Secrets Beyond the Moon: Strangers from the sky

by NB Blackbell

  "Are you safe here in this house? With you being fully human, how will you make it through all of this?" Her mother got up and walked over to the drawer next to the television. "I'll be okay, I promise. I have something for both of you. I wrote down some things you need to know about the aliens. This doesn't apply to half-aliens, as you are built differently than they are. You are half-human, meaning you have humanity and choices." She handed Jasper an envelope. "This contains everything I ever heard your father say about his kind. Perhaps it will help our kind put an end to all of this." Jasper put it in her purse and reached over and pulled her mother towards her, "No more cloaking me. I need to remember everything." She hugged her mother before heading towards the door and said, "You stay safe and make sure he doesn't know we were here."

  The two of them headed down the road towards the park. With so much on their minds, they glided swiftly, hand in hand. Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Isabel was frantically searching for Jasper. "Has anyone seen her? Jake, have you seen her?" Jake looked around. "Nick is missing too. They're probably together. I wouldn't worry too much. He seems like he cares about her and would protect her." Isabel looked over at him. "Okay, Jake, can you get John and Faith? Christie is going to fill the three of you in on the aliens. Meet us up in my room." Isabel headed up to be with her daughter as Jake gathered the others. "You two head up there while I get Billy. He needs to be part of this too. The more answers we get, the better off we are." He headed up to get Billy.

  Isabel sat on the bed with her daughter. "Make sure you tell them everything you know. This will help us. Hopefully, it will get us home. Just think when we're home, you'll have your own room, and we can have a wonderful life together." Faith and John showed up seconds later and sat at the table. "We're just waiting on Jake and Billy." Isabel looked up and asked, "Billy's coming?" They waited for about five minutes. Then finally, both Jake and Billy joined them in the room. Isabel looked at them all sternly. "Christie is going to tell you everything she knows about the aliens. Please let her talk, and remember, she is a child. No questions. The answers to any questions are for us to find out, not a child." She looked back at Christie. "Okay. Go ahead. We're all listening."

  Christie looked around, then leaned against her mother as she declared. "We're not aliens, at least not in our eyes. We are Zafarians, and we come from the planet, Zafar. There's no water left there, and the air is polluted. So, we came to this world, and I was with my mommy until they made her leave." She looked up at her mother and smiled, then continued, "The main guy, we call him the mighty one. He is the one who created the Zafarian world, keeping it away from the human world. They taught us a lot in school. They also taught us that they don't like humans very much. We're not supposed to speak English outside our head, but someone had to communicate to the mortal children. I'm half-human, so I wanted to know about them. A lot of them were terrified. I wanted to tell them they would be okay. We learned a lot about them in history class, like they first came two hundred years after the Mayans first did. They were friends back then before they started to hate humans. That's where the two realms separate. The mighty one created a portal there to separate them. They learned to live like humans, and the people taught our people how to grow their food and build temples. After the Mayans didn't live anymore, the others got mean and told us we were not allowed to live with them anymore. They were not allowed to work, and we couldn't go to school with their children."

  Julie smiled at her daughter, "Good job. Keep going." Christie added, "The Zafarians were forced to cloak themselves and live among you in secret. Daddy says it was unjust and degrading. I don't know what that means, though." She looked up at her mother. Julie smiled. "It means it wasn't fair, and it made them feel not wanted. Christie continued, "They used the cloak so they could do all the stuff they used to be able to do and to take care of their families. They left everything from their life on Zafar in the main ship; it's buried in the ruins. I always wanted to see it, but we were never allowed. That's all we learned in class, but I know more than that. I heard them talking all the time. The gas they use on our world is to sort out the strong from the weak. Only the strong can survive the breeding or be able to put in long hours building temples. It's green, so they can see better. The sunshine makes it challenging for them to see red and orange. We're not authorized to wear those colours. It doesn't involve half Zafarians. They are taking your world because they say it is supposed to be their world. You took it from them. They told us there are lots of us out there in the human world… that pretty soon, the humans won't stand a chance. They make me mad. They don't care that I am half-human, plus I don't want my mommy hurt or my Aunt Jasper." Isabel hugged her little girl, "That's enough for today. Faith, are there any cookies in the kitchen?" Faith got up. "Yes, and I can take her to get some." The two of them headed to the kitchen for a treat as the rest sat and spoke. "At least we know who we are dealing with now, and why this is all happening," Jake said as he crossed his arms and leaned forward. "I think that if we want more answers, they are buried in the Mayan ruins. Perhaps we should be taking a trip there. There might be answers there on how to get rid of them." John rubbed his hand across his knee. "This is all good stuff to know and plenty to think about and figure out our next step. Thanks, Isabel, for letting us listen to Christie. She's a good little girl." John headed for the door, Jake and Billy were moments behind him. "I'll drop by later," said Jake with a smile.

