The night was horrible. It had been nearly a year since I moved to Kapalua, Hawaii, and I quickly learned that even though it didn't rain as much as Scotland, when it rained it poured. However the weather was agreeable year-round usually. My 13-hour shift finished officially a half hour ago, though I was pre-occupied in feeding a litter of kittens whose mother rejected. They were four weeks old, and I was to take the runt home as he needed constant care to ensure he lived. It was a miracle he hadn't died already if I was honest, as he was small, and had trouble growing fur in places. I finished feeding them, and placed a heat mat for the runt in a carrier, as well as a few blankets, and placed him inside before covering with a thick blanket so he wouldn't be scared as I drove home.
"Jackie, that's me off! I'll see you Monday!" I shouted through the door, I heard a similar reply before I opened the side door of the Veterinary Practice and into the staff car park where my black Vauxhall Corsa was parked. I tried to get to my car as fast as I could without shaking the animal carrier, though it wasn't fast enough, as I was half soaked through by the time I got into my car and placed the runt on the passenger side. I buckled him into position before repeating the action with myself.
I needed to pick up a few things from the store before I went home, so I turned left instead of right to the large-ish supermarket a few miles out the way. It was far away, yes, but the stores near my home would be closed and the little shops don't sell the cat litter I prefer.
I pulled up in front of the store, parking as close as I could without being in the disabled parking. I decided to leave the runt in the car, as he would be fine due to there being no sun, and the noises of the store might frighten him. Having both hands to myself, I covered my head from the rain and jogged to the entrance.
The first thing I noticed after wiping the rain off of was how quiet the store was, usually it had as least a few people wandering about, but no one was in sight, strangely enough. The only noise echoing through the store was a calming song, with no lyrics. I couldn't name the song if I tried, but it sounded like elevator music anyway. I figured that folk may not want to be out in this horrible rain, and wait until tomorrow for their shop. I, however, was not as sensible.
Shrugging, I pulled a trolley out of the line and went straight to the pet isle, as that was priority. I pulled two bags of cat litter, and a pack of cat food, along with a large bag of dry dog food, and a crate of 28 tins of wet dog food. Not knowing the rabbit food situation, I thought that it was better to be safe than sorry, and I grabbed a bag of dry complete pellets. I threw a couple of packs of treats in there also, as they hadn't had any recently and I felt bad. I didn't usually treat my animals without it being any reward, however, they were all old enough to realize what was naughty and what was good, so I wasn't doing any harm.
I pulled my prescription out of my purse and made my way to the pharmacy, I got a septum piercing recently and I wanted to pick up some anti-septic cream. I'm anemic so I was susceptible to infection. No one was at or around the counter, so I rung the Bell. Dakota should be here somewhere, as she didn't finish her shift for another fifteen minutes, but as it was so quiet she may have just decided to chill at the back.
Dakota was the woman I lived with, my best friend. We met over the internet a few years ago, she lived in Washington and I lived in Glasgow, but last year, as when I finished my Veterinary nursing course, and she finished pharmacist training, we moved here.
I pressed the Bell a few more times in quick succession, she couldn't have been listening to music, as she took her job very seriously. She had to, she was black, and for her to land that job—even with her brilliant amount of qualifications—was lucky. Meh, society.
I was about to go get my other things before I tried the Bell again, but was suddenly gripped from behind and a hand placed firmly over my mouth. I struggled, and was about to elbow my attacker straight in the ribs before they said, "Shhh shhhh please honey it's me!" They whispered near my ear, and I seized my assault realising that it was in fact Dakota that grabbed me.
She let me go and I turned around, wide eyed. She looked as beautiful as ever, however her braids were disheveled in its tie and her dark brown eyes were wet. Her nervous facial expression worried me. She crouched down and grabbed my arm so I followed. "Was that really necessary?!" I kept my question to a hushed whisper tone, as she had her finger over her lips.
"Yes! Please, please listen to me!" I nodded and she continued, "This will sound crazy, and I would think the same if it was you, but there's a creature in there and it killed Mark and Bub!" her voice wavered and she held a dark hand to her chest as she swallowed in grief. This couldn't be a joke, as she wasn't a very good liar.
My brow furrowed, and I asked, "Are you being robbed? I have my gun and my mace in my purse." I patted my bag, reaching in slightly so I wouldn't be caught off guard.
"No, I mean it's a creature, I haven't seen anything like it before! Don't call 911 please; they'll lock you up in a hospital."
From the staff room I heard a loud roar, before a guttural cry, one that certainly didn't sound human. I jumped and fumbled for my hand gun, and Dakota grabbed my pepper spray." I looked at our weapon arrangement and shook my head, before swapping them. Dakota was a much better shot, and I wanted her to be safer.
I followed her to the staff lounge, our shoes making no sound as we scaled along with our backs to the shop wall and past the large storage room to the staff room, and we stood either side of the door. I followed her instruction, she had a marine for a father, one that was very well decorated and I wasn't going to risk anything in this—looking back at it—fucking stupid mission.
She opened the door quietly, and we turned our heads into the door.
