Alien Busters: Alien Hunting (Alien Busters Series Book 1)

by Safa Shaqsy

  “Well, my favourite place was home when my parents were alive. And school, to meet my friends Kraig and Andie,” I responded.

  “They sound like good parents,” he complemented. “They were,” I confirmed.

  “You don’t seem like you have many friends,” he pointed out.

  “I don’t see a reason to have more than two friends,” I said. “I was the opposite. I was very popular almost everywhere I went. I had a lot of friends and

  connections,” he said.

  “You?” I doubtfully asked. He laughed, “Yeah, don’t be fooled by my silence. I wasn’t like this before…” he trailed off and his face turned serious. He cleared his throat, “Anyway, I am actually a very outgoing guy,” he stated, “And I know how to dance,” and he grinned.

  “Really?” I surprisingly said. He nodded and got up, “Yes.” And offered me his hand. “Can I have the honor of showing you some of my dancing moves?”

  I took his hand and he pulled me on my feet.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Love can be a dangerous distraction. He grabbed my hand and showed me one of his slow dance moves and he hummed a melody. Then twirled me around and turned to look him deeply into his eyes. His eyes looked tinted with gold and for a moment, I felt like there were butterflies in my stomach. I was slightly uncomfortable with being too close to him, but something pulled me forward to dance with the melody he was humming.

  “I wish you’re mine, so we could run into the forest and build a tree house,” he sung, “A tree house made of wood, and we’d be living in a free world, our world.” He twirled me one more time and pulled me closer to him, “With me…” he trailed off. I felt his breath over my face and we silently gazed at each other.

  My heart hammered in my chest so swiftly that I had to hold my breath.

  “What time is it?” I said to break the tension. He looked a bit surprised by my question, and stepped back and looked into his Inhab. He cleared his throat, “Nine,” he casually said. His answer was clear and short.

  I ruined it. I shouldn’t have said anything. I felt stupid. But I had to get back to get my surgery done before the metal became more attached to my body. I was worried about Star being home alone. I hoped that R was taking a good care of him. I straightened my back and tried to focus on the real reason why I’m here in the Gone Desert.

  “I have to go back for my surgery,” I uttered, “I’m sorry.” He rubbed the back of his head, “Nah, don’t worry about it. Let’s go then,” he responded, though he seemed embarrassed.

  We walked and got in the car and he drove us into the desert until we reached the building. We got out of the car and walked our separate ways.

  I hurried into Harris’s office and said, “Am I late?” Harris turned to me with a mask covering his nose and mouth, “Yes, a bit late. But better here than not, right?” he stated with a muffled voice. “Andie went before you. He’s in the operation room under anesthetic, so he won’t feel a thing.” He walked in the operation room and I had a glimpse of Andie in the operation chair and he gave me his weak smile. Harris shut the door and I couldn’t see a thing. All I had to do was wait. I sat and waited for two more hours, until Andie got out of the operation room with a bandage wrist.

  Harris patted him on the shoulder, “He’s clean. Now it’s your turn. Shall we?” he offered and signed for me to follow him. I breathed in and got into the operating room that was filled with equipment with instruments all over the tables. I laid back on the operation chair and tried to focus on my breathing.

  Harris got closer and said, “Don’t worry, you won’t feel any pain. I’ll inject you with a drug,” he warned. He picked up a needle and injected it into my arm and it made me wince.

  The light on the ceiling got blurry, after a moment I closed my eyes to darkness.

  I woke up and saw the bandage with bloodstains warped around my wrist. Harris was smiling. “Welcome back” he said. “Thank you,” I said with a hoarse voice.

  I got on my feet and walked to his office where Andie was sitting and waiting.

  He got up and walked up to me, “How’re you feeling?” he asked. “I feel more human. Without any alienated things inside me,” I stated. I turned to Harris, “Thank you Harris. You did us a huge favor, we can’t thank you enough,” I said.

  “Don’t worry. It’s my job,” he comforted.

  “I have one last favor to ask…can you have someone drop us at Adkad City? We really need to get back,” I tried to convince him.

