"Then why doesn't anybody else know about them?" Susan asked.
"Two reasons, both influenced by the aliens themselves. If they felt threatened by the people that discovered them they would just kill them. They'd make it look like an accident or a murder by another human. If the threat was deemed not worthy of death they would simply help the public twist it into a myth, like the vampires and werewolves in the movies. Bigfoot, too. And mermaids. Even zombies."
"If they are here to take over then why haven't they wiped us out already, if they have really been her for hundreds of years?" Susan believed she found a flaw in his logic, or at least hoped.
Nick had heard that argument many times before. "We don't know. Perhaps they don't intend to fully take over our planet. Maybe they need us to stick around to survive. These are questions that need answered, and that is, in a nut shell, my job. But evidence is too strong in favor of them meaning us harm. They are not here to better our existence."
Susan couldn't believe it, not fully. She knew that what her father was telling her could quite possibly be true. But it was unfathomable. All these myths were actually alien sightings? It was overwhelming.
Nick continued, "We now believe that they were involved in the mysteries of the Bermuda triangle. The people that disappeared were taken to another planet. Those people may have been aliens to begin with, we don't know."
"The large symbols facing the sky in South America are believed to be early landing instructions before their technology advanced or they placed a beacon here. That beacon may have been in the Bermuda triangle. At that time in our history we would have had a hard time tracking their coming and going, without the technology of recent years."
Susan's mouth was agape as Nick rambled on with all the mysteries of the last couple hundred years, claiming them all to be explained by Tish's alien people. He continued, "Roswell was a true story as well. The government caught aliens that had crash landed. Most were killed in the crash or by military shortly thereafter, but one was able to take human form somehow and survived. By the time the military figured it out the alien was gone, blending in with the human race. And..."
"Enough already," Susan blurted out, more aggressively than intended. "I'm sorry, but it's too much all at once. And to be honest all that matters to me now is that my best friend in the world has deceived me for as long as I've known her, and now abandoned me without even a goodbye. I can't believe she was an alien all this time. For God's sake, she slept with me in my bed! I hugged her thousands of times. I have touched her human skin, even kissed her on the lips."
"Excuse me?" Nick said, raising an eyebrow higher than he knew it could go. "You two were involved sexually?" It made him feel dirty just asking. The thought of the two attractive girls entwined together in his home was distracting, but what got his attention was the thought of how sex would work between a human and an alien. Of course, lesbian sex might not be any different anyway. Then he came to the realization that one of the aliens had possibly violated his daughter.
"No," Susan replied. "We didn't have sex. For a while I thought I might want to, though. I was pretty confused after Hunter died. And, to be honest, I've always had that kind of attraction toward Tish. I knew it was wrong, or at least it felt wrong inside. But Tish wouldn't have me that way anyway. She deflected my clumsy advances. Oh my God, I'm so embarrassed. Not only did I consider making out with a girl, I almost did it with an alien."
"Don't be embarrassed, Susan." Nick slid over to sit beside his daughter, pulling her head to his chest as she cried. "That girl has some kind of draw toward her. Nobody in my department believes that yet, but I have felt it myself. And I've seen the evidence in others around her. Maybe it's an alien thing, but I don't think they all have it. There is no reason to feel ashamed. You have done nothing wrong."
Susan cried until she almost drifted off to sleep on her father's chest. He had his arm around her holding her close the entire time. The man that she thought had abandoned their family after being a good father to her when she was little, had finally returned. She loved him all along, she realized.
"I want to do it," she whispered.
"Excuse me?" Nick asked, not sure if she was even speaking to him.
Susan raised her eyes to meet her father's. "I want to work with you, daddy. I want to find these aliens and get rid of them. They don't belong here. They can't be allowed to continue messing with our lives. How many people have gone through this like me? It's not right. I want to help."
36 - The Listening
Tish's eyesight focused like never before. Perhaps it was due to the amount of time she had spent around the lightning fast vampires this past week. Or maybe it was the intense fear she felt as she was about to be attacked by one of them. She knew there was no way to defend herself against it. It was a true wonder than she didn't close her eyes before the scene played out.
The Sanguillen's expression was clear in that instant. Hatred, the desire to kill, was what Tish read there in his eyes. His jagged teeth and talon like claws were ready to sink into her soft human tissue. This would likely be a quick death. She hoped.
Aaron then turned and stepped into the path of the vampire that she truly believed was Thomas. He was risking his own life to save hers. She wanted to pull him out of the way, despite her fear, but her movements were catatonic in comparison. Thomas would collide with Aaron before reaching her. She watched wide eyed as it developed. It was in that moment that she fully believed that she loved Aaron, more than anything or anyone she had ever loved. Even more than her so called parents. And definitely more than any love she had experienced on another planet. Her heart was near explosion from the recognition of it. The sadness and happiness of the realization caught like tears in her throat. She should have never considered any plan that would leave them separated.
