“I—If I could make a difference. Even a chance… I’d be willing to die for that.”
Eto clenched his clawed hands into fists. “But don’t you see? We don’t want your sacrifice. We want your will to live.”
“No matter what? That’s selfishness, not survival.”
Eto growled. Always this wall. He spoke of sanity and they spoke of sacrifice. He spoke of survival and they spoke of feelings: selfishness, cowardice, and weakness. He tried once more to bridge the gap, “To die in battle, fighting with your… your comrades, this is noble. But better to fight and live.”
“Of course. No one wants to die.”
“Do they not? Everywhere I go, I hear praise of the dead. The ultimate sacrifice. And suicides are daily. Hundreds of people, even large groups together.”
“Yes… I admit, it’s worse than we ever expected. But that’s not everybody.”
“Your worship, your literature, even your armed forces praise death. How can we possibly trust you?”
The man seemed to feel Eto’s intensity, but not the reason behind it. He leaned toward Eto, narrowing his eyes.
“Trust us? We haven’t done anything to you.”
The helicopter flew out of the haze as the pilot descended toward the large, green sports field next to the school. The world wrapped around them and Eto ceased his efforts. “I do not think I can make you understand what I want. We are here.”
Part 3
Flying only gave her an illusion of control, but it was an illusion Vanessa needed. When her hands were empty, she felt the distinct bite of panic. After she settled the helicopter onto the faux-green football field as she’d been instructed, Vanessa kept her hands on the controls for an extra moment. It had not been a great landing. Her flight instructor would have been disappointed in her, but if he had two giant bug-aliens in the back discussing the future of Earth, he might not have done so well, either.
Also, if he’d been trying to figure out how to kill those aliens, that might have distracted him. Vanessa briefly touched the front pocket of her uniform, where she’d put her crucifix necklace, and repeated the first line of the Lord’s Prayer. She felt no remorse about her planned kills. The aliens had killed hundreds of people in the last few days: fathers, mothers, children.
Having seen the aliens’ reflexes and defensive shields, she knew attacking them in person was useless. In fact, the only way she could think of was to crash the helicopter. If she did it right, no one would survive. The thought had not left her mind for a single second yesterday, but she had not been able to do it.
Last night, that had changed. She’d lain on a pallet thinking until a sense of certainty crept over her like rising water, and she knew that she could—and would—kill both aliens and herself, if necessary.
Despite what this alien thought, she didn’t find it easy to choose death. Would she be a martyr if she died to destroy these two aliens? Probably not, but she’d gathered that Eto was important, and his conversation with the fireman only confirmed what she’d suspected. He was here to judge Earth, and he was going to vote against them. It was obvious.
What she didn’t know for sure was whether killing him would help. She suspected he wasn’t the only one casting a vote. If he disappeared, the other ones might still vote against them. Would silencing him give them more or less of a shot? She didn’t know.
Yet, very few people had the access and opportunity that she had. If she did nothing, she would have the rest of her life to watch humanity disintegrate, and she would curse herself for being weak. She couldn’t live with that.
She’d been surprised when Eto asked to land on the beach. She had planned to crash in the empty hills between Santa Monica and L.A. She’d landed as requested and then the fireman had boarded her helicopter and messed up her plans. She wasn’t prepared to kill another person.
Vanessa jumped when the fireman put a hand on her shoulder. “Are you coming?”
“What are you waiting for?” Eto added. His raspy voice was loud in the headset without the roar of the engine. “I must meet with General Gustav.”
She jerked her helmet off. “Nothing. We can go.”
After they got out, the fireman held out his hand. “I’m Aaron Cancik, by the way.”
She automatically shook his hand, gripping firmly. “Vanessa Contreras. LAPD.”
Eto and the linguist alien extracted themselves from the rear of the helicopter. The linguist stuck his clawed hand forward.
