Secrets Beyond the Moon: Strangers from the sky

by NB Blackbell

  The sun beamed into the windows of the hotel. Jake lay in bed and could feel the breeze blowing from the window. It felt refreshing. His thoughts reflected back to yesterday's meeting. Larzo would be forming a team to follow these creatures today. What if they had some help when following them? Marcy was good at the computer. Perhaps she could download the GPS from the cell phone and track them by tapping into their GPS. Then his thoughts turned to Isabel. He felt his hands tremble at the thought of her being out there with these creatures. He prayed they didn't hurt her and that there was time for them to figure this out and save her. What if it was too late, though? He loved Isabel and would live for the rest of his life with this guilt on his mind, knowing she could be six feet under instead of lying next to him. He crawled out of bed and threw on his clothes and headed to John's room, nearly forgetting to close the door behind himself. It didn't take John long to answer the door. "Morning Jake, what's up?" Jake leaned against the door frame.

  "I thought about the whole situation and woke up with an idea this morning. What if we track the people we are searching for by their GPS to make it easier for Larzo and his men to tag them? All they have to do is take a look around, see what there is and maybe scope it out." John felt intrigued. "That might just work. Well; done, Jake. Do you know anyone who can do this?" Jake nodded, "My secretary, Marcy, is a pro on the computer. She has a bit of a shady past when it comes to computers, but she's on our side so that history benefits us. We can get a hold of the cell numbers and load this up today."

  John laughed lightly. "We have those buggers now." Jake laughed and started heading towards Marcy's room, then to the board room. Jasper sat in front of the monitors. She got an early start this morning in hopes that she would find something that would make everything go smoother. Then maybe she could go home. Her night didn't go as well as she had hoped. Not only did she toss and turn, but she had a nightmare. It was about Isabel. It almost felt like she was reaching out for her, but how could that be possible? Jake wandered into the room and pulled out a chair next to her.

  "Morning," Jasper turned to face Jake. "I have to tell you something." Jake sat down and looked at her. "Okay." Jasper leaned back in her chair and started recalling her dream. I dreamt about Isabel last night. Jasper looked over at Jake as she continued, "It felt as if she was reaching out to me. In the dream, she was there with us, but we couldn't see her. It was like she was trapped somewhere. The worst part was that where she was seemed dangerous. She was hiding, and I saw a giant spider in the background. At one point, a clown with a chainsaw ran by her. It may not seem scary to you, but she looked scared, and that place gave me the creeps. Jake crossed his arms and leaned back, "Hmm. Well, I don't know of any place like that. Let's hope nothing like that exists. That would not be a world I would like to visit. Do you remember anything else about it?" Jasper thought about it for a minute. "Yeah, I do. There was a statue there. It was really strange looking, but there was talking in the background; sort of like the voices I hear. I couldn't make it out, but they seemed to be in the distance." Jake's eyes widened, "Are you kidding me? You could hear those voices in your dream? You may be on to something, but the bad part is that Isabel might actually be in danger." Jasper sat up straight. "Oh my god! Could she actually be alive?" Jake drew a breath. "I'm not sure, but there is a chance she just might be."

  Marcy came tittering into the room. Buddy barged in immediately after her. He was being chased by Nookers, who, on occasion, would get a burst of energy, and Buddy would be the target. "Sorry, it took so long, Jake. I was getting these guys ready to run around. Thanks so much, Jasper, for letting me hang with these guys while you were busy. They keep me busy and take my mind off everything." Marcy grabbed a chair next to Jake. "I'm ready to work through." Jasper wrinkled her eyes. "Oh, what are you working on?" Marcy smiled, "Jake and I are going to track their GPS and help Larzo and his men find out where they all meet." Jake smiled. "Yes, and Marcy is the best woman for the job. Jasper smiled.,"That's great. If you guys are going to be here for a bit, do you mind watching the video feed? I have something I need to do." Jake shook his head. "Sure, take your time." The two of them got to work on setting up the program as Jasper set off to her room.

