Noelle

Chapter 1

Fantasy usually is NOT my thing, I leave that to people with decent imaginations :) But I dreamt of this about a year ago. I don't know why it stuck with me. This is an alien love story and I do hope you appreaciate it. Vote and comment!

          The grandeur walls protected the city from the Sahara desert, shielding it from the intensity of nature. The walls, towering a hundred feet high, were not orderly nor well-built. It looked as though it had been hastily thrown together in a matter of a few weeks. It was obviously not meant to block out nature, but rather unnatural forces of destruction. 

          I'd never seen such a city before. I'd never seen a city before. Excitement paraded through me, and for a moment it even toppled over the dark reason behind my quest. I did not come to the city to be amazed, though. 

          It may sound silly, but I did not want to leave the desert to enter the city. In the desert there is no one but the small reptiles and vultures, in the city there are people. I'd never met another person besides my dearest Dean and the cowboys in the television. Needless to say I was quite inexperienced in the culture and ways of those that resided in the city. 

          Dean had left me with only one thing when he'd left, a gun. At least that's what I believed it to be. I'd seen many guns in the old westerns we watched together. The thing I now carried looked a bit like the ones on the television, but at the same time it appeared a tad different. Instead of a dusty coal color, the gun I held was a reflective silver. The more I tried to understand how it worked, the more I seemed to waste the ammunition. Eventually I'd gotten so frustrated I'd shot a good portion of the brick red bullets into the sky. Now I was left with only one. One little red pellet. I understood that it was a weapon, but I couldn't fathom when I would use it.

          Though I did not want to, I knew I must enter the city. I pushed forward into the barren desert with only the intentions of entering the place behind the walls. 

          "You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those you dig. You dig." 

          I sat on the sofa, staring at the screen. This was my favorite of all the movies in the R.V. I'd watched every film we had at least twice. I'd read every book, too. Sometimes, often really, I found I did not understand the concepts. They eluded me, leaving me confused and feeling estranged from everyone else. I was different, I'd always been aware of that, but I didn't like feeling abnormal. 

          The door swung open, revealing the only person I'd ever known. "Hi there, Noelle." Involuntarily, my lips drew into a bright grin. I stood up and took a step towards him, wrapping my arms around him. Dean said this is how people say hello to the ones they love. 

          "Hi," I greeted him as we embraced. Dean smelled of the desert, hot and dry. I pressed my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. It made me smile. I did not have a heartbeat to listen to. 

          "Are you hungry?" I asked him. This was a respectful thing to say. 

          "I'll get myself something." He assured me. "Go back to watching your movie." I nodded, taking a seat back on the gray-green couch. Though my eyes were on the television, I listened to Dean as he rifled around in the cupboards. He made noises occasionally, expressing disapproval of something or other. Finally, he shut the cupboard and took a seat next to me. For the fourth time this week, he was eating a bag of potato chips. Dean wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled my head into his lap. I lay still, taking in the loveliness of the moment. 

          Dean left every morning before sunrise and came home every night just before nightfall. Because I did not sleep, I read all night. I did not need light to read, so usually I would lay next to Dean in the bed. Sometimes he would murmur in his sleep.

          Tonight, Dean seemed more worn out then usual. I often felt the urge to ask him where he went in the day, but I refrained. During the day I was not to leave the R.V. nor was I aloud to open the closed blinds. This was a preventitive measure, I could tell, but to prevent what? I never asked. 

           "You're watching this one again." He said softly, referring to my choice in movies.

          "I like this one."

          "I like this one, too, Noelle." 

          We lay in silence for a great amount of time. I could feel he was beginning to dose off, slowly falling into a dreamland. Sometimes I wondered what Dean dreamt of. Since I did not sleep, Dean had had to explain to me in depth what a dream was. He told me it was like watching a movie, but your mind was the one making the pictures. He explained that sometimes they had stories behind them, and other times they were just random images. 

          Knowing he would soon be unconcious, I whispered, "Good night."

          "Night," He said back. 

          Great, looming men guarded the gate. They were heavily armed with what looked to be larger versions of my gun. There were four of them, but I could see several others stood on top of the wall. I trudged forward, and was met with examining looks.

          "We got a looker!" One of the men called up to his comrades on the top of the wall.

          "You all alone, sweetheart?" Another called out to her. 

          They all continued to chatter with one another happily. One of them was quiet though. He was a large, beefy man that seemed to cast a shadow over the rest of the men. He stood stark straight, his dark eyes glinting in the sunlight. 

          I stopped ten yards away from the men, not wanting to come too close. They all hooped and hollered at me. The large dark guard took a step towards her. "What business do you have in the city?" 

          "I'm looking for someone."

          "Come closer."

          I walked towards the guard, feeling a tad anxious. He closed the distance between us. "Stand still." He commanded in a deep and heavily accented voice. I obeyed. The dark skinned guard took one brawny hand and touched it to my face. Gently, he pressed his thumb against my eye lashes, holding my eye open. I felt the sudden urge to blink, and my eye protested as he continued to hold my eye lid up. "Alright." He said loudly enough so that his coworkers could hear him. "Open the gates!" Several of the guards turned around and ran up a short pathway to a short wall under an archway. Together, they managed to slide the wall open about two feet. The big guard directed his attention back to me. "Go in." He commanded. 

          I was confused. Why had he held my eye open? Why were there guards afront the walls of the city? I looked up at the guard, but his face gave no hint. Cautiously, I asked, "What is it you're trying to keep out of the city?" A few of the guards that had heard my question went silent, their faces solemn. 

          The main guard's expression was emotionless, purely rational. "To keep out the silver-eyes." He said sternly, not bothering to look down upon me. He showed no sign of speaking again, so I decided to go on my way. Tenatively, I began to walk towards the opening. The other guards, still staring at me and making cracks under their breath, let me through. I walked through the small opening in the wall, it shut immediately behind me. I could hear the soft chatter of the guards on the other side of the wall.  On this side of the wall, I could finally see the city.

          It was a great architectural feat. Buildings sprung up along the horizon, much more expertly built then the walls that guarded them. People scurried about, not noticing me or anyone else. Carts filled with food and other supplies seemed to be everywhere. They shouted at passerbys, inviting them to buy their goods. The streets were dirt, and filled with all kinds of tracks. I could see camels and horses walking proudly through the gobs of people. 

          I took a step forward into the crowd, wanting to lose myself among the civillians. Warm bodies touched mine in passing, brushing along every inch of my body. I could feel a stood out, even though I was within a mob of people. The pedestrians all had dark skin and black hair, they all looked the same. But I did not. My skin was nearly translucent from having spent no time in the sun, and my hair was a golden yellow. I did not look like these people. I was separate from them. 

          I walked with the crowd, pacing myself to their speed. I did not know where I planned to go or what I planned to do. But for now I was lost in a sea of people.