Mr. Duggar nervously fidgeted outside his son's door. As he ran his hand through his hair, he took a deep breath. "C'mon Jerry, just talk to him, he's your kid. There's nothing to be afraid of." Mr. Duggar did not find his own words very reassuring. With a sigh, Mr. Duggar lightly tapped his hand on his son's door. "Hey son, I ah… Could I come in and talk to you for a bit? You're not in trouble… I just want to talk about last night." Immediately after speaking, Mr. Duggar's hand shot up and smacked his forehead. It was a long night, and now he had probably woken his son up. Mr. Duggar began to pace, waiting for a response from the other side of the door.
Upon hearing his father's voice Nate stopped his conversation with the Peridot midsentence. Nate began to reach out his hand to cover the Peridot's mouth, but hesitated, fearing another bite. Oblivious to Nate's change in behavior, the Peridot continued to speak. "Is that another primitive, Nathan? Will it be helping us as well? Have you gone deaf, Nathan? Respond. Respond!" As the Peridot began to scream, Nate spun around and deposited a heap of blankets on the alien's head. The Peridot's screams continued unabated, albeit muffled.
Nate leaned in close to the howling pile of fabric and whispered, "Just be quiet for a little bit. I won't be able to help you if those men come back and take you with them. Just, stay put please. I'll be back in just a second." With that, Nate darted out of the room and slammed the door. With a smile, Nate pressed his back against the door and faced his father. "Hey Dad, you're up early today."
"I didn't wake you up, did I?" Mr. Duggar stared past his son at the door, unable to make eye contact. After Nate shook his head, Mr. Duggar continued to speak. "I just… Last night was scary. Those men, they hurt me. They could have hurt you too, son. Your mother is fuming. I ah… I'm just glad you're okay." Upon finishing, Mr. Duggar flashed a rather forced looking smile.
"I'm sorry too, Dad, I should have listened to you. I'm sorry about the ship, too, I know it meant a lot to you." A loud thud came from behind Nate's bedroom door. Nate's head swiveled, panic in his eyes.
"Is everything alright, son?" Mr. Duggar stared intently at his son, completely perplexed.
"Something probably just fell over. You know how messy my room is, Dad." With that, Nate darted back into his room, almost entirely closing the door. His head poking out, he turned back to his father. "If Kay wakes up, could you send her in? Thanks." Without another word, Nate disappeared into his room.
Mr. Duggar stared at the door for a moment, his mind still processing the events of the past few seconds. "Sure, son. Hey, if your mother asks, I gave you a stern talking to, alright?" Mr. Duggar stood uncomfortably outside his son's room waiting for a response that never came. Eventually, he turned to leave, letting out a heavy sigh of relief. Mr. Duggar slowly inched his way to the couch, lowering himself with a look of exhaustion. Immediately upon settling in, Mr. Duggar leapt up with a start, as did the previously sleeping child beneath him. Mr. Duggar found himself unable to speak, instead simply staring in fear at Kay. Kay stared sternly at Mr. Duggar before cracking a friendly smile. With a chuckle, Kay slapped Mr. Duggar on the back. Mr. Duggar jumped, his entire body going rigid. "You need to relax, old man, you're going to give yourself a heart attack." Kay glanced towards Nate's door. "Is Nate up yet?" Mr. Duggar managed a shaky nod in response. As Kay bounded towards Nate's room, Mr. Duggar laid himself down onto the couch, shaking.
"I swear; these kids are going to be the death of me."
Kay bounded into Nate's room with a bounce in her step. She found Nate staring blankly at a pile of blankets on the floor. Hopping forward, Kay set a hand onto Nate's shoulder and spun him around. "So, how'd you sleep?" After recognizing Nate's tensed shoulders and peculiar expression, Kay dialed back her chipper demeanor. "Is everything all right, Nate?"
Nate shook his head slowly, pointing towards the conspicuous pile behind him. To her surprise, Kay could see that it was shuddering, as if there was something moving underneath. Kay could tell that Nate was trying to speak; his mouth moving silently in search of the right words. Smiling at him, Kay patted his shoulder. Taking a quick glance at the wobbling hill of blankets, an idea began to formulate in Kay's mind. Without giving Nate time to realize what was happening, Kay reached out her hands and sent the blankets flying. Kay's mischievous grin was replaced with a contorted face of confusion upon seeing the alien she had just uncovered. The Peridot stared at her with a very similar look on its face. A few seconds passed in total silence. Finally, the expression on the Peridot's face changed, twisting into one of anger. With a growl, the Peridot lunged towards Kay, spinning her around and pinning her to the floor.
