by Mikayla Lane
But if she could get them out, maybe this could be ended peacefully. With that in mind, she answered Balduen.
“Baldy, I can’t tell you that. I’m going to use them to get back in and find Grai and the others. Look, it’s Fiorn. He thinks that you guys left them intentionally because you have no honor. He’s been collecting crashed craft and plans on taking his people to another world, to start over,” she said.
True rushed on before he could interrupt her.
“They’re the Men in Black, guys. And apparently we have 20 hours to contain this war shit, or we’re all outed to the world. So find someone to talk this idiot off the cliff so we can all just get along. His own people call him a legendary ass, and they’re not thrilled to be fighting and don’t like the thought of leaving. I don’t know if that helps you or not, but it’s all I’ve got right now. Get someone on the web to help yank the pics too,” True said.
There was silence for several long minutes and True knew that Baldy was passing on the information to someone.
“That’s great info, True. But, where are you?” Baldy asked again.
True sighed.
“I’m not going to tell you, I’m going back inside to help the others get out. Maybe if everyone gets out we can end this crap and try talking instead. In fact, can you please get someone talking?” she asked, just wanting this to be over so they could go home.
Baldy paused.
“Look, you be careful. We’re going to do everything we can from here too,” he finally said.
True looked at Tara in the rearview mirror and knew the woman was aware that she was conversing on the Shengari’ with her people. What surprised her was that Tara hadn’t bothered to try and stop her.
“Will do,” True said to Baldy before severing the connection with him.
She watched Tara drive in the mirror for a few minutes.
“So, what exactly are we going to do?” True asked.
Tara and Leif laughed.
“We’re going to help the humans remember things correctly,” Leif said.
True got a little nervous by the way that he said that and was going to ask for more details when Tara slammed on the brakes, threw the SUV into a skid and stopped an ATV flying away from the mountain.
Tara and Leif jumped out of the vehicle and approached two men on the ATV. Unsure what they had planned for the humans, True jumped out of the vehicle and rushed forward to defend them if necessary.
“Sirs, I need to see your phones, please,” Leif asked in a deep voice that had True doing a double take.
True noticed that Tara was touching the passenger, who was silently staring at the mind reaper in rapt attention while Leif was confronting the driver of the ATV.
Just as the man started to argue over the phones, Tara threw the passengers phone at Leif while she touched the driver, who immediately became silent. True watched as Leif held a device to the phone, then put it back in the pocket of the still-silent ATV passenger.
Tara handed the other phone to Leif while she stood in front of both men.
“You guys saw the whole damn mountain start coming down and decided to get out of here while you could. The only thing you saw in the sky was some interesting cloud formations during the storm before the mountain came down. “Now everything is muddy and the trails are washed out, but you’ll make it back home alive and tell no one about this,” but you’ll make it back home alive and tell no one about this,” Tara said to the two men while they nodded their heads mutely.
True looked at Tara with narrowed eyes.
“What did you do to them?”
Tara turned back to her with a grin.
“I reaped in a mild suggestion that they listen to me . . . after I erased what they saw. I just replaced what I took with different memories. They get home safe, and that’s two less people that we have to worry about,” Tara said before she turned back to the two men.
“Now, go home. Do not speed or do anything reckless,” Tara said then waited while Leif gave the driver back his phone and they drove off.
True folded her arms across her chest.
“Damn, you people brought me out here to bullshit me! How about you be straight with me? Because I know damn well this little display was crap,” True said, daring them to deny it.
Leif rolled his eyes and sighed. The damn she-beast was so freaking suspicious she couldn’t even see what they’d done without thinking there was an ulterior motive.
“Are you really that jaded?” he couldn’t stop himself from asking.
True’s eyes widened.
“Jaded? You mean realistic? I’m sorry—I live in the damn real world and help real people. You hide in a damn mountain and come out once in a while to fuck with people, and you can’t tell me this friendly crap is what all of you do. You don’t have so many reapers that all of the humans you are encountering are getting gentle mind wipes. What happens to the rest of them?”
Tara chuckled and turned to Leif.
“She’s smart.”
Leif gave her an exasperated look and held his hands out, inviting Tara to answer True. She only laughed at him.
“No, not everyone gets a gentle mind wipe,” he admitted. “Get in—we’ll show you how some go.”
Tara shook her head, but got in the SUV and started it back up. True smirked at Leif before she got in behind Tara. Leif wanted nothing more than to pound his fists on the roof of the SUV until he felt less frustrated—by both of the damn crazy she-beasts. Knowing there would be a team with a problem and he’d get a chance to relieve his frustrations in a minute, he called through the Shengari’ and found out the worst location that was close by. He jumped in the SUV and gave directions to Tara while she drove like hell through the darkened forest.
True immediately contacted Balduen.
“Hey Baldy, they have a bunch of people in the forest trying to get the humans out and making sure they have no pics or vids on their tech.”