“I am Minglo’opican. An expert in languages.” He shook Aaron’s hand vigorously. “Whatever may come, I am delighted to meet you. Such a fascinating culture.”
“Right.” Aaron looked just as nonplussed as she’d felt that first morning when she met Ming and his unsettling enthusiasm. Her superior officer had pulled her aside before she left. “I don’t trust them, but we need their help. Be careful. Keep your eyes and ears open. I was going to assign Mitch, but I’m hoping since you’re smaller and a woman, they’ll find you less threatening. They seem somewhat like us that way.”
Vanessa had rolled her eyes. “Of course they are. We couldn’t even score matriarchal alien overlords.”
“Just keep your eyes open,” he’d said.
And she had. Even when they’d started killing.
Vanessa followed them to the nearby administration building of the high school. A Spo escorted them to a large conference room, probably intended for parent-teacher conferences. The chairs had been removed and strange stools put in their place. Eto sat on one of the stools, resting the backward curve of his torso on the indention and comfortably stretching his legs on each side. They were alien chairs. It was such a mundane thing, but it helped her ground the moment.
There were at least ten aliens in the room, and it gave her a feeling of otherworldliness she was becoming familiar with. When the aliens were the majority, it was frighteningly easy to imagine she was on their world.
The smell was part of it. It had built up in the building, a smell like bleach and motor oil—it nearly made her gag. It wasn’t a disgusting smell, like rotting meat or garbage, but it was so inanimate. It had no place coming from living creatures, and yet her mind kept trying to make it fit.
Their shape was all wrong as well. When she first began flying for Eto, she kept trying to make them conform to some terrestrial pattern, but it didn’t work. They had an obvious similarity to insects with horrible mandibles on their faces. But their faces suggested smiles, like a dolphin’s face. Something about their torsos reminded her of an athlete, but when she tried to add in their legs, nothing on Earth fit. She’d realized it would drive her crazy if she kept trying to categorize them.
Eto motioned for them to stay away from the table. “You must remain in this room for now. If you are without a Spo escort, you will be considered a threat.”
Another alien entered the room, and Eto gestured to him. “This is General Gustav.”
Vanessa had already met him, but Aaron looked surprised. “Is that his name?”
The general’s eyestalks turned toward him. “I have chosen a human name for ease of use. Should we remain, I will be working with many of your civil and educational leaders.”
Aaron looked back at Eto, who seemed to understand the question. “I have not chosen a new name as I do not need to remain on Earth. My role is largely over.”
That was the last bit in English. Several more aliens entered, and the conversation went on entirely in the Spo language.
Vanessa met Aaron’s eyes. It was a strange feeling. They were silent allies in the face of an enemy. She didn’t know this guy at all, but they were immediately a team. She was sure that if something happened, he would have her back and she would have his. Because they were human. She couldn’t discuss her plan with him, where the aliens might hear, but she suspected he would support her.
She chuckled darkly to herself. It would be ironic if humanity finally overcame racism and sexism only to be wiped out by an alien species that was just as
misogynistic as they were.
The aliens seemed involved in their discussion, so Vanessa shifted a fraction closer to Aaron where he leaned against the wall, watching them. “Why did you come with us?”
He glanced at her. “I don’t know. I just had to try. You?”
“It’s an assignment.”
He nodded. “And if they start executing people here like they did in D.C.?”
“I know. They could.”
“Guess that’s why I’m here.”
“You think they’ll tell us beforehand? I doubt it.”
“But we’ve got a better chance to find out here than anywhere else.”
Vanessa turned back to watch. The linguist was facing away from them, but one of his eyestalks was twisted in their direction. She grimaced.
It wasn’t a secret, what they’d said. The aliens must have known that humans were angry. That they were all waiting to see what the Spo’s next move would be. But she couldn’t talk about her plan. If they suspected her, she would never have the chance to act.
The linguist rose from the table with a click of his claws at the others. They continued while he came over to Vanessa and Aaron. “I am not needed here. I can show you to a… a box where there is food.”