  Just as the meeting with Christie ended, Jasper and Nick returned and headed straight towards the kitchen. Faith stood at the counter with Christie putting cookies on a plate. She looked up and smiled, "Nice to see you two are back and safe." Jasper grabbed a seat at the table. Nick headed up to his room. Christie ran over to her and said, "I told the others all about the Zafarians; that's us, Aunt Jasper. We're not really aliens; we're just unique." Jasper ran her fingers through the little one's hair. "You're so right. I'm glad I finally got to meet you." Christie looked up at her aunt and asked, "Where were you? How come you were not here?" Jasper leaned over, "I was out finding my mother. Trying to get some answers. I managed to get a few."

  Before heading back to Faith and going back to her room, Christie asked, "Is your mommy a Zafarian?" Jasper shook her head. "No, she's human. My father is Zafarian." Jasper turned and laid her purse on the table, then leaned back in her chair and recalled about her morning. She felt a little relieved knowing that she wasn't losing her mind, but at the same time, was upset. Jasper was part of what she feared the most. Somehow, she had to tell Jake all about it, and she definitely wanted to wait to open the envelope in her purse until he was there. After all, he was part of this too. He was her brother, her real brother. She leaned forward against the table. How could she not have known? They had always had a great connection, but she thought that was because they just got along. She smiled when she thought of Nick. His attitude was terrific concerning all of this. She liked how supportive he was when she spoke to her mother, and it didn't hurt her feelings when he held her hand. She wondered if things would be different if they had ever met in an ordinary world. She found it surprising that any good came out of this whole mess; he was definitely one of the better things. Jasper headed up to the room to see Isabel and find out how the day had gone so far. The two would talk for quite a while about their day and how they felt. While the hotel remained pretty quiet for a good portion of the day.

  Later that day, John marched down the hall towards the board room. He was looking for Larzo or Mark, whoever he could find first. Larzo sat by the window, drinking a cup of coffee. "Good, I'm glad I found you. Form a team to go out. We need to stay on top of these aliens. I want to know every step they make. Make sure you're all taking safety precautions and only take those who know what they're doing." Larzo grabbed his cup and took off to prepare the others. He nodded as he left the room.

  John stepped over to the window, and as he looked out at the green fog rolling across the pane of glass, he took a deep breath. He thought to hi
mself, How do we get rid of these bastards? There has to be a means, perhaps we're just missing it.

  Jasper walked into the room. "Sorry I missed the meeting, John. I found out some interesting information today. I kept having all these new memories, and none of them were any I remembered." She pulled out a chair next to him. "Turns out, my mother lives right here in this city. You know how these bastards were cloaking themselves, right? Well, I was being cloaked, and so was Jake, by our father. We didn't know about it, of course. It was for our own protection, I guess. She gave me an envelope which has everything that she wrote down... anything she can remember my father saying. I don't know if any of it is useful or not, but I'm going to go through it tonight with Jake and then I will hand it over to you. Jake has no idea about what's happening with us, so I want to fill him in as soon as possible." John nodded. "Wow! How did that feel to find out your whole life was a lie?" She paused, "But it wasn't… I mean… at first, I thought it was too, but I was still with Jake. I met my best friend, Isabel, and I found passion in life. I met you and Faith. I have totally enjoyed life for the past seven years. So, no, I don't think it was a lie. I just now have two lives that somehow combine as one."

