He gripped the steering wheel with shaking hands. “We aren’t going to tell the others just yet. I need a day or two to process this. Plus I kind of want to talk to Alan about it alone first.” Alan would understand exactly what Orlando was feeling.
“I won’t say anything,” Angela said quietly. “If you wanna talk about it—”
“I’ll think about it,” he said and pulled out of the parking lot. He sped the entire way back home. Neither he, nor Angela, said another word. Nor did they listen to the radio. There was just the quiet sound of the wheels rolling over the pavement and the hum of the car’s engine filling the empty space. When they got back to his garage, they quietly entered the house and went down the stairs so they could go to headquarters. JD and the others were already there and still wearing their masks, having entered in through one of the tunnel entrances underground. It was a good thing Orlando and Angela had made sure to put their masks back on when they entered the basement of his house because Dale was there.
JD let out a loud groan. “Man, took you guys long enough. I was beginning to worry.”
Normally, Orlando would say something witty or sarcastic to put JD in his place. Not then. He simply sat down in his spot, and ran his hands over his jeans as he still tried to process the fact that his girlfriend was one of the bad guys. Looking at Dale, he saw fear in the guy’s eyes. Orlando was scared too, but determined not to let anyone else show it. Oddly, he was afraid for Tait more than anything else.
“You run an interesting group Alan,” Jaes said, and got the ball rolling. “I’m not sure I approve of your actions tonight. They were counterproductive, and we’ve now lost another base of operation in the tunnels. It took a lot of hard work to get that information.” His eyes focused on Dale. “At the same time, we have gained an ally, and protection of life is the purpose of our mission on this planet.”
“I certainly appreciate it,” Dale muttered.
“Yeah, being brainwashed doesn’t exactly sound like my cup of tea either,” JD agreed.
“Are you guys going to answer my questions now? I mean, yeah, you showed me that video. Some of it I get. There are aliens fighting on Earth, in my hometown, but I still don’t get why you’re involving us in the fight. Are all of you aliens?” Dale asked. The guy always asked a lot of questions in school too, like he had to know it all. Again, Orlando had a perfect response to his classmate’s inquiries, but kept his mouth closed. He wanted this meeting to be over and done with.
Alan shook his head. “No. Not everyone here is alien to your planet. The four who wear the masks are teenagers who live near your home. Perhaps we can share who they are later, but tonight is not the night. As I said before, the green tribe and blue tribe are using the youth for their experiments to create warriors, easy to use pawns, for their battle.”
“I would liken it to how some on your planet do testing on animals. These tribes hold your people in a similar light,” Jaes added.
“You are convenient and plentiful,” Alan continued.
“And in their eyes, easy to manipulate. Especially since your science has not yet uncovered the abilities your species is naturally born with.”
Dale rubbed his forehead slowly. “So you’re saying this weird black goo that I make is something my body is doing naturally? If that was the case, then why does it make me feel so sick when I do it?”
“That must be a side effect to the injection,” Cadence said quietly.
“But I feel okay, and I got one too,” Angela pointed out.
Cadence shook her head. “I know, but you got a different version of it. His body might not have been ready to undergo the changes like yours did. There are different amounts of chemicals involved, a lot of factors to weigh.”
Orlando gave a slight nod to show he was at least paying attention, but something Jaes said was echoing in his mind. They think we’re easy to manipulate. Is that what’s happening to her? Or maybe it’s what’s happening to me. He shook his head. No, if Alan was doing something so disgusting, it’d be more obvious.
With a loud sigh, Dale put his head in his hands for a moment. “They know who I am. They have my girlfriend.”
“And I doubt they’ll let this go easily,” Jaes said.
“You don’t think they’ll be at my house waiting for me?” Dale’s eyes grew wide.
Glancing over at Orlando, Angela shook her head. “We heard Bean and Sprout on their way out saying they’re going to lay low for a little while. Might give us enough time to come up with some kind of a plan.”