Baldy immediately responded.
“True, that’s a big damn forest, honey. Can you be more specific?”
True had to stop herself from laughing.
“Yeah, I’m beginning to realize just how big. I can’t exactly give you an ID on a tree. We came out of the mountain on the northwest. Just FYI on the mountain hybrids . . .” she said before ending the connection. She had no time for chatter and questions she had no answers to.
The SUV came to a halt and True knew that they’d arrived when she heard yelling and saw a group of hybrids dressed in black tactical gear facing off against several human males and a female.
True and Tara got out of the, but when True tried to walk to the humans, Tara grabbed her arm and shook her head.
“Stay back with me. You’ll see how it has to be done sometimes,” she said cryptically.
True watched the human males spare Leif only a brief glance before going back to finger pointing and yelling at the hybrid tact team. The female, though, had eyes only for Leif. True felt like punching the woman when she began fixing her hair and clothes.
Leif stayed several feet behind the tact team, listening to the human men spew vitriol about government oppression and how it was a conspiracy to stop them from cashing in from sharing their vids. When the agitated males started in on alien probes, Leif finally had enough and barked out a laugh as he stepped around the tact team and faced the three males.
He gave the humans a cold stare while he spoke to his team.
“You get their gear?” he asked unnecessarily; he saw the gear piled behind his team.
“Yes, sir,” one of the team answered.
Leif smiled at the now-quiet men while he held his hand out for the team leader’s comm. Once he held it in his hand, he quickly read through the information and faced the men.
“Nice. Clean records. For now,” Leif said to the humans before turning to his team.
“Confiscate the electronics. Monitor all of their communications and have them followed. If any of them breathe a wor
d of this—even in their sleep—destroy them,” he said and began to walk away when one of the males began running towards him.
Leif turned, but a team member caught the guy before he could reach Leif.
“Before you begin your pathetic ranting over how this is against your constitution and how this is America and this can’t happen here,” Leif said as he walked over to the man.
“Think of how easy it would be for you to disappear right now. You could have easily been caught in that terrible landslide that happened on that mountain. In fact, I’m sure your families are worried for you,” Leif said, his voice dangerously low and controlled.
He stepped closer, leaned down, and stared at the human without blinking.
“Consider this your one and only warning to keep what you’ve seen to yourself. If you don’t, you will end up being one of tens of thousands who disappear every year without a trace. I’m sure even an asshole like you would be missed by someone,” he said, staring at the man even after he’d looked away from Leif’s penetrating gaze.
Leif flicked his icy glare to the other men.
“Any other stupid comments or threats? Because, I’m OK with ending this conversation now. Permanently,” he said as the hybrids cocked their weapons.
“That’s not necessary!” “We didn’t see a thing!” “Shit. We lost our gear in the landslide—barely made it out!” the men all talked at once, outlining their stories.
By the time the security team had walked the humans to their vehicle, they had concocted an elaborate tale that involved the four of them barely escaping the landslide with their lives. They were already spending the insurance money on their “lost” phones and cameras.
True crossed her arms over her chest.
“Really? You threaten them? So what if one of them does talk?” she asked, wondering how far they would go.
Tara laughed.
“We got people who live all over. Idiots like that, we give the closest hybrid a few days off to follow them around. Just enough so they know it and realize we are pretty much everywhere. Their minds fill in the blanks with the possibilities, and fear usually makes them back off,” Tara said.
Leif watched True’s reaction and saw she still wasn’t satisfied.
“The really tough people get their online activity monitored and redirected. Files and other items go missing. For the rest, we pretty much follow the government handbook for these things. We lie, we discredit them, and almost all of it’s done online. I can’t think of the last time we’ve had a real problem with someone,” Leif admitted with a shrug.
Tara snorted.
“It’s too easy to redirect their communications or even alter them if we have to. Although, this . . .” Tara said, gesturing to the sky and the two groups still hovering over the mountain. “Isn’t what we’re normally covering up either.”
Leif nodded.
“Most crashes are an in and out thing that’s become a lot easier with our own craft. The advent of the digital age has made it a little more difficult to prevent pics and vids from getting out, but since most people aren’t likely to believe just anyone on the internet, it’s easy to make it look like they used photo enhancement software to alter the pic,” he said with another shrug.
*****
Decano had been strapped to a chair in the dark for what seemed like hours. He knew that if he were captured then Grai was as well. Concerned for his leader and their other team members, Decano had tried for hours to break free of the restraints.
He had almost given up hope when he saw a golden light appear under the door. Decano watched in fascination as the ball rolled under the door and into the room, illuminating the completely barren space. Unsure if it was a weapon—or security measure—he watched it warily as it stopped near his feet and slowly grew until it turned into a beautiful, winged female.
He stared in awe at the beautiful woman as she smiled down at him.
“Do not fear me, Decano. I am here to help you get to Grai,” she said with a voice so soft and lyrical that Decano was mesmerized.
