“She’s not human.”
Vanessa’s eyes widened. “She’s an alien?”
He nodded. “Yes, but she’s a Reptoid.”
“There are different types?”
“Yes.”
She rested her head against the back of her seat as the pilot backed the airplane out of the gate. “What’s going to happen to us, Devon?”
“I don’t know.” He shook his head, recalling what Keegan told him. Something big was coming. What could be bigger than what they’d just been through? With a heavy sigh, he repeated, “I don’t know”, and remained silent for the rest of the flight.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The next morning
Autumn didn’t know if she should return to work or not, but she had no idea what else to do. Everything had taken on a surreal turn. She should have been prepared for it. After all, if one group of aliens came to Earth, what made her think that another race didn’t exist? Just as she saw the blond haired, blue-eyed man—who looked like he walked out of a modeling magazine—on her television, all communication in her apartment went out.
She tried calling Alicia back the night before, but the lines remained down. Her Internet was down. Her cable was off. Police sirens wailed in the area, but she figured that had to do with all the commotion with the blue light and new alien species. The night left her exhausted, so she went to bed, assuming soon enough, she’d learn what happened.
When she woke up that morning, the first thing she did was smoke a cigarette. She stared at the wall for a good ten minutes afterwards, her mind not on anything in particular. She realized a part of her had shut down. It was all too much to take in. She picked up the phone, noted the dial tone, and tried to call Alex and Alicia. Neither answered their phones.
After Autumn got ready for the day, she headed on in to work. When she drove into the mall parking lot and produced her driver’s license to the security guard, he stated her name into the cell phone he had up to his ear.
“Excuse me,” she began as he handed her the license back, “you never did that before. What’s going on?”
“You mean, you haven’t heard?”
“Heard what?”
“There’s been a second vanishing.”
“What?” More people disappeared for no reason at all?
“It happened at the same time the blue light showed up in the sky. You saw it, didn’t you?”
She blinked and stared dumbly at him for a couple of seconds. “Well, yes. It was hard to miss.”
“Exactly. At that moment, more people vanished, like the ones before.”
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she dared to ask, “Do you know why?”
“Not yet. But I think there are less people who were taken this time because everything is relatively calm. I’m helping to report those who are still here. That’s why I got this cell phone.” When she stared at him, he continued, “You asked about the phone, remember?”
Blinking, she shook her head. “Right. Yes.” Glancing in her rearview mirror at the line of cars behind her, she thanked him and drove forward.
Another vanishing? More people missing? What was going on? She parked her car and stared out the window, watching others as they walked into the mall but not really seeing them. How many more vanishings would take place? Were they all doomed? Would people continue to disappear until there was no one left?
She glanced at the seat next to her, expecting the angel to appear, but she was alone. Of course. Why should he show up to explain anything to her? He rarely gave her full answers anyway. If she asked him anything, he’d probably speak in such a way that’d leave her with more questions.
Reluctant, she stepped out of her car and headed for the mall, noting that most people were actually concerned this time. A group of them were hovering by a large wall, so she veered off her usual course to see what held their attention. In front of her was a display of pictures. Some of the people gathered together were crying and talking on their cell phones or hugging others for support. This was what she expected would happen when her sister vanished, and yet it hadn’t happened then. But it was happening now?
She looked over her shoulder and really saw the other people for the first time that morning. Grief. Anger. Shock. Emotion. People had real emotions this time instead of the dumbed-down state they’d been in before. It was as if someone, or something, switched their minds back on. Then she recalled what she’d overheard in the State Capitol about putting the masses to sleep. They were using sound waves to lull people into a false sense of security.
They must have removed those sound waves. She couldn’t explain it any other way. This time, they weren’t attempting to put people “to sleep”. This time, for whatever reason, they wanted the people to be aware of what was happening.
Then something else occurred to her. Her headache was gone. She’d been experiencing nonstop headaches and had taken pain pills to get by, but that morning, she didn’t need those pills. So the sound waves were giving her the headaches. She touched her forehead, wondering how she could have been affected like that without even realizing it.
A woman ran up to her with red, puffy eyes. “Have you seen my son?”
Autumn’s gaze fell to the picture of the teenage boy wearing a high school graduation gown and cap. She sighed. “No, I’m sorry.”
The woman thanked her and went to another person.
Autumn hastened into the mall and into the store where she worked. There was barely anyone in the whole department. Even Alicia wasn’t at her usual spot at the cash register. She ran to the employee’s lounge, hoping to find Alicia there, but the small room was empty.
“Oh good. You’re still here.”
She turned and saw Hampton as he leaned on the door frame. “Have you seen Alicia?”
“She didn’t come in at ten when she was supposed to, so I called Katie. She’s on her way.”
Her stomach tightened into an all-too-familiar knot. “Do you think Alicia…” She hated to say it. Alicia never missed a day of work because, as she put it, it was bad for karma.
