I was somewhere in Arizona and I could feel the sun burning layers off my skin. I hovered above a small town that could have been deserted except for the two people I could see sitting on the porch steps of a tiny little house. I was on a small mountain, hiding halfway under the huge Hopseed bush.

I got further into my position afraid one of the aliens would see me. I would wait until night before going any closer. So I took advantage of my hiding spot and lied down. I had been on my feet all day and the exhaustion finally overcame me. As I closed my eyes images of Gary's face popped into my head. I almost missed him. He was horrid, but he was my only companion and I was lonely.

A new image of him with silver behind his brown eyes came into my head and made me shudder. If my calculations were correct it had been almost six months since I left my hole and almost nine since I had made contact with a human. The first few months were horrible I wasn't sure whom to trust so I trusted no one. I stole from any house that was empty and that I felt was safe. It usually was. There were a few close calls, but it seemed that the souls couldn't tell if I was human. I, on the other hand, carried a flashlight with me at all times and if I got even a few feet away from one, the reflection of light would always tell me what it was.

Now I was hungry again and nothing was going to keep me from invading that town. My stomach often dictated my moves and today was no exception. Night had fallen and not a light was on in any of the houses that were visible to me. "Maybe they are all gone to some alien conference." I joked to myself. I suppose if it weren't for the fact that I had already lived a life basically on my own. I might have gone crazy, but I was used to a life inside my own head.

I started slowly and cautiously making my way down the mountain, half sliding half crawling. My knees were starting to scrape on the rocks and pebbles, and my hands were already bleeding.

Unfortunately, I didn't notice the steep drop from the mountain to the hard desert floor. I grabbed for the ground knowing I wouldn't be able to stop gravity it was already too late. The only thing I could do was position myself for the fall. I landed feet first, but the pressure made my knees give out and a sharp pain streaked through my legs. I gasped for air, the pain would have made me cry, but something else caught my eye. A girl or woman, I couldn't tell, but she was probably twenty feet ahead of me, staring at me with her mouth hanging open.

I didn't know what else to do. I would have to kill her. I didn't relish the idea too much, but I grabbed the sharpest stone I could get my hand on and pulled myself up. My legs were in pain, but nothing was broken. I charged her. She looked at me still in shock, but to my surprise she started running towards me.

"What the hell?" I muttered. Souls ran away not towards. I stopped short and realized this girl might be a seeker. Shit. Shit. Shit. I turned and ran/limped away as fast as I could.

"Stop! Please. I'm human, I'm human." Huh? I don't know what made me stop, but my gut told me to believe her and I trusted my instincts. They had gotten me this far. I turned to look at her.

"Prove it." I was pissed and hungry. I looked over her shoulder at the dark town and my stomach growled in response. I grabbed my flashlight from my backpack and shone it in her eyes. No reflection. We stared at each other, assessing the situation. She was probably half a foot taller than me and thicker, not big but toned. She had dirty blondish hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in a century. Her eyes were a dark brown and her skin was brownish-red that probably mirrored my own. She was wearing a dirty black cotton shirt and dark blue jean shorts. What shocked me were her bare feet.

"Where are you shoes?" I asked rudely.

"I went through my last pair, I was coming in to town to grab a new pair when I spotted you." She grinned wickedly and I narrowed my eyebrows.

"I'm sorry, you just really ate it…hard." She told me like I didn't have aching knees as a reminder.

"Yes, I know. Thanks." I was being mean, but I was grumpy and she was hindering my chance for food.

"What's your name?" She was still smiling at me, so I figured she must not mean any harm.

"Charlie." I was still suspicious, but now was not the time to be picky about friends.

"Oh. Hi, Charlie. I'm Jenny." She said, still smiling.

"Hi." I didn't have the patience to stand there and small talk. "Look, Jenny, I'm real hungry and I need to get some food before the aliens start coming home from wherever they're at."

"Oh they're not there. Nobody is." She laughed and I couldn't help myself, I smiled just a little.

"How can you know that?"

"Well I was down there and the whole town is abandoned. I watched it for the past two days."

"There were two people down there this morning. I saw them"

"Humans. My brother and my Dad."

"There are more of you?" I was so unnerved by the idea. I had been thinking this whole time I was it. Just me, myself, and I. What an idiot to assume I had been the only one smart enough to hide.

"Yes, just the three of us. My Mom died when I was little and my sister got captured by the souls when they first came to this planet." Her smile had disappeared for the first time and I realized what this had done to her.

"I'm sorry. They took my husband." As if it compared.

"Oh no. I'm so sorry. That must have been terrible."

"Actually he was kind of a dick. So they did me a favor." It was my turn to smile.

"Oh. Okay." She must have forgotten what to say cause her lips separated a little and she looked like there was a question she wanted to ask but didn't quite know how to say it.

I got the ball rolling. "Well, Jenny, I'm starving so if you don't mind, I'll be heading down now."

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry of course. You can meet my family." The smile appeared again.

I was oddly nervous. I hadn't "met" anybody in a long time. I fussed with my hair a little and then Jenny and I made our way down to the dark abandoned town.