Alienated (16 page)

Adrenaline surged through her body, making her feel invincible, and just when she wound up for another punch, Aelyx darted to the side and grabbed her around the waist, settling behind her, molding his body to hers.

“Good.” He guided her to a battered punching bag. “Now don’t stop.”

And she didn’t. It might have lasted thirty minutes or three hours. Time lost all meaning as pent-up hurt and anger spewed out with each frenzied strike of the bag. She pounded it until her breath came in gasps and her heart lodged inside her throat. When she didn’t have the strength to lift her gloves anymore, she crumpled to the floor and pushed her dampened hair away from her face. Her lungs burned, her body ached, and she hadn’t felt this good in weeks. Tori’s betrayal was still fresh, but for the first time, Cara knew it wouldn’t break her.

Aelyx crouched down, tossing his mitts to the floor and smiling so widely it would have stolen her breath if she’d had any to spare. “There’s my Elire.” He pronounced it
eh-leer
.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“Your L’eihr name. I think I’ll call you that from now on.” He pulled a dry washcloth from the waistband of his jeans and sat beside her on the dirty tile floor, scooting close enough to blot the sweat from her forehead. Then he unlaced her gloves and tugged them off.

“Eh-leer,”
she repeated, trying it on while flexing her stiff fingers. “What does it mean?”

“Beautiful warrior.”

She ducked her head, face glowing impossibly hot under his gaze, which had darkened again and dropped to her mouth. He trailed the washcloth down her temple and along her jawline before handing it off.

“Perhaps you should take over from here,” he whispered.

“Thanks.” The air between them crackled with energy so thick it was almost tangible, his face close enough for her to feel his warm breath. Just when she thought he might kiss her, he rolled to his feet and backed away.

“The interview,” he reminded her.

“Oh, right.” She scrambled to push off the floor, but her spaghetti-noodle arms wouldn’t hold her weight. “I might need a little help.”

He hesitated, then reached out a hand. “Of course. What are friends for?”

Aelyx had once heard Bill Sweeney say,
A little knowledge is
a dangerous thing
. As he sat beside Cara on the sofa, watching her face tipped toward the makeup artist, her full lips parted to receive a coat of lipstick, he began to understand why. Ever since his research into kissing and other human mating rituals, his mind had relentlessly fixated on Cara, flashing manufactured sensations of how her soft, wet mouth might feel against his own. He could almost taste her on his tongue, and when his traitorous body responded to the fantasy, he had to pull an accent pillow onto his lap and force himself to recite Earth’s periodic table of elements. Gods, what had he unleashed? How would he survive the remainder of the exchange like this?

“You know,” Sharon Taylor said to Cara, “with your fair skin, you’d look great as a blonde.”

“Oh.” Cara touched her hair self-consciously and cleared her throat, a nervous habit she displayed during each interview. “I don’t think so. The upkeep’s too spendy.”

“You sure? My stylist’s a miracle worker. I can get you squeezed in for an emergency appointment. You’re practically a celebrity now. We’ve had a ton of requests for photo spreads, and I figured you’d want to look your best. But if you don’t care…” She trailed off, making her judgment clear.

What nonsense. He’d grown weary of humans trying to modify Cara’s hair, cover her skin with cosmetics, stuff her into revealing clothes. “I like your natural color,” he announced. “It reminds me of the autumn leaves.” They’d all fallen now, and strangely enough, he missed their vibrancy.

“Really?” She inspected a lock of her hair and parted her lips again. Those lips…

Hydrogen, helium, lithium, what comes next…oh, beryllium,
boron.

“Whatever.” Sharon studied her reflection in a compact mirror and tilted her head from side to side. “We’re changing things up tonight.” The compact snapped shut with a
click
. “I’m asking questions submitted by the viewers. And I’ll warn you, some of them aren’t pretty.”

Aelyx knew this should please him. All the hate mail he and the Sweeneys had received indicated humans had nearly reached the breaking point, which meant returning home sooner. So why did his stomach sink at the thought?

He wished he could escape with Cara and leave both their worlds behind. Would she go? It didn’t matter. There was nowhere
to
go.

The interview began in the typical fashion, with Sharon making thinly veiled implications about his relationship with Cara. He didn’t discourage her. The idea of an illicit human–L’eihr tryst would drive extremists half mad, sparking them into action.

“Aelyx.” Sharon’s voice brought him to attention. “Our first question comes from Jamie in Ohio. She asks,
How do
L’eihrs feel about the Expulsion Act, especially considering all you’ve
done for cancer victims?
”

He leaned forward and folded his hands. “We don’t harbor any ill will against humans for HALO’s actions. We know they make up a small percentage of the population.” He smiled. “They’re just more vocal than the rest.”

