Lalia ends up coming along, saying she wants a walk anyway and we’ll have to walk back through the forest. After a bit of hovering over the nearby hills, I spot the empty caverns Lex was talking about.
It’s a bit of a tight fit maneuvering the ship down between the trees and the side of the hill and into the dark space, but there’s plenty of room. Tight-packed earth and stone hang all around, the soil slightly greenish in hue, or perhaps it’s moss.
Lalia drops down for the airlock while I give the ship a look for anything I might want to bring back to the house. Bat follows her out, crawling up the pointed rocks rimming the cavern and licking at a puddle of water before sticking his tongue out and moving on. I snort. He needs to learn not to lick everything he comes across, but I don’t suppose he ever will. Nothing seems to harm him.
I seal up the ship and take a look around the cool rim of the cavern and the thick of the trees just beyond. It’s warmer now, enough I take off my jacket. Lalia’s seen all of it anyway, and I don’t suppose it’ll bug Lex when we get back to the house.
“So, what’s going on?” Lalia asks as soon as I drop down the rocks to the moss below.
Birdsong gets louder. I shoot her a look. Is this why she wanted to come along? Taking up Zane’s position of giving heart-to hearts. I already had one with him last night, I’m not in the mood for another.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re grumpy as I’ve ever seen you, so I figure something happened.”
“I’m not grumpy,” I say, then realize how blatant a lie that is. “Nothing happened.”
“Uh-huh.” She sounds exactly like her brother. She bumps into my arm as we walk. I bump her back, hard enough she stumbles.
“Ow,” she says, but laughs.
“How’s your head?”
“Fine. Not much of a headache today, I’m still gonna take it easy though.”
I nod, watching Bat scurry through the branches of the trees, happy as could be. It’s good for him to run around, and I feel better about staying longer. Everyone seems to like it here, and according to Lex, the danger is minimal as long as we stay out of sight. I’m not worried about our ability to just head out of the atmosphere if the local authorities get all uptight.
Lalia stares at me while we walk.
“What?”
“You’re really not gonna tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“Aaron.”
“Lalia.”
She shoves my arm again, which doesn’t do much to move me. “Aaron, tell me what’s wrong.”
“Lalia, mind your own business.”
“Tell me.”
“No.”
“I’ve been living with Zane all my life, I can be really annoying.”
“Yeah, I already got that.”
“Come on.”
She’s making it hard not to laugh. I don’t know why both of them can cheer me up with such ease, and I want to be annoyed about it, but it’s tough.
“What do you think Yvonne is up to?” I ask.
Lalia blinks, looking at her feet as we step over a fallen log. “Nothing particularly. Why?”
“She’s acting…weird.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. I thought she was just being nice after Amerov, but it seems like there’s something more going on than just niceness.”
Lalia stops dead. I pause a few paces in front of her, turning to find her staring at me, looking like she wants to laugh.
“What?” I ask.
“Oh my God, you have no idea.”
For some reason, my face heats, embarrassed. “What are you talking about?”
Lalia giggles. Cracks up. If she’d been any less nice to me the past few weeks, I’d be more tempted to shove her on her ass. As it is, I narrow my eyes at her.
“Oh my God,” she says again, giggling and starting to walk again, stumbling.
“What the hell is so funny?”
“Oh relax, I’m not really laughing at you. I mean, I am, but only because you’re adorable.”
No one has ever, not once in my life, called me that. I frown at her, stalking off. “I take it back, you’re all being weird.”
“Oh, don’t be mad!” She jogs to catch up. “Look, why don’t you ask Yvonne why she’s being…weird?”
“Why don’t you tell me, since apparently you know.”
“Hmmm.” She puts her arms around my shoulders. “Because, dear little brother, I’ve missed out on many, many years of harassing you, so I think I’m just gonna let this one happen.”
“I don’t think it counts if you don’t know I’m your brother,” I grumble. “Get off me.”
She does not. “Oh, we know. We know.”
I roll my eyes. Fine. If she wants to be unhelpful, I don’t care. I’m not going to ask Yvonne about anything, but I don’t care. I suppose if Lalia thought it was a dangerous situation she’d tell me, so it’s probably harmless. Maybe I’ll ask Zane, but I’m not exactly keen to get laughed at again. I glare at Lalia from the corner of my eye, and her grin grows wider without her even looking my way.
It’s a little too much. I’m not as annoyed as I would’ve been weeks ago, but I’m also not happy with her reaction. “You’re seriously not going to tell me? I don’t know why I tell you things.”
She giggles even more. “I’m not going to tell you. You need to figure this out for yourself. I’ll give you a few days. Ask me then if you still haven’t gotten there.”
I scowl.
When the house appears through the trees, Lex is on the porch gesturing at us to hurry inside. I glance at the sky, and sure enough, there’s a dot on the blue horizon.
We hid our ship just in time, it appears.
I jog through the tree line with Lalia and Bat just behind me, ignoring my injuries, heading in the back door.
“What’s going on? It that your nosey authority friend?” I ask Lex as she shuts the front door.
