by Luna Athena
“No, you don’t,” Tessa said.
Then for just a second, Rowan paused.
“It’s better, really,” he said.
“Better,” Tessa said.
“Remembering the death of a loved one,” Rowan said. “You have no idea how painful that is. This is a blessing. You’ll never have to even experience it.”
“I’d never want to forget Gran,” Tessa said. “Even after she’s gone. Especially after she’s gone. What’s wrong with you?”
Rowan shook his head. He looked so bitter, so hurt. What had happened to him? Had he lost someone once?
Rowan reached out to press yet one more button.
“Goodbye, Tessa,” Rowan said.
Chapter 4
“Wait! Wait!” Tessa said. “I saw his face. I saw it. Did you?”
Rowan stopped with his finger hovering just above a button.
“I saw him,” Tessa said.
“Saw who?”
“I saw Skull Carver’s face,” Tessa said.
“So what?” Rowan said. “You saw the face of his human disguise. What’s your point?”
“Well, have you seen it?” Tessa said.
“I saw it when you did,” Rowan said.
“Did you?” Tessa said. “I was right there in front of him. How close were you?”
Rowan said nothing. But his finger moved away from the device. He eased his grip on Tessa so that it was no longer painful. He still did not let go of her.
“I could identify him,” Tessa said. “Isn’t that a memory of mine you need?”
Rowan sighed. He let Tessa go.
“How did you know?” He asked.
“Know what?” Tessa said.
“About squils,” Rowan said.
“What’s a squil?” Tessa said.
“It’s what Skull Carver is. Squils can take the form of their first victim. But that’s all. It’s the only disguise they’ll ever have,” Rowan said. “How did you know that?”
“I didn’t,” Tessa said. “But see? You need me. I can identify Skull Carver.”
“Are you sure?” Rowan said. “This is a matter of life and death. When I find Skull Carver, I’m going to kill him. Make no mistake about that. I don’t want to kill someone innocent because you identified the wrong person.”
“I won’t,” said Tessa. “I never forget a face.”
Rowan studied her.
“And I won’t be forgetting any faces in the future unless someone were to take my memory away,” Tessa said.
Rowan grimaced. His eyes were full of thought.
“So, you’ll help me?” He said.
Tessa shrugged. She reached up and pulled the creepy device off her head. She wanted to hurl it to the ground and smash it. But instead, she handed it to Rowan.
“I’ll help you,” Tessa said.
“It won’t change anything,” Rowan said. “Once we find Skull Carver and I’ve killed him, then I’ll still have to take away your memories. Same as before. This changes nothing.”
“But you’ll let me see my grandmother first. You’ll let me stay with her until she passes away. Right? And then we’ll find Skull Carver.”
“No,” Rowan said.
“No?” Tessa said.
“Too many people have died under my watch already. We hunt Skull Carver down tonight. We end this before another person has to die. Only then do we go to see your grandmother,” said Rowan. “At that point, I’ll stay with you until she passes away, and only then will I take away your memories.”
“You don’t understand,” said Tessa. “Her condition is serious. She might not even make it through the rest of the night. I have to be there.”
Rowan’s obstinate expression didn’t change.
“Either take the deal, or I remove your memories right here, right now,” he said.
“You’re disgusting,” Tessa said.
“Hardly,” Rowan said. “After your grandmother is gone, you’ll want me to take your memories away.”
“Never,” said Tessa.
“You don’t know what losing someone is like until you’ve actually experienced it,” said Rowan.
“Why do you say that?” Tessa said. “Did you lose someone?”
“I’m not supposed to talk about it,” he said. “I’ve already told you too much.”
Tessa scoffed.
“You’re going to take my memories away, anyway,” Tessa said. “What difference does it make?”
Rowan thought about this. He sighed.
“The truth is this, I am actually human,” said Rowan.
“Obviously,” said Tessa.
Rowan paused and looked at Tessa for a moment, then he continued.
“I was recruited from earth when I was ten years old,” he said.
“Recruited? By who, the league of alien hunters?” Tessa said.
Rowan ignored Tessa’s sarcasm.
“Less like who, and more like what,” he said. “I was brought to the Tigrath. They trained me. They train all of us.”
“The Tigrath?” Tessa said.
“Incorporeal beings. They’re like spirits,” said Rowan.
Tessa shook her head. What was she supposed to think about all of this?
“So what happened to you? Who did you lose?” Tessa said.
“My parents, both of them,” Rowan said.
Tessa could see it then. Behind Rowan’s kind and honest blue eyes, there was a repressed anger, and beyond that an even deeper layer of sadness.
“I’m sorry,” Tessa said.
“It was a squil. Just like Skull Carver. I heard something in my parents’ bedroom, and I went to take a look. And then I saw it, lapping up my father’s brains. My mother was dead on the floor next to him,” Rowan said.
Rowan stared forward blankly now, remembering. It was as if he’d never told anyone this story before. As if Tessa was the first person he’d ever tried to explain it all to.
“Then the creature came for me,” Rowan said. “I’d have died for sure. But then someone saved me.”
