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<section>Humans make up roughly 5% of the galactic population. Most reside on their home planet of Earth, and have no idea that we exist. Of the rest, 90% of them reside safely in the keeping of the Silvarians and those like them, controlled and contained. It’s the last 10% of them that roam the galaxy and keep the rest of us awake at night.</section>
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<section>-Norvil Gavrinik, Chief of the Allied Security Forces</section>
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As Maggie hurried down the couple blocks that separated the laundromat and The Study Hall Cafe, she began to wish she had brought a jacket. The crisp fall air cut through her hoodie as if it were nothing, a reminder that winter was looming just around the corner. Maggie shivered and shoved her hands in her pockets, fingers brushing against the still-warm paperweight. Or could it be a worry stone? Maybe even a hand warmer?
Eager to reach the warmth of the cafe, Maggie hurried through the dark campus. Dry leaves crunched beneath her feet, and she took a moment to seek out the Orion constellation in the clear night sky. Thank god for small towns, there was little light pollution, so she found it quickly and smiled. She might not be into aliens, but it always seemed romantic how humans saw pictures in the stars. A gust of wind cut through her hoodie again, and she picked up the pace. There were still other people on the street, even this late, and the cafe was bound to be packed. It wasn’t like there was much else to do in Alexandria on a Sunday night.
Within minutes Maggie had reached The Study Hall. She pushed through the old wooden door into the warmth and noise beyond, looking around fondly at the odd gathering of college students and exhausted professors. The TV in the corner was tuned in to the university news station, the latest weather report scrolling across the bottom predicting flurries in the early morning.
The main topic tonight seemed to be focused on aliens and UFO sightings out by the old junkyard. Maggie glanced at the news broadcaster, confirming what she had suspected. It was an excited young woman with slick black hair and glitter on her eyelids: Theo, Bobby’s rival/crush. The student broadcasters got to pick what they covered to an extent, and with the focus on aliens, Maggie had figured it would be Theo covering it.
Granted not a lot happened in their little town, so they had to find something to cover. She supposed UFOs were one of the more entertaining subjects they could cover. Even if it was a load of nonsense.
“Mags!” Becca called from behind the counter, waving over the heads of chatting university students.
Maggie preferred when they covered the local animal shelter. She looked around the crowded cafe, discarding the idea of studying for the time being. Becca was working by herself, and from the smell of cookies that wafted from the kitchen she had already started making baked goods for the morning. She was going to need an extra set of hands.
“Hi Becca, gimme a sec to drop off my stuff and I’ll help.” Maggie hurried through the crowd, past a group playing a tabletop roleplaying game, the DM wearing a wizard hat of all things. “Hi, Sam.” She greeted him, not surprised when he responded in character.
“Hark fair tavern wench! Slinger of cappuccinos'' and baked goods both fresh and hot! A round for my mighty companions!”
“You paying this time Sam?” One of his players, a young woman dressed more for clubbing than for the cafe, asked.
“We shall delve into the treasury for our funds!”
Maggie laughed and shook her head. “Hold your dragons, I’ll put your order in.” She ducked behind the counter, dropping her bag in a corner next to Becca’s.
“Where have you been? You’re late.” Becca joked and tossed her a well-worn apron made from scrap fabric. Maggie pulled it on over her head, breathing in the lingering scent of her mother’s perfume. She fished in the pocket, retrieving the scrunchie she knew was there. Good ol’ Mom, always prepared.
Maggie’s mother had helped run the cafe before her health got bad. She had worked during the day, and Aunt Electra had always covered the night. But as she spent more and more time in the hospital Maggie’s friend Becca had taken over the duties her mother had taken care of before. Aunt Electra had shifted her schedule so Becca could still go to morning classes, and Maggie helped out when she could, but she had no interest in actually running the place.
“Where else? The laundromat. Sorry I’m late to work a shift I wasn’t scheduled for.” Maggie laughed and shrugged. “Talking aliens with Bobby. Think they’ll interview him for the news?” She waved a hand at the TV, and both girls laughed. Bobby was a long-time friend, but neither of them believed in aliens like he did. Maggie would at least admit that there was probably something out there, it just seemed too self-centered to believe they were the only planet in the galaxy that had life on it. Becca believed that if anyone were out there, they would have seen real proof by now.
Becca pressed a large cup of coffee mixed with hot cocoa into Maggie’s hand. “Make up for it by slinging those cappuccinos and baked goods Sam wants. The cookies I threw in the oven should be about done.”
And as soon as they came out, Maggie knew that there would be a surge of business. She downed a searing gulp of the concoction Becca had given her, then tucked it beneath the counter. “I’m on it boss!”
Becca scribbled names on the small army of cups that made up Sam’s group and a few other stragglers as Maggie hurried into the kitchen to rescue the cookies from certain doom. The best thing about Sam’s group was that they pretty much always ordered the same things, so it was easy to get their order sorted.
