Questions

Inspiration: "Guys my age" by: Hey Violet

Why do these things keep happening to me? What have I done to make the universe hate me so much? I've been a good person, paid my taxes. I've even donated to charities whenever I get the chance, although it's never a whole lot. I occasionally buy the person behind me in lines their order, I try to be a good person, be aware of Karma. I even radiate positive juju vibes! And yet, weird ass situations seemed to be gravitating toward me as of late. I sighed deeply, feeling the ache in my back from colliding with the floor. Distinctly I could tell there was a piece of glass pressing into my shoulder blade. How did that get there? Oh, right. I had swiped a glass cup off the counter as I passed out.

I turned my head slowly to gaze at the skull still clutched in my right hand. Why? Why can't I be a normal person? Someone who doesn't get secret admirers who feel the need to leave real human skulls outside her apartment door. Or break into her apartment after scaring the shit out of her and chasing her out of a forest? I've had weird things happen to me concerning men before. One tried to move in with me after only a week of sleeping together, then blew up on me about the fact that I was "two-faced". One guy stalked me for about a month, sending me flowers to my work and showing up even though he didn't have an appointment with my boss. Thankfully he never knew where I lived (regardless of how hard he tried to find out).

I even had one guy, who I told expressly that I wasn't interested in a relationship, take me out on dates and buy me $100 dinners for weeks at a time when he wasn't working on his oil boat, regardless if we had sex after he took me home or not. And he did it for 6 months until he moved states without a word. I've had some pretty weird stuff happen to me. But this…this was on another level all together. I turned my hand so the face of the skull was looking directly at me.

"A real human skull... why? Why me?" I whispered to it, stroking my thumb over the gap where the tooth had fallen out. Where did it come from, and who was this mystery man behind all of this? Was it even a man? When I was in the forest, I thought it was a predator; maybe a bear or cougar. I'd spent enough years walking and hiking around the forest to know that when all the animals around you become silent, something is in kill mode, and it's usually large. But I hadn't actually seen anything in the forest, only heard it. And whatever it was didn't sound like any man or animal I'd ever encountered.

Even a week ago when I thought it had followed me to my apartment. Growling, purring and touching things. This skull is proof that I wasn't imagining things. These things were really happening to me. But why? That's the big question. I rolled my head back up to stare at the ceiling. The light was still on from when I had come home. I didn't know how long I'd been passed out for on the floor, but the ache in my back told me it was at least a few hours. It must have been going on midnight, so I figured I would get up, clean up the glass sitting under me and head to bed at the least.

I sighed deeply again, bringing a quote to the front of my mind as I started to sit up off the floor.

"I am a patient human being. I know that everything in my life comes to me and occurs at the perfect time. I do not force anything to hurry up in my life, for it is all unfolding at the perfect time and just as beautifully as the spring blossom. In waiting there is always something for me to learn. I am patient because I am at peace with the way my life is progressing."

I couldn't remember who the quote was by, but It was one that I recited often; it became my mantra. I needed a large amount of patience in my life recently. I stroked the brow bone of the skull in my hand as I prepared to stand up, one foot planted, and the other still beneath my butt. The combined momentum of me pushing myself to a stand, and the fact that as soon as I lifted my head I came face to face with a silver object, had me flying straight back into the cabinets again. I covered my mouth quickly screaming into my hands, knuckles white from clamping down so hard, as I remembered my down stairs neighbor. She was such a bitch, that if I was dying she would rather I suffer in silence than have to listen to me. And she wasn't afraid to let me know.

My brain finally began to register the object in front of me. It was a mask; silver, with black angled holes where the eyes would be. It had sharp angles at the bottom jaw, jutting out as if it were a snout and the crest came to 2 points as if it had ears. There were black dreads jutting straight out from the back of its head, with beautifully ornate silver and gold beads clipped over all of them. Most looked old and worn, but some looked newer.

Its body was covered in scales, and it had a light sandy color to its skin, with muddled splotches of mossy green all over. It was wearing armor, but it wasn't metal. It looked to be made of some type of leather, and very simple. The breast plate covered its entire neck and heart, but not its shoulders, and was held up by thin criss-cross straps across its sternum. It had leather Roman looking sandals, but with closed toes, a leather skirt that only covered its hips, and a very large… codpiece. It was definitely a male.

