by J. E. Taylor
“What the hell am I supposed to tell the president?”
“Tell him it was a mistake. The boy got locked in one of our waste containers. That would explain the lack of communication,” Matthew said. He had enough time on the return trip to come up with a logical situation. “As for labeling it an alien craft—well, the fact a life-form was onboard drove that assessment. I’ll take the heat for that.” He shifted his weight and added, “Sam, he’s just a kid.”
Commander Lawrence exhaled. “Why? Why would you risk your entire career for an alien?”
“Because a child was sealed in a tin can and sent into space to die but somehow, by the grace of God, he survived. I’d like this kid to have a chance at a life and I’d like to be the one to offer him a home.”
Commander Lawrence sighed. “Matthew, we have known each other for a long time,” he started.
“Yes, sir, we have.”
“Are you sure this doesn’t have anything to do with the fact Linda can’t have children?”
Matthew hesitated before he spoke. “That has nothing to do with it.”
“Now who’s bullshitting who, Colonel?”
ANDRÉ STARED AT THE meal on the tray before him. The entire presentation of the steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, a side salad along with silverware and a napkin perplexed him. The smell of the cooked food assaulted his senses and made his mouth water but he was unsure of what to do with the metal utensils. Relief swept through him at the sight of the colonel and he picked up the utensils, shooting a questioning gaze in his direction.
A mental image materialized in his head, courtesy of the colonel, and he adjusted the fork in his hand to the vision drawn for him. Sticking the tines into the mashed potatoes, he pulled a small amount to his lips. He sniffed it and then took a taste. The creamy consistency flowed over his tongue and like the apple, his hunger dictated his actions and he licked the rest from the fork enthusiastically, digging in for another bite.
Colonel Robbins approached the side of the bed and glanced at Officer Cal Grey fiddling with readouts. “How’s he doing?”
Cal turned, trading a glance with André and then back at the colonel. “He’s definitely dehydrated and malnourished. I was able to find a vein and we’re hydrating him now.” He waved toward the intravenous line and the bag of saline hanging from the t-bar on the bed. “I want to monitor him for the night and make sure he doesn’t have any adverse reaction to either the food or the saline.”
“Thanks, Cal. I appreciate the discretion here.”
Cal nodded. “You were correct. His physiological makeup is very similar to ours, but there are subtle differences, like his blood type. It isn’t compatible with ours, so he’s at risk if he ever needs a transfusion.” He jotted a note on the computer screen.
“Can I go home with you?” André asked around a mouthful of food.
“Not yet, kiddo.”
André paused, meeting the colonel’s gaze. He hadn’t won the argument with the commander. They were still at an impasse, which meant his future was still in a “to be determined” status, which didn’t surprise him. Usually the direction his dreams went was from utopia to nightmare and this was sliding fast.
His vision warbled, transitioning to a red film, and he blinked the tears away.
“I’m working on it.” Colonel Robbins placed his hand on André’s shoulder. “Besides, Officer Grey here will take good care of you tonight, isn’t that right?”
“Absolutely,” Cal replied, offering a warm smile.
“I will be back in the morning and then we can talk about what’s next.”
And with that, Colonel Robbins disappeared through the door.
André swallowed the lump in his throat and focused back on the meal in front of him. His appetite raged, and he downed the meal within minutes, even going so far as to lick the plate.
“Hi.” A soft female voice said from the doorway.
André froze in place when he saw her, the glass of white liquid they referred to as milk half way to his mouth forgotten in the wake of her beauty. He had never seen yellow hair and the contrast with her soft, tan skin left him speechless; her eyes, a striking green with small veins of brown straggling through the irises, flicked in his direction.
Katrina Lawrence stepped into the room.
Cal cleared his throat from the far corner.
“Oh, hi Officer Grey,” she said, moving her gaze to the officer, her cheeks blooming red.
“How’d you get in here?”
She let out a little laugh and shrugged, looking at her feet for a moment before raising her eyes again. “I snuck in.”
Her laugh sounded like the sweetest music to André and his lips curved into a smile. He brought the glass to his mouth, remembering he was in the process of finishing what was on the tray when she interrupted. His heart fluttered, both in his chest and on the readout next to Cal.
“Your father will have your head, young lady.” Cal stood, crossing the room toward the girl.
She bit her lower lip, a move that shot tendrils of heat into André’s stomach, fishing outwards like a tornado overtaking his body.
“Please let her stay,” André said.
Cal paused, glancing between the two children. His eyes flicked to the monitors and he shook his head. “Not tonight. Maybe in the morning after you get some rest.” He turned toward Katrina. “And you—you need to beeline it home, young lady.”
She rolled her eyes and sent a half smile in André’s direction as Cal led her out of the room.
Soon after she left, Cal dimmed the lights, ordering André to get some sleep, but all André could do was stare at the ceiling and see her teeth shimmering between her pretty pink lips.
