The Plan: Part 1

by J. A. James

  The stone would absorb her energy, run through him, and then the split wire would double the energy field. He took a look at the tachometer as the reading rose –

  “Keep going, Halva,” he whispered. She doubted him at the start, but she was cooperating now. He could see it. The needle rose, faster than before. He gazed at it, shocked. She was doing not well – but amazingly well. Her energy was going through the roof. Then it hit him. She had the intrinsic ability in her to focus. Did this terrify Ithes? The needle shot to the right, and he had everything he needed as he felt the electrical impulse run through him like a shooting sparkplug. He had already gained the equivalent of half an energy unit - something that would have taken him at least months of effort to acquire through his time as a Seeker.

  The door opened. There was enough, though.. More than enough. His tachometer registered a one hundred percent energy reading. Her energy had spiked an incredible amount in that single span of less than twenty seconds.

  Ithes gave a bellow as the three guards around him began firing at him.

  Griesen fanned out a protective shield around both him and Halva as he grabbed her. Their bullets exploded on the shield.

  “Destroy them!” Ithes shouted.

  With his other hand, Griesen shot out a huge wave of energy, blowing out the ceiling above them. Instantaneously, cracked cement blocks and powder rained down on all of them as they ducked reflexively amidst the explosion amid flickering lights. Then all power went out, sending them into a blanket of darkness.

  Moments later, a siren sound came blaring through the airport. The bullets kept coming. But his shield was still intact.

  The hole had blown through multiple floors and he had an unblocked view of the sky. We gotta go. Griesen grabbed Halva as they shot upwards into the open sky and out of the airport terminal.

  CHAPTER 4

  GRIESEN

  He needed to take her there. He had enough energy to do it. The closest safe zone was only a few minutes away. He had one shot at this - and he had never tried taking a Human there before, but he had enough energy now.

  He and Halva were in the protective bubble he had created when they had shot into the sky. It wouldn’t last long, but thank goodness - he wouldn’t need it to.

  He readied his aim as they hurtled through the nighttime sky. They didn’t need a huge spot – just enough to fit themselves through…

  He shot a blue beam towards his target. It was precise, and the resonant force began opening up a vortex in the sky. Their velocity increased and they shot through it.

  A moment later, they arrived. “City Hall?!” Halva said, wild-eyed. “I thought you’d bring me to like… a fortress or something. You need to pay a parking ticket or what?! What are we doing here?”

  “Come on!” Griesen ignored her as he began running. He heard her right behind him. The multi-storied building towered in front of them, a looming fortress in the night sky.

  “We have to get into the safe zone,” he said quickly as they ran up the stairs. But instead of going through the main door, they ran to the right side entrance. “They’ll be coming after us. But this will be one of the last spots they’ll find us. We’re protected here.”

  He quickly drew out his hand and drew out the shape of a V overlaid on top of an O on the door. Then the door turned a dull green, and he heard Halva gasp as the door opened, radiating streaks of energy.

  The hallway through looked nothing like city hall. A blindingly white light permeated the entryway as they stood at the open door.

  He beckoned to her. “Come on.”

  She shook her head, shielding her eyes from the brightness. “I – I don’t know about this.”

  He saw her hesitating, her eyes wild and skittish. “Our best chance at survival is in here,” he said. “They tried to take your life at the charity auction. I stopped them but I can only do so much if you don’t decide to cooperate.” Surely she would be reasonable.

  “Death or prolonged death,” she mumbled. “You’re not giving me much of a choice.”

  “I’ll explain everything when we have a change,” he begged, trying to lessen the tone of urgency in his voice. “You will have your life back. Your old one. I mean it.”

  “Aliens. I was abducted by aliens!” she exclaimed as she shook her head and they rushed through the entrance.

  They ran quickly through the corridor before it opened up into a wide room with twenty-foot ceilings. The room was filled with six-foot silver pods arranged in three layers of concentric circles surrounding the middle of the safe zone, which held an energy chamber that rose from the floor to the ceiling.

  The central chamber glowed a dark blue, surrounded by a lattice-like metal encasement which protected the energy source.

  He gestured her to a pod on the level closest to the energy chamber. He placed his hand on the front glass, unlocking the chamber with a small hiss. It revealed a single cot.

  “Okay, Halva. Get in.”

