The air in Kira's room felt heavy. The surreal reality of the night weighed on him as he sat at the edge of his bed, his head resting in his hands. He hadn't moved much since carrying the strange, alien girl into his home. She lay unconscious on the old couch across the room, wrapped in a blanket he'd grabbed hastily. Her bizarre appearance was still seared into his mind,the crimson hair, the horned mask-like face, the tail that twitched involuntarily even in her unconscious state.
It had been nearly an hour since the crash. The backyard still faintly glowed from the crater where her spaceship had landed. The faint hum of alien machinery could be heard if he strained to listen, but he dared not go back out there yet. His heart raced as he glanced at her, a mix of awe, curiosity, and panic knotting his stomach.
She was no hallucination. She was real.
(Earlier That Night)
The first thing Kira noticed was the blood. Thick, dark, and glowing faintly like molten metal, it trailed down her arm and pooled on the spaceship's sleek control panel. He hesitated, unsure of how to help her. Her eyes had fluttered open briefly, just enough to meet his own, and she whispered something faint but desperate.
"Help... injured."
Her voice was unlike anything he'd heard, soft yet layered, as if multiple tones overlapped each word. It sent shivers down his spine. Without another thought, he had carried her out of the wreckage, his mind running on pure adrenaline.
(Present)
The silence in the living room was deafening. Kira knelt next to the alien,her body unnaturally still on the couch. Her crimson blood shimmered faintly under the dim light, streaking across his hands and a portion of the floor where it had dripped.
His heart pounded in his chest, louder than ever.
She looked so fragile now, her scales dull and her breathing shallow. For all her otherworldly strength and terrifying first impression, she seemed almost... mortal. Vulnerable.
But the smell of her blood.
It was intoxicating.
At first, he thought he was imagining it. His senses had been heightened ever since the crash,the way the air felt sharper, sounds clearer, and now this metallic, sweet scent pulling him closer. Kira shook his head, trying to dismiss the thought, but his stomach growled audibly. He glanced down at his hands.
Just one taste.
The thought repulsed him, but his body moved on its own, his curiosity overpowering his hesitation. He swiped a finger through a small streak of blood on the coffee table and hesitantly brought it to his lips.
The second it touched his tongue, a jolt of energy coursed through him, making his vision blur for a moment. The world seemed brighter, his surroundings sharper. His heartbeat steadied, and his mind cleared, as though an invisible fog he hadn't known was there had been lifted.
"What the hell..." he muttered, stumbling back. The hunger receded, but the residual energy pulsing in his veins left him shaken.
He stared at her again. Was this part of her biology? Or something else? His thoughts were a storm, but the sight of her injured form snapped him back to reality. Whatever this was, she was dying, and sitting around wasn't going to fix that.
Kira glanced at his phone, thumb hovering over Roxy's contact.
Roxanne, or "Roxy," as everyone called her, was his childhood friend. A tomboy through and through, she had a knack for technology and biology, two things Kira desperately needed help with tonight. If anyone could make sense of the alien situation, it was her. But how could he even begin to explain this?
Before he could talk himself out of it, he hit the call button.
"Yo, Kira? Why are you calling so late?" Roxy's voice came through, slightly muffled with background noise.
"Uh... Roxy, I need your help," he started, his voice quiet but strained.
"What's wrong? You sound freaked out."
"I need your help. It's... complicated. Someone's hurt here, and I don't know what to do."
"Someone? Wait, you mean you're not alone? Who is it? Are you okay?
"Yeah… Can you come over? Please…"
A pause. "Yeah, sure. Gimme ten minutes."
He sighed in relief. She didn't press for details yet, anyway.
While he waited for Roxy, Kira turned his attention back to the alien girl, as her ship's logs had briefly identified her. Her breathing was shallow but steady. The faint glow of her blood, still visible on the blanket, made his stomach twist.
Her translator wristband had caught his eye earlier. It pulsed faintly with intricate energy patterns, but something was clearly wrong. She had managed to say "help," but now she seemed unable to form coherent words, only murmuring in a language he couldn't understand. He guessed the crash had damaged her device.
Maybe that's why she can't speak properly...
He tried to ignore the eerie sound of the spaceship humming outside. Something about it unsettled him, as if the crash had awakened more than just Za.
The doorbell rang, startling Kira out of his trance. He bolted to the door, swinging it open to find Roxy standing there in her usual ripped jeans, a hoodie with some obscure game logo, and her ever-present backpack slung over one shoulder.
