Tuesday Tales - Leafy

 

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

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

Bobo tapped a little knotted foot on the cover of one of Dani’s borrowed archeology books. At his size, it was probably more like stomping. “Why not?”

“Because it will be a challenge for my Dad to understand why there is an male alien living with me in my apartment. That’s way too many questions for me to answer right now. So please, just hide or something?” She set the computer down then lifted the lid. The machine powered on. Once she entered the password on the home screen, she clicked on the browser then found the website she typically video chatted to her parents from. 

“I still cannot understand why I cannot be part of this conversation,” Bobo muttered loud enough for her to hear.

Dani watched him as she huffed. Without thinking, she clenched her fists to her hips. “There are way too many shows and movies about humans and extraterrestrials…” her words faded for a moment as she pondered the right phrase to use. “Hooking up.”

“Hooking up?”

“Having relations.”

“Being friends?”

Dani huffed. “Having sex.”

If the balloon shape had eyes, they were now wide as the planet he came from. “We are not doing that.”

“Yeah, but human dads jump to conclusions. I live in the big city now. My parents worry about me. I’m not very experienced and they would automatically assume…plus, you’re a walking, talking toy for the most part…” She shook her head. “I don’t know why I am explaining this.” Her fingers flew across the keyboard, ending with a stroke of emphasis on the return key. She forced a smile on her face. “Hey, Dad.”

“Hey, Pumpkin Pie. How’s my girl?”

Dani glanced over at Bobo. He found shelter beneath one of her plants, a leafy stem draped over his head like a hat. “I’m good, Dad. But I need help.”

Her father’s countenance grew stern. “Do you have a friend there?”

She shook her head maybe a little too hard. There was a tiny hiss of dissent from the direction of the plant. “No. Why do you ask?”

“I saw to look away like someone was there with you.”

“It was just a bird on the window sill.”

Tuesday Tales - Golden

 

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

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

This was beyond Dani’s expertise. She was way over her head. 

The closest she ever got to becoming an engineer was the class she had to take in the Engineering building at her college when there was a leak in the roof of the library. Even then, reading the group projects and bulletin boards in the hallways proved she was out of her element. 

She sighed as she studied the disassembled party light laying on her coffee table. All this confused her. However, it was the only way to keep her, Bobo, maybe even Ezra, safe from Grarkiel and the Vigvuth. She had to try.

She stared at the knotted nest of wires. A golden iridescent lens sat wedged beneath the pile and the metal box that contained the laser apparatus. She left the red, green and blue ones in the crinkled cardboard she tossed underneath the table.

Bobo wandered through the mess in his balloon man form. He rubbed the bottom of his round rubber head with the knotted end of one arm as if he were analyzing the components. 

“I have no idea what I’m doing,” Dani murmured.

All she got out of Bobo was a “hmmm”.

She cocked her head as she watched him. “You’re from another planet. You probably understand technology like this.”

The extraterrestrial stared at her. “Oh, no. This machine is too primitive. I am unable to determine how it operates. It would be like how you would comprehend the wheel. Or fire.”

“Sure thing, smarty pants.” Dani stood then crossed the room to her laptop. 

“What are you going to do?” Bobo queried. 

Dani grinned at him. “I’m going to consult the expert. I’m going to video chat with my Dad. You’re going to want to keep out of sight. He won’t get a little balloon guy wandering around my apartment.”

“Maybe I should return to my natural form.”

“Definitely not that.”

Tuesday Tales - Cool

 

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

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

That was all Ezra knew about the Prince’s origins. The monarch himself was almost always quiet, tucked away in a part of his skull, more fluid than the smoky existence of Grarkiel and his posse. He never said much. He just stayed to himself. 

That was until he escaped Grarkiel’s grasp the night Dani found them all in the library. Prince Boboneth was now safe with her, away from the hellscape he endured with Grarkiel. 

A cool breeze crept across the back of Ezra’s neck. It set off a full body shiver within him and dragged him from his thoughts. It was then that he noticed a tiny pair of feet wrapped in white tights and cradled in black leather Mary Janes standing next to him. He didn’t have to look up to know who they belonged to. He swallowed hard. What was he supposed to say? 

