Chapter Two: Stone of Darkness
The ancient cotton quilt, scrapped together from squares of worn-out clothing, presented a platform of floral squares and triangles under Maree's sun-browned bare feet. The machine stitching had been over-sewn by hand with thick pink embroidery thread to make long bird's foot stitches. Here and there the fabric had grown thin and a few threads had pulled lose, but Maree refused to part with the beloved coverlet which was her first discovery at the antique shop several years ago.
Propped up on a stack of pillows, using her bent knees as a dias, she was immersed in the diary. So much so that she was not even aware of turning the pages or of gnawing on her right thumbnail.
'The first Ancient is here and after some unforeseen difficulties during the night I have rearranged staffing and all seems to be under control. He seems docile enough and, as has been explained to me, he is very forgetful. Supposedly he is weak and fragile by the alien's standards and now that I have met some of the younger aliens I can understand that better.
The aliens, or Yautja as they call themselves, are overwhelming. So big, so tall, so dreadfully muscular! Will I ever be able to reconcile myself to their faces? It is difficult not to stare at them when they are unmasked. I dare not be rude! But I do steal glances whenever I can. I suppose they think my face is as odd I as find theirs.'
In the margin of the page, Sally had apparently tried to draw one of their faces. Maree squinted at the massive lumpy head that was bald on top but fringed on the back and sides with long ropey strands or tentacles or something. The brow was bold and hung over the eyes which were the only human looking thing there. The face smoothed down with no evident nose and then formed…something. It looked like Sally had run into difficulty trying to get this part right. The ink scribbled around and made sort of hot dog like thick lips that were separated in the middle and turned at right angles toward the mouth to end in points.
Fangs? They all had thick hair-lips with fangs on the ends?
Maree tried to recall the history of Earth's interaction with aliens from her Social Studies class. She hadn't been interested in the subject and had glossed over most of the assignments, still managing to pass with an average grade. She grabbed her tablet from the cubby at the head of the bed and began to scan the lists of her old school texts. Finding the one she was searching for, she pulled it up and entered the topic 'alien photographs' and there they were.
From her lips came a soft, "ooooooooohhhhhh". The picture was of two men standing on either side of an immense Yautja Hunter. He was masked, but she could still see the bulges of his arms and thighs and the chiseled torso that boasted a brace of white skulls. Her eyes roved down to the cloth dangling below the metal codpiece and then went back up to the unmistakable bulge in the armor. She studied it for a time, digesting the Hunter's appearance and intermingling it with what she'd read in the diary and her mother's comments after scanning it. Then she keyed in, 'Yautja unmasked'. A great face immediately jumped onto the screen and nearly made her start. Recovering quickly, she traced the strangeness with a finger.
"Geeze," she muttered to herself, "that is beyond homely. Aunt Sally what did you get yourself into? And you weren't afraid? Not sure I believe that."
The diary went on and Maree was too engrossed to even join her mom and David for dinner. "I'll catch a bite later if I'm hungry" she had answered her mom's announcement that the meal was ready. David and Mom both shook their heads and laughed – used to Maree's immersion technique when reading something that really intrigued her. "There's a covered plate for you in the fridge," her mom had called out later, but the girl never heard it.
She was up to her eyeballs in Sally's description of Captain Ulfr.
'The air around him seems to sizzle in response to his imposing posture of command. All the crew jump at his orders and he simply acts as though he expects to be obeyed. I even find myself looking to him for what to do next at times. I find him quite charismatic and suspect that to the females of his kind – he is most handsome.'
Another Ancient had been delivered to the House and Sally went on again about its operations. Here Maree skimmed a bit again to get back to the alien encounter. She slowed down when Sally's neat loops took on a haywired effect.
'I am so angry! I'm actually shaking as I writing this! Ulfr left one of his crew here, his little brother, without asking my permission! He slept in the Hospitality Room all night and then frightened the hell out of poor Rosa, our best housekeeper and my friend! Damn it! He may be captain of his ship but around here I'm in charge!'