  Jasper entered her room, quietly closing the door after herself. She grabbed her sketchbook and flopped down on the bed. She thought to herself as she hugged her book tightly, 'What do you need me to know, Isabel?' She reached up and felt the back of her neck. She had been wearing her hair down ever since Jake spotted the tattoo on her neck. Where could that possibly come from? She thought. I don't drink that much, so I know it couldn't be a drunken experience and why that symbol? How does it connect to all of this and to Isabel? She got frightened for a minute. What do I have to do with this whole situation? How am I connected? She sat up and thrust herself up against the wall.

  Opening her book slowly, a tear rolled down her face. I must be missing something. The question is, what. She started going through her scrapbook, looking at all the sketches, remembering the ones Isabel dreamt about. She stopped when she got to one of the symbols. 'What does this mean, and why am I wearing it?' She closed her eyes and said, "Isabel, I don't know if we have a connection, or if I'm just a weirdo, but. If there is a chance you can hear me, tell me how I can help you. I feel scared without you. All these weird things are happening to me. That symbol frightened you so bad, and now I feel as if I betrayed you somehow by wearing it. I truly don't know how it got there. I miss you, Isabel. Come home." She laid her book down and got up and went to the window. It was bright outside, and the breeze made her feel great. Suddenly, she had a concept.

  The statue in her dream was where the fountain in front of the cafe was. How could that be? She knew the fountain still stood there. She recognized the spot because the wharf was right behind it, and she wrote from there every day for nearly seven years. She yanked out her phone and wrote her thoughts about it in a text to Jake. Perhaps he could make sense of it. Laying her phone on the table next to her bed, she crawled in under her blanket. Maybe, if she took a short nap, she could rest her mind about all this. She tossed and turned a little, but minutes later, she began to doze off.

  During the day, the volunteers dropped their guns off to John. He stacked them into a box after checking each one to make sure the chambers were full of ammo. He turned to Faith and said, "We have enough guns to do the job." He walked over and massaged his wife's neck. "Pretty soon, I'll have you home where you can feel safe again." Faith gazed up at him and smiled. "That's a delightful thought, but you need to know, I feel safe no matter what, as long as I'm with you." John leaned down and hugged his wife from behind. "Thanks. Hopefully, in a day or two, we will have a full plan to put into action." Standing up, he headed for the door. I'll be back later. I need to go check on our plan and see how it's progressing.

  Minutes later, John entered the board room. Jake turned and smiled. "We just got it up and running. Marcy is loading the cell numbers now. Have you informed Larzo of what we're doing yet?" John leaned on the chair, hovering over Marcy as she put each figure into the system. "Yes, I messaged him after we spoke. I actually think you made his day, there was relief in his voice when I told him. You have to imagine it was scary thinking about following those shifters every little step with no knowledge of what could happen. This way, we can keep everyone informed." Marcy shrieked excitingly, "It works! Look! It's showing each of them. If we watch them, we can see where they head too and what time frame we are looking at. Being on Jake's laptop makes it easy to watch. He can keep it with him at all times or whoever you guys choose to do the monitoring." John looked at Jake. "We need a record of where they are at all times. Larzo and his men can check it out. John stood up and patted both of them on the back. "Great job! We're one step closer to heading home. When John headed out of the room, Marcy leaned over and muttered to Jake, "I know this all looks like it's working out, but I don't have a good feeling about it; not at all." Jake pulled the laptop in front of him. "Li
ke I told Jasper, we can hope. Without hope, we're lost." Jake picked up the computer and started heading to his room. "I'll be in my room keeping track. You're more than welcome to join me." Jake then turned and left the room.

  Three days passed. The group worked hard at finding the information they needed to pull off their plan. Jake found out after watching them twenty-four hours straight that there was a bar outside town where they seemed to gather late in the evening. Larzo and his men later checked it out and reported back that it was an old silver barn converted into a bar, something the locals on the outskirts of town used to cool down after a long day at work. After a few days of planning, John reported they had found the spot where it would happen. They would assassinate the shapeshifters. John spent the next hour finding all the volunteers and assigning pictures to them, making sure they knew who their target was. Just as John headed towards the elevator to head back to his room, Jake scurried down the hall towards him.

