by NB Blackbell
Jake drove home as quickly as he could. He was upset and worried for Billy but couldn't help to notice the reckless driving around him. He thought to himself, 'I'm upset too, but I still remember how to drive. What the hell!' A vehicle raced by them and into a tree, erupting into flames. Jake slowed down and pulled up next to it. He felt confused about everything happening. He glanced back to make sure he was safe, then he looked to see if anyone had survived the crash. A man's body was flung over the steering wheel. His face looked as if he had seen a ghost. The man next to him lay dead due to an arrow shot straight between the eyes. Jake had a strange feeling come over him. He stepped on the gas and headed back to the hotel. Billy panted in pain, "What's going on, Jake? This was supposed to be simple. What the hell?" Jake glanced back at Billy. We're almost back to the hotel. Keep holding that shirt on your wound."
One by one, they pulled into the parking lot. Not a word was said as they all ran into the hotel. Faith came running, happy to see John but screamed at the sight of blood when she saw Billy. "What happened? Did something go wrong?" John grabbed Faith and pushed her aside. "Bring him in here," he said to Jake. "Someone, get Loretta," John continued. "I'm here!" she screamed as she ran over to Billy to attend to his injuries. Loretta took a deep breath as she examined Billy's wound. "Oh, this is not good. Someone grab me some alcohol and something to stitch him up. Hurry, please." Seconds later, Faith came running back with a sewing kit and a bottle of alcohol. "Got it," she said. "Out of my way," Loretta said kindly but firmly. It took a bit to fix up Billy, but with a bit of work, he lay there resting while the rest of the group leaned against the window watching in fear. Faith's eyes followed every single one of them. "What went on? You're terrifying me. What happened to Billy?" For a brief minute, she stopped questioning them and looked around. "Where is Beth?" Loretta looked up. "Yeah, where is she?" John took a chair and sat down on it. He reached up and wiped the sweat off his forehead. Gazing over, he shook his head, "Beth is dead. Am I crazy, or did all of you see the same thing I saw?" Jasper collapsed to her knees then leaned against the wall. Jake sat next to her. As the room started to chatter, Larzo spoke up. "What the hell was that? I may not know what a shifter really looks like, but that looked more like a monster or some kind of lizard. I used all my bullets on it, and it still stood there." Larzo turned pale as he sat down. John piped up, "I'm as puzzled as all of you. I really thought we had this. Who would have thought something like this could happen? Did everyone see it heal itself?" The group nodded as John took a breath, "That's not human. I don't know what it is, but it's not human." Loretta felt puzzled and scared. "What went on out there?" Jake stood up. "You guys missed something. Something happened just after the shooting. Time froze again. Both Jasper and I saw this. Did anyone else witness this?" John stood up and walked over to Jake. "What? You mean, time stopped after we shot at them the first time?" Jake nodded. "Yes, it did. Then there was a flash of bright light, and that's when the barn changed into a temple-like building, and the shifters no longer looked human. Then they made this horrifying screech." John interrupted, "I heard that, but I thought it happened as we shot them." Jasper stood up. "No, it happened after the change did. I'm not sure what happened, but they were definitely hostile, and I'm frightened for all of us. There's no chance of going home now; not after this." John sat back down. "Did anyone else see a semi-truck chasing us?" Jake shook his head, "No. There were no big trucks out there other than Larzo's. Some other bad news, Chuck and Mike crashed their vehicle on the way back. They were driving really insane as if they were being chased. Nothing was chasing them, though. I stopped by the car crash to see if anyone survived and noticed some unusual things, no survivors, though." Jasper's eyes swelled with tears. Jake bent over and hugged her. He glanced at John. We need to tighten security in the hotel. John looked at Larzo. "Let's make sure all the doors and windows are locked and put on the alarm. Will you? The lights are to be off. Flashlights and candles will be used until we are sure it's safe. There will be guys on either door ready to alert us if anything changes from now on. Everyone, I need you to get to it. Jake, help me move Billy to his room, where he can rest and get better. You can fill me in regarding what you saw on the way."
