Return of the Aliens

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  Pulling out a cigarette, she lit it up and peered up at the evening sky. Soon enough, it would be dark. She assumed that meant getting into the base would be easier, but who knew? Taking a puff from her cigarette, she couldn’t help but think this was the stupidest thing she’d ever done. If it were anyone but Marianne, she’d turn back. But this was about Marianne, so she continued her lonely walk.

  ***

  Alex wasn’t one to sit in a bar, but after everything he discovered, he needed a drink. The surprising thing was that the chip implant enabled him to drink as much alcohol as he wanted without getting drunk, and he didn’t know if he liked that or not because right now he might be better off drunk—at least for tonight.

  If he’d known how bad that time at Area 51 had been, he might have refused the implant. There was no going back now. The memories were out in the open. All the prodding and probing those grey aliens did to him… He couldn’t think of a single orifice on his body they didn’t insert something into, and Devon had left Alex alone in the room with those horrible creatures.

  Probably the worst part of the whole experience was being paralyzed while the aliens did their experiments. They seemed more interested in his reproductive organs than anything else, for they kept talking about taking his sperm and blending his DNA with theirs. This would enable them to inhabit a hybrid alien-human body that would look entirely human but have superior strength and intellect. They called these hybrids ‘super soldiers’, and these soldiers were to fight the threat from above when the big event occurred.

  Alex had no idea what they were talking about, but Devon was a part of it. Worse than that, Autumn had a role in the whole thing. He wasn’t sure what her part was, exactly, but seeing her and Devon talking in front of the mall as if they were old friends made everything obvious. No wonder she looked guilty when Alex confronted her.

  Gritting his teeth, Alex drank another shot of whiskey and slammed the glass on the table. How he wished he could get drunk for one night just so he could forget the sting of betrayal that made him wish he’d never become friends with Autumn in the first place. He rubbed his eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat. He’d been such a fool.

  Someone sat next to him, so he glanced to his right, surprised to see the blond Annunaki who’d given him the chip. “You come to bars?” he asked.

  She smiled and brushed her hair over her shoulder. “Not often. I was walking by and happened to see you from the window. You took the memories hard.”

  “Yeah well, I thought Autumn was my friend.” He ran his hand through his hair and let out a bitter laugh. “You think you know someone and then you find out they turned you over to the bad guys.”

  The Annunaki touched his arm and gave it a light squeeze. “You’re better off knowing the truth.”

  “I know.” There was nothing worse than being played for a fool.

  “Alex, those who don’t take the implant can’t be trusted.”

  He straightened in his chair and glanced around the room, knowing that some of the people there hadn’t taken the implant. “I can’t trust any of them?”

  “Devon and Autumn refuse to take the implant. That’s because they are in league with the greys. You saw it for yourself. You know what those greys did to you at Area 51. They’ve been doing this to people ever since the Roswell incident in 1947. And your governments were keeping everything secret.” She paused and stroked his arm. “Can you imagine this world continuing with the greys working covertly with people on this planet? You know the damage they did to you. Do you think it’s right for this to continue?”

  “No. No, it’s not,” he whispered.

  “And that’s why I’m here. That’s why the other Annunaki came. The time has come to put down the evil.”

  He scanned the bar, noting those with the chip implants had a symbol either on their right hand or forehead. “Can those without the implants see this?” He held up his hand and motioned to the image of the glowing pyramid.

  She shook her head. “Only those we can trust can see the mark. It’s to keep those we can’t trust unaware of our game plan.”

  “Which is?”

  “To make Earth safe for everyone.”

  He nodded. The mark was a good strategy, and it helped him know who he could trust.

  “Alex,” she added in a soft voice, “when we defeat the greys and those who have joined them, this planet will be a wonderful place. The utopia we’ve sought for so long will finally be here. Then, with the chip, man can be god.”

  The bartender poured another shot of whiskey into Alex’s glass, so Alex thanked him and brought it to his lips. “So what do we do to those who don’t have the implant?”

  “Unfortunately, there’s only two things we can do. Either have them take the implant to ensure they’re on our side or get rid of them.”

  He took a deep breath before he downed another shot of whiskey. The chip in his right hand throbbed, sending a strange sense of pleasure to his brain which then submitted the sensation to the rest of his body. It was akin to being wrapped in a warm blanket on a cold day. Nice. Comforting. Soothing. It might seem like a drastic measure—getting rid of those who opposed the Annunaki—but it was a necessary one.

  “I’ll do my part to make sure the greys don’t destroy our prospect for peace on this Earth,” Alex vowed.

  She smiled and sat back. “I knew you wouldn’t disappoint me, Alex.”

  ***

  Autumn peered around the truck parked not too far from the well-lit entrance of the underground base. The man guarding the front paced back and forth, looking bored. She sighed and sat down, careful to remain out of his view. How was she supposed to get in there? And when she did get inside, how was she going to find Marianne? What exactly was level six?

  Closing her eyes, she reached out and touched the necklace, suddenly wondering if she should have waited until the angel came to speak to her before she ran off to New Mexico. But where was he? She hadn’t seen him since she was in Devon’s room at the hospital. That was ten hours ago. Surely, she wasn’t expected to avoid speaking to a single person for that long.

