The sun had begun to set over Finley’s homestead before Terry’s pickup truck rumbled down the road. I peered out the living room window from behind the blinds, trying to get a good look at this friend that we’d be entrusting our safety to. The only one who hoped it wouldn’t attack on sight more than I did was Elbi. The human, who was caked in grime and sweat, took off a hard, rounded hat and stepped out of the truck in a hurry.
Finley was waiting on the porch to intercept it, and hoped that an explanation would calm its best friend. The duo embraced, while I tried to reassure myself. Finley was a sweet animal, so its closest and most treasured associate had to have a similar temperament. Terry’s arms seemed to pack more muscle than the fit, trim farmer, which suggested it’d be the more dangerous of the two if it attacked. I watched as our host gestured to an ice bucket, and its friend grabbed a glass bottle.
“What’s going on, man? You sounded serious on the phone, but you didn’t give me much to go off of,” Terry sighed. “I came as soon as I was off my shift. Still working that construction gig for that Buffalo Bayou pedestrian bridge.”
Finley sucked in a nervous breath, sitting down in a rocking chair. “I couldn’t tell you over the phone. The FBI coulda tapped it; they’re watching me. It’s not like you would’ve believed it anyway without seeing.”
That answer seemed to draw its friend’s concern. “The FBI? Have you gotten yourself into trouble, bud? Look, I love you, but I’m not helping you hide any bodies or sell drugs.”
“It’s…you know that missile they say crashed around here last night?”
“Of course. I don’t see what that could have to do with you.”
“Just promise me not to freak out and to listen.”
“Alright, I’m list—”
“It’s not a missile, Terry!” Finley blurted. “It’s a UFO. It’s a fucking UFO! It literally landed right down the hill, over there. It was a spaceship with aliens, and they survived the crash.”
Terry blinked several times, sipping on the beverage. “Whoa, slow down there. You’re trying to tell me that aliens crash-landed on your farm?”
“Exactly! I know it sounds crazy, but I promise, I’m gonna show you. I want to help them. Their names are Craun and Elbi, and they’re my friends; they’re refugees from another planet, and the government’s looking high-and-low to disappear them! I need help. I take care of cows, not rock people! We just gotta keep them safe, find a way to expose the truth. It’s really important.”
Finley’s best friend seemed to be having a tough time processing all of the information that’d been thrown at it. I could see a steely glint in its eyes as it studied the farmer, discerning how serious the creature was. Then, it somehow sensed that it was being watched, and its pupils snapped toward the blinds. I fell back, huddling next to Elbi on the couch. The front door creaked open, with our flaxen-haired host leading the way; its steps were slow, with one hand raised in each of our directions as if to ward us off.
Finley called us its friends. What a genuine, sweet animal it is. Let’s hope Terry can manage its impulses to some extent too.
“Craun?” Finley coaxed me, flicking on the lights and gesturing to where I laid on the couch. “It’s okay. You can come out and say hi. We’re all cool.”
I noted that it prompted me, rather than Elbi, and approached the slack-jawed Terry on heavy legs. “H-hi, Terry. Thank you for coming.”
The new human’s mouth opened and closed several times without making a sound, its wide eyes unblinking. “…howdy.”
I remembered the gesture Finley had made when it first met me, and I extended my palm toward Terry. The primal gripped it in a stupor, its pupils tracking how my fingers bent the entire way. When its fingers uncoiled, the construction worker’s grasping hands traveled up my arms and felt at my stone plates. It squinted, knocking lightly on my shoulder blades and gawking. Having a human in my face, testing out my tactile properties, made me nervous. It seemed curious though, and denying its exploration could upset it.
Terry seemed satisfied at long last, though it gave Finley a disbelieving look. “Holy shit, dude. What exactly do you think I’m supposed to do about…this?!”
“I don’t fucking know. Why do you think I’m calling you? Please help me!” the farmer exclaimed.
“Okay. I’ve got you, buddy. I mean, this is awesome, but I’ll try to focus. Why’re they shivering so much? They’re very well-insulated, all those layers.”
“Their planet is super hot. That’s what they said.”
The frigidness had made my plates prickle from the moment I set foot on Earth. “It is. We’re silicon lifeforms. We’re suited for a very different environment, humans.”
“Hm. You got a thermometer?” Terry asked, stroking its chin. Finley nodded. “Why don’t we check their temperature? That seems like something we should keep an eye on, if they’re cold.”
Finley flashed its teeth widely. “Oh, yeah! That’s a good idea. I’m not a doctor, but…I can do that.”
The light-haired human bounded off, in a hurry as always, leaving me alone with its friend. I was very nervous: one-third couldn’t control their temper by their own admission, and that was likely less than the real number. Taking it at face value, between Finley and Terry, the odds were greater than half that one of them had extreme impulses. I brushed at my stone-plates with awkwardness and tried to avoid staring at it. Right now, the buddy seemed calm enough: it was taking the news better than Finley had at first.
Perhaps the assurances from Finley made it less afraid? This one reacted with amazement, and seems very curious. Maybe it’ll be okay.
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“Does that one talk?” Terry asked, pointing at Elbi.
Elbi buried her face in a pillow. “N-no.”
“Oh, they have some reason for not liking humans. Some kind of racism, I think,” Finley explained, to my horror. “They call us primals, whisper fearfully about us. I think they were very desperate to contact us. I can’t blame them that much though, since we shot ‘em and the Council of Carbon Fuckwits left ‘em to die. Not the best history.”
Finley put together way more than I thought it had, but it seems to have concluded the root is that we dislike carbon lifeforms because of the Council. It shouldn’t go around telling other primals that. It’ll make them angry. Did I make Finley angry, due to unfair treatment?
