Chapter 3

The alien creature sat, on its haunches, beside its father. Its legs, knees seemingly in the wrong location, were pulled up to her chest as she hugged them. Her eyes, circled by white fur behind those strange four lens glasses, stared at the body with alien, yet all too human sorrow.

Nona had said her name was Daium.

Chuck sat on the floor about ten feet away, left arm against some sort of carved statue (a tree trunk gradually forming into one of these creatures. Pretty, if a bit abstract and freaky). He had removed his coat, hat, and gloves, as had the others sitting around the room, the house warm despite the still broken open front doorway. Melinda wormed her way under his left arm, pressing close. It felt ... good.

Looking at Daium, Chuck started to realize it was the monkey-like alien not being surprised by them, as they were by her, that was getting to him more than her actual appearance. Shouldn't this Daium be shocked by hairless creatures? Or was the fiction of this world as full of creatures like them as theirs was with humanoid apes? Did they have a sci-fi "Planet of the Humans"? Or, and this really got him thinking, was she just not surprised by ALIENS? God, what had they gotten themselves into...

The blackish furred creature reached out a shiny black hand. Her fingers trembled a bit as she, slowly, began to stroke the fur of her loved one. Voice high pitched but soft, she spoke. Nona, her entire body leaning forward in concentration, translated.

"They came last night ... the ... somethings, some sort of soldiers, maybe. Daium and her dad had been fleeing them, had come to this place to do their work in secret. They were found ... her dad told her to hide, to not come out, as they didn't care about her. He ... she heard them, heard it. Her father never told them what they wanted."

Closing her eyes, Daium pressed her hands together before her face, long fingers intertwined, pointing upwards.

"Pokok yang mempunyai benih tidak akan mati..."

"A tree that has seeds ... never dies." Nona swallowed. "I'm sorry, guys, this ... I'm getting weirded out by this entire thing." Daium opened her eyes, looking at the girl. Nona's shoulders slumped, eyes closing. "I'm sorry."

Anthony pushed himself to his feet and walked over. Chuck saw Daium's eyes follow him. Despite her obvious grief, those eyes showed ... an awareness of the situation. A wariness. An intelligence they'd have to get used to quickly. THEY were the intruders, invaders, the ones out of their element. They needed this girl, and such help could only come willingly.

And they had to beware the price.

Squatting down next to the dark haired Malaysian, Anthony put a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes opened and raised themselves up, glistening with the start of tears.

"I want to go home..." It came out as a whisper. The others shot glances around the room. Chuck felt Melinda press even harder against him. His hand found itself cupping a breast, which he gently squeezed. Her soft hand came up to cover his.

"You're doing great," Anthony told Nona, smiling. "I know it's hard, but you're strong, and we need you. Without you, we couldn't talk to our new friend here."

"How do we know she's a friend?"

Anthony looked over at the creature. She had pushed herself away from the body, legs crossing on the floor in emulation of the humans. Her white chest, contrasting with her black (with a hint of grey) fur, reminded him of a cat he once had. The cat hadn't had a skirt and some sort of suspenders/bra setup, though, or beads hanging next to its ear. He looked back at Nona.

"I tend to trust anyone with a flowered skirt, at least until after the first date."

"THAT will get you in trouble," Tammy muttered loudly from the corner. Anthony ignored her but grinned. He cocked his head over at their host.

"I think it's time we introduced ourselves to her. Let's show her where we're from."

Daium looked across the snowy expanse at the distant rectangular form of the store.

Her head swiveled, checking the surrounding area. It went back to her house, then again to the building with "BELLS" written on the front in large, red letters. With an expression of clear puzzlement that transcended species, she reached both hands up and removed her glasses. Her four eyes squinted into the distance, then looked down at the lenses in her hand. Carefully, she spit on each lens, brought out a small thin green cloth from a pocket in her skirt, and cleaned her glasses. Satisfied they were clear, she put them on and looked again at the store.

"If," Melinda muttered, "she says 'You came in that? You're braver then I thought', I'm gonna scream."

"I'll make sure I translate it that way, then." Nona, coat on but unzipped, the temperature rather warm now, once again tried to put her mind in Malay mode. "Ya, kedai kami hanya muncul di sini. Bodoh, bukan?"

Daium looked at her, expression one of ... of what? Worried confusion? She stood up strait, almost matching Nona in height, adjusting her glasses.

"Bawa saya ke sana. Selepas saya mendapat beberapa perkara pertama." She vanished back into the house.

Anthony cast her a questioning glance. Nona shrugged.

"She wants to go to the store. Maybe she needs to do some shopping."

The girl returned not with empty shopping bags, but with a large, filled, backpack and a wooden case with a handle. She had changed into the equivalent of a hooded snowsuit, with gloves on both her hands and feet. The suit was white, made from some sort of quilted cloth. If it wasn't for her face, and the pink backpack, she'd almost vanish in the snow. She walked up next to Nona, looking at her expectantly. Anthony laughed.

"Well, I guess that means it's time to go home. We can have lunch there."

"Let's hurry," Alicia said, "I have to go to the bathroom!"

Nona, walking next to Daium, soon found them trailing the others as they retraced their footsteps. Part of this was due to the furry girl's shorter stride, her legs a bit bent and bowed when standing upright. Spectacled Monkeys tended to prefer being on all fours, or in trees, and Nona could see this creature probably would prefer to do that if the snow wasn't so high. More so, though, it seemed Daium just wanted to get her alone. They'd only been walking for a few minutes when she started talking.

"You are ... Nona, right?"

"Um, yeah. Nona."

"Hmm ... does your species have jantina?"

"Um, what?"

"Jantina. Male, female..."

"Oh, yes, sorry! My Malay is VERY bad. I don't use it much. Yes, we have male and female."