  "John, wait up! I forgot to mention something on my mind. It's quite important. Remember, I told you about the one shifter outside the mayor's office?" John nodded, "Yes, I do." Jake continued, "He changed his face right in front of me, and that throws a few what-ifs out there for me, like what if we shoot the wrong person." John smirked. "I thought about that too. As a matter of fact, I thought of lots of what-ifs, but we have the GPS, so no matter whose face they wear, we know where they are. Besides, they have no warning of us, why wouldn't they be themselves after a long day? We will hit them up tonight, you and Jasper be prepared. I need all of you to be ready. Tomorrow, we hopefully will be shifter free." John smiled and got in the elevator. "Smile, Jake, it might be all over tomorrow." Jake smiled, but his smile quickly fell as he reminded himself of the tattoo on the back of Jasper's neck. He immediately headed to her room, wondering if she had figured out how it had gotten there. He wanted to let her know about tonight and how, hopefully, tomorrow they could go home.

  Chapter Seven

  It was hours before the attack, and all the gunmen gathered in the boardroom. The chatter was at a low roar as they reviewed the plan within the group. Billy grumbled, What's the departure plan again?" Larzo shook his head in disbelief. "You better let it sink in this time, Billy. You don't want to be asking that question when it's time for all of us to get away. We keep the cars close by. The keys stay in the ignition, ready to go. We line up and wait. Our partner will be ready to have our back, and, at precisely twelve midnight, we take out our targets. Right after we take out our target, our partner will run ahead to the car, making sure it's ready for us to head back to the hotel. It's not overly complicated. It just takes cooperation between us all. Any questions?" Jasper raised her hand. "Yeah, where do I shoot?

  I mean, do I aim for his head or just anywhere?" Larzo took a second, then turned to her. Well, I would aim for the heart or the head… anywhere else they may survive. That's what I've seen in the movies. And when my granddad took me hunting when I was younger, the deer was always shot near the heart. I've never actually killed anybody, so I'm not a hundred percent sure." Jake leaned over and whispered in her ear. "You have six rounds, aim for both. Jasper glanced back at him and replied, "Good idea."

  John entered the board room. As he walked towards the front, he glanced around at those who stood in front of him. They all were dressed in black, standing there waiting for orders. He trusted they would all be standing there with him once the night was complete. "Good to see you all ready to go. I need to make sure you all understand what's happening tonight. There's no backing out at the last minute. These creatures need to be eliminated." The room cheered, then became silent, waiting for John to finish speaking. "I'm proud of each one of you. You're all heroes in my eyes. I have a box of ski masks here. It will help us stay hidden better. It's about a forty-minute drive just outside the city, so if we leave here by ten-thirty, that should be a sufficient amount of time. There's an old drive-in movie theatre just north of the silver barn. After that, It's a five-minute walk through the woods. We will meet there. It's a safe place to park cars and talk without being seen. Does everyone understand?"

  Larzo nodded to reinsure him. They were ready. John nodded and headed out of the room. He wanted some more time with Faith before this went down, just in case it went awry. Larzo popped his head over the guy next to him and called out to Jasper, "You two prepared for tonight?" Jasper gave him thumbs up while muttering under her breath, "As ready as we possibly can be." Jake laid his hand on hers. "It'll be fine. We'll do this, and hopefully, life will get back to normal. Then we can concentrate on finding Isabel." Jasper smiled as she zipped up the pocket that held the gun.

  Later that night, the parking lot of the old drive-in theatre slowly filled up. Jasper leaned out the window of the car as they pulled into the lot. "Not everyone is here," she said. "I don't see Larzo's truck yet. I hope they didn't get caught out on the roads." Jake scanned the parking lot. "No, but I'm sure John has heard from him." Jake and Jasper climbed out of the car and headed over to where the group stood. "Where is Larzo?" Jake asked? John headed over towards the two. "I just got off the phone with him. They will be here shortly; they had to take a detour. So, are you two ready for this?" Jake nodded, "Yeah. We've discussed it on the way over." Jasper looked around at the group. It was odd to see them all dressed in black. Some individuals stood chatting about the plan, while others seemed restless. Feeling a little impatient herself, Jasper got out a cigarette and lit it. It was a habit she wasn't too fond of but wasn't too worried about since she really didn't do it much. Leaning back against the car, she looked over at Jake. He was stretching as if he was getting ready for a run. "Because of what John said, I just want to make sure I'm ready. I would hate to get a cramp in my leg while trying to get away." Jasper finished her smoke as a truck entering the drive-in caught her attention. It was Larzo.

