It was amazing how much he’d missed the simple things. Hot showers, toothbrushes, privacy.

As he washed off the weeks worth of dirt and sweat, James tried not to think about all that had happened. He’d demand answers from Maze when he got out of the shower but for now he just wanted to enjoy the deliciously warm water and blissful quiet.

When he finally dragged himself out of the shower almost an hour later James found Maze standing in front of the wall he’d covered in his paintings. He used to be able to remember how he’d felt and what had been happening when he painted every single one of them but now … It was as though being gone for so long and being unable to paint had erased all of the memories. He could always create new paintings and new memories but there were so many he had wanted to remember. Gone.


 “Shower’s free if you want one,” he called as he walked up behind Maze. The alien had dropped his bag on the floor by the door and removed his gloves in the time it had taken James to shower. “I think Owen might have left some clothes in the drawers under the television if you need something to wear?”

“What are these?” Maze asked quietly, still staring at the wall.

“Paintings,” James shrugged. How long had be been on Earth? Had he never seen a painting before?
“You created them?”

“Um yeh,” James glanced at Maze out of the corner of his eye, the alien looked as though he couldn’t bring himself to tear his eyes away from the wall of paintings. James didn’t think his work was that good. “They’re not great but they—”

“They are magnificent,” Maze cut him off, sounding almost aggressive. “They tell a story.”


“They do?” James frowned up at the paintings. And here he’d thought they were all just random paintings he’d done over the years.

“I will shower,” Maze announced suddenly and without another word he turned and headed for the bathroom, stopping briefly to grab some clothes out of the bureau on the way.

James checked his emails as Maze showered. There were hundreds of them. Mostly from his family, mostly demanding to know where he was. He’d hate to see his cell phone messages … if he actually knew where his phone was. He’d had it on him when they’re taken him from the university so who knew where it was now. He’d have to get a new one eventually.

He quickly typed up an email to his mother to assure her he was ok and he would explain everything next time he saw her. He begged her not to come to his place because he didn’t want her to get hurt, and promised to come see her as soon as he was able.


He didn’t bother explaining about Maze, the other purple aliens, the facility he’d been kept in, or the fact that he was once again trapped in a small room … that was just too much information for an email.

James was just about to grab a drink of juice from the bar fridge when Maze came out of the bathroom. He took one look at the alien and burst out laughing. The pants were ridiculously short, the tee was way too tight and coupled with the angry look on Maze’s face, James was helpless to stop the laughter that had him doubled over and clutching at his stomach.

“You realise I could kill you where you stand,” Maze growled, baring his teeth. This only served to make James laugh harder. He looked like a cranky green toddler! “I hate you.”

“Then why did you bother to save me?!” James gasped between breaths as he continued to laugh. The whole situation was suddenly ridiculously funny to him.

“I should have just left you there to die,” Maze muttered as he stalked past James and grabbed his bag off the floor.



At the sound of the word ‘die’, James suddenly sobered. “They weren’t really going to kill me where they?”

“Yes,” Maze said flatly without turning around. “If they had known who you were, they wouldn’t have hesitated to use you and then kill you.”

“What do you mean if they knew who I was?” James frowned. “You owe me some answers and I want them now.”

“You’re right,” Maze nodded and turned around, gesturing to the desk chair. “You should sit down…”