Backyard Aliens Read online

  “If it were my project, we would be.”

  “Then they can afford to wait and see what happens.”

  Neil pointed to the sky a second time. “Not long.”

  Mavra stood and walked toward the edge of the hedge. She cleared her throat and both aliens turned to look at her. At least that’s what it looked like. They could have turned away. Either way, they didn’t move from the branch they were on. She stepped toward them one slow step at a time and they stayed put until she traversed the edge of the grass and into a mulched area. As though that was the boundary, both aliens stood at the same time and moved farther down the branch, constantly keeping their eyes on her. “It’s okay,” she said as calmly as she could. “Takki lomo ebb?” What would they understand?

  “Takki lomo ebb,” the male said to the female.

  She turned her head around so that the other face looked at him and then turned back to stare at Mavra.

  Mavra held her hand toward them and rubbed her fingers together. “Come on. I won’t hurt you.”

  The male pointed behind her and Mavra turned around. Soldiers advanced carrying guns and nets. She motioned for them to stay back and they stopped advancing, but didn’t retreat. “Come on. Really. It’s okay. It’s okay.”

  “Okay,” the female said. She reached toward Mavra.

  “Now we’re getting somewhere. Come on. Okay. Okay.” Mavra moved to the side so that the branch hung directly overhead. “Okay. Okay.”

  “Okay,” the female said.

  The male said something that sounded angry, coming from his abdomen, gutteral and sharp. It was more like a growl than words, too deep for Mavra to pick out the sounds easily. “No,” she said. “It’s okay. It’s okay.” That was the word the female responded to, so she went back to it. But it stopped working.

  The male alien put his arm around the female who reached toward Mavra but said nothing. He pulled her away. She chattered and he chattered back. Mavra watched intently as the female followed her partner’s lead, and turned her head away from Mavra. Their nuanced communication included sounds and words, but also body language and eye contact. Their intercommunication seemed to greatly differ from that of two humans. The odd way between them included head twitching and turning, what looked like hand signals when they touched, actions Mavra couldn’t understand.

  The male slapped the branch next to the female in what Mavra assumed ordered her to stay put, then he shimmied around her and rushed over to look at the equipment. He poked around, pulled a wire or two, and leaned in close enough to get shocked. When he sat back up, he looked disappointed, and wandered back to his mate’s side slower and with less enthusiasm, defeated.

  What must be going through their heads? “I can help,” Mavra said, but as soon as the male got next to the female, he took her hand and they leaped into the branches of the next tree like monkeys you’d see in a zoo. But these were no ordinary monkeys. Their stubby tails stuck straight out as they flew through the air. Mavra turned around and the soldiers were also on the move. She failed this time, but she wasn’t finished trying. She waved them back again, but her action only slowed them down. Once in the trees, the aliens stopped only long enough to shake the branch. The male pointed behind them. Mavra looked and there were more soldiers coming from the other direction. They were surrounded. None of them could escape. She was trapped in the middle of advancing soldiers and realized it at the same time the aliens did. Before she could take another breath, the aliens half-dropped, half-climbed from the tree and ran toward her.

  One of the soldiers yelled, “Halt,” from behind her. Thoes coming from in front of her continued to advance, but much more slowly.

  The aliens slowed as well, but continued toward her. They turned their heads and watched the soldiers, appearing to pace them step by step. When the soldiers stopped advancing altogether, the aliens stopped as well. The female’s eyes planted themselves in a permanent connection to Mavra’s. They stared at one another. “Okay,” the alien said.

  Mavra reached out. “Okay. You’re okay.”

  The female lifted her arm, fingers stretched toward Mavra. Two thumbs stuck out perpendicular to her fingers, like ears on the side of a little boy’s head. The fingers moved and she said, “Er, okay.”