“And why is that?” Cara demanded, straightening beside him on the sofa. “Why is it always the crazies who make their voices heard while everyone else shuts up and does nothing?” Her face darkened, pulse thumping at the base of her throat. “This is how discriminatory legislation gets passed—people know it’s wrong, but they’re too lazy or too scared to take action. Hello? Jim Crow laws, anyone? Not that long ago, it was illegal to consort with a member of another race. What if the civil rights leaders of the sixties had sat back and waited for someone else to fix the problem? Nothing would’ve changed.”

Sharon’s reaction reminded Aelyx of a parent patting a youngster on the head. “Well,” she said with a smile, “aren’t you opinionated?”

“Yeah,” Cara said, lifting her chin. “And unlike most of America, I’m not afraid to express it.”

Sharon tapped the end of her golden pen against her lips, then pointed it at Cara. “But you’ve suffered the consequences for that, haven’t you? Isn’t it true your best friend and your boyfriend of three years have stopped speaking to you, along with most of the school?”

The color drained from Cara’s cheeks, but she smoothed a wrinkle from the tan slipcover and gave a quick nod. “That’s all right. Just shows who my real friends are.”

“Aelyx,” Sharon said, “why do you think your presence has sparked such an extreme reaction here?”

“It’s biological,” he said. “A natural human response to fear something different or strange. It’s in your genetic makeup. And when an individual’s afraid, it’s an equally natural human response to strike out in defense.”

“Like the basic flight or fight reflex?” Sharon asked.

“Exactly.” Cara had warned him against hurling “jabs,” but no one could fault him for delivering a blow disguised as compassion. “I don’t believe members of Humans Against L’eihr Occupation are terrible people. I think they’re frightened and misguided, and we should pity them. In fact, I believe a quote from your Bible summarizes the situation perfectly.”

“And what’s that?”

“They know not what they do.” He added a sad shake of his head as he relaxed against the sofa. “They’re afraid but quite harmless, I’m sure.” If that didn’t stir their rage, nothing would. He glanced at Cara, who studied him beneath a puckered brow. Perhaps he’d “laid it on a bit thick,” as the human expression went.

Sharon nodded in agreement and said, “Our next question comes from Sean, right here in Midtown.
How do you explain
the death of crops near Midtown, Lanzhou, and Bordeaux? It only
makes sense that L’eihr exchange students are to blame.
”

“I can’t explain the anomaly,” Aelyx said, “but it’s absurd to assume we’re killing your crops. What would any of us stand to gain from that?”

Sharon lifted one shoulder. “You have to admit it’s quite a coincidence.”

“Or not,” Cara interjected. “People need to take off their tinfoil hats. I’ll bet someone’s trying to frame the L’eihrs by blighting our fields. I wouldn’t put it past these crazies. I mean, what’s a little soybean-murder to someone who threatens people just for talking to us?”

“I guess it’s possible.” Sharon flashed a loaded grin and said to Cara, “You’re quick to come to Aelyx’s defense. I can tell he means a lot to you.”

Cara turned her soft blue gaze to him, holding there and shaming him with the admiration he saw. “You’re right.” Then, just when he thought he couldn’t feel any lower, she added, “He’s an amazing friend, and I’m proud to know him.”

Aelyx swallowed hard, trying to push down that old familiar feeling that burned a hole in his throat. He wondered how grateful Cara would be if she knew his real purpose on Earth. He wasn’t a friend. Friends didn’t deceive each other, destroy lives, and then escape to another galaxy.

For the first time since arriving on Earth, Aelyx felt subhuman.

“Any suggestions?” Cara asked Ashley, who perched beside her in the empty World Studies classroom where the debate team used to practice before they joined the shun. “I want to bring the hammer down on HALO, but not by stooping to their level.”

Ashley chewed on the end of her ballpoint pen, orangey forehead wrinkled in thought. “You could ask your supporters to start a petition against the Expulsion Act.”

“True,” Cara agreed, “but I’d like to make a bigger impression.”

Ashley considered a moment and suggested, “How about an online movement to educate people?”

“Like…?” Cara prompted.

“Like an International L’eihr Awareness Day.”

“Huh.” Now that was an idea. They could call it L’awareness Day. “I kinda like it. We could do a mythbusters segment, too. Finally debunk the crazy rumors about crop killings and abductions and mutant alien babies.”

Nodding vigorously, Ashley continued. “You could ask other bloggers to join in by giving them a discussion prompt, maybe design a logo to grab for their sites.”

“You know what’d be cool?” Cara said. “To incorporate some kind of contest and let the winner Skype with Aelyx.”

“I’d be all over that,” Ashley said.

“Public demonstrations would be even better, but that’s hard to organize on a global level.”

