THEY CAME PART 11

That night, I tossed and turned in my cot. I wasn’t going to be able to sleep. Losing the mental battle with their mind maimer was all I could think of. We had lost so much already to these monsters. I refused to lose this fight as well.

Since sleep was alluding me, I swung my feet out of the covers and put my boots back on. We all slept in our regular clothes. You never knew when you would get attacked. Back at my family compound, we would get surprise inspections at all hours. We had to be ready to jump out of bed and do what we were told. Here, the reasons for getting woke up were a lot worse. 

I tried to make as little noise as possible while I slinked out of the sleeping area. A few snorts and mumbles had me stopping briefly to make sure I didn’t wake anyone up. When I was finally outside, the crisp air was refreshing. The two guards standing on either side of the door simply nodded to me. Not one question was asked.

I knew where I was going but didn’t actively think about it. My anxiety would skyrocket if I did. A loud huff sounded behind me. I stopped dead. Looking back, I saw the giant brown bear from my first encounter looking at me, face to face. His head was level with mine. I never really thought about the intelligence of wild animals but looking into his eyes, I saw a deep and distinct intelligence. He was very away of what he did on a daily basis.

I stood still while I was inspected by the bear’s nose. He stared at my face and traveled down to my feet. When he was done, his enormous head deliberately lifted under my right hand. I scrunched my fingers through his thick fur. Never in my life did I think I would be petting a bear. Aliens taking over? Yes. Petting a bear? No.

After he was satisfied with the head scratches, he turned a sashayed away. His lumbering footsteps were silent as the night. I let out a soft giggle. If where I was going wasn’t so horrifying, I would have continued to relish the happiness of the moment.

Turning, I continued to my destination. The stone fish hanging above an arched entrance, only had half its head. There was no way to tell what kind of fish it was supposed to be now. The inside smelled of saltwater and mildew. All the empty aquariums glared back at me in the darkness.

Two more large guards stood at attention by the one I was aiming for. The guard on the right greeted me. “Hello, miss. It’s a bit late for a session, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Couldn’t sleep.” My eyes were locked on the glass wall in front of me. I couldn’t see through it entirely but I did see the color of the alien where he sat.

“Happens a lot here, ma’am. Were you wanting to go inside?”  The one on the left spoke this time.

“I was thinking about it, yeah. Can you send for Chris?” My eyes were still glued to the lone figure.

“Sure thing. Stay right here.” The right-hand guard stepped aside and talked into his radio. A moment later, he stepped back into his space.  “He will be here shortly. Head on up.”

“Thanks, guys.” He took hold of the ladder and began to climb. As soon as I was on top of the tank, I was met with two more guards. One of them opened the hatch and then stood back.

Neither of them talked. They simply nodded to me and then the open hatch. I entered and descended the next ladder. When I was on solid ground again, I turned to face the maimer. He was already staring daggers at me. It was hard to read what went on in those dark, fathomless eyes. Emotions didn’t register like it would with humans.

I took my seat in the metal chair I had been in before. We both stared at each other in silence. To my surprise, it spoke.  “You are a fool for coming here alone and so tired.” The voice sounded muffled through its breathing shield covering its mouth and nose. Almost like it was a voice being spoken underwater.

My face must have given away my surprise because a choking sound came next. I finally realized it was laughing. “We learn as you learn, human. I have listened and gained the knowledge of your language. It is an easy language.”

This time I laughed. “Easy? Did you learn to lie as well? English doesn’t make sense to most of us who speak it.”

The alien shook its head. “It is easy compared to others in the universe.”

Voices came from the still open hatch. One of them sounded very angry. I risked a look back to make my point. “If you plan to hurt me, your chance is almost over.”

“Where would be the honor in that? We will battle on even ground, not when you are least expecting it. You are a worthy opponent and I do so look forward to our encounters.”

It fell silent as soon as Chris and Doug started down the ladder. It lowered its head as if it was asleep, but I knew better. It was finding ways to silently learn.  I shouldn’t have been surprised but I was.

Doug got to me first. “What are you doing down here at this time of night?” He didn’t sound mad so maybe the angry one was Chris.

“I couldn’t sleep. I needed to come see it again.”

Chris finally made it to me. “Was it talking?  I swear I heard another voice in here with you.” He wasn’t angry, he was agitated but not at me.

The smaller man walked over to the alien. He circled it and, using a pencil, touched its shoulder. “It appears to be asleep.”

I’m not sure why I didn’t correct him. I should have told them both that it spoke to me and that it wasn’t asleep. For some reason, not telling them seemed like my battle with it was more personal. This was between us and I was going to keep it that way.