The Deep Beneath

by Natalie Wright

  She picked up her phone receiver and pushed a button. “Sewell, do you have any news about 9?”

  She listened as Sewell told her that they’d picked up the signal of the GPS tracker installed in the Hummer and that they were heading north on I-10. The vehicle was on the north side of Phoenix.

  “Good. Keep tracking them and get two copters ready. I want a dozen men suited up and armed with heavy artillery. Oh, and have them scramble a firefighting chopper. Yes, you heard me right. Make sure it’s loaded with water, not chemicals. Meet me at the train. Tell the captain of the squad that I’ll be meeting them at the hangar in fifteen.”

  Commander Sturgis would think of a plan to render the instructions on the grey thumb drive obsolete and, if she could not, then how to protect the latest phase of her work from being handed over to the inner circle. Meanwhile, it was time for her to go pick up her son.

  13

  BELL ROCK

  The Hummer kept a steady pace as it climbed the hills north of Phoenix. Tex stared out his window. Columnar cactus gave way to short trees and bushy grasses. Ian turned off of the wide highway and onto Route 179 at a sign that indicated Sedona was ten miles away.

  Erika, Jack and Ian continued to pepper Tex with questions about what he had referred to as the ‘alien war’, but he told them no more. He should not have revealed the information in the first place. Commander Sturgis would punish him severely if she knew that he had told them about the alien war. She’ll have to capture me first. But the further away from A.H.D.N.A. that they drove, the less afraid he was when he thought of the commander.

  He would have disclosed more if he had more to tell. Commander Sturgis claimed that the reason for creating the H.A.L.F.s was so that they could fight in an imminent war with a species from another planet. But she told him no more and, in keeping with his training, he did not ask questions. Tex knew next to nothing about the aliens that he was driving north to meet and this much he had told Erika.

  “So how do you know their intentions toward you are good? How do you know they won’t kill you?” she asked.

  “I do not.”

  “Then why did you hijack my car and force us to drive all night to meet them?”

  “Because I do not see how it can be worse than going back to A.H.D.N.A. Death at the hands of my alien cousins, if that is in fact what they have planned for me, would be preferable.”

  There was another possibility that he had briefly considered. What if the greys wanted him for experiments too? Tex decided that the thought likely arose from fear rather than reason, so he put it out of his mind.

  “Why Sedona? I mean, they could have landed out there in the desert and beamed you up,” said Jack.

  “They referred to a vortex. I do not know why it is necessary for me to be at a vortex, but that is part of the image they planted in my mind.”

  Ian swiveled his head to look back toward Erika. Tex was certain that Erika did not have telepathic ability, yet she seemed to be able to read Ian’s thoughts because she nodded in response to a mere look from him.

  In the arid environment, Tex was able to read some human thoughts. He could not speak to them telepathically, as their brains were not wired that way. But he could pick up images and words from them. And he knew that Erika Holt thought he was ‘mental’. He was unsure what the word meant in the context in which she thought it, but he was fairly certain that she did not hold a positive view of him.

  Tex had never cared about what the humans he encountered at A.H.D.N.A. thought of him. But it bothered him that Erika would think ill of him. Tex enjoyed being in her company and wished that she felt the same about him. As they drove north of Phoenix and up into twisty, hilly roads, he envisioned himself going aboard an alien ship. And in his imagination, Erika took his hand and went with him.

  He knew it was a flight of fancy. She probably wanted nothing more than to be rid of him and back to her life the way it was before she met him in the desert.

  Yet … there was something else playing in her mind too. Perhaps it was curiosity? That, yes. But maybe more. As he concentrated on her thoughts, he received a mental image of a compass. And the needle pointed east. Why is she thinking of a compass?

  Erika had curled herself toward the window to sleep, but he knew that she was awake. Her heart beat far too fast to be asleep.

  “Erika, may I ask you a question?”

  She turned toward him. “Sure, why not? I can’t sleep anyway.”

  “Why are you thinking about a compass?”

  Erika’s brows came together and her lips pressed tight. He did not need to read her mind to know that she was angry with him.

