Coalescence (Camden Investigations Book 1)

by Gary Starta

  Evan’s voice answered. “That’s an affirmative. We’ve all come to an agreement, Mitch. Over.”

  “And what is that? Over.”

  “We all don’t know what the hell we’re doing here. Over.”

  A chorus of laughter wafted through the transceiver back to Mitchell.

  “Then you better let me call the shots then. Over.”

  Kassidy grabbed the transceiver from Evan. “I think silencing the General was an appropriate and swift response. Maybe they’ll think twice before broadcasting their alien spam. Copy.”

  Evan shook his head. “I don’t think the alien broadcast was live. In short, I think this is some kind of recorded loop broadcast via Ron. It stands to reason, Kassidy. Why would they make a welcoming announcement prior to their alteration plans? It must be some kind of malfunction. Over?”

  Kassidy shook her head.

  “Copy?” Mitch asked.

  “Yeah, copy,” Evan answered.

  “And we can’t go knocking Ron out or terminating his signal. Remember guys, we still need to place the ship—”

  Mitchell didn’t quite his finish his thought. Ron was chattering again.

  RACHEL KNELT before Ron, her hands cupping his.

  He was moaning random words. They were unintelligible and out of order.

  Tawa growled and pawed at the floor.

  “I don’t know guys.” Rachel attempted to assess a situation that had no precedent. “Maybe he’s damaged from the blow. Maybe he’s offline.”

  Evan scratched his forehead. “Let’s just hope his visions aren’t offline.”

  Ron stammered. “Clouds . . . lifting . . . light is . . . The Alteration is coming . . .”

  The words suddenly made sense.

  Kassidy shrieked. “That can mean only one thing.”

  “They’re preparing their weapon!” Gavin replied.

  “But where are they?” Evan asked rhetorically. “It all depends where they are. I don’t think they’ll fire until they’re directly over us. That’s where the gap is.”

  “But you heard what he just said,” Rachel responded to Evan. “They’ve detected an opening. The clouds must be equivalent to the OBOLs. They’re probably over us right now if they know that!”

  Evan shook his head. “Not necessarily. They may have an advanced radar or scanning system. They could still be on the other side of the planet for all we know. We’ve got to see what Ron sees. It’s imperative.”

  “But how . . .” Rachel paused, suddenly aware of the answer.

  IRIS BALKED at the suggestion. She was speaking to Evan over the transceiver. “DJ carries DNA in direct conflict with our enemies. I can’t put her in harm. There’s got be someone else. Over.”

  “But there isn’t. Bill is still unconscious. There are no other telepathically gifted people here, Iris. Besides, we’ve discussed this. DJ is okay with it. Copy.”

  Iris allowed a long moment to pause before she responded. Having DJ communicate with Galloway was one thing. Although they were ignorant of the connection at that time, Galloway and DJ were Reptilians. Her sister could not have come to harm in hindsight. But how would the enemy react if it could detect DJ’s Reptilian makeup? Even if the Greys were only equipped with a traumatized human in Ron to do its bidding and the enemy’s reach was questionable, the threat remained tangible to Iris.

  “Dream Girl?” Iris called. “Over.”

  “Yeah, Eye Girl. Right here. Copy.”

  “A link can take seconds, even moments to break. DJ, do you understand what might happen in those seconds. What they might do to your mind? Over.”

  “I understand. But what will happen to all us if we don’t get a lock on the ship? Besides, if they have similar emotions they just might slip up. Over.”

  “Please elaborate. Over.”

  “If they can experience anger, my Reptilian presence just might create a hiccup. Maybe it will buy you some time to reengage the object during the confusion. I know if I were on the flip side. I would be angered, but more importantly, I might even be shocked at the discovery. I think I can break the link in time during those seconds of disorder. I wish I could be more certain about what might happen to Ron. He can’t break their link. They might take out all their rage on him. Iris, it is Ron we should be concerned about. Over.”

  Iris’s head drooped. She felt Mitchell taking her hand into his.

  Iris sighed. “Okay, please proceed. DJ, I love you. Copy.”

  “That’s a definite copy, Eye Girl. Now stand ready for instructions. Copy.”

