by Tasha Black
“Yes, yes, it’s the right format,” Georgia admitted. “But your timing is off.”
“The edges look overgrown,” Bond said doubtfully. “Even worse than when we arrived.”
“Maybe, but it will be easier to clear now that the vegetation has dried up,” Rima said, starting down the hill.
One moment she was picking her way down the stone steps carved into the hillside, the next she was staring up at the sky from the warmth of Magnum’s arms.
“Hey,” she protested weakly.
“We need to keep you safe,” he said with a warm half-smile. “You’re the smartest one here.”
She smiled and placed her palm flat against his chest. His heartbeat was so soothing and steady.
How she loved this close contact. Rima had been prepared to make an arranged relationship with an alien work, tolerate the physical aspect in order to have the privilege of being an ambassador. She had not expected to crave his touch, and bask in his presence.
Too soon, they reached the seat of the valley and the dish itself.
Magnum placed her gently on her feet.
“Okay, guys grab some gloves,” Georgia said, lowering her backpack and offering work gloves to everyone. She even had a pair of pruning shears.
“Nice,” Rima said.
“Whatever, you guys were so late getting up. I ran to the hardware store,” Georgia shrugged.
11
Rima
A few hours later, Rima surveyed their handiwork.
The sun was high in the sky and the dish was pretty well cleared off.
Bond headed over to the spire at the center of the dish.
“Oh, dear,” he said.
“What?” Posey asked.
“Uh, someone’s already here,” he said.
They all headed closer.
As soon as she got a few feet away Rima saw what he meant. A small bird’s nest rested inside the spire about six feet up. She could hear baby birds inside peeping.
“I will get rid of it,” Magnum boomed, stepping forward and lifting the nest out of the spire.
Rima froze with horror, suddenly filled with visions of the fate of life on Earth if their plan didn’t succeed. They would be discarded. Cast aside, for the simple crime of being in the wrong place.
Magnum examined the nest and saw the birds.
“Aha, babies,” he said. “You are very noisy. Let’s put you where your mama will find you.”
And with that, the big man stomped across the dish, cradling the nest in the palm of his hand.
He found a small tree growing near the dish and swung himself into the branches, placing the nest carefully in the crook between a wide branch and the trunk.
Then he climbed down and rejoined the group.
Georgia raised an eyebrow at Rima as if to compliment her on Magnum’s paternal instincts.
Rima promptly flushed from head to toe. When Magnum reached her he cocked his head.
“Are you okay?” he asked her.
“Mm hmm.” She nodded, looking at the ground.
“Okay,” Bond said, approaching the spire again. “I guess I’m going up.”
Rima looked up to the top of the spire, which had not seemed so tall from the top of the hill, but which now, in fact, seemed very, very high.
When she looked down again she caught a glimpse of Posey looking absolutely green around the gills.
“He’ll be okay,” she whispered to her friend.
Posey nodded but didn’t answer.
They all watched Bond disappear into the sky.
At last he had reached the top.
Once he was in position, Bond grabbed onto the cables for the transmitter.
A moment passed in stillness.
Rima wondered if it was working.
One moment there was nothing, the next she felt a flutter in her stomach, as if she were standing next to a loud speaker at a party, only it was completely silent down in the dish.
Bond was using his power.
A small sound broke the quiet - low at first, but building, like the hum of amplifier feedback.
Rima realized the sound was coming from Bond.
It was impossible to make out his features from the ground, but he sounded like he was suffering.
“Posey, no,” Georgia yelled from behind her.
Rima looked down to see Posey scaling the rickety tower after Bond.
“Posey,” Rima screamed.
“He’s in trouble,” Posey shouted back. “He needs me.”
There was no point going after her, it was a miracle the thin spire could hold both of them.
Rima watched with her heart in her mouth as Posey reached the top of the construct and placed her hands on top of Bond’s.
A wave rolled through Rima’s organs. It was as if she had left her stomach behind on the first big hill of a roller coaster - like someone had turned the signal to 11.
She looked around. The others were feeling it, too. Rima put a hand on Magnum to steady herself as the contents of her stomach threatened to make a hasty exit.
Above her, Posey screamed and let go of the tower.
Bond reached for her and missed.
Rima watched in slow motion as her friend’s blonde hair blew upward as she plummeted, arms clutching her midsection.
Before Rima could take a step, Rocky was sailing upward, a rush of wind blowing Rima’s own curls off her neck in the wake of his speed.
In her terror, she hadn’t even thought of Rocky’s gift.
He plucked Posey out of the air and deposited her on the ground.
Rima ran to her, wrapping her arms around her friend, as she felt Georgia wrap them both in her arms.
“What happened?” Georgia asked at last.
“I- I don’t know how to describe it,” Posey said, lowering herself to sit on the dish.
Rima and Georgia seated themselves next to her as the boys stood by, Bond climbing nimbly down from his perch.
