Secrets Beyond the Moon: Strangers from the sky

by NB Blackbell

  Jasper peeked into the board room. John sat at the table, writing something in an old book of his. Jasper whispered, "John, are you busy?" John turned and looked at her, "No, not at all. Come on in." The two of them sat down next to him. "We need to talk about a few things." John felt worried, "Okay, what about?" Jasper pulled out her phone and laid it on the table. "I got a call earlier from a lady. I have no concept of who it was, although she sounded familiar. The lady wanted to stay anonymous. She warned me about the shifters or aliens, whatever they are. She said they can't see the colour red. I'm not sure if it's because they are colour blind or what, but evidently, they have a hard time seeing fire too. She said to use red as much as we can and to wear it."

  John looked a bit puzzled. "How can we be sure this is true?" Jake jumped in. "We can't be certain unless we try it. That leads me to the other news. We just glanced out the window, and not only did we notice a couple buildings missing, but we now have hovercrafts flying around our city." John jumped up and ran to the window, "Holy crap! It was bad enough knowing there were creatures in our city that we couldn't just shoot and kill, but now we have UFOs too! I don't know about you two, but I think we're dealing with aliens. What else could it possibly be?" Jake and Jasper both joined him at the window. "I thought it might be too," said Jasper, "but I didn't want to assume so." John looked at her. "So that woman called to tell you to protect yourself with red? How did she even know about us?" Jasper shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps it's someone we know, but I can't imagine who." Jasper bit her lip as she thought to herself, I'm going to have to tell him about the rest soon. Jake swung his head around, and without moving a lip, she heard him say, Not yet. Both looked at each other for a second before Jake spoke up. "I don't think they're hiding among us anymore. I think we blew their cover, and now they're planning on just taking over." John turned away from the window and looked at both of them. "This is bad, none of us are prepared for anything like this. I feel like we opened Pandora's box, and now we are screwed." A few seconds later, Loretta walked into the room. "There you are, Jake. I was looking for you. Billy has been asking for you. I told him I would try to find you." Jake turned and headed for the door. "You might want to stay and get updated on what's going on."

  Opening the door slowly, Jake entered Billy's room. Jake walked over to where he lay and asked, "How are you feeling?" Billy looked up at him. "I thought we were goners," Loretta told me Beth didn't make it. "How's Marcy taking it?" Jake sat down next to him. "She's doing all right. Everyone is still in shock. I'm sure it hasn't really hit anyone yet." Jake looked down at his stitches and said, "So much for simple." Billy shook his head, "Yeah, easy in easy out. I saw it too, just like you and Jasper did."

  Jake paused. "Saw what?" Billy looked at him and responded, "The flash of light. The one that happened when everyone else was frozen." Jake raised an eyebrow. "You saw that too? I thought only Jasper, and I saw it. I can't understand why we're the only ones not affected by it. One alien froze everyone in the square the first time I saw them." Billy tried to sit up. "Ugh," he moaned, then lay back down. "Alien? What do you mean, alien? Did I miss something? I thought we were dealing with shifters?" Billy stopped and took a second to think before he continued. "But now that I think about it, that didn't look like no shifter to me. Nothing about it said human. Oh, good God! They're aliens!" He looked up at Jake. Does John know?" Jake shook his head, "Yes."

  "We were all talking about it in the board room. There are now hovercrafts flying around the city. We're really not quite sure what to do next, but at least we know now." Billy started to cough. "I have a dry throat. Can you grab me some water, please?" Jake nodded. "Okay, but let me ask you something first. Have you noticed anything else weird happening to you?" Billy thought for a moment, "No, not really. Not unless you count finding an old tattoo, I don't remember getting. I must have been some drunk that night." Billy lifted his arm to show Jake. It was the same symbol they had. Jake took a deep breath, "We have that too." Billy wrinkled up his forehead. "The same tattoo?" Jake turned to show him his back.

  "Yup, It showed up just after we got back to the hotel. Jasper got hers the other day." After hearing a knock at the door, Jake turned to see Jasper standing there. "Did Billy need water?" Jake seemed confused. "You weren't here when he asked for it. How did you know he wanted it?" Jasper smiled, "I don't really know. It was like I heard him ask for it, yet he wasn't really there." Jake frowned. "This has been happening to us a lot lately, hasn't it?" Billy took a drink of the water, then looked up. "I hear you guys occasionally; not all the time, though."

