Dark Humanity

by Gwynn White

  I decided to let it drop. Obviously, he was having some kind of a lapse of memory. I wondered if Bruce’s parents were actually the ones responsible for it. “Yes. I’m going to see if Mom and Dad are next door,” I said, grabbing my shoes.

  “I’m coming with,” he replied.

  “Suit yourself.”

  When we knocked on their door, nobody answered.

  “They must be in the lab or getting us something to eat from the cafeteria. It’s almost six-thirty.”

  “Do you know where their lab is?” he asked.

  “No. Do you? You were there earlier.”

  “I was?” he said, looking puzzled again

  “Yes.”

  “That’s weird. I don’t remember.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Let’s go and see if they’re getting us food.”

  “Okay.”

  They weren’t in their room so we headed toward the cafeteria. It was now open again, but there was no sign of our parents.

  “They must be in the lab then,” I said, as a group of people walked by us. “Are you sure you don’t remember anything about it?”

  “No.”

  I sighed.

  “Can we just get some food?” he asked, staring hungrily at one of the tables where three people were eating salads.

  “I can’t see why not.”

  We got in line and selected our food. Jimmy took potatoes, green beans, and some kind of tofu that was supposed to taste like chicken. I made myself a salad and also took some potatoes.

  “Let’s eat here so we can watch for them,” I said, nodding toward a table in the corner, by the entrance.

  “Okay.”

  We sat down and ate in silence. When we were finished, it was after seven.

  “Good thing we grabbed our own food,” I said, leaning back in the chair. “Since they’re supposed to be at a meeting.”

  “With who?”

  I sighed. “With Hamilton. Seriously, Jimmy, don’t you remember anything about earlier?”

  He shook his head. “No. That’s kind of weird, isn’t it?”

  “Not really, I guess. Look, I have something to tell you,” I said, lowering my voice. I looked around and noticed a couple of larger cameras. Two of them were focused on our table.

  “What?”

  “Actually, I’ll tell you later.”

  “Fine,” he said, drinking the last of his water.

  I stood up and looked around. The cafeteria was filled now and it felt like almost everyone was watching us. It gave me the chills. “Let’s go back to our room.”

  Jimmy didn’t even argue. I wondered if he noticed everyone’s interest in us, too.

  We emptied our trays and started heading back to our room. Before we reached the last hallway, I took a detour and pulled him into the same supply room that Blayze had dragged me into earlier.

  “What are we doing in here?” he asked, his eyes wide.

  “Shh…” I said, looking around for one of the cameras. Not seeing any, I grabbed him by the shoulders and stared at him. “I have something to tell you but I don’t want you to freak out. Okay?”

  His eyes grew wide. “Uh, okay.”

  I took a deep breath. “Okay. Earlier today we learned that some of the people on this ship are possessed by aliens.”

  His eyes widened. “What?”

  “I know it’s hard to believe, but that’s what’s going on. Fortunately, Dad and Mom aren’t and there is a group of freedom fighters who call themselves The Resistance. I guess they’re on our side.”

  “The Resistance? What’s that?”

  I told him most of what I knew, leaving out Mara’s name.

  “That’s a crazy story,” he said. “Do our parents know about The Resistance?”

  “I don’t know. All I know for certain is that Dad isn’t possessed by an alien and he said that we needed to trust him.”

  “Hamilton isn’t aware of The Resistance?”

  “I don’t believe so. I could be wrong, however.”

  “And there is someone from their home planet who’s helping this group of individuals? A traitor?”

  His words startled me. They weren’t usually part of Jimmy’s vocabulary, and the realization made my throat dry. Swallowing I stared into his eyes and almost threw up when I saw that one of his irises had a silvery thread of color in the lower corner. It was barely noticeable.

  I forced a smile. “Got you.”

  He frowned. “What do you mean?”

  I laughed. “It was a joke, goofball. A story.”

  He didn’t look like he bought it. “A story? You mean to say that you were lying?”

  “Come on, Jimmy. Lighten up. It’s just one of our games. Don’t you remember?” I said, squeezing his shoulder. “I just thought that since you were forgetting so much stuff that I could tell you such a wild tale, it would make you remember our favorite game, at the very least.”

  “Our game?”

  “Freak-out. We try and see who can freak each other out the most and I have to say… you fell for that hook, line, and sinker.”

  “Yeah,” he smiled. “You had me pretty good.”

  “Of course I did. I’ve had a lot more practice than you.”

  “Freak-out, huh?” he said, staring at me.

  “Yup.” I held my smile, even though I just wanted to cry. My brother was being controlled by an alien. Blayze had said they wouldn’t do that to someone so young, but there was no doubt in my mind that he wasn’t the same kid. I wondered if Jimmy was aware of what was happening. If he was trying to fight the alien’s control.

  “Interesting,” he said, turning toward the door. “We should go back to our room. They might be looking for us.”

  “You mean Mom and Dad?”

  “Of course,” he answered, glancing over his shoulder. “Come on, Alexandra.”

  Something told me that he still didn’t believe my story and the blood rushed to my ears as I realized what I’d just done. I’d given up our parents and had almost given away Mara, too. I had to somehow make Jimmy believe it was really our game.

