by Nick Braker
He had an idea. He fast forwarded to the funeral, quickly scanning for anyone dressed similarly. Thankfully, it wasn’t so cold that people felt they had to wear coats, though some did. He spent the next two hours watching the video over and over, looking for anyone like the man he spoke to or someone wearing that ring. It paid off. In the background, away from the funeral, two men leaned against an SUV. The video only covered them for a total of six seconds but it was enough. Even in the distance, he was sure they were the two who showed up yesterday in the hospital, the one that came in to talk with him and the other that had gone elsewhere in the hospital.
Holy hell!
Did this mean anything? Could Beth’s death be significant enough that two detectives would go out of their way to attend her viewing and funeral?
Don’t be silly.
He was being paranoid. Perhaps they knew her, but if they did, why not attend the funeral instead of watching over it as they did?
He called his friends, leaving messages with Brandon and Weston telling them to get their asses to the hospital. Greg answered the phone.
“Greg, I need a favor, dude,” Asher said.
“Anything for you, man,” Greg replied.
“Get the gang together, come down to the hospital, right now. Can’t explain, you wouldn’t believe me anyway.”
“Okay...,” Greg said.
Asher could hear Greg’s reluctance.
“You going to come?” he asked.
“Asher, you know I will but this request sounds weird.”
It occurred to Asher that whoever these people are, they could be listening in on their conversation.
“Greg, I just need to chat. Bored. Nothing more,” Asher said.
Asher reviewed the video while he waited on his friends. He must have gone through it again and again for several hours before the three of them showed up. He didn’t find anything new.
“Dudes, thanks for coming,” Asher said. “Why so late?”
“Bruthah, you know we all had midterm finals this week,” Weston said.
“What day is it?” Asher asked.
His three friends exchanged glances with each other.
“It’s--” Brandon said.
“It doesn’t matter. What’s up?” Greg replied.
Asher brought them up to speed with everything he had discovered, even showing them the video of the two men at the funeral and the one at the viewing wearing the ring.
“So this guy showed up here?” Weston asked. “Damn.”
“Yep,” Asher said.
“So what does this mean?” Greg asked.
Greg and Weston pulled up chairs, leaving Brandon standing.
“I think it means that something big just happened,” Asher said.
“Yeah dudes, it means we got aliens,” Brandon said, laughing.
Brandon had spoken aloud in jest what Asher couldn’t say with any seriousness. He watched his friend’s reactions. Brandon laughed, Greg appeared to be thinking it through, and Weston seemed to just be enjoying their company.
Beth had recited various words, nearly all of them related to leaving. When the words finally stopped, she had switched her distant gaze to him, as if she were two people. Everything she said and did, between the indifferent look on her face while driving to the point she looked at him again just before dying, were the actions of someone else.
“You boys want to hear something even crazier?”
It took them a moment, while exchanging glances with each other, to realize who had spoken. Brandon pulled the curtain aside, letting them see the man in the bed.
“I got taken out of here last night because someone from CDC called in claiming I could potentially have TB. They wanted me quarantined and tested. I know because I’m a close friend of two doctors here and they thought it ridiculous. We all laughed about it last night but after hearing what you four just said, it seems to me, boys, that someone wanted me out of the room.”
“Holy hell,” Brandon said.
“Guys,” Asher said. “Let’s keep this to ourselves.”
All of them nodded in agreement, knowing the consequences ranged from being called lunatics to government suits showing up late at night to take them away. The five of them talked for hours afterward. Asher’s neighbor wasn’t shy about his lack of belief in aliens and even tried to talk them out of their crazy notion that extraterrestrials were involved. Their arguments lasted into the night, well past visitation hours, with each of them going quiet when the nursing staff made their rounds.
“Guys, Asher is falling asleep on us,” Greg said. “Maybe we should get going?”
“Hell no,” Brandon said. “Let’s stick around a few more minutes.”
Asher wanted to object but he couldn’t keep his eyes open. Sleep finally came.
Kron - Mental Infusion Complex
December 12, 1986 - 8:05pm
Breathe in, breathe out. Focus on your heartbeat. Relax.
Chitra’s control returned. They had given her the 60 second mark which meant she had another 30 seconds before her thoughts could potentially be exposed to the human creature. She had read the report on Satirra’s first attempt. The thought of death did not concern Chitra either but making a mistake and revealing Kron’s reconnaissance of Earth did. She would not fail but Satirra had indicated remarkable similarities between the two species and this meant an exponentially greater risk. Interesting that these meager humans could cause such a disturbance. No other race but the Cortians had created this much of a problem.
On Katerra’s orders, their scientists had spent countless hours refining the mental infusion system, hoping to offset the Earth being’s ability to detect the Omarii’s presence. The process hadn’t started well. These creatures could already be aware of Satirra’s first attempt. They might even be ready for Chitra’s attempt. She would be careful, she always was, but this would be the first species that had become even remotely aware of their presence before their imminent destruction. They had no idea of Earth’s capabilities in this area. She could be dead the moment she arrived.