  Jake looked at Jasper. "He has the tattoo just like us, and he saw the bright light while everyone else was frozen." Jasper looked at Billy and asked, "Do you understand any of this?" Billy shook his head no. Jasper stood up. I'm going to go back to my room for a bit. Maybe I can make sense of this if I give it some thought for a bit." Jake got up. "I'm coming with you. Get some rest, Billy. I will check in on you later." Both of them headed out the door and up to Jasper's room.

  Jake pulled up a chair near the window as Jasper cleaned up and fed the pets. Buddy was happy to see them both. He twirled and bounced all over the room. Nookers lay spread out across the table where Jake sat. "Someone needs attention," said Jake as he scratched the cat. Jasper curled up on the bed with Buddy. "I'm just going to lay here for a bit. I need to clear my mind so I can think." Jake leaned back in the chair. "Go ahead. I'm going to sit here and see what I can see, just in case we missed anything." Everything was quiet for a bit. Neither had noted that the other had dozed off. With all the stress, that wouldn't have been a hard thing to do. Jasper lay on the bed dreaming. She sat by the bridge, looking out at the water. Beside her stood, Isabel. "I'm here," she said. "You need to be careful, Jasper. They are extremely dangerous. We're not dealing with shapeshifters. These are aliens. There are so many of them. Warn everyone."

  Jasper woke up quickly, with tears streaming from her eyes. Half asleep, Jake cried out, "Isabel?" Jasper looked at him. "You saw her too?" Jake, now thoroughly awake, looked at Jasper. "Yeah, she was with you down by the bridge. I never got to speak to her, but I called out to her." Jasper felt shocked, "How did you know what I dreamt?" Jake sat up straight. "I don't know, but I think she's alive. How else would she come to us in a dream?" Jasper looked out the window. It was starting to get dark. This has been a long day, and I don't want to deal with it anymore." Jake snickered, "Like we get a choice. I think tomorrow we should fill John in about the rest of the phone call and what's happening to the three of us." Jasper nodded. "You're right, but for now, I'm just going to read a book and pretend I'm somewhere else." Jake got up and headed towards the door, "Good idea. I'm going to my room. I have a good e-book on my laptop. I'll talk to you tomorrow, Jasper."

  Chapter Eight

  Morning came, but the sun didn't shine into the window like it ordinarily did. The atmosphere was grey and murky. You would almost swear the sun never shined. Jasper groaned as she pulled herself out of bed. She pulled the covers up over Buddy and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "You stay here, boy. I'll be back in a bit." She walked to the window to see what was happening and why the sky was so dark. It almost appeared as if the morning had never come, but the clock said differently. She took her clothes and threw them on as she hunted for the elastic that Nookers had found during the night. Throwing her hair up, she went downstairs, hoping to figure out what was going on. John and Jake both stood at the front door of the hotel. Neither had noticed her right away, as they were busy trying to figure out what was going on.

  Jake stood with his arms folded. It looked like a scene from a horror movie. John had his finger on his mouth and looked concerned. "This is just great. I don't even want to know what's going to jump out of that." Jasper walked up to where they stood. As she did, she noticed that outside, there was a green mist throughout the air. It was like an impenetrable fog and reminded her of a swamp. "Morning, guys. At least, I think it's morning." Jasper stood there, gawking at
the green mist with the guys. "Where do you think it came from?" Jake shook his head. "I have no clue. I woke up this morning, and there it was. I don't even know if it's safe. If it were white, I would just assume it was fog… but green makes you wonder if there's a monster on the other side of it. Truthfully, with the aliens out there, I'm more prone to believe there's nothing positive on the other side." Jake gazed at his wristwatch. "It's almost 9 a.m., and I think the moon is still out. This is really messed up, and I guarantee you, I don't know how to fix this one. Unless maybe my watch is broken… does anyone else have the time?" Jasper glanced over at him. "No, I looked at the time before coming down. Your watch is right." John looked over at her, then at Jake. There's something different about you two." Both Jasper and Jake looked at each other than at John. Jasper took a deep breath. "I can't really explain it. Well, but yes, something is going on. I'll tell you everything, but it has to stay between the three of us… at least till I understand it." John nodded, "All right. Let's go get a coffee, and you can fill me in."

