by Adam Moon
The parent star to the Grey planet had increased in mass by half a percent as a great dark patch grew across its southern hemisphere, dimming its output of visible light. At first, no one knew what to make of the abnormality until they checked for the Grey planet and found it missing from its orbit.
Then a scout reported that the invading Greys had abandoned Earth, retreating en masse. Apparently Shaylo was still on Earth, dead. He’d committed suicide the way the Greys could when they felt like there were no other options.
None of it made much sense until Liktar considered that the young male had the ability to teleport objects. But did he have the power to teleport an entire planet into its own sun? The idea seemed ludicrous, but nothing else explained it. And he still had no idea why the Greys had abandoned their conquest. They didn’t need Shaylo to accomplish their mission. It was all too bizarre.
Base Command hailed him, so he opened a channel.
To his utter surprise, The President stared back at him from the holographic monitor. She said, “Greetings, Admiral. I see your plan has worked, in a fashion. That is fortunate. You’ve secured our future and we thank you.”
Liktar was getting increasingly uncomfortable. “Hello, President Blimtot. How can I further serve you?”
The President paused and then said, “We have a problem. Those advanced humans saved us but they also now pose a serious threat. They destroyed the Grey planet and the entire Grey civilization without warning and without remorse. Who’s to say they won’t do the same to us?”
“But they have no reason to attack us.”
“Reason doesn’t come into the equation. We can’t bet our future on whether we trust the humans to use reason. We must act before it’s too late. Do you understand?”
“What do you suggest?”
“I submit that the planet should be obliterated.”
Liktar guffawed. “We’ve spent a long time trying to defend the Earth from just that. They saved us from the Greys. We owe them. It’s hardly justified to wipe them out after all they’ve been through and all they’ve done for us.”
“What would you suggest?”
“We should concentrate on the most powerful individual only. He’s the only one who poses a threat. If we can eliminate him, we’ll have nothing to worry about going forward.”
President Blimtot asked, “Are you suggesting we poison him?”
Liktar hated the notion of punishing their savior. And what would happen if the powerful human caught them trying to kill him?
He offered, “I could put a team on synthesizing an antidote, to diminish his abilities.”
“Can that be done?”
“I don’t see why not. We changed him so it stands to reason we should be able to change him back.”
“What if he doesn’t let you? Do you have a back-up plan?”
“If he won’t work with us peaceably then he’ll leave us no choice. We’ll have to kill him.”
“Get your team to work on the antidote and report back as soon as it’s ready. We’re on a tight deadline here so make it quick.” President Blimtot signed off and the holographic display vanished like a ghost.
Liktar called for his second in command. “Get working on an antidote to what we did to the humans.”
“Are you serious? How the hell would we administer it, even if I could synthesize something that works?”
“Let me worry about that. I’ll just ask him nicely.”
The second in command scoffed and headed below deck to set to work.
Uninvited Guest
Jack was back home in his own bed in Ault, Colorado. His mom was downstairs laughing with Sally, telling her all of the embarrassing stories from his childhood.
He’d been home for five days now, as he slipped in and out of consciousness. Twice he’d teleported to the desert without warning, but he’d gotten used to his powers so he’d been able to return right away, without the prerequisite time wasted waiting to recharge.
News crews had tried to swarm the house but Commander Watson and a few diehard soldiers had set up a perimeter and then they hassled every snooping reporter so much that they simply gave up and left.
Watson et al had left yesterday when the media whirlwind had died down completely. Ault was remote and dull. It was not a place where people decided to stay longer than was necessary.
According to news reports, just one casualty had resulted from the second wave; Melanie was the only death.
Every time he thought of her, he also thought about what he’d done to the Grey home world to avenge her. He wished the two weren’t forever linked in his mind. He’d made a terrible decision to get rid of the Grey threat once and for all, and to do that, he had to get rid of the species. But more than that, he’d done it to see the look on Shaylo’s face. The realization nearly made him weep again. He’d become comfortable as an inhuman monster capable of unheard of atrocities. But his conscience fought back, punishing him for his actions.
It had all worked out perfectly after that. Shaylo instructed the Greys, via the camera, to abandon their quarry based on what Jack had done and what he could do to the rest of them.
Melanie’s funeral was yesterday and he’d missed it. He tried to go, but his mom and Sally wouldn’t hear of it. He could barely stand. He dreaded to think what her parents must think of him. After all, she died because of him.
Hank Beltran was staying with Dan and Molly. Jack had made a phone call during one of his few lucid moments and convinced both parties that each could be trusted. Hank needed to practice and Dan and Molly could help him hone his abilities. And Hank had expressed a need for understanding. He needed someone to talk to about what his body was going through, and who better to ask advice than Dan and Molly. He could only hope Hank was on his best behavior, but then again, he’d regret it in a heartbeat if he wasn’t.
Molly had called him earlier this morning. She was hysterical, mumbling about a new prophetic dream she’d had. She mentioned poison and antidote and a new type of alien. It was all a jumble to his fevered mind. A couple of times he’d nearly fell unconscious as she spoke.