Jasper headed to the kitchen to grab a coffee. Both Faith and Loretta accompanied her. Marcy had already been in the kitchen when they entered. Jasper poured herself a coffee, then turned and looked at all three girls. "I seriously don't understand what happened tonight. It was supposed to be simple and easy but was neither." Loretta sat down and pulled out another chair and motioned for Jasper to sit too. "This whole thing is messed up. I understand it may be hard to talk about, but I wasn't there, and I need to know what's going on." Jasper paused for a moment then looked at Loretta. "You all should know, I just wish I could make more sense out of it myself. They look like lizards with giant tails. That's how Beth died because its tail hit her upside the head. Their claws are long and sharp, and they are huge… nothing I expected, for sure. One minute the barn was there; the next it wasn't. A totally different building was there. The sky lit up so bright as if fireworks were flooding the sky. But I think the scariest thing was when I looked around, and everyone but Jake and I was frozen in time. Their bodies healed so fast. I thought we were all dead for a moment, then it let out that noise, and I remembered to run." Buddy ran into the kitchen and jumped up onto Jasper's lap. "Hi, boy." Rubbing behind his ears and scratching his neck, she leaned down and hugged her best friend. I missed you too and so glad to see some things don't change." John entered the kitchen, holding a box of flashlights and candles. "Here you go, Ladies. Help yourself. The lights are going off momentarily, so you need to be prepared." Jasper looked up at John and said, "Thanks." John paused. "I thought you had green eyes, Jasper? I must have been wrong." John turned and headed back out the door. Jasper shook her head, thinking he was joking. "I'm going to head up to my room to get some sleep, I've had it for today. Tonight, a lot of weird things happened, and I'm hoping I will wake up tomorrow and find that it was all a nightmare." Picking up Buddy, she headed to her room. She spotted Nookers along the way. "Come on, Nookers. Let's go to bed." The cat chased her up the hall playfully and past the door as it gently shut. She fed both pets then cleaned up just before she flopped down onto the bed. Her mind raced as she pulled the covers up. 'How were they to find Isabel with all this going on? Could she even be alive?' Letting out a sigh, she turned over onto her side. It was hard to close her eyes. Every time she closed them, all she saw was the shifters and what they had become. Please let this be a dream, she thought to herself. She pulled Buddy up close to her chest. He made her feel safe, even though there wasn't much he could do if they ever stood in front of those creatures. Closing her eyes, she quietly fell asleep. Perhaps tomorrow will be better, she thought to herself.
Jake sat up in bed, worried over what would happen now that the shifters knew they were on to them. He remembered the look on the men's faces from the car crash. What was that all about? He thought. Did they see something that made their faces freeze that way? Where did the arrow come from? Then his mind went to Isabel, poor Isabel, and how she must feel betrayed. He didn't mean for anything to happen to her, but who could have seen this coming? Jake slid down and drew up his covers. He could feel his heartbeat fast and his chest full of anxiety as he clenched his fists. He shut his eyes and repeated over and over in his head. Everything will be all right. Tomorrow is a new day. After about ten minutes, he fell asleep. Slowly, his fists unclenched. The rest of the people in the building, minus the guards who had taken the night shifts, finally settled down for the night, as the full moon shone brightly over the little hotel in Richmond.
