In Alien Hands: Family Ties

Meeting the Humans

Shortly after Grae gave me the mint, I heard the front door of the house open. Right away, I heard a woman yell.

"I'm hoooomeeee!" She called across the house, causing Merle to put a hand on my shoulder.

" Meeee toooooo! " called another voice, another woman.

"I'm not." Grumbled another voice, this one a boy.

I could hear Grene calling from the front of the house, he seemed to be struggling with something. My dog-man called back to him, putting an arm in front of me, I presume to stop me from leaving. Once he realized I wasn't making a move, he put the arm down. My curiosity was peaked now, I wanted to see who was here.

I watched as a man and woman, both in their 40's, came into the living room. The man looked strict, like he'd been in the military. He had a buzzcut and a near-permanent looking frown. He managed a smile when he shook my hand, his firm hand cut accompanied with his name.

"I'm Jak, with no 'c'."

" I'm Holly. " I said.

"I'm Jeen, with no 'a' and double 'e'." The woman piped in. She seemed friendly, reminding me of my mother slightly. I thought I knew almost immediately who they belonged to, their dog-men had seemed to rub off on them. I was shocked to see Jeen go to Grae and Jak to Pynke, the old dog-woman.

I wasn't expecting what happened next. I heard a loud CRASH in the next room, then a woman skittered in, seeming to be running from something. She nearly crashed into me as well, stopping moments before collision. I just stared at her, dumbfounded. Before I gathered myself, she stuck out her hand.

"I'm Lyndsey. With a 'Y'" she grinned, snatching my hand and shaking it vigorously. Before I even managed to respond with my name, she hugged me and ran off, Grene following behind in an attempt to catch her. She giggled, running around the corner and out of sight. I watched as Vyelet got up and walked out of the room.

Next came in the boy I had heard earlier. He seemed tired, but smiled at me and held out his hand. I shook it, smiling back. I was still confused about Lyndsey, but this guy seemed calm. He had brown eyes and curly hair.

"I'm Aspin, with an 'i'" he sighed. Lyndsey had made a round of the entire house, still giggling, Grene with his arms outstretched trying to reach his human. Aspin sat down next to Vyelet, and Steele got up next. He came back in with another girl, one who grinned at me softly.

"Hi." She said, offering me her hand, " I'm Ami, with an 'I'" she had black hair and kind eyes, but I could still see the mischief within. After I introduced my name (i had begun to wonder if my name was spelled differently as well, considering literally everyone I'd met was the same way), she glanced back at Lyndsey and joined her, running from Grene together.

I was tempted to join them, but Merle held me tight, during a trip round, Grene stopped and said something to Merle, but he kept his grip. When Lyndsey and Ami came back around, Merle let me go. I took off, joining them in the race across the house. They had to show me the route they were taking.

I whizzed past a kitchen, a dining room, a hall, a second living room, a foyer, front door, back door, set of stairs, and finally the living room again. After a couple rounds of Lyndsey and Ami showing me the route, I was able to memorize it.

I ended up getting caught by Grene, I didn't know the route well enough. I stumbled on a step and fell to the ground, Grene easily scooped me up. He carried me to Merle, I was still giggling. Merle seemed happy, too. Nayvee got up and joined Grene on the Human hunt while Vyelet held me and spent some time with me.

Published 11/13/18