Chapter 17: A Guest in My Home

Chapter 17: A Guest in My Home

Paulie and Jakiikii stood together on the steps of their apartment complex in the darkened streets of Korscam, taking a moment to revel in their marvelous escape. He glanced up into the night sky above as he breathed deep of the clean night air of the alien city. The disk of Trellan IX was not visible from where he stood, but he could see the faint glow on the horizon where it might have otherwise been. The vast gas giant that the planet of Gike was in orbit of was a true spectacle to see, and one he had yet to grow tired of.

His thoughts were interrupted by a heavy nudge from beside him. “Hey, come on. I am tired and smell like I was crawling in a sewer.”

Paulie looked down at Jakiikii as he chuckled. “You were crawling around in a sewer.”

She shook her angular head, all six bright eyes facing him. “Yeah, well you stink even worse than I do. Come on, let's get cleaned up.” He nodded mostly to himself as she pushed by him up the stairs to the building. It took them only a minute to walk through the structure to the stairwell. As they did so Paulie could not help but notice that there were about twice as many guards stationed in the atrium than there had been the day before.

“Beefing up security?” He muttered aloud.

Jakiikii shrugged. “If it keeps you safe, I am fine with it.” She shot back, her face impassive but the slight crinkling of the skin around her eyes giving away her worry to him in that moment.

He followed her up the stairs, wrinkling his nose and not for the first time as he got another strong whiff of the sludge and filth that still stained their clothing. She held the door for him and he nodded his thanks as they entered the long hall that led to their respective rooms. His heavy booted feet made little noise on the carpeted flooring, her own tri-cloven hooves made even less sound.

As they reached his door he pulled out his laserkey and opened the door to his room. Stepping just inside Jakiikii stopped him, hand out as if asking for his key. “I am going to go grab some clean clothing.” Was all she said without elaboration.

He nodded, seemed fair enough to him, and so he handed her the key so she could get back inside when she was done getting cleaned up. She nodded her thanks and walked across the hall to her own room as the door swung closed behind him.

Paulie shrugged tired shoulders and unstrapped his thick armoured chestplates. They thudded to the floor and ended up leaning against the wall next to the front door. The armour was battered and burned, just like his greatcoat which ended up next to it. He shook his head as he looked at them again. They would both need to be replaced, and he was likely to catch an earful from Glotch about it when he did, the barnumite was already getting tired of his constant requests to resupply and replace broken equipment.

He shrugged again, rolling his shoulders as he stepped into the center part of his small apartment. It could not be helped, he would worry about it later when his immediate needs were met. He quickly stripped out of his dirty, burned and soiled clothing and piled it haphazardly by the door of the bathroom before then scooping it up and placing into the small basket he had set aside for that purpose, putting his gunbelt and weapon on the hook by the bathroom door he usually used to hang his greatcoat. He stood there, naked and smelling of his unmentionable experiences and shook his head with a small rueful smile. He had been looking forward to a hot shower for the last few hours.

Paulie quickly moved into the small bathroom and closed the door behind him with a click before turning to the wall mirror and sink to get a better look at himself. His eyes widened as he got the first good peek at himself since the day before. He was in complete shambles.

His face was dark and dirty, his body covered in dark bruises trending towards a lighter greenish grey where quickheal had been applied. He had a large red spot on his side where he had been wounded and there was a nasty looking burn on his left shoulder that he had not even realised was there. The skin was dark and angry red, he touched it and winced slightly. It wasn’t too bad, likely thanks to the deliberate ministrations of the duigong doctor.

He turned from his own disheveled countenance and towards the main object of his salvation. The room’s small acoustic shower. He knew the settings were just right for him already and so stepped in with only a moment to adjust the intensity before stitching it on and placing his arms on the sides of the stall with a single heavy sigh.

Warm mist descended from the ceiling and sprayed from the sides of the stall. A subtle glowing vibration seemed to cover him from head to toe as the acoustics switched on. The vibrational energy was just strong enough to cause the water that condensed upon his skin to flash back off into heavy steam that fell to the floor below and was carried away by a gentle current of flowing water.

The entire experience was altogether relaxing in the extreme and he leaned his head forward as the dirt and grime of the last few hours was lifted off his body in blissful waves of frothing delight. He rolled stiff shoulders, feeling tense muscles slowly loosen as the tension of the long night was finally sapped from him by the heat and stinging water. He smiled, the water touching his teeth and sparkling motes of it stuck to his face and legs and back. He kept his eyes closed throughout the entire process, it was not dangerous per-se, but the sensation of the water fizzing off his exposed eyes was not exactly pleasant and he had decided that experimentation was best done sightless from then on.

Paulie stood and slowly turned, raising one leg and then the other to make sure he was completely clean before he turned back and shut the device off. The steam instantly stopped fizzing and popping and he felt as though a heavy wet blanket had been laid over him. Opening his eyes for just a moment to be sure of his next action, he touched the dial that dried and was met with a blast of warm air as the acoustics flashed the last vestiges of the water to steam and carried it away.

Thus fully sanitised and much refreshed, he stepped from the small cubicle and pressed the self-cleaning function. In thirty seconds the booth was as clean as it had been before he had entered and he moved back to the large wall mirror and sink.

