Page 27

5 Dry Land

Abby

“It’s so good to put on dry clothes.” Abby pulled her stiff t-shirt over her head, giving it a sniff in the process. Not too dank.

“With how warm it is, I’m surprised they took so long to dry,” Ash commented as he wrapped his wayward tail around his waist and pulled on his cargo pants.

“The humidity’s to blame. You can tell how much moisture is in the air by how curly my hair is. It’s like a living barometer.” She shook the mass of tangled ringlets atop her head. She wasn’t shocked when a twig and several leaves came tumbling out.

“I like how much variety your people possess. Most Cadi have black straight hair. Anything else is considered a flaw.”

“So, did you dye your hair silver?” She gestured to Ash’s shoulder-length locks.

“No, this is my natural color. I used to get ridiculed when I was young, so I dyed it black. But with you humans and your variety coming to our world, I decided it was time to stop hiding it.”

“Good for you. Fitting in is overrated. Besides, it looks great with your red skin, and gives you an ethereal quality.” She admired Ash. It was a real shame he felt the need to change it.

I guess every culture has their critical assholes.

“Acceptance is the new cool thing. Did I say that right?”

“Yeah,” she laughed, and Ash grinned at her.

“Let’s get going.”

She walked behind Ash as they made their way toward the mainland. Clothed or mostly nude, the man had some savage finesse. She admired the swagger of his tight ass, and the way his broad shoulders pushed through the brush.

Yes, I will have seconds and thirds. She grinned then shook her head at her crazy thoughts. The man was an alien. She refused to date guys if they got lit all the time or didn’t take things seriously. Yet here she was swooning over a foreign guy. Real foreign.

But the view was nice, and she was in a far better mood than when they trekked into the dense brush. Chatting with Ash put her at ease, although now that they were heading toward civilization again, she was becoming nervous. Hiding out like Jane and Tarzan was almost preferable to what they were about to face.

The pair stuck to the brush for as long as possible, following the causeway. Eventually, though, they were forced to emerge. It had to be past eight, but it was still light enough to see.

“Just a minute. Ash, look at me.”

Ash stopped and bent over so she could reach him. She adjusted the hood of his sweatshirt, pulling some of his bangs down to obscure his face.

“Better?” he asked.

“It’ll have to work. Try to keep your head down and hide your hands in the front pocket. Let me do the talking.”

“Agreed.”

“There’s gotta be a pharmacy or something a few blocks up this way. I’ll get us some supplies and try to reach my mom.”

Ash nodded, and they headed down the sidewalk. The closer they got to the main strip, the more people they passed. She couldn’t help tensing up each time someone gaped at Ash’s immense height. He played his part well, pretending to admire something in the opposite direction, so no one saw his face. Abby felt a hand on her shoulder after passing yet another group.

“What’s up?”

“I did not realize that your people also come in very dark skin tones. June is light brown, but I assumed that was the extent of your variations.” He glanced back at the people continuing down the sidewalk.

“June’s the engineer you mentioned.”

“Yes.”

“We range from pasty white like me to very dark. It depends on where your ancestors are from. But you won’t find vibrant colors like blue and green. If someone’s as red as you, it’s probably a sun burn.”

“Ah.”