Fallen + Marli & Lalo (Fallen Invasion, #3)

by Mia Mitns

  “What is it?” I asked as I got a good look the man who grabbed Lalo’s attention. I didn’t know him.

  “That person is familiar to me, but. Anyway, I remembered asking why we didn’t have so many choices. We studied your clothes, but why?”

  Lalo refocused his attention to me.

  “To determine the personality of humans you came into contact with?” I said. “Find out who likes fashion, follows or sets their own trends, likes comfort over style, has money?”

  “To know your culture,” Lalo said, not sure of his answer. “In case we came into contact with you.”

  “Or in case you moved here. To know how to fit in.”

  “Or to target,” Lalo said. “Target a specific section of your population to make peace, or attack.”

  “Woah,” I said.

  “Yeah. We better get moving.”

  —-

  Jeans, T-shirts, and a few casual shirts was what Lalo ended up with. He said they would be easier to move around in. I asked him if he wanted a jacket in case the air conditioning in places got too cold. He said he didn’t get too cold or too hot.

  Lalo was again in awe at the shoe store. Hundreds of shoe designs lined the floors, which meant hundreds of shoes for him to play with. At one point, I stopped him to remind him of my price range and budget. I laughed to myself about having to stop him. He was so happy in there.

  Even I became glad we went to a shoe warehouse where we helped ourselves to find the perfect fit. Memories of childhood returned when I knelt down to the floor and slid the cold metal device under Lalo’s foot to figure out his shoe size. As my mother did with me, I pressed down at the end of the shoes Lalo put on to make sure he had enough toe space. I stuck to approving stable shoes, and I made him walk a little bit down the aisle to make sure they were comfortable.

  My mom. My parents. They too would be affected if something sour was about to go down. And I was taking care of someone who could help figure out a way to stop it. By the looks of it, getting aliens addicted to shopping was a viable solution to thwart an alien invasion. All we would have to do is lure them to the mall.

  I glanced outside of the giant picture windows at the front of the store. The sun was almost gone, and the sky would be extremely dark within the hour. Our plan was to go at night, but the idea of going at night bothered me.

  The site of the disappearance wasn’t in a safe part of town. At night violence rose. I nudged Lalo and told him we could finish shopping later. He made his decision, running shoes of course, and we headed toward the crime scene. Lalo exchanged the flip flops he was wearing for the shoes during the drive over there.

  “Lalo, we can’t get out,” I said. “We are going to have to drive by. I don’t want to get on the suspect list. The police are probably patrolling the place.”

  “What about you drop me off,” he said. “I can go undetected.”

  “But if I’m constantly driving around, they will know that I am up to no good.”

  “Fine,” he said and gazed out the window.

  As we approached the area, the night took over the cotton candied sky. A black bird flew down to the gravel. The two steps it took delivered enough information, telling it to get out of there. Other than grass and weeds I saw no other sign of life. I slowed down and drove under part of the bridge next to where the disappearance took place.

  “I don’t see any cameras and there is a parking lot over there,” Lalo said.

  “What about finding clues nearby?” I said. “Like the coffee shop that isn’t too far from here.”

  “No! We get out,” Lalo said.

  “But—” I said.

  “But nothing! I will protect you!” he said.

  “Don’t cut me off!” I said. Who did he think he was? “And you don’t even know what’s out there!”

  “Marli,” he said with a stern voice. “Please. I have to find out.”

  I huffed and drove a little further to make a U-Turn to get to the parking lot. No, don’t go my gut said when I parked. Three streetlights lined the bridge. They were dim, beginning to wake up. To add to the creepy scene, the living area under the bridge wasn’t one large area. It was divided into sections, made from arches of the cement that supported the bridge.

  Lalo reached for the door, and I grabbed his arm. “Five minutes,” I said. “No more than that.”

  “I’ll try for less,” he said.