I saw it then, a large black creature that reminded me of a veloceraptor with a fucking HUGE noggin. Its tail whipped around dangerously, and it was sharp at the end. It had a humanoid figure, despite this, as it stood on its hind legs, hissing and spitting as it focused on something we couldn't see. The creature, thankfully, was facing away from us, but it crouched over someone, growling.
The bodies of Mark and Bub were a gruesome sight, as they lay pale on the floor, with a large hole in their heads and a blank stare. I fought to hold my stomach and my tongue.
I surveyed the room, and noticed a large sword to my left; it was still behind the creature so I inched toward it slowly and silently. I thanked any god listening for the fact I wore my sneakers (PUN). My mind didn't even question why there was a bloody sword in the faculty lounge; I just thought 'JACKPOT' and went for it.
As soon as I picked up the sword and readied it in my hands, Dakota shouted to the monster, "Hey big and ugly!" and raised her gun, steadying it with two arms in front of her face so she could look down the sight for a clear shot.
The creature swung round with a hiss, presumably pissed off about being snuck up on. It didn't see me, as it clicked and twisted its head, a bit like a dog, to get a good view of its opponent. The light reflected easily off of its slick black skin, and I spotted blood along its spiked hide. The thought of the ruined lives the monster caused turned my stomach into knots, but also fueled my rage which would help me not dive out of the window and bail.
I gripped the sword that was on the floor near Bub's cold lifeless body. It was bigger now that it was at my feet in front of me, and I almost struggled to pick it up, though I secured it in my grip with two tight hands, and held it out in defense.
Dakota shot the creature twice, once in the head and another in its shoulder. The monsters tail narrowly missed me when it whipped around, and the creature let out a squeal of pain that rung in my ears longer than I'd prefer to admit. The creature advanced slowly onto Dakota, its tail curving up as if to strike at her.
Anger seethed through me, and tears sprung to my eyes at the thought of the monster getting to her. I'd have none of that thank you very much.
Using the fear and anger to my advantage, I ran toward the beast, and with all my strength and adrenalin, I crashed the sword into the base of its tail. The sword, being indeed extremely sharp, sliced further than expected, and while I couldn't pull the sword from its flesh, the tail hung limply, the beast unable to use it. The sharp tip crashed to the floor, and I narrowly avoided the blood, as I guessed it was acidic, judging by what it did to the linoleum floor. It screamed horribly, and I covered my ears.
Suddenly remembering I'd just about cut the tail off of a creature that intended to kill my friend, I ducked as it made a sudden grab for me. Dakota fired shots at the beast, never failing to hit the monster somewhere. More blood splattered on the walls, the concrete crumbling away as though it were dust.
The alien didn't know where to turn, to me or to Dakota who was firing at it. The moment felt like an eternity as I rushed to make a split decision as to what to do. Spotting the right of it, and noticing it would give me an advantage, I round housed off of the window ledge above the person the beast was towering over earlier, and leaped onto it's back using one of the spikes to aide my balance, arms around its neck huge neck as best as I could reach. I thanked my lucky stars for gymnastics training up until the age of fourteen, as I would be flat on my face, and my best friend would be dead, without it.
The alien screeched and spun around frantically, trying it's hardest to get me off of its back, but I had a firm grip, fingernails digging into its hide painfully. Dakota stopped shooting, not wanting to risk hitting me, no matter how good a shot she was.
She ran for the sword, and being stronger than me, pulled it out of the alien's tail, the rest of it coming off and landing with another thud. The alien made noises I'd never heard before, and if I could cover my ears again I would. It seemed at this point the monster had stopped fighting as hard. However if we gave up now it would kill us for sure, I knew that.
A large swing was aimed at the creature's leg, and while it didn't break much skin, the leg snapped, and the beast crashed to the floor with a scream, myself included. The other leg was crushed under the weight, and it landed on its chest.
Setting my feet on the alien's back, I grabbed the lower jaw as best I could and pulled with my whole body so the large head was angled slightly, the back of it sliding along the side as I pulled, as slimy as it was. I bared my teeth in sheer determination and so did it, the monsters reason it being in agony. The neck bent back, exposing the throat and the beast was shaking and writhing underneath me.
The moment that Dakota took a swing at its exposed neck, something gave way, and the head crunched back, my momentum throwing me off of the animal and the creature fell limp on the floor, screaming no longer.
Silence filled the room, as I closed my eyes, exhaustion taking me. "I've just—huff—finished a thirteen our shift—huff—and now I do this..." Dakota grinned at me, breathing heavily herself, "All I wanted was some cat litter." I smiled fondly at my friend, sweating, but happy she was safe and alive.
A series of clicks from the other side of the room drew our attention quickly, and for a second my heart thumped against my chest in fright, my eyes wide. The person that the creature was after before we intervened tried to stand.
It was then I took a good look at them.
Their face was covered in a metal mask, with large eyes and no more distinctive features except for a wide rectangular nose. Its hair was in dreadlocks, with bronze and gold rings around them. It was very tall, I couldn't be too sure as it was laying down, but it must have been a foot and a half taller than I, and I wasn't exactly short. The parts of the alien that were not covered in metal armour were covered with a black netted mesh, with yellow and black skin underneath. The alien was a tower of muscles, its legs twice the width of mine.