Chapter 4
Officer Cal Grey sat in the dim light, poring over the test results. The X-rays showed open growth plates and bones that had lost density but could be revived with the right mix of vitamins and minerals. Cal just had to figure out what that right mix was. The hydration routine along with intravenous vitamins therapy seemed to sit well with the boy, and he certainly looked stronger than he did when Colonel Robbins handed him over.
His organ placement mimicked that of a human and his honey-bronzed skin looked like the tone of a healthy tan. In other words, the kid snoring in the bed could have been any normal eleven-year-old boy, save a few distinct traits. His blood type wasn’t a match to any known on Earth, the kid’s tear ducts produced blood along with saline when he cried and his eyes shimmered almost neon blue when he had seen Katrina Lawrence.
Colonel Robbins had stuck out his neck for this kid and he could understand why. There was something special about André, beyond the fact he survived in space for so long. Cal mulled that over, turning it every which way in his head. To survive in a pod with little food and air required a state akin to hibernation, something humans can’t accomplish, but somehow this boy did, conserving energy and oxygen for an extended period. In short, his survival was a miracle and he felt compelled to protect the kid.
André hadn’t talked much and the way he looked around, curious but not as much as he should be, alarmed Cal. It was almost as if André didn’t believe he had been saved, that some level of his subconscious dubbed this experience a dream. He jotted a note on the case tablet to run André through a psych review before releasing him.
Voices in the hallway caught his attention and he glanced at the clock. Eight in the morning and the argument grew louder. With a quick glance at André, he slid out of the room into the hallway, heading toward the ruckus between Commander Lawrence and Colonel Robbins.
“You can’t put him under lock and key in some institution, Sam,” Colonel Robbins snapped.
“I’ve got the paperwork to do just that right here.” Commander Lawrence waved the forms in his hands.
“Excuse me, gentlemen,” Cal said as he approached.
“What?” they both snapped in Cal’s direction.
“The paperwork submitted on the boy states his name
is André Robbins and Colonel Robbins is listed as his next of kin. As such, I can only release him to Colonel Robbins.”
Both of them gawked, speechless and then Commander Lawrence sent a glare in the colonel’s direction.
“You didn’t.”
Colonel Robbins shifted. “I had to put something on the forms.”
“And you know the laws better than any of my subordinates.”
Cal watched the colonel’s shoulders raise and lower. He knew the laws just as well as Cal did. That’s why the paperwork was submitted through the system, so Matthew Robbins could claim legal guardianship over his long-lost nephew.
“I should throw the book at you,” Commander Lawrence snarled.
Colonel Robbins spread his arms. “Go ahead, Sam, but what will that look like to the public? Hmmm? He’s a kid. What will incarcerating him do to your political aspirations?”
Cal saw the gears turning in the commander’s head, along with the burning red spreading from his nose to his ears. Colonel Robbins hit a sore spot and he hoped like hell the gamble he played would be enough; otherwise he’d be court-martialed for his part in this ruse.
Chapter 5
A soft hand sliding into his jerked André from sleep and he sat up, his eyes darting around the dim room and falling on Katrina.
She offered him a smile and squeezed his hand. “You snore.”
André blinked and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before scanning the room for Cal. When his scan came up empty, he turned his attention back to Katrina.
Katrina looked down at her feet. “I’m sorry for waking you,” she said. “I just wanted to...”
“Talk to an alien?” André said, his voice raspy from sleep.
“Yeah,” she admitted and met his gaze.
He smiled at her. “You’re not afraid of me?”
Katrina rolled her eyes. “No.”
“What’s your name?”
“Katrina. What’s yours?”
“André.”
“André,” she repeated.
Between her speaking his name and the soft warmth of her hand, the monitor went from a steady beep to a quick staccato beat, mimicking that of his heart. She was a new introduction in this hallucination, one that left his soul wanting, begging for this to be real. He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her palm, drinking in her fresh scent.
“Am I what you expected?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.”
“You didn’t.”
The door banged open and both André and Katrina jumped. The lights flicked on and Commander Lawrence glanced from his daughter to André and back.
“What the hell are you doing here?” His voice carved the air, filling up the small hospital room with hostility.
“Daddy, I, um...” She looked at André, pulling her hand out of his grip and turning toward her father in one smooth move.
“I dropped you off at school this morning.” His teeth clenched at the obvious disobedience.
“I know. I just wanted to see him, Daddy,” she said, waving toward André.
Commander Lawrence shot a glance at André. “You’ve seen. Now get back to school and we’ll talk about how long you’re grounded tonight,” he said.
“Please let her stay,” André said, alternating his gaze from Katrina to the commander.
“Maybe some other time,” Colonel Robbins said as he and Cal stepped into the room.
“Please, Daddy,” Katrina begged.
“No, Katrina, you have school.” Commander Lawrence crossed the room and took her by the arm, leading her out of the infirmary, closing the door on her imploring eyes.
André turned his attention to Colonel Robbins and Cal. “She woke me up.” As if that could explain the girl in his hospital room. A girl who was as much a delusion as anything else that was happening.
“She snuck in here last night, too,” Cal said, crossing to the monitors and scanning the readouts. “You’re doing much better this morning.”
