by Safa Shaqsy
“Have you seen Jarrett?” I asked.
“Jarrett? Ha, no one sees him. He’s always away or somewhere looking at the sky,” she replied.
Kat looked surprised and said, “Trust me, you don’t want anything to do with him.”
“I wanted to ask him some questions,” I said. They both laughed, along with the other women beside them.
“Good luck. You’re going to need it,” Julienne mocked.
“I feel a bit tired. I need to rest,” I lied. “It was nice to meet you Julienne.”
“Oh, the pleasure is mine,” she sweetly stated. “Just let me know if you need anything.” “Thank you,” I said and walked back to the green area where I last saw Jarrett. He must have been around somewhere. He couldn’t just disappear. I searched in the field on the green grass and saw Jarrett sitting in the long grass. I walked closer to where he sat and he closed his eyes.
“I’m meditating, go away,” he said.
“No,” I refused and sat beside him. “You’re going to tell me about the Exo you met,” I insisted.
He exhaled stressfully and said, “I don’t discuss this matter with anyone.”
“I’m not anyone,” I replied.
He huffed a laugh, “A girl who’s too confident with herself,” he scorned.
“Do you have a problem with me?” I bashed. He finally opened his eyes and looked into mine. His eyebrows arched and his lips pursed. He had that weird sparkle in his brown eyes and his brown hair was messy in a careless way. He didn’t say anything and turned to look at the grass and the people ahead of us, minding their own business.
“Oh, the silent treatment,” I confirmed. “I can do that.” He snickered and shook his head.
“Oh, so you think this is funny?” I asked.
He shrugged and smiled, but I wasn’t willing to give up. I was going to win that battle. We sat silently beside each other for a while, until he spoke.
“You’re not leaving me alone are you?”
“Nope, I’ll just sit here until you talk,” I responded dryly.
“Then it’s going to be a long day,” he warned. After a few minutes of silence, I started, “My parents died in the field a few years ago, they were alien busters, like I am.”
He exhaled, “Are we going to have a deep talk now?” he scoffed.
“Maybe,” I said.
“Are you going to shut up if I tell you about the Exo you’re obsessed with?” he offered.
I tried to hide my smile, “I’m not obsessed with the Exo,” I defended.
“But are you going to leave me alone?” he confirmed. “Yes!” I replied. “Few months ago, I was in the Gone Desert, because I was kicked out for misbehaving. Then in the middle of the desert I found one of the Exo’s spaceship and when I approached it, one of them caught me,” he started. “They did…some bad things to me. And after a few weeks I found myself on the desert alone. I didn’t know what happened.”
“What do you think they did to you?” I asked. He turned to stare at me and that made me feel unsettled. “I don’t know,” he said, “Harris did some test on me. I’m perfectly fine. I don’t have your marks,” and pointed at my wrist.
I touched the mark on my wrist and wondered why the Exos did that to us and not Jarrett. He was looking at me in a different way. No one looked at me the way he did.
I looked away, “Well, thank you for your time,” I said and got up. He forcefully grabbed my wrist, making me flinch. He got a weird look in his face, “Some things you can’t see with your eyes,” he murmured.
I pulled my hand and walked away from him.
“You can see here that the metal is attached to your flesh,” Dr. Harris explained on a screen that showed my x-ray.
“Can’t you remove it?” Andie asked. The doctor rubbed the back of his neck, expressing anxiety. “It’s very complicated, but I think I could try.” Dr. Harris continued, “How long have you been marked?”
“We aren’t sure how long we were in the Gone,” Kraig started, “maybe a few days?” A few days? That’s how long we were in the Gone Desert? Star was alone at home for days. I couldn’t keep my mind from thinking about him. Doctor shook his head, “I don’t think so. If you stayed there for days the heat would have killed you or the aliens would have attacked you. You would have been dead by now.”