“Too hard to tell from here. But probably.” She’s utterly calm, and I remember this happens nearly weekly for her. “Abe, will you take them down the cellar with you, please.”
Abraham’s expression drops as he sets down his robot project, throwing a blanket over them and gesturing to us to follow. I already watched Lex go down in the cellar yesterday, but I let him lead us, putting an arm around Zane and helping him to his feet off the couch. Despite his earlier snarky remarks, he leans against me so heavily I’m tempted to pick him up. Lalia grabs the blankets he left on the couch, and I count the humans to make sure they’re following.
Bat eyeballs the dark of the cellar but heads down after Abraham. There’s a bit of natural light filtering in from somewhere, and an old-fashioned light hanging from the ceiling, but he doesn’t turn it on. The scent of cool soil fills the space. It seems to be mostly hard-packed earth, clean containers stacked along one wall, some bags of food along the other. Abraham takes Zane’s other arm and points to some of the sacks, helping me set him down on them like a makeshift chair. The dry scent of flour drifts from the closest one. Anya takes a seat next to him, folding her legs, bouncing nervously.
The light is coming from woven wood thatching along the side of the cellar facing the meadow. It’s about my height, a little taller, and I step over the vegetables and crates until I can peek out. The heat signature of a ship lands. It’s obviously not an Amerov vessel, a rusted maroon purple and an old model I’ve never seen. Shaped like a potato, it looks more suitable for staying on-planet.
Abraham, despite his quiet nature, joins me at the thatching and mutters, “Asshat.”
Something about his tone makes me want to laugh. I glance at him, and he gives me a likewise exasperated look. He might be odd and weirdly human, but I kinda like him. I nothing else, I suppose I understand him.
“So this guy doesn’t have any proof you’re here?” Bat asks, leaping up to my shoulder and peeking over at Abraham.
The cyborg shakes his head. “He…saw the crash and the empty ship years ago, so I think he…suspects. I’m sure he doesn’t think I’m just living here. But that Lex definitely knows…something.”
It’s the most I’ve heard him talk. “Do they have the manpower here to do anything about you?”
He shrugs. “They’d call in reinforcements. I’d have to sit here and pick them all off with a rifle or something…”
We both grimace. I suppose this is nothing new for him and Lex, but it’s a strange thing to watch for me. I remember the two of them cuddling in the chair last night, talking quietly and kissing. An odd, odd situation. I think about asking him about it, or asking him once this situation is over and I can ask him something in private. But I’m not sure that’s a good idea.
The ship settles into the grass, and the airlock cycles out to a human.
Lalia ends up coming along, saying she wants a walk anyway and we’ll have to walk back through the forest. After a bit of hovering over the nearby hills, I spot the empty caverns Lex was talking about.
It’s a bit of a tight fit maneuvering the ship down between the trees and the side of the hill and into the dark space, but there’s plenty of room. Tight-packed earth and stone hang all around, the soil slightly greenish in hue, or perhaps it’s moss.
Lalia drops down for the airlock while I give the ship a look for anything I might want to bring back to the house. Bat follows her out, crawling up the pointed rocks rimming the cavern and licking at a puddle of water before sticking his tongue out and moving on. I snort. He needs to learn not to lick everything he comes across, but I don’t suppose he ever will. Nothing seems to harm him.
I seal up the ship and take a look around the cool rim of the cavern and the thick of the trees just beyond. It’s warmer now, enough I take off my jacket. Lalia’s seen all of it anyway, and I don’t suppose it’ll bug Lex when we get back to the house.
“So, what’s going on?” Lalia asks as soon as I drop down the rocks to the moss below.
Birdsong gets louder. I shoot her a look. Is this why she wanted to come along? Taking up Zane’s position of giving heart-to hearts. I already had one with him last night, I’m not in the mood for another.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re grumpy as I’ve ever seen you, so I figure something happened.”
“I’m not grumpy,” I say, then realize how blatant a lie that is. “Nothing happened.”
“Uh-huh.” She sounds exactly like her brother. She bumps into my arm as we walk. I bump her back, hard enough she stumbles.
“Ow,” she says, but laughs.
“How’s your head?”
“Fine. Not much of a headache today, I’m still gonna take it easy though.”
I nod, watching Bat scurry through the branches of the trees, happy as could be. It’s good for him to run around, and I feel better about staying longer. Everyone seems to like it here, and according to Lex, the danger is minimal as long as we stay out of sight. I’m not worried about our ability to just head out of the atmosphere if the local authorities get all uptight.
Lalia stares at me while we walk.
“What?”
“You’re really not gonna tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“Aaron.”
“Lalia.”
She shoves my arm again, which doesn’t do much to move me. “Aaron, tell me what’s wrong.”
“Lalia, mind your own business.”
“Tell me.”
“No.”
“I’ve been living with Zane all my life, I can be really annoying.”
“Yeah, I already got that.”
“Come on.”
She’s making it hard not to laugh. I don’t know why both of them can cheer me up with such ease, and I want to be annoyed about it, but it’s tough.
“What do you think Yvonne is up to?” I ask.