“An alien hunter?” Tessa said
“Right,” Rowan said. “And after he saved me, he was going to take my memories away. But I begged him to take me with him. I told him I had nothing left, and I wanted to be like him. I wanted to avenge my parents.”
“And the alien hunter took you in?” Tessa asked.
“He wasn’t easy to convince,” Rowan said. “But finally he took me back with him, and then the Tigrath trained me. I’ve been hunting ever since. This is only my second time back on earth. But don’t you see my point?”
“See what?” Tessa said.
“I understand the pain of having someone close to you die. And I can spare you that pain. Believe me, there’s no greater pain than that,” Rowan said.
And Tessa could see it. It still hurt Rowan to talk about his parents.
“Trust me, once your grandmother has passed on,” Rowan said. “You’ll want me to do it, to take away your memories.”
“No, I won’t,” Tessa said. “Memories are what make us who we are, good or bad. I love Gran. I don’t care how painful it will be when she finally passes on, but I would never want to give up those memories. Not for anything.”
“You’ll see,” Rowan said. “And don’t worry. I’ll be there when you finally do.”
Neither of them said anything for a long moment. Then finally Rowan spoke.
“Okay, so here is the deal,” said Rowan. “We track down Skull Carver and kill him. Tonight. Before he kills again. Then I take you to your grandmother. I’ll stay with you, for as long as it takes...”
“For her to pass on?” Said Tessa.
“Yes,” said Rowan. “Only then do I take away any of your memories. But not before. That’s the deal. Take it or leave it.”
“So what am I then, a captive?” Tessa said.
“Call it what you will,” Rowan said. “Do we have a deal?
What other choice did Tessa have? At last she nodded.
>
“How do we get started?” Tessa asked.
Chapter 5
Rowan reached into his long leather overcoat. He took out a small rectangular device. It had a screen that glimmered in a strange ethereal manner.
Tessa could see images on the screen, but her eyes could not fix on any of them.
“What’s that?” Tessa asked. “A space version of a smartphone? Are you getting ready to phone home for help?”
“No,” Said Rowan.
Rowan brought his fingers to the device. Then Tessa watched in amazement as Rowan literally dipped his fingers into the screen as if it were somehow made of mercury. Then, even more surprisingly, he pulled out of the screen a large hologram.
Tessa glanced around to see if anyone on the dark street was watching them. But as best she could tell the streets were utterly empty now.
“So what is that thing?” Tessa asked, looking back at the device.
“It’s an enhanced multi-spectral imaging monitor,” Rowan said.
“Oh, that’s what I thought it was,” said Tessa, dryly.
“Really?” Said Rowan.
“No,” said Tessa. “What is it?”
“Well, I can use it as a tracking device. It’s specifically tuned to Skull Carver’s frequency. I can locate his precise location using this.”
“You can tell exactly where he is?” Tessa asked.
“Now that I’ve actually come into contact with him, yes, at least in a manner of speaking,” Said Rowan. “Before I could only get an approximation as to his general location, now I can pinpoint exact spots.”
“This should be easy then,” said Tessa.
It also worried Tessa. If Rowan had a device like this, then what need did he really have for her?
“It’s not as easy as it sounds,” Rowan said.
He was working the device with his fingers. He kept dipping his fingers into the ethereal screen and pulling out what looked like layouts for various buildings. Rowan’s handsome face was so intense and serious.
“I don’t think I’ll get a solid reading until he comes back up from under the ground. He’s deep in the sewer system now, and there’s too much interference,” Rowan said.
“Will he come back up tonight?” Tessa said.
“Almost surely,” said Rowan. “And soon. I don’t think he’s fed yet tonight.”
Tessa could not stop thinking about Gran. What if they spent the rest of the night and still couldn’t find Skull Carver? Would Rowan let her go to the hospital then? She decided she would cross that bridge when they came to it.
“But waiting for him to appear is not the only problem,” said Rowan.
“What do you mean?” Asked Tessa.
“Well, first of all, there’s a delay,” said Rowan.
“A delay? What kind of delay?” Said Tessa.
“There will be a delay between when the monitor detects Skull Carver and when he was actually there. So by the time we get the signal that he’s at this or that location, time will have already gone by since then,” said Rowan.
“How long?”
“Anywhere between twenty seconds and five minutes,” said Rowan. “He knows this. So no doubt he’ll try to hide amongst a crowd of people.”
“And that’s why you need me?” Tessa said.
“Exactly. As soon as I get a hit, we’ll move in on Skull Carver’s location,” said Rowan. “But by the time we get there, he’ll already be moving around in a crowd. So I’m going to need you to make the final identification. Then, once we’ve got him, we’ll grab him, pull him out of the crowd, and then take him down.”
“I’m going to help you take him down?” Tessa said, incredulously.
“Well, not exactly, I’ll do that part,” Rowan said. “But you’ll need to stay with me.”
“Because I’m your captive, and you wouldn’t want me to run away,” Tessa said.
It was a statement, not a question.
Rowan looked at Tessa. His eyes were sad. He swallowed and looked back at a hologram he’d just pulled up. He said nothing. What could he say? What Tessa said was true. She was his captive.