“A vending machine?” Vanessa’s stomach was growling, whether from anxiety or hunger, she wasn’t sure. She glanced back at the table and tried to shrug nonchalantly. “Sure, that’d be good.”
They went back to the lobby. The secretary, a plump, middle-aged lady, sat behind a counter and stared blankly at a computer screen. Aaron excused himself to clean up in the bathroom. Ming showed Vanessa a bucket of coins on the ground next to a vending machine, so she used them to buy a package of M&Ms. A farewell snack, perhaps.
The front doors of the lobby were glass and, miraculously, still intact. It was half past seven in the morning, and a handful of students were walking slowly past the building. The Spo had insisted that schools reopen as soon as possible, and they were talking about enforcing stricter truancy regulations if they stayed.
Some of the students tried to casually look in as they passed, but none stopped to stare.
Vanessa wondered what that must be like. Coming to school knowing there were aliens there, aliens with their own friggin’ set of standardized tests. Eto had mentioned that General Gustav was here to write a report on standard student evaluations or something to that effect.
With a sharp sound, the front door jerked and a web of cracks formed. Vanessa froze, thinking of the earthquakes. Then, three more shots shattered the door, bullets flying into the far wall of the lobby.
A kid stepped through the empty frame, a boy probably only fifteen or sixteen, with a heavy gun in his hands. He was breathing fast and looked around wildly, as if expecting to see more people run in.
“Get down,” Vanessa told the secretary.
The woman’s glazed stare turned from the computer screen to the boy, but she was more with it than Vanessa realized.
“David, no. They don’t know. Just go,” she said.
He barely looked at her, focusing on Ming, the only alien in the room. “I’m going to kill you.”
Vanessa automatically clapped a hand to her weapon, but it wasn’t there, of course. “Hey, calm down.”
She slowly moved a step away from the linguist and that wavering barrel. She knew it wouldn’t hurt the alien because he had protection, but it could kill her. She extended her hands, palms up. “Everything is okay, but you need to put that gun down. It won’t work.”
“It’s not okay!” the boy spat. “It’s not okay. They killed my father.”
Vanessa licked her dry lips. “That’s horrible. I’m so sorry.”
“In Washington. He was a Congressman.” The kid’s hands were still shaking. He could put a bullet through any of them.
“David? Is that your name?” Aaron asked. His voice was low and calm.
“I don’t—what are you both doing here? Move away from that thing. I’m going to kill it.”
Vanessa saw that the alien was palming something in the loose folds of its tunic. No, no, no. “You can’t kill it with a gun. Not from the front. I know you’re angry. I don’t blame you. But there are a lot of aliens in here. They’re going to come out. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
The secretary had tears running down her face.
David laughed, but his voice was brittle. “You think I care? I’m going to get as many as I can.”
Vanessa cursed the irony. How could she fault the kid for doing what she had planned to do herself?
But he didn’t know everything she did.
She heard a sound and glanced behind her. Eight aliens came down the hall. Eto and three others were holding flat, round devices in their hands.
“Look, buddy, what about your mom? Your grandparents? People are going to miss you. You’re going to do that to them?” Aaron said.
The aliens fanned out in a semi-circle around them, facing the boy.
“Just wait a second!” Vanessa said. She found Eto in the group, easy to recognize with his scar. “Please give me a minute. Don’t hurt him.”
She looked back at the kid in time to see him close his eyes and pull the trigger. She and Aaron both dropped to the ground.
The loud report of the gun didn’t stun her, but the orange, translucent light that flashed out from the aliens confused her eyes. It flickered out from the devices, forming slightly conical planes in front of the aliens. Another shot and then another. The bullets struck the orange light and bounced off.
Shields. She had seen the aliens use them before. One of the ricocheting bullets might get the boy, or even fly back out the door and hit another student. “Stop,” she shouted to him. “You’ll get hit.”