  Her eyes were wide as she looked around at the pods, and at the one he was standing next to. “Where are we going? Is it a spaceship?”

  He nodded. “Yes. We will be travelling. In a sense.” He tapped his forehead. “We’re going into here. And I need you to think of a good memory. Another one, and this time, don’t stop thinking about it until you get there. Okay?”

  She looked at him, her brows furrowed as she gingerly laid down on the cot, stretching the length of it. “How long do I need to do this for?”

  “Not long,” Griesen replied as he eased himself onto the cot beside her, turning to glance at her.

  “Remember it,” he instructed. “Just like you did at the airport. Close your eyes and take my hand.”

  He felt her clammy hand immediately reach for his. As she closed her eyes, he grasped his orb with the other hand. He began to feel a starting current of electricity surround their pods as a moment passed. He glanced over at her, seeing her eyes were still closed, her brows furrowed in concentration.

  The current began to circle their pods, cycling faster around them as energy began to shoot sparks off the pods.

  He felt a tremendous jolt of heat pass through his hand gripping the orb as he fought to control the current. He was being faced with double the resistance, having a second body in tow. He had never brought anyone there before... Could he control it?

  “Griesen?” He heard her as the heat and the suction of the energy current nearly drowned out her voice.

  “Hang on,” he heard himself say. “You’re doing great. We’re almost there.” He felt faint as the heat from the orb was slowly burning up his arm.

  Come on.

  He grasped her hand tightly. Sweat began to drip down his face. Would it take much longer? He didn’t know how his arrival would be, taking in a human with him. But it had to work.

  Suddenly, the light hurricane stopped, and he suddenly felt buoyant. They were enveloped by a blinding white light. They had arrived.

  “Where are we?!” Halva shrieked as they landed. They were suspended in the midnight atmosphere, dotted with stars casting a fierce luminosity around them. Trails of multicolored clouds wafted by.

  Star clusters were lazily passing beside them, engaged in their own magnetic dance of creation.

  He heard Halva beside him, breathing in loud, sucking breaths.

  “Hey, it’s okay,” he said, trying to calm her.

  "Wha-what are we doing? How are we here?" she asked.

  “You’re not going to fall,” he said, gently patting her on the back as she huddled against him. “Everything is fine. You did it! You brought us here, Halva.”

  He saw her eyes somewhat brighten at those words.

  "We are in the sixth dimension,” he said. He heard his words clipping. It had to do with the atmosphere; sound didn’t carry as well here.

  “Very few humans have come here before. If any. This is the place where the birth and formation of all your thoughts – translate into dimensional meaning.”

&n
bsp; He saw her looking, wild-eyed, into every direction. Tentatively, she took a step forward in the groundless air, and she remained standing. “Uhhhh… I just… took us where?!” she sputtered.

  “This is the place of your consciousness. Your being. Where you build houses in your mind. This is where your dearest dreams and greatest fears can come alive… if you feed them. Watch me.”

  He held out his hand, as a bouquet of lilies formed in them. He handed them to her.

  She took them, smelling them. “They’re real,” she asked. “They seem real, anyways?”

  “They are real here, in your mind,” he said. “You recognize the representation of them. Right now, you can create your reality in a second. Your mind will see, feel and understand your wishes as if they were real.”

  “I’ve been practicing this for years,” he said softly. “Now, it’s your turn.” In this space, when she was ready, they could begin the bridging process.

  She stared at the flowers still in her hand.

  "You’ve already done it now, twice - I asked you to tap into a good memory, and you followed through,” he told her. “You gave me the power we needed to escape that situation down there."

  Halva's eyes widened in disbelief at his words. "I - I just can't believe all of this." She looked around.

  "What kind of drugs did you give me?" she demanded.

  He shook his head. "None. I got us here through the accumulated energy from when we were in the airport together.”

  He looked around, and with a flick of his wrist, a small wooden bench materialized, surrounded by the tall trees, flowers and shrubs.

  Halva sighed as she moved to sit on the bench, closing her eyes, shivering.

  Griesen flicked his wrist again, and a woolly jacket materialized. He handed it to her, and she accepted it gratefully.

  “You’re obviously not human.” She looked at him dubiously. "Where are you from, exactly?"

  "Well," He stopped for a moment, wondering where to start. "You’re correct. I'm from a different world."