  DJ GRIPPED Ron’s hands tighter. The message was becoming clearer.

  The ship was in orbit and decreasing speed. Light shimmered and something was protracting from its midsection. This couldn’t be good.

  We’re too late. We’re too late. DJ complained internally. She wasn’t quite sure if anyone other than Ron could hear her thoughts.

  I’m reacting. That means we’re too late. I’ve got to break away. DJ attempted to break focus. She imagined rushing water pouring over a dam. It was allegorical. She hoped the water would free her from the hold the dam had over her. She imagined the aliens to be the dam.

  She detected a human voice. “It’s me. It’s Ron. I’m trying to resist. You shouldn’t be here.”

  “But I have to be here. You cannot convey your visions. I’m here to help you.”

  “You haven’t learned how to interpret like I have. The aliens don’t think in linear terms. What you’re seeing is yet to happen. It’s why they sent their communiqué through early.”

  “Can you be certain it isn’t a malfunction? Why tip their hand?”

  “I don’t have time to share my experiences. You must go.”

  “What if it’s not their thinking that is out of synch, but maybe they are out of phase with us, in some manner?” DJ realized she was fumbling to make sense out of a subject more suited to Evan or Mitchell. “I need to see more. I need to be certain for Iris.”

  “You need to be eradicated.”

  DJ could not recognize the voice. It wasn’t Ron. It resonated with a metallic ring as if it was being channeled via interpreter.

  In her mind, she shook her head attempting to break free.

  The metallic voice made a grunting sound. DJ felt hands gripping around her trachea. It was through making verbal threats.

  “WHAT THE hell is happening here?” Rachel stammered and cupped a hand over her mouth in disbelief.

  DJ’s face was pink. Bursts of her coughs filled the room.

  Kassidy balled a fist at nothing in particular. “I’ll tell you what’s happening. They’re killing her!”

  “But how?” Gavin asked. His eyebrows were raised in disbelief. “I mean, it looks like someone’s choking her, but there are no hands around her neck.”

  DJ’s hands slapped about her neck. It wasn’t her hands doing the choking. Nor was it Ron’s. He was all but catatonic.

  Kassidy threw up her hands. “We’ve got to do something!”

  Evan threw his arms about Kassidy’s waist. “No. Not that. No physical interaction. DJ needs to break the mental hold. Whatever is harming her holds no physical or tangible form.”

  Kassidy sputtered, “You . . . Mean . . . Whatever’s Doing this . . . Is . . . Not . . . Here?”

  “I’m not certain it’s tangible anywhere,” Evan said. “I think something’s employing thought suggestion.”

  DJ FELT light-headed and had a great desire to relinquish her fight. A sleep sounded so inviting.

  “No!” A new voice had joined the telepathic battle. It was someone DJ knew.

  She wanted to say “No, Mom. Stay out of this.” But she didn’t even have the voice to speak telepathically. She was succumbing to the strangulation. What would have been blurred vision in a waking state appeared to DJ as dark storm clouds. A metal ringing echoed as if thunder.

  “Do not fight it, dear.” Mom was speaking to her. It was so unreal. DJ imagined it was the one voice she wanted to hear i
f she was to die.

  This is surrealistic, DJ thought. “I’m sorry, Mom. You were right. I wanted to be with you all along. Please forgive me . . .”

  She choked one last time.

  “That’s it, dear Doris Jean. Let it go. Die. Move on.”

  DJ’s final thought was betrayal. Her mother’s motives were so selfish. Her mother wanted her to die so she could join her in death. DJ wanted to rail at her mother’s life long self-absorption. The narcissism! How could she want her youngest daughter to die just so she wouldn’t be alone!

  “OH, SHIT. No! No! This fucking can’t be happening!” Kassidy’s scream radiated out into the desert.

  Evan and Rachel kneeled over the dead body. “I’ll try CPR,” Rachel said. Evan nodded. She began pumping her hand over DJ’s chest. Then she blew air into DJ’s lifeless lips.

  “Keep trying,” Evan said. He ran a hand through his hair.

  Kassidy knelt behind Evan, she rubbed her hands on his shoulders. “Please, please,” Kassidy pleaded. “Whatever I need to do, I’ll do it.”

