Part 1 (1/2)
Holiday Abduction.
By Eve Langlais.
(Alien Abduction #6).
Description.
He might not have b.a.l.l.s to jingle, but hes mastered the art of giving.
This Christmas, Jilly is hoping for a miracle, but instead she gets a hunky purple alien.
Vhyl is determined to acquire a certain lost artifact, but when he lands on the forbidden barbarian planet known as Earth, he finds more than expected. An attractive human female is in possession of the priceless object, and shes agreed to hand it over”for a price.
Apparently she doesnt know of his reputationor doesnt care.
Intrigued by her fearless nature”and her luscious cocoa skin”this acquisition expert cant resist stealing a kiss. But before he can take more, his enemy arrives to stake a claim.
It seems Vhyl isnt the only one interested in Jillys treasure”and Jilly herself. On the run not only from Earth forces but his enemies too, they must fight to survive and evade capture.
However, he cant escape the effect the human has on him.
In the end, Vhyl has to make a choice”Jilly or the priceless treasure he came for?
Chapter One.
Never forget theyre always watching. And they see everything. Its why I line my bras with tin foil. ” Grandmas philosophy on alien life.
The end of the world didnt happen.
Another wish dashed.
Staring at the sky didnt produce a horde of alien s.p.a.cecraft about to invade Earth, but as if to mock her, the most delicate of snowflakes tumbled from the clouds overhead. Without a breeze, each sparkling mote drifted down to coat the ground in an innocent layer, which tormented her.
Logically, Jilly knew she shouldnt blame the land. It wasnt the farms fault she was so d.a.m.ned screwed. Instead, she should condemn those stupid pencil pushers in their cubicles at the bank who seemed to think that todays economy and lack of employment werent their problem. Well, it was, and hers too if she didnt find a way to make some cash, and quick.
Only a few days before Christmas and less than a week until the mortgage came due, along with all the penalties shed accrued from missed and late payments. If she didnt pay the sums owing in full, she stood to lose her home, which totally sucked. Of all her aspirations in life, homelessness didnt number among them.
Was it any wonder shed kind of hoped for a solar flare that would wipe out all the computers in the world leaving her with more time to figure out where she would find the money to make ends meet?
One thing was for sure. She wouldnt find any money on the farm.
The orchard with its stunted apple trees, which had barely produced any fruit the last two years, wouldnt suddenly leaf green bills.
The field infested with b.u.t.terfly larva wouldnt suddenly sprout a crop she could use.
And the restaurant she used to work at wasnt likely to reopen its doors and give her back her job, not with the scathing report the health inspector wrote. Mario, the owner, should have never broken up with Marianne. She didnt take the rejection well.
Perhaps Jilly could pull the money from her a.s.s. More like by shaking her a.s.s. With things down to the wire, there werent many options left to make a few grand quick, unless she got naked. For strangers.
Shudder.
There has to be a better way. Something she could sell other than her body. But what?
The house contained relics of a bygone era, but she wouldnt exactly call them antiques. Somehow she doubted b.u.t.t-ugly furniture from the seventies and cracked knickknacks”glued a few too many times”would find many buyers. Heck, given the state of some of the stuff, shed probably have to pay to get it taken away.
As Jilly continued to stare at the sky, still not giving up hope that an alien invasion would target her bank, she noted a bright spot streaking through the low hanging, cloud layer.
A shooting star?
Should she take it as a positive omen?
Quick. Make a wish.
She closed her eyes tight as she whispered words that only the falling snow could hear. Help me find a way to have a Merry Christmas. And a Happy New Year where she wasnt homeless.
Fervent plea made, she opened her eyes, and her jaw dropped open as she gaped. Perhaps she should have wished to keep her house instead because the falling star seemed intent on colliding with it. The brilliant spot, instead of winking harmlessly out of sight, appeared to be headed straight toward her.
Much like the dumb deer”whom she took potshots at when they came to nibble on her crops”she stared at the bright light. She wasnt stupid enough to think she could outrun it or that hiding inside would save her. Not at the speed the shooting meteor traveled and the size, which grew from a speck to a boulder to the size and shape of acoffin?
Closing her eyes and reopening them did nothing to change her perception. It still looked like a b.l.o.o.d.y sarcophagus.
Creepy. Especially since it slowed right down and parked itself gently and upright on her front lawn.
While happy the flying tomb didnt smash into her or the house, somehow she wasnt completely rea.s.sured.
If this were a horror movie, then what comes next probably wont be good for my general health.
Foreboding formed a ball in her stomach, and she ran inside the house to grab the shotgun. As she wrapped her hand around the familiar wooden stock, she could almost hear her departed grandma say, Jilly, if it dont look right, fetch the gun.
Actually, Grandmas solution to most problems involved fetching a weapon, loaded with custom-made silver bullets because as Grandma said, Always be prepared for anything, Jilly-bean. Just because we aint never seen a werewolf doesnt mean theyre not lurking out there.
With crazy advice like that, as well as the garlic strung over every window, the salt Grandma kept pouring around the perimeter of the house and the aluminum they went through every month, was it any wonder why Jilly canceled Grandmas issue of True Believers Wear Tin Foil Hats? Cousin Betty stopped talking to her after that, as if it was Jillys fault Grandma was her only subscriber.
Uttering a silent apology to both her cousin and grandma, whom it seemed might have been right when they claimed life was out there”and waiting to enslave all women as s.e.x slaves”Jilly thanked the fact she knew how to shoot.
With Problem Solver in hand”the name she gave her gun when gifted to her on her twenty-first birthday”Jilly stood on her front porch wearing pink, tattered bunny-eared slippers, baggy red plaid, flannel pants, a snug T-s.h.i.+rt that read Ray of f.u.c.king suns.h.i.+ne and a blanket around her shoulders because it was winter after all. As outfits went, she wouldnt win any prizes unless it was how to not impress possible alien life when it landed on your doorstep.
If it was an alien.
Perhaps the strange object was some kind of government drone thing. Those money-spending, tax-collecting jerks were always wasting funds on stupid projects.