Rosa! This trunk was in the possession of a Rosa, but it couldn't be her! She'd be long dead by now. Maybe she had a daughter or a niece that was named after her? Or maybe it's some other Rosa. Geez, Sally. I wouldn't want you mad at me! I can feel the heat of your words as I read them. It's getting late, but I can't put this down!
Maree learned that the uninvited overnight guest was named Sigdan. Sally explained that there was a sort of click sound in the middle of his name. He wanted to use the House laboratory for some sort of research and she let him. Apparently it didn't go so well with the people already working there.
Sally started meeting Sigdan at the gym for workouts at the end of the day. She did yoga and the alien did some kind of warm-up and apparently some kind of martial arts. They did demonstrations for each other.
'It is critical that I establish a good relationship, even a friendship, with Sigdan. I have to convince them to bring more than one Ancient at a time. Our costs are going sky high at an unanticipated rate and bringing in more paying residents is our only option to make this quarter's figures. Damn corporate! I have a feeling the Yautja are far more intelligent and possess more integrity than the company believes. The Hunters place so much value on their principles and their sense of honor. What would happen if they ever felt that we had offended them? Or their ethics?'
It was quite late now and several hours past Maree's normal bed time. She had been struggling to stay awake by blinking her eyes but realized that she'd read the same paragraph twice now. Okay, sleep. You win. Placing her bookmark, she closed the diary and then placed it in the cube alongside her tablet. Too tired to pull back the quilt, she dimmed the light and quickly fell fast asleep still in her shorts and tee shirt. The room stilled except for the light rhythmic sound of breathing.
Soon, a fluffy brownish-gray striped cat crept into the room. He sat down and observed his sleeping mistress for a time. Finally, he gracefully jumped up onto the bed in a single ease of motion, landing lightly near her feet. Carefully, he turned his body and lay down, a soft ridge of breathing fur. After snuggling his face beneath the tip of his outstanding fluff-tail, he closed his eyes and joined Maree in sleep.
As she fell into deeper sleep, strange dreams came to her. There was a tall woman standing before an immense alien who was seated in a great carved chair. He leaned forward to embrace the woman and suddenly pulled her to stand between his knees. Then he gently placed huge hands on each side of her face. They were both locked into each other's gaze, seemingly enraptured by what they found there. Unseen, Maree watched them. Her heart began to pound as she witnessed the scene and felt the tingle of electricity circuiting between them.
Then suddenly she was in a large dark space. Looking around she tried to see through the gloom. There, across a bare rock floor she saw what looked like giant pillars of rounded stone blocks. Suddenly a blazing bright beam of light cut through the inkiness and shone upon two statues in the middle of the room. Gingerly walking up to them, Marree saw that one was a great white figure of a Yautja seated as if upon a throne. She realized from its twin breasts that it was the female of their kind. A queen perhaps? The other statue had toppled over to the floor. It was as black as the other was white and Maree took in the visage of a huge god-like Hunter in the act of kneeling. Then the scene faded away.
Small shivers tremored through the sleeping girl's body just as the pendant that she wore began to flicker with a faint light. The flicker turned to a steady glow while the natural darkness in the corner of the room seemed to gather and shape itself into the form of a column. The slumbering cat raised its head and stared into the dark corner. Slowly the feline eased to its feet, its back assuming an arch. A long low growl trembled from its throat followed by a hiss. The ebony obelisk stood still and watched for a few moments until the cat seemed to relax a bit. The room was barely disturbed when a deep rough whisper floated on the air, "There it is. How have you come to have my stone, young pup? Very well. You may find its possession not to your liking."
The dark shape faded, and then thinned into nothingness. The pendant's light died down and Maree stopped shivering. Fussing, she turned on her side as the cat nimbly jumped over her legs. Maree slept on. Gradually, the fur on the cat's back relaxed and he curled back up to sleep, keeping one eye open for a while as he surveyed the suspect corner.