Chapter 2

Arccoo

It had been two days since the intruders had arrived, and Arccoo felt a mix of guilt and amusement at their fear. His cloaking device was in constant use, the light-deflecting technology proving crucial to his need for stealth. Earth was so different from his home planet, Thryal, which was several lightyears away.

He found himself watching the three siblings with fascination. His attention was especially drawn to the first sibling—the “eldest,” these humans called it. Her curves were so different from the women he knew on his home planet. They entranced him. Her bubbly nature and the way she lit up a room with her smile, which was never far, kept him searching for her throughout the massive house he’d been hiding in.

He was sitting in the library, browsing through a steamy monster romance book that the second sibling had brought, when laughter and footsteps sounded in the hallway. Arccoo quickly placed the book down, smirking slightly when he thought of their reaction to a floating book.

“It’s in here. I’m sure of it!” the second sibling, who they called Sofia, shouted as she ran into the library.

“No, sis, I’m pretty sure I saw it in the dining room. You know Grandma was terrible with organization!” Carmen replied from down the hall. Arccoo couldn’t help but agree.

He’d been sent to find a device that belonged to his people, a staff they called the “parantaa.” The staff had almost magical properties—though obviously magic didn’t exist.

Arccoo had searched the house thoroughly, knowing that these siblings’ elder parents had been entrusted to keep the parantaa safe and out of malicious hands. The staff had amazing power to heal, but as with all things, it had to be used responsibly. It had great power to destroy, too, in the wrong hands. Arccoo was loath to return it to his home planet due to the risk, but a debilitating disease had spread among his people. The parantaa was their last hope.

After almost giving up, Arccoo had been rifling through some kitchen cupboards when he found the parantaa between some cans of food. He couldn’t help but huff at the memory.

Arccoo stepped aside when Sofia came barreling toward him. The cloaking device made him invisible, but it didn’t make him disappear. If Sofia had run into him, it would be like walking into an invisible wall of muscle. The device didn’t cloak sound, either, which was another source of their confusion and fear. Arccoo had tried to mask his footsteps as much as he could, but in this old, creaky building it was near impossible.

“Found it! I told you so,” Carmen said, smugness bleeding into the words. A second later, she walked into the library with a massive photo album underneath her arm.

Arccoo studied her, his heartbeat speeding up as Carmen swayed through the room. Her smile was a bolt of lightning through him, chasing the loneliness of being stranded alone on a strange planet out of him.

He ached to talk to her, but he knew exposing himself to Earthlings would be a risk. If the sentry ship didn’t appear soon, though, he may have to. As fun as it was to see them startle at his footsteps, he didn’t want to chase them out of their family home. He could see how much it meant to them to be here.

Arccoo kept to himself the rest of the day. Only later that night did he risk coming out again.

The sisters were fast asleep when Arccoo walked into the kitchen. He’d grown tired of the packaged meals that had been on his ship and the canned food he’d found in the house. He was hoping to find something fresher, or at least freshly prepared, to eat.

He knew he had to be careful about taking too much, or the sisters would notice, but he couldn’t resist the temptation. The food that Carmen had been cooking every evening had made his mouth water.

The light from the fridge blinked off of his cloaking device, creating a slight distortion. He squinted from the sudden brightness. A rush of triumph ran through him when he saw the neatly put-away leftovers of what the sisters had called “enchiladas.” He had no idea what it was, but the enticing scent of melted cheese had dragged him from his hiding spot.

He grabbed the plate, considering whether it was worth risking waking up his unknowing co-inhabitants to heat it up, when a floorboard creaked.

“Who’s there?” Carmen’s melodic voice rang through the kitchen. “I know you’re there. If you can, show yourself right now!” she stated assertively, though he could hear a slight nervous tremor in her voice. He sighed, placing the plate on the counter and closing the fridge.

Arccoo considered for a moment. He was well and truly caught, and he didn’t think he could get away with disappearing, even though he was still hidden with the cloaking device. He’d become somewhat enamored with this one, the first sibling.

“I will show myself now,” he said, keeping his voice low and calm.

She jumped but quickly nodded and raised her chin to hide the reaction. He admired her bravery.

Arccoo took a deep breath, reaching for his wrist to click off the cloaking device. Carmen’s eyes grew wide as he appeared in front of her, seemingly out of nowhere.

“How… what… what are you?” she finally got out. She studied him closely, marking his slightly luminescent gray skin and six-foot-five-inch muscular frame. Her brown eyes stuck on his violet ones, seeming to gaze deep into his soul. He felt a slight thrill from finally being seen after being stuck, invisible, on this planet for so long, though he had a feeling it was more than that with this woman.

“Shall we sit?” He gestured to the worn kitchen table and pulled out a chair for her. She collapsed into it, her eyes still wide and her face slightly pale. He knew he’d have to start explaining soon because it was clear she was freaking out.

“Are you a ghost?” she asked timidly. He strode around the table and sat down across from her.

“I am not. I do apologize for scaring you and your siblings.” He took a deep breath, his mind running over how much he should tell her. “My name is Arccoo, and I guess your kind would call me an alien. I am not from this planet,” he started.

Carmen’s jaw dropped. “Aliens are real? Oh god, Sofia is going to have a coronary!”

Arccoo smirked. He’d found the second sibling’s graphic T-shirts and obsession with the paranormal quite amusing.

