“Jessie, how are you? How is Sofie? The crew?” Alec reluctantly broke his hold.
“They got them, they got me... dad, I want to go home, but we've got to rescue them! You've got to help us!” her words poured out.
“I am sorry, but I must return you to where you came from.” Shaun interrupted.
Jessie stepped back and looked at the almost ageless oriental looking gentleman wearing… a caterer’s outfit?
“Dad?” she asked, confused and tired.
“Jessie, Shaun... Shaun, Jessie.” Alec introduced, though it wasn’t necessary for Shaun.
“Shaun is a dream I've had.” Alec started, then seeing her pained and confused look added. “Actually, I don't really know who he is; something about the fourth dimension and being compelled to do what he does.”
“You do not have much time, Alec, before I need to return you.” Shaun said apologetically. A picture of Shaun tapping his foot and impatiently staring at his watch flashed through Alec’s mind.
“What do you mean dad, you can't come and help me?” Tears began to form again.
“Sorry honey, Shaun calls the shots here. I wish I could do more, but as long as we’re here now... is there any way I can help?”
Jessie just stared back with tears rolling down her face.
“I’m working with a group of people. We're building ships, lots of them. They’ll be ready soon. We’ll need to be able to find you. Can you give me any information that can help us rescue you? We'll be there soon, I promise.” Alec said.
Jessie wiped the tears away and stood straight. She was getting sick of crying. “We're inside a giant ship on the other side of the moon. Sofie and… and Leland, Jade and Phyllis were captured… and I need to free them. Once I do, I can get us out of the ship in the ALEC’S DREAM. They have tons of fighters and other ships that we might not be able to outrun. We’ll need protection once we're out. We'll be leaving from the back end of the ship so be ready.” Her escape plan crystallized in her mind. “I just wish I had some kind of weapon.”
Alec pulled a small notebook from his shirt pocket and began scribbling as fast as he could. “Jess, I've been developing some weapons. If you can get back to the ALEC’S DREAM there should be enough parts to build this. I can't guarantee that it'll work all the time. It takes about 8 hours to charge between uses.” he said ripping out sheets of paper from his notebook. As he handed them to her he saw the strange glowing symbols. “What happened to your hand?”
“You don’t know?” Jessie held her wrist up in front of them. She had assumed he had somehow known about the chair as she still believed he had something to do with that lock.
“Huh? How would I?”
“Dad, there's something else. They want to destroy all humans. They’re not here just to invade us and take us over… they want us all dead. There's this strange creature, Loomius, he is some sort of leader, not like a president or king, but more like their god. He's the source of their thoughts. He's their... well, like their soul.”
Alec looked deep into her eyes and saw that his little girl was gone. “Jessie, what happened to you out there?” he whispered.
She stopped and stared back, feeling for the first time how she had changed inside. The capture and torture, plus the things she saw in Loomius mind… she knew she would never be the same again. This is the point where she would have cried again but her tears were drying up. “Dad, I'll tell you when I get back, but I'm still your Jessie, you'll always be my dad... I love you. And tell mom I miss her and love her.” That was that last she said as the swirling maelstrom engulfed her.
Alec's Dream Page 39