by Magan Vernon
"Gee, and I was just hoping to get on your good side."
He pointed the silver disc at me. “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”
He thrust the object into my chest. I felt the surge of electrical energy flow through my body, my arms and legs flailing like wet noodles. I fell to the ground, unable to move as the sound of my own heart pounded in my ears.
“How is that for my good side?" He laughed as I sailed back into the darkness of my nightmares.
Chapter 21
Instead of the woman’s laughter, I heard the sound of alarms ringing through the darkness. I didn’t know if they were part of my nightmare or where they came from, but the noise was high-pitched and deafening. I opened by mouth to scream but it was engulfed by streams of black. I coughed, trying to spit the darkness out, but every time I tried, the inky blackness would just burrow farther into me.
I saw Ace in the shadows. His hair had molded in with the black as he started to melt away before my eyes. I tried to reach for him, but every time I lifted my arms the Caltian man would pull me back until I couldn’t see his face anymore.
“Alex,” the Caltian said in a lower whisper.
I couldn’t answer, but his voice got louder and louder. The blackness started to fade and I could feel the light warming in my eyes. I reached my arms out, pawing and hoping that the warmth was Ace lying next to me, and it all had been just a very bad dream.
“It looks like she’s waking,” a voice called, coming closer to me as I reached for the light. It was familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I'd heard it.
I opened my eyes only to be surrounded by green with a pair of beady bug eyes staring at me. I tried to scream, but when I opened my mouth, a pool of sweet green liquid flowed into it. I quickly looked to see that there was light above me. I swam up until I was able to gasp for air, spitting out flakes of green goo in the process. I wiped my eyes, feeling the warm gel slide through my fingers until I could finally see the little orange doctor standing on a platform in front of me.
“Welcome back, Alex." She smiled those pointy teeth.
“What happened? Where am I?" I looked down and realized that I was floating in one of the tubes filled with green jelly that I had seen during my tour on my first day at Circe.
"You've had quite a bit of damage to your human shell, so I thought it was best that you take a soak in the healing tank." She poked at my outstretched hand, taking a droplet of the green goop and rubbing it between her fingers. "It looks like you've healed fairly well for your first time."
I wiped more of the gel from my face and slid out of the goop and onto the platform next to the doctor. She was right about the healing. Even though I was dressed in not much more than my underwear and covered in green goop, my body actually felt like I had just woken up from a long nap. I was completely relaxed, but I couldn't ignore the aching in my heart when I thought about what happened before I ended up in the tank.
"Where's Ace?"
“It seems there has been a bit of dilemma." She started down the platform's small ladder, her tiny voice fading the faster she traveled.
“What kind of dilemma?" I followed her down, trying not to slip on the rungs. Before the doctor could speak, Jen and Malcolm ran through a large metal door.
“You’re finally awake!" Jen screamed, running over to me and almost knocking the doctor over as she rushed to my side.
“We were worried about you when the alarms started going off." Malcolm popped his head over Jen’s shoulder.
“Wait, what alarms?" I asked as Jen placed a new pair of glasses on my face. “What happened? And how do I get this stuff off me?"
Jen laughed, putting her hand to my arm. She pulled off a long strip of goop. It came off like wax, only less painful, leaving only smooth skin underneath it. "It's like paraffin wax, you know when you get a manicure and they dip your hands in that stuff to make them all smooth?"
I shook my head and peeled another layer from my skin, eager to get the goop off and get some clothes on. "But back to my other question, what happened and how did I get here?"
“I was hoping you could tell us that one." The doctor edged in front of Jen. “An escape alarm went off, so a group of guards headed for the cell block. That's where they found you, lying unconscious, and Ace’s cell wide open and empty.”
“Wait, Ace is really gone?" I looked to each of their questioning faces.
Jen and Malcolm looked at each other, then back to me. “Yeah, we sort of figured that you helped him escape,” Jen replied tentatively.
I carefully shook my head, standing up as straight as I could without hurting myself. “No, a group of guys with jet-black hair and black robes came in and took him. There was a tall, slim guy with scars all over his face that put some sort of a disc-like Taser on me that made me black out. That's the last thing I remember.”
The doctor looked up at Jen and Malcolm. “Sounds like Caltians to me.”
“Why would Caltians be here and what do they want with Ace?" Malcolm asked, looking down at the doctor.
“Well, if that guy Alex said tasered her is the same long-haired guy I’ve seen in pictures, then it’s pretty serious if the queen would send Marsilo down." She blinked, looking from the floor and back up to Malcolm and Jen.
“Hello?" I peeled the last layer of goop off my face and reached for a temperature control suit that was hanging on a rack near the tube. “Can someone clue me in as to what’s going on?”
The doctor walked closer to me. “Marsilo is the queen’s right-hand man. He’s the one she uses to take care of business when she can’t handle it herself.” The doctor turned her attention back to Malcolm and Jen. “So, it doesn’t make sense why she would send him down just to retrieve Ace when she hasn’t even seen him in decades.”