  “Okay, will let the guys take you to your city,” he promised.

  “Andie, tell Kraig we are going back to the city. Meet me at the main gate,” I ordered.

  He nodded and took off.

  “It was nice meeting you, Harris. Tell Kat and Julienne I said goodbye,” I said.

  “Don’t worry about it and take care, alright?” I nodded and got out of the office and entered the corridor towards the main exit. Andie and Kraig were in the car waiting for me. I got in the car and the driver drove us through the Gone Desert. There were two guards in the car carrying guns in their holsters to protect us from aliens.

  It was hours before we reached familiar places that were near the city’s borders. The car stopped and we got out.

  Andie banged on the car door and said, “Thank you for driving us.” The guys saluted and drove away. We walked what felt like half an hour until we reached the main gate of Adkad City. The guards identified us and opened the gate for us to enter. They looked appalled by our late return, but haven’t said a thing about it.

  We walked in the city and called a cab to our neighborhood. Andie promised to pay the cab robot when he gets home. After we reached our homes, I stepped outside and ran into my house to discover that Star was nowhere to be found. I searched in the kitchen and the living room. In the garage and my bedroom, but no sign of Star anywhere. My stomach dropped, when I thought that something had happened to him. There were a lot of possibilities running through my mind.

  I kept thinking, what if he died from hunger? What if he ran away? What if someone has found out about him? I felt nauseous and went into the bathroom to wash my face. That’s when I found him sleeping on the bathtub. “Star!” I yelled and he woke up in a start. I grabbed him in my arms and squeezed him tight, “Thank god you’re alive. You scared me to death! Are you okay? Did R feed you?” I asked, but no answer.

  He only said, “Star” with a heavy voice.

  There was a weird smell coming from him.

  “You smell badly. You need to take a bath after I feed you.” I carried him in my arms to the kitchen and placed him on the floor. “R” I called, “Did you feed Star?”

  “Yes, Nathalie. I did feed him regularly,” R responded in monotone. I took out dog food and water in two bowls and gave them to him to eat anyways. There was a ringing tone from the house.

  “You have a call,” R stated.

  “Pick it up,” I ordered.

  When the phone was picked up, I heard Gale’s angry voice. “Nathalie, you’re late. Don’t you remember you have an appointment with the evaluators? It’s results day,” he reminded.

  I totally forgot about the evaluation results. I was so distracted about what was happening outside. “Is it today?” I asked.

  “Yes!” Gale said, “Just come down to my office,” and hung up. “Star I have to go. Stay put, I’ll be back,” I ordered. He purred bubbles into his water in response.

  “R, please contact Andie and Kraig. Tell them to meet me at the institute for our evaluation results,” I ordered. “Yes, Nathalie,” R responded. I took a look at my overalls. I should have changed them, but there was no time. I got out onto the sidewalk and called a cab to pick me up. The cab drove me to the institute and I got out of the cab and hurried to the main hall where the receptionist was seated. I waited for Andie and Kraig and when I spotted them we hurried to take the elevator to the floor where Gale’s office was located. I knocked on the door and it slid open for us. We stepped into th
e office to see Gale sitting by his desk and giving us hard looks.

  “Well? Sit down,” he ordered. We sat on the chairs and exchanged guilty looks. He arched his eyebrow and waited for one of us to talk. “Now, would you please explain why you didn’t answer your goddamn Inhabs?” he asked aggressively.

  “We got sick,” I lied. “We couldn’t call you back.” He searched our faces. “All of you?” he surprisingly asked.

  “Yes, you won’t believe what cold can do to you,” I convinced him. He sighed, “This time, you’re out of this mess. I’m watching you,” he declared. “Now go to the room up ahead and get your results.”

  We got up and walked out of his office to the room where we got our results. The door slid open and the evaluators were sitting behind a big desk. We sat on the chairs and confronted them as we waited for our results. Their expressions were dull and that made me skeptical about my results. I shifted in my seat out of nervousness.