He was crouched in front of me, and I watch as he flexed his hand and shifted forward, noticing my staring. Immediately my hand shot to the closest object near me, and I held it out defensively. The skull wouldn't do much, but if I chucked it, it could at least distract him long enough to let me scramble over the breakfast buffet to the fire escape outside my bedroom window.

"No! You stay right there and don't come any closer!" I yelled, my voice cracking with fear. He tilted his head, dreads slowly swinging behind him, then began looking around the floor. I started to inch toward my escape route, skull still outstretched between us when he suddenly whipped back toward me and snatched the skull out of my hand, forcing me to squeal in protest.

He reached over his shoulder for something that I couldn't see, then stayed crouched there fiddling with the skull as I pressed myself to the corner of the kitchen. I tried to calm my breathing after a few minutes when I realized he wasn't trying to murder me. My heart felt like it was racing a mile per minute, and I could register the glass still pressed under my butt from when I'd first fallen that night. I reached under me and pulled the piece of glass away and inspected it for a moment. It had a piece of my black shirt stuck to it, meaning I most likely cut myself when I fell and had yet to register the sting.

I threw the glass away in surprise as the skull was thrust back into my face. I looked up into the things mask and it tilted its head expectantly. Slowly I reached my hands out, palms facing up and the skull was placed rather forcibly into them. He sat back on his heals and continued to stare at me, so I inspected the skull. The tooth was fixed somehow, and looked as if I 'd never knocked it out. I ran my thumb over it, this time more gently in fear of breaking it again. When it stayed put I rotated the skull to see that the crack at the top was no longer visible. It was amazing that he could fix it back to pristine condition. As I stroked the top of the skull, I heard the deep gurgled purr again.

I looked up at him, wondering why petting a skull would make someone so happy. He was still crouched, but seemed to be sitting taller, with his chest puffed out slightly. I stroked the skull again, and he seemed to lean more toward me the slower my hand moved.

"Thank you." I said, breaking the silence between us, before things could get any weirder. "For giving me the skull. And for fixing it."

He inclined his head toward me, then replayed my sentence back as a reply. It was a little unnerving to hear my own voice speak to me, but I assumed it was the only way he could communicate back. If he was some type of lizard like he looked, I doubted he spoke English fluently. I was a little freaked out knowing that the skull was a real human skull, but he obviously had given it to me for a reason. I decided to put it with my collection for now, then possibly move it somewhere out of sight after he left me alone. Possibly even get rid of it if I was lucky.

I slowly stood up, still eyeing the skull and went to move around the large alien in my kitchen when suddenly he gave a quick roar. The sheer volume of the sound sent me flying backward as I scaled the counter, foot held out between the both of our bodies. I quickly grabbed a cup and hurled it in his direction and screamed as he caught it in his hand, shattering it in the process.

"Holy fuck man! Are you always this high strung!?" I yelled, pushing myself farther into the wall. He tilted his head in my direction, first still balled up by his mask. "Yes you! Who shoved a stick up your ass? I was just tryna put the skull away." Immediately he growled at me, confirming my idea that he understood what I was saying, and let off a few curt clicks and jerky growls. He stood up and moved out of the kitchen entrance, then stared me down as I climbed off the counter to head to the cabinet with my skulls in it.

As I passed by him, I could fully gauge his height. His head grazed the ceiling of my apartment, so I was guessing he stood at almost 8 foot tall, if not taller. His head followed me as I walked toward my cabinet chittering lowly to himself or to me. I wasn't entirely sure. I slid my hand between the wall and the cabinet for the key to unlock the door. Surprisingly it was a genius place to hide a key, no one ever looked right in plain sight. I opened the glass door and prepared to put the skull off to one side where it wasn't as noticeable, when a large hand reached from my peripheral and pushed the center skull on the middle shelf to the side. Immediately I slapped at the appendage mid push, both from fear that he could move so silently, and because he had touched my things without asking. I knew I hadn't hurt him, his arms were as thick as my thighs and probably pure muscle, but he relented anyway opting instead to point at the spot while making another clicking noise.

