Becoming Alien Read Online Free Page A

said, and his chest jerked. Slowly, he pulled his arms close to his body, then spread them slightly. The veins throbbed, and he pulled his arms close to his sides again, and shivered violently.
    All the cats who’d deserted him when he was cold started back in as Alpha moaned and shuddered. Maybe he’d like a hot bath. I drew him a tub, then mixed some hot salt water in a glass as he climbed, still quivering, into the tub. Alpha took the glass in his palms and lay back in the water, sipping the hot salt solution.
    Warren came in. The alien gasped, spread his arms, veins pulsing in the webs, and started to slow down his breathing, but I called to him and pushed his arms down against his body.
    Warren touched the strange pointed chin. He said, “You were okay until you asked about the egg.”
    Alpha levered himself out of the tub with his long arms, found a towel, and dried off. He looked at both of us and wrapped the towel around his waist. Strange to see him tuck the end in, just as I did. He beckoned us to follow him to the kitchen. There he handed Warren a knife and raised his head, baring his throat.
    Warren slowly touched the creature’s throat with the knife, saying to me, “Maybe he wants it. Maybe he’s going crazy.”
    The alien looked little and sickly, his long arms quivering, goosefleshed under the hair. Warren slowly lowered the knife and shook his head no.
    The alien then wrapped the towel tighter, found his paper, and drew a circle with funny splotches on it. From where I sat, the circle looked like an Earth map, but he’d drawn it upside down and fuzzy. Then the alien drew two eggs, one smashed. And the question sign. )(.
    “Warren,” I said, “he wants to know where the egg is, smashed or not.”
    Warren grimaced. “Doesn’t give up, does it?” He pointed from the undamaged egg to the circle, running his finger around the whole circle. “Still on this.”
    The alien wrapped his arms around himself, webs strained over his chest, then drew the egg on all the continents, then in the oceans. He drew another circle, put Europe and Asia on it.
    Laughing a snappish laugh, Warren pointed at the egg in the ocean and shook his head. “Okay, space thing, the egg’s on land. I ain’t gonna tell you any more.”
    The alien sighed, gave Warren the knife again, tried to wrap Warren’s fingers around the hilt. Warren shook his head, said, “No,” sharply.
    Alpha leaned down, laid his head and arms on the table top. Warren took all the map drawings away and turned back to scratch Alpha’s fuzzy back. Alpha pushed Warren’s hand away, got up, and walked to the door.
    “Follow him, Tom,” Warren said.
    I went out and saw the creature sprawled on the porch, arm web spread to the sun, those eyelashes, so much like ours, beating down tears.
    A grey tabby mewed and bumped the alien’s nostril slits until Alpha sat up and cuddled the cat while it licked around the creature’s eyes.
    For dinner, the alien melted butter and pumped it up with his tongue curled into a tube.
     
    When the school bus stopped to let me off, I saw Warren standing, waiting with a “don’t talk” smile curved into his face. The bad guys on the bus grinned at Warren. Hands deep in his corduroy pockets, he didn’t react, just waited until the bus pulled off down the road.
    “Your alien’s gone. Stole my day pack,” Warren said when the bus had pulled farther down the road, “couple pounds of butter, eggs, jar of honey.”
    I wondered if Warren’d hurt or killed the alien. He saw doubt turn my face and pulled his fists out of his pocket. “Really, Tom, I didn’t hurt it. Creature bollixed the alarm. Right smart creature, but…”
    “Did he take a gun?” I asked as we walked back to the house.
    “No,” Warren said. “I checked.”
    “Gonna get cold tonight,” I said.
    “Maybe we’ll get lucky. He’ll die and rot to bits in the woods before human or thing figures out where he was, or what he was,” Warren said as we