First to Rise

ALITA

What the hell!?

I carefully peeked through the slot in the metal door to peer into the dark room. Unfortunately, without any lighting, I could hardly see a thing with the door closed.

Why did he just suddenly grab me? I thought I was about to have my throat ripped out by his fangs when he pinned me down. But he seemed just as surprised when he let me go… What was the point of all of that?! Was he trying to scare me, was that it?

No, why would he? He doesn't even need to grab me to spook me. Much less pin me to the ground…

Even that smile of his would have been enough to make me leave. Now that I think about it, he's been glaring at me ever since the shower. Is he mad about what happened when I took him to bathe?

Groaning, I grabbed at my hair in frustration. Why did I sign myself up for this? I'm supposed to be avoiding alien invaders at all costs…

I looked at the cell door. Because he grabbed me, I didn't get to secure his chains to the wall, he is practically free-roaming in there now. If one of the guards comes and opens the door, he could attack them. If I open the door, he could attack me… though I have reasons to believe that he won't.

I bit my lip, staring at the door intently for a moment, trying to decide if I should do it now…

“Nope!” Turning away, I went over to my things and sat down on my sleeping bag. I'll deal with it later! Turning my attention to the duffle bag, I opened it up. Inside was what I assumed was armor and a few other strange alien tools. The armor was… exotic.

The plating looked smooth and mimicked that of the scales of a monster. The shoulder pads looked almost identical to the armor-like scales but larger, as well as the gauntlets and boots. Multiple buckles were attached to each piece and the cloth parts were silky smooth.

I set the armor to the side and continued looking through the bag. I found a pair of long metal daggers that were strange… although the blades were different, the hilts were the same, making them look like a set. The handles of the blades matched, but the designs and curves were different. It almost felt wrong, going through the alien’s belongings…

I set the weapons off to the side and found what looked like a choker or necklace? Do aliens even wear jewelry like that? Maybe it's a wristband. I inspected it closely, unsure what to think of the weird device. There was a metal disk in the center that looked like a button, and the band had some kind of magnetic clasp on each end. Putting the strange device back, I pulled out a large piece of fabric with some fur… wait… is this a cape?

Standing up, I looked at it more closely. The thing was much larger than me. And I had to raise it above my head just to keep the bottom inches from the ground. This really is a cape! I put it over my shoulders and pet the soft fur of the cape’s neckline. The excess of the cape spilled around my feet, making me feel small in comparison to the giant it was meant for.

The material it was made from was soft and would make a wonderful blanket… I glanced over to the cell at just the mere thought. He won't know…

Moving on, I found a belt with a few different pockets and one of those metal rods I watched another alien use before, like a giant retractable spear or javelin.

I held it out carefully in front of me and my finger brushed against a button, making it unfold. One end of the spear hit the concrete wall, leaving a two-inch deep hole. I gulped. If I hadn't known that it would extend like that, I could have very well been worse off than the wall…

Retracting the spear quickly, I set that aside carefully. Maybe I should be more careful with these items now that I think about it… I'd rather not accidentally set off a bomb in my face.

Sighing, I set everything aside, unsure what to do anymore… my eyes wandered to the cell door, and I hugged my knees, thinking about my next move. I glared at the door for what seemed like forever before deciding that I still wasn't ready to deal with him.

I found myself pulling out the notebooks and writing utensils out of the cabinet, and I sat down on my sleeping bag. I started sketching, trying to piece together how the armor would look on a person, but no matter how much I tried, it just seemed off… unnatural even.

After hours of endless sketching and erasing, I groaned. There were just some parts of the armor that didn't fit right in places and made no sense. I tried several different ways to adjust it, but nothing was working. As I stared at all my failed attempts, an idea came to mind.

Is it because I'm trying to draw it onto a human figure?

I had not gotten the chance to really look at the aliens' bodies. Sure, I got quite the view earlier in the showers, but I was too distracted to actually look at his basic body structure… I had only gotten close to this alien, and I doubt they are all the same shape and size.

Finding my own curiosity stronger than my sense of danger, besides… I need to secure his chains or else I'll be in a load of trouble… I walked over to the cell and pulled out my block.

Opening it up, I was a bit taken aback by the fact he wasn’t immediately growling at me like usual. He was leaned up against the wall in the back of the cell, his chains laying uselessly on the floor, no longer suspended nor keeping him bound. Keeping my gun held up and pointed at him, I fully opened the door.

