Chapter 9: Girl Next Door and Revelations

Date: September 19th, 2023 (Sunday)

Location: Driveway of the Summertons residence. City of Ellington

Time: 9:12 AM (Local)

It’s now Sunday morning and Allen couldn’t be happier. He’s standing in the Summertons driveway with motorcycle parts scattered around him and Laura. Eve had woken him up at 7 AM and he took care of his morning needs and workout and had rushed through a shower. Brad had scolded Laura and Allen because they scarfed breakfast, giving no thought to table manners. Laura moved the vehicles out of the driveway and into the street and then rolled out the Nova to its current position. Most of the engine and various other parts are now stripped off the bike and laid out on a tarp. He and Laura were currently going over each part to see what they would have to replace. It was a warm and sunny Autumn morning and Allen was in a pair of jeans and one of the white slim fit shirts with the low-cut “v”. Grease from the engine parts is smeared across the bridge of his nose and cheeks like warpaint and he’s holding a socket wrench while Laura is looking at the carburetor. This is the view that greeted Aiko when she looked down from her bedroom window this morning when she had gotten up. His tousled brown hair waved in the slight breeze and his blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight as he looked over bike parts with a bright smile. She instantly develops a crush.

“That’s got to be Kayla’s new brother!” She grabs her cellphone and texts Kayla to see if she could come over. She punched the air and leapt with joy when Kayla texted back that it was cool and ended it with a winking smiley face like she knew what Aiko was up to. Aiko quickly ran in to the bathroom to shower. She quickly stripped and looks at herself in the mirror. Standing at 5’3” with black hair and black eyes and a slightly upturned nose, Aiko was definitely cute. She had a porcelain white complexion, and her hair was cut in a bob with the front longer than the back. She also dyed the tips of the front of her bob violet. Aiko folds her arms under her modest breasts and pushes them up while turning as she inspects herself. Although Aiko had a slim build, she wasn’t lacking in womanly curves. Aiko showers off and then runs to her closet to pick out something to wear. She stands in front of her closet with one arm crossed over her body while the other props her chin up as she tries to decide. She eventually goes with tight jeans, sneakers, and a band t-shirt. She gives herself one last inspection in her door mirror before heading downstairs. Aiko rushes through breakfast without saying a word as her mom looks on with amusement.

“Wow, you’re in a rush this morning. Is it about the cute mechanic who’s standing in our neighbor’s driveway right now?” A woman who looks like Aiko asks from across the table with a cup of coffee in her hand.

“MOM!” Aiko exclaims as she tries to hide a blush.

“Hehe…. YUP!” Aiko’s mom says with a giggle.

Aiko finishes up her breakfast and rushes out the door before her mother can embarrass her further.

“Let’s see.... need to clean the fuel injector. Needs new fuel lines and new spark plugs. Not bad for sitting for 10 years.” Laura says with her hand on her hip while the other one scratches her ear.

“Eve, you tracking?”

“Yes Allen. She’s right, I expected more issues from a vehicle that has sat idle for a long period of time. All issues are easy to correct. I can’t wait to ride this “bike” with you!”

Allen’s lists seem to grow daily in his new life. But this list? It’s worth it! They continue to discuss the bike parts until Laura sees a slim girl with black hair and violet tips peeking around the end of the wooden fence. She chuckles and calls out.

“Hey Aiko! Don’t be shy, come meet Allen.” Allen turns his head to see who Laura is speaking to. He sees the small girl jump at the sudden scrutiny. She recovers quickly and plasters a smile on her face before stepping out from behind the edge of the fence.

“Hey Mrs. Summerton! I’m here to hang out with Kayla.”

Laura inwardly chuckles at the obvious lie.

“Well, this is Allen. We are taking care of him for the time being, but we are hoping it becomes permanent.” Laura motions to Allen. He looks back at Aiko and offers a nod and a small wave.

“Hey, nice to meet you.”

Eve pipes up in his ear.

“Mark as threat?”

“Heh, give her a chance first.”

They put the inspection of the bike on hold and walk to the house.

Date: September 19th,2023 (Sunday)

Location: Ellington Park National Forrest, 1.3 Km North of the City of Ellington

Time: 1019 AM (Local)

“Colonel! We’ve found something!” A tech runs up to the Colonel as she stands at the edge of the clearing where Allen hid his gear and pilot seat in a small cave. The tech’s face is flushed from excitement. She hands a set of dog tags to the Colonel like they are the most precious thing in the world. The Colonel takes the dog tags and scrutinizes them and sees the name and other information listed on the tags. The sun catches on the holographic film and a rainbow plays across the writing. She notes the date of birth under his name and service number.

“Where did you find these?” She asks while trying to reign in her excitement. It had been a long time since the Colonel had felt a rush. Not since the Euro-Sino wars when she was only a First Lieutenant.

“In a cubby that was camouflaged by some type of holographic projector! A search dog kept alerting on a blank space of the cave wall. It’s handler went to pull the dog away but before she could, it disappeared into the wall!”

“Show me.” The Colonel says as she shoves the tags into her pocket.

The tech escorts the Colonel to the mouth of the cave. Soldiers and techs scramble to make way for her as she enters and marches over to where the tech found the dog tags. They are pulling out Allen’s gear when she arrives. Her eyes instantly lock on Allen’s pistol inside its thigh holster.

“Hand that to me.” She motions to the suit.

Another tech hands the Colonel Allen’s suit. She cautiously pulls the pistol out of the holster before handing the rest back to the tech. The Colonel walks back outside before sighting down the weapon. As her hand closes fully on the grip, a metallic voice speaks. “BIOMETRICS NOT RECOGNIZED! UNAUTHORIZED USER!” The small group of soldiers and techs that followed out of curiosity nervously back up. The Colonel shrugs and sights on a tree as she squeezes the trigger. *ZZZZAP! * Pain erupts in her hand and arm as the pistol shocks her. She drops the pistol as she staggers back and lands on her rump. To the surprise of the crowd, she only chuckles while shaking out her hand. The Colonel stands up and composes herself while wiping off the dirt and dust on her uniform.

