"Why, you —!" said Martin, who looked to try to tackle Keyro, but the young alien was to his feet and running off into the woods too quickly. Martin gave chase. "Come back here!" yelled Martin. He followed the sound of Keyro's dashing through the dense leaves and bushes. Then, abruptly, there was a shriek and silence.
Martin froze in his tracks. That wasn't a good sound. He paised and listened. "Keyro?" No response. "KEYRO?!"
From off in the distance, Martin heard a distant, "Help!"
Martin swallowed hard. The woods looked a lot creepier all of a sudden. Martin didn't move. Then he heard it again. "Martin, help!"
Martin moved forward towards the sound of the cry. He couldn't tell what was ahead, but it seemed to be getting a bit lighter. "Keyro?" Martin said, but not as loudly as he should. He couldn't seem to work up any volume.
Then Martin emerged from the woods and almost wished he hadn't. There was about ten feet of grass, and then — nothing. It was a cliff. Martin could see more forest on the other side, but he was too scared to get close to the edge, and even as it was, it looked like a long way down. And there was no sign of Keyro. "KEYRO!" he screamed, not taking one step closer to the edge.
There was a long pause. "Martin!" came the response. "I'm — holding on here — just past the edge. I need your help!"
Martin got on his hands and knees and crawled to the edge of the drop-off, trembling every few inches. It took every ounce of courage the boy had to look over. It was a terrifying sight. Keyro had grabbed a thick protruding branch about a foot and a half down from the edge, which wasn't very far, but he had no way of climbing up. To even reach up and shift his entire weight too much, and would almost certainly cause the branch to break off. It was a good sixty or seventy feet down — probably more — to a pile of jagged-looking rocks. Not even Keyro could withstand that, and there would be little way to get the injured alien out of there. "A — Are you okay?" Martin squeaked.
"Yes, but I can't get back up myself." said Keyro, sounding as terrified as Martin felt. His voice trembled. "I need your help. You've got to reach down to me."
Martin backed away, terrified at the prospect. "Can't — Can't you bring yourself up the way you lifted my shirt off or something?"
"No!" cried Keyro, not angrily but now showing his own terror. "No one can do that! It doesn't work that way!"
Martin was close to tears. "Keyro — I–I don't think I can do that."
"Martin, I can't climb up on my own." said Keyro as calmly as he could. "You're the only one who can save me. Martin, please! You're my best friend. Please!"
Martin bit his lower lip. He thought about all the wonderful times he'd had with Keyro, including today. He recalled teaching the boy that it was okay to show affection for someone else that you really cared about. He balanced that against the terror he was feeling at the idea of lowering himself over the side far enough to reach Keyro.
Finally, with a determination he had never felt before — and wasn't entirely sure he ever wanted to feel again after he got through with this — Martin choked back his tears, and his fear, and launched himself at the drop-off and reached out to Keyro. He caught the boy's hands just as one of the rocks he'd been hanging onto broke away. The weight was nearly enough to drag Martin over the edge. Keyro did his best to move his feet against the edge of the drop-off even as Martin squirmed to back up and bring his friend back from the edge. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Keyro was brought back to safety. He and Martin collapsed into an exhausted, relieved, sweaty, grass-stained, dirty, soot-covered heap.
Keyro rolled off of Martin and both boys just laid there for a time. Martin started to cry. Keyro still looked shaken. Finally, though, the young alien turned to his friend. "Martin, I'm okay."
"My fault." sniffed Martin. "If I hadn't chased you…"
Keyro reached out to his friend. "I was going to suggest a race in that direction anyway. This isn't your fault. I was looking over my shoulder to make sure you were following when I fell. There's no need for — whatever's happening to you. The water from your eyes."
Martin sniffed again. "I'm sorry."
"Nothing to apologize for. Sometimes I wish — I could do that. Maybe I can and don't know it. It's just not how I was raised."
Martin tried to gain control of his crying, with little luck. "What about you? You couldn't do anything to save yourself? You know so much."
Keyro paused, looking at the confused boy.
"You're so smart and strong and everything…" said Martin in gasps between tears.
"Not — as much as you think." said Keyro, coming as close to tears as he ever had, and surprising himself at that. "Martin, I know how I act sometimes. That's just — how I am. How my people are. But I'm not that much stronger than you. And I'm no older."
"You're not?" said Martin, his tears finally calming.
"I guess Jahv and I never told you. We calculated it. We're the same age — ages — as you and your friends. The difference is — too small to even mention."
"So you really are — just another kid?" asked Martin.
"You doubted?" asked Keyro.
"Kinda."
"I'm also just another kid who's — well…" Keyro paused.
"What?" asked Martin.
"Terribly embarassing thing for a space explorer to admit." muttered Keyro.
"What? I won't tell anyone." promised Martin.
"I'm afraid of heights." said Keyro. "At least the high cliff drop-off type like that. I–I couldn't do anything because I was too scared to do anything."
Martin's eyes went wide. "But — but so was I!"
"Wrong." said Keyro. "You DID do something. You saved me. You were braver than me."
Martin's eyes went even wider. "I–I was — braver than you?!"
Keyro smiled and nodded. "And you saved my life."
As relief poured over both boys, Keyro started to giggle. Kneeling on the ground next to Martin as he did, it somehow became contagious. Finally Martin managed to snicker, "What's so funny?"
"Well," laughed Keyro, "I think we found where the edge of the woods is!"
That resulted in another round of laughter. Finally the two boys calmed down and slowly sat up. "You did save my life." said Keyro quietly. "Had I fallen, I'm not sure even I could have survived. I know one shows affection with a hug, but somehow that doesn't seem to be enough."
Martin smiled. "Well, there is one other thing. Have you ever heard of a kiss?"
Keyro thought about this. "I think I've seen them in some of the movies I've watched. But I've never really understood what they were for."
Martin leaned over and kissed Keyro. The boy looked stunned, then he grinned. "That was it? I — liked that. Is it permissible to combine that with a hug?"
Martin giggled. "Of course."
Keyro reached over, hugged Martin, and gave him a kiss. "Thank you for saving me, Martin."
Martin was left briefly too stunned and happy to think of a response. Both boys clambered to their feet. "Boy, look at us!" commented Martin. "We're filthy disasters!"
"Still not dirty enough, if you ask me." proclaimed Keyro. "Wanna hit the mud hole on the way back?"
Martin shrugged. "Why not? I don't think it's going to make that much difference."