Alien Tongues ~Humans Spines Book Two~

Gorjivon's Acting

Dumaine

        She's asleep on the warm room's couch. She's been there for twelve hours now. Twelve hours. I've never been asleep that long before. I can't imagine how much energy she's going to have after she wakes up. She'll be so excited to see that she has her own room. She hasn't had one in years. Actually, she probably hasn't had one ever. And Drexel's wife is here now too, she can teach Emmeline how to braid her hair like Hans didn't get to. She also said the market isn't too far and if Emmeline wants to go shopping and maybe get some clothes that fit her, she would take her.

        Drexel doesn't think it's Emmeline who will wake up. He thinks it's just going to be another Translucent. He didn't even bother to come wake her up with me. I think it has something to do with those other things he told me Osinsious showed him. He still hasn't elaborated on what he meant exactly.

        Emmeline's body is curled into a ball, tucked into the crease of the couch. There's no way she can be cold in here. Drexel told me about this room. It's the first room you enter after the mud room and it is designed to quickly warm you back up after being out on the freezing mountain top. Which is apparently where we are. He wouldn't tell me which mountains we're on but he did tell me that the nearest neighbor is two mountain peaks away. I'm just going to go along with what he says.

        "Emmeline?" I crouch down beside her. "Pssssst, wake up." My words are a whisper. I reach my arm out to shake her shoulder. Her eyes are opening!

        "Emmeline, wake up! I have so much to tell you! We're up in the mountains! And Drexel is here, with Cecilia! And-and..."

        This isn't Emmeline. It's not looking at me. It's only bothered to open her eyes half way, giving her this bored look. This isn't Emmeline.

        I watch it watch the floor for several seconds, then minutes as it does nothing but lick her lips and occasionally twitch. It's almost as it's trying to figure out how to use her body. I stand, disappointed, making my way out of the room, towards the basement. I haven't been down there yet but Drexel said that the house is as much mine as it is his.

        I just hope it's quiet down here. Somewhere I can think.

***

        It's very quiet down here. And cold. It is freezing cold down here. Like, I had to go back upstairs and grab some blankets before I could make it all the way down, freezing cold. I think this might actually be a freezer. Like one of those places where they store dead cows. Maybe I should find some dead cows. Or kill a cow. Or a Translucent. I could store dead Translucent down here. I could keep them fresh and dissect them down here. I could learn about them. Or I could kill Drexel. No, no, I can't do that I'm supposed to learn about the Translucent, not humans. But what if I could figure out how to bring Hans back to life...

        I need to go back upstairs. My face and feet are going numb and I've sat here long enough to get over the fact that that isn't Emmeline. I must have lost my ability to see the Translucent. That's going to make things much harder. But I can't sit and think about it any longer because there are tears in my eyes from thinking about that stupid door I made us go through. I can feel them beginning to freeze on my cheeks.

***

        "The basement was interesting."