"Very well," the General said. "You may proceed. I want you to continue to sedate the Grey. We don't know if he's hostile or not yet."
"Wouldn't you be hostile if you were held against your will?"
"Good point, Frank. You better put an extra guard on the door."
"Yes, Sir," he said. "I'll keep you informed if I find out anything."
"Thanks. And make sure Sarah stays out of here!" He climbed back up the stairs, and exited through the door.
The next day, General Carver came down to the restricted area to meet with the psychologist and eight year old Louis Avery. He shook hands with the boy, and introduced himself.
"Hello, Louis," he said. "My name is General Albert Carver. I'm in charge of this facility."
"Where am I?" he asked.
"You're under what used to be Colorado."
"What do you mean 'used to be?"
Carver looked at the psychologist, and then back at the boy.
"It's hard to explain. You've been gone for ten years."
"Ten years?"
"Yes."
"Where did I go?"
"We were hoping you could tell us, but apparently, you don't
remember. But that's okay, because Mr. Reynolds here is going to help you remember."
"How?"
"By putting you to sleep. Once you're asleep, you'll remember it clear as day-we hope," Dr. Reynolds stated.
"But I'm not tired."
"You will be after I give you a shot."
"Will it hurt?"
"Not anymore than when we draw blood."
"Okay," he said. "What about what you said earlier?"
"What was that?" Carver asked.
"About Colorado being gone."
"There was a war, a nuclear war," he explained.
"What about my parents?" Louis asked.
"Louis, don't worry, you're in a very safe place."
"Where are my parents?" he asked again, now annoyed.
"I'm afraid they didn't make it," Carver stated. The boy bowed his head in sorrow, as tears ran down his face.
"What about my sister?" Carver wouldn't answer him, as he stared at the psychologist.
"Dr. Reynolds, we need to start the procedure," the General said.
"I asked you a question," Louis said.
"Your sister is still alive," Carver said.
"Can I see her?"
"She's ten years older than you."
"I still want to see her!"
"Not yet," Carver said. "We need a little more information from you."
"No!" he yelled, and folded his arms together. "Not until I can see my sister!"
Carver sighed, and looked at the doctor.
"I can't perform the hypnosis or administer the shot against his will," he said.
"I'm not asking you to," Carver stated. "I'll tell you what, Louis. You do what the doctor says, and I'll see that you see your sister tomorrow."
"Promise?" Louis asked.
"Yes," he said. "I promise."
Louis laid down on the bed of the room, and the doctor injected him with the sedative. In a matter of seconds, he became drowsy. Dr. Reynolds gestured for Carver to leave the room, and listen from the outside
intercom. Carver complied, and watched through the window, his arms folded behind his back.
"Louis," the doctor began. "I want you to go back to the night you saw the bright light. You're standing at the side of the lake, looking out at the water. What do you see?"
"A large ship," he said. "With three bright lights."
"The light is shining down on you now. What happens next?"
"I am lifted in the air, and into a doorway."
"What's beyond the doorway?"
"A large room, with a table that I'm put on."
"Who put you on the table?"
" A gray man with black eyes. He's as tall as I am. He's talking to me, but his lips aren't moving."
"What's he saying?"
"He's telling me to relax. He says he has to perform tests. Now he has a needle that he puts in my neck behind my ear. It hurts really bad."
'What happens next?"
"I see pictures, lots of pictures, but I only see them in my mind."
"Pictures of what?"
"Numbers, letters, and symbols."
"Do you know what they mean?"
"No."
"Let's go back to the gray man. Does he say anything else to you?"
"Yes, it tells me that it's necessary to do this to me. He tells me if I do, it will save mankind."
"How?"
"He doesn't tell me that."
"Does he say anything else?"
"Only that I will have a daughter, who he has met already."
"A daughter?"
"Yes."
"Does he say why he told you this?"
"Yes, he says she will change things."
"Anything else?"
"No."
"Can you tell me more about the ship?"
"Yes, it has an antimatter warp drive, a wormhole generator, and runs on exotic matter and plasma. It's capable of traveling through space and
time."
Dr. Reynolds looked at the General in disbelief. 'How could he know this,' the two of them thought. "Did you travel through time?"
"No, just through space."
"Tell me more about the gray man. Did he say where he was from?"
"Yes, a planet named Aldron."
"Where is this Aldron?"
"In another universe?"
"Another universe?" Reynolds asked. "How did he get here?"
"Through a wormhole."
"Did he travel through time as well?"
"Yes."
"Did he say from when?"
"The future."
"Did the gray man hurt you in any way?"
"The needles hurt."
"Did he stick anything down your throat, nose or in your private parts?"
"No."
"Was he mean to you in any way?"
"No. He told me he was here to help me. That he was my friend."
"Do you remember anything else?"
"No."
"All right, Louis. Thank you, you've been very helpful. I'll let you rest. When you awake, you won't remember our conversation." He then left the room, and greeted the General.
