Sarah’s hands shook a bit as she walked home from the café. It was well past midnight and the streets were beginning to empty. In an attempt to make sufficient progress on their project before the start of their holiday break next week, the three girls had worked late, pouring cup after cup of caffie-drink. The combination of skipping dinner and copious amounts of caffeine was making Sarah’s stomach hurt, and her skin tingle. She quickened her pace as she turned the corner onto her street.

As her feet hurried, her mind wandered, and she couldn’t help thinking about what Margaret had said. Sarah had only ever seen a Kylen at a distance. A group of them landed on Reeveral Port a few months back, their clunky, broken down ship basically crashed as they made their way into dock 42. She and Bernie, along with every other dock worker, heard the screech of metal-on-metal, followed by the shotgun sound of an engine being blown. She ran out of the shop behind Bernie just in time to see four young Kylen men exit the ship. They were tall and muscular, and they walked with the sort of unyielding confidence that can only be acquired through decades of abusing power. She remembered standing up on her tiptoes to try to get a better view. Bernie had grabbed her shoulders and steered her away from the crowd.

“Nothing to see here. It’s time to go home.” He directed her towards the shop.

“Hey! Bernie what are you –”

“I want you to go home. Now. Your shift is over.”

“But–”

“They will be coming in the shop for repairs. They always do. And when they come, you need to be as far away from here as possible.” Bernie opened the shop door and firmly, but not unkindly, pushed Sarah inside.

“I could help.”

“You could get yourself killed, that’s what you could do.”

Bernie grabbed Sarah’s bag off of the desk and tossed it to her.

“Will you just slow down a second.” Sarah went to put her bag down.

“No, I will not slow down!” Bernie pushed her bag back into her hands and guided her towards the back door of the shop. “You don’t understand, these guys are extremely temperamental, and they will kill you at the slightest offence—intentional or not. And if they don’t kill you, they will kidnap you, and sell you. I don’t think I have to explain what happens then…”

“But what about you?” Sarah was holding back tears as the weight of the situation began to dawn on her.

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. Just leave now.”

Sarah tried asking Bernie about that day a few weeks later, but he just shrugged and told her it was nothing she needed to concern herself with. He was wrong, she thought. Sooner or later, she was bound to have a run in with a Kylen, and it would be better if she were prepared. It would be better if people stopped treating her like a delicate flower and started to trust her with the knowledge of the world she lives in.

Two buildings down from her own, Sarah’s inner monologue was interrupted by the soft, yet distinctive shuffle of feet behind her. Without breaking her gait, Sarah chanced a glance over her shoulder, just in time to catch a flash of black coat fabric as something darted behind the side of the building behind her. Sarah was suddenly flooded with the sour, poignant sense of dread, and she broke into a run.

While making her way up the front steps of her building, taking them two at a time, Sarah struggled to get her house key ready. The creature was running towards her, making some sort of guttural, growling sound, and smiling with a row full of knife-like teeth. The key missed once, twice, and slipped in the third time. Sarah hurried inside her building, slamming the door behind her. The creature slowly approached the front door and gazed in at Sarah through the window. Up close, she realized it was a Selachi, and based on the fancy coat and abundant amount of jewelry he was sporting, it appeared he was a grade-A mugger. The Selachi ran his tongue greedily along one of several rows that made up his serrated smile, winked, and ran down the steps into the night.

It took a few seconds for Sarah to catch her breath and to feel comfortable releasing her tight grip on the door handle.

Once in her apartment, she put a kettle on and drew a boiling hot bath.

The shrill ring of her cell phone rudely interrupted Sarah’s pleasant dream. Groaning with discontent, she rolled over and answered unhappily.

“Hello.”

“Sarah, sweetie, it’s your mother.”

“Hello, Mom.”

“I didn’t wake you did I? It’s ten o'clock, Sarah, do you truly sleep in this late?”

“I had a long night.”

“Are you okay?” Her mother’s tone shifted to one of concern, “Are you sick?”

“No, I’m not sick. I just…didn’t sleep well.”

“There’s something you’re not telling me.”

Sarah sighed. “Mom, seriously, it’s not a big deal.”

“I don’t appreciate being kept in the dark, Sarah.”

“Fine, if I tell you, do you promise not to overreact?”

“I never overreact to stuff. If anything, you underreact to stuff!”

“Mom…”

“Alright, alright. I’ll stay calm. Just tell me what’s going on.”

