I worried what Jeff could do with all those weapons, but had no way to get them.

I remained obediently frozen, claws raised, staring at the guns pointed at my head.

A tattoo of a scorpion curled around the leader's gun wielding forearm. I complimented him about it. "We have not yet had a formal introduction. My name is Erni..."

Despite having developed the technology to travel across great distances in space, it seemed humans still clung to the primitive superstition that says a person's name has magical powers. Whether they held this belief consciously or unconsciously, it persisted.

Even now, the man appeared to struggle with a concern that disclosing his name would give me power over his soul. "It's Snake."

It seemed I still would not have power over his soul, but at least I had a word with which to describe him. I smirked. "Nice to meet you, Snake."

An awkward silence followed.

"I mean you no harm. I have sworn an oath before God to never consume human flesh."

The guns lowered slightly.

"That's not what you said when you ripped a chunk out of my husband's chest!" Jeff shouted.

The men nearly shot me.

"I was delivering the children from the hands of a wicked man!" I protested.

"Who are you to say what's evil! You slashed my man open like a side of beef! And for what? Because he's gay?"

I turned to face Snake. "His friend is in the practice of placing his penis—"

Before I could finish, Jeff yelled, "Could you please just blow the fucker's brains out already? The homophobe killed my husband just for being nonbinary!"

"Shut up!" Snake yelled. "I'm thinking! Everybody just chill for a minute! Nobody fire!"

I breathed a sigh of relief.

The dark man eyed me with suspicion for a moment, then knelt in front of Timmy. "Hey, how long you been hanging around with that thing?"

Timmy shrugged, but said nothing.

"It never tried to bite you or nothin'?"

The boy slowly shook his head. Rebecca shook her head too. This made my heart glad.

Snake turned back around, giving me appraising but wary looks.

His gun lowered slightly. "You really wouldn't harm a person." A questioning tone. Skeptical. "This isn't some bullshit trick where you use those kids as bait for your Martian buddies."

"No, I'd rather bait humans into bible study."

"Great," Jeff growled. "Even aliens have their version of Fred Phelps."

Snake let out a short braying laugh.

"That man Jeff isn't the children's father. Do not trust him."

The mirth dropped from Snake's face. "Yeah? Tell me something. Why the hell should I trust you over him?"

"Two Latin connectives..." I spoke with caution, to avoid prying ears. "Pedos. Philia."

Snake swallowed hard, baggy eyelids widening in dismay.

His bloodshot pupils slowly swept sideways, edging over his shoulder, but he didn't turn his head, hiding his uncomfortable expression from Jeff. "I'll look into it."

Cagey. This man truly lived up to his reptilian nickname.

I felt hopeful.

"Don't listen to that motherfucker!" Jeff yelled. "You're better off putting a bullet through his head!"

"Yo!" Snake barked. "I thought I told you to shut the fuck up!"

"Begging your pardon, sir," said the big bearded man. "But why aren't we blowing this thing's head off?"

"Reynold, tell me something. What is a dog?"

Reynold furrowed his brow, not comprehending the question. "Dogs...are harmless pets."

"No. Dogs are deadly pack animals that have evolved into harmless pets through a million year process of domestication."

Reynold frowned. "I don't believe in evolution."

Not currently being allowed to speak, I smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

"Then join that thing's bible study, I don't give a fuck. You asked for an explanation, I answered. Dogs used to be wolves. This thing speaks English. This could be a game changer."

"And when you turn your back, it eats you."

Snake didn't let that comment stop him. "Are you aware that armies have successfully used trained dogs to plant explosives on the undersides of tanks and other military vehicles?"

A man with a cowboy mustache and glasses scoffed. "Those were great until they got scared and ran back to their masters just seconds before detonation."

Snake took a deep breath. "So we'll have to be extra careful with this thing."

"Good sir!" I told Snake. "I do not appreciate the utilitarian implications of this discussion!"

The expression on his face told me both that I had no say in the matter, and that he needed a dictionary.

To justify myself, I added, "As long as the children are in safe hands, and the plan is reasonable, I am more than willing to cooperate with whatever operation you see fit. I only request that you speak to me more respectfully."

"Respect is not given, ET. It is earned."

I sighed. "Very well. What must I do to earn it?"

He folded one arm across his chest, holding a fist to his chin as his eyes narrowed to little slits.

A storage room lay near the entrance of the far right end of the base. Snake had drawn up a map and sent me down there with an empty supply cart, a key, and a shopping list.

Razors, combs, soap, shaving cream, toilet paper, explosives. In that order.

Instructions on how to feed chickens had been helpfully included at the bottom. It surprised me as much as you to find out they had any.

They gave me a cel phone radio to keep in contact with the team, let me through the barricade, and I pushed my cart down the hallway.

Free from human liabilities, my journey was not in any way noteworthy. The passage of my cart, though observed by many Ss'sik'chtokiwij, only inspired idle curiosity. They stared at me for a few moments, then went away.

A couple spoke to me, a young adult with a shell bearing a subtle wood grain-like pattern, and a larva with a butterfly shaped marking on its back.