Daium looked her up and down, eyes speculative.

"Which are you?"

Nona returned a look that required no translation. Daium's eyes widened, and she reached out a gloved hand to gently touch Nona's shoulder. Only the fact she couldn't feel it through her winter coat kept Nona from reacting.

"I am sorry if I offended! You all dress the same, except the one who leads!"

Nona shook her head, clearing it.

"Sorry. I'm not offended. It ... we are far from home, and tired. We don't want to be here." She took a deep breath. "Yes, I'm female. Almost adult. We have to dress this way at work. Human females tend to have long hair on their heads, and breasts like yours." Daium nodded in understanding. Nona looked ahead, and began pointing to the others. "That is Anthony. Adult male. Our sort of leader, as he was our leader at our job. Next is Hannah, adult female. Tammy, female, adult. Chuck, male, almost adult. Melinda, female..."

"Female?" Her voice was so shocked, Nona couldn't help a laugh from bursting out. Daium's eyes then widened. "Oh! That is why she was sitting against that Chuck! They are mated!"

Now it was Nona's turn to look shocked. Chuck and Melinda, actually together? She glanced at their backs. Damn it, their hands were joined, weren't they. You'd think she'd be more observant about such things. Her companion, she noted, certainly was.

"So, where was I ... yes, Melinda, female, not quite adult. Justin, male, almost adult, and Alicia, female, almost adult." Daium nodded.

"I am female, adult ... maybe. Sometimes. Father said I was, but..." she shrugged, the movement looking weird on her.

"Why were they after you?"

Daium didn't reply. The alien kept her eyes on the growing form of the supermarket ahead of them. So, Nona thought, information was only flowing in one direction. That would have to change...

Anthony stopped them in front of the glass doors, pulling out his cell phone to check the time. A bit after noon. Once everyone's batteries ran dead, there'd be no way to tell time. He was almost looking forward to that.

Alicia was bouncing up and down.

"Come on! I have to go!" A couple others nodded in agreement, getting a chuckle from him. Anthony looked over at Nona and Daium.

"OK, we're here. Daium, there's no power at the moment, so it's going to be cold, and a bit dark. After we do some human stuff, we'll sit down and, while we eat, exchange information with each other. OK?"

Nona conveyed the message the best she could. The creature cocked her head a bit, reaching up to adjust her glasses, then nodded at him. Good. That settled that. For now. With a smile at their new friend, he turned and unlocked the front door and led them in.

Once through the foyer, Alicia, Melinda, and Tammy made a mad dash towards the back of the store and the restrooms. They only made it twenty feet before remembering to come back for flashlights. Laughing, Chuck grabbed a second flashlight and followed. Anthony turned to Hannah.

"Could you come upstairs for a moment?"

Once in the manager's office, he took a seat and swung the office chair around towards Hannah. Chuckling, she set herself into Lenny's chair. They looked at each other.

"So," Anthony asked, stretching his legs, "what do you think?"

Hannah let her body go limp, head falling backwards.

"Oh, God, I don't know..." Her chair began swiveling back and forth. "Does any of this make sense to you?"

"Not even a little." He grinned. She liked that grin. Always had, ever since getting the job. Hannah had always had a thing for guys in mustaches, so combining that with Anthony's sense of humor...

Which still didn't explain last night. She closed her eyes.

"What do we do?"

"We keep safe, and try to get home."

"Keep telling me that last part. Please."

"I'll get you home, Hannah. You'll see your daughter again."

"Liar..."

Justin and Nona watched as Daium slowly took in the large grocery store. Sunlight lit up most of it, at least to some degree. Up by the registers there was more than enough light to read. Daium walked up to register three, one hand hesitantly touching the metal side of the counter convertor belt. She seemed to frown.

"It looks like we're confusing her," Justin commented. Daium turned at the sound of his voice. He smiled, which got yet another confused expression from her in return. Considering something, he turned to Nona. "I need your translation skills." He began walking over to Daium without waiting for a reply.

"Daium." She turned from the gossip magazine she was contemplating as he approached. Still smiling, Justin brought out his iPod. "The store may not have power, but for now this does." He turned the touchscreen device on, holding it out to her in the palm of his hand.

Her eyes lit up. Gently, she took it from him, turning it this way and that. Adjusting her glasses, she leaned in towards the glass screen. Justin moved up next to her.

"Touch it like this." He reached in and hit the iBooks icon. A moment later, the screen changed to show his book library. She looked at him, startled, then removed her glove and moved her own finger over to hit one of the books. It opened. Her eyes darted up. Turning quickly, she looked at the cash register next to them, with its blank computer monitor, then down the row at the other eight. Head whipping around again, her eyes landed on the remaining flashlights. Handing the iPod back to a surprised Justin, she grabbed one of the smaller flashlights and quickly flipped the switch. Holding it so the light just missed her eyes, she looked in at the glowing bulb. Turning it in her hands, she spoke quickly. Nona shook her head.

"She's asking something about ... source of... ?"

"The batteries!" Justin grabbed another flashlight, unscrewed the top, and poured the two C batteries out onto the counter next to Daium. She picked up one of the cylinders, turning it over, looking at the markings, then dropping them and examining the connections inside the flashlight itself. After a moment she put it down, stepped back, and seemed to think. The two humans exchanged a glance. Soon, Daium's eyes refocused and turned to Justin.

"Di mana bekalan kuasa kedai anda?"

"Um ... I'm sorry, the store what?" Nona shook her head, confused. "I mean, saya tidak faham."

"I know. She wants to see where we get our power." He regarded the snow suited creature for a moment, then smiled. His eyes ... seemed to capture hers. Hesitantly, she picked up one of the batteries, and indicated with her other hand the whole of the store. He nodded. Grabbing a hand lantern, he walked around the register and motioned the two girls to follow.