by Ken Warner
“Yeah, screw that,” said Sydney. Just the thought of having to go through this mess herself was giving her anxiety.
They left the house, locking the door behind them, and returned to Brian’s car.
“Now we go from one haystack to another,” said Sydney. “I’ve got to find someone in San Juan with critical information about the abductions. But I have no idea where to start.”
“Exactly,” he agreed. “And there are over 300,000 people in San Juan, last I knew.”
“When I was researching abductions online, I found links to support groups,” Sydney told him. “The ones I saw were around here, but I’m sure that’s just because this is where I was when I ran the search. Maybe there’s something similar down there.”
“Good thinking,” he said approvingly. “I’ll arrange your flight for tomorrow morning! Let’s meet at my office at nine, and go over some things, and then I’ll drop you at the airport.”
“Sounds like a plan!”
Chapter Five: San Juan
Back at her house, Sydney found the news crews waiting for her. She was getting used to this by now and studiously ignored them on her way inside. She spent a few hours researching UFO and abductee groups in San Juan. She found one Facebook group in particular that looked promising. It was a closed group, so she applied to become a member. She had to answer a couple of questions about her experience with UFOs and agree to their rules that prohibited ridiculing or judging people because of their stories.
What set this group apart was that the members met together monthly—in person. This was an excellent place for her to begin her hunt.
She started packing for the trip but abruptly realized that she had no idea how long she’d be gone. She texted Brian.
“As long as you need,” came his reply.
“How helpful,” she said out loud.
In the end, she packed enough for a week’s stay. If she needed more than that, she was sure she could find a laundromat somewhere.
“And I’m definitely packing this,” she said to herself, throwing her favorite bikini in the suitcase.
The next morning, she met Brian at his office.
“We should be good to go,” he said as they sat at his table. “I’ve booked you a beachfront condo just outside the city.”
“What, you mean you don’t own any property in Puerto Rico?”
“Actually, I do…”
“Hah! I was kidding! How many houses do you have?”
“I’ve got this beautiful oceanfront villa down on the southeast shore… but it’s a little far from San Juan.”
“Well, the way I see it, you owe me a vacation, so once this job is done, you could always send me there!”
“Agreed,” he said with a grin. “Now, check this out.”
He turned his laptop so they could both see it, then opened a browser window with what appeared to be a satellite image.
“Google view of San Juan?” Sydney guessed.
“Oh, no,” said Brian. He zoomed way in on a random street in the middle of the city, and Sydney could see people walking up and down the sidewalk.
“Wait—video? You have satellite video?”
“Yes, and unlike Google, this is live.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“We did some work for a company that provides live satellite imagery to its clientele.”
“Like who, exactly?” she asked. “Who would have the kind of money a service like this must cost? And what would they be doing with this?”
“Ah, well, that’s part of their business model—no questions asked,” he said, zooming back out. “Anyway, this is what I wanted to show you.”
“What exactly am I supposed to be seeing?” she asked. He’d centered the image on Old San Juan, with the city's outskirts visible in all directions.
“It occurred to me that if our mystery man is from San Juan, then perhaps there might be some sort of alien camp there or something.”
“Oh? Where is it—I don’t see anything.”
“Precisely,” he said with a sigh. “I’ve analyzed the entire area—both in the visible and infrared wavelengths—and I cannot find anything that would be immediately identifiable as alien tech.”
Sydney chuckled. “That’s not exactly helpful.”
“I know, but it does confirm that your idea of starting with the support groups is the best one,” he said. “If there is something related to the Malor in San Juan, you’re not going to find it with a ground search. Locating this man is, without question, your best path forward.”
“Got it,” she said with a sigh. “And here I was hoping you were about to tell me you’d found an alien base or something.”
“Nothing so dramatic, unfortunately.”
“Well, I’m off to a good start.” She told him about the Facebook group she’d found. “I’m still waiting to be approved to join the group, but it seems like a good beginning.”
“Yes, agreed,” he said. “That’s all I’ve got, but I also wanted to remind you to be careful. If this man in black shows up, we should pull you out of there.”
“That’s a good point,” she observed. “He does show up when someone starts nosing around, and that’s exactly what I’ll be doing.”
“Oh, before I forget,” he said, reaching into his pocket and handing her a credit card. “It’s in your name, but it goes to an expense account I’ve opened for you. Use it for everything—meals, drinks, whatever.
“The jet will remain stationed at the airport down there, so you can depart at any time. I’m sending you an e-mail that will include the address and phone number of the condo complex, as well as the pilot’s name and number. And if you need anything while you’re there, you have my number as well. Don’t hesitate to use it.”
“You got it, boss.”
He drove her to the airport and introduced her to the pilot, Dave. Fifteen minutes later, they were in the air, headed to Puerto Rico.
Once they’d landed, and Dave had parked the plane in a private hangar, he accompanied her to the terminal.
