Dark Humanity

by Gwynn White

  “Do you think they’re alive?”

  He sighed. “I don’t know. They’re not on the ship. I know that.”

  We sat there in silence for a minute and then I looked at him. “You know, my parents are not acting any differently than usual and they certainly don’t act like they’re just… tolerating us. Like Bruce’s parents.”

  He shrugged. “I guess I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe they’re just really good actors.”

  “Or maybe they’re just really not aliens,” I said, thinking back to how she’d been acting earlier. Talking about Planet Z. It was certainly a little weird, but not enough to convince me fully that she was being controlled by an alien.

  “Then why would they have erased both of our memories?” he said, his eyebrows furrowing. “It doesn’t make sense.”

  “Maybe it wasn’t them? You could have been confused.”

  He shook his head. “No. It happened and it was definitely them, Alex. We were both there; you just don’t remember it yet.”

  I tried picturing them doing something like that, strapping us down by force, but it didn’t make sense. Both of my parents were peaceful and very good-natured people. They hadn’t changed. “How long ago did your memory return?”

  “The following morning. When I woke, things started coming back to me.”

  “Do you have any idea why you regained your memory so quickly and I’m still having problems?”

  “No. Maybe the machine was faulty. I really have no idea, I’m just happy that it did. What about you, are you remembering anything else?”

  “No.”

  He rubbed the wrist I’d twisted earlier, smiling. “Your subconscious apparently remembers our defense training.”

  I smiled sheepishly. “I guess so. Sorry about that.”

  “No, I’m glad it happened,” he replied. “For your sake. Now you know that you can protect yourself if you need to. At least when it comes to hand-to-hand combat.”

  “I guess,” I said, pulling my legs up onto the bed and crossing them. “You said we were training for six months. Is that how long we knew of them?”

  He nodded.

  “It’s weird because I can remember the last six months so vividly. Going to school and hanging out with my friends. Celebrating Jimmy’s birthday. I don’t get why I can’t remember anything about the aliens.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe they planted some memories, too? Took away the ones they didn’t want you to have and replaced them with the others?”

  “Maybe,” I said softly. “It’s so twisted, isn’t it?”

  He nodded.

  I sighed. “What are we going to do?”

  “Just like I said before, nothing. Not until we get to the planet. Then, I guess we’ll try and escape.”

  I shivered. Everything felt so surreal and hopeless. I couldn’t imagine running off with him on a planet we knew nothing about. It had to be a dangerous move. But what other choice did we have? “That doesn’t sound very reassuring.”

  “I know. It’s all I have right now. I guess we just need to come up with some kind of plan. Maybe I can get my hands on some of their weapons? The security guards have phasers. Maybe we can confiscate some of them.”

  “It would definitely help.”

  “I’ve come up with something, at least.” He pointed to a large vent on the wall, next to the bunk-bed. “If I can get into the air-ducts, I should be able to move freely without getting caught.”

  I got to my feet and looked up at it. It didn’t look very promising to me. “Do you think that you can even fit in there?”

  He climbed to the top of the bunk-bed, leaned over the edge, and studied the vent. “Actually, yeah. It’s definitely wide enough. I just need to get the cover off. Do you think you can you get your hands on a screwdriver?”

  “There has to be one somewhere,” I said. “In fact, I’ll go check my parents’ room.”

  “If they don’t have one, I’m sure you can ask one of the maintenance workers.”

  “Oh, yeah. Good idea.”

  “One more thing, could you bring back something to eat, too?” he asked with a crooked smile. “I work better when I’m not ready to pass out.”

  “I’ll try. When was the last time you ate anything?”

  He shrugged. “Early this morning.”

  “Wow. What would you like?”

  “Anything you can get your hands on.”

  “I’ll check and see if the cafeteria is still open.”

  “Thanks,” Blayze said, now standing next to me.

  “No problem,” I replied.

