The Plan: Part 1

by J. A. James

  The life of the kitchen, Griesen mused. It was like clockwork. It was a train running non-stop, a hundred kilometres an hour.

  He slowly poured himself the hot water as the teabag lazily began to float. The steam and waft of genmaicha tea hit his nostrils. He sighed, momentarily settling back into his seat, before surreptitiously glancing around. He took a slow sip and felt the hot liquid slowly slide down his throat. It was a different sensation, not just having his hands absorb the liquid. But it felt calming. Surprisingly nice.

  Edith had clearly retreated back into her office, while the kitchen team were likely up to their ears in lunch orders.

  In the corridor, he saw Edith suddenly run by. She popped her head in the doorway. "Garrett, I've got to run to an on-site to get something to them and speak with the manager - are you going to be alright - "

  He waved his hand to interrupt her. "Yes, I'll only wait here awhile,” he called out, standing then. "If she doesn't come walking in through those doors after I’m done my tea, I'll go back to my hotel and see if she doesn't come."

  Edith nodded. "I hope she does show up..." She managed a small smile at him. "Nice to meet you once again. Hopefully I’ll see you around here soon again.” Then she paused a moment.

  "Garrett," she said then. “Are you single?”

  He felt a slight flush rise up his face. What was that? It was his human body was transmitting a signal to Edith. He was almost embarrassed that he was embarrassed.

  “Ermm - well - I was just here to visit her,” he stammered out. “I think you’ve got the wrong idea, really -”

  “Well, Garrett,” Edith interrupted with a smile. “If you don’t mind me saying so, Halva hasn’t had a life outside of work in all the years she’s been here. She is very dedicated, but I also hope one day she’d find some happiness outside of work. A life, if you will.”

  He took her hint. “I understand.” She was such a sweetheart. He made a mental note to try and help Halva with her romantic life after this was all over.

  “Good!” And with a wide smile and a wink at him, she was gone.

  He waited a few minutes for her to leave the building. After he saw her car leave the front lot, he walked towards the hallway. Indeed, the four staff were busy running to and from the kitchen, loading up three vehicles. They'd be going out soon, he realized. He looked around to Halva's office - walking quickly there, he tried the door. It was open.

  He quietly let himself in, scanning the room. It was rather bare. Halva called it "professional." There were no photos or personal mementos. Had he not known Halva worked in here, anybody else would have guessed that it was unoccupied.

  He quickly went around her desk, seeing if any of the drawers would open. Indeed, the first one he pulled on opened easily. Nothing except pens and paper.

  He spotted a small calendar which sat on top of her desk - there was a long line which started one and a half weeks ago, and ended...two days ago. She didn't mark what the line specifically was for, but it was obvious. His heart stopped. Indeed, he was sure of it now - she should have been back already.

  The flights, he realized. She’d written down the return flight numbers onto the calendar. He could check the flight manifest and see if she’d made it back on the plane. He memorized them quickly before moving quickly to the front of her desk, seating himself in the chair there. He’d heard footsteps.

  Then, Hubert popped his head in.

  "Hey sonny, we've all got jobs to deliver," he said, panting slightly. "And you can't stay here, but if you want to hop on board then I can get you a lift anywhere you'd like after you help me with a delivery? I've got two giant ones, just dropoffs but I’m short a body.”

  "Uh, actually, that would be perfect!" Griesen said. "Just show me the way."

  After the deliveries, Hubert dropped him off at the airport not more than 15 minutes away.

  In the van, Griesen had tried to get additional information from him about when she had departed for her mother’s funeral, but Hubert seemed to know nothing more.

  Griesen hurried towards the domestic gates.

  After ten minutes of trying with the front desk attendant, he couldn't get anywhere without having identification signifying that he was a family member or relative of Halva's. Griesen let out a frustrated sigh.

  Damn. He had to find another way.

  CHAPTER 2

  Halva groaned. Her head was splitting. As she opened her eyes, she saw – nothing. It was completely dark. A wave of panic washed over her. What the hell happened? She remembered the man. It must’ve been gas…

  She struggled to see or hear anything. But there was no sound in the pitch blackness. She tried not to cry as she forced herself to stay calm. This was worse than anything she’d ever found herself in. She was tied up, she realized. Is he going to kill me? she thought wildly. She imagined herself on the front page of the news. Or worse. Maybe she’d never make it there. She would die, buried here in the darkness with her stark raving captor. What was a worse fate?

