Deep in Your Shadows Page 20

“I can’t.”

  “You still care about the work.”

  “Yeah, and because of that, everything I touch turns to shit. I wanted...all I wanted was a chance, JT. Someone who wouldn’t walk out because of our secrets.”

  “You never cared about that before.”

  “I know. But this is different.”

  “Hey.” JT eased back. “We’re gonna fix it. Okay?”

  Christian shook his head, turning away.

  “Christian. Look at me. We’re gonna fix it. Somehow. This latest crisis will be over soon. This too shall pass. You’ll get another chance with Myles.”

  “He thinks I’m a liar.” Christian chuckled. “He knows I’m a liar. Worse, he thinks I’m dangerous. Bringing shit down on the village. He thinks the worst of me. Of us.”

  “We’ll change his mind.”

  “I don’t want to lie anymore. I don’t want to handle Myles or feed him disinformation or hide myself just so he’ll fuck me, it’s ridiculous. It’s too much. I can’t do it.”

  “Hey.” JT grasped Christian’s shoulders. “Do you know how hard it is for me to see you in pain like this?”

  Christian looked down. “Nolan wants me to just get over it.”

  “I’m not Nolan. And you were right, he’s projecting his own shit. I hate this, Christian. But you can’t fall apart on me now. I need you. I need you to be okay so we can get through this last leg.”

  “It’s not the last leg. There’ll be something else next week, next month.”

  “You’re not thinking straight.”

  Christian nodded, giving JT a weak smile. “You’re right about that. My head’s just...spinning.”

  “I’m gonna help you think straight, okay? So answer me this. Have you been happy the past ten years? Have you enjoyed this work?”

  Sighing, Christian said, “Yes. I’ve been happy. And I...I love the work. I’m just extra stressed.”

  “I know. But you would have been all over this shit, reveling in what’s going on with that giant turd at your marina. So what’s the one thing that’s different?”

  Christian looked into JT’s blue eyes, and felt comfort from their familiarity, and the fondness he saw there. With JT, he could be himself, be completely honest. “It’s Myles. I...I think maybe I’m falling in love with him.”

  JT nodded. “I know.”

  “Shit.” Christian chuckled. “I forgot how much this sucks. Unrequited love.”

  “I doubt it’s unrequited,” JT said. “Myles is just freaked out right now. But we’ll figure something out, all right? I know what it’s like to be smitten with you, Christian. He won’t be able to stay way. Just give him some space right now. Tell yourself it’s all gonna be okay. So you can focus on what’s going on with work without tangling yourself up in knots. And saying things like you don’t care if Ogden and company get fucked in the ass and murdered by angry nasty aliens.”

  Christian laughed. “Oh God.” He winced. “You know I didn’t really mean that. I didn’t mean what I said to Nolan, either. I do care about him.”

  “Nolan knows that. He just has an abrasive way of trying to help.”

  “Is that was he was doing? Helping?”

  JT laughed. “He thinks he was, I’m sure. You know Nolan. He’s got that solider mentality, like Michelle. Imagine the shit he said to himself in the mirror after she dumped him. He was probably all drill-sergeant, shouting at himself.”

  “Yeah. Like, ‘Yer mama ain’t here son!’ and punching himself in the face.”

  “You’re laughing.” JT smiled. “That’s a good sign.”

  “Thank you. For making me laugh. And for helping me think straight.”

  “You ready to go back in?”

  “Yeah. I suppose I should apologize to Nolan.”

  JT wrapped his arm around Christian’s shoulders as they walked. “It’s dinner time. If I order pizza will you eat some?”

  “I’ll try to choke down a slice.”

  They’d almost reached the door when Nolan came bounding out of the house. “We have to go, now!” he said. “There’s a shit storm down at the marina.”

  “What happened?” JT asked.

  Nolan shook his head. “It’s bad,” he said. “Something’s happening to the craft.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  At the gate they encountered two soldiers dressed in preppy boat clothing, and they moved the barriers blocking the entrance so JT could drive through. In the distance, Christian could see the house on the flatbed truck. One wall of the house had been temporarily removed to load the craft in and so the engineers could come and go doing their work. Now, white smoke poured out of it.

