Earik Beann's Blog - Posts Tagged "earthling-s-brother"
Earthling's Brother - Chapter 1
I feel like there should be a way to post book excerpts here on Goodreads. Isn't this supposed to be a site about reading books? Since I can't figure out any other way to do it, I'll just do a blog post. Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE EARTHLING'S BROTHER
CHAPTER 1
It was three in the morning when he walked in. Maria Rodriguez was at the front desk, the only staff member on duty at the time. It was a boring job, but it gave her time alone to work at her studies, and as far as service jobs went, the pay wasn’t terrible.
She had been sitting on a stool behind the desk, typing away on her laptop. She was unable to see anything in the upper left corner of the screen. Lucas had knocked the computer off the kitchen table during one of his seizures, and it had never been the same since. Maria tried to scroll the page down, but the trackpad had decided it wasn’t going to cooperate tonight, and so she had to type the first part of each sentence blind, hoping the words were correct. Her online classes were mostly a joke, but even their standards weren’t so low as to overlook an essay completely full of misspellings.
Maria raised her dark eyes as she heard the chime from the front door. Although the town of Sedona tended to turn in early, not all the guests at the Bell Rock Inn followed its lead. It wasn’t uncommon for out-of-towners to show up late on their way home from parties. Usually they were drunk. Sometimes they were stoned. Almost no one ever walked through that door at this time of the night without being inebriated in some fashion.
The man looked to be in his early twenties. He had long brown hair that fell around his shoulders in curls and a gigantic beard that turned up at the ends. His blue eyes sparkled as he caught her gaze, and he broke into a huge smile. At any other time, Maria would have smiled back. This time was different. Her eyes widened as she took in the wide shoulders, his tapered waist, and . . . she looked away, mortified. The stranger was without a scrap of clothing. From his head down to his bare feet, he was completely nude. His only possession appeared to be an unadorned silver bracelet around his left wrist.
“Oh shit,” Maria said to herself quietly, sliding off the edge of the stool, her feet slipping into her shoes of their own accord. She glanced over at the gate that led behind the desk, checking to make sure it was locked.
The man walked up to her and laid his hands on the desk. The thick silver bracelet on his wrist flashed a reflection of the fluorescent lights in the ceiling, and Maria heard a soft click as it touched down on the glass countertop. He scanned the entire front area as if he were looking for something, his eyes lingering longest on her laptop. She slowly slid it back out of reach.
“Welcome to the Bell Rock Inn,” she sputtered. She closed the laptop and moved it under the counter. It was a piece of crap, with a broken screen and finicky trackpad, the body held together more by duct tape than by the original plastic shell. But it was all she had. She couldn’t afford to get another, especially after what she had to spend on Lucas’s treatments.
The man snapped his attention at her, tilting his head to the side. It reminded her of how her dog reacted when she wagged a treat in front of his nose, except infinitely creepier.
“Are you OK?” she said. Her mouth was dry, and her voice caught in her throat. She tried to play it cool, but even she could detect the alarm in her tone. This guy is either stoned out of his mind or psychotic. She quickly formulated a rudimentary escape plan. Out the door behind her, down the hall, then pull one of the fire alarms. That would wake up the guests so she wouldn’t be alone. Then out the back door? But how much of a head start would she have if he tried to come after her? This guy looked fit. Every muscle was perfectly defined and completely in proportion, as if he spent hours a day at the gym. With a physique like that, he could have been an underwear model, assuming he could get a hold of a pair of underwear. Maria tried to keep her eyes on his face.
The man squinted. It looked like he was staring at her mouth. His jaw dropped slightly, and he made a strange huffing sound, almost as if he were mimicking some large beast of burden. He cleared his throat and clicked his tongue against the front of his teeth. Maria wiped her palms against the legs of her pants.
There was a pause, and the man’s expression changed, almost as if he was listening to something in the distance, and he shook his head slightly. He looked back at her, and smiled again.
“Hello.” His voice was rich and full of genuine excitement.
“Hi.” She tried to smile, but it was forced. Smiling was the last thing she felt like doing at this moment.
“I am on Earth,” he declared. His pronunciation was perfect, but he spoke in a way that seemed almost as if he were surprised that words were coming out of his mouth.