  “Hello,” she called out timidly. Nothing. No answer. “He-LLOOOO!” she screamed. Her vocal cords were hurting from the effort. Then she heard something. A…dripping? Was it water from a pipe.

  Something scraped in the darkness, making her jump. Her hands were still tied behind her back. Her body started shaking. Oh God what is happening? She closed her eyes as she heard a few slow footsteps in the dark.

  She no longer spoke. Her captor was here in the room with her. What would happen, would happen. She never prayed before. Not even at the funeral. Now…she did.

  “Hello, Halva.” The voice was deep. There was an accent that she couldn’t place. It was strangely gutteral. After such a long silence, the words did not give her any reassurance. They only terrified her more, as she slid back in her cold,rickety steel chair.

  “I expect you to be completely, completely honest with me. Or else.”

  She didn’t even know if she was breathing. She held her knees tightly against her as she waited.

  “Have you seen him?”

  “What?” she said in a quaking voice. The question baffled her.

  “Have. You. Seen. Him.” The voice again. In the darkness.

  “I – I don’t know who you’re talking about,” she said hoarsely.

  The lights blazed on, hitting her with a white fluorescent washas the man grabbed her by the neck, holding her a centimetre from his face.

  Oh, Christ… she was looking at the devil itself. She felt herself go faint, choking, as she looked into the face of a monster. His skin was blue and scaly. He was still dressed in the security suit. His tongue was like a lizard’s, and his eyes… his irises were yellow, but the pupils were oblong. And black.

  Like a snake’s.

  She screamed, as he threw her onto the floor.

  She hit the ground and howled at the impact, pain radiating through her body.

  “She doesn’t know.”

  Halva heard another person in the room. The voice was calmer. She gazed towards the sound of the other voice, her face to one side of the cement, tasting blood in her mouth. In the corner of her eye, she spotted another woman. Same shiny blue skin. Same suit. She couldn’t make out her face, but saw that the room wasn’t empty. It was filled with black boxes with handles jutting out. The woman sat behind a glowing blue screen.

  She felt herself go faint with the realization that these were aliens. These were…pure, unadulterated aliens.

  “She doesn’t know.” The woman repeated this again. There was something in her voice, too. Her English was perfect, but it was too perfect. There was also a slight wobble to her tone and an accent.

  Halva remembered the words from Zelda. There were people that were coming for her. Well, that was close. But these weren’t quite people… she was beyond terrified. There was nothing she could do.

  She could only see his shoes. She didn’t dare look up as he screamed something in his guttural dialect to his companion. The sharp-pitched noise hurt h
er ears. She squeezed her eyes shut momentarily, as tears began streaming down her face.

  And then, he stopped as the door opened. Somebody else came in, whispered something. He grunted a response.

  “Bring him in.”

  Then, the lizard eyes knelt down, boring its eyes down at Halva’s face. She was too numb to do anything; she couldn’t even move away with her hands and arms going numb from the chair she was strapped to. It had collapsed on an uneven keel as she had hit the floor.

  “You’re a lucky girl, Hal-vaaaaa,” he growled. He grasped the chair behind her as he flung it upright, and she painfully lurched backwards on it, making a choking sound something between a gasp and a howl.

  He ran a lizard finger onto her cheek. A cold, brittle yellow nail scraped left cheekbone. She started to shiver and fought another wave of panic as she smelled something like formaldehyde. “We’ll work on this one together.” His lizard tongue slithered out, only centimetres from her face. He was taunting her. He - it - was disgusting. She closed her eyes, shivering, her dried up tears now cold and sticky on her face.

  I want to die. For the first time in her life, the thought crossed her mind.

  CHAPTER 3

  He cast a look around the airport. Strange… something pricked at him. His senses were coming back. His powers, he realized. Everything was coming back now in full force. His irises scanned the room, looking for any sign that she might have been here.

  All he could see were the glowing auras of the Humans surrounding him. Tired passengers checking baggage, wheeling luggage out of the gates. A smattering of children with their parents and single travellers with large duffel bags.

  And then – everything, and everybody – froze. The sudden ambient noise of the airport was replaced by a deafening silence.

  Oh here we go again –

  He took a quick assessment of the room. Where were they? Before he could move, a gleaming net dropped from the sky. He reflexively fired two holes through it. It still caught him, a fish in the water. From the ceiling, five men rapidly descended, grabbing him as he tried to fight through the netting.

  He jerked away from the two who had grabbed his arms, wounding them with a bright blast of fire.

