The Vanishing

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  Return of the Aliens

  Novella 1

  The Vanishing

  Ruth Ann Nordin

  Ruth Ann Nordin’s Books

  Springfield, Nebraska

  The Vanishing - Smashwords Edition

  Published by Ruth Ann Nordin at Smashwords

  Copyright © 2010 by Ruth Ann Nordin

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes:

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Cover Photo images Getty Images LLC. www.photos.com All rights reserved – used with permission.

  Dedicated to my long-time good friend, Melanie Nilles, whose love of science fiction has inspired me to consider writing my own science fiction tale

  Chapter One

  “You know what they say. ‘Always a bridesmaid; never a bride.’” Autumn Daniels made the joke even though it hurt. For some reason, she assumed she’d be married before Marianne.

  Marianne laughed. “You’re not the bridesmaid. You’re the maid of honor.”

  “Thanks for the reminder.” She walked over to the closed door of the dressing room in the bridal shop. “How does the dress fit? Do we need to make any alterations?”

  “I don’t think so. Come on in and tell me what you think.”

  Autumn did as her sister bid and smiled. “You will make a lovely bride next week. Alex is lucky to have you.”

  “I know.”

  “It’s good to know you didn’t let that law degree get to your head.”

  “Ha ha.” Marianne turned to face her. “Your time will come.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Why is it that only women who are engaged or already married say that?”

  “You know what your problem is?”

  “That there are no good men left?”

  Marianne reached up and brushed the strawberry blond hair out of Autumn’s eyes. “Your problem is that you never let men see you. Reallysee you.” She took out a barrette from her hair and slipped it into Autumn’s. Motioning to the mirror, she added, “It doesn’t take much to attract attention.”

  “You have a gift for making things look better than they are.”

  She shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. The problem could be that you don’t know your worth. Men pick up on that, you know.”

  Autumn decided it was pointless to go through this discussion again. How could her little sister understand? She wasn’t even thirty yet. Resisting the urge to settle into her all-too-familiar depression, she gave her sister a quick hug. “I better find out if the saleswoman ever found your veil or not.”

  Marianne nodded and turned back to the mirror.

  When Autumn left the dressing room area, she noticed that the saleswoman was at the counter, staring at her monitor. Hiding her agitation that the employee slacked off at work, Autumn approached her and tapped the veil in her hands. “Is this for my sister?”

  The woman jerked. “Oh! You scared me. I thought you were one of them.”

  She frowned. “One of them?”

  She waved for Autumn to join her. “Take a look for yourself. This is a live feed off the news.”

  Curiosity got the best of Autumn so she obeyed. When her gaze lowered to the computer screen, she slowed her steps. “Is this a movie trailer?”

  “No. I...I don’t think so.”

  Once Autumn could read the words on the screen, she verified that the source wasn’t a spoof. “Are the other news stations reporting the same thing? Do you have a television?”

  “Right over there in the corner.”

  Autumn hastened to the small area by the window and changed the channel from the cooking show to all the news stations she knew about. She had to be dreaming. This kind of thing didn’t happen...not in real life. This couldn’t be real! And yet, even as she wanted to deny it, the proof was right in front of her.

  Aliens. Little grey men. And President Jordan was making the announcement right at the United Nations.

  “Autumn?”

  She jerked and spun around.

  Her sister’s fiancé laughed. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “Well...” Her gaze drifted back to the television resting on the small table by the wedding catalogues. “You’re not too far off.”

  President Jordan stood at the podium as he continued to speak. “At this time, we don’t know the aliens’ intentions, but we assure you that all the governments of this world are coming together to determine the best course of action.”

  “This is cute,” Alex Cameron said, shaking his head.

  “I don’t think it’s a joke.”

  “Come on. There’s no way this is for real.”

  She picked up the remote and pressed the channel button several times. “It’s on every channel. They even suspended soap operas for this.”

  “Oh no. How will we ever survive without knowing who fathered the blond floozy’s baby?”

  Hiding a grin, she handed him the remote. “Don’t believe me? Check your favorite channels.”

  “I came here to take your sister to lunch, not get involved in these silly games.” He glanced around the room. “Where did she go?”

  “She’s in the changing room trying on her wedding dress.”

  He stepped toward the dressing rooms, so she grabbed his arm to stop him. “You can’t go in there.”

  “Why not? We’re practically married anyway.”

  She crossed her arms. “You know that it’s bad luck for you to see the bride in her dress before the wedding.”

  He groaned but obeyed her. “Tell her I’m starving.”

  “There are aliens passing the moon as we speak, and all you can think about is your stomach?”

  He leaned forward and whispered, “We’re being taped for one of those hidden camera shows. Really Autumn, I’m surprised you’re falling for it.”

