The Angriest Angel

Chapter 36

Chase had driven for miles before his hands finally stopped shaking.  He had no idea where to go, so he just drove.  He left the pursuit of the bearded gunman to Chambers, and turned his attention to taking care of Avery.  She lay asleep in the passenger seat of the car, having not moved since she first passed out.

He thought about heading straight back to the hotel, but how would he explain Avery in her bloody state?  She had not moved an inch, and he had no idea how long she would need to sleep.  Hours?  Days? 

He couldn't take her back to her house.  It wasn't safe—the gunman had already been there.  He considered driving to the county police station in the hopes of finding Nathan.  Nathan would know what to do in order to keep Avery safe.  But if he wasn't there then how would he explain Avery's bloody form to the police?

No, really officer, she is an alien—I swear.  I healed her with her magic healing box.

He shook his head at the thought, surprising himself at how analytical he was about the revelation of her identity—claiming to be an alien.  Was he crazy for believing her?  Was Avery crazy for saying such a thing?  Chase knew from experience that people close to death never lied.  There was never anything to gain by lying or exaggerating in a moment like that.  Even so, Avery never seemed to lie anyway—regardless of the time of day.

But how could she be an alien?  She had a job and a house, she spoke English, and most of all she looked human.  In everything he had read about alleged stories of alien visitors they never look like people—even in science fiction.  But if Cadence was really her sister and Nathan was really her fiancé, then they were sure very human looking.

There was something oddly refreshing about that—a connectedness, maybe?  But with that came a dramatic humbling.  If they were not so different from humans, then how had they found Earth?  And why were they technologically superior?

As Chase pulled up to a red light, he looked over at Avery, still in a peaceful slumber.  She hadn't moved an inch.  Whatever that device did to her, she was in an extremely deep sleep.  The serene expression on her face was in stark contrast to her blood all over her clothes.

He couldn't help but smirk as he stared at her.

I've got a freaking alien in the car with me.

The light turned green, and Chase shook his head, wondering if he was losing his mind.  He thought of Pete McClouth, who also seemed like he was losing his mind.  Pete took those pictures of the UFO and told Chase that there were aliens walking around, manipulating his mind.  What if he was right about everything?

Pete said that they looked like angels.  Chase couldn't think of any better way to describe Avery.  She was like an angel.  He could also honestly say that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever met.  He had to wonder if there was some sort of correlation between her looks and the fact that she was an alien.  Her sister Cadence was also very attractive, and he had to admit that Nathan was also good looking.  Maybe they did all look like angels, just like McClouth said.

No wonder she wouldn't tell me her secret.

Chase recalled the time in her garden, where Avery admitted that she didn't work for the government.  Chase pressed her, hard, but she wouldn't tell him who she was.  She said that she never would.

Since the moment he met her, he knew there was something different about her.  She had been kind and peaceable—innocent, even.  She looked at him differently than everyone else, and somehow she brought out the best in him.  Wherever she came from didn't matter.  The only thing that mattered was taking care of her.  If she was an alien, so be it.  He would not look at her any differently.