Strange lights and other occurrences; a guide to alien housemates

Chapter 3: Astral converter

Shopping put away, the three decided to take a walk back to the beach onto which Anya had crashed. The sand was soft now, and massaged their feet as they walked. Children ran around, laughing and playing. Evidence of the previous night's event had all but disappeared, apart from the large chunks of metal that lay strewn across the shore, on rocks and sticking from the water as though the earth itself had split. The sky was light blue, the sea a calm deep blue. All was well, except for the presence of clusters of journalists, cameras pointing to the shore, cameramen filming the jagged parts with awestruck expressions. It wasn't quite a media takeover, but it was certain that the crash hadn't gone unnoticed. One news presenter stood before  particularly large chunk of ship, speaking into the camera before her about how a "suspected meteor" had left this debris, interviewers asking one very disgruntled local about what he thought. All Anya could hear was;

"Well I 'eard the crash last night, but when I looked out there was no-one around. I'll bet you £10 its the government. This damn government, dumping waste metals on our lovely coast, not caring about us residents. I tell ya," he grumbled "I'll be writing to the council about this, and the local MP too, mind you!" he continued, but Anya had zoned out. 

"I guess we can't investigate at the moment" whispered Anya to Dan, who laughed and replied;

"Well no, unless you're going to walk up to the BBC over there and say "oh by the way could I just take a look at this particularly large piece of ship, its just I crash landed it last night and I need my Spatula" I'd say its not such a good idea." 

"Not to mention a little irresponsible. Going into the sea just for a spatula. I wouldn't risk it." Phil added. Simultaneously, Dan and Anya squinted at him.

"Why don't we just wait for them to leave and pretend to just be tourists?" suggested Anya.

"Yeah. That'll work right up until the government quarantine." Dan was clearly sceptical.

"They won't I'm sure."

And they didn't. Around 3 hours later, all media had gone, as though the story had already been forgotten. As the last cameraman stumbled up the beach, equipment in hand, Phil spoke up.

"Right, we can go and look for your spatula now, Anya." Dan rolled his eyes, put down the spade with which he was making a sand castle, and rolled up his trousers.

All trace of blood had gone, luckily, leaving only the strewn items along the shore. Anya picked up a small black box with golden markings on it, assessing the damage. Satisfied, she placed the item in a bucket. It would take a lot of drying, but somehow, she thought, this would be salvageable. She picked up a few more items, dropping some deemed beyond damaged along the way. Dan and Phil watched her walk along the beach, collecting parts like shells, getting rid of all those misshapen by impact. Eventually, she had collected all she needed. Trudging back to them, she looked out at the seascape, thinking only of how beautiful this place was, and how lucky she had been to land here of all places.

"OK. I think I have everything now," She declared as she reached the pair, who were bathing their feet in rock pools. They stood up.

"Now, I just have to figure out how to get home." She sighed deeply.

"What do you need to be able to get home?" enquired Phil

"An astral converter," she spoke, in a matter-of-fact way.

"What's that?" Dan asked, confused.

"No idea" she replied "It just sounded good. I mean, there is only one true problem here."

"Which is?" questioned the pair in sync. They looked at each other suspiciously.

"Well... you see, I have to get up there," she signalled expressively upwards, then hinted at the ground "But I'm down here."

Seemed legit. Phil jumped into action. 

"Dan?"

"Mmhmm?"

"Could I speak to you for a minute?"

"OK"

They turned their backs on Anya. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but they seemed to be having a long discussion. She picked up a stone, looked at it, and threw it in the sea.

"We've agreed."

"Oh, congratulations... uh... what on exactly?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry, forgot to say," Phil giggled, Dan punched him in the arm. "We've agreed to let you stay with us, that is, if you'd like to"

"To... what?" She was surprised

"Yeah, since, you know, you're pretty much alone and have no way of getting home, we figured you'd need somewhere to stay whilst you figure out what you're doing" Dan offered.

"I... I... don't know what to... but where would I stay?"

"At ours! We've got a spare room, we can help you figure out whatever you need to figure out, and in the mean time," Phil paused, looking to Dan for agreement "We'll be your new housemates!" Delighted, Anya grinned, tears welling in her eyes.

"Really? You'd... help a total stranger such as myself... just like that..?" Now she truly felt blessed to have landed here.

"Of course, I mean, no offence but you have the threat level of a deaf hamster." Dan somehow managed to make this seem inoffensive. "We just thought you could do with friends, seeing as you're alone here"

Anya expressed her gratefulness by hugging them both. Taken aback, they resolved, separately, that they would do what they could to help her. 

The next day would be their return home. Ordering an extra train ticket for their guest, Dan could sense that this decision would be one they'd never forget.