Battlefield Read Free Page A

paused and directed his attention to the strange man. “Do you speak English?”
    JD snorted. “What kind of stupid question is that? What aliens do you know who speak English? It's not like they have some kind of—”
    â€œYes,” the man said. His voice was rich, deep and smooth. It was surprisingly pleasant to listen to. For some reason JD expected him to sound a lot less normal.
    â€œI must be overwhelming you,” the man continued. Instantly the flames disappeared, but the red glow remained. “Is this less frightening?”
    None of the three teens said a word. JD's voice was caught in his throat as five million different questions filled his head. Eventually, Orlando was able to nod as well as pick his jaw up off of the ground.
    â€œGood, I must still be too bright. You are still squinting,” the man said. And then the glow disappeared as well.
    â€œWow, hot!” Cadence whispered, and JD watched as her eyes roamed over the man's muscular torso. Thankfully, he was clothed, wearing a simple pair of pants and an opened button-down that showed off a build that impressed even JD. The color of his body and his clothing were undecipherable, however, because he still only showed as various shades of red. The most JD could make out about his physical appearance was that he was only a few years older than them. He was barely a man.
    The stranger frowned. “I wasn't aware that I was putting off any heat.”
    â€œThat's not what she meant,” JD mumbled as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He could always count on Cadence to drop all of her logic over some guy. A firm tug on her arm kept her from starting to wander towards the man. “I wouldn't get too close.”
    â€œWhat are you?” Orlando asked, getting straight to business.
    â€œTo explain accurately at this point in time would be difficult, but for simplification I'll stick with the term you used.” The man pointed towards Orlando and JD with each of his index fingers. “Alien. My name is Alanmendiquixanimackle.”
    JD blinked a few times. He'd never be able to remember it, let alone pronounce it accurately. “Can we just shorten that to Alan?”
    The stranger nodded. “I do not mind if it is easier for you.”
    â€œAre you really an alien?” Cadence asked.
    â€œNo, he just looks like a freak for the heck of it and fell from the sky in a mass of flames like it was nothing because he's extra special,” JD said and couldn't help but notice how close she was standing to him. His arm moved around her, taking this as one of the rare moments she actually wanted to be touched and protected.
    Alan continued to smile at the three teens as though he hadn't heard JD's commentary. “Yes, I'm from a planet that's five galaxies away actually.”
    â€œYou speak excellent English for being such a distant traveler,” Orlando said, his voice dripped with sarcasm. JD had never had a class with him before, but if Orlando was this cynical about everything, it answered a lot of questions as to why the guy didn't have any friends.
    Alan gave Orlando a bow. “We have been studying your planet for a long time.”
    â€œAre you here to take our planet over and kill us or enslave us?” Cadence asked with a nervous sounding laugh. Her body trembled against JD, and her fingers held his shirt in a tight ball. He'd never seen her like this before.
    â€œNo, my people do not have much interest in obtaining your planet or its resources,” he explained with the same soothing tone he'd been speaking in. If he hadn't been so calm, JD was almost positive one of them would have had a meltdown. Did Alan have some kind of ability to relax them? He couldn't help but wonder because there was nothing calm about an alien crashing through the local mall roof, on fire, and then claiming to come in peace.
    â€œSo why are you here?” Orlando folded his arms in front of him. His blue