The Day They Came (WATTY AWARDS 2016)

Chapter 25

Three days passed. Claire managed to sit up on her own, and didn't need the strongest pain medications they had. However, she was not strong enough to accompany him to the United Nations meeting.

Xyzle took a deep breath as he walked through the doors of the hotel where the meeting was happening. Jackson had not yet shown up – or if he had, he had walked right past him.

Not knowing where else to turn, he walked up to the reception desk.

"Has Jackson Armstead come through yet?" He asked the young woman at the desk. She looked up, glanced him up and down, and then returned to her work. "Miss?"

She looked up again.

"Do you have a reservation here? If not, then I cannot help you. Scram." Her tone did not reflect well on her personality nor what she thought of him.

"Thank you anyway." He turned to go back to the front door, but was stopped.

"Emily, he's with me. Xyzle, correct?" The man that had stopped him mispronounced his name, but the voice was familiar.

"Jackson Armstead?" When the man nodded, he smiled. "Good to meet you." He held his hand out for a shake.

"Where's Claire?" The question came out as he shook hands with the man. He took a deep breath before answering.

"She's still too weak to make the trip down here. She's actually still in the hospital too." Though he didn't elaborate, he hoped the infection cleared up soon.

"Oh my." Mr. Armstead seemed worried. "I hope she gets better soon. Shall we go join the rest of the delegates?" He seemed ready to get in there, to hear what he had to say.

"We shall." He smiled a little. He was completely unaware that almost everyone in the room would be ready to shut him down.

As Mr. Armstead opened the door for him, all attention turned to them. He felt that more of them were staring at him than at Mr. Armstead. Why wouldn't they?

After all, he was taller than everyone – his full height too tall to walk through the door without hitting his head. His skin sparkled in the sunlight due to its color and properties. The colors of his hair and eyes caused those parts of his body to do the same thing.

However, despite all of the attention, he kept his head held high after ducking through the doorway. It'd taken some figurative arm twisting, but he had found another bodysuit that fit him. Over that, he now wore a pair of jean shorts that cut off a few inches above his knees – Bermuda shorts they were called.

He was not wearing a shirt over his body suit. Traditional Mykalean battle meeting wear was the body suit and a pair of nice pants. However, he couldn't afford to get a good pair of pants that would go to his ankles. So, he had had to settle for the Bermuda shorts. His watch sat ever so faithfully on his left wrist, blinking and pulsing as it sat in sleep mode.

He sat beside Mr. Armstead when he motioned for him to sit down. They had sat in the back, against the wall. The wall acted as a backrest for Xyzle; a less than comfortable alternative to sitting in a chair with a very low backrest.

"Will you be comfortable for about an hour?" Mr. Armstead managed a little bit of small talk.

"It'll be okay. This is not the worst chair I've sat in." He managed a smile. "An hour should be suitable."

With that, the meeting began. It began like any meeting he had attended with his father. One man got up and introduced himself by the name of Angus O'Neal. He represented an Earthly country named Scotland. The English representative was late, so he was to conduct the meeting.