Tuesday Tales - Ride

 

Welcome to Tuesday Tales! This week's word prompt is “ride”. We are back with Dani in my new Sci-Fi story. 

Be sure to check out the other Tuesday Tales by clicking here!

“We did not learn much,” Bobo commented. His cat’s eyes narrowed against the glare from the overhead fixture. 

“That we did not,” Dani concurred as she crossed her arms over her chest. “The Vigvuth are looking for something. It’s Egyptian and has to do with books. Somewhere along the line, they wrote clues along with hieroglyphics. It could have been when the pyramids were built or.” She picked up the top book and opened the front cover. She closed it again with a small thud. “1999. We don’t know.”

The alien cocked his head at her. “What do we do now?”

Dani gnawed on her lip as she thought. “Ezra always sits in the library and reads these books. He must be looking for clues to the same thing. Well, Grarkiel is through him. Maybe the system at the library has a list of the books he’s requested. I can check tomorrow while I am working.”

Bobo’s eyes widened to the size of a literal plate. “I get to go for another ride?”

“In my head?” Dani countered. One day of having him stuffed around her brain was enough. She was pretty sure she would never get used to it. 

“Yes.”

“Really? I am certain you would be fine here. I can even leave these books for you.” She waved her hand towards the stack like she had seen the models in game shows do.

“But Grarkiel…”

There was that whimper in his voice. This exterrestrial was playing her like a fiddle. “Fine. Tomorrow you can go with me. Until then, I need to find something to eat and get some sleep. I need to prepare for tomorrow’s migraine.”

She glared at him for a moment then spun on her toe to her minuscule kitchen. 

“May I join you? I am hungry,” a voice called out. 

Dani bit back a sigh. “Of course. Come see what looks good.”

She was nearly knocked down by the streak of magenta that raced past her for the refrigerator. Somewhere between the sofa and the appliance he switched back to his balloon figure. He blinked rapidly at her. He must have been excited. It only confirmed Dani’s suspicions. It was going to be a long night.

Tuesday Tales - Sharp

Welcome to Tuesday Tales! This week's word prompt is “sharp”. We are back with Dani in my new Sci-Fi story. 

Be sure to check out the other Tuesday Tales by clicking here!

Bobo hopped onto the floor, his balloon shapes jiggling as he did so. A second hardly passed before the cat-like alien appeared. He searched the room uncertainly as he bowed his head against the ceiling.

“Is there a problem?” Dani questioned. She fought back the sharp tone in her voice. In her defense, it had been a crazy, long day. 

“I..” Bobo snapped his lips shut into a thin line. The gaze from his gold and green feline eyes darted around the move. With soft, deliberate steps, he shuffled around the table to the sofa. He rustled his robes like a mother hen ruffling her feathers as she settled on her nest full of chicks. Finally, he sat down on a cushion, the heap of books between them.

“Better?” Dani asked. 

“Quite.” Bobo reached for the book by his hip and picked it up. Setting it back down on the tabletop, he used the tip of a claw to pry it open. Dani watched over his shoulder as he flipped through the pages. There were images of gold riches and elaborate crypts on each page. He was nearly halfway through the tome when he stopped. A photo of a stone wall full of etchings appeared. 

“What do you see?” Dani leached over the tiny mountain of pages to stare at it with him. 

He raised a hand to stroke a tuff of neatly trimmed hair that grew there. “Curious. The words scripted into the stone at the bottom of these pictographs tell of a grand place that held many stories. It has long since passed on.”

Dani scowled, puzzled. “A library? A bookstore? Now I get why Ezra keeps checking out books on Egyptian archeology. But why is Grarkiel interested in books? His host surrounds himself with books everyday.”

“According to this, it seems this place of mystery holds more than just volumes of words. It holds the keys to the Vigvuth’s existence.”

“That sounds a bit dramatic.”

Tuesday Tales - Massive

 

Welcome to Tuesday Tales! This week's word prompt is “massive”. We are back with Dani in my new Sci-Fi story. 

Be sure to check out the other Tuesday Tales by clicking here!

Bobbling the massive stack of books on the bus was a challenge. Dani would have brought her backpack with her that morning if she thought she was taking them home. 

Then again, her morning was filled with all sorts of distractions such as a hangover and an alien living in her head. She could probably allow herself some grace.