“Go on over to her place and see if you can find her,” Hampton said.
Surprised, Autumn stared at him. Since when did her boss willingly allow anyone time off for any reason?
He rubbed his eyes. “I don’t buy that those new aliens are any better than the first group that came here, do you?”
“I don’t know what to think. Everything’s happening too fast.”
“Exactly. They’re coming at us from all sides.”
“They?”
“The government. Jeez, Autumn, don’t you watch the news?”
With everything that’d been going on, she hadn’t bothered so she shook her head.
Looking irritated, he crossed his arms and said, “Well, if you ever get a chance, you should. Listen to Martin Conner’s radio show next time you’re in the car. What he discusses will wake you up. There’s more going on in this world than what happens in Bismarck.”
Not appreciating his condescending tone, her face flushed. “I’m well aware of that.”
“Then why don’t you ever watch the news?”
“Maybe I have a life.”
Though he rolled his eyes, he didn’t argue with her. “Whatever’s happening, it’s big. Life as we know it, is over.”
“How?”
“I’m not sure. The fact that everyone is suddenly panicking over their lost loved ones means that this crisis has been planned for a specific reason.”
“You think the governments made all those people disappear?”
“Government. Since you don’t watch the news, you aren’t aware of the one world government that’s been developing right under your nose. And the few who run this government have us exactly where they want us. It’s called order out of chaos, or as those pulling the strings behind the stage call it, ‘Ordo ab Chao’.”
Autumn wished she could smoke in the lounge. Not only did she have to worry about Alicia, but
Hampton was lecturing her! Worse yet, he was blocking the doorway, so she couldn’t get out of there.
“There’s an elite group of people who are the real power behind the governments,” Hampton said. “They have been orchestrating one crisis after another. Then they come up with a solution, and each time they do, they erode our freedoms. We’re at the brink of a one world dictatorship, and when we get there, they will manage all of us like a bunch of slaves. Haven’t you read George Orwell’s’ 1984?”
She sighed. No matter how she answered this, she was screwed. If she said yes, he’d ask her questions about it. If she told him the truth and said no, she was in for it, so she opted for another tactic. “What do the aliens have to do with the one world government?”
“I don’t believe they are creatures from other planets. I think they’re holographic images.”
“Holographic images can’t destroy the capitol building of every country around the world.”
“So you watched the news enough to learn that, hmm?”
She hid her annoyance.
“That one is obvious,” he said. “The government did it under the guise of being aliens. It’s nothing but good cop, bad cop. I used to play that game when I was a kid. You have one group of aliens who are the big bad guys out to destroy us and just when everything looks hopeless, you bring in the good guys who save the day. See? Order out of chaos. Mark my word, Autumn. They’ll find a way to stop people from ‘disappearing’ and everyone will flock to it just so they can be safe. When that happens, our slavery is ensured.”
Throwing her hands up in the air, she grunted. “Fine. You have it all figured out. So where are they? Where are all the people who disappeared?”
“Probably hidden somewhere or dead.”
She gritted her teeth. No. She refused to think her sister, and possibly Alicia, were dead.
“Don’t think the powers that be won’t kill anyone to accomplish their goals, Autumn.” He straightened and put his hands in his pockets. “We’re all disposable. None of us matters in the large scheme of things. We’re all just numbers.”
“You have a rather morbid view on life.”
He shrugged. “One man’s morbid view is another man’s realism. We’re born, we live, we die. End of story.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“No?”
“No. There has to be a purpose to our existence.”
“Really? And what would that be?”
“I don’t know. I never thought about it, but this life can’t be all there is.” Why was she torturing herself by talking to him? She tucked her purse under her arm. “May I go look for Alicia? Maybe she got into an accident on her way to work.”
He finally moved aside. “Go on.”
Taking a deep breath, she headed on out of the lounge, inching away from him as she passed him. As she left the store, she saw Katie. “Good luck. Hampton’s in his usual cheerful mood.”
Katie giggled. “Oh, he’s a big teddy bear deep down.”
Autumn stopped. “How can you be so happy? More people disappeared.”
“I know. We’re lucky the Annunaki came before the greys removed all of us from Earth.” She shivered. “Boy, you think you can trust someone and this is what happens. I seriously thought the greys were our benefactors. They were so convincing. Thankfully, their plan’s been exposed.”
“What plan?”
Katie laughed. “You need to watch the news more.”
So that made it the second time today someone told her to watch the news, and coming from someone much younger than her, it was even more offensive than Hampton’s condescending tone. “For your information, my power went out last night.”
“Everyone’s power went out for awhile,” Katie said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Look, don’t worry about it. Get a mocha, kick back at home, and turn on the TV. Oh wait, you’re a smoker. Even better. Light up and watch TV. It’ll become self-evident.”