  Deciding to ignore him, she went to the saleswoman who was reading a news article on the monitor. She cleared her throat and waited for the young woman to acknowledge her.

  “Isn’t this awesome? My aunt said she saw a UFO, but I didn’t believe her. Wow. If she was still alive, she’d flip!” She tapped the screen. “Read this part. There’s alien aircraft on the moon! The aliens have been watching us for a long time.”

  Despite the chill crawling up her spine, Autumn smiled and motioned to the veil on the counter. “Is that for my sister?”

  “What? Oh, right.” She picked up the veil and gave it to her. “Hey, your sister should get married at that place in New Mexico. You know. Roswell. I mean, in light of this, it’d fit, don’t you think?”

  Autumn scanned the room. There were several places where a small video camera could fit. Maybe Alex was right. Maybe this was a joke. Taking a deep breath, she turned on her heels and inched toward the dressing rooms. One glance out the window didn’t do anything to settle her nerves. Several people had pulled over in their cars as cops raced
by in their cruisers toward an accident in the middle of an intersection. A man walking past the window with his friend paused and held his iPhone up so his friend could see it. Autumn caught a brief glimpse of President Jordan on the phone. This couldn’t be a joke. At least, not a joke in this shop. But who would set up a joke to an entire section of town? It was possible but still... Why would a TV show go to such lengths to do that?

  She pushed her rambling thoughts aside and entered the dressing room area. “Marianne, I have the veil.” She waited but her sister didn’t answer. “Marianne?” She knocked on the closed door. After a tense moment passed, she turned the knob and stared at the crumpled wedding dress on the floor.

  “How long does it take for a woman to get ready for lunch?” Alex asked, coming up behind Autumn.

  Glancing at him, she forced the sudden panic aside. “Do you still think this alien thing is a joke?”

  “What’s going on here? Where’s Marianne?”

  She bent down to pick up the dress. A bra and panties fell to the floor. Marianne’s shirt and pants hung on the hook by the door. Her purse rested on the seat. What was going on? Marianne wouldn’t run off without her clothes or her purse.

  He stormed back to the front of the store.

  As he talked to the sales clerk in impatient tones, Autumn knelt down and searched through her sister’s purse, hoping to find some clue as to what happened to her. Whatever it was, it wasn’t good. Her sister wouldn’t leave without telling her. As she pulled out the lipstick, compact mirror, pocketbook and other items from the purse, she spread them on the floor in front of her. All she found were pictures. A tear trickled down her cheek at the photo of her and Marianne when Marianne graduated from college. Then there was a picture of Marianne with Alex. They looked so happy. They were happy. Marianne looked forward to getting married. She hardly talked about anything else. So why would she leave?

  It didn’t make sense. Autumn sat down and willed her mind to clear. If she could just think clearly, she’d be able to figure out what was going on. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, counting backwards from ten and exhaled when she reached one. Calm down, Autumn. Focus. There’s got to be a rational explanation for all of this.

  “She’s not here,” Alex said.

  Autumn opened her eyes.

  Alex approached the doorway and turned to the astonished clerk. “Do you see her in there?”

  “She could have left out the back,” the clerk replied in a shaky voice. “It’s happened a couple of times. Some brides get cold feet.”

  Autumn wiped her wet cheeks with her shirt sleeve. She hadn’t realized she’d been crying. Sniffing back the observation, she shook her head. “Marianne and I were close. She would have told me if there was a problem.” Settling her hand on the floor, she got ready to stand up when something hard pricked her palm. “Ouch.”

  “What is it?” Alex asked.

  She quickly pulled her hand up and turned to the source of the pain. It was Marianne’s cross necklace. Well, there. That solved it. She held it up for them to see. “This was a gift from our parents before they died in the plane crash. She wouldn’t have left this behind if she ran off.” She blinked back more tears. Gone. Her sister was gone. Just like that. She put the necklace and other items back into her sister’s purse and stood up. “I don’t know what’s going on, but someone must have kidnapped her.”

  “I’ll call the police.” The woman ran out of the room.

  “Did she have any crazy ex-boyfriends who didn’t want her to get married?” Alex wondered as he collected the clothes.

  “No.” She thought over everyone her sister had dated. “I don’t think so.” She swallowed the lump in her throat and ran her fingers through her hair. She felt the barrette her sister had put in her hair less than five minutes ago. Five minutes. It had just been five minutes! How did someone disappear in such a short time?

  “I wonder if there’s a surveillance tape in this place,” Alex said. “Maybe we can see if someone entered this store and kidnapped her.”

  “But she’d still have on her underwear.” At the very least. As it was, wherever Marianne went, she was naked. And that was nothing at all like her sister. Still, she followed him to the front where the clerk hung up the phone.

  “I can’t get through,” the young woman said. “The phone is busy.”

