Chương 34: Chapter 33: Back to Sheep's Nose

I sat on the edge of the bed, eyes locked on the television as I flipped between every news channel I could find to get new information. It had been two weeks since the ships had appeared… and two weeks since it felt as if everything about the world had changed. The world's government leaders were having daily meetings. The reporters on TV would go in circles as some people claimed it was the end of the world while others believed we'd soon have the largest breakthrough in technology humanity had ever seen.

Emotions were high and fluctuating between hope and fear. Nobody really knew what to think. Some people wanted to try and destroy the ships. Others wanted to plead fealty to them in hope of being spared. Plenty of people also wanted to reach out in hopes of learning new things for Earth. Despite the swirling feelings and emotions of every person on Earth, there was one common disappointment: the ships hadn't made contact again, not after their first message.

Since entering our solar system, they had stayed completely silent. One ship changed direction a week before its arrival, seemingly parking out as far as Saturn. The other two didn't bother with any sort of diplomacy, much less care about humanity's reaction to them. Instead, they just came closer and casually parked in low Earth orbit, as if it were a car lot and they were meant to be there. It didn't make sense to anyone, especially me.

"... and that's why we need to strike first. If they were friendly, they would have reached out to us. They're clearly the aggressors, and they need to know we won't be pushed around!" One reporter said.

"What if you're wrong, though? What if this is a test? It's possible all of them are on that third ship, out of our reach. Maybe they sent two empty ships just to see how we'd respond. I mean, one of them is already damaged, so maybe these ones are just scraps, some sort of test to see if we're friendly." A second commentator replied. A third person continued.

"Right, right, exactly…but what if they're not empty? Well, empty of aliens, maybe–which might be why they're not talking–but what if these are something like a gift to us? We should send someone up to investigate. We can send a group there, knock on the door, and see what's inside!"

"That's outrageous!" The first commenter said, just before going on a long-winded tirade about colonialism. With a sigh, I changed the channel, only to find something similar on the next station. Everyone seemed to be going in circles. That second commentator had been right though–the ship was damaged.

"Oh!" I noticed the time at the bottom of the channel. Quickly jumping off the bed, I sped to the window, opening it just in time to see the massive ships passing over us. Each one individually appeared larger than the moon, slowly drifting by us at their calm, gentle pace. Every two hours, they appeared, so I made a habit out of trying to see them at every opportunity. They were incredible structures: two massive cylinders with three clearly defined sections along their bodies.

The back of the ship was a solid, black wall, as were the majority of the cylinder's sides. The middle section had two massive support beams sticking out from opposite sides. They held the engines, which were each about half of a mile long. From my estimation, the hull itself was over six miles long and about two miles in diameter. These ships were larger than any flying structure humanity could have ever imagined. When the engines were on, it created a sight unlike anything I'd seen.

The back section of the ship would spin faster while the middle, thinner section would slow until it stopped completely. Both engines could rotate around the ship to orient themselves in any way they needed. It was a fascinating piece of technology to everyone. The ships weren't oriented in a way to make them face forward at all times. Instead, the cylinder was made to face the sun and let light into the massive windows at the front of the structure.

The engines simply pushed the aircraft in whatever direction they needed. Well, at least, that design was how one ship worked. Of the two ships which entered low earth orbit, one was spinning and the other didn't rotate at all. The middle of the spinning ship seemed to stop, transferring its momentum into the back half so the front could stay at the same speed. As for the more stagnant ship, three of the sections appeared to be misaligned. Several pieces seemed to have cracks running through them.

Though the engines seemed to work, the entire ship was rigid and locked together. People theorized it had exploded and was hastily put back into working order. From what we learned, I assumed it must be Lifeboat Seven. There was one other possibility I hadn't heard from any news anchor. Given the status of that ship, they may have stopped to repair it. I knew they wanted something else, of course, but because know one else understood the message, they couldn't know that fact.

The door to the tiny motel room swung open. I stepped away to give Oliver some space as he entered with a fresh supply of food in his lap.

"Hey, Oliver." I said quietly, attention turning back to the two retreating ships.

"Anything new?" He asked, heading into the kitchen area to put up the groceries. With the ships disappearing over the horizon as they always did, I decided to join him.