"Fine, I'll put it in the center. But next time, ask before you just go touching my shit." I said over my shoulder, rearranging the cabinet so the human skull could sit in the center. I stepped back and closed the door, locking it again and eyed the skull warily. It didn't look like a human skull when it was sitting next to the crystal ones, and it did give the cabinet a bit of character, but it still disturbed me a bit knowing it had obviously come from someone. The large alien started purring again. It was a deep gurgling sound that vibrated through my entire body from how close he was standing behind me, and my mind immediately compared it to sitting on a washing machine.

My entire face heated up as I quickly reached behind the cabinet to return the key and side stepped from between the two. I sped walked my way back into the kitchen to grab a cup of water, and noticed the time on the stove. It was already a few minutes passed 2 am. "Well big guy, since I don't have work tomorrow I guess I could try and learn a little bit about you." I said walking into the living room and plopping myself down onto one of the floor pillows, then patted the space in front of me. He stood regarding me for a moment, chattering to himself before finally coming and sitting in front of me on the sheep skin rug. He was still much larger than me sitting down, and he sat close enough that he could read out and grab me without having to lean forward. I wondered if it was a purposeful tactic, of if he just had no personal space.

"First things first then." I said, after he'd gotten himself comfortable. Or as comfortable as I imagined he could be. He sat rigidly across from me, as if ready to jump up and bolt at any minute. "Let's get names out of the way. My name is Grace Walker." I placed my hand on my chest, then gestured toward the alien in front of me. "What's your name? Do you have one?" He tilted his head, beads clacking together behind his head, then thrust his first at his chest making me flinch at the aggressive display.

"Kwei-Bhu'ja." He practically barked, puffing his chest out. I was a little surprised at the actual words coming out of his mouth, half expecting him to still be clicking at me.

"Kwey buja." I replied, about to ask my next question when he practically threw himself at me, growling low. "Kwei-Bhu'ja." He said slowly, hovering aggressively above me. I hesitated a moment, then warily repeated the name again, accentuating the punctuation between the U and J. When I finally said it correctly he backed away from me, to settle into his place as if he'd never lunged at me. I was sweating now, and hesitated to ask more question in fear of insulting him.

"well, um…I know you understand English, but can you speak it as well?" He shook his head at me. This was going to be a fun game of 20 questions then, when the only question I really wanted to know was why he was here. Why he was so interested in me. We sat for a good portion of the night with me asking as many yes or no questions as I could think of. I had learned that he was a hunter, looking for good sport and trophies, and he is from a planet much farther than Pluto, farther even than the galaxy we're in. He also had a ship in the forest where I first heard him purring at me. He was here with 2 other hunters, one named Thwei-Sain'ja, and the other named Kuj'hade. The 2 had stayed on the ship, simply making a pit-stop on Earth. They aren't brothers but are good friends from childhood from what I understood, and I even found out that the skull I had been given was from very recently, and he had considered it a gift. Why, I still wasn't able to figure out though, and I assumed I just wasn't asking the right questions. Either that, or he just had no way of putting it into a simple yes or no answer.

My eyelids began to droop, making me aware of just how early into the morning it was. I needed to shower and take the clothes from yesterday off before I began to stink. I stood slowly, joints popping in protest while Kwei-Bhu'ja tilted his head at me. I was only slightly taller than him, even while he was sitting. As I stretched I noticed him lean toward me slightly and make a quick huffing sound.

The bastard was sniffing me! I stepped back immediately and crossed my arms. "Well you don't have to tell me twice you jerk. I'm going to go wash off, so please don't touch anything in my apartment, and when I come back, I would appreciate it if you didn't go invading my space every ten seconds." I turned quickly, headed toward the bedroom to grab a towel and listened to him make a rapid clicking noise, huffing every few seconds. At least I knew he could laugh, although at my expense.

Before I could even turn the knobs for the shower, there was a quick knock at my front door. I straightened up, having not taken my clothes off yet, and checked my phone on the bathroom counter. It was only 6:30 am. Who the hell would be knocking on my door at this hour? There was another knock, this one heavier, so I turned out of the bathroom and checked the peephole. There was a man outside the door wearing a black suit and sunglasses. I was immediately on high alert. Normal people don't come knocking on your door this early, looking that suspicious right after someone just spent a good few hours semi-talking to an extraterrestrial.

I looked around my living room, noticing that Kwei-Bhu'ja was nowhere to be seen. Nerves calmed slightly, I took a deep breath and let it out as I unlocked the padlock before he could knock again. I swung the door open wide, trying not to seem uncomfortable.

