by Darien Cox
“Because you’re a regular human,” Elliot said. “Tyler doesn’t always work well with regular humans.”
“Don’t say that!” Brett whispered.
Elliot shrugged. “You know it’s true.”
The front door shut again and Tyler stepped back into the kitchen, holding his odd green gun. “Why aren’t you guys downstairs yet? We’ve got shit to do, let’s go!”
“Oh boy, Tyler’s getting scary,” Elliot said, and headed out of the kitchen, Brett following.
Tyler glanced at Tim. “Come on, it’s this way.”
At the end of the hall Tyler opened a door, and Tim followed him down a set of wooden stairs into a wide space with a low ceiling. Painted cement walls, flat beige carpet stretching across the floor, it was a nice finished basement, spacious and clean, simply decorated.
Against the wall ahead of them, Brett and Elliot were hunched over a table with a monitor, speakers, and other equipment Tim couldn’t identify. A bathroom door was open to his left, toilet and shower visible. Off to the right Tim saw a neatly made up bed with an open green duffle bag on the mattress. “Are you sleeping down here, Tyler?”
“Yeah.” Tyler joined Elliot and Brett, and Tim followed.
“Really?” Tim said. “Elliot, you couldn’t even put him in a guest room? You’ve got like...a million of them in this house.”
“I prefer the basement,” Tyler said, leaning over and turning on a speaker. “Plenty of room for the equipment. Okay, let’s fire this up.”
Tim marveled at the quick shift in Tyler’s personality. The guy was back in work-mode, and it was hard to believe this was the same Tyler who’d been whispering suggestively in his ear not long ago.
Elliot turned from the desk. “Tim, help me drag some of those folding chairs over?”
“Sure.”
Once they were all set up, Tyler took the lead, seated before the computer with Brett on one side and Elliot on the other. Tim felt pushed out, so decided to forgo a chair and just stood behind Tyler, watching. These guys might be all-important with their alien agenda, but this was about Tim’s ranger station. This time, it affected him directly, so he wasn’t about to sit on the sidelines.
“Okay, this is a good place to start it,” Tyler said. “Here’s Tim walking back to the station after I tested the cameras. Motion sensors are already in place.”
“Let it roll,” Brett said. “Is the speaker volume up?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, everyone quiet.”
Four square blocks onscreen showed the different camera angles, views of the woods from each side of the ranger station. Tyler pointed to the top left box, where Tim watched himself step out of the woods into the clearing. It was odd seeing himself onscreen. In the shot, he still wore Tyler’s tight camouflage jacket. The way he speed-walked into the frame, head down, he saw his own fear reflected back and remembered how uneasy he’d felt in that moment. His image passed beneath the camera, then was no longer visible.
The speakers caught the sound of his footsteps climbing the ladder, then the cabin door opening and closing. Then there were just the four shots of the woods around the station, nothing but darkness and trees.
“Okay,” Tyler said. “Whoever returned Tim’s jacket did so at some point in the following twenty minutes. So keep an eye on the tree-lines.”
The four of them watched silently. Tim chewed his fingernails. Exactly three minutes and nineteen seconds later, the screen block in the top left flickered, then became distorted, the picture warped and blinking like a TV station that wouldn’t quite tune in.
“What the fuck,” Tyler whispered. “Camera-one just went all weird.”
“Oh, I don’t like this,” Elliot said. “I know you installed that camera properly so I won’t even ask.”
Tyler nodded. “Suffice it to say there’s no reason it should be doing that.”
Tim leaned over. “It’s like it’s just...scrambled.” The camera view hadn’t gone completely blank. The woods were still somewhat visible within the frame, but it was like viewing them through a flickering lava lamp, all the details twisting and bending. The other three camera-views on the split-screen were still clear.
“Just that one camera?” Brett said. “Tell me that’s a coincidence.”
“Yeah,” Elliot said. “Quite a coincidence. Tyler, enlarge that frame.”
Tyler tapped the keys, and the distorted camera feed filled the screen. Tim blinked, leaning over and studying it closely, but it was impossible to identify anything within the warped, flickering image. A familiar, soft, click-click-click came through the speakers and he jumped. “Wind that back!” he said. “And turn up the volume.”
