Loose Ends
Immediately his energy ran through his arm, out through his fingers and into the capsule. The glowing portal appeared and grew rapidly with every pulse of Shaun’s energy.
Zolyn was completely caught off guard. She drew back in the direction that Shaun meant for her to go, trying to escape from the prison’s entrance.
“Another one of these?” she scoffed. “Didn’t you learn the first time?”
“Call me stubborn!” Shaun said. His voice echoed off the buildings surrounding them.
He strained his body and mind with all of the energy that he had at his disposal. He could barely stay in the air. Everything he had was going towards stretching the opening to the capsule prison as large as it would go.
Ten feet. Then twenty. It was becoming the size of the side of a building — and he was angling it down at Zolyn.
The alien lowered herself to get away from the wall of light, but either way she moved, side to side, there were walls of the surrounding buildings stretching into the sky. She couldn’t escape the portal, so the only way was down. Even with her super speed, there was nowhere else that she could move.
And that was exactly the direction that Shaun wanted her to go.
Right beneath them, behind Zolyn, was Mae. She activated her capsule, also giving it everything she could. It wasn’t as large as Shaun’s, but it didn’t need to be. Shaun’s was the distraction. Mae’s was the goal.
“Get back with that!” Zolyn ordered, spreading herself out now so that she was a cluster of particles with a solid human shoulders and head.
As if I will, Shaun thought with a smile.
“There’s nowhere to go, Zolyn,” he said. “Give it up.”
She snarled, refusing to speak. It was obvious that she thought she would be able to flee from the ground, but when she turned to race away, instead of empty air and street, she came face to face with Mae’s portal. Her speed betrayed her.
In a second, Zolyn was inside Mae’s floating doorway. It was the blink of an eye. The edges of the portal trembled as Mae struggled to keep it open.
“Release it!” Shaun shouted, and just as quickly as it appeared, Mae’s portal snapped shut.
Not wasting any time, Shaun released his own portal, though not completely. He flew down to the parking garage where Mae was standing and held out the now one-by-one-foot square portal in his hand. He nodded to Mae’s capsule.
“Toss it in for good measure,” he ordered. This got a laugh from Mae, and she tossed it into the opening before Shaun sealed it shut with a zip.
All the noise of Zolyn moving through the air was suddenly gone, and replacing it was the heavy breathing of Shaun and Mae, followed by clapping. At first it was only a few people, but when Shaun and Mae looked over the side of the railing they saw that there was a good sized crowd assembled below them. There were also the people coming out of the buildings, curious if it was all over.
Cheers rang out, and for the first time in a while, Shaun felt that they were well deserved.
Taking a quick moment, Shaun glanced over the side of the railing to see the crowd that was growing larger every moment as people came out of the surrounding buildings to see what was going on. Many were smiling broadly as they clapped, and few were in tears.
Shaun was struck suddenly as he spotted the girl from the protest — and he was surprised to remember her name as soon as he saw her face. Sheila. She was looking up at him and Mae, without the anger and judgement that Shaun had seen before. This time she appeared to have the same relief that Shaun felt.
He nodded to her with a slight wave. She returned it, and so didn’t a bunch of other people. Then Shaun came back to the flat surface of the concrete platform and collapsed to a sitting position. Mae joined him.
“I think we earned a breather before heading out of here,” she said.
“You said it,” Shaun chuckled back. “At least nobody got their arms snapped off this time, or electrocuted. I don’t want any new powers — I promise! I’m happy with what I’ve got.”
Mae pulled a thoughtful face, then added, “I could do with a few more, I think.”
He shoved her playfully. It felt good to be able to joke again. The stress of a possible enslavement of all humanity was enough to cripple his nerves.
Mae leaned in and gave him a kiss before resting against his shoulder.
“That was a pretty good trick with double-locking the capsule,” she said.
“I thought so, too. Just to be safe.”
He rolled the capsule on his palm. It glinted in the afternoon sun. Such a tiny thing to cause so much chaos. Without Mae’s powers, they might have never figured out how to use them in time.
“This was pretty efficient of us!” he said. “All in two days. And to think we were supposed to be taking a break.”
“Maybe this time we’ll be able to really take one,” Mae replied. “If we don’t tell anybody. We can just go somewhere. No jinxing it this time!”
Shaun grinned. “I think that sounds like a deal. But, let’s tie up the loose ends first.”
31
To The Depths
“Do you think we should take anything?” asked Shaun as he and Mae slipped out of his super speed and returned to the crash site.
Mae answered this question with a raised eyebrow.
“What kind of a question is that?” she replied. “Of course I’m going to take some of this stuff. Who do you think you’re talking to?” She led the way into the ship, slipping unnoticed by the police force that was continually guarding the perimeter. “What do you think is going to happen to all of the stuff that we don’t confiscate for ourselves?”
“The government will swoop in and hide it somewhere. Out of sight, out of mind. Kind of like how we used to be.”
