Gently Falling Rain

     "What the actual hell?” Jody muttered.

     The wave of excitement she experienced at hearing Ria’s voice dimmed when Jody saw her. She thought she was hallucinating. Ria floated in midair, visible only from the waist up. She shook the rain out of her eyes, but the image remained the same.

     Ria frowned at her, and then her expression cleared. She held up her hand, motioning for Jody to wait. When she leaned to the side, Ria’s hand and arm vanished. A second later, the air around her wavered, like heat off of asphalt. Then a sand-colored craft glimmered into view. The triangular craft sported three landing struts that resembled the hide of an elephant. Thick and stout, they even had wrinkles and wide footpads.

     Two silvery metallic studs popped up on each side of the cockpit where Ria stood. In response to something else she did, tubes shot out from the studs and unfolded. A short ladder extended from the opening of the craft to about a foot above the ground.

     Unmindful of the rain, Ria climbed out of the ship and raced toward her. She carried something in her right hand, concealed behind her thigh, but Jody barely noticed. She was too excited to see Ria unharmed. Joy overwhelmed her, and Jody reacted without hesitation.

     Jody hopped over the dead Nex and met Ria halfway, throwing her arms around the waspish waist as she buried her face against her chest. Warmth embraced her as Ria hugged her back. Then a sharp pain in her neck caused Jody to gasp and lunge away.

     “What the hell?” she demanded, pressing one hand against the sting.

     Ria held up a device that resembled a jet injector, the kind of thing doctors used to administer medications. “It is a neural blocker intended to fight Nex mind control.”

     “Then you already know what’s going on. I’m glad to hear it, but where the hell were you? I couldn’t reach you through the communicator. What happened? Why didn’t you contact me?”

Jody’s questions stopped when Ria hugged her close again.

     “The Nex blocked our communications,” Ria said softly into her drenched auburn hair. “Much has happened, but we have a safe place to stay now from where we can defeat them.”

Jody sniffed and pulled away. “I figured something bad happened. Then those damned things attacked and started taking over people’s minds. People shoved other people into the trucks and took them off somewhere. I barely got away.”

     She realized they probably shouldn’t be standing out here talking like this, but Jody needed Ria to hear everything. She felt like she’d lose it if she couldn’t share all the horror. For her part, Ria listened quietly. When Jody finally finished, Ria explained how the Ikonians had come upon the Nex captain and discovered their plot. She finished by describing their flight to Crab Lake in the gliders and what she had observed from the air.

     “So, Pat got to fly one, huh? Bet she loved that.”

     Ria chuckled. “She did. Unfortunately, she is not familiar enough with the area to predict where the Nex have situated their nest.”

     “Was that you I heard shooting?”

     Ria nodded. “Yes, myself and three others, including Pat. The Nex fled as soon as we began firing. We brought injectors to administer neural blockers. I am concerned about how the Terrans will react to another alien species after the Nex attack.”

     “I can help with that. So can Pat, but we have wounded. Can you help?”

     “Of course, but we should see how the others are coming first.”

     Jody and Ria skirted the perimeter of the garage to head back to the parking lot. She just wasn’t ready to saunter out onto the cracked concrete after everything that had happened. Instead, she leaned around the edge of the structure and saw very few townspeople remaining from the earlier bedlam. Pat, Chloe, and an Ikonian she didn’t recognize wandered among the townspeople. She recognized Chloe from her encounter with Ria aboard their ship. The Ikonians had moved the victims under the roof overhang of the garage to get them out of the rain. Most people sat around looking confused and more than a little exhausted. Now that the terror had begun to fade, she felt pretty worn out, too.

     The hot dog truck still burned. The flame sputtered and dropped in intensity as it was pummeled by the rain. Three gliders like the one Ria had flown were lined up in the square, turning it into an impromptu airport.

     Chloe spotted them and jogged over. The rain didn’t seem to bother her as she offered Jody a friendly smile. “They were somewhat panicked at first, but Pat calmed them. She told them we were friends. One of the men seemed to recognize our species. After I injected him, he also told the humans to trust us.”

     Jody spotted Mike sitting with the people against the side of the building. It was probably him. He must have returned for another load of victims while Jody was running for her life.

     “What’s in those injectors?” Jody yawned, belatedly putting a hand over her mouth. “I feel like I could sleep for a week.”

     “A mild sedative,” Ria admitted. “We couldn’t have your people panic once the mind link was broken.”

     She asked Chloe to clear the garage and then move the people inside. Jody happily let her take control. She didn’t think she could take charge of anything right now. At the last second, she told Ria about the three dead people in the mechanic’s bay. Chloe promised to take care of everything and entered the shop alone.