Tyler complied, then glanced behind him. “What did you hear?”
“That clicking sound I’ve been hearing the past month. I’m sure of it.”
“Okay, everyone be super quiet and just listen,” Brett said. “Tyler, hit play.”
They all stared at the garbled image. Goosebumps rose on Tim’s arms when an odd hiss came through the speakers. Then clicking. And then, a prolonged scraping sound. Tyler hit pause. “Sounded like something heavy being dragged across the ground.”
“Or something dragging itself across the ground,” Tim muttered quietly.
They all looked at him.
“Those dark shapes I saw out in the woods I told you about. They moved with a slithering...dragging motion.”
“Oh great, that’s a pleasant image for my dreams tonight,” Elliot shook his head. “Go on, Tyler. Let it play out.”
The recording resumed. There was quiet for a time, then another long hiss, like steam from a broken pipe. Another click-click-click, then the hissing sound again. Eventually, there was silence.
Abruptly, the camera shot cleared, and there was the view of the woods again, without distortion. They all leaned in. Minutes passed, but there was nothing visible along the tree-line. Then came the sound of the station door opening, footsteps climbing down the ladder. A shuffle of feet, and then Tyler was in the frame, gun out, turning in a circle. Tyler wound the footage back, switched it to all four split-screen frames, and they watched it again. Same sounds, but nothing visible but trees on any of the clear cameras. He enlarged that one frame again and sped forward to the point where he stepped into the frame with his gun, then hit pause.
“That’s the end of it. This is the moment I spotted Tim’s jacket hanging there. After that Tim came out, we looked around a bit, then left.”
Tim was pleased Tyler hadn’t let it roll on to their screaming match after he ran out into the woods like a maniac.
“That’s fucked up,” Elliot said. “The visual recording went wonky for the exact amount of time between you guys going inside and the jacket being left. Then cleared again as soon as whoever left it was out of sight?”
“That’s what it looked like.” Brett sighed. “Well, Patterson, I’m sorry I doubted you. And I did doubt you. But something very strange is certainly going on up there.”
“Who would do this?” Elliot looked from Tim to Brett. “Going to all that trouble not to be seen? Taking the jacket then returning it, just to mess with Tim? Why’s he so important? He’s just the forest ranger. No offense, Tim.”
“No, I’ve been asking myself the same question, believe me.” Lowering himself into a folding chair, Tim felt sick. “Please tell me you guys have some ideas.”
“No ideas, but I do have a question.” Drumming fingers on the table, Tyler shrugged. “If whatever was making those sounds brought the jacket back, suppressed the motion sensors, and scrambled the camera feed, why didn’t it kill the audio too? We all just clearly heard something shuffling around out there.”
Brett nodded. “Good question. The other cameras Nolan and Elliot set up in the woods over a year ago, the ones nearer to the field? Those don’t have audio. Is it possible whoever did this knows about the other cameras, and just assumed the ones Tyler set up at the station tonight were the same? They might
have assumed the station cameras didn’t have audio either.”
“That would indicate an attention to detail and level of forethought I’m really not comfortable with,” Elliot said. “But it would explain why Nolan hasn’t seen anything on the feeds in the woods. If this person knows the cameras are there, they could know how to avoid being seen on them.”
“If it’s a person at all,” Tyler said.
“Oh, come on!” Elliot said. “Why would an alien steal Tim’s jacket?”
“Thank you, Elliot,” Tim said. “I agree.”
“You have any enemies, Tim?” Brett asked.
“I’m not universally liked, but enemies? I don’t think so.”
“Whether it’s random or targeted, either way, it’s got to be humans behind this shit,” Elliot said. “Definitely.”
Tyler arched his back, stretching his arms and yawning. “You don’t know it’s human for sure, Elliot. Don’t say definitely unless it’s proven.”
“Oh, should I not say definitely unless it’s proven?” Elliot baby-talked, poking at Tyler’s ribs while he was stretched out and vulnerable. “Am I breaking all your little rules, Tyler?”
“Stop!” Tyler laughed, guarding his ribs with his arms. “I just seriously don’t think we can rule out an ET.”