"Nothing yet. Just the normal stuff on the TV. Camps of different ideas fighting it out." I said, leaning against the wall, crossing my arms as I looked at the floor.

"What's up?" He asked, stacking the drinks in the fridge.

"Ugh, I just…" I started, trying to formulate my thoughts into words, "I just thought they'd…reach out or something. It's weird, right? Why have they been completely silent? Are they expecting something for me? Are they waiting for something?" A new voice flowed through the television…a familiar voice. Oliver dropped what he was holding as I stood to full height. Both of us looked at the TV in the other room before darting toward it.

"Emily?!"

"... a few weeks ago when we discovered it. I think this is what they're looking for." Emily said. She was sectioned off to the right side of the screen. From what I could tell, she had a camera operator climbing through the brush and bramble alongside her. They were heading to Sheep Nose. I recognized that exact spot perfectly; she wasn't far away from the landing site.

"Why…how…" I spluttered out in confusion, but Oliver was just as perplexed as I was. On the left side of the screen, a very unimpressed news anchor sat at his desk, drumming his fingers on it impatiently.

"I know we're all looking for answers, but I think I'm drawing the line at putting these conspiracy theory wackjobs on the air with us. We've had enough hysteria, and all these people are doing is making it worse." He said. Emily appeared to be continuing along their hike without too much difficulty, but whoever was holding the camera turned it to face themselves. She looked like another news anchor, but evidently, she'd gotten a few prickle bushes to the face after a rough hike.

"I'm sorry Jeff, but we're following any leads we can find, and last I checked, I didn't see you volunteering to leave that desk position…so I don't want to hear it from you right now!" Oliver cleared his throat.

"Jeez, these people don't seem to get along too well, do they?"

"I think tensions are a little high for everyone." I said, shrugging. Jeff responded to the camerawoman.

"And correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this lady just let out of jail after blowing up that satellite facility? Is it really safe to follow her into the woods like this?" The woman continued climbing the mountain, trying to hold her phone in a position where the camera could still see her.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you. I get it, nobody else is taking this woman seriously, but look at the facts: she was there, trying to reach out when nobody even knew something was happening. She knows something we don't…and for the record, they let her out because they didn't find sufficient evidence to show she was doing anything aside from trespassing." Jeff sighed as the right screen faded out, putting the view solely on him.

"Well, folks, it's time for a short break, but stay tuned to see what might be the last broadcast from Eilene as she teaches us in real time why you shouldn't follow random fugitives into the woods alone." With a shake of his head, the outro played before the video changed to a commercial.

"Well, I'm glad to hear they're at least okay." Oliver said.

"It's been rough, not being able to reach out to them." I nodded in agreement. Since leaving the farmhouse, we had both kept our phones off. It wasn't worth the risk of being traced. Once a few advertisements finished, the news returned. The footage was back to the woman from before, Eilene. It looked like she was approaching the clearing I remembered from my own trip. A moment later, the cliffside was visible, but there were massive boulders in the way of the cave's entrance.

Emily was already there, trying to pry some of the rocks free with little success.

"What's this?" The reporter asked.

"It's…these rocks weren't…here before…" Emily grunted, still trying to pull one, "... it's…just inside…though…!" She stopped with a huff.

"It's right on the other side, but I can't get in…ugh!" Emily threw her hands in the air, enraged.

"So, what…these giant boulders just…got here somehow?" Eilene asked, sounding skeptical.

"Yeah, there were these smaller rocks before. I moved them out of the way and I could get inside. The ship is right in there! But now…I don't even know how these boulders got here." Emily paused, looking up at the cliffside.

"Maybe from above?" The reporter sat on a rock, giving a defeated sigh.

"How's it going out there, Eilene?" Jeff's voice asked in the most smug tone imaginable.

"Jeff, I swear to god, when I get back there…" She started, but Emily stopped her.

"I think there's a signal!" Emily yelled, completely oblivious to the argument between the two anchors. It was then I noticed Emily was wearing a pair of headphones and holding her cell phone in one hand…and what looked like a bare wire in the other. Oliver let out a sigh.