Lalia blinks, looking at her feet as we step over a fallen log. “Nothing particularly. Why?”
“She’s acting…weird.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. I thought she was just being nice after Amerov, but it seems like there’s something more going on than just niceness.”
Lalia stops dead. I pause a few paces in front of her, turning to find her staring at me, looking like she wants to laugh.
“What?” I ask.
“Oh my God, you have no idea.”
For some reason, my face heats, embarrassed. “What are you talking about?”
Lalia giggles. Cracks up. If she’d been any less nice to me the past few weeks, I’d be more tempted to shove her on her ass. As it is, I narrow my eyes at her.
“Oh my God,” she says again, giggling and starting to walk again, stumbling.
“What the hell is so funny?”
“Oh relax, I’m not really laughing at you. I mean, I am, but only because you’re adorable.”
No one has ever, not once in my life, called me that. I frown at her, stalking off. “I take it back, you’re all being weird.”
“Oh, don’t be mad!” She jogs to catch up. “Look, why don’t you ask Yvonne why she’s being…weird?”
“Why don’t you tell me, since apparently you know.”
“Hmmm.” She puts her arms around my shoulders. “Because, dear little brother, I’ve missed out on many, many years of harassing you, so I think I’m just gonna let this one happen.”
“I don’t think it counts if you don’t know I’m your brother,” I grumble. “Get off me.”
She does not. “Oh, we know. We know.”
I roll my eyes. Fine. If she wants to be unhelpful, I don’t care. I’m not going to ask Yvonne about anything, but I don’t care. I suppose if Lalia thought it was a dangerous situation she’d tell me, so it’s probably harmless. Maybe I’ll ask Zane, but I’m not exactly keen to get laughed at again. I glare at Lalia from the corner of my eye, and her grin grows wider without her even looking my way.
It’s a little too much. I’m not as annoyed as I would’ve been weeks ago, but I’m also not happy with her reaction. “You’re seriously not going to tell me? I don’t know why I tell you things.”
She giggles even more. “I’m not going to tell you. You need to figure this out for yourself. I’ll give you a few days. Ask me then if you still haven’t gotten there.”
I scowl.
When the house appears through the trees, Lex is on the porch gesturing at us to hurry inside. I glance at the sky, and sure enough, there’s a dot on the blue horizon.
We hid our ship just in time, it appears.
I jog through the tree line with Lalia and Bat just behind me, ignoring my injuries, heading in the back door.
“What’s going on? It that your nosey authority friend?” I ask Lex as she shuts the front door.
“Too hard to tell from here. But probably.” She’s utterly calm, and I remember this happens nearly weekly for her. “Abe, will you take them down the cellar with you, please.”
Abraham’s expression drops as he sets down his robot project, throwing a blanket over them and gesturing to us to follow. I already watched Lex go down in the cellar yesterday, but I let him lead us, putting an arm around Zane and helping him to his feet off the couch. Despite his earlier snarky remarks, he leans against me so heavily I’m tempted to pick him up. Lalia grabs the blankets he left on the couch, and I count the humans to make sure they’re following.
Bat eyeballs the dark of the cellar but heads down after Abraham. There’s a bit of natural light filtering in from somewhere, and an old-fashioned light hanging from the ceiling, but he doesn’t turn it on. The scent of cool soil fills the space. It seems to be mostly hard-packed earth, clean containers stacked along one wall, some bags of food along the other. Abraham takes Zane’s other arm and points to some of the sacks, helping me set him down on them like a makeshift chair. The dry scent of flour drifts from the closest one. Anya takes a seat next to him, folding her legs, bouncing nervously.
The light is coming from woven wood thatching along the side of the cellar facing the meadow. It’s about my height, a little taller, and I step over the vegetables and crates until I can peek out. The heat signature of a ship lands. It’s obviously not an Amerov vessel, a rusted maroon purple and an old model I’ve never seen. Shaped like a potato, it looks more suitable for staying on-planet.
Abraham, despite his quiet nature, joins me at the thatching and mutters, “Asshat.”
Something about his tone makes me want to laugh. I glance at him, and he gives me a likewise exasperated look. He might be odd and weirdly human, but I kinda like him. I nothing else, I suppose I understand him.
“So this guy doesn’t have any proof you’re here?” Bat asks, leaping up to my shoulder and peeking over at Abraham.
The cyborg shakes his head. “He…saw the crash and the empty ship years ago, so I think he…suspects. I’m sure he doesn’t think I’m just living here. But that Lex definitely knows…something.”
It’s the most I’ve heard him talk. “Do they have the manpower here to do anything about you?”
He shrugs. “They’d call in reinforcements. I’d have to sit here and pick them all off with a rifle or something…”
We both grimace. I suppose this is nothing new for him and Lex, but it’s a strange thing to watch for me. I remember the two of them cuddling in the chair last night, talking quietly and kissing. An odd, odd situation. I think about asking him about it, or asking him once this situation is over and I can ask him something in private. But I’m not sure that’s a good idea.
The ship settles into the grass, and the airlock cycles out to a human.