  John frowned. "You have a good way of looking at it, but still, it has to be a lot to take in. This whole mess is hard to take in. We have grouped all over, and I've lost contact with them all. They have hardly any information on what's going on. What's going to happen to everyone, even if we win? The other cities won't stand a chance without the knowledge that we have." Jasper frowned. "But how can we help them? Is there a way without cell phones?" John threw his hands up in the air. "I don't know. They used handheld radios in the past, and they seemed to work, but then who's to say anyone has one. Besides, where the hell would we ever find one of them nowadays!" Jasper bit her lip. "Would it really help us, though?" John nodded. "I think so. It would be the only chance we really had in warning anyone." Jasper remembered the apple pie and thought to herself, I wonder how I did that? She closed her eyes and thought to herself, I really want a handheld radio. We need one to save lives and warn others.

  John started to freak out. "What the hell, Jasper! Where did this come from?" Jasper opened her eyes and looked at John, who was holding a handheld radio. "Oh, my God! It worked!" she yelled. John's eyes widened as he asked, "You did this?" She nodded. "Yes, I told you things were getting weird for me. I wasn't sure I could, but I'm so glad I did." John started to set it up. "Well, I'm not sure how you did it, but thank you. You're a lifesaver."

  John sat in front of the radio, studying it carefully. Then he glanced at Jasper. "I've never used one of these. It might take a few times to get it right. Let's hope we can get ahold of the people we need to." Pressing the button, he spoke sternly.

  "Is there anyone out there?"

  He let go of the button and listened. After doing this for almost an hour, he finally got an answer.

  "Hello. I'm here."

  He pushed the button.

  "Who's this and are you with a group?"

  The voice answered quickly, "I'm Rick, and I'm with the Mexican rebels."

  John took a deep breath. "Oh, Wow! Am I ever glad I reached you!"

  Within seconds, another voice jumped into the conversation.

  "This is Colonel Beck. I'm with the USA army. I'm sorry to interrupt your private conversation, but in a situation like this, I have no choice. We are facing a pretty serious situation here, and without any phone service or power, we have not been able to reach anyone. I couldn't help but hear the word rebel. Are you an underground group?"

  John pushed the button. "Yes, sir, we are. We've been following this situation for a bit and have learned a few things. Rick, you need to listen to this, too, as it's important for everyone. These aliens have been here since the Mayans. They feel this is their world, and they have a serious hatred for humans. They're unable to see the colour red and can't see through it. Orange and yellow are harder for them to see and confuse them. They can shift, and their tails are deadly and can kill on contact. Bullets can't kill them; they are self-healers. We're trying to figure out how to kill them and will fill you in as soon as we figure it out. The green fog is toxic. It causes a person's greatest fears to come true, and it will kill them. Gas masks are essential when going out. We haven't lost any who was wearing one. Oh, one more thing you need to know. This is no longer the human world. We're in the world they created."

  He let go of the button and looked at Jasper. "I hope they got all that and take it seriously."

  The Colonel replied, "Well, that explains a lot. If this weren't happening right in front of my eyes, I would think you were crazy, but I'm witnessing this with my own eyes. So, we wear red, and they don't see us? Okay, I've written all of this down."

  John answered quickly, "Yes, but if you move around them, they can hear you. They have good hearing. We have experts with us dealing with this."

  He looked at Jasper and smiled.

  "We also have a team going out daily watching their every move. They have camps built for breeding and slavery. Have you seen these yet?"

  Rick jumped back into the conversation. "John, I just spoke to Mike. He says he's glad you got through. He's been waiting on your call. He found a radio in the hope that you would get one. We wrote all this down. We're forming a team to do the same. Colonel, I don't know what luck you guys have had down there, but you found the one guy who can help you through this. He's the head of all this, and he has an amazing team on hand."

