Chapter 8
-Building a Spaceship-
Let me tell you one thing: building an alien spaceship is not easy.
After we haul all of Armani's pieces of his ship while the police officers are still frozen in place, we begin building the spaceship. Don't worry, Armani unfroze everyone at the scene of the crash after we left. But when I got home, I asked him to freeze my family in time so they wouldn't disturb us while we worked. And he did.
Armani's power to control time is amazing. He can freeze anyone he wants to with just the simple snap of his fingers. He could freeze an entire city, an entire state, and even half of the world if I asked him to. But Armani says that freezing time takes a toll on him after using it so much, and when he does use his ability, he goes to sleep for a few days to regain his strength.
So anyways, back to us building the ship. I tell Armani to help me carry all of the remaining pieces of his ship to the backyard. It takes so long hauling all the heavy pieces of material that when I'm done, I collapse in a chair from exhaustion. I never realized how out of shape I was. Armani uses his telepathy to move all the pieces to the backyard so he's not as tired as I am after we're done.
"That...was exhausting," I say in between gasps if air.
"Sorry. I did not realize it would take that long. We may rest for a while," says Armani. He sits down on a lawn chair next to me.
I try to catch my breath as I wipe sweat from my eyes. I hate looking like a mess, but I can't help it. My dirty blonde hair hangs in a messy ponytail with strands covering my face. I push them away with my hand and sigh.
"Are you alright?" Armani asks, his voice full of concern.
I nod, "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just not the most athletic person in the world."
Armani smiles a little, "It's alright. I'm going to assess the damage of my spaceship and see which parts I can salvage. Most of the pieces are irreplaceable, and I think the other humans must've taken a few pieces to be examined. It'll take a long time for me to build the lost pieces from scratch." He sighs sadly and leans back in the chair, looking defeated.
"Hey, it's gonna be okay Armani. I'm here to help you, so hopefully it won't take that long," I say, trying to sound upbeat.
Armani glances over at me and nods, "Yes, you're right. I am grateful for your help Cassidy."
Smiling, I nod. "So what should we do about the pieces of the ship you have now?"
"Well, if they're in working order, I'll probably begin putting them together. After that, I'll have to create any new parts of my ship that I'll need. But that could take weeks," Armani tells me, gazing at the destroyed spaceship.
I nod in understanding as I listen to Armani, "Yeah, I really hope we can get this fixed soon. I want you to go save your people."
"Yes so do I. Alright, I suppose I should begin constructing my ship now. You should rest for a bit," says Armani as he heads over to the nearest piece of the ship.
"Okay. I'm gonna go take a shower, so I'll be back soon. Remember, don't let anyone see you. I mean it Armani, it won't be good for either of us if you're seen," I warn him.
Armani turns to me, "Yes, I understand, Cassidy. I'll be careful."
I give him a small smile and nod, then sit back and watch Armani work. First, he carefully examines each piece of his destroyed spaceship to see if he can still use them. He picks up the usable parts and places them in one pile, then the unusable parts go in the opposite pile. I'm surprised that he's this organized.
After he organizes his ship's parts, unfortunately there are more damaged parts than usable ones. Armani observes his work, then, after a while, he picks up a rock and throws it against a piece of metal which makes a loud BANG! I jump, startled as I realize that I'd actually fallen asleep.
"Armani what's wrong?" I ask, rubbing my eyes.
"My spaceship...its completely destroyed. I can salvage barely enough pieces to build half the ship. The other half I'm going to have to repair manually, which is going to take weeks. I cannot waste that much time, my people are dying!" He cries out, his angry voice inside my head. Armani sinks to the ground, overwhelmed. I rush over and put my hand on his shoulder.
"Armani, calm down. I'm here to help you remember? I-I know I can't do much, but I'm gonna try my best and together we can figure this out, you'll see," I try to sound as reassuring as possible, but I'm not sure if it's helping the small alien.
He sniffs, and I realize that he's on the verge of crying. I can't even begin to imagine how he's feeling right now. Poor Armani is trapped on a foreign planet and is so far away from his people. He must feel so helpless. I know I feel helpless and I'm only trying to help him get back home.
"I appreciate your offer to help, Miss Cassidy. However, I know deep down that it'll take months for my spaceship to be rebuilt with only the two of us working on it. If I had more humans helping me, it may go by faster. However, the only people who truly know how to repair my ship is my people, and I have no way of contacting them," Armani heaves a heavy sigh as he stares up at the stars longingly.
I catch myself also looking up at the brightly lit sky full of stars, wondering about Armani's family. Were they safe? Were they being killed off by the second by Lord Vulcan? I was hoping it was the first option. I'm at a loss of words for what I can say to Armani. I've given him all the uplifting courage that I can think of for now.
Sighing next I say, "Armani there has to be a way we can communicate with them. They don't have a television screen or something we can use to talk to them face to face? Or-or-or-some kind of telephone or something?"
Armani shakes his head, "Unfortunately they do not. I'm sorry Cassidy. I think we are on our own now."
I nod then groan a little as I stand up, "Look, why don't we pick this up in the morning? You're lucky my backyard is hardly ever used by anyone in my family, since my parents sleep in the main home and since the backyard is closest to the guest home. No one really uses this side of our house much, so they shouldn't see your equipment."
Armani nods in understanding, "That sounds perfect. We should be getting some rest I suppose. Perhaps I'll wake up with an idea of how to repair my ship faster," says Armani hopefully.
Shrugging, I yawn and say, "Yeah hopefully. Come on let's get to bed." I hold out my hand for Armani to take and he does. I lead him inside my house that's full of sleeping people and we make our way to my room.
Armani falls asleep in my bed again and I make myself comfortable in my sleeping bag on the floor. But I don't go to bed right away. So much is going on in my head that I can't sleep. I'm too worried about Armani and his family, and how he's going to build his ship. I shake my head, trying to clear it. I'm sure he'll figure something out, he's smart, and I know he'll find a way back home. He just has to.
