Alien People

by John Coon

Broken bones did not supply this pain alone. Her heart ached. Her soul cried out in distress. The Earthians lied. They were deceiving her. Calandra did not want to believe their words held even a particle of truth. If she accepted what they claimed, then it painted an awful picture. An image she wanted to scrub from her mind.

  It meant she remained alone on a distant planet at the mercy of a hostile race of alien people.

  “Please, Ahm,” she whispered, closing her eyes. “Please deliver me from these awful aliens.”

  “Who is Ahm?”

  Calandra opened her eyes again. A man with strawberry-blonde hair and glasses stood over her. He held a clipboard, much like Sam did earlier. Over his shoulder, a brown-haired woman dressed in plain green clothes held a bag filled with fluid. She connected the bag to a tube leading into Calandra's arm. Her eyes widened and she jerked at the tube. Her restraints prevented Calandra from reaching across her chest and ripping the tube out from under her skin.

  “Settle down there, my alien friend.” The man with the clipboard said. “The nurse is giving you some morphine to ease your pain.”

  Calandra answered him with an unblinking stare. Friend? No one in this place had earned the right to call her their friend. They were nothing more than sadistic monsters.

  “So, tell me who Ahm is?” He repeated his earlier question. “Is it a code name for another alien operative you haven't told us about? You can't communicate with them here, you know.”

  “I've taken care of her medicine, Ned. Let me know if there's any problems.”

  Ned turned and flashed a smile at the nurse.

  “Thanks. We should be good for the moment.”

  The nurse left the room, letting the door close behind her. Ned turned and faced Calandra again. His smile vanished as quickly as it first appeared.

  “Why are you so reluctant to talk? You were so forthcoming with Ms. Beck and Mr. Bono earlier.”

  Calandra turned her head away and partially buried her face in her pillow. His tone felt unsettling. He feigned politeness but carried a hostile undercurrent in his words. This man despised her. The feeling was mutual. She had no desire to answer a single question.

  Ned pulled up a chair next to her bed. He set down his clipboard on a small table next to the bed. Notes were scribbled on white sheets, but Calandra could not decipher the alien lettering well enough to understand what he wrote. When Ned saw her eyes trailing the clipboard, a wry smile crossed his lips.

  “Tell you what. You share with me what I want to know, and I'll tell you what I jotted down.”

  He laid his hand on her healthy arm, just below the metal restraint binding her wrist to the bed. Ned started to trail his fingers up her arm toward her elbow. Calandra cast her eyes down at his hand and then up at his face. Her frown deepened.

  “Don't touch me.”

  “She finally speaks.” Ned continued trailing his fingers up her arm. “You know, I always feared alien abductions. I had many nightmares about them growing up. Now that you're here, aliens are not as frightening as I imagined. To be honest, your kind is a lot more attractive than I expected.”

  Calandra turned her head to one side and then to the other. No one else was inside the room. Just her and him. Her heart pounded like an invisible hammer struck it. She wanted to scream for help but feared her cries would not draw any attention outside the room.

  Ned pulled back the thin white blanket and sheet covering Calandra. He leaned closer and trailed his fingers across her uniform, going over her breast and then her throat.

  “Leave me alone.” Her voice trembled now. “I don't want this.”

  Ned shrugged and shook his head.

  “I want this. And you'll embrace it soon enough.”

  His fingers wound through a lock of her auburn hair. Ned wrapped it around his index finger and smirked at Calandra.

  “I wonder what it would feel like to have sex with such a pretty alien woman. How does your kind do it? Are you passionate? Kinky? I'm dying to know.”

  Calandra's lips quivered. Tears formed in her eyes. She struggled at the wrist restraints in a vain attempt to free her arms. The metal clanked against the bars flanking the sides of her hospital bed.

  “If you keep touching me, I promise I'll hurt you in the worst way possible.”

  Ned answered her with a disapproving scowl.

  “That's not a nice thing to say to someone only trying to show you some affection.”