Becca laughed, and soon they were both working too hard and fast to talk much. It was just like that at the cafe. Lots of university towns had bars and clubs, but here they just had The Study Hall, the pizza joint with its sorry little arcade, and the occasional house party.
It didn’t slow down until well past midnight, when the social butterflies and desperately studying students started turning in so they could be conscious in morning classes.
The cookies had been a hit, one of Becca’s weird mixes: chocolate chips and espresso bean pieces. There was no doubt they would turn into a permanent feature in the cafe. Becca poured Maggie one more drink, this one warm milk with a touch of maple syrup to sweeten it, before lounging back on the counter. “So. How are you handling Philosophy of World History 132?”
“Wondering why I even took it.” Maggie took a sip of the milk and let out a sigh. It was their usual end-of-shift drink, although she knew that Becca would be here for at least a couple more hours, setting things up for Aunt Electra’s shift. They really needed someone else to help run the place, Maggie wasn’t sure how her aunt and mother used to do the 12-hour shifts all the time, she had only worked a few and they were brutal!
“Because it fills one of the general requirements and you didn’t know what else to take.” Becca supplied helpfully. She poured herself a drink, this one mostly coffee, and dropped an ice cube in it. “Might as well just power through, it’s too late to drop it now.”
“Yeah, you’ve got that right. I can’t afford the F if I want to keep my scholarship. And you know Aunt Electra wouldn’t like it if I just quit school altogether.” Maggie reached into her pocket, fingers brushing along the weird little paperweight. Little tingles still danced across its surface as if it was holding onto static electricity, and it still seemed warmer than it should have been from her body heat.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Were you thinking about quitting?”
“Yeah. I thought I could help out here more. But I’m pretty sure Aunt Electra would flip.” Maggie frowned, staring into space thoughtfully before she finally just shrugged. Aunt Electra was big on education, having never gotten much of one herself. When Maggie had qualified for the scholarship to the local university, her mother and Aunt Electra had jumped on the opportunity, talking it up like she’d be crazy not to take it.
Not that she knew what she wanted to do with her life.
“Well... you could always go into philosophy, or... what is it Bobby is doing again? Exobiology? Xenoarchaeology? Some kind of ology. You could go into something like that.”
Maggie laughed, shaking her head at the very thought. “Not a chance. I may not know what I want to do, but I know studying aliens isn’t it. Maybe I could be a writer.” She took another drink of her milk and let out a sigh. “Is there any apple pie left?”
“Nope, sold the last slice to our wizard friend. Apparently he wanted to celebrate his party defeating the big bad or something like that. I bet Electra has some at home though. You know how she is.” Becca tactfully didn’t say anything about Maggie being a writer, they both knew that she couldn’t write worth a damn.
“True....” And if she didn’t have apple pie, then she would have something else delicious. Maggie downed the last of her milk, straightened from the counter, and set the glass in the dishwasher. “Are you going to be alright until Aunt Electra comes in?”
“Of course, all the troublemakers have passed out by this time. Are you going to be okay getting home?”
“It’s not that far, and remember: all the troublemakers have passed out.” Maggie laughed and shouldered her backpack. “I’ll be fine.”
“Good. Be careful, and get some rest. Or else you may start seeing UFOs like all the other crazies.” Becca waved a hand at the news channel, just a repeat of what had been on earlier. It was a 24/7 station, but that didn’t mean they had new stuff in the middle of the night.
With a grin, Maggie just shook her head and headed for the door. “Not going to happen. Whatever aliens are out there aren’t likely to have any interest in Earth. We’re the ghetto of the galaxy Becca, the kind that you lock your doors and roll up your windows when you drive through.”
The door swung closed on Becca’s laughter, leaving Maggie alone in the cold, peaceful silence that only came in the earliest hours of morning or the latest hours of the night. That time of day when you could almost imagine you were the only one awake. She took a deep, cleansing breath of the crisp fall air, letting it out slowly so she could watch it fog the air in front of her.
No one had come to claim the little paperweight or whatever it was, and it sat heavy and warm in her pocket. Maybe it was a hand warmer? She tucked her hands in her pockets, brushing against the almost hot stone as she hurried down the street towards home. Maybe it just felt hot because it was so cold outside. Maggie ducked into a side alley that would cut the time between the cafe and home down by half. Her fingers curled around the trinket, enjoying the smooth warmth it offered. Whatever it was, she was starting to feel attached to the thing.
Her footsteps echoed eerily in the cold alley, and the wind tugged at her hair, trying to pull it from the scrunchie. She looked up between the buildings, seeking Orion again. But not a single star was visible in the night sky.
Maggie let out a disappointed sigh. There was something comforting about finding Orion, about seeing the stars in general. But she hadn’t expected to be able to see them, not with the weather report predicting snow flurries.
“Are you Maggie?” The voice that broke the peaceful silence was deep and masculine, carrying a heavy note of irritation and an accent that she didn’t recognize.
