Return of the Aliens

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  As she headed out, she caught the news on a radio sitting in the entryway about the impending collapse of the world system. Good. If it did, more disgruntled Annunaki might turn against An. That would make the goal of ridding him even easier.

  ***

  2 weeks later (early April)

  Vanessa struggled to keep up with Alex, but her headache got worse and worse the further northeast they walked. She stumbled and fell to the ground, not caring if patches of snow clung to her hands. When she glanced to her left, she caught sight of a car hidden further back among the trees. What would an abandoned car be doing a mile from the road? From the looks of it, it hadn’t been touched in years. It had to be Devon’s. He had a sentimental attachment to Pintos that she never understood. That meant he had to be here somewhere.

  Alex stopped and groaned. “You are the weakest person I’ve ever met.” Turning, he glared at her. “You do have the human enhancement chip, right?”

  His sharp tone only made her headache worse. Gasping, she rubbed her forehead. She had tried to get up but the weight of her backpack caused her to lunge forward and fall again.

  Alex rushed over to her and yanked her up by her arms. “Where are they, Vanessa? Where are Devon and Autumn?”

  She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t turn them in.

  “You know. You’ve known all along, haven’t you?” he yelled.

  Gritting her teeth, she willed herself not to mention the car. It made her brain throb in pain from the effort, but she managed to hold her tongue.

  “You’re worthless,” he hissed. “No wonder I’ve been ordered to call in for your execution once you led me to Devon.”

  His words didn’t have time to register before he let go of her. She tumbled to the ground and put her head in her hands. The pain was mounting. She became aware of the chip as it sent electric pulses through her brain. She’d been marked for execution. That could only mean one thing. Keegan never intended to remove the chip. Whimpering, she struggled to breathe as her brain expanded inside her skull.

  “This is his car, isn’t it?” Alex yelled as he rushed by her. “That means they went this way.”

  She didn’t bother looking in the direction he meant. She became aware that she was about to die, and even as she felt relief that soon this pain would be over, she had the sudden looming sense of dread that she was about to end up somewhere else—a place where the pain would never end.

  “Yes,” Alex said. “I have order 894 to eliminate a traitor. Her name is Vanessa Hayden.”

  Vanessa gasped and clawed at the ground, wishing she might go on living, even if she had to deal with headaches and sores. The eternity that spanned before her caved in on her from every side, and she understood she should have never taken the implant that condemned her. From the moment she turned her back on God and decided to swear allegiance to the Annunaki, her fate had been sealed. The pressure in her brain came to an abrupt end before her brain exploded inside her skull.

  ***

  In the throne room in Heaven, the multitude of angels and saints waited for the time when they would join Jesus Christ to claim Earth for mankind. Among the saints stood Marianne, Dr. Reyes, and Dr. Raymond. Time had no meaning in this realm, and though it seemed like a second ago since she’d arrived, Marianne was aware that on Earth considerable time had passed. Now the time was quickly approaching before she and the others were due to engage in battle. They were given white linen to wear, along with swords and shields.

  An archangel announced it was time to announce the fall of the world’s economies, so an angel went down to Earth in haste to declare it to all who lived there.

  Marianne held her breath in anticipation. Soon, they would take Earth back from Satan, and all the misery that had plagued mankind since the fall in the Garden of Eden would be no more.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  1 week later

  The Annunaki from the eastern nations fought against An and his forces at Megiddo. Keegan, in her Reptilian form, took the chains in her hands and wrapped them around a human’s neck and squeezed until his head came off. Not even a chipped human was any match for her. Almost disgusted that it’d been so easy, she shoved the corpse away from her and scanned the battlefield in the night. The stench of blood from the chipped people and their fallen horses made her stomach growl, but she had more important things to do than satisfy her hunger. Her eyes were keenly attuned to all the gunfire and clanging of swords from every side as she judged where An might be.

