A Date With Angel and Other Things ... Read online

  A Date with Angel

  (and other things that weren’t supposed to happen)

  Copyright 2015 J. Judkins

  Edited by Neeley Bratcher

  Cover art by Blazingcovers.com

  Special thanks to Sue Seabury, David Harrison, Taylor Sullivan, Susan Boesger and Grace Campbell for taking those extra steps to make my story better, and for letting me poke holes at their own characters.

  Chapter One

  A short cry of pain echoed through the woods from below, and Kim stopped at once. She concentrated, listening intently, but already the commotion had faded to nothing. All she could hear were crickets and the ambient noise of distant traffic.

  Another may have doubted their senses, assuming some other mundane reason for the disturbance they’d heard. They would have dismissed the possibility of something unusual and gone on with their ordinary, boring lives.

  Kim was not one of them.

  She smiled and hefted her telescope just a little bit higher, thinking of the grim possibilities the cry entailed. The last hour she’d spent looking at a bunch of boring stars paled in comparison. The mere thought of danger fed her excitement.

  Something interesting was happening beyond the trees in the parking lot, and she was determined to find out what.

  Kim gave the telescope an experimental swing. It would serve as an improvised club. Perhaps not the use her mother intended for her birthday gift, but Kim had already decided tonight was going to be the very last night she’d devote to astronomy. Four times was more than enough. She’d given it a shot, and found it lacking. While she liked the isolation stargazing offered, she felt there were better ways to waste her time.

  Using the stealth skills she’d developed from a lifetime of video games, which she preferred to life itself, Kim crept forward. She strained to see through the darkened woods and into the parking lot just beyond, but it was no use. The moon offered enough light to ensure no danger of a misstep, but there were simply too many trees between her and the whatever-it-was she’d heard.

  She pressed on, crouching low with the telescope before her, alert for an attack that could come at any moment. While it was true she’d never been in an actual fight in her life, she felt herself fully prepared for one. If someone jumped out at her, she’d hit him with the telescope as hard as she could, then hit him again, whether or not he remained conscious to complain about it.

  The woods began to thin out, and the parking lot became more visible. Kim could now clearly see the Bucky’s convenience store on the far side. Two cars were parked in front near its entrance. Her own silver Corolla was on the opposite side, fairly close to the street. If Kim had to guess, the disturbance happened closer to her than to the store. No one inside had heard and come to investigate, which didn't surprise her.

  Movement caught her eye. A few parking spaces beyond her car, Kim could now see a naked, young woman, struggling to pull a t-shirt on over her head. At her feet lay an unconscious, shirtless man.

  Terminators! Kim thought, which even she realized was an unusual reaction.

  The parallels were glaring and obvious to her, so she tried to justify her reaction in her mind. Anyone who had ever seen the movies knew that when killer robots from the future journey back through time, they always arrived naked. That meant the first thing on the robot’s agenda was to find a human and steal their clothes. Then the hunt for their specific targets would begin in earnest, finding and killing future members of the human resistance before they could develop the skill, experience, or even realization that they needed to defend themselves.

  Kim ventured closer to get a better look, taking slow, measured steps to ensure her silence, but something must have alerted the woman below. She spun in place, her gaze searching before finally seeming to bear directly on her. Kim faltered, unnerved at being located so easily, but she quickly recovered. She continued walking as if nothing were unusual, a few moments later taking her first tentative steps onto the parking lot.

  Her Corolla was almost twenty feet to her right. The woman stood behind it, watching her. Kim stayed close to the edge of the woods, keeping the vehicle between them as she made her way to the driver’s side door.

  After unlocking the door, Kim hesitated. She couldn’t let this go. Precious little went on in her day-to-day life, and here at least was something interesting. While she didn’t believe this woman was an actual time-traveling, cybernetic organism on a mission of death and destruction, she enjoyed entertaining the possibility that it could be true.

  The strange woman continued to regard her in silence. She stood just over five feet tall, a little taller than Kim herself. Her hair looked blonde, almost white under the glare of the distant streetlights. The blue t-shirt she wore extended past her hips, clearly a size or two too large for her, but she didn’t seem at all concerned about it.

  Kim tried not to notice, but it was glaringly obvious that the woman wore nothing else besides the shirt. Her lack of modesty reinforced Kim’s impression there was something exceptionally odd about her.

  Kim’s hand hovered above the door handle. It remained unopened.

  "Hello,” said Kim.

  "Hello," said the woman. She took a few steps to her right as if to block Kim’s view of the unconscious man.

  Undeterred, Kim gave him another glance. The man looked to be in his mid-thirties. He seemed physically fit, although the sight of muscles prominently on display did nothing for her. She was more interested in the fact that the burly man seemed twice the woman’s size. It made her wonder if her terminator theory might not be entirely inaccurate.

  In a way, she hoped it wasn’t true. Being slaughtered as the closest owner of a needed vehicle didn’t appeal to her.

  “Do you need help?”

  “No.”

  Kim gestured with her telescope. “Is he going to be okay?”

  The woman didn’t turn or even glance at him. "Yes."

