Chapter 10
Nick’s point of view
"Who were you talking to, Jen? I heard you talking to another
guy!!" I interrogated.
"It was….. a friend! On the phone!" she blurted out.
"Don’t lie to me! I could hear his voice as clear as crystal!
He was in this room!" I yelled.
She didn’t reply, but just turned her back on me, obviously trying
to come up with an excuse.
"Are you cheating on me?" I asked mercilessly.
"No! I’d never……" she began to reply.
"How do I know you’re telling the truth? You’ve already lied
to me just now!"
"Nick, you’d never believe me. You’d just freak out!!"
she claimed, tears forming in her eyes.
"Just tell me!" I pleaded, my harshness diminishing.
She opened her mouth to speak when an angry growling behind me
interrupted us. Jen peered behind me but showed no apparent fear.
I looked around myself and jumped back in shock.
A creature, that looked half wolf and half lion, was stalking us,
and growling in the process. Its glare was concentrated on me! I realised it
was blocking the door to stop us from escaping. Whatever this thing was, it
didn’t come from Earth! It was some kind of alien creature!
"Tohja, no!" Jen shouted, as she held my arm.
I looked at her, fear showing in my eyes, "You know that
thing?"
"You want an explanation? This is part of it. Sit down, Nick."
She signalled for the alien to come and join us. I shifted
nervously across as the creature sat next to me.
"This is Kar’Tohja. But just Tohja is fine," She
introduced. Tohja waved casually, and I did likewise.
"He’s a Kindorian, an alien from the planet Kindor. Sorry if
you got the wrong impression before, but he’s very protective. We have to look
out for each other."
Jen’s point of view
I sighed at the blank expression on Nick’s face. I waited until
the information had sunk in.
"Tohja, will you get Nick a glass of water or
something?" I instructed.
Tohja nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. He was, as usual,
quiet around strangers. But then he didn’t want to stand out.
"So, what’s the deal then?" Nick whispered.
"On Kindor, there’s a civil war. It’s not safe there so….
Well the only other inhabited planet nearby is this one," Jen explained.
"Poor guy!" he commented.
"Yeah, it’s been really hard on him. We’ve both been hiding
for five years now. He was 10 when the war started and had to leave. And since
he doesn’t really trust humans, he has to stay indoors all day and only go out
at night. But that’s still dangerous. If you heard, someone nearly ran him over
on his way back."
Nick shifted nervously, "That was kinda…my fault…"
"That was you?!" I exclaimed, my eyes widening.
"Don’t tell him about it. He doesn’t trust you much to start with. Anyway,
I’m sorry I’ve been hiding this but it’s very important to make sure no one
finds out."
"I’ll bet. I understand, and its OK," Nick reassured. He thought
about everything he’d just been told and something hit him.
"15?" he blurted out.
"What?" I asked, puzzled.
"Tohja’s 15 years old! But he’s tiny! He’s only half my
height!" Nick pointed out.
"Oh, that’s a Kindorian thing. Kindorian’s don’t grow much
until the teenage years, then between 15 and 18 there is a large growth period.
A Kindorian grows to about human adult height and stays roughly the same for
the rest of their lives." I explained.
"Why is my head hurting?" Nick asked, rubbing his
forehead.
"Too much information?" I
suggested.
Nick’s point of view
Tohja returned from the kitchen with a
glass of water and handed it to me. I wasn’t very thirsty, so I just put it
down on the coffee table.
"Shouldn’t you be asleep by now, Lil’ Guy?" Jen asked
Tohja as the Kindorian sat down next to her.
"Not really. I go to sleep when I want to!" Tohja
protested.
"So you do talk!" I exclaimed, a bit surprised.
Tohja frowned, "Of course I can talk!"
"Yeah, but he didn’t before because he’s…too…shy!" Jen
grinned as she enveloped the small creature in a tight hug. Much to my
surprise, she gave the alien a kiss on his furry cheek.
"Aww, Jen! Not in front of Nick!" Tohja moaned, trying
to wriggle out of Jen’s hug as she ruffled his hair. "Hey, you’re messing
up my mane!"
I, meanwhile, sighed. "Oh, I see what’s going on here!"
They both looked at me.
"I get it! If you two are that close, I won’t get in the
way!" I told them, my voice showing clear disappointment mixed with anger.
I stood up and headed for the door, but Jen followed and put her
hand on my shoulder.
"Oh, Nick, it’s not like that!" she smiled. "Didn’t
I make it obvious?"
"What?" I frowned, turning around.
She shook her head, "I’m a Kindorian too, Nick!"
I made no reply. I was in shock.
Jen continued, gesturing to Tohja, "He’s
my brother."
***