  Evan realized she wasn’t speaking to him but some higher power she felt obligated to bargain with. He winced realizing what an ass he was. He had always held believers in disdain—believers in religion that was. Now, in this moment, he wished he could plead to whatever power might correct this injustice. There was a human need in times of extreme desperation to call out for a god. Evan acknowledged this. He began praying silently for aid. Evan, the rationalist, would have done just about anything at this moment to reanimate DJ Camden.

  Rachel continued to hammer at DJ’s chest. Kassidy proceeded to wail and knead her fingers into Evan’s shoulders. To Evan, these actions seemed miles away. A new concern gripped him. The thought of delivering the devastating news to Iris made Evan feel as if his blood had been replaced with ice-cold water. It was the first time Evan felt his pursuit of science was mere distraction.

  “SHE’S GONE.” DJ heard the words being spoken. They were in English, but it wasn’t the language she understood. Why was that? Unless, her Reptilian half . . . It was the tone of voice that translated their meaning. It was probably one of her friends breaking the news to Iris. DJ was surprised to find herself in tune with the living so shortly after passing.

  She thought to move her head and forth. It was symbolic in nature. There was no need to move your head to search in the afterlife. In a flash, her mother appeared.

  “So, I’m here. I’m with you now, Mom.”

  “Yes, but not totally.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You have died as a human. But your other half is not. You’ll understand shortly.”

  Immersed in confusion, DJ called out to her mother. But she had vanished as quickly as she came. What do you mean: I’ll understand? I don’t understand . . . anything.”

  She wriggled about on the floor. Her body did not feel as if it were her own. Even if she had died, she wasn’t supposed to feel like this. Something was not right.

  “HOLD ON! Don’t touch her! Leave her!” Evan was screaming at no one in particular. Everyone had backed off and was in no danger of touching the large lizard creature writhing about the floor.

  The camper was in no way sturdy enough to withstand the thrashings of the eight-foot long reptilian being that had morphed from DJ’s dead body seconds earlier.

  “We’ve got to calm this thing down.” Evan bit his lip, wishing his word choice had been more kind.

  Kassidy offered. “How about we give it some fire water? Although, I don’t think it’s going to stand still long enough to down shots.”

  “This isn’t an it! It’s freaking DJ!” Rachel slammed a fist against the wall prompting the refrigerator door to swing open.

  She spied its contents. It was all but empty except for the freezer section. It contained some ice pops. Ice pops were all that DJ ate after the accident. Without hesitation, Rachel hurled the pops at the writhing creature.

  After three rounds of pops, the Reptilian’s high pitched squeals had segued into softer, more manageable grunts.

  “I think you gave it what it wants,” Gavin said.

  “I think I gave DJ what she recognizes,” Rachel responded.

  “But how?” Kassidy asked. “If DJ died . . .”

  Evan squatted to a crouch and held a hand out to the lizard. “It’s all right. It’s okay.” He repeated the mantra a few times. To Kassidy he said, “I don’t think they can be separated. There must still be an element of DJ in its makeup.”

  Kassidy swore she saw the lizard nod.

  Then an enormous clatter erupted as the Reptilian fought to stand.

  The camper swung far to the left, then far to the right. Darian, Evan, Kassidy, and Rachel fought to retain balance by reaching out for purchase. Darian was fortunate enough to find the kitchen table and clung to it like a life preserver. “It’s her. I know it’s her. She wants to speak. I can feel it. DJ was always about communication.”

  Evan glanced at Darian unsure if the UFO chaser was delirious. He really didn’t think DJ was still alive but that her essence, as it was contained in genetic coding, was still viable and could influence the Reptilian body that still housed it.

  But Evan’s belief that the Reptilian would function as if it were DJ vanished when it began to peer intensely in the direction of the still unconscious Bill. Tawa yipped and danced in frantic circles. Ron was slumped onto his side and barely conscious. There was no one in close proximity to defend the vulnerable spirit guide.