  Larzo shook his head as he walked over towards the group. "Just goes to show you that you can never be sure of a plan going a hundred percent your way. We had to get off the highway and wait. Other cars were heading towards the barn, so we stayed out of sight. I didn't want to take a chance on getting caught out after curfew. So, are we all ready for this?" John nodded. "Yes, we were just waiting for you." Turning to look towards everyone, John added, "All right, so we all know what our responsibilities are and who we're after?" Quietly, they all acknowledged. "All right, then let's go. Larzo, you make certain they're all there." Larzo ran ahead while the others gradually made their way through the woods. It was a short walk, perhaps five minutes at the most.

  Jasper's stomach twisted. She had this ghastly feeling in the pit of her stomach all day that there was something they were missing; however, she had no proof of anything being off course. The assembly stopped at the edge of the woods and then got into position. They waited while Larzo checked to make sure all the targets were present and then for the clock to strike midnight. Larzo returned to the group reporting that all was ready and in place. So far, things were going smoothly. Jasper leaned against the tree and glanced over to Jake. "My heart is thumping so hard right now," she confided. Jake leaned over. "That's pretty typical for a situation like this, I would assume."

  As midnight struck, John peered around at everybody and nodded. It was time. Picking up the firecrackers, he lit them and threw them into the parking lot. The crackers went off like a wildfire, making so much noise it could raise the dead. The barn door swung open fiercely and out they came. First out the door was the police chief, then the rest followed. Without hesitation, the group fired at them. Their bodies were thrust to the grounds as the bullets pierced through their chests. The crowd was just about to turn and run when suddenly, there was a beam of light that lit up the whole sky. Jasper's eyes widened, and her mouth fell open. Jake seized Jasper's hand. "What the hell!" he roared as he hauled her down. Both squatted close to the ground as they glanced around. Everything was frozen, the time had ceased but only for a few moments. The barn had disappeared and was no longer there. Where it once
was, a shrine rose in its place. An ungodly screech surrounded them as everything unfroze, and time started again. The shifters didn't look human anymore. Jasper gasped, she had never seen anything like it before. The bullet wounds were now gone. The shifters had self-healed. Standing six foot five, they scanned the area for the group. Their large lizard-like tails swung in the air, hitting trees like a baseball bat, sending vibrations through the air. Bullets started flying again as the frightened group started shooting at them once more. One of them leaped towards Billy, plunging his razor-like claws deep down into Billy's flesh, knocking him to the ground.

  As it shifted, its tail swung rapidly, colliding with Beth's head, killing her instantaneously. The group stood astonished and shocked until John hollered, "Run!" Jake went and grabbed Billy. He nearly fell down as they tried to keep up with the rest of the group as they rushed to get to their automobiles. Blood gushed out of Billy's wounds as Jake shoved him into the back seat. Jake ripped off his shirt and pushed it against the injury. "Hold this against it," Jake instructed. Jumping into the driver's seat, he shouted to Jasper, "You drive with John and find out what's next!"

  The group hurried down the highway. Anxiety built up, and time seemed to have stood still but only in their minds. No one could explain what had just transpired. All they knew is that they had to get back to the hotel. John glanced in the mirror. "Jasper, is there someone following us?" Jasper looked back. "No, I don't see anybody." John stared into the mirror again. "What about the big semi-truck? I don't remember anyone driving that?" Jasper looked back and felt very puzzled. What semi? I don't see any semi-trucks back there." John stepped on the petal. "I think it's after us." Jasper looked at John. "No, one's there, I promise. I don't see what you're seeing. You need to slow down, or you're going to crash." John let off on the petal, still fearful that the truck was behind them, but he trusted her enough to believe her when she said it wasn't there.