“Well, how long do you think we stayed there?” I asked. The doctor shrugged, “For a few hours, maybe? Since your scan results didn’t show any severe dehydration,” he explained. “You’re very lucky to be alive.”
“What are you planning to do about our implants?” Andie asked and crossed his arms on his chest. “Please, tell us you have a solution Dr. Harris,” I begged. “Call me Harris,” he said and cleared his throat and clasped his hands together, “Okay, I’ll operate on one of you tomorrow. I need to do more research about your situation. So, who’s is willing to volunteer?”
“Tomorrow is too late,” I snapped. “Can’t you do it today? We already stayed the night.” “No, I need more time. Trust me,” he responded. We exchanged glances at each other.
Harris’s eyebrows rose, “Anyone’s volunteering?” “I’m in,” Kraig suggested, “What do I have to do?”
Harris looked shocked by Kraig’s response, “Okay, then. Tomorrow morning, be here at eight,” he confirmed.
Kraig nodded, “Alright, then,” he said.
Harris noticed the annoyance on my face and asked, “You okay with it?” Even though I felt irritated about not leaving soon enough, I had to stay there to get our surgeries to get rid of those things in our wrists. I had to be patient, even though my heart was elsewhere.
“What choice do I have?” I said with low voice. I felt somehow defeated that I couldn’t be at home with Star. “Don’t worry, it’s just one day. This is for your own good,” Harris comforted.
“I know,” I said, sounded like I was defeated.
Andie placed his hand on my shoulder, “Hey, it’s going to be okay,” he comforted.
“Andie’s right, it’s going to be okay. Just trust Dr. Harris,” Kraig insisted, “I mean Harris.” I nodded. I was glad that my friends were there for me, supporting me when I needed them. “So, what about our surgery?” I asked.
“Oh, you and Andie will get operated if Kraig’s surgery succeeds,” Harris explained.
“What do you mean by If? Do you mean Kraig could get hurt?” I panicked. Harris shrugged, “I’m not sure how I’ll get that thing off him, so it might have some side effects. But don’t worry, they’re minor.”
My stomach clenched, “So you have no idea how to operate on someone?” I said. “Don’t tell me you haven’t done this before.”
“Oh, right I forgot to mention that this is my first surgery,” Harris confessed.
“What on Zelea!” I snapped.
“And you want to operate on me? Uh, uh. No way,” Kraig bashed.
Andie snickered and shook his head, “You must be joking,” he muttered. “No, you don’t understand…I haven’t done any surgeries on people who were alive. But I did some surgeries on dead people.”
“That doesn’t count!” I yelled at him. Kat walked into the office, “People stop arguing,” she stopped us. “You three get the hell out of here. And Harris, no more talking. You’re just making it worse.”
We walked out of the office and into the corridor. Kat came in and locked her arm with mine and escorted us away from the office. We passed doors of old unused laboratories with big glass windows. I wondered what this place was before it was a shelter for people to live in. It must have been some big laboratory for scientists to make breakthrough discoveries.
“What was this building for?” I asked. “This building was for scientists to do their experiments on aliens. It was funded by the former president Moira few years ago, but when Dean got the position and power, he stopped any experiments in this building. And the scientists were sent back to the city.”
Dean seemed to really despite anything to do with al
iens. That’s why he didn’t like my parents’
experiments on aliens and stopped Gale from the secret experiments in the Alien Busters Institute. Gale must have known about that building, because he used to support those kinds of activities. And if the community building was for experiments, that meant that maybe my parents had been there before for their experimental purposes.
“Then what happened?” I asked. “Few people knew the truth about aliens and were convinced to get to this building to start a community that believes in aliens. Most of the people here were bullied, kicked out of the city, left out or had no family. And everyone in the city thought they were crazy to think that aliens were more than just aggressive creatures,” she started. “Burl who’s the one who started out this community and bonded us together. He’s the oldest, that’s why he’s the leader here.”
