Return of the Aliens

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  “Go home,” the angel told Autumn before he headed into the room.

  As much as Autumn wished to stay and make sure Devon was going to be alright, she knew it was a bad idea to ignore the angel’s warning. She hurried down the hall to go home.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Alex tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair and glanced at the car keys resting on the coffee table. Should he talk to Autumn? Give her a chance to explain things? Maybe he misunderstood what was going on between her and that guy. Maybe he and Autumn didn’t see eye to eye on the implant or spiritual matters, but he and Marianne hadn’t agreed on similar issues and they got along despite their differences.

  As he glanced around his apartment, he thought of how he and Marianne were supposed to get a house shortly after getting married. Sometimes he missed her and the future they were supposed to share together. Even if the Annunaki had come and healed him, there was still the lingering emptiness in his life.

  He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. There was one picture he kept of Marianne, but he didn’t keep it because of her. When he cleaned out his apartment from all memories of his fiancée, he opted to have one last memento of his previous life. In the picture, he had his arm around Marianne’s shoulders, but his gaze went to Autumn who stood to Marianne’s other side. The day had been a nice, sunny one, and they stood in front of the Heritage Center. Autumn looked nothing like her sister. The two were opposites, and that applied to outward appearances as well as their personalities.

  Sighing, he glanced at the phone. Maybe he should call her. Decision made, he grabbed the phone and dialed her cell phone number. Her cell went directly to her voice mail, which meant she had turned off her phone. But that wasn’t so unusual. She could be at work.

  He ended the call and tried to think of what to do. He’d been meaning to get the implant but never seemed to have the time. Maybe he’d get it over with and then try calling her again, or he could stop by the mall and see if she was there. Either way, he figured it was best if they had a long talk.

  Liking that decision, he put his wallet back into his pocket and collected the car keys.

  ***

  The angel passed through one of the nurses who hovered around Devon as the heart monitor showed him that Devon’s heart rate continued to accelerate. He held the shield up as the demons tried to bite and scratch him. They were too low in the ranks to be of any consequence, but he did worry about Keegan. Her rank was above his, and his request for reinforcements was slow in coming. No doubt she’d requested reinforcements as well and fallen angels had come to intercept the angels who’d left the third heaven to help him.

  Readying himself for battle, he touched her shoulder. “You are not authorized to kill him.”

  Keegan spun around in her Reptoid form and hissed at him. “I’m not killing him, you pathetic sniveling coward who willingly bows before Him.”

  “Then what are you doing?” he demanded, watching as Devon struggled to breathe.

  “Healing him. He’s been delivered into my hands for a short time. If you have a problem with it, then go see Him about it.” She turned back to Devon and placed her hands on his chest. A green light surrounded Devon’s body while the nurses used their equipment to stabilize him.

  “Why?” the angel asked.

  When she didn’t answer him, the angel slid his sword under her hands. She howled as it scorched her.

  “I know what your plans are. This isn’t about Devon. He’s already been sealed. You want Autumn.”

  She snarled and knocked him over with one of her wings. He tumbled through the air until he passed through the wall and up into the sky. He adjusted his balance, extending his wings on the wind. Righting himself, he caught sight of the two angels who’d been sent to help him as they battled against the fallen angels who held them at bay.

  Gripping the shield and sword, he flew back down to the hospital room. He pushed through the hordes of demons that seemed too excited over the prospect of healing Devon. Something about the whole thing wasn’t right, but then, anything the fallen angels and demons did wasn’t right.

  He struck Keegan in the back with the sword, backing up in time as she roared and turned to retaliate. She leapt forward, but he flew up in time to avoid her sharp claws.

  Devon’s heart monitor stabilized, and the demons, Keegan, and the angel turned their attention to the nurses who breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Get the doctor,” one of the nurses ordered another nurse.

  Keegan turned to the angel and sneered. “I told you I wasn’t killing him.”

  The angel lifted his shield and sword. “It is in your nature to lie.”

  She advanced, her fangs glistening with slimy saliva.

  The angel tightened his grip and got ready for her attack while the demons hissed a cheer for her and circulated the room in excitement.

  Just as she roared and lurched at him, two fallen angels dropped in from the ceiling and knocked him to the floor. The sword and shield fell out of his hands as the fallen angels shoved him against the wall and secured him in place with chains.

  The angel struggled but couldn’t free himself from them. The only recourse he had was to wait for the other angels who’d been sent to help him. He only hoped that they wouldn’t be much longer because he needed to get to Autumn before Keegan dispatched someone to speak to Autumn first.

  ***

  Alex waited in the doctor’s office for his name to be called. He flipped through the magazine on the table next to him and pulled out his cell phone. It was probably a bad idea to try calling Autumn again, especially since he kept telling himself he’d wait until he got the implant. Then he could assure her that the implant wasn’t something to be feared.

  With a glance at the article revering An for the miraculous chip, Alex sighed and dialed Autumn’s number. Again, her phone took him straight to her voice mail. Why wasn’t she picking up? Even if she was at work, this should be her break time.

  He waited for the beep before he softly spoke into the phone. “Hey, Autumn. Will you call me when you get this message? I have something important to tell you.”