“Worth a try, though.”

“Thanks for the idea,” she said, giving Ashley’s shoulder a light bump. “Hey, maybe you could guest post for me next week.”

Ashley’s blond brows shot toward her hairline. “Seriously?”

“Yeah.” Then Cara added a dollop of figurative whipped cream and a cherry on top. “You should interview Aelyx for a special feature.”

“Omigod!” Ashley squealed, bouncing in her seat. “Omigod, omigod, omigod!”

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes!” She quit vibrating long enough to ask, “So, should I call him? My hair still hasn’t grown out from when I dyed it, so maybe I shouldn’t get too close.”

“Nah,” Cara said. “I’m sure the chemicals have faded enough by now. He’s probably in the library if you want to get started. I need to wrap up this post, and I don’t think anyone’s going to show for prac—”

Before Cara could finish, Ashley snatched her notebook in one hand and bolted for the door. The echo of her squeaking sneakers faded as she jogged down the hall, leaving a smile on Cara’s face. If the former L’eihr Lovers could see Ashley now…

Cara returned her attention to her computer, where she outlined a basic plan for L’awareness Day and scheduled it a month in advance, hoping that would give her enough time to work out the details. Just as Cara hit the publish button, Ashley came dragging through the door with her shoulders slumped.

She tossed her notebook onto the desk. “He wasn’t in the library.”

“How about the computer lab?”

“No dice.”

“Huh,” Cara said. “That’s weird. I wonder where he is.”

“Look at this!” Aelyx used his com-sphere’s magnification feature to show Eron the sample in his petri dish. “I collected the water a week ago, filtered it through a micro-strainer to remove contaminants, and then poured it back into the tube. When I opened it today, this was everywhere.”

“Impossible.” Eron’s hologram bent over the dish, peering inside.

“That’s what I thought when I analyzed my first sample. It was moss that time. What about yours?”

Eron glanced up. “I never opened my tube. The initial diagnostics were enough for me.”

“Go get it.” Aelyx wasn’t sure what outcome he wanted—if Eron’s sample displayed the same characteristics, it would validate his findings. But it would also mean something was terribly wrong with Earth’s water supply—or at least the water near Midtown and Lanzhou.

In minutes, Eron returned with a glass bowl. He set it in the bathtub, unscrewed the lid to his collection tube, and poured the contents into the dish. Once Eron magnified the sample with his com-sphere, Aelyx noticed a heap of tangled, filamentous algae in the water.

“Bleeding gods,” Aelyx whispered. “What does it mean?”

Eron shook his head in disbelief. “A shame we’re translators and not scientists.”

“Could the
sh’alear
have caused this?”

“Impossible,” Eron said. “It kills plant growth; it doesn’t accelerate it.”

“You’re right. We should probably tell Stepha.” Aelyx wasn’t looking forward to that conversation. He’d never been skilled at deception, and he feared the ambassador would glimpse his face and immediately know he’d done something wrong. “I’ll contact him tonight.”

“And I’ll ask Syrine to check her sample.” Eron disposed of his water by pouring it into the toilet, but instead of flushing it down, he avoided Aelyx’s gaze and said, “I’m going to speak with her about something else, too.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m going to uproot my
sh’alear
. We were wrong about humans.”

Aelyx wanted to contradict him, but when he opened his mouth to speak, the words clung to the back of his throat. In truth, he wanted to abandon their plan, too, but not because he’d changed his mind about all humans. Just one. It was at that moment Aelyx realized he didn’t want the exchange to end. Ever. Leaving Cara behind would be harder than severing his own arm. But despite that, he felt a duty to put aside his feelings and focus on L’eihr.

Aelyx considered his next words carefully. Eron had always been different—more sensitive than most of their kind. “I know you’ve taken a liking to your ‘brother’…”

“It’s not just that—”

“But,” Aelyx continued, “I’m afraid he’s clouded your judgment.”

“Do you trust me?” Eron asked. When Aelyx gave a reluctant nod, he added, “Do you think I would do anything to endanger our Sacred Mother?”

“Not intentionally.” Aelyx nodded at the miniature toilet. “But look at your water sample. Look what they’ve done to Earth.”

Eron flushed the toilet as if to destroy the evidence. “That doesn’t mean they’ll do the same on L’eihr. The colonists will be carefully screened.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Please,” Eron said, turning up both palms in surrender. “Will you at least consider it?”

For several eternal moments, Aelyx said nothing as his heart and mind battled for dominance. In the end, his heart won. “Fine. I’ll consider it. But Syrine won’t.”

“Don’t be so sure. She’d do anything for me.”

“Not this.”

“I have hope.” Eron lifted two fingers in a good-bye. “That’s enough for now.”