The drive home was difficult for her. Every bump she hit and every turn she made caused the reptile at the back of her car to groan. Like a sick animal, he curled up into himself. What she thought was a cancerous lump in his right leg was actually a tail that slithered out of his pants and wrapped around his body.

  ‘What on Earth are you?’ She asked herself just before pulling into her farm. In relief, her father waited outside and waved as she pulled up to the front of the house. He was excited to finally see his daughter after a long day of work.

  ‘Okay, deep breaths.’ Kate whispered to herself before hopping out of the car to deliver the news to her father.

  ‘Everything okay?’ Her father said, also known around town as Bob. An African-American man well respected for his farm and lending his land out for the community to organise events during Christmas.

  Kate paused for a moment, unsure how she could reveal that an alien was in her car and in need of her help. Believing that there was no point in sugarcoating it, she decided it was best to tell the truth. ‘No, Butch tried to extort me for money.’

  ‘What did he…’

  ‘Nothing,’ Kate cut him off as she gestured to her father to go to her car. ‘That isn’t the problem. I was helped by someone, but they… well… they need help as well.’

  Bob raised a brow, unsure what she meant. ‘Anyone who helps my kid is a friend to me. So, what is the problem?’

  Kate sighed as she opened the door to reveal the reptile inside. Her father stared at the unconscious figure in horror. He considered at that moment if she accidentally brought home the anti-christ or an alien preparing to invade earth straight to their home.

  ‘What the fuck is that!?’ Her father shouted.

  ‘I don’t know! But whatever they are, they defended me from Butch and his gang. I feel that I owe them in some way.’

  He looked back at the reptile, pondering what they should do with them. Reluctantly, he shook his head and waved his hand at Kate to help him. ‘I have no clue how we can help them. But first, let’s bring them inside to see what is wrong.’

  As they carried the reptile inside of their home, her father announced loudly for his wife to come downstairs and help them.

  When they got into the light, Kate was mesmerised by the amount of scars the reptile had. Which gave the appearance that the creature who saved her was either far older than she could imagine or had faced an uncountable amount of threats.

  The couch creaked as they managed to put the creature on top to rest. The reptile winced as one hand instinctively reached to his chest as if to grab something that wasn’t there.

  ‘Honey, what’s wrong?’ Kate’s mother, Jade, sluggishly asked, still half awake from her slumber. The moment her eyes lay on the reptile on her couch, her tiredness left her body in a blink of an eye and screamed. ‘What the fuck is that!?’

  ‘Mum, it is a lot to…’

  ‘He helped Kate.’ Her father interjected. ‘Can you please get some towels or anything to help him!’

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  ‘Him?’ Kate’s mother gawked. ‘We have an alien in our house and you want me to help him?’

  ‘Yes!’ Both Kate and Bob said in unison.

  Mumbling to herself as she rushed off to the back of the house to gather some medical supplies. Kate’s mother struggled to see how it was a good idea to help what was clearly an alien. There was no guarantee it was friendly or safe to keep in their home, or even wise to revive it.

  However, because of the commotion the family caused downstairs. Kate’s grandmother, Nancy, made her way downstairs from her bedroom to see what was wrong. Holding onto the guard rails with each step she made. No one was aware of her slowly making her way to the family room. Everyone’s eyes were glued to the strange creature while they all frantically tried to figure out what was wrong with them.

  ‘Jackson,’ Nancy said with a smile on her face like she reunited with a long dead relative.

  Everyone stopped what they were doing as they all turned to her in confusion. Unsure how she would know who the reptile was.

  ‘You know him?’ Bob questioned as he wondered if his mother was going senile or crazy.

  Nancy waddled her way to Jackson to see what was wrong. ‘Yes, a long time ago.’ She rested her hand on his forehead and nodded to herself. ‘What happened?’

  Kate spoke up, retelling the whole story to her grandmother. In the back of her mind, she noticed how ridiculous it sounded out loud. The moment she was being harassed and extorted by skinheads only to be helped by some total stranger who her grandma so happened to know.

  It was convenient, blind luck that they turned up. She wondered what would happen if he didn’t turn up.

  Nancy smiled before sitting down on the chair across from Jackson. ‘He’s okay. He is just weak. All he needs is food, water, and a lot of rest.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Jade’s voice rang with concern. ‘Is he even safe?’

  ‘Of course, I knew him when I was a kid. He is a good man, he wouldn’t hurt a fly.’ Nancy replied before leaning back into her chair. ‘Right now, we have to wait. See what we could do for him and if he needed anything.’

  Kate shook her head as if she wanted to wake from a dream. Only to see that she was still stuck in the real world. I have enough for today. I don’t want to deal with this. Kate thought to herself.

  ‘I’m going upstairs to sleep,’ Kate announced. ‘If anyone needs anything. Let me know.’

  Before Kate could retire to her room, her grandma raised her voice. ‘Take the day off from school tomorrow. I think you also need some time to yourself, okay?’

  Kate nodded in agreement before retreating upstairs. As she left, her parents and her grandma talked amongst themselves about Jackson and what they should do to him in the meantime. While Kate couldn’t discern the details of their conversation, she could gather that they might provide Jackson a home in the meantime. Deep down, she was thankful for him, but at the same time. She couldn’t help but be a little scared.