  "What happened to your clothes?"

  "I lost them," she said.

  "What, as in misplaced?"

  "No. I lost them in a fire. I hit my head. I can’t remember my name. I have also misplaced my memory."

  "Don’t you mean, you lost your memory?"

  "Yes. I lost my memory after I hit my head. It is a reasonable explanation."

  Reasonable. Right...

  Kim circled to the front of her car to better see the shirtless man. The woman again shifted to block her view, trying to be nonchalant and make the action look natural, but once again, failing miserably.

  "Is he your friend?" Kim asked her.

  "Yes. He also hit his head. This is why he’s unconscious," explained the woman.

  "Yeah? What’s his name?"

  "I don’t know. I have forgotten his name."

  "Why did you take his shirt?"

  "The shirt belongs to me. It is normal to wear clothes."

  "Why didn’t you take his pants, too?"

  Half the woman’s face scrunched up into something that looked like irritation to Kim.

  "His pants are too large,” explained the woman, almost sounding bitter about it, “and they wouldn’t fit me. There is no need to take his pants. Also, they are his pants and do not belong to me."

  She stopped as if thinking about it, then continued in a voice seeped in curiosity. "Do you happen to have any clothes I could use? I lost mine in--"

  "--in a fire, I know," Kim interrupted. "You’re not from around here, are you?"

  "Is it easily apparent I’m not from around here?"

  Kim shrugged. "Kinda."

  "You are correct. This place seems strange to me." The woman looked away, as if embarrassed that she needed to provid
e an explanation.

  Kim again glanced past the woman to the man lying in a crumpled heap behind her.

  Something about him seems familiar.

  Then it clicked. Kim recognized him, or rather, she’d seen him before from a distance. On a visit nearly a week ago, he and one of his friends were lingering around outside the convenience store. They’d spotted her as she left the woods and started towards her.

  Fortunately, the parking lot was just large enough and Kim had a head start. She had more than enough time to reach her vehicle before they could stop her. One of them even called her a bitch as she drove past. She’d written them off as jerks and done her best to forget about them. While she doubted they would have tried anything in full view of the store, she didn’t see a need to take chances.

  She couldn’t have picked a nicer victim, Kim thought in silent approval, feeling good it had been him, bad that it must have hurt, but good she felt bad about it.

  As if on cue, the man began to sit up, groaning and putting a hand to his head. The woman at once lost all interest in Kim. She crouched next to him, blocking Kim’s view, not at all concerned with modesty.

  "Please don’t move. You hit your head," she told the man.

  He violently flinched away from her outstretched hand, eyes wide in apparent panic. The woman moved closer and did something Kim couldn’t see. She heard a groan and he fell back against the concrete.

  "Oh, no, he’s unconscious again!” the woman cried, and shot to her feet. Her panicked demeanor reminded Kim of a child in a school play with instructions from the teacher to look scared. Her frantic eyes met Kim’s. “You seem friendly. Could you contact a paramedic? I’ll stay here and render assistance."

  Kim ignored the question. A brand new conclusion was taking root in her brain. It was unlikely the woman wanted an actual paramedic, or any official attention whatsoever. "Can’t you remember where you’re from?" she asked, trying not to sound eager.

  The woman’s expression shifted again. Exasperation, this time. “I lost my memory. I told you that.”

  Kim barely heard her. Her mind was racing. The average person would never have reached the conclusion she was reaching, but taking into account how desperately the woman was attempting to blend in, it made perfect sense to her. Kim discarded the terminator theory because: A, the woman hadn’t killed her yet and; B, this was a better idea. Also C, terminators didn’t exist.

  No, it was far more plausible this woman was an alien who only looked human.

  Kim hugged herself, hoping her elation wouldn’t show. A real alien! Ever since she’d discovered science fiction as a child, she’d dreamed of meeting one. The woman’s very existence was interesting.

  And if she had shown up five minutes later, the alien woman would have completed her disguise and moved on.

  It felt true, and Kim certainly wanted it to be true, but she knew enough to test her theory before acting on it and doing something she’d later come to regret. If the woman were ordinary, after all, she wouldn’t want to get involved. Ordinary was boring. "Do you want me to call the police? You know, the local authorities?"

  The woman gave a half smile and made an attempt at laughter. "No, I’m certain that my memory will return. There is no trouble and no need to alert the authorities."

  Which contradicted her earlier request for paramedics. That settled it in her mind. Alien. Positive of it. Posing as human. A normal human woman would have welcomed the help. Kim could barely contain her excitement.

  "Is English the only language you know? Most people know several," Kim lied.

  The woman didn’t hesitate. "I, too, know several languages," she said.

  This time, Kim couldn’t stop herself from smiling and barely resisted the urge to laugh out loud. The other woman gave her an incredulous look.

  "Would you like to come home with me? Until you regain your memory?" Kim asked.

  The woman said nothing, but her look shifted to something similar to puzzlement.

  "There’s nothing unusual about it," Kim continued in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. "People invite other people home all the time."

  "I hesitate only because I am considering your offer. Do you live alone?"