If only a direct assault on Earth were possible but Kron could not afford to send any of their fleet to Earth without exposing themselves to an Aliri attack. Physical attacks against other planets like Earth were useless anyway as they would be detected at the point they were launched, sometimes even sooner. The Aliri were masters of predicting future events, though Kron’s technology didn’t lag far behind. The Timeline Analytic System, which the Aliri used, was their god. The fools followed its suggestions like religious zealots. The premise was simple, but the implementation was well beyond Chitra’s understanding. The system was a huge, multiprocessor computer fed real-time data via multi-phased probes strategically placed across the galaxy. The probes were generally undetectable, though Kron had found a way. The probes’ data fed the Aliri computer which parsed through it. Combined with their programming, it provided them with a nearly infinite number of possibilities of events to come. The Aliri would act on the one with the greatest chance of occurring, something the system also provided. Both Aliri and Kron computer systems were intuitive and could predict likely future events with amazing accuracy.
“Omarii Chitra, prepare yourself. Infusion in 30 seconds.”
The mental mapping process had begun.
She nodded, clearing her mind. She listened, focusing on any thoughts leaking through from the pathetic creature she would be infused with.
“Ten seconds to infusion,” Agneta said, starting a countdown.
Agneta finished the countdown without incident.
“Initiating mental infusion,” Commander Agneta said.
Her world collapsed into near blackness as the infusion propelled her, light years across the galaxy, to Earth and swapped her consciousness into the host. Chitra blinked her eyes, taking in her surroundings. She found herself sitting on the ground holding a small animal in her lap. It had brown spots with white fur that completely covered it. Its four legs hung
loosely, unmoving. Something seemed wrong with this creature. Why didn’t it move and what was that leaking out of its ear? Genetic law favored symmetry yet this creature’s jaw looked misshapen.
A torrent of loss swept through her target’s mind and body. This human was experiencing a strange physiological effect. What could it mean? She was cold and her body shook for some reason. A sickening unease built within her abdomen and pain lanced through her chest cavity.
A defective host? Why was she hurting so much?
Muddled words and images formed in her mind.
Blood. Pet. An accident. The creature can’t be dead. Her dog can’t be dead.
“No,” she screamed, “be alive. Please be alive,” she pleaded.
She stroked the dog on the head feeling the fur run through her fingers but it still didn’t move. She started sobbing and peripherally her awareness told her she was damaged too.
“Little girl,” a voice said. “Little girl, are you okay?”
Chitra tracked the voice, seeing another human creature approaching. It was a male of their species. A pathetic, human male that had hit her dog with his car. A different feeling replaced the sorrow and hurt inside her. The little girl knew it as mad but Chitra found a better word the little girl didn’t quite understand... rage.
She jumped to her feet as the male creature approached her. She grabbed its wrist, twisting its arm. It bent over at the waist as she applied pressure. Chitra smiled.
“Hey, kid,” he yelled. “What are--?”
A spray of blood exploded from his face as she kicked him. A slight twist more to the wrist and a well-placed elbow strike broke the bastard’s arm. It fell to its knees, holding its face. Another feeling joined the rage within her. She didn’t know the name for it but it felt good to hurt this creature. It felt really good. She grinned at it watching fear flood into its face. She stepped back, planning to put the bottom of her foot into the pathetic creature’s throat, crushing it. It would feel this even more, though it wouldn’t live long. She would revel in the pleasure.
“Die, little human,” she told it.
Her peripheral vision started fading. She couldn’t maintain her hold on him. She stepped backward, preparing her strike but continued back, stumbling. That wasn’t what she intended. Her view of the human seemed to be getting further away.
No, I want to hurt him.
She could feel something holding her. She screamed, struggling to break free.
“Chitra, control yourself.” Agneta said.
Agneta?
The containment field had done its job. She would have hurt or even killed her own people. What had happened to make her so angry? As the anger faded, an overwhelming feeling of sadness took its place. Her dog was dead.
Agneta slowly deactivated the gravity well, dropping the containment field. Chitra sank to her knees, weeping.
Earth - Evansville, IN
December 13, 1986 - 1:11am
Asher bolted upright in bed, shielding his eyes from the light pouring into the room from his hospital window. It was so bright, it had awakened him instantly. Even with the medication, the motion of sitting upright caused him to wretch violently as the metal object in his head caused him pain. His doctor had warned him many times to move slowly as both he and the surgeon continued their assessment of how they would remove the fragment. While the pain searing through his head was hard to dismiss, what was in front of him could not be ignored. His eyes grew wide as he examined his room and his heart leapt into his throat. Floating in midair in front of him were his three friends and immediately to his left, his roommate floated. They all clutched their throats trying to say something but only the inward and outward rush of air from their lungs could be heard. Greg’s eyes filled with fear as he struggled violently in the air trying to gain purchase on anything around him. They all fought against the force suspending them in the air.
