The garage door of thin stone slid smoothly to the side, and Nick nudged Rockhunter forward until the vehicle was past it. Then, he told Petra to close the door, and opened the hatch, letting in fresh air from the dungeon. He needed it; over the past couple of hours, an odd, organic smell had been slowly building inside the vehicle. He assumed that it was Kathy's body odor, and hoped that he did not smell as rank to her.

  He picked up Petra from her onboard shelf and climbed out. The lights in the garage came on automatically. He checked that the door leading deeper into the hill was open, and looked to see how Kathy was taking it.

  The fuakala was moving a bit stiffly, and startling often, but she climbed out slowly and looked around. She turned and watched the last bit of dawn light disappear as the garage door slid into place and settled with a slight rumble. She would probably find that scarier, I bet, except that it's also protection from the Death Star.

  Nick cleared his throat nervously, and Kathy jumped a little at the sound. “Sorry. Um, welcome! Welcome to Petra's dungeon, my home.” Petra wasn't able to translate most of that, he noted. “Please, follow me. Um, I go, you go. You follow me.” With that, he started walking towards the tunnel. After a moment, Kathy came along, muttering “follow” and a word in her language, presumably the translation.

  Nick led the way into the tunnel, which led to the west work room on Level 4. Most of his living quarters had gradually shifted down here, which included the bathroom, the pool, the kitchen, and his bedroom, as well as a dedicated workspace. In the center was a hall containing the stairs to Levels 3 and 5. He led his visitor there, then tapped a tablet on the wall, changing settings to make sure Petra would keep translating no matter where in the dungeon they went.

  Kathy entered the room, then stopped and stared. “You and Petra...make...all...four months?” She waved an arm widely.

  Nick grinned. “Yes. Petra is very smart.” He looked around, and the door to the bathroom caught his eye. “Ah. Follow me, please.” He beckoned, and led her inside. He started with the sink, demonstrating the hot and cold water controls, and letting Kathy play with them a moment to make sure she had it down with no surprises.

  Next, he led the way to the shower. First, he demonstrated Petra's version, which worked with sound or something, and basically shook a lot of dirt off of him and his clothes. Kathy's mouth did a weird twitching thing; Nick didn't know what it signified, so he looked away.

  He pointed to the regular shower, with hot and cold water. He hadn't bothered with a tub, so he had essentially chosen a design for a three-quarters bath. He pointed out the washer/dryer combination Petra had offered up; the first stage was sonic, but it did wet down the clothes, tumble them, and dry them out rapidly afterwards. It was fairly quick; he tossed in a washcloth to demonstrate.

  Finally, he went over to the toilet and bidet, and showed what each of the controls did, leaving the rest for her to figure out on her own. At that point, Nick suddenly realized that he had only one bathroom and he needed it briefly himself. He decided to go first so that Kathy could take her time.

  “Um, two minutes, you wait. You no see.” Nick brought her back to the stairwell, then gestured for her to stay put. “Two minutes. You wait. I go. I go here. You go.” Gesturing once more for her to stay put, Nick went back in the bathroom, grateful that he had bothered with doors. The promised two minutes later, he emerged to find Kathy staring with great curiosity at everything she could see through open doors, but obediently standing in the same spot.

  “Now, you go,” he told her. “Two minutes, ten minutes, a hundred minutes, you are good. I wait, I read, I talk to Petra.” He made sure she understood the door control as well, then gestured her inside. Hesitantly, she looked around, and said, “Ank you, Nik!eh.” Then she touched the control and the door slid shut.

  Nick heaved a sigh of relief and went to sit down in the kitchen. He looked at the nearly empty shelves in the pantry and frowned, then checked the queue to make sure more food was getting printed. Tired, he leaned forward and rested his head on his arms against the tabletop. He closed his eyes for a moment.

  * *

  When he stirred, he blinked a few times, waking slowly and yawning. Then he got up, stretched a moment, and muttered, “Petra? How long was I asleep?”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “Two hours, fifty three minutes.”

  Nick nodded absently, then his eyes widened. “Where is Kathy?”

  “Kathy is in your bedroom.”

  He stuck his head out of the kitchen, and sure enough, the door to his bedroom had been closed. “What is she doing?”

  “I don't understand, Nick.”

  “What Kathy do?”

  “Kathy talk to Jenkins and Petra.”

  That makes sense. She came out, saw that I was asleep, maybe tried to talk to me and I didn't respond, so she found a place to sit down and called home. He grimaced. I hope they're not plotting to kill me. Wait, I could actually check that, couldn't I?

  “Petra, show me the transcript of three hours to now. Translate to English.”