  “My God,” she mumbled. “You – you also look like them?” she asked, uncertainly.

  He nodded. “Usually, yes. This is my Human form.”

  “I see.” Halva let a moment of silence pass between them. “What the hell happened back there?”

  "You simply changed your energy signature," he said to her softly, as his lips lifted into a small smile. "The special thing about it was that you did it, almost on demand. And this was without any guidance. If you can learn to command it, you can change your life.”

  She was still shaking, and drew her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs.

  "I’ve never believed in this hocus pocus,” she mumbled. “But...you're saying this was all me.”

  "Yes. Halva, it was all you."

  "Okay. And what do we do now that we're... here?" She lifted her gaze to the sky.

  Griesen looked at her thoughtfully. "I'd like you to practice a little bit more," he said slowly. "I need you to be able to control it."

  She eyed him, looking somewhat dubious. "But is that really what we need to do right now? It seems like a ridiculous plan."

  "Is it?" He challenged her. "More ridiculous than realizing that those aliens back there actually want you dead?”

  He saw her flinch at those words. “You did it right back there - you controlled your inner emotions for just a moment, despite everything that was happening around you. And because of that, we managed to get here. "

  "Yes, but - " she halted. "I don't know if I can do it again."

  "Halva." He looked at her fiercely then, and she seemed to shrink back at the sight of his fiery gaze.

  "You've got to know... That you have this whole thing under your control. And it's immensely valuable to you that you try to finesse this control."

  She looked at him then. "You say it almost like it's my superpower."

  "It is your superpower," he said softly. He was beginning to realize that this was part of what made Halva unique. Her ability to harness it. Oh, if she only knew..."I'm here to help you finesse it. I can’t explain everything now, but – this is going to be the way out.”

  She laughed. "It's this crazy thing or going back to a herd of alien henchmen trying to assassinate me."

  "Yes. It’s not much of a choice right now. But it’s either this or the bad guys who have wanted you dead for awhile now. And you know which side I stand on.”

  CHAPTER 5

  HALVA

  Halva looked at Griesen, her head spinning. She had gotten gassed and abducted by evil extraterrestrials, hunted down for a rock – a rock, for chrissake! - that her mother had gifted her, and saved by a ‘good’ alien who had somehow transported her to another dimension where they had managed to evade her captors by a hair. Her head hurt.

  She looked at Griesen again with his sandy brown hair and black military fatigues. The darkness that surrounded them was illuminated by the soft light from the stars that dotted the fabric of the night sky.

  She began to embrace the strangeness of the situation. From her mother's rock to the memories, she gave up trying to find the logic behind any of it.

  "How - how long have you been doing this?" Whatever this was. She struggled to find her words.

  “Awhile,” he said. “Long enough to know you.”

  A shadow crossed her face. “When we met… you said you were Garrett. I did remember a Garrett in my school classes… somehow you managed to look exactly like him. I believed you. What was that all about?”

  He seemed to be stifling a laugh.

  “Is this somehow funny to you?”

  “Please… I know this is going to sound horribly invasive.”

  “Nothing would shock me at this point.”

  “My kind were sent to watch over humans, such as yourself. We are known as the Acruvae. I have trained for it my entire life. I know all the people who have been in your life. Including people like Garrett. My goal has been to assist you as you progress in your life through different moments and stages. We have many methods of doing it, but our goal has never been…”

  He seemed to hesitate there.

  “To dominate us? To destroy our species or something like that?” Halva eyed him doubtfully. He didn’t look like he was here to harvest her organs. Did he? Otherwise he’d have done it already.

  “I never thought so. I thought we always had mutually compatible goals.” He looked down when he said those words. As if he didn’t quite believe it.

  “Do you still believe that?” she asked, watching him.

  “I know what I believe. The others, though, I have found… it’s not as simple with them. It’s been disappointing, to say in the least. But one thing is for certain. Do not underestimate your ability to alter your energy signature. You will learn how to exercise it, like a muscle.”

  "So what then?" Halva asked. "Say I learn how to do this… and then what?” A seed of resentment found its way into her voice. She hadn't asked for any of this. She wanted out of this nightmare. To wake up and remember this had been a very bad dream. She missed her apartment, her clients and the simple satisfaction of her work. Things had been perfect... and suddenly everything was turned upside-down.