by Luna Athena
“Officer, do you understand? Someone is following me,” she said.
The officer’s eyebrows pricked up. He blinked his eyes in an oddly slow manner.
“Do you think you could escort me to the hospital?” Tessa asked.
After a brief instant of confusion, the officer nodded.
Tessa felt a wave of relief wash over her. She took two more steps forward. She was now right in front of the officer.
“Oh, you don’t know how glad I am to have found you,” Tessa said.
Then something strange began to happen. Something that in a million years Tessa would have never expected.
There was a strange sound. A kind of sloshing noise. Like the sound a wet snake might make when shedding its skin. And then the officer’s mouth dropped open as if he were in pain.
“Officer?” Tessa said.
And then from behind the officer, coming right out of his back, as if attached to him, two tentacles began to rise. They were wet and scaly. They were tipped with razor-like pincers that continuously opened and snapped shut.
Then the officer’s eyes were not only dark but deep and smokey. Even as Tessa gazed forward at him in complete shock, he was slowly transforming.
Tessa closed her eyes for just a moment as if to will it all away. This just couldn’t be happening. But when she opened her eyes, things were even worse.
From the officer’s head had begun to sprout up several long thin tentacles. These were also wet and scaly. There must have been ten or twelve of them. And each one was topped with a dark eye that now stared at Tessa.
Tessa could barely breathe. She was absolutely stunned. She wanted to turn and run. She wanted to scream. But she just stood there in a hypnotic shock. She might as well have been in a trance.
This thing is going to kill me, Tessa thought. And then it’s going to carve all the way around my skull and open my head up like a bowl. And then it’ll probably eat my brains.
And then, from behind Tessa, a voice rang out.
“Get down! Get down! Now!” Shouted the voice.
That voice. Tessa knew that voice. It was Rowan from her apartment building!
Tessa finally snapped out of her daze. And just in time. The creatures massive tentacles were about to grab her.
Tessa all at once remembered the can of mace in her hand. She reached up. She pressed down her thumb. She began to spray the creatures ten or twelve eyes with mace.
“Back off!” Tessa screamed.
The tiny tentacles on the head all immediately drew back, folding right back into the head.
The two giant tentacles coming from the body slammed down into the ground. When they hit the pavement below, the whole ground shook.
Then, as fast as a spider, the creature swept backward. And then in another instant, it jumped down and swept itself into a storm drain.
And just like that, it was gone.
Tessa just stood there, shaking. She’d nearly peed in her pants. Her can of mace was still pointed outward and toward where the creature had just been.
“Why didn’t you get down?” suddenly said a voice from behind her.
Without a single thought, Tessa wheeled around and began to try and spray more mace, screaming. Only there wasn’t any more mace left in the can.
She looked ahead of her. It was Rowan!
“Whoa! Whoa! Wait!” He said. “I’m one of the good guys.”
“You?” gasped Tessa.
“You should have listened to me,” said Rowan. “You should have stayed in your apartment.”
“It was you following me!” Tessa yelled.
“And lucky I was!” Rowan said.
Tessa tried to say something else, but she felt her whole mind exploding. What was going on?
Rowan moved around her, examining the can of mace in her hand, which was still raised in an attack position.
“I can’t believe that worked,” he said. “Who’d have guessed? You’re one lucky girl, that’s for sure.”
Tessa forced herself to breathe. Had Rowan been following her to protect her?
Tessa finally lowered the empty can of mace. She noticed now that Rowan held a silver pistol.
Rowan followed Tessa’s gaze and looked at his own pistol. He tucked it into a shoulder holster under his coat.
Their gazes locked for a moment.
“I’m almost eighteen,” Tessa said. “I’m not a girl.”
Rowan’s eyes moved up and down her figure.
“Well, you’re not a boy,” he said. “That’s for sure. You’re curvy.”
“Excuse me?” Tessa said.
Rowan shrugged.
“What’s curvy mean?” Tessa asked.
