"You okay?" Miles asked her outright, "it's snowing up a blizzard out there. There's plenty of room here to crash."
"No, sorry," came her short reply, "I dunno, I've just got to get back home. See you in class... okay?"
Miles frowned. Prairie had always been a strange one, putting her alien ancestry to one side. She was always happy to accept invitations, but left pretty early once she got there. Her Loner trait kicking in. He understood that crowds made her uncomfortable.
She reached the front door and realised that Miles had been right, the skies were thick and woolly from the lowering clouds overhead. But for some odd reason, she couldn't quite place it, she had a sudden urge to return home. Or at least back to the rented accommodation she'd acquired for this college semester. Yeah, the dorm was cool, it was free, but she never truly felt comfortable there. Now, this place, yes it was HUGE and she could have advertised for roomies, but she was happiest there. She had her own space. Not students suddenly butting in at inconvenient times, stealing her bed and rumpling the sheets.
Taking a deep breath, she decided her best course of action, was to make a run for it. The roads, although they'd been treated, were still too dangerous for her to jump onto her borrowed bicycle for the mad dash home.
As she ran, she mused at how fate had led her here, back to college. She was so certain that she'd passed her Science degree with flying colours. But a glitch in the computer, and sloppy administration meant that she had to take it all over again.
Which was fine by her. She was always happy to challenge and rechallenge her optimal alien brain power to it's limits. So this time, to make sure, she packed in a gruelling schedule. Just to make sure.
Today, her first day back, had been it's hardest slog. Three classes in one day, one after the other, and Miles' invitation to a get together was sweet and enticing. She wasn't a party person, but she just wanted to see him one more time.
But whilst she was there, that old familiar and uncomfortable sensation hit her full on. The place was crowded and she felt her palms go clammy and a distinct shortness of breath. There was another sensation, quite new, but she dismissed it as just being a little over-reactive.
She arrived back to the house where she instantly took her snow sodden shoes off . It was also a good time to have a long soak in the bath, since the chilly night air had managed to drill itself into her very bones, making her shiver involuntarily. She hoped that she wasn't coming down with something. The last thing she wanted was to be bed ridden when there was so much studying to do. There had been a rumour that there was an influenza outbreak around campus. Thank goodness for this semester, many students had either graduated, or they'd stayed back home until the holiday season had ended and this severe weather front had abated. Only a fool - or a truly dedicated student - would venture out to class.
Whilst she daydreamed in the bath, her stomach growled meancingly, making her realise just how long it had been since she'd last eaten. When was that? She couldn't remember. And that strange feeling had returned. Drying herself off, she sauntered into the kitchen, where she distractedly reached into the fridge and pulled out a load of ingredients.
And stared at them for a whole minute.
What?? Pancake mix? She never made pancakes. It was supposed to be granola, or bacon and eggs or something ..... not pancake mix. What the hell was wrong with her? Once again, her stomach protested, forcing her to do something about it. Shrugging her shoulders she pulled out the chopping board and started mixing up the ingredients without making any references from recipe books. That was the beauty of being a Genius with a photographic memory. A simple glance. Just one observation, and she knew exactly what to do.
But just before she put the frying pan onto the stove, she paused, thinking. Was this really what she wanted? This starchy food was bad for her studies. Or so she'd been led to believe, by a few health freaks she'd studied online.
Sighing, she continued cooking, making an adequate amount of fairly tasty apple pancakes. However, she barely had time to taste them.
Glancing up at the clock, she noted that class was about to start and if she didn't make a move, she'd be late. Regretfully, she put the pancakes away in the fridge to munch on later, before slipping on her backpack and making a dash for the lecture hall.
Luckily for Prairie, it was an easy day today. Just the one lecture. She noted that the place was virtually empty, with just her and an elderly werewolf to keep her company. Even the professor was notably absent. She'd attended a seminar out of town when the snow storm hit. That meant that she couldn't get back in time and was holed up in a hotel until the roads were cleared. She'd had the foresight to email instructions and notes for this weeks' classes, so students wouldn't miss out.
Together, this unlikely duo scribbled their notes, barely acknowledging one another in the process.
And then the unthinkable happened. How, she did not know. But Prairie fell fast asleep. In class. It was wholly unthinkable, since aliens NEVER sleep. Instead, they use a regime of meditation and self hypnosis to restore their brain power.
It just couldn't be the flu. Couldn't. Besides, after utilizing the college's DNA profiler, she had no other symptoms to work on. She was energised, her core temperature was normal. What was wrong with her?
Whipping out her phone, she decided to call her family back home. Something was up, but she couldn't quite place what it was. Perhaps her mother would have some answers.
It was her dad who answered the phone.
"Hi dad, how's it going?"
"Oh hey there trouble," came the jovial reply, "how's college? Still studying hard?"
"Oh, it's good. Is mom there?"
"She's just resting at the moment, but I'll get her for you."
"Oh, there's no need, let her rest, it's hard work looking after us lot, especially those twins of ours."
Norris chuckled, but Prairie couldn't help noticing that his voice sounded tired.
"You okay dad?"
"I'm fine sweetie, I'll go get your mom."
Prairie wasn't one for conspiracy theories and other such hokum. She was too practical, living in the now, but a ripple of apprehension ran up her spine. Since she'd returned to college, something had shifted back home. Whilst she waited for her mother to come to the phone, she heard students arriving for their next lecture. Some student was leading a presentation on economic growth or something and needed his audience to help him through his pre speech nerves.
"Hi Prairie, you wanted to talk to me?"
"Is everything alright back home?"
"As well as it should be, why? Why do you ask? What's happened?"
The urgency in her mother's voice alerted Prairie immediately. There was no good hiding what she'd felt. They'd always been truthful with one another. That's what made their bond all the stronger.
"I've had some strange feelings lately. I thought it was just me, being me, you know. Not being able to deal with large crowds etc. But these are different."
She paused, waiting for her mother's input, but the other end of the line was silent. That meant that Shau was wisely waiting for Prairie to continue.
"Um, I've been getting a strange ripple, a feeling, a bad one at that. It started last night. I keep forgetting things and I fell asleep in class today."
Once again, a short silence.
"I'm not going mad am I? Losing my mind?"
"No dearie, you are most certainly are not. But let me enlighten you on something I failed to tell you. Since you were only half alien, I didn't think it mattered."
"Go on. You know nothing you tell me will shock me at any point."
Shau sighed.
"It's a long explanation, but it'll hopefully become clear to you. You know I told you about my 'brothers and sisters' in the whole pod/hive community?"
"Yes."
"You know how with the technology we have, how we can easily clone one another, and with a simple flick of a switch, we can change genders. Unlike the imaginary friends dolls that we hear about, where a child can choose the gender of their friend to suit their needs. Ours is a little more technical and scientific from that."
"Yeah, I know mom, you've already told me that one."
"We also have a common thread running through us. It is like an early warning system. A trigger when one of our kind gets too stressed out or is in immediate danger. It doesn't work, however, unless it happens to anybody who is quite close to us. Has a very strong realtionship. Be it family or close friends. Because we are normally a calm species, and this event is particularly rare, it befuddles us though. Basically upturns our mental capabilities and makes us do some irrational stuff. Not dangerous stuff, but enough to drag us out of our comfort zones."
"And this has happened to me because..........?"
Shau closed her eyes. This was news that she was unwilling to share with anybody, but she knew that Prairie would also see past HER facade.
"They found us."
"Who .......... oh!"
That simple statement was enough.
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