Even with this new freedom, he didn't lunge for the door or at me… he just sat there, watching with his arms and legs crossed. His tail tapped the ground lightly beside him, and the atmosphere seemed so… calm, too calm… I glared at him suspiciously.

I hesitated before stepping inside, keeping the gun trained on him. His eyes followed my movements, and I tried my best not to startle or anger him like usual. Even when I grabbed his chains, he didn't react. I would have thought he'd lash out or growl at me for trying to put back his restraints... what is up with him? I flinched when he finally spoke.

The words were in his alien language, and I could only stare at him, confused and unable to understand. He was calm, and I'm sure he knew I didn't understand him, as he repeated himself again and gestured to the wall where I was supposed to lock the chains in place.

He... wants me to restrain him?... I looked between him and the wall. There was no more anger, just a strange calmness to his features. He tilted his head to the side, lifting one brow as if asking “what are you waiting for?”

I made my way over to the wall with his chains and holstered my gun before I secured them. Although I kept them loose enough for him to be able to freely use his arms, he wouldn't be able to run out of the cage or at me. Once that was done, I just looked at him, confused, and he stared back at me knowingly...

Why is he acting this way?... What is he up to?...

Feeling suspicious of his behavior, I moved to sit down in front of him and glared at him, knowing he was up to something. This seemed to amuse him as a grin spread across his lips. Why is he so smug all of a sudden?! What are you thinking? No, what are you planning...

We sat in silence for a while, each of us observing each other from the other side of the room. Now that he was clean, I could clearly see the small cuts and bruises across his body. None of his injuries besides the gunshot in his leg seemed bad at all.

Now that I got a good look at him, he was quite muscular and well-toned... not like those steroid-driven bodybuilders with excessive muscle definition... though when it came to his strength, he might as well be one of them.

He leaned back further against the wall, observing me with a thoughtful expression. That's new... He usually seemed annoyed by my presence, but now he seemed generally intrigued by me...

Glancing at my notebook, I grabbed it and opened to a blank page. Looking up at him once more, he still didn't move. Taking the chance, I started sketching a basic picture of him to get an idea of his kind's bodily structure.

He never moved or made any sounds as I scribbled away. Once I had a picture of him, I looked up, seeing his body was completely lax... he's calmer than usual, that's for sure...

My eyes trailed across his body, and my face heated up as I thought about what I had seen in the showers. It was so... different from what little I knew about humans...

Usually, the thought of a guy’s privates made me feel gross. And I couldn’t see myself ever wanting to indulge in such activities with any of the men I met, but I was actually a bit curious about the alien’s...

I looked back at the picture I drew of him; it was strange seeing one of these brutes in such a calm state.

“Amats ku?” I jumped when he spoke up again, breaking the silence. He was looking at my notebook with interest.

“What?” His eyes met mine, and he nodded to the book. I looked at the picture and bit my lip. Did he want to see it?

Hesitantly, I slid the notebook over to him carefully. I watched as he sat up and leaned forward, gently picking it up by the spine before overlooking the pictures I drew of his armor and then of him. He pointed to a picture of the armor and said a single word. “Hazea”

“Ha-zea?” I repeated. He nodded and tapped his claw on the picture of the armor once more, repeating the word.

“Hazea...” Was that what his armor was called? Curious, I moved a bit closer to look over the pictures with him but made sure I wasn’t close enough to be grabbed again.

He found a picture of the retractable spear and pointed to it. “Karlu,” he spoke, and I tried to mimic the word.

He told me a few other words for when the weapon extended or retracted, and I guessed that the words meant ‘armed’ and ‘disarmed’. He looked over the other drawings, and a thought came to mind.

Why is he doing this? I looked up at him while he was focused on the page. Why is he trying to teach me words in his language...

He looked up at me, and his smile fell when he noticed the concern written all over my face. I don’t trust him, not in the slightest. He’s up to something...

We were both silent for a moment, and he sat upright, knowing I was onto whatever scheme he was up to. He sighed and mumbled something under his breath while I watched him. He looked at the paper, and as if an idea clicked in his mind, he flipped back to a particular page in the book and looked me in the eye. “Az-r-al.”

He said something else that I didn’t understand or quite catch at first. “Az-l?” I questioned.

He shook his head and opened the notebook to the page with the picture of himself. He pointed to it and looked at me with a smile before saying it once again.

“Azriel.”