In Alien Hands: Meeting Merle

The accident -Merle

I was overjoyed to find Holli was happy to see me. She nearly toppled over rushing to greet me. She must have been good for Grene, who was also smiling. Heck, even I was smiling.

"What did you two do?" I chuckled, light hearted and happy.

"We cleaned the toy room together." I was relieved that the room was cleaned. It was a disaster, and I was half tempted to leave it as it was and avoid it until the end of time.

"How about the drink?"

"Oh, she drank all of that. Took a bit of boredom, though." He nodded towards the kitchen.

I wasn't bothered that he let her in there. The gate was more to ensure she didn't go in while I was cooking, or without supervision. Grene would have been watching her the whole time, she'd have little opportunity to injure herself. I took a quick peek at her lips, which were already more hydrated. After making a making a note to use that tactic in the future, and pulled out three more of the candies she had earned earlier. Her eyes immediately out up, then turned to confusion when I gave the candy to Grene.

"You lead her out, I'll close the door behind us."

As much as I trusted Holli, I didn't trust her to stay out of trouble inside the house alone, or to stay outside should she get bored. That first night with me, she was scared. Most of the downstairs were safe, save for the kitchen, which was blocked off. Most humans wouldn't go up the stairs towards whatever scared them, so the upstairs weren't an issue. Now that she was more confident, the chances of injury were much higher. I simply sneakily slid the door shut when she was a good distance away from the door while my brother gave her the candies.

The Barbecue was only a short time away, so I started cooking. Holli decided to watch Grene instead of me, which was fair. What he was doing was quite a bit more interesting. He was setting up a pen for her, which would allow better control of who and how many dog-men she would meet at once. Children would meet her through the bars, adults would get a couple minutes in with her. Two of my neighbors had humans of their own, and would get even more time with her. The more the dog-men knew about humans, the better it would go, and the more confident she would be with the less experienced strangers.

I watched Holli in between flipping the Patties, Hotdogs, and steaks I had purchased. (While these names don't exactly match what they really are, your language doesn't have the words to describe them. I will leave their names at the best match I could find.) Humans have this deep, innate curiosity that made them seek out the unknown. As clever as this may make them, it can also be dangerous.

My head was ducked down to look at the grill when I heard a loud thud, and Holli squeal. I didn't look. I just ran to my brother, halfway there before he managed to call my name. I was about twenty feet away, but made it over in just a few moments.

Holli was half pinned under a heavy section of pen. It was heavy to ensure the human or humans couldn't lift it. The heavy metal was resting on her legs and stomach, it had given her little time to process what had happened to her. The edge of the pen wall had fallen below her ribcage, meaning the organs below had very little protection. My brother and I easily lifted it off of her, tossing it on its other side.

"She was trying to lift it. I felt the weight decrease, and let go because I was confused. I didn't mean to, Merle." my brother apologized profusely while I helped Holli to her feet. The guilt weighed on my brother's face.

"I'm not mad, Grene. It was an accident. I probably would have done worse. Grab her for me please, I need to check her abdomen." My brother sighed with relief as he knelt down and restrained Holli.

I hated handling her like this. She was confused, scared, and now suddenly restrained. She panicked a little bit more when I lifted her shirt just enough to examine her. I gently palpated the soft flesh of her belly, watching her reactions for any sign of pain and gently feeling her for any internal bleeding. The area was starting to bruise, but I didn't find any injuries otherwise. I sighed very loudly, relieved beyond belief that she was okay.

I handed her another couple pieces of candy to praise her for her co-operation, which she cautiously ate when I stood again. She seemed bewildered, which would have been adorable if I wasn't so terrified. I decided Holli wouldn't be allowed over there until the pen was done, lest she get any more ideas. It took her a moment  to follow me. I gave her toys to play with until the barbecue was about to start. Meanwhile, my brother set up the pen without any further incident.

Published 1/27/19

I have a surprise planned for 10,000 reads guys!
If you like horror, go and read The loch that ran red  by JohnThompson705. He is a friend of mine outside of wattpad, and I think you may like it! Slow updates, but from what I've heard, it'll be extremely unique. He didn't ask for this shout out, just doing it!