He Comes in Peace

Mrs. Cedona watched through the rear-view mirror as Skye jerked her head from side to side, looking as though she were a rabbit being corned by a wolf.

"Skye, sweetie? Are you all right? You seem a bit tense."

Skye's head snapped up at the tone in her mother's voice. She sent a weak smile in the direction of the mirror and shook her head. "Just a bit...Queasy."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"I don't know. I just feel a little funny." Skye shrugged and shoved her hands underneath her thighs, to prevent them from shaking too much.

"Am I driving too fast?"

Skye sighed at the motherly concern. "No, mom. It's just some random mood swing, I guess. No big deal; keep driving. You drive like every street is a school zone already, I don't want you to slow down!" She smiled at her mom.

"Is it your time of the month? Is uh, Aunt Flow in town?"

"Mom! Don't ever use that again!" Skye cried. She couldn't help but slap a hand to her forehead in embarrassment. What if Kartayon had heard with his super-sonic alien hearing? She was pretty sure he was capable of doing such things. In a low mutter, she repeated her mother's words. "Aunt Flow...For heaven's sake..."

Mrs. Cedona's eyes crinkled in a smile. "Well is it? I mean, is she in town? Visiting?"

"Mom! Please, for the sake of my dignity, stop!" her daughter shouted.

"No need to raise your voice, Skye. We're not even in public, honey. Want me to 'crank down the window' and 'blast some wicked tunes'?" She made gangster motions with her hands.

Skye felt herself turn red in absolute mortification. Half laughing and half wailing, she grabbed her duffel bag and promptly smacked her head against the zippered surface.

"Mom. If you ever use or do that in real life, I swear, I'll go to the hospital and have them erase my birth certificate. I swear I will."

Mrs. Cedona took her eyes off the road for a few seconds to fix Skye with an exasperated look. "If you would just answer the question, I would stop!"

"No, it is not my period. Wow."

"All rightie then. That's that." Mrs. Cedona fell silent for around half a minute before saying half-heartedly, "But that was a fairly good imitation, don't you think?" She tried making a 'dope peace sign' again, but found her daughter's hand clamped firmly onto her own.

"Mother. Please refrain yourself before we both lose our social life."

Skye's mom sniffed. "Well, I think it would be a bit hit with the ladies in my book club."

"Yeah. You go do that, Mom."

-x-

"Mom? Mom? You okay?" Skye gently shook her mother's arm, the one that was propping up her head. Her eyes were closed and she seemed about to fall asleep mid-chew.

"What?" Mrs. Cedona jerked awake and stared sluggishly at her daughter. "What is it, hon?"

"You seem really really tired." A frown line appeared on Skye's face, and she looked at her mother worriedly. "Are you good to drive?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good. I took some sleeping pills last night though. I could hardly sleep. But I guess they kicked in a little later than I thought." Karen covered her mouth as a yawn presented itself. Her bright green eyes watered and she rubbed at them.

"Oh. Maybe we should stay here a bit longer. I don't mind getting back home late, y'know. We left early, remember? We were supposed to leave Sunday morning, but we left today instead."

"I remember, I remember. Of course I do, honey."

Skye studied her mother. "I think we should stay here." They had stopped for lunch at a small rest stop on the side of the road. It wasn't abandoned and creepy like you would think. The place was crowded to it's max. There was a half park, half forest thing on the other side of the road.

A jolt of energy ripped through Skye's mind, and she winced visibly. "Ouch."

Mrs. Cedona gazed at her daughter through tired eyes. "What is it, honey?"

"I feel a headache coming on. Can we stay here for a little?" Skye massaged her temples and rested her forehead against her palm. She recalled who was in her trunk at the moment.

"Want me to get the Advil?" her mother offered.

Skye shook her head. "I'll go get it. Maybe it's 'cause of the air conditioning in here. I'll go out and walk for a bit. Can I have the car keys?" She stuck out her hand, palm up.

A faint smile appeared on Karen's face. "You won't careen down the road in my car once I hand you these keys?" she said jokingly.

"Yeah, Mom, I will."

The keys jangled as they dropped into Skye's palm.

-x-

The moment she opened the trunk, she felt a sharp constricting force bind around her neck. She let out a strangled cry a second after she was released.

Gasping, Skye stared down in bewilderment at Kartayon. "What the Hell!" His spikes extended fully from his back, and Skye tried in vain to shield him.

"My apologies, Miss Cedona. I mean, Skye. Precautions must be taken when one is alone in a dark and warm confined space." He shrugged his shoulders, and the extended part of his exoskeleton sunk back into his back. Good thing, too. They would've ripped right through the trunk if he was any more alarmed.

Skye raked her gaze over him. What was left of his clothes looked wrinkled and disheveled, and his hair was tousled and messy.

"Did you nap on the way here?" she asked.

Kartayon blinked his eyes at her. "No. A nap was the last thing on my mind. How could I possibly fall asleep when the bumps and uneven concrete prevent a smooth car ride?"

"Oh. All right. Are you hungry?"

"Yes, actually."

"I'll bring some food out. We're having macaroni and cheese inside. Unless you want something else...?"

"Oh, that is all right, thank you. If I could make a short trip into the forest?"

Skye looked at him in confusion. "Are you looking for a little boys' room? There's one inside, if you just make sure to control your animistic instinct." Skye said the last part jokingly, but as usual, Tay misinterpreted her meaning.

"Excuse me?"

"I...Nothing. It was just a little teasing joke, that's all," she mumbled.

"Do I look supposedly amused?"

"Um, no. Sorry."

The spark that had leaped into his eyes died and he looked at her curiously. "Another human joke, I presume?"

"Sort of."

A faint smile lifted the corners of Kartayon's mouth, and he looked down and away, almost shyly. "Forgive me for not understanding," he said softly.

"That's all right. Hey, you can go to the forest on the other side. Just be back here in...Half an hour. Around there. I'll stall until then."

Kartayon paused, half standing. He looked around and then back at Skye. A real smile broke across his face, and his eyes sparkled. "Thank you, Skye. I will be back."