"Okay, in fairness…she does look like a crazy person."

"You have an antenna on the roof of your van, right?" Emily asked the reporter.

"Um…yes?" Eilene answered.

"And, like, XLR cables and stuff for hooking things up, right?" The reporter nodded.

"Perfect! Stay here, I'll be back!" Emily yelled, practically vaulting off the rock where she'd stood and half-jogging back down their original route. Eilen sighed, pressing her back against the cliff edge, holding up her phone so the camera could see her. On the other side of the screen, Jeff had a wide smile on his face. Before he could say anything, Eilene held up her hand.

"No, no. Do not say a word. I'll…let you know if anything changes…" The camera feed cut and the screen went back to Jeff.

"Well, stay tuned for more exhilarating coverage of the magical talking rocks. In the meantime, we'll go back to Arnold, who's currently stationed at the White House." The news continued the normal coverage of people arguing back and forth about how to proceed.

"What do you think is going to happen with Emily?" Oliver asked.

"I…can't really ever predict her." I admitted.

"I mean, she's been right about a lot, even though she doesn't always present her information without sounding like she's a nutjob." We both laughed for a bit as I flopped onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Crazy, isn't it?" I said.

"I mean, it seems like the whole world just…stopped. I've never seen anything like this."

"Yeah, I don't know. Through this whole thing, we've been so focused on task after task. We haven't really had a chance to look at the full picture." Oliver gave a small smile.

"Yeah, I'd say it's pretty crazy."

"Yeah." I said. A thought came to me, something in the back of my mind for the past few weeks. I slowly lifted the top half of my body, looking at Oliver. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Hey, Oliver?" I asked, hands sliding in my lap as I moved my thumbs back and forth, trying to find a way to say what I needed to tell him.

"What's up?" He asked me.

"You…you understand why I'm doing all of this, right?"

"Of course, yeah." He said, clearly confused as to why I would ask.

"Well…I…I had this, uh…I guess you could call it a dream. You were upset with me for trying to leave Earth. You felt like I was leaving you in search of these…people," I gestured to the sky, "who," I made some air quotes, "'abandoned me' here."

"Oh, I don't feel that way at all." He said, giving me a reassuring smile.

"I mean, I've really enjoyed my time with you, and I knew what the goal of all of this was since the beginning. But, if you do end up back there, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't miss you." I nodded, looking down at the bed for a moment before I stood and moved next to him, wrapping him in a tight hug. He hugged me back, the two of us holding each other for a few moments.

"I'd miss you too." I said softly, just before pulling back from the hug. Oliver smiled, turning his chair and moving toward the kitchen area.

"I bought some popcorn, if you want some." I sat on the bed again, smiling a bit.

"Sure, that sounds great." After Oliver returned, we both rested against the headboard and talked. The news continued the usual cycle, but rather than watch it yet again, Oliver and I talked about how we met and what we thought of each other at first. We shared some laughs about my experiences with Emily and his experiences with Gav. It was nice to simply relax and talk about life, and everything we were hoping to see in the future.

Losing track of time, we only turned our attention to the news broadcast when Eilene's feed came into view.

"When's the next flyby?" Emily asked, carrying a large antenna into the field, a large, coiled up cable resting around her shoulder.

"How did…did you break that off the top of the van?!" Eilene asked, dismayed.

"Hey, hey, I didn't break it! There was a release switch!" Emily defended.

"It had a screw. Well, a few screws…and some wires that were…okay, so I broke the wires." By now, Emily was only half paying attention to her own words, too focused on uncoiling the cable.

"You can't…do that…" The reporter started, seemingly realizing it was a lost cause.

"And we're wondering why this woman was in jail?" Jeff's smug voice came over the feed again. Eilene seemed ready to respond to him before Emily asked her the same question.

"The next flyby, when is it?" Emily had a pocket knife in her hand, cutting the cable apart on both ends. Eilene seemed resigned, accepting there wasn't anything she could do to stop Emily.

"About four minutes away." Jeff's voice answered.

"About four minutes." Emily relayed to her, since Emily couldn't hear Jeff's side of their conversation.

"Oh, perfect! Perfect! Here, hold this!" Emily beamed, handing the poor, confused reporter a giant antenna.