Maria nodded, unsure how to answer.
“And you are a woman. . . . You are an Earth woman!”
“Um, yeah.” The guy is clearly stoned. Maria relaxed a little. Stoned was better than psychotic. She could handle stoned.
“You are the first one I have met.”
“The first woman, huh? Good for you.” He was probably one of the new age tree-hugging energy-vortex worshippers who frequented Sedona. There were so many of them around that Maria couldn’t go a day without being offered a crystal, or a reading, or a trip to a power spot that would open her consciousness. As a last resort, she had tried all that stuff with Lucas at one time or another, but none of it had helped him. As far as she could tell, it was just a way to sell trinkets to tourists. It was obvious what had happened: This guy had gone completely overboard with the psychedelics, stripped out of his clothes, and found himself wandering around in the dark. It was just her luck that of all the places he could have wandered into, he just happened to pick this hotel, on the night when she was on duty.
The seconds ticked by, the stranger content to just to stand there, staring at her.
“Are you cold?” Maria said.
“No.”
“Are you sure? You don’t have any clothes on.”
The man looked down at himself, almost to double-check to see if what she was saying was true. Then he returned his gaze. It was obvious that he was completely without any shred of self-consciousness. “Is that why you are wearing them? Are you cold?”
Maria sighed. Although doing her schoolwork was by no means one of her favorite activities, it was vastly preferable to discussing the concept of clothing with someone too stoned to realize they were even naked. “So, is there something I can do for you?”
“What do you mean?” He seemed surprised.
Maria rolled her eyes. Her paper was due in the morning. She didn’t have time for this. “Are you looking for a room or something?”
“A room?”
“Yes. You know, with a bed and a shower? It’s the middle of the night and you just walked into a hotel.”
“Oh!” The man seemed to consider for a moment. “Yes. I would like a room.”
“Great.” She turned to the office computer, and then paused. What was she thinking? Unless this guy had a magic pouch, there was no way he had money on him. He didn’t even have shoes. She couldn’t rent a room to someone like this.
“You don’t have a credit card, do you?” she asked, pulling her hands back from the keyboard and turning to face him.
“No.”
“But everything is OK, right? You’re not in trouble or anything?”
“Yes. I am just a little unsure of where I am . . . aside from Earth!” He smiled that smile again, disarming her. Aside from all the confusion and underneath whatever drugs he was on, he was sweet. That much was clear. He reminded her of Lucas’s father on his good days. His bad ones, too, actually. How many times had Rodrigo been too stoned to go to work?
“Look, I can’t rent a room to you if you don’t have a credit card, but I don’t want to throw you out either. What is your name?”
“My name?”
“Yeah, your name.” What had this guy taken? He was totally out of it.
“I don’t have one.”
“Or you’re just too stoned to remember yours right now. Think. What does your mother call you?”
“My mother?” The man tilted his head again. His eyes drifted slightly to a place behind Maria’s head and his expression was distant. Then something seemed to pass over his face, and he smiled. “I’m sample XA-7597.”
“Sample XA-7597?”
“Yes.”
“That’s your name?”
“Yes.” His mouth broke into a huge grin, laughing.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. Why?”
“It’s just a very strange name.”
“That’s what she said it was when I asked her.”
“When you asked who?”
“My mother.”
“When was the last time you had to ask your mother what your name was?”
“I’ve only ever done it once. Just now.”
“Uh . . . right.”
It was obvious that even the most basic conversations were going to be impossible until this guy came down from his high.
“Look, Sample XA-whatever. I’ll just call you ‘Sam’ for short. How’s that?”
“Excellent.”
“You’re not going to cause any trouble, are you, Sam?”
“No. I come in peace.”
Maria hesitated. That was a weird thing to say. But with his “Earth woman” comment, he was probably stuck on a sci-fi trip. The smart choice would be to call the cops and let them handle this. Maria had a bad habit of allowing her heart to overrule her head, and there was no handbook for what to do with a friendly but completely stoned underwear model who couldn’t remember his own name. And what was the deal with that caveman beard, anyway?
Sam smiled.
