"A very brave man," said Smith. "That thing has cooked the brains of four soldiers already."
My eyes opened wide and I shuddered.
"Where... how... did you come to have it here?"
"We downed one of their vehicles. It was the only survivor." By vehicles I presumed he meant their spacecraft. I wondered what kind of weapons would be needed to shoot down one of those incredibly fast machines.
Smith leaned over and righted my overturned chair. "Sit down Lucy," he ordered.
Gesturing to the creature, he leaned back and blew a cloud of smoke above his head. "You're looking at an incredibly evolved creature. Physically, they're weak, but that big melon head contains amazing abilities to perform feats our scientists say should be impossible."
I remembered the way they'd made me float in the air across my bedroom, and shivered.
"They have no moral compass whatsoever, no emotions - totally driven by the instinct for their species to succeed and thrive. Deceitful little devils - you can't believe a word they tell you."
I continued to watch the creature through the glass. It had lost interest in me and was pacing back and forth in front of the man with the laptop.
"We want you to go in there and try and get inside its mind."
I looked at him sharply, alarm spreading throughout my body. "What?! No!" What had he said - the thing had 'fried four brains' already? The idea of entering that room was insane.
"I'm not going in there!" I said desperately. "For god's sake, this is not my... my..." I couldn't think of the right word. "Problem," I finished lamely.
Smith looked at me coldly through a haze of smoke. "You're part of the human race aren't you? I would think this is every person on earth's 'problem'."
I glanced frantically from Smith to Clare, but there was no sympathy from either of them.
"I'm not doing it," I said, defiantly.
"Then if you can't do it for humanity, perhaps you'll do it for your uncle. Apparently, you're very fond of him."
My head snapped up, and I looked at him in alarm.
"What do you mean - what..."
"If you don't cooperate, your uncle dies. It's your choice." Smith shrugged lightly, and stubbed out his cigarette.
My eyes filled with tears and I swallowed the big lump which rose to my throat. There was no choice. I nodded slowly.
"All right," I said, "I'll do it."
* * * * *
Chapter Nine
Smith moved to the door by the window, and keyed some numbers into a keypad on the wall. There was a loud click, and the door handle moved. He pushed the door open, revealing a small space with another door at the opposite end.
"This is a kind of ante-room. You wait in here until the other door opens. This allows us to keep the room properly sealed at all times so the Innaki can't get out."
Gesturing to the door, he pointed at the keypad. "You don't need to use that - once I've shut this door, the other one will open automatically for you. I want you to try and talk to the E.T., and relay anything it says to Johnson in there. However, it will probably be all lies, so you need to be getting into its head at the same time and listening to what it's really thinking."
He made to exit the original door, but I stopped him.
"But, don't I need one of those... suits? Like... Johnson, in there?"
He shook his head. "You've been exposed to them before. If they were going to have any adverse affect on you, it would have happened by now." He turned and left, the door closing with an ominous thud.
I stood in the small space, trembling, my heart beating frantically. The door into the Innaki's room clicked, and I took a frightened step backwards. Johnson's muffled voice drifted through from the room.
I thought of Uncle Tom, and steeled myself. I would get this over and done with, and hopefully they would be satisfied and leave us alone. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I knew this was a naive notion, but it was better to think silly thoughts than succumb to the despair that threatened to overwhelm me. The Innaki could read thoughts - I had to be careful to screen off everything about Aric and the other hybrids. I didn't want it to know any of that. I imagined my mind as a big circle, and divided it up like a pizza with white lines. Everything I wanted to keep to myself I shifted to one side, and left a small blank section free for me to use. God bless Marcus and Phil, I thought gratefully, for teaching me to do this properly.
Pushing the door open slowly, I stuck my head through and looked cautiously around. The Innaki was in the opposite corner, Johnson, sitting in the chair to the left. He looked at me in surprise.
"Who the hell are you?" he asked. The Innaki continued to watch me from its corner.
