Page 93 of The Alpha

“Yeah, well, you’re not from Brooklyn.” She gave him a sidelong glance. “Twenty-first century, Brooklyn.”

He bobbed his head. “No, I’m from nineteenth century Clear Creek.”

She shook her head. “I was told this was the year 3698. Is it?”

“Yeah, I suppose it is. But it don’t matter to me. If I want to visit the nineteenth century, I just get myself a ride.”

Her eyebrows shot to the sky. “A ride?”

“Yeah, with Dallan or Shona. Maybe Kwaku and Zara, but Kwaku likes to take detours.”

Pari stilled as she realized what he was talking about. “So… he wasn’t lying. Time travel?!”

Wilfred turned to look her in the eyes. “You’re kind of an uppity thing, ain’t ya?”

She laughed. “You have no idea. All I want to do is…” Her lower lip wobbled. “… go home.”

He shrugged. “Ask for a ride.”

“Just like that?”

“Sure.”

“But…”

“Did ya want to go home or not?” he asked in a grandfatherly tone.

Pari calmed. There was something about the old man she found soothing. Maybe it was his laid-back demeanor. “Can I?”

He shrugged. “I don’t see why not. But I still don’t see why you would want to. Don’t you like it here?”

“That depends on who you’re asking.”

Wilfred chuckled. “I’m asking you.”

She leaned forward, resting her forearms on her legs. “I’ve been kidnapped, held captive, poked, prodded, and…” she hesitated to tell him about her fellow captive and their interactions. Did she dare say anything to him about what she’d been through since she got here?

“Who brought you?”

She swallowed hard. “You mean here?”

“Yes.”

“Melvale.”

He smiled. “Well, why didn’t ya say so?” Wilfred frowned. “Now I’m confused. “Why would you still want to go home if Melvale… how do you know him?”

“Oh, well…” she started to wring her hands. “Um, we sort of got kidnapped by the same mad doctor and were prisoners together. Then we got rescued, or so I’m told, and we both woke up in his quarters. Then he brought me here to meet his friends.”

“I’m his friend,” Wilfred said. He scratched his head. “Let me get this straight. You were abducted by a doctor?”

“Yeah, he knows Melvale’s an alien.” She gasped. “You knew that, right?”

“He’s Muiraran. You’re surrounded by thousands and thousands of them.”

Her jaw dropped. “What?”

“Yep. Can’t hardly set foot outside your door without bumping into some around this place. Except for here of course. This is our own little slice of Heaven. Melvale built it for us.”

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