  “How dare you.”

  “I do not understand your anger.”

  “You were reading my mind? So not only did you hide this ability to stalk our thoughts, but you invaded my privacy as well?” Erika’s face was red, and Tex could feel an increase in her body temperature.

  “Erika, you may want to tone it down a little,” said Ian.

  “Why? Because he can kill me? You know what, go ahead. Kill us all and drive yourself to Sedona.” She turned her back toward Tex.

  “I do not think that you really want me to kill you.”

  “No shit, Sherlock. It’s called sarcasm. You claim to be half human. If that’s true, you need to start acting like it and use common courtesy. My thoughts are my own, got that? Stay the hell out of my head.”

  No one had ever suggested to Tex that he act more human. Up to that point, he had always been encouraged to act more alien. Commander Sturgis had, in fact, denigrated him for displaying what she referred to as ‘human traits’ such as crying when he was hurt or showing empathy toward his attendants.

  “I am sorry, Erika Holt. I did not know that it was wrong. I ask your forgiveness and that you please understand that until this night when I escaped A.H.D.N.A., I was unable to read thoughts due to the sedation.”

  Erika turned back to face him. Her brow had released its tightness and her mouth had softened. “I accept your apology.”

  “I am still interested about the compass.”

  Erika sighed and held out her arm with her palm facing Tex. Even though the moon had set and the night was black, Tex easily saw the image on Erika’s hand. It was a picture rendered in black ink of a compass with the needle pointing forever east. The image was done with a fine hand.

  “You have been marked too?” Tex rolled up the sleeve of the shirt he had taken from Nacho’s dead body. He held out his right arm to Erika. She looked down at it and squinted her eyes, straining to see. She found the switch to the overhead light and turned it on.

  “Ack,” said Ian. “Bright.” He put his arm up to shield his eyes.

  “Sorry,” Erika said. “The number nine? Why did you have that tattooed on your arm?”

  “I did not choose to have the mark. Each H.A.L.F. has their number inked on their right arm for identification.”

  “But I thought you said there were only two of you alive,” said Jack.

  “As far as I know. As I said earlier, I saw eight others that had come before me. The ones that had a fully developed body were marked with a number on their arm. And I have no way of knowing if there are more that were made after ten. Why did they mark you, Erika?”

  She laughed. “No one marked me, Tex. I chose to get this tattoo. I guess you could say I marked myself.”

  “Intriguing. Why a compass?”

  “It’s kind of a long story. Let’s just say it reminds me of my dad.” Erika turned away from him and looked out her window.

  Tex had never seen a human with such a mark. He had been ashamed of his mark, as it made him feel different. Other.

  Erika curled back up to the window and finally fell into a light sleep. Jack, too, found sleep at last. Tex required sleep but found himself unable to rest. His mind raced with thoughts and questions. He was on his way to a new home and a new future. At least he hoped he would have a future.

  But the more he
thought of a future with aliens that he did not know, the more he found himself wishing that his new companions could come with him. He could not call them friends. He had, after all, forced them to come on this journey with him. He knew it was unlikely they would ever consider him a friend. But he enjoyed being in their company. They spoke to him not as a test subject but as a … human.

  Tex glimpsed the first light rising over the hills to the east, filling the sky with the faintest blue. Tex had seen photos of sunrise in books on his computer, but none of the pictures could compare to what unfolded around him. It was as if the sky had been painted. After the light blue came a silvery lilac that faded to a blush of pink. Tex had lived in a grey world in which the only color he knew was the blue of his pants and the pale pink or dusky brown of human skin. He had not known that color could create such emotion in a person.

  My first sunrise on Earth. And my last. The thought brought with it the faintest hint of regret that he would likely never see such a beautiful sight again. But he had no choice but to follow the course of action he had set into motion the night before. Commander Sturgis was unrelenting. If he did not go with the greys, he would end up back at A.H.D.N.A.

  Jack put his hand on Erika’s leg and shook gently. “We’re almost there.”