  The Colonel came back on and said, "Keep us informed. We're following your instructions. I'll form a team today and put them on duty watching the aliens. Your information just might save lives; I've lost so many already when trying to go against them. I'll check back with you soon. I need to go update my men."

  John pushed the button. "Rick, something else. I'm thinking about sending a group down that way, but I don't know much about it yet. So, I'll fill you in when I know more."

  Rick replied within seconds, "Sure thing. Just let us know, and we'll give them a warm greeting."

  John hung up the handset and turned to Jasper, "None of this would've been possible without you."

  Jasper got up. "I'll see you later. I'm getting hungry." She turned and headed to the kitchen. She hadn't eaten anything all day and knew she better before it made her sick. Marcy and Loretta stood at the counter, making sandwiches. Both looked up as Jasper entered the kitchen, "Hey, Girls. Oh, good God, you're making food. Can I have one? I'm so hungry." Marcy grabbed a sandwich and handed it to her. "We're making them for the team that's going out on duty. They're going to be watching the aliens and reporting everything they're doing. We're making sure they eat during their shift."

  Jasper pulled a chair over to the counter, "That's a great idea. How have you two been?" Loretta glanced over at her. "I've been good. Been spending a lot of time with Billy, making sure he heals right. He's a really nice guy. I can't say I hated it. I just want to stay busy through all of this and not worry." Marcy finished packing the sandwiches. "I'm doing better too. Beth died trying to protect us, and I have to remember that. I'm keeping busy too. There's so much going on, and there's a lot to do to keep things organized." Jasper nodded, "Yeah, there's definitely a lot going on. You two are doing a great job. It may not be said enough, but it takes everyone to keep things going smoothly." Marcy grabbed the bags of food they prepared, and as she passed by Jasper, she whispered, "This is your calling. You were meant to save us." Marcy continued out of the room.

  About ten minutes later, Faith came into the kitchen, "Oh, hi there, Jasper. I'm going to make some cookies for the little one. Do you want some?" Jasper looked up and smiled, "Sure. Why not? Have you seen Jake anywhere?" Faith grabbed the box and put it on the counter as she looked over at Jasper "Yes, I have. He's talking to John about the conversation he had with the others on the hand radio, then he'll be heading here." Faith clutched a plate and put some cookies on it, then brought it to Jasper. "You all right? You lo
ok like you have a lot on your mind." Jasper glanced up. "Yeah, I'm good. I just have an overload of information in my head. I met my real mother today. It sounds crazy, just saying it out loud." Faith sighed. "Life throws us many curves. Yours are odd curves, but hey, who am I to judge?" She reached down and gave Jasper a hug. "You're okay. Just remember to breathe." Faith grabbed the other plate she had on the counter and headed up to see Christie. Jasper sat there. About ten minutes later, Jake wandered into the kitchen and grabbed a coffee before sitting next to her. "Hey, I've hardly had any time to stop and say hi. You okay?" Jasper smiled. "Yes, I'm okay, but we need to talk." Jake frowned. "Um, okay."

  Jasper pulled the papers out of her purse and handed him the photo. Jake took it and stared at it for the longest time. "Where did you get this?" Jasper shrugged. "I got it from Mom today." He looked at her. "Did you assume I wouldn't want to go? This involves me too." Jasper gulped. "I'm sorry. I did it at the spur of the moment. Anyway, she gave me this envelope. She said she wrote anything our father has ever said down onto paper. She knew I would come to find her. Our father wasn't there, and apparently, that's a good thing. He's not human at all, and he doesn't like them either. Mom says she's the exception, but only because he fell in love with her. She had him cloak us to protect us. He did it for her. If we were not cloaked, he would've expected us to go against the humans." Jasper tore open the envelope. In it was a handful of papers. Her eyes scanned over it. Most of it contained words showing hatred towards humans, but something caught her eyes. She held the paper in front of Jake.