"Stylish!" Jeff beamed, laughing to himself. Rather than responding, Eilene simply stood there, looking utterly defeated as she held up the giant, broken off antenna. From what the view showed, the cable Emily brought with her was tied to the bottom of it. The casing of the antenna was destroyed, wires exposed and tied to the broken wires which were originally part of the structure. Emily went toward the cliff's edge, holding her side of the cable and a big stick. The cable appeared to be opened and frayed apart.

Tying the cable to one end of the stick, Emily pushed the two merged objects through a few rocks. After she seemingly hit a dead end, she moved to another spot.

"I'll be sure to save this clip for the future." Jeff smirked. Eilene glared at him. Admittedly, the scene was pretty funny. I could only imagine how humorous it was for anyone who didn't know Emily. Seeing a disheveled reporter holding onto this broken antenna and a crazy looking woman in the background poking and prodding a wall of rocks with a stick in hopes to make a signal… it was no surprise Jeff was laughing at the scene in front of him.

The reporter turned around when the sound of a loud, metallic bang shot through the nearby area. Emily stick had managed to bang into the side of the hidden ship. Oliver and I both leaned closer as Emily pushed the stick downward. If I was right, she was getting the exposed wires to make contact with the metal surface.

"What was that?" Both reporters asked.

"Hold it up!" Emily yelled back to Eilene.

"Hold it up!" The reporter just stood there, looking confused. With an annoyed groan, Emily let go of the stick and ran over to her, yanking the antenna out of Eilene's hand and holding it to the sky. Eilene moved her camera to see the ships beginning to pass overhead. Emily held her makeshift contraption in their direction. They made it about a third of the way across the sky before Jeff cleared his throat.

"Okay, so I think we can all agree this is the last time we send a reporter out on a–" A bright red light from the spinning ship halted Jeff's accusation in an instant. It was blinding, nearly blowing out the reporter's camera as both women were forced to look away from it. I jumped off to the bed and rushed over the window. The ship was passing again, but this time, there was a bright, red beam cutting through the sky, shining down in the direction of Sheep Nose.

I stood in awe, watching the ship glide across the sky. The red beam stayed focused on Sheep Nose until it soared over the horizon, out of view.

"Oliver." I said quietly.

"Yeah?" He asked, just as softly.

"We need to go to Sheep Nose…"

After I hastily packed everything I'd need, I rushed out to the car with Oliver right behind me. The first few minutes of the drive were peaceful, but before long, we quickly saw more traffic heading in the opposite direction. Cars would honk at us every minute or two as we passed them, flashing their lights, telling us to turn around. Once we were closer, the oncoming traffic had nearly reached a standstill. As we turned off the main road, still heading to Sheep Nose, everything started getting worse.

Helicopters flew overhead and police cars sped past us every few minutes. Even the civilian traffic was getting more unbearable. For every person fleeing the area, at least five more were trying to get a front row seat to see whatever was happening. On the radio, we heard several updates about the national guard coming into the area.

Every available police officer was dispatched to the area to direct the civilians away from Sheep Nose, along with reports from China, saying they'd seen a smaller "scout spacecraft" launching from the center of the ship and starting a deorbiting burn. Oliver and I listened in silence, focused on the road, on the radio… on everything. Eventually the traffic in front of Oliver and I caused us to nearly stop.

We could see a police barricade in the distance, with officers waving at the traffic, directing them to turn away from the area.

"You know what?" Oliver asked me.

"What?" He smirked.

"Fuck it." Before I could respond, he turned onto the shoulder of the road, driving along the dirt and rock covered path. I grabbed the side bar, holding myself in place as the car wobbled and bounced on a shoulder never meant to be used as a road. Cars honked at us as we passed, but neither of us cared. Approaching the barricade, a police officer saw us and held up his hand, blowing his whistle as he signaled for us to stop. Oliver slowed, but he continued to pass all the other cars.

The officer's face was a bright shade of red as we stopped next to him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He yelled at Oliver.

"Sorry, sorry! We're trying to get up there, it's super important–" The officer interrupted him.