  Erika stretched her arms over her head and yawned. “Did I sleep?”

  “A bit,” Jack said.

  In front of the Hummer, large dark specters loomed in the dim light. Silhouetted against the faint pink sky were large rock formations, still black against the ending night.

  “Do you know where to go, Jack?” asked Ian.

  “I think so. My mom and I used to come up here quite a bit. I never drove – she did – but I think I can remember how to get to Bell Rock. That’s the place, right, Tex?”

  “Yes.” Tex put the large sunglasses back on. The dark glass eased the eye pain that the bright light caused him.

  Jack told Ian which turns to take. There were no other cars on the road, and it took them only a few minutes to find the parking lot. “We’ll have to hike the rest of the way.”

  “You do not need to come with me. You are free to go. I do regret that I forced you, but I had no other choice. I thank you.”

  “You don’t think that I spent the whole night cramped up in a car, scared of your mind powers, and not get to see an alien spaceship, do you?” Jack asked. He opened his door and exited the Hummer.

  “I’m not missing this for the world,” Erika said. She, too, got out of the vehicle.

  Tex had assumed that the humans would be glad to be rid of him and immediately drive back to the place from which they came. A feeling of gladness overwhelmed him as they opened their doors and ambled out of the vehicle.

  Ian was the last out and stretched his arms overhead, then bent down to touch his toes. Jack twisted from side to side to ward off his stiffness. Perhaps Tex was used to sitting for long periods of time without movement. Or maybe his alien DNA provided a suppleness that the humans did not have, but he found himself neither stiff nor tight in his muscles.

  “The trail’s over there,” Jack said. He pointed to a wide dusty red-dirt trail cut into sage-green bushes and knee-high dried grasses.

  Ian walked toward the trail, and the other three fell in behind him. He set a swift pace, but Tex was more than able to keep up. They walked a narrow path of thick, rust-red dust through dense high-desert scrub of sage, piñon and juniper. The smell was crisp and clean in a way that he had not experienced even in the desert. He did not understand why, but the smell of the pine trees made him hungry. He wished he could somehow bottle the odor to carry with him to his new home.

  After about 400 meters, they began to ascend a steep trail to the top of Bell Rock. Erika panted heavily from behind him, and Jack’s breath too sounded labored.

  Tex reached out with this mind to evaluate Jack’s condition. His healing had done more than he initially realized. While there was still a bullet lodged in Jack’s muscle, it was encapsulated in scar tissue. He is fully healed. Tex determined that Jack’s breathing was ragged due to not being in as good of physical condition as Ian rather than due to his injury.

  “Hey, Tex, why don’t you use that teleportation trick that you did last night and pop us up to the top already?” asked Erika.

  “God, no,” said Ian. “That hurt like hell. I’ll walk, thank you.”

  “I would be happy to transport you to the top, Erika, but I cannot,” said Tex.

  “Oh. Is it because it took too much energy?” she asked.

  “Though it did require much mental energy and I am not certain I am strong enough at this time, that is not the reason. In order to translocate, I must have temporal knowledge of the coordinates to which I am going.”

  “But you didn’t have knowledge of the Hummer,” said Jack.

  “That is true. But I was in mental alignment with H.A.L.F. 10 and was thus able to triangulate my position. I have been seeking to attempt such an alignment with the greys but have been unable to establish a link. Do you understand?”

  “Yeah, I understand. I understand I’ve got to walk up this infernal hill and that I need to work out more often,” said Erika.

  As the sun peeked over the highest hill to the east, Tex planted his feet on the flat ground on the top of Bell Rock. Small piñon trees grew here and there, anchored into the rock. The chill air of morning surrounded him, and a slight breeze caused him to shiver.

  Erika pulled herself to the top last and leaned over, her hands on her knees, as she breathed hard.

  “Isn’t it beautiful?” Jack asked. His lips were pulled back in a wide smile.

  “Yeah, real freakin’ pretty,” Erika said between breaths.

  “Ah, come on, Erika,” said Ian. “Don’t be so cynical. I know you don’t have a poetic bone in your body, but you’ve gotta admit that this is one of the most beautiful places in the world.”