     With that out of the way, Jody told Ria about the well house. Her concern for Tyreek overrode all else. She was grateful when Ria put the remaining Ikonian to work sorting things here while they went after any desolate civilians that managed to gather at the pumping station.

     Jody followed Ria back to the glider and took up a spot behind and to her left. She sat in a puddle of cold water squished up between her ass cheeks. If only Ria had thought to close the canopy after she exited. Jody shivered and crossed her arms. The well house wasn’t far from the square, maybe half a mile. Jody didn’t think she could have walked even that far. Exhaustion made her eyelids droop. She had difficulty mustering up any excitement about riding around in an alien helicopter. Jody’s eyes drifted shut, and her head nodded.

     When she opened them again, she noticed Ria offering her something over her shoulder.

Her stomach growled at the sight of the ration cube. Jody mumbled a thanks and popped it into her mouth. The concentrated carbohydrates and sugars danced on her tongue, tasting like peanut butter and beating back the exhaustion. Ikonian metabolisms ran twice as hot as any human. While they required huge amounts of calories, one simple cube was enough for Jody to catch a second wind.

     The burst of energy cleared her mind enough for her to remember the abandoned weapons at the train depot. Delaying their arrival at the well house grated on her, but she couldn’t leave them behind. After sharing her concern, she closed her eyes for a moment while Ria altered their trajectory.

     She hadn’t engaged the cloak, and Nex poured out of the depot like ants from a kicked anthill. Ria held the craft in a hover until the horde cleared the area. As she gently touched down, Jody inhaled deeply to gather her strength.

     The muscles in Jody’s thighs shook as she climbed out of the glider. Common sense forced her to let Ria lead the way through the weeds to the depot’s clearing. She carried a wicked-looking shoulder-held weapon while Jody was currently unarmed. The design reminded Jody of an N.E.R.F. water cannon, as did the red-on-gray coloring. It only made sense to let her go first. Also, Jody was drowsy from the sedative. She didn’t trust her body’s reaction time, even if she had been armed.

     An idea about their situation niggled at Jody. She pushed the possibilities to the rear for the moment. With the townspeople still in danger, she forced herself to focus on one hurdle at a time.

     Just inside the clearing, Jody took point. She was fairly confident the Nex had vacated the depot. To her, that meant the inside of the train station was the safest place around. For now. Unarmed and with Ria guarding her back against ambush, Jody scaled the damaged steps. Carefully, she trod on the outside edges of the risers in a weird, crouching shuffle that kept the treads from creaking.

     An abundance of caution urged her to halt outside the structure. Jody placed one hand against the dry-rotted molding around the entrance. She slowly leaned forward, her eyes scanning constantly for any signs of movement. All she could see was the cracked concrete foundation. A small frog hopped quickly for the platform on the side.

     Nothing popped out when she entered the depot. Far from reassured, Jody tiptoed inside. While typically deserted, this piece of town history still held its concealed spaces. The Nex were small enough that they could hide in the most unlikely places.

     She wasn’t too proud to admit that those little devils scared the hell out of her.

     Puddles of water littered the concrete floor in a patchwork pattern, and rainwater dripped from the tattered roof. Murky daylight filtered through in a few holes the size of Jody’s fist. She skirted these areas, wet enough already that she expected to have the flu by tomorrow morning. With her luck, she expected a pneumonia chaser.

     Eyes popping, Jody gulped and scooted across on the toes of her boots. Fear made the space feel like it had doubled in length in the past few hours. She safely reached the ticket office door and released the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

     “I shall wait here.” Ria stood only a pace away but had turned to face the interior of the gutted train station. She presented Jody with a view of her beautiful wings.

     Desire struck unexpectedly, and Jody’s eyes involuntarily dropped to the twin globes of Ria’s ass. She gulped and forced herself to turn her head. Now was not the time for such distractions. Jody had to blink to concentrate on what lay before her.

     The limited view through the ticket office window didn’t show much. In hindsight, Jody should’ve left the door open earlier. She stopped abruptly with her hand on the rusty knob as her stray thought registered.

     She had not closed the door. Jody distinctly remembered the single busted hinge at the top and balking at the idea of forcing the aperture closed. Well, someone had closed it. From the clown car of aliens that poured out of the depot upon their arrival, she had a pretty good idea who.

     “Uh, Ria. Could you come here for a second?”

     Ria lowered the rifle and turned, confused but unconcerned. She favored Jody with a questioning look.

     “I think there might be someone inside,” Jody whispered.

