Return of the Aliens

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  “When do you think you’ll get the results?”

  “In about a week. I’ll give you a call when they’re in and we’ll talk about things then.”

  Alex nodded. He glanced at the clock and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his time was up. “I see it’s five.”

  He looked at his watch. “So it is.” He stood up and led Alex to the door.

  After Dr. Reyes turned the knob, Alex walked by him and into the lobby.

  Kill her.

  Alex spun around so he could see the doctor. “What did you say?”

  “I didn’t say anything,” Dr. Reyes replied.

  Alex stared at him for a moment, trying to gauge whether or not the man told the truth.

  “Alex, are you alright?”

  His eyes met Dr. Reyes’ and he shrugged. Dr. Reyes didn’t appear as if he was toying with him. Finally deciding he’d imagined the voice, Alex shrugged. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.” Then he turned and left the building.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Autumn parked her car in front of the zoo entrance and noted the Christmas displays that lined the path further down where people drove their cars and took pictures. She hesitated to turn off her car where it was nice and toasty, but a knock on her window took her attention off that matter. She saw Devon at the passenger window.

  She almost didn’t roll the window down, but the angel appeared next to her in the seat. “It’s safe. Let him in.” Then he vanished.

  With a slight grimace, she unlocked the car door so Devon could get in.

  Devon shut the door and rubbed his hands together. “It’s really beginning to feel like the holidays, huh?”

  She was sure the look she gave him expressed her desire to be anywhere than here with him.

  He seemed to catch on for he got serious and pulled something out of his pocket before he set it on the dashboard. She wondered what it was but decided she didn’t care. She had nothing to hide. She wasn’t the one who was going around putting implants into people’s bodies at Area 51 or bombing places to get people’s attention off the aliens.

  “Do you have a cell phone on you?” he asked.

  “Sure. Who doesn’t this day in age?”

  “Can I see it?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Why?” Was he planning to hurt her? Did she know too much and it was his job to do the assassination?

  “I’ll explain in a moment.”

  She quickly debated whether or not this was a good idea. The angel was insistent she talk to Devon. Didn’t that mean she could trust Devon not to harm her? With a sigh, she took her cell phone out of her purse and handed it to him. “It’s off.”

  “That doesn’t matter.” He took something thin and black out of his coat pocket and scanned the phone with it. “Now they can’t hear what we have to say.”

  “What is that?” she asked, motioning to the strange device.

  “I have a flight to catch at ten. I don’t have time to explain everything.”

  She frowned. “Then why did you ask to meet me?”

  “Because I have a feeling that what you know is something that can’t wait.” He glanced out the front window before he asked, “Is the black shadow with me right now?” His eyes met hers and he waited for her response.

  She scanned the area around him and shook her head. “No.” She turned her attention to outside the car where the angel seemed to be holding something back. In the dark, it was hard to make out the shadowy figure, but it became clear soon enough why Devon didn’t have the demon lurking by him. “The angel has the demon away from you at the moment.”

  She waited for him to laugh and tell her she was nuts, but he didn’t. Instead, he asked, “How do I get rid of it?”

  “You believe me?”

  With a shrug, he answered, “There was something in that hospital when I saw you, and it spoke to me. Well, it tried to speak to me. It said I don’t have to be a pawn. Do you know what it meant?”

  “Before I answer your questions, I need you to answer mine.” There was no way she was going to tell him everything she knew and risk him running off. Right now, the angel was her only bargaining chip, and she had to use it. “What’s going on with the aliens? Who are they and what do they really want?”

  “Fair enough. The aliens are here to take back the planet. They were here before we were, and they want us removed, with the exception of the humans who’ll do what they want. Those people will be the slave race. The people who agree to do what the aliens want will be allowed to live, and those who resist will be sent to the internment camps.”

  “Internment camps?”

  “In this country, they’re FEMA camps.”

  She thought she’d heard the term FEMA before but couldn’t place it.

  As if he could read her mind, he explained, “FEMA handles disasters. They’re a part of the government that aids clean up and handing out food after hurricanes and earthquakes and other acts of God, or what’s supposed to be acts of God.”

  “What does that have to do with interment camps?”

  “Let’s say you have a disaster. Your house is flooded out and you have nowhere to go. The people from FEMA come along and offer a place for you to stay while you get back on your feet. Will you go?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t get what’s so bad about that, but obviously there is if you’re bringing it up.”

  “When you get to these camps, you’ll find people will be separated out. Those who are deemed productive and are compliant with the alien’s wishes will be put into temporary trailers and work until they can return to the outside where they will be tracked to make sure they remain compliant. Those who are too feeble and weak will be quietly disposed of. Those who are resistant or question what’s going on will either be brainwashed or disposed of. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

  She glanced out the window where two angels now stood. One angel was aggressively holding the demon back while her angel nodded at her. Turning back to Devon, she uneasily said, “The angel indicated that you’re telling me the truth. So those who oppose the aliens will die?”

  “Yes. That’s why we’re using the sound waves to keep people in a false sense of security. The more people who remain calm, the better their chances are of surviving.”