The sun peeked in the window as morning came, Jasper lay wide awake. The events of the previous night played over and over in her head. Each time it did, she tried to make sense of it. Buddy was asleep beneath her blanket while Nookers flopped across her legs. It gave her a feeling of security, having both pets being so close to her. She thought
to herself, How are we supposed to fix this situation now? I was counting on going home. Slowly, she pulled herself from her comfortable bed, trying to keep both Buddy and Nookers from being disturbed. As she threw her clothes on, she looked around. I'm never getting out of here, she thought. Grabbing an elastic, she threw her hair up as she headed down the hall to Jake's room. Leaning on his door, she began to knock. "Jake, are you up yet? She waited patiently until she heard the soft murmur of his voice say, "Come in." Jasper barged in and flopped down onto his bed. I figured you would be up. "Did you get any sleep?" Jake opened his eyes and looked at Jasper. "I am now and no, I hardly slept." Jasper lifted her head. "Don't you have blue eyes?" Jake squinted, "Yeah, So?" Jasper jumped up from the bed and ran to the mirror. She recalled what John had said to her about her eyes. He was right, her eyes were not green any more. They were a silverish grey. "Oh my God, Jake! My eyes… they are not the same." Jake sat up. "What do you mean?" Jake got up and headed over to see her eyes. "Hmmm, you are right. They are a different colour." Looking into the mirror, he then noticed his too were a silverish grey. "What the hell! Mine are different too! This is freaky." As Jake turned and started to walk away, Jasper gasped, "Your back." Jake turned quickly. What about it?" Jake went to the mirror and turned so he could get a look at his back. "Where did that come from?" In the centre of his back, there was a tattoo. The same symbol that Jasper had on her neck. "What's happening to us?" said Jake. Jasper laughed, "You're the doctor; not me. This all must be some kind of joke. Perhaps this whole thing is a joke, and any minute, Isabel will pop out and say, 'Got you." Jake frowned. "No, I wish it were, but it isn't. I'm not sure what's happening yet, so please don't mention any of this to the others." She nodded, "But what if they see the colour change in the eyes?" "Not sure what to say." Jake shrugged. "I don't know, perhaps just change the subject." Jasper turned and headed towards the door. "All right, I'm going to see what's going on. See if anyone has come up with a brilliant plan to get us out of this one."
Jasper entered the board room. John sat in front of the monitors. He seemed really frazzled, but then everyone was because of the night before. "Hi, John, any action out there today?" John turned and looked at Jasper, "Hi.” Turning back to the monitors, he let out a huge sigh. "I'm sure there is plenty, but I feel as if we are in a different world. What the hell happened, and where did these creatures come from? One minute we're taking out a few shifters, a task that was simple and well planned. The next minute we're confronted by these creatures, and they're unaffected by our guns. I'm not sure where we all stand anymore. All I know is we're definitely not safe, and I don't know how to fix this." Jasper grabbed a seat next to him. "You have to pull yourself together. The whole group is counting on you. If they see you falling apart, then they might lose hope that we even have a chance. Yeah, we have no clue what is going on, but now is the time to figure it out. Let's put two and two together right now, you and I." John sat up straighter and pulled his chair closer to the table, "Good idea. So, we know they are unaffected by our weapons, and that they are not human at all." Jasper bit her lip as she recollected about the situation. "They have reptilian bodies. Their skin, tails, and eyes are very lizard like. What if we are not dealing with shapeshifters, just something that can shape shift? What if these are aliens of some sort, and we intercepted some sort of invasion?" John chuckled and snorted, "What the hell?" Then he paused for a second. "What if you're right? I never thought of that. Oh, good God, Jasper! Do you realize what's happening?" Jasper leaned back in her chair. She knew what she said sounded foolish coming out of her mouth, but all the evidence lay in front of them. The monitors stood black. Not a sound nor a picture showed on any of the screens. "I think they found the cameras," said John. Jasper looked at all the screens. What if this is like when Isabel disappeared? Do you remember hers stopped working to? I'm not sure how this relates, but I feel this has something to do with it." John turned his body toward her. "Tell me again what happened last night when we were all frozen. Why do you think you and Jake were not affected by it? Jasper took a deep breath. I'm not sure. I do know that some pretty weird stuff is happening, and not a lot can be explained right now. I'm pretty sure about one thing though, we should be thankful that we were not affected by it, or no one would know what is actually going on. So perhaps we should focus on the stuff we know about instead of all the other stuff. Have you heard back from the other cities? Did they succeed, or was it the same result?" John shook his head. "Not all of them messaged me, but the ones who have didn't get any better results than we did. They were left with wounded too. They were left in shock, wondering what they walked into. I told them it was just as much of a shock for us, and the more I think about it, the more I think we are lucky that we knew. We would all be dead if we remained clueless, although I don't feel fortunate at the moment. We didn't even have time to grab Beth's body to give her a proper burial." Jake walked into the room. "Hey, you two!" Jasper looked up at him. "We are just discussing the events of last night. Has anyone checked on Billy today?" John nodded. "Loretta has been monitoring him closely, making sure he heals right." Jake turned. I'm going to grab some coffee." Jasper bounced up. "Wait. I need some too." The two-headed to the kitchen. Jasper sensed that Jake was upset. "What's wrong, Jake?" Jake poured himself a cup a coffee, then one for Jasper. "I had a dream last night. Isabel was in it. She was speaking to me." The two sat down at the table. Jake took a sip of his coffee, then continued. "She told me she was alive, and that life was an illusion; to open my eyes, and that we were in grave danger. Then she disappeared. It must be my mind trying to comfort me about the guilt I feel. I really miss her." He continued drinking his coffee as he thought to himself, 'I'll find her if it is the last thing I do.' Jasper wrinkled up her forehead. "What do you mean you'll find her? I thought we were going to search for her together." Jake laid down his cup. "Did you just answer me?" Jasper snickered, "Yeah, of course, I did. I always answer you." Jake felt puzzled. "I said that in my head, though, so how did you know what I said?" Before Jasper could answer him, her phone started to ring. Picking up her phone, Jasper said,
"Hello, Jasper, is that you?"