“I’ll be staying in the hotel here in the airport,” he told her. “I’ll have the plane gassed up and ready to go, so just call me when you’re ready to leave. You have my number?”
“I do,” she confirmed. “Thanks for the ride!”
Sydney called an Uber, and twenty minutes later, arrived at the condo. She checked in with the concierge and got her keys.
“You’re on the ground floor, at the end of this hallway behind you,” the woman told her.
“Great, thanks!”
Sydney found her unit, dropped her suitcase on the bed and went directly to the back patio.
“Yeah, I could get used to this,” she said with a sigh.
The condo was right on the beach, affording her a sweeping view of the ocean. It was a public beach, but there were only a handful of people around.
Sydney was eager to get to work but decided it could wait a little while. She changed into her bikini, found a giant towel in the closet, and went out on the beach. After spending a few minutes diving into the ocean waves, she went back to sunbathe on her towel for a while.
She decided she needed to convince Brian to relocate his base of operations to the island.
“Okay,” she said to herself once she’d returned to her room and showered. “Time to buckle down.”
She grabbed her laptop and sat outside on the patio. Checking her Facebook account, she saw that she’d been approved for the private group.
They had a post about a meeting they were holding that same evening. It was to be held at a banquet hall in the city.
“Perfect,” she said to herself.
She spent some time searching for more information about alien abductions in the area but widening her search to include the rest of the island.
This time, she found many accounts of UFO sightings and alien abductions throughout Puerto Rico. The place was a hotbed for this type of activity—she’d had no idea.
She shot Brian a text asking if he could get a look at that area with his satellite feed. He replied twenty minutes later that he couldn’t see anything interesting there, either.
“But a visit may still be worthwhile—the foliage is so thick there that anything noteworthy on the ground wouldn’t be visible to the satellite.”
That evening, Sydney called an Uber and went into the city. She found the banquet hall without a problem. She was early, but there were about a dozen people here already.
A woman greeted her at the door, but in Spanish.
“I’m sorry,” said Sydney. “I don’t speak Spanish.”
“It’s your lucky night,” the woman responded. “I speak English! My name is Sofia, and I’m hosting the event tonight. I don’t think I’ve seen you before—is this your first time meeting our group?”
“It is,” she said. “I’m Sydney, and I’m visiting from the mainland. I’m trying to find someone, but all I know about them is that they’re in San Juan, and they’ve experienced an alien abduction.”
“Well, you’ve come to the right place! Help yourself to some food, and we’ll get started soon.”
There was a buffet set up in the back of the room. Sydney filled a plate and sat down to eat. More people filed into the hall, and by the time they started, there were at least thirty people here.
They had chairs set up in a circle in the middle of the room. Sofia announced that it was time to begin, and everyone took a seat. Sydney took the chair next to Sofia—she was hoping she’d be able to translate for her.
Sofia spoke to the group in Spanish; Sydney didn’t understand a word. Thankfully, she repeated everything in English for Sydney’s benefit.
“I reminded everyone that this is a safe space, that they can tell their stories with no risk of judgment or ridicule. And I let them know that we have a visitor from the mainland.” Sydney felt herself blushing and gave a little wave to the group. “And I asked them who wants to go first,” Sofia concluded.
A man across the circle raised his hand, and Sofia nodded to him. He spoke for a minute in Spanish.
“That is Felipe,” Sofia whispered to Sydney. “He experienced an abduction three years ago. He was hiking in El Yunque. He’d gone in with a group, but he was separated and then got lost. The sun went down, and he tried to find the trail back out of the forest. But suddenly, there were bright lights on the path in front of him. He called out, but no one answered. He realized the lights were above the trees, a big circle of lights.
“Then he saw a figure silhouetted in the lights. It was short and thin, with a big head. That’s the last thing he remembers. After that, he woke up at home, with no idea how he got there. Three days had gone by. His friends had searched for him in the forest every day but found no trace of him. He has no memory of where he went for those three days.”
A woman spoke next.
“Her name is Alana,” Sofia told Sydney. “She says that she has not had any experience herself with the aliens. But her family in Miami was killed in the invasion. She says that she was supposed to move there with her boyfriend and her baby daughter the week after the aliens destroyed the city. Now she has nobody left.
“She says she recognizes you—she’s asking if you were the American woman who was on the friendly spaceship?”
“Oh,” Sydney said with a start, her heart suddenly racing. “Y-yes, that was me. I was on the ship.”
Alana spoke more rapidly now and seemed to be addressing Sydney directly.
“She is asking, isn’t there anything you could have done to stop the attack?”
Sydney felt tears welling up in her eyes.
“We tried, oh my God, we tried, I begged them to fire on that ship… but they would have destroyed us, and then there wouldn’t have been anyone to stop them… I’m so sorry…”
Sofia translated for her. Alana just shook her head and retook her seat, covering her face in her hands.