  “A better chance? What do you mean by that?”

  “A certain percentage of the population has to die off. You see, right now the Earth is too populated. There are way too many people for them to control. Since the last century, the governments have been working under the radar to help kill off segments of the population, and they’ve taken measures to do this so that when the time came for the aliens to arrive, the task would be less daunting.”

  “They do this through internment camps?”

  “They’ve done it through camps in Germany and China. Russia used its KGB to kill off a lot of their people. But there are other ways they’re doing it. The food and drinks are made of high fructose corn syrup which increases diabetes, damages the liver and pancreas, and increases heart problems. They’re putting fluoride in the water which leads to more health problems like kidney damage and thyroid problems, and fluoride’s been known to lower IQs. The real purpose of vaccines is to sterilize people. Why do you think they target pregnant women and children? The point is, it is all about population control. The larger the population, the harder it is to control. And if they can’t control you by dumbing you down, they’ll try to introduce something that could sterilize you or give you health problems.”

  “So what does that have to do with bombing places?”

  He sighed. “People will give up their freedom in exchange for security. If people feel that their lives are at risk, they’ll accept surveillances. Congress doesn’t need your permission to listen in on your conversations. Even when your cell phone is turned off, they can hear what you’re saying. Cameras are on just about every streetlight and in all the parking lots to keep track of where you’re going. Everything you do on
line is kept in a database. The move to paperless money is to track your expenses. Soon everything will have an electronic component to it. Before long, they’ll make everyone wear ID tags in order to buy or sell anything. It’s all under the guise of keeping you safe from terrorists, but the reality is that you’re in a police state and you don’t even know it. They tell you that it’s all in place to keep you safe. What so few realize is that being safe means they’re going to be slaves.”

  She didn’t know how to respond. What could she possibly say? She took another look at the angel who didn’t deny what Devon was telling her, and if she saw right, two more angels had appeared to ward off another demon who had come. She groaned. Just what she wanted to see: a spiritual gathering taking place right by her car.

  She turned to Devon who had a somber expression on his face. “Do you see what’s going on over there?” She pointed to the assembly.

  He squinted and waited for a minute before he answered her. “There’s something different in the air. It’s like a ripple with a flash weaving in and out of it.” He glanced at her. “What am I supposed to see?”

  “Two demons and three angels. That demon isn’t going to let you go without a fight.”

  He shivered. “This whole notion of angels and demons is...almost ludicrous.”

  “Yeah...well...welcome to my world. Ever since those people vanished, I’ve become aware of the spiritual world around us.”

  “So how do I get rid of it? I don’t want that thing hovering over me for the rest of my life.”

  She gave her angel an expectant look.

  The angel motioned for her to roll down her window.

  Surprised, she obeyed.

  He walked over to the car, his white wings seeming to grow out of his back as he came closer.

  Devon sharply inhaled.

  “Do you see all of him?” she asked Devon.

  Devon’s gaze went to her before he stared at the angel again. “Blond hair, white clothes, and white wings? He almost seems to glow?”

  “Yes. That’s how he looks.”

  The angel stopped by her door.

  Devon leaned toward her, his eyebrows furrowed as he watched the angel.

  “You want to know how to make the demon go away?” the angel asked Devon.

  Devon’s gaze shifted to her, and she caught the surprise in his eyes.

  “He could hear us talk,” she explained to Devon. “You should talk to him.”

  “What I have to say is for you as well,” the angel said. “The time is quickly approaching when you both will have to make a decision. The war that was once in Heaven has now come to Earth, and Satan is wasting no time in gathering his allies.”

  Devon laughed. “Satan? As in the devil?”

  “Is there another Satan?” The angel looked Devon straight in the eye, and Devon stopped laughing. “You want the demon to leave you alone? Then choose God. Otherwise, the demon will stay with you.”

  Uncertainty crossed Devon’s face.

  The angel turned his gaze to her. “You won’t see Marianne again unless you also make the choice for Him.” He reached out and touched the cross that hung on Marianne’s necklace. “Your sister’s been spared from what’s to come, but her faith can’t save you.”

  “Save me from what? The demons?”

  “From the great deception,” he answered.

  Before she could ask for clarification, all the angels and demons disappeared.

  “Is he still there?” Devon asked.

  She sighed. “No. And yes, he often leaves me wondering what else there is, so don’t be surprised he left before we could ask what the great deception is.”

  “Cliffhangers are my life.”

  She wanted to ask him what he meant by that, but he glanced at his watch.

  “I better go. I have a flight to catch.”

  “Wait!” She grabbed his arm before he could open the door. “What happened at Area 51 with my friend?”

  “What friend?”

  “Alex Cameron. You injected him with something. What was it and what else did you do to him?”

  He hesitated.

  “Don’t I already know too much to turn back?” she demanded.

  “You can’t tell others this.”

  “Alex is my friend, and he’s being tormented by an alien. I owe it to him to help him. I got the angel’s answer, but I need to know what you did to him at Area 51.”