I moved into the room and walked towards Johnson, skirting the walls so I could keep as far away from the creature as possible. "Didn't they tell you?" I asked.
"Once we're in here, the room is sealed. They can only see what's happening through the window, or through those." He indicated a camera protruding from the ceiling - there were three of them in all. 'They can't hear us, or talk to us. Why are you in here?" he asked.
I moved closer and stood behind his chair, so that he was between me and the being. "They want me to talk to it."
Johnson looked confused and slightly irritated. "What the hell?! How old are you? They think a kid can do a better job at it than I can?" He paused for a moment, and eyed me thoughtfully. "There must be something special about you if they've sent you in here."
He sat back, and took a look at the laptop screen. "Well, by all means, go ahead. I'm recording everything on this, although I think the battery might be on its way out..." he said, giving the flickering screen a thump which had no effect on the computer. He shrugged and gestured towards the Innaki. "It'll talk to you in your head. Tell me what it says."
It seemed to understand what we were saying. Its voice rang out in my mind - but it wasn't a voice... it was its... thoughts, fully assembled so they just appeared in my head, like conversing in pictures without words.
Lucy Doyle, it said, you are very frightened.
It knew my name - but then, I hadn't shielded that. I kept the circle in my mind strong and intact.
"What is your name?" I asked out loud.
I do not have a name you can pronounce, but the humans call me MH. MH'? I wondered what that stands for.
I believe it stands for Melon Head. It is an attempt at what humans refer to as 'humor'. I forgot the Innaki could read my thoughts too. I'd have to be more careful - I needed to be in control of this conversation.
"Well, what's it saying?" asked Johnson impatiently. I threw him a surprised look. I'd already forgotten he was there.
"It says he knows they call him Melon Head."
Johnson chuckled to himself. "Well," he said, gesturing towards the creature, "keep going."
"How long have you been here?" I asked.
I am told, four of your Earth years. It stared back at me with bulging eyes. A bump on its forehead pulsed as it 'spoke'. It was disconcerting, and my eyes were drawn to it when it talked as though this was its real 'mouth'.
I continued with my interrogation. "Why are you here?"
The humans destroyed my craft and captured me.
"No, I mean, why are the Innaki here, visiting Earth?"
Its eyes narrowed, and I sensed it was reluctant to answer. We are improving the human gene code.
"Why?"
The human creature is sub-standard, stupid and prone to disease. We are working to advance its makeup.
How philanthropic of them, I thought wryly. "They're deceitful little devils," Smith had said. Was it telling the truth? I didn't know what they had done in the numerous procedures they'd apparently performed on me. I didn't get sick very often, but that, according to my Uncle Tom, ran in the family. In the top range of my class most of my school career, I didn't think I was particularly stupid either - was that down to the intervention of the Innaki? I needed to get deeper into its mind. I'm sure it was
blocking me from its real thoughts, just as I was locking it out of mine.
"Are you a male or a female?" I got the distinct impression it was male, but I wanted to be sure.
There is no distinction in our species.
"You mean you're both? Male and female?"
It blinked and said nothing. Perhaps it thought I wouldn't understand.
"Are you going to tell me what he's saying?" asked Johnson again.
His voice startled me. The creature was holding all my attention and I kept forgetting he was in the room.
"He says he is neither male nor female. They are working on the human genetic code because they think we're stupid and disease ridden."
Johnson made a scoffing sound and turned back to his computer screen. "Nothing he hasn't said before," he said, "keep going."
I inhaled, straightening my shoulders, and turned to the Innaki again. Perhaps it was time to be frank. "Do you abduct humans and trade their blood for wyk?" I strained to read its innermost thoughts.
Its head jerked up; I'd caught it off guard. Its eyes narrowed, its gaze piercing.
Foolish human. You think you can get into my head? You are weak, and the ones who sent you will learn nothing here today.
I felt a small surge of triumph - for an emotionless creature, it sure seemed kind of ticked off. I hoped I'd pushed its buttons. Perhaps I could taunt the truth out of it.
