I notice several cameras planted in the overhang above us. I wonder what happens if whoever is watching on the other side of those cameras sees someone who doesn’t belong here.
There’s a biometric sensor right next to the door. That seems like a lot of security for a cave in the middle of nowhere.
The meanest of the bunch places his hand on the sensor. When it turns green and beeps, another one of the men opens the thick, solid steel door.
Then the four of us step inside.
It’s a sharply lit room with rock walls that shine like glass. I’ve never seen anything like it before.
There’s not much inside the space but another large black metal door. This one requires a retinal scan. Mr. Mean volunteers his eyeball, and the door slides open.
It’s an elevator.
The man who is still squeezing my arm shoves me inside. The men don’t step into the elevator with me, though. When the door shuts, I’m all alone.
There aren’t any buttons. The only way for the elevator to go is down.
I have no idea where I am or where I’m headed. I have no idea who those men are or why they brought me here. I have so many questions that my head is spinning.
I just hope I get some answers.
When the elevator door finally opens a man in uniform is waiting for me.
He’s young, maybe in his midtwenties. He looks like a typical soldier, except that he has kind eyes. They almost glimmer in the harsh overhead lighting.
I thought it was outlandish when Gunner told me his parents believed that the military had secret underground bases in the desert. Maybe it wasn’t so farfetched after all.
“Follow me,” the soldier says. As if I have a choice. There’s nowhere else to go.
I follow him down a long narrow corridor that makes me glad I’m not claustrophobic. The soldier is tall, maybe six feet. There’s barely enough room for his head to clear the ceiling.
We walk by the openings to other passageways, but what we don’t see are any other people. Maybe they’re all working. Or maybe there aren’t a lot of other people down here. It’s difficult to tell.
It is unnervingly quiet.
When we get closer to the end of the corridor, he opens a round portal, and we step inside a small office.
“Captain Brooks,” the soldier says. “I have Ms. Jaxon for you.”
Another man in uniform is seated behind a metal desk. He’s older, maybe in his midforties, but he looks fit and muscular. The type of guy who probably played football in high school and still works out.
“Sit down,” Captain Brooks instructs.
The younger soldier disappears out the door, leaving me alone with the older man.
I take a seat. The metal chair is cold on my bare legs. Shorts are nice in the Arizona heat. They’re not as nice underground.
“Cold?” he asks.
“A little.”
“We’ll make sure you have something more appropriate to wear down here.”
“What do you want with me?”
He rubs his chin for several moments as if he’s trying to choose his words carefully. “We’ve run tests with hundreds of subjects. We’ve never seen anyone do what you did.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” I ask.
His dark eyes narrow as he looks me up and down. “That’s what we want to find out.”
I swallow. “What would you like me to do?”
“We want you to work for us.”
It’s not immediately obvious who us is, and I’m not sure if I should ask. “What kind of work?”
“We’d like for you to participate in some more experiments with us. Here. At the base.”
“Do I have a choice?” They kidnapped me and brought me here against my will, so I’m guessing the answer is no, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.
More chin-rubbing. I’m surprised his jawline isn’t red and raw from all the stroking. “It’s a matter of national security.”
That sounds ominous.
“Do I have to stay here?”
This underground base doesn’t look like the Hilton. It’s not even Motel 6. It’s more like staying at a campground. Actually, no. It’s like a weird fallout shelter.
“For a while.”
“I didn’t bring a toothbrush.”
He laughs. “We have everything you’ll need. We just want to get a handle on what we’re dealing with.”
“You mean me.”
“You’re an anomaly. We want to know how you were able to detect our soldier in the field.”
“You mean the one who was following me? The one who tried to put thoughts in my head?”
He nods.
“Is he here?”
“He’s stationed at this base.”
I jump out of the chair. “I need to see him. He has something of mine, and I want it back.”
Captain Brooks frowns. “Has he had contact with you? Outside of the experiment?”
I massage my temple. I’m starting to get a headache. The idea of being trapped underground is freaking me out a little bit. “I think I need some fresh air.”
“It takes some time to get used to being underground. I’ll get Sergeant Snow to take you to the atrium.”
He presses a button on the intercom on his desk.
“Yes, Captain,” a voice says.
“Would you take Ms. Jaxon to the atrium for a few minutes?”
“Of course, sir.”
The younger soldier reappears, and I follow him out of Captain Brooks’s office back down the narrow corridor. This time, we take one of the passageways we passed by earlier and follow it to the very end.
It’s a large garden atrium. Several stories above us is a glass dome that lets in natural light from outside. The atrium is filled with trees and plants. Even though we’re underground, it feels like we’re outside at ground level.
Sort of.
As I take in a deep, calming breath, my headache subsides a bit.
“How long have you worked here?” I ask Sergeant Snow.
“Six months,” he replies matter-of-factly. These military men are all business.
“Do you live here? At the base?”
“Yes.”
“That’s a long time to be underground.”
He nods but doesn’t elaborate. Not much of a conversationalist.