Jasper, feeling a bit puzzled, answered, "Yeah. Who is this?"
The woman, on the other end, replied, "It doesn't matter who I am. You need to hear what I'm about to tell you. You and Jake need to be prepared for what is to come."
Jasper shifted the phone and adjusted it to her ear. "What do you mean? Do I know you, and how do you know Jake?"
Jake leaned in closer as if to listen.
The woman continued. "It's not important now. There are things I can't tell you at this time, but what I can tell you is that you need to be careful. Things are changing, and you are no longer protected. You and Jake will start to notice things happening to both of you that you cannot explain."
Jasper looked at Jake as the woman continued.
"Once the tattoo pops out, it is just a matter of time before the rest falls into place. The world is in danger, and there isn't much protection for humans other than the colour red. Cover everything with red, including your heart. It will protect you in their presence, that and fire are hard for them to see. Be safe and know that we are watching you."
Jasper put the phone away after the woman hung up. "That was weird," Jasper murmured. After telling Jake all that the woman had told her, both sat silently drinking their coffee, in a situation that felt it could not get any stranger. It most definitely did.
Jake got up and refilled his coffee. I can't just sit here and do nothing. With the monitors gone, we have no idea what's happening out there. As he headed out the door, he turned to Jasper. "What do you think she meant about red? It's a really bright colour. Wouldn't that make it easier for them to see us?" Jasper got up and followed Jake. "Not if they were colour blind. Perhaps they can't see red. It could cover things up. Make it so they don't exist. I would love to test the theory, but I think I'm too frightened to. Maybe we should run it by John, but not the stuf
f about us, just the colour red and the fire. I don't understand what's happening to us, so how can we expect others too, not yet, at least?" The two stood at the front door of the hotel. The world looked different to them, but they couldn't put their finger on what exactly was changed. After a while of looking around at everything, Jasper burst out, "I got it! Not only is there no one out there, but look over there. The buildings are gone. There used to be two towering buildings there, and now they are gone." Jake stood there, folding his arms. "You know you are right. When did they disappear?" I thought I saw them yesterday, but I suppose I could be wrong." Jasper looked at him. "No, you're right. I saw them yesterday too." The two were just about to go grab John to show him what they found when a dark grey vehicle swooped by. Jasper squished her face against the window, trying to see it. "Did you see that? What was it?" Jake stood there with his jaw wide open. "If I'm not mistaken, that looks like a ship. I think they call them hovercrafts, but that's only on television." Jasper swatted Jake's arm. "Is that only on television too? That was real, Jake. Don't go all psychiatrists on me now." The two of them pressed their faces against the window and checked out everything in sight. In the far distance, they could see more hovercrafts moving throughout the air. Jasper gasped. "We need to tell John and let everyone know. We probably better tell him about the phone call right away and what they advised us to do with the colour red." Grabbing his arm, Jasper headed to the board room. "Come on, Jake." I think he's down here.