by J.T. Lewis
“Ok,” I ventured, “it all started on a night about two years ago, but the night ended up with some strange consequences. You see…it was just a party…”
***
To say that Dr. Eisler was intrigued by my story was an understatement. He set up a time for my first session the very next day. I signed a release, allowing him to use my story in a future article, not using any real names of course.
Telling May on the phone of my pending session, she asked if she could be present. I told her that I thought that would be ok, and she agreed to meet me at my dorm before the meeting.
Introducing her to Dr. Eisler the next day, he was actually pleased to have another of us present, immediately asking her if she would also agree to a session. She hesitated before answering, saying that she would like to see one before she agreed to do it herself.
He agreed to the terms she presented, although you could tell he thought she would do it. Having me lay down on a couch in his office, he pulled the blinds to darken the room before asking me to look at the fan on the ceiling.
What, no swinging timepiece?
He started almost chanting some mumbo-jumbo that I now forget, coaxing me into a hypnotic state. Figuring I was to hard-headed to be easily hypnotized, the next thing I knew I was waking up on the couch…feeling pretty good! May explained later that he had given me a “suggestion” when I was under, telling me to wake up relaxed and refreshed.
The look on May’s face when I looked at her after…well…she was white. After hearing the details that they could glean from my session about the abduction, I’m sure my face was a few shades lighter also.
***
We were rising off the ground!
Normally afraid of heights, I was at a loss as to why my current altitude wasn’t bothering me. In fact nothing was bothering me about this; fear seemed to be missing completely. I was looking around and saw my friends rising with me. No one seemed concerned in any way. Part of the bottom of the ship above us magically opened up, and we entered it. The whole trip was silent.
Once inside, I seemed to go in and out of consciousness, or at least I did not seem to have a memory of everything that was happening. From the point of entering the ship, it seemed we were at first surrounded by a mist or cloud, and in the next moment we were laying on exam tables surrounded by a crystal clear atmosphere. I remember thinking that the tables were cold as they were made of metal, and that we were strapped down with straps at our chest, waist and ankles.
Our clothes had been removed (a process that was also missing from my memory), and the fact that half of my friends there were now-naked girls also didn’t seem to bother me in the least.
There was a lot of poking and prodding, and I remembered a long metal probe of some sort being stuck up a nostril. It was long enough to come out the top of my head but somehow didn’t. I know there was something going on at my waist or below, but I couldn’t look, and there was no pain. I did hear some moaning coming from one or two of my friends, but it was short lived and didn’t seem too intense.
Our hosts were some sort of alien beings, short, slight of build with a large head and shiny black eyes. They appeared to be neither threatening nor dangerous but were very intent on their work, treating us like nothing more than specimens.
The next moment we were again fully dressed and walking around the ship, apparently getting a tour of some sort. It would seem that we had a guide that was speaking to us during our tour. Although I do not recall any of the conversation, it appeared as if we understood what they were saying ok.
Jason was the most scientific of all of us and seemed to take the most interest, even to the point of asking a few questions during the tour. It would almost seem like they were trying to make amends for the medical procedures, but I couldn’t remember any of the details of the ship or its workings. Then of course we were back on the ground, looking up at nothing and (in my case) wondering what the hell had just happened.
The retelling of the story took several minutes to unfold, and I was captivated the whole time. Always knowing that something had happened, I was nonetheless not so happy at being right all of these years later.
***
May had readily agreed to a session after mine, and the results of hers matched mine point by point. We determined from the story that something had probably been implanted in our brains, causing our headaches and our increased mental abilities.
But how to check?
Dr. Eisler had a possible solution. A friend of his was over the Radiology Department at the local hospital. As long as we were willing to let him use the scans for his article, he would pay for the procedure out of his research fund.
The next Friday, Dr. Eisler met us in front of the hospital and walked us into the radiology department to meet Dr. West. He seemed very excited to meet us as well, literally falling all over himself to get us into the room.
We were each subjected to four tests, and then sent to Dr. West’s office to await the results. May didn’t seem happy at all, and I asked what was wrong.
“Money,” she said straight out. “If they find something in our head…my parents can’t afford major surgery to get it out. I’m afraid I may have to live with it…for the rest of my life.”
She started crying, so I wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “We’ll figure something out; I’m not gonna let you live out your life as a freak.”
It had the desired effect, as she started giggling through her tears, leaning into me with relief and comfort. I was hopeful that they would find something from our tests, and that we would be able to find a way to get that something out of our heads.
Dr. West suddenly entered the room in a rush, Dr. Eisler following closely behind. Sticking two x-rays into the fluorescent viewer and turning it on, he turned swiftly while pulling apart a collapsible pointer. Slapping it against the first x-ray he exclaimed excitedly, “Found it!”
Lifting the pointer and then slapping it against the second x-ray, he continued with, “Here too!”