Did he think she was fat? Well, she wasn’t exactly toothpick thin.
“You’re very pretty, that’s all,” said Rowan. “It would have been a shame if Skull Carver had eaten your brains.”
Tessa gulped.
“It really does eat brains?” Tessa said.
“Yup,” Rowan said.
Tessa blinked. Then she looked very carefully at Rowan.
“Excuse me,” Tessa said. “But who the hell are you?”
Chapter 3
“Who am I?” Rowan said. “I’m the person that just saved your life.”
Tessa thought about this.
“Not really,” she said.
“What do you mean?” Rowan said.
“You didn’t save me,” Tessa said. “I sprayed the mace. That thing ran away like a hurt dog. All you did is follow me like a stalker and then shout at me from behind while that thing was attacking me.”
“I wanted to shoot it,” Rowan said. “And if you’d gotten out of my way, I would have. You do realize you’d been slightly hypnotized. Think about it. You had the can of mace in your hand, and you weren’t even using it. You wouldn’t have snapped out of your trance if I hadn’t shouted at you.”
Rowan moved away from Tessa. He went to the manhole that the creature had escaped into. He peered inside. Tessa half-expected tentacles to sweep out of the hole and grab Rowan.
“How did that thing even fit into the storm drain?” Asked Tessa.
Rowan said nothing. He straightened himself up. He walked back and faced Tessa.
“Anyway, I wasn’t hypnotized,” said Tessa. “I was, um, assessing the situation.”
Rowan shook his head.
“Okay. If you say so. Either way, what you did was courageous,” he said. “But I still wish you’d gotten down and let me take a shot. Then no one else would have to die.”
A dark shadow fell across Rowan’s face. Who was he?
Tessa said. “So, now, if someone else dies, it’s my fault?”
“I didn’t say that,” Rowan said.
“You might as well have,” Tessa said. “Who are you? What are you doing running around in the streets with some kind of silver gun? How do I know you’re not any less dangerous than that thing was? What is going on here?”
“It’s a little complicated,” Rowan said.
“I could have died,” said Tessa. “That thing was right there in front of me. What was it?”
Rowan looked down and shook his head. His eyes looked so sad. It made him cute. Tessa hated herself for even noticing.
“You know what? Forget it. I have to go,” Tessa said. “If you want to stalk me again, that sounds fine to me. Don’t even bother hiding this time. You’re at least safer than that thing was. And if it comes at me again, I’ll be sure to duck this time, okay?”
Tessa turned away from Rowan. She began to walk down the street again. Rowan caught up with her quickly and began to walk side by side with her.
“Where are you going?” He said. “Where are you going that’s so important?”
Tessa stopped, and Rowan stopped with her. Tessa turned and looked into his eyes. Who was he? What was it that had attacked her?
“My grandmother is sick,” Tessa said. “I need to be with her. That’s all.”
Tessa turned away from Rowan. She star
ted to walk again. She thought of her grandmother. Had Gran woken up? Was Gran holding on? What if Tessa got there and it was too late?
And she was close now. The hospital was so close.
Rowan was again walking by her side.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “but I can’t let you go.”
Tessa stopped yet again. She turned and glared upward at Rowan’s eyes. Even in the darkness of the night his eyes still reflected their deep blue color.
“Excuse me?” Tessa said. “I can’t go to see my grandmother in the hospital? Are you even for real?”
Rowan looked away from Tessa and then back at her. And there it was again, that sadness.
“Who are you? What was that thing?” Said Tessa. “Are you really not going to tell me anything at all?”
And then, just like that, Tessa realized she was crying. A delayed reaction to all she had just gone through. She had nearly died! That thing had intended to carve all around her skull and then feast upon her brains. She’d never have made it to Gran if her brains had been devoured.
“Oh, Gran,” whispered Tessa.
Tessa imagined her body laying there on the street, brainless, the top of her skull nearby. And then Gran in the hospital waiting for her. Waiting and waiting and waiting.