When she was done, he said, “Uh huh,” and then hung up on her, falling asleep with his phone in his lap. When he awoke, he didn’t remember ever having spoken to her.
Sally was allowed to spend the nights in his bed. How she’d convinced his mom that it was okay was a question he didn’t care to hear the answer to. Maybe she just didn’t tell her.
Either way, it was nice to have someone. She was the only person who knew what he’d done, and rather than run from him in utter disgust, it seemed as though she adored him more than ever.
On the morning of day five, a visitor appeared at the foot of his bed. He could hear Sally downstairs and the noises of the television in the background.
The visitor was not human but it was not a Grey either. He’d seen a creature like it during his instantaneous tour of the universe, but only fleetingly. It was slightly smaller than a man, with many tentacles for arms that jutted from its trunk haphazardly. Its flesh was a very pale green, milky and smooth, covered in contraptions that looked like gemstones but were probably some type of alien technology. It hovered, suspended by the down-flow of air created by its twirling thick flagella, in the same way bacteria swim around with their whip-like tails. Three tentacles extended to the floor to prop it up as its whipping tail slowed to a stop. Its head was conical and twice as large as a man’s. It had a single central eye with lids that closed like a chameleon’s does. Its mouth was a gaping chasm filled with a thick gelatinous material that squelched when it moved. It had no ears or nose that Jack could see.
A deep sadness washed over Jack that emanated from the creature. It was an ancient sadness, with multiple layers and meanings that he couldn’t put his finger on. He sat up and waited to see what the hell it would do to him.
Its mouth moved up and down, sideways, and in and out. As it moved the gelatinous goop inside squished and wobbled. Faint vibrations
soon clarified into words that Jack could understand.
It said, “I am Admiral Liktar. Thank you for defeating the Greys, Jack.”
Jack’s eyes widened. He nodded for it to go on.
“We infected you and a handful of others with an enhancer. We gave you the tools to save your species.”
“Why did you help us?”
“The Greys would have destroyed the Earth and then moved on to our planet. How exactly did you beat them?”
Jack considered lying to the beast but he decided the truth was his only option. “I used the abilities you bestowed upon me to teleport their home world into their sun.”
The alien’s sadness intensified. It said, “We suspected as much. Your abilities are frighteningly powerful.” It paused for a moment. “I have an antidote that will take your abilities away, turning you back to normal.” It held out a glass vial in its tentacle with a clear liquid sloshing around inside.
Jack reached forward and took it. “Why would I want my powers to go away?”
“You no longer need them. The Grey threat has passed. And your powers are growing exponentially. It won’t be long before they consume you entirely, killing you.”
Jack couldn’t be sure if the alien creature was telling the truth but he had no reason to doubt it.
He turned the vial over in his hand. “So if I drink this, I’ll go back to being a regular human? Is it safe?”
“Absolutely. We have only strived to aide humanity. You are our friends.”
Jack heard Sally laughing in the distance. “Is there enough for everyone? There are five of us.”
“The others don’t need it. You’re the only one to be given an ability too powerful and unique to harness safely. The truth is that your powers are threatening to all of us. You pose a threat to every living creature in the universe.”
Jack felt a sadness now that came from within himself. He knew the alien was right. He couldn’t be trusted with his gifts. He’d already proven how irresponsible he could be.
He sighed and popped the top off of the vial. He drank it back in a single gulp, hopeful he was making the right decision.
His sadness intensified at once, but this time it came from Admiral Liktar.
Jack’s eyes fluttered and then closed slowly and purposefully, as though his eyelids were being pulled together by a relentless gravity.
The last thing he heard was the whip-like flagella of Liktar start to swoosh as the Admiral left his room. Then his senses crashed into one another as his body was wracked with an unbearable pain that knocked him out cold.
Deceit
Admiral Liktar returned in is shuttle to the orbiting ship.
His second in command was somber. “Did he take it?”
“Yes.”
His second in command sneered and banged his tentacle off of the command console angrily. “If command would have just given me more time, I know I could’ve synthesized an antidote.”
“Liktar sighed. “You don’t know that for sure.”
“If I would have, we could’ve ended this the right way.”
“Command is a nest of cowards. They’ve always been that way. Their decision to administer the poison didn’t come as a surprise to me.”
“We just killed our savior, Admiral. He didn’t deserve that.”
The Admiral stared off into the distance. “It was the right decision. If he could do what he did to the Grey planet, he could do the same thing to us.”
“He had no reason to attack us.”
“I know but he had to die just in case.”
“Well then we’d better stick around long enough to make sure he’s dead because if he survives, we just gave him an excuse to come after us.”
Poisoned
Jack’s stomach clenched. He sat upright and his eyes shot open. Something was wrong. The antidote didn’t feel like it was reversing the effects of the enhancer. It felt like it was killing him.
