“I’ll take you up on that, Parker.”
We landed, and everyone filed out into the hot morning air. I wore a short-sleeved button-up, and wished I’d gone for shorts too. My jeans were sticky by the time we arrived at the residence.
“Kids, you can visit the training facility and check on the drone’s progress. Suma made some adjustments, and I want to ensure they’re being carried out according to spec,” Magnus told Jules and Dean. To my surprise, they didn’t argue after being called kids.
The rest of us went inside and found the temporary office Dr. Swan had set up. His name was even on the door, and I almost laughed at how out of place this seemed in the residential block’s otherwise bare main floor.
“Is he staying here?” I asked Magnus, and the big man shrugged. I knocked, and Dr. Swan answered the door. He was dressed in a shirt and tie, with dark slacks and polished brown shoes. He appeared thrilled to have company.
“Come in, come in.” He stepped aside, making way for us into his office. It looked like he’d been in business for years. The walls were painted; a desk sat near a window with a supple leather chair facing a chaise longue, complete with a soft pillow. A local fern was potted and placed on a shelf near the corner of the room, on top of a bookcase with volumes of psychology books facing spine out.
A placard with his degree from Yale hung behind his desk, along with various other achievements. He’d gone all-out for the sake of a single patient. Some old-Earth opera played from an unseen speaker, just loud enough to break the silence when no one spoke.
“Moving in?” I asked him, and he laughed lightly.
“You see, Mr. Parker, when I am given a task, I prefer to absorb it all. Magnus will be my patient for the near future, and with the incoming plethora of soldiers from around the universe about to embark on years of training, the Alliance thought it prudent for an on-site therapist. Someone who could listen to their anxiety about being thrust into a new environment, with new rules and different races. It’s not simple being away from home, as we can all attest to.” Dr. Swan smiled, putting me at ease. I instantly liked the man, even if he came across as pretentious at first.
“We are asking a favor. We need to hypnotize Slate,” I told Swan.
“For what purpose?” Swan asked.
“I might have been abducted when I was younger, but I have no memory of it,” Slate answered.
The man tapped his chin, frowning deeply. “I see. I see. This may prove difficult. Without knowing when this event transpired, it will be tricky to recall it. Can you tell me what it is you’re seeking?”
Slate stepped closer to the doctor. He stood a good six inches taller than Swan, and the doctor looked up. “Turns out there’s something wrong with me, or potentially wrong. I have a genetic defect that we believe was implanted into me. We’ve trailed a few others with the same DNA modification, and the outlook is bleak. One claimed to have been abducted by aliens.”
“And you want to find out if you were taken by some mysterious being as well?” Dr. Swan sounded skeptical. “You know, twenty-five years ago, when I was starting out, I would have thought the whole lot of you should be hospitalized, but it goes to show how much we in the field didn’t know. If you were ever abducted, we’ll learn about it this morning.”
Relief flooded me, and I saw Slate’s shoulders relax slightly too.
“I’m going to leave you to it. I’ll return later, Dr. Swan.” Magnus left the four of us alone.
“Should I go?” I asked, glancing at Loweck.
“No. No. Stay, Mr. Parker. This involves you, and as long as our patient gives permission, we can begin.” When Slate nodded and took a seat on the lounger, Dr. Swan opened a wooden box he’d pulled from a desk drawer. “I’m not very experienced in hypnotherapy, but I learned from one of the best at Yale and have extensively watched some very successful treatments.”
Slate made eye contact with me, as if seeking an out. I gave him a reassuring smile as Dr. Swan pulled a gold-plated pendulum from the box. The chain was two feet long, and he began swinging it back and forth.
“I thought they only did this in the movies,” Slate told him.
“Stop messing around, Zeke. You need to focus,” Loweck said, and his smirk vanished. In the lighting of the office, her orange skin was darker, her eyes piercing.
“Fine.” Slate sat still on the cushion while Dr. Swan slid his own chair to face my friend.
