The Gods and the Builders

by Brandon Hale

  There was some noise in the background.

  “They are knock, knock, knockin’ on my door!” Donald yelled. “You ain’t getting in, you sonsabitches!” There was a moment of silence, then he said into the mic, “Okay, they’re in. Damn, I’m no good at barricades. Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for listening. This is Howler Jones saying, keep on rock--”

  Silence.

  Lauren turned off the radio. “That’s it, I guess,” she said. “We’re officially alone.”

  Narrow beams of white light streamed into the basement through the cracks in the door.

  “They’re over the house,” Lauren said as she took hold of Jerry’s hand. She looked at Jerry and whispered, “I wish I’d met you a year ago. You should know that.”

  “Change it to five years ago,” Jerry said, “and I’ll agree.”

  Lauren smiled, then turned back to the door and watched the light outside get brighter.

  Chapter 7

  The Gods and the Builders

  The white room seemed to be still, but they knew they were going to the ground. Alice and Arthur stood side by side, holding hands. Alice’s other hand was against the wall. Jim stood behind them. Two men stood behind him.

  “I still think you should have let one of my people do the talking,” Jim said.

  “Respectfully, sir,” Arthur said, “your people did the talking from the day they arrived, and they didn’t learn shit. Alice is our best shot. You heard the others up there verify what she was able to accomplish during the trip.”

  “That’s why I’m trusting you on this,” Jim said.

  “Then trust us,” Arthur said.

  Alice smiled. “You just chastised the President.”

  Jim laughed. “You haven’t met my wife,” he said. “I’m no stranger to being chastised.”

  “Not in the mood for banter,” Arthur said. He looked at Alice. “If we’re able to get them to change their minds, how quickly can we get back home?”

  Alice closed her eyes for a moment, then said, “It’s difficult to say. The kids are right about time. They see it differently.”

  “They couldn’t see it too differently,” Arthur said. “They’ve been working against time from the start. The asteroid in the sky pretty much proves it.”

  “Time‘s not different to them,” Alice explained. “It’s that they see it differently. So it’s hard for them to understand what I’m asking.”

  “How soon can we get back to Earth?” Arthur said.

  “Moving too fast is unpleasant for the ships,” Alice said. “They don’t like it. They gave themselves enough time to accomplish what they needed without pushing the ships too hard.”

  “But if they pushed them to their limits,” Arthur said. “How soon can we get back?”

  “Soon,” Alice said. “Less than a day. Maybe within hours, but it is very unpleasant for them.”

  “Not caring so much about that,” Arthur said.

  “We’re on the ground,” Alice said.

  The door opened.

  They stepped out to face the unlit side of the wall.

  “That thing’s huge,” Jim said. “Looked smaller from the top.”

  “Imagine that,” Arthur said, then turned again to Alice. “What’s the plan?”

  “You’re being a nerve-grate, Arthur,” Alice said.

  Arthur turned to Jim. “I am sorry if I‘m abrasive. There are people I care about very much back home, and I worry that they aren’t safe.”

  “It’s noble, son,” Jim said. “Especially considering that we’re probably in a hell of a lot more trouble than they are. But you haven’t heard me complain once.”

  “Satisfied?” Arthur said. “Now, what’s the plan?”

  “First of all,” Alice said, “I wasn’t talking about Jim. And secondly, I have no idea what the plan is.”

  “We have to think fast,” Arthur said.

  “How about we don’t think on this one,” Alice said. “Let’s go on instinct. I’m finding someone to talk to.” She began to walk toward the wall.

  “Wait,” Arthur said, “you can’t seriously be considering looking them in the eyes.”

  “No,” Alice said. “I have an idea.”

  When she was near the wall, an opening formed. She walked through, followed by the others.

  “Incredible,” Arthur said.

  Inside the structure, the inner walls were lined with aliens. They were hanging from wires and had several hose-like devices coming from their heads, connecting them to the wall.

  “Why aren’t they moving?” Jim asked. “What’s wrong with them?”

  “They‘re dead, Jim,” Alice said.

  Alice got to the other side and another opening appeared, giving them passage to the inside field with the ships.

  “What the hell,” Arthur said. “I have chills.”

  “Me too,” Jim said. “It’s like I just heard the scariest damn ghost story in history.”

  “You feel them,” Alice said. “The disembodied aliens. This place holds them. This is where they stay until they join a ship or a building. Or a newborn. This is a holding pen for their souls.”

  “Did she just say disembodied aliens?” Jim asked.

  Arthur nodded.

  “There,” Alice said and began to run into the area with the ships, almost immediately disappearing behind one.

  “Shit,” Arthur said, and began to run after her.

  Alice stopped when she saw an alien stepping onto a platform about to be raised into a ship. “Stop!” she yelled. “Please!”

  The alien turned to look at her.

  Making sure she kept her focus on its mouth, she said, “Please, just hear me. Please.”

  The alien walked toward her.

  “I don’t know how to do this without putting myself into a coma,” Alice said. “This is the only thing I can think of.”

  Arthur and Jim rounded the corner just in time to see Alice walk up to the ship and place her hand on the outside of its surface. “Talk to me,” she said.