Taking out a small metal scale and laying it along a white, cylindrical shaped object on the film, “1.4 cm in length!”
Turning then, he plopped into his chair with a smile, “This is fantastic!”
Seeing the shocked looks on our faces, Dr. Eisler added quickly, “What he means is that the discovery of the object is a fantastic scientific find, not that they are there.”
Seeming embarrassed at his faux pas, Dr. West got busy with an explanation of what he knew.
“Ok, it’s true I’ve never seen anything like this, but it shouldn’t be too hard to get them out…if that’s what you want.”
“Really,” May said with surprise. “It’s easy?
“Yes, quite,” Dr. Webber said distractedly, looking up quickly when it hit him what he had said. “I mean, I can’t do it of course, but I have a couple of colleagues here at the university Medical school that specialize in…well, brain surgery. There are new, less invasive techniques available now. They would most likely take it out through the nose. I take it that was the method of insertion initially?”
Looking over to Dr. Eisler, he nodded in affirmation, “Yes, as we understand it.”
“We are a little worried about paying for a brain surgery Doctor,” I mentioned quietly, “Neither of us is rich.”
“Give me some time Gabriel; give me until after Christmas. There are so many ways this could be funded: psychological, medical, scientific. There will be so much interest in these devices and the effects they have had on you and your friend. I will work to create a sort of…consortium, if you will.”
“What of the others? There are four others in the same boat as us.”
“If we can do the procedure on all of them at the same time, I can see no problem doing them all. They would need to agree to be hypnotized like you were. Recovery should be short; so they wouldn’t miss much as far as their schooling.”
“There is one small item that you should be aware of, and
that you need to sleep on for a few days, you and your friends. As with any surgery, especially any surgery involving the brain, there is a risk. We don’t know how this thing is connected, nor what will happen once we remove it. Results could run the gambit from no change to…well…retardation, although that is very unlikely. Your functionality should return to that which God gave you at birth, but I’m sorry to say, there are no guarantees.”
May and I nodded quietly, it was something to think about, maybe too much for some of my friends.
“How about a dry run first?” I questioned then. “Test the theory before everyone gets involved. I’d hate to risk everyone’s mental capacities without knowing if they had a viable option.”
Dr. Eisler was shaking his head, “I can talk to the medial department, but I can’t think of a viable procedure that we could perform that would mimic the results of the surgery we discussed, or anything we can use as a guinea pig for that matter.”
I smiled then, holding out my hand to the Doctor. “Guinea pig…at your service.”
A surprised look crossed the Doctor’s face, “You want to try the surgery before the others, to see if it’s safe?”
“Sure,” I said. “They have more to lose than I do; they were smarter to begin with. If it can’t be safely removed, I don’t see any reason to go any further. They could have great things in store in the future. They may not want their abilities that were thrust upon them, but I’m sure most of them would rather keep them versus…well, the other options.”
Dr. Eisler was thinking while Dr. West watched his friend with concern.
“Ok, we can try that; I could probably get that set up before Christmas….if you want.”
I gave it a quick thought. If the procedure was a bust, I had already celebrated my last Christmas with my family and friends. On the other hand, if this thing was slowly killing us as I suspected, I needed to get the ball rolling as soon as possible.
I put on a confident smile, but I was not near as confident inside as my demeanor might suggest.
“Let’s do it!”
***
Darkness surrounded me, but, it was a peaceful darkness, only interrupted by a steady beep…beep…beep. Trying to open my eyelids, the bright lights overhead seemed to sear a hole into them so I closed them again. Trying to open them again and again, my eyes gradually adjusted to the glaring overhead lights as I tried to focus in my unexpectedly blurry world.
There was a form suddenly over me, and I doubled my efforts to focus. It looked like a head, but there was a halo of light surrounding it.
Had I died?
“Sorry,” I slurred.
“About what?” a voice intoned from above me.
“About dying, it may not have been my time, but it was important.”
“Your time has yet to come…dork!”
I concentrated harder; the face in front of me finally coming into focus. It was a beautiful face surrounded by soft brown hair with a sweet smile upon her lips.
May!
Trying to clear my throat, I finally croak out, “Hi!”
“Hi yourself, how do you feel?”
Thinking about it then, “My head doesn’t hurt, well, not like it did.”
Her smile lit up the room, at least that’s what I remembered before my eyes again closed and I once more went under.
I didn’t know how much time had elapsed when my eyes again fluttered open, but Dr. Eisler was in the room with May when I looked around.
“Gabriel!” the Dr. exclaimed. “How are you lad?”
My world was clearer now, and I pushed myself up in the bed a little.
“Fine…I think. What time is it?”
“10:00 AM, it’s only been a couple of hours since your surgery. When you are ready, I need to run a small battery of tests to check your cognitive function, but everything looks like the surgery was a success!”