  “You always did believe in crazy tales,” I said, walking next to him. “I just thought this would be fun. Since you’re so bored.”

  He didn’t say anything.

  “I bet you can’t beat that last one,” I taunted him.

  He looked up at me. “It was pretty outlandish. You might be right.”

  Outlandish. Another word Jimmy wouldn’t ever say. “You’d better start coming up with something if you want to come out ahead,” I said. “Remember, we’re keeping score.”

  He smirked. “I guess I’d better.”

  As we continued on our way, we passed by several people neither of us knew, but I noticed that many of them stared at my brother. I wondered if they were all aliens and sharing some kind of unspoken message. It gave me the chills. When we finally made it back to our cabin, I started entering the access code to get inside, when someone spoke behind us.

  “Well, hello. I didn’t know you were on this ship, dear.”

  I turned and stared at her in surprise. It was the old woman from Blayze’s building. “Ellie?”

  She hobbled over with her cane, smiling. “Yes. It’s Alex, isn’t it?”

  I nodded.

  She looked at my brother. “And who is this nice looking young man?”

  “My name is Jimmy Logan.”

  Ellie’s smile faltered for second but then it grew wider. “How are you two enjoying the flight?”

  “It’s okay,” I said, not really in the mood for chit-chat. She was always catching me at a bad time. I almost felt bad because she seemed lonely. “What a small world, huh? Are you part of the research team?”

  “No,” she said. “I’m just here because my asthma has been acting up and my doctor was able to get me special permission to join you. They think the clean air will be wonderful for my lungs.”

  “Hopefully, it will be,” I said. One good thing was that she probably w
ouldn’t have to worry about an alien going after her as a host. The woman seemed so frail.

  She smiled again. “Do you know where the cafeteria is?”

  “Yes. Haven’t you been there yet?” I asked.

  “No, unfortunately. I’ve been in my room for most of the day. I’m quite hungry now, though. Would you mind showing me where it is? If it’s not a bother?”

  “No. Not at all,” I said and turned to Jimmy. “Why don’t you go inside and wait for me. I’ll show her where it is and head back. Meanwhile, you can come up with a story to freak me out.”

  “Okay,” he said, walking into the room.

  I closed the door and turned to Ellie. “Are you ready?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  I grinned.

  “My, what a nice boy, your brother. He certainly follows orders very well.”

  “I guess,” I said as we began walking back toward the cafeteria, side-by-side.

  She grabbed my hand with the one not holding her can. “You know that you’re being watched very closely.”

  I swallowed. “Yes.”

  Ellie smiled gently. “Don’t be frightened of me. I’m on your side. I’m with The Resistance.”

  My eyes widened. “You are?”

  “Yes. You realize what’s happened to Jimmy, don’t you?” she whispered.

  I nodded.

  “We can fix that,” she said, slipping something into my hand. “This needs to be inserted somewhere into his body. It’s very tiny, but will do the job.”

  “What exactly will it do?”

  “It will destroy the invader. It’s like getting a vaccine for a bacterial infection. The invader is defenseless against Bargonite.”

  “Bargonite? That’s what’s in it?” I said, as if I’d heard of it before.

  “Yes. All you have to do is open up the encasement and poke him with the end. The needle is so small that he’ll barely feel it. When the invader figures out what’s happened, it will be too late.”

  “Is this the implant that Mara told Blayze about?”

  “I’ve created a serum now. It’s much easier to use.”

  “Will it hurt Jimmy?”

  “I’m not going to lie. It’s uncomfortable. But, it’s the only way to help your brother regain control of his body.”

  “What happens to the alien?”

  “The invader will die,” she said softly.

  “How many others have received the serum?”

  “A few. We’ve already managed to get to a sizeable number of invaders on this ship, believe it or not. Unfortunately, it’s not enough and our supply is dwindling. Once we get back to Planet Z, we should have access to more of the Bargonite.”

  “So, this stuff really works and it won’t hurt the human?”

  “Most of the time, they pull through without any problems.”

  “What does that mean?” I asked, stopping.

  She sighed. “Well, there was one instance where the host was allergic to the implant and didn’t make it.”

  “What do you mean, didn’t make it?”

  “They both died.”

  My eyes widened. “What about Jimmy? What if he’s allergic to the Bargonite? He could die?”

  “There is a very slim chance of that. So slim that I probably shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

  “But, what if he’s allergic to it?”

  “Your brother is already dead with the invader taking over his body. And he’s physically not strong enough to sustain it for too long. Basically, your brother is a prisoner in his own body, and he’s on Death Row.”

  “But, he’s still alive in there.”

  “Yes. He might even be conscious as to what’s going on. Just unable to do anything about it.”

  “Then I don’t know if I want to risk it. There has to be another way.”

  “Believe me, there is no other way,” she said, smiling sadly.

  “How do you know? Maybe we can find something else on Planet Z that will work better than the Bargonite?”

  “Believe me, it’s his only chance. I know this because I created the toxin using materials from my home planet. It’s the only thing strong enough to destroy us.”

