THEY CAME PART 9
“I never really thought about what happened after that. I would need to get the rest of my family to some kind of safety, but how do I even do that?
Doug placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, but I was not ready to be comforted. Instead, I jerked away. “All I want is to get to my sister and brother-in-law and bring them down from that ship I saw. That is my first and main objective.”
“And we can help you with that. Do you think there aren’t people we have been wanting to save, too? Until you came along, we didn’t think we stood a chance.” The look in his eyes told me he was speaking from the heart.
“Why in the hell would you stand a chance with me? I’m nobody. I’m nothing.” He started to speak, but I cut him off. “Don’t you dare start spouting off about some kind of bullshit prophecy because I don’t buy into that crap.”
He began to laugh so hard I didn’t think he would ever stop. When he finally did, tears ran down his face. “No prophecy. I promise. You just have some of the best fighting skills I have ever seen, and then to be able to see into a mind maimers’ mind is unheard of. Gives us our best chance ever. We can finally take the fight to them.”
“Great. So, what is your plan? How do I get my family back?” I wasn’t sure grouping up with this bunch was a great idea, but if my sister and her husband could come back to me through them, then so be it. If it looked like I needed to leave them at any point in their plans, then I would leave and head out on my own. One person sneaking in to save two people had a better chance than a large group anyway.
“I would say you need to train up a bit with your min maimer skills.” Doug crossed his arms, and a wide smirk crossed his lips.
“And how the hell am I supposed to do that, exactly? It’s not like you would have one laying around or anything.” I waved my arms around to make a point.
“As a matter of fact, we do. Come with me.” Doug grabbed a small man who carried a large number of keys hung around his neck. Two very large men with alien tech type guns flanked him on both sides. “Chris, this woman here needs access to the maimer, so make sure she gets it but always be with her when she is there. Have Steve and Anthony in there as well during her sessions. We don’t want that thing getting the upper hand at any time.”
Doug made the hand motion for them all to follow along with him. I went to, of course. We passed the lions and safari animals and then made it back to the aquariums. All of the tanks stood empty and dry. The glass was still sturdy, being twelve inches thick. One tank had been altered. Instead of an open top, it had a steel plate, also about twelve inches thick, with a flip hatch to get in and out of. A huge pad lock secured it shut.
I walked up to the glass and tried to see what lay inside. Age and crusted salt kept me from seeing clearly. A lone dark blob sat in the middle barely moving. Even the color was distorted. “Is that the alien?” I pointed to the figure.
“Yes. Climb up this ladder with us, and we will go inside.” Doug looked pointedly at Chris. “This one here can block some of the maimer’s abilities to a certain range. So, you see, you aren’t the only one with a unique gift. Just a gift we can use in battle.”
I wasn’t sure how seeing what they knew could be used in battle, but it didn’t matter at this point. Something about how he said that ruffled my nerves. There were things being left unsaid, I was sure of it. Not my business, though. Instead, I climbed the ladder and followed them down inside the dry tank. Once I was on flat ground again, I stood face to face with another mind maimer who looked just as confident in his ability as the last one did. That was, until he saw Chris. Then there was anger behind those dark eyes.
I wanted to ask what they fed it to keep it alive. I wanted to ask so many pointless questions but didn’t. That wasn’t why I was here. Instead, I looked to Chris. “You can leave but let the others stay.”
“But Doug…” Chris looked back and forth between me and Doug.
“It’s ok, Chris. I’ll tap on the glass if I need you to come back in.”
As soon as Chris began to climb up the stairs, I watched the alien’s eyes follow the tiny man. He really hated him. Well, he would learn to hate me more. When Chris was out of sight, the alien looked to me as if he knew who his real threat was now. Its eyes narrowed as it tried to figure out the angle we were trying to play.
I didn’t give it much time to ponder. I was actually surprised it didn’t try to enter my mind already, but I had learned a thing or two from the last one, and now I didn’t need to wait for it to start this battle. I could start it myself. So I did.
