The Human Pet: A Sci-Fi Romance

Part 9

Kayla

He's interacting with his computer again and I have so many questions. How does he turn it on, how does he control it, and what records might be there? I watch his every movement and I even practice them, moving my hand and snapping my wrist, just like he does.

His eyes are fixed on me, and I drop my hands. It's probably better if he doesn't suspect that I'm trying to learn how to access and control the computer.

He goes to a pixelated stick figure of what's probably meant to be a human on his wall, taps it, and—ugh—mispronounces it.

Does it matter that he mispronounces the word human? It's a small detail compared to all the other things he gets wrong about humanity, like the fact that we want to wear collars and be lowly pets.

Yet it irks me. I can fix this.

I get closer to him. Tarak is so much bigger than me. One bat of his massive hand and it would be over for me. He hasn't struck me... yet, but if I'm not cautious, I might get seriously injured.

I glance around the room because it never hurts to be prepared. The bed is nearby, and I can probably fit underneath. I hope I don't need to try to hide there.

I try a simple test and say the word the way we humans would. His gray eyes seem to have an amused spark to them and more importantly, he doesn't hit me, so when he mispronounces the word yet again...

Don't be an idiot, Kayla. Yep, I readjust his lips, the way one might correct a child.

A deep rumbling sound comes from him and his tail swishes back and forth slowly on the floor and his big pupils gaze at me. I think he might be enjoying this.

I think I might be enjoying this, too. It's like playing with a big cat or maybe a lion.

Lions can kill.

Yes, I need to be cautious, so when I try to teach him to say the word correctly a second time and I do my next readjustment of his lips, I press my head against his hand and he strokes my hair.

I'm careful and continue to watch for signs of how he might feel about his pet correcting him.

He seems to be enjoying this because he's making more of those rumbling sounds (scourge laughter, maybe?), so when he finally says the entire word right and I have an opportunity to also confirm that a simple clap is all that it takes to turn on and off the computer, I do it.

It works! I did a simple clap, shutting off his computer. I don't think Tarak even suspects what I did.

He laughs like he finds what I did entertaining. Then he claps, turning his computer back on. This time, he grabs a box that looks like it has glyphs on it (probably a keyboard) and intensely stares at the walls.

I need to learn everything about how he works on the computer because merely turning it on and off won't help me. The best place to watch what he types would be to sit on his lap, where I could see what he hits on the keyboard. I take a deep breath, considering this move. Would he hurt me?

I'm a bit worried, but carefully, I climb into his lap. I worry when one of his large arms moves toward me, but it is not to hurt me. No, he pulls me into the center of his lap and readjusts himself so that his arms are on either side of me and his keyboard is directly in front of both of us. I curl up in his lap.

Eyes on the prize, I remind myself, intensely studying everything he does with this computer: voice, hand motions, and the keyboard.

I must be getting relaxed because I imitate his movements more and more. Maybe that's because he laughs when he sees me do it. Alright, if he thinks I'm playing, I'll roll with it.

A new image pops onto one of the walls: basic human anatomy since this one includes shapes that resemble the proportionate size and shape of organs. There is the liver, spleen, kidneys, heart, and... I shiver because this picture distinctly shows a human brain inside the head, reminding me of the likely recipient of a lobotomy we met today. Somehow, seeing the brain in this picture makes everything worse because it means that whoever had cut into that human's head knew it would impair his brain functioning.

I don't want to see this anymore, but when I close my eyes, I still see everything: the drooling human and the illustration of a human's brain.

Will someone try to do that to me? Today, I was taken to some sort of medical facility. No one operated on my brain, but maybe that was an evaluation, and tomorrow or the day after that, I will receive a lobotomy.

Suddenly, I'm trembling. I dimly become aware of Tarak gazing at me with those large gray eyes. He reaches over to his bed, grabs a blanket and he drapes it over my shoulders.

What? No, a blanket could be a trap, so I throw it off and it falls to the floor.

The lights are dimmed and the horrible image from the wall is gone. His hand is against the small of my back and he spreads his fingers apart. I shiver. His hand is so large it covers my entire back, and I don't know why, but this makes me feel protected. With his other hand, he wraps strands of my hair around his fingers, like he is playing with my hair.

Maybe it's my wild imagination, but I can't help feeling like he knows I am scared, and he is trying his best to calm me. So even though those horrible images, of a brain and a lobotomized human, are forever in my mind, I take a deep breath.

Can I trust him? Am I forever sinking into Stockholm syndrome? His fingers feel so pleasant as he gently plays with my hair, so I curl into him, leaning my head against his chest like it's a pillow.

Is it my imagination or did his arms reflexively tighten around me? Should I be allowing myself to get this comfortable around this alien?

I need whatever it is that he is giving me, so I decide that just for one night, I will accept it and I lean into the gentle touches. I close my eyes and let myself be comforted by the protective arms of my alien, Tarak.