  “What the fuck happened?” Elliot asked as JT parked. “Jesus, look at that.”

  Several people in hazmat suits scurried around the house.

  “Okay,” Nolan said. “Everyone stay calm, focused, and most importantly, together. No one lose sight of anyone. Let’s move.”

  The sun was beginning to fall, and as they walked up the dock, the huge standing lights brought in by Ogden’s team turned on. Ogden walked up to greet them, his brow sweating. “Don’t go any farther,” he said. “It could be toxic, my guys are checking it out now.”

  They all looked over at the billowing white smoke pouring out of the house. “What happened, Ogden?” Christian asked.

  He shook his head. “The front of the containment apparatus is still open. They’d just finished sealing the roof part, when the craft started hissing. Before they knew it, the house was filling up with smoke.”

  “I don’t understand,” JT said. “Most ET craft don’t work like that, there’s nothing combustible.”

  “That’s because it’s not smoke,” Nolan said.

  Ogden looked at him. “Then what is it?”

  “I don’t know, Ogden. But that’s not smoke. Doesn’t move like smoke. The consistency is all wrong.”

  Christian’s eyes narrowed as he stared over at the house. The smoke, or whatever it was, seemed to be letting up. “It’s lessening now.”

  “Any thoughts?” Ogden asked. “JT?”

  JT shook his head. “You’re not gonna like my thoughts right now.”

  “All the more reason to speak them.”

  “Well, we know the Whites use mist to shield themselves. Maybe this is similar.”

  Christian perked up. “But why now? If they had the ability to project this mist from the craft, why wait until now?”

  “Maybe because they’ve figured out how to unseal it, and want to hide themselves. Maybe they’re going to come out and don’t want us to see them.”

  “Baz said that couldn’t be done!” Ogden said. “We’re still inside the Whites’ perimeter! God dammit, I knew we couldn’t trust the damn Whites.” He got on his radio. “Tyler, do you have visual on the craft yet?”

  Tyler’s voice came through the radio. “Smoke’s clearing, sir. Medical checked out those of us exposed. So far it seems harmless physically. I feel fine, anyway. There’s nothing toxic in the readings of this...mist.”

  “But do you have a visual on the craft?” Ogden demanded.

  “Entering the house now,” Tyler said.

  The four of them huddled around Ogden and his radio, waiting. Christian’s heart pounded. Ogden frowned. “Tyler? You there?”

  “Holy shit! Sir, the craft is open. Repeat, the craft is open!”

  “Tyler, stay clear. Is there anything inside?”

  “I’m with Rhonda and Vick, we’re about fifteen feet from it. There’s still a pool of white smoke inside the craft. Looks like the outer hull opened down the middle like a walnut shell. We can see...legs. There’s someone inside. They’re not moving.”

  “Stay there, weapons ready. I’m on my way.” Ogden looked at the team. “You guys stay here.”

  “No fucking way,” Nolan said.

  Elliot shook his head. “Not gonna happen. We’re coming with you.”

  “Fine, but stay behind the soldiers, that’s an order!�
�

  They followed Ogden up the dock. Several people in hazmat suits met them at the set of wooden steps that led to the house. Tyler stepped out of the house, holding a gun, wearing a respirator over his mouth and nose. He took off the respirator. “Smoke’s cleared out, except for a bit in the craft. Kind of just pooling inside, like dry ice. It’s breathable in there. And I reckon if it was going to do any harm to us physically, it’s already too late. The lot of us were unprotected when it first started pouring out.”

  “Rhonda and Vick still inside?”

  “They’ve got weapons trained on it, but whatever’s inside still hasn’t moved.”

  Ogden nodded. “Get me ten more soldiers up here, then we’re going inside.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Tyler ran off to gather more troops. “He said they saw legs,” Christian said. “What kind of legs?”

  “We’ll find out soon enough,” Ogden said.

  Christian looked up at JT.

  JT nodded, then chuckled. “I know. This is fucked up.”