“Jacket-stealing extraterrestrials,” Elliot said. “That’s what you’re going with?”
“Just keeping an open mind.” Tyler shoved Elliot’s hands away when he tried to tickle him again, still snickering. “You can’t rule it out without evidence, Elliot, that’s just a fact.”
Tim felt a quick burst of jealousy watching the exchange. Jealous that Elliot felt comfortable enough with Tyler to tickle him. Jealous that Tyler seemed to enjoy it. He wanted to be able to get playful with Tyler like that. He wanted to be able to make him laugh that way, full and uninhibited.
“Tim what do you think?” Brett asked. “Your gut feeling.”
“My gut feeling is I don’t care if it’s a person or an alien or a fucking sasquatch, I just want to get to the bottom of it,” he said. “And be done with it.”
Brett shifted his chair to face Tim. “We need to contact Baz,” he said. “If the Whites have some insight into this, I want to know.”
Elliot huffed. “And if they don’t?”
“If they don’t, they at least have better surveillance tech than we do. We’ll ask if they can help us figure this out.”
“They won’t,” Elliot said. “Not if it’s got nothing to do with them. Baz said they’re annoyed that we expect anything from them at all. They want things to go back to the way they were, when we pretended to not know they were there.”
“Well, fuck them, it automatically has something to do with them because it’s near their base,” Brett said. “Plus, they’re using our planet and not paying rent. Elliot? First thing tomorrow, can you put out the Baz Signal and tell him we need a meeting?”
Tim snorted. “The Baz Signal? Like the Bat Signal?”
“Kind of.” Brett smiled. “We don’t shine a hybrid-shaped spotlight in the sky. Just a lantern at a designated spot in the mountains.”
“Can’t you just like...give him a cell phone?”
“The Whites don’t allow any electronic communication between us, they’re super paranoid,” Elliot said. “I’ll get in touch with Baz. And I’ll have Nolan look at this footage in the morning too. He’s good at this shit, he might be able to figure out how to clean up the visual feed, so maybe we can see something.”
“Okay.” Brett stood. “It’s late, and that’s about all we can do tonight. Let’s all get some sleep and we’ll touch base in the morning.”
“Hang on,” Tim said. “That’s it? I’m supposed to go back up to the station in two days and we have no answers!”
“Have a little faith,” Elliot said. “We’ve solved way more complicated riddles than this.”
“He’s right, Tim,” Tyler said. “Try to relax, we’ll figure it out.”
Tyler’s words themselves were not a comfort. But Tyler’s soft gray eyes locked on Tim’s were. “Okay. Here’s hoping.”
The four of them headed back up the stairs. Tim assumed Tyler was going to walk him out, since he followed. But once Tim, Elliot, and Brett stepped into the hall, Tyler said, “Goodnight,” then closed the door.
Elliot stared at the closed basement door. “Goodnight, Tyler.”
The sound of a lock clicked, then Tyler’s footsteps descending the stairs back down. Elliot looked at Brett, pointing to the door with raised eyebrows. “Such a freak,” he whispered.
“Elliot, stop,” Brett said. “Upstairs.”
Brett and Elliot started down the hall. Tim wasn’t sure if he should follow them or just leave. He was curious about that little exchange just now. As though reading his mind, Elliot glanced back, then turned around and wrapped an arm round him. “You too, forest boy. Come on upstairs for a minute. Just want to check in, see how you’re doing after that weirdness.”
Tim scowled at Elliot as he led him down the hall. “Well, you’re being nicer to me than usual, Nicholson.”
Elliot gave his shoulder a squeeze before letting go. “You’re officially in the shit with us, Tim, for the first time, so let me lay it out for you. We have each other’s backs, personal gripes and past fights or...past bad sexual encounters aside.”
Chuckling, Tim flushed. “Do you have to keep reminding me how bad the sex was that night? It was years ago and I told you I was drunk, I barely remember it.”
“Point is, we’re in this with you, and no one gets hung out to dry. So come sit with us for a minute and shake it off.”
“Okay. Thanks.” Well, this was certainly different. Never in his wildest dreams did he think Elliot Nicholson would be one to give him comfort. But he was comforted by Elliot’s words, warmed even.