  Before I could do anything, he pulled me into an embrace. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I thought maybe they’d already gotten to you.”

  “Uh, no,” I said, laughing nervously. “I mean, I’m pretty sure that when I talk to myself, it’s still just me listening.”

  He chuckled and let me go. “That’s good. You haven’t been invited to host any alien house-warming parties?”

  “Not yet,” I said, wishing he’d hug me again. His arms had made me feel safe and I so desperately needed that right now. “Well, I, uh, I’ll be back.”

  “I’ll be waiting,” said Blayze, who was looking at me like he had more to say.

  I took a deep breath. Something had been niggling at me. “About you and Emily,” I blurted out. “Was that real or a memory?”

  His eyebrows shot up. “Emily?”

  “Yeah, your girlfriend?”

  He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Unbelievable.”

  “What is unbelievable?”

  Blayze opened his eyes and smiled slowly. “You were my girlfriend, Alex. I don’t know exactly what crazy memories they implanted in that beautiful head of yours, but it was always just you and me.”

  I stared at him in shock. “You and me?”

  He walked over and looked down into my face. “I wasn’t going to say anything. I was just going to wait. You’ve already been through so much today, but,” he touched my cheek, “since you’re the one who asked…”

  My eyes widened as he pressed his lips to mine. The kiss was soft and then… familiar. Euphoria and heart-pounding joy washed over me as I realized we’d done it before, but it was quickly followed by anger. Anger that someone had taken such a sacred and intimate memory from me.

  “There is one good thing,” he whispered, pulling away.

  “What?”

  His eyes twinkled. “We’ve now had two first kisses.”

  “You mean I have,” I said, trying not to ruin the moment even though I was so furious.

  “Believe me, it felt like a first kiss for me, too.”

  But, it wasn’t. And I couldn’t shake my resentment. The aliens were taking everything away from us. I wasn’t even sure who I was anymore.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, his smile slipping way.

  “I hate them,” I said, blinking back tears.

  “Who? Your parents?”

  “Whoever it was that did this to us. Playing with our lives like this. Using us. Deceiving us.”

  He nodded. “I know. Just remember, Alex, they may have taken those memories from you, but we can always make new ones. Better ones.”

  “Unless they steal those away as well,” I said, angrily.

  “I won’t let that happen to us again,” he said firmly. “And I’m going to do everything in my power to stop them. I hope you know that.”

  “I know, Blayze,” I said, wishing that I had more faith in those words. The truth was that we were in way over our heads, without the power to do much of anything. The aliens had already conquered our planet, killing most of the population and using the rest for their own survival. I couldn’t imagine that two eighteen-year-olds would be able to find the power to take that kind of enemy on and in the end, win. But, I also wasn’t willing to give up without a fight. It was the human thing to do. “We’ll stop them.”

  Or at least die trying…

  Chapter Seventeen

&n
bsp; A few seconds later, I left the cabin and walked next door to my parents’ room, which was locked. Sighing, I decided to go in search of food and worry about the screwdriver afterward. As I made my way to the cafeteria, I ran into the jerk, Hamilton, again. I couldn’t believe my luck. This time he was with his assistant.

  “Hello, Alexandra,” he said.

  “Hi,” I said, trying to keep my cool.

  “I’m Mara,” said his assistant, holding out her hand. She had blonde hair and brown eyes that were very warm, which was surprising. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

  “We haven’t.” I shook her hand. “I’m Alex.”

  “Nice to meet you.” She smiled. “My, you have beautiful eyes. The color is extraordinary.”

  “Thanks,” I said, lowering them. The way she was staring made me uncomfortable. Almost like she was being sincere. I wondered if they were going to play “Good Cop, Bad Cop” with me now, to try and get information.

  “You haven’t seen Blayze yet, have you?” asked Hamilton, staring down at me with that haughty expression he always wore.

  Yep. Good Cop, Bad Cop. Butter me up and then go in for the kill. “No.”