Thinking suddenly of the little white cylinder on the x-ray, I asked what the device was that they had found.
“We have no idea…yet. It was definitely attached to your brain, but it seemed to disengage itself when the surgeon clasped onto it, sort of like it was…programmed that way. Out in the light, it just looks like a small cylinder of metal. We can’t figure out how it was even attached. The metal is so far of unknown origin; they’ve never seen anything like it.”
I smiled, “Glad to be of service to science.”
May and Dr. Eisler laughed at that, happy to see me come out of the surgery normal I was guessing.
“Good, this should make it an easier sell to the others,” I said, very happy at the outcome. It now seemed I could easily downplay any negatives that the surgery might have, and concentrate on my success with the others of the group.
So far, being normal had never felt so good!
***
The holidays flew by, and I enjoyed that Christmas as I had never before!
The meeting with the others, minus Jason, had been a hit! Everyone seemed relieved that there was a way out. I ended up sending Jason a letter, explaining what I had done since he wouldn’t answer my phone calls.
He never responded to either the letter, nor would he listen to Bill and June, who had made the trip to his house to explain the procedure.
“I’m working on something important!” was all he would say. “I’m going to be famous; don’t you get that?” he literally shouted, sounding maniacal (at least by their description of the conversation).
So, after the first of the year, the rest of the group all traveled to my college for the procedure. Everything went off without a hitch, and everyone survived to go on with their lives.
Although they all lost their extra powers, our increased mental capacity seemed unaffected, each of us breezing through college and getting on with our lives as planned.
Jason did indeed finish his project, and it did lead to a breakthrough in cancer treatment for that myeloma. And he did become famous, gracing the cover of Time and every major medical and scientific journal worldwide.
Before he could continue his research however, he started showing signs of mental breakdown, spending time finally in a mental institution in his junior year.
We all begged him to have the object removed from his brain, but he still adamantly refused. Saying this was just a bump in the road, he told us in no uncertain terms that he would be back, stronger than ever.
“Just wait and see!”
As bad as that was, it was downhill from there.
When he was released he could no longer function in a college atmosphere, finally taking a job at a fast-food restaurant to make a living. My friends and I tried to help him numerous times over the years, but his life was spiraling down the toilet quickly.
Finally ending up homeless and living on the street, he died when he ran out in front of a car, blinded by the pain and holding his head with both hands. He was 23.
What a waste!
When I think back at how fast Jason deteriorated after we had the cylinders removed, I got shivers down my spine. But for a cool-headed acceptance by the others in the group, that too could have been our fate.
Although May and I eventually gave a relationship a shot, we were much better as friends. And while I have mostly lost touch with the others over the years save for reunions and such, May and I remain very close, at the very least talking on the phone once a week.
Our fates have been tied together by that one incident in our lives, an incident that could have killed us, but nonetheless helped form everything in our lives from that point forward.
I still give some thought periodically to our ‘abduction’, trying to find a meaning to what they did to us…and why.
Did they think they were helping us, or were we just some sort of experiment?
Do they know what happened to us, or did they just fly off to another galaxy…one with a large beach and a lot of liquor?
I don’t know.
But I do know that I have an unending attraction to t
he stars when I am outside at night, and I have spent hours gazing up at the galaxy above me…wondering. And although I feel a strange and maybe perverse fascination with the beings that lifted us off the ground that time those many years ago… I would turn and run should I see that strange light above me again…fast!
Copyright 2012-2014 by J.T. Lewis
About The Story
Although this is a work of fiction, the story is actually based on something that really happened to me…I think…
This is also the first time I have admitted it in public.
The beginning of this story is in fact a part of my memory banks, although the details are fuzzy after forty-some years. Like in the story however…the details have always been a little fuzzy!
But I do remember the light that appeared over the water tower during a party. I do remember everyone looking up at it, and I sure as hell remember everyone looking at me like I was a crazy bastard afterwards when I questioned them about what had happened!
I did of course question the others as I said…and there did seem to be lost time that June’s mom did indeed yell at us about. (June’s name, as are the names of all of the other names involved have, of course, been changed to protect the innocent).
I broached the subject of the light on several occasions over the next few years with a few of my friends, but I received looks that told me they thought I was sliding precariously close to the deep end.
I finally give up on finding the truth, and in fact had pretty much forgotten about it until about five years ago when I awoke in the middle of the night with vivid memories of the party. That night, I did get up and record those thoughts in a journal, as well as creating an extremely rough picture of the light over the water tower such as I described in the story.
Everything else in The Abducted is simply a fabrication of a mind that craves telling stories. As far as I know, no one involved has ever had any mental issues, good or bad related to this incident. I myself have never had any type of scan on my head that would reveal whether I did or did not have an implant, but many would tell you that I am long overdue for such a procedure!