Another man spoke next, but Sydney noticed then that a man next to Alana was staring at her. He didn’t seem like he was with Alana, and didn’t look upset, but was very focused on her.
Sydney tried to turn her attention back to Sofia’s translation of the next speaker, but she felt rattled now. Alana’s plea had struck a nerve. She’d already felt guilty for being unable to stop the attack. Meeting someone who had lost so much felt like having the wound torn open again.
The man who was staring at her spoke next. When he was finished, Sofia translated again.
“His name is Carlos. He says he also had an abduction experience that started in El Yunque. He went hiking there alone, at night, to go stargazing. He says the sky is very dark there, and it was a clear night. There was a light moving across the sky—he thought at first that it was a satellite. But then it grew brighter, and larger, and moved very rapidly toward him. When it came in close, dark clouds gathered around it, and he could see that there were multiple lights arranged in a circle. He ran, but it followed him. Suddenly, a beam of light came down from the center of the object, like a spotlight, and he found himself rising into the air. He passed inside what looked like a giant flying saucer. But he cannot remember anything after that. He says he woke up the next morning, on the top of the mountain. At first, he thought he must have been dreaming. But then he read about other people who had had similar experiences.”
A few more people spoke, and then Sofia asked Sydney if she wanted to address the group.
“Yes,” she said, trying to compose herself. “I am looking for someone, a man, who may have had an abduction experience. I don’t know his name, but I know he’s from San Juan. He would have spoken with an American woman named Martha McClure. She spent many years investigating alien abductions, but she was killed recently. Before she died, she told me I needed to find this man here in San Juan. Whoever he is, there’s a good chance he has critical information about the abductions. There may be something about his experience that is different in some way from what most people have experienced, but I can’t say for sure. I’m hoping one of you might be that man, or maybe could lead me to him if he’s not here.”
Sofia translated her words to the group. Carlos was still staring at Sydney.
Sofia finished, but nobody spoke up. Many people shook their heads or shrugged their shoulders, but not one person was able to help.
Sydney felt her heart sink. Somehow, she’d imagined that her mystery man would just show up here, but it would not be so easy.
“Why don’t we exchange numbers,” Sofia suggested. “Everyone here has my number—I’ll let them know that they can contact me if they think of anyone who might be able to help you.”
“Thank you, that would be great,” she said. She pulled out her phone; Sofia gave Sydney her number, and Sydney sent her a text so she’d have hers.
Sofia told the group what she had suggested.
Several more people spoke, and then the group broke up for the night. Sydney caught an Uber back to the condo.
She went out for a walk on the beach to clear her head. Being confronted by Alana had shaken her up. It had stirred up all the emotions from the attack. She couldn’t help but imagine all the other people out there who had been impacted by the invasion the same way Alana had.
Sydney decided she didn’t want to be alone tonight. Walking a little farther up the shore, she found a beachside bar. It wasn’t too crowded, but there were several people here.
“Perfect,” she said to herself, taking a seat on one of the stools. She ordered a piña colada. The bartender set it in front of her a few minutes later—in a pineapple.
“Hah,” Sydney said, “I love it!”
Taking a sip of her drink, she turned to look out at the ocean—and her heart almost stopped. Strolling up
the beach toward her was Carlos, the man from the meeting who had been staring at her.
She turned back toward the bar, trying to decide what to do. But he took a seat right next to her and ordered a beer. Sydney stared pointedly away from him.
“I think I might know the person you’re looking for,” the man said.
Sydney turned slowly to face him.
“How did you find me here?”
Carlos paused for a moment but then said, “I followed you.”
Sydney didn’t know how to answer this. This man didn’t seem threatening, but following a woman home like this wasn’t precisely innocent behavior, either.
“Why would you do that?”
“As I said, I think I know who you’re looking for. I think it might be my boss. But he’s a very private man, and I do not think he would have appreciated it if I’d spoken about him in front of so many people.”
“Sofia has my number. You could have asked her to contact me for you.”
“True,” he acknowledged. “But I guess I wanted to meet you, as well.”
“Oh?”
The bartender served him his beer.
The man took a sip and turned back to Sydney.
“I’m Carlos, by the way,” he said.
“I remember,” she said. “Sydney.”
“That woman who asked you about stopping the attack… that wasn’t right. I saw what that ship did to the city. There’s no way anybody could have stopped that. I’m no scientist or military genius, but it was obvious to anyone watching on television that those aliens were way more powerful than we are. Or those other aliens. I know you couldn’t have done anything.”
“Well, I certainly appreciate that,” she replied, taking a long drink. “I guess I should have expected it, but I didn’t think I’d ever meet someone like that. Someone who had lost loved ones in the attack, I mean.”
“I’m surprised it hasn’t happened before,” he said. “You’re all over the news these days. You and those two kids.”