“I would like to offer you an invitation to work with me, Dale. Your abilities would be useful for my team, and of course we will all be cooperating together. Regardless of if you accept or deny my proposal, we will make sure you have adequate protection. However, if you want to help your people and your girlfriend more thoroughly, it might be best to join in and get involved,” Jaes said, and extended his hand to Dale. “I can offer you training as well and an examination to see just how the drug has affected your body.” He paused and glanced over at Angela. “You as well if you so desire. That should have been done awhile ago.”
Alan winced a little. “My apologies Lucky Twelve.”
“It’s cool!” Angela said. “I feel okay, but maybe we should, just to be on the safe side.”
“Well?” Jaes pressed, still keeping his attention on Dale.
Hesitantly, Dale took his hand. “I appreciate the help. There’s still a lot to think about, but you’ve helped me twice now. I’m willing to work something out that we’re both okay with.”
“We will talk more over the next few days.” Jaes faced Orlando. “And what happened during your observations?”
With a sigh, Orlando sat higher in his chair. He was being forced to participate now. “They all met at the park as planned. Nathan, the other guy with them who goes to my school, was all super punctual and all serious business. I’m pretty sure he was more into the whole thing than Chi-Chi is.”
“Chihuahua,” JD said angrily, making sure to pronounce the word long and slow so each syllable was accented.
“Whatever, so he’s pretty gung-ho and that’s a little scary in and of itself. Tori was playing Dale like he was her French horn. No offense or anything, but you might want to get your head out of the clouds. Pretty sure she’s bad news.” Saying those words made Orlando feel like a hypocrite. “A-anyway, they were told there would be an initiation task, a mission, and that was to get more funding and supplies so The Doctor could start making more of this drug. They want to resume experimenting shortly after the new year. That was when they went inside, saying something about more tests. When they came back out, we...” Found out the identity of two of their key players. He swallowed. “We overheard Bean and Sprout talking about the blue tribe’s desire to betray the green one.”
Both of Jaes eyebrows raised. “How interesting and unexpected. The Basatlavan, or blue tribe I mean, is not a rich nation. They need the support of the Gelandrosimbol, or green tribe, in order to ensure victory in the war. Turning on them will cause a ripple that will affect us all.”
“Intense,” JD said, and when Orlando didn’t respond to that, he leaned forward from where he sat on the couch. And he stared.
“What are you looking at?” Orlando asked.
JD’s eyes narrowed, making him look menacing in his black mask. “You’re being weird, even for you.”
“It’s a ridiculous hour of the morning, and you expect me to be myself?” Orlando snapped. “What business of yours is it anyway?”
“Guys, chill.” Angela stepped in before JD could retaliate. Orlando could see him ready to start yelling, and was glad she intervened. Fighting wasn’t a good idea in front of Dale, and it was late. The adrenaline was wearing off of them all by now, which would make them crabby soon.
JD sat back again, and slouched. He seemed to relax even more when Cadence put a hand on his arm. Angela exhaled slowly.
“We’re all tired,” she said. “That’s a
ll. Back off Chi-Chi. I know you’re not exactly the most pleasant person to be around when you’re beat either.”
It was hard to tell if JD believed her or not, but he let it go for the time being. Orlando yawned as if to emphasize the point and made sure to stretch.
“I think it’s time for bed. Kind of don’t have anything more to say anyway. If you need to stay over, you can, but don’t expect me to be coming over in the morning with a continental breakfast or anything.” He stood up and made eye contact with Alan, trying to figure out how to ask the guy to come over tomorrow afternoon. Orlando would be home alone, so Alan could come over whenever he wanted to and it wouldn’t be an issue.
Finally Orlando said, “I can give you more details later today if you want them. Just pop on in like you’re known to do. Lyssa’s going to her boyfriend’s house in about eight hours to help him cook.”
“I still think you should come over,” Angela mumbled. “And I vote for spending the night.”
“Mom and Dad are going to freak out,” JD said to her.