"You do do it, don't you?!" I went on. "You are lying about helping the human race!"
It took a step forward, its eyes narrowing, and I stopped myself from moving away.
"Why?!" I continued, "How can you treat people..."
Humans are an arrogant species. They are vessels for wyk. That is their only use.
"That's not true! We have feelings, emotions - we feel pain, love, joy, sadness... you can't do this!"
Its eyes narrowed again, and the bump on its head pulsed faster.
What you speak of is meaningless to me.
I remembered Smith saying they didn't feel anything. I couldn't fathom that notion at all. It had definitely been angry - why couldn't it feel empathy as well?
You can't do this - we will stop you, I said in its head.
For a long moment it stood still and watched me, its eyes expressionless, and I couldn't reach its thoughts. Then it turned to Johnson.
We created you, and we can destroy you.
Johnson began to scream, holding his hands to his head. The Innaki continued to watch him dispassionately. The laptop crashed to the ground and Johnson fell, curled up in fetal position, cradling his head. He was screaming in agony.
"Stop it!" I yelled, crouching beside Johnson. My insides were trembling like jelly and I felt like I was going to vomit. "Stop! Leave him alone!"
The creature ignored me, its gaze on the man writhing on the floor. Gradually, Johnson's movements slowed, his screaming died away. He lay, still on the floor, blood oozing from his nostrils and ears on to the pristine white floor. I took his wrist and felt for a pulse, but I couldn't find one.
"You've killed him!"
We created you, and we can destroy you, it repeated. Narrowing its eyes again, it looked straight at me; my brain was instantly inundated with the most excruciating, buzzing energy. I'd never felt such pain. Grabbing my temples, I staggered backward. I could barely think, but my survival instinct kicked in. Straightening up, I produced a large ball of glowing wyk and threw it as hard as I could at the creature. It hit it full on the head, and it swayed backward, then stood watching me through narrowed eyes.
I shot a desperate look at the window. Wasn't Smith going to send someone in to rescue me? Making for the door, I yanked on the handle but was instantly enveloped in the excruciating pain again. I turned to see the Innaki focusing its tortuous thoughts on me. Desperately, I heaved on the handle and thumped on the unyielding door, but my head was feeling as though it would cave in, and I was ready to sink to the floor. This was not fair! I didn't want to die like this. Through a haze of agony, I focused on the Innaki, pumping all of my fear, anger, loneliness into one giant surge of wyk. I let it go sailing through the air, and it hit the creature squarely, sending it flying with a sickening crunch against the wall. It fell to the floor, and didn't move. The pain in my skull disappeared instantly.
I ran to Johnson and tried to find a pulse again. The door to the room was thrown open - Smith and a number of men in white safety suits rushed in. Two raced to the Innaki, declaring him still alive - barely. The other two headed to Johnson. They examined him, and pronounced him dead. I looked up disbelievingly into Smith's face. He was standing over the body, his attention solely on me.
"You are even more interesting than I thought, Lucy Doyle," he said thoughtfully. He turned to a white suited man. "Get her out of here. Put her in SB5." He strode out of the room, ignoring the small crumpled body of the Innaki in the corner.
I shuddered, stood up on wobbly legs, and allowed the man to escort me out.
* * * * *
"They tell me you haven't been eating, Lucy, you've lost a lot of weight." Dr Chenski shone a small flashlight into my eyes, and frowned as he studied them.
"I'm not really hungry."
Switching off the flashlight with a click, he took my wrist and began to check my pulse.
"You've got to eat something. You're wilting away."