Forcing herself to not roll her eyes, Autumn muttered a thank you and headed off. What was there to say to her? In many ways, it was good Hampton would have to deal with her. Those two would balance each other out nicely. Mr. Gloom and Doom and Miss Cheery. If she wasn’t so concerned about Alicia and Alex, she would stay and watch the two in action. Hampton was bound to tell Katie that things weren’t as great as she thought.
Autumn left the mall and dug out her cigarette and lighter. As she lit up, she scanned the crowd of people, wondering if the angel would appear and explain what was going on. But he wasn’t there. It was just as well. With all the people hovering around, she wouldn’t hear much of what he said anyway. She took a puff of her cigarette before she went to her car, hoping she’d find Alicia and Alex so she could put her fears to rest.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Devon glanced at Vanessa as they entered an auditorium at Area 51. This hadn’t happened before, and Keegan hadn’t been with him—not at Area 51. Something was up. He wondered if it had anything to do with the big event Keegan mentioned before he boarded the plane.
Keegan motioned to two seats toward the front of the large room packed with other government employees. Devon guessed there were approximately five hundred people there. This was new. But then, everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours wasn’t in any of the briefings he’d been to. He walked with Vanessa down the aisle and sat down.
Scanning the people, he wondered if anyone else knew what was going on. He realized they were all told what the higher ups wanted them to know. He’d been privy to more information than Vanessa, but it was suddenly dawning on him just how little he knew. Who in the audience knew more than him? And was that person prepared for all of this?
“Do you think they’re going to explain what happened last night?” Vanessa whispered, clenching her hands together.
“I hope so,” he replied.
After five more minutes, a man wearing a service dress uniform strode up to the front of the room where a large curtain hung from the ceiling. He approached the podium and took the microphone. “Good afternoon. I’m General McCormmick. I’m sure many of you have questions about last night and how it ties into what we’re doing here with our experiments.”
Devon shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Something was off. He wondered if anyone else picked up on it, but a quick look through the crowd told him that he seemed to be the only one who noticed it.
“A great war is coming,” the General continued. “It’s not a war between nations. Our enemy will not come from Earth but from above. More greys are coming. In order to prepare for this war, we need better soldiers than those we have.” The General waved to someone who was at the back of the room. “Normal human soldiers can die too easily. Their limitations are too great.”
Devon focused on the General’s words, wondering where he was going with this.
“The children we have created from the people we brought here are very special.”
Vanessa shot Devon a worried look.
He shrugged. What could he tell her?
When the children varying from ages two to seventeen walked down the aisle, Devon looked over at them. He hadn’t seen the children up close. They appeared normal. He didn’t see what was so special about them…until an eleven-year-old boy glanced in his direction with dark eyes that held no trace of humanity in them. Devon leaned away from the children. Though they looked human, he was fully convinced they weren’t. Not fully anyway. He might have had a hand in their conception, but he didn’t understand the full magnitude of what they could do.
Devon scanned the room again, wondering if anyone else noticed how soulless these children were, but no one gave an indication of it. What was wrong with him? Why was he the only one who detected these weird things going on? Well, besides Autumn. She claimed to speak to angels. Had he not seen the spiritual realm for himself, he wouldn’t have believed her. Would she notice something inhuman in these children?
While the group of twenty children made their
way to the front, the General said, “As you know, there are hundreds of children underground. I brought these particular ones here so you can see what they are capable of. I assure you, they are fully capable of handling themselves in any military situation.”
The children lined up in a single row, staring off into the distance as if they were comatose. Devon shivered and crossed his arms. Yeah, they definitely weren’t human. No one stood that straight. They were highly attractive, and maybe that was the problem. They were too perfect. None had any discernable flaws. No blemishes. No ears too big or eyes too small. They were proportioned too exact. It gave Devon the creeps.
“We’ve been giving them advanced hormones to speed up their growth,” the General said. “Once these children become adults, we place them in societies around the world. Such adults are already out there, unaware of who they truly are. At the right time, we will wake up their subconscious minds, and when we do, they will move forward to protect us from annihilation when more of those grey aliens return.”
Annihilation? From more greys…who were really demons? Devon rubbed his eyes, feeling wearier than he could ever remember feeling in his entire life.
The General motioned to a man in the front row. “May I have your gun?”
The man nodded, stood, and handed the gun to the General who turned and pointed it at the oldest boy on the stage. Vanessa gave a slight gasp and held onto Devon’s arm. Devon was too bewildered to react. The General fired the gun five times, aiming at the most critical places on a human being. And yet, the boy stood. Emotionless. Not bleeding. Not in pain. Nothing to indicate he was even aware he’d just been shot in the heart, forehead, stomach, and two lungs.
“Nelly,” the General asked a toddler, “what is the square of 12?”
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