Elise tried her best to stuff them in one of the handy plastic book bags the library offered to their patrons to take home their borrowed treasures. However, they were typically meant for the visitors who checked out items from the children’s section or only were interested in a paperback novel or two. They weren’t hauling a dozen large photo books and history tomes. The sacks split before Dani took a dozen steps from the desk, spilling the pages onto the tile floor. 

It didn’t help that Bobo bounced around her skull like a squirrel on crack. They would both be glad when he could be free of her head. Whatever he saw in that picture of the hieroglyphics hyped him up. Whether it was excitement or anxiety she couldn’t tell. She just wished he would stop. The latest dose of ibuprofen was wearing off. 

She murmured a thank you to the nice graying gentleman with a cane who held the bus door open until she could step out. She took a second to balance the pile again the best she could before she scuttled up the stairs to her apartment. It took another feat of grace to unlock the door once she arrived. With a sigh of relief, she opened her arms over the couch and let them gently topple onto the soft cushions. 

There was a pressure in her head, much like the one she felt before she left for work that morning. A moment later, a balloon figure shaped like a human toddled across her coffee table. There was clicking like a chipmunk. A voice echoed in Dani’s head. “By stars, how am I to open these?”

“Hold on a sec.” Dani hurried to the windows. She stretched to her tiptoes to reach the fragment of a string tied to the blind. After a few failed attempts, she yanked it closed. She did the same thing with the second window. Flipping on the light, she turned towards Bobo. “You can change form now.” 

Tuesday Tales - White

Welcome to Tuesday Tales! This week's word prompt is “white”. We are back with Dani in my new Sci-Fi story. 

Be sure to check out the other Tuesday Tales by clicking here!

Despite the eerie glow that emitted from the lamps in the library the evening previous, the darkness of night did a bang up job hiding the mess that was left behind. Two or three desks laid on their tops. Bright yellow caution tape surrounded a couple of splintered bookshelves. Books were scattered around them on the floor in all sorts of disjointed positions. Their white pages fanned out of them, causing a sudden rush of panic in Dani’s soul. The written word was important to her. Why hadn’t someone cleaned this up yet?

The concern was replaced with that all too familiar rush of ice in her veins. Here it was. The moment of truth. She glanced around her at the patrons actively avoiding the mess. There were police officers jotting in notebooks and taking photos of the destruction. 

She bit back a sigh of relief. Good. None of them were pointing at her and ripping out a pair of handcuffs from wherever they kept them so they could arrest her. She hurried her steps to the information desk. 

Elise gave her a smile as she approached. Good. It was even more assurance that she was off the hook. 

She swallowed hard to free her voice. Then she struggled to speak. “Good morning. What happened here?”

Elise motioned towards the debris. “Good morning to you, too. You mean all this? Some drunk broke in and trashed the place last night. He was passed out on the floor when the police arrived. He swears it was aliens. From what I heard, he was messed up enough that the cops suspect he had drugs in his system along with the alcohol.”

Dani glanced down at her hand. It was shaking enough to be noticeable. She gripped onto the desktop to make it stop. “I’m surprised security didn’t see it on the camera.”

“That’s just it. The cameras were blacked out. Matt and Eric were on their lunch break and said they didn’t hear a thing. I mean seriously. How do you miss a drunk leveling the main floor of the library? Honestly.”

“He was inebriated and managed to black out the cameras.”

Elise looked up at her from the books she was inspecting then rolled her eyes. “I wish I could say this was the first time this happened. Unfortunately, it’s not.”

Tuesday Tales - Perfect

 

Welcome to Tuesday Tales! This week's word prompt is “perfect”. We are back with Dani and Bobo in my new Sci-Fi story. 

Be sure to check out the other Tuesday Tales by clicking here!

Dani disrobed and stepped under the hot stream of water. Grabbing the shampoo then the soap, she scrubbed herself and dried off in record time. Typically, she would spend a minimum of ten minutes on her hair until it was perfect to her. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. There was no way she would be able to get this curly mess under control in time to leave. Hopefully she wouldn’t scare any of the library guests away.

The library. Last night Grarkiel tore it apart. There were cameras mounted in every corridor that captured every little movement. An alien living within her friend nearly murdered a man within those walls. Would she even have a job when she got there? Or would there be scientists in hazmat suits waiting for her when she arrived like in the movies? 