  The chains in her grasp were meant for him. If she could just bind him, then they’d get rid of him before God returned. That was their best chance at winning this battle—the final battle which would determine the eternal fate of fallen angels and of man. She’d be damned before man inherited the Earth.

  Through the mass of super soldiers and chipped men who fought around her, she caught sight of An, struggling with the king of China. Tightening her hold on the chains, she spread her wings—intentionally wounding a human with the sharp edge—and flew into the air.

  ***

  Shortly past one in the afternoon, Alex finally made it to the section of the Alaska wilderness that had sheltered Devon and Autumn for three and a half years.

  He shrugged his backpack off and let it fall to the ground. Then he bent his knees and leapt up into a tree, perching along a branch thick enough to hold him. Using his enhanced hearing, he focused on the sound of laughter. With precision, he turned his gaze to the source of the laughter and magnified his vision until he saw the cabin. A few feet from it, Devon was holding Autumn in his arms. He kissed her and then whispered something in her ear which made her laugh again.

  Snarling, Alex pulled out his gun. Steadying his weight, he aimed the gun in Autumn’s direction, but before he could pull the trigger, she and Devon walked down a path. Trees blocked the view of them, and Alex swore. So close. He almost shot her brains out. But maybe it was better this way. He couldn’t put them through the torture he had endured at Area 51 if he got rid of them so easily. He must not let his impatience override good judgment. Watching them suffer first would be much better.

  He leapt down from the tree and landed on his feet. Straightening his shoulders, he proceeded forward, leaving his backpack behind.

  ***

  Keegan flew above a pile of dead bodies and landed behind An who was wielding his sword against the king of China who matched him blow for blow, their swords clanging on their shields. Flicking her tongue along her teeth, she brought the chains up and carefully made her way up to An. She had to make sure he didn’t see her. Otherwise, her plan wouldn’t work, and everything she’d worked for would go up in smoke.

  The king of China roared and aimed his sword at An’s head. An drew his shield up in time to avoid the blow. Keegan let out a low growl. So much for injuring An to the point where he wouldn’t be able to defend himself. She brought the chains up and judged when the proper time to strike might be. An lurched forward, and she chose that moment to act. Springing forward, she raised the chains above his head and wrapped them around his chest.

  ***

  Devon held his hand up and paused, so Autumn stopped talking and waited. She scanned the peaceful landscape, noting the sunlight seemed to flicker. Surprised, she glanced up at the sky and frowned. The stars appeared in the sky, or at least they looked like stars. The sun flickered again.

  Chimes sounded along the perimeter of their sectioned off land, and Autumn looked at Devon, wondering if she should be concerned. Without a word, he took her hand and raced for the nearest building, which happened to be the place they kept the four wheelers. She didn’t have time to think over what was happening when someone plowed into her from behind within a foot of the building. Letting go of Devon’s hand, she fell to the ground, the wind being momentarily knocked out of her.

  Her attacker rolled her over and grabbed her by the chin. It took her another second before she could breathe, and when she finally did, she was able to focus on the person h
overing over her. She gasped. “Alex?” she whispered. She hardly recognized him, but it was definitely him. The scowl on his face and sharp glint in his eyes made her shiver.

  “Miss me, Autumn?” Alex growled.

  She blinked as he morphed in front of her. In one instant, he looked human and in the next, he resembled a grey alien. “What happened to you?”

  Autumn saw Devon with a crowbar coming up behind Alex before he struck Alex across the back of the head with it. Alex slumped to the side, unconscious for the moment. Devon reached forward and grabbed Autumn by the arm.

  She stumbled with him to the four wheeler and sat down, her chin still hurting from where Alex squeezed it. She fought back the tears. She didn’t understand it. Why would Alex want to kill her? What had she done to him? She knew he was upset with her the last time they talked, but was that any reason to want her dead?

  Devon hopped in front of her and started the engine. Glancing over his shoulder, he called out, “Hold on.”

  She wrapped her arms around his waist and hung on as he drove forward, barely missing Alex who was getting to his feet.

