Alex hated it when he did that. It made him feel like he was being written up for bad conduct. Relax, Alex. Dr. Reyes is here to help you. He’s not giving you a bad grade.
“Why don’t you tell me what happened last night?”
The man with graying hair gave him a kind look that made Alex feel easier. “I did take the pill last night before I went to bed. About two hours after I went to sleep, I felt a need to panic. When I woke up, I couldn’t move. The alien...it was sitting on me and trying to strangle me.”
The man frowned. “I see no marks on your neck.”
He absentmindedly touched his neck. It wasn’t even sore. “I can’t explain it. I felt it. It was real. I know I was awake.” Here it comes. He’s going to say I’m crazy and have me locked up.
“So what happened while the alien was doing this?”
“Nothing. I couldn’t stop him. I tried to move but was frozen in place. Then I blacked out. When I woke up, it was gone and it was daylight.”
The man nodded, said “um hmm” and wrote something else down. Glancing up at Alex, he said, “What you experienced is called sleep paralysis, and it’s not all that uncommon.”
He blinked in surprise. “Really?”
“If you gathered together six strangers into a room, at least one has been through it, though not as extreme as what you experienced. Sometimes people just wake up and feel terror that goes away as soon as it comes. Some people see an old hag or a hooded figure in the room with them. Then there are those who swear they see things like goblins. There have been studies done on it.”
Alex immediately felt better. So he wasn’t the only one. He dared to ask, “What about aliens? Has anyone seen aliens?”
“Sure. Haven’t you ever heard of alien abductions?”
“Yes. I didn’t think it was real until all of this happened.”
“I come across a lot of things in my practice. Few things surprise me anymore.” The man glanced at his clock that was on his desk. “I’m afraid I have to take care of my next patient. Do you mind if we continue this on Thursday when you have your appointment?”
“That’s fine.”
“And since this thing appeared to you with malevolent intent, I’m going to give you a different prescription. It might be better than the one you’re currently on. If you do notice any complications, let me know and I’ll adjust the dosage.” He reached over to the small table beside him and wrote on a small yellow pad. “I think you had your encounter last night because you missed that pill. It can set your whole body off balance when things like that happen.”
Noting the warning, he agreed to take the new pills every night before bed. If that is what he had to do to make sure another attack didn’t happen, then he’d do it. There was no way he wanted to go through that again.
The doctor tore the slip of paper and held it out to him.
Alex stood up and took it. “Thank you, Doctor.”
“You’re welcome.” The man stood and walked him to the door. “Now, if you have another episode, let me know.”
“I will.”
He opened the door and smiled. “Have a good day.”
Relieved, Alex returned his smile and left. So he wasn’t crazy. Now he didn’t have to go around town feeling like a freak.
Chapter Twelve
Autumn finished putting clothes on the mannequin in the store and yawned. Glancing at her watch, she realized she had another five hours to go before she could go home. Alicia wouldn’t be in for another hour and the Saturday crowd hadn’t picked up yet, so she had nothing to do at the moment.
She tapped her foot on the floor and debated whether she should take this opportunity to loaf around or look for any clothes that needed to be returned to their correct locations. Sometimes a customer picked up something, decided they didn’t want it, and put it somewhere else. Finally, she opted to search for misplaced clothes. She rolled her eyes. Here it was, a beautiful Saturday and she was stuck at work with her most exciting prospect being what she’d watch on TV when she got home. Again, she wondered why she hadn’t been one of the people to vanish. Just what, exactly, did she have to stick around for? It should have been her instead of Marianne.
A familiar giggle caught her attention. She looked over her shoulder and sighed. Katie Winslow, the new employee, decided to come in on her day off with her boyfriend. Katie was holding his hand and blabbing on about someone they knew. Typical gossip. Autumn thought of dodging behind a rack of pantsuits but Katie saw her.
“Oh hey! Autumn!” Katie turned to her lanky boyfriend. “That’s Autumn. I work with her.”
He nodded, not taking his eyes off the perky blonde who gave him a flirtatious smile.
Autumn inwardly groaned but gave a polite smile and wave before she turned back to the rack in front of her, trying to look busy so Katie and her boyfriend would get bored and leave. However, such was not to be the case.
“Autumn! I have some terrific news to share with you. Come on over!”
Autumn stayed in place, watching as the glowing girl waved her forward. When she realized Katie was practically dragging the guy her way, she sighed and went to meet them. “What is it?”
“I’m engaged!” Katie thrust her hand in front of Autumn’s face and squealed. She wiggled her ring finger, making the small diamond sparkle in the light. “Kevin just proposed last night. Isn’t that awesome?”
Engaged? Autumn tried not to show her disbelief. Katie was only eighteen for goodness sakes.
“We’re here looking for lingerie,” Katie said and snuggled against Kevin who kissed her cheek.
She giggled and cooed at him. In response, he nuzzled her neck and she wrapped her arms around him and squealed in delight.
Autumn swallowed. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to throw up. Watching two horny teenagers hanging onto each other was more than enough to make her gag. Teenagers. What could they possibly know about real love?