  “My team and I discussed the evaluation we did for your situation,” a man started. “We have made our decision based on your answers individually and we made the results accordingly.”

  I swallowed hard. If our results were bad, then we would be labeled guilty. What would happen to Star if they did the investigation? I couldn’t let that happen.

  “The first result is for Kraig Dale,” the woman said. “Based on his answers, he was found not guilty.” And we dropped our tensed shoulders from relief. I had hope that they might forgive what we did in our last mission. A hoped that I would go home with Star and that we wouldn’t get caught.

  “As for Anderson Packard, we found him to be, not guilty,” she continued.

  I saw the guys smiling in relief and they tried hard not to jump from their seats from excitement. The other man looked at me and said, “As for you Nathalie Jefferson,” he started, “we took a look at your results very carefully and examined them separately. Since your parents were suspected in illegal activities, we were very cautious about your results.”

  My stomach wrenched. What does he mean by examining my results separately? Was there anything wrong with my results?

  “Why?” I asked. The other lady in red clenched her hands over the desk and leaned forward to say, “Because you were found guilty.”

  “What? That’s impossible!” I snapped.

  I was about to jump from my seat and punch them all, but Andie held my hand to calm me down.

  “But why? Why are you doing this? You hate me don’t you?” I shouted at them. Their faces were contorted with anger and shame. “You’re dismissed,” the other man in a suit said.

  Andie pulled my hand toward the door but I kept pushing and yelling.

  “You’re wrong, you can’t do this!” I bashed. But Andie pulled me outside the office and into the hallway. “Calm down,” Andie said. I tried to push Andie to enter the office again. “I can’t calm down!” I spat, “They’ll investigate my house and I can’t let that happen.”

  I ran in the other direction and into the elevator to the ground floor and hurried to the main door of the institute and onto the streets. The guys ran behind me.

  “Where are you going?” Kraig asked.

  “I’m going home,” I responded, loudly. I stopped a cab and it drove me home. At home I packed the things I needed in a back pack. Some food, water, and other supplies I will need for my trip back into the Gone. “Star, we are moving,” I said to Star that were titling his head to the side, not

  understanding why we had to move. “I’ll explain later,” I said as I took a gun from the kitchen drawer and put it inside the bag.

  I carried Star with me and went outside where the guys were. They looked at me with shock.

  I’ll take a cab to the city’s gate and will walk from there,” I said.

  He nodded, “Okay, but where are you planning to go?” he asked. I exhaled, “To the Gone Desert. To Kat and Burl,” I replied. “I have to go before they come here and investigate my house.”

  Kraig raised his hands at his sides, “When will we see you again?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” I retorted.

  Kraig bit his lower lip and sadly said, “Take care, alright?” and extended his hands to hug me.

  I embraced him and went to Andie who was looking at me with sorrow in his eyes.

  “Don’t say goodbye. I hate goodbyes,” he warned, “Just be careful.”

  “I will,” I answered and got in the car with Star. I took a last look at the guys as the cab took off to the city’s borders. When we approached the gate, I covered Star with a blanket, so the guards wouldn’t find out about him. I stopped in front of the gate and the guard asked me if he could scan my eyes. After scanning, he ordered his friends to open the gate for me. The gate slid open and the cab took us away from the gate. Star and I got out of the cab and walked from there. It took me hours to reach the desert and when I arrived there I prayed I could find the building, though I didn’t know where were the building located. When the sun was setting, I stopped and we took some food and water and slept until dawn. Then we walked again on the Gone desert and searched for the community building.

  While we walked, I prayed that I would find anyone in the Gone Desert, or someone would find us. But there was no sign of any living creatures, not even aliens. We kept going until I found one empty car on the desert road with no passengers. I stopped and hurried to the abandoned car. I looked inside and all I saw was some empty water bottles and some food packaging. Whoever the person was, he or she was there maybe a few minutes ago.

  After a few minutes, I encountered a girl in the desert alone. I slowed down and asked, “Do you need help?” The girl had auburn hair and was covered in bruises all over her hands and face and a little bleeding from her cut lips. She carried a gun in a holster and a bottle of water that was almost empty. Her outfit though seemed a little different, dark blue pants and a matching top.