The three of them started rummaging through theories as we headed out of the room and into the hallway. I followed closely behind them, trying to pay attention to what they were saying, but all I could think about was why anyone would come and take Ace.
A crackling noise sounded as a small screen popped out from each doorway. Everyone passing through the hall grew silent. An olive-skinned woman with the bluest eyes I had ever seen popped on the screen.
“Nerses is speaking; this is serious,” the doctor mumbled.
“Who is Nerses?" I whispered to Jen, not taking my eyes off of the screen.
“She’s the director of all of Circe,” she whispered back.
“Good afternoon residents of Circe, it is with great urgency that I address the recent security breaches at our base." The woman’s voice was calm and cool despite the alertness of her eyes and stiff stature. “Our Public Affairs department has reached out to the queen of Caltia, but we have not yet received comment from her communications department as to why she would choose to breach our system. Twelve of our armed guards were attacked and one of our inmates was taken.”
“She’s talking about Ace,” I whispered.
“But we assure you that we are on top of the situation and that there is nothing to worry—"
Her voice was cut off and the screen started to fade out.
“What’s happening to the screen?" Jen asked and looked around to see that all the other screens were doing the same thing.
Then the screen faded back to a woman. It was the same woman from my nightmares with the white skin and long black hair. I gasped as soon as I saw her haunting smile spread across her pale face.
“Nothing to worry about Nerses? I think you know me better than that." She laughed that poignant laugh that instantly sent chills to every part of my body. “Now where was I?" She smiled again, her hair fading into a shadowy background. “Oh, yes.”
“Now that my son is safe on my ship, I have a message for the populace of Circe, especially the little tart who is after my son’s heart." She closed in on the screen; her dark eyes were locked right on me. “Yes, you, the girl with the big hips and awful glasses." She looked to her side and nod
ded before looking back at the screen. “Alexandra Bianchi, a colonel’s daughter no less. You really should have known better, my dear.”
She shook her head, letting out that witch-like cackle. “You really think that a human girl, from the slums of the universe, a girl who can’t even get into a decent college, deserves my son?”
She lifted her long, gloved fingers and pointed to the screen. “The citizens of Calta will not stand for this disrespect and pollution of our kind, and therefore—" She stood up, her long body coming into full view. “—we declare war on the pathetic creatures of Earth, starting first with your lovely Circe Operations Center.”
Gasps and screams came from the other people in the hallway while they stared at the screens. Hushed questions were whispered back and forth as they waited for the screen to fade out. The queen’s eyes focused back onto me. “Do you have anything to say for yourself, you pathetic human harlot?”
Everyone's eyes were glued to me. I turned toward the queen's dark eyes and stared right at the screen, but was caught off guard when I heard a high-pitched scream from my left. I turned to see Riley with a Circe-issued gun in her hand pointed right at my temple.
"Uh, Riley?" I'd admit that she was one of the last people that I wanted to see. Especially since I knew she was the one that reported me in the first place and got Ace locked in the cell. But this wasn't the same Riley that I knew. Her hair was disheveled and the dark rings around her eyes made it look like she hadn't slept in days.
"Shut up, just shut up!" she screeched, pushing the cold barrel of the gun to my forehead. A silent crowd had gathered, their eyes wide, waiting for Riley's next move.
"You're the reason all this is happening. If you would have just followed the rules, I could have gotten out of this hell hole by now and wouldn't have to worry about some slimy bug destroying humanity!"
Some of the aliens started whispering as Riley spoke, questioning why she wasn't locked up somewhere. I looked away from her narrowed eyes, hoping that a guard or someone would come to help me, but I couldn't see anyone rushing in. All the guards were probably busy after hearing Nerses and the queen's message.
"Riley, you don't want to do this."
"You don't know what I want! All you've cared about this summer is your precious alien boyfriend and you haven't thought about how it affects us humans!" Her voice and hands shook. She swallowed hard before she pushed the gun harder against my temple. "And that is why it's time to end this. If I kill you the queen will show me mercy and I can go back to living my happy, alien-free life back in Philly."
"But what if that doesn't work, Riley? What if you kill me and she still attacks?" I asked, trying to remain as calm as a girl with a gun to her forehead could.
"Then I'm just going to have to show the world that aliens exist. Shout it from the rooftops and make everyone listen. Tell them that they are all in danger because of some stupid high school chick and her alien boy toy. They can't ignore an environmental scientist!"
I waited to hear the sound of the gun cock, thinking of the quickest way I could release it from Riley's grip, when a rush of blond hair came from my right, knocking the gun away from Riley and tackling her down in the process.
"No, you can't do this!" Riley screeched. Jen secured Riley's arms behind her back and edged her up from the floor just as two guards came barreling down the hallway. "You all know the rules! She's the cause of all of this!"
"And I'm sure you running around with a weapon and threatening to expose Circe is going to help?" Jen smirked.
"I think it's time for Riley to visit the memory detoxification room in the psych ward," one of the guards remarked as they picked her up and dragged her down the hall. I watched as her flailing body disappeared, thinking that one crazed human was only the beginning of my problems.
