Once they were outside, a group of fire trucks and policemen were hurrying to the center of the mall. People were rushing out of the building as smoke billowed into the sky. Some people were crying and holding onto each other. Others were searching for loved ones. Still, others looked on in apparent shock.
Autumn shivered. It reminded her of the day her sister vanished.
“Funny how the cops and firemen got here as soon as they did,” Hampton muttered under his breath.
Surprised, she looked at her boss. “Why do you say that?”
He glanced at her as if he couldn’t believe he had to explain it. “That was a bomb, and it just went off. How could they be that quick?”
His meaning settled into her rattled nerves. Her eyes grew wide. “Are you saying this was staged?”
He rolled his eyes. “It wouldn’t be the first time something like this happened, would it?”
Before she could answer, he went over to one of the shrieking women in the crowd. He patted her on the shoulder and did his best to comfort her.
Autumn could hardly think over the sirens blaring, the crying people, or the police using bullhorns to instruct people to evacuate the mall. She tried to come to grips with what Hampton said as she walked through huddled groups of people. The smoke continued pouring out of the main entrance, making her cough as she neared the scene of the devastation.
She passed a cop who spoke into his walkie talkie. “Yeah. Probably a terrorist attack.” And that was all she caught of that conversation since he hurried past her to wave an ambulance over to assist a blood-soaked man who was lying on the ground. The man blinked, and Autumn felt a small comfort in knowing he was alive.
She studied the amount of medical personnel that got out of their ambulances and frowned. The explosion only happened a few minutes ago, hadn’t it? She checked her watch. Maybe it had been five. There was no way all these policemen, firefighters and medical personnel should be here yet. She hated to agree with Hampton, but something was wrong.
As she scanned the chaos ensuing around her, her gaze happened to fall upon him. Devon. He was there at the scene, talking into a cell phone and motioning to a cop. She narrowed her eyes at him. Ignoring the people around her, she strode in his direction. Not once did she let her focus off of him. There were way too many people lingering about.
Shock gave way to anger as she got closer to him. How dare he be a part of this? Her brows furrowed and her stomach tightened. For all she knew, he was responsible for this. Maybe he set off the bomb. No. He didn’t look like the type. Most likely, he gave the orders and someone else did the dirty work.
By the time she reached him, he was still on the phone. His back was to her as he walked back to the mall. She thought he was going to go under the police tape that two men were putting up to secure off the entrance, but he didn’t. Instead, he veered around it and made his way to the other side of the explosion. Where was he going? She picked up the pace so that she could make out something he was telling the other person on the phone, but there was too much noise around them for her to make out anything.
To her surprise, he went around the corner of the building, which left them alone for the moment. She glanced behind her, wondering if it was best to keep following him. Perhaps she should go back to Hampton. Now, that was something she never thought she’d willingly consider. Going back to her irritable boss so she could feel safe!
“It’s taken care of,” Devon said into his cell phone. “Don’t send anymore.”
Anymore? She turned her attention back to him.
He hung up on his current call and started to dial another number when he noticed her. He jerked and quickly shut the phone. “What are you doing here?”
She couldn’t tell if he was alarmed or angry but finally decided he was probably both. Crossing her arms to hide her slight trembling, she said, “You’re behind this explosion, aren’t you? There is no terrorist attack. You set this up.”
He stared at her for a moment, his face unreadable.
The only thing that held her in place was her anger over the needless destruction and suffering that he caused. “You’ve done this before, haven’t you?” Stupid. What was she thinking by confronting him like this? He obviously had important connections, and here she was invoking his wrath. But something in her had snapped, making her unable to stop. “Well? What else have been false terror attacks?”
He calmly placed the phone into the breast pocket of his suit jacket. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t play dumb.” Her pulse raced with adrenaline. Stupid. She was stupid! This man was dangerous. She just knew it. That was the only reason why a demon lurked around him. And yet, losing her sister and having her entire world tossed upside down was taking its toll on her nerves. She couldn’t stop. Even if he pulled out a gun right now and threatened to kill her, she couldn’t stop. “Do you know where those people disappeared to? Was that another ploy to get the people to unite for this coming one world government?”
He took a step toward her, and she instinctively backed up. He grabbed her arm and shot her a warning look. “I advise you to tread carefully. You think you know what you’re dealing with but you don’t. This goes much deeper than you can imagine.”
“You bastards took my sister from me. I have nothing to lose.” And she didn’t. She had nothing to live for. Nothing to give up. No reason to exist.
“No. We didn’t. We don’t know what caused that.”
She shook her head as her eyes filled with tears. She’d wanted him to admit it. But he didn’t. “You’re lying,” she insisted, even though it was ridiculous. She wanted him to be lying. She wanted to be able to get to her sister and bring her home.
He shook his head. “That wasn’t part of the plan, but it doesn’t matter because it’s done. Look, do you want to live or not?”
She hesitated to answer. After how close she came to dying just now... If that bomb had been further down the mall... Was she prepared for death?
He sighed. “If you want to survive, you have to play by their rules.”