"Quite a story," the General stated.
"It's not consistent with other abduction cases, however," the doctor said. "In most cases, there is significant pain in the tests, and invasion of the sexual organs, nose, throat or brain. He doesn't appear
to have experienced any of these."
"He stated the alien is trying to help mankind. Do you believe that?"
"I believe he thinks so. Whether it's true or not remains to be seen."
"I want some cognitive tests done on him."
"Do you think the alien did something to him?"
"I'm not sure yet. I want to see what his mental capacity is. He seems
to know things beyond our scope of understanding.
"How is that possible?"
"Maybe the alien rewired his brain somehow. Tomorrow, we'll talk to
the Grey. Maybe he'll cooperate when he knows we talked to Louis."
"Very well," Reynolds said. "I wish I could have found out more."
"We'll get to the bottom of the truth, sooner or later."
"I hope you're right," Reynolds said. "If the boy's telling the truth, the future of mankind may depend on it."
CHAPTER TWO
Sarah put on her blue dress for her dinner date, and finished cooking the cordon bleu, rice, and asparagus. She set the table, and heard a knock at the door. "Seven o'clock," she said to herself. "Right on time."
She opened the door, and was greeted by her friend Terry.
"Hi, Sarah," he said, as he entered, and gave her a hug. "You look stunning tonight."
"Thank you," she said, and walked over to the bar. "Would you like some wine? It's a 2004 cabernet sauvignon."
"I have my sources. I've been saving it for a special occasion," she said, and used the corkscrew to open the bottle.
"And what's the occasion?"
"Terry, I've found my brother."
"Louis?"
"Yea. He's down in the restricted area I was telling you about."
"Why's he there? Is he all right?"
"Yes, but he's still only eight years old."
"What?" he asked in disbelief.
"They found him in an alien spaceship."
Terry rolled his eyes, as she handed him a glass of wine.
"Are you feeling all right?"
"Yes," she said. "What I'm telling you is the truth. They have an alien down there as well. I'm not supposed to be telling you any of this Uncle
Albert said, but I have to confide in someone."
"How could he still be a child? You're a grown woman!"
"Apparently, he's been traveling at the speed of light. Uncle Albert said I could see him tomorrow."
"And you believe him?" he asked her, doubtfully.
"Why shouldn't I?"
"Because I think he's just telling you what you want to hear. From what I've known in the past, they don't usually
allow civilians in restricted areas, unless they're engineers or scientists."
"For me, he'll make an exception."
"I hope you're right," he said, and sat at the table. "Does Louis know about your parents?"
"I'm not sure. Uncle Albert didn't mention anything about that."
"He'll be devastated," Terry said. "I know I was when I found out mine didn't make it. Like so many of us that lost loved ones to the war."
She brought the dinner in, and placed it on the table.
"I hope you like it," she said. "It's cordon bleu, rice, and asparagus."
"Sounds delicious," he said, as he took a bite. "Tastes delicious as well. Where did you get the chicken? That is usually off limits to the general public."
"I have my resources for that, too."
She took a bite, and there was another knock at the door.
"Expecting company?"
"Not that I know of." She opened the door, and was confronted by her Uncle Albert and two military police. "Uncle Albert?"
"Hello, Sarah, Terry," he said. "May I come in?" She nodded, and Carver waved for the police to stay outside, as he
shut the door.
"Do you want me to leave? Terry asked. "I can come back later."
"No," Carver said. "What I have to say, I can say to both of you. Terry, I know that you tried to help Sarah get into the restricted area."
"Uncle Albert, please don't blame him!" Sarah pleaded, as she rose from the table.
"He knows damn well what the protocol is around here." Carver stated. "I'm afraid due to the nature of the project, I'll have to impose some kind of penalty."
"Please, Uncle, don't fire him!"
"I'm not. Terry, you're on a three week suspension, and confined to
your quarters until then. I'll let you finish your dinner, and then you can go with the MP's."
"What about me?" Sarah asked. "Am I confined to my room too?"
"Of course not," Carver said. "But I don't want you downstairs anymore, unless you're with me. Your brother won't cooperate with us unless he sees you, so I'll have to bring you down tomorrow morning to see him. But after that, you're restricted from the area until we're finished. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Sir," she said, frightened. Carver started to walk toward the door, and turned when she spoke. "Uncle Albert?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks."
"For what?"
"For not throwing the book at him."
He smiled, left the room, and the two of them were alone again.
"That was close," Terry said after he left. "At least I still have a job."
"I'm so sorry," Sarah said, and grabbed his right hand with both of hers. "This is all my fault."
"I warned you something like this might happen. General Carver is a tough bird."
"Well like you said, at least you still have a job. I'll make it up to you somehow."
"I can think of a way after dinner to make it up to me."
"I thought you didn't want to take advantage of the situation?"
