Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
Allie
T he bitter scent of smoke and charred debris assaulted my nostrils as I stood in my living room and peered outside. The once familiar street was now a war zone, littered with overturned cars and chunks of concrete. The brick buildings across from me were pockmarked from the attack, entire sections missing as if bitten away by some enormous monster.
Car alarms wailed in the distance, a dissonant chorus interrupted by an occasional explosion. Thick, gray smoke spiraled in the air, blocking the sunlight and making it feel like perpetual dusk. Dinah had retreated to a spot under the table, while my new dog was dutifully sniffing every inch of my place.
Overhead, fighter jets screamed across the sky in defensive patrols, a constant reminder that while the immediate danger had passed, we were far from safe. The world had changed forever in the span of a day, and I was still struggling to process it all.
As I stood there, taking in the glass scattered on my floor and the thin layer of dust now covering everything, a pang of regret stabbed at me. I thought of Maxxon, already gone, whisked away by his fellow Drexians. I'd been so flippant about letting him go, acting tough and independent. But the truth was, I'd had little choice. He had a life to return to, and I was not part of that world.
"Allie!"
For a heartbeat, I thought it might be Maxxon returning. But the voice was all wrong. And Maxxon was gone.
Before that thought could break me, my neighbor rushed into my apartment and engulfed me in a hug. Despite everything, I felt a wave of relief wash over me that Bryce was alive.
“Thank goodness you’re okay,” he said, his words muffled because his head was buried in my neck. “I was so worried.”
"I'm okay," I managed to say as he released me.
He swiveled his head to take in my own disaster zone. “Did you stay here through the whole thing?”
I shook my head. “We made it to Crystal Caverns and hid underground.”
His brows lifted. “That was a clever idea. When you say ‘we,’ I assume you mean Mr. Tall, Dark, and Hunky?”
I stifled the urge to roll my eyes. Even after an alien invasion, Bryce was all about dating prospects. “Yes, Maxxon came with me.” I jerked my thumb toward the dining table. “And Dinah.”
Bryce cut a look over his shoulder and then did a double take. “Sweetie, I don’t mean to alarm you, but there’s a stray dog in your apartment.”
“That’s not a stray.” I gave a fond look at the dog. “That’s my new pet. We found him in the caverns, and he makes a pretty good guard dog.”
Bryce wrinkled his nose. “He needs a bath.”
“He needs to get in line,” I said under my breath, since dust clung to my clothes, and I was certain my hair smelled like smoke.
“That’s the truth.” Bryce pulled his own lapel to his nose and sniffed. “Let’s hope our water is still working.”
“The building seems to have come through relatively unscathed.” Even as I said this, I felt guilty because so many buildings hadn’t. “We were lucky.”
“You can say that again.” Bryce shuddered. “I could not have withstood another night in the rec center with all those people.”
I threaded my way across the room and flipped on the TV to see if it was still working and if there were still broadcasts. The screen flickered to life, and I breathed a sigh of relief. The more signs of life returning to normal, the better.
But the screen wasn’t displaying a re-run of Law & Order or NCIS like I would have expected. It was broadcasting some sort of press conference. My breath caught in my chest as I recognized the military uniform worn by the man at the podium. Correction, Drexian at the podium
Unlike the shaggy, dark hair of the other Drexians I’d encountered, this one had sandy brown hair cut short, but it was his eyes that reminded me that he wasn’t human. They were an impossible shade of vibrant green that made it impossible not to stare.
“Who is that?” Bryce walked toward the flat screen, his shoes crunching over the broken glass.
"I am High Commander Kax of the Drexian Empire. We come to you today in peace, and with an explanation long overdue."
Bryce put a hand to his cheek. “Are these the aliens who attacked us? Well, I’m sorry, but they’re gorgeous.”
“They didn’t attack us,” I said as I sank onto my couch. “It was the Kronock who did that, and they look like giant lizards.”
My friend swung his head to me, his eyes wide. “How do you know that? Did you see them?”
I shook my head. “Maxxon told me. He’s Drexian.”
Bryce ping ponged his head between me and the TV. “Tall, Dark, and Hunky is one of them?” He dropped his voice as if someone might overhear him. “He’s an alien?”
“Yeah.” I did not want to think about Maxxon, but I had to explain. “But the Drexians are the good guys.” Then I thought about Maxxon’s job of taking women from Earth without their permission. “Kind of.”
"For years, we have protected your planet from threats you could not have imagined," Kax continued. "And in return, some of your women have come to our world as brides for our warriors, helping to ensure the survival of both our species."
That was one way to put it, I thought.
Bryce shook his head. “I can’t believe it. Aliens are real and they’ve been coming to Earth all this time.” He sucked in air. “That means my Aunt Myrna was right when she said she was visited by aliens and probed. Well, now I feel bad for telling everyone she was crazy.”
“I don’t think they’ve been probing random people,” I said, although I wasn’t one hundred percent sure about that. “From what Maxxon said, they only take a select number of compatible females. And they don’t return them.”
As I listened to Kax explain the tribute bride program, I was relieved to have everything Maxxon had told me confirmed. I hadn’t thought he was lying, but hearing it broadcast to the world made it real, although no less bizarre.
Bryce put a hand on his hips. “They only take women? Talk about unfair.”
A laugh burst from my lips. “You want to be abducted by an alien?”
He flapped a hand at the TV. “If they look like that, hell yeah. Where do I sign up?”
He had a point. I had only seen a few Drexians, but none of them had been short of stunning.
"You know," Bryce wagged a finger at me, “I’ll bet everyone's going to want to be a tribute now. Forget having to abduct women, they'll have to beat them off with a stick!"
Now that I thought about it, he was probably right. The idea of big, brawny aliens and living on a fancy space station far surpassed most women’s lives on Earth. Then it hit me. Maxxon's job of procuring tribute brides would become obsolete. He'd have no reason to return to Earth.
I gave my head a quick shake. I didn’t know that would happen, even if I did suspect that everything was going to be changing—how the Drexians found brides, how the two species interacted, how Earth adjusted to the reality of living with aliens.
“So, where’s your alien hottie?” Bryce asked, twisting to take in the whole of my apartment. “Did he get first shower?”
“He’s gone,” I said, quickly before my voice could crack. “He went back to his space station.”
“Space station?” Bryce let out a low whistle and turned back to the press conference and the Drexian still explaining their culture and peaceful mission. At least my friend was too caught up in the dramatic reveal to notice the lump forming in my throat or the tears welling behind my eyes.
I turned away from him, feeling something wet on my hand. It was the dog, nudging me with his nose. I scratched behind his ears, grateful for the simple comfort of his presence and the fact that he’d seemed to sense my sadness.
"It's okay, boy," I murmured. “It’s all going to be okay."
Even as I tried to banish thoughts of Maxxon from my mind, I couldn’t help wondering what he was doing. Had he reached his space station yet? Was he thinking of me at all? Or had I already faded into the background of his memory, just another human he'd encountered on his missions?
No, he wouldn’t forget me so soon, I told myself. Even so, there was no use dwelling on things I would never know. The world was changing, and I needed to move on too.
I rubbed the dog’s head as he nuzzled his face against my leg, glancing at Bryce and then at Dinah, who had moved from under the table to perch on the arm of the couch. At least I wasn’t totally alone. That was something.
I knelt down and put my hands on both sides of the dog’s furry face. “I think I’ll call you Drex.”