  “You’re not getting away from me!” Alex yelled, his voice distorting.

  Autumn gave no thought to the distortion as Devon maneuvered around trees as Alex pursued them. She glanced over her shoulder, alarmed that he was keeping up with the speed Devon was employing. She never saw anyone run that fast. She could only guess how fast Devon drove the four wheeler through the bumpy terrain. Maybe 50mph. Maybe even 60mph? Bracing herself for the dips in the path, she tightened her hold on Devon and prayed they’d make it out of this alive.

  ***

  Keegan squeezed the chains around An’s chest and prevailed against him as he fought to be free from them. But then something happened that she hadn’t planned. Satan left the human enhanced body provided for him and lurched at her. Startled, she let go of the chains and stepped back. She thought he’d fully fused himself with the body. She didn’t realize he could leave it at will.

  She shrunk as he loomed before her. His horns protruded from his head. His wings sprouted from his back. His nose became longer and more pointed. His fingernails lengthened and sharpened. He smiled, his fangs glistening in the moonlight, as he gathered the chains from the human body which stirred from his position on the field.

  The king of China dropped his sword and ran. Had he stayed, Keegan might have had a chance, but without any support, she was no match for Satan as he threw the chains around her and swiftly bound her in place. She roared, but Satan had already turned his back on her so he could step into the human’s body.

  ***

  On the edge of the third dimension, above the Mount of Olives, the multitude of the saints sat on horses, sword in hand. The angels spread their wings. Some held swords. Others held fiery darts. In the middle, Jesus Christ sat on a white horse. The saints and angels waited for Him to give the signal to intervene.

  ***

  The sky flickered above Megiddo, and Satan and the fallen angels lifted their gazes toward the heavens. “Attack!” Satan called out, and the other fallen angels followed the sentiment.

  “Call in the nukes!” Satan ordered the kings of the west, Middle East, and Southwest Asia who stood around him. “Tell the commanders in your divisions to aim for the Mount of Olives.”

  They nodded and dispersed.

  “Now, if we can all unify instead of fighting each other, we can make this work,” he muttered.

  “Sir,” a chipped human said from behind him.

  Snarling that a mere human would dare approach him so informally, he whirled to face the pathetic creature.

  “Why are we aiming for the Mount of Olives. There are no greys there,” the human continued, as if he didn’t notice the angry heat radiating from Satan’s body.

  With a sly smile, Satan said, “That’s because the greys have been here all along. Who do you think inhabits your bodies after you take the chip?”

  The human blanched.

  Well, that was mildly amusing, but Satan had work to do. This was his Earth! No human had the right to take it from him, and God wasn’t going to stop him. Not this time. He didn’t care what the prophecy said. This time he would win!

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Devon turned on the light to the four wheeler as he sped through the wooded area. It was as dark as night, and it was still day? He didn’t understand it, but the stillness in the air and lack of any noise besides the running of the four wheeler and Alex running after him and Autumn were all he could hear. Then a thought came to mind. Was this it? Was the Second Coming of Christ happening right now? His heart leapt in anticipation, but he knew he couldn’t get distracted. Not now. Not when Alex was closing in on them.

  Devon veered around a tree and made a loop so he was heading back to the cabin. Maybe Alex would fall in one of those pits he’d dug out. Devon squinted as he tried to figure out his way between the trees. The light from the four wheeler wasn’t enough, but he hated to slow down.

  A sound above him caught his attention. He swerved around another tree in time to see Alex jump in front of him. Alarmed, he made an attempt to swerve around him when the four wheeler flipped over and he and Autumn went flying through the air until they landed on the ground.

  ***

  On the battlefield, the fallen angels, super soldiers, and chipped humans watched in dread as the sky above the Mount of Olives opened and a great assembly of horses galloped in their direction. The riders held their swords, ready to engage in battle. The angels dispersed from above. Some headed out to the other areas of the Earth while some remained over Megiddo and shot flaming darts upon them.