I got the distinct feeling that this creature wasn't human either, and I watched it with anticipation. As it was struggling to stand on its mangled leg, it supported itself with its non-injured arm.
"This was fighting that creature, there was another one but that, literally, went out the window." She said, shifting on her feet and staring at the alien. "Saved my life really, whether it was intentional or not."
I huffed and stood, my muscles protesting. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?"
She nodded, "I'll go get a flat trolley, it can't walk on that leg." Silently agreeing, I watched her flit quickly through the door, holding the gun out in front of her.
I slowly approached the alien, holding my hand up in what I hoped was the universal sign for peace. It watched me silently, making no move toward or from me. "Can you understand me?" I asked slowly. Surprisingly, after a few seconds, the alien nodded. I grinned, this would be much easier. "Right well we're going to try to help you, but you need to help us do that. We're both medical professionals." Granted, I was a vet nurse and Dakota was a Pharmacist, but same thing really.
"Your leg is broken, yes?" At another nod, I continued. "I'm going to have a look at it." As the alien wasn't putting any weight down onto the leg, I could see that it hung limply, obviously broken. Green fluid oozed through the armour, and I assumed that was blood. I took a good look at the shoulder, it was stiff against the alien's side, and an odd funny shape was poking up, prominent through the armour on the arm.
"Bad news, your leg is fucked for a little while. Good news is that your shoulder looks only dislocated. We can pop that into place for you." I was sure Dakota had more of an idea with human anatomy; however I watched a lot of Bondi Rescue, so I knew the basics and beyond.
If anyone had told me a week before hand that Dakota and I would be wheeling an alien around the supermarket, picking up what we needed and discretely paying (Any alarms that sounded may attract more of those things), I'd have told them to fuck right off to the loony bin without hesitation, and yet there we were.
As I helped the alien into the back of my car and put the shopping in the boot, Dakota ran inside to get the security camera footage. A knock on the door from the government isn't what we needed.
It hadn't quite stopped raining, so when I decided my seatbelt I turned on the heat in my car. Pj's and warm dry socks were a must when I got in.
Dakota jumped in the passenger side, and cooed at the carrier she moved to sit down. "Finally able to bring him home, huh?"
"Yeah, they were getting concerned about his health, so he'll need constant supervision."
She nodded, sticking a finger through the bars as he wobbled over to her, mewing. "Does he have a name?"
"No, I don't want to name him until I know he's in the clear." I explained, and Dakota nodded solemnly.
"As much as I want to, we can't keep ignoring the huge elephant in the room. What are we going to do about...?" she motioned with her head to the alien in the back, who was trying his best to tend to his wounds. He made a few clicks that sounded angry.
I tapped the steering wheel and pursed my lips together. "We obviously can't tell anyone, and he must have come here somehow? I can't imagine he came with those things if one was trying to kill him."
"Yeah that's true. We can keep him at ours if he's quiet, until he can move on his own." Dakota decided, and I nodded to agree with her as I took a left down my street. The rain hammered down mercilessly, and I felt as though giant being just decided to wash us all with a huge pressure washer. It would be a miracle if we made it to the door without being soaked through.
"I'll put the shopping and the kitten through first. You prepare the alien." I paused a second after I said that, not that I thought I'd cause offence, it's just never in my life did I think I'd ever say something like that.
I had made a few trips from the car to my kitchen, Jet, my male black cat, and Pippin, my Rottweiler, greeting me when I was doing so. Once everything was at least in the kitchen threshold, and the kitten was on the kitchen counter, I rushed out to help Dakota. The rain hadn't let up at all, and my green work overalls were soaked through.
I quickly checked for no one watching, before helping Dakota brace the alien, spreading their weight across the both of us. Getting into the house was a task and a half, but we somehow managed, and guided the alien over to our three seater couch, and lay them across it not so gracefully, but it was the best we could do with his weight.
I wasn't really sure what to do next, so I stood shifting one foot to the other, soaking our wood floor as I dripped. What exactly does one do when a seven and a half foot tall alien is laying on your couch. This was not your friendly extra-terrestrial, however. This was a warrior. I could tell that much by looking at them… plus, all of the weapons they insisted on bringing. I didn't know the gender of the alien, I didn't know if it had a gender or if they were fluent or a combination, or if gender was a social construction created solely here... But I knew it could kill me if it wanted to. E.T. gave me so much false hope.
After a mixture between a sigh and a yawn, I brightened up a bit when I remembered I had warm dry Pajama's and fluffy socks with my name on them. "If you put your work clothes in the washing machine I'll put a wash on when I'm changed." I said to Dakota, and she rushed off to do the same as I.
I took my make up off and changed into my warmest PJ's and fluffiest of socks, and I felt a little more human in dry clothes. My pastel purple hair was pulled up into a pony tail, and my face was smear free.
For a split second, I almost forgot the alien in my living room.
**Hello! This is not the best. However my first chapters never are. Hopefully you'll still be here as I progress. The story will NOT be centered around her living room if does get interesting. **