“Are you okay?” Dani asked, her voice barely a whisper.

“Are you?” Ezra countered, his gaze fixed to the floor.

“I’m okay.”

He let go a shaky sigh. “Me too, I guess. About last night…”

“It’s okay,” she interrupted.

He snapped his head up to look her in the eyes. “It was far from okay. How do I even apologize for it?”

She glanced away from him. He could see her hand tremble beneath the other one that clasped it tight. His heart sank to the pit of his stomach. He hated Grarkiel for terrifying her. He hated himself even more for not fighting back harder for her. 

She would never trust him. He couldn’t live with himself for that. 

“I suppose I should get back to work,” she began. “There’s a big event today for the children’s reading program.”

“I noticed it was busy over there,” Ezra replied.

“I wanted to make sure you were alright.”

“I am. Thank you.”

“Okay. Well, bye.”

“Bye.”

Tuesday Tales - Bland

 

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

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

He wasn’t sure why the Prince’s life was spared other than the monarch’s planet was the only one the Vigvuth could not annihilate. They may have appeared to be foggy squid, but they acted like locusts. On most worlds, they could ravage the crops and drain most of the water supplies on the surface. 

When they attempted to do the same on the Prince’s planet, the residents there would grow it back in a matter of moments. Their lakes and rivers refilled themselves. In Ezra’s mind, he would have thought they would have settled there and tried to coexist with those who called it home. 

Instead the Vigvuth made demands of the inhabitants. To make sure they got what they wanted, their finishing salvo was to kidnap the heir apparent. 

What the Vigvuth did to the poor boy made Ezra’s stomach churn. He dug his hand into the pocket of his hoodie until he pulled free a nacho chip then popped it in his mouth. Maybe a taste of his favorite treat would settle his belly. He cringed at the taste of it. After one of Grarkiel’s takeovers, everything was bland for a day or two.

He wasn’t part of the picture at that point. It would be a hundred years before Grarkiel would kidnap him and make Ezra’s head his new residence. However, to keep Ezra in line, the extraterrestrial played the torture over and over in Ezra’s mind. First, to keep the Prince’s army from following them, they beat him until he was almost dead. That destroyed the tracker that had been implanted in the Prince since birth. Then, they pumped him full of some substance. The fella screamed and sobbed for days afterwards.

Once he settled, he was able to change shape. None of his subjects could do the same. There was something in the solution that was injected into him that gave him the new ability. It made him indistinguishable from the mercenaries that were enslaved to Grarkiel. 

Tuesday Tales - Easy

 

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

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

Ezra couldn’t curl up in a tighter ball if he were made of rubber.

The library was the last place he wanted to be. After last night, he never wanted to step in the building again. How could he face Dani? As far as she was concerned, he wanted to kill her. There was no way she would believe it was Grarkiel in control. He tried to stop the parasite inside him. Needless to say, he failed. 

He thought the last guy was the only one who would escape Grarkiel. No one had since he and the alien had been joined into one entity. 

Then Dani got away, too. Even worse, or better depending on who was asked, she destroyed a few of Grarkiel’s henchmen. Everyone who called his brain home had been in a sheer panic state since. Ezra had never seen them like that before. It came with its consequences. When Grarkiel was terrified, he made everyone experience pain. Ezra was on the top of the list. 

It was far from an easy night. The final torture forced Ezra to dress and come here against his will. It was going to be such a fun day. 

He glanced up from underneath the hood of his sweatshirt to search for Dani. He would go to great lengths to avoid her. How could he explain? He could apologize but how would that go? Sorry for trying to kill her?

He felt a flurry of tremors just above his right ear. The lost souls that served Grarkiel were out of their minds freaked out. It was understandable. Not all of them were bad when their bodies were brutally murdered and their souls were assimilated into their murderer. A few of them were warriors who attempted to defend their home world when the Vigvuth attacked and decimated the planet. Even as spirits they fought against his grip. Grarkiel was unbelievably cruel. The torture he subjected them to turned them into his mercenaries eager to do his fatal bidding. 

There was only one being Grarkiel abducted without ending their existence first. The Prince. After the pain the poor guy went through, he probably wished he had died. 

