Sparks and Hearts

Stasis Lock

After a few days of sleeping in a car, the luxury of a bed never felt better, and I vowed never to take something like that for granted again. While I wished I could have remained sleeping longer, all good things must come to an end as I slowly awoke; the silver lining was one of the best things about hotels was the buffet breakfast that awaited me; that thought alone was enough to drag my arse out of bed and get ready for the day. 

While walking to the main dining room, my stomach growled in delight at the vast choices of pure deliciousness, from cereal, eggs, bacon, fresh fruit to fresh croissants; I was in my element.

So immersed in said element, piling my plate as high as possible, I failed to see a figure suddenly standing close.

''Holy shit! Don't just sneak up on me like that.'' I scolded.

''You can talk; I watched you sneak out of your room this morning, again.'' He fired back.

''I'm not sneaking anywhere; I'm just eager for some quality food. ' I defended.

Taking my table, I sat down once again, surprised that Barricade joined opposite me.

''How are you feeling?'' I asked while digging in.

''Little better but still not fully healed. We'll lay low here today and be gone by tomorrow, understood?'' He asked sternly.

''Perfectly,'' I answered.

''Good, now are you going to tell me what happened again yesterday?'' Barricade urged.

Recalling the memory of yesterday's said event, I looked away, embarrassed and slightly uncomfortable.

''What the humiliation of being handcuffed to a police officer, paraded around the mall like a common criminal exhibit? How did you expect me to react?''. I questioned.

''No, don't play me that card. Something happens to you in certain situations, your readings are different, and I'm trying to figure you out, but as of yet, I can't.'' Barricade narrowed his eyes in thought.

 ''You always do that, too.''

''What?'' I questioned.

''You fail to keep eye contact with everyone you interact with, including me. You'll give it at first but break it and look at things around you after initial contact.' It's odd as most humans I've studied keep eye contact.'' He answered.

''So you're studying me?'' I asked.

''From the night I met you.'' He stated not even bothered by it.

Though I was stunned at his ability to study me far closer than wanting to admit to myself, I couldn't help but laugh a little at the situation. I felt like a lab rat yet found the situation funny and just smiled shyly as I continued eating.

''I'm going back to recharge, don't leave the hotel complex, or you'll have me to answer to.'' He ordered before his holoform flickered and disappeared. 

''Wouldn't dream of it,'' I mumbled to no one in particular.

After spending most of the morning sleeping off my breakfast, the midday sun beaming down onto the hotel's crystal clear pool, looking all the more inviting; changing into my swimwear and grabbing a towel, I made my way over.

It wasn't overly busy, throwing my belongings on a chair before heading to the deep end, inhaling deeply, and dived down. The sting of the crisp water hit my senses, instantly cooling my body as I went to the bottom, kicking my legs when I hit the tiles before surfacing.

I was resting myself on the side silently as my eyes landed on the police cruiser. 

As I watched him, my mind was still stunned that that normal-looking car was an alien from another planet, and no one knew none the wiser. Another world supported different life systems and had gone a completely different direction from our own planet Earth.