by Glynn, Anne
The necklace looked out of place against his uniform.
“Pink quartz,” he told Leah, looping a similar string over her head. “Before we get any closer, you’ll need to wear this.”
Reaching into the glove compartment, Clarissa removed a second pair of necklaces. She passed one to Jon, and they each pulled one around their necks.
Leah fingered the rough stone before resting it on her blouse. It looked and felt like a common rock. If there was anything special about it, she couldn’t tell.
When the truck braked, Dahlgren gestured for Leah to get out. She stepped out onto the floor of the dome. While most of the surrounding surfaces appeared to be covered in asphalt or concrete, this area was left barren. Well-packed dirt crunched beneath her feet as she moved. Towering around her, gray rocks stood in a circle. She guessed that each of the rocks was nearly 14-foot tall and almost 8-foot wide. Stretched across every three rocks, a horizontal capstone added even more height to the display.
How far underground were they, after all?
Following behind her, the military officer said, “This is the portal. The Visitors’ entrance onto our planet.”
“You’re not serious.”
“I’m always serious.” When Leah didn’t respond, he added, “Incredible, isn’t it?”
“I thought it was, the first time I saw it,” she said.
“You can’t have seen this before.”
“It was after I graduated college and toured Europe. Except, all those years ago, the tour guide called it Stonehenge.”
Jon moved closer to her. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder, earning himself an unhappy glare from Clarissa.
Leah said, “It’s not an exact replica, I can see that. Stonehenge has rings of stones, one inside the other, and this is only a single circle. For another thing, there’s no internal ditch here. Everything is on one level. Even without counting, I can see there are more of the rocks here than there, and they’re in better repair, but it’s obvious that someone is copying what the Druids built.”
“Stone circles existed even before the Druids. But you’re correct when you say this was built to order.”
“So the military built it. But who ordered it? The aliens?”
The Colonel asked Clarissa, “Didn’t you brief her?”
“There wasn’t time.” She focused on Leah, as if daring her to mention the silent hours they’d shared on the road. “She signed the contract. She’ll do as she’s told.”
“She doesn’t have to do anything,” Jon interrupted.
Clarissa’s eyes flashed and Leah knew that Agent Wexler was at risk of finding himself reassigned to a new post. If he irritated his superior enough, his next job assignment might well be in some distant, miserable port of call.
“This isn’t Stonehenge,” Dahlgren said, “but it’s not simply an inexact copy, either. If you were an archaeologist, you’d realize that there are a thousand differences, from the type of stone to the configuration, to…well, I’m not an archaeologist, either.”
Leah continued to study the display around her. The pillars were more tightly grouped than those she’d seen at the Wiltshire site and these great rocks might have stretched slightly higher but, to her eyes, the difference between the two arrangements was fairly minimal.
Jon told her, “The researchers here have asked the Visitors more than once if there’s some correlation with Stonehenge. They’ve never received a straight answer.”
“Is there a reason they won’t tell you?”
“They feel as if they have,” Dahlgren said. “I’ve asked them myself and received two totally contradictory responses. I get the idea that they feel time and space are flexible concepts, open to change.”
Clarissa said. “Which is scientifically impossible. There are times when I wonder if these ‘intelligent’ beings are intelligent at all.”
“I see,” Leah said, not quite understanding the situation but offering empty words in an attempt to give herself time to think.
So. Aliens. Real where-no-man-has-gone-before type extraterrestrials.
Using a circle of rocks as some kind of doorway into the Nevada desert. Not just into the desert, either; into the very spot where I’m standing now.
She surveyed the area around her. If this combination of soil and stone was somehow special, she didn’t see it.
The government has known about the Visitors for years, she thought. They’ve communicated with them for decades. But it’s obvious that there are things they still don’t understand about them.
Which is why I’m here, I guess. Maybe.
“What happened to the last person who did this job? Did they quit?”
Were they eaten? It was a stupid, anxious, almost paranoid, kind of thought, and she didn’t dare express it.
But that didn’t mean it wasn’t on her mind.
“There’s been no one else,” Dahlgren said. “You’re the first. You’re here because they asked for you.”
“They asked for me?”
“Not you, specifically,” Clarissa told her, speaking the words slowly, as if to a child. “Someone like you.”
The colonel said, “Two years ago, they requested a quarter-ton of black licorice and a tabby cat. We were surprised. They’d never asked for anything before.”
“What happened?”
“We gave them what they wanted. On my orders.”
“You gave them an animal? A living creature?”
Clarissa said, “Both cat and candy vanished from this spot. They were returned to us within minutes, untouched. My team has spent thousands of hours, studying both of the subjects.”
“And?”
“They haven’t found anything out of the ordinary.”
Jon said, “The scientists were comforted to learn that living, breathing creatures could travel from our dimension to their own without harm.”
“The aliens are in a different dimension?” Leah felt her stomach knot. “They’re not in – um, outer space?”
The two men exchanged glances. Sounding unhappy, Dahlgren said, “This should have been explained. Discussed. This is on you, Clarissa. I expected you to do your job.”