The pendant swung slowly, like a constantly ticking metronome, and Dr. Swan spoke in a slow and deep voice. “Zeke Campbell, I want you to remember you’re in a safe place. I’ll always watch over you during this process, and your wife and friend are present. Is this understood?” Tick. Tick. Tick.
Slate nodded as his eyes followed the gold circle.
“Good. Watch the symbol. It is ancient. A relic from a lost time,” Swan said, and I stared at the etching in the gold pendant. The picture was of a branch dipping into a river.
“What is it?” Slate asked.
“Centuries ago, a god named Hypnos used a horn to lull people to sleep. He would either lead them to prophetic dreams or mislead them to the river of forgetfulness in the Underworld.” Swan’s voice was soothing. Mesmerizing.
“And… which path will you bring me on?” Slate asked, his eyes growing drowsy.
“I will bring you to a place you’ve forgotten. A memory of a moment in your life that you’ve blocked out. Do you want to take me there, Zeke?” Swan continued to swing the pendant. Tick. Tick. Tick.
“I don’t know if…” Slate’s eyes closed, and he stayed put, unmoving like a heavy stone of his namesake.
“There you are. Remember, Zeke. I am watching over you, as are Loweck and Dean. Find your memory and cling to it. Relive the experience, for you are in no danger.” Swan grabbed the chain and stuffed it into his suit jacket pocket.
“I can’t see where to go. It’s dark.” Slate’s jaw was clenched, and Loweck reached out, taking my hand. The lights were dimmed, and I noticed Swan had drawn the window coverings.
“Is there anything to guide your way?” Swan asked.
“Maybe.”
“Where are you?”
Slate sniffed, squinting as I saw recognition cross his face. “I’m in Afghanistan. My last deployment.”
“How do you know?” Swan leaned forward.
“The smell. We had a convoy return from a mission. Half of the unit was gone when they came, and the damage… they were ambushed in a neutral zone, the enemy opting to pursue during a peaceful supply run, using IEDs like they were candy. I was at the base, helping haul my injured friends into the med bay all night, and I’ll never forget the smell. The burns. The sand.” Slate rubbed his palms together as if he was trying to get warm.
“Where are you now?” Swan asked, and I was on the edge of my seat.
“I’m outside. I need air. My bunk is too constricting. The canvas roof too close to my face. I can hear the snores of my brothers, and I can’t believe they can sleep after what we’d seen. I’m a month from going home. I feel sick to my stomach, upset I have to leave, but guilty because all I want is to be on US soil. To return to a life I never felt normal in.”
Loweck squeezed my hand again, tears on her cheeks. She looked ready to go to Slate, and I shook my head, stopping her.
“You’re outside?”
“Right. The air is less stifling, and I’m breathing deeply, feeling like I can’t take a lungful in. I need to leave. I walk from camp. People are up and about. A base is never silent, especially not after an ambush like today. The big guns are discussing how to retaliate while keeping the peace with the locals. I see lights on in their tent, but keep walking, wanting solitude.
“There’s something ahead in the hills beyond the base, and I wonder if it’s someone else unable to sleep. When I arrive, there’s nothing. Oh my God, I can feel it.”
“Feel what?” Swan asked, his voice no longer calm.
“It’s above me. The light…”
<
br /> ____________
Jules rolled up her sleeves and undid the top button of her uniform. “We have to help Uncle Zeke.”
Dean climbed through the metal framework of what would become their simulator space, stopping as they entered the structure. “How are we supposed to help him?”
“You really don’t get out much, do you?” Jules bumped into him with her shoulder. “Since when do we stand back and watch someone we love dive into danger? Remember you with Patty?”
Dean kicked a rock, sending it clanging against a stack of girders. “I guess you’re right. What should we do?”
“Papa is moving too slow. We know a few details. Maybe we can do some sleuthing of our own and get a step ahead,” Jules suggested.
Dean stared at a huge drone lifting from the ground. It rose to the top corner, adding some material to a joint in the ceiling. “Imagine if these things stopped taking commands.”
“The drones?”
“Yeah. Look how big that thing is. It’s the size of a jeep. What if it turned on us?” Dean asked.
