by Mia Mitns
I continued to listen to the plan but couldn’t help to be suspicious of Kallen. During the ride over to Lake Lakada, I wondered if there was another reason Kallen was adamant about carrying me. He personally knew almost everyone already. Showing up wouldn’t be strange. But why show up?
All of a sudden it became clear. Kallen was nervous about being safe, he had his alien ideas, and he actually saw an alien. Weird things were happening with the animals. Kallen was on the prowl for something out of the ordinary. The facial expressions he gave during the meeting made me feel like he knew more about what was going on than us. He could have volunteered to give us the information, but didn’t.
It was possible this whole being suspicious thing wasn’t entirely about Lalo. It could have been about an attack that was about to occur. Soon, more aliens would come down from the sky, if they haven’t already. Perhaps Kallen had the connections and power to stop a large alien invasion. After all, he did work from home doing some sort of consultant writing. He gave me the impression that he was the boss by canceling his once a month meeting. All the more reason to think that writing wasn’t his real job. He had to be working for the CIA or some similar type of organization.
“Marli,” Kallen said, pulling me off to the side after the meeting was over.
“I know,” I said. “Be careful.”
“It’s very important,” he said.
“Kallen, what are you not saying? What’s going on? Who are you?” I whispered.
Kallen’s eyes scanned mine. “There are some things I need to tell you,” he said and glanced over to the team who was getting things ready to put on the boats. “But not here. Like I said, things are changing. Things will get worse. Even more so for your team if their theories become aligned with mine.”
“Your theories? Care to share?”
“There are spies everywhere. Don’t trust anyone.”
“You included?” I asked.
“Here.” Kallen rustled around in his pockets and pulled out a compact walkie-talkie two way radio and gave it to me. “Keep this on you at all times. Cell phones can break down—on purpose. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I said and slid the device into a pocket. “You sure aren’t being slick.”
“I want the attention,” Kallen said. “See you later.” Kallen strolled back across the camp site and tapped Dr. Stevenson on the shoulder then said goodbye to everyone and left. I rejoined the group to help prepare the boats for our trip down the lake.
“Looks like you have another father,” Ashley said.
I chuckled. “I basically do.”
Three hours of relatively tame, hot and humid weather, coasting on murky water, was all it took to find out the fish and other insects we were tracking continued north. Some crossed areas they avoided in the past. Most of my team was worried about the safety of each species. I began to worry that it was our species we should be concerned with. The fish, insects, and animals were all telling us to run.
Chapter 5
Taking the walkie-talkie out of my pocket was a relief. I didn’t even use it. My phone worked just fine. I rotated the device in my hand. Although it had normal characteristics, I questioned if it doubled as a tracking instrument or monitor. If Kallen was interested in spying on us...
I set my sight out to the tall trees that framed the lake. Why would Kallen want to spy if Dr. Stevenson was his friend? Or was he really Kallen’s friend? With the arrival of Lalo I began to question everything.
Was the idea for this team all planned? Was I a specific person chosen? Were we all brought there on purpose? This is exactly the recipe for going insane, I reminded myself.
“What are you thinking about?” Ren asked as he moved some jet black strands of hair away of his face, tucking them behind his ear. He must have noticed I was drifting away when he and Ashley had nothing else to talk about. Ashley’s squinting eyes examined me too.
“Home,” I said.
“Hmm,” Ashley said and got up to crank the motor.
What did she mean by that? What was it about?
When we made it back to our meeting site, Kallen was there waiting. Dr. Stevenson most likely informed him we were on our way back. Kallen at least benefited from one of our problems that day. The mosquitoes had already fled too.
During the brief meeting we had prior to leaving for the day, I made an effort to secretly check everyone out. No one was acting out of the ordinary. If they were spies, they played their role well.
—-
Through the trees, in the parking area, a large, black tarp stood out. It covered the bed of Kallen’s truck. The same bed that was empty when Kallen dropped me off that morning. Getting closer, I noticed fresh mud covering the jet black coating of the truck. Adding to the oddities, a wonderful rose potpourri scent filled my nose as I climbed in. Who rode with Kallen during the day? Or what was he hiding?
Kallen started the truck without speaking a word. I remained quiet, waiting for him to determine the safe zone.
“Anything unusual?” he said as we entered the highway.
“Other than your warning this morning?” I said.
“So your fish continued their path,” he said. “And you still haven’t figured out why they are leaving?”
“Kallen, what do you want to say?” I said.
His eyes remained locked on the road.
“Kallen, you took me from my home, told me there were spies, and now,” I said and motioned to the rear, “you have something back there. This truck also smells like flowers or a woman. You don’t get to be silent now. You chose to let me know what’s going on. So what is it?”
He exhaled and gripped a chunk of his jet black hair and slid his hand down half its length. He released his hair, allowing it to fall back to his waist.
“I don’t want to put you in danger by telling you, but if I don’t, you could be worse off. I am here for a reason Marli. One of my jobs is to protect you. I also have to find the spies. Failing to identify them all could put us in a horrible position.”
“And,” I said.