     The muzzle of the rifle rose as Ria aimed toward the room. When she gave a curt nod, Jody pushed upward on the knob to lift the weight from the floor. Then she yanked the door open. It stuck a little in the frame before wrenching loose with a screech.

     A single Nex aimed the business end of Jody’s antique shotgun toward them. After that, the tiny monster didn’t seem to know what to do. Ria blasted it to dust before it figured out how to pull a trigger.

     “Well, that was anti-climactic.”

     Jody scooped her grandfather’s weapon off the concrete and then retrieved the stun pistol from the cabinet. She absently wiped the slime left on the stock onto the thigh of her jeans.

     As she affixed the pistol to her hip, Jody felt grateful that she never removed the Ikonian belt. After securing the firearm, Jody grasped the neck of the long gun and leaned the stock against her shoulder.

     “Are you ready? I’m pretty sure I have mushrooms growing out of my ears. I have to admit that I’m looking forward to getting our people, and myself, to someplace dry.”

     Minutes later, they hovered above a gray building, colored almost black from soaking up the inclement weather.

     “Down there,” she said, pointing toward the well house. From any viewpoint, the structure resembled a bunker. A single metal door led inside,e and there wasn’t a single window anywhere. “Can you help me get the people at the square over here? There’s not a lot of room, but at least they’ll be more protected than they will at the garage.”

     “There’s no need. The Nex ship can hold everyone comfortably. Trust me, they will be well cared for.” Ria lowered the craft slowly, setting it down in the mud a few feet from the door. Once she shut down the engine, Ria looked at Jody over her shoulder.

     Jody swallowed the lump in her throat. Impulse urged her to kiss Ria right now. Strange how that feeling was generated by a sense of gratitude. Then again, maybe any excuse to kiss her would do. She deliberately turned her gaze to their surroundings.

     “Hey, I think the rain is stopping.” The sun cut a beam through the canopy, warming Jody’s face. Then she remembered the dead Nex, and the relief she felt faded. At the same time, she remembered her conclusions from seeing the Nex turn to sludge in the rain. “Remind me that there’s something I need to tell you about a certain dead alien.”

     Jody stood as the canopy withdrew. The seat of her drenched jeans clung unpleasantly to her butt as she lifted a leg over the side. The ground squished wetly under her feet as Jody struck out for the well house.

     Combined with a muggy July day, the rain had created a foggy mist. The mist hovered in the air, reducing visibility and making the landscape even creepier. Jody half expected the metal door to be locked. It wasn’t. The hasp stood open with a padlock hanging from one side. Almost expecting another Nex to pop out like a Jack-in-the-Box, Jody stood back from the door, just close enough for her fingers to slide around the pull handle.

     “Ready?”

     Ria nodded, weapon at the ready.

     Jody yanked the door open, dropping into a crouch at the same time. The stock of the shotgun banged her in the back of the head. It didn’t hurt, but the impact distracted her from watching as Ria surged forward into the dark space. An instant later, she stuck her blonde head back out, one wing slipping around the doorframe while the other remained inside the structure.

     “There is no one here.”

     “What?”

     Jody believed her but had to see for herself. Machinery hummed, and muted lights flickered in a control panel along one wall as she entered. The disturbed earthen floor kicked up a wet, musty stink. Not intended for daily occupation, the space possessed a deserted air. A single large desk crowded with folders and a stack of papers sat abandoned at the back wall. Paper curled at the corners from the humidity. A liberal amount of dust was scattered over everything. If she didn’t know better, Jody could swear the place hadn’t seen a living soul for over a decade. The multitude of fresh footprints told her differently.

     “They’re here. Come give me a hand.”

     A four-by-four square pad of concrete separated the desk from the front of the well house. Centered over top was a heavy manhole cover. The circular cover was welded into a hinge on one side, clear evidence that it wasn’t fixed. A double-length handle was situated on the opposite side of the hinge. Together, Jody and Ria grasped the handle and lifted.

     Manhole covers on television always required a crowbar and a massive amount of elbow grease to open. Jody was surprised when this one lifted easily on the well-oiled hinge. Lights winked on below as the covering rose. She heard a powerful fan kick in. Where better to hide than in a subterranean level of a structure no one would think to look inside of to start with?

     Townspeople stood staring up at her, so many of them that they looked like sardines stuffed into a can. Kyle Walker was directly below with the barrel of his empty rifle pointed at her heart.

     “Put that damned thing away.”