  “Easy, easy!” one of the guards shouted, as he stood in front of Griesen.

  Suddenly, a projection of Halva appeared. He froze, statue-like, as he saw her.

  “You want to see her alive, you come with us and drop your weapon!” he yelled at Griesen.

  Yes. It was her, and Ithes was there, flinging her chair from the floor. Her figure was moppet-like as she screamed and landed on the ground, curling up into a ball. They had her. Damn it. He was too late.

  He gulped and then stiffened, letting the guards grab his arms as they shoved him roughly along the corridor.

  The door opened, and something – someone - was thrown on the ground next to Halva. A thump hit the ground, and she shuddered. How many of them were being taken? So it wasn’t just her. She closed her eyes, waiting.

  The body, a few feet away from her began to move. She looked - it was a man. He was also tied up, with a sack over his head.

  Halva was frozen watching the body in front of her.

  The lizard leader stepped forward and spoke to the human in his foreign, guttural language. Did he understand? she thought confusedly. The lizard moved to kick the Human once. Twice.

  Halva closed her eyes, wincing as she heard the boot hitting the torso and the groans coming from the man.

  Then, for whatever reason, the lizard leader paused, cocking his head, as if listening to something. A moment later, he left abruptly, leaving her and the man alone.

  ~

  As soon as the door slammed shut, Halva sucked in a breath. She glanced over at the man.

  “He-hello?” she whispers. “Are you still alive?”

  He groaned in reply. He rolled over onto his back, sucking in ragged breaths.

  “What did they do to you?” he asked her.

  “Me?” She is perplexed by his question. “They just pulled me in here when I went through security. I don’t know what they want –“

  He turned to look at her, his blue-grey eyes staring at her.

  Halva’s breath caught. “Garrett!”

  He shook his head. “No. It’s Griesen. They want us dead. You and I.”

  Halva was stunned, recognizing him and trying to process the turn of events. “You’re not Garrett?”

  He shook his head. “They’ll be back soon,” he said. “I’m going to untie you. But I’m going to ask you to cooperate with me. We have to get out of here!”

  “Trust you,” she whispered. “You’re not Garrett. So exactly who are you? Did - did you understand what that lizard had to say? What on earth do these reptiles want?! Is this some kind of interplanetary warfare -”

  As she spoke, he sat up, the ropes around him loosened. He jumped up and ripped off the straps that held her bound up, and touched her hand. Suddenly –

  My name is Griesen. You’re going to have to do as I say. We’re not going to get out of this alive otherwise. Ok?

  How was he speaking to her? He wasn’t – the thoughts were being transmitted to her. She was stunned. He was speaking to her in the same way that the stone had. Was it telepathy? Some kind of strange medium? I’m not dreaming, she thought. This is nuts. She could only nod, stupefied.

  No, you’re not dreaming and yes, this is kind of nuts.

  “You’re in my head now?!” she shrieked aloud to him.

  He looked straight at her. “Yes. And we don’t have time right now. Please listen, Halva.”

  Between the alien lizards, getting abducted and the telepathy, she was numbed and scared beyond reason. “I want to go home. Just tell me what to do,” she mumbled.

  He’s going to try and come and destroy you. Destroy us. Listen carefully... I just need you to focus on something good in your life. Something that’s given you happiness. And don’t let go of that thought – hold it for as long as you can.

  That sounded like the most ludicrous thing she’d ever been told.

  “Are you serious? After getting abducted… Have I been institutionalized?” She began laughing hysterically.

  He rolled over and spoke to her. “Well, hurry up. Please,” he said to her in a pleading tone. “What else do you have to lose? I’m going to try something.”

  Really – this guy wasn’t kidding. Then she noticed he too spoke in perfect English. There was something too precise about his tones that made her think he wasn’t from here. We’re both going to die when that alien comes back, she realized soberly. He did have a point. What did she have to lose?

  Closing her eyes, she forced herself to search for a moment. And then – there it was.

  With her mother. Back in the kitchen… they were alone. Her mother pulls out her favorite cake from the oven, and she claps her hands in delight…

  ~

  Griesen stood behind her as he pulled out the Joshua stone and his tachometer. He’d pickpocketed the Joshua stone from Ithes quite easily before Ithes had thrown him to the ground. He opened the casing of the tachometer and pulled out a wire, splitting it. He grimaced as he pierced one end through the skin on his forearm, placing the hand on her shoulder.