He had to do something to alleviate the pain. He focused on his own body. He couldn’t tell if he was concentrating in the right place but he had to act fast. He teleported the contents of his stomach away from his body. They splashed on the floor at the foot of the bed.
Then he concentrated on the rest, still working its way into his bloodstream. It appeared at the foot of his bed too. It was a light pink because he couldn’t separate it entirely from his blood cells.
His stomach started to feel better almost instantly.
Had that alien just tried to poison him? But why?
And then he understood the sadness he’d felt from the creature the moment he’d drank the liquid. It had exuded invisible regret and shame. Jack hadn’t been able to decipher it at the time but now he understood.
His immediate reaction was to pinpoint the Admiral and kill him for his deceit. But if he did that, he could never stop. Others might come for him. Could he eliminate them all the way he had the Greys?
The thought made him want to puke and scream at the same time. Why was he tasked with making such decisions? Were they even decisions he should be trusted to make?
The benevolent aliens were so afraid of him that they’d tried to kill him. He deserved answers.
He dwelled on the sadness that he’d picked up from Admiral Liktar. The sadness grew in his minds eye until he could almost taste it. But in concentrating on the sadness, he was able to pinpoint the source. The Admiral was stationed close by, in Earth orbit. He focused and teleported the Admiral back to his bedroom.
Alien Abduction
The alien fell into the wall as it fought to right itself to its brand new surroundings.
It stared at Jack in disbelief and said, “This isn’t possible.”
Jack lied. “I cannot be killed.”
The alien propped its body up on four tentacles and stared off into oblivion as its mind raced. “Kill me. Let my people live. They don’t all deserve to die because of my deception.”
Jack laughed out loud. “I thought you said we were friends. Why would I ever kill my friend?”
Just then, Sally walked into the room and yelped, “What the hell is that thing?”
Jack smiled and in a calm voice he said, “This is our savior. He’s the one who sent us the metal spheres that gave us our abilities.”
Sally scowled at the alien creature as her brain tried to come to terms with what it was seeing. Eventually she sidled over to Jack and said to it, “Thank you, I guess…”
Jack said, “Don’t thank him too soon. He just tried to kill me.”
Sally snarled and took an angry step towards the creature. “You did what?”
Liktar backed away, frightened. “We fear you. We couldn’t allow a threat like yours to exist.”
Jack beckoned Sally back by his side and said to Liktar, “Go back home and tell your people what happened here. Tell them if they ever come anywhere near the Earth again, I’ll teleport every atom of your planet into the heart of a black hole.” He wouldn’t, of course. It was just a threat.
Liktar paused. Finally he said, “That will only instill them with even more fear. It’ll spur them to further action.”
“Then tell them I’m dead. Tell them the threat died with me.”
“But it hasn’t.”
Jack took a deep breath. “I was never a threat to your people in the first place. Tell them I’m dead. Can you do that?”
“I can’t. My people will know that you’re still alive even if I lie.”
Jack shook his head. He was trying to work with Liktar but the alien wasn’t going to give him an inch. “Well now I deem you and your people as a threat to my planet so I can’t allow you to kill me. What if you decided to attack the Earth?”
“We wouldn’t.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Then we’re at a stalemate.”
Jack mulled over his options and found he had few available. Sure he could eliminate the threat but that would mean committing genocide once again and he refused to stoop to that le
vel ever again, no matter what the alternative might be. He want even sure if his psyche could withstand it again.
Liktar said agitatedly, “I can’t return without accomplishing my mission. I can’t allow the threat to remain. I wish it could be any other way but you’ve left me no choice.” He reached behind his back and pulled out a circular device with a handle on the back. He aimed it their way and pressed a button before they could react.
The device was an energy weapon that discharged a brightly lit wave into them, knocking them both down and crushing Jack’s bedroom furniture like it had been hit by a truck.
Sally jumped back to her feet, unharmed, and erected a force field that sliced through Liktar at an angle. Several tentacles fell off as he struggled to press one of the gems that adorned his weird body. Finally he pressed it and said with a panic stricken voice, “Attack my location with everything you’ve got. The human knows we tried to kill him.” Then, as his voice trailed off, the upper half of his body slid to the floor.
His eye blinked once and then he stirred no more.
Jack stood up and said, “What the hell is wrong with these people? They saved us and now they’re trying to kill us.”
Sally backed away from the growing puddle of pink slime that was coming from the dead alien. “Whatever he was, you scare the crap out of his people. Did I just start another interplanetary war by killing him?”
“I don’t think so. I think my very existence did that.”
A New Alien Threat
Just then, a loud boom came from outside the bedroom window. Jack acted on impulse, teleporting himself and Sally outside the house in time to see a huge alien ship breaking through the cloud layer, firing shots down at his house, missing it by mere feet. Each blast created a crater large enough to hide a car inside. The grasses around the perimeter of each crater smoldered. The lawn looked like a no mans land already.
It was Liktar’s ship. His people were coming to save or avenge their Admiral with animalistic ferocity but Jack couldn’t let them destroy his house because his mom was still inside.