I close my eyes and take in another deep breath. I think about my aunts. The terror in their eyes as the men in black dragged me away. The memory sends a shiver right through me.
They must be worried sick. I wonder if they’ve contacted Gunner—have they told him what happened?
When I open my eyes, Sergeant Snow is staring at me. I’m surprised when he doesn’t look away. “Are you feeling better?”
“Is it possible for me to make a call?” Do they even have phones here? “I need to let my aunts know where I am.”
“I should take you back to the captain’s office.”
We both rise from the bench, and I follow him back in the direction we came.
When he knocks on the captain’s door, there’s not an immediate answer. So we stand in the corridor and wait.
Sergeant Snow doesn’t look at me. He stares straight ahead. He hasn’t invited me to ask any questions. I have so many I wouldn’t even know where to begin. But I’m not sure how many answers the sergeant would have. Or how many he’d be willing or able to give me.
Footsteps echo in the corridor behind us. When I glance up, I see four soldiers heading toward us. One of them is the man from my dream. The one who took my pendant. The one who followed me during the experiment.
His striking blues eyes lock onto mine as he marches by. My body tingles in response.
When I’m finally able to regain my composure, I shout to him, “Hey! Wait! Stop.”
He and the soldiers with him stop and turn to face me.
I rub the back of my neck. “You have something that’s mine.” As the words leave my mouth, I realize how crazy they sound
.
He just stares at me, expressionless.
Now what?
“I want it back.” I’m so nervous my voice cracks.
He’s much bigger and scarier in person than he appeared to be in my dream. He’s a wall of bulging muscle. And his eyes are so much bluer, if that’s even possible. They’re like deep pools of turbulent sapphire water.
“Ms. Jaxon,” Sergeant Snow says, “these men aren’t authorized to speak to you.”
“He’s spoken to me before.” When I point a finger right at his massive chest, he doesn’t even flinch.
Sergeant Snow shakes his head. “That’s not possible. Falcon has been stationed here as long as I have.”
It’s odd that Sergeant Snow didn’t address him by rank. Isn’t that a standard thing that military guys do?
The men with Falcon are just as serious and intimidating as he is. I notice the names on their uniforms: Hawke, Wren, and Jay. All birds. That seems like an odd coincidence. Or maybe it isn’t a coincidence at all. Maybe they’re code names.
Now I’m starting to sound like Gunner with his conspiracies.
What am I supposed to say to Sergeant Snow? That Falcon appeared in my bedroom then vanished? I’ll sound like an idiot.
When Falcon’s eyes meet mine again, there’s a flicker of concern in his otherwise emotionless gaze.
“I don’t know what kind of game you’re all playing here,” I tell the men. “But I’m taking my toys and going home.”
I push by Sergeant Snow and stomp in the direction of the elevator. The one that brought me into this hellhole in the first place.
“Wait,” I hear Sergeant Snow’s voice as he hurries to catch up to me. “You can’t leave. You won’t be able to activate the elevator.”
I knew that. Making a dramatic exit was more of a symbolic gesture. And I’m angry about not being able to get any straight answers. Especially from Falcon.
“What am I doing here?” I blurt, on the verge of tears. “What do you want from me?”
When I let out a loud sniffle, Sergeant Snow’s gray eyes soften. “That’s above my pay grade.” I can tell by the sincerity in his voice that he’s telling me the truth. Guys like him usually do what they’re told and don’t question their orders.
“Who are they?” I point directly at Falcon and the soldiers with him.
Sergeant Snow heaves a sigh. “Those men are part of a special operations unit. That’s all I can tell you.”
“Are they authorized to talk to you?”
He nods.
“Then ask him what he did with my pendant. I want it back.”
Sergeant Snow gives me an odd look. “What kind of pendant?”
“A horseshoe necklace. My mom gave it to me.”
Sergeant Snow stares at me blankly for several moments. He seems shocked by my response. I’m not sure why he seems to care so much about my pendant.
“Ask him about it.” I point to Falcon. “Ask him what he did with it.”
Sergeant Snow takes in a deep breath. Then he exhales. “Fine.”
He walks back toward Falcon. “Ms. Jaxon has requested that I ask you about a pendant. Do you know anything about it?”
“Yes, sir.”
Sergeant Snow seems surprised by his response. “Do you have the object in question?”
“No, sir.”
“Do you know where it is?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Can you give it back to Ms. Jaxon?”
“No, sir. I cannot.”
Sergeant Snow bites his bottom lip. Then he says, “That’s all.”
He’s letting him go? I still don’t have the pendant.
“Yes, sir.”
Falcon and the other men resume walking down the corridor, then turn down one of the hallways and disappear from view.
“Why did you let him leave?” I spit through clenched teeth.
“Not now,” he whispers.
I have no idea what that means.
When he knocks on Captain Brooks’s office door again, I have no time to ask any further questions. The captain responds with a boisterous, “Come in.”
Sergeant Snow opens the portal, and I follow him back into the office.
“Feeling better?” Captain Brooks asks.
