The Space Between

Chapter Sixteen: "Strangers like Me"

Sean's hand felt so weak and small in Logan's scaly hand. Logan's long talon nails curled entirely around his hand, the sharp tips pressing into the back of his hand. Sean winced, mumbling out shakily. "Easy on your grip." Logan released him, blushing as he uttered under his breath. "Sorry... We don't usually shake hands. I'm still learning..." Sean pulled his hand back, feeling something stick to his palm. Turning his hand over he saw a patch of wet skin that wasn't his own. Logan hunched his shoulders with embarrassment, reaching out to peel the skin off his hand. Unable to make eye contact with him now, Logan was barely audible when he said. "That's happening more and more lately... I'm... still growing." Sean discreetly wiped his palm across his thigh, asking a little surprised. "Still growing? But you're already so big... How old are you?" Logan finally looked at him, answering dryly. "In human years or Reptilian?" Sean blinked perplexed. That thought hadn't really occurred to him. How long did lizards live for? Logan smirked at Sean's reaction, before simply adding a little amused. "I'm seven in Reptilian years. Which makes me... Seventy-two in Human years."

Sean's eyes widened in disbelief as he squeaked out. "Seventy-two?! How long do you guys live for?!" Logan lifted a hand to count with his fingers, lost in thought for a minute as he mumbled things in another language that he couldn't completely hear. After a minute, he lowered his hand and answered bluntly. "We live for about two-hundred years in human time. Which would make the average Reptilian age about two-thousand and eight hundred years old?" Sean's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Pointing to Logan, Sean stammered out. "So, you are... A kid?" Logan nodded, asking a little confused. "Yes. I just told you that." Sean sat forward, saying completely dumbfounded. "But you were going to hack into NASA and... You were gonna..." Sean pointed to the bed unable to finish that part. He had thought he was dealing with a large adult predator, but now it was more frightening to think that was just a kid! Logan snorted with a blushing smile as he said. "By Reptilian standard, I'm what you'd call a teenager. I reached 'maturity' as you humans put it, last month."

Sean raised an eyebrow, mumbling out to himself. "And you're practically a kid genius... Well, that makes me feel stupid." Logan rolled his eyes, grumbling out. "I'm actually the dumbest kid in my class... but thank you." Sean crossed his arms, collecting himself better as he blurted out. "What a minute... Then that means you've NEVER hunted before?" Logan's tail tapped the floor anxiously as he uttered out. "Again. I told you that... I've never killed anything... I thought it would be easy. The adults make it sound so easy. But smelling your fear and hearing your distress... It is..." Logan suddenly sprang out onto all fours, locking eyes with Sean as he rushed out in a panic. "Look you can't tell anyone! They'll kill us both if any of this gets out! I shouldn't even be talking to you!" Sean slammed his back up against the nightstand, extending out a hand toward Logan's long scaly nose as he rushed out in a barely contained voice. "Whoa! I won't! No one would believe me anyway... I'm not even sure I believe any of this!"

Logan leaned back to his crouched position, covering his face with his hand and he whined out a little. "My dad's gonna kill me... I can't do anything right... I can't even kill you..." Sean lowered his hand, saying gently. "Hey... Don't say that. You escaped your guards and managed to get to me before revealing yourself. That's not bad for your first time around humans." Logan lowered his hand, flinching as his stomach growled loudly. For a few seconds, a silence fell between them, until Sean chuckled out. "Oh... How long has it been since you've last eaten anything?" Logan shifted uneasily on his feet, rubbing his scaly stomach as he admitted gruffly. "Not since I ran away... It's been getting worse..." Sean climbed to his feet slowly, telling him with a chuckle. "Well... That explains your growing mood swings. See, humans get kind of bitter when we're hungry too. Just stay here." Logan moved to the door before Sean reached it, nervously mumbling out. "What are you going to do?"