Alien Coffee by John H. Carroll

aliens came out,
they could die.
    Jillian took her ray gun in both hands and
aimed at the man in the tower. She squeezed the trigger and the man
disappeared. The walls of the tower were high enough that she
wouldn’t be able to see the bunny. For a moment, she worried about
the bunny being so high in a tower, but Buffy’s voice came through
her earpiece. “Jillian? Is everything alright?”
    “Yes. It’s safe now. There are still soldiers
at the front gate and the mansion, but they’re taking defensive
positions and I think we’ll be able to get clear without
difficulty.” Jillian hoped so anyway. She tapped the button to turn
it off again.
    Buffy came out of the building with the teens
behind. Jillian moved ahead of them to the clearing between the
building and the shed. She made certain it was clear, looking in
every direction. The soldiers by the mansion panicked at the sight
of aliens escaping. Buffy zapped one who raised a gun. Jillian shot
at another, but missed for the first time. She didn’t know if the
ray hit the wall behind him or something else entirely because
there was no visible light emitting from the ray gun and the low
hum didn’t give a clue either.
    “Behind the shed,” Buffy told the teens,
pointing in that direction. They ran with Buffy following. Jillian
moved more slowly while staying between them and the soldiers who
were half-heartedly yelling at each other to attack. None of them
took any initiative to do so and one even ran away screaming toward
the gate. When he got there, he bawled and begged to be let
out.
    The teens were going through the fence when
Jillian came around the shed. She made one last scan of the area
before following Buffy out. When the BEM stopped to look around,
Jillian tapped her button. “I’m nearby. Get them to the ship and
I’ll keep you covered.”
    “Good job, Jillian,” he told her. She liked
his praise even though she didn’t normally require much in everyday
life. It was respectful, not condescending, and the words were
sincere. Jillian got the impression Buffy didn’t give many
compliments, so the positive reinforcement meant all that much
more.
    “Everything is clear,” Nyxulla told them
through the earpieces. “Sclurp and I took care of all the soldiers
on this side of the fence. Come straight into the jungle and you’ll
find the ship. We’re just about there already.”
    The trees surrounded them as they dashed down
a thin trail. Buffy guided the teens while Jillian covered their
retreat. It was exciting and adrenaline flowed throughout her body.
She felt invincible while invisible. A minute later, the ship’s
door opened for them and the ramp slid out.
     
    ***
     
    Once inside, Sclurp took the ship up with the
explanation that he was moving someplace safer to find snails.
Nyxulla had the teens sit down so she could finish administering
medical care while Buffy took Jillian’s equipment to be put away.
She felt sad at losing such amazing devices. Part of her wasn’t
ready to be done with the adventure now that the adrenaline was
flowing.
    “You don’t have a choice,” Nyxulla was
telling the teens with hands on hips. “Your ship was disintegrated
per orders, so you get to take a snail home. You’re lucky we were
able to rescue you in time.” She leaned forward threateningly.
“You’re not allowed to tell anyone we’re here either. I’m pretty
sure you know how much trouble you’ll get into for being on a
forbidden planet, so making a big deal out of anything will not go
well for you or your parents.”
    Both teens shrank back at the threat. They
nodded and held onto each other while Nyxulla came back to the
table where Jillian had taken a seat. Her face showed concern.
“ None of this went the way it was supposed to. Are you
alright, Jillian?”
    “Oh yes. I’m wonderful. Thank you so much for
bringing me with.” Jillian grinned hugely, still high on the
adrenaline rush.
    Nyxulla looked surprised then smiled in
return.