“I feel as if I have. Everything will be fine.”
“We’re at a critical juncture here. If we can’t proceed, this falls on you. Only you.”
Clarissa put an arm around Leah’s shoulder. “Ronald, give me a moment with Leah. Woman-to-woman.”
At a nod of her superior’s head, she led Leah toward the center of the monument. Speaking slightly too loudly, obviously wanting the others to hear their conversation, she said, “Dear, I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear when we spoke earlier. You have every right to know what’s going on.”
“Thank you.”
“When you decide on what to do, we want it to be an informed decision.”
The knot in Leah’s stomach felt as if it had grown larger. “What are you trying to tell me? What decision?”
Leading her still further from the others, inside the circle of stones and onto a concentric circle of flat rocks, Clarissa dropped her voice. “Listen, you little shit, you’ll do as you’re told. My career isn’t going to suffer because you suddenly have cold feet.”
“You said you couldn’t share any information with me.”
“I gave you all you needed to know. I showed you the contract.”
“You thought I’d be dazzled by dollar signs,” Leah said. “You didn’t think I’d care about anything else.”
“You knew there was risk involved. You had to suspect. Why else would we offer someone like you so much money?”
A white light sparked overhead, shooting across the electric blue sky. Fighting anxiety, Leah felt her hands curl into fists. “What am I doing here?”
“You’re our ‘ambassador to the stars’. Or have you forgotten?”
“What does that mean?”
“If there was a simple explanation, I’d share it,” Clarissa said. “You have to understand,
the Visitors are willing to communicate with us, but only telepathically and only with a few favored people. They seem to prefer our lead scientist, Dr. Berry, and Colonel Dahlgren.”
“Do you want me to try? I mean, telepathic communication?”
“Please. If they won’t talk to me, why would they speak to you?”
“Then what?”
“They’ve requested a human subject for testing.”
“Testing!”
“Lower your voice,” Clarissa hissed. “The Visitors won’t hurt you. They’ve never displayed any aggressive tendencies. You’re perfectly safe.”
“That’s why you didn’t want to discuss this on the trip. You didn’t want to give me time to think about this.”
“Now you know.”
“Yes, I truly do,” Leah agreed. “I’m willing to make an informed decision.”
“Finally.”
“I quit.”
Clarissa’s face twisted, her beauty disappearing inside her anger. “Unacceptable.”
“Jon said this was my choice. I’ve made it.” Leah tried to sound determined but her heart was pounding. “I want to go home.”
“You leave now and you’ll never work for the government again. Any government, anywhere. I’ll make sure of it.”
“There are other jobs.”
“There won’t be. Not for you.”
“I’ll risk it.”
Turning her head, Clarissa lifted a hand. She waved gently at the two men standing outside of the rock circle. Facing Leah again, she said loudly, “It is exciting, isn’t it?”
Leah raised her voice. “I told her –”
Grasping the rock on the other woman’s chest, Clarissa tugged at the cord holding it. When the line snapped, white light sparkled around her and Leah disappeared.
Chapter Eight
Where am I? Leah wondered.
She had no idea. It almost felt as if she was floating. Lazily drifting through the air.
She was surprised that she felt so good. There was something about airplane flight that left her terrified but this was completely different. Here, she felt safe and secure.
I need to open my eyes, she thought. I have to see where I am.
A sense of warm well-being washed over her. She felt so good, laying there. It was peaceful.
Am I sleeping? Is this a dream?
A voice tickled inside of her brain. Who are you, Leah Preston?
The voice sounded friendly.
I’m me. She heard herself giggle. Silly question.
Are you good?
Good-ish. Better than Jenna Beasley, anyway.
Are you kind?
Most times.
Are you happy?
Sometimes. Sometimes not.
Always, when I’m drinking strawberry margaritas and watching Angel reruns. Hardly ever when I look through old photos.
When not, why not?
The phraseology made her want to giggle once more. Instead, a sense of sadness grew inside her, draining the ebullient feeling that had embraced her.
I spend too much time, reflecting over the choices I’ve made in my life. The mistakes I’ve made, she told the voice. It isn’t anything awful, I didn’t club baby seals or anything, but I just keep doing the wrong thing.
My career, for instance, if you can even call whatever-this-is, a true career. Then there’s my love life. If you can even call it a love life.
When I met Tanner, I thought I’d finally found ‘the one’. The wrong one, as it turned out. I sacrificed my dreams to help him chase a career he didn’t want – and the experience left both of us miserable.
Things didn’t work out. Oh, they most definitely didn’t work out.
Life is all about choices, don’t you see? If I’d taken different steps, met different men, made other decisions. I could have been…I could have been…
A lightness filled her spirit, making her feel happy: I coulda’ been a contender.
Why don’t you start over?
Wouldn’t that be lovely? Given a second chance, maybe I’d make the right decisions.
Maybe I’d make the wrong decisions all over again.
But wouldn’t it be fun to find out?
If you could have anything, the voice teased playfully, what would you ask for?
World peace.
