Christopher

A dream…

Christopher had not had one of those in a long time.

He had not had a good one since his mother had passed when he was 10. That was fifteen years ago, since then there were only nightmares. Flashes of his mother, choking on her own blood, arms torn from her body, her intestines of her chest splayed across the wall of their shack he still lived in. No, this dream was an actual dream, a wonderful, beautiful dream. He did not really understand what it was about but he remembered what was going on. There were shapes dancing around him, like the stars on his son's holoformer, and then there was the pale surface flush against his exoskeleton. It had been so soft, he could almost feel it right now, drifting in and out of R.E.M sleep on his rag nest.

His eyes flickered open and closed, the light blue iris' reflecting the holes in his shacks roof. He went to roll onto his left side, hearing his young ones clicks of dreaming in his own nest, but found he could not. His eyes shot open and then he twisted, sliding back on his clawed feet, crouched so low he was almost sitting on the floor. He relaxed when he saw the raven haired beauty on his nest, her long fingers searching for his heatless body. Her eyes flickered open, the bright green irises darting towards his presence. He stood straight , staring down at her as she stretched out on the bedding, tucking her head into her elbow crease.

"You ok Chris?" her husky voice drew out.

He looked around the shack, the tentacles across his mouth waving slightly. "Why are you not in your own bed?" he asked.

She looked up. "Well I uh…this morning there were these guys banging around outside. I didn't feel safe so I came in here."

He understood her scarcity. Most of the women, both human and Polweepkwa, were usually bold and stood against the human men that wandered around District 9 at night, but she was no such thing. The only time she became bold was when she was with him or with his son. In the shack she was co dependant and attached to him at the hip. She sat up a little and rubbed her eyes, the thin dress she was wearing almost revealing everything to his eyes. He looked away from her, tossing a long jacket at her from a hook by the door.

"Put this on, Nevaeh."

She blushed a little and took the coat, wrapping it around herself and standing to her bare feet. She threaded her fingers through her hair and shook the heavy, tangled mass. "You hungry?"

Christopher looked around and then his eyes landed on his son. He looked back over Nevaeh. "Oliver will be hungry when he awakens so you and I can go get food now. I do not feel comfortable letting you go out there alone."

She smiled softly and nodded. The only reasons they did not bother either one of them when they went out was because the Polweepkwa respected him, he was the son of their previous leader, the one that had gotten them stuck here granted, but leader none the less, and he made sure to keep the Nigerians from bothering his small family by promising them alien weaponry without having to deal with moronic Polweepkwa that were begging for cat food.

They stepped out into the moist morning air, Nevaeh moving closer to Christopher and really invading his space, but he did not mind at this point. Over the past three years he had truly grown used to her clinging to him. He had saved her one night many years ago, granted it was in the middle of her assault, but from the medical exam he had performed on her (at her consent) he had found he saved that one piece of innocence human females treasured most. He was happy he could save her, keep her intact. He was sure if he had gotten there ten minutes later she would have been lost to any help he or anyone else could provide.

He tried to keep her from grabbing onto his claws, she had so many scars across her palm as it was, but she forced him into the nervous twitch and he sighed, walking with her. Christopher tensed when he saw his new partner, Abiodun, walking towards them. The shredded remains of his old clothes stuck to his body between his defensive spikes, making it look as though it were his shell that were spotted that way.

"What are you doing Christopher?" he asked, standing in his and Nevaeh's path.

Christopher glared, moving in front of Nevaeh. "We are getting food for my son. Now be on your way Abiodun." Christopher spoke in a warning tone.

The fellow Polweepkwa raised his claws in defense, clicking as he walked away but what he was saying made no sense so he paid no attention to it. He took Nevaeh's sensitive hadn't once more and they started walking. Getting food without a problem was quite easy for them now, seeing as the matriarch of their million plus member colony was buying food and dispensing it to those that cannot walk that far and for those like Christopher and Nevaeh, those who were pretty much hiding from the Nigerian mafia. Christopher may have Nevaeh safe, but she still had those fears and since they had a close bond now Christopher wanted to keep her happy and comfortable.

They stepped into the rather large shack pressed against the barbed wire fence a mile from their home. There were three other colony members, al huddled around one cow flank, watching as the matriarchs son sliced off thin strips and passed them off to one Polweepkwa at a time. Christopher steered Nevaeh towards where the ancient female sat, sliding cans of cat food into a large bins se pushed into an old rotting book shelf. She looked up when they were close enough and smiled in a way, plucking six cans of cat food and a few cans of human food from a special bin and dropping them into a thick cloth bag alongside a few bottle of water.

"Thank you Rashidi." Nevaeh nodded, a sign of respect to the old matriarch.

"It is the least I can do for you and Christopher. And young Oliver, make sure he gets his full and do not worry about running out of food, I can always get someone to drop off some more food for you."

Nevaeh smiled wider. "Thank you again," she turned around, tugging on Christopher's arm. "Come on, lets get back before Oliver wakes up."

Christopher nodded and they left the shack, Nevaeh groaning and raising a hand when the sun assaulted their eyes. Christopher's eyes adjusted rapidly, so he simply chuckled in that way of his, causing Nevaeh to glare at him. He clicked at her in reply and she just rolled her bright eyes, tugging him forward. Polweepkwan had a highly adjustable body, which was how they had survived on this planet for so long in this trash heap. Christopher paused, his small families shack in sight, and looked right, eyeing the small, thin planks of wood lined against the back of an abandoned shack. He looked down, clicking his mandibles then decided against it and followed Nevaeh once more, who had stopped to watch him with worried eyes.

"You ok Chris?" she asked, her voice soft.

He nodded, knowing she wasn't fully convinced, but she didn't press the matter any further and just opened the door for him. She flicked the lock down when the door was shut tightly behind them and set the heavy bag on their weak table. She pulled the only plate they owned down from a crooked shelf and began to pour out the correct portions for Oliver onto the old Toy Story plate. She poured a small amount of water into the cut off bottom of a water bottle before she left the room to get Oliver. Christopher sat still for a moment, in the dark of a corner with his arms crossed over his chest. He did not want to admit it but he loved having Nevaeh here. At first he had wanted to get her away from his home, his son and their work that lay under the shack. But when he woke and noticed she had somehow gotten Oliver to eat the food he should to keep healthy he knew she had to be kept. But he hated thinking about her that way, like she was a watch dog for his son.

"Chris you gonna eat to?"

He looked up and locked eyes with her, barely noticing his sons eyes on him. "I must leave in a few moments to continue my searching."

Her eyes sparkled and she ushered Oliver into the one chair they had. "Can I go with you today?"

"No, I cannot risk that."

"It wouldn't be you risking anything Chris, it would be me and I am fin-"

He took a step forward, his clawed toes coming down hard on the panel he kept closed in the morning. "No, I did not rescue you so you could throw it away to follow me into a trash heap Nevaeh. Stay here with Oliver and work on the command module please."

She stared at him for a moment then swallowed hard. "Fine, but next time I go with you."

He stared at her this time. "Fine."

She always got her way at some point.