Aaron tensed for impact. Instead of launching himself at the attacker it was obvious his plan was to divert him away from Tish foremost. But the impact did not come to pass. A blur from the corner of her eye revealed another rogue vampire, coming in from an angle to hit Thomas before he could reach Aaron. The two of them went flying by Tish causing a strong breeze powerful enough to blow her dirty hair back. She could not turn fast enough to see the fight as it played out behind her. By the time she could pivot around Thomas was rising from the still form of the rogue vampire. Tish thought she then recognized the one on the ground as Stan Voh, Aaron's father.
As Thomas turned to attack her again the human sergeant fired several shots into the ground around him. Everyone froze. Those that were still bowing to her, including her no good, so called father, turned to face the shooter.
"That's enough," the Sergeant said. "The next one to move will be eating bullets." The other human soldiers had surrounded the group already. Movement now would be more than just risky, even for the vampires. Tish complied along with the rogues as the Sergeant shouted out orders to lay on the ground to have their arms and legs taped. Anyone not in human form was ordered to morph back. It was the ugliest alien display she had ever seen as a dozen creatures twisted and blurred while they changed form. There were a few painful groans as well.
To her surprise the Sergeant took Thomas and Charlie into custody, too. Both spewed out a long stream of complaints and obscenities as they were taped up and loaded into the Hummers along with the rogues. Tish herself was left for last. The Sergeant himself came up to her as she laid on the ground.
"Miss Hawkins," he said kindly. "You can get up. There is no need to detain you. Everybody knows you were the victim here."
Tish should have been elated. The thought of rolling around all taped up like a corpse in the back of a truck was not in the least appealing. But instead she was insulted. Did the Sergeant think she was incapable of fighting? Was she just an innocent cheerleader in his eyes?
"Why?" she asked as she slowly rose to her knees. The Sergeant bowed slightly toward her like most of the other Kamilians had been doing. He did not answer.
&
nbsp; "I want to be taped up, too." She couldn't believe she had said it. It was so not true. But she believed this man would do whatever she told him to do, including dancing naked through the woods if she said so. What the hell was wrong with everyone?
The Sergeant bowed even lower as he shook his head. "Please don't do this," he begged. "Your mother will have me shipped off with the rest of them if I bind you. I have orders to take you back unharmed. She gave specific instructions not to bind you."
Tish considered her options. She didn't think it was fair that all the others had to be bound but her. But she didn't want this man to be punished for disobeying orders. She touched his shoulder to get him to look at her as she spoke quietly, "Bind my hands and let me sit up front. When we get close to my mother you can remove the tape."
Reluctantly, the Sergeant obliged. The other soldiers glanced in his direction as he applied the tape to her wrists, but went on about their business when he barked at them. As he led her to his Hummer they passed the last form lying in the grass. It was still in Sanguillen form. Stan Voh. She realized that must mean that he died in that form, unable to change back. Her heart went out to both Aaron and Vicki as it became apparent that he would not be joining his wife and son where ever they should be going.
It was her fault, she admitted to herself. Stan has killed protecting Aaron, who was only trying to protect her. If she was not there in the first place they would have all kept fighting. If only she had stayed in the cave like she was told to do. Instead, she joined the fight, and they stopped at her demand becoming vulnerable to Thomas' attack. For the first time she understood what she hated about Thomas all along. He didn't care about her. Unlike all the others, he was not compelled to her whims. Had she lived her entire life forcing others to her will without knowing it? Was she just as big of a monster as Thomas?
"I'm so sorry, miss," The Sergeant said as they passed the corpse. "We didn't want any of our brothers and sisters to be killed. They were just too fast, and it happened before we could get into position. I'll take responsibility for the loss."
"No, Sergeant," Tish said as she climbed into her seat. "It was not your fault. If anybody's fault it was mine. It is not yours to own, it is mine."
The ride back was long and silent, except for radio chatter between the vehicles. Tish cried once again. A little for Aaron's loss of his father. A little for all of the rogues getting caught. She had come to respect them despite their rebellious actions. They were a family that did everything they could to protect each other. She knew her mother was like that, too. But most of all she cried because of her father. Charlie Hawkins must have consented for Thomas to attack her. He would not have done it otherwise. Likely, Charlie gave the order to have her killed. All her life she wanted to be closer to her father. Maybe she should have tried much harder before now. She must have really messed up the job of being a daughter if your father wants you dead.
Tish was unbound when they arrived at the office of Silver Silhouette in Great Falls Virginia. Her mother greeted her on the front steps with a brief hug before spouting orders to the group. Something had definitely changed about Pam Hawkins. Some of the softness of a loving mother was missing in her demeanor, but it still showed in her eyes. Pam Hawkins was now in charge, obviously. She had to earn the respect of the company employees. Tish understood. A power play had been made behind the scenes during the fight, removing Charlie as president. It was likely all viewable on the Kamilian home world. Perhaps she would get to see it, too.
