The Gods Among Us

Chapter 19: Hungry

Alieen:

"Alieen," Alfred says, running around the counter but stopping when he sees me. "What is going on? Why is A burning like that?"

I can't answer Alfred right now. Right now, at this very second, A is burning. He is on the floor, rolling around, burning, and smoking. The holy water is like fire to him.

"Wait," I say, turning to look at the kitchen sink. "The holy water is like fire to him. Maybe, just maybe, I can put it out like it is fire."

Not wasting another second, I run out and grab the sink's faucet. Pulling it out, I turn on the sink and spray A with the water. Surprisingly, it seems to be working. The normal sink water washes away the holy water and after a few seconds, A stops smoking. He pushes himself up before shaking his head.

"Thank you," he pants. A stays still for a while, but without any warning, he walks up and grabs the sink faucet right out of my hand. The faucet is still on so he pours water into his hand and starts to drink it. Literally pouring the water from his hand into his mouth, Alfred stops him after his third handful and gives him a water bottle.

"Here," Alfred says, "Take this. Meanwhile, here Alieen."

Alfred give me the sink faucet. The second I grab it, I turn it off and place it back. While my back was turned, Alfred wandered away somewhere. About to go looking for him, I stop when I see Alfred come back in with a mop and bucket in his hand.

"Okay," he says, dropping the bucket. "I have so many questions right now, but I'll ask them later. Right now, right, right now, I am going to clean this up. While I do this, you two think of how to explain what I just saw. Got it?"

"Got it," I say with a sigh. I look toward A as he finishes the water bottle.

"Got it," he says while panting. "We, well I will try and explain everything. I seem to be doing that a lot lately."

I could tell Alfred is confused about what A said. There is literally a question mark floating above his head, but he puts it in the back of his mind and starts to mop up the kitchen floor. It takes a while but eventually the kitchen floor is clean again. It's sparking, and better yet, it's dried.

"Okay," Alfred says after wiping his sweaty forehead. "I'm done with that."

"Awesome," I say while sitting at the counter with A. Lending over, I hit A on his arm. Turning back to look at me, I nudge my head at our fridge. "Come on A. We talked about this."

A looks at me before turning to Alfred, and then back at me. He lends closer to me.

"Are you sure about this," A asks. "I mean, seeing me burning up because of holy water is one thing, but seeing me use my telekinesis power. That is something else."

"I know," I reply, "But at this point, there's really no point in hiding it. I mean, how can we explain the whole holy water mess?"

"I could try and erase Alfred's memory."

"Please don't do that. Please just leave Alfred and everyone else's memory alone. Just, use your telekinesis to grab what I asked for."

"Fine. I am still a little confused why you asked me to grab this but okay."

"Alfred," I say, "Watch this."

Alfred watches as A opens his hand and starts to make circles with it. This time, I can see Alfred's eyes shoot out as the fridge door opens by itself. He stares at the fridge as the milk and eggs start to float in and out.

"Where did you say it was," A asks, moving some leftover lettuce in a bag.

"Second shelf from the top," I reply. "It's behind Leia's soy milk. Oh, that reminds me. The soy milk expired soon so Leia had to finish it fast."

The two turns to look at me and I clear my throat.

"Uhh, yeah," I say, scratching the back of my head. "The leftover pastrami fries are in there. Can you move them to the microwave?"

A nods his head and pulls the cold fries out before opening and putting them into the microwave. He set the timer for a minute while putting everything back into the fridge. Five minutes later, there is a takeout container filled with steaming pastrami fries.

"You hungry," I ask.

Alfred nods his head and grabs a fork. He turns the container around and starts to eat the fries while drinking cup after cup of apple juice. While he eats and drinks, A and I just look at him. By the time Alfred takes a breath, we're out of juice and there isn't even a handful of French fries left.

"Better," I ask.

"A little bit," Alfred says after swallowing a mouthful of meat and French fries. "Okay. I can think clearly. Well, not clearly but I have an open mind now."

"And it all took was meaty fries and juice," A says, pulling back his head.

"Alieen," Alfred yells, finishing the fries. "What exactly did I see? A, what exactly did you do and how exactly can you do that? Also, what was that earlier with the holy water?"

"Apparently," A starts, putting up his hands. "Uhh, holy water burns me."

"Holy water burns you," Alfred repeats. "What are you, a vampire?"

"I do not think so. I have never felt the need to drink human blood, and whether it is daytime or nighttime, I can leave my gas station."

"Gas station?"

"A lived in an abandoned gas station outside the city," I answer.

"Okay."

"About your other questions, what you saw is me using my telekinesis power. I used the power of my mind to get you your meaty fries and heat them up. By the way, those look very greasy and bad for you. I imagine it cannot be healthy to eat these."

"Uhh, hey Alieen," Alfred says while clearing his throat. "Uhh, can you come here for a second?"

Alfred waves his fingers and walks over to the side. I look at A for a few seconds before walking over to where Alfred is.

"So yeah," Alfred says with a clap of his hands. "I'm still a little lost. No. That's a lie. I'm still very lost. A had the power to move things with his mind but he doesn't have any memory of who he is. What's that about? Also, judging from your somewhat calm and not at all shocked face, I'm guessing you already know about this. How do you fit into all of this?"

I open my mouth to try and answer Alfred but nothing comes out.

"How do I fit into all of this," Alfred asked. I turn my head and try to think.

"How do I fit into all of this," I ask myself. I mean, I barely know A. I meet him about a week ago and already, I feel something I'm part of something bigger. Something massive. Between A himself and that mysterious shadowy figure that kidnapped me and then let me go, I feel so confused.

"Not to mention," Alfred goes on, "And this isn't me being mean or anything but I'm wondering what A talks the way he does. Have you noticed A never seems to use contractions? What's that about?"

"Uhh. I'm sorry Alfred. Did you say something? I got lost in thoughts."

Alfred sighs and rolls his eyes.

"Alieen, just answer this. Should we be, I don't know, concerned about the man in our kitchen with telekinesis power?"

"Listen Alfred. Despite not knowing anything about A, or about the full extent of his powers, I--"

"Wait, powers? With an S? Plural? A had more powers?"

I cut Alfred off with a swipe of my hand.

"Despite not knowing anything about A or his powers, I think he's safe. I mean, if he wanted to hurt us, he could have done so any time before. No. No. I think A is just lost and confused. He doesn't really know anything and needs a little help getting around."

"And somehow that responsibility falls onto you."

"I wouldn't say it falls onto me but I think I'm the only one that can help him."

"I wouldn't say the only one," Alfred says. He lowers his head and covers his eyes. "You dragged A here into our apartment and you're one of my greatest friends. You also tend to have a sense of these kinds of things. If A really is harmless and he does need help, then tell me what I can do to help?"