Later, when Maria thought back on why she decided to help him, she realized that it all came down to that sparkle in his eyes. She had seen it before when playing with Lucas, when her young nephew encountered something that sparked his joy and curiosity. Sam’s eyes held the same wonder and awe, as if he was seeing the world for the very first time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE EARTHLING'S BROTHER
CHAPTER 1
It was three in the morning when he walked in. Maria Rodriguez was at the front desk, the only staff member on duty at the time. It was a boring job, but it gave her time alone to work at her studies, and as far as service jobs went, the pay wasn’t terrible.
She had been sitting on a stool behind the desk, typing away on her laptop. She was unable to see anything in the upper left corner of the screen. Lucas had knocked the computer off the kitchen table during one of his seizures, and it had never been the same since. Maria tried to scroll the page down, but the trackpad had decided it wasn’t going to cooperate tonight, and so she had to type the first part of each sentence blind, hoping the words were correct. Her online classes were mostly a joke, but even their standards weren’t so low as to overlook an essay completely full of misspellings.
Maria raised her dark eyes as she heard the chime from the front door. Although the town of Sedona tended to turn in early, not all the guests at the Bell Rock Inn followed its lead. It wasn’t uncommon for out-of-towners to show up late on their way home from parties. Usually they were drunk. Sometimes they were stoned. Almost no one ever walked through that door at this time of the night without being inebriated in some fashion.
The man looked to be in his early twenties. He had long brown hair that fell around his shoulders in curls and a gigantic beard that turned up at the ends. His blue eyes sparkled as he caught her gaze, and he broke into a huge smile. At any other time, Maria would have smiled back. This time was different. Her eyes widened as she took in the wide shoulders, his tapered waist, and . . . she looked away, mortified. The stranger was without a scrap of clothing. From his head down to his bare feet, he was completely nude. His only possession appeared to be an unadorned silver bracelet around his left wrist.
“Oh shit,” Maria said to herself quietly, sliding off the edge of the stool, her feet slipping into her shoes of their own accord. She glanced over at the gate that led behind the desk, checking to make sure it was locked.
The man walked up to her and laid his hands on the desk. The thick silver bracelet on his wrist flashed a reflection of the fluorescent lights in the ceiling, and Maria heard a soft click as it touched down on the glass countertop. He scanned the entire front area as if he were looking for something, his eyes lingering longest on her laptop. She slowly slid it back out of reach.
“Welcome to the Bell Rock Inn,” she sputtered. She closed the laptop and moved it under the counter. It was a piece of crap, with a broken screen and finicky trackpad, the body held together more by duct tape than by the original plastic shell. But it was all she had. She couldn’t afford to get another, especially after what she had to spend on Lucas’s treatments.
The man snapped his attention at her, tilting his head to the side. It reminded her of how her dog reacted when she wagged a treat in front of his nose, except infinitely creepier.
“Are you OK?” she said. Her mouth was dry, and her voice caught in her throat. She tried to play it cool, but even she could detect the alarm in her tone. This guy is either stoned out of his mind or psychotic. She quickly formulated a rudimentary escape plan. Out the door behind her, down the hall, then pull one of the fire alarms. That would wake up the guests so she wouldn’t be alone. Then out the back door? But how much of a head start would she have if he tried to come after her? This guy looked fit. Every muscle was perfectly defined and completely in proportion, as if he spent hours a day at the gym. With a physique like that, he could have been an underwear model, assuming he could get a hold of a pair of underwear. Maria tried to keep her eyes on his face.
The man squinted. It looked like he was staring at her mouth. His jaw dropped slightly, and he made a strange huffing sound, almost as if he were mimicking some large beast of burden. He cleared his throat and clicked his tongue against the front of his teeth. Maria wiped her palms against the legs of her pants.
There was a pause, and the man’s expression changed, almost as if he was listening to something in the distance, and he shook his head slightly. He looked back at her, and smiled again.
“Hello.” His voice was rich and full of genuine excitement.
“Hi.” She tried to smile, but it was forced. Smiling was the last thing she felt like doing at this moment.
“I am on Earth,” he declared. His pronunciation was perfect, but he spoke in a way that seemed almost as if he were surprised that words were coming out of his mouth.
Maria nodded, unsure how to answer.
“And you are a woman. . . . You are an Earth woman!”