  Mavra bent down and reached for the alien’s hand. The male stepped in front of the female and reached out. “Okay.” It would be better if he were caught than if she were. If humans planned to hurt them, he would take the hit. She understood exactly what was going on. But it took the understanding of the female to get them this far. The male made his growling sound, and Mavra noticed Neil press on from her right. His hand disappeared inside his coat. Mavra turned back to the job at hand. She stepped forward and the male lowered his hand slightly. The female shoved him aside, reached out, and took Mavra’s hand. The male growled again, but stood back. Mavra kneeled on the ground and the female alien stepped closer.

  Mavra felt that progress had been made. Touching the alien, holding its hand, caused her nerves to jumble, though, and her heart raced. The female’s eyes didn’t look as soft as they had a moment ago. She stood within reach to hurt Mavra if she chose to, or to hold onto Mavra while the male attacked. “Easy,” Mavra said.

  The female said, “Okay,” but it suddenly didn’t sound okay to Mavra. She hoped that the soldiers would advance. When they didn’t, she said quietly, “I need some help here.” Out the corner of her eye, she saw Neil wave the men forward.

  When they were on the move again, the male alien began to sway back and forth from one foot to the other, his head waved too. He chattered louder and growled as the soldiers continued forward. The female held tighter to Mavra’s hand, not letting go. Mavra had become her protection, and her hostage. “Come on,” she said to the alien, “don’t do this.” The female’s fingers pulled Mavra’s fingers farther into her palm, and the two thumbs wrapped around Mavra’s hand so that she couldn’t pull free. She tried with a gentle tug. The female yanked at Mavra’s arm and Mavra fell over, stopping a face-first fall with her other hand. On all fours, in front of the female who held tightly to her hand, Mavra became as vulnerable as she was about to get. “Please.”

  The female cocked her head and the male came closer. He reached out and touched Mavra’s hair, then pulled the strands through his fingers and said something to the female. This time it wasn’t chatter or growl, but words again. Words with a lot of consonant sounds. The female pulled Mavra closer and looked into her eyes. “Okay.” She seemed to be mocking Mavra’s assertion.

  They were frightened, Mavra told herself. That was all. She relaxed her body willfully, hoping that they would notice and relax with her. She went down onto her elbows. “Okay,” she said. She pulled the female closer with a little pressure. When they were closer, Mavra swung her leg under her and sat down. “It’s okay. I’m here.” She gripped the alien’s hand and felt the female loosen her hold. Mavra smiled. “No nets,” she said loud enough for Neil to hear her.

  Neil took it from there. He rushed toward the soldiers and started talking. Mavra couldn’t hear his words, but she trusted him completely. Behind the aliens the soldiers lowered their nets and their guns.

  Mavra relaxed even more. She nodded and smiled at the aliens. The male touched Mavra’s arm, but much gentler than she would have expected.

  Neil’s voice surprised her from behind. “We still have to capture them. We can’t stay here like this. And we can’t chase them all over the place. Once they figure out how to avoid us, we’ll never find them again.”

  “I know,” she said. “But I don’t know what to do next.”

  “I hate to do this, but I have to,” Neil said. He stepped to her side, in view, and pulled out his Glock and pointed it at the female.

  She let go of Mavra’s hand and jumped back, but didn’t run away. She shot Mavra an angry look, then turned the false face toward her.

  The male protected the female with his body, stretching his arms out to his sides to cov
er as much of her as possible.

  “I figured they’d know what this was,” Neil said. “Are you all right?”

  “You didn’t have to do that,” Mavra said. “There should have been another way. They’ll never trust me now.”

  “It’s me they won’t trust,” Neil said, “but then they didn’t trust me before. This is just one more reason.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  The soldiers rushed forward and the aliens sat down on the ground as though giving up, knowing they couldn’t escape this time. The male growled.

  The female hung her head.

  ***

  At first, Chit-Chit-ta became angry at Kek-ta’s trust of the alien. He grumbled and refused, but she didn’t listen to him. “What choice do we have now?” she asked.

  “They’re coming,” he said. “We can run. Don’t you want to protect the baby?”

  “That logic won’t work. The baby will be better protected if we make friends of one of them. All it takes is one alien to feel empathetic, and it will protect us.”

