weakest of them all when it came to his powers, but he was puffing his chest out and Jack thought he knew why.
He nodded. “Sure. Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something. Me and Sally started seeing each other and I want to make sure you’re okay with it.”
Hank sucked air between his teeth and regarded Jack closely. “We’re about to fight for our lives, man. Don’t you think there’s a better time and place to have this conversation?”
“Nothing’s happening. Now is as good a time as ever. Let’s hear it.”
Hank stared at his feet. He looked back up and said condescendingly, “You’re too young to understand dating. Why would I care that she’s with you when there are so many more fish in the sea?”
“I thought you liked her?”
Hank’s demeanor changed in a heartbeat. “I’ve always liked Sally but I can’t force her to like me back and it would be stupid for me to try.”
“Then why are you acting so huffy lately?”
Hank stared off into the distance. “I’m going through this stuff alone now that she’s spending all of her time with you. My body is doing scary things and I’ve got no one to talk to about it. You didn’t steal the person I loved, you stole my only friend.”
Jack looked at him like he was a lunatic. “You can talk to anyone about it. I happen to personally know a lot about what you’re going through.”
“I don’t make friends so easily. Sally was it for me. Sorry, but if you’re looking for a pal, you’ll have to look elsewhere.”
Jack chuckled. He had no intention of becoming Hank’s friend. He’d only offered an open ear. He felt for the guy, but he wasn’t about to feed into his self-loathing so he walked away, saying over his shoulder, “If you want to talk, I’m here.” As an afterthought he added, “And I don’t own Sally. I don’t tell her who she can talk to or who she can be friends with.”
Hank stared at him like he was the vilest creature on Earth and then walked away with his head hung low.
Sally sidled over and said quietly, “What was that all about?”
“It was nothing.”
“Does he know you and I are seeing each other?”
It was nice to hear her say it out loud. “I told him but he already knew. He’s not mad, he’s just lonely. You should go and smooth things over with him.”
She giggled. “I was thinking instead, that you and I could go for a little walk alone, where no one will see us.”
Jack was surprised. “I can’t. My mom’s here.”
“She won’t see us.”
His eyes lit up. “Lead the way.”
Canyon Defense
They’d barely made it around the corner when the first Grey ship appeared.
Sally said resignedly, “They have impeccable timing, don’t they?”
Jack grabbed her wrist and teleported back beside the others. Then he focused in on the lone ship, his vision zooming in so much that he could see the pilot through the opaque windshield. He had little luck teleporting from afar but he tried it anyway.
He was shocked by how easy it was.
The Grey pilot materialized at their feet, still in the sitting position he was in when he was on the ship. Jack hadn’t yet managed to make out their facial expressions but he’d bet a million bucks that the alien was more than a little surprised by the turn of events.
It jumped to its feet with lightning speed and reached for the laser rifle on its hip when Sally erected a force field right through it, chopping it and its gun in half. It died within seconds.
And then its ship crash landed a hundred feet away behind a pile of boulders.
The flames started to lick over the top of the rocks just as the alien passengers escaped the wreckage and came right at them. Jack had assumed wrongly that there was just one Grey per ship.
But there were at least twenty crash survivors . They flew and fired from the hip as they rushed forward.
Sally erected a force field large enough to encompass herself and her companions and then said, “Hank, go get them.”
Hank
He nodded. “Sure. Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something. Me and Sally started seeing each other and I want to make sure you’re okay with it.”
Hank sucked air between his teeth and regarded Jack closely. “We’re about to fight for our lives, man. Don’t you think there’s a better time and place to have this conversation?”
“Nothing’s happening. Now is as good a time as ever. Let’s hear it.”
Hank stared at his feet. He looked back up and said condescendingly, “You’re too young to understand dating. Why would I care that she’s with you when there are so many more fish in the sea?”
“I thought you liked her?”
Hank’s demeanor changed in a heartbeat. “I’ve always liked Sally but I can’t force her to like me back and it would be stupid for me to try.”
“Then why are you acting so huffy lately?”
Hank stared off into the distance. “I’m going through this stuff alone now that she’s spending all of her time with you. My body is doing scary things and I’ve got no one to talk to about it. You didn’t steal the person I loved, you stole my only friend.”
Jack looked at him like he was a lunatic. “You can talk to anyone about it. I happen to personally know a lot about what you’re going through.”
“I don’t make friends so easily. Sally was it for me. Sorry, but if you’re looking for a pal, you’ll have to look elsewhere.”
Jack chuckled. He had no intention of becoming Hank’s friend. He’d only offered an open ear. He felt for the guy, but he wasn’t about to feed into his self-loathing so he walked away, saying over his shoulder, “If you want to talk, I’m here.” As an afterthought he added, “And I don’t own Sally. I don’t tell her who she can talk to or who she can be friends with.”
Hank stared at him like he was the vilest creature on Earth and then walked away with his head hung low.
Sally sidled over and said quietly, “What was that all about?”
“It was nothing.”
“Does he know you and I are seeing each other?”
It was nice to hear her say it out loud. “I told him but he already knew. He’s not mad, he’s just lonely. You should go and smooth things over with him.”
She giggled. “I was thinking instead, that you and I could go for a little walk alone, where no one will see us.”
Jack was surprised. “I can’t. My mom’s here.”
“She won’t see us.”
His eyes lit up. “Lead the way.”
Canyon Defense
They’d barely made it around the corner when the first Grey ship appeared.
Sally said resignedly, “They have impeccable timing, don’t they?”
Jack grabbed her wrist and teleported back beside the others. Then he focused in on the lone ship, his vision zooming in so much that he could see the pilot through the opaque windshield. He had little luck teleporting from afar but he tried it anyway.
He was shocked by how easy it was.
The Grey pilot materialized at their feet, still in the sitting position he was in when he was on the ship. Jack hadn’t yet managed to make out their facial expressions but he’d bet a million bucks that the alien was more than a little surprised by the turn of events.
It jumped to its feet with lightning speed and reached for the laser rifle on its hip when Sally erected a force field right through it, chopping it and its gun in half. It died within seconds.
And then its ship crash landed a hundred feet away behind a pile of boulders.
The flames started to lick over the top of the rocks just as the alien passengers escaped the wreckage and came right at them. Jack had assumed wrongly that there was just one Grey per ship.
But there were at least twenty crash survivors . They flew and fired from the hip as they rushed forward.
Sally erected a force field large enough to encompass herself and her companions and then said, “Hank, go get them.”
Hank
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