-Chapter 6-
Pep Talk
That night I have a very bad nightmare. I dream that I'm in a spaceship which is on fire. There's flames burning brightly all around me, and smoke is filling my lungs, making me cough violently. I'm trying to find something I can use to put out this raging fire, but I don't see anything.
The smoke is so thick and dark that I can hardly see my hand in front of my face. I start crying and my anxiety reaches an all time high. I've never been so scared in my entire life. My heart is pounding so much I'm afraid it's going to burst out of my chest.
I swirl the smoke around until I can see the dashboard a little better. But when I look out the window, I scream in terror as I realize that I'm hurtling towards the ground. I'm only five feet away from it. At this point, I start pressing every button that I see, trying to put the fire out, but nothing works. I know I'm about to crash any second, and I hear myself scream again. That's when I wake up.
When I realize I'm awake and back in my own room, it takes me awhile to settle down. My heart rate is uncontrollable and I feel like I'm having a panic attack. I lay down on the floor for a while, until my anxiety slowly begins to disappear. When I feel it dissipate, I begin to feel better, but then I'm left with wondering, why in the world did I have that nightmare?
I don't think I've ever had a nightmare that intense or terrifying before. I shutter as I think about what just happened in my dream. Briefly, I wonder if I was experiencing what Armani had felt while he was crash landing into earth. But how would that be possible? There was no way I could be sensing his emotions or experiencing what he'd been through. It was just impossible.
I decide to get up and get a cold drink of water then head back to bed. Quietly, I get up and make my way to the bathroom. Armani is still sound asleep, sleeping peacefully. I smile a little as I see that he's not having any nightmares like I just did. After I get my cold drink, I come back to my room and try to go to sleep again. It's tough but when I finally do go to sleep, I luckily don't have anymore nightmares.
The next morning I yawn and stretch as I slowly wake up. Sunlight filters in through my window, forcing my eyes to open. I stretch again as I sit up. When I check on Armani, he's lying in bed looking better than yesterday. His arm still looks like a mess but he smiles at me when I wake up. I hear his voice in my head.
"Good morning, human. I hope you slept well," Armani says.
I giggle as I stand up, "Armani remember I told you to call me Cassidy. You don't have to call me "human".
Armani's small mouth turns into a frown then he says, "Ah yes, I apologize. I thought about working on repairing my spaceship today. I must get it in working order so I can return to my planet and see if there are any survivors after the battle Lord Vulcan began."
My eyebrows knit together in confusion, "Your leader had started a battle with his own people before you left? Why? What does he have against his own kind?" I ask, dying to know more about Armani and his race of aliens. All of this was just so fascinating and amazing. I couldn't believe I was learning so much about an alien species from an actual alien himself. It still felt like a dream.
"I do not know for sure. But I knew that Lord Vulcan was a corrupt leader when he took the throne for himself. I was supposed to rule Armania, but Lord Vulcan challenged me to a battle and I lost. My family forced me to flee from my planet, so here I am. I am a deserter. I do not deserve to rule my kingdom. Perhaps it is better if Lord Vulcan does it instead."
Armani looks down sadly, and sighs. I can tell this upsets him talking about his planet and his history. But I wanna help him as much as I can and to do that, I need to know what happened that brought him to earth. I'm in so much shock at the news that I don't know what to say at first. Finally I think of something, "That's so horrible, Armani. But you can't think like that. Lord Vulcan isn't the rightful owner of your throne, so he doesn't deserve it. You had to abandon your planet because the people need you to survive. When you get stronger you can return there and fight Lord Vulcan to regain your place as the rightful king of Armania. Understand? You have to lead your people, Armani. It's what you were born to do."
After looking away from me for what seemed like several long minutes, Armani heaves a heavy sigh, and winces. I guess his ribs and injuries are still painful for him. "You're absolutely right, Cassidy. But I feel as though I'm unfit to rule. Lord Vulcan is so much stronger and more powerful than I."
I start to get angry because this "Lord Vulcan" person has made Armani feel this way. What Armani has gone through sounds so sad and terrifying. I don't know how he's been able to cope with all of this. I certainly wouldn't have been able to. I think of something encouraging to say, "It doesn't matter how powerful Lord Vulcan is. The people know that you're their rightful leader, so you have to get strong and go back to defend your kingdom. It might take a little while, but you can do it Armani. I know you can."
I notice that Armani's eyes had gotten a little red and he wipes away a tear quickly after hearing what I say. I go over and sit on the bed beside him, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Your words are very kind and encouraging, Cassidy. It will not be easy getting my strength back. It will take a while as my body is fragile and my kind do not heal as quickly as humans do. But in the meantime, I'll work on my spaceship and perhaps you can help me."
I hold back a laugh as I shake my head and say, "Me? Help you work on an alien spaceship? You've gotta be kidding. Armani I'm barely passing ninth grade algebra, and I hate math. I have no idea how to rebuild a foreign alien spaceship. I'm sorry; you're asking the wrong girl."
Armani shakes his small head, "No, I'm sure you can do it. I'll tell you what to do, and together we'll get it done quickly."
I look at Armani uncertainly, then shrug, "Alright, why not? I'll try my hand at building an alien spaceship."
Armani smiles, "Wonderful! We'll begin first thing tomorrow. I'm still in need of rest and must recover from my broken arm. I wish I wasn't so injured so I could begin rebuilding my ship," Armani says wistfully.
"Don't worry, you'll heal. It just might take a week to get better," I tell him.
"A whole week?? Are you serious? I must return to my planet as soon as possible, how can I stay on earth for a whole week, being injured, while my people are dying!" Armani shouts. I cover my head with my hand as he shouts because it's so loud that he gives me a headache.
"Oww," I mumble as my ears ring from the pain that's reverberating in my head. I put a hand on my forehead which is now throbbing.
"Oh, sorry. I did not mean to shout, I did not know it would hurt your head," Armani says, looking at me sadly.
I hold up my hand to stop him from apologizing, "It's fine. So, anyways, I know your people are in danger. But for right now we need to focus on getting you strong and healing you. So when you're back to your normal self and at full health, you'll be ready to take on Lord Vulcan."
Armani smiles a little and nods, "You're right, Cassidy. That is a good plan. I just feel terrible that I left my people up there. But I'm going to save as many as I can when my health returns."
I nod, smiling back, "That's right. Oh crap, I'm going to be late for school! I gotta get going. Please, just stay in my room until I get back later today. Don't go out anywhere, and if you hear someone coming in my room, hide in the closet. Got it?"
Armani looks at me confused, tilting his head, "Can I not go with you to this "school"? I'd rather not be stranded in a strange place alone."
I feel guilt build up inside me at the thought of leaving Armani here alone. But I have no choice. If I take him to school and if he is seen by someone, they'll be calling the SWAT team, Men in Black, military, and anyone who has the authority to deal with an alien. I can't let anything bad happen to Armani and right now, my house is the safest place for him to be. No one knows he's here except me, so he'll be fine. I hope.
"I'm sorry Armani, but you'll be fine. You can do whatever you want in my room. My parents are probably both at work already. Just please don't break anything. Alright?" I say as kindly as possible.
Armani nods at me, "Alright. I shall be here until you return from this "school".
Giggling, I grab my backpack and earbuds then head out of my room towards Derek's car. He's already waiting for me and I get in, smiling at him. He gives me a weird look but then shrugs as he starts the car. When we leave, I desperately am hoping that no one goes in my room if my parents come home early. And I hope Armani doesn't come out either.