  He pulled his fingers from her hair and trailed them across her cheek. Ned stopped short of her lips. He pressed his fingertips to his lips and then pressed them on her own.

  “Tell me you don't enjoy that.”

  At once, Calandra lifted her chin and bit down hard on his first two fingers. Ned screamed and ripped both fingers out of her mouth. Fresh blood trailed across her uniform and over the sheet. Both fingers bore deep bite marks near the top knuckles.

  “You crazy alien bitch! I oughta kill you for that.”

  Ned jumped off the chair and his uninjured hand snatched up the clipboard. He tucked it under his arm and cradled his injured fingers against his chest. Ned gave Calandra one final pained glare, turned, and ducked out of the room.

  Calandra dared not look away until the door snapped shut behind him. Only then did she allow herself to close her eyes and let out muffled sobs.

  ***

  “Guard duty?”

  Kevin repeated Capt. Pollard's words thinking he misheard his orders the first time. They only brought in four aliens to this point. It made no sense to pull him from the field when other aliens were no doubt still hidden somewhere in the Wasatch Mountains.

  This had to be a mistake.

  “These aliens are proving quite hostile. We need skilled rangers here on post to prevent additional escape attempts and attacks against personnel.”

  Capt. Pollard cast a glance over at a door that led to a medical room holding an injured alien. Another ranger team captured this one only a day earlier.

  “I understand my orders, sir. May I have permission to speak freely?”

  “Permission granted.”

  Kevin licked his lips. His eyes darted from the door back to his commanding officer.

  “Why me specifically, sir? I'm a team leader and one of your best rangers in the field.”

  “I agree, sergeant.”

  “Then why put me here to babysit a captive alien? It makes no damn sense to me.”

  “You're here because I requested it.”

  Kevin wheeled around. Paige walked down the corridor toward him at a brisk pace. She greeted the army ranger with her usual stoic expression.

  “I'd prefer you aren't out there killing aliens I want brought back to me alive,” He could practically feel a wave of anger radiating from Paige's eyes and drilling twin holes into him as she spoke. “I believe that more are hiding, still waiting to be found. But I don't need some loose cannon out there fouling everything up. Do you read me, soldier?”

  “Like a book,” Kevin muttered.

  Paige leaned forward. A scowl formed on her lips.

  “What did you say to me?”

  Kevin straightened up and snapped a salute.

  “Yes, ma'am.”

  Paige gave an approving nod and continued past him down the corridor. Capt. Pollard watched her walk away and turned to Kevin again once Paige was out of earshot. He pointed a thumb in her direction.

  “Whatever you do, don't go into the room alone with the alien,” Capt. Pollard said. “We don't need any more trouble with the bureau.”

  Kevin nodded and fired off another salute. He brought Joe Fuller, a corporal and another member of Kevin's ranger team, to serve as the other guard. Capt. Pollard repeated the same instructions to him before leaving. Fuller shot Kevin a smirk once their commanding officer disappeared around the corner.

  “Seems like overkill for an injured alien,” he said. “Healthy one? I get it. Injured one? Not so much.”

  “They don't trust us.” Kevin frowned and
glanced at the door again. “That's what all this shit boils down to if you ask me.”

  “Shouldn't they be more worried about these aliens? They didn't see what happened in the forest when we nabbed those first two.”

  “Took the words right out of my mouth.”

  Kevin could not stop himself from staring at a clock on the opposite wall while they stood guard. It only made minutes and hours tick away at a slower pace, but he had nothing else to do except stand and watch. The monotony only broke when a nurse and an Earth Defense Bureau official entered to administer medicine. Shortly after the nurse left, a scream erupted inside the room. Kevin flinched at the noise. The bureau official flung the door open and barged out of the room, cradling his hand against his chest. Blood had soaked into his shirt underneath the hand.

  Kevin peered at his hand as he stormed past him and down the corridor.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “Do I look like I'm okay?” the bureau official snapped, without bothering to look back. “Keep your stupid-ass questions to yourself.”