Before André could respond, Commander Lawrence walked back into the room and stood at the foot of the bed, inspecting André.
“André, I’d like you to meet Commander Lawrence. Commander, this is André,” Colonel Robbins introduced.
Doubt and suspicion radiated from the commander.
“Nice to meet you,” André replied.
Commander Lawrence gave a curt nod. “My daughter is of no interest to you,” he said to André. “Understand?”
André nodded his head slightly, his eyes drifting between the commander and Colonel Robbins. She certainly is of interest to me.
“When I ask a question, I expect an answer.”
“Y-yes, I understand.”
“Good, because you are not allowed to go near my daughter.”
The order, while par for the course in his hallucinations, still shook André. He wanted to see her again, to get to know her, to grow old with her and if this was indeed real, nothing on this planet could stop him.
Commander Lawrence studied André further and seeming satisfied, moved on to his next question. “Young man, what brings you to our solar system?”
“Luck,” André said, wondering if this was the precursor to being exiled again. It was either that or being torn apart by vicious animals or being slowly suffocated. That’s how the dreams usually ended, bringing him back to the dark pod.
“Why do you say that?”
André’s gaze darted between Colonel Robbins and the commander. “Because I don’t know how much longer I can last out here,” he replied; his voice choked and a red sheen filled his vision. He blinked and hot tears rolled down his cheeks.
Commander Lawrence gasped.
“It’s normal, sir,” Cal said and pulled a sheet of tissue from the box next to the bed, handing it to André.
André closed his eyes, wiping his face with the soft cloth.
“How long have you been in space, son?” Commander Lawrence asked, his tone softening.
André shrugged. “Officer Grey thinks I’m eleven and if that’s the case, I’ve been drifting for five years,” he said.
The commander rubbed his chin in thought and turned toward Colonel Robbins with a slight nod. “Colonel Robbins will be responsible for you from here on in,” he said and left without another word.
Cal and Colonel Robbins exchanged a glance and both exhaled.
“Do I really have to stay away from Katrina?”
Colonel Robbins returned his attention to André. “Yes, you are to stay away from Katrina Lawrence.” He turned to Cal. “Is he ready to be released?”
André noted the hesitation and something about a psych evaluation crossed the officer’s mind, but instead of voicing his concern, he nodded.
“I think that might be best.”
“Thanks, Cal. I couldn’t have done it without you.” The colonel reached across and offered his hand to Cal.
“No problem. He’s a special kid.” He leaned toward the colonel and whispered in his ear, so André couldn’t hear but his thoughts rang through loud and clear.
“Be careful, Matt. I’m not sure he knows what’s real and what isn’t yet.”
André glanced between the two men. He couldn’t help but feel the tendrils of hope wrapping around his heart.
“Will do,” Colonel Robbins answered and grabbed the wheelchair in the corner.
“I can walk,” André said, swinging his scrawny legs over the side of the bed, still wearing the hospital Johnny they put him in when he arrived.
Colonel Robbins shook his head with a smile. “I don’t think you want the world’s first real view of you to be a bare ass as you walk past.”
Cal burst out laughing at the colonel’s comment. “I think I can drum up something for him to wear,” he said and disappeared into the adjoining room. He came back a few minutes later with a pair of underwear, denim jeans, and a t-shirt that was an exact match with André’s eyes.
“Thank you
,” André said, taking the clothes from Cal and looking at the wardrobe. Colonel Robbins sent him a mental note on how to dress.
“I remember how to put clothing on,” André said. “Do you mind?” He looked at the two men standing in the room.
Both men turned their backs on André, amused by his modesty.
André slipped into the clothing, relishing the clean fabric. He ran his hands over the t-shirt; the soft cotton brushed his fingertips and he swallowed, not allowing himself to believe, not yet. “Okay,” André said, shaking the hope away and waiting for the dream to morph.
Colonel Robbins turned and nodded. “Now you’re presentable.” He led André out of the infirmary.
Katrina trotted up next to André as he followed Colonel Robbins out of the building. “Hi,” she announced and fell in step next to them.
“You should be at school, Katrina.” The colonel shot her a glance. “Your father wouldn’t approve.”
“Screw my dad,” she said, shocking both of them. “He isn’t the boss of me.” She flipped her hair back over her shoulder.
“That’s pretty disrespectful,” André said and kept walking.
She grabbed André’s arm and pulled him to a stop. “I’m sorry.”
Her big, green, sincere eyes melted his heart and he looked over at Colonel Robbins.
“Katrina, your father would not approve of you being here with us,” he said again.
“I don’t want to upset your father,” André said. “He doesn’t trust me and this will hurt any chances I have of ever gaining that trust.”
Katrina looked down at her feet. “I’m sorry,” she said again. “I just wanted to...” She trailed off.
“Talk to the alien?” André smiled.
“Yeah,” she admitted with a smile, and skipped in the opposite direction, her hair bouncing in a way that stirred a need deep within him.
With a smile plastered on his lips, he turned back to Colonel Robbins.
“Don’t even think about it,” he said and put his hand on the back of his neck, leading him away.
“Too late,” André said.