Page 39 of Resisting the Alien Commander

“Are you tired of hiding yet?” Olivia’s gaze remains on the cards in her hand.

Johnna had come over the night before last and taught us this Bohnari card game. I’m still not a hundred percent certain of the rules, so we’re making up some of them as we go along.

I glare at her. “What if I say no?” Although I am, and I need to woman up and go talk to Horek.

“Then we’re going to have to drag you out of here.” Devon doesn’t look like she’s joking either.

“You guys are supposed to be my friends, remember?”

Olivia huffs. “Which is exactly why we’re going to push you out of this room if we have to. This isn’t you. The Quinn Brooks I know doesn’t run away. She faces things head on even when they’re uncomfortable. Well, eventually, she does. Now is your eventually and you know it.”

I sigh. “I know.”

“Good, because I just won.” Olivia lays down her cards and the others groan in disappointment.

None of what she had in her hand says she won to me, but I’m not going to argue.

“I let you win.”

“Ha!Letme win? You don’t even remember the rules.”

Oops. I guess I didn’t hide my cluelessness as well as I thought I had. I toss down my cards as well and take my empty glass to the sink. There’s still quite a bit of sunlight left for me to go try and find Horek, I suppose.

“I’m going for a walk.” I glance at each of them and none volunteer to go with.

“Let us know how it goes with your boyfriend,” Olivia teases.

Arguing with her will only make her dig her heels in harder so I bite my tongue and nod instead. “I’ll be back later.”

The three of them get up as well and head for the door.

“We’ll see you then. Good luck,” Devon offers.

“Thanks.”

Alone, I walk down the hallway and take the lift to the ground floor. Like usual, a few of the women sit scattered about doing their own thing.

Sure enough, the sun still shines brightly, and all the copper buildings sparkle with newness. It’s a sight I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to. Every time I’ve gone outside, I expect to see the dreary, gray-hued sky of the bottom tier and smell the dirt and grime.

I breathe in the fresh, clean, and fragrant scent of Preska. I’m assaulted with earthy and floral notes, but in a good way. Now I regret staying cooped up in our building for two days because I missed this. I could have been visiting the botanical garden again or even just walking around the city and soaking it all up. From here on out, no more hiding. No more ignoring things or people. That’s not why I let my mom talk me into leaving her back on Earth.

Whether it’s the mating fever or something else entirely, I have a guy—two guys, in fact—showing interest in me. It’s a matter of whether or not Horek’s is merely a physical reaction or something more. If it is more, I have no idea what’s going to happen, but I need to give it—him—a chance. Except, I don’t actually know where to even start my search for Horek. I ask the first Bohnari—one of the guards stationed outside our building—I come across.

“Excuse me. Where would I find Commander Horek?”

The guard straightens. “Is something wrong?”

“Oh, no, not at all. I just needed to speak with him.”

He still has a mild look of panic, like he’s worried I’m going to tattle on him for some unknown offense. “He’s probably in the barracks this time of the evening.”

I glance around in confusion. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know where that is. Could you give me directions?”

He rattles them off and I do my best to memorize the route he’s given me. I only hope I don’t get lost. “Thank you so much.”

The guard nods, and I head in the direction he gave me. I silently repeat his instructions while I walk and carefully watch where I’m going until finally I arrive at what I’m guessing is the right place. I’ve never actually seen barracks before. As far as I can tell, they appear similar to nearly every building in Preska. Shiny copper beams, large bolts connecting giant round pipes that run vertically along the exterior walls and horizontally along the rooftops, and lots of reflective windows that conceal whatever’s inside.

I make my way to the first set of doors I find. Before I even start searching for a bell or knocker, a camera in the corner turns so it’s pointing directly at me and the image of a Bohnari from the neck up appears on a monitor just above eye level.

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