"What's all this?" Ms. Butterfly asked as she examined the cart.

"It's a tool. It allows me to carry many objects at once."

She stared in amazement. "Oh! What are you carrying?"

"Nothing yet. But I hope to start collecting things soon."

"What are you collecting?"

"Human things are very clever and innovative. Do you know what an Ironclad is?"

The baby Ss'sik'chtokiwij shook her head, so I explained the fascinating ancestor of the modern submarine.

"That is indeed fascinating. If I find any of these `rivers' or `Ironclads,' I'll be sure to let you know."

But Woodgrain Ss'sik'chtokiwij said, "The idea of food doing such things turns my stomach."

I shrugged. "My stomach may be stronger than yours. It does not bother me at all."

I pushed the cart onwards.

The storage vault lay a few rows over from the `Pirate Cave', which explained the source of the illicit goods. A gray undecorated place, divided down the middle by a thin metal fence.

Along one side, lay the various toiletries, tampons, maxi pads, deodorant, and some items on my list, plus cleaning chemicals for lubricant based commodes, glue, screwdrivers, and other things.

I loaded the cart with the requested supplies, then frowned when I stood before the chicken farm.

A Ss'sik'chtokiwij had broken in already, ripping a hole through the fence, killing and devouring a number of fowl. Bloody feathers, severed wings, feet and feathery heads with wire goggles lay scattered on a bed of gravel.

I pushed the talk button on the phone. "It doesn't look like there's much here to feed, Snake. Ss'sik'chtokiwij have made short work of your hens."

I sent him some pictures of the damage.

I got answered by swearing. "Just...take a look around and see if there's anything alive down there."

He paused for a moment. "You didn't eat any of them, did you, Ernie?"

"No sir. I'm still full from the child molester."

I almost thought I heard chuckling. Then, away from the mouthpiece, I heard him swearing again.

Snake returned to the mouthpiece. "I'm...going to pretend you didn't say that."

I searched the area, but only found one chicken, which had been feeding off of other dead chickens. That's generally not good for them, I've heard, but a chicken is a chicken. "I've found one."

A long pause on the other end of the line. "Tell you what. See if you can grab it and put it in one of those cages, take along a bag of feed. We'll figure something out."

[0000]

"Where are the children?"

"They're with Reynold. They're fine. Now get the chicken, and don't forget the explosives."

The nervous, fidgety hen jumped back, its wings, although clipped, propelling it away from me swiftly.

"Buck buck?" I called to the chicken, but it kept jumping away from me, shedding feathers everywhere.

"Buck buck?"

I chased the fickle creature around and around for roughly ten minutes. The place provided many obstacles for it to hide behind, and inside, ones I couldn't quite reach through far enough. It's likely this advanced skill in evasion had preserved its life up until this point.

I expressed my difficulty to the human in charge.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me! You want me to believe that you, one of those things that can pop down from the ceiling and rip someone apart before they even have a chance to blink, can't catch a fucking chicken?"

"It's very fast."

"Oh my God, it's not brain surgery! Just get some fucking bird seed and throw it in a cage!"

I did what he suggested.

It took time for the bird to accept the bait, and even more to enter the confines of the wire cage I had selected for it, but the creature amused me, so I exercised patience.

I think it must have warmed to me, for, although its head turned upwards many times to look at me, and still tended to resort to cannibalism, it went back to pecking the seed.

At last, it waddled inside the enclosure. I snapped the door just seconds before it jumped back.

The bird went wild, flying every which way inside this little box, but for naught. I had it.

I loaded the creature into the cart, along with two bags of seed, clucking at her in attempts to communicate.

The explosives had been stored in a vault, basically a giant safe containing shelves of fat metal suitcases, secured with an electronic lock. They'd given me a code, of course.

I asked Snake if he needed the suitcase labeled Sony Detonators, but he said no, he already had a few Playstation controllers on hand for that purpose.

I squeezed a few seismic survey charges into the cart and locked up, pushing the whole mess up the hallway.

I gazed at the chicken, pleased by its odd clucking sounds and jerky motions. The eyewear looked unnecessarily cruel, but Snake told me it prevented its eyes from being pecked out.

"Buck buck buck."

I decided to name it Camilla, in honor of that hen that wandered around with the cows in Rosedale Square.

Snake decided it probably should have a name, since we couldn't afford to turn the only hen on the base into something "Original or extra tasty crispy."

Now that I bore live cargo, my passage attracted a bit more attention than before, but when the other Ss'sik'chtokiwij saw the noise had been generated by a twelve inch animal, they gradually lost interest.

Barricades had been hastily erected from loose materials around the base. Corrugated metal roofing panels, bed frames, pressure doors, sheets of construction material, flooring, bits of ceiling paneling, big sections of pipe, layered to discourage melting attacks.

Things got a little trickier around the main entrance. Six young adults lurked hungrily outside, waiting for any break they could find in the humans' defenses.

I pushed the cart between a pair of them, knocked on the makeshift structure the humans had built as sort of a gate, informing Snake about the predicament.