“They think I’m at my friend’s house. And I’m sure if you told them you were too tired to drive because you fell asleep at Slick’s house, again, they’d understand. Unless you feel like driving.”
“No, I’m beat. C...I mean...Slick? Is that okay?” JD glanced over at Cadence. She nodded.
Dale looked at everyone in the room. “I need to get home. How am I—”
“I’ll take you back. That is not a problem. Your parents won’t even know you snuck back in. They will think you were there the whole time,” Alan said.
“You’re going to do that teleportation thing again, aren’t you?”
“Yes, the three of us will leave together. We can talk more as well and do thorough introductions.” Alan pointed at Jaes.
Orlando ran a hand through his hair. “Cool, so are we done here?” He’d offer Alan the respect of officially closing out the meeting for them.
“Yes.” The alien nodded.
With a slight wave, just to attempt being polite, Orlando walked out the door so he could go back home. Once alone in the tunnel, he pulled off his mask and stuffed it into his jeans pocket. He then pulled out his cell phone so he could see if Lyssa had tried calling him. Doubtful, because if she had she’d have been waiting for him in the living room when he had come home. There was a text from Tait, however.
“You awake?” Was all it said, and it was from about thirty minutes ago.
“Yes, I’m awake but I’m not sure if I can talk to you,” he mumbled to himself as he stepped out of the long corridor that led to the main building of his house. He did think about texting her back, but she’d probably want to call him. And she would most likely be upset and give him another lie about a fight with her parents.
He climbed the stairs quietly and turned the volume back on his phone. As he was walking through the dark hallways of the mansion, his phone lit up as three new notifications for texts displayed on the touch screen—along with the loud tone that echoed off of the marble floors of the mansion entryway.
“Are you kidding me?” he groaned and glanced up the stairs to see Lyssa’s bedroom light turn on. “I just got a snack, go back to bed,” he called up to her. The light stayed on for a few more seconds. He heard her mumble something about “boys eating too much” and the light went off again. Shutting the door behind him, Orlando got settled in his room, first pulling off his regular clothes so he could be more comfortable. Then he climbed into bed and checked to see who was sending him messages at a time when normal people were supposed to be sleeping.
The first was from JD. “We’ll talk tomorrow. I know something is up. Trust me and stop trying to be so cool.”
Orlando rolled his eyes, and read the next message. When he saw it was from Tait he almost deleted without bothering to read it, but something willed him to see what this one said anyway. He felt a tightening in his chest as he finally let himself get angry with her.
“Come over tomorrow?” he read aloud quietly. “Is she serious?” He did delete the message then, and saw the last one which was from Angela. It brought a small smile to his face.
“Remember you’re awesome.”
Not feeling like it, but I’ll try to keep it in mind. He sighed, crawled under his covers, and then went to sleep.
Chapter Seventeen
By the time Alan and Sir Tuliy made it back to the ship, most of the crew was starting to wake up for the main dayshift. They tried to keep on a similar schedule as the Earth people while they were stationed there. Alan had officially been awake for twenty-four Earth hours the minute he stepped into his new quarters.
Sir Tuliy sat down and it was the first time Alan had ever seen the man so tired. Usually Tuliy had never ending amounts of energy, yet looked relaxed. While his friend was still calm, his body practically collapsed on the couch as he lay down. Alan followed him into the den and sat down in the nearest chair he could find.
“Your team is...” Tuliy said and waved his hands in front of him slightly. “I’m not sure what to think. I see what you mean about not being sure if they respect you or not.”
“This was a good night. In fact, things have been a lot smoother the past couple of days,” Alan said, and he hoped he wasn’t in trouble. Would Tuliy tell Sir Oriol that Alan wasn’t competent enough to take on the responsibility of a team? He might not have been, but he was growing attached to his work and his charges.
“I think you’re wrong.”
“What?”
