Page 118 of I Think I’m in Love with an Alien

“It’s a little late, but Happy Thanksgiving,” Jaz says.

“So glad you made it,” Tad adds.

“Me too. Where’s Ravik?” Poppy demands.

“Out back,” Jaz answers.

Tam gestures at the car. “I’ll take our things inside.”

And Tad beckons us onward, seeming as excited as a little kid. “You have to meet Kevin! Nobody tell him that this holiday is dedicated to devouring one of his distant cousins, okay?”

“Good lord,” Poppy mumbles.

We follow the worn path around the house. There’s a small shed repurposed as a chicken coop, and free-range chickens peck at the earth, undisturbed by our presence. A brown and white goat watches us with unblinking eyes.

Tad bounces around, all knees and elbows. “This is Frances! Ravik never said anything about a goat.”

“Ravik?” I look around, mildly amazed by how self-sufficient this place must be. I spot the remnants of a vegetable garden, gone fallow in the shade of autumn.

“Over here.” Ravik emerges from behind the shed and scatters handfuls of feed.

The birds clamor and flap, rushing toward them with excited noises. And then I finally behold the majestic Kevin, who struts after the hens like he owns the place. In all honesty, I’m not as excited as Tad, but he is a handsome rooster.

“Kevin,” Tad breathes.

“This is weird, right?” Poppy whispers.

“Let him have this,” Jaz whispers back.

“I have finished caring for these idlers. If you are amenable, I could build a fire,” Ravik says. “Perfect for sharing stories.”

“We could toast marshmallows. If you have any,” I suggest.

“There’s nothing like a roaring fire. This is gonna be awesome,” Poppy says, rubbing her hands together.

“A holiday we’ll always remember,” Tad agrees.

I have the strange feeling he may be right; everything is about to change.

42

Seeker

The inside of Ravik’s house is cluttered with things I suspect didn’t originally belong to them, including some technology so old that it seems as if it belongs in a museum.

I recognize a transistor radio from an old entertainment I skimmed to get a sense of how life has evolved for humans. They have developed technology to the point that I can imagine them finding their way to the stars if they don’t destroy themselves first. I click the radio, but it doesn’t work.

I’d like to tinker with it, but I should socialize first. I turn off my tech camo since Ravik and Jaz are already displaying their true colors, and I’m about to head outside when a ping sounds from within my pack. I still. I must be imagining things. Then it happens again.

I open my bag and inspect the emergency beacon. It’s active, displaying numerical data. The sequence repeats on loop, and I understand the format. A date three days hence, along with a time, 3:00 p.m. local. And finally, coordinates—latitude and longitude that pinpoint a location I know all too well. It’s the mountaintop where I was supposed to be collected over a year ago.

Shock sends me reeling; I stumble and support myself on the wall, stunned by the implications. I don’t know how to feel in this moment. I should be overjoyed, but sadness presses in, fighting with confusion. I can barely breathe for the weight of all these conflicting impressions.

After all this time, the agency is finally coming to whisk me away. Apparently, they have resolved whatever difficulty left me stranded here in the first place.

Jen pops inside, smiling over something that has Poppy laughing outside. “I came to look for marshmallows. They want to do campfire stories before we have dinner later.”

“That sounds enjoyable. Humans seem quite captivated by fire.”