     The growl on his face didn’t matter. All that did was that he complied. Jody clambered down the ladder leading to the lower level. The dank odor almost swallowed her, climbing into Jody’s nose and crawling down her throat. She swallowed hard against the urge to gag. Rungs ended a foot and a half from the bottom, forcing her to drop the rest of the way. Her tired muscles couldn’t quite hold her up. Jody clawed at the side rail, one ankle twisting under her weight. The high support on the hiking boots saved her from a nasty sprain.

     Jody moved away from the ladder as much as possible, which wasn’t much. Black wings spread and Ria floated gently downward from midway up the ladder.

     “Show off.”

     There really weren’t as many people below as Jody initially thought. Rusty two-foot diameter pipes jutted upward from barren, slightly oily soil. They extended about three feet into the air before taking a drastic ninety-degree angle. About ten feet away, they disappeared into the dirt wall. People sat on the pipes or squeezed into corners to find enough room to rest. Most were forced to stand.

     Tyreek lay against one wall on a bed of shirts and light jackets. HyeLan Pearce knelt beside him, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a dirty handkerchief.

     “How is he?”

     Kyle scoffed. “How do you think he is?”

     The comment didn’t deserve a response.

     Jody spared him a glare and worked her way through to the boy. He tossed his head and moaned. He was alive. Jody inched aside as Ria dropped down beside him. She placed a hand on his forehead, her lips compressed. Concern radiated from the gaze she turned to Jody.

     “He is in shock, and his temperature is elevated.”

     Voices rose in concern and not a little fear. Someone shouted, “What’s going on out there?”

     The question initiated a flood of questions and comments Jody couldn’t hope to decipher. In the confined space, it seemed the words reverberated off the inside of her brain.

     “Listen, please,” Jody said, holding up her hands for quiet. “The Nex have been chased out of the square for now, but it’s not safe. You can’t go back out there. Is anyone else hurt?”

     Scrapes and bruises abounded, but aside from Tyreek, a broken arm was the most severe injury. Jody was worried for all of them, but especially the boy. Shock could kill just as easily as a major trauma. She turned to Ria, but her words were muted in the conversations taking place around them.

     “We need to get them out of here. They need medical treatment, food, and water.” Jody sniffed as a whiff of something unpleasant drifted her way. “Not to mention a bathroom.”

     Ria nodded. Her eyes fell to the dirt between her feet, a tight expression on her pale face. It took only a moment before she said, “I have contacted the others. They will ferry all of the people to the Nex ship. Eos can provide aid once we arrive.”

     Saying proved easier than doing. It was all Jody could manage just to convince the people to leave the chamber. Once they were outside, most wanted to go home. A few refused to listen to reason and drifted away into the lingering fog. While they stood arguing pros and cons, another group of townspeople arrived from the square on foot. Pat led the group on the ground while two gliders ambled overhead. Chloe and Latinus landed their craft several feet behind Ria’s.

     At the sight of more winged aliens, Jody expected people to freak. Instead, they calmed, and the clamoring subsided. Maybe it was the sight of wings and their angelic features. The reptilian skin Latinus sported didn’t make a ripple. Jody suddenly realized they were short one significant member of their party.

     “Kyle, where’s Tyreek?”

     He offered a trademark scowl. “What? I carried him over here, so I’m suddenly now his keeper? We’re all worn out, Jody, and no one could tote him up the ladder.”

     She couldn’t think of a suitable retort. The exhausted faces and various injuries told her he was right, but she would not just leave him here to die.

     “Considering you’re the one who shot him, I’d think you’d make an effort.”

     HyeLan gasped, her almond-shaped eyes fixing on him. “You did that to him? What kind of person does that to a child?”

     “It was an accident, okay?” Kyle shouted the question, his customary anger giving way to defensiveness.

     Latinus ended the discussion. “I shall retrieve him.”

     His elliptical eyes blinked, the eyelids flicking together from the left and right sides. He disappeared into the well house. When he returned holding Tyreek gently in his arms, Jody and Ria set about getting people shuttled to the Nex vessel. She thought things would go smoother if Pat accompanied them, giving the townspeople a human face to which they could relate.

     Pat wasn’t happy about that idea. She groused a little, wanting to spend more time flying the glider back and forth and ferrying the survivors. Thankfully, she grudgingly gave in. Jody returned to the square with Pat to retrieve the glider she’d left behind.

     She took her place in the cockpit with Pat behind her for a driving lesson.

     They were back in a flash before the first group was situated.

The Ikonians all took their places at the various helms. Latinus carried Tyreek in his lap, needing only one free hand to operate the controls. The residents of Crab Lake climbed into the ships. Some of them seemed pretty excited about riding in a spaceship, but they were in the minority. At the prospect of flying to a larger alien craft, especially one belonging to their attackers, even more people chose to head for home. Jody mentally pumped her fist in celebration when Kyle was one of them. When Andy Wayne decided to ride with Jody, a wave of tenderness flooded her so strongly that her eyes filled. She sniffed and blinked them away.

