A Closer Encounter

Hi everyone! Welcome back. I thought this story was finished because I had intended it to make you feel like I was leaving you hanging. Now that I can see how popular it is, I just can’t deny you more. I thought of doing a ‘spin off’ story but opted for a series instead. I hope you’ll enjoy this one as much as the first. If you haven't seen it yet, it's here A Close Encounter.

A Closer Encounter

I tried to rub the soreness out of my shoulder and immediately decided that was a bad idea. It felt bruised. I rolled up the sleeve of my oversized nightshirt. There was a nasty bruise with a puncture mark in the center. It reminded me of a venomous spider bite only it wasn’t swollen. I wondered if I should show it to my dad then immediately dismissed the idea. He’ll make me go to a doctor for it. No. I’d wait a day or so and see if it would heal itself.

I was sure at this point that the night before was not a dream. The memory felt like a dream, as vague as it was, and the way it seemed to be fading from me by the minute. The creatures stayed in my thoughts, however. I never believed in aliens before that. If I hadn’t had such a clear picture of them in my mind, I might have thought up some excuse for the bruise on my shoulder and the marks across my arms and legs. Those marks were exactly where the straps had been tightly fastening me to their surgical table. I wondered what they’d done to me.

I heard the cuckoo clock ticking in the hallway, and the rustling of my dad’s newspaper. Everything seemed normal, so I’d try and have a normal day. I looked at the clock in my room. It was already seven. I rushed to get ready for school and ran down the stairs and into the sunlit kitchen for a quick breakfast.

“It lives!” my dad shouted over his paper in a horrible Dr Frankenstein impression. He always teased me like that, and I think his bad impressions made it funnier. “I thought you were meeting Lizzie before school today?”

“Yeah she’ll wait for me.” I assured him as I grabbed a slice of toast. Lizzie was my best friend and she was used to me running behind. “We walk together every day you know.” I was tired and feeling a little irritated.

I finished my toast and ran back to my room and was picking up my backpack when I heard the doorbell. There she is. I smiled to myself as I headed back toward the stairs.

“Janie!” my dad was the only person who called me that. I rolled my eyes at him as I went out the door with Lizzie.

We walked together to school like always. I needed to tell somebody about what had happened the night before, but I was scared. I was scared nobody would take me seriously, and that they’d make fun of me, or try to make me get psychiatric help. I told her about the whole ordeal as though I was recounting a dream. It was easy to tell it that way since most of it was pretty fuzzy by then. Lizzie listened to me intently. She was fascinated with dreams. She tried to decipher the possible meanings of a dream like that and decided that I was just worried about some test coming up or something. I didn’t show her any of the marks left on my body.

Lizzie and I didn’t have very many of the same classes so when we got to the school, we went our separate ways. By the end of my second class, the marks from the straps had faded, but my shoulder was still aching. I couldn’t concentrate all day. I kept thinking about the night before and trying to convince myself it was just a dream.

That night, I didn’t want to sleep in my room. After my dad went to bed, I settled myself on the old green tartan couch in our cluttered yet cozy living room, to watch a movie. I picked out a long boring movie and fell asleep watching it. It was dazzlingly bright in the room when I started to wake up. It must be morning, I thought. I didn’t hear the movie playing anymore. I stretched and opened my eyes. I stared in horror as I recognized the light and the creature it illuminated. It was alone. Why was it alone? I thought about yelling for my dad, or just screaming.

“Please don’t scream.” It was that strange singing language, but somehow, I understood it that time.

It reached to its belt, I cringed with fear and let out a small squeak. It pushed one of the many buttons that adorned the belt and the light slowly dimmed so that it wasn’t blinding me anymore but still illuminated the living room. I let out a sigh of relief but remained frozen. What did it want with me?

It was a little different from the others I’d seen the night before. Its head was bald and smooth with no sign of any type of hair or crest. In the middle of its forehead was what looked like a scar but as I looked, I could see that there had once been a horn there. There was a tiny bit of it still visible as though it had been sawed off. It looked at me with its pale green eyes. It seemed concerned, as though it didn’t want to be there.

picture provided by Mesa Saunders

“I’m here on official business. Can you understand me?” I could, but I didn’t know how or why. I stared and nodded in reply. I was afraid that if I spoke, it would come out sounding like this weird musical language. “Good.” It went on. For what felt like hours it asked me questions about my family, childhood, education, health and other things that I would never discuss with strangers. The creature was steadily tapping on some type of wrist tablet as it questioned me. It told me a little about itself to make me more comfortable. It only slightly worked.

 This one was a male, from a dying species of Neptune. His name was Ga’reg. He told me that all males had horns, but there was another species whose name I couldn't pronounce or spell, that believed the horns contained some sort of magic. The male Neptunians had been hunted to near extinction. He cut his own horn off to avoid being hunted and because of that, the rest of his species held little to no respect for him. The removal of one’s horn was an abomination in their eyes. He saw it as a means of survival. He knew my name, and my dad’s. He even knew about my mom dying when I was a baby.

“You are a part of our experiment. You always have been. Your mother, she did not die.” He went on.

I was understanding the words, but what was he talking about? I wanted to tell him to leave, but I was afraid. Still, I couldn’t stand it.

“What would you know about my mother?” I asked in a raised voice that, to my horror, sounded like Ga’reg’s language.

His mouth slit raised at the ends into what looked like a smile. “I know more than you. Our time is over. We’ll be monitoring you for a while. Please don’t be worried.” He stood up, moved a tentacled hand to his waist and the light started to brighten so I could only see a silhouette.

He reached the other hand toward me as I made to protest. I couldn’t let him leave like that. I demanded that he stay and answer my questions. His tentacle moved closer, and I cringed again. One long tentacle protruded straight from his hand to my shoulder. He gently pressed the original injection site with an almost loving look in his eyes, like a parent tucking in his child. That injection must have been more than just a drug, because I don’t remember anything after that point.

I woke up feeling well rested this time. That was odd for sleeping on that shabby old couch. The movie I was watching was skipping over the same scene for what could have been all night. It didn’t sound like my dad was up yet. I sat up wondering what time it was and scanning the room for signs of strange visitors. I decided that if it happened again, I wouldn’t be scared anymore. The morning and the house seemed normal. I felt like everything was going to be just fine.

The End…

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this story. I'm not going to try to predict when, but there will be more of this one. Tune back in to get more stories! Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest so you won't miss a post! Until next time.

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