With a slight rippling gesture of Eto’s hands, the plane of light from his device expanded and caught the kid in the chest before dissolving into nothing. The boy slammed back into the metal frame of the door and crumpled to the ground.
Vanessa scrambled forward. David looked dazed, but he was alive, conscious. There were tears in his red eyes. Vanessa approached him with caution. “Just lay still, I want to protect you—”
He stuck the barrel in his mouth.
“No!” She lunged the last few feet and slammed the gun out of his hand. It caught the edge of his mouth, causing a split in his cracked lips as it went tumbling.
She grabbed both of his wrists, kneeling on top of him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Don’t ever do that again.”
He was sobbing, and she pulled him to her, hugging him tightly. He was not much older than her nephew. “Just take a deep breath. Just breathe. It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.”
Eto and Gustav came to stand next to her.
“He said his father was in the government in D.C.,” Ming told them.
Gustav flushed an orange color. “Then that was a mistake. Our mistake. They were to be executed with their families. There should be no children.”
Vanessa clutched the boy tighter, but he struggled to sit up. “I know. My mom remarried, different name.”
“I see. I apologize for your distress.”
The boy gaped at him. “You—you killed him. You’ll kill me. You’re not sorry.”
“I am sorry. The loss of a parent or loved one is severe and crippling. It is barbaric to kill one and leave the others alive.”
“But—” Vanessa’s brain was recoiling with horror as she realized what was happening. “Are you going to—? Because his father—”
Aaron strode up to Eto. “You can’t execute this boy. We won’t let you.”
Eto was still that strange color. “This isn’t the proper place. It would not be honorable. And his mother should be with him.”
Gustav calmly held his shield device in his hand, twisting the rim of it carefully. “It must be done. We must abide by the accords. He’s suicidal. Malignant.”
Eto took a small step between Gustav and the boy. “I agree. But not
here. He is alone. We must also locate his mother.”
The red spots on the boy’s cheeks faded to blotches, and blood trickled down his chin. “Not my mom.”
Vanessa gripped his shoulder tightly. She didn’t know exactly what Eto was doing, but she was certain that Gustav was ready to execute this kid right that minute--and Eto was stopping him.
Vanessa had almost forgotten about the gun she’d knocked out of the kid’s hands, but Aaron bent to pick it up. The aliens in the lobby went still. Gustav turned toward him with the shield thing in his hand.
Aaron froze with his fingers an inch from the gun.
“My energy device was on its lowest setting, but now it is not,” Gustav told him. “If you touch the weapon, I must assume you will attack.”
Aaron slowly spread his fingers and stood, hands up.
Eto clicked two of his claws, and another alien retrieved the gun. “I do not have time for this now. We will review his case later. Please take him into custody,” he said to Vanessa.
She gently pulled the boy to his feet and pulled his hands in front of him to cuff him. She wanted to tell him to just go along with it for now, that she’d figure out some way for him to escape after they got away from all these aliens. But she couldn’t. Instead, she made eye contact with him as she tightened the cuffs around his wrists.
For a moment, they all stood there, surely the strangest tableau the lobby had ever held. The secretary had a hand pressed over her mouth, as if she might be ill. The air seemed to become thin, and every ridge of Eto’s mandibles stood out in slimy, grey perfection. A breeze blew through the shattered door, bringing the smell of smoke and cooling the sweat on Vanessa’s neck.
“I will take them back to headquarters with me,” Eto said finally. “I need to report there, and I wish to question this boy. We must ascertain how this error occurred.”
General Gustav pocketed his shield into his loose tunic. “It is your prerogative. If I do not see you before you leave the planet, farewell.”
#
Eto did not pause to examine his conscience. He instructed the three humans to walk ahead of him to the helicopter. Yet again, he had made a questionable decision in search of an elusive peace.
Evaluate: A Spo novella (Alien Cadets) Page 3