Ezra smiled to himself. He was glad the Prince escaped. 

Tuesday Tales - Thrust

 

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

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

Bobo closed the volume on his lap and let out what Dani guessed was a sigh. “Elaborate, please.”

Dani gave him a small smile. “I had a professor in college who mentored me as I got my degree. He has a brother who leads a team of archeologists. I showed some interest in history and antiques during one of my classes. My teacher told me that if I were ever interested in looking at a dig site firsthand, he would reach out and set up a visit for me. I am going to send him an email and see where his sibling and the archeology team might be. If they are in Egypt, I…” Her voice trailed off as she stared at his cat-like face. She coughed a little to clear her throat and spoke again. “We will go there. Maybe they can take us to the sites in this book.”

“I will be able to read the words we are missing.”

“Exactly.”

There was a pause before Bobo spoke again. “Until then, can we eat?”

Dani smirked at him. “Are you hungry?”

“We did not eat at the restaurant. You ran out before we could.”

“For one, I was running for my life. Also, how were you going to eat? Do you consume what I do? What kind of relationship do we have?”

Bobo shook his head. His words came out as sort of a whine. “You are correct. I do not. I am just really hungry.”

Dani tapped on the keyboard for a few more seconds. Heaven forbid her little buddy be hungry. “Let me send this email and I will go make a quick supper. Anything particular you want?”

“Pizza.”

Dani chuckled. “Of course. Coming right up.” She set her computer down on the coffee table then closed its lid. She shuffled off to the kitchen, flipping the knob on the preheat it. As she unwrapped the frozen pizza she tried to feel like it was just a normal night in her little apartment. 

Unfortunately, as each day passed, things were further and further from normal. She had been thrust into something beyond her control. Her life would never be the same.

Tuesday Tales - Now

 

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

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

Dani and Bobo settled on the sofa and picked up a volume each. Dani flipped through the satiny pages as fast as she could until she found the hieroglyphics her and the alien had found the day before. 

“Now, can you translate these again?” she asked him. “This time I’m going to write it down. Maybe it will finally make sense to us.”

Bobo scooped the book from her hands and scanned the photo, his feline nose just inches from the picture. He let out a few mews and growls. Then it sounded like he was trying to cough up a furball, even though he was without a scrap of fuzz. Was he attempting to clear his throat?

“It speaks of a building full of knowledge in the desert.” His voice trailed off into silence.

“What else does it say?” Dani insisted. “Why did you stop?”

He blinked his large, green eyes at her. “That was all that it said. It seems the rest of the message wasn’t part of the image.”

“But it should be there?”

“I would assume. However, assumptions can be dangerous.”

Dani pressed her lips in a tight, thin line. Bobo was growing on her, but he could be exhausting. “That is true. You are right. What does your book say?”

He thumbed through the tome on his lap until he came to the section they had studied before. “The only word that is able to be translated is treasure,” he replied.

“So there is a building of knowledge in the desert and there is some sort of treasure. Is it a university? A bookstore? Some sort of school? And what desert?” Dani mused out loud.

Bobo shook his head. “I do not know.”

Dani picked up the picture book on her lap and set it on the coffee table. She then reached for her laptop.

“I thought we were looking at the hieroglyphics," Bobo protested.

“We are.” Dani clicked the mouse a few times then started typing. “However, books are only going to do so much. We may have to go to the source and I may have a way to get there.”

Tuesday Tales - Pearl

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

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

She found her favorite browser and then typed in the words “party laser lights for sale”. As the retail websites appeared on her screen, she clicked on each link to open them. 

Her eyes widened. This was engineering far past her librarian brain. She may have to reach out to her dad for help. How was she going to tell him why she wanted to tear apart the machine she just ordered for the units inside? 

She smiled to herself. She would tell him that she needed it for a Children’s Program at the library. Completely believable.

Bobo dragged a pearl white claw across the back of her hand to get her attention. Why he was still in cat form, she had no clue. “Again,” he hissed. “What are you searching for?”

“Wouldn’t you be more comfortable in your normal form?” she countered.

“No. Like this, I have these.” Suddenly, his uplifted paw had a full set of claws.

“That’s a good point.”

