"If she asks if you're a god, say 'yes'."
Justin shifted his eyes around. Nobody really reacted. Daium did, though, nod her head in agreement. With a sigh, he let it go. Melinda would have gotten the joke. Probably Chuck, too. What was the point of making obscure geek jokes, if nobody was going to react? Laughs or groans, didn't matter. It probably didn't help that the movie in question wasn't among those in the store when they vanished, and thus was lost forever so far as they were concerned, but, still. The Bullwinkle thing got chuckles...
He set his attention back to the task at hand. A strange red furred squirrel girl was prostate on the store floor, hands outstretched, tail arching over her back. She was dressed in a white... well, shift might be a good name for it, cloth barely longer than mid-thigh and cut short in back to allow room for the tail. Sexy, in a slave girl kind of way. If you were into animals, which he wasn't.
Anthony, dressed as they all were in their "away mission" uniforms, knelt down on one knee in front of her. Alicia, standing behind him next to Hannah, was scanning the room, hand down where her holster would be if she was wearing it.
"People are starting to look. We should take this elsewhere."
"Agreed," Anthony said. Justin noticed that every use of English seemed to send tremors through the squirrel. Anthony seemed to see it as well. Reaching out, he touched her head between the ears. "Sit up."
The girl shot up. Her legs were bent under her, trembling hands clutching furry bare knees. Her long face, with its black almond eyes on either side and brown nose at the end, looked down at the floor. Human like breasts, under the white fabric, heaved. Anthony stood.
"We have to talk, but not here. Do you know someplace close?"
Justin could see her eyes dart back and forth, mind racing.
"I... we have... a room. Close."
He noted the use of the word "we". The others did as well, exchanging glances. Hannah motioned Danny to move closer to her daughter, while she stepped up to Anthony's side.
"Take us."
****
Chuck whistled an early Metallica song as he moved the hose over to the next flower bed.
There were a number of amusing things about his current activities. The first, naturally, was the silliness of watering flowers during a rainstorm. The clouds, and their resulting downpour hitting the arching dome overhead, were so dark and thick he had turned on the spotlights on top of the store. Lightning flashed, and you could hear the thunder and pouring rain despite the thick shell. The very fact that Chuck was using a hose was also rather silly. After all, not only could they easily have installed sprinklers to water their expansive collection of exotic plants, but the bottom recesses of the ship had whole rooms full of droids. Any number of them could be modified to water and tend the garden, even though you might have second thoughts about having one perform personal grooming. But, the key to survival was keeping busy. The garden was as much to give them something to do as anything else.
"Oh, field hand! I need a drink refill!"
And, naturally, keeping busy kept one from killing various females.
He was tempted, very tempted, to use the hose on Melinda. Filling her glass from twenty feet away could be seen as an honest attempt at serving her. But, alas, there was the baby nursing with her to consider, as well as Rinda and little Jeli on the bench. Rinda had not annoyed him yet, although the day was still young. Nope, there was no way he was going to spray his lovely wives and children with water.
Naturally, he thought, turning to aim the hose a foot away from the bench, there was no reason they would know that...
****
Their driver did not bat an eye when the Bells crew returned to the bus not a half hour after entering the mall, accompanied by another alien. He expected nothing else of foreigners. The address they gave him was a mere four blocks away. They could have walked, not bothering him. But, again, they were soft aliens. Lighting up a cigar as they once again exited his vehicle, he sighed. What could he do...
****
They paused, out of the rain again at least for the moment. Alicia looked above. The ceiling on the... well, driveway into the building, was an archway made of brick. She had seen buildings like this, in movies: a large, ugly structure taking up an entire city block, but once you traveled through the tunnel in one side you came upon a bright courtyard park with stairs and terraces leading to a hundred apartments or whatever on all four sides. Up ahead, their view showed them the first three levels on the opposite side, with three more unseen above that. The courtyard itself seemed to have more weeds than plants, although nothing would look good flooded as it was. She wondered if the rain ever did stop.
The slugs kind of hinted the answer was "no".
Her eyes went to their "guide". There was no trust to be had here, naturally. Not yet. Their position in the universe was much too fragile. They needed to get whatever information this fluffy tailed girl had, and get back to the ship so they could plan. Doing anything without the input of Chuck, Rinda, and even (though it pained her to say it) Melinda, was foolhardy. They all looked at the world from different enough points of view that someone usually saw the flaw in any plan.
Alicia liked finding flaws.
She felt movement inside her. As Justin was the father, she always pictured her baby just quietly reading a book in the corner of the womb. Recent crankiness on the infant's part, though, was causing her to think her side was going to be more dominant. Given stories her mother had told at about every gathering where the subject of children came up, this was not a good thing.
Another kick. She looked over at Justin.
"Baby's getting cranky. Can we hurry this up?"
Alicia felt Squirrel Girl's eyes on her. She flicked her eyes at the creature, causing the thing to cringe back a bit. For some reason, that made her feel better.