Swearing ensued. "Man, just kill the motherfuckers!"

I considered sharing minds with the other Ss'sik'chtokiwij, but I thought that might put the chicken in danger.

I stood close to the entrance, sizing up my opponents.

Smaller than I. This might just work.

"The humans in there are mine," I growled as menacingly as possible. "I will have first pick of them, to lay my eggs!"

I roared at them. "Back off! Return to your nests!"

They backed away for a few feet, but retreated no further.

"When I am finished, I shall open this thing for you to all feed."

The Ss'sik'chtokiwij let out low growls, leaving the gate alone. It seemed I'd convinced them.

I spoke into the phone. "All clear. Be quick and you shall all be unharmed."

Silence answered me.

I thought for a moment that the phone had died, but then Snake asked, "Did you kill them?"

"I negotiated."

"I don't like how that sounds."

I sighed. "There is a time for war, and a time for peace. I have practiced a deception, so we must hurry. Your gate must open fast, and close just as quickly."

"Whoa! Wait just a damn minute here! Are you trying to boss me around?"

"I am instructing you, sir. For your safety. I have a plan, but I need your cooperation in order for it to be safely accomplished."

"The last guy who instructed me like that got his ass beat!"

"I am sorry. But I am on the outside of this wall, and you are not. I assume you want this cartful of supplies, and a live chicken?"

"You sure got some balls, ET."

"Respect is not given. It is earned."

"All right, asshole. But if you fuck this thing up, and someone dies, let's just say we're going to find out what color your brains are."

The gate, a reinforced pressure door they had removed from its frame, triple reinforced with pieces of metal, they drew back with a primitive door handle.

The moment this crude contrivance had been drawn back, I immediately shoved the cart through the opening.

Taking advantage of the momentary lapse, one of my aunts got bold and jumped on the cart, a second eagerly following.

Someone on the other side of the cart let out a scream, firing their pistol.

Before things could get out of hand, I grabbed the offending Ss'sik'chtokiwij by the tail, using all my strength to hurl it to the floor outside the barricade.

Not easy.

To put it in human terms: Like throwing a full grown Saint Bernard with barbells strapped to its back. It felt like I would throw mine out in the attempt.

Understandably, the Ss'sik'chtokiwij did not go far.

The other Ss'sik'chtokiwij I struck and shoved down.

"Mine!" I shrieked at them both. "Wait!"

The cart went all the way in. I tried to follow, but the humans tried to smash me with the door. It hurt.

I squeezed in anyway, shouting, "It's me!" and "I come in peace!"

The door slammed shut. The thwarted Ss'sik'chtokiwij banged on the barrier.

We stood in an inner section of corridor, the same group of gunmen surrounding me, pointing their weapons, staring at me, staring at the cart.

To my relief, I found both Timmy and Rebecca present, though carefully guarded by Jeff, Reynold, and Mustache Guy.

Snake walked around the cart a couple times, checking everything. He paused, gave me several dramatic claps. "You pulled it off. I admit I was skeptical, but you got the job done!...Kind of wish you could have killed a few of those fuckers, but I guess we'll have to work on that one."

"You ask me to shoot my own family. Can you understand how that can be difficult for me?"

He scowled. "So what are you saying? If one of them things got in here, you'd just let it kill us? I thought you liked people!" He reconsidered his words. "No, not liked. You valued human life, so you swore not to eat them. Am I right or am I right?"

I nodded.

"So, what, is this like some kind of buffet line?" He spoke in falsetto. "No, no. I'm a vegetarian. You guys go on ahead." Then, talking normally..."That's not how it is, is it? Because if that's your game, I can shoot you right now."

I sighed. "I have killed my own kind before. Although it is not a task I relish, I will kill a Ss'sik'chtokiwij if I perceive that human lives are in danger."

Snake shook his head in disbelief. "Our lives are in danger. Right now. Those damn things are right outside the door!"

"You are safe. If one of them gets in here, and I cannot drive them out, if they try to kill someone, I will defend that person to the death."

"What about me?" Jeff called. "You gonna defend me to the death?"

I did not answer. Although as a Christian, I was obligated to forgive him, if he touched the children perversely again, there would be consequences.

Snake ignored him as well. "So, you're saying that if I go out there, and stick my head in the mouth of one of those things, you'd kill it to save me."

"No. Because that would be foolish."

The expression on Snake's face, and the pause that followed it seemed to indicate he plotted a scheme to make me murder my own kind. I silently prayed that such a scheme would be thwarted without loss of life to either side.

Suddenly, the children yelped.

I turned my head just in time to see Jeff dragging them behind a shelving unit.

Timmy yelled. Rebecca cried out for help.

"They're screaming for a good reason," I warned. "Won't you please do something?"

"I'll handle it. In the meantime, we need to figure out what to do with you."

I shook my head and sighed as Jeff dragged the children screaming out the door.

Snake crossed both arms, took a deep breath, and blew a raspberry. "Let's give these...`negotiation skills' of yours a little more practice."