  Live alone? This brought Kim up short. For the first time, she felt the stirrings of fear, a brief hint of a self-preservation instinct she’d never used before and didn’t even realize she had before now. The woman might as well have asked if anyone would investigate her disappearance if she suddenly turned up missing.

  “Yes,” Kim answered, choosing to ignore the warning.

  This is too important. There is no danger. She’s more afraid of you than you are of her. Don’t scare the nice alien.

  "Then I agree. I would like that."

  Kim smiled again. She walked around to the passenger side and opened the door.

  The woman approached. She took a moment to scan the interior of the Corolla before sitting inside. Kim didn’t blame her for the scrutiny. One of the first things she did when she’d purchased her vehicle was to tint her windows to the darkest shade allowable by law for the state of Colorado. As she resided in Nebraska, they’d cautioned her that she ‘wouldn’t be allowed to drive it,’ which Kim accepted as their way to avert responsibility.

  Kim didn’t mind risking a ticket. She spent most of her time indoors, anyway, and was no fan of the sun. Nature and all its majestic splendor bored her.

  She stowed her telescope in the back, then slid into the driver’s seat.

  This was going to be perfect!

  They began the long drive home in silence. Kim was full of questions she wanted to ask, but managed to contain herself. She couldn’t risk letting the alien woman know she was on to her. That meant questions like 'What’s it like where you’re from?’ or ‘What’s the secret to traveling faster than light?’ were off limits. Those would be nice to know, but bad to ask.

  Throughout her internal debate, Kim fought to keep herself from stealing glances at the real-life alien woman seated next to her. She’d glance over, inadvertently glance down, and once again be reminded that the woman’s shirt really didn’t cover all that much.

  Embarrassment gave her the strength to resist looking. Then the embarrassment would fade, excitement would well up once more, she’d glance over, look down, and the cycle would repeat itself all over again.

  "I agreed to come with you, and this makes you happy?" asked the woman.

  "What?"

  "You keep smiling. I’m curious. You smile and look at me, then turn away."

  "I’m sorry, it’s just--” Kim resisted the urge to wave her hands around which was a bad thing to do while driving, “--I’m not the most sociable girl in the world. This is very unusual for me."

  "You assured me this was normal behavior," the woman stated, her voice sounding accusing.

  "No, it is normal," Kim was quick to correct, "but not normal for me. This is the first time I’ve done anything like this, but it does happen."

  "Why do you look and turn away?"

  Kim had to think fast. It was obvious the woman was trying to blend in. If she let on she knew she was an alien sent here for some unknown purpose, who knows what she’d do? At best, she’d walk away. At worse, she might kill her.

  The thought of getting vaporized or blasted into a million pieces made her smile. It occurred to her the prospect of disintegration should have scared the hell out of her, but it didn’t. She was too excited.

  How would she do it? Maybe the woman would use her mental powers to explode her brain with but a thought! That would be interesting. Or maybe she’d use her alien strength to rip Kim’s still-beating heart out of her chest so quickly she’d have time to show it to her just before she died!

  Both of those would be cool. Painful, but cool. And she’d be dead. Death would be significantly less than cool.

  Maybe she should avoid that.

  While she was at it, maybe she should seek mental help! Why exactly was she doing this aga
in? Because life was dull and ordinary, and this promised a bit of excitement? Was she that starved for entertainment?

  Kim realized the alien was still waiting for an answer. What answer would satisfy her? Why do normal people bring strangers home? She glanced at her passenger again, glanced down, and tore her eyes away, face flaming.

  That’s right! Half naked woman in the car! She could use that!

  "I’m embarrassed. Like I said, I’m not used to this. I’m shy. First time for me," Kim said.

  "I understand," said the woman, not sounding at all convinced.

  "So, what’s your name?" asked Kim.

  "I don’t remember."

  Kim gave her a sympathetic look before her eyes returned to the road. “I could give you a name, if you want.”

  "Angel," said the woman.

  "What?"

  "My name is Angel."

  Kim pulled into her condominium’s parking lot. "I thought you didn’t remember?"

  “While he was still being friendly, the man said Angel several times. I didn’t realize he was referring to me by name until now."

  Still being friendly? Kim felt another tremor of fear at the underlying meaning of Angel’s words. They implied Angel could become less than friendly if the situation called for it.

  As the car’s headlights washed over her garage door, Kim hit the remote and used the opportunity to scan the parking area, looking for any potential witnesses. This early in the morning she wasn’t expecting anyone at all, but her garage was a good distance away from the condominium complex itself. The prospect of her leading a half-naked woman into her building did not appeal to her. Not in the slightest. People would talk. She certainly couldn’t claim Angel was an alien, and she was keeping her as her excuse.

  Best to conceal her existence from everyone.

  Kim killed the engine and looked at her passenger. "We’re home, but I need you to stay in the car for a few minutes."

  "Your home is very small."

  It took Kim half a second before she caught on, then she smiled. "No, I meant to say, this is my garage. The garage is technically a part of my home, but I need you to stay here while I go inside to get a few things. Would you mind? I’ll be right back."