Separating the two proved to be a difficult task for Nate. The strange, green creature in his company was both aggressive and incredibly sturdy. Unfortunately for the Peridot, Kay made up for her lack of physical strength with a bottomless reserve of enthusiasm. The two grappled on the floor of Nate's room, neither gaining the upper hand for very long. Attempting to halt their rumble, Nate forced himself between the two. All he managed to do was catch a green fist to the face, bruising both his cheek and his pride. Nate stepped back and attempted to speak. "Guys, stop it. Stop fighting." Nate was careful not to raise his voice, fearful his father might hear. "Seriously, knock it off." Despite his protests, Kay and the Peridot continued to wrestle. Eventually, the Peridot caught Kay in a headlock and began to squeeze. Kay struggled to free herself from the cold, smooth arm tightening around her neck. Upon seeing Kay's desperation, Nate's demeanor changed. Forgetting his effort to remain quiet, Nate bellowed a command at the near-victorious alien. "If you want your ship back, you will drop her now!" The Peridot finally relented, letting Kay slip to the floor.
After scolding the Peridot, Nate attempted to explain the bizarre situation to his friend. From her seat on the floor, Kay listened intently. Nate did his best, but it was clear to him that Kay was completely lost. She believed him, of course, but Nate was still lacking a fair amount of information. Kay's mind raced with questions. Without a word to Nate, she turned towards the sulking Peridot. "So, what are you? I mean, where are you from?" The Peridot looked up and glared at the eager Kay. Nate sighed and attempted diplomacy.
"Answer her questions, please. The more we know, the easier it'll be for us to help you." The Peridot turned to him with a disapproving look.
"Is this second primitive's assistance truly necessary? Perhaps it is for the best that you do know, if you are truly going to serve me." Nate pursed his lips and looked down at the Peridot from his seat on the bed.
"Serve you? I don't think that's exactly what we agreed on." The Peridot threw up her hands.
"Serve, assist, whichever you primitives prefer. The distinction is meaningless. You are naturally curious, so I will oblige. It is only natural for inferior creatures to desire knowledge of their clear superiors." Kay rolled her eyes at the Peridot's words. After a disapproving grunt, the Peridot continued. "I am a Peridot, a Gem from Homeworld. My people are a race of sentient, crystalline entities. Our consciousness is contained within our respective Gems. My physical form is a light projection created by my Gem and adapted to function on your planet. We arrived here on your world to create a Gem colony. At some point, my physical form was disrupted and my ship damaged. My memory of the incident is, in truth, a little hazy." The Peridot squinted her eyes, struggling to bring her final moments prior to resurrection into focus. Kay is also lost in thought, processing the Peridot's words. Eventually, she presents another question.
"Your home planet is named Homeworld? That's not very creative." The Peridot scoffs, taking great offense. "It is practical. We are from Homeworld. It is our home. What do you call this pathetic piece of rock?" Kay answered with great pride.
"Welcome to Earth." The peridot laughed for an exaggerated amount of time. Nate and Kay stared at each other uncomfortably while they waited for the Gem to finish.
"You criticize my planet's name, and yet yours shares its name with a synonym for dirt. It is hilarious, really."
"If you're an alien, why do you speak English? Don't you have some sort of weird Gem language?" The Peridot sighed in clear irritation.
"While we do have a written script, we do not speak conventionally. Our communication is telepathic in nature and transcends language. I simply sound like I'm speaking English to you because it is how your brain chooses to comprehend me." The Peridot seemed amused by the puzzled looks on Nate and Kay's faces. Rather than delving deeper on the subject, Kay instead turned to Nate. Nate cleared his throat.
"I'm sorry I roped you into this, Kay. I don't know what we're going to do. I mean, how are we supposed to get a flying saucer back from those two guys? I don't even know who they were. They could kill us! On top of that, how are we supposed to hide an alien in a hotel full of people?" Kay cocked her head slightly and stared at him. "Okay, so the hotel isn't exactly full of people. In this economy, what can you expect? Mom says we should… Whatever. You know what I mean. We have an angry, green alien in my bedroom. How do we hide that? What if my parents find out? Mom would explode!" By this point, Nate had begun pacing around the room. His speech was animated and frantic. In an attempt to calm him, Kay reached for his arm. Nate practically shot through the ceiling.
"Nate, it'll be okay. We can figure this out. My mom is never home. Our new friend should be safe there." Nate was unconvinced.
"What if somebody sees? Green people aren't exactly commonplace. They'll call the police or something. What if they send the army? I don't want to be shot." Kay softened her voice to try and put Nate at ease.
"Nate, nobody is going to shoot you. You do have a point, though. Green is not normal. What can we do?" Kay spun in place, turning to the Peridot. She carefully inspected the Gem's green form. Realization dawned in her eyes. Kay began to jump up and down excitedly. "Nate, I'm awesome." Nate looked at her in utter confusion. "Nobody will be able to see the alien, because there won't be an alien to see. Some human clothes, a hat, a bit of makeup… Yeah, that should work." Nate opened his mouth to speak, but got lost in thought instead. The Peridot glared at Kay.
"You expect me to adorn myself in some pitiful disguise? I'd rather be shattered than look as ridiculous as you. I refuse." Kay smiled at these words. Nate recognized the sharp, devilish grin. There was no changing Kay's mind now.