  The alien gracefully walked to the ship and placed its long-fingered hand on the hull.

  “It’s listening,” Alice said to Arthur.

  “Ask it to take us home,” Arthur said.

  Alice shook her head. Her breathing was erratic. “It doesn’t understand,” she said.

  “How could it not understand?” Arthur said. He turned to the alien. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “It understands the request, Arthur,” Alice said. “It knows I want to go home, but it also knows that isn‘t going to happen. It understands what I’m asking. It doesn’t understand why I’m asking. The ship is showing willingness, but the alien just sees me as an intellectual curiosity. It finds my desire to go home interesting, and maybe a little sad. I‘m not sure if that‘s the alien or the ship.” She looked at the alien. “Please,” she said. “Please, feel what I’m feeling. Please, understand me.”

  “Alice,” Arthur said, “don’t look at it.”

  Ignoring him, Alice looked into the creature’s eyes. “Please.”

  She fell to the ground.

  “Alice!”

  Arthur ran to her and rolled her over. Her eyes were open. “Alice!”

  “I’m okay,” she said. “I’m okay.”

  “How?” Jim asked. “How the hell are you okay?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. She looked at Arthur. “Maybe my communication with the ship prepared me. Arthur, I saw… everything.”

  Arthur looked toward the ship just in time to see the alien being raised inside. ”He’s gone,” Arthur said. “Are they going to help us?”

  “No,” Alice said. “Arthur, I think it’s over.”

  “What are they doing out there?” Lauren asked, looking at the light outside.

  “This is bullshit,” Jerry said. “Why did they cure our diseases just to kill us a few days later?”

  “They didn’t cure us to kill us,” Lauren said, her eyes fixed on the door. �
��They cured us to get us to leave, so they could have the planet we built for them.”

  “Get off that builder kick,” Jerry said. “They’re liars and thieves.”

  “So what’s the plan?” Lauren asked. “We accepting this, or are we running?”

  Jerry looked around the basement. “Not much here,” he said.

  “I’ve never used it,” Lauren said.

  Jerry pointed to a corner and said, “There.” He walked to the wall and returned with a crowbar in his hand. “I doubt it’ll make a difference,” he said, “but it’ll make me feel a hell of a lot better.”

  Lauren shook her head. “That just doesn’t feel right. Something tells me we should be reaching out to them.”

  “I plan to,” Jerry said.

  “Not like that,” Lauren said.

  Outside, a shadow passed by the basement door.

  “They’re here,” Lauren whispered.

  “Blunt or pierce,” Jerry mused. He flipped the crowbar around and held it like a baseball bat. “Blunt. It’ll feel better.”

  “Put that down,” Lauren said. “I’m not facing my death by betraying everything I’ve ever believed in.”

  “I’m not facing death at all,” Jerry said. “But if they come in here, they will be.”

  “Really,” Lauren said. “Did you forget how many are in the sky? This is stupid. I’m glad I didn’t see this side of you last night. It would have ruined the whole thing.”

  “Hey,” Jerry said.

  “Besides,” Lauren said. “I don’t think you’re the violent type. I think you’re the passive aggressive pouting type.”

  “That hurt,” Jerry said.

  Despite everything, Lauren chuckled. “See?”

  The door began to shake.

  Jerry and Lauren fell silent and watched the small latch vibrate as the door was pushed by the thing on the other side.

  “How old is that latch?” Jerry asked.

  “Don’t know,” Lauren said. “Tonight was the first time I’ve ever seen it, so it was here before I was.”

  “Is there a window in here?” Jerry asked, looking around the room frantically.

  “Yeah,” Lauren said. “You can see it from the front yard, which means…” She turned around and looked toward the front of the house. “Gotta be there. Behind that piece of plywood. I think it’s pretty small, though. Not sure if we can fit through.”

  Jerry walked toward the large, rectangular piece of wood leaning against the wall. “Let’s find out.” He slid the wood left, immediately seeing more light pour into the room. “Okay, let’s give this--”

  Lauren screamed.

  “Jesus!” Jerry said, spinning around, looking for his crowbar.

  He had expected the door to be open. It wasn’t. He looked at Lauren and saw that she was staring back at him, her eyes wide and full of terror.

  She pointed toward the window.

  Jerry turned around and saw the shape of an alien’s head, staring into the basement. Luckily, he couldn’t see its eyes. Thanks to the white light behind it, he only saw the silhouette of the creature looking back at them. Its head was sideways, due to the fact that it had to bend over in order to see inside.

  “Okay,” Jerry said. “I think it’s safe to assume they know we’re here.”

  The alien pressed its hand against the window. They could hear the glass groaning as the alien increased the pressure on the window. Finally, the glass shattered.

  Behind them, the door flew open, slamming into the inside wall of the basement.

  Arthur watched another ship lift off the ground and float toward the purple sky.

  “I think you’re right. It was the ship,” he said. “Your communion with the ship is what allowed you to look into its eyes.”

  “Tired of theories, Art,” Alice said.

  She looked at the field in front of them. Most of the ships were gone. She counted the ships that were still on the ground.