  “Yeah, it’s pretty. I’m just trying not to have a stroke here, okay? Give me a few minutes to catch my breath, and then we can all hold hands and sing Kumbaya.”

  “Not a bad idea,” Jack said. He winked at Erika as he said it. Tex did not know what winking one eye meant, but he wished that Jack was not standing so close to Erika.

  They stood and waited, but there was no sign of an alien craft. Tex searched his mind, remembering exactly the telepathic conversation he’d had with the aliens. He looked around and the scene matched what they’d shown him. He had the location right. He was certain of it. But doubt played at his mind. Patience. He shifted his focus to remembering everything he could about his first – and last – sunrise on Earth. The first light of morning made the orangey-red dust of the rocks glow as if lit from within. Their shoes and pants bottoms were completely covered in the thick, red dusty soil.

  “Where are your aliens?” Erika asked.

  “We must wait,” Tex said.

  “Yeah, be patient,” Ian said.

  “You know patience isn’t my strong suit.”

  “Really? I never noticed,” said Ian.

  Erika smacked Ian’s chest with the back of her hand. At first Tex thought that she had hit him out of anger and that they would end up in a fight. But Ian only smiled in response and did not appear angered. The entire exchange was incomprehensible to Tex. He would have asked them to explain, but he let go of his questions as he focused on awaiting further telepathic communication from the greys.

  Jack broke Tex’s concentration. “Maybe we should all go with him.”

  Tex, Ian and Erika swung their heads around to look at Jack. Tex could not tell if Jack was serious or joking.

  “Are you crazy?” Erika asked.

  “He’s just messing with us. Aren’t you? I mean, you’re not serious,” said Ian.

  “A little serious.”

  Erika hit Jack in the shoulder.

  “Ow,” he said and grabbed at his shoulder with his hand. “I’ve still got a bullet hole, remember?”

  Erika lightly t
ouched Jack’s shoulder. “Oh crap, I’m so sorry. I forgot. It seems like so long ago that that happened.”

  “Actually, it’s fine.” Erika removed her hand. “I was just messing with you. Strange. It doesn’t hurt much at all now.” Jack rubbed his shoulder and smiled.

  Seeing Erika touch Jack, Tex had a momentary desire to squeeze Jack’s windpipe. But when Erika removed her hand, the feeling passed.

  “What could possess you to suggest going with Tex?” Erika asked.

  “Terror.”

  “What can be more terrifying than traipsing across the galaxy in a spaceship with aliens?” Ian asked.

  “Commander Sturgis coming for us,” Jack said.

  14

  SO CLOSE

  Erika’s breath finally returned to normal. Tex walked the perimeter of the large flat top rock. “Wach’ya doin’, Tex?” she asked.

  “Inspecting,” he replied. He walked to the center of the rock, his back to them, and took off his cowboy hat and sunglasses. He laid them down on the dusty ground and removed the baggy shirt he wore. His skin was so pale it seemed to reflect the first light of morning. His torso was thin, revealing taut muscles on his arms and back. He took off his flip-flops and started to undo the button and zipper of his pants.

  “Hey, man, what are you doing?” asked Jack.

  “I must not wear clothes to go through the wormhole,” he said.

  “Wormhole? I thought there was going to be a ship to beam you up or something,” said Ian.

  “I did not say that,” said Tex. “You assumed that.” Tex ditched the pants he’d taken off of Nacho and the thin, blue pants he’d had on when he escaped A.H.D.N.A. He stood completely naked. He did not seem to care that the three of them stood nearby and gawked at his nude body.

  Erika couldn’t help but stare. Tex’s body appeared, at least from the backside, to be no different than any human. Yet there was something strange about it. He was thin. But the muscles in his arms and legs were well defined. Erika had never seen anyone so skinny look so strong. She wanted to touch his skin to see if it was as smooth as it looked. Erika wished that he was turned the other way. She was curious to see if he was an anatomically correct human male. I’ll never know.