****
Umbrellas up once again, they made the not quite dash into the courtyard, and up the stairs. Anthony, despite the inner need to do this quickly, before the attention of some unknown bad thing fell on them, kept to an Alicia and Hannah friendly pace. The protective side of him wished they had been sent back to the ship. Who knew what they were getting into. But, that would have involved yet another splitting of the group. They were too divided as it was.
On the fourth landing, the newcomer led them down the row of wooden doors. It definitely looked like a motel, or maybe very small apartments. The place was not in good repair. The railings were rusting, with orange paint peeling off (the color change was an improvement at least). Down below, weeds grew up between paving stones. There was no sign of life, either. Kind of made sense, if this was a motel type place, as who would be in their room in the late morning. He'd expect some mothers and children to be around otherwise, though.
The red furred girl stopped in front of a door numbered 415. There was a window to the left of it, curtain drawn. She turned to him, seeming to struggle for the right words. She was nervous as hell.
"This... is our room."
He nodded, motioning for her to enter. Her face almost seeming to blush through the fur, she pulled a string necklace he hadn't noticed before out from under her outfit and over her head. Fitting the metal key at the end into the handle lock, the door clicked. Seeming to brace herself, she opened the door and entered. Anthony quickly followed, Justin a step behind.
The room was small. It looked like every motel room Anthony had ever had a hookup in, if a bit dingier (hey, he had standards). One double bed, unmade, was against the far wall. It obviously had been pushed there, judging by the marks on the brown rug. The walls were an ugly yellow, ugly enough to distract him as he entered. It wasn't until he heard the voice that he noticed someone was already in the room.
"Miriam!"
It was another squirrel, naturally. This one had black fur, with a tinge of grey on the chest and tail, and eyes of a sparkling brown. She had been lying on the bed nude, reading something, but sprang to her feet on their entrance, breasts bouncing. Seeing those following her companion, any further words died in shock.
"Sarah! Speak only the holy tongue!" The one they now knew was called Miriam ran to her companion, practically shoving her down to her knees. Dropping down next to her, she looked back at Anthony. "We are yours to command, oh Lord!"
Anthony paused. He recalled Justin's joke. Despite the lessons of Ghostbusters, they had to be careful here. Nona, for one (and there were probably others), would get seriously pissed at any impersonation of godhood. On a more practical level, a comic book story he had read as a kid, long forgotten, had popped into his head. Two Spanish conquistadors had come to a South American city, claiming to be gods. As they were about to be killed, they said they could blot out the sun, and sure enough the eclipse they knew was coming happened.
The King, naturally, was impressed. He freed the two, started leading them towards the heart of the city... and tossed them in a pit.
"What the heck?!", the two yell back. "Let us out!"
"Well," says the King, "if you two are Gods, and I do think you are, you should be able to fly out of there. If, on the other hand, you are NOT gods... well, just let us know and we'll lower a rope and continue where we left off."
The story stopped there, letting the reader decide which ending they would pick. Personally, Anthony decided to try and avoid the whole thing.
****
"Everyone inside, close the door."
Nona slipped in behind Anthony, sliding over in front of the window and settling in the corner. She didn't like this. It was... freaky, that's what it was. She also got this pagan vibe, which for some reason was very unsettling. The candles, and large pentagram laid out on the rug with white tape, were the cause of most of that. It was obvious the bed used to be there, but they needed the room for whatever evil purpose witch squirrels have.
Off hand, Nona couldn't think of any.
Tammy's taller form appeared next to her. Without giving it any thought, Nona reached out her right hand and grabbed Tammy's. After a moment's pause, she felt the strong, soft hand shift in her grip, fingers intertwining with hers. Despite everything around them, Nona blushed, happy.
With a click, the door closed. Anthony took a couple steps forward, stopping about six feet away from the squirrels. Nona, eyes automatically checking their two pregnant members, saw Alicia leaning a bit on an umbrella while Hannah used the wall for support. She didn't see any chairs, and the bed was behind the aliens.
"Who are you?"
The red one bowed her head at Anthony's question, elbow hitting her companion when she didn't immediately follow suit.
"I am Miriam, Servant of She Who Saw, follower of She Who Fucked."
Nona shot a glance at Tammy. She had NOT just heard that, had she? The blonde had the same look, though. What were they getting into...
"This," continued Miriam, "is Sarah, handmaiden and newcomer to The Way. We..." She stumbled, words failing her. Nona recognized part of the problem. English wasn't their native language. She was speaking... what had she called it? The Holy Tongue? Nona would have the same problem trying to speak Arabic. More so, given how little she had kept up on that in recent years.
"Where are you from?" Anthony's voice was calm. Nona had no idea how he did it. Guess it came with being manager.
"We are from the Temple, the NEW Temple, recently dedicated in your name."
"Who do you THINK I am?"
Miriam looked up, startled.
"You... you are one of the daemons! All of you, apart from her!" Her finger jabbed at Daium, who's four eyes widened. "Even those young are of your seed! Oh, how we have longed to see the joining of us and you! To know that it is possible! Shia, She Who Fucked, must be told! The Temple will celebrate!"