“It was like… reaching into the darkness,” she continued. “The distance was so great, I almost couldn’t comprehend it. But when we finally reached the heart of it, there was… a barrier. Something was holding Bond back.”
“What was it?” Georgia asked. “Another sound?”
“No it was like… a wall of silence,” Posey explained. “So I joined my strength with his. We strained, we pushed, and then suddenly we smashed through.”
“Was anything there?” Rima asked.
“Oh, yes. A sea of consciousness. So many souls all at once - so many worries and fears and hopes. I tried to hold on, but I was overwhelmed.”
Bond had just reached the bottom of the spire. He knelt at Posey’s feet.
“Were you able to get through?” Magnum asked, his deep voice echoing along the surface of the dish.
“As we suspected, someone was blocking us,” Bond said. “They were ready for me. The blockade was attuned to my projection. But they weren’t ready for Posey. She’s the reason we broke through.”
He smiled at her, his eyes lighting up with pride, and she smiled back, looking like herself for the first time all day.
“Did they receive our missive?” Rocky asked, oblivious to the moment.
“I hope so,” Bond said, turning to his friend.
“Who is that?” Georgia asked suddenly, looking past them.
Rima turned to see two figures at the top of the dish.
12
Rima
Rima used her hand to shield her eyes from the sun and tried to make out the visitors at the crest of the hill.
“Hey there,” a familiar voice called down.
Damn.
“It’s Sykes,” she said to the group in the dish.
“Shit,” Georgia said.
The two small figures were already picking their way down the hillside.
Georgia strode up briskly to meet them in the grass just outside the dish. The others followed.
“Look at that,” Sykes observed, admiring
the transmitter.
“We detected a strong signal coming from this vicinity,” Diaz said breathlessly, her ponytail swinging as she made her way down the last few steps.
What kind of equipment would detect something like that? And how had they gotten here so quickly? Rima was beginning to think they might have seriously underestimated these agents.
“Yeah, that was us,” Georgia admitted. “After your visit, we got to talking about this thing and decided to wander down and have a look at it.”
“I thought you said the transmitter wasn’t maintained,” Diaz said, consulting her notes.
“Oh, it wasn’t,” Georgia said. “Which is why it was dumb of us to try and turn it on. We got it working, for a minute at least, but I think we blew something out.”
“So what we heard was an outgoing signal, then?” Diaz asked, looking disappointed.
“Of course,” Georgia said, cocking her head as if trying to figure out what Diaz might mean.
She was good. Rima was glad Georgia was doing the talking. She wasn’t sure her own cool would hold up.
Sykes wandered over to the other side of the dish. Rima’s stomach rolled over when she saw what he was looking at.
“You all did a lot of work on this thing today,” he said, kicking around some of the vines and vegetation they had removed from the dish.
“There’s not much to do around here,” Georgia said.
“Yeah, I can see that,” Sykes continued, walking back toward the group. “So that brings me to my next question, what are you kids doing here? I mean we’ve got a scientist who lost her grant, a transmitter that won’t transmit. And no one in town seems to know why you all came here to practice religion. You don’t seem to have jobs, and from what we understand you don’t do missionary or volunteer work. You don’t even have a church.”
Rima’s stomach cramped. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
Magnum took a single step closer to her, his big presence comforting.
“What are you suggesting, Agent Sykes?” Georgia asked coolly.
“I’d just like to understand what’s going on here,” he said.
“Well it seems to me that you’re discriminating against us on the basis of our religion,” Georgia said. “And that’s a very slippery prospect. Do I need an attorney? I’d like nothing better than to strip you of your job and your pension.”
“Look, kid, I’m not suggesting there’s anything wrong with your religion,” Sykes said immediately.
“As a government employee you shouldn’t be questioning me about my religion at all,” Georgia said. “Let alone using it as the sole means to intimate that I may be up to some nefarious purpose.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Sykes spluttered.
“Special Agent Sykes, I think we’d better go,” Diaz said. “Sorry to have bothered you folks.”
“Set your foot on Bhimani property one more time without a warrant and I’m calling in a lawyer and every news outlet this side of the Mississippi,” Georgia said.
“Did you catch all that?” Sykes asked Diaz as they headed back up the hillside, purposefully being loud enough to be sure everyone would hear. “Now I know they’re hiding something. There’s something fishy going on in this town, Diaz. And I’m going to find out what it is.”
“Hush,” Diaz said, half dragging him up the steps behind her.
The friends below stood frozen until the two little figures disappeared over the ridge.
“Great,” Posey said, looking glum.
“You made them leave,” Rocky said to Georgia in wonder.
“I made them leave,” Georgia agreed. “But I pushed back a little too hard. I struck a nerve. We’re going to have to lay low from here on in.”
“Do you think they’ll get a warrant?” Posey asked.
“They would need probable cause,” Georgia replied.
“Probable cause of what?” Rima asked.
“Exactly, that makes it hard for them, doesn’t it?” Georgia replied with a smile.
Posey smiled back, looking relieved.