  With a heavy sigh, he said, “His genes are ideal for hybrid offspring. We extracted his sperm to make a baby with alien DNA. What the aliens did to him, I don’t know. Then I was to tag him with an implant so we can keep track of him.”

  “What?” She shook her head as she battled the mixture of rage and shock that coursed through her. “A baby?”

  “A super soldier.” He glanced at his watch again. “Look, that baby is humanity’s best hope. My work at Area 51 isn’t as nebulous as you think, but I can’t get into all of that now. I really have to go. If you want, I can explain more to you when I get back in two days. If I don’t make my flight, there will be questions, and those questions can lead them to you. You don’t want that.”

  He took his device off the dashboard and slipped it into his pocket. Then he opened the car door. “I’ll find you at work.” He shut the door and ran to his car.

  Too stunned to do anything, she stared at the spot where the angels and demons had been moments ago. Super soldiers? What in the world were super soldiers? And what did that have to do with angels and demons or the great deception?

  More questions. It seemed to her that the further ahead she got, the more she didn’t understand. She released her breath and grabbed her purse to find a cigarette. If this was the end of the world, she saw no reason to quit smoking. Right now, it was the only thing that kept her hanging on. She lit up her cigarette and finished smoking half of it before she felt calm enough to drive home.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Alex looked at the bottle of pills in his hand. Just the thought of taking more of them made his heart race with dread. He didn’t care what the list of side effects said. These pills made him hear voices. He’d skipped taking them that morning to see if the voices would stop and they had. Most of it was garbled, except for the random occurrences where he was told to kill someone. A female. It was always whispering, Kill her. He had no idea who “her” was, nor did he want to find out.

  He put the bottle back in the medicine cabinet and slowly stepped back from it. He didn’t have to take the pills. Everything was in his mind. He was sure of it. The alien didn’t always appear when he didn’t take them. Maybe he imagined it. Maybe there was no alien hovering by him. Like Dr. Reyes said, he’d had no marks to leave physical evidence to prove an alien tried to strangle him. That alone was enough to know it was all in his mind.

  Mind over matter. He could beat this thing. He could. It was all a matter of getting control of his thoughts and fears instead of the thoughts and fears controlling him.

  The door to the medicine cabinet closed, and Alex saw his reflection in the mirror. He breathed a sigh of relief. No alien. It was just him. There. That proved it. He hadn’t taken a single pill since he woke up, and the voices stopped and the alien hadn’t returned. Closing his eyes, he took deep breaths to slow his heart. Tentatively, he opened his eyes. No alien. With a grateful laugh, he turned and saw no alien hanging out in his bedroom either. Good. Finally, things were beginning to feel normal. He was getting control of his life again.

  Turning off the bathroom light, he retired to his bed.

  ***

  “Flight 876 going to Minneapolis/St. Paul is now boarding passengers in rows 10 through 15.”

  Devon grabbed his eReader and stood to wait in line. On the TV monitor by the chairs where several people watched in shock, he saw images of Israel attacking Iran and Iran’s retaliation. The aliens would jump in and save the day. Then people would beg for the one world government to come in and save them from annihilation. The aliens woul
d be the heroes and people would gladly submit to them, and by the time they woke up and realized who they submitted to, it would be too late. The position of power and control would be firmly in place. Those who dissented would be removed, and when that happened, Devon would make use of his cabin.

  He glanced at the eReader in his hand. The book he’d been reading would soon be banned. He was surprised it hadn’t been already. That book taught that man had a right to freedom. It spoke of redemption. It spoke of man inheriting the Earth. It had the message the aliens wouldn’t want people promoting. But then, why should he be surprised? The Bible was the most controversial book ever written.

  Devon walked up to the woman at the gate and showed her his ticket. She nodded, smiled, and directed him to the doorway that led to his plane.

  ***

  Autumn picked up the phone on the third ring. “Alicia?”

  “Girl, where have you been? I’ve been calling you all night.”

  “Yeah, well, I had to meet someone and then get something to eat. Do you know they aren’t taking cash anywhere now? It’s a good thing I got a debit card.”

  “Haven’t you been listening to the radio?”

  Realizing her friend sounded scared, she dropped her purse and coat to the floor and went over to the TV so she could turn it on. “No. What’s wrong? Did Israel strike Iran?”

  “Yes. No one expected it. I mean, they were supposed to have talks tomorrow, you know?”

  Autumn’s mouth went dry when she saw the breaking news on the TV screen. It was eerily reminiscent of the day her sister vanished, only this time, there was a war raging in the Middle East. She gripped the phone in her hands. “Iran is going to set off a nuclear bomb?”

  “Yeah, and the Russians are telling Israel to stop attacking Iran, but Israel won’t back off until Iran does. Why aren’t the aliens stopping this? I thought they came to help us reach our potential,” she cried.

  Autumn watched as the camera settled on the white house in Washington DC. The alien craft that hovered above it seemed to be glowing. She squinted. Had it done that before?

  The reporter spoke into his microphone and glanced at the camera, looking as alarmed as Autumn felt. “The president and vice president are evacuating the capitol. Other leaders of the world are heading for their respective places as well.”