Chapter Seven
Only a few hours before, Dwarg indeed did enter Aggie through that kiss. She had avoided an awkward standoff with Alex Bentley and despite her well rehearsed words, tossed caution aside and took up the initiative (not that Alex rejected or complained about this beautiful girl’s advances). Even after Aggie knew Dwarg was onboard, she could not resist continuing with the kiss. Alex on the other hand had mixed feelings; he was engulfed in sensual raptures, yet became physically weakened as Aggie’s lips finally left his. Dwarg had left him... and Slig.
Dwarg fluxed around his host – he found small changes and minor wounds to heal, but physically, Aggie was perfect and had developed substantially into Human womanhood. Her reception was warm and welcoming, however she had some points for him to consider, the first of which was his failure to say goodbye to her at the LHC. You just left me at some point then and I felt so alone – and empty. Yes, I know I wanted to be cold and calculating when it was time for you to leave, but you could have told me the exact point. I only realized it after I became weak and feeling a bit sick. Ok, forget about that – what’s with the Alex Bentley caper? What am I supposed to do with him? And Professor Lien has gone missing. And the Aura? How long before you leave me again, don’t make yourself too comfortable – I’m not going to go through all that pain and heartache again. And why haven’t you contacted or left some message for me in the last seven years?”
Dwarg had some difficulty answering Aggie’s questions in any logical sequence. She was obviously anxious and tired and her emotions were mixed...and were, to him, in a high state of confusion.
Aggie you must rest and recover your strength; your words to Alex Bentley would be appropriate to our situation now. I have left him and he will be frail for some hours; he also needs some recuperation.
Back then, Alex only just enough strength to step into Edna’s Hummer, prop himself in the back seat and immediately fell asleep. “I’ll hop in the back as well Aunt; I just want to keep an eye on him.”
“Of course you do, princess.”
-oOo-
Edna was taping her fingers on the kitchen table waiting for the toast to pop-up and gave Aggie that well known look of don’t keep me waiting. “Well aunt,” said Aggie sipping her coffee, “For the last few years, Dwarg and other Whisps have been busy making a repelling barrier around the earth to keep out space bugs which may damage the planet. You know they use the phatets from our neutron pulsing machines as the building materials?”
“Yes yes Aggie; boring; what’s the deal with Space Boy there on the lounge?”
“Phew; I’m still trying to come to grips with that. Seems Dwarg came to him much the same way as he did with Daddy; this time he was ingested with some glucose in the Space Station. Don’t exactly know why he chose Alex; the only bachelor, I suppose...and something you mentioned to him once, about coming back in the body of a young hunk?”
“Er, I might have said something like that before he left.”
“Anyway he used Alex as a vehicle to find me. Apparently, and I’m still at a loss to completely understand it, Whisps cannot contact the physical world, I mean actual touch and feel, unless they themselves become physical. He’s tried many times to contact me from his Aura without success; it’s all to do with dimensions which are much too complicated to attempt to understand. Alex has no knowledge of Dwarg’s presence, yet he does acknowledge a sensation which Dwarg does not understand. Anyway that sensation made it easier for Dwarg to find me. Alex is not under Dwarg’s control, but Dwarg has been able to subtly suggest ways and means of direction. Alex is not a prisoner or zombie; he has just been guided by curiosity and some other force unknown to either.”
“Can we keep him anyway?” asked Edna with a smile.
“Well I did promise Mr Bentley a full explanation. I fear he’ll take off running when he hears it. Oh another thing aunt, he has his own Whisp inside him.”
At that very instant, the toaster popped up, nearly stopping Edna’s already heavy pulsing heart.
“What the f..flamming flimflams of fire did you say? Another ET? In that guy? Ya got to be kiddin girl. No way; surely that’s against the law; ya telling me we’ve now got two little shitheads under our roof? Hell’s bells Aggie, what’s going on here? Do we need to tell Border Security?” Aggie had not seen Edna in such a state since their arrest in the Art Museum in Paris.
“Please Aggie, when you want to drop a bombshell in my lap, it’s perfectly Ok to be a little more gentle, I’m getting on a bit, you know.”
“Sorry aunt, I couldn’t think of a softer way; and how do you think I feel about it?”
“How do you feel about it?”
“Still coming to grips with it; I’ve put Dwarg straight to work trying to figure out what happened to the professor; you know, with his DNA surfing, so we can talk privately now; without his conscious presence.”
“Aw God, this is so getting out of hand; I really don’t know what to think Aggie...now what? Darn dogs yapping again.”
She looked out the front window to see the security vehicle coming into the driveway followed by old Bruce’s truck and the Sheriff’s car. Bruce and Cody had spent the early hours on the road outside Guilford and found Alex’s Corvette. Cody, being eager to please everyone, (and not wanting any bad reports about his arrest of a NASA officer) thought that this little gesture may give him some Brownie points with the District Supervisor.
Edna, with unmistakable gestures, made the visitors aware that they were to be quiet as she had very tired people in the house who were still asleep. She apologised that she could not invite them in for breakfast, but insisted that all of them go directly to the Putney Diner and have a no limit hearty meal. “I’ll ring Barbara and tell her to expect you all.”
Bruce offloaded the rescued car and handed Edna the bill, “Ahl jist take dis offen the loan iffen ya like Edna.”
“Fine with me Brucey; everything all right with his car Cody?”