  Petra immediately put it on the closest display tablet. He picked it up and went scrolling through. After a few tries to speak to Nick, Kathy had gotten quiet for a long time, then started talking. A large fraction of it didn't translate, but there was enough so that Nick could get the gist.

  From the way she kept repeating certain words, Kathy was probably very excited. She seemed to be describing what she had seen, and answering questions from several of the others in her group. Then the language lessons resumed. Nothing nefarious leaped out at him, so he scrolled to the end and joined the conversation.

  “Hello. This is Nick. I am awake.”

  “Awake?”

  “One, I sleep, two, I no sleep. No sleep is awake.”

  “I go see Nik!eh now,” he heard Kathy tell her friends. He stood up and went into the hall. The door to his bedroom opened, and she stepped out. Nick stared in surprise.

  Kathy looked almost completely different. Her skin was a brighter and richer green. Her giant elephant ears in particular seemed...fluffier. She didn't really have hair to speak of, but her scalp was shinier. Her clothing, instead of being a uniform dull gray, now was bright with color. She wore a sky blue shirt and red pants, and what appeared to be greenish-black, almost iridescent boots that went up her legs about eight inches or so.

  Did she have Petra print those, or was she simply wearing filthy clothes after months trapped in a mine, and washed them while she was in the shower? Either way, the difference was striking.

  Nick's stomach chose that moment to gurgle loudly. He slapped a hand to his belly and glanced down at it a moment. “Sorry. Hello, Kathy.”

  “Hello, Nik!eh.”

  “I get food.” Nick went back into the kitchen and checked Printer Number Three, which had produced some packages of food. Petra had also created another stew; he noticed the closed metal pot she printed for such things. He went and got two stone bowls, glad he had made multiples.

  “Nick, Kathy eat stew. Nick not eat stew,” Petra announced.

  “What?”

  “Kathy eat stew. Nick not eat stew.”

  “I heard you Petra, I just don't understand.”

  “Stew for Kathy is not stew for Nick.”

  Did she change the recipe for her? I guess Petra did have time to analyze her blood. She probably got to practice this with me, so maybe it went quicker this time. I wonder, how similar are we, chemically, anyway?

  Kathy was standing there, listening to the conversation. Nick looked at her and shrugged. “Petra, give me chicken noodle soup, then, please.”

  “Yes, Nick. Two minutes.”

  Nick demonstrated how to open the metal container, and brought Kathy an iron spoon. She took it from him, inspected it, then looked at the table in front of Nick's chair. “Nick, you eat?”

  “Yes. Two minutes. Kathy, you eat.”

  “Two minutes,” she replied.

  “No. Petra say you eat this, I eat that,” Nick tried to explain, pointing. “You get food now. I get food in two minutes. You eat now.”

  “No. Two minutes,” she insisted. She made an odd whistling sound, then said, “Sorry. I need food.” Nick thought she was clever for picking up one use of “sorry” from the way he had just used it, even if the general idea was too complicated for them at the moment. I guess aliens have manners and customs and stuff too, just like humans.

  Petra finished printing his hot soup, and Nick brought his bowl to the table, grabbing himself another spoon. He stand down and pressed the palms of his hands together. He didn't usually say grace before eating, but it seemed appropriate.

  Thank you, God, or alien girl, or Petra, or whoever. I would never have survived without Petra's help. I want so much more, but I am grateful for what I do have, and I am reminded that others have even less. May we all get plenty of food in the days ahead.

  Nick put his hands down, then picked up his spoon and lifted the first taste up to his mouth. Feeling self-conscious with Kathy watching intently, he ate the spoonful.

  “Food,” Kathy said, and took her first scoop of stew. She opened her mouth and moved the spoon in, paused, then pulled it back out without actually touching the food or eating any of the stew. She closed her mouth and worked it a moment, as if she had actually eaten the bite.

  Wait, does she smell with her mouth? Is that why she doesn't have a nose? Nick wondered. After a few seconds, Kathy said, “yes,” and put the spoon in her mouth again, this time eating the small bit of food.

  The entire meal felt surreal, as they watched each other eat. It was slow, like a tennis match performed by sloths. Nick got them each a cup of water and refilled them a couple of times. Kathy seemed eager to drink the water, and briefly excused herself to the bathroom partway through the meal, and again as they finished.

  I have no idea how their bodies work. Maybe they need to pee every half hour they're awake. Nick didn't comment; he was just glad that she was able to use the facilities.

  “Ank you,” Kathy said, after she emerged.

  “You're welcome,” Nick replied. Then he had to take a minute to explain a few polite phrases. Kathy wasted no time in putting them to work.

  “Nik!eh, I see more, please?”

  He nodded. “Sure. I'll give you a tour.”