"–yeah, yeah, you and everyone else, kid, but if you don't turn around this instant, I'll arrest you, right here, right now!!" Deciding it was time to quit hiding, I climbed out of the window and got onto the hood of the car.

"Hey!" I yelled, getting the officer's attention. He turned, ready to scream at me, but the moment he saw me, he stopped. I reached out my hand to him.

"Hello, sir. My name is Tess. It's very nice to meet you." I said as cordially as I could. He didn't move. He barely acknowledged I'd even said anything. I reached for his hand, giving it a shake. With a smile, I let go, standing up to my full height and looking at the barricade, then back to him.

"I'm so sorry to bother you, but we have to go over there to Sheep Nose. I think they'll be looking for me there. Is it okay if we go past the barricade here and head on up?" A few flashes from one side of me caught my attention. I turned to see a small crowd of people who'd gotten out of their cars and were now taking pictures of me with their cell phones. I didn't pay them any mind. It didn't matter anymore. The officer still didn't respond, seemingly frozen in shock.

Not getting an answer, I decided to jump off the car, grabbing the barricade myself and moving it to the side. I waved at Oliver and he started to slowly move the car, half expecting the cop to stop him. Thankfully, he didn't. Once Oliver was completely through the barricade, I moved it back to its original position. Walking to the officer, I shook his hand again.

"Thank you, sir. We'll be on our way. Have a wonderful day." I said cheerfully, turning and walking back to Oliver's car, hopping through the window. As we drove away, I saw more cameras pointed at us…and plenty of shocked expressions and gaping faces.

"Well, I guess there's no hiding anymore, huh?" I asked Oliver, smirking a bit.

"Tess, that was amazing." Oliver said, half under his breath, making sure to get well past the officers before speaking normally. I giggled.

"Yeah, I figured I'd just be super nice to him and he'd feel like he couldn't be mean to me." We both laughed, driving up the now empty road. As we pulled into the spot we'd parked on our first trip to Sheep Nose, realization suddenly crept up on me.

"Hey, Oliver? If, um…if this is the last time we see each other, I just wanted to say 'thank you' again…for everything. I really can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me. I couldn't have done it without you, Gav and Emily. No matter what, I'll do my best to reach out to you."

"Yeah." Oliver smiled.

"Tess, this adventure has been the most exciting thing I've ever done in my life. I don't think I'll ever be able to top this one." He scratched the back of his head, giving a sheepish grin before looking at me sincerely.

"Just…promise me you'll stay safe, okay?" I nodded.

"I promise." I opened the passenger door, grabbing my bag and sliding to the ground. Just before I closed the door behind me, I stopped, remembering something important to tell him.

"My voice." I said.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"You asked me what my favorite instrument is. My favorite instrument is my voice. It's the one instrument I have with me at all times. It adapts to whatever music I want to play and it's mine alone. Nobody has a voice exactly like mine, which makes it special to me. So… my favorite instrument is my voice." He and I both smiled at each other for a few moments. Oliver softly waved as I gently closed the door and started the hike up the mountain. I knew it was a long journey, but I'd done it already.

I was going to turn around one last time to wave goodbye, but just as I moved a few feet away from the vehicle, a large spotlight suddenly shone onto Oliver's car from an overhead helicopter. Deciding not to stick around, I went on all fours, running away from the helicopter as fast as I could before anyone spotted me. As darkness started to fall, I had to stop sprinting the distance. I was about a third of the way to my destination, but I slowed down as I started walking on two feet once more.

While fighting my way through the brambles, a loud boom shook the area. I actually jumped into the air, startled by the sudden noise. When I landed, I turned around to see a large, square looking ship with two massive wings come into view. That sound must have been a sonic boom from this thing. Walking to the nearest small clearing, I watched it approach. It flew above Sheep Nose, circling the area, about five hundred feet above the ground.

A large collection of red lights burst forth from the bottom of the ship as it continued its flight pattern. The red light spread far and wide around the area as each light fell to earth. The closest one landed only a few hundred feet away from me with a thud. Curious, I decided to give it a closer look. Pushing through more brambles and climbing over rocks, I could soon see the red light glowing behind a few trees. I quickly moved closer, trying not to trip, eyes flickering between the ground and the red light.

