Return of the Aliens

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  “144,” the girl replied, still looking forward.

  “And of 55?”

  “3,025.”

  Several people murmured in awe.

  The General stepped aside. “Thomas, run the perimeter of this room.”

  Devon had enough time to blink twice before the eight year old was back at the front of the room.

  “Susan,” the General asked, “how high can you jump?”

  One moment, Susan was on the stage, and then she was hanging onto a light fixture. She returned back to her spot on the stage in one fluid movement, her eyes fixed on some unseen object at the back of the room, much like she had before.

  The General smiled at the crowd. “She can go higher than that, but you get my point.” He cleared his throat. “Jeffrey, recite for me the tenth chapter of Nicolo Machiavelli’s The Prince.”

  The boy who appeared to be around eleven, spoke up. “It is necessary to consider another point in examining the character of these principalities: that is, whether a prince has such power that, in case of need, he can support himself with his own resources, or whether he has always need of the assistance of others. And to make this quite clear—”

  “Thank you, Jeffrey,” the General intervened, raising his hand to stop the boy. “You did perfectly.”

  The boy gave a slight nod but didn’t show any other reaction that might indicate a sense of pleasure in being able to accomplish such a great feat for a child.

  “Would anyone like to ask him to quote from another book?” the General asked the crowd. “Pick any book you like. The children are well versed in them all.”

  No one volunteered a book, but was there a need to? The General had proven his point. These children were little encyclopedias with bodies able to perform impossible tasks. Judging from the way the oldest boy was no longer showing any signs he’d even been shot, Devon concluded that nothing could kill them either.

  There were adults with these capabilities infiltrated in societies all over the world as well? Devon thought he was going to be sick. Just how many of these super soldiers were there? And what did this mean for regular, ordinary people like him and Vanessa? He dared a look in her direction, and she appeared as bewildered as he felt.

  “The attack last night showed us what the greys intended all along.” The General walked to the podium and opened a small case.

  Devon squinted but couldn’t see what the General held up.

  “Sergeant, do you mind?” the General asked someone in the back of the room.

  Devon glanced over his shoulder as the woman pressed a button that lowered a screen from the ceiling. The screen magnified the small rectangular object in the General’s hand.

  “It’s so small you hardly notice it,” he said. “It’s an RFID chip. This will stop the greys from removing anyone else from Earth. But, of course, we need it to do more than that. Let’s be realistic. The only way you’re going to survive in this new world of ten million super soldiers is to be their superiors. The super soldiers will keep order in our world, but we will be their rulers.”

  Ten million people just like those children were spread out across the world? Devon knew that was a small number compared to how many people were still left on the planet, but ten million of these super people was an impressive number.

  “In addition to giving you superhuman abilities,” the General continued, “it has the potential to prolong your lifespan. The chip will target health problems at the cellular level so you’ll never get sick. Aging doesn’t have to be a problem either. Hypothetically, you could live forever.”

  But what about the elite who wanted to destroy most of the population? Devon couldn’t see that the elite would sanction this chip, especially if it came with superhuman abilities. The pieces of the puzzle didn’t fit, and that led him to an even greater sense that something wasn’t right. There were too many lies, too many red flags. How was a person supposed to decipher the truth against all the rampant deception?

  The General put the chip back into the container and the screen returned to its spot in the ceiling. “As government employees, you’ll have the first chance to receive these chips. We’ll start injections in a month. After that, we’ll open this up to the public. Any questions?”

  A man in the middle of the room raised his hand.

  “Yes?” the General asked.

  The man stood and straightened his suit jacket. “Will these chips be mandatory?”

  “No. Those who don’t wish to receive theirs may decline. However, be aware of what you’ll be turning down. Can you afford not to take it when the rest of the world is advancing?”

  This time a woman raised her hand, so he motioned to her.

  She eased out of her seat. “What does this have to do with the Annunaki? The leader who arrived said he came to bring peace, but you’re talking about war.”

  “Yes. Well, you can’t have peace until after the war. The greys are coming back, and when they do, there will be more of them. The leader of the Annunaki has promised to ensure that humans will not war with other humans. Any other questions?”

  Another woman raised her hand. “How can we believe the Annunaki when we couldn’t believe the greys?”

  “Well, they stopped the greys from destroying us. Not only that, but as of one hour ago, the Annunaki uncovered one of the locations where the greys took a thousand people who vanished last night.”

  At this announcement, Devon straightened in his seat. So people who vanished were being found?

  Another person raised his hand, but the General said, “Let me guess. Where were those people taken? Aboard one of the greys’ ships. Unfortunately, the people didn’t survive the crash when the greys were defeated. We are looking at the remains of the rest of their ships to see if we can account for others who disappeared. There is a hypothesis that some people were taken to the grey home world. The Annunaki are looking into that as we speak.”

  A somber silence hung over the room, and Devon didn’t know what to think. Could it be that everyone who vanished was aboard those ships? But for what purpose?

  “The super soldiers are designed to protect us,” the General continued, “and the chip implant will ensure no one is removed from the Earth. We are taking every measure we can to protect everyone. Are there any other questions?”

