The Ice Warrior

Chapter 23

Silv was stunned into silence as more than one gun was trained in their general direction. The fact that they were outnumbered and caught by surprise didn't bode well with her. To be caught off guard so many times was something she found beyond irritating.

"Is this how you treat your guests, boys? No wonder you never have any visitors. Has no one ever taught you not to point guns at people?" Rose asked, calmly addressing the boys stood by the door.

Before they had the chance to respond in any way, Rose's eyes scanned the surroundings, noting something that made her pause. Her whole mood shifted in an instant.

Jack, the little boy whom she had known since he was a baby, and loved as if he were part of her family, had a small gun pointed at Silv. It made her heart beat so fast that she found it difficult to establish control over herself.

"Joe, are you crazy? How could you let him carry a gun? He is too young!" Rose said, furious.

However, Silv and Wir Eis were too uncomfortable with being threatened to do anything but raise their hands in surrender. After all, when the situation wasn't going in one's favor, surrendering was a valid option.

That was especially true for the world they lived in since the horrible tortures of the past no longer existed, and prisoners had humane conditions and more freedom than ever. Though, as a consequence, there were far more prison escapes than in the past.

"Viper, I should be asking questions here, since you brought danger to my home, to my family," Joe said.

"You know very well that I would never do that to you, to the boys. Besides, we both know this isn't your real home," Rose said.

As she said that, she moved cautiously to stand between Jack, who was still holding his gun with shaking hands, and Silv, since she was unsure if the little guy might fire his weapon by accident. Having been the one to convince Silv that they would find help in sector 15, Rose was ready to do whatever it took to protect her granddaughter.

"Then, how do you explain...that thing?" Joe asked.

"That's just my friend, as I already told you," Rose said.

"It's not human," Joe said.

"Wir Eis." Wir Eis said.

"It talks," Joe said, startled.

"Joe, I expected better of you. I didn't know you were racist. Isn't discrimination what you are all fighting? And here you are, pulling guns on him just because he is different." Rose said.

"What's 'Wir Eis'?" Joe asked, looking at Silv.

"It's his real name," Silv said exasperated.

"What is he?" Joe went on to ask.

Rose took a deep breath, gathering her patience before answering the question. She had hoped that she would have more time to prep Joe and the others for the revelation, but it was clear she would have to go ahead of schedule if they wished to come out unharmed.

"Before I say anything. Can you please take Jack's gun, his hands are trembling so much that they are making me nervous," Rose said, smiling gently at the boy, not wanting to scare him.

As Joe slowly removed the old pistol from the boy's hands, Rose relaxed, even though Joe went on to point the gun at Rose's head. She knew that he could be reasoned with, while Jack was far too young and terrified to think at all.

"All right, so Wir Eis is an alien. He has been stuck on this planet since the ice age began. We are trying to help him get back to his planet. Also, the Government is after us because we 'borrowed' a few things, and they fear we might reveal the existence of aliens to others." Rose said, purposefully not including the information about Wir Eis' father being the one to create the ice age.

"Oh, is that all?" Joe asked sarcastically.

"I think that about sums up our current situation," Rose said.

Joe stared at Rose's eyes for a long time, searching for any signs of deceit. In his line of work, he had to be good at judging people, and he was the best there was.

"Boys, lower your weapons," Joe said, putting his gun down.

The boys did as they were told without questions asked, because they learned to trust their grandfather's instincts over the years. Besides, they didn't want to have to shoot Viper, whom they've known for years.

"It's good to see you, Viper," Jamie said, hugging her.

"You too, my boy," Rose replied.

"I thought you were rotting in a Government holding cell somewhere," Justin said, also embracing her.

"No, not me. I've just been laying low, avoiding trouble. Not that you guys would know anything about staying out of trouble." Rose said, mock punching Justin.

Justin chuckled at that seemingly common teasing. The familiarity between them all was quite a shock for Silv. However, she made no comments deciding to assess the situation before reacting.

Silv couldn't help but wonder how often her grandmother visited sector 15 and how well she knew the people who were pointing guns at them one moment and laughing the next.

"Okay, let's talk about the alien in the room," Joe said chuckling.

"First, I think someone owes me a hug for directing his gun at me, don't you think so, Jack?" Rose asked.

Jack bounded towards her happily, hugging her tightly.

"I am sorry for aiming my gun at you, V. It won't happen again," Jack said.

"It better not," Rose said, stroking his hair.

"Talking about guns, who is your supplier? Those weapons are older than the ice age!" Rose said.

"You know I can't reveal my sources, but we take what we can get. You know very well that no one is as good at getting us modern weaponry as you are." Joe said.

"True," Rose said smiling at him.

"Stop stalling, Viper. Let us properly meet your friends." Joe said.

"Wir Eis, you can take off the image modulator," Rose said.

As Wir Eis pulled off the watch, a loud gasp filled the room as they saw his enormous shape and thoroughly non-human features.

He tried to smile at the stunned humans. However, seeing his large, sharp teeth had quite the opposite effect. Thus, he gave up the attempt.

"Relax, guys. He comes in peace." Rose said, chuckling to herself.

None of the gathered living beings understood her reference. However, Arthur, who had been quiet during the whole exchange, let out a strange struggled sound that Rose came to understand was his version of laughter.