Anthony held up a hand, instantly silencing her. The black furred one, Sarah, just sat there, trembling, eyes not looking at any of them.
"Have you seen other humans, others like us?"
Miriam looked at the rug, body seeming to deflate.
"No, Lord. Not I. I am not skilled enough to see your kind, or summon. Neither have I attended the rituals, not that any have been successful from what we have heard. I have tried!" She looked back up, eyes wide. "Believe me! I, we, have studied hard! Tried to understand all you have told us, all you have shown us! But your ways are mysterious, oh Lord!"
"I just bet they are," Nona heard Tammy mutter. She shook her head. They were speaking gibberish. Whatever information there was to get, the humans would have to get it themselves.
She glanced down to her left. The nightstand, now far from the side of the bed, had books on it. The topmost one, a large hardcover seemingly bound in dark brown leather, had no name on the cover. Just a large white pentagram. Nona reached for it.
"No!"
Nona's hand jerked back, head whipping towards the now standing black squirrel. The creature's fur was almost standing on end, her tail straight up.
"Those are OUR Holy Books! You may NOT...!"
*SLAP*
"SILENCE!"
Sarah slowly turned to the red furred Miriam, eyes wide, one paw going to the struck cheek. Nona watched with... fear. Her hand squeezed Tammy's, heart doing a flip when her friend answered, caressing with her thumb.
"Who do you think you're talking to?" Miriam's eyes bore into the younger woman. Not waiting for an answer, she jabbed a clawed finger between Sarah's breasts. "Who gave us knowledge? ANSWER!"
Nona was starting to feel sorry for the black one. Sarah cowered back a bit, but straightened, as if reciting something.
"The Gods."
"From where does all knowledge flow?"
"Earth."
"What is Earth?"
"Home of the Gods." It came out as a whisper. Miriam put one paw on her shoulder.
"These, before us, are Humans. Of Earth. Before them, we are nothing but servants. All knowledge comes from them. Thus, how can we deny them any of our knowledge?" She turned back to Nona, looking like a dog trying to please its master. "Please, take it. Forgive us."
"N...no problem."
Letting go, reluctantly, of Tammy's hand, Nona picked up the book. It was heavy, a good couple pounds. Holding it by the spine, she let it fall open to somewhere in the middle.
The book... was new. Or, at least, newish. The pages, for all they looked like some Middle Ages manuscript, were crisp and clear. The contents, words and pictures, were hand drawn. Much of it was in some language she was unfamiliar with, small squarish runes it looked like, but passages of English were interspersed throughout. Passages that really made no real sense. Illustrations showing female squirrels, nude, in various positions around pentagrams, candles, and... picnic tables.
"What the fuck?"
"Let me see." Tammy leaned over, Nona moving the book so she could get a better view. After a moment, Tammy laughed, looking over at Anthony and the others. "It's a spell book!"
Anthony frowned.
"Spell book?"
"Yeah, pretty sure. I dabbled with Wiccan things in high school, with some girls I knew, and this looks like some of the crap they were into. Only difference is, the spells in here are in English instead of Hebrew or Mayan or whatever they were supposed to be."
Nona's heart seemed to stop. She looked at Tammy, not wanting to believe.
"You... were a witch?"
Tammy smiled back at her, hand coming up to lightly touch Nona's cheek.
"No, I wasn't. I... well, a girl I liked was into it, and I played along just to be with her. Mostly, I liked the nude rituals. None of it ever worked, never cast any spells or the like. It was just stupid high school stuff."
Nona let out a breath, relieved. The whole liking a girl, and a non-Muslim at that, was proving hard enough to deal with. She didn't need that kind of thing on top of it...
Something the red squirrel said clicked in her mind. Handing the book to a surprised Tammy, her eyes bore into the creature as she took a step forward.
"Where is Earth?"
"Oh God, they know," she heard Hannah whisper in shock. She took another step forward, fists clenched at her side, eyes going between the two worried aliens.
"Where. Is. Earth?"
"There is no Earth..." Sarah started to say, puzzled. Miriam shot her hand out to cover her companion's mouth, face anxious. She smiled at Nona, trembling.
"Um, she doesn't know. New, hasn't learned much, hasn't undergone training..."
"Where."
"Oh, uh, Earth is everywhere! Earth exists in all of us! Earth is between the atoms, between the stars. Earth is what binds us together..."
Anger built. If there was one thing Nona hated, despised, it was New Age bullshit. The others must have seen it in her face. Nona had barely begun to lunge forward when Tammy grabbed her arms from behind, pinning them. The others just looked on, not knowing what to do. Nona knew, though. The time for being nice was over.
"Don't give me that bullshit! You know English! You know Humans! You know Earth! Tell us where the hell our fucking planet is, you stupid squirrels, or I'm gonna get Jihad on your sorry bitch asses!"
She could feel the eyes of her friends on her. Could feel Tammy pull her back against her, breasts pressing into Nona's shoulder blades. She didn't care. This thing was going to get them home, if she had to rip its guts out...
Miriam just looked back at her, confused.
"Earth... all the universe, all reality, is Earth…"