  The camper groaned as if in protest when the Reptilian stooped to touch Bill. Evan felt frozen. His limbs would not move. But a small voice played in his head. It sure as hell wasn’t reason. It was a voice Evan had never welcomed. It was a voice of faith. It told Evan to remain calm. There was a purpose to the Reptilian’s actions. After all, it was the human’s ally in the war against the Greys. Its actions have a purpose. Its actions have a purpose. Evan felt as if he were praying more than hoping. He glanced downward to find his hands clasped together. When he looked back up he felt sickened. The Reptilian’s tongue shot in and out of its mouth. It was staring intently at whatever prize it cherished.

  The Reptilian half of DJ Camden was holding a pendant in its claw. Evan strained his neck to see around the gargantuan beast. But try as he might he failed. What did the Reptilian want with Bill’s pendant?

  A flash of blazing light held the answer. Evan closed his eyes, seeing orange light. It permeated his eyelids. It was as if the sun had blinded him.

  Etched in the orange glow was a symbol. It was the caduceus, the staff and serpent symbolism marked in the crop circle. The light flashed again. Evan then recognized a human wheezing sound. It was emanating from Bill.

  In a moment, Evan’s sight returned. Bill’s pendant was glowing in the dusky light of the camper. The etching of the serpent sparkled and seemingly floated off the pendant as if a hologram. It spun round and round. Evan couldn’t be sure if the serpent was merely a drawing on the symbol had been given life. In any event, Bill was conscious and enraptured in what appeared to be a telepathic link with Reptilian DJ.

  Long moments transpired. Evan glanced around the camper. Stark white faces with dilated pupils observed the ritual. No one was going to interfere even if able. Shadows bounced off the walls. Sometimes the shadow was the serpent form.

  The lizard teetered and Evan wondered if this would be the tipping point that would send the camper crashing to its side.

  He closed his eyes and braced. When he dared to peek, he found the lizard was no longer in the room and had been replaced or reformed into DJ’s human body.

  The sudden weight of the situation felt suffocating. He had to contact Iris. What if it was already too late? What if the aliens had engaged their light weapon during the Reptilian séance?

  Bill spoke and interrupted Evan’s thoughts. The spirit guide spoke in an assured tone. It surprised Evan. How could this man behave so calmly after such a paranormal experience? Bill advised e
veryone to remain calm and quiet. He would explain what had just transpired. Evan focused. This, he had to hear.

  Bill fought off Tawa’s romantic advances, which had taken the form of face licks, as he spoke. “The Reptilian has outfoxed the fox, so to speak.” Everyone murmured. He raised a hand to hush.

  “The hybrid in its Reptilian form came to me and showed me the truth. Human DJ had been deceived during her link with Ron. The Greys knew we were trying to track to their ship. In an effort to deceive, the Greys gave DJ, via Ron, a distorted vision that showed the planet already, and falsely, under attack. It was a failed attempt at deceit. The Reptilian, which was never affected by the Greys deceit, was brought to the forefront by the foolish hand of the enemy. DJ in her waning human state eventually became privy to this deceit and the Greys acted in telekinetic fashion to disarm her truth with the cold hand of death. DJ succumbed to their wishes—at the behest of her mother—to give rise to her Reptilian state. The Reptilian linked with me with aid of Quetzalcoatl and showed me the true path of the ship. It is in the near vicinity and there is precious little time for your friends to connect the artifact to its energy source. Go now, and contact them.”

  Rachel raced to the transceiver and relayed Bill’s news. In short form.

  Evan scratched his chin. “What you’re saying sounds impossible to me.”

  “You mean Quetzalcoatl?” Bill asked.

  “No, how you referred to DJ, as if she was in an altered state. Could the energy contained in her DNA be transferred back to a living state? In essence, your explanation seems to imply her human state can be reanimated. Am I correct?”

  “The aliens attempted to kill a human by exploiting human frailty.” Bill smiled. “DJ is always part reptile. That’s what you might call a loophole. I believe as she entered a death state and an energy reserve of her essence was maintained in part through the Reptilian circulatory system. Extraterrestrial Reptilians have oxygen reserves that are necessary for swallowing food. They have to hold their breath while ingesting. It is conceivable that the two states, human and Reptilian, comingled for a short amount of time during the transition. There may have been sufficient air intake to prevent brain death in the transition.”