Chương 36: Chapter 35: Final Encounter

I bolted up the hill, keeping an eye out for any red lights and hiding from any drawing close to me. With how slowly they moved, coupled with the encroaching darkness, they were easy to spot and avoid. The image of Artemis remained solidly in my mind. He looked so stern, so commanding… so different. His discolored arms were strange. Even as I continued my mission, I had to wonder if it was natural or perhaps some sort of cultural thing.

Though I hadn't realized it at the time, the cognizance sprang to mind: I'd spoken English to that robot, and it understood me, as well as Artemis. It didn't make any sense for either of them to understand it. Something was definitely strange. I shook my head.

"Focus. Got to focus." I quietly told myself, darting for the familiar, grassy clearing. Just like it was in the TV broadcast, giant boulders loomed against the rock wall, hiding the entrance to the small cave with the ship tucked inside it. Sure enough, a large, black cable came out from the collection of rocks, leading out to a discarded news van antenna, sprawled out in the middle of the field. As I stepped out into the center of the field itself, I heard the plane approaching.

Looking toward the sky, I could see the engines changing from a horizontal position to a vertical one. It slowed, heading straight for the clearing. I moved away, toward the woods, making sure to give the aircraft plenty of space as two large, blue spotlights illuminated the field. They were bright enough to make the area feel as if it was enshrouded in the midday sun. My arm instinctively lifted to shield my eyes while I tried to adjust to the blinding lights of the ship.

As it approached, I felt the heat and wind from the massive engines, generating more and more power as it began to land. Once its feet touched the ground, I was able to get a better look at it. It looked like a square, stubby airplane with a massive engine mounted to each wing. Its back had landed toward me, and I could see a large, slanted hatch. The whole craft looked like a military style plane: something used for utility with almost no decoration.

As the light around the aircraft shifted from a deep blue to a cool white, the groan of the engines started to slow as the engines began to stop. With a deep breath, I began to approach it, but I stopped the moment I heard a familiar voice… an unfortunately familiar voice. It came straight from the woods near me, but luckily, the voice's owner didn't seem to know I was there.

"Just don't say anything. I'll do all the talking." I heard her…the woman's voice. It sent a shiver down my body.

"You got it, boss." Michael responded, sounded tired and winded. I quickly turned and sprinted for cover, hiding behind a large rock. The back door to the ship began to lower. A loud, suction-like sound reverberated from the ship as the bay opened. Though the inside was dark, I could see a pair of large, glowing eyes from the inside. Out of the woods, I saw Michael step out of the darkness, followed by… My body froze. My breath caught in my throat. I saw the woman step out onto the grass field.

She stood just four feet tall, her ears standing high over her head, a large tail behind her. She was like me… an alien. I squinted, looking at her closely. Her left half was white and her right half black. Her eyes were mismatched too, with a blue eye on the white side and a green eye on the black side. Physically, she looked younger than me, too… she looked how I did when I was about fourteen years old. I couldn't believe it… I couldn't even think straight. How did I never know this?

My brain rushed through every encounter with her. In the farmhouse, John had seen her, and he'd been calm until she'd walked through the door. Afraid, he'd thrown the lantern at the stairs and set everything on fire. If it had been me in her position, I would have simply leaped to the top of the stairs. She must have done the same. All I'd seen of her that night was a masked silhouette of her behind my curtains. She spoke to the person in the ship, the one with the bright, glowing eyes.

Even if I couldn't tell what she was saying, her tone was sarcastically friendly, with an overtone of what could only be hostility.

"Sloan." The person in the ship responded, stepping into the light. He was another alien, just like us. The woman bowed and said something in return. As much as I tried to focus on what they were saying, they were speaking so quickly, it was hard to catch any meaning. The man stepped out from the ship, onto the grass. He looked much more like me, his fur a solid, dark brown color from head to toe. The suit he wore was similar to what I'd seen in my father's memory.

He said something, something in a scolding tone, as if he were disappointed, angry, frustrated. Seconds later, he asked about the black shard. That word was one I recognized. As they continued to talk, I saw red lights beginning to encircle the grass field. Before I could react to the light surrounding the location on all sides, a large claw wrapped around my chest, holding me firmly in place. I nearly screamed, only just managing to stop myself in time. The last thing I wanted to do was give away my position.

Turning around, I noticed the machine also remaining still, standing there. All it was doing was preventing me from moving. It didn't want me to be seen, either. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. As the conversation continued, I heard Sloan's attitude change from sarcastic to angry. In a flash, her large pistol was drawn and a shot rang through the forest. A large glass bulb on top of the ship exploded into pieces.

The moment it was destroyed, all of the robots went limp, including the one holding me. It clattered to the ground, releasing its grip. At the same time, the other alien's eyes stopped glowing, changing into a lavender color as the emissive disappeared. I looked back to Sloan, thinking about our second encounter. We were in the same field, but Emily and I had gotten behind cover. Both of us only heard her speaking. Since I wasn't her current target, I could see exactly how quick of a draw she was.