A million billion dollars. A clean and renewable energy source. Good will towards men. And women.
I want to find my one true love. That’s what I really want: yes, yes, yes. My own personal miracle.
But, since all of that might take some time, I’d love to get laid.
Is this what you want?
You want the truth, it’s been climbing the charts lately. Feeling separated from reality, she shifted her body. Hey, am I in a flying saucer?
Do you want to be?
Nestled by feelings of comfort and security, she sighed contentedly. After that, she remembered nothing more.
# # #
“Are you all right?” Clarissa asked.
Leah opened her eyes. She was lying in the center of the circle of rocks, its flat stones cold beneath her body.
Clarissa stood over her. Colonel Dahlgren peered down at her, too, with Jon watching from behind him.
“You’re naked,” Clarissa said, as if Leah had just committed a social faux pas. Offering her some privacy, Jon returned to the Hummer.
Sleepily, Leah said, “What happened to my clothes?”
Feeling at peace but somehow pleasantly aroused, she didn’t see any need to cover herself. From the way Colonel Dahlgren was staring, he was enjoying the view.
“How long have I been gone?”
“What was it, Ronald, five minutes?” Clarissa asked the officer. “Six at most? I told you she’d be okay.”
“You’re on thin ice, Clarissa,” Dahlgren said in crisp, clipped words. “Your actions were not only inappropriate, they were dangerous. What if Leah had been injured? Or had disappeared and never returned?”
“That wasn’t going to happen.”
“You didn’t know that.”
Realizing she wouldn’t win this argument, Clarissa closed her pink, perfect lips. She allowed a small frown to briefly wrinkle the corners of her mouth.
Climbing to her feet, Leah arched her body and stretched her arms over her head. Dahlgren watched her closely.
Jon reappeared, draping a blanket over her. “Let’s get you inside.”
The Colonel stayed with her when they returned to the Hummer. She asked, “Where are we going?”
“The main research center. Our team will debrief you.”
Sitting in the front seat and facing the windshield, Clarissa said, “We have a thousand questions to ask you.”
Reaching inside her blanket, Leah stroked her hand down her naked stomach. It felt nicely warm and comforting. When her hand dipped lower, she realized, God, I’m horny.
Dahlgren stared straight ahead but Leah had a sense that he’d followed her hand’s path. “Will you be staying with me, Colonel? Or you, Jon?”
“It will be just me and my scientists,” Clarissa told her. “You belong to my team now.”
But you’re no fun, Leah thought.
Releasing her seat belt, she sat sideways. Her blanket opened with the movement. “I hope you’ll reconsider, Ronald. I’d really like it if you were with me.”
She saw the outline of his dick as it swelled in response to her nudity. Reaching over, she stroked his leg. When her fingers brushed his cock, he jumped.
Gruffly, he said, “I’ll be there.”
Chapter Nine
The research center was inside a tan, multi-story building. Hidden behind the dome’s tri-level living complex, the scientists’ equipment was nearly futuristic while their workplace was disappointingly ordinary.
I’ll bet Clarissa designed the work space, Leah thought. She probably insisted every employee be issued his or her own nine-by-nine fully adjustable cubicle with an L-shaped computer desk and a silver hoo
k for a single, well-starched, white lab coat. Each lab coat probably comes with a mandatory pocket protector, too.
I only hope her crew isn’t as boring as she is.
She soon found out. Taken to the decontamination bay, Leah was cleansed ultrasonically and then bathed in chemicals before being rinsed in a pounding spray of water. Gowned, she had vials of blood drawn and several scans taken before a group of researchers started their physical evaluation. Male and female alike, the team members treated her as just another subject to be evaluated. If anyone was curious about her experience, they’d been briefed not to ask any questions.
After running on a treadmill, a dozen wires monitoring her heart rate and blood pressure, Leah was escorted from the glass walls of the laboratory and into a private office. Still in her gown, she sat as tiny electrodes were placed in a line across her forehead. Clarissa entered, touching a corner of her desk and bringing its surface to life. Staring at a monitor inside the table top, she demanded a verbal recounting of Leah’s experience with the Visitors.
“Ask me anything,” Leah said. Despite her recent experience – or because of it – she felt centered and content.
“Oh, I will.” Sliding her finger over the touch pad imbedded in her desk, Clarissa ran down a very long list of questions.
Since she didn’t have an assistant and couldn’t be bothered to take notes, Leah assumed their conversation was being recorded by unseen voice monitors. She answered each question slowly and thoughtfully. With each of her words, streaks of color danced inside the desk’s monitor.
When they were done, her yellow-haired boss shook her head impatiently. “There must be more.”
“There isn’t.”
“That can’t be everything! No one would have left this plane, gone into an alternate dimension, and kept their eyes closed. No one, not even someone like you. Your curiosity had to be overwhelming!”
“Sorry,” Leah said sincerely. Why didn’t I look? What might I have seen?
Somewhere inside herself, she knew the answer. There was nothing to be seen. The Visitors’ dimension didn’t exist on a physical plain.