“What kind of place do you think he’ll approach?” Tessa asked.
“As I’ve said, someplace with lots of people and lots of movement,” said Rowan. “Perhaps a popular all-night burger joint or even a homeless shelter.”
“Or a hospital,” Said Tessa, thinking of Gran.
“Possible,” Rowan said. “But not as easy as you might think. Patients aren’t moving around, they’re stationary. That makes it harder for him to hide. And even in the emergency room, who can Skull Carver lure out of the hospital as a victim?”
“What do you mean?” Tessa asked.
“Skull Carver is hungry, so he’s looking for a potential victim, right?” Said Rowan. “He wants to feed. So not only is he looking for a place to hide in the crowd while he bides his time, but a place where he can lure a victim out of that crowd as soon as he feels safe from me.”
“What about a rave, then?” Said Tessa.
“Excuse me?” Rowan said. “What’s that?”
“A rave. You know, an all-night party,” said Tessa. “Or if not a rave even just an all night dance club.”
A big smile crossed Rowan’s lips. This was the first time Tessa had really seen him smile. Why did Rowan have to be so handsome?
“Yes, that’s exactly the type of place he’ll most likely go for,” said Rowan. “Lots of people, lots of movement—“
“And lots of potential victims,” said Tessa. “He could pick up someone and try to lure them outside, once he feels safe.”
“You’d make a good alien hunter, Tessa,” said Rowan.
He stopped playing with his device. The holograms emanating from it disappeared as Rowan looked directly at Tessa. His eyes were such a fierce blue. It caused Tessa’s heart to skip a beat.
She could not deny how gorgeous he was. She found herself wanting to stand just a little closer to him.
“So what do you know about this area?” said Rowan. “Do you know of any places near here like what you’re describing?”
Tessa tried to think. She didn’t even attend high school parties, much less go to raves or all night dance clubs. Between her part-time job and studying, she’d barely had time for anything else.
But she did know people who did such things.
“One of the day nurses that watches over Gran talked about a club not even that far from the hospital,” said Tessa. “I think it was a goth club or something.”
“Great,” said Rowan. “All I have to do is start scanning all the buildings in the vicinity until I find one where there are lots of people moving around.”
“Or we could use my maps app,” said Tessa.
“Excuse me?” Said Rowan. “What’s an app?”
Tessa sighed and shook her head. She reached into her pocket and took out her smartphone. She tapped on the maps app. Then she quickly keyed in nightclubs. She handed the phone to Rowan.
Rowan looked at it in delight.
“This is fantastic,” he said.
It was as if he’d never come across a smartphone before. Tessa couldn’t believe it. She stepped nearer to him to point out various places on the map. She could feel the heat emanating from his body.
As she pointed out what looked liked the goth club, she asked him, “So, how old are you, exactly? How long have you been away from Earth? How could you not know what an app is?”
Rowan noted the goth club. Then he looked up, his heartthrob eyes once again going right into Tessa’s. And she was standing so close to him.
“The monitor I use is quite efficient. But your right, I should have tried to assess currently available information technology sooner,” said Rowan.
Tessa just stared at him. She barely knew what he was talking about.
“Anyway, I’m eighteen,” Rowan said.
“Really?” Said Tessa. “I’d have pegged you as being in your early twenties.”
/> The comment appeared to please Rowan. He smiled. His face was only inches from hers, and his eyes were still locked into hers.
“You’re very pretty, Tessa,” Rowan said.
This was the second time Rowan had said this to Tessa. She felt her face burn hot.
She immediately turned away though. She stepped back a pace. She’d let her guard down. This was the person that was keeping her away from Gran. The last thing she needed to do was to flirt with him.
“I’m sorry,” said Rowan. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
But then, Tessa’s eyes darted back at him.
“So, I’m not pretty, then?” She snapped.
“No, you are,” Rowan said defensively. “I just shouldn’t have said it.”
Tessa sighed and shook her head.
“Damn right, you shouldn’t have,” she said. “This isn’t a date. I need to see Gran, and you’re keeping me from her.”
Rowan tried to say something but stopped.
“Right,” he said. “Okay. Let’s go then. Until I get something on my monitor, let’s start walking toward the goth club.”
“Fine,” said Tessa.
She snatched her smartphone away from Rowan and began to head off without waiting for him.
Even if it had been a date, it’s not like she’d eventually be left remembering any of it.
Chapter 6
“Don’t you have some kind of special vehicle or something?” Tessa asked.
“What do you mean?” Said Rowan.
Both Rowan and Tessa stopped as they heard a rat scurry out of a pile of trash. They both watched as it then scurried across the road. They’d been walking toward the goth club for the last five minutes, mostly in silence.
“Like some kind of high-tech motorbike, you know, for chasing aliens,” Tessa said. “Like in the Dark Knight.”
“The Dark Knight?” Asked Rowan.
“Batman,” said Tessa.
“That’s a comic book, right?” he said.
“I guess,” Tessa said.
“How much are comics these days, anyway?” Rowan asked.
“I don’t really buy comics,” Tessa said. “A few dollars, I suppose.”
“A few dollars? What happened to a dime an issue?” Rowan said.