  If it were anyone but Marianne…

  She opened her eyes and turned her gaze to the night sky. Her mind flashed back to that time at Area 51 after she got Alex out of the room they were keeping him in. Back then, she’d seen hundreds of spaceships descending to the Earth. Now, she just saw the twinkling of stars.

  Am I doing the right thing?

  She took her phone out of her purse and turned off the volume in case someone called. So far, her sister hadn’t called back. Biting her lower lip, she weighed the pros and cons of proceeding into the underground base, if she could even get in.

  The ringing of another phone caught Autumn’s attention. Looking around the truck, she watched the man answer his cell, and then he turned his back to her and walked a good distance from the entrance. Her pulse sped up. If she was going to do it, now was the time. She had to go in there. If she didn’t, she’d always regret it because then she would have failed Marianne when Marianne needed her most.

  Decision made, she made a run for it, trying to be as quiet as possible as she headed for the entrance.

  The guard kept his back turned as Keegan instructed. He didn’t dare ask her why he was supposed to let the woman into the base. Asking questions of any kind wasn’t good. That’s how Riley mysteriously ‘disappeared’.

  “She’s almost in,” Keegan told him. “Don’t turn around yet.”

  He glanced up at one of the cameras along the perimeter and wondered which one she used to monitor things. Clearing his throat, he said, “I haven’t moved,” though it was unnecessary. But he said it because he couldn’t stand the awful silence on the other end. One thing he hoped to never do was meet Keegan in person. He heard accounts from people who claimed to have seen her in her true form. They said she was Reptilian. It made sense. Plenty of them lived here.

  He shivered and crossed his arms as he waited for Keeg
an to end the call. Again, the dreaded silence hung thick on the line, and he resisted the urge to turn the phone off.

  “Alright. She’s in,” Keegan finally said.

  He nearly collapsed with relief.

  “You’ve been a good boy. Now return to your post.”

  She hung up, and he let out an audible sigh of relief. Thank goodness! It was over. He slipped the phone back into his pocket and continued pacing back and forth in front of the entrance, pretending he didn’t notice the woman as she hurried down the corridor. She thought she could hide from all the cameras as long as she clung to the shadows. He shook his head. She’d be lucky if she ever saw the light of day again.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Devon’s heart raced with nervous dread. He recognized the long white corridor that loomed before him. But unlike the other times he’d been to Dulce, he was wearing his dark blue suit. When he woke up, he found himself fully recovered and his clothes neatly folded in a pile on the chair beside him. On top of his clothes was a note with the instructions to get dressed and step outside his small room.

  It didn’t dawn on him until he opened the door that he was at Dulce, and the corridor was on a level he’d been to in the past—one he dreaded above all others. Level Six. Nightmare Hall. He stood still in the corridor and tried not to think of all the things Keegan did to him here.

  Keegan. She had brought him here. With a shiver, he tried to figure out if he could escape before she found him. Probably not. There were too many cameras, too many monstrosities lurking nearby with their attention on all humans who darkened these corridors.

  God, what did she want to do to him this time?

  Then he remembered he was wearing clothes and breathed a small sigh of relief. That meant she wouldn’t do anything sexual to him. Of all the things she’d done to him, that was the worst.

  With hesitant steps, he proceeded forward. The sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could get out of here. He didn’t make it five steps before Keegan appeared from another hallway.

  “Oh good! You’re awake,” she said as she approached him. “You’re looking pretty good for a man who had almost every bone in his body broken. That Vanessa sure did some damage, but I healed you.”

  “Why?” He mentally cursed himself for asking the question. It wasn’t his place to ask her anything.

  She looked as if she might scold him for a moment but then shrugged and slipped her arm around his. “I’ll humor you this time. I have a surprise for you, and how can I show it to you unless you’re healthy enough to enjoy it?”

  He frowned as she led him forward. This wasn’t good. Nothing with Keegan was good, but this had a particular ominous warning to it that had all of his senses on high alert.

  They stopped in front of a room. Winking, she opened the door. “You’ll wait here while I get it for you.”

  Get what for him? His stomach tensed, but he obeyed her and entered the sterile room. A row of tubes and microscopes rested on a table which was against a wall to his right. In the corner of the room to his left was a large freezer that stood upright. Behind him was another table with needles carefully laid out and marked in a language he didn’t understand. He assumed it was alien language—or demonic, depending on how one looked at it.

  She patted him on the shoulder and motioned to the chair by the center table. “Have a seat. The surprise is not quite ready for you yet.”

  He hesitated but knew he had no other option, so he did as she instructed and swallowed the lump in his throat. He could do it. He could get on that table when the time came and allow her to do whatever experiment she wanted. As long as he had his clothes on, it couldn’t be that bad.

  “Now, you just sit tight,” Keegan said and massaged his shoulders.

  He closed his eyes and forced his mind off her touch. Her hands alternated between the sensation of freezing his skin and making it burn.

  She leaned down and whispered in his ear. “I can’t wait to see the look on your face when you see what it is.” A chill ran up his spine as she let go of him. “I’ll be back soon.”