Shooting him a sharp look, she asked, “Whose rules?”
Before she knew what was happening, he pressed her up against the side of the mall and kissed her. Stunned, she didn’t push him away. How could she? She didn’t have time to think.
He wasn’t demanding in the kiss, though he was insistent that the kiss happen. His hands settled on her hips, and that was when she thought to push him away. His mouth left hers and traveled the length of her jaw and down her neck. Her heart raced, even as she figured that she should be able to push him away once she caught her breath.
He brought his lips to her ear. “We’re being watched. There are cameras everywhere. Listening devices. You’re being monitored. You have to be careful.”
Her eyes flew open and a chill raced up her spine. A warning. She turned her head and saw that a security guard was watching.
Devon let go of her, stepped away, and coughed. Giving the older man a sheepish grin, he said, “Sorry. Didn’t see you there.”
The guard gave a stiff nod. “Save it for the bedroom.”
She looked at Devon. He was lying. He knew the guard was there the whole time. It’d all been a show. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or upset. So he hadn’t been trying to take liberties with her...but then, what man ever had? She sighed and rubbed her head. Her mind was a jumbled mess. So much was happening at once, and too many thoughts went in circles through her head. What did it matter? What did any of it matter anymore?
The guard motioned for them to join him. “Right now, I need everyone where I can get your names. Got to separate the living from the dead.”
Dead? She glared at Devon who ignored her. Instead, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. He glanced at her and said, “Go on ahead, sweetie. I’ll catch up to you.”
She stared at him for a moment and asked the guard, “Some people died in that explosion?”
/> “So far we have two confirmed bodies,” he replied. “Come on. I can’t be over here forever.”
Resisting the urge to slap the phone out of Devon’s hands, she stormed passed him and followed the guard, aware that Devon walked not far behind.
As she made her way into the crowd of the parking lot, her eyes caught sight of a light post. A camera sat at the top of it. She blinked. Then her gaze shifted to another post. It didn’t have a camera, but the one further down did. She shivered and crossed her arms, as if doing so would ward off the growing sense of dread sinking into her.
It was quickly dawning on her that the world she thought she lived in wasn’t anything like she believed it to be. Aliens, Area 51, cameras, listening devices, being monitored, lied to believe terrorist attacks were real when they were being staged to sway public opinion, demons, angels, heaven, hell... Her head hurt. Just what was real and what was an illusion?
Chapter Seven
The phone rang. Devon rolled over in his bed and tapped the snooze button on his alarm clock. Another shrill ring echoed through the dark room. Realizing it was the phone, he picked it up. “Hello?”
“Devon Patrick?”
His eyes flew open and he sat up in bed. “Yes.”
“Code?”
He didn’t want to give it. He knew where this was headed, and he hated it.
“Patrick?”
Taking a deep breath, he gripped the bed sheets and said, “834-712.”
“You are due to report to Dulce at 1500 today.” Then the man hung up.
A cold shiver snaked its way up Devon’s spine as he hung up the phone. Dulce, New Mexico—a place he wished he’d never have to go to again. And yet, General McHenry gave the order. That meant he had to do it, whether he wanted to or not.
He sat still for a moment, staring at the mirror across the room. How did he end up in this nightmare? Sighing, he rubbed his eyes. He could do this. He’d done it before. It hadn’t killed him. At least not yet. Forcing his mind off of what was to come, he got out of bed and went to the bathroom where he turned on the water for the shower and the faucet.
He closed the door and searched the room but didn’t find any bugs. So they hadn’t been back. That was good. It meant they didn’t suspect anything. Maybe he was getting better at this. He threw off his night clothes, wrapped a towel around his waist and left the room so he could retrieve his cell phone. Dialing a number he wanted them to know about, he also grabbed a new bottle of shampoo from the linen closet at the end of the hallway.
“This better be good, Patrick,” his boss muttered into the phone.
“General McHenry called. I’m due to report at Dulce at 3pm today.”
“Oh. In that case, I’ll let you live for waking me up.”
It was a half-hearted joke, and Devon didn’t bother laughing as if he was amused. There was nothing funny about any of this, but what could he do? He needed to obey orders.
He entered the bathroom and shut the door. The running water masked some of what his boss said, but his boss would be giving him the usual spiel about how he was doing what was best for the country. Devon set the shampoo on the counter by the sink and waited until his boss was done before he thanked him and hung up.
Then he retrieved his second cell phone which was strapped to the underside of his sink and dialed his doctor’s number.
Dr. Raymond picked up on the third ring. “Devon, did they call you in again?”
Wiping his sweaty palms on his towel, he said, “Yes. At 3pm.”
“I’ll come by your house Thursday night at ten and we’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you.” He hung up the phone. There. Dr. Raymond would remove the implant, and Devon would know what the government planned to do to him this time.
***
Right at 3pm, two men in military uniforms led Devon to the second level of the Dulce underground base. He stripped and was weighed before he slipped into an off-white jump suit and picked up his identification card. He didn’t speak as the men walked him to a shuttle. The tunnel was dim with only phosphorous units which cast a yellow hue over the cavern.