“We don’t have time for this, Dean. Focus.”
“We take so much for granted. Anyway, what were you saying?”
Jules grabbed her tablet, using the override program, and powered off the working robots in their vicinity. All three currently on or near the simulation facility changed routes, landing on the ground to shut down. “Can you concentrate now?”
“Jeez, don’t have a meltdown. I was just having a conversation.”
Jules motioned him near and sat on a stack of metal beams, making sure they were secured first. Dean plopped beside her. Sweat soaked through his uniform, and she wiped her own brow before changing programs on her tablet.
“We know that this involves an abduction. What I’ve read about from Papa’s old books is far different than our reality. Knowing that there are countless alien races changes everything. There have been thousands of reported abductions in the US alone for decades. Who’s to say some of them weren’t real?” Jules brought up a saved link and showed Dean.
He read it over silently for a minute. “Probably just a gas leak.” He shoved the tablet at her. “Jules, what the hell are you talking about? We’re supposed to be helping Magnus, not researching crazy people who claim they were probed.”
She was hurt he’d take it that far, and her expression must have let him know it. “Sorry, Jules. I didn’t mean to be so insensitive. I don’t want to step on your dad’s toes. I’m already in his bad books.”
“No, you’re not. He’s fine. Now are you going to help me, or do I need to do this alone?” She really didn’t want Dean to deny her this, and the moment he smiled at her, she knew she’d won him over. “Good. As I was saying, I did some checking. Earth isn’t unique in the occurrences of abduction reports. Turns out Shimmal has hundreds, if not thousands, as do many of our Alliance worlds. I haven’t even begun to search outside those parameters, but I bet…”
“You’re saying that there have been more alien abductions?” Dean asked, suddenly interested again.
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“I have an idea. Let’s go with Patty to Shimmal and see what we find,” Dean said.
She loved the idea and agreed. “Papa won’t have any clue why we’re actually going. Maybe we can solve this thing before them. He’d be so proud.”
“I could use a win. Let’s do it.” Dean bounded to his feet, and Jules powered the drones to life. “Just promise me you’ll be careful. I can’t have you running headfirst into any danger this time, not like this.”
“Like this?” She pointed at herself. “This is the way I am now, Dean. Human.”
“I know. It wasn’t meant as an insult. I worry about you, that’s all.”
Worry about me… Jules tried to stay calm but struggled. It was a touchy subject.
“Come on. We have work to do.” She started forward, returning to the schematics, stepping from the building’s cover and under the unrelenting heat of the bright sky.
Nine
I almost called it off after hearing Slate’s panic, but held back.
“The light. It’s so hot. I can’t see. It has to be another bomb, but I’m not in any pain. I think I may be in the afterlife. I wonder if my dead brother is ahead, stretching an arm out for me. I reach with my hand, but feel nothing.”
Swan cleared his throat and seemed to gain his composure. “Zeke, describe what is happening.”
“My feet are lifting off the ground. I’m floating, surrounded by a ball of glowing light, but I can’t find the source. I’m scared, but also kind of accepting. If this is my death, I feel okay with it after today.” Slate shifted, and the muscles on his neck tensed. “I’m no longer in the air. I’m in a room. The lights are still there, but I’m on a bed. It’s hard, and I can’t feel my body. My eyes hurt, and my throat is sore. My skin starts to tingle, like a thousand needles are being jabbed into me at once, but I can’t see anything.”
Loweck made a stifled cry for her husband, and I didn’t blame her. Something terrible had happened to Slate, and on a horrifying day in Afghanistan.
His eyes opened, and I saw the awareness of his surroundings hit him. Swan clapped his palms together calmly. “Zeke Campbell, please join us.”
“Was that real?” Slate asked, making room for Loweck to sit with him. They embraced, and she set a reassuring hand on his leg.
“Your mind thinks it was real, yes. Whether it’s true is not for me to say,” Dr. Swan said. “Do you recall that day in your life? The unit being ambushed?”