Maggie froze, a jolt of fear and surprise spiking through her chest. She stared at the dark figure that had appeared at the end of the alley, her eyes wide. She hadn’t noticed him before! In the darkness, it was hard to tell what the man looked like, other than he had broad shoulders and stood nearly a head taller than her. She glanced over her shoulder, back to the other end of the alley and the warm light of Main Street.
“Jesus! You scared the crap out of me! Can help you?” She took a cautious step back, trying to keep some distance between her and the stranger.
“My name’s Theseus. Your coworker at the laundromat said you had something of mine.”
“Something of yours?” She asked blankly, her mind taking its time to process his words. His name was familiar, but she couldn’t place from where. Was he in one of her classes? “Wait, do you mean that paperweight thing?”
“It’s not a paperweight!” The man snapped, taking a step towards her. It seemed like he took a moment to calm his voice before speaking again. “But it’s small, crystal, with what looks like a galaxy inside it. Do you have it?” Something else creeped into Theseus’s voice, desperation? Like an addict asking after drugs, or a student asking for an extension on an important test. He moved closer again, and alarm bells went off in her head, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and she glanced back towards Main St. It wasn’t that far away, she’d just feel better if she wasn’t alone with this guy.
“Yeah, just... it’s at the cafe. I can take you there.” Becca would be there, and her brother was a cop. She might just be being paranoid, but she did not want to be alone in this alley with this man.
“Liar!” The man snapped, and for a moment he loomed over her, close enough that she could smell the beer on his breath, and see the wild, desperate look in his eyes.
Maggie didn’t think, didn’t hesitate as her self-defense class kicked in and her pepper spray came up. Her keys jangled against the little bejeweled canister as she unleashed the spray on the man. She was so close that she could taste it, and some of it stung her own eyes.
But the man got it all the worse. He let out a scream and stumbled back, rubbing at his eyes as they began to water.
For a moment Maggie stood there, stunned that that had worked. Then her brain kicked back into gear, and she spun, running back down the alley and into the light of Main Street.
She didn’t stop until she reached the cafe, the air like knives of ice in her chest as she gasped for breath, her face red from the backlash of the pepper spray and the cold night air. She slammed the door closed behind her, fumbling a moment with the seldom-used lock before it clicked into place.
Safety.
The warm smell of cookies and coffee filled the air, the news replaced by Becca’s favorite podcast, a weird mix of true crime and ghost stories. Hands shaking, Maggie started to pull the curtains over the windows, she didn’t want that man to see in if he came this way.
“Hello, welcome to The Study Hall- Maggie? What are you doing back here?” Becca came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a well-worn towel. “I thought you were headed home.”
“I was.” Maggie backed away from the door, staring at it. Waiting for it to start shaking like in the horror movies as the big baddie tried to get at the helpless college students.
But it never did.
The warm air from the cafe heating vents set the curtains to swaying slightly. But no hammering knock came, no yelling demands. Nothing. Had he given up that easily?
Becca frowned, noticing the shaking in her voice and hands, the way Maggie dropped down into a chair by the little electric fireplace. “Mags, are you alright?”
“I-” Maggie paused, looking at the pepper spray bottle still clutched in her hand. “I’m- I was attacked. Or was about to be attacked?” The shaking got harder to ignore, and she very carefully set down the spent pepper spray, tears pricking her eyes. Maybe it was just a big mistake? But the man had been so much bigger than her, and he had seemed so desperate! Maybe she should go apologize?
No, that was stupid. Even if it was a mistake there was no way she was going back out there alone.
“You were what?” Becca dropped the towel and glanced towards the door. “Where? Did you recognize them? Stay right there I’m calling Ross.”
She didn’t wait for Maggie to answer any of her questions, her phone already in her hand and dialing. “Lock the door.”
Ross was Becca’s big brother, and the youngest police officer in their little town. He would be working right now, he always worked nights. Nothing ever happened at night, nothing ever happened in this town.
Except for now.
She had been attacked. She had pepper-sprayed a man! He had been drunk, crazy! It had been self-defense. Her mind rattled off the excuses, even with that seed of doubt in the back of her mind.
She should have just thrown the thing at him. But if she was completely honest, she didn’t want to give it back.
Maggie fumbled in her pocket and pulled out the paperweight that wasn’t a paperweight. What was so special about this that he had wanted it so bad? It didn’t look all that special, other than the fact that it was glowing.
Wait, had it been glowing before? And it was hot! “What the?”
The heat grew, and for some reason, she couldn’t let go of the crystal. It passed the temperature of normal hand warmers, the glow starting to pulse in time with her heart. She could barely hear Becca screaming her name, could barely hear her own screams. It felt like she was holding a hot baking pan!
No, like she was holding a star.
The light flared in one final pulse that blinded her, and then she was falling into the endless white light.
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