I swallowed and stared across at the meshed window of my 'cell'. They'd put me in a shielded room, similar to the Innaki's; the only difference was that mine had a bed which was bolted to the floor, and a toilet and a curtain-less shower, which, being in full sight of the two way window, afforded no privacy whatsoever. I had resorted to holding my bed sheet up in front of me if I'd needed to go to the bathroom. It seemed Smith, after seeing me throw the Innaki across the room, had upgraded my security status. He never appeared in the room without two armed soldiers, and usually stood near the door for an easy exit if I were to turn against him. I wondered at his reasoning - if I were able to escape through walls as the Innaki did, I would have tried to do it the first day I'd arrived. The soldiers were unnecessary too. I felt too drained, exhausted, to muster up any kind of energy to attack anyone. Dr Chenski was right - after nearly two weeks held captive in this facility, I was wilting away - physically and mentally.
He turned and addressed Clare. "I think she's suffering from depression. I need to have a private word with her."
"I'm sorry, Doctor, but she's too dangerous to be left with you alone."
"For God's sake! She's not eating - she's skin and bones. Look at her, by the looks of things her mental state is deteriorating rapidly. Do you want her in a useful state or don't you?" He glared at Clare, then turned back to me.
"All right, but we'll be watching through there. If she tries anything... starts getting violent, then it's your own neck that's on the line." She gestured for the soldiers to follow her, and she left the room.
"Phew, thank God they're gone," he said, patting my hand. I continued to stare at the window.
"How are they treating you?"
A tear ran down my face. "They keep telling me to show them how I did it - how I pushed the Innaki against the wall. I try, but I can barely move a pencil along a table any more." I looked at him for the first time since he'd entered the room. "I'm... exhausted. I think they're going to keep me here forever."
He took my hand in his, and patted it encouragingly. "Listen, Lucy, you are your only real ally here - I can't do much for you. It is you who needs to be the strong one. Eat properly, don't lose hope. You need to keep your strength up - if you don't, you won't last long in here, and they'll have won."
I wiped the tear from my face, and sniffed.
He leaned closer, making a play of checking the lymph nodes in my neck. "Can they hear us in here?" he whispered. "Any bugs?"
I shook my head. "No, the system they use, it seals the room up tight - no communication signals, in or out."
"What about the cameras up there - can they record what we say?" he a
sked.
I shook my head. "The security cameras just record video, no sound, like the ones you get in shopping malls. They don't work right around me anyway." I was grateful for that small mercy.
"I'm going to prescribe you some medication for your depression. It'll help you cope better with the situation you're in."
"Tell me about your daughter," I asked suddenly. I didn't want to feel like a specimen any more. I didn't want to think about aliens, or blood farming, or using wyk to move objects about. I just wanted to hear about everyday 'normal' things.
He looked at me in surprise for a moment, then straightened his back.
"All right. Well, her name is Taylor, she's seventeen like you, although I see you're having a birthday soon - tomorrow in fact - happy birthday." I glanced at him. I'd be eighteen years old - some birthday.
He threw me an uncomfortable half-smile and continued with his story. "She's an only child. Probably spoiled rotten. We get on pretty well, although we've been butting heads lately over this boy she likes. I'm not sure he's the right one for her."
I smiled weakly. "Fathers always think that though."
He paused for a moment, considering my observation. "Yes, yes, I do believe you're right. Well, in any case, he had her out way past her curfew last night, and we had a huge screaming match before I came to work."
I envied him being able to get out of this place and go back to his home, whenever he liked.
"Where did they go?"
"Bowling - apparently. But bowling doesn't finish at three in the morning."
My smile was genuine now. "No, I don't think it does." I sat up straighter, and rubbed the denim on my jeans. Clare had given me some extra sets of clothes, but I'd stuck resolutely to the ones I'd been wearing when I arrived here - Aric had bought them for me, and it was a precarious link to him I didn't want to give up. They were beginning to smell, but I didn't care.
"My last date was the best day of my life," I said dreamily, my mind escaping the white cell to sit at the table by the river again. "An Italian restaurant by the river, fairy lights in the trees. "I blushed. "It was really romantic." I told him about the paddle wheeler plowing the river, the 'stingy roses' episode, and my aversion to shopping that day.
Starcrossed: Perigee - A paranormal romance trilogy Page 16
