, I couldn’t even move when I tried.  I tried again; still it was useless.  I was held by a force causing me to be patient and react later.  The waves crashed a few feet short of reaching me, and its water ended up washing my feet. 

This happened again, preceding a cool breeze of wind that awakened me.  Lalo stopped his fingers from running up and down my skin.

Did I just have one of the first meaningful contacts with an alien by an ocean metaphor?  Lalo was peaceful, comforting, and beautiful, yet terrifying?  He had the power but didn’t want to hurt me?

A new idea popped up in my mind.  Or was that what Lalo tried to tell me all along?  Use telepathy to talk to him.

I imagined a glorious bath full of roses and bubbles with a bottle of champagne on the side.  Lalo didn’t get it.  He continued to study my face. 
Right, champagne, roses that’s human stuff.

I dreamed of a great waterfall that was safe enough to stand close to.  I saw myself running through the water.  His eyes didn’t move.

How did I previously get him to read my mind?  Ah that was the trick!  I had to be direct.  Or was he playing with me, pretending not to hear me? 

I took in some air then delicately danced around his side to escort him to the bathroom.  I didn’t know if by touching my cheek, he connected us, but he followed and I had a greater sense of his presence a few steps behind me.

The light illuminated my bathroom with a flick.  My bathroom was far from luxurious but at least it wasn’t crammed.  The shower head hung over a standard, white tub.  My purple, polka dot curtains, halfway pulled forward, covered part of the side. 

I reached to my right to open one of my fake wooden, white cabinets that hung over the toilet.  I surveyed my towels
. 

Now, which one means the least to me? That grime will never come out.
 
The yellow one.  Perfect!
  That was one I knew took pleasure in trying to tear my skin.  It was the one I bought back when I denied myself at least a couple of luxury, soft towels.  And there was no way I would use those. 

Are you sure?  His skin felt soft to me, exactly like humans.  What if it was highly sensitive?  From all of the alien movies I watched, with the slimy appearing aliens, they sure did look sensitive. 

Fine.  I decided to sacrifice an orange one.  That way if the soot—Oh no!  The soot was on me—on my face! 

Horrified, I pivoted and rushed to the mirror.  I saw something jolt upwards out of the corner of my eye, which made my stomach clench.  Hopefully it was Lalo.

Quickly turning around, I looked up to the ceiling.  It was him; he was up in the corner.  His feet comfortably held him to the wall along with his hands, which were positioned behind him, making him appear as if he was going to attack.

Using my peripheral vision, I peeked at the reflection of my cheek in the mirror.  At least there wasn’t a rash.  I faced Lalo again.  I opened my arms to give the gesture of a hug because there was nothing else to do. 
This means peace.  I won’t hurt you.

My arms begged me to let them rest after a while.  Lalo was fixed in his position.  Since no ideas popped up, directing me on how I could get him down, I placed Lalo’s towel set along the sink and began to run water into the tub, making sure it was lukewarm. 

No, I didn’t know what temperature Lalo liked.  I decided lukewarm was a good middle ground.  As I put the stopper in, I heard Lalo retreat to the floor.  He put his hand on my back then analyzed the running water himself, running his fingers and hands through it.

He wasn’t repulsed by the water.
  Good.  He could take that temperature.