The Day They Came (WATTY AWARDS 2016)

Chapter 9

Xyzle walked up to the main floor of the ship. This was where his room, his father's room, and key guest rooms were located. These key guest rooms were locked by key card from the outside, or could be locked from the inside, depending on the situations.

He now walked to Claire's room. She had been very cooperative and amiable. Yesterday, she had even allowed him to make the chain of her handcuffs shorter to keep protocol.

Her words to her, during the lock down, still haunted him. Frightened? Scared? He understood why she would fear for her life – after all, she had been abducted by aliens. He'd give her that.

He took a deep breath, but he was still rather anxious. Then, he swiped his key card and opened the door to her room.

He hadn't expected her to dress up for the date. However, she managed to surprise him. One of the shirts he had grabbed must have been what they called something dressier, because she was wearing it. Her jeans flared at the knees, and had a wider leg below that point. She was also wearing a pair of black shoes – the same she was wearing the day he abducted her.

"My father has turned the tracker off. It will reactivate at five for precautions. He has given us the entire afternoon and evening." He didn't bother to announce his presence; she had turned around to face her.

"I appreciate that he's giving me the chance to go home for a few hours." She smiled a little, running her hands through her hair.

Then she began to do something with it.

"Should I wait until you finish?" He wasn't quite sure what to do about it. She could, on the one hand, want to wait. On the other, she could simply be nervous.

"No, we can go." She let go of her hair. It stayed in the hairdo, and he smiled a little. It looked rather pretty.

"This may feel a little weird. You may feel queasy when we land, so I'm going to your apartment to begin our day on Earth." He held his hand out for hers as he spoke. She gingerly took it. The warmth alone was enough to make his knees go weak.

He pressed a button on his watch. The ship disappeared around them, and then the living room of her apartment came into being around them.

She wasn't sure what to do when they landed. However, her first step ended with her on his chest as she lost her balance.

"Easy, Claire." He picked her up and set her on the couch. "You may want to sit for a few minutes." He sat beside her.

"That was...interesting." She managed to say something. He smiled a little, taking her hand in his.

"Why are you so warm?" It came out as a curious question. "I'm just curious."

"I'll tell you why I'm so warm if you tell me why you're so cold." She seemed to be half teasing him, but he nodded anyway. He wanted to fully earn her trust. "Human body temperature, when we are healthy, is around 98.6 degrees. If our temperature reaches something around 106 degrees...we could die." Her eyes flickered down. Had she...been in that situation?

"I tend to be the temperature of cooled silver – around...77 degrees in your scale." He managed a smile. When she was sleeping during the escape attempt yesterday, he had learned about the human temperature scale.

"That's interesting. What is a Mykalean's normal body temperature? Someone like your dad?" She couldn't help but ask; he could see the curiosity in her eyes.

"Somewhere around 90 degrees." He managed to make the conversation. "It's odd." He laughed a little.

"It's cool, no pun intended." A wide smile came onto her face. He didn't understand the phrase.