He followed Elliot up a short flight of stairs, watching him scratch his butt, then scrub his hair with his fingers. Tim used to think of Elliot’s hair as dirty-blond, but it seemed lighter after spending the evening looking at Tyler. You have a mysterious woodland stalker that can remotely block surveillance cameras and you’re focused on comparing Elliot’s hair color to Tyler’s? Yeah, he was. There was no denying it. He had Tyler lodged in his brain. Tyler, who talked about sex like it was just another mission strategy and wouldn’t even tell Tim his last name. This probably wasn’t the smartest crush he’d ever gotten, but it was by far the strongest.
They went up to the second floor, into a vast room with a fireplace and a wall of windows that looked out into the night, an awesome view of the village lights in the distance. Brett sat down. “Sit a minute, you guys.”
“Anyone want a drink?” Elliot walked over to the bar. “Because I do.”
“I have to drive,” Tim said.
“Tim. I know you’re tired, but sit a minute,” Brett said. “How are you doing?”
Tim took the chair beside him. “You want the truth?”
“I understand. And I want to say I’m impressed with how you’ve handled this. Not just this, but everything over the past year. I know you never wanted to be part of this madness with us. Your strength and resilience have been impressive.”
“Thanks, Brett,” he said, grateful no one but Tyler knew his resilience had suffered a serious setback that left him in tears one night. He shrugged casually. “It is what it is, right? Can’t change it so gotta roll with it.”
“Yeah, it’s fucked up.” Elliot walked over with two martinis, handing one to Brett.
“You made me one? I didn’t ask for a martini.”
“I know you want it, Brett, so spare me the routine where you pretend you don’t and go ‘Oh, I mustn’t!’ then drink it anyway and crash out in the guest room. You can sleep here tonight so you don’t have to drive.”
“Oh, all right. If I must.” Brett accepted the martini, and Elliot took the seat across from them. Brett took a sip of his drink and scowled, eyes on Elliot. “I know what you want to ask, Elli
ot, so please, just don’t.”
“He’s staying with me!” Elliot said in a hushed voice. “I have a right to know what I’m dealing with.”
“No, you actually don’t.”
“Who?” Tim said. “Tyler?”
“Stop,” Brett said. “He could hear us.”
“He’s in the basement two floors down,” Elliot said softly. “I know my own house. Trust me. He can’t hear us from down there.”
“What are you guys talking about?” Tim asked.
“Tyler,” Elliot said. “And all his creepy little secrets.”
“Tyler’s business isn’t yours,” Brett said. “We’re not discussing him. Period.”
“Why, because Patterson is here?”
“No!” Brett said. “Because we’re not discussing Tyler’s business, Elliot, regardless of who’s here. But yes, you should keep in mind when discussing anything that Tim is still new to all this.”
“Oh.” Tim rolled his eyes. “You guys don’t want to talk in front of me. The newbie.”
“Tim signed Ogden’s nondisclosure, that covers him,” Elliot said. “And Tim’s going to be working side by side with Tyler. He can hear this. And he’ll keep his mouth shut. Right, Tim?”
“Of course.”
“Good.” Elliot’s cat-like green eyes crinkled at the corners as he grinned. “Because you have no choice.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Tim said. “You guys own me now, I get it. Tyler already made clear earlier he’s my boss while he’s in town.”
A spray of liquor shot from Brett’s mouth as he laughed.
Tim slapped his back. “You okay there?”
He nodded. “That’s just so Tyler. Establishing his authority.”
It felt a bit like Tim was betraying Tyler’s confidence, sitting here listening to Elliot and Brett discuss him. He should probably leave, but he was too damn interested. If he could learn something about what made Tyler tick? He was all ears. Especially now, after Tyler’s indecent proposal. Tim still hadn’t decided if sleeping with Tyler again was a good idea, no matter how enthusiastic his dick was about it.
“Why does he have to sleep in the basement?” Elliot whispered. “And don’t tell me it’s just to give him space for equipment. We have bigger rooms, but Ogden specifically ordered us to put him in the basement when he called.”