“Um, yeah.” The guy is clearly stoned. Maria relaxed a little. Stoned was better than psychotic. She could handle stoned.
“You are the first one I have met.”
“The first woman, huh? Good for you.” He was probably one of the new age tree-hugging energy-vortex worshippers who frequented Sedona. There were so many of them around that Maria couldn’t go a day without being offered a crystal, or a reading, or a trip to a power spot that would open her consciousness. As a last resort, she had tried all that stuff with Lucas at one time or another, but none of it had helped him. As far as she could tell, it was just a way to sell trinkets to tourists. It was obvious what had happened: This guy had gone completely overboard with the psychedelics, stripped out of his clothes, and found himself wandering around in the dark. It was just her luck that of all the places he could have wandered into, he just happened to pick this hotel, on the night when she was on duty.
The seconds ticked by, the stranger content to just to stand there, staring at her.
“Are you cold?” Maria said.
“No.”
“Are you sure? You don’t have any clothes on.”
The man looked down at himself, almost to double-check to see if what she was saying was true. Then he returned his gaze. It was obvious that he was completely without any shred of self-consciousness. “Is that why you are wearing them? Are you cold?”
Maria sighed. Although doing her schoolwork was by no means one of her favorite activities, it was vastly preferable to discussing the concept of clothing with someone too stoned to realize they were even naked. “So, is there something I can do for you?”
“What do you mean?” He seemed surprised.
Maria rolled her eyes. Her paper was due in the morning. She didn’t have time for this. “Are you looking for a room or something?”
“A room?”
“Yes. You know, with a bed and a shower? It’s the middle of the night and you just walked into a hotel.”
“Oh!” The man seemed to consider for a moment. “Yes. I would like a room.”
“Great.” She turned to the office computer, and then paused. What was she thinking? Unless this guy had a magic pouch, there was no way he had money on him. He didn’t even have shoes. She couldn’t rent a room to someone like this.
“You don’t have a credit card, do you?” she asked, pulling her hands back from the keyboard and turning to face him.
“No.”
“But everything is OK, right? You’re not in trouble or anything?”
“Yes. I am just a little unsure of where I am . . . aside from Earth!” He smiled that smile again, disarming her. Aside from all the confusion and underneath whatever drugs he was on, he was sweet. That much was clear. He reminded her of Lucas’s father on his good days. His bad ones, too, actually. How many times had Rodrigo been too stoned to go to work?
“Look, I can’t rent a room to you if you don’t have a credit card, but I don’t want to throw you out either. What is your name?”
“My name?”
“Yeah, your name.” What had this guy taken? He was totally out of it.
“I don’t have one.”
“Or you’re just too stoned to remember yours right now. Think. What does your mother call you?”
“My mother?” The man tilted his head again. His eyes drifted slightly to a place behind Maria’s head and his expression was distant. Then something seemed to pass over his face, and he smiled. “I’m sample XA-7597.”
“Sample XA-7597?”
“Yes.”
“That’s your name?”
“Yes.” His mouth broke into a huge grin, laughing.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. Why?”
“It’s just a very strange name.”
“That’s what she said it was when I asked her.”
“When you asked who?”
“My mother.”
“When was the last time you had to ask your mother what your name was?”
“I’ve only ever done it once. Just now.”
“Uh . . . right.”
It was obvious that even the most basic conversations were going to be impossible until this guy came down from his high.
“Look, Sample XA-whatever. I’ll just call you ‘Sam’ for short. How’s that?”
“Excellent.”
“You’re not going to cause any trouble, are you, Sam?”
“No. I come in peace.”
Maria hesitated. That was a weird thing to say. But with his “Earth woman” comment, he was probably stuck on a sci-fi trip. The smart choice would be to call the cops and let them handle this. Maria had a bad habit of allowing her heart to overrule her head, and there was no handbook for what to do with a friendly but completely stoned underwear model who couldn’t remember his own name. And what was the deal with that caveman beard, anyway?
Sam smiled.
Later, when Maria thought back on why she decided to help him, she realized that it all came down to that sparkle in his eyes. She had seen it before when playing with Lucas, when her young nephew encountered something that sparked his joy and curiosity. Sam’s eyes held the same wonder and awe, as if he was seeing the world for the very first time.