Her skin prickled in fear at the thought. There was only one way to find out. It was time to face the music and go to work. There was no point to get a tardy on her employment record when she was hauled away to Area 51. Or worse, the looney bin.

She tugged each garment on as fast as she could then raced to the front door. Snatching up her backpack, she reached for the doorknob. 

“Wait, don’t go,” Bobo protested.

Dani turned back for a moment. “I have to go. I’m late.”

“But…” She could have sworn that the cat alien was pouting at her. 

“But what?” Dani nearly growled. It took every ounce of patience to humor him. 

“Let me go with you.”

“I think people would notice the living balloon figure with me.”

“I would hide inside your head like I did before.”

“I don’t think my migraine would like that.”

“Please?”

“Why don’t you just stay here? You can relax, enjoy the sun. I’m sure there is something in the refrigerator you can eat.”

“But what if Grarkiel finds me here?”

Dani twisted the knob and opened the door with a huff. “I doubt he knows you are here.”

“His host brought you here last night.”

Tuesday Tales - Slow

 

Welcome to Tuesday Tales! This week's word prompt is “slow”. We are back with my new Sci-Fi story. 

Be sure to check out the other Tuesday Tales by clicking here!

“This is the reason why I appeared like I did before to you. I thought it would be less scary. Besides, it makes it more difficult for the Grarkiel to find me.”

“You are hardly terrifying when you look like this.”

His frown curved into a small smile. “Thank you. I certainly do not look like a cat. I have no clue what that human thought she was seeing.”

“Hold that thought for a sec.” Dani slapped the couch cushions frantically. She hoped desperately that her phone was lost in the furniture and not at the restaurant. She sighed in relief as her fingers wrapped around the slender piece of hard plastic and rubber. As she looked at the display, her heart slammed in her chest. 

The gigantic numbers glaring at her from in front of a picture of her favorite anime cat told her she was about to be late to work. She glanced around her minute living space. While the knick knacks and doodads she brought with her made her space feel homey in her standards, she was lacking some vital things. At the top of the list was a clock. Her cell phone was her only source of time.

Granted, with the hangover she had, she was surprised that she didn’t oversleep. “I have to go.”

“But the thought I was supposed to hold?” Bobo objected. 

Dani sprang from the couch to race to her room. She stopped for a moment. The residual alcohol and her pounding migraine left her swaying instead of hurrying. She rubbed her forehead as she took slow, steady steps down the hallway. 

She rummaged through her dresser for a clean change of clothes. She was going to have to take the fastest shower of her life to catch the bus and speed was not in her wheelhouse this morning. She turned her attention back to the living room. “Your species is far more intelligent than humans, right? Use our internet to look up a Sphynx cat.”

Dani stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. She stared at the knob for a long, hard moment before locking it. Bobo seemed completely harmless. That didn’t mean she wanted him in the bathroom with her to ask more questions. 

Tuesday Tales - Child

 

Welcome to Tuesday Tales! This week's word prompt is “child”. We are back with Dani and Bobo in my new Sci-Fi story. 

Be sure to check out the other Tuesday Tales by clicking here!

“Explain this to me. Why do I hear you over there chattering away like an angry chipmunk who has lost its nuts. But in my head, I comprehend you perfectly, Bob…Bob…”

“Boboneth.”

“Boboneth. Is it alright if I call you Bobo? Boboneth is a lot to remember, especially when my head is pounding like this.”

“Of course. Bobo will be fine.”

“Why can I hear you in my mind?”

“I am able to translate my words then send them telepathically to your mind. It’s one of the many skills I possess.”

“What are others?”

“I can change my shape.”

“This isn’t how you normally look?”

“No.” 

Boboneth hopped off the coffee table to the floor, out of sight of Dani’s gaze. There were flickers of bright light. A moment later, a tall, slender being grew from where he had been. It had almost metallic, emerald green leathery skin. It had the face like one of the hairless cats Dani’s least favorite aunt called her children. At the tip of what should have been a cat's ear was something akin to a ram’s horn. It was dressed in a deep purple robe trimmed in gold and heart shaped, iridescent stones. It had to dip its head and shoulders to avoid colliding with Dani’s ceiling. 

Boboneth turned to her and grinned a feline smile. “This is my normal appearance.”

Dani’s eyes widened. “Wow. I didn’t expect that. Do you change into this often?”