  “Or take us to their laboratories and test us. Remember, they are probably scientists. You said so yourself.” He followed her anyway, down the plant and toward the alien with her outstretched arm.

  “Okay,” it said, and Kek-ta repeated the word.

  “Let it grip me,” Chit-Chit-ta said. “In the event that it’s dangerous.” He reached toward the alien.

  Kek-ta shoved him out of the way and took the alien’s hand. He grumbled and she told him to let her do this. “It’s a female,” Kek-ta said. “I can tell. She wants to help. If I engage in her eye to eye, perhaps she’ll feel my urgency to live, and she’ll protect us.”

  “Its army is coming closer.”

  “It appears to be holding them back,” Kek-ta said.

  “Not well enough.” Chit-Chit-ta stepped backward only a step.

  The alien spoke in a different tone and the one they presumed to be her mate came closer and pointed something at Kek-ta.

  “A weapon,” Chit-Chit-ta said. “Let go. We have to run.” He looked around.

  Kek-ta let go of the alien’s hand, stepped back, and hung her head. “We’ve received no return signal. We’re alone. And now, we’re captive again.”

  “I’ll get us out of this,” Chit-Chit-ta said as the men with nets advanced.

  CHAPTER 13

  “THAT WAS SAD,” she said to Neil. “Did you see how their bodies reacted? How they just gave up at the end?”

  “This is sad,” Neil said about the soldiers that surrounded them. He’d been through this before, and it was never fun. He knew he had to just go with it.

  “Standard procedures, sir,” a Master Sergeant said.

  “What about all our stuff?” Neil placed an arm around Mavra as they walked up the sidewalk. A cool morning mist settled along some of the better-kept lawns as though they were more deserving. Soldiers patrolled up and down the street, blocking people from leaving their homes. Pulled curtains showed random faces peering out from almost every house they passed. Neil heard the hollow sound of barking dogs coming from inside several of the homes and wondered what the military told the residents, or what they were going to tell them when they showed up with all the hazmat gear—which was bound to happen.

  “Keys,” the Sergeant said, holding out his hand.

  “My car has some special accessories,” Neil said. “You might want to watch what buttons you push.”

  “We’ll tow it, sir. And we’ll empty the hotel room while you two are in quarantine for a few days. Everything will be safe.”

  “Where you taking us?” Mavra asked, her first question since they shoved the aliens inside the dog crate they were now kept in.

  “Don’t know, Ma’am.”

  They approached a troop carrier and were asked to climb into the back and sit down with the soldiers who had escorted them.

  In her seat, Mavra raised her palms and looked at them. “Her grip was tight, but her hands were so soft and fuzzy.” She looked at Neil. “What do you think they’ll do with them?”

  He shrugged. “They are going to want to test you—us really—now that you’ve touched them.”

  “Quarantine. I heard. He said a few days.”

  “You have other plans?” He nudged her to try and lighten up the situation. He had gone through quarantine before; it involved a lot of waiting around between blood tests, skin samples, and psychological testing. It had never been his favorite thing. He didn’t like to sit still a whole hell of a lot.

  “I don’t like people touching all my stuff,” she said. “It messes with my energy.”

  “They’ll take care of it. They’re professionals.” Neil glanced around at the soldiers. The carrier wasn’t made for comfort, and bounced over the road. He felt every pothole through his butt cheeks. Before long the vehicle entered the highway and picked up speed as they headed northwest. “You flying us out of here?”

  “Sir?”

  “We’re traveling toward Gallatin Field aren’t we? That means you’re flying us out.”

  “Where are the aliens?” Mavra said.

  “Where are we really going?” Neil added.

  “We don’t know, sir,” the Master Sergeant said. “That goes for both questions, ma’am.”

  “Shit.” Neil used his eyes independently to look around at everyone, to assess the full situation, but there was little to assess. They weren’t getting out of that carrier until they got to the airport. Each soldier had a weapon. The Master Sergeant’s name patch said Clarke. He was broad, but strong, and had short-cropped hair. He held his cap in his hands. His machine gun leaned against the inside of his leg, pointing up and out toward the rear of the vehicle. “I do, Sgt. Clarke,” he said.