  His eyes bore into mine and I thought about the video, when they’d been infused with silver. They were currently a dark blue, obviously hiding his true nature. “That’s unfortunate. We’ve checked everywhere and there’s been absolutely no sign of him. The ship is big, but not that big. I’m beginning to think that someone is helping him hide.”

  “Why would someone do that?”

  “That’s the question, isn’t it?” he said, smiling coldly. “He’s very confused and needs help. Anyone who doesn’t see that is probably also very confused.”

  “Probably. I wouldn’t know.”

  “I’m sure if you did know, you’d tell us,” he said.

  “Of course.”

  “So, where are you off to?” asked Mara.

  I waved my hand. “Oh, I was going to grab a snack from the cafeteria. I just finished working out and now I’m starving.”

  “I believe it’s closed until dinnertime,” said Hamilton. “But, if you need something to tide you over until then, I happen to know the access code.”

  “That’s okay. I don’t want to be a bother.”

  “No bother at all,” he said and looked at Mara. “I’ll meet you back at my office. Now would be a good time to check on that thing we discussed earlier.”

  She looked at me and then back at him. “Of course. Definitely.”

  “Let’s go and get you something to eat, Alexandra,” said Hamilton as Mara left us.

  “Uh, sure,” I said, trying to hide my frustration. The last thing I wanted was to be around Hamilton, let along be alone with him.

  We began walking toward the cafeteria, passing by several people who greeted him. He was very friendly with all of them, which surprised me because he didn’t seem like a very amicable guy.

  It’s because they’re probably all aliens, I reminded myself.

  “So, are you excited about visiting a new planet?” he asked, after a short time.

  “Yes,” I lied. “Definitely. It’s all my parents have been talking about.”

  “I can understand why.” He smiled. “You’re going to love it. It’s everything that Earth isn’t.”

  Ah, he’s trying to be my friend now. Probably thinks I’m naïve enough to think he likes me. “So, you’ve been there before?”

  “No, but I’ve seen pictures and videos.”

  “Oh, that’s cool.”

  He stopped suddenly. “Would you like to see some of them? I can show you what all of the fuss is about.”

  “No, that’s okay,” I replied, not wanting to be with him any longer than I had to. “I’m kind of tired. I’m going to probably take a nap after I eat.”

  “Are you sure? You could have your snack while I show them to you in my office.”

  I laughed nervously. He was practically begging me to come back with him. “Maybe another time.”

  “Suit yourself. If you change your mind, though…”

  “Thanks,” I said. “I’ll let you know.”

  “Okay. My door is always open. If you want to look at pictures or need someone to talk to…”

  Oh, puke, I thought. Like I would turn to him for anything. “Thanks,” I repeated, as we began walking again. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “So,” he said, as we turned the corner, “what’s your brother up to?”

  “He’s hanging out with Bruce.”

  “I’m glad they’re getting along. I’m a little surprised, though. I’ve heard that Bruce can be a bully at times. Even his parents have said that he is quite the handful.”

  “That’s what I heard, too. But, they seem to be doing fine together.”

  “Good,” he said as we approached the cafeteria. Hamilton entered some numbers on the keypad and both of the doors opened. We walked in and the lights turned on automatically. He looked at me. “Let’s go and see what they have in the kitchen.”

  “Okay.”

  “What would you like, young lady?” he asked, as we stopped at the cafeteria’s food processor.

  “A sandwich?”

  He began pushing buttons. “What kind?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t care. Whatever.”

  “How about a soy and onion sandwich?” he asked, smirking.

  I grimaced. “No, thanks.”

  “Obviously, you do care. How about an almond-butter sandwich on whole wheat?”

  “Okay. Could I have two of them?”

  His eyes widened. “Two? You planning on stuffing yourself and hibernating for the rest of the trip?”

  “No, I just thought that maybe Jimmy might want one when he gets back from Bruce’s. He’s growing like a weed and is always hungry.”