Paulie smiled to himself as he tensed and relaxed his bruised arm. That was better.

His face looked a little brighter and had more color, his body was cleaner and he even felt more relaxed. He stepped toward the door but grabbed a towel to wrap around his naked waist before he did so. It was well he had for as he opened the door he was shocked to see a figure sitting on one of the stools at the table near to his small kitchen.

It was Jakiikii, and she was wearing nothing but a long and flowing blue robe lined in soft, downy looking fluff that she pulled a bit tighter as she saw Paulie step through the open door.

He stopped, immediately stunned and at a loss for words. She stood slowly, three arms holding her long bathrobe securely closed as two more held what he assumed to be clean clothing, though it looked nothing like the dark textured skin of the stealth suit she always wore.

“I uh..” Was all he said as she walked right up to him.

Her angular head cocked back a little so she could better look up into his surprised features as three of her eyes met his. The others seemed busy getting an eyeful of his bare chest and muscles.

She giggled in her usual husky tenor. The breathing slits on her sides making the robe she wore flutter slightly as she did so. “What? You didn’t think I meant I was grabbing clothing with your key and not returning? Did you?”

He swallowed and shook his head slowly, leaning back slightly as she pressed a little closer. “No I, well. I mean, yeah sure. But you have a shower.. too, right?” He asked unnecessarily.

She nodded and then glanced past him. “May I use yours though?” She said it so sweetly, so sincerely. He had no choice but to swallow again and nod his head.

Stepping to the side he gestured to the open door. “Be my guest.”

“I will.” She said as she flicked her long pink tongue at him before stepping by. Two of her flexible eyestalks watched him without losing sight as she walked into the bathroom and slowly pulled the door closed behind her.

As the door clicked shut Paulie let out a breath he had not realised he had been holding and shuffled over to his bed to sit down. His heart was pounding, his head felt heavy. He knew what she was doing, it was obvious to any caveman with a pulse. But this was the most brazen he had seen her. She had to know how he felt, he had said it enough times. So why the shock and awe tactics all the sudden.

He glanced toward the closed door as the sound of the shower turning on could be heard. And what had he just seen? He closed his eyes and gazed at the mental picture of her that had been burned most instantly into his mind. Jakiikii sitting in his dining room, one hooved leg crossed over the other as she turned her pretty head towards him. The fluffy bathrobe that she had held closed, but not enough to cover the shock of thick fluffy fur that had covered her entire upper chest.

He knew she had a furred ruff that went around her neck, but he had not known it went farther down than that. A part of him suddenly began to speculate just how far down the soft fur might go indeed and he shook his head. Now was not the time to get lost in rustic speculation. He quickly stood and found fresh clothes which he pulled on. Briefs, shorts and a loose-fitting shirt more akin to a T-shirt though of alien manufacture. He moved to the basket by the bathroom door and stopped as he leaned over to grab it.

He heard something through the hissing of steam and the subtle whirr of the acoustic generators. It was a low sound, a base grumbling vibration. The sound rising and falling in a tonal melody that made him smile suddenly as he realised what she was doing. She was singing in the shower.

He chuckled quietly and grabbed the basket. Tapping on the door the singing stopped and Jakiikii’s voice rang out. “Yes, do you need something Paulie?”

He replied quickly, “I was going to run my clothes to the washer room. Where are your dirty clothes? I can take them with me.”

“They are already taken care of. You took your time in here.” He cocked his head at that, he had indeed. If he had known she was waiting outside he might not have taken so long in the bathroom. He was about to ask about his key when he saw the small emerald tablet on the table where she had been sitting.

He nodded and then called out, “Okay, I will be back.” She made a noise that he assumed might be agreement before stepping to the table to grab his laserkey card. He grabbed his filthy and torn greatcoat as he walked by the door and gave his armour a dirty look. It had saved his life multiple times tonight, but he still hated the bulky thing. It had been his idea in the first place though, so he only had himself to blame.

With the crystal key in hand he moved through and then out of his room into the hallway beyond. As the door closed behind him he leaned against it and passed a hand through his slightly damp hair.

“Okay..” He said to himself before shifting the dirty clothing and walking down the hall.

He smirked to himself and shook his head. He loved Jakiikii more than he had every loved anyone else before in his life, but she was as confusing to him sometimes as the females of his own species had often been on Earth. He paused at that. His thoughts at once turning back to the home that was, he shook his head.

His memories of home were fragmented, fuzzy. Sometimes occasionally indistinct. The damage done to his mind in his constant struggle with the parasite had rendered many of his oldest memories little more than blurry frames. He sighed and looked inward again with a curious and slightly suspicious glance, but found nothing still. There were many old memories he didn’t mind losing. But those of lost friends and close family had hurt him the most to realise were missing.

He was a little worried at the sudden silence of the parasite. But the larger part of him was relieved, maybe it was dead. His near brush with the other side might have spooked the thing that lurked inside his head and that would have been fine with him. For he was the master of his own mind again, and the thought made him smile as he walked down the hall with the basket clutched firmly in his hands.