     Between the four spacecraft, only twelve at a time could fly, eight not counting the pilots. Jody lost sight of Tyreek after the first trip to the Nex vessel. They made multiple trips before they had everyone who wanted to join them.

     Jody engaged the craft’s auto-retrieval program on the last trip. The large, damaged saucer took control of the glider and brought it in the rest of the way. Jody tilted her head back and closed her eyes, resting for a moment until the loud clang of the bracing bar signaled the end of the ride. When she finally clambered out, it was to find Ria waiting for her, hands calmly clasped behind her back. Jody didn’t hesitate to slide an arm around her waist. She leaned into Ria, tucking her head against her chest.

     “Are you hungry?”

     “Starved. What is there to eat in this dump?”

     Jody happily turned the residents’ care over to Shakel and the other Ikonians. Pat was there as well. She tilted her chin at Jody, her glance sliding between her and Ria. It didn’t escape Jody’s notice when Chloe ushered her last two survivors by Pat and reached out to touch her forearm.

     Well, well.

     A long, warm arm slid over Jody’s shoulder, and she forgot about other romantic pairings. As tired as she was, she wanted to forget everything except Ria, a hot meal, and a soft bed. Maybe the bed after a shower. This had felt like the longest day.

     “The Nex do have food dispensers for those occasions when they haven’t any fresh sustenance available. I believe with a few adjustments, they will provide something palatable. Now that the power is functional in critical areas, Shakel is seeing to your people’s requirements.”

     “Thank you for not pointing out the Nex’s favorite thing to eat,” Jody said, thinking about their carnivorous tendencies. “I guess we should check on the injured and see how everyone is getting settled first.”

     Ria halted, forcing Jody to do the same. They stood facing one another in the now-empty glider bay. Comfortable without prying eyes, Jody rested both hands on Ria’s hips and tilted her head back to look into her robin’s-egg blue eyes. She lifted her eyebrows in inquiry.

     “You are aware that you needn’t do everything alone? There are others around to help you now, Jody.”

Jody sighed. “You’re right. Force of habit. Truth is, it’s hard for me to ask for help.”

     “And you don’t need to ask. Just accept that I am there for you, no matter what.”

     Ria’s still-damp hair wasn’t especially sexy, but Jody thought she was gorgeous. Especially when she lowered her head and brushed her full lips across Jody’s mouth.

     “Do that again.”

     The kiss encompassed Jody’s entire world. For long seconds, there was nothing but this. No hostile aliens trying to kill everyone she knew. No gunshot preteens or terrified townsfolk. For just this time, Jody let go and let Ria into her heart. More than ever, she couldn’t imagine getting through this trauma without her.

     Eventually, the kiss ended. Jody drew away, maintaining eye contact before she took Ria’s soft hand. Together, they left the bay, Jody willingly following wherever Ria chose to lead. Dinner had to wait.

     “What happened to the Nex that Andy killed?”

     “Latinus retrieved the corpse and placed it in stasis here on the ship. He did not wish a child to stumble across the body.”

     “That was thoughtful. And what about the people in the garage?” Jody swallowed a lump of grief.

The grip on Jody’s hand tightened.

     “Chloe and Pat retrieved the victims from the garage. They are also in stasis. A few other human remains were located in town. They also were brought here.”

     Jody nodded. She didn’t know how many a few constituted, and she didn’t want to know. Instead, she pushed the image of a man vaporized by an alien weapon from her thoughts, afraid that if she didn’t, she would curl up in the fetal position and refuse to move again for the next year and a half.

     Ria escorted Jody through the alien saucer, checking on the survivors. Starting with the medical facility, Jody met a gorgeous Ikonian woman named Eos with black and white striped wings and hair. To Jody, she resembled a speckled woodpecker, sans the redhead. Or a humanoid version of Cruella DeVille. According to Ria, Eos was a deadly warrior with the ability to blend into any terrain and seek out information. The wickedly sharp canines Jody saw when Eos smiled lent a fair amount of credence to the term deadly. Jody pictured a vampire Ikonian.

     When Jody reacted at the sight of her fangs, Eos chuckled and ducked her head. It seemed Eos was also a bit of a sinister practical joker. Good. They needed someone like her on their side. She was also a pretty fair physician. With the passing of a medical wand, Eos healed the wound on Tyreek’s thigh. All he needed afterward were some electrolytes, food, and rest.

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