The Afterglow
Standing on the sidewalk outside their new house, both men stared in confusion.
“Well it’s…square?” Ezza said trying to find something nice about it. Zas just nodded his head silently.
It was a box. With unpainted drywall on the outside. The roof was so low it almost looked flat. There was a glass double door that let the pitch blackness inside show through to the outside. There were no windows. The yard was large but covered in weeds and other garbage. It looked as though the neighbours had been using it as a dump site for years.
“Maybe the inside is better?” Ezza said. He started heading towards it, while Zas dropped their stuff on the lawn in a less weedy patch.
Ezza unlocked the door and both men walked inside. Squinting in the darkness they made out a table made of wood and some chairs pressed against one wall. There was a door to their left and inside was a simple wooden tub, a sink, and a toilet. A large mirror dominated the far wall. Back in the main room they found a fridge and stove with a small counter and dishwasher just beyond the table. Off in the corner of the room sat a large dust-covered bed. With one nightstand and two wall shelves. Above the bed hung two carved hearts.
“I don’t want to know what that was for.” Zas said pointing at the hearts. Ezza laughed and gave him a light punch on the shoulder.
“Well, it’s…small. Very small, but it’s home now.” Ezza said. “Should we bring our things in?”
“You think we could fit them in here?” Zas asked.
“Good point. Well let’s get cleaning, and set up.” Clapping his hands, Ezza moved towards the doors. Groaning Zas followed. Ezza took the inside, and Zas the outside. By nightfall they were both exhausted, and collapsed onto the bed, asleep within moments.
The next morning, they woke tired and achy. After giving themselves a quick wash with the rusty water in the bathroom, they exited their house to cook the last of their marshmallows in the fire pit, only to find the fire lit and two men sitting there roasting wieners. Zas and Ezza stiffened for a moment and then joined them.
“Well hello there. I’m Zas, and this is Ezza. Do you live around here?” He asked the men seating himself. Ezza stayed close to Zas’s side. The two men looked at them funny.
“Yep. I’m Sergio Romeo nod this is my friend Joaquin Le Chien. We live across the river. You’re not from around here though. I’ve never seen you.” He replied with a haute air about him. His friend smirked.
“That’s right. We just purchased this place and moved in yesterday.” Zas said straightening in his chair and trying to look intimidating. Ezza watched the exchange a little nervously.
“You actually spent money on this?” He said incredulously, waving his hand at the house behind him. He started laughing.
“Yeah well, we like fixer uppers.” Zas said in a cold tone.
“Oh, I see what your game is. I hope you have the willpower to flip this. It would drain most people dry. You’re an interesting man Zas. We’ll have to keep in touch.” Sergio said starting to get up.
“I look forward to it. I’m looking for information.” Zas said sitting back and smiling. Sergio stopped and looked at Zas.
“What kind of information?” He asked.
“I’m looking for a job that involves cooking, and one in the sciences. Anything around here?” Zas asked in a happy tone. Sergio burst into laughter.
“You are an odd one!” He laughed. “Make A Dish is hiring. As for the sciences, there’s where I work, with computers but you need a recommendation from an employee as well as a stunning resume. The only other place is the Science facility on the edge of town. That is government-owned. Nobody from here gets in. They pull people in from other towns. For someone who plans on flipping houses you’re picking poor jobs. I’m going to be keeping my eyes on you Zas..?”
“Vajjer.” Zas stood and held out his hand. As they shook hands, Zas nodded at Ezza. “This is my friend Ezza Exilpeth.” Sergio nodded to Ezza. After a few more moments, he and his friend left leaving the two of them alone at the fire pit.
“He’s going to be trouble.” Ezza said. Zas nodded.
“You leave him to me. I know his kind. I ran into them a lot at the Academy.” Standing up he clapped his hands in front of him. “Well let’s get going. We need to find this Make A Dish and we need to find something for you.”
“For me?” Ezza said in a puzzled tone.
“Yeah, you’re a grown man and I am not going to pay your way unless you’re going to do me favours.” Zas said starting to walk down the road towards the town they had passed yesterday.