  No one else raised a hand so he dismissed the meeting.

  As the people began to file out of the room, Vanessa asked, “Do you think the chip is worth taking?”

  “I don’t know.” Devon shook his head, feeling more confused than ever. Was this real? Could demons disguised as greys remove people from the Earth? Were the Annunaki angels in disguise? He hadn’t seen one, so he had no idea, but then, he hadn’t been able to see demons and angels until last night, and never once had a grey appeared as a demon to him. It seemed the more he learned, the less he knew until it occurred to him that he didn’t know anything anymore.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Autumn stood outside Alicia’s apartment and dialed her number for the tenth time that morning. Still no answer. Grunting, she hung up and dialed Alex’s cell.

  This time he picked up on the second ring.

  “Oh, Alex, thank God!” She brushed her hair back from her face and wiped the tears from her eyes. “You’re still here.”

  “Yeah. Hey, I’m sorry I didn’t answer your calls sooner, but I had to talk to my psychiatrist,” he said.

  She winced. After all he’d been through, this was the last thing he needed. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m great.”

  Her eyebrows furrowed at his cheerful tone. “Great?” Alex hadn’t felt great since he last saw her sister. “Alex, do you know that more people vanished last night?”

  “Yeah, but everything’s going to be okay.”

  What was going on? “How can you say everything’s okay? We got attacked last night from those…” She paused, knowing very well he would only laugh if she called them what they really were. “Those thin
gs destroyed the capitol of every country on this planet, the leaders are dead, and more people disappeared. How can you say everything’s okay?” Now that she thought about it, it was amazing the mall was even opened today. What were businesses still doing operating?

  “We have to meet. I can explain everything better in person than on the phone. Want to have lunch?”

  Her initial reaction was to say no. Everything was tossed up into the air and all he could think about was food? But she needed to know why he could be so upbeat. “Okay. Yeah, I’ll meet you for lunch.”

  “Perfect. See you at the usual spot.”

  She nodded and hung up. Then she turned and peered through the small window in Alicia’s kitchen. If she saw things correctly, there was a half-eaten dinner left on the small table. The sunlight bouncing off the window pane made it hard to tell for sure, but she was sure that’s what it was.

  A car pulled up in front of the apartment building. Glancing over her shoulder, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the apartment manager getting out of his sedan. She ran down the steps to meet him.

  “You think one of my tenants might have vanished?” he asked as he closed the car door.

  “Yes. She’s my co-worker. She was supposed to be at work this morning but never made it. I’ve been calling and knocking on her door, but there’s been no answer. That’s not like her.”

  He took out his notepad. “This is Alicia Knight’s apartment, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  He walked up the stairs with her and stopped at Alicia’s door. As he slipped the key into the lock, the door opened. “This isn’t a good sign,” he said as he pushed the door open. “If she left home, she would have locked it, right?”

  The knots in her stomach tightened. “Right. Alicia was good about being careful.”

  She followed him inside and felt a fresh wave of tears spring to her eyes. Alicia had been eating, and her phone was off the hook. Her TV was turned on in the living room. While the manager investigated the rest of the apartment, Autumn watched the news.

  On the screen was an imposing figure of a man, or what looked to be a man, who was stunningly beautiful, for lack of a better term. He had golden blond hair, high cheekbones, a classical nose, and a strong build. She almost laughed at his clothing, which was reminiscent of the Greek and Roman tradition. The group of thirteen equally beautiful men and women around him wore the same garb. The caption rolling across the bottom of the screen announced the need to prepare for a second grey alien invasion.

  The manager returned to the living room and sighed. “Unfortunately, I think she disappeared with the others last night.”

  Though she expected it, it still hurt. First her sister. Now her friend. Would they all end up disappearing until there was no one left? Shivering, she crossed her arms and asked, “Do you have any idea what happened to those people?”

  “The new aliens say the people were abducted by the greys. The new alien leader, An, says he came with his kind in order to help us.”

  “An?” That was an odd name. “Is that his first or last name?”

  He shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe aliens don’t have last names.”

  “But they don’t look like aliens. I mean, they aren’t anything like the greys.”

  “Nope. These guys came from Nibiru. I believe they said in ancient times their planet was called Marduk.”

  She rubbed her temples. When she got to her car, the first thing she was going to do was smoke a cigarette. “I think I’m going crazy.”

  He laughed. “I don’t blame you. It’s a lot to take in at once. Even I don’t know if I believe them. The idea of warring alien species coming here to Earth is a little far-fetched to me.” He shrugged. “Anyway, I’m sorry about your friend.”

  “Thanks.” What else could she say? The manager was nice enough to come out when she called him. “I guess I’ll call my boss and tell him not to expect her to come to work.”

  With a grim nod, he joined her in walking out of the apartment. She went to her car and slipped into her seat. She started the engine and, for the first time, turned on the radio to listen to the news instead of music. Taking out a cigarette, she lit it up and slowly inhaled.