Just as she turned to get away from them, a loud boom resonated through the mall. Without thinking, she dropped to the floor, only half aware of the screams of panic coming from the two shoppers in the store. She glanced over her shoulder and was reassured when she saw that Katie and her boyfriend were fine. She waited to make sure nothing else was going to happen before she struggled to her feet.
Mr. Hampton came running out of his office, his face pale. Motioning to the door, he yelled, “Everyone, out!”
Not that Autumn needed to be told to evacuate, but if Hampton was scared, then this was more serious than she thought. If Hampton was one thing, it was able to handle even the toughest of situations in stride. While he assisted one of the shaking customers, Autumn ran to help another one out the nearest exit. Kevin held onto Katie, so at least she was taken care of.
Once they were outside, a group of fire trucks and policemen were hurrying to the center of the mall. People were rushing out of the building as smoke billowed into the sky. Some people were crying and holding onto each other. Others were searching for loved ones. Still, others looked on in apparent shock.
Autumn shivered. It reminded her of the day her sister vanished.
“Funny how the cops and firemen got here as soon as they did,” Hampton muttered under his breath.
Surprised, she looked at her boss. “Why do you say that?”
He glanced at her as if he couldn’t believe he had to explain it. “That was a bomb, and it just went off. How could they be that quick?”
His meaning settled into her rattled nerves. Her eyes grew wide. “Are you saying this was staged?”
He rolled his eyes. “It wouldn’t be the first time something like this happened, would it?”
Before she could answer, he went over to one of the shrieking women in the crowd. He patted her on the shoulder and did his best to comfort her.
Autumn could hardly think over the sirens blaring, the crying people, or the police using bullhorns to instruct people to evacuate the mall. She tried to come to grips with what Ha
mpton said as she walked through clustered groups of people. The smoke continued pouring out of the main entrance, making her cough as she neared the scene of the devastation.
She passed a cop who spoke into his Scanner Radio. “Yeah. Probably a terrorist attack.” And that was all she caught of that conversation since he hurried past her to wave an ambulance over to assist a blood-soaked man who was lying on the ground. The man blinked, and Autumn felt a small comfort in knowing he was alive.
She studied the amount of medical personnel that got out of their ambulances and frowned. The explosion only happened a few minutes ago, hadn’t it? She checked her watch. Maybe it had been five. There was no way all these policemen, firefighters and medical personnel should be here yet. She hated to agree with Hampton, but something was wrong.
As she scanned the chaos ensuing around her, her gaze happened to fall upon him. Devon. He was there at the scene, talking into a cell phone and motioning to a cop. She narrowed her eyes at him. Ignoring the people around her, she strode in his direction. Not once did she let her eyes go off of him. There were way too many people lingering about.
Shock gave way to anger as she got closer to him. How dare he be a part of this? Her brows furrowed and her stomach tightened. For all she knew, he was responsible for this. Maybe he set off the bomb. No. He didn’t look like the type. Most likely, he gave the orders and someone else did the dirty work.
By the time she reached him, he was still on the phone. His back was to her as he walked back to the mall. She thought he was going to go under the police tape that two men were putting up to secure off the entrance, but he didn’t. Instead, he veered around it and made his way to the other side of the explosion. Where was he going? She picked up the pace so that she could make out something he was telling the other person on the phone, but there was too much noise around them for her to make out anything.
To her surprise, he went around the corner of the building, which left them alone for the moment. She glanced behind her, wondering if it was best to keep following him. Perhaps she should go back to Hampton. Now, that was something she never thought she’d willingly consider. Going back to her irritable boss so she could feel safe!
“It’s taken care of,” Devon said into his cell phone. “Don’t send anymore.”
Anymore? She turned her attention back to him.
He hung up on his current call and started to dial another number when he noticed her. He jerked and quickly shut the phone. “What are you doing here?”
She couldn’t tell if he was alarmed or angry but finally decided he was probably both. Crossing her arms to hide her slight trembling, she said, “You’re behind this explosion, aren’t you? There is no terrorist attack. You set this up.”
He stared at her for a moment, his face unreadable.
The only thing that held her in place was her anger over the needless destruction and suffering that he caused. “You’ve done this before, haven’t you?” Stupid. What was she thinking by confronting him like this? He obviously had important connections, and here she was invoking his wrath. But something in her had snapped, making her unable to stop. “Well? What else have been false terror attacks?”
He calmly placed the phone into the breast pocket of his suit jacket. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t play dumb.” Her pulse raced with adrenaline. Stupid. She was stupid! This man was dangerous. She just knew it. That was the only reason why a demon lurked around him. And yet, losing her sister and having her entire world tossed upside down was taking its toll on her nerves. She couldn’t stop. Even if he pulled out a gun right now and threatened to kill her, she couldn’t stop. “Do you know where those people disappeared to? Was that another ploy to get the people to unite for this coming one world government?”
He took a step toward her and she instinctively backed up. He grabbed her arm and shot her a warning look. “I advise you to tread carefully. You think you know what you’re dealing with but you don’t. This goes much deeper than you can imagine.”