"Peridot. Dot. You are going to be the prettiest human girl. As soon as we get you back to my house, we're going to play dress up. What do you think, Nate? Wouldn't she look pretty in a sunhat?" Nate had no words. He honestly felt a little sorry for the Peridot. After getting no response from Nate, Kay continued. "My mom has a bunch of makeup in her room. Hopefully it'll work on your… Is it skin? It doesn't feel like skin. Doesn't matter. We'll make it work. I'm so excited. You and I are going to be great friends, Dot." The alien now christened Dot stared at Nate with pleading eyes. Nate could only offer silent sympathy in return.
Moving Dot from Nate's room proved to be difficult. In order to better hide her appearance, the children wrapped her in one of Nate's old blankets. The star pattern on the fabric amused Dot, who made sure to let both kids know that the positions of the celestial bodies were inaccurate. As Mr. Duggar was still asleep on the couch, the trio was careful to move silently. Upon exiting the hotel room, they crept to the elevator. Nate crossed his fingers while they watched the arrow marking the elevator's position tick up. If someone was on it, they might see Dot. They'd be caught then and there. What if it was one of the men from the beach last night? Nate's heart began to hammer in his chest as the possibilities raced in his mind. They should take the stairs, instead. As Nate was about to propose his alternative plan to Kay, the doors of the elevator slid open. It was empty. Nate almost passed out as he stared at the empty box. He had escaped certain death yet again. The relief rushing through the boy's body as he boarded the elevator was nearly overwhelming.
The trek across the barren beach was far easier. The sun was still hovering close to the water, the colors of early morning reflecting on the gentle waves. The three small figures jogged across the sand towards Kay's house. No one noticed them, as there was no one outside to notice them. The day was still young, and the vacationers tired. Nate was thankful for the lack of commotion, as it spared his young heart further grief. However, the absence of tourists was bittersweet. Although it had made the children's task easier, it cast Nate's thoughts towards his mother. As a young boy, Nate loved bearing witness to the hundreds of colorful guests that flooded in and out of the hotel each summer. Visitors to Diamond Harbor bustled in the streets, spending their hard-earned cash. Nate was never wanting for playmates, as there were always new children on the beach. Life was good back then. As Nate grew up, he saw these visitors begin to dwindle. Less and less people came to Diamond Harbor each year. The hotel was practically abandoned despite it being August. Nate knew that if this continued, his mom might be out of a job. Diamond Harbor was dying, and he could see it.
Upon arriving at Kay's bungalow, the group took a brief rest. Sitting on Kay's porch, Nate stared absentmindedly at the waves as he worried about the hotel. Kay went inside in order to make sure her mother hadn't made a surprise appearance during the night. Dot stood on the beach wrapped in the star blanket. Wrestling with the fabric wrapped around her head, Dot managed to free her face from the makeshift cloak. Readjusting the blanket resulted in Dot wearing it like a cape. "This pathetic star map makes for poor apparel. I could barely see from beneath the dreadful thing." Dot noticed Nate's distracted look and turned to match his line of sight. After staring off towards the ocean for a few seconds, she returned her gaze to him. "Do you see something out there, primitive? Should I be concerned?" Nate's response lagged as he wrested himself from his melancholy.
"What? No, nothing's wrong. I was just thinking." Nate refocused his thoughts on the current problem. In doing so, he noticed Dot's new way of wearing the blanket. "You look ridiculous. Everything about this is ridiculous." Nate began to laugh. The whole situation was completely absurd to him. Even after noticing Dot's puzzled, irritated gaze, he couldn't stop. The laughter simply roared out of him. He was just some stupid kid. Why was all this happening to him? Nate never wanted for anything, he was content with his life up until now. He had a few friends to spend time with. He and Kay hung out every day. They would swim or roam around the city. Life was simple. Within a day, everything had changed. Now Nate had to contend with space aliens and men in black. His dad found a stupid flying saucer, and Kay convinced him to go inside. Nate wanted none of it. He just wanted to be a kid.
Kay emerged from her home to find Nate rolling on the ground in a fit of laughter. She exchanged a quizzical look with Dot. The Gem simply put her hands up in absolute confusion. "Perhaps this one is damaged. The Nathan has been doing this for quite a long time. Perhaps I said something to provoke the primitive." Dot's words were enough to bring Nate out of his nervous laughter.
"No, you didn't say anything. Sorry Kay, it's just… This whole situation is stupid. Why do we have to be the ones to deal with this? I just want to wake up already." Kay leapt down the steps of the porch and hit the sand. Stepping over to Dot, she wrapped an arm around the alien.
"What are you talking about, Nate? This is fantastic. Dot here is a real alien—from space! This is the single coolest experience of my life. Who would have guessed that Kaitlyn Jones would meet an actual alien? It's incredible. This is going to be such an adventure, Nate. Cheer up." Kay's enthusiasm was contagious. Nate's worry was replaced with a sheepish smile and a swelling sense of wonder. She was right, this was incredible. His spirit restored, Nate gestured towards the house.
"So, are we going inside? Dot needs a disguise, after all." Kay nodded animatedly and bounded up the stairs. Dot tromped behind with a scowl. The three entered the bungalow just as Diamond Harbor began to stir. The first pedestrians began to emerge from their homes and hotels to greet the summer air. A brand-new day began on that tiny island in the Pacific.