“Humans shooting us on sight was very traumatic,” I offered, trying to defuse the situation. “Lots of guns, and now the authorities are hunting us. Elbi is terrified. I am too, but Finley’s been nice, so I’m trying to show some trust.”
Finley ducked out of the hallway with a glass tube in its hands. “I appreciate that, Craun! I do feel bad for you. You kind of remind me of abuse survivors, the way the slightest hint of elevated emotions makes you fall over yourself. If you ever want to talk about it…”
“I don’t.”
“M’kay. I’m happy to talk about how intimidating you are, and finding out aliens exist. Can you believe it, Terry? On my farm. The government’s after me. It’s insane!”
The strip of brown fur above Terry’s upper lip moved with its happy expression. “I’ve never exactly talked to anyone who’s not human either. Whatever you need, you have my full support. That would be so cool to watch Sunday football with Craun and Elbi, drinking beers and shooting the shit. What’d y’all do with your lives back home?”
I realized the primal was asking the question to us. “I was a spaceship navigator, which is how I knew enough to get to a little-known planet like Earth.”
“I was a teacher,” Elbi murmured.
“Really?” Finley asked with surprise. “What did you teach?”
“Evolutionary science.”
Terry flexed its arm muscles. “Survival of the fittest. Look at these guns.”
“Holy mother of God!” Finley whistled, whooping and pinching its friend’s bulging sinew. “Everything’s bigger in Texas. Thank you for being chill, man.”
“This might be the most exciting, interesting shit I get to be a part of in my life. Wouldn’t sit out aliens for nothing. Take their temperature already.”
Finley passed me the stick. “Why don’t you do the honors, Craun? Put this in your mouth.”
“I’ll do whatever you’d like, humans. Please remain happy with me,” I said, accepting the instrument.
The humans watched with bated breath as I placed the temperature stick in my mouth. Terry gasped, belting out a “No way” as the red liquid shot all the way up the gauge…and then exploded, pushed far past its limits from my interior temperature. The primals squealed and began rambling to each other about never giving me mouth-to-mouth, or being my “dentist.” Terry made some kind of puckered lip face toward me, which caused Finley to physically shove it. Should I be worried about them fighting?
Finley then jabbed an accusatory finger at me, emboldened by its friend’s presence. “You’re full of shit! You’re not cold!”
“I…disagree,” I answered, in as timid of a voice as possible.
“I think he is cold,” Terry defended me, while Finley waved a hand in a way that seemed dismissive. “He’s way hotter than it is out here. I believe he crawled up from a little planet called Hell.”
Finley snorted. “That’s not a very good place to be from, Craun. Ya better explain yourself!”
“I have no idea what you would like from me, but I explained what Tolpia is like in our previous conversations.” I took a step back from the primals, feeling defensive with them growing more boisterous and interrogating me. “Forgive me for breaking your device.”
“It’s fine. I think it’s hilarious. We’re doing real science out here! What’s next, Terry?”
The friend’s face grew thoughtful, and it paced several steps. “I’m obviously down to help you take care of the aliens and be there for you, but I can’t do anything about the might of the US government coming down on you. You need to go to someone who can, and find a way to expose the truth.”
“You want to b-bring more humans in on our secret? Haven’t we risked enough?” Elbi protested.
Finley met Terry’s eyes. “Go on. What did you mean?”
“You need to go to a journalist, Finley. Getting the truth out there is the best way to protect these aliens, and you’ve got to hurry,” the new primal explained. “I’d steer clear of TV stations, since they’re national entities and might be under Uncle Sam’s thumb. Maybe a local paper, like The Houston Chronicle. Big, respected, and from ‘round here.”
“Yeah! The truth needs to come out, quickly. What’s to stop the Feds from silencing a reporter too? What if it leads Barron—the FBI back to my doorstep?”
“That’s why you’ve got to be careful. We have to hope whoever we talk to uses discretion. Don’t tell them you’re coming, leave your phone behind, and just…be sure you aren’t being tracked. Find them at home, not their office. We can use my truck, in case they planted yours with anything. We should do some research tonight on who to talk to, then get up and go first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Why not just go into their workplace? You wanna break into their home?!”
“We can use some kind of ruse; you’d be surprised where a bright yellow vest can get you. The Chronicle workplace could be monitored by the Bureau, in case anyone does try to talk to the press. They know where the aliens crashed, right?”
“Yeah. Damn, it’s a good thing you’re here. I knew you were the man for this! Craun, what do you think?”
“Well…” I hesitated. The idea of every primal on this world knowing we were here was terrifying, but critiques were on the list of things that could anger humans. We weren’t going to be safe here with the government close to catching us, so it could have a point about exposing what they’d really done, turning the populace’s anger on their authorities. “If you really think this’ll protect us. You’re in danger as long as no one knows what they’re up to.”
Finley jumped a foot in the air, jabbing its fist upward. “Hooray! We all go on a road trip tomorrow.”
“I’m not going to an interrogation, to reveal ourselves and spark chaos,” Elbi complained. “You have fun with that, Craun.”
“I will.” Disappointment settled in my chest, as I accepted that I’d committed to traveling alone to meet strangers, and potentially be discovered trapped among a massive settlement of primals. “We always needed the humans’ help. Maybe this is…the only way to ask for it.”
The primals both slapped me on the back, which spooked me more than a little bit, before running over to the computer to research which journalist to spring this on. I dreaded how sneaking me into some animal’s home was going to make them react, but Finley and Terry could hopefully explain…or protect me, if it came to that. Due to head out into a concentrated population area and meet even more strangers, I knew I’d be lucky to return to our current residence unharmed at all.
