| ||||||||
The maybe-human had asked him to return when and if his fears ever came to be reality. They had: the humans were coming to attack.
So where then was the bastard? He couldn't have forgotten, it would have been simply evil of him to do so and leave the Rogers to death. Then again, there had been a certain aura about the being that had warned Roger against trust. Perhaps Grey truly was a demon as he'd briefly mentioned.
Abruptly, after eleven minutes, the door opened. Grey glared at Roger through dead eyes. "What?"
Roger momentarily forgot himself. "What took you so long?"
Grey frowned and gritted his teeth, turning and walking back into his perpetual darkness. "I couldn't hear you," he grumbled. "Come in."
Roger didn't believe that. There had been no noise from behind the door-nothing to mislead one's ears. He studied the maybe-human for clues. The alien concluded Grey looked unwell. Deciding to make his observation known, Roger said, "Damn, you look like hell. What happened?"
Grey shrugged and collapsed in a chair that had been there since he'd moved in. "Too many people making too much noise."
"Oh," Roger listened. The entire apartment was silent, the only audible sound was that of the heater turning on. Perhaps, the Roger reasoned, Grey had heard people outside.
Or perhaps he was simply insane.
Grey glanced at the Roger from his place in the shadows as if he'd read the alien's thoughts. "Why are you here, anyway?"
Roger suddenly recalled his purpose for coming. "You told me to come back if it happened. Well, it did happen. You were right. There's six human cruisers rotating around our heads right now packed with homicidal infantry men."
"Oh," Grey glanced ceiling-ward accusingly. "So that's what it was."
Roger looked upwards as well but only the non-functioning ceiling lamp met his gaze. Shaking his head, he resumed speaking with the Inhuman. "You said when they'd come, we'd meet them. Aren't we going?"
Grey rolled his eyes at the alien. "We don't know where they're situated."
"Why should that matter?"
"We hold the blocking position. When they hit, we'll be able to hit back faster and harder." The demon was explaining slowly, as if Roger was an idiot. "We have to wait."
"But how will we know when-"
"It'll be obvious," Grey growled. "Now hide."
"Hide?"
The maybe-human walked towards the window and faced the drawn blinds with his eyes closed, as if instead of feeling the rays of sunlight on his face, he felt rays of darkness. His voice was low and menacing. "If you value your life, you will hide."
Roger said nothing else and obediently left the demon in order to hide.