Slate shook his head. “I didn’t before, but now I remember every gory detail. It’s like that moment was blacked out along with the other stuff.” He peered at me, eyelids heavy. “The abduction.”
“We already knew it had to have happened, right? Now we know for sure.” I tried to make it seem like no big deal, but it didn’t work.
“Dean, I was abducted by aliens in Afghanistan. What the hell does all of this mean?” Slate asked.
“We said we’d find out, and we will. I’ll contact Regnig when we’re done and hear what kind of leads he has for us. Then we can check with Paul on our Russian friend, see if…”
“It doesn’t matter what happened to him. I guarantee his story is like mine, and like Carolyn’s. We were marked by an alien race that seems determined to mess with our lives. I have this defect, and one day some being in a distant world will turn it on and give me orders to kill, or destroy something, or God knows what. Dammit, don’t you understand? There may not be a solution to this, Dean. I should be locked away too.”
Loweck slapped him, startling everyone in the room. The sound lingered in the air for a second longer, and Slate’s big hand went up to his reddening cheek. “Zeke, get it together. You’re the best man I know, and you and I are supposed to be taking over Light. We might start a family.” This was news to me, but I stayed quiet. “You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and listen to Dean.”
Slate was frozen, apologetic in his silence. “I’ll try.”
“Then it’s settled. We’ll check with Regnig, and once we secure a lead, we’ll take it. You’re right. So far, it’s a dead end. I doubt we’ll learn anything from the details we have that we don’t know at all. But somewhere, someone might have let a fact slip, and when we find a trail, we’re not stopping until we reach the conclusion.”
“And what is that?” Dr. Henrick Swan asked.
“The beings that sent their ships to abduct our people. We locate them, we fix Slate.” When I said the words, it was like I had solidified an ancient spell, and I grew confident, knowing my ultimate goal now.
“What will you do when you accomplish this?” Loweck asked.
Slate answered for me, cracking his knuckles. “Probe them… for details only, of course.”
____________
“I can’t believe you’re leaving,” Dean told his sister. The goodbye with Auntie Natalia had been less tearful than Jules had expe
cted, and she was also shocked to learn that her dad was okay with her and Dean traveling to Shimmal with Suma and Sarlun. He asked her to be home the following day and said that she needed to stay with Natalia indefinitely, until he returned. It was either that or go to Haven to stay with Mom, but she was busy catching up on Alliance stuff, and Dean wasn’t there.
“You’ll finally have some peace and quiet,” Patty joked. She was dressed in a crisp white blouse and a pair of long black pants, a style Jules had never seen her wear before. She seemed so much older, more poised than the eighteen-year-old girl she’d known since birth.
Sarlun and his daughter waited near the portal’s entrance as the three of them walked from the shuttle. Dean had insisted on carrying their packs, and his eyes held a glimmer of trouble as he hefted it higher on his shoulder.
“What did you do?” Jules asked, knowing him well enough to see he was hiding something.
“Fine. You got me.” He dropped the pack, pulling out an item wrapped in a cloth.
“What is it?” Patty leaned in, tugging it from Dean’s hands.
“Be careful with that. It was a prototype from Clare’s office. After your dad had them reconfigure the Locator, Clare made more that Detective Reed hopes to use for tracking missing persons. How cool would it be to take a missing person’s hair and find them in seconds?” Dean looked proud of himself.
“You stole it?” Jules peered at Sarlun, who was starting to appear impatient with their slow pace.
“I lifted it, yeah, but if we’re trying to help Slate, we need some advantages, right? We have to strike first,” Dean told her as he folded the circular device in the cloth and shoved it into the pack again.
Jules wanted to reprimand him, but he wasn’t wrong. They were going in blind, grasping at straws in their search, and they barely had a day or two to accomplish anything. “Good work.”
Patty kept walking, heading for the entrance into Terran Five’s mountain range, and the pair of them jogged to catch up. Suma stayed behind as the others went into the corridors, and grabbed Jules by the arm. “What are you up to?”
The Survivors | Book 15 | New Beginning Page 9