  Why didn’t the angel show up? She exhaled and listened to the radio, wondering exactly what An meant by ensuring the security of mankind, and despite what he said, she doubted those who were left were lucky.

  Perhaps the only actual newsworthy thing was the announcement that An was turning over all of Israel to the Jews. This was a day she never thought she’d see, and had the Arabs not taken such a hard hit during the previous night’s attack, there might have been a greater outcry from the Palestinians.

  She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel and rubbed her forehead. If the greys were demons, then did that mean these new aliens were also of nebulous origin? She closed her eyes and willed the angel to appear, but when she opened them and looked at the empty seat next to her, she knew he wasn’t going to show up. Putting her cigarette out in the ashtray, she shifted the car into drive and headed to the restaurant to meet Alex for lunch.

  As she drove there, she continued to listen to the news, grudgingly admitting she should have been paying attention to world events sooner. It took her longer to get to the restaurant since there were two checkpoints she had to go through to show her ID.

  Once she pulled into a spot in the parking lot, she got out of the car and walked up to the entrance of the restaurant. She stopped and read the sign on the door that said cash would no longer be accepted. This she expected, thanks to her last trip here, but other places were doing this as well. She supposed it was just a matter of time before Hampton installed the no cash policy, though he claimed he was fighting against it. Autumn sighed. It was just a matter of time before cash wasn’t good for anything.

  After she entered the restaurant, she went to the booth where Alex was waiting for her. While his attention was on the menu, she paused and took a moment to absorb the drastic change in him. The difference wasn’t in his appearance. He wore a nice suit, his hair was neatly combed to the side, and he was clean shaven. But the way he sat and smiled spoke volumes in how he felt. No more slouching or looking as if he hadn’t gotten enough sleep. In his new posture, she detected confidence that had been lacking before, even when he was engaged to her sister. He looked the same on the outside, and yet, he wasn’t the same person.

  “Alex, wow,” Autumn finally said as she sat across from him. “I hardly recognized you.”

  Placing the menu down on the table in front of him, he smiled and leaned forward. “I know. I hardly recognize myself. I’m a new man, Autumn. The alien that showed up at my apartment last night changed me.”

  “Alien? You mean the same thing that’s been hovering around your bed?”

  He shook his head. “This was a new one. A good one. She got rid of the bad one. Did you hear about the new ones on the news? The aliens from the tenth planet have come back to save us.”

  “Uh…” She fingered her menu, uncertain of how to respond. “I heard something about it.” And what little she heard probably wasn’t enough to make a conclusion about everything that was going on. It was happening so fast. If only things would slow down, she might be able to take a step back and properly assess the whole situation. As it was, she felt as if she was trapped in a swirling onslaught of events.

  “One of those aliens came to me last night. She said she was the Annunaki. I had to do some research on that term when I got up this morning.” He laughed. “It’s the weirdest thing, you know. I got less sleep last night than I’ve been getting for a long time, but today I feel more awake and energetic than I’ve ever felt before. It’s like I don’t need a full eight hours of sleep anymore. I could probably do fine with a couple of hours.”

  “So you fell asleep right after meeting this—” she tried to remember the exact term he used—“Annuaki?”

  “Annunaki. There’s an ‘n’ in the middle. Yeah, after sh
e got rid of the grey alien and healed me, I went right to sleep. Hey, Autumn, I had a brain tumor, and it was malignant.”

  “What? But how could you know? And what do you mean had?”

  “She showed me what was wrong with me and healed me. That’s why I’ve been hearing all those voices and had all that other weird stuff going on.”

  She bit her lower lip and tried to decide if she believed that or not. How could he be sure he had a tumor? And how could this…alien…show it to him?

  “I think they did something to me at Area 51 that gave me the tumor,” he said, his tone turning serious. “I wasn’t the same after that.”

  “You weren’t the same after my sister vanished. The grey alien was tormenting you at that time, remember?”

  “And it wanted me to go to Area 51. Now I know why. I told you I had those nightmares where I remembered parts of that time down there. They ran experiments on me.”

  Sighing, she nodded. She didn’t think she’d ever stop feeling guilty for not insisting they return to North Dakota.

  He reached across the table and took her hand in his. “It’s okay, Autumn. It’s not your fault. I’m the one who chose to go there, and I would have gone with or without you.”

  “Can you read minds now?” she asked, making a lame attempt at humor.

  Chuckling, he squeezed her hand before letting it go. “No, of course not. I just know you beat yourself up over that. As your friend, I’m telling you it was my decision. I take full responsibility for it.”

  Their server hurried over to them and pulled out her pad. Her face was flushed and she was out of breath. “Good afternoon. My name is Tonya. Our specials today are the potato and cheese soup, the roast beef sandwich, and the chicken and dumplings dinner. Would you like to try one?”

  Autumn blinked. The woman went so fast, she didn’t have time to assimilate anything she said.

  “I guess with the second round of vanishings, you have to work twice as hard today, huh?” Alex asked.

  Their server exhaled and nodded. “It’s been crazy here. We lost two employees last night, and I’ve been working nonstop.”