Baaul: A Change of Heart

Chapter 13: Worry

Renee had been in a foul mood ever since Baaul ran off. It had been so damn stupid of her to come onto him like some damn middle school girl with her first crush! He was a powerful, alien warrior and she…was just a weak human being in jail. A nice jail, but one all the same. It was just as humiliating to her nine days later.

Yes. It had been over a week since Baaul had last graced her presence, no doubt disgusted by her confession. She had often retreated just like this when guys that she didn’t like came onto her so she was familiar with the ghosting. Really though, what hope could she honestly have had in telling him that he was gorgeous? That he would throw the laws of attraction out of the window and whisk her away to happily ever after? They weren’t even the same species for crying out loud! A species she didn’t even know the name of! That was only the surface issue! Surely there were cultural differences and not to mention could his kind even have se-

“Renee!”

A hand appeared in front of her eyes, snapping fingers to get her attention. She leaned back from her canvas, startled from being ripped away from her thoughts to see Hayden laughing at her. Lately he had been following her around and today he had arrived early to the art therapy session so he could pick an eastle next to her. She wasn’t entirely sure why he had taken a sudden liking to her, but she was ready for it to stop. So was Mandy.

“She doesn’t want to be bothered, Hayden. Leave the little freak alone.” She rolled her eyes on the other side of Hayden. Today she was wearing a pastel pink jogger suit that no doubt cost more than my monthly rent.

Renee scowled, glaring at Mandy with the disgust she deserved. “Trust me, Mandy. I don’t want to fuck him anymore than you want him to fuck me. Ease down. He’s yours okay?”

Hayden gave a boyish pout. “Hey, now! That’s not nice!”

Carl coughed from the other side of the room. He wasn’t hiding a laugh like some people use a cough to do. He just had been without his cigarettes for such a long time that his body was ridding itself of the toxins in his lungs. “Shut the fuck up, Hayden, you blowup himbo.”

Markus laughed.

It was then that Marianne strolled into the room. Her gray hair was looking a little more frazzled than normal and she appeared to have gotten ready in a rush, but her tone was the same mother-like chiding. “None of that, Carl. Sorry I’m late you guys. I had a late night call with the board chairman.”

Renee sighed but managed to keep it quiet as to not draw attention to herself. Staying under the radar when Marianne was around had been a crucial key to keeping her sanity here. They all had adopted this strategy actually and there was a nonverbal agreement to hide it from Marianne. Even Mandy wouldn’t tell on Renee for her harsh comment.

“What did he have to say?” Hayden asked, seemingly forgetting that Renee existed again. It was typical for him to only pay attention to someone when he wanted something from them.

“You know I can’t discuss that with you. Now!” Marianne sighed and clapped her hands together, turning that empty smile on them. “Let’s see what you guys have come up with!”

Marianne hopped up onto her desk, sitting with one leg curled under her. She waved her hand in a vortex motion, signaling them to turn their canvases around to face her. The point of the exercise had been to paint something that inspired them as it would put them in a sense of connection with the feeling.

One by one, Marianne looked over their 24x36 canvases, nodding in approval. She paused for a moment looking at Renee’s but continued down the line until she finished. Only then did she return to Renee’s and walk closer to get a look. Renee had expected revulsion, confusion, or shock, but she was surprised to see that Marianne was critically looking at her photo. “This is an interesting piece.”

Renee looked down at her painting of Baaul. He was every bit as beautiful and powerful as she made him out to be. Baaul stood proudly atop the tree outside her room, his body only partly facing them. She had originally pained him without his mask, but decided that Marianne and the others would likely find it a disturbing mental break of hers or something. So, he had his smooth mask on, the eyes of the mask glowing a soft yellow from the sun’s reflection.

Yes, she was a tad obsessive, but could people really blame her? She had just learned of his existence and the fact there are far more advance civilizations out there than their own! He also was the first person in her life to truly try protecting her in a way that she approved of. Everyone else either betrayed her, didn’t bother, or thought they knew better than she did about what she wanted.

Steve thought he was helping her, but it was a help that she didn’t ask for nor needed. Markus’s ‘help’ was more of a demand that she had a feeling that would lead into more demands that she didn’t want. The social workers forced their ‘help’ on her. The teachers in her numerous schools forced their moral corrections onto her. Marianne was very much like them too. Everyone…except Baaul pushed her for anything. A god damn alien was the first living being to ever show her any sort of respect, protection and comforting words. So yeah…she was fascinated by him.

“More like creepy.” Mandy muttered.

Renee didn’t miss a beat, “Girl, your nose job is creepy but I had the grace not to comment on it. You’d think that you’d learn to keep your unnecessary comment to yourself by now. Damn.”

Marianna’s heavy sigh was lost under the snorted laughter of Markus and the boisterous belly roll of a laugh by Carl. The ground trembled violently and a loud ‘BOOM’ shattered the glass windows. One of them even exploded, sending tiny shards of glass everywhere. There were screams, one of them even being Renee’s as she curled down on the floor instinctively.

The sound of gun fire echoed a bit away pulled Renee’s attention and from her position she could see black smoke rising from down the hill. Even in the middle of the day she could still see the blinding flashes of guns being used. Her ears started ringing and when she tried to stand up, she swayed. A hand caught her arm before she fell over. It was Markus. His eyes were wide and wild which seemed to force whatever shock Renee had been feeling to wash away.

“RENEE! MARKUS, GET OUT OF THERE!”

Renee turned to look back at Marianne who was standing in the open doorway, waving at them frantically to follow her. Everyone else in the room was nowhere in sight having already fled. Markus pulled Renee, forcing her body to kick into her natural flight response. Satisfied that they were following, Marianne started to lead them down the hall.

Her heart was racing almost faster than her heart and she was thankful that Markus had a vicegrip around her wrist because she was sure that she would have missed the door that Marianne ushered them into.

Was it Baaul out there? Had he found the ‘Bad Blood’? No. That had been normal gunfire. Man made weapons made those sounds. Who were they shooting at? Baaul? The ‘Bad Blood’? Rival gangs? She felt sick to her stomach at the thought of something bad happening to Baaul, even though logically she knew that he would be fine. He was a giant alien species much smarter than humans. He’d be fine…right?