  The three of them sat at the table with their coffee. Jasper wasn't really sure where she should begin but decided it would be best from the start. "A couple of days ago, before the incident happened with the aliens, this tattoo showed up on the back of my neck." She turned to show John the tattoo. "It's the same symbol that Isabel saw." John wrinkled his forehead as he leaned forward to have a good look. "So, it just showed up?" Jasper nodded. "Yup! Out of the blue. Then you asked me about my eyes. I truly thought you were joking with me. Then, after we got home from the shooting, I noticed Jake's eyes were different and remembered you saying that about mine. He also had a tattoo appear on his back. It's the same symbol I have." John looked at her eyes then at Jake's. "They're the same colour. This is really weird, guys. Anything else?" Jake nodded. "The phone call we received not only told us about the colour red being beneficial to us, but it warned us that both Jasper and I would notice things happening to us and that we were no longer protected. Whatever that means." Jake stopped for a second, and inside his head, he tried to speak to Jasper. I don't know if this will work, but I don't want to mention that we can talk to each other inside our heads quite yet. Okay? Just nod if you can hear me. Jasper nodded in response to Jake, then told John, "Jake and I are not being affected by the freezing. I don't know what's going on, but as long as it works in our favour, then it's all good." John agreed, "Yes, It's weird, though. I'm glad you trusted me enough to tell me. I won't tell anyone. This is going to stay between the three of us." Jake piped up, "Oh, and Billy too." John's eyes enlarged. "Billy too? This is happening to him also?" Jake nodded. "Yup! Found out last night." John shook his head and looked at Jasper. "You'll let me know if my eyes change. Will you? It seems to be happening a lot. Why stop at me?" Glancing back at the window to see the mist, John asked, "Think it's all connected?" Jasper looked up and out at the mist. "I have no doubt it is. There are way too many coincidences happening. I really think we need to take this red thing seriously, possibly surround ourselves in red fully." Jake glanced over at her. "Yes, but we need to test it out today to make sure it isn't a ploy. I mean… yes, I'm pretty sure it will work, but just in case." Jasper nodded. "Okay, so today we'll go out and test it. But this green mist, we have no idea where it came from or if it’s safe or not. For all we know, it's fatal and will kill us all. What if it's a trap?" John leaned back. "We don't have answers. Today we need to create a squad who is willing to take a few risks. We need volunteers to realize that the stuff they do may kill them, but they should be willing to take the chance." John stood up. "I detest this. None of this seems right. How do I ask these men and women to volunteer for such a thing?" Jasper bit her lip. She felt like she probably would regret it but blurted it out, anyway. "I'll sign up for it. I seem to not be disturbed by the rest of the stuff, so perhaps it will be okay for me to go out." John stared at her, "Yeah, but that's just it. What if you're not affected by it? The rest of us might be. What if you went with a team? That way, if it doesn't affect you, and something develops, you have a level head?" Jasper nodded, "That's a good idea." Jake got up and headed over to the coffee machine. He poured himself a cup, then turned and looked at John. "I'm going to. We have a better chance by sending two who may not be affected by whatever is going on. That way, if anything happens, we can get everyone back here carefully." Just then, Faith entered the kitchen. "Has anyone looked out the window? The fog is green." John pulled out his chair and patted his lap. Faith sat down and wrapped her arms around her husband. He shook his head. "We know as much as you do now. We're going to test it out today and make sure it's safe. As a matter of fact, we should get to that." He gestured for Faith to get up so that he could move. Faith jumped up. "I'll test it out." Faith headed out towards the front of the hotel, Jasper followed her, along with the rest of them. John hurried down the hall after her. "Faith, wait! We don't know if it's serious yet."