Sarah took a deep breath and went into the kitchen to make some caffie-drink. There was no way she would be able to handle her mother’s inevitable frenzy without the aid of something strong and hot. Once the machine was heating up, Sarah began to relay the events of the past night.

Fifteen minutes and two full cups of caffie-drink later, her mother was in the middle of a full-blown fit.

“You’re coming home today!” Sarah could hear the sound of her parents’ ancient computer system booting up. It had been given to them as a wedding present over twenty-five years ago. “How quickly can you pack up?”

“Mom, I can’t come home today. I have schoolwork to finish. Plus, Bernie is counting on me to work the rest of the week. I’m leaving Saturday for the holiday anyway; I will be fine until then.”

As Sarah reassured her frantic mother, she walked towards the front window of her apartment and looked out onto the busy street. She wasn’t willing to admit it to herself, but she was checking for the Selachi. He had chased her through each of her dreams the night before, tainting every subconscious scene with fear and the overwhelming feeling of certain death.

It was early in the day, and the street was experiencing it’s mid-morning, pre-lunch hour quiet. The kind of quiet that usually made Sarah feel calm and warm, but today the lack of people—lack of witnesses—unsettled her. Watching the serene street and listening to her mother ramble on about ship times and writing notes to Bernie and her professors, Sarah fell into a sort of distracted trance. In her daydream, she was in the ship shop, alone, finishing up the day’s paperwork just before closing. The bell above the front door rang as someone entered.

Sarah leaned in her chair to see around her cluttered desk, and her breath caught as she realized what had entered the shop. It was a Kylen. His bright blue skin seemed almost to shine under the fluorescent track lighting. His horns were ivory in color and, extending straight from the sides of his forehead, they ended in a slight curl. He was looking at the box of old radio equipment. Sarah leaned further to catch a glance at the bottom half of his body, and with a yelp and a crash, she slipped out of her seat and onto the floor. The Kylen turned on her, teeth bared and alert. He started walking towards her with a hunger in his eyes. She crawled backwards awkwardly. With her back against the wall, and her heart thumping like the base-enhanced audio system of a Ground Rover 3KT, Sarah looked around for something with which to defend herself. She reached for the sharp, metal protractor on her desk, but the Kylen was quicker. He grabbed her arm and pinned her to the wall. He leaned in close, his breath smelled faintly of roasted meat which usually would have made Sarah, who was a vegetarian, gag, but she was too distracted by the gorgeous soft gray color of the Kylen’s eyes. Like the dark sky on Sarah’s favorite kind of rainy day, his eyes were heavy with things to come. Suddenly, Sarah was captivated with the intense desire to kiss him. She cautiously moved her face closer to his, lightly licked her bottom lip, and–

“SARAH! Are you even listening to me!” Her mother’s voice served as a much-needed cool shower, and Sarah snapped back to reality.

“Yes, uh, sorry. What were you saying?” Sarah’s face was hot and her stomach tickled with anticipation. She closed the curtain and breathed in deeply a few times.

“I was saying, there’s a shuttle that leaves tomorrow afternoon. Sarah, I realize you have a lot of work, but I’m worried about you. Please come home. I will call Bernie and your professors and explain the situation. I’m sure you can finish your project from home. Look, I hate to pull this card, but your father hasn’t been feeling well lately and you know every time his health relapses, I get worried it will be the–”

“I’ll come home.”

“Oh really? Thank you so much darling. Surprising your dad might be just the thing to perk him right up!”

“What time is the departure?”

“3:25 your time, and it’s leaving from dock 57. Do you know where that is?”

“Yes, Mom, I work on the docks remember?”

“Right, of course. Okay, so I’ll finish booking your seat and you’ll make sure to be on time, won’t you? I know how you get when you’re in one of your…day-dreamy states.”

“I’ll be there.”

“Okay good. And you’ll be safe until then? Maybe you should stay in tonight…”

“Mom, please–”

“Alright, I’m sorry. I’ll stop nagging you. I’ll see you tomorrow sweetheart. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Sarah hung up the phone and threw her body into her couch. She wasn’t sure if she felt like crying, screaming, or laughing, so she decided to bury her face in her throw pillow instead. A part of her wanted to stay inside and sleep the rest of the day away, but deep down, she knew that if she were to sleep, she would likely dream about the Selachi again. Or worse, about the Kylen. Instead, she decided she needed some fresh air.

Without showering, Sarah threw some jeans on and tried to tame her bed-head curls with some water and a brush. Semi-satisfied with how she looked, she grabbed her bag and hurried off to the cafe, hoping more caffie-drink might help clear her head.