Chapter 22
"What's your plan now?" Jen rotated her neck in a circle. "I hope we're not just going to stand around here and wait for another crazy anti-alien person to come."
"I'm sure the board is meeting right now to think of something." Malcolm tried to keep his tone neutral, but it wavered on the edge of babbling.
I was still staring down the hallway while everyone around me started going into full panic mode. Some of them were running and screaming and others were reaching for whatever weapons they could, ready for war.
"Alex?" The doctor tugged at my leg.
I let my eyes drift around the hallway. Some aliens were staring at me with fear in their eyes and others looked like they were ready to attack.
"I think we should probably get you out of here," she whispered. "We don't want another repeat incident."
I looked back in her direction, nodding. "Sounds like a good idea to me."
I wanted to thank Jen for knocking Riley out of the way, but my mind was jumbled with so many thoughts that I couldn't think straight.
After only a few seconds of walking, mass chaos ensued. Entire alien families ran down the halls; parents yelled at their children to hurry up or they would miss their ship. Guards were everywhere, guiding people and trying to get everyone to remain calm.
"You want us to remain calm and orderly?" a small green woman screamed. "One of the most powerful queens in the universe just said that she is going to attack this base, and you expect us to remain calm?"
I gulped, looking around at the faces of the scared alien children. They reminded me of my little brother and the way he would look at me when there were storm warnings, crying with those big blue eyes and begging to stay in bed with me until the thunder stopped. It was my turn to be the big sister again, but this time it had to be for an entire planet.
"Where is my dad?" I looked over at the doctor, who was perched on Malcolm's shoulder as the four of us made our way down the crowded hallways.
"He was scheduled to be in the board meeting this morning, so I'm sure they're still meeting to discuss what happens next." Her voice was calm, almost soothing. Despite all the chaos she still maintained a clear head.
I stopped and turned toward the three of them. People around me were startled by my sudden halt and mumbled things under their breath as they hurried around me.
"Can you take me to him?" I stared right into the depths of the doctor's tiny little eyes. She nervously fiddled her fingers in her palms and looked from Malcolm to Jen to see if they would answer the question for her.
"Well, it's a confidential meeting. They usually don't let anyone in unless it's a matter of life and death," she replied weakly.
I snorted. "Well, I think that a queen kidnapping my boyfriend and then threatening to wipe out the entire planet qualifies as a life and death situation."
Malcolm shrugged. "The girl's right and if we don't help her find the board meeting she'll probably just find a way to do it anyway. She's kind of stubborn like that."
Jen and the doctor nodded. "I know," they practically said in unison before staring at each other.
I rolled my eyes. "Okay, now that you've all figured out that I'm stubborn and determined, let's get to my dad before that grubby little ice queen can do anything to Ace."
People stared at me. Some of them gasped or walked by with their eyes widening to the fact that I would dare say anything against one of the most powerful intergalactic queens. I figured if she could say those things about me and would rather have her son miserable than happy, then she definitely wasn't someone who deserved my respect.
The doctor sighed. "The meetings are usually held up in the E tower near Nerses' office."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" I backed down the hallway, holding my arms out to the side.
"Do you even know where we are going?" Malcolm asked as they quickened their pace to keep up with me.
"Nope." I turned around and started walking faster. "Just tell me where to go, where to turn and I'll be fine."
We walked down long hallway after long hallway until we approached the elevator that would take us to E tower.
"Are you really sure that you
want to do this?" Jen asked as we stepped into the elevator.
I pushed the button for the top floor, watching the doors close behind us. "I really don't think that me interrupting a board meeting is going to hurt anything. I'm already the target for some sort of an intergalactic war, so I probably should know what the plan of attack is."
We stepped off the elevator where three Circe guards greeted us.
"Is there something we can help you with?" A tall guard with a horrible gray crew cut looked down at me, smiling like I was a little kid asking for a piece of candy.
"Maybe we should just—"
I cut Jen off before she could say any more. "I'm here to speak to Nerses and Colonel Bianchi." I narrowed my eyes, staring right at the guard.
"Well, Miss Bianchi, they are in a board meeting, which is closed to the public, but I'll be sure to leave them a message." He smiled an all-too-smug smile at me.
"Come on, Alex." Jen put her hand on my shoulder. "We can talk to your dad after the meeting."
I nodded, turning toward the elevator to follow everyone out. Just as we got to the doors I turned around. Seeing that the guards were talking among themselves. I started sprinting as fast as I could through the middle of them. One of the guards tried to grab me by the waist, but I elbowed him in the chest and snatched his gun from his belt in the process.
My shoes skidded on the floor as I slid down the hallway until I reached the big silver doors, closed and looming over me like two gray giants. I glanced over my shoulder to see that the guards were running after me in full force. I turned back toward the door, hoping that it wouldn't be bullet proof, cocked the gun, and fired straight up so the bullet went through the top of the doorway and hopefully wouldn't hit anyone on the way in.
The two doors flew open and I saw at least a dozen aliens and humans sitting around a large, round table in a bright white room. Their eyes were all turned toward a giant screen with the queen's face blown up across it. My bullet had left a smoking hole right through the center of her head.