Tessa felt faint. She could barely stand. When Rowan reached out to steady her with his big hand, she fell into his chest. She grabbed at him as if she were drowning, and he was the life raft.
He was as strong and steady as a tree trunk. And Tessa found herself burying her face in his chest, crying. He slowly put his arms around her and carefully held her.
“It’ll be okay,” he said.
“I could have died,” Tessa said. “My grandmother needs me, and I could have died. I have to get to Gran. Don’t you understand?”
“Gran?” Rowan said.
“My grandmother,” Tessa said. “She’s in the hospital. She’s dying.”
And then Tessa winced, because this was the first time she’d ever actually said it to anyone.
“Gran is dying. She’s dying. She’s all I’ve ever had, and now she’s dying. I don’t even know how long she has got left. I have to get to her. I have to be with her. I can’t leave her alone,” Said Tessa. “Don’t you see?”
Carefully, Rowan stroked Tessa’s back as if she were a small child. He didn’t say anything.
Finally, Tessa felt herself recovering. Time was precious. She had to go. She pushed herself away from Rowan.
Then yet again, she started down the street. Rowan was at her side again quickly.
“Tessa, I can’t let you go,” he said.
Tessa shook her head. She increased her pace.
“I have to go,” she said.
Then she felt Rowan’s hand grab her arm, stopping her in place. His grip was firm. Tessa had no choice but to stop.
She turned yet again to look at Rowan. He looked to be fighting with himself. Something deeply troubled him.
“What is it?” Tessa said. “Who are you? What was that thing?”
Rowan let out a sigh.
“It was an alien,” Rowan said.
“An alien?” Tessa said.
“You know, like from outer space,” Rowan said.
“Yeah, I got that you weren’t talking about an undocumented worker,” said Tessa. “Okay. So that thing was an alien from space. And then you are...what exactly?”
“I hunt them,” Rowan said.
“Oh, I see,” said Tessa skeptically. “That was an alien, and you’re an alien hunter. Well, that explains everything. Thank you, Rowan. Now, I have to go.”
“Wait,” Rowan said.
“What is it?” Tessa said.
Rowan reached inside his coat. He pulled out something that didn’t look all that different from a pair of headphones.
“I’m sorry, but...I need to...um...”
“What is that?” Tessa asked.
“I need to remove your memory of the alien,” Rowan said. “We don’t let people remember things like that.”
Tessa laughed nervously.
“This is a joke, right? You’re going to take my memory away? Okay, I get it now. None of this is real at all. This is all some kind of crazy prank, right? Is this all being filmed? Am I going to be on TV?”
Tessa waved Rowan off. She needed to get to the hospital.
“I have to go,” she said.
Rowan was quickly at her side again.
“Stop,” he said.
His voice had taken its strongest tone yet. Tessa stopped. She looked at Rowan. He looked deadly serious now.
“Please don’t fight me on this,” said Rowan. “I’m going to put the device on you, press a few switches, and then your memory of this whole event will be gone.”
Tessa studied his face. Rowan’s eyes were so deep and intense.
“You’re actually serious, aren’t you?” Tessa said.
“Yes,” said Rowan.
“Let’s just get this straight. That thing was an alien. You are an alien hunter. And now that I’ve seen an alien, you want to take that memory away from me by putting that strange device on my head,” said Tessa. “And if I let you do that, then I can finally go see my grandmother?”
“Exactly,” said Rowan. “It’s a standard procedure. We never let people remember that they’ve seen an alien.”
Tessa’s jaw hung open.
“You can really remove my memory of the alien with that thing?” Tessa said.
“Indeed, I can,” Rowan said.
“And then you’ll take me to the hospital?” Tessa said.
“You’ll fall asleep when I use the device. I’ll take you to the hospital myself,” Rowan said. “I’ll make sure you wake up there, safe and sound.”