He wasn’t supposed to remember being here, so he refrained from getting on the shuttle until instructed. He sat next to the man operating the vehicle.
“Card?”
He presented the card which the man scanned. Then Devon pressed his hand to the scanner to verify he had the right to carry the card.
Satisfied, the man nodded and shifted the shuttle into drive. “You’re due for level four.”
Devon closed his eyes in relief. Not that level four would be pleasant, but it beat level six, which was termed “Nightmare Hall” for good reason.
No one spoke during the ride through the second level. When the shuttle stopped at the elevator, Devon got out. As if on cue, the doors opened and the alien masquerading as the blond woman in a blue jump suit waved him in. He hesitated, briefly recalling the way Vanessa responded to her. Vanessa had every right to shy away from the blond. He knew what her being here meant, and he knew the blond took a twisted delight in playing cat and mouse with him.
“Come on in, silly. I don’t bite.” She giggled and reached out to take him by the hand.
His skin crawled at the contact. Before she could deduct that he remembered her, he removed his hand from hers, entered the elevator and stood at the other end of the small space.
“You don’t remember me, do you?”
He shook his head. “Am I supposed to?”
Giggling again, she shrugged. “I guess not.” She winked at him before she pressed the number four.
The elevator doors hissed and the elevator gave a low hum as it went down.
He closed his eyes for a moment and focused on his breathing. She could pick up on fear, and the last thing he wanted to do was give her anymore power over him than she would have once they strapped him to the table.
When he opened his eyes, he caught her staring at him. For a moment her eyes flickered, and he blinked. He’d never seen her in her true form, but he knew she wasn’t an alien grey. Reptoid, perhaps? He’d heard Reptoid aliens lived at level 5 and who-knew-what lived at level 7 on down.
After all he’d seen and heard, he wouldn’t be surprised if they really did exist. He might be privy to more information than the average person, but he wasn’t that high up the chain. So many things were going on behind the scenes. That woman he caught sneaking into the Bismarck capitol had no idea what she was tapping into, and if she was smart, she’d finally back off because if she didn’t, it was just a matter of time before they came after her.
The doors hissed open and a white corridor came into view. The blond got out of the elevator and looked expectantly at him. What choice did he have?
He joined her. The blue door up ahead loomed before him and the sense of dread in his gut twisted tighter. Images of his past visits flashed through his mind. Some things he wished he didn’t remember. Well, there was no going back now. He knew too much. He’d done too much.
“We’re going to have a lot of fun,” the blond whispered suggestively.
Without another word, she led him to the door and opened it. Slowly exhaling, he stepped forward.
Chapter Eight
Devon woke up at 11:30pm. His heart beat was unusually fast and his back hurt. Where was he? Anxious, he glanced around and quickly realized he was in his bed, safe at home. Breathing fast, he tried to sit up, but a sharp stab of pain in his lower back stopped him so he collapsed on the bed.
Dr. Raymond ran over to him. “It was a real doozy this time, Devon.”
In that instant, he remembered that he had gone to Dulce. He swallowed despite his raw throat. He’d been screaming. That was the only reason his throat hurt as much as it did. He choked back on a cry. What had they done to him this time?
“They put this in you. I got it before it became a part of your spinal column.”
Devon blinked away the tears and focused on the jelly-like implant with
two dangling limbs.
“Whatever this one was, it was alive.”
“A-alive?” He struggled to breathe through the fear coming at him full force. That thing had been inside of him, wrapping itself into him like a parasite? It was half an inch long. None of the other implants were that big either.
The doctor turned to the dresser in the bedroom and placed the implant in the box with the other five implants he’d removed on other occasions. Turning his sympathetic gaze in Devon’s direction, he asked, “Are you sure you want to know what happened at Dulce?”
Devon dreaded that question. Finding out meant he had to relive the whole nightmare all over again. Each time they were done with him, they dropped him off at home and he didn’t remember a thing. It wasn’t until that fateful day Dr. Raymond gave him an MRI and found the first implant that Devon realized he was nothing more than a lab rat. Gripping the sheets beneath him, he steeled his resolve. He had to be strong. He had to know what they did and what they wanted. He had to. Failure was not an option. Failure meant someone would come up to his door with a gun and a bullet.
He tried to speak but his voice wouldn’t come, so he nodded.
With a heavy sigh, the doctor lifted the needle. “I’m sorry, Devon.” He sat beside him on the bed and held onto Devon’s stiff arm.
The needle went in with little effort, and the cool liquid found its way into his vein. Soon. Soon he’d recall the horror he’d just been through. Be strong. You can do this!
Dr. Raymond pulled out the needle and strapped a band-aid over the puncture wound. “I’ll be here in case you go into another convulsion.”
Devon managed a slight nod.
The doctor helped him up.
Though he was weak, he made it to the bathroom. It was the same routine. He knew what to expect. He knelt by the toilet and waited. The sensation of a chill passing over him was the indication he needed. He leaned over the toilet and closed his eyes.
The Watchers Page 4
