L'Labi stood in the middle of the forest as he stared up at the trees. He watched as a group of raccoons climbed between the trees. He was so concentrated on the animals as if trying to figure out what they were.
L'Labi directed his wrist towards the raccoon and returned his arm to face himself. An image of the raccoon appeared. He received information about the mammal but specifically that it wasn't the alien animal he was looking for.
L'Labi let out a sigh as he put his head down. He heard something in the distance and turned his head to see a little boy running through the forest. From where he stood, the boy was leaving his line of sight.
L'Labi tried walking into eye sight of the child but kept losing the boy's position. He had his wrist aimed at the child, trying to get a reading at what exactly he was. He lost the boy and his wrist never read what he was looking at.
There was movement from behind. L'Labi was slow to react due to the fact there was nothing on this planet that scared him. He turned and found two lifeforms which resembled a higher intelligence. He assumed these must be the Humans.
"Yo buddy," said Jimmy who was clearly startled to see L'Labi.
Standing next to Jimmy was Russell, who watched L'Labi curiously. "Hello officer. What has you out here in the middle of nowhere?"
L'Labi couldn't understand what they were saying. He looked at his wrist and dialed something. With his technology, he was able to give himself the ability to communicate with the Earthlings.
"Sorry, I missed that," said L'Labi. "What did you say?"
"What has you out here on this fine day officer?" asked Russell.
"I got a call about a sighting of a strange animal," answered L'Labi.
"You guys check on stuff like that?" said Jimmy.
"Clearly things are slow," said Russell as a joke. He turned to L'Labi who had a no nonsense look on his face. "No offence officer."
"None taken," said L'Labi. "Have you two seen any strange looking creatures around?"
"No," said Jimmy and Russell simultaneously.
"Have you seen a child running through here?" asked Jimmy. Russell smacked Jimmy on the arm. "He's my nephew," said Jimmy, trying not to come off suspicious. "He likes to run off on me."
"A child?" repeated L'Labi as he made the connection with what he saw earlier. "Yes, he ran in that direction." L'Labi pointed towards the last place he saw the boy.
"Thank you officer," said Russell, surprised the officer would share this information with them so easily. "We should get going. Frank is probably waiting for us." Russell pulled Jimmy along as they walked away.
"Have a nice day officer," said Jimmy as they left.
L'Labi watched the two men go in the opposite direction of the child. He was confused as to why they would go that way if they were looking for the child. Could there be a vantage point in the area they were heading to. That was something L'Labi could use, so he decided to follow them.
***
Sam had run himself out and had to stop by a tree. He had his back to the tree trunk, trying to catch his breath. Nubi sat in front of him with a concerned look on his face. He was worried for Sam, but it didn't compare to how scared Sam was.
Sam had just finished witnessing a murder and the killers saw him. He was in great danger and he knew it. He saw plenty of mob movies to know people who witness murders become the next target for the killers. Get rid of the witness and no one can send them to jail. These types of people don't care if the witness is an adult or a child. They're coming to kill him.
Nubi licked Sam's finger, snapping him out of his thoughts. He rubbed his head on Sam's hand as he tried to comfort him. Sam stroked Nubi's head and it did help them both. Sam calmed down and steadied his breathing. He even began to think straight. Sam would be alright if he could get away. He'll pretend he never saw anything. If no witness ever comes forward, he'll be alright.
"Nubi," said Sam. "Can you tell me if there's anyone following us?"
Nubi took a step away and ran off.
"No!" said Sam before covering his mouth for being too loud. "Come back," he whispered. Sam could feel himself beginning to panic. He put his hand up to his chest as if gripping for his heart.
Nubi returned and shook his head.
"Huh?" said Sam as he felt himself calming down again. "Why are you shaking your head? Oh, is there nobody following me?" Sam looked behind the tree and noticed there was no one in sight.
Nubi walked up to Sam, putting his head under Sam's hand.
"Good job Nubi." Sam patted Nubi on the head. " You're more like a dog than a raccoon. I'm going home. Want to come along?"
Nubi nodded his head and Sam smiled.
"Good. It's nice." Sam stood up. "There's plenty of food for you to eat. All types actually. I'm sure you'll love it."
Nubi couldn't hide his excitement as he jumped up and down. He was even drooling.
"Okay Nubi, we have to be very careful. The goal is to make it to my house without being seen by those men from earlier. I'm counting on you for that part of the mission."
Nubi gave him a low growl in agreement.
"Alright, let's get moving then."