“What kind of favours?” Ezza asked. “Oh you’re sick, I’ll find a job.” He said with a laugh when he saw Zas’s perverse smile. Bickering the whole way, they finally made it into town.
The next day, Zas stood in front of the bathroom mirror. He was combing his hair and giving himself a pep talk. Ezza was outside planting the seeds Nigel had given him into the planters Zas had made last night from scrap wood they found in the city.
Stepping outside Zas wandered over to where Ezza was. He watched for a few moments, and then glanced at the road. His ride would be here soon.
“Are you going to be ok alone?” He asked Ezza worriedly. Ezza nodded his head as he kept to his task. Zas sighed. He wasn’t so sure splitting up like this was a good idea, but there had only been one available spot at Make A Dish yesterday when they went. Clara Berjensen seemed like a nice lady, but she had taken to Zas. He looked up and squinted into the evening light as a car pulled up. Clara leaned out the window and waved.
“My ride is here. I guess I’ll see you later. Don’t wander and don’t burn the house down” Zas said heading towards the car. Ezza blew him a raspberry, and waved him off. Honestly he was like a worried old woman. Finishing his planting he wiped his forehead. It was getting dark and hard to see by now. Better start a fire and roast some wieners, he thought.
He had just finished off the last wiener in the package and sat back in his chair, when he noticed a very dim glow coming from behind him. Curious he got up and followed it to a stand of trees just off their property. The trees had small fruits that were letting off a faint glow. Hmmm, these don’t look like other fruit and vegetables from Earth. Ezza looked at the trees for a few more minutes, then turned to go back home.
Thinking about just going to bed as he rounded the side of the house, he was suddenly blinded by a bright light from overhead. What is that? Suddenly he lurched as he was pulled off the ground. Trying his best to break free, and failing miserably, he was pulled into the sky.
“What are you a little kid?” Zas asked as he shook Ezza awake. Sitting up and blinking his eyes open, he looked around until his eyes focused on Zas. “Even little human children know better than to fall asleep outside in a chair next to an open flame.”
“I didn’t think I was that exhausted. I sat down to make dinner after finishing in the garden. I guess I fell asleep. How was work?” Ezza asked sitting up straighter and stretching a bit.
“Good. I think I have a job for you. One of the guys quit tonight. I put in a good word with Clara for you. You start tomorrow. It’ll be easier if we stick together. It’s exhausting and dirty, but the people there are nice enough. Clara’s not bad either, a fair cry from the Commander.” Zas added a log to the fire. Then he pulled out a package of wieners. “Hungry?”
Ezza shook his head. He wasn’t feeling hungry. That’s weird he really wasn’t hungry. He didn’t remember making himself dinner, but he didn’t feel sick either. Looking into the food storage he counted the packages of wieners. They were all there. Zas watched his friend and gave him a worried look. Yeah, Ezza can’t be left alone again. Heating up his wieners, the two of them talked until late into the night.
After extinguishing the fire, Zas caught Ezza looking around at the tree line behind their property. After a few minutes Ezza turned and came back.
“Ready? I think I need to sleep.” Ezza said. As he passed Zas reached out and grabbed Ezza’s arm. Looking out into the tree line himself for a moment, he turned back to Ezza.
“You sure you’re okay? Did you see something?” He asked. Ezza shook his head.
“Just tired, and thinking something’s missing. Maybe sleeping outside wasn’t such a great move.” He smiled and moved towards the house again. “I call dibs on the bathroom.”
Zas took one last look at the tree line. Just regular trees, he turned and followed Ezza into the house. As they settled into bed and drifted off, the tree line behind their property shimmered, almost like in a heat haze. Slowly the trees that had been dark before began to glow ever so slightly.
Comments
Big Uh OH! Is Ezza…preggers?
No, thank goodness. That’s all I needed to figure out how to write in. I’m a little worried it’ll happen one of these days though. From what I’ve heard though a lot of people complained that they were having alien babies too easily. In a patch (not sure which one) they made it harder and killed off the prospect of getting a human male pregnant from woohooing with a female alien. Which would’ve been awesome. I’m kinda disappointed with that. Well, the whole thing really. How hard is it to click on the baby if you don’t want it and send it to the Home World?