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He grins wider and bows again. “May Seeee.” He thumps his chest with his fist and makes a sound - an alien word. His name.
I can’t roll my R’s or my L’s like that. I hope I don’t insult him as I try. “Rill?” He repeats himself. “Reel?” He says it again more slowly. “Ryle?” He makes a sound like a rumbling chuckle, shrugs his shoulder, nods his head. I’m going to guess he’s saying “Close enough.”
The thunder above us cracks loud this time, so loud we both flinch. I hold out the note. “I’ve got to get to shelter,” I say, gesturing behind me, back towards my camp.
He takes the page, then passes me one of his own.
Another crack of thunder, and a fat raindrop lands square in the middle of my head. I pay no attention now, though. I’m transfixed by the drawing he’s given me.
It’s us. It’s him, the blue and gray alien, with his arms wrapped around me - a short, curvy human with brown hair and round cheeks. I blush. The image isn’t overly sexual, but it’s surprisingly intimate. Is this what he’s thinking? I ought to run away, dodge out of the range of those enormous arms.
I really want to hide this picture. Keep it to myself. I wonder...
The ground quakes. “Whoa.” My arms pinwheel as I try to regain my balance. The alien - Ryle - holds out a hand, palm up. He really is trying hard not to scare me. But his eyes crease with concern. He makes a sound, gestures at the sky, the ground, bares his teeth.
“Yeah, I don’t like this either.” The ground is vibrating now. The sky grumbles with continuous thunder. This is getting scary, fast.
“Macie! Let’s go!” My team finally breaks their silence. Ryle gestures with his hands in their direction, nudges me once, gently.
“Got it. Time to go.” I stuff the paper in one of my pockets. Then I bow one last time and turn, hoping that showing this alien my back isn’t a faux pas, or some other invitation. Manners be damned, though, we’ve got to get back to camp. This storm feels dangerous already.
But the ground quakes again, this time in a wave that hurls me right off of my feet. I scream and I flail, and when I crash back down, I land in a rushing river of mud. My gun is ripped from my hands and swallowed by the violent flow. The whole world flips upside down and disappears.