“Things are not what they seem. Everything can tell a truth but depending on how you see it, from your viewpoint, information—people—can be misread. Like the disappearance of the homeless people.”
“You’re saying they have something to do with you?”
“Us. Actually all of us. We think there is also a connection to the spies. We’re not sure. It could be something unconnected but—”
“We?” I said.
“Not for me to discuss. I tell you this Marli because I don’t want you to be going out alone at night or to some secluded place.”
“So this is what the ‘protecting me’ part was about?” I asked.
Kallen nodded.
“You have a gift,” Kallen said, “one that must be protected. I will not say anymore. I need you to behave as normal as possible.”
Could this gift be the same as the one Lalo discussed?
“I will,” I said.
“And if you see something out of the ordinary,” he said.
“I’ll tell you.”
“Thank you Marli.” Kallen glanced over to me and smiled. “I know you think I’m a little bit psychotic, especially with the alien stories and interests.”
“You know that’s what I thought this was about. Your alien obsession.”
“Well, parts of it may be true. They could be coming again.” Kallen raised his eyebrows as he peeked at me.
“Ah huh,” I said, nodding. Good, he didn’t know about Lalo.
“I’ll tell you what. When this is all over, I’ll take you out for a drink.”
“A drink?” I said. “That’s all I get? What about the steak dinner?”
The rumble of Kallen’s laughter filled the cab. Then out of nowhere, he got serious. “Marli, I hate to sound so glum, but you’ll be happy to have just that.”
I bit my lip and leaned back in my seat. He wasn’t kidding. I wished I would have woken up and took
off with the animals months ago. Escape the impending disaster.
“Remember to be calm. Normal,” he said.
Chapter 6
Calm!! Normal!! These words kept going through my head as Kallen and I entered the supermarket. It was my favorite place to take a day trip, being that it was one of the places I actually saw more than ten people at a time. That day, however, it became a source of anxiety.
I had to tell myself to breathe a couple of times. Kallen asked me what I wanted to buy. My list kept rotating; I was sure that I forgot what I originally planned. Why did Kallen have to scare me like that? I kind of wished he would have left me to unknowingly go through the rest of my life. I wouldn’t have been the crazy lady in the store.
Maybe it was a test. To prepare me to learn how to act “normal.” A way of scattering my brain so I would tell him everything I knew about Lalo.
I finally eased my mind by focusing on Kallen. He was suspicious of someone. Apparently it was me because he started making jokes about buying so much food. It was so I wouldn’t have to “go alone,” I told him.
“Alright. Good enough for me,” Kallen said and backed off the issue.
Although the situation was a bit daunting, especially since I didn’t know all of the details, it was great to hang out more with Kallen. We had become friends during my stay in Millsee, what little month of it I had. But we weren’t even friends that long. He was gone most of the time during the previous week.
Around 4 p.m. Kallen dropped me off at my house. My job, most of the time, allowed us to finish earlier during the day. That also meant we began way too early in the morning.
Once inside, I expected to have to probe for Lalo again, but he was sitting on the couch, watching the news. How did he know Kallen wasn’t coming in? After putting up the groceries, a yawn initiated my teary eyes. I shuffled to the couch where my brain told me to go to sleep.
Fluttering my eyelids to fight the darkness, I tried to face Lalo to ask what he did that day. He smiled and said, “Go to sleep Marli.” With that I was out.
—-
I was underground, or above it, in some dark, stone building. The sound of the city wasn’t too far away. For a moment, sirens passed by. I tip-toed down the long hall. In advance of reaching an opening, I heard voices. I froze. I checked behind me to see that I was alone then peeked around the stone wall.
“We have to find him!” A tall, extremely strong, warrior type of man said. Never had I ever seen someone that couldn’t pull off a pair of regular jeans. They were too normal for him. Too informal. His muscles bulged up under a black tee, adding to the unfitting outfit. I missed some of the conversation due to my impression of the actual man. But something wasn’t right. A chill twisted through my body. This place wasn’t safe for me. “Before he becomes lost,” the man continued. “Like the others.”
“I know he is part of the plan, but why?” another warrior guy said. “We are as strong as him. Is it really that important to waste so much time? He’s not of the highest blood.”
“It is not for me to discuss with you,” the tall man said. “They are orders.”
“All of these millions of people and you expect to find him,” the second man said and huffed.
“With the signs he will know,” the tall man said. “Do you feel that?”
“Feel what?” the second man said.
“There’s no way. He couldn’t have. Unless they—”
The second man wore a puzzling expression.
“A human,” the tall man said. “A human knows of us. They are listening.”
He surveyed the room. As he was about to see me I gasped, and my eyes opened then shut down from the light in my living room. The news was on again. The reporters were a broken record, back on the topic of the missing homeless people.
“Marli,” I heard Lalo say. He rubbed my shoulders.
I panted as I struggled to calm down from my dream. I didn’t think it meant anything specific to Lalo, but it was scary.
“Bad dream?” he asked.
“Yes.” A laugh escaped my mouth. “It was a conversation. Some men were nervous that a human was listening, and I was the human.”