  When Satan realized the darts had the power to make everything it touched melt and that these were specifically aimed at the artillery he had organized for this event, he shouted for those on his side to fight. They had to act now before all was lost! Two nuclear weapons launched into the air, but the fiery darts made them of no consequence.

  Hatred welled up within him. He hated God.

  “More nukes!” he yelled out to the kings of the nations. “We need more! Launch them all at once. Surely, they can’t get all of them at the same time!”

  The kings rushed to send out the orders.

  Turning back to the Mount of Olives, he called out the charge to rush forward to stop the saints before they could pave the way for Jesus Christ to reach the Jewish Temple.

  Those that were still alive on the battlefield obeyed. When the saints reached the bottom, they intercepted them. The battle grew fierce as those on the Earth got more desperate. It was becoming clear to Satan that the saints were prevailing. He didn’t know what their swords were made of, but they cut through everything in their path and rendered many humans dead and super soldiers incapacitated.

  Just as the creeping fear that he might lose swept over him when he engaged God in battle in Heaven, so the same dreaded fear was beginning to slither up his spine now. As the battle continued with the saints pushing those on Earth back, Satan turned his eyes to the top of the Mount of Olives where Christ got ready to step on it. His knees buckled, and though he fought it with all of his strength, he ended up bowing before Him.

  ***

  Devon was barely aware that Autumn was still with him when Alex strode over to him. He tried to move his head but couldn’t. In fact, it occurred to him he couldn’t move much of anything.

  Alex knelt by him and shook his head. The grey’s face began to show through Alex’s flesh. “I remember that night at Area 51, Devon,” he said in two voices but not seeming to notice the distortion. “You didn’t stop those greys. You were human, and yet you turned another human over to them.” The grey brought his face further out and added, “How does it feel to be confronted by one who wants to experiment on you?”

  Devon swallowed and winced. “I’m not afraid.”

  “No?” the two voices asked.

  “No.” He licked his dry lips, aware of the coppery taste in his mouth.
With a light chuckle, he added, “God’s already won.”

  Alex glared at him. “God doesn—” He took another breath and tried again. “God doesn—”

  The grey hissed and slipped back into Alex’s body.

  Devon wondered why Alex couldn’t deny God’s existence but was distracted by the faint breathing coming from Autumn. He wanted to reach out and touch her hand, to die connected to her but couldn’t. She was too far from him.

  Alex stood up and went over to Autumn. “You know, Autumn. I’m tempted to let you die this way, but then, I’d deny Devon the pleasure of knowing I killed you.” He shrugged and pulled out a knife. “I thought slowly would be better. When I was at Area 51, those greys stuck all kinds of things into every orifice on my body. It felt like knives being inserted all over me. Since you sent me there, I thought you might like to get a taste of what I went through.”

  “Stop it,” Devon croaked.

  “What is that, Devon? Does it bother you if I do this to your woman? You didn’t mind doing it to me.”

  Devon swallowed. “She had nothing to do with it. I didn’t know her back then.”

  Alex laughed. “Beautiful. Right. I guess that’s why I have the memories of what happened.”

  “I don’t know what you remember, but I didn’t meet Autumn until five months later. I’m the one you want to kill, not her.”

  Aware his breathing was becoming ragged, Devon stopped talking. A light shimmered over him, and he blinked so he could get a better view of it. The angel materialized and touched him, and Devon felt a warmth traveling through him and healing him. Then the angel went over to Autumn.

  The grey hissed and leapt forward to grab the angel’s wrist, causing Alex to lurch forward and drop the knife.

  “What the—?” Alex demanded.

  Able to move, Devon reached for Autumn and helped her get out of the way. He held onto her and watched as the angel and grey fought. Alex grabbed his hand and cried out when the grey stood halfway outside of his body. The grey hissed and dove back into Alex’s body. Alex grabbed his head and groaned in pain. The grey’s foot moved forward and Alex took a step. The grey reached out his hand toward the angel, and Alex’s hand went along with it.