“Then Burl must have known my parents. They must have been here before,” I said. I knew I didn’t make any sense, but somehow, I felt that if Burl gave me more information about my parents it might push me in the right direction. I needed to know more about the aliens and their doings and Burl must know something.
“I don’t know,” Kat said. “You should ask Burl.” We stepped outside into the garden.
Chapter Seventeen
Love can break. Love can free a person. I saw Jarrett sitting alone on the grass again. His hands crossed over his knees as he was gazing at the sky, his brown hair turned honey brown by the sunlight. He looked lost in his thoughts, not aware of his surroundings. He looked a bit handsome that way, quiet and solicitous.
“Are you going to meet Burl today?” Kat asked while I was staring at Jarrett.
“Nat,” Kraig called, “Kat is talking to you.” I wasn’t paying attention to what Kat was saying until Kraig called me out of my own thoughts. “Oh, can I talk to Burl now?” I asked.
Kat and the guys shot me a dubious look.
“Of course,” she answered. “Follow me.”
We walked behind Kat and passed by the people in the gardens. I checked to see if Jarrett was still there, then he caught me looking at him and gazed at me with admiration or maybe he was lost in his thoughts.
We entered a corridor and followed behind Kat to an office where Burl sat behind his desk. He was playing with a glass cube.
He lifted his head and welcomed us, “Ah, welcome to my office.”
“Nathalie wants to talk to you. About her parents,” Kat stated. “She thinks you knew them somehow.” Burl stopped playing with his cube and placed it on the table, and turned to me, “Who are you parents?” “Will and Debra Jefferson,” I responded.
He nodded, “I see,” he retorted. “Have a seat,” and he indicated with his hand to the chair. I sat and explained: “They worked for the Alien Busters Institute before their deaths. They used to experiment on aliens and I thought that you might have known them. Maybe they’ve worked here before?”
He shook his finger in the air. “I think I know those names, they sound familiar,” he confessed. “What kind of experiments were they doing?”
“I don’t know…the kind you did before? Before Dean knew about them,” I completed.
“Let me check in the system,” he suggested and started pressing on his hologram screen.
“Thank you,” I said.
After a few minutes, he turned to me and said, “I can’t find it anywhere in the system.”
“Kat, can you search the archives? Look up Will and Debra Jefferson,” Harris said.
Kat nodded and went on her way to the archive. “Wait, why can’t you find it in the system? Weren’t they here before?” I doubted. “Nathalie, right?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Please, just wait for Kat to bring the files. If it’s not in the system, then maybe they’re in the archives.” “How can you be sure that they were here, Nathalie?” Kraig said behind me, “They haven’t mentioned this research facility in their videos.”
I turned to him, “I just know it, okay?” Kraig tightened his jaws. “Don’t get your hopes to high. Last time you did and you got hurt, remember?” he reminded.
Last time I set my hopes too high when I thought my parents were alive and that there was a conspiracy against my parents. I believed with all my heart that they were somewhere safe and hidden from the city’s mess. That they were coming back for me when I waited late at night for them to knock on the door and say that their death was fake and they were still alive.
Andie shrugged, “He’s right.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t,” I said in a low voice.
I tried hard not to cry in front of them and look like a weak girl. I took a deep breath and turned to Burl. “Well, what about your other files of the
experiments? Where were they kept?” I insisted. Burl inhaled and looked at me with pity, “I’m sorry, Nathalie, but those files are confidential. I can’t let you or anyone else see them.”
“But where was it kept?” I repeated. “Let me tell you something…these files were decades of research. They’re very valuable assets to this community. I’m afraid that by answering this question, it can stir up a lot of conflict here. We’re here to maintain peace between our people. I hope you understand.”
“Of course,” I said, “I understand.”
“Good,” Burl said.
Kat returned with nothing in her hands and shook her head, “I couldn’t find anything related to your parents. I’m sorry.”
“Maybe someone got rid of them, so they could keep those experiments a secret,” I stated.