  “What the fuck?” one of the other soldiers said. “Did you see that?”

  “Neil,” Mavra kicked his foot with hers. “Lock those things down.”

  “How the hell did you do that?” the soldier asked.

  “My eyes operate independently because the two hemispheres of my brain operate independently. They were severed when I was first born. Watch.” Neil let his eyes roll around in opposite directions and scanned the inside of the troop carrier again.

  “Holy fuck,” the soldier said. “Sorry ma’am.” Several of the other soldiers, including Master Sgt. Clarke, stared at Neil.

  “Quit showing off.” Mavra rubbed her face and ran her fingers through her hair as though she felt a headache coming on.

  “Surprised they don’t know about me,” Neil said.

  “Not everyone pays attention to those things.” Mavra leaned into Neil.

  He noticed that the motion was making her feel a little carsick and put his arm around her. “Hey, could a few of you guys squeeze in over there so she can curl up on the bench?”

  Two soldiers moved to give Mavra room to lie down.

  “Thanks. She gets like this if she sits in the back seat of a car, too,” he said. “We’re going to Edwards aren’t we?”

  “Could you do that again?” the soldier asked.

  “Are we going to Edwards Air Force Base?” Neil asked again.

  Clarke laughed. “Area 51. Yeah, that would be my guess, too.”

  Neil brushed Mavra’s hair from her cheek. “This is going to be a long debriefing.”

  Some of the soldiers laughed at his attitude toward the whole thing. One asked, “You’re not nervous about any of this?”

  “The aliens?”

  “Soldier!” The Master Sergeant yelled his disapproval.

  Neil ignored Clarke. He could request that his soldiers not ask questions, but he couldn’t stop Neil from answering them. “I’m sure you guys are all sworn to secrecy.” Neil turned to the kid who asked the question. “Private Donnelly,” he said. “They were most likely planted here by a race technologically superior to where we are at the present moment, although I can see us coming to this point fairly quickly. It would just take a combination of several sciences like cloni
ng, DNA adjustments, and implanted electronics and we…” He noticed Donnelly’s eyes glazing over and shook his head.

  “Anyway, all that equipment they had back there was to send a beacon to their race…who are no longer around, probably died out, or have gone to another planet where life had already evolved. We don’t know.” He smiled at the private, and patted Mavra’s shoulder to acknowledge her input into the aliens’ situation. “Keep it to yourself.”

  “How do we know their beacon didn’t get through?”

  “Trust me. We have the inside scoop.” He rubbed Mavra’s shoulder again and gave it a quick pat. “Besides, I saw your geek squad leader headed for the equipment the moment the aliens were captured. They’ll know for sure in no time. Ask them. They’ll verify what I’m saying.”

  “Henderson will be going with the equipment. They left before we did,” the private said.

  “We shouldn’t be hearing any of this,” Master Sgt. Clarke said. “It’s all highly classified.”

  “If you’re on this mission, you’re cleared, wouldn’t you think?” Neil looked directly at him. “Seriously. Anything could have happened back there. I don’t know what they’re telling those families, but had the capture not gone so smoothly, you wouldn’t have been able to stop this from being spread all over the news. I’d be surprised if there aren’t photos on the internet already. Who are we kidding?” Neil twisted his neck to the side until it cracked. He rubbed the back of his neck. “That feels better.”

  “We have teams who monitor the ‘net. Nothing gets through. It’s under control,” Clarke said.

  “Bully for you,” Neil said, as mockingly as he could. He knew the government could do only so much to monitor everyone in the area. In a matter of hours, rumors would spread all over the world. It didn’t matter, the sergeant wouldn’t believe it even if he saw it himself. Brainwashed. Neil focused on Mavra’s comfort for the rest of the trip, which didn’t take long.

  The troop carrier entered the airport through a remote gate. A camouflaged C-5 Galaxy awaited their arrival. A captain came to the rear of the vehicle and lowered the gate. “Everyone out and into the plane.”