“I can’t believe I’m actually listening to you,” said Tessa. “Okay, whatever, fine. It’s not like I really want to remember what happened. I just want to get to my grandmother.”
Rowan began to place the device on Tessa’s head. Suddenly, Tessa reached out and stopped him.
“So just tell me first,” Tessa asked. “Are you an alien, too, or something like that?”
“Something like that,” Rowan said.
“Whoa,” said Tessa. “And so I guess I won’t remember that either?”
Rowan shook his head. Tessa sighed and dropped her hands. Rowan began to bring the device to Tessa’s head. Then she reached up and stopped him again.
“So exactly how much of my memory will I lose? Like just the last ten or twenty minutes or so?” She said.
Rowan didn’t say anything. But there was a look in his eyes. Something sad.
“An hour? And then I wake up at the hospital? Right?” Tessa said.
Rowan said nothing. Oh, that look in his eyes.
Tessa realized at once that Rowan was one of those people who don’t lie. Never. They’re constitutionally incapable of it. Those were Tessa’s favorite kind of people. And Rowan had the most classic case of this she’d ever seen. He would not lie to her. Not ever.
“I’m sorry, Tessa,” he said. “It’s necessary.”
“You’re sorry for what?” Tessa said. “How much memory will I lose?”
“The device is imprecise,” said Rowan.
“How imprecise?” Tessa said.
“You’ve heard of people waking up with total amnesia, right?” Rowan said.
“What? Huh? You’re going to take away all my memories,” said Tessa.
“Just personal memories. Motor skills and knowledge will remain. You’ll remember high school algebra,” he said.
Tessa felt her mouth running dry. Rowan was more of a threat than the alien was! He was going to take away all her memories?
“I don’t care about high school algebra. I want to remember Gran,” Tessa said. “You can’t be serious?”
“It’s hard to know how much you’ll remember. Some people remember a lot of their personal memories, others don’t. There’s no way to tell for sure what’ll be left,” R
owan said.
“Gran is waiting for me in the hospital, right now,” said Tessa. “So what did you intend to do? Wipe all my memories and sit me down in the emergency room with a blank slate? I’d wake up and not even know Gran was in the same hospital, alone, and waiting for me. You’d do that to me?”
Oh, the way Rowan looked at her. She could tell it broke him up inside. He really didn’t want to do it. But would he?
“Humans aren’t ready to know there’s a much bigger world outside their own,” he said. “If there’s an alien threat, I remove it. Then I remove any trace it ever existed. That’s what I do.”
“What gives you the right to do that?” Tessa said.
Tessa kept her eyes right on Rowan’s. He was so breathtakingly beautiful. There was such a sad nobility about him. How many terrible things had he done out of what he thought was a necessity? Taking away her memories would be just one more thing.
And then what? Tessa wouldn’t even know who Gran was, much less find her room in the hospital before she died. The cruelty of it all.
“Put that creepy thing away,” said Tessa. “This isn’t happening.”
“It has to, Tessa,” said Rowan. “Don’t make it any harder than it has to be.”
“You won’t do it,” Tessa said. “You won’t. Because you know it’s wrong. And you know that I need to be with my grandmother when she passes away. She’s waiting for me, right now. You’re not going to stop me. You won’t.”
“I will,” said Rowan calmly.
“You’re a good person, Rowan,” said Tessa. “That’s like my special skill, knowing people. You’re not mean like that. You won’t do it.”
“Try me,” Rowan said.
“I don’t believe you,” Tessa said.
She stepped back away from Rowan. She turned away from him, and she began to walk at a fast pace toward the hospital.
But Rowan was next to her in an instant. And he was roughly grabbing her. He twisted one of her arms back behind her. He had the device up. It was coming down over her head.
Tessa could not believe he was really going to do it. He was going to take away her memories. All her brilliant, beautiful memories.
The machine was humming to life, Rowan hitting various buttons.
“Rowan, please, don’t do it,” Tessa pleaded.
“I have to,” Rowan said.