  He watched as she shut the door, leaving him alone in the room. Rubbing his eyes, he repeated, I can do this, over and over until he started to think it was possible.

  ***

  Autumn looked around to make sure no one saw her and pressed the elevator button. She checked her cell phone. Still no call from Marianne. She pressed Marianne’s number in her autodial, but a busy signal came through the other end. Frustrated, Autumn shoved the phone into her purse and zipped it up. She wouldn’t waste her time in trying to call Marianne to find out exactly where on level six she was. She’d have to wing it once she got there.

  A man appeared around the corner, talking on his cell. She searched for a place to hide, but he spun on his heel and headed back to where he came from. She breathed a sigh of relief. That was close. The elevator door opened and she stepped inside before anyone else got within viewing range of her.

  Pressing the button that would take her to level six, she settled against the wall, thankful for the brief reprieve. Even as she chastised herself for coming here, her pulse raced with the hope she might see Marianne soon. All she wanted to do was get Marianne out of here and go home. Then she could go on with her life.

  She brushed the tears from her eyes and regained her composure. Focus. If she focused on the goal, her mind would be clear and she could do it. Exhaling, she straightened and got ready for the doors to open. Once they did, she peeked into the dimly lit hall. So far, so good. No one was in sight.

  She stepped out of the elevator and scanned the hallway, unsure of whether to go right or left. The sign on the wall in front of her wasn’t in a language she understood, so that was a dead end. Since the hall on her left looked the darkest, she opted to go that way, figuring it was easier to blend into the shadows as she’d been doing all this time. It had worked so far. No one found her yet.

  She hurried down the hallway, practically on tip toes in an effort to be quiet though she was painfully aware of the soft echo bouncing off the walls. The hall curved to the right, so she followed it and slowed when she realized a large window was up ahead. It was eerily reminiscent of her time at Area 51. But maybe that was good. She got Alex out of there. Maybe she’d get Marianne out of here. Yeah, but last time you had an angel’s help, she thought. Last time, she’d made a horrible mistake in not listening to him. And as much as she didn’t want to admit she was making a mistake this time, the small voice in her head told her she was.

  Pushing it aside since she’d gone too far to turn back now, she walked up to the large window that was ten feet wide and five feet high. She gasped as her gaze settled on the panoramic view of a room that, if she was to guess, spanned a good mile. In this room were rows of sleeping people who were suspended in mid-air. She had no idea how many people there were, but she had to find out if one of them was Marianne. If she could get Marianne out, then they’d go to the police and tell them about all of these people who were being kept here. Then the rest of them could be released.

  She rushed down the hall until she found a door and opened it, conscious of the click it made. Entering the room, she realized she stood at the top of a staircase. There were so many people. How was she going to find Marianne? A thorough scan of the room didn’t help her, so she decided to do the only thing she could: go down the stairs and walk between the rows of people. Her steps were shaky, but she managed to get to the bottom of the metal staircase. Gulping, she chose a direction, praying it was the right one and traveled down the dimly lit room. It was eerie to be surrounded by people whose eyes were open when they seemed to be sleeping. She thought of waving her hand in front of their eyes but lost her nerve. If one of them blinked, she just might lose it.

  Her steps were barely a whisper on the hard floor as she inspected everyone, wondering if—or when—she’d see her sister. Sniffing back the urge to cry, she focused on why she came. If she could see Marianne again… She wiped
a tear from her eye and proceeded forward.

  And then her eyes caught sight of someone who was familiar. Alicia! Forgetting to be quiet, she rushed forward and stopped at Alicia’s comatose body. She nudged her friend and whispered, “Alicia?”

  Alicia didn’t respond. Autumn supposed she shouldn’t be surprised but she was. She shook Alicia, trying to figure out a way to break her free from whatever invisible force was suspending her, but it was no use. Alicia swayed from side to side but didn’t wake up or fall to the floor. Autumn brushed back more tears.

  “Come on, Alicia,” she whispered as she turned Alicia’s face toward hers. “It’s me. Autumn. Can’t you wake up?”

  Alicia’s vacant eyes stared right through her.

  “Well, you found one of your friends after all,” someone said from behind her.

  Gasping, Autumn let go of Alicia and spun around to face Keegan.

  “Fancy meeting you here,” Keegan smoothly stated, motioning to the two guards who stood behind her. “I see you couldn’t get enough of me from when we met in the hospital.”

  Autumn’s throat went dry. She took a step back but bumped into something. Looking over her shoulder, she saw another guard. Where did he come from?

  Keegan clasped her hands behind her back and clucked her tongue. “Oh, Autumn. When will you learn that when an angel tells you not to speak to anyone until he returns, he means anyone?”

  It was then Autumn understood two things. One, she failed again. Her lack of faith had caused her to get into two dangerous situations. The first, at Area 51. And now, here. She had no reason to believe she’d get out of this like she managed to get out of Area 51. The angel would let her rot for this one, wouldn’t he? Or maybe the more accurate question was, would God hand her over to the fallen angels and demons now? God? Where did that come from? But it made sense. If there were angels and fallen angels, then there had to be a God, didn’t there? Devon believed it. Marianne believed it.