Images of underground warehouses and secret testing labs flashed through Shaun’s imagination. He wondered if all of this stuff was going to be regarded as a national secret now that the danger was over. Whatever the outcome, it would be fuel for the conspiracy theorists at least.
They can have fun with that, thought Shaun. I’ve already had enough fun with these Xantherians.
More than likely what would happen was that the people in charge of things like this would take everything and scrub the site clean. Then there would be misinformation spread through the media so that there would be no panic. People who were witnessed being taken by Zolyn would be given a settlement to keep quiet, and hopefully things would go back to normal.
Or at least as normal as they can.
Shaun had a sneaking suspicion that he and Mae would be the only ones who knew for themselves that these aliens were called Xantherians. They would also be the only ones who had social interactions with the beings.
“Come on,” Shaun prompted Mae as they made their way down the passage, coming to a stop in Zolyn’s lab. “We need to move quick if we don’t want to be confiscated for testing along with all of this stuff.”
“I’ve been tested on enough today,” Mae replied. She started grabbing things — anything that she could find in the space. “These are the things that they use to siphon energy from people?”
“Yes,” Shaun picked up a set and examined it. They were still glowing with Mae’s siphoned energy. “I wonder if these will be useful to us at all.”
“Knowing me, I’ll find some way to use them,” she said. Using one of the remaining capsules as a storage device, Mae opened a glowing portal and stuffed the remaining wands into the prison chamber. It was amazing that she could fit so many things in there and it would remain light and easy to transport. “So many strange things, and yet, it feels so empty. Cold and uninviting.”
Shaun had to agree. He had always heard the scary stories of what aliens would do when they came to Earth. They would wipe everything out. It was even more terrifying when he saw the inside of the Xantherian ship.
Everywhere was blank emptiness. Nothing stood out. There was so much uniformity it made Shaun wond
er what the point of living was if you were a Xantherian. Did their home world look like this?
If it did then the whole place had to be bleak. It made Shaun appreciate the variety and diversity in the world.
Mae scooped up practically anything they could lift by themselves and placed it in the capsule. This included everything from the hidden cabinets in the ceiling and the walls. Then, with one last look at the place where their energy had been forcefully stolen from them, they called it good.
“I wish I could take their navigation system,” Mae lamented as they checked out the cockpit on their way out.
“I wish we could take the entire ship,” Shaun agreed. “But, there’s no way that we’re strong enough to lift that and fit it into this tiny capsule. We’ll have to be happy with what we’ve got. I’m sure by tomorrow all of this stuff will be gone. Disappeared into some government facility.”
“They can do their tinkering,” Mae added with a mischievous grin. “I’ll do mine. Come on. Let’s get out of here before anything else happens.”
It was a good idea. There would be plenty of time later to inspect all the items they confiscated. For now, they still had one last thing to do.
It was the farthest that Shaun had ever flown without a landmass beneath him. Every time he looked down he felt a twinge of fear in his gut, like ice had just been dumped down his throat.
Nothing but ocean stretched on three sides of him — front, left, and right. Behind him in the distance was the mainland. It was just a strip of green and gray against all the blue. Nothing but rolling waves ahead.
Mae flew beside him. Her hair whipped in the high sea wind as they continued onwards.
How far do you think we’ve gone? she communicated with him telepathically.
I don’t know, Shaun replied. How far do you think we need to go?
She didn’t answer. It was a question that neither of them knew the answer to. No matter how far they flew, Shaun couldn’t say that it was enough. He pressed them onwards until they could barely see the land at all. It was the height of a small stack of papers.
Only when there were no ships, planes, or anything else in sight did Shaun come to a stop.
“I think this is good,” he called over to Mae. She flew closer to him so that they wouldn’t have to yell to be heard.
She shielded her eyes from the glaring sun with one hand.
“You’re sure this is the right thing to do?” she asked.
“I think so,” Shaun nodded, more for himself than for her. “I don’t know how to destroy it, and this is the best way that something can go unfound for possibly forever.” He took out the tiny capsule that they had trapped Zolyn within. She was doubly trapped, which made Shaun feel a bit better.
He would feel wonderful once he never had to see the capsule again.
“Sinking it like a shipwreck,” he muttered. “What are the odds that anyone will stumble across something so small in the ocean?”
“At depths like this?” Mae replied. “Pretty astronomical. I’d say that they’re about as likely as aliens coming from another planet.”
Shaun couldn’t help but share her smirk.
“I’m glad you haven’t lost your sense of humor.”
“Never.”
Shaun remained hovering in place, staring down at the rolling water. It was hypnotic. He was almost afraid to move. The two of them had saved humanity from this alien menace once. Could they prevent it from happening again?
He was brought out of his daydreams by Mae, who came up in front of him and clasped her hands around his, trapping the capsule inside.
“We’re doing the right thing,” she said. “The ocean will do the rest for us. Even an ocean liner isn’t safe from corrosion. In a hundred years this tiny little thing will be obliterated by time and rust. Then we never have to worry about it again.” She smiled and added, “If you want, we can do it together.”