Once I slid around the tree, I saw it: a bipedal, robot-looking creature. It was made of shiny chrome metal, standing about four feet tall, the same as me. Its legs were shaped like an animal, with the ankle halfway up the leg. I blinked in surprise, looking it over more. Rather than hands, it had two massive claw-like structures. Its head, if it could be called a head, was a half dome on top, with a big, red light shining at the nearby trees, as if it were scanning or mapping them.

Taking a second to decide what to do, I looked ahead, seeing similar red lights in the distance. With how the red lasers moved, it seemed like they were making a three dimensional map of Sheep Nose.

"Hey!" I yelled out to the robot. It continued scanning. For a moment, I thought it hadn't heard me. Once it finished its scan, however, it turned around, looking directly at me. The red laser shot out again, scanning my body from head to toe, somehow knowing to avoid my eyes. I looked at it nervously as it began to approach, each footstep making a metallic clink against the ground as its feet hit the rocks underneath it.

"Uh… I, um… I think I have what you're looking for?" I said, unsure if the robot would even understand me. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the shard. The machine began to approach, making me flinch in fear. It extended out its arm and grabbed the shard in its massive, metal claw. The red laser scanned it for a moment, then reached for me. I froze, not wanting to scare it–or anger it–but to my surprise, it just placed the shard right back into my pocket.

It then turned to the side, making its way toward the mountain. Blinking in shock, I could barely register what just happened. As the robot disappeared behind a tree, however, I sprung to life, chasing after it.

"Wait! Hold on, please…please, let me join you!" I yelled, catching up to the robot. It seemed to ignore me, continuing its trek up the mountain as if I wasn't even there. I reached out and grabbed its arm, trying to get its attention. That idea turned out to be a bad one. The robot suddenly turned, gripping my torso with its left claw and squeezing me hard.

"Gah!" I tried to scream, but it lifted me into the air as if I were made of styrofoam, its grip so tight, I couldn't breathe. The robot slowly moved over to a tree, slamming me against it. I could barely register my back being pinned against the wood as I looked at the remaining arm, seemingly winding up a punch with its other hand. Closing my eyes, I tried to pull away. A loud crack sounded as the claw rushed forward, open wide and slamming into the tree around my neck.

The hand around my torso let go, giving me room to breathe again. However, I was still stuck against the tree, pinned by both sides of the claw. It reached its free hand up, and to my horror, I heard a chain moving quickly inside its arm. The appendage had morphed into some sort of chainsaw with both a chain and sharp, metal blades protruding from the bottom of the arm.

"Aaaahhh!!!" I screamed in horror as the arm swung toward me, but to my relief and confusion, the first arm landed on the second, slicing its own arm clean off and leaving me stuck to the tree. My sharp, fast breaths began to slow, but then I started to struggle. As much as I tried to get out of the arm's grip, it seemed to be lodged deep into the tree. Seemingly satisfied with itself, the robot turned around and slowly headed up the mountain again.

"Wait!" I called to it, still fighting the claw, "please, just…please listen. Please…don't leave me here! I need to get home!" I pleaded.

"I need to know what happened to Lifeboat Seven! I…I need to know what happened to my dad!" My voice screamed at it, but the metallic creature didn't seem to care, still walking. As it nearly left my earshot, I screamed as loud as I could.

"Please don't abandon me again!" Tears were streaming down my face as I kept pulling against the claw, trying to dislodge it from the tree. Through my blurry vision, I noticed the robot stopping, frozen in place. Slowly, it turned around and walked toward me.

"Oh!" I gasped, hope springing through my hearts, "yes! Thank you! Thank you, please, just, I…" I lost my words as it approached, standing directly in front of me. I reached into my pocket, pulling out the shard.

"It's… it should be the last file on there. I was almost able to watch it, but the machine we had was destroyed. Are you able to show it to me? … please?" I begged, holding the shard to it. The robot looked at the mountain again, then back to me. After a moment, it reached its claw up to an area near the shoulder, giving it a light tap. Looking closely, I could see it had the same slot as the box. I reached my arm out and pushed the crystal into place.

The robot's red light turned white as a familiar feeling rushed over me.