Boboneth gave her a pout. “The only time before this was the last opportunity I tried to escape. An elderly lady saw me like this. She hit me with her shoe and shouted ‘bad kitty’ at me.”

Dani bit back a laugh. The image in her head of Bobo being shooed away with a shoe was hilarious. However, the mournful look in his big, yellow eyes said he didn’t feel the same way. “I’m sorry that happened to you. That woman was just awful.”

Tuesday Tales - Child

 

Welcome to Tuesday Tales! This week's word prompt is “child”. We are back with Dani and Bobo in my new Sci-Fi story. 

Be sure to check out the other Tuesday Tales by clicking here!

Dani scowled at it then turned towards her end table. A glass of water and a bottle of ibuprofen waited for her. She spun back to the little child-like creature. She cringed. That was a bad idea. 

“What are you? Who are you?” she pried as she pressed her fingers to her temple. 

“My name is Boboneth and I am from the planet of Inqet.”

“Wait. Were you the thing I felt in my head?”

“Yes. I apologize for that. I found the first moment I could escape and took it.”

“It’s alright.” She rubbed the flesh beneath her fingertips hoping it would help get rid of the pain just a tiny bit. It did not. “What were you escaping from?”

“Grarkiel.”

“You’re going to have to give me more than that.”

“Grarkiel is a general for the Vigvuth. They kidnapped me from my home light years ago. I have been attempting to get out ever since.”

“Grarkiel? Is that the smoke thing that was coming out of Ezra?”

“One in the same.”

“You were inside him, and he was inside Ezra.”

“Correct.”

“It sounds like the nesting dolls from hell.”

“I don’t understand what you are saying.”

“Nevermind.” Dani pushed herself up until she was sitting upright. Reaching for the bottle of pills, she popped the top off and shook a couple free. Once she swallowed them with a healthy gulp of water, she cleared her throat and continued.  “Why is Grarkiel here?”

“There are more Vigvuth here than Grarkiel. I can guess that, just like him, they feed on innovent humans. But past that, I do not know his plans on this planet.”

“You were inside him. You never heard his thoughts or what he said to others?”

“I had no access to his thoughts. I am unable to interpret his dialect. I am versed only in the ancient Vigvuthian writings and speech.”

“But you understand me.”

“English is a far simpler language. It is much easier to decipher.”

“Should I be offended?”

“Probably.”

Tuesday Tales - Silly

 

Welcome to Tuesday Tales! This week's word prompt is “silly”. We are back with my new Sci-Fi story. 

In this excerpt, I'm introducing a new character, Boboneth - or Bobo for short. The photo below gives you an idea of what he looks like but in a humanoid form. (Please disregard the Lokis pruning each other in the background.)

Be sure to check out the other Tuesday Tales by clicking here!

Someone needed to shut off the sun. 

Dani clenched her eyes closed to try to block out the bright light. It didn’t help whatsoever. Her head pounded so hard it felt like it was a drum and someone was performing a drum solo. The pressure she felt the night before was gone. Maybe her migraine released itself and joined her hangover. 

She didn’t remember much of the walk home. Was Ezra still there? Was she actually home? She was dressed and whatever she was lying on felt like her couch.

The margarita didn’t make the horror she witnessed disappear. Ezra said that smoke thing that came from him, that wanted to eat that poor guy, was not from this world. Was he telling her the truth? Aliens weren’t real, were they?

She heard chattering and squealing from the other side of where she believed her coffee table was. Great. She had the headache of a lifetime and there was a squirrel in her living room. 

She froze as a voice filled her mind as she listened to the squawking. “Ezra left a glass of fluid and brown tablets near your head for you.”

Her eyes popped open. The sunshine made her wince. A stab of pain filled her skull. It didn’t stop her from gaping at the creature she found standing on the coffee table.

It was a magenta balloon sculpture of a stick person with a head way too large, including knots at the end of its arms and legs. There were two black dots and a half moon grin embedded in its face. Dani guessed it had to be a foot and a half tall. 

Of course, that was if the silly little thing was real. Her hangover must have made her delusional. 

“You are just a figment of my imagination. Once I get up and take some pain medication and get some water, you’ll disappear.”

The balloon figure stomped an inflated foot and clenched its knots to its hips. “I am not an illusion.” It gestured towards her head. “And what you wish for is right there.”