  She stopped and inhaled deeply, “You know where Nerva City is located?” she asked.

  “Nerva City? You mean there are cities other than Adkad City?” I wondered. She laughed, “Are you from Adkad City? I’m surprised that you’re outside your borders,” she stated, “We heard a lot about you people.”

  I beckoned for her to walk with us.

  “I’m Renee,” she introduced herself.

  “I’m Nathalie,” I retorted.

  She looked at Star who was by my side, moving his small wings and said, “Your pet?”

  I was surprised that she wasn’t freaked out by Star. She looked like she saw aliens on a daily basis. “Yes,” I said hesitantly, “His name is Star.” “Well hello Star,” she greeted Star sweetly.

  Chapter Twenty

  Home will always be home. Even when it’s not home anymore.

  “Do you know where you’re going?” Renee said behind me.

  “No, I don’t,” I simply replied.

  “There is a community building here in the Gone Desert. I’m trying to find it.” The trip through the desert seemed endless. We needed to find a place to stay. The images of Kraig and Andie that I left behind haunted me. If they were there with me, they would have known what to do. And what about my house I left behind with all my parents items in the garage; their clothes, photos, everything. I

  I felt Renee’s hand on my shoulder, “We need to rest. We have been walking for hours and aliens can attack us here,” she said.

  I shook my head, “No, we’re fine,” I sniffed. I got my chin up and focused on the road.

  I glimpsed at Renee’s ripped clothes that were covered with dirt. “What happened to you?” I asked. She looked down at her clothes, “Oh, I got attacked by a basic alien,” she explained, “I was shocked to see such a barbaric creature.”

  “Basic alien?” I repeated.

  She smiled slyly, “We call the aliens who aren’t educated or tame basic aliens. The ones who haven’t made peace with humans,” she gladly explained and shrugged.

  I kept staring at her with shock, �
��What are you talking about? All aliens are basic. There are none who have made peace with humans, yet. Well, except for Star,” I argued.

  She laughed, “You sure are from Adkad City. They feed you such crap, you know,” she said. “You have no idea what I’m talking about do you?”

  I shamefully shook my head, “We were raised on the fact that aliens are the enemies of humans. And my people are afraid of them. It’s just… How can you be so sure?” I said.

  “Because we live with them in Nerva City,” she simply replied.

  We stopped to look at the sky, “Since when have you been living with them?” I asked excitedly. “For decades, I suppose,” she answered. I was happy that all my parents’ beliefs were true. They were actually right about aliens. That was the perfect proof for Adkad City citizens that aliens can live with humans in peace. Maybe if the people in my city knew about Nerva City, they might stop thinking that I was crazy or that my parents were crazy.

  “Can we visit that city of yours?” I asked.

  “Sure, but it’s better if a Hister were to pick us up. Because Nerva City is really far, we’re going to get tired walking. Plus, the map was in my Inhab and it stopped because of low battery and my car broke down,” she said. “We should get to that building that you talked about. Then we can think of something.”

  I nodded. “Let’s hope someone finds us then,” I prayed. We walked when we saw a car heading toward us and the people in it looked kind of familiar. We stopped. The driver in the other car saluted and Jarrett was in the back seat. They were from the community.

  “Jarrett!” I called and ran to his side.

  He didn't say anything and instructed his guys to pick us up. “Okay girls, hop in,” the driver said.

  “Oh, thank you,” I said to them and we got inside. “What is that?” The other guy in the backseat asked. “My pet,” I answered.

  And we hit the road.

  Jarrett wouldn’t look at me or even in my direction. He seemed mad for some reason.

  “Jarrett…” I called but no answer. So, I looked away and cuddled Star who slept on my lap. I never felt so vulnerable the way I did when I talked to Jarrett. I pursed my lips and tried to stay quiet until we reach the community and I could talk to Jarrett privately about why he was acting the way he was. We finally reached the community building.