  I stayed in the car, crossing my arms while looking out onto the seedy road and patches of dirt amongst the grass behind me across the street. I didn’t dare shut off the car in case we had to leave in a hurry.

  Lalo startled me when he tried to open my car door.

  “Come on,” he said. “We need to stick together.”

  I got out and rushed him to the crime scene, the area across the street, under the bridge. I also kept an eye on my car. We would have to run at least a minute to get back to it.

  I didn’t like how I kept getting chills, thinking that the scene was a trap. No one was there but us. Nothing but the underside of a bridge with a few cars passing over it, grass, and dirt. Lalo ducked under the yellow tape.

  “Hey,” he said, pointing to some graffiti under the bridge.

  “That’s graffiti,” I said.

  “No,” he said. “It means something. I’ve seen it. I think.”

  “Well,” I said and pulled out my phone. I walked further down the tape to get a clear shot. I took a few pictures. I flipped through them and was satisfied with the quality. I saw that Lalo was watching me.

  “I got a good shot,” I said.

  “K,” Lalo said and started searching for the rocks he saw on TV.

  After roaming around impatiently for a few minutes, I heard something in the grass. I spun around. It remained hidden. I mouthed Lalo’s name.

  Keeping my eyes forward, I took careful steps towards Lalo. A small patch of rocks crunched below my feet, causing me to freeze. I waved for Lalo to come to me so we could go. He held up his finger to say “one more minute.” I vigorously shook my head. I did not want to wait for what was behind the solid divider.

  Memories of the man from my dream flashed across my mind. My insides tightened.

  Please do not be that guy.

  The crunching of the grass began again. I brought quivering my hands up, preparing to fight. I saw something in the bottom of my eyesight. A part of the monster? No, nothing more than a cat peeked around the divider. When it saw me, it strolled across the grass, maintaining eye contact. A few feet further away it started trotting.

  I relaxed. A cat. That’s all it was. I hoped.

  “Hurry up,” I whispered to Lalo.

  He glanced around the place then headed to meet me halfway. To get to Lalo, I began stepping on the area full of rocks. My ankle adjusted for the uneven surface until I landed on a rock that sent a sharp, piercing sensation to my foot. My knee jerked up. I examined the bottom of my shoe. There was no puncture. Phew.

  “You alright?” Lalo asked.

  “Yeah,” I said.

  Lalo rushed over and bent down to check my foot. Placing it aside, he picked up one of the rocks. He twirled the rock in his hand then moved the top layer of rocks off to the side.

  “What’s going on?” I asked as I glanced down, towering over him.

  He picked up a couple of small, purple spotted glass rocks. “Here is our clue.” He put the rocks in his pocket.

  The wind blew, sending more chills through me. I took that as a message to get out of there. “Let’s go,” I said.

  “Okay,” he said.

  I pulled out my car keys and surveyed the area for any upright, standing, living things as Lalo and I trotted back to my car.

  Under the hold of my windshield wiper was a flyer, flickering in the wind. I snatched it.

  Out of all places. They always find you don’t they?

  Once we were inside the safety of my car, my fingers couldn’t move faster to lock the doors and turn the key. I wanted to slam
my foot on the pedal and peel out of there, but I escaped at a moderate pace. I noticed I had maintained a death grip on the flyer, so I put it in the drink holder.

  “Look and see if anyone is back there,” I said. That cat could have been making the noise, but someone else could have been there too, excuse me, something else could have been there too.

  Lalo twisted around in his seat. “I can’t see anyone.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.”

  “What about feel? Can you sense anyone, anything?”

  “No.”

  “Good.”

  I didn’t relax until we were on the highway again, going back to the country.

  “Let’s not ever do that again,” I said.

  Chapter 8

  When we reached my house, I couldn’t get out of the car. I had to sit there for a while. Lalo held my hand.

  “It’s okay to be scared,” he said and massaged my shoulder.

