In Alien Hands: Meeting Merle

Lost pt.2 - Holli

"Merle?" I said it again, listening closely in hopes that I'd hear my dog-man, but no such luck.

I began to panic. Where was he? Did he abandon me? My eyes teared up just thinking about it. I'd lived with Merle for less than two weeks, but you need to understand that had spent weeks in that cage before I met him. I knew there was no going back to Earth, and I definitely didn't want to go back to that place.

Merle had left me in the fenced in area, but what if another dog-man found me? Would they take me to him or the cage again? I shivered just thinking about it. It was crowded, filthy, and the food was terrible. I thought about finding a way home, but the thought of that thing that flew past me so fast earlier terrified me. If I was hit by that thing, I'd definitely be dead.

My tears fell freely as I thought about this. Merle wouldn't abandon me, would he? Had I done something wrong? No, no. He wouldn't. He'd never, right? Definitely not. Maybe he was lost? I resolved to search for my dog-man before I jumped to any rash conclusions.

My face was pink, my nose red, and my cheeks were wet with tears. My arms were crossed over my chest as I stumbled to the grassy hill, the way I came. My crying had mostly stopped, but my breath still shuddered in the after shocks Of my sobs .

I reached where the toy that startled me had been, still no Merle. At the top of the hill, I could see quite a distance, my vision blocked mostly by the huge trees. I didn't see as much as movement anywhere, let alone my dog-men. I called out Merle's name again, hoping he'd hear me, but the area remained still.

I stumbled down the hill, struggling to keep my footing on the slippery, alien grass. I managed, though, making it to the bottom without falling. I wandered into the forest, looking all around for any sign of Merle or Green. I walked and walked through the forest, calling Merle's name intermittently.

Once I reached the fence, I followed it around until I found a small lake. It was quite beautiful, the water sparkled and alien Lillies decorated the surface. Large flat stepping stones poked above the surface of the water, a quick test found them sturdy enough to hold my weight easily without shifting.

I went from stone to stone to quickly cross the lake, watching odd little fish swim around beneath the surface, they shined like precious metals while they made their way around the lake and foraged for food among the bottom of the water.

I kept following the fence after I passed the lake, keeping one hand on it hesitantly. This side of the fence appeared to have more woods on the other side, unlike the neighborhood we had walked through to get inside. The next area I stumbled upon appeared to be a giant playground, twice the size of Merle's. I considered climbing to the top to get a higher viewing angle, but I remembered how long it took me to get to the top of the one at home and decided against it. It'd take me ages to get to the top.

I was lost for at least an hour, my legs ached from walking so far. I wanted to lay down and sleep by the time I made a full circle, reaching the Bench again. I pulled myself on top of the bench, sniffling again, and laid down. I faced the rest of the park, wiping away blurry tears. I slowly closed my eyes, my exhausted body making me fall asleep despite the stress I was under

"Holli" I heard a dog-man's voice and immediately woke up from my light sleep.

I opened my eyes to see a dog-man, but it wasn't mine. It was a stranger, someone I had never seen before. I got up and tried to bolt, but the stranger managed to grab me before I could get more than I few feet. He grabbed me bodily, lifting me off the ground until I was several feet away from the ground.

He held me close to his body, ignoring my cries. He mumbled similar words to the ones Merle said to me when I was scared, which I had always assumed to be an attempt at comforting me. I tried to push away from his chest, but he wasn't letting up. He didn't hurt me, just held me too close for comfort.

He headed down the hill, where several other dog-men stood. It was a female with two pups, both of which seemed incredibly excited before running off into the forest. The female reached over and touched my hair, ignoring my cries and attempts to escape.

The dog-woman (for lack of a better term) took out what I believed to be a cell phone, putting it up to her face and speaking. She spoke for ten or twenty seconds at the most before putting it down and leading my captor further away from the bench. I continued to struggle and cry, pushing on him and trying to kick without much luck.

I continued to struggle until I felt more alien hands move around me, more shushing and comforting sounds abound. I struggled more, my eyes so blurred from the tears I couldn't see who had taken me. I didn't calm until the voice began talking to me again, speaking softly and stroking my face. I reached up and rubbed my eyes, opening them properly to see Merle.

When I saw my dog-man's face, I stopped immediately, wrapping my arms around his neck and holding as tight as I could. I tucked my face into his neck, mumbling to him about being abandoned. He kept talking to me, bouncing lightly like a mother trying to calm a crying baby.

I looked over to the dog-men who had brought me to Merle and wished they'd understand me if I thanked them. I felt silly for putting up such a fight, they had known my name, how else would they learn that without having spoken to my dog-man? I gave them as much of a smile as I could through the tears before I tucked myself into his neck.

Once I had calmed, Merle put me down and wiped the tears off my face with a soft scrap of fabric. He smiled at me, petting my hair along with Green, who stayed silent for most of our reunion. I gave the kneeling Merle another hug, squeezing him as tight as I could.

I was more than finished at the park, so Merle seemed content to take me home. He picked me up and carried me home. My legs ached from all the walking, I didn't want to walk another inch anyways.

Published 6/2/19
Thank you so much for reading!