Asher tried to call out for help but only a whisper escaped his lips. He grabbed his throat trying to understand why he could not speak. He tried to push the call button for the nurse’s station but, as he turned, the bed dropped several feet straight down, away from him. He flailed wildly trying to grab anything near him but instead he began to drift toward the hospital window. His roommate fell several feet, landing on his own bed completely limp and unconscious but his three friends remained in air as they floated with Asher toward the window. He tried to thrust his arms out hoping to stop himself from going through it but they felt like lead and dangled down, unmoving.
What the hell?
He tried to scream for help again but, like his friends, he couldn’t say anything. The sound from outside deafened him as he soared through the window and out into the cold night air. The wind blew his hospital gown like a flag at full mast and he could do nothing to stop the freezing chill seeping into him. His breath froze in front of him in quick, regular puffs.
The lights ahead, floating above the ground, grew brighter as he drew closer and their intensity began to burn the back of his eyes. Soon they would blind him if he dared continue to look directly at them. Asher desperately wanted to cover his ears but everything below his neck remained limp and unmoving. Sparkling dots of light danced around the periphery of his vision and he knew he was seconds from passing out. Was this a dream? How could he be floating through the air, nearly a hundred feet above the ground? His friends were lined up behind him following him into the celestial abyss ahead. Even with the light piercing through his lids, blackness formed at the edges of his vision and collapsed inward. The sound that hurt his ears went silent, bringing his world to an end. Asher passed out.
Earth - Alien Space Ship
December 13, 1986 - 1:32am
Her adopted people, the Aliri, placed the unconscious men on their respective augmentation tables. These tables were once just metal but Alara’s persistence had paid off and they had added padding with head support and blankets. The tables were still used in the augmentation process but it had a kinder, gentler approach to handling other species. Her experience with Josephina and the other three girls had disturbed her. She didn’t let that emotion play out in front of Father but, using logic and reasoning on him, he had acquiesced and ordered that the equipment be changed.
She felt the familiar shift of movement as the ship accelerated away from the forest near the hospital and into orbit around Earth. The ship would maintain a geosynchronous orbit until the process was completed. She returned her focus to Asher and his friends.
Today, if they did regain consciousness, as Josephina did fifteen years ago, it would help to be warm and comfortable when facing the extreme trauma of being kidnapped by an extraterrestrial. Perhaps it really only helped Alara feel better as it seemed she had her own moral compass that didn’t always agree with Father or his people.
She pulled his blanket up, tucking Asher in. He was tall and handsome. His eyes were closed but she knew they were a dark brown color. His gentle, wavy, black hair was tousled due to the wind and he had a large bandage on his head from the car accident. She smoothed his hair with her hand which trembled at the action. She pulled it back, examining it. What was wrong with her hand? Her heart beat faster, as well. Father had always said there would be someone special in her life and 2.09 weeks ago, he was identified... Asher. He had suffered unimaginable loss and heartache. He had loved so strongly and lost it all so quickly. She forced her hand closed and pushed both of them into her pockets. What was wrong with her?
They’re watching you, girl. They always are. Keep yourself in control.
She relaxed, giving her breathing and her heart rate a chance to slow. She stepped back as one of the Aliri placed the device on Asher’s forehead. The other three were already under augmentation and, as usual, all were on schedule. The process was long and tedious so she diverted her thoughts while her people prepared the four of them.
The process of physically getting other beings onto the ship, in midair, was dangerous. Father had made it clear that the Aliri n
ever expose themselves to the possibility of capture or to prying eyes. Lately, that was increasingly harder to control. They were bolder now in their approach due to the dynamic nature of timeline changes. Humans were difficult to predict and their erratic behavior played havoc with the Aliri’s species prediction algorithms.
The latest change had occurred when Lizabeth, Asher’s fiancé, had died. Asher’s determination to find the ones who killed her had changed fifteen years of planning in an instant. Four young, human females had been chosen as the most likely subjects to help Earth through the attack her people knew the Kron were planning. The same Timeline Analytic System that had predicted their success 1.5 decades ago had just informed them that Father’s plan would now fail. Asher’s desire for revenge had created a new timeline, one that had a better chance of succeeding. This young male, lying in front of her, was now Earth’s salvation. He would lead a team of seven humans that must include the four young females. They all played a crucial role in Earth’s survival but Asher would be the central driving force that held them together. Beth’s murder, indirectly by the Kron, had changed the Aliri’s entire operation. An average human girl had been randomly targeted by the Kron and that simple action had changed 2.2 decades of planning.
Katerra, Kron’s leader, had discovered the Aliri’s multi-phased probes. These probes were strategically scattered across most of the galaxy and, using both active and passive sensors, they allowed the Aliri to monitor nearly every detail. Katerra had systematically destroyed every one of them near Kron’s solar system. Without those probes, her people could no longer watch the Kron and were blind to their actions unless they entered an area where the probes could monitor... Earth for example. That was 41.3 years ago and though her people, the Aliri, had a better Timeline Analytic System, Kron’s invisibility put them on equal footing. Even today, her father continued to look for a way to monitor their enemy but Katerra was as shrewd as Father. The two played each other as if they were playing a game of chess on a galactic scale.