He found his voice as the woman placed her hands on his ankles and the metal bands dropped from him.
“Who are you?” Decano asked in a choked whisper.
The beautiful woman smiled as she stood and placed her hands on the metal bands securing his wrists.
“I am a friend of Tristan’s. We came to help him. I cannot maintain this form for long in this realm. Not yet anyway. You will need to follow me, and I will take you to Grai. But you cannot, under any circumstances, harm anyone here. There are no enemies here, just ignorance, and that is not for us to punish. Do you understand?” she asked him as she broke the final band that secured his chest to the chair.
Decano stood, shaken by the woman and the loving, innocent energy she exuded. He was not of the beast species, and did not have any of the gifts they had with energy, but even he could feel the magnificence of the woman in the room with him.
Without a word, Decano nodded his head and watched with wide eyes as the beautiful woman shrank back into a golden ball before his eyes. He was completely unaware that other golden balls—other light-bringers—were also releasing the other members of his team and leading them all to Grai.
Around the world, thousands of very special children were rocking, humming and gesticulating in the air, completely unresponsive to anything around them as they focused their thoughts and energy on being their true selves: warriors.
Chapter Six
Countdown Clock to Human Discovery
19:00 Hours
This is a WSBC Channel 9 News special report. Federal and local authorities are continuing to evacuate White River National Forest near Burnt Tree Ridge due to a landslide that happened just a few hours ago.
We recently heard from a group of campers close to the landslide when it occurred. They said that they were forced to leave their possessions behind as they ran by flashlight to escape the disaster.
We hope to have footage of the disaster area once the sun rises. It will be at least dawn before crews can make a better assessment of the area. We’ll keep you updated as the events unfold.
Traze T’Alq was leading his team around the mountain, looking for a way inside, when he saw the wall open up in front of him and a half dozen black SUVs come flying out. He and only four team members made it through the opening before it closed again, sealing the rest of his team outside.
He cursed quietly as they found a place to hide from the activity in the large cavern. Traze felt his connection to the Shengari’ being severed the moment the wall had gone back up.
Dude. I didn’t think all the way through that one, he thought.
He shrugged his shoulders, grinned at his team, and peeked around the remaining SUVs in the garage area. There were five hybrids—two women and three men—lounging around in a few chairs near the only obvious door in the place.
Traze shook his head.
Just my fucking luck, he thought, my first chance to really prove myself in the field and I get the shit end of the stick. Giving the order to his men to stay where they were, Traze stood and walked toward the five startled hybrids.
Traze slung his rifle over his shoulder, holstered his guns and put both of his hands up by his chest. He scrunched his fingers, making a heart sign with his hands, and he grinned broadly at the hybrids.
“I am Traze T’Alq, I just want my brother back . . . and my nephew, his pregnant mom, and our people. I come in peace,” he said, now standing only a few feet from the bewildered group.
One of the females burst out laughing and was soon followed by the other one. Even the three males were chuckling. One of them stood and faced the man-child.
“You got more balls than most, boy. The delicate flower is going to love you. Lucky for you, we’re more fond of her than we are the legends,” the man said with a grin.
One of the women pointed at the door.
“You guys head through there, take the vehicles and head west thr
ough the tunnels. Go past the craft hangar and then go northwest until you hit an intersection. Take the right fork. About 200 feet in, you’ll see the doors to the cells that your people are in,” she said, pulling it up on her comm and showing it to Traze as his teammates walked up to him.
Traze studied it for a moment.
“What about my nephew and his pregnant mom? Do you know where they are?” he asked.
One of the other men pulled up his comm and entered in a code for the vid system before showing it to Traze and his men.
“They seem to be doing really well. He’s taken out most of the original cave system . . . made some new tunnels. All in all he’s kicking ass, and she seems to be hanging in there,” the man said with a grin.
“You have to get to them soon though. The biggest of the legendary asses, has sent a strike team after them,” the other woman added. “We’re more scared of the delicate Flower than we are of him, but the strike teams . . . we can’t guarantee that they won’t follow orders.”
Traze nodded his head.
“Thank you. I swear we don’t want to hurt anyone. We just want our people back,” he said, hoping they wouldn’t get in trouble for helping him.
The hybrids chuckled.
“Yeah, we’re not real thrilled about what’s going on either—most of us anyway. You don’t fire, and we won’t fire is how we’re looking at this. Make sure you do too,” the main guy warned him.
Traze nodded his head while one of the women added, “Do the heart thing. It works for you.”
“You’re adorable, kid. I hope I get to see you still alive when this is all over,” the other female hybrid said.
Traze chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.
“I hope I do too. Thanks again,” he said before leading his team through the door.
They piled into three of the ATVs parked outside of the door, leaving two for the hybrids and took off down the tunnel. And at the fork in the intersection, he promptly forgot the directions and turned left.