Not after running into Falcon. “I’ll feel better when you explain to me exactly what I’m doing here.”
Captain Brooks turns his attention away from me. “Sergeant Snow, would you make sure Ms. Jaxon’s room is ready and that there’s a change of clothes and shoes for her?”
“Of course, sir.” He clicks his heels like Dorothy attempting to get back to Oz before he turns and hurries out of the office.
As soon as the door closes, Captain Brooks gestures for me to sit down.
I take the seat across from him. The chair isn’t any warmer than it was before. Hopefully, the change of clothes that Sergeant Snow is rounding up for me will help, and I won’t feel so frosty.
“I’m no lawyer,” I say, “but I don’t think the military can keep me here against my will.”
“When it’s a matter of national security, we have the right to detain anyone indefinitely.”
“I just graduated high school. I’ve never held a full-time job. What do I have to do with national security?”
“You’ve demonstrated a unique ability we’ve never seen before. We’d like for you to participate in some further experiments.”
He’s already told me that. These military guys are very good at talking in circles and never saying anything of substance. “What exactly are these experiments for?”
“We’re fighting a war on terror. Right here in Arizona. I’d like to invite you to be a part of that fight.” On the word you, he points his index finger directly at me for emphasis.
I feel like I’m watching one of those military recruitment advertisements that you see on television. If he tells me to “Be All That You Can Be,” I might just scream.
“This base is ground zero for our mind-technology development and training.”
“Mind technology?” I have no idea what that means.
“The evolution of human consciousness and the expansion of human potential.”
Now he sounds like Dr. Mary Roth spewing over-rehearsed psychobabble.
“I don’t know what abilities you think I have. I’m just an average eighteen-year-old. Not special in any way.”
“Just give us a few days. We’ll do some additional tests. If you’re right, then we’ll release you.”
“And if you’re right?”
“We hope that you’ll be willing to stay and serve your country in this important mission.”
He makes my role sound so vital. Surely the protection of the country doesn’t depend on me. “Fine. I’ll stay a few days.”
It’s not like I have another job that I need to get to.
“Sergeant Snow should have your room ready.”
My room isn’t much bigger than the size of the single bed that’s crammed inside of it. I have a tiny closet that’s barely wide enough to hang a few pairs of pants and shirts. And a bathroom that doubles as a shower stall. That’s right. I could sit on the toilet and take a shower at the same time, although I have no idea why anyone would want to do that.
I wonder if the soldiers who are stationed here have to sleep in rooms as tiny as mine. Being in such a tight space for a long period of time is enough to drive anyone crazy.
There’s a pair of khaki pants and a long-sleeved shirt on the bed. I change into the pants and throw the shirt on over my T-shirt like a jacket. The clothes are baggy, but it feels good to be in something warmer. Next to the bed, there’s a pair of sneakers and socks. They fit a little better than the pants and shirt, but they’re still not quite my size.
If the men who dragged me from my house would have given me some time to get changed, I wouldn’t be swimming in someone else’s clothes.
I think about my aunts and their threat to phone a lawyer. Attorney fees are no
t something they can afford. I wish there was a way for me to contact them and tell them that I’m okay. That they don’t need to worry about me.
At least I don’t think they do. I’m not convinced that Captain Brooks is being completely honest with me. I feel like there are things about their mission that he’s not telling me.
There’s a soft knock on my door. “Are you ready?” Sergeant Snow asks.
I open the door. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Then let’s go.”
As I follow him into another area of the base, I want to ask him more about the incident with Falcon and my pendant. But I don’t get the sense that he wants to talk about it. Or maybe it’s not the right time to discuss the matter.
He’s staring straight ahead and doesn’t say another word to me.
When we finally stop, we’re in an area lined with small rooms. Each room has a large glass window, kind of like a pet shop.
Soldiers are reclining in chairs that are like the ones we used at the Optimal Mind Institute. And they’re each hooked up to an array of computers and monitors.
“What are they doing?” I ask.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
I notice Falcon lying in one of the rooms. His eyes are closed, but he’s not asleep. I can see that he’s talking even though there is no one in the room with him.
The last room, in the back corner of the area, is vacant. “You’ll be using this one.”
Sergeant Snow opens the glass door, and I follow him inside. “Have a seat.” He gestures toward the recliner.
I slide into the chair, which is still in the upright position.
“Dr. Palmer should be here in a moment.”
“Marcus Palmer?” I ask.
Sergeant Snow frowns. “How did you know?”
“Call it a hunch.”
Marcus Palmer is my high school classmate Petra Palmer’s father. He’s retired military. Also trained as a physician. It can’t be a coincidence that Alexander’s mother and Petra’s father are both involved in whatever this is that they’ve gotten me into.
But what’s the connection between the military, the Optimal Mind Institute, and GenomeTech, where Dr. Palmer is currently employed?
“Do you need anything to drink?” Sergeant Snow asks.
I shake my head. “No, I’m fine.”
Alien Hunter Page 8