"Hi, before you start I'm really not looking to buy anything. I wish I could, but I don't have the money to right now." I said leaning against the doorway.

He seemed taken aback for a moment before he placed his fingers on the rim of his sunglasses to pull them off. "I'm not here selling anything miss. I'm simply here about a noise complaint we've been getting for the past few days. Would you happen to know anything about it?"

I took in another deep breath trying to calm my nerves and let out a sigh. I stepped toward the man as if I was about to tell him a secret and he shifted uncomfortably, but I could tell he was trying to keep his composure. He was young, possibly mid 20's and was wearing a blue tie. A power color. He definitely didn't feel very powerful in his position, or maybe in his line of work. He sure as hell didn't look like he was investigating a noise complaint.

"Alright, I don't know what she told you, but my downstairs neighbor is a cranky old bitch." I said lowly. "I try to be nice to everyone, believe you me I really do. But she is just impossible to please. I could use my blender and she'd have a fit for crying out loud. She's always banging her broom against her ceiling and yelling through the floor if I come home too late in the night. She's crazy. She's CLEARLY crazy." When I finished, I leaned myself back against the door frame, hoping my display had convinced him at least a little that I had nothing to hide, but i could still feel my palms sweating and my heart beat in my throat.

I watched as he pulled a thick manila folder that he held at his side up to his face. He flipped through a few pages, shifting his eyes up to look at me a few times before the flipped it closed quickly and replaced his sunglasses.

He stepped back slightly before looking at me again. "Hmm. Of course Miss Walker. Well, if you notice anything strange in the future, go ahead and give us a call." And with that he turned and walked away. I waited until he was down the first flight of stairs before throwing the door shut and locking the padlock once again, placing my back against the door. He hadn't handed me a business card at all and he knew my last name. Probably even knew my first name and everything about me by the looks of the folder he was holding. I stepped away from the door and began pacing back and forth in the living room.

He was going to be back. There's no way you have a random conversation with someone like that and not have an ulterior motive behind it. They probably knew that Kwei-Bhu'ja was here on the planet, if not having been in my apartment. I would need to leave states, probably the country if I could get out in time. They'd never let me keep this kind of information to myself. I should have never gone along with the damn alien, regardless if he wasn't trying to kill me or not. I should have taken my chances and just high tailed it out of my apartment. Gone to the police or something at least.

The skulls, all of them. They'd be evidence. They'd ruin my whole collection to get to one simple human skull.

What if they though I killed the person. My body went cold as I turned and looked at the case, the skull glaring me down with its empty sockets. I'd have to get rid of it somehow, but my fingerprints were all over the skull already. I was doomed to rot in a prison cell for the rest of my life if I was lucky. There was a sudden pressure on my neck and I spun around behind me. The momentum made me spin farther than I had intended and I became unbalanced on my feet reaching out to somehow stop my fall, and my hand connected with something warm and hard. I tried focusing my blurry vision, but all I could see were lights reflecting off the surfaces in front of me, like looking through a window after a rainstorm.

I dropped to my knees, and then to my side as I could see the darkness creep in through the corners of my eyes. I was either in shock, or I'm pretty sure someone drugged me. I finally rolled onto my back as I heard the tell tale sound of clicking, the sound bouncing around my head before my vision finally failed me.

"God damn you kwei buja."

Kwei-bhu'ja – Sly-Ghost

Thwei-sain'ja- Blood-Warrior

Kuj'hade- Destroyer

Alright guys, here's a super long one for you for the holidays. Hope you have a wonderful thanksgiving if you celebrate it and have a good holiday season for December. I won't be able to post a whole lot in December, with school finals coming up, and i'll be working more once the quarter is out. I will try to at least write a few paragraphs every chance that i get. This story will also hopefully get much better once all the introductions have been made and we can actually start delving into the true personality of Grace and her new companion.

I'm also trying to decide what direction i want the story to move into as a whole, or if i want it to be just a drabble-ish story to just follow the adventures they have. But we shall see. As always, if you have any ideas about what you think should happen let me know please. Also, thank you to Tenfangirl, miu-sakurai-73 and whoever keeps anonymously reviewing. The continued supports is what drives me! That and my roommate for her wonderful future ideas. :)

Until next time!