She gave him a once-over. "Dude, you look like you've just seen the Grim Reaper. What's up?"
"Promise you won't freak out," Kira said, his voice a mix of urgency and nerves.
Roxy raised an eyebrow, already unimpressed. "Kira, I've seen your internet search history. There's nothing that can…"
"Not the time!" He cut her off, groaning. "Just... come in."
Roxy stepped past him and into the living room, her gaze immediately landing on the couch. She froze, her mouth falling open as she stared at Za's glowing, scaled body sprawled out on the cushions.
"Uh... Kira? There's a... uh..." She pointed dramatically at Za. "That's not a normal person. Is she…?"
"An alien? Yeah."
She turned back to him slowly, her face a mix of shock and something that almost looked like disappointment. "Kira, when you said someone was hurt, I thought you meant like... a normal human. What is this, Men in Black? Did you adopt her? What's next, you naming her E.T.?"
Kira groaned, rubbing his temples. "No, she crash landed in the backyard! I didn't exactly invite her in for tea and cookies."
Roxy squinted at him suspiciously. "So let me get this straight,you just happened to stumble upon an alien and decided, 'Hey, let's bring her inside like a stray dog'? And I'm the crazy one in this friendship?"
"She's dying, Roxy!" Kira snapped, gesturing at Za. "What was I supposed to do? Leave her there?"
Roxy walked over to the couch cautiously, dropping her backpack on the floor. "You know, this is exactly how horror movies start. We're gonna end up in some lab with government agents dissecting us because you couldn't mind your own business."
"Roxy," Kira deadpanned, "she's glowing and bleeding out on my couch. I'm pretty sure she's not the bad guy here."
"Fine, fine. But if this turns into an alien apocalypse, I'm blaming you."
She crouched next to Za, pulling a small flashlight from her bag. "Let's see what we're working with here. Jeez, look at her skin… are those scales? They're like... sparkly snake skin, but, like, prettier."
"She can probably hear you, you know," Kira muttered, crossing his arms.
Roxy tilted her head. "Yeah? What's she gonna do? Yelp a bad review about me on Alien Yelp?" She poked gently at one of Za's arms, her curiosity taking over. "Man, this is insane. She's real. Like, real real. How is she even alive after a crash like that?"
"She's healing herself, I think. Look at the glowing cracks," Kira said, pointing.
Roxy blinked and leaned closer, narrowing her eyes at the golden light running through Za's injuries. "Whoa. That's... freaky. Cool, but freaky. This isn't just biology. it's like... sci-fi biology. What even is this?"
"I was hoping you'd know!" Kira threw his hands in the air. "You're the biology nerd here!"
Roxy glared at him. "I'm a high schooler, not an alien vet, Dumbass. You think I've got a chapter in my textbook titled, 'What to Do When Your Best Friend Brings Home a Space Lizard'?"
"Well, you're the closest thing to an expert I know, so start figuring it out!"
"Ugh, fine!" She rolled her eyes, pulling a notebook out of her backpack and scribbling some notes. "But I swear, if she has acid blood or something, I'm throwing you under the bus first."
Kira groaned, but a faint smile tugged at his lips despite the situation. "Just do your thing, Roxy."
As Roxy continued examining Za, muttering observations about her glowing wounds and unusual physiology, Kira's stomach churned,not from hunger this time, but from the lingering unease of what he'd done earlier. The taste of Za's blood still lingered faintly on his tongue, and the energy coursing through him felt like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off.
"Yo, Kira," Roxy called over her shoulder. "You good? You look like you're gonna hurl or pass out. Or both."
"I'm fine," he lied quickly. "Just... tired."
Before Roxy could press him further, Za stirred on the couch, her breathing growing steadier. Both of them froze as her eyes fluttered open, golden irises locking onto Kira.
"Help..." she whispered weakly, her voice barely audible but unmistakably clear.
Roxy slowly turned her head toward Kira, her expression a mix of amazement and annoyance. "Did she just talk? And in English?"
Kira shrugged helplessly. "I think she understands us... Sort of,at least."
Roxy groaned, slapping her forehead. "Great. Not only am I babysitting an alien, but she's bilingual too. This day just keeps getting weirder, man."
As the night deepened, Kira and Roxy worked together to stabilize the alien. Unbeknownst to them, the events set in motion by the crash were far from over. Outside, the ship's hum grew louder, a faint light flickering within its core… its systems awakening in response to the alien blood coursing through it.
To Be Continued…