  "Wait," chimed in Jasper. "I'm going with you." Both women stepped outside the door. Jake ran out after them. Both Faith and Jasper stood among the green fog. There was no odour to it, and they didn't feel any different. This is a good thing," Jasper thought. "You okay, Faith?" Faith grabbed her by the arm. "It's hard to see anything out here. I can see you, though, and I can see Jake." Jake looked around to see what he could see. The view was a bit restricted with the green fog. He could only see a few feet ahead of him, and most definitely not the view of the bridge nor any of the hovercrafts he had seen the previous day. They would never know if any of those aliens were to walk right up to them until the last minute. Faith started to weep. "This doesn't feel right. I feel like we're being watched." Just then, a man dressed in black ran past her. "Did you see that, Jasper?" Jasper took a deep breath and looked around. "I didn't see anything, Faith" Faith started to scream, "He has a knife, and he's coming my way!" Jasper still didn't see anyone, but she clutched Faith's arm and dragged her back into the hotel. Jake proceeded to look around. He swung around and gaped at Jasper as she walked back outside, "There's no one out here." Jasper replied, "It's almost like they encounter something that we can't see. This happened to John on the way back from the barn. He saw a semi-truck trying to run us down, but I didn't." "Hmmm," said Jake. "Perhaps there's something in the air affecting them, but we're not altered, so that's why we can't see it. Hallucinations of some sort." Jake sniffed the air. "It's odourless. There's no smell. Where is the ocean smell or the city smell? It's like it's just gone." Jasper grabbed Jake's arm. "Come on. Let's go back in. Something doesn't feel right." After the two of them were back in the hotel, John reached over and locked the door. "We don't need any more surprises, especially any from those lizard creatures. Faith says there was a man out there, sneaking around in that green fog." Jasper looked at Faith. "There wasn't anyone out there. Jake and I think there is something in the air causing hallucinations. John, do you remember how you felt seeing that semi-truck? It wasn't there either, but it caused you fear. I also believe both Chuck and Mike had something similar happen that caused them to crash into that tree. We need to figure out how to protect you all from this when you are out of the hotel."

  The four of them walked into the boardroom, they could hear scuffing coming from down the hall. "People are starting to get up," said John "I'm going to have to have some answers for them." Jake, who stood looking out the window, glanced back at John. Let me deal with this. I think someone who's not affected should be in charge of preparing them for the outdoors." Moments later, Larzo, Marcy, Loretta, and a few others piled into the room. "Have you seen outside?" squealed Marcy. Jake motioned for them to take a seat. "Yes, we did, and we also did some investigating too. It's a toxic gas-like fog that induces hallucinations. For some reason, Jasper and I are not affected by it. I think it was released last night by the aliens, yet I'm not sure of this. It's an assumption. No one is to go outside until we figure out how to keep the hallucinations from happening. We'll hopefully have a plan by the end of the day, and if, during this period, you have any ideas,
please either let Jasper or me know."

  Jake walked over to John. Both stood there as the others walked over to the window to look at the green fog. Larzo walked over to Jake. "I have to go on a supply run today, so we need to figure this out. What if we tie bandanas around our faces?" Jake thought to himself for a second before answering. "That might work temporarily. If you do this, make sure you guys are not exposed very long, even with the bandana on. These hallucinations are nothing to play with. They're scaring people literally to death. Put the army surplus store on your list today. Grab as many gas masks as you can. This might be the answer to us being able to walk out there without any issues." Larzo nodded. "I'll make that the first stop. What kind of hallucinations are we talking about? I need to warn my men about them just in case." Jake leaned over and whispered to Larzo, "Semi-trucks chasing down John while he was driving, dark stranger, coming after Faith with a knife, and God knows what Chuck and Mike saw before they crashed." Larzo took a deep breath. "Okay, so it sounds like some sort of fear-based hallucinations. I'll prepare my men before we leave." John reached over and grabbed Larzo's shoulder before he took off. "Oh, and it might be a good idea if you all wore red." Larzo looked at John like he was crazy. "What are we in? A fashion show?" John shook his head. "We got a warning that these creatures can't see the colour red, and if there's any truth to it, then we need to pay attention. If this is true, then it's of great benefit to us. Wouldn't you agree?" Larzo nodded. "Okay, then red it is. I just hope we don't stand out to them. I would hate to make myself a target just for a hunch." Larzo took off to find his men. They heard him murmur to himself as he left. "I may as well wrap myself in a ribbon for those bastards."