“You bastards took my sister from me. I have nothing to lose.” And she didn’t. She had nothing to live for. Nothing to give up. No reason to exist.
“No. We didn’t. We don’t know what caused that.”
She shook her head as her eyes filled with tears. She’d wanted him to admit it. But he didn’t. “You’re lying,” she insisted, even though it was ridiculous. She wanted him to be lying. She wanted to be able to get to her sister and bring her home.
He shook his head. “That wasn’t part of the plan, but it doesn’t matter because it’s done. Look, do you want to live or not?”
She hesitated to answer. After how close she came to dying just now... If that bomb had been further down the mall... Was she prepared for death?
He sighed. “This isn’t a game. If you want to survive, you have to play by their rules.”
Shooting him a sharp look, she asked, “Whose rules?”
Before she knew what was happening, he pressed her up against the side of the mall and kissed her. Stunned, she didn’t push him away. How could she? She didn’t have time to think.
He wasn’t demanding in the kiss, though he was insistent that the kiss happen. His hands settled on her hips, and that was when she thought to push him away. His mouth left hers and traveled the length of her jaw and to her neck. Her heart raced, even as she figured that she would be able to push him away once she caught her breath.
He brought his lips to her ear. “We’re being watched. There are cameras everywhere. Listening devices. You’re being monitored. You have to be careful.”
Her eyes flew open and a chill raced up her spine. A warning. She turned her head and saw that a security guard was watching.
Devon let go of her and stepped away and coughed. Giving the older man a sheepish grin, he said, “Sorry. Didn’t see you there.”
The guard gave a stiff nod. “Save it for the bedroom.”
She looked at Devon. He was lying. He knew the guard was there the whole time. It’d all been a show. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or upset. So he hadn’t been trying to take liberties with her...but then, what man ever had? She sighed and rubbed her head. Her mind was a jumbled mess. So much was happening at once, and too many thoughts went in circles through her head. What did it matter? What did any of it matter anymore?
The guard motioned for them to join him. “Right now, I need everyone where I can get your names. Got to separate the living from the dead.”
Dead? She glared at Devon who ignored her. Instead, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. He glanced at her and said, “Go on ahead, sweetie. I’ll catch up to you.”
She stared at him for a moment and asked the guard, “Some people died in that explosion?”
“So far we have two confirmed bodies,” he replied. “Come on. I can’t be over here forever.”
Resisting the urge to slap the phone out of Devon’s hands, she stormed passed him and followed the guard, aware that Devon walked, not far behind.
As she made her way into the crowd of the parking lot, her eyes caught sight of a light post. A camera sat at the top of it. She blinked. Then her gaze shifted to another post. It didn’t have a camera, but the one further down did. She shivered and crossed her arms, as if doing so would ward off the growing sense of dread sinking into her.
It was quickly dawning on her that the world she thought she lived in wasn’t anything like she believed it to be. Aliens, Area 51, cameras, listening devices, being monitored, led to believe terrorist attacks were real when they were being staged to sway public opinion, demons, angels, heaven, hell... Her head hurt. Just what was real and what was an illusion?
Chapter Thirteen
The phone rang. Devon rolled over in his bed and tapped the snooze button on his alarm clock. Another shrill ring echoed through the dark room. Realizing it was the phone, he picked it up. “Hello?”
“Devon Patrick?”
His eyes fle
w open and he sat up in bed. “Yes.”
“Code?”
He didn’t want to give it. He knew where this was headed, and he hated it.
“Patrick?”
Taking a deep breath, he gripped the bed sheets and said, “234-712.”
“You are due to report to Dulce at 1500 today.” Then the man hung up.
A cold shiver snaked its way up Devon’s spine as he hung up the phone. Dulce, New Mexico—a place he wished he’d never have to go to again. And yet, General McHenry gave the order. That meant he had to do it, whether he wanted to or not.
He sat still for a moment, staring at the mirror across the room. How did he end up in this nightmare? Sighing, he rubbed his eyes. He could do this. He’d done it before. It hadn’t killed him. At least not yet. Forcing his mind off of what was to come, he got out of bed and went to the bathroom where he turned on the water in the shower.
He closed the door and searched the room but didn’t find any bugs. So they hadn’t been back. That was good. It meant they didn’t suspect anything. Maybe he was getting better at this. He threw off his night clothes, wrapped a towel around his waist and left the room so he could retrieve his cell phone. Dialing a number he wanted them to know about, he also grabbed a new bottle of shampoo from the linen closet at the end of the hallway.
“This better be good, Patrick,” his boss muttered in the phone.
“General McHenry called. I’m due to Dulce at 3 pm today.”
“Oh. In that case, I’ll let you live for waking me up.”
It was a half-hearted joke, and Devon didn’t bother laughing as if he was amused. There was nothing funny about any of this, but what could he do? He needed to obey orders.
He entered the bathroom and shut the door. The running water masked some of what his boss said, but his boss would be giving him the usual spiel about how he was doing what was best for the country. Devon set the shampoo on the counter by the sink and waited until his boss was done before he thanked him and hung up.
Return of the Aliens Page 8