Tish was asked to wait in a comfortable lounge as a young woman fetched her some food. She was unbelievably hungry and ate more in one meal than she could ever remember eating in a whole day. She drifted off to sleep in an oversized chair as she waited for someone to come for her. It was a few hours later that she was roused by her mother.
Two security officers flanked Pam Hawkins as she bent to gently shake her daughter awake. "Tish, wake up, honey. It's time to wake up."
For a moment Tish thought she was home in bed and had slept in on a school day. But that couldn't be right, could it. She was in a chair with two strange men hovering over her, no longer a high school student. She had even missed the graduation ceremony. Susan would be pissed at her. She had no way of contacting the girl while she was out in the caves. Susan had no idea what was going on in Tish's life, but Tish knew it was best if things stayed that way. Tomorrow she would call her best friend and tell her yet another lie, explaining why she had been missing.
"Oh, Hi mom," Tish said as she got her bearings. She had fallen asleep in the lounge and had no idea how long she had been out. "What's going on?"
"Sweetheart, I'm going to have someone drive you home so you can get some rest. I need to stay here at work for a while." Pam rose like she was expecting that to be the entire conversation.
"No," Tish said, snapping fully awake. "I want to know what is going on"
Pam Hawkins smiled and took a deep breath. One day this girl that she had raised would end up being her boss. Pam would have to give in to her demands for that reason then. For now, she felt a little awkward being told what to do in front of her security detail, but Tish had honestly been through a lot in a short period of time. Pam could not imagine how she would have responded if her eighteenth year had gone this way.
"Okay," Pam answered as she sat in a chair that had been pulled up for her. "I can give you a summary, but you'll have to wait for details tomorrow. I'm due on the air in just a few minutes. Stan Voh has been killed. The rest of the rogue coven have been captured. All of them will be deported next week, except possibly Aaron. He might be pardoned since he is still seventeen. That's not up to me. Your father has been arrested, and so has Thomas. It is possible that they too will be deported. That's not up to me either. But, if your father remains on earth he will not be President of Silver Silhouette any longer. For the time being I have been asked to take control. Now, please go home and get some rest. I'll answer the rest of your questions tomorrow."
Tish grabbed her mother's arm as she tried to rise. "Can I see Aaron first?"
"No, that's impossible," Pam answered firmly.
"If he gets deported will I get a chance to see him before he goes?"
"Yes, dear," Pam said, her motherly voice coming through. "I'll make sure you get to spend some time with him if he has to go. I've recommended that he remains here as part of our rogue search unit, but there is no guarantee that will happen. But if he does get shipped out it won't be until next week. You should be able to see him in a couple days. We have to keep everyone separated until we get everyone's full statements. We'll have you come back in tomorrow for your statement."
37 – Deported
His heart in turmoil, Aaron was not sure how to feel. One thing was true, the ordeal was over. No more worry about being caught, or what was going to happen. It was a done deal now. All in all, he lost more than he gained.
Aaron loved his father very much. Stan was a great man in his son's eyes. Despite his failure on earth, Stan maintained a strong will and deep love for his family. He always did his best to protect his wife and son. In the end it cost him his life. There was no opportunity to reunite on another world. Stan Voh was dead.
Vicki was beyond rattled. It had been hundreds of years since any adult life without her husband. They had parted each world together and found each other on their new worlds while still young each time. Aaron did not know if she would be able to live without his father, let alone find a new love. At any rate, she would have to start over on the home world.
The plan was that if everything went sour on earth they would all three be shipped back and then petition to be placed together on the Sanguillen world. Since the planet was so inhospitable there was never a line of Kamilians waiting for that opportunity. They were confident they would live another whole life together there. Only if Aaron went with them he could not be their son. In all past lives he continued on for a while after his parents departed, then joined them as their newborn son sho
rtly after they bonded together again as a couple on the new planet. Nothing would ever be the same since his parents' decision to go rogue.
Aaron just received word that he would not be deported with his mother. It broke his heart that he could not be there to help her through the worst part of her life. He considered forcing the new Silver Silhouette President, Pam Hawkins, to send him back with his mom, but Vicki said no. She claimed that she would be alright in time, with or without his comfort. She urged him to stay behind and enjoy the rest of his life on earth. If he joined Silver Silhouette, he would likely live on this planet for another sixty years or more.
Vicki also knew that Aaron had finally found the love of his life. Tish Hawkins was his new reason to go on living. In the past he would mate, but never really sever that tether to his parents. None of his mates had ever captured his heart the way that girl did. Vicki was confident that there was much more to it than her ability to sway the minds and hearts of others.
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