AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I slid two more times on the icy ground as I ran, bruising a knee and possibly twisting an ankle. When I got to my car, my heart sank in my chest as I realized I’d left it locked … and the keys were in the house.
I whipped around and screamed again. The man was charging straight for me.
I was as good as dead.
Chapter 2
Amber
Covering my head with an arm, I crouched low, hoping to make myself a smaller target. The seconds ticked by as I waited for him to shoot me or grab me or whatever he was going to do with me. When nothing happened, I risked a peek.
The dripping wet man knelt next to me, his chiseled face twisted into a frown. He brushed wet purple hair out of his eyes and pointed to my ankle.
“You fell. You hurt?”
Did this motherfucker just speak English? Granted, it was broken English, but understandable nonetheless.
I recoiled, scooting closer to the car as though it would keep me safe from him. “Stay back! I—I’ll call the cops!”
A flash of confusion washed across his face before he broke out into a grin. “Brave woman.”
Was he condescending me? Rage warred with the fear inside me, and my dumb ass decided to go with anger. “Listen, asshole, you move one inch closer, and I’ll make you regret it.”
The grin widened, flashing iridescent white teeth and some fangs that should not have been as attractive as they were to me. “Feisty woman. I approve.” He reached behind his back, and for a split second, I worried he was going to pull a knife on me and slit my throat. Instead, he grabbed a small silver box that emitted a weird green light. “Do not concern. I fix.”
Fix? Fix what? I stared in awe as he gently took my ankle in one clawed hand and ran the box over the joint. A flash of pain made me jerk and cry out, but it was so brief that I felt silly for squealing. When he was done, I flexed my ankle and found it back to normal. No more pain.
The purple man set the box down and nodded. “Fix.” Again he tapped his chest. “I Q’on. I … apology for fear. Nanites must enter brain stem for words.”
Nanites? Brain stem? What did he do to me?
Q’on—it was so strange, like I could hear the apostrophe when he said it—fished in his utility belt for a moment, digging into a small leather pouch, and pulled out a shiny hunk of metal. He held it out to me, but I was so stunned by what was happening that I just stared at the thing. “I pay. You take.”
Whatever shock I was in started wearing off, and I shook uncontrollably. Definitely not going to win me any bravery prizes with that. Rather than demonstrate just how jarring this whole experience was, I opted to nod at the metal chunk instead of pointing. “What is that thing? It's not radioactive, is it?”
He threw his head back and laughed. “No danger. Is … money? No better word.”
Against my better judgment, I took the cool rock. For as small as it was, it weighed heavy in my hand, and once I looked closer I realized it wasn't just a shapeless piece but faceted like a gemstone. I watched in amazement as my reflection gaped back at me in the facets.
“What's it made out of?”
His mouth twisted as he chewed his lip, an oddly human act that almost made me forget he was something other. “It iskrin.You do not have word. Maybe not on this planet.”
This planet? What did that mean? “And what planet are you from?”
“Xalan. Many distance from this Earth. Many stars, many moons.”
That's it. I must have hit my head when I fell. There was no way I could be talking to an honest-to-God alien. Purple scales aside, he looked almost normal.
He looked … kind of hot.
I peered through my lashes into his yellow eyes and shifted my weight. Crouching on the ground wasn’t supremely comfortable, and the longer he knelt next to me, the more I realized he didn’t plan on going anywhere. “What did you do to my head?”
He tapped the back of his neck. “Nanites. For words. No hurt, no fear. Just words.”
“What the fuck are nanites?”
“Nanites. Machines. Small. Harmless.” When I shot him a confused look, Q’on shook his head and scowled, a frightening expression when I was already scared. “Your syntax … strange. Words jumbled. Many words with many meanings, some meanings with many words. Xalanite words not so … vast. More direct. I … am not using right words?”