  “It’s just...” I said. “When we were there. The sight of that tall man flashed across my sight. I don’t know what is happening to me.” I met Lalo’s eyes with mine.

  “Part of the process is what it is,” Lalo said. “Marli, you aren’t exclusive to me as far as connecting. If this is more than a made up dream, you may be connecting with another Masqysava. We Masqysava can be good and bad like people. We aren’t all the same. But I would think we all have the same purpose for being on Earth. We couldn’t do what we wanted, back at home. Everyone had to have permission.”

  Lalo paused and shifted his eyes towards Kallen’s house. “We had to have permission... but I don’t think I did.” He closed his eyes. “I remember running to my ship. I hastily got in and left. I don’t even remember setting the course. The next thing I saw was you running, and I crashed.”

  “Is your planet controlled by rulers or a family?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. But back to you.” He reverted his eyes to me. “If you are connecting with someone else, what you see either happened not too long ago or at current time. You are safe as long as they don’t know you are there. I need to teach you to be able to block others. In case they try to find you.

  “Earlier, at least ten years ago, Masqysava found that people like you, ‘connectors,’ existed. They were so intrigued that they requested a whole group of Masqysava to be sent to Earth to find connectors. Those Masqysava who left for that mission never returned.”

  I perked up. “That could be why you are here— to either find people like me or find the missing Masqysava!”

  “No,” Lalo said. “From what I can perceive the reason is darker, and it won’t be that simple.”

  “So ‘Masqysava,’ is that term similar to people or humans?”

  “Yes,” he said. “We’re from a different planet, similar to Earth. I lived there all my life and can’t even remember what it’s called.”

  Right as I put my hand on Lalo’s shoulder to comfort him, one of the lights in Kallen’s house flipped on. My heart jumped. Kallen told me not to go anywhere, especially at night. If he saw that I was gone, he might snoop around to find out where I went later. I couldn’t tell him about the visit to the crime site. That was one of the things that triggered his anxiety about whatever was going on. I definitely couldn’t tell him about Lalo yet. He used the term “we” in the truck. I had to find out whose side he was on. And find out who made up the sides.

  “Lalo, Kallen might be watching,” I said.

  “Let him,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind meeting him. After all, I am your ex-boyfriend or friend right?”

  A corner of my lip curled as I fought to depress a smile. “Come on,” I said. “Let’s get your stuff out from your shopping extravaganza.”

  “I have to admit it was fun figuring out what I could get on that budget of yours.”

  “What?” I said and laughed. “Why don’t you go out there and make your own money to buy some things.”

  “I could set up a company and within three months I’d be a millionaire. Our technology is actually far more superior to yours.”

  “But can you remember how to work that technology though?”

  Lalo chuckled. “Good one.”

  I trailed Lalo and closed the door once we got inside the house. Dropping the shopping bags to my side, I slid up a blind to spy on Kallen. Less than ten seconds later the light went off.

  “Crap!” I said. “He knows.” I abandoned the blind, pivoting to Lalo.

  Lalo didn’t respond. He was wrapped up in reading the flyer.

  “Lalo,” I said. “Aren’t you worried about Kallen knowing? He may hunt you down.”

  “No,” Lalo said. “Like I said, I’m the ex. We should be more worried about this.” Lalo handed me the paper. It was a brochure, advertising a product for car repair.

  “Are you saying my car needs help?” I said, laughing.

  “Open it.”

  I did. There was a handwritten note taped to the inside.

  I don’t know who you are, but a woman (a. psychic) found me and told me to tell you. I was there. I saw them take my friends. My friend and I were on our way back from the shelter to visit with our other friends who stayed under the bridge. For some reason, we didn’t walk the usual way; we went behind the empty buildings. Before we got to the corner something told me to grab my friend and tell them to be quiet.