  Alex grumbled but dug his cell phone from his pocket and pressed the buttons. He frowned. “I’m getting the same thing. Autumn, will you try yours?”

  Even though she figured it would be pointless, she obeyed. “Same thing.” She hung up the phone.

  “Do you have a surveillance tape?” Alex asked.

  “Of course.”

  “Can I watch it to see what happened to my fiancée?”

  “Let me pull up the system.” She fiddled with some keys on the computer.

  He went around the counter so he could watch what she was doing.

  “I don’t have anything in the dressing room, but the rest of the store is covered,” she said.

  “That’s all we need,” he replied.

  It wouldn’t do any good. Autumn already knew that they wouldn’t get any answers from the tape. She reluctantly turned her attention to the window. What had started as a slight disturbance had turned into a full-blown panic. People ran past the store, crying out for others that they couldn’t find. A woman had stopped pulling her stroller and was weeping over an empty seat with a sippy cup and toddler clothes hanging over the belt strap. A fire truck and ambulance roared by, dodging a few cars that remained in the street.

  “We interrupt this program for another special report,” the TV news anchor said.

  She rushed over to the television and sat in front of it, turning up the volume.

  “Approximately six minutes ago, there have been reports of people disappearing all over the globe. We have footage of this phenomenon coming into the station as I speak.”

  The scene on the TV switched to a video where a woman stood in front of a building interviewing a man. One minute she was there asking him a question and the next, she was gone. A chill raced up Autumn’s spine. They replayed the event in slow motion, but there was no indication as to how the reporter disappeared. The next scene was of a group of children playing a ball game. One second they were there and the next, they were gone. All they left behind were their clothes.

  Autumn clutched her stomach. She was going to throw up. Did that happen to Marianne as well? She put her face in her hands and took deep breaths so she wouldn’t pass out. Where did all those people go? Where did Marianne go? How did something like this happen? And how was she going to get Marianne back?

  Chapter Two

  In the blink of an eye, Autumn’s entire life changed...and not for the better. What was she supposed to do without her sister? Marianne was the one person who understood and loved her through all the hardships in her life. It was their parents’ deaths that brought them close. And now her heart ached with an emptiness that even their parents’ passing hadn’t caused. She closed her eyes and more tears slid down her cheeks.

  The phone rang next to her bed. She turned her head to her nightstand and mechanically lifted the phone to her ear. “H—” She cleared her throat. “Hello?”

  “Girl, you aren’t going to take another sick day, are you?”

  She groaned. “Is it Tuesday already?”

  “Yes.”

  She lifted her head and saw the time on the clock. It was midday. In the confines of her dark room, it was hard to tell day from night anymore.

  “Look, I can’t keep covering for you,” Alicia said in a firm but gentle voice. “You know how Hampton is. With all those people disappearing, sales have dropped and that means I have to bear the brunt of his foul mood all by myself.”

  Autumn rubbed her eyes and sighed. Her friend was right. She needed to get back to work. She couldn’t spend the rest of her life in bed. Easing into a sitting position, she winced and grabbed the bott
le of pain killers and plopped two pills into her mouth before she washed them down with the bottled water.

  “So...are you coming in today or not?” Alicia asked.

  “Give me twenty minutes.”

  “Twenty minutes?”

  “I have to shower.”

  “Are you kidding me? It’s noon. You mean to tell me that you’re still in bed?”

  “Pretty much.” She glanced at the calendar on the wall. Two weeks. It’d been two weeks since her sister and millions of other people vanished. Every time she went to sleep, she hoped she’d wake up and find out it had all been a nightmare. But each morning she woke up and dialed her sister’s cell phone only to hear that it was out of service. She’d given up on going to Marianne’s apartment, and after talking to Alex, she learned he hadn’t had any luck finding her either. She didn’t get it. What happened to Marianne and the others who went with her? “You’re lucky, Alicia. No one in your family disappeared.”

  “I know.”

  Autumn caught the sympathy in her voice and appreciated it. “I guess life goes on, right? I’ll see you soon.”

  After she hung up, she stood, feeling as if she were seventy instead of thirty-four. Trudging to the bathroom, she flipped the switch on and ignored her appearance. She didn’t need a mirror to know her eyes were puffy and her face was splotchy. She looked like crap and felt worse. She spent five minutes standing still in the shower as the hot water pounded against her back. Everything seemed so mechanical. She was going through the motions, simply existing. Each breath reminded her that she was still alive and had to face another day without her best friend.

  She picked up the shampoo and worked it into her hair. The tangles would never get out unless she applied the conditioner, which she did. After she was done bathing, she got dressed and slipped on her sister’s necklace. It was all she had now. At least until Marianne returned. As foolish as it was to hope that everyone who vanished would suddenly come back, she held onto it.