Still, when she'd started chasing me, she hadn't been able to keep up with me. My eyes went back to her gun. If she had been holding it, there was no way she could effectively run on all fours. That weapon was why she was slower, but it also was why she could catch up so quickly after we'd reached the car. She had to have left it behind when she… The rock… I remembered that large rock coming through the window, hitting Oliver and dislocating his shoulder. It was far too big for a human to throw…

but I could have thrown it in that way if I'd wanted to do so. Both she and the man from the ship were silent for a moment. The man looked around, seeing the woods and the grass field around him, as if he were seeing it for the first time. Soon after, his eyes settled on Sloan.

"S-Sloan?" He asked, suddenly filled with fear as he gazed at her. She spoke slower, giving me the opportunity to understand her words. It wasn't precise, but it was something like…

"In the flesh." The man continued to speak again, but I couldn't understand him, or anything from their new conversation. Instead I thought about my third encounter with Sloan, at the satellite station. I hadn't seen her through the flames, but I remembered running from her. They'd chased me in their SUV until they'd gotten into the accident. The accident… In that moment, just before it occurred… the flashlight had been in the dashboard.

I remember it taking me in and out of those trances everytime it spun into my vision. I was only able to stop it by grabbing it and… throwing it behind me. It had gone out of the back window and toward their vehicle. Sloan was driving. The accident only happened because she was behind the wheel. She'd been put into the same state I had when the flashlight shone into her face. It all made sense now. From the beginning, we were confused about how they knew everything: the mercury, the flashlights, the ship…

they seemed to know everything about me. We figured there were others, but we'd never considered the other one was after me in the first place. The conversation was getting heated again. The man seemed to be growing more and more confident in his speech, sounding as if he was accusing Sloan of something. By contrast, Sloan was getting more quiet, responses less focused. Rather than answer in sentences, her speech turned into a single word.

"Stop." She kept telling him. It was another word I recognized. He continued, stepping toward Sloan, accusations getting more powerful. He sounded angry, even disgusted with her. Whatever he was saying was getting to her. Sloan stopped speaking altogether, turning away from him. I could see her visibly shaking as the man berated her, his voice getting louder as he approached. In an instant, Sloan turned around and shot him. I screamed, watching him fall to the ground with a soft thud in a single moment.

Her eyes darted straight to me. My hiding spot wasn't protecting me any longer. I considered running away, but I heard the sound of the door on the ship. It was beginning to close. I sprinted at the vessel, trying to stay low and dodge any shots Sloan took at me. As I continued, though, I didn't hear any bullets… nothing. Still, I kept running, closing the gap to the ship as fast as I could before a large weight slammed into my side. Sloan tackled me to the ground, only a few feet away from the ship.

I could see the door closing in front of me, but Sloan got on top of me. She was much heavier than I expected, probably in the same way most people felt about me. Her weight bore down on my back as she yelled something at me, screeching over the sound of the closing door. In a moment of clarity, I grabbed a fist full of dirt and threw it behind me, sending it right into Sloan's eyes. She stumbled backward.

Not wasting my chance, I jumped as high as I could, grabbing onto the door and swinging over it and inside seconds before it closed shut. I rested on the floor for a few seconds, catching my breath before I stood. The back door had a small window for me to peer through. On the other side, I could see Sloan, trying to wipe the dirt from her eyes and still yelling something at me. Even if I could hear her, I wouldn't be able to understand her.

The ship shook as the engines roared to life, lifting the aircraft off of the grassy field. Sloan didn't even try to shoot the plane or damage it. Instead, she simply stood and watched as I cleared the treetops. With a jolt, I was tossed against the back wall of the plane as it launched itself into the sky. Quickly making my way back to the window, I saw the familiar Colorado mountains shrinking behind me as the ship went higher, faster.

I could see the road I'd taken into Colorado Springs the first time I'd left my farmhouse. All of those freeing feelings rushed through me from months ago, just like when I'd gone out on my scooter. I remembered the encounter with those people in the city, the snow plow smashing into me, the ride home with Emily. I remember how it felt, having that final conversation with John before he died, then seeing Emily's vet office and all the files on me.

I remembered the trip through those mountains that were disappearing behind me. I remembered meeting Oliver and all the help he'd given me… all the help everyone had given me, all to make this goal happen. All of those discoveries we'd made with the memories, finding the coordinates and finding out about the lifeboats, finding a way to reach out to them and finding them landing here on Earth… I couldn't have done any of it alone. My friends had sacrificed their time, their jobs, their safety…

and for John, even his life, all to help me. The cities below me started to shrink as the atmosphere grew thin. Stars began twinkling brighter than I'd ever seen them. As a red glow slowly started to surround the ship, the horizon began to curve as we traveled away from Earth. Another lurch occurred as the engines powered down. I was tossed into the air, floating in weightlessness. I drifted through the cabin, managing to pull myself to another window which looked out the side of the ship.

Just in time, I saw the sun glowing over the horizon, and to the side of it, I saw the spinning body of Lifeboat 8.

"I made it." I said softly, "I'm going home."