  “You lot can follow us in, but stay behind the soldiers,” Ogden said. “I mean it. This is not the time to be stupid.”

  “Aw,” Elliot said. “I think Captain Smiley cares about us.”

  “Be serious right now,” Nolan said.

  Elliot made an exaggerate frown. “Sorry, Nolan. How’s this? Do I look serious enough?”

  “I know you’re nervous,” Nolan said. “I am too. But keep it together.”

  “Do I seem nervous?”

  “Yes,” they all said at once, including Ogden.

  “You talk too much when you’re nervous,” JT said.

  “Ready, sir,” Tyler said, approaching with a group of others.

  Christian stiffened when he saw their guns. “Ogden? Please remind them not to shoot the aliens.”

  He expected Ogden to snap at him, but he moved toward the soldiers and said, “No hostile intervention unless I give the order. Weapons ready, but no one fires unless it’s on my command. Let’s go.”

  Christian glanced around at the others. “Let’s go.”

  As they followed Ogden and his soldiers up the stairs and into the open end of the house, JT’s hand fell on Christian’s shoulder. It was comforting, even though JT’s hand trembled slightly.

  The white mist had dispersed, evident only in small pockets on the floor. The space was wide and open, machines and various tools along the walls. The craft, and the square apparatus around it, was situated against the back wall. Through the open front of the apparatus, the craft was visible, and it was definitely open. It looked like it had split down the middle from the point on the top, two sides now resting at an angle, almost touching the walls of the apparatus that surrounded it.

  Christian couldn’t see inside the craft, as the wall of soldiers ahead were blocking his view. Ogden walked through the crowd, and stopped, hands on his hips. “Can we clear the rest of that smoke out of the craft?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Be careful. You three, cover them.”

  There was movement ahead, then something that sounded like a vacuum.

  “What’s happening?” Nolan asked.

  “I’m not sure,” JT said.

  Elliot pushed forward. “I want to see!”

  Christian grabbed Elliot’s arm. “Just wait.”

  One of the soldiers shouted, “Son of a bitch!”

  There were gasps and murmurs as the rest of the soldiers scrambled closer, guns out.

  “Fuck this,” Elliot said. “We need to get closer.”

  “Just stay behind the guns,” Nolan said.

  The four of them stepped farther into the house, but two of the soldiers blocked them. “Stay back!”

  “Ogden!” Nolan shouted.

  Ahead of the soldiers, Ogden turned around. “Let them through.”

  The soldiers separated and made a path, taking up posts on either side of the apparatus.

  Ogden stood before the craft, head down, hands on his hips. Christian, Elliot, Nolan, and JT approached.

  “Oh. My fucking God,” JT whispered.

  Christian couldn’t speak. He simply stared. There was only one being inside the craft, and it didn’t look in any condition to attack them. Reclined back on a seating apparatus, various tubes were inserted into the veins of one limp hand and connected to a panel on the wall. The being’s eyes were closed, and there was no sign that it was breathing. But all of this was secondary to the being’s shocking physical appearance.

  Elliot’s breath hitched. “It looks...it looks human.”

  Ogden shook his head. “Not exactly.”

  Christian stepped closer until Ogden placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. The being looked over six feet, but not unusually tall like Baz. It wore a dark gray jumpsuit which covered extremely long feet in place of shoes, open at the hands and below the neck, exposing a hairless upper chest and clavicles. The skin was chalky white, but it was impossible to tell if this was its normal coloring or if it had gone pale in death. Dark smudges, like bruises showed under its closed eyes. The eyes were as large as Baz’s, slightly bigger than the average human, with puffy lids, traced with purple veins.

  The entire facial structure, while slightly aberrant, was human enough to turn Christian’s blood cold. It had a cleft at the end of its nose, like Baz did, but the nose was thicker, rounder. The hair wasn’t White like Baz’s, but closer to yellow, in short layers that just covered the top of the ears—ears smoothly flattened to its head, not detached like human ears. It had barely visible white eyebrows and lashes. Slightly parted lips were thick and chalky, and the chin was pointed, giving it an elvish look. A prominent Adam’s apple and lack of breasts suggested it was male.