Lalo took too much time to think about the dream as he lie back into the couch. “Tell me more,” he said. Lucky for him I remembered it exactly. Most dreams I forgot. Some, I remembered the subject. It was rare for me to remember the scenes. Remembering the word for word conversation was a miracle. It was like the thing downloaded and stored itself in my brain for future reference.
Lalo’s concern became clear when he made me detail the description of the two guys. He said he didn’t remember anyone like them.
“So you think this has something to do with you?” I asked.
“I need to find out,” Lalo said and changed the subject. “So I’ve been watching the news, and this story, all day. I don’t know exactly why, but the fact that these people who don’t have a home are vanishing... My memory is fighting to come back, but it can’t.”
He refocused on the news show. The camera panned away from the reporter and revealed part of the scene behind her.
“There!” Lalo said and stopped the live broadcast. He rewound the newscast and played it again. Paused it. He sprung to the TV, pointing out a detail. I pushed myself off the couch to have a closer look. Under his finger was a rock. This rock was different from the others that surrounded it. The rock was almost like glass. It was a familiar purple color, in spots. I inhaled and Lalo nodded.
“We have to go there, now,” Lalo said.
“No!” I said. “We’re not going there. That’s all the way in the city, an hour away.”
And Kallen told me to be cautious; stay at home.
“We have to,” Lalo said. “It’s a clue. I think going to the scene can help me remember. What if something bad is going to happen? We need to find out before there is nowhere to run. And besides, I need some clothes.”
He was right. He did need some clothes. I couldn’t expect him to wear the same thing every day. It would make him stick out and draw attention if I ever let him go outside.
“You’re lucky there are no stores around here,” I said. “But we have to be alert. Police are most likely continuing to patrol the area. We will become suspects if they see us fishing around for something.”
“So, we’ll get the clothes first. Then go late in the night. Or we can go in the morning.”
I sighed. “So much for sleep tonight.”
“I’ll drive back.”
“No you won’t!” I said.
Lalo closed his eyes, and chuckled. “Marli, I flew my spaceship down from outer space, and you think I can’t drive?”
“It wasn’t a spaceship. It was a meteor.”
“No, it was a spaceship disguised as a meteor.”
“All of you have these things? These spaceships designed as meteors.” I said.
“A few,” he said.
“A few,” I said. I ran to my computer. Lalo joined me. My fingers reached maximum speed as I searched for recent meteors seen and meteorites found. The last large one seen was about three months prior. It landed overseas.
“What are you thinking?” Lalo said.
“What if,” I said, “if a whole lot more of your species is coming? Or came?”
“This terrifies you?” he asked.
I hesitated.
“Be honest,” he said.
“The truth is we don’t know what you are capable of,” I said. “And why would you come undetected? Is it to harm us?”
“I see. That’s why I frighten you. You assume the unknown to be dangerous despite of the fact that I’ve proved you wrong.”
“I have to be cautious,” I said. “Lalo, you have to understand. I think a lot of people would also be cautious, or even worse, violent, in my position. They would call the police, who would contact the government, who could possibly lock you away forever. You wouldn’t have any freedom. And who knows what they would do to you? Run tests,
do surgeries, give you diseases and see if you could cure them, make you work for them to further technology, or our society. You’re what we call an alien. As far as I know you haven’t been proven to exist. I have to ask why you came.
“So you should be cautious too,” I continued. “Of us.”
“Alright. Yet another reason to find out why I’m here, and if there are others, pronto.”
“Yeah,” I said. “And I need to make up some sort of story for you in case anyone finds out about you. You are an ex-boyfriend or something.”
“It’s funny you said ex instead of a friend from childhood,” Lalo said. “This should be fun.” His grin was so large, he reminded me of The Grinch from How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
“Whatever,” I said and grabbed my bag and keys. I snuck Lalo outside. Thankfully, I didn’t see Kallen’s truck sitting at his house. He must have left to visit his cousin.
Chapter 7
Shopping with Lalo was interesting. I bit my tongue, trying to hold back my laughter. He wondered why all of the shirts made from the same type of fabric were a wide range in price. A few shirt designs caught his attention, and he spent some time deciphering the meaning. I stopped him after a few minutes, telling him the simple artwork didn’t mean anything. He was so out of his element that I asked him if they wore clothes on his planet.
“The Masqysava, we wear clothes, but we don’t have as much variety,” Lalo said. “The first time I saw so many...” Lalo returned to the shirts with the artwork and grabbed three different shirts. He put one on the end of the rack and held the other two next to it.
A sign due to the combination of shirts? Was that even possible? And the name, Masqysava. Masqysava equals Humans as in a type of being or Masqysava equals a type of alien species?
Lalo stared at his display for a little while then pivoted around to me.
“Do the patterns mean anything?” I asked.
“That would be cool wouldn’t it? But no, we studied this,” Lalo said and held up the shirts.
So these designers were aliens too?
“Clothes,” he said. “In a class when I was young.” One of the customers caught Lalo’s eye.