“That sounds perfect,” Shaun answered.
“Wanna be cliche?” Mae chuckled. “On the count of three?”
“Sure. You count.”
“Okay. One…two…three.”
They released their hands and watched as the capsule went plummeting through the air like a shiny silver marble. The sun glinted off its button for a brief second before it splashed into the water and sank beneath the waves.
Shaun gave a sigh of relief.
“Finally, that’s over with.”
“Feels good, doesn’t it?”
He couldn’t argue with that. It was as if a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Now he could breathe easy again. He could enjoy the sunlight and the outdoors without being afraid that an alien was going to come swooping out of the sky to kidnap them.
He jabbed a finger at Mae suddenly as a thought came to him.
“Now, no talking about going on vacation! I think you jinxed us last time.”
“What, me?” She brought a hand up to her chest and opened her mouth in mock horror. “I didn’t take you for the superstitious type, Shaun Boding!”
“I’m not!” Shaun flew forward and wrapped his arms around her. “But, just to be safe. You know. Let’s stay quiet for a bit.”
She settled in, resting her head against his chest. The two of them hovered there above the ocean for a good while, listening to the peacefulness of it all. It wasn’t long before Mae looked up at him and broke the silence.
“What do we do now?” she asked. “Besides helping your mother rebuild the house and clean out all the rubble.”
Shaun pressed his lips together as he thought about it. Then, once he had decided, he pulled back to return her gaze.
“I’ll tell you what we’re going to do now,” he answered. “We’re going to invest in a telescope.”
32
The Commission
Austin Spencer remained in his cell throughout the entire two-day debacle. He couldn’t say that he wasn’t glad to have the security of his surroundings around him, yet at the same time it was still a prison.
There was hope that he might have been freed by Zolyn. That hope was squashed when he heard the radio broadcast from one of the guard’s cell phones that the alien menace had been defeated.
“That was fast,” he muttered as his prison-mates cheered. A few of them groaned. No doubt they shared the same sentiment as Austin — that in the chaos they might have been released to fend for themselves.
Of course Shaun Boding thwarted that plan, he thought with a roll of his eyes. “I better get used to more reading…”
He was just settling onto his bunk to read a battered copy of War of the Worlds when the guard rapped on the bars of his cell.
“You’ve got a visitor, Spencer,” the guard said in a gruff voice.
Austin sighed and put the book down. When he looked at the door to his cell he raised an eyebrow. There was nobody there except for the guard.
“Where are they?” Austin asked.
The guard’s only reply was, “Come with me. This one’s special.”
He was led in cuffs to a small interrogation room, the kind with a single steel table, chairs on either side, and a camera in the corner of the ceiling. There was nothing else. Not even a double-sided mirror.
Austin was forced into a seat even though he didn’t struggle, and the guard went to exit the room.
“They will be with you in a moment,” he said. “Don’t try anything.”
“What can I try?” asked Austin with his cuffed hands raised.
Then he was alone.
The only sound he heard was the whining of the camera’s internal mechanisms working. He glanced up at the lens, wondering who was watching him.
There wasn’t much time for contemplation. True to the guard’s word, the door opened and in stepped a man in a black suit and tie, complete with a dark grey fedora. His face was unremarkable. If Austin didn’t know any better he would have thought that the gentleman was just a mannequin.
The gentleman sat down on the opposite sid
e of the interrogation table and spoke immediately without introducing himself.
“Mr. Spencer, I’m sure I don’t have to explain to you the severity of current events over the past evening. So, let’s cut to the chase, shall we? It’s been brought to our attention that you had personal communications with the alien species known as Xantherians. Is this correct?”
Austin went to shrug but with his arms cuffed he was barely able to make the gesture.
“She sought me out,” he replied. “I guess you could call our brief interaction ‘personal’ in nature. Why is that important?”
“You were the first person to have social contact with this alien,” the suited man said. “That makes you the highest profile of our department. We’re very interested in you, Mr. Spencer.”
“Who are you people?” Austin asked. “And why do you want to talk to me? I’m just a prisoner serving my time.”
“You will get all the answer you seek if you choose to cooperate with us, Mr. Spencer. But, don’t take things so lightly. You and I both know that you’re not just an average prisoner serving time for a petty crime. After the events of yesterday you have proven to be one of the most important people on the planet. With all of that said, we have a job for you, should you choose to take it.”
Austin waited for more to be said, but the suited man simply folded his hands and stared at him, waiting for Austin’s answer.
“Uh…” Austin shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “If I choose to take it. What if I don’t choose to take it?”
The man’s expression was solemn. He reached into his pocket slowly. For a moment, Austin thought that the man was going to take out a gun to shoot him. That didn’t happen.
Instead, something completely unexpected was held up in front of Austin’s eyes.
A shard of The Vestige.
“It’s in your best interest if you accept,” said the man. “Otherwise you will be…how should I say this? Vanished from history.”
He said that last bit with a slight smile.
The Aberrant Series (Book 4): Super Invasion Page 19