The Visitors (5 page)

It didn't take long for Jady to fall into stride with me. I glanced at her as she walked beside me, and noticed a slight wave of nervousness coming off her body. As I wondered what she was worried about, she spoke. “Noah, your society is fascinating. I have so many other questions I want to ask.”

I looked at her out of the corner of my eye, careful to avoid eye contact. “You certainly are full of questions,” I pointed out.

She gave me a shy half-smile. “I've been told that's a flaw of mine.”

“You know what? I've been told that, too,” I said truthfully.

Jady giggled awkwardly. “I don't mean to annoy you; I just want to learn from you. One thing we've all been wondering is, is English your primary language? I mean, on our planet, we have many, many different languages. If I left the country where I live to go south or east or wherever, I wouldn't be able to communicate with anyone. We never guessed you would know
any
of our Earthly languages, much less the same one we all happen to speak.”

I knew my confusion was all over my face. “What do you mean?”

“Well, when we were on our way here, we weren't even sure we would be able to communicate with you at all. You can imagine our surprise when you spoke the same language we did.” She watched me intently as she spoke.

I shrugged. “We know many languages,” I told her carefully. I didn't want to give too much information away.

“Really? Like how many?” she asked, her fascination growing.

I tried to add them all in my head, but quickly lost count. “Hundreds.”

Her mouth gaped open as she absorbed what I had just told her, and I immediately regretted sharing that information. I would never be able to explain how we knew so many languages without discussing our computer chips – an expressly-forbidden topic. Inwardly I began to cringe as I thought about the questions I knew were coming. I tried to prepare myself with an acceptable answer.

“You're telling me that you are fluent in hundreds of languages. You can understand them, speak them, read them, and write them.”

All I could do was nod.

“That can't be physically possible. There are people on Earth who know multiple languages, but not
hundreds
. Not even
dozens
fluently. The memory capacity is just not there.” A mixture of emotions surrounded her as she spoke – confusion, wonder, and a little frustration.

I shrugged, feeling helpless. What could I say? That our memory capacity was aided by an implanted computer chip?

“You seem so similar to us, physically. There must be something biologically, something that makes your mental capabilities so much greater than ours. I would love the chance to explore that further.”

“Well, I, um,” I stammered, “I don't know which, uh…I'm not sure what Sir Andrew has planned for your stay…I'm sure he has packed your days here with learning opportunities…” I didn't know what else to say, so I just stopped. What had I done? Jady was sure to pass this information on to her crew. Questions would be brought to Sir Andrew. When the source of the information was revealed, I would have to face the leaders. That thought made me shudder.

For the moment, she didn't push the language issue any further. Instead, she came out with a question that took me by complete surprise. “So, Noah, what do you do for fun around here? You know, after your work is done.”

I smiled at her in confusion. “My work
is
enjoyable.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course it is. But it has to be a little stressful. What do you do to unwind and have fun?” As she looked into my eyes and asked her questions, her emotions lightened. I immediately felt the strange sensation in my body that she had caused since the first time I saw her. Her gift was affecting me again, and I reminded myself to fight it.

“We have community gatherings once in a while, where we socialize with each other. Is that what you mean?” I tried to keep my voice cold and my body positioned away from hers. While I was unsure what the source of her power was, it seemed to be stronger when I made direct eye contact with her.

She laughed, which was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard in all my life. I couldn't help but look at her and hope to make her do it again. “Sure, I guess that's what I mean. It just sounds so…formal, the way you say it. When is your next community gathering?”

“In about a month,” I replied. “Why?”

She shrugged, still smiling. “I just want to experience everything, I guess. Including the social life.”

Suddenly, I had a wonderful idea. I knew I wanted to confront her about her gift. But something was telling me that I should not do it in front of others; I needed to get her alone. Although I knew that could be a dangerous thing for me because of the strong pull I felt toward her, my instincts told me that was the way to do it. If I questioned her in front of others, I may not get the information I was after. Questioning her privately may make her more willing to share the truth with me.

I suddenly knew the perfect way to get her alone. She gave me the opportunity to do so in her quest to “experience everything.” Before I spoke, I looked quickly to Sir Andrew, who was occupied in a conversation with the captain. He could
not
hear the question that was about to come out of my mouth.

“Jady, there is one experience here that you shouldn't miss. I am willing to bet it is unlike anything you have on Earth. It is a waterfall, and it is incredible. Getting to it is a little tricky; you have to go through a thick wooded area and it's a bit of a journey. Would you like me to take you to it?” I didn't know why I felt so self-conscious as I asked her to accompany me. Maybe it was because I knew I was breaking a rule in my invitation. In all my years in the society, I had never deliberately broken a direct order, and never thought I would see a day when I would have to do so. But this was necessary. As far as I knew, we had never in the history of society had a member that was given the gift she obviously had. I had to find out more about it.