“When you said they didn’t respect you. You’re wrong. And I see you trust them in ways that I wouldn’t dream of with my charges. I’m envious.” Tuliy yawned. “Cadence especially is quite amazing. I’ve never met someone so...”
“So?” Alan pressed, curious to know everything he thought. Surprised to hear so many compliments.
Tuliy shook his head. “Another time I will have the right words. It’s been a long day, and a long night. While the Earth humans may be on holiday today, we are not. There is a lot of work to be done if we have hopes of getting Dale protected, trained, and ready to be a double agent by the end of the weekend.”
“Yes,” Alan whispered, although he wasn’t sure if the boy would be ready for such a large task. Dale had expressed interest in it, but if there was one thing Alan’s charges had taught him, it was how fragile their teenage lives were.
Not only in the literal sense, but figuratively as well. Alan tried to remember how he felt when he was going through a similar stage of his life. Would he have been able to take on such a burden? Perhaps he had been in their position when he first joined the military. The responsibility forced me to cope. And he did so by pushing his feelings away. Could Dale function like that as well? He worried about the boy’s ability to function under Tuliy’s leadership. It was difficult to say how understanding the man was.
“Hopefully he’ll be ready,” Tuliy added. “If not, then it will just have to wait.”
Alan nodded and closed his eyes. “Thank you for your assistance. I’m sorry we lost the location of another base.”
“Do not worry about that. It was only a temporary one. Besides, I don’t want to hinder your charges from believing in what is right. If they lose sight of those goals, then we won’t be any better than the other tribes. Disappointing, yes, frustrating, maybe, but we need to keep our eyes on the bigger picture. I’m not sure if Sir Orioltogorthan will agree with me, but the more we make ourselves known as a threat to them, the more nervous they will be. Being feared is a good thing,” he said.
“Yes. Tuliyogljaes, about Alonauxoonamondae, I should have said something sooner but...” Hopefully Tuliy wasn’t too mad about the revelation that Alona’s identity had been kept from him. The timing had never seemed right, but Orlando letting the information slip unintentionally had been a blessing in disguise.
“We can discuss it another time. Then I will decide how much of said discussion I will share with our superiors,” Tuliy said, and waved a han
d at him. “And didn’t I tell you not to address me by my full name? I don’t like it. It makes me feel so much older than I am.”
“How do you think I feel?” Alan laughed, and couldn’t help but sigh with relief.
“Yes, your charges call you by your family name. Though I suppose your personal one is much more complicated than my own.”
“True. I do like it because it makes me feel like I belong there with them. I guess my family name is a normal name to have on Earth. It makes home feel less far away,” Alan admitted.
“Exactly what I want to feel as well. It helps me to stay motivated.”
“That too.”
And Alan needed that motivation so he could keep pressing forward. Without it, he might have deserted. He closed his eyes and was able to sleep until Sir Oriol’s voice started blasting itself over the intercom wondering why Alan hadn’t done his morning cleaning tasks yet. Despite having just been on a mission, he wasn’t allowed to rest. Sir Tuliy of course was allowed to do so for as long as necessary. It didn’t matter much. After Alan finished his daily chores, he “popped” over to Orlando’s house. By the time he arrived, the others had all left The Apartment. Alan slept there for a few hours in peace. Being able to teleport definitely had its advantages.
****
“We have a celebration like this back home,” Alan said in between bites of food. He’d awakened after about three hours of rest, made himself a bit more presentable, and then teleported into the main manor of Orlando’s home.
It was late afternoon, and the boy had been cooking alone in the kitchen in silence. Not long after, they both had a plate of what was called “stuffing”, part of a bird called “chicken”, and vegetables called “potatoes” and “corn”. Alan had eaten everything but the stuffing before. The last time he had the chicken it had been fried, not baked, and the potatoes were whole with a lot of various toppings. Orlando had smashed them with butter and a spice called garlic. A versatile food. They were all reminiscent of home for Alan. In fact, he may have had a lot of the same foods there, only with different names.
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