  Seventeen.

  The alien she had tried to convince was the only one they’d seen. The others were apparently on the ships, which meant it was only a matter of minutes until all ships were gone. Maybe seconds.

  And when the last ship was gone, Alice was sure that the surrounding buildings would no longer have life.

  It was over.

  “I think Roger was right,” Arthur said. “I think the asteroid is getting bigger.”

  “It’s not getting bigger,” Alice said.

  “I’m surprised that I’m not afraid,” Arthur rambled. “You’d think I would be scared shitless, but I’m not.”

  “Hopelessness doesn’t need fear,” Alice said, defeated. “The only reason fear exists is to motivate us to get out of bad situations. If there’s no hope for escape, there’s no need for fear.”

  “Deep,” Arthur said. Another ship lifted into the air.

  Alice smiled humorlessly. “Look on the bright side,” she said. “You got to meet the President.”

  Jim laughed. “Hope I wasn’t too disappointing.”

  “Hell of a coincidence,” Arthur said. “Landing on the building beside him.”

  “Eh,” Jim said. “Somebody had to land there. Might as well have been you.”

  “Yeah, but you must admit,” Arthur said, “it’s strange.”

  “The blue lights are getting weaker,” Jim said.

  “That’s because there are less of them here,” Alice said. “They’re entering the ships. Or the ships are absorbing them. Or something. I think that’s what they’re waiting on. They’re waiting on the ships to be ready.”

  “It’s just odd that we landed near you, Jim,” Arthur said. “I mean, we left from different parts of the country. You’d think they would put us down in the same basic group of people we launched with.”

  “Why would they bother?” Alice said.

  “Good point,” Arthur conceded. “It’s still an incredible coincidence. I mean, for all we know, Alice is the only person that was able to talk to them. Besides kids, I mean.”

  “I’m sure there are others,” Alice said.

  “Still,” Arthur said, “you’re rare. At the very least, you’re rare. And you just happened to land next to the President of the United States of America? The leader of the free world? Hell, at this point, I think it’s safe to say he’s the leader of the world.”

  Jim laughed. “You give me too much credit, son.”

  “So this is how it all ends,” Arthur said as he sat down. “I still think it’s odd that we landed near you.”

  “Maybe the ship did it,” Jim said as he sat down beside Arthur. “Maybe as a treat for Alice, since they were buddies.” He looked at Alice. “Did you vote for me?”

  “No, sir,” Alice said.

  Jim laughed again. “Oh well,” he said. “There goes that theory.”

  Alice stared at the remaining ships. Another one was lifting into the air, and the blue lights on the inside wall got a little dimmer. “Maybe the ship did it,” she whispered.

  “I wasn’t really serious,” Jim said.

  “I know,” Alice said, “but maybe it wasn’t a coincidence. We know that some of them didn’t want to bring us here. I think your son mentioned that. Or maybe it was the kid in Florida.” She shook her head. “Either way, some of them didn’t want to do this. At the time, I thought it was because they didn’t think we deserve it. Well, turns out that must be true, only the opposite.”

  “That made no sense,” Arthur said.

  “Think about it,” Alice said. “If some of them were against it, it has to mean they didn’t want to do this to us. They don’t think we deserve this, but now that’s a compliment, not an insult like it was before!”

  “Who cares, Alice,” Arthur said. “Who cares if the damn ship put us down near the President.”

  “It wanted him to know,” Alice said, “that they aren’t monsters. Some of them must believe we’re sentient.”

  “Obviously, they were out-voted,” Arthur said.

 
; “Can you ask the pyramid to bring my family down here?” Jim asked.

  “Why,” Alice whispered.

  “Because I want to be with them,” Jim said.

  Alice looked at him. “What? Oh, sorry, sir. I wasn’t talking to you. I was thinking out loud. Why would it put us down here, if not to make sure you know they aren’t evil? And why would it want you to know that if you were just going to die? No offense, but giving you that information is pretty useless if you can‘t spread it around.”

  “Alice,” Arthur said, “what are you talking about?”

  “I think it wanted us to stop this,” Alice said. “The ship. I think it was giving us the opportunity to stop it.”

  “How?” Arthur said. “You talked to the alien. It wouldn’t listen.”

  “No,” Alice said, “it did listen. It just couldn’t hear me. Not really.”

  “And it never will,” Arthur said. “We’re not one of them, Alice. And as long as we‘re not one of them, they can’t understand us. Not really. It’s the fundamental difference between sympathy and empathy.”

  “My God,” Alice said. “You’re right. I’ll be right back.”

  She ran back through the wall.

  “What the hell,” Arthur said. He stood up and followed her.

  “If you’re going up there,” Jim said, “take me up so I can see my wife and kid.”

  Lauren and Jerry stood in the center of the basement.

  Behind them, an alien began to crawl in through the window. In front of them, an alien stood in the doorway.

  “If I can get him down,” Jerry said, staring at the alien in the doorway, “run. Run as fast and as far as you can.”

  “As soon as we’re outside,” Lauren said, “the light will get us.”

  “That’s a chance we’ll have to take.”