  Kevin raised his hand in a mock salute and then flipped him off before lowering it again. Fuller snickered and mimicked his action. Kevin cracked a smile at his fellow ranger's solidarity.

  The two rangers flanked the closed door again. At that moment, an unexpected sound came from inside the room. Kevin turned his head and pressed his ear against the door. The sound behind it grew more distinct.

  A woman crying.

  “What are you doing?”

  Kevin glanced over at Fuller. He scrunched up his face and scratched his head.

  “I think the alien needs help.”

  Fuller shook his head. “You heard what our CO said.”

  Kevin straightened up and smiled.

  “He said we couldn't go in alone. He said nothing about us going in together, corporal.”

  Fuller shook his head with greater vigor and cast his eyes down the corridor.

  “No! You've seen the surveillance cameras around here, right? Do you seriously think we can breeze in there like we own the place, and nothing will happen?”

  The sobs continued. Kevin glanced at the door a second time and back at Fuller. His fellow ranger wore a half-frown.

  “I need to check it out,” he said. “Something is going on in there. Keep the door open a crack. Warn me if you see someone coming.”

  Before Fuller could say anything else, Kevin cracked the door open. He peeked his head inside. No one else was inside the room except for the alien they were assigned to guard. Her appearance instantly piqued his curiosity.

  This alien resembled a young woman with auburn hair that fell to her shoulders and creamy skin. Both eyelids were pinched shut. Tears raced down her cheeks as her lips trembled. Handcuffs shackled her right wrist to the bed. A hard cast covered her left forearm and hand.

  Kevin gazed down at the handcuffs for a moment and back at her. She resembled a typical human woman near his age. His instincts told him, at first glance, this alien did not pose serious enough danger to anyone to justify being shackled to a hospital bed.

  “What's happening?”

  He flinched at the sudden sound of Fuller's voice behind him. The alien woman's eyes popped open. She shot a teary-eyed glare at him.

  “Can't you aliens just leave me alone?”

  Kevin raised a brow and shot a questioning look back at Fuller. The corporal shrugged. No one ever called Kevin an alien before. He did not know how to take it.

  “You're mistaken. You're the alien.”

  She answered him with an unbroken stare.

  Her green eyes looked so distinctive. The iris color seemed richer and more vibrant than anything he had ever seen before. A subtle, yet pronounced, difference. Still, if not for her unusual clothing, Kevin would never pick her out as an alien from a random crowd of humans. He felt a little awestruck at seeing an alien who did not resemble some odd-looking green or gray creature with tentacles, like in random sci-fi movies.

  Kevin approached the bed and flashed a friendly smile. When he reached the edge of the bed, she turned her head toward her pillow.

  “If you're here to interrogate me or torture me, don't bother. I have nothing to say to you.”

  Her blunt response caught Kevin by surprise.

  “What?” he said. “No! Wait a minute. I'm just here for a friendly chat.”

  She faced him again, this time greeting Kevin with a confused frown.

  “I heard you crying out there,” he said. “I wanted to see what's wrong.”

  “Isn't it obvious?” Her tone grew icy. “I'm being held as a prisoner on a planet far from home. And I'm all alone.”

  “What do you mean you're all alone?”

  “Your people killed the rest of my crew.”

  Kevin cast a puzzled glance at Fuller and then back at the alien. He shook his head.

  “No, we didn't. We did shoot an alien. But I know for a fact at least one other alien is alive on post.”

  Her eyes widened.

  “Xttra?”

  “Who?”

  “The other alien who you said is alive. Did he identify himself as Xttra?”

  “I didn't catch their name. You're the only one I've talked to ... so far.”

  She leaned back against her pillow and studied him. Her eyes then trailed past Kevin and settled on Fuller as he peered through the cracked door.

  “You're not supposed to be talking to me, are you? What are they so afraid of?”

  Kevin had no conclusive answer to her questions. Even talking to the alien for a brief time opened a door inside his mind and invited serious doubts about holding her as a prisoner to enter his head.

  “I probably should leave,” He finally said. “I don't want to cause trouble for both of us.”

