A/N: Sorry for the long wait, folks, but once again, exams are making my time a lot less bountiful. There's also the subject of other fanfics I'm in the midst of writing, but that's really not much of an excuse. So, as a mid-exam gift, I present to you the next chapter!
By the time she reached the public phones outside of the high school, Alissa was breathing heavily, taking in as much oxygen as possible before picking up the phone. Inserting a few quarters, she dialled the Solomon's number and waited impatiently for an answer, leaning heavily against the brick wall. She knew it was late, and they'd probably be in bed, and if that was the case, she'd just keep trying. As such, she was surprised when Sally answered after the first ring.
"Hello?" Sally asked. She sounded a bit tired, and if Alissa wasn't mistaken, annoyed.
"Sally, it's Alissa," she said quickly, pushing herself upright, "I'm at the high school. Tommy's hurt, you have to come!" she couldn't keep the panic from rising in her voice as she spoke.
"Hurt? From what?" Sally responded after a moment. The annoyance was gone, but she didn't sound overly concerned.
"I don't know, I just found him like that, and I-I can't... I don't know what to do!"
"All right, all right, just stay calm, and stay with him. It's probably not too serious. Where exactly is he?"
"Um... Cumberland Road, I'll leave the flashlight on."
"I'll be right there." And with that, she heard a click on the other end of the line. Alissa paused momentarily, then hung up the phone in hast and started running back. Then a thought struck her that almost made her stop in her tracks. Why hadn't she just called 911? Why had she called the Solomons for help? It didn't seem to make much sense, and yet, it made all the sense in the world. She shook her head. She'd think about it later, she had other things to worry about.
She stepped back into the dark alley, splashing the stillness with light. She lay the flashlight down on the pavement, the beam facing the road. Walking over to Tommy, she sat down beside him and placed her hand over his shoulder, leaning back against the rough wall and closed her eyes as she listened to the sound of Tommy's ragged breathing. She tried hard to remind herself that Sally was coming. Please hurry.
Sally snatched up a blanket from Tommy's bed and headed for the stairs. Harry still sat unaware in his chair, now watching the shopping channel.
"Where are you goin'?" he asked as she passed him, without turning around.
"Alissa found Tommy," she said. "I'm taking the Rambler."
"Tell him I said 'hi'," Harry said.
"Sure..." suddenly, she was feeling a little apprehensive. It couldn't be too serious, could it? Humans always overreacted. But there was something about the innocence of Harry's comment that made her think that whatever Alissa was so worried about couldn't be quite so innocent.
"Want to come?" At that, Harry turned in his overstuffed chair and squinted up at her.
"Why?"
"Because..." then a smile crept its way over her features. "Harry," she said. "You want to go in the car, Harry? Want to go for a ride in the car?" Harry jumped up from the chair and started begging like a puppy. He let his tongue hang from his mouth, panting with genuine enthusiasm.
"C'mon, Harry, let's go out to the car!" she said, backing towards the stairs, beckoning him to come. He barked and got to his feet, following in a stumbling manner as she ran down the stairs. She made it to the Rambler only moments before he dived headfirst into the back seat. He righted himself and sat up straight, slowly looking around in confusion.
"Heeey, how did I get in the Rambler?" he asked.
"You said you wanted to come, Harry" Sally lied.
"Ooooooh," Harry thought a moment. "You used that reverse mind-trick stuff on me again, didn't you!" It was more of an accusation than a question. "Admit it!"
"No, Harry, of course not. Now sit!" she answered as she turned the key in the ignition, stepping on the gas. Harry complied immediately. They flew out of the driveway, and Sally completely disregarded the speed limit for the next four blocks as Harry held on for dear life.
"Oh, quit being a backseat driver!" she yelled over her shoulder when he started to complain. She pressed her foot down harder on the gas pedal, then screeched to a halt when red and blue lights began to flash in the rear-view mirror, throwing Harry into the front of the car between her and the passenger seat. She heard the door of the black and white cruiser slam shut behind her, and the hair on the back of her neck began to bristle in a pleasant manner.
"Don."
"Sally, what are you doing out so late?" he asked, then added as sort of an afterthought, "A-and speeding?" Sally decided this would be a good time to turn on the charm.
"I'm going to pick up Tommy, Don," she said in her most sensual voice. "Will you... join my little... mission?" She used the pauses for effect, placing her arm daintily on the door of the car and giving him a whopping dose of the 'pouty lips'. She watched in satisfaction as he struggled to maintain a hold on his duties; to forget her long, slender legs; the perfectly manicured blonde hair; the silky...
"A-all right Sally, I'll come," he said weakly. Then, restoring a little of his authoritative cop voice, he said, "But don't expect to get out of a ticket so easily next time." And he strolled back to his cruiser and fumbled with the door a moment before managing to pull it open. Sally gunned the engine of the Rambler, and took off, much slower this time. They were nearly to Cumberland road anyhow.
She turned the Rambler onto said street with caution, scanning each murky alley carefully before she saw it – the faint glow of a flashlight seeping into the darkness of the road. She parked the Rambler where it was and, grabbing the blanket, hopped out. Harry followed close behind, having dislodged himself from his previous entrapment. Behind her, the cruiser door slammed, and Don came puffing up beside them. Not one second later, the flashlight's glow flickered, and Alissa came running from the alley, beckoning them to hurry. Sally quickened her pace to oblige, and Alissa disappeared back into whence she'd come. Sally picked up the flashlight as she passed it, taking in the scene.
The strangest emotion overtook her then. She couldn't place it. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of the old man that she had come to know as her nephew. She'd seen carnage, she'd seen death, heck, she'd even seen an abandoned planet blow up before her eyes, but she couldn't seem to grasp this without her knees buckling and a sinking feeling in her stomach. She didn't know what it was, and it freaked her out. It was these blasted human slipcovers; they came with so many unexplainable attachments. The way Alissa was looking at her, she could tell the weird emotion she was getting was plainly displayed on her face.
Right now, she just needed to get Tommy home. She knelt beside his still form, pulling Alissa's blanket away and taking note of the heavy, irregular breathing. She put a hand to her mouth at the sight of his bloodied torso, then hastened to wrap him in the blanket she'd brought, advising Alissa to leave the now crimson-blotched one where it was. Then she picked Tommy up in her arms, and carried him out towards the Rambler. Don and Harry had been waiting in the street. Don, because he probably figured he wouldn't have been able to fit; Harry, because he most likely decided that an army of green monkeys would attack him if he went in. But the stricken looks on their faces when she walked out with Tommy held unconscious in her arms told her they must be feeling the same strange sensation.
When she reached the Rambler, Sally laid Tommy in the back seat as gently as she was capable, and Harry climbed in after, resting Tommy's head on his lap. It must be instinctual, the feeling. Why else would Harry do that? It had to be a built-in function that came with the human bodies they now resided in. She'd talk to Dick about it later. Dick. Bet he's having just a dandy time with Albright. Wouldn't be surprised if they rented a room at a hotel for the night... she thought to herself. It wasn't until she opened the door to the front seat and came out of her reverie that she noticed Alissa had followed Harry and her to the car.
"Can I come?" the teen asked, stealing glances in Tommy's direction. Sally sighed.
"Get in!" she said forcefully. She was coming to the end of her patience capabilities. Alissa's eyes widened, but she half-smiled and got into the passenger's side, shoving her backpack under her feet. Sally drove away from Cumberland, back towards their attic apartment. She didn't drive quite as quickly this time, afraid that the shock of the car jerking forward would jar Tommy's injuries if it hit something. Alissa kept looking into the back seat, where Harry sat quietly with that same expression that neither of the aliens could place.