“Yep, his wallet and cell phone were still on the front seat and judging by the take-out cups, wrappers and containers, he must’ve driven up from New Orleans without too many stops; here’s his starter control jimmy thingy.”
-oOo-
Alex stirred. He heard the sound of engines, car doors opening and closing, the sound of icicles falling from the gables, the muffled voices and the occasional yapping from dogs outside. He didn’t want to open his eyes until he could recall exactly all the events leading up to this moment. He was under a cover, warm, comfortable and yes, he felt... happy. He remembered the Sheriff’s office and...that’s right, that beautiful girl kissing me...wow oh wow. After that everything was just a blur...I remember stumbling into a big car...Oh yes, Edna was the lady and she was the driver...and Aggie, yes Aggie came and sat beside me on the back seat. I remember being very tired and sleepy, remember wading through the snow to a house, two excited dogs and Edna helped me to a couch... Oh yes, she told me that the restroom was off to the left and to just call out if I needed anything. Ok, as much as I’m cosy, guess I’d better get up and see what it’s all about; well, maybe after a few more minutes. He managed to reach down and pull the blanket over his head and dozed off to sleep...please God don’t let this be a dream, I want to know more of that girl.
“He drives a nice looking car Aggie, I’ll put his wallet and phone on the coffee table next to him. Now tell me more about Dwarg and this other Whispy character.”
-oOo-
Alex Bentley stirred again; I feel soo good. He slowly opened one eye, then the other and looked around. The first thing he noticed was a beautifully decorated hand fan on the wall. It was made of large white feathers with black tips, strands of threads cascaded from these and a wide band of what looked like soft silk was woven across the ends of the feathers, making it complete. The background behind the fan looked like a flag. It was green with what looked like mystical symbols and it was all encased within a highly polished wooden frame.
>
Directly below that was a mantelpiece surrounding a fireplace which he noticed had a false fire and he could feel its warmth. On the mantle, he could see silver framed pictures and photographs. The next wall also had framed pictures and paintings, but what caught his eye were the rich and colourful tapestries of Traditional American designs, hanging off polished carved wooden rods. They were so vibrant and Alex admired the artistry of the weavers.
He pulled the rug off himself, sat up and stretched; yep, he thought, nothing broken, nothing missing and I can still wiggle my toes. He looked around him. In one corner was a small carved totem pole with grotesque figures atop each other; they all seemed to stare at him. There were other Traditional artefacts, and a wonderful frame of coloured beading. He could see through the laced curtains across a large window to his right and saw snow outside; the snow had stopped falling and rays of sunshine reflected off the pure white surface. A jaybird landed on the edge of the roofline causing a blob of snow to fall down. Well, if anything, its sure cosy here, he thought, if this is anything like heaven, count me in.
He stood up and noticed that his genuine waterproof long legged moccasins, made by genuine Alaskan Eskimos, were neatly placed on a piece of paper, in front of the couch. He picked them up but decided not to put them on. He giggled to himself as he read the small tag inside, “made in Shenzhen China, under licence”. He also saw his wallet, phone and car controller.
As quietly as he could, he stepped across to the mantelpiece to study the photographs. The first picture, the largest, showed a man in full NASA astronaut rig, holding a small baby in his hands. He did not need to read the large name tag on the uniform, he immediately knew who that person was; it was Robert Kellor. Kellor? That’s how Cody called Edna; Edna Kellor from NASA. He died just before I joined the Academy. So this is the Kellor family; that baby must be Aggie; and Edna must be his wife...no...has to be his sister, Cody said Aggie came to live with her aunt later in life. Still doesn’t explain anything.
He studied the next photograph and he could see a very young Aggie, in university regalia, being handed a scroll from an elderly man. The background banner read University of Oklahoma; she doesn’t even look like being a teenager in this photo; yet the graduates in the background do. Her cloak had some crimson lines on the sleeve and front and she seems the only one to have a black tassel on her cap.
There were some other obvious family photographs, a young lad holding what looked like a guinea pig. It was probably his parents standing behind him. There was another split picture of a now older Aggie, shaking hands with some VIP. He must have been a VIP because there was a crowd of people in the background clapping hands; the other portion of the photo showed that man and Aggie both holding an enormous pair of scissors, cutting a large ribbon. The person in the next picture who was shaking hands with Aggie was familiar but Alex could not recognize him. Another photo showed a group of First Nation Americans and he could see Aggie holding hands with someone, probably Edna. They were all dressed in magnificent and colourful costume and the words on the bottom read “The Big Powwow, Elliot Lake, Canada.” He gave a little whistle as he looked at the next photo; here was the beautiful Aggie as he had seen her a few hours ago, and on her head was the hand of the Dali Llama. Well this girl really gets around.
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and toasted bread wafted into the lounge room and he heard muffled voices coming from the next room. He tiptoed into the bathroom and prepared himself for whatever. Gees Edna must be an Avon Lady; sure has a lot of that stuff stacked here. He remembered the Goomeri Pointing Bone and again laid it along his fingers. He felt warmth equally, all around; he knew he had reached Ground Zero. Well, into the fray I go, where I’ll land?...nobody can know.
“Hey, Misses Kellors! any chance of a cup of coffee for this lost soul?”
The Goomeri Pointing Bone : Sequel to Dwarg in the Seventh Dimension Page 7