  She cast her eyes down at her bulky cast and then up at him. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, she finally sniffed back some lingering tears.

  “I guess you can stay, as long as you promise not to do anything to me.”

  “All I want to do is talk. Nothing else.”

  Kevin smiled again and sat down in a chair next to the bed. He pointed to himself.

  “I'm Kevin.” He pointed a thumb behind him. “That's Fuller watching the door.”

  Fuller waved. A weary smile crossed her lips.

  “I'm Calandra.”

  “That's a pretty name.”

  “My parents named me after the heroine from a popular epic poem on Lathos.”

  “Lathos?”

  “My home planet.”

  Kevin leaned back in his chair. Nothing about Calandra felt remotely dangerous. He wondered if everyone overreacted to the presence of these aliens. Pangs of guilt crept over him for shooting one he tracked down near Desolation Lake. Kevin convinced himself, at the time, he saw it reaching for a weapon. He no longer felt certain that scenario rang true.

  “Why did you come to Earth? You don't seem like a dangerous alien invader to me.”

  “I'm not an invader. I'm an astronomer.”

  An astronomer?

  Kevin began to grasp the full extent of the situation unfolding before him. Oh God. He made an awful mistake. They all made a horrible mistake. This was no alien soldier. Calandra came here as a peaceful explorer. It meant the other aliens were also peaceful explorers. Kevin glanced over at Fuller. The same recognition washed over his face.

  “You shouldn't be our prisoner,” Kevin said, turning to face her again. “We'll find a way to get you out of here. I give you my word.”

  Calandra scrunched up her face and closed her eyes. Kevin scooted forward.

  “Are you okay?”

  She gritted her teeth.

  “My skin feels itchy. Like it's on fire.”

  Calandra started to hyperventilate. Violent coughs soon followed. Her fingers dug into the thin blanket and sheet draped over her body. Her eyes popped open again.

  Kevin bolted from his chair.

  “Can't breathe … poisoned me
,” she stammered. “They … poisoned ...”

  Calandra let out a wheezing groan and her coughs ceased. A loud continuous beep followed. Kevin snapped his head toward the monitor tracking her heart rate.

  It showed a flat line.

  Her eyes became empty.

  “NO!”

  Kevin slapped his palms on top of her chest. He began doing chest compressions. The flat line and beep both continued unbroken.

  “Don't you die on me, Calandra.” Panic gripped his voice. “Breathe! Come on. BREATHE!”

  Fuller flung open the door and shouted down the corridor. Kevin alternated chest compressions with rescue breaths into her mouth. Beads of sweat formed on his brow.

  The flat line continued. Kevin could not tolerate seeing the blank stare in her eyes.

  “You need to live.” His voice became choked with emotion. “You need to return home.”

  He applied compressions and rescue breaths with greater vigor. At last, one long beep broke into multiple shorter beeps.

  A faint pulse.

  Calandra's eyes blinked. She let out a wheezing gasp and then coughed.

  “Thank God.” Kevin stepped back from her bed and collapsed into the chair. “You made it.”

  Feet pounded the floor behind him. Kevin turned his head as his commanding officer and other Earth Defense Bureau officials barged into the room. Several officials checked on Calandra. Capt. Pollard marched over to Kevin and towered over him.

  “What's the meaning of this, sergeant?” His face grew flushed and he clenched his teeth. “You disobeyed my direct order!”

  Kevin sprang to his feet. He averted his eyes from the captain's fiery gaze.

  “The alien flat-lined, sir. I think she had an allergic reaction to her medicine or something.”

  “Is that a fact?”

  “We had no choice, sir. We could not wait for medical personnel to arrive. I needed to administer CPR to keep her from dying.”

  Capt. Pollard cast his eyes at Fuller. The corporal gulped and stiffened under his gaze. Fuller also avoided eye contact with their commanding officer.

  “Is that what really happened, corporal?”

  “Every single word, sir! We had to help the alien.”

  “Cool it, Steven.”

  Paige stepped between Capt. Pollard and the two rangers. She had no problem staring him down.