“Your pun is unfunny.”

Dani shrugged as she chuckled. After the night she had, she thought it would be years before she would laugh again. “These are the types of lasers that cut Grarkiel’s mercenaries in half. If I can mount them to something, I might be able to make a weapon to protect myself. And you.”

“I appreciate the fact that you want to protect me.” Bobo fluttered his cat eyes closed. When he reopened them, his head bumped the ceiling. Dani’s words must have put him at ease because he was back to his old self.

Dani added two of the packages to her cart. She reached into her purse, pulled out her credit card, and typed in the number and her address. Hopefully her landlord didn’t see the boxes arrive. She didn’t want the poor guy to think she was having a rager in her tiny apartment. “Anytime. What would my life be like without you? Now, let’s look at those archaeology books again. Something tells me we were getting close to the truth about the Vigvuth.”

Tuesday Tales - People

 

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

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

Dani leaned against her apartment door for several moments after she slammed it shut. She gulped down breath after breath as she tried to calm her stampeding heart. 

She was on high alert the entire trip from the bar to her apartment. She watched for clouds of displaced alien souls to zoom over the heads of the people on the bus. She searched the streets for any sign of Ezra. 

Fortunately for her, the journey back to her place was far less eventful that the time she spent downtown. 

There was the increasingly familiar pressure in her skull. Something told her that her constant companion was going to be less than thrilled with the events that took place. 

Her suspicions were confirmed by hiss that followed the thud of Bobo hitting the floor of the living room. He spun at her with glowing green eyes, choosing to take the shape of a feline instead of changing to his true form or the balloon figure he usually transformed into. He must have looked up a Sphinx cat like she told him to because he didn’t have a scrap of fur on him.

“That…boy…is bad news,” he chided Dani. “We must stay away from him.”

“I don’t know how I can do that,” Dani countered. She reached behind her back to fumble with the lock. Once it was secure, she lunged across the living room for her laptop. “I still have to go to work and he is always there. I’m going to bet he will stay far away from me, though. Tonight will make things awkward between us to say the least.”

“He did try to kill you.”

“Hence the awkwardness.” Dani flipped open the top and powered it on. She logged on past the home screen and clicked on a browser. 

“What are you searching for?” Bobo queried. 

Tuesday Tales - Violent

 

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

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

There were a few cheers from those in the vicinity of the sort of violent death of the cloud mercenary. They must have assumed it was part of the show. Dani ducked and wove as she tried to get a look at Ezra. There was an expression of horror, the relief, then something that resembled determination. As the emotions played on his face, she noticed his eyes change color. 

Grarkiel must have lost control on her friend for a moment. He had it back for now but for how much longer. 

“He’s not your friend,” Bobo nearly shouted in her head to be heard over the music. 

“I thought you couldn’t read my thoughts,” Dani countered. A couple of patrons beside her gave her a weird look. Yup, the crazy lady was talking to herself. 

“I can’t. But I saw the change in your countenance. I saw his eye color alter as well. He is trying to kill you. He’s led many others to their non-existence as well.”

Dani fought back the heartbreak welling up inside of her. Now was not the time to mourn a relationship that didn’t exist. Still, Bobo’s truth hurt. She watched two more apparitions launch from Ezra to join the one remaining. They must have noticed the one that was chopped in two. All three were skimming above the throng to her. 

This time an orange, yellow and red laser, intertwining with each other, offed them. The slices were almost surgical as they split the mercenaries into multiple chunks of fluffiness. The crowd cheered as they proofed away. 

Dani glanced back at Ezra. His eyes were back to their warm chocolate brown. Grarkiel must have fled in retreat. A few moments later, his human host did the same. 

Dani wasn’t taking any chances. She nudged her way to the back door then pushed it open enough to slip through. It emptied out into a dark, hot alleyway. In the sudden silence, she could hear movement in the shadows. She hoped it was just a cat even though it sounded much larger.

Did being a woman alone in such a place scare her? Of course. Did it frighten her as much as what just happened in the bar?

Not a chance.

“Let’s go home,” she muttered to Bobo. She didn’t wait for him to reply. Instead she scampered past the dumpsters and overturned trash cans towards the light of the busy city street.