“Didn’t expect anything less. I’ll have to report everything to the general. In the meantime, bag everything! I don’t care if it’s a simple rock or a blade of grass. If you think it’s connected, collect it. Set up a secure camp, the whole kit-n-kaboodle. I want guards posted and they are authorized to use deadly force. Have the public relations team feed a story to local press about a dangerous piece of the asteroid landing here that can be connected to the asteroid story we already fed them as the reason.”

The techs and soldiers rush to carry out her orders. She pulls the dog tags out and inspects them as they twirl in her hands. If the date of birth was any indicator, Allen Stryker was from the future, and this made him infinitely more valuable. She hoped her superiors didn’t pull Allen from the life he was building and stuff him in a deep, dark hole. “Allen Stryker, huh? What’s our connection?” The sun glints off her nameplate that reads: Stryker.

Date: September 19th, 2023 (Sunday)

Location: Driveway of the Summerton’s residence. City of Ellington

Time: 12:12 PM (Local)

Amy had eventually shown up an hour earlier and joined Allen and Laura in the driveway and Allen sneezes suddenly from beside her.

“Eve, I couldn’t possibly be getting sick. The nanites should take care of that.”

“Doubtful Allen. You humans are funny that way. Sometimes you just sneeze.”

Allen grunts as Amy gives him a side eye. He just shrugs back at her. Amy turns her attention back to the growing pile of the bikes innards as Laura inspects them before laying them on the tarp.

“Laura, I have doubts.”

“About what, Amy?” Laura says as she glances at Amy over her shoulder as she pauses her inspection of the wear on the brake discs. Amy waves her arm towards the pile of parts.

“This. You are sure this bike will be safe for Allen?”

“Yes, that’s why I’m being so thorough. I’m making sure the bike is totally safe.”

“If you say so….” Amy says with skepticism. Allen is arguing with Eve about marking Amy as a threat. Her reasoning being that Eve thought Amy was trying to interfere with their goals. Allen was finding it hard to argue the point.

Aiko is sitting on Kayla’s bed while kicking her feet back and forth while Kayla is playing her new shooter she picked up at the mall before the food court fiasco. Aiko can’t get Allen out of her head, especially that smile and those blue eyes.

“Kayla, I’ve got a confession.”

“Yeah?” Kayla pauses her game to look at Aiko.

“I want to be your sister-in-law.”

“Hah…. You can try. Allen doesn’t seem to be into girls right now.”

“Oh? Is he…. you know?” Aiko waggles her hand back and forth.

“Heh, doubt it. Even so, it’s 2023. Love is love and all that. No, I just think he’s not interested yet. You know how us girls show interest in boys before they do.”

“I guess…. Still, I’m gonna try.”

“More power, sister!” They bump fists. “But IF you hurt him…. best buds or not….” Kayla punctuates this statement by smacking a fist into her other palm.

“NEVER!” Aiko shouts back. Brad (ironically) yells about yelling in the house. Allen sneezes in the driveway again.

“You sure you feel well?” Amy has her hand to Allen’s head as they sit at the dinner table. It’s now evening, and he and Laura had gathered up the bike parts before rolling the bike back into the garage and covering it. Amy had started to fret over him after he sneezed again. Eve had called him a fragile human when he asked for a bio scan, and it came back negative. He bats her hand away with a scowl. The family in addition to Amy and Aiko sat at the dinner table and enjoyed a nice family dinner. Aiko had invited herself after she called her mom and found it weird when Brad served ambrosia and had to convince Allen there was no Jell-O in it. He was dubious when he first saw the jiggly mass. Eve decided to hold her tongue about the cool whip when she saw how much he enjoyed it. Even though Xanthan and Guar Gum were natural laxatives and can cause diarrhea in large portions. Allen HAD eaten a large portion much to Eve’s delight. Hopefully it provided her with entertainment later. Brad was just happy that Allen enjoyed it.

“I have an announcement.” Valorie says and everyone’s eyes focus on her. “I’m going to stay at home from now on and drive to school during the week. It’s only 30 minutes away.”

“What brought this on?” Laura asks.

“I’ve thought about doing it anyways and now that Allen’s here, I want to get to know my new brother more.”

Brad claps his hands together excitedly and Laura smiles.

“I’ll pack up my things from my dorm room after school tomorrow and it should only take one trip. I’ve missed you guys anyhow.” She finishes.

“Will you be home in time for dinner?” Brad asks excitedly.

“I should be. I can’t wait to spend time with you. Allen.” Valorie says. While she was excited about the idea of him joining her family, Valorie also wanted to solve the puzzle that was Allen. This would give her the perfect opportunity to do so.

“Alright everyone! It’s getting late and Allen starts his first day tomorrow. You need your rest Allen before the big day.” Brad says. Everyone parts for the night and they all head off to bed while Amy, Aiko, and Valorie leave for their homes.

Aiko is getting ready for the night in her bedroom when a light from the corner of her eye catches her attention. She looks out of her window and realizes she has a perfect view into Allen’s room. Allen had neglected to close his curtain tonight and Aiko was treated to the sight of him taking his shirt off before getting into his bed. After his light had shut off, Aiko realized she had been frozen in her spot with her mouth wide open, long after the light had turned off. The poor girl was now totally smitten without a doubt and knew that her mother would become even more troublesome once she notices. Her mother noticed EVERYTHING. Aiko finally recovers and drifts off to sleep with images of a brown hair, blue eyed boy haunting her dreams.