Sam and Nubi sneaked through the forest as they made their way to the street. They were being very careful. Anytime Sam would hear anything strange, they would drop to the ground. They had two scares but it was only a squirrel and a bird. Sam and Nubi managed to make it to the street without being seen.
"We made it Nubi," said Sam. "Halfway there actually, but we got away from the danger."
A car pulled up in front of Sam and Nubi. They had no idea what was going on when the three men came out of the vehicle. Sam froze at the sight of them.
"See," said their leader, Frank. "Was that so hard?"
"That's why you're the boss," said Russell.
"Now what?" asked Jimmy. "Do we threaten the kid?"
Frank pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Sam.
"Woah boss," said Jimmy. "What are you doing?"
"What does it look like?" said Frank as he kept his gun trained on Sam.
"But he's just a kid."
"He's seen too much. We have no other choice."
"Damn it boss," said Jimmy as he turned his back on Sam. "This is harsh. I don't think I can watch."
"Sorry kid," said Frank.
Sam couldn't move. He was frozen in fear and Nubi could sense his feelings. Nubi jumped in front of Sam and stood guard against the men.
"What the hell is that?" asked Russell as he looked down at Nubi.
"Huh," said Jimmy as he turned around. "What are you talking about?" He noticed Nubi standing in front of Sam. "Is that a raccoon?"
"Looks like it but I've never seen a blue one before," said Russell.
"What's it doing?"
"I think he's protecting the boy."
Jimmy laughed. "Isn't that cute." He was near the raccoon as he got a good look at the animal.
"Jimmy," said Frank, who still had his gun aimed towards Sam. "Get out of the way. I'm going to end this right now."
"Sorry sir," said Jimmy as he backed away.
Nubi roared, causing Jimmy to fall back while Frank and Russell flinched. Frank accidentally fired his gun, but missed Sam and Nubi. Sam took advantage of the excitement and went for Nubi. He lifted Nubi into his arms and ran into the forest before Frank and his men could recover.
"He's getting away!" yelled Russell.
"Then go after him," said Frank as he ran into the forest, Jimmy and Russell following.
Sam ran as fast as he could, which wasn't very fast. He was carrying too much weight with Nubi and eventually fell to his knees while Nubi rolled down a hill. Sam was about to stand up when Frank shot close to him.
"That'll be enough of that," said Frank as Jimmy and Russell came up behind him. "Damn it boy, you're way too much trouble." Frank caught his breath as he looked towards his men. He returned his attention towards Sam. "But you are just a boy. I am sorry for this." He aimed his gun at Sam. "I'm very sorry."
The gun fired but it wasn't Sam it struck. Right at the last second, Nubi had jumped in front of Sam. He was shot in the chest and landed at Sam's feet. Sam went to Nubi whose chest was coming up and down. He whined as Sam cried over him.
"Look at that," said Jimmy. "He was protecting the boy."
"So he was," said Frank as he walked up to Sam and put his gun up to his head.
Sam kept his head down, waiting for the gunshot. Instead, he heard a weird zapping noise. Sam's eyes were closed as two more zaps came. Finally, Sam opened his eyes and looked up. Frank had a large hole in his chest. Sam looked towards Jimmy and Russell and saw they also had holes in their chests. The three of them fell as Sam heard something moving in the brush.
Out of the bushes came L'Labi who was putting his raygun back in its holster. He went over to Sam and Nubi and stood over them. He gave Sam a nod as he knelt down and put a hand over Nubi's chest.
L'Labi lifted Nubi off the ground and held him close to his chest. "He saved your life so I'll save his," he said to Sam.
Sam gave him a nod and L'Labi patted him on the head.
***
L'Labi was back on his spacecraft which was floating over the Earth. Nubi was in a medical pod, healing from his wound. L'Labi stood in front of the medical pod as it read patient will make a full recovery.
L'Labi went over to the captain's chair and brought up his computer. A picture of the alien animal was on the screen and L'Labi typed something onto the computer. Over the picture of the alien animal came the words COMPLETED.
L'Labi put his legs up on the dashboard and leaned back in his chair, falling asleep in a matter of seconds.
***
Three days had passed since the incident in the forest. Sam heard the news of the dead bodies found in the forest and the police seemed to believe the mafia were behind the killings. Sam's parents made it a priority to drive their son back and forth from school just to be safe.
Sam had assumed the worst for Nubi, but he was grateful for the stranger's help.
Sam sat in his backyard, daydreaming. He was looking to the clouds when he noticed something strange. He couldn't distinguish what it was, but suddenly heard a familiar growl. He looked forward and saw Nubi standing in his yard. The two embraced as the spacecraft left the Earth's atmosphere.