“Yes,” he replied, “many planets lie beyond your solar system with endless different peoples and cultures. I am from a planet called Thryal. My father is the king.” He figured he could share this much with her. He felt a strange inclination to tell her anything she wanted to know, but he barely knew her, and she was from Earth. He had no idea how much he could trust her.

“Holy shit,” Carmen muttered, and Arccoo couldn’t help a light chuckle from escaping. She was equal parts adorable and sexy, her night clothes clinging to her curves and exposing a touch of cleavage that he had to work hard not to look at. He wasn’t hiding behind his device now, and it wasn’t polite to stare. At least, not when people could see you staring, he thought ironically.

“But wait, why are you here? And is this why things have been acting up around the house?”

“Ah, yes. Again, I apologize. It was not my intent to frighten you.” Arccoo waved at his wrist. “I have a cloaking device that uses light-wavering technology. It makes me invisible, but I can still be heard and felt.”

“Oh, wow. Now Elena’s going to have a coronary,” she said with a laugh.

“Your third sibling is quite talented with technology, yes,” Arccoo agreed. Carmen frowned briefly at the way he described her youngest sister but clearly decided to let it pass as her other questions became more pressing.

“So, why are you here? And why in this house?”

Arccoo shifted uncomfortably, again debating how much to tell her. He decided to keep it simple. “My ship was stranded nearby, and I’m awaiting rescue.” He could tell Carmen wanted to ask more, so he steered the conversation to a more comfortable topic for him.

“This house was deserted, so I thought I could stay here for a while. I did not know you and your siblings were moving in until the day you arrived.” He raised an eyebrow in question, and Carmen sighed.

“My grandparents have been missing for five years, so the state has declared them dead.” She said it in a matter-of-fact way that had him believe she had gotten used to explaining this. “My parents are dead, too, so my sisters and I inherited this place.”

“My condolences,” Arccoo said softly, itching to reach out and touch her hand. Though she seemed less ill at ease, she was still clearly nervous around him. He couldn’t blame her.

Carmen shrugged, her strength shining through in that slight movement. “Thanks, but we’ve had some time to come to terms with it. We just want to focus on getting this place sorted out. There’s a lot to do.”

She looked around the kitchen. “It’s been weird being back here, to be honest. It feels kind of empty without my grandfather’s booming voice and my grandmother’s constant off-key singing.” She laughed softly. “I actually think your presence has been a good distraction for us, even though we were freaked out.”

Arccoo smiled. He had seen the sadness in each of the sisters’ eyes on occasions when they thought no one was looking, and he was glad to have distracted them from that.

His stomach grumbled, and Carmen’s eyes shot to the plate on the counter. “Oh, are you hungry? I can heat that up for you,” she said in a rush.

Arccoo jumped up. “If you don’t mind me having that. It smelled delicious earlier,” he said. “But I can heat it up. I’ve learned how to use the instant heating chamber.”

“No, you can’t heat it in the microwave. It’ll get all soggy. Let me.” She smiled brightly at him, and he thought his heart would stop from how beautiful she was.

She turned on the oven and decanted the food into a ceramic dish.

“Did you turn off the oven that first night?”

Arccoo grimaced. “I did. I smelled gas, and I thought you were going to blow up the place. Our cooking appliances are all electronic,” he said apologetically. “When I heard you yelling at your siblings, I felt terrible.”

Carmen laughed. “I really thought they were playing a trick on me!”

After putting the food in the oven, she sat down again, resting her arms on the table and leaning forward eagerly.

“What about Sofia’s backpack? That must have been you. Were you looking for something?”

Arccoo sighed. “I saw the bag of equipment when she came in, and I had hoped I would find something I could have used to fix my ship. I did not mean to wake her, or to make such a mess.”

“Is there some technology on Earth that could fix your ship? I’ve always wondered if some people know how to travel space and just haven’t shared it with the world.” She trailed off, her eyes flicking to a photograph of her grandparents on the wall.

Arccoo followed her gaze, frowning as he wondered why the older couple had not told their family about their space travels. It was not his place, he decided.

“The advanced camera equipment on my planet has similar power devices to what we use to power our ships, albeit on a smaller scale. They’re called frillin crystals. I was curious whether that technology existed here.”

Carmen nodded thoughtfully. “I’m guessing not?”

Arccoo shook his head. The smell of melted cheese filled the kitchen as the timer dinged, and Carmen served him the food. It tasted even better than it smelled.

“So, are you stuck here for good? If your dad’s the king, won’t they miss you?”

“I sent a signal to a nearby sentry ship,” Arccoo said between bites. “Hopefully they won’t be much longer. I will not impose on you further. I will return to my ship and remain there until they come.”

Carmen shook her head quickly. “No, no, that’s okay. If you were staying here, it means it’s more comfortable than the ship. Right? So just stay. My sisters won’t mind. They’ll be too fascinated.” She laughed. “I can’t wait to tell them!”

Arccoo smiled at her, knowing he couldn’t ask her to keep this secret from them. He sat back, stomach satisfied, and studied her. She really was gorgeous, and he liked looking at her.

“Tell me more about them. I’ve seen things here and there, but I am looking forward to meeting them. Properly, that is.”

Carmen laughed again, her smile lighting up as she started describing each of her siblings. Arccoo listened intently, her face animated as she told him about Sofia’s failed ghost-hunting career and Elena’s amazing accomplishments with her studies. He found himself hoping the sentry ship would take a few more days so he could spend more time with Carmen, and he instantly felt guilty.

No, he had to get back. His people needed him.