  The craft itself seemed mostly carved from a single piece of material, the seating built into the floor, various panels with strange symbols, switches and buttons along the arm of the chair. And next to the being, was a second, empty chair.

  “Is it dead?” one of the soldiers asked.

  “I don’t know,” Ogden said. “But I thought Baz said there were two of them.”

  “Why does it look human?” Elliot asked. “Why the fuck does it look human?”

  “It’s not,” JT said. He pointed. “Look at the length of the fingers. There’s an extra joint in each finger. Jaw bone is longer than ours. In fact, the lower facial structure is more narrow, probably fewer teeth, if it has teeth. And from what I can see of the ears, they’re flat to the skull, no lobe.”

  “It still looks like a fucking person,” Elliot said, his voice quivering.

  Ogden looked to his left. “Where are my medics? Rhonda? Kent?”

  Two of the soldiers stepped forward.

  Ogden regarded them. “We’ll cover you. Put the guns down. Everyone else, keep them up.”

  Rhonda’s eyes widened. “What do you want us to do?”

  “See if it’s alive.” He turned to Christian and the others. “All of you back up now.”

  Reluctantly, they retreated back behind the wall of soldiers.

  Christian let out a hard breath. He glanced up at Nolan. “Nolan.”

  Nolan looked at him.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said.”

  Nolan scowled. “Not important right now.”

  “It is to me. I love you. I didn’t mean those things I said.”

  Nolan chuckled, shaking his head. “I love you too, Christian. But your timing is fucked up.”

  They were all suddenly shoved backward as the soldiers in front bumped into them. “Get back!” Ogden shouted. “Everyone. Back!”

  JT hit the floor and Christian helped him up, dragging him along as the crowd continued to retreat. When the chaos stilled, Christian pushed between two of the soldiers, stepping up alongside Ogden, fifteen feet from the craft. The being in the craft’s eyes fluttered, spine bowing in the seat as its mouth stretched open, gasping in air. “It’s alive,” Christian whispered.

  “Everyone get control
,” Ogden said. “Soldiers stay ready. My team stay back!”

  Christian shook his head. “I’m not missing this.”

  “And I’m not losing you,” Ogden said. “If anything happens, you hit the floor.”

  If Christian wasn’t so focused on the gasping humanoid thing in the craft, he might have been warmed by Ogden’s words. But he was riveted, watching.

  The being’s gasps continued, a pink tongue visible as its mouth gaped. One long, delicate hand reached across its waist and pulled the tubes free from its other hand. Its body relaxed with a long sigh, falling into the seat.

  It jerked twice, reaching arms out. It seemed to be trying to rise, but didn’t have the strength. Then its head lifted, and those large eyes opened fully, focusing on the crowd of people before it.

  It blinked, then took in a gulp of air as the eyes scanned the crowd. A trickle of red blood ran down the front of the hand it had pulled the tubes from. The eyes were iridescent blue with a gold starburst, and from this distance, the black pupil looked round, not oval like Baz’s. But there was still something about the creature that reminded Christian of Baz, despite its more human appearance.

  JT seemed to be having the same thought. “That fucking thing has White in it,” he said, leaning forward and placing a hand on Ogden’s shoulder. “I’d guess it’s another hybrid.”

  Ogden nodded. “With a little more human in the mix than I’m comfortable with. Stay alert, everyone!”

  “Someone try talking to it,” Nolan said.

  The creature tried twice more to sit up, but fell back into the seat. Its breathing seemed to have evened out some, chest rising and falling. It reached one arm out toward the crowd.

  Ogden took a step closer, and the soldiers on either side of the apparatus lifted their guns, pointing them at the being. “What can we do to help you?” Ogden asked. “Do you need medical assistance?”

  The being’s blue eyes focused on Ogden, arm reaching out to him. “Sss...sanctuary,” it said, the voice dry and deep.

  Ogden stepped closer, two soldiers on either side of him. “What are your intentions?” Ogden asked. “Why have you come here?”

  “Sanctuary,” the being said again with a voice like gravel.

  “I can offer you sanctuary, but there are condit—”