But Rima kept worrying. If it had only been Sykes, this would all be over by now. But Diaz was the type to keep digging, maybe even sneaking around without a warrant, drawn by her passion to learn the truth. A lack of paperwork wouldn’t stop Diaz from seeking aliens.
No more than offering to find an alternate bride could stop Rima from loving Magnum.
She looked up at him.
He studied the sky with a faraway look in his hazel eyes.
13
Rima
The rest of the day passed quietly. But Rima felt that it was the silence of anticipation, like the eye of the storm.
Nonetheless, they all went about everyday tasks.
Posey ran off to town on an errand.
The boys went to see what measures they could take to hide the ship better.
Georgia tried to help Rima and Dr. Bhimani with the household tasks, but halfway through preparing dough for naan, she headed back to her room to do a bit of research on religious freedom and the law. Georgia didn’t really seem like she enjoyed cooking.
“Things are changing,” Dr. Bhimani observed.
Rima nodded. Her mother was pretty perceptive.
“What will you do if they uncover the truth?” her mom asked.
“The others will go on the run,” she said. “Maybe I’ll go with them.”
“What’s going on with Magnum,” Dr. Bhimani asked, putting down her dough and wiping her hands on her apron.
“I don’t know,” Rima admitted. “Sometimes it seems like he likes me, and other times it seems like we’re just not a match.”
It was a shame to admit the truth. Her determination to this point had kept her using positive talk even when she was at her most hopeless.
“And how do you feel?” her mother asked softly.
“I love him, Mom, I love him so much,” she whispered.
“Then don’t give up,” her mother said fiercely. “Even a single day with the one you love is a priceless treasure.”
Her dark eyes glistened with the threat of tears. She didn’t talk about Dad much. Rima loved to hear stories of the two of them, so young and so in love, fighting the odds together, until… Rima wasn’t sure her mother was emotionally prepared to get into it at the moment. Instead, she focused on the topic at hand.
“I know you believed in them, in the aliens, even when no one else did,” Rima told her mother. “You’re such a strong person. And I’m trying to be like you, to believe in this love, against all evidence to the contrary. But sometimes it’s so hard. And it’s not really up to me, is it? It’s up to him.”
“I’ve seen the way he looks at you, Rima. Don’t give up on him yet,” Dr. Bhimani said fondly. “And, gracious, I didn’t know you noticed all that about me. Thank you for the compliments.”
Posey returned from the store and dropped a bouquet of flowers on the dining room table before disappearing into her room downstairs. Some shopping trip.
Posey kept wanting to run errands lately. Rima or Georgia would always offer to go with her, but once they were out she bought the most needless things. At least this time no one had wasted time accompanying her. Maybe she was just getting stir crazy.
Rima tried not to worry about her friend too much. She finished up in the kitchen and settled into the big sectional sofa in the common room to read.
A few minutes later Bond practically flew into the room, tapped on Posey’s door, then let himself in.
Rima went up to her reading nook to give them privacy.
The cozy space had always been her favorite place in the world, but she felt bitter today. While her friends found love she was literally relegated to a closet to keep out of their way. And she wasn’t even biding her time, waiting for magic school to start. She was just reading in a closet like a stupid muggle.
She had read so many books in her life. So many of them promised there must be something more in store for her.
>
But what if there wasn’t?
The titles of the books on the shelf went blurry and she hugged her knees to her chest, wondering how she could be an adult and yet feel more like a child every day.
At some point, she must have fallen asleep.
A tap on the door roused her. The indigo sky in the window told her that it was already getting dark.
Before she could answer, the door was pushing open.
Magnum’s form filled the doorway.
“Rima,” he said softly.
“Yes,” she replied.
“Come have some dinner,” he said.
Rima stretched.
“Please,” he added.
“Yes, okay,” she agreed.
He waited while she put her book away and got up to join him in the doorway.
But he didn’t move out of her way.
Rima stood before him, holding her breath.
He bent and brushed her lips with his, once, so softly.
Then he took her hand and led her out the door.
“Posey seems… agitated,” he whispered as he brought her into the dining room.
The table was set and the blooms Posey had brought in earlier were floating in clear bowls of water, which shone in the candlelight.
Everyone was seated in their usual spots.
Posey’s eyes lit up when she saw Rima enter with Magnum.
Beside her, Bond looked at her lovingly, his hand stroking Posey’s blond hair.
Magnum pulled out Rima’s chair and she sat, then he sat beside her.
“This is beautiful, what’s going on?” she asked.
“It is a mystery, which Posey will not solve until everyone is present,” Rocky told Rima excitedly.
“Well, we’re all present now,” Rima said.
Posey took a breath, opened her mouth and closed it again.
“Would you like me—” Bond began.
“—No,” Posey said. “Guys, I… Well, it’s early still, really early. But we can’t keep anything from you. I mean we could but we don’t want to. And I couldn’t keep it from Bond. Darn it. What I’m trying to say is that… I’m pregnant.”