  I stared at her in awe. “Us? You’re the alien helping in The Resistance?”

  Chapter Twenty

  “So, you’ve already heard about me. Yes, I am.”

  I stared into her eyes, but they didn’t hint of an alien. Not even a sliver of silver.

  She grinned. “The irises were colored a long time ago. They turn silver once we’ve entered your system. Obviously, we’ve needed to hide them to hide ourselves.”

  “What about the human soul still living inside of you? How can you be working together?”

  “She has allowed me to share her body, in hopes that we can put a stop to what’s been going on.”

  “How can the both of you share it? I just don’t understand.”

  She shrugged. “We just do. We are very amicable. In fact, we make decisions together and have long discussions inside of our head. It’s almost like we’re an old married couple now,” she said, chuckling. “I guess that one might say we’ve grown quite fond of each other over the past few years.”

  I could tell from the look in her eyes that she was telling the truth. In fact, everything about her seemed genuine. At least when it came to her emotions.

  “How long have you been inside of Ellie?”

  She paused. “Six-and-a-half years.”

  “And she just let you step inside and take command?”

  “It wasn’t like that. We communicated before I entered her. Through other members of The Resistance. When she found out that I wanted to help, she agreed to it fairly quickly.”

  “Why would she let you in so freely?”

  “To save Humanity. Ellie is truly a gem. A wonderful human being.”

  “I agree, there. Why did you decide to help us, though?”

  Her eyes hardened. “Because what our species does is wrong. Immoral. I know it. Maelshuck, who controls Hamilton, knows it. So do the others. The difference is that I have a conscience while most of the others only care about their own immortality.”

  “Maelshuck? That’s his real name?”

  “Yes.”

  “What about you? What’s your real name?”

  “Dorey.”

  “What about my parents? Do you know what’s going on with them? I’m almost positive that my dad is fine, but I don’t know about her yet.”

  “As far as I know, your parents are not controlled on the inside. They are, however, still very much controlled by Hamilton on a different level.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “They made a deal with Maelshuck, long ago, to protect your family from becoming hosts. Obviously, something has happened since then, if your brother has since become one.”

  “What kind of deal?”

  “He needs their intelligence and knowledge to pull off all of his schemes. I’m sure they are still very valuable to him as humans. At least, for now.”

  “Oh.”

  She frowned. “I think something has changed, though. Mara told me that Maelshuck has grown impatient with everyone. Even your parents. Now that thing with Blayze has angered him even further. I think he’s grown so frustrated that he might not care about any of the agreements he’s made. Especially now that we are no longer on your planet.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “That things might get even uglier by the time that we reach Planet Z.”

  “Somehow I knew you were going to say that. Do you know what happened to Blayze? Why did Hamilton, I mean Maelshuck, bring him on this mission anyway?”

  “Actually, I do.” She sighed. “He’s going to be Maelshuck’s new host.”

  My heart stopped. “What?”

  “He’s young and healthy. An ideal candidate. It won’t happen until we get to the planet, though. Which is good, because we can still save him.”

  “H
ow?”

  “That’s for us to worry about,” she replied as we entered the cafeteria. “You just worry about getting that implant into your brother.”

  “Can I tell my parents about all of this?”

  “I prefer that you didn’t. We don’t know what kind of hold Maelshuck still has on them. As far as I can tell, they don’t even know about The Resistance.”

  “Do you think they are aware of Jimmy being a host, now?”

  Her expression was grave. “Your father has to know, honey. He is usually the one who performs the surgery on our host’s eyes once we’ve entered them. Someone has obviously performed it on Jimmy already.”

  My stomach dropped. “So, he allowed it?”

  “Maybe. Maybe he had no say in the matter. Regardless, don’t tell him anything right now. Even if he confides in you, don’t tell him about me or The Resistance. It’s too dangerous.”

  “I won’t. I promise,” I said, still confused with everything. How could Dad allow Jimmy to be invaded? And if he was on Hamilton’s side, why did he warn me?

  “The best advice that I can give you is to try and ride out the rest of the trip as if you know nothing. Don’t start pointing fingers or making accusations. Keep what you’ve learned to yourself and let us handle it.”

  “I’ll try, but… what about Jimmy? They’re going to know he’s no longer being controlled by an alien once I give him the Bargonite.”

  “Not necessarily. He can pretend. As far as I know, Maelshuck still doesn’t know about the implant. If Jimmy can keep up the ruse that he’s still being controlled by someone else….”

  “I don’t know. He’s not a very good actor.”

  She was quiet for a few seconds. “Then wait until we are about to reach Planet Z. It takes about an hour for the implant to destroy the alien. That gives you time to do what you have to do and then fill him in on the details once he’s no longer possessed by it.”

  My heart stopped as I remembered what Blayze had said. “You and Blayze have mentioned that the alien’s life-force is too strong for a child’s body. Won’t he die if I wait too long?”

  “Don’t worry. There’s time. The invader wouldn’t do too much damage in such a short period of time. If you had to wait a month, now that would be a different story.”

  “Okay. I guess wait,” I said. “Although, I’m going to have to sleep in the same room as him and something tells me he’ll report anything weird that I do.”