Chapter Five: A New Friend

It was nearing 10AM when Marty skateboarded up to Doc’s house. He frowned when he heard a female voice coming from inside the garage. When he entered, he found his friend sitting having breakfast with a young woman with long brown hair, glasses and brown eyes. Einstein was lying almost on top of her feet. Marty’s frown deepened when he saw the big bald spot on the dog’s right side.

“Holy shit!” the teen exclaimed, dropping the skateboard. “Doc, what happened to Einstein?”

“Needles is what happened to Einstein,” he replied. “He set off firecrackers and poor Einie was caught in the blast.”

“That son of a bitch!” Marty seethed. “I’ll kill him!”

“Calm down, Marty,” said Doc, standing and putting a hand on the teen’s shoulder. “Violence won’t solve anything. Einie and I were very lucky that Lisa was nearby.” He nodded towards the girl sitting quietly on an armchair.

“Hi,” she said, extending a hand. “I’m Lisa. Dr. Brown’s told me a lot about you.”

Marty shook her hand. “You’re the one Doc met on Thursday?” She nodded. “But, wait, I don’t get it. If Einie was caught in the fireworks…how’d he come off with just a big bald spot?” He looked closer and saw the faint scars. “What the hell?”

Doc and the girl, Lisa, exchanged a look. “Marty,” the scientist said, “sit down and we’ll try to explain.”

He sat where Doc had been sitting, slightly confused. “What the hell’s goin’ on?” he asked.

“I was hanging around outside by the Burger King when I saw two guys huddled around Dr. Brown’s fence,” said Lisa. “Before I knew what was happening, one of them threw a brick through one of the windows, luring Dr. Brown and Einstein outside. The fireworks went off and Einstein was very badly burned. But not too badly, thank Orion.”

Marty frowned again, this time at her choice of words, but kept quiet and let her continue the narrative.

“Marty, I’m not like normal people. In fact, I’m not human. I’m an alien from another planet and I have the ability to heal mild to moderate injuries.” She held her hands up, palms out, and to Marty’s surprise they began to glow orange.

“Holy shit…”

The glow faded after a few seconds. “The energy required to heal something like that was more than my body could handle, probably because his injuries were more severe than I probably had the ability to heal in the first place, so afterward I passed out. Einstein is very lucky he just came out of it with the scars. It could’ve very well been a lot worse…his fur will cover the spot as it grows back in.”

Marty eyed her, on the cusp of believing her and not, teetering on the line.

“You don’t believe me,” she said.

“Well, you don’t look like an alien.”

She blinked. “What do aliens look like?”

“Well, like little green people with antennas and ‘Take me to your leader, Earthlings’!”

That made Lisa roll her eyes. “Okay, you want proof. I have the ability to move things with my mind.”

“Get outta town!” said Marty, then he was aware of something behind him. He turned and exclaimed in shock when he noticed his skateboard hovering half a foot away along with two empty cans of dog food. His eyes went wide. “Holy shit!”

“You say that a lot.” The cans flew back into the trash and the skateboard settled gently to the floor. “Still not convinced?”

“Getting there…” Marty admitted.

“Okay, then. How’s this? Now you see me…” She disappeared in a flash of light and crackle of energy. The same effect signaled her reappearance behind him, startling him. “Now you do. That’s called teleporting. Want to try?” She held out a hand to him.

“Maybe some other time…wow, can you do anything else?”

“Show him.” Doc said.

“Show me what?”

Two enormous golden wings shimmered into view behind her. “There’s these, plus some other stuff. I can read minds, talk to animals…Einstein feels he owes me, so that’s why he’s hasn’t let me out of his sight since the accident.”

The dog barked and whined, nuzzling her.

“He said I saved his life.”

“You did,” agreed Doc.

“I know, but it really was nothing. I love animals and I could help, so I did.”

“Lisa,” said Doc, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Telepathic or not, I don’t think you truly comprehend what your actions meant to me. Not many people in this town would have stopped and looked twice at what happened to Einstein especially when the accident occurred within my property. You’ve seen for yourself how I’m treated by society…it wouldn’t matter. If you hadn’t been there, Einstein most likely would have perished from his injuries or, at the very least, would have been hospitalized in order to be healed and the process would most likely have been extremely painful for him. I don’t know if I would be able to handle that. If Einstein feels he’s indebted to you, he has a right to. As do I. I am eternally grateful to you.”

Marty could see how Doc had been affected by the incident with Einstein. The dog had been the scientist’s only friend until the teen had come along. He said, “Well, Doc…you know, it’d be pretty cool to have an alien for a friend.”

“Now, Marty, you have to promise you won’t tell anyone. If an eccentric inventor gets ostracized by society, imagine what a stir an extraterrestrial would cause.”

“Cross my heart!” he promised, grinning. “Need-to-know basis only!”

Lisa smiled. “Well, Dr. Brown, I guess you’re stuck with me.”

Doc smiled, too. “In that case, you don’t have to keep calling me Dr. Brown. I told you that first day that my first name is Emmett.”

The alien – Marty’s mind boggled at using the actual term – actually frowned. “Emmett…” she tried, saying it slowly. “Eh, I really can’t see myself calling you that…”

“I felt the same way,” said Marty. “That’s why I started calling him ‘Doc’. You could, too.” The scientist nodded his acquiescence.

“Well, Doc, Marty, Einstein…this seems to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

End chapter five.

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