  “Okay,” he said, pressing more buttons on the food-processor. “You want them ‘To Go’, right?”

  “Yes.”

  A minute later, he reached into the food-processor and handed me two sandwiches wrapped in plastic.

  “Thanks,” I answered, reaching for them.

  “See, I’m not such a bad guy.”

  “I never thought you were,” I said, forcing a smile.

  His lip curled up and I could tell that he didn’t really believe me. “Would you like something to drink?”

  “Uh, yeah. That would be great. Maybe some water?”

  “There’s a cooler over there, help yourself.”

  “Okay, well, thanks again,” I said, going over to the cooler. I opened it up and grabbed two small bottles.

  “You’re welcome. I’ll walk you back to your room,” he said, walking toward the exit.

  “That’s not necessary,” I said, catching up to him. “But, thanks.”

  He held the door open. “It’s okay. I need to talk to your father anyway.”

  “He’s gone,” I said, walking into the hallway.

  “He is? Where is he?”

  “Probably still in the gym. With my mom. I’m sure you can catch him there.”

  “Oh. Well, I guess I’ll head over that way.”

  “Good luck with Blayze.”

  “Thanks. It’s just a matter of time before we find him.”

  “I’m sure.”

  “Hey, if you run into your dad, let him know that I need to speak to him.”

  “I will. Like I said, check the gym,” I said, walking away quickly.

  He said something, but I couldn’t hear him, nor did I care. I needed to get back to the room. When I finally made it back and stepped inside, I almost had a heart attack.

  “Mara,” I said, staring at her in horror. She was standing in the middle of the room with Blayze, whose eyes were shiny.

  “Relax,” she said, holding up her hands. “I’m on your side, believe it or not.”

  Blayze cleared his throat. “She is. I just found out myself.”

  “I don’t understand. What’s going on?” I said putting down the sandwiche
s and water.

  Mara shoved a loose piece of hair behind her ear. “I don’t have a lot of time to explain. Hamilton sent me here to see if you were hiding Blayze.”

  “Are you going to tell him?” I asked.

  “No,” she said. “Like I said, I’m on your side.”

  “I don’t get it. Why are you helping us?” I asked.

  “I’m part of The Resistance,” she replied.

  “Aren’t you being controlled by them?” I asked. “The aliens?”

  “No,” she said firmly, like the thought repelled her.

  “You mentioned The Resistance?” I asked, feeling much better. “What is that?”

  She looked at Blayze. “You’re going to have to explain. I need to hurry back to Hamilton before he comes looking for me.”

  “I will. You’d better go and find him. He goes crazy when he’s missing someone,” said Blayze, smirking.

  “You’ve got that right. I’m sorry about your parents,” she said, her eyes softening. “I thought that you should find out the truth. I know Hamilton lied.”

  He nodded. “He did, but I guess part of me already knew.”

  Mara walked over and put her hand on my shoulder. “And you. I know things might seem overwhelming right now, but just remember that you’re not alone.”

  “Thank goodness for that,” I said, feeling so much better.

  Her cell phone began to ring.

  She pulled it out of her pocket and frowned. “Yep. It’s him,” she said, staring at the screen. “I have to get out of here.”

  “Thanks, Mara,” said Blayze. “Thanks for everything. You don’t know how much this means to us. We’ve been going crazy.”

  “You’re welcome. Just so you know, this will be the last time we communicate for a while. I can’t risk getting caught, obviously. Just remember what I told you.”

  “I will.” He nodded toward me. “And I’ll fill her in.”

  Nodding, she left us alone.

  I turned to him. “Okay, what happened to your parents and what’s The Resistance?”

  “They’re basically Freedom Fighters,” he said, grabbing one of the sandwiches. He tore off the plastic. “So, we aren’t the only ones who know about the invasion.”

  I sighed in relief. “Thank goodness. Are they going to save us?”

  “They’re trying to,” he said, taking a bite out of the sandwich.