  As he hung up, the nurse called him back to the examination room. He slipped the phone into his pocket, stood, and followed her down the hall.

  “You have the first room on the right,” she told him with a friendly smile. “I see you’re here for the implant.”

  “Yes.” Clearing his throat, he chuckled. “Would you believe I’m nervous?”

  She grinned. “There’s no need to be. It’s easier than a shot.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep.” She showed him her hand. “Barely a pinch, and it was over in a second.”

  Inspecting her hand, he barely noticed the mark where the implant had been inserted under her skin. “Did you feel any different after you got it?”

  “I felt like a new person. Sharper, smarter, more energetic, healthier. It’s amazing how this thing works. I even lost some weight without trying.”

  He nodded. It sounded just as good as the commercials claimed. So far, he couldn’t come across any negative things about it, except for what Autumn said. But she was letting fear get in her way. She hadn’t taken it. Her fears, as far as he was concerned, were unfounded.

  “This will be a simple procedure,” she told him as she motioned to the chair.

  He sat down and waited while she checked his temperature and blood pressure. “How do I look?”

  “Better than the last time you were here,” she replied, thumbing through his chart. “You had borderline high blood pressure, but now, that’s no longer an issue.”

  He nodded, not surprised to hear that. Before, he’d been taking medication and dealing with the grey alien who delighted in tormenting him. If there was one thing he could do without, it was the grey alien.

  “I’m required to have you sign this form consenting to the chip,” the nurse said. “You have to deny God and swear allegiance to An
. Will you do that?”

  Laughing, he said, “That’s funny. How can I deny something that doesn’t exist?”

  She shrugged. “I said that same thing, but the Annunaki insist we deny God.”

  Thinking this was probably the funniest thing he’d heard in a long time, he took the pen and signed it.

  “Thank you, Mr. Cameron. The nurse who’ll administer the implant will be in shortly.” She took the paper.

  “Thank you.” Relaxing as much as he could in the chair, he closed his eyes and tried to figure out the right words to say to Autumn. Up to this point, they’d been friends, but he thought they could be something more.

  A minute passed before the door opened and a familiar blonde came into the room carrying a box with three sixes written on the side of it.

  His eyes widened in surprise. He couldn’t be sure but… “Are you the Annunaki who came to my apartment to get rid of the grey?”

  She smiled. “Yes. I’ve been sent to oversee the affairs of Bismarck.”

  “So there are more Annunaki here than the ones heading up the ten nations?”

  “There are many of us. Some were sent to lead nations and others to lead smaller forms of government, but we’re all a part of the larger system. Each part needs the other. Just like a human body. Some parts might seem more important than others, but without everything doing its part, the whole system collapses.”

  “It sounds efficient. Your order of hierarchy, I mean.”

  Pulling the lid off the box, she said, “A house divided will fall.”

  “I’m surprised that you’re sent here to be a nurse. I thought all Annunaki, even if they aren’t leading the world would still have some governmental roles.”

  She took his right hand and studied it. “What I’m doing is more important than it appears. I’m helping mankind move to the next level.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply this part isn’t important. I certainly appreciate it.”

  Pausing in her study of his hand, she made eye contact with him, and for a moment, he wondered if he was making the right decision. But then she gave his hand a friendly squeeze. “Alex, you’ve been through more than the average person. Those greys tried to break your spirit, and there are fragments of your memory that are missing.”

  His eyebrows furrowed. “I’m not sure I follow you.”

  “Alex, we’ve been watching you. We couldn’t intervene on your behalf until the time was right. This chip will give you pieces of the puzzle you’ve been missing.”

  “What pieces?” he whispered as his gaze fell to the box full of needles.

  “That night at Area 51. I’ve healed you from the damage they did to you, but if you take this chip, you will learn some unpleasant truths. I want to prepare you as much as I can.”

  Taking a deep breath, he wondered how unpleasant those truths could be.

  “You will be better for it,” she whispered.

  Would he? He turned his attention back to her and noted the concern on her face. “Well, I’m a grown man, right? Surely, I can handle the harsher realities of life.” After all he’d been through with that grey that haunted him in his apartment, he couldn’t imagine anything else being worse. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he made his decision. “I want the implant.”

  With another smile, she pulled out a needle. “Would you like it in the hand or the forehead?”

  “My hand, I guess.”

  “You’ll only feel a slight sting. I’ll stay here with you until your body adjusts to the changes.”

  “The changes are immediate?”

  “The ones you feel will be.”

  He wasn’t sure what she meant, but he figured the only way to find out was to go through with it. Placing his hand on the armrest, he watched as she aimed the needle between his thumb and forefinger.

  “It’ll be over before you can count to one,” she said as the needle brushed his skin.

  And, sure enough, before he had time to blink, he felt the sting as the chip went into his hand.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  The first thing Devon became aware of was the absence of pain. The last time he’d been conscious was right after Vanessa threw him through the window of the emergency room. Pain shot through his entire body before he lost consciousness. Now, as he opened his eyes, he realized there was no pain.