"I think you owe me that much at least."
"You're so naughty," she said, and hugged him tight.
The next day, two military police came to her door to escort her down to the restricted area. It was clear General Carver no longer trusted her, and wanted to make sure she followed his orders. They made her face away from the keypad and the fingerprint device upon entering. She walked down the stairway, and saw the Grey was still in the opposite room under heavy sedation. Louis sat quietly as Sarah reluctantly entered the room.
"Sarah?" he asked.
"Yes, Louis, it's me," she answered. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Are they treating you okay?"
"Yea, they treat me great here. I have plenty of things to read, and
there is a computer room where I can play video games."
Sarah thought this was a strange statement, since Louis was never much of a reader, and preferred the old traditional board games instead of video games. "You never used to read a lot before."
"I'm different now," he stated.
"Different? Why are you different?"
"I don't know. Ever since I got back, all I want to do is read, and learn new things."
"What did the alien do to you?"
"Nothing."
Carver, who was at the door listening, reminded her of protocol.
"Sarah, please refrain from asking any questions about the extraterrestrial," he told her.
"Does he know about our parents?" she asked Carver.
"Yes," Louis said. "I do, and I understand."
"You seem different, like you're more mature or something."
"I just see things a little differently now. Don't worry, Sarah, I'm all right. General Carver says as soon as I'm done helping them, we can be together again. Isn't that right?"
"Yes," he said. "That's right."
"Well, okay," she said. "I guess I'm you're really big sister now, huh?"
"I guess so," he laughed. "I should have listened to Mom and Dad, and stayed away from the lake."
"Yes, you should have, but then again, did you ever listen to them?"
"No," he laughed again. "You're right!"
"Visiting time is over, Guys!" Carver said.
"But she just got down here!" Louis cried.
"I know, but we've got work to do."
"What kind of work?" Sarah asked cynically.
"Sarah, don't push it," Carver reminded her.
"What kind of work?" she asked again, as Carver gestured for the guards to remove her from the room. "All right, all right! I'm leaving."
She reached down to give the boy a hug.
"Goodbye, Sarah," he said. "See you in a few weeks." Tears ran down both their eyes, as she hugged him goodbye.
"Goodbye, Louis," she said, and gave Carver an evil stare. "I used to
respect you, now I think you're just a monster like that alien thing in there!" She walked quickly up the stairs, as the guards followed her.
"She's lucky I don't throw her in the brig." he said to himself as she left, and then turned to the boy. "Well, Louis, today we are going to test your knowledge."
"How?"
"With some games. Dr. Reynolds will be down shortly to play with you."
"That's great. I like Dr, Reynolds, and I like games."
"I've got to go next door and talk to your friend."
"He won't talk to you."
"And why not?"
"He doesn't trust you."
"Maybe if you were to talk to him. Would you like to try?"
"I'll try, but I doubt he will."
They walked
into the next room to where the Grey was. One of the other scientists in the area approached Carver, as
he opened the door.
"Sir, do you want me to give the alien more sedatives?" he asked.
"No," Carver answered. "I want you to wake him up."
"Sir, don't you think that's dangerous?"
"It'll be all right, we'll stay out here. Let the boy go in and talk to him."
The doctor came in the room, and administered the shot to wake the Grey up. As he did, he left the straps of the table tied, so if the alien tried to escape, he couldn't. He then came back out with Carver, and the boy went in.
The gray alien awoke, his black eyes staring up at Louis.
''Hi, Varloo, how are you feeling?" he asked.
"A bit groggy," he stated through thought transmissions. "Why am I tied up, and where am I?"
"In a government facility, on Earth," Louis answered. "Or, I should say under Earth. There was a nuclear war."
"Ah, yes," he said. "I remember now. My ship crashed, and Garlona was killed. The humans refused to listen to my warnings about war."
"Who is Garlona?" he asked.
"He was my friend, and my crew."
"How come I didn't see him when I was there?"
"He was below deck. Why am I here?"
"They want to study you."
"What if I don't want to be studied? Arrogant humans! Always prodding what they don't understand, They have no idea what is about to become."
"They want to speak with you."
"Well, I don't want to speak to them. Unless they agree to release me.
Louis turned toward Carver and the doctor, and spoke through the intercom. "He said he won't talk unless you agree to release him."
"I can't do that," Carver said. "He might be hostile toward us."
"Stupid humans!" Varloo sniped. "Don't trust any of these people, Louis, they don't care about us, only their precious research. You are better than that. You'll become a great man someday, with a beautiful daughter just as intelligent as you."
"They just want to help me understand what happened, that's all."
"Is that what they told you? Liars! They will go on to colonize the solar system from what they learn here today, and rape the natural resources of other worlds, just like they did to their own planet. And you will end up being part of their plan."
Dimension Lapse III: Dimensional Breakdown (Dimension Lapse Series Book 3) Page 2