Andie placed his hand on my shoulder. “Nathalie, we have to go,” he warned me.
“No, we have to find those files,” I argued. “There’re no files, okay? Now let’s go,” Andie calmly ordered. I looked at Burl who was surprised by my crazy speculations and got up from the chair and walked out of the office. When the door shut behind us, Kraig waved his hands in the air.
“Are you out of your mind? You can’t talk to him like that,” he bashed.
“Well, I just did,” I proudly said. “And I’m going to find those files.”
“Wow, you’re getting crazier every minute,” Kraig confessed. “You guys coming or not?” I asked.
They exchanged a look of worry between them.
“Fine, I’m going alone,” I announced and walked away from them to the outside doorway. I stepped in the gardens and I heard someone curse behind me and I guessed it was Kraig. “Be ready at three in the morning and meet me in the area where Jarrett is sitting,” I directed and pointed at where Jarrett sat.
“What if we get caught?” Andie asked. “Let’s hope we don’t get caught,” I said and walked to the pregnant woman whose name was Julienne and started helping her out with the laundry.
“Oh, Nathalie. It’s nice to see you again,” she said with a smile.
“Do you mind me helping you out?” I asked. “No, no, not at all. You can help me out anytime. In fact, you can have my job if you wanted to. Just saying,” she teased.
“Can you tell me more about Jarrett? Like how did he come here to your community?” I wondered. She stopped and side glanced at me with arched eyebrow, “You like him?” she guessed.
“No, he just seemed quiet and alone. I’m curious about him,” I confessed. She stopped placing clothes on the line. “He’s an orphan, that’s why he’s here,” she started. “His father died from an illness when he was young and his mother died from a heart attack a few months later. He was living in the city alone, until he heard about our community, so he thought to join us, since he had no one. He was very active and talkative. But after his abduction…he just changed after that. He became very quiet and sits alone most of the time. Sometimes he just sits on the grass and gazes at the sky.”
My heart sunk, and I felt bad for him. “Do you know what the alien did to him?” I dared to ask.
She shook her head, “No one knows what really happened. Poor kid,” she explained. I felt that there was a reason why the two of us
met. And the fact that the two of us were orphans, I understood his pain. I felt so connected by the sorrow we both felt for losing our parents. The cloth in my hands accidently fell on the ground.
“Oh, I’m sorry…I didn’t…” I trailed off, feeling embarrassed. She picked it up. “That’s okay, don’t worry about it. I’ll let someone else clean this up. I’m going to lie and say that they forgot to wash it,” she suggested and winked at me.
“Well, thank you for the information,” I said. “My pleasure,” she responded. “Oh, and don’t miss breakfast!” and she lightly laughed. “I’m going there with the guys,” I confirmed. “Have a nice day,” and I walked away from the gardens towards the building. I felt hungry so I headed to the cafeteria. The room was crowded and noisy. Everyone was chatting loudly and some of them were chuckling. I got my plate and spooned some food and went to sit beside Kat who was distracted by watching everyone eat as she nibbled her food.
“Watching to maintain peace?” I asked as I placed my tray on the table.
“It’s my job,” she responded. “Otherwise, everyone will start fighting one another.” “Good call,” I encouraged and started eating my breakfast that contained of weird eggs and some slices of bread. “What kind of eggs are those?” I wondered.
“Oh, the Selibaries eggs. The finest kind of alien eggs,” she announced like she was on an advertisement. I spit the eggs on the plate, “Okay, that’s just gross,” I confessed.
She laughed, “It’s genetically modified chicken eggs, you silly.”
“What’s up with everyone teasing me?” I asked. “Maybe because you don’t have a sense of humor?” she suggested.
“What? No, way. I find myself a very entertaining person,” I bragged. She crossed her arms over her chest, and stared at me with her vicious eyes. “Oh really? Tell me a joke,” she challenged.
“Well, there is one of the jokes my mom used to tell me,” I said. “What do aliens do for a living?”