  We peaked around the corner of the building. We saw them! All ten or so of them! They were people I’ve never seen. They were dressed too well to be homeless, in random styles. All wore hats, covering their eyes. I searched for the homeless people I knew. They were on the ground. They didn’t move. We didn’t know if they were dead or sleeping. I hoped they were drugged. It was better than being dead.

  A muscular man spoke to another, who was also tall. I heard him say something about carrying them (our friends) back to their town. He also said he can’t wait until they could leave the town. They had been there too long. It was too small. The towns surrounding were too small. People found out too much information too quickly. It wasn’t that far from Dallas anyway. They would have been better off in Dallas, or a suburb of it. It was easier to hide with a bunch of people. The tall one reminded the other that they had work to do in their town.

  A few minutes later, the strange people were finished loading our friends into black SUVs. And the thing was they lifted our friends like they were a backpack. It was too easy for them. Then they drove away. We saw them get on the interstate, heading east. We didn’t tell the police this. We couldn’t. The psychic said they have “their people” in the force. They would probably come and kill us.

  Please, find our friends.

  I lowered the letter, almost losing it to the ground. There was nothing I could say.

  “We’re east of Dallas?” Lalo said.

  “Yes.”

  “How many small towns are there?” Lalo said.

  “Several,” I said.

  “But how many people have access to this?” Lalo asked, raising a piece of the meteorite like “rock” that we found.

  “Chances are I work with all of them,” I said. “That type of meteorite is rare. It’s a collector’s dream. If any other person found it, I would think they would either sell it or have it cut to make jewelry. This rock is untouched. But what if a Masqysava landed in our area previously and someone, a human, found a rock like this?”

  “Search?” Lalo said.

  I retrieved my laptop. No meteorites were found in our area within the last ten years. Neither were there sightings of meteors that should have landed close by. And the meteorites found were made of stone, no crystals. The collectors lived in large cities.

  “So that’s a negative,” Lalo said.

  “Oh no,” I said. Why didn’t I think of this before? “Lalo.”

  “What?”

  I informed Lalo about Kallen’s alien interest and continued. “I was over at Kallen’s house once. He had this collection. They were random things. They were normal to me. I th
ought nothing of it. But there were a few small rocks. He said they were meteorites. They would be stony meteorites.”

  “I told you I didn’t trust him.”

  “But he didn’t have anything like that rock,” I said, pointing to our new meteorite. “I know Kallen pretty well. He opens up to me. He would have showed me if he had something like that.”

  “You’ve only known him for a month,” Lalo said.

  “It’s not him,” I said. It couldn’t be him. The Kallen I knew didn’t do that to people. He was too worried about what went on. He and his people had to be investigating.

  “So it’s not him,” Lalo said.

  “There’s something else. Dr. Stevenson,” I said. “One day I overheard him and Kallen talking about meteors. Dr. Stevenson said he was lucky to find some left over from a meteorite shower when he was younger. That event sparked his interest in science. Now, he likes following stories about meteor sightings his spare time.”

  “A shower,” Lalo said, “or a landing of an alien ship?”

  “This is when he was younger,” I said. “I doubt that he happened to find pieces from an alien ship. Meteorite showers happen. Meteors land on Earth every year.”

  “And wouldn’t this life changing event make him want to collect meteorites?” Lalo asked. “He does follow meteor sightings.”

  “I’ve been to his house,” I said. “He had those two pebble sized rocks in a case. If he had something like your meteorite, it would be on display.”

  “Mhum.”

  How would Lalo understand? He didn’t know these people.

  “It’s hard to consider it being Dr. Stevenson,” I said. “He’s a leader in the field. He has been honored several times over. What would he want with a bunch of people?”

  “Don’t know, so what about your other coworkers? Does anything stand out?”

  I shook my head. “Other than Ashley up in everyone’s business and Ren, who takes trips every once in a while to Dallas to visit his brother’s family, no.”

  “It’s back to the letter then,” Lalo said.

  “Wait,” I said. “How do we really know it’s true? How can we trust this letter?”