  He tried to move but couldn’t, except to wiggle his fingers. Then he noticed the tube that was down his throat and the tubes plugged into his nose. Taking in his surroundings, he realized he was in a hospital room, and worse, he was in a body cast. Just how much damage did Vanessa do in her enhanced condition?

  Devon couldn’t move in the body cast, but he could wiggle his fingers. He felt fine, but something told him that he shouldn’t feel okay. He’d just been thrown across the parking lot and smashed right into the emergency room at breakneck speed. He should have been dead.

  A nurse came over to him and smiled. “How are you feeling, Mr. Patrick? You got lucky. We thought we were going to lose you for a while there. But you’re fine now.”

  A doctor walked into the room and picked up the chart at the foot of Devon’s bed. “Good afternoon, Mr. Patrick. We’ve been ordered to release you.”

  “Release him? In this condition?” the nurse asked, not hiding her surprise.

  “His employer demanded it.”

  “But his employer isn’t a doctor.”

  “His employer is the government.”

  She glanced at him, her expression uncertain.

  Devon wanted to shake his head, to scream for them not to let him leave the hospital, but with the tube in his mouth and his body stuck in a cast, he couldn’t do anything but watch…and wait.

  Two male nurses came into the room. One of them turned to the doctor and showed him a piece of paper. “We’ve been told to wheel him to the front entrance.”

  The nurse laughed. “You can’t just wheel him down. He’s hooked up to machines.”

  “Unhook him,” one of them replied.

  “Do as he says,” the doctor told her and stepped back so the men could enter the room.

  As the female nurse unhooked the machines, the male nurses got his bed ready to transport. Devon caught the shimmer of a white light against the wall. His eyebrows furrowed. He struggled to focus on the light which seemed to move. It took a moment to realize the light was Autumn’s angel who was chained to the wall. He thought the angel tried to tell him something, but the bed moved forward and he had no way of turning his head to look back at the angel.

  “He must be someone important,” the doctor murmured to the nurse as the male nurses wheeled him out of the room.

  Devon couldn’t catch much of anything as he was transported down the hallway. Dark shadows seemed to be swirling around the area, but his eyes couldn’t pick up anything distinctive. The nurse at the foot of his bed stopped and pressed a button that allowed the double doors to open. Devon tried to swallow, except the tube that was still in his throat prevented it. Something wasn’t right. He shouldn’t still be in a cast with a tube in his throat if he was allowed to leave the hospital. And the angel had been chained to the wall for a good reason. Perhaps the angel was trying to prevent something from happening? Something that was now going to happen to him?

  Devon blinked, aware his pulse had sped up. Yes, the angel had been trying to warn him. And if the angel—a spiritual being—was incapacitated, then whatever was happening to him couldn’t be good. He tried to tell the nurses to stop but couldn’t. Grunting, he stared at the nurse in front of him, hoping the man would take the time to really look at him. The nurse didn’t. He continued to move the bed forward and greeted another nurse as she passed by, oblivious to the noises Devon was making.

  Then the nurse suddenly stopped and offered an apologetic smile. “My shoe laces came undone. Sorry.”

  Devon tried to make eye contact, but the man knelt down. Devon couldn’t see the nurse behind him, but it didn’t matter because that nur
se was talking to another person who passed by. He groaned in frustration.

  “We’ll have you out of here soon,” the nurse at the foot of the bed said as he stood back up. “I’m sure the government will take you somewhere better.”

  Devon blinked hard and grunted a protest.

  The nurse in front of him motioned to other one. “You ready to go or are you going to keep on yapping?”

  The nurse behind Devon said good-bye to the person he was talking to, and the bed moved forward. “You’re the idiot that can’t keep his shoes tied, and you’re talking to me about wasting time?”

  “Look, Patrick here is probably anxious to get settled into his new hospital room. It can’t be easy to be awake in a body cast. I hope he’s not in any pain.” The nurse pulled the bed up to an elevator and pressed a button. “Are you in pain?”

  Finally catching the nurse’s attention, Devon gave one hard blink.

  The nurse frowned and glanced at the other one. “Does one blink mean yes or no?”

  “One is for yes and two is for no.” The other nurse came into Devon’s view. “Are you in pain?”

  Devon blinked twice.

  “Huh,” the nurse said. “I wonder what the problem is.”

  Unless they asked him a yes or no question, Devon didn’t see how he could tell them. He waited, hoping they’d ask him something he could answer.

  “Are you tired?” one of them ventured.

  Devon blinked twice.

  “Do you need something?”

  Devon blinked once.

  “Is it something we can give you?”

  Devon blinked once.

  The nurses glanced at each other and shrugged. “We have no idea what that could be.”

  Devon turned his eyes in the direction of the nurse call button that was attached to his bed and pointed to it.

  “Hey.” The nurse nudged the other one. “Did you see that? He pointed with his finger.”

  “I think I know what he wants. He doesn’t want to leave this hospital.”

  Devon blinked once.

  “Why not?”

  The other nurse shook his head. “He can’t answer a question unless he can answer it with a yes or no.” With a quick glance around, he whispered, “Let’s take that tube out of his mouth.”