”My voice took on a darker tone. “Not at school, no. But I have been bullied. Not anymore though.”Salman raised his head and looked at me, then ...et out a sad laugh. “Of course, who would take on a guy with guns like yours? And that’s another reason – you suddenly come back to school this year hot as fuck. You were totally out of my league.”“God, you sound like a straight guy,” I said in fake disgust. A straight guy I know too well…“I felt so confused,” Salman droned on, “I wanted you and felt. From what we've gathered so far, they are a highly adaptable, blood sucking insect like creatures that seem to be immune to almost all known poisons and feed much like our native bear, consuming massive quantities of blood at a time to sustain them throughout their travels. They are an aggressive race, who rarely develops any new technology, on their own, preferring to simply acquire it from other life forms during battle. Their ships are so far almost indestructible as is their defense. ..”“Crap, there he goes with the hopeless romantic shit,” I heard Micah say.“Happy Birthday, Dear Elizabeth! Happy Birthday, To You... !!!” With a deep breath, Elizabeta paused a moment, then blew out the candles on her cake as we all clapped.The last four years had been busy. Since my first meeting her, she had grown a little and was blossoming. She also had taken a BIG interest in swimming, and was on one of the community swim teams. There was a City League that in the summer, encouraged the. Jake recovered quickly, though. He slid out from the booth and took me around the shoulders with a feeling he was suddenly wanting to protect me. He introduced me to his two associates and explained how they knew each other. Tim and Blake. Just first names. They slid out of the booth, too. I shook hands with each of them and I could see by the looks between them that they were dying to say something, but were resisting.“Okay, listen … you guys take a few minutes and finish up. I’ll go in.