Free The Hipster From Outer Space (The Hipster Trilogy Book 1) by Luke Kondor

fire. Her skin started to flake and then went from red to black before a single spark of fire lit up from her fingertips.
    She was now screaming. But at the sight of the fire the crowd took a step back.  
    The Asian man emptied his bottle of water on her, but it did nothing. The flames fanned out, covering her arms and finding their way to her hair.  
    “CASHIER TWO PLEASE.”
    All she heard were the flames in her ears. She may have heard something about an extinguisher, but the fire exploded out of her. Erupting out of every orifice.
    Strangely, she was still alive.
    Yes, she was in indescribable agony, but she was alive nonetheless.
    She was well awake when the cooling foam of the extinguisher hit her skin.
    She was well awake when the crowd looked down at her burning remains on the floor.
    She couldn’t say anything so she lay there in her charcoaled state and the only noise coming from her was the quiet sizzling of overcooked meat.

    ***

    Hannah woke up. She was naked. Her face under the covers. She sat up and the duvet dropped to her shoulders. The spice of the curry was still on her tongue. Still sizzling. In fact, her entire body was sizzling. She looked at the calendar. It was Friday.  
    Still no sign of Simon.

Moomamu The Thinker

    “Wake up now, Thinker. Gary is hungry.”
    Moomamu woke for a second to see Gary sitting next to his head, staring at him. He fell back to sleep but was awoken again by a sharp pain on his nose. Opening his eyes, he saw Gary biting down on his face.
    “Aaah, you little …” He brushed him off and sat up.
    “Finally,” Gary said. He flicked his tail up at Moomamu and jumped down from the mattress. “Gary is hungry.”
    “So,” Moomamu said, rubbing his eyes. “Why does that concern me?”
    Gary turned around and looked at Moomamu like he wanted to pummel him for dominance.  
    “You’re a Tall One. A hairless giant. That’s how it works.” Gary tilted his head. “You give Gary food.”
    Moomamu felt worse than he did the day before. His human body wasn’t fully functional. Perhaps it was the lack of nourishment or maybe he hadn’t slept for long enough, or maybe his all-too-powerful consciousness was too much for a puny human vessel. His belly wobbled. He was definitely hungry.
    “And what do I get out of this arrangement?” he asked.
    Gary’s gaze drifted up to the ceiling. Moomamu followed his eyes but couldn’t see anything.  
    “Thinker gets Gary’s company. Thinker gets Gary’s knowledge. And Thinker gets this.”
    Gary jumped back on the mattress, walked over to Moomamu and pushed his body against Moomamu’s hand and started to vibrate. His whole body shook. Loose tufts of fur stuck to Moomamu’s arm. The vibrating sound was actually comforting. He saw why humans liked feline companions.  
    “I don’t care for that nonsense,” he said. “But I do want to go home. You said last night that you could help me?”
    “Did Gary say that? Gary doesn’t remember.”
    “But you told me last night!” Moomamu pointed at Gary. “Listen feline, if you were lying to me I might just have to …”
    “Gary might remember if he had some food,” he interrupted.
    “Ah,” Moomamu smiled. He let his hand fall back to his side. “Well played, feline … well played.”
    Moomamu got out of the bed. The little box room seemed smaller. It was a horrible little thing. It must be what the humans felt like when they were buried in their wooden boxes after they died.
    He walked to the smaller box in the corner of the room and opened its doors. Inside were piles of neatly folded human clothing. A metal bar ran along the top where clothing hung from metal hooks. He found a brown fabric coat. It felt soft to the touch. He put it on. And felt a little warmer.
    Walking over to the empty computing-device screen he looked at himself — the same pale doughy face with moist orifices, rolled in dark brown hair with its misplaced patch of grey on the side— still a human.