She smiled as she considered my invitation. “When would we go?” she asked finally.

I smiled back at her. “Tonight. After dinner. You have to see it when it's dark in order to
really
see it. You'll see why when we get there.”

She looked around at the other humans nervously. Since no one seemed to be listening to our conversation, she relaxed a little. “Sure. If you're sure it's safe.”

“It's safe. I've been many times. But Jady, could we keep this to ourselves? As in, just the two of us could go? I've actually got something I would like to discuss with you, and it's private.” I wasn't sure how to tell her that it was against the rules for me to be alone with her; I knew that would turn into a whole new set of questions.

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Absolutely. In fact, I probably shouldn't tell anyone that I'm going out alone with you. My dad worries,” she whispered as she glanced toward him.

“Then it's our secret.” I tried not to show my relief, or the excitement I felt about being alone with her. I would finally get the answers I was after, hopefully.

By that time, we were at the dining hall. Jady sat next to Luke, once again changing his emotions to bliss and hope. I sat across the table from the captain, taking a place next to Sir Andrew in order to help him field the questions about our educational system. Formulating my responses was difficult due to my excitement for the night that was to come. Mentally, I scolded myself, knowing that part of my excitement was not because of the fact that I would be able to discuss her gift with her, but just because I got to spend time alone with her. These new and unusual feelings she caused were creating quite a struggle in my mind. I had to find out why and how she used this gift over me, because as far as I could tell, she was not using her powers with any other member of our society. In fact, the only other person who seemed to be so enamored with her was Luke. It was impossible to make sense of her methods. But, I knew one thing for certain: I would make sure I found out tonight.

I had no idea how I was going to sneak out with Noah to see the waterfall. Since I had arrived on this planet, I could barely remember a moment alone. How could I ever find a way to leave the crew and get out of the visitors' chamber without being seen?

I considered this all through dinner, but to no avail. Butterflies formed in my stomach at the idea of the night that was to come. The invitation replayed over and over again in my head. What could it possibly be that he wanted to talk to me about? At that moment, his reason for asking me didn't matter – one look into those green eyes and I would have followed him off a cliff. It was extremely ridiculous and pathetic, I knew, but I couldn't help it. There was something about him that I was drawn to.

When dinner was over, we all headed back to the visitors' chamber. I racked my brain for any excuse to get away, knowing I had promised Noah I would meet him just down the path from our chamber at ten-thirty p.m. While I was hoping that would be late enough so that everyone would be asleep, I knew that wasn't something I could count on. Luke rarely went to sleep before midnight, no matter how tired he was. I had to think of something. My palms turned cold and sweaty from the pressure.

Luckily, fate gave me the small window of chance that I needed. As Sir Andrew walked us back to the visitors' chamber, he made an announcement to our crew. “I would like to extend an opportunity to you all. Tomorrow morning at three - thirty a.m., there will be a striking galactic show. Once every thousand years, the star constellation closest to us aligns just right with the moon that orbits our planet. It causes a magnificent display of lights in the sky. As I said, it only takes place every thousand years, so it is a rare opportunity. I can guarantee you will never see anything so spectacular from Earth.”

The entire crew buzzed with excitement. “Of course we would like to see it!” “Where do we go?” “Thank you so much for taking us!”

Here was my chance. “Well, if we're going to wake up at three a.m., I definitely need to turn in.” To emphasize my point, I faked a yawn. “I'll see you guys bright and early in the morning.”

Luke nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we should go to bed soon. I want to be wide awake for the show.” I grinned at him, relieved that my only shred of hope for a plan was falling into place.

The rest of the crew sounded their agreements and happily got into their beds, anxious for the event that was to come. I was perfectly happy to lay in bed awake, waiting for my own exciting night that lay ahead. When it was time, my heart raced as I slipped out of my pajamas and put on some dark clothes so that I would not be seen outside. My hands shook as I reapplied the blocking cream. I wasn't sure if the tingling sensation within my body was from the lotion or my nerves.

It was amazingly easy to get outside, even with the thin dividers between the walls. I paused momentarily after I eased the door shut behind me, partly to allow myself to adjust to the warmth outside, and partly to listen for any signs of life within the chamber. No one even stirred when I crept down the path to meet Noah, who was already waiting for me in the shadows.

“We don't have much time,” he said seriously, once I got into earshot. “We have to make sure you're back here before everyone gets up for the lights show.”

I smiled and nodded in agreement. “So we better get going then. Lead the way.”

For a moment, he stared at me with a concentrated expression. He looked like he was on the verge of saying something, but then seemed to change his mind. Finally, he smiled back at me and motioned for me to follow him as he headed off the path toward a wooded area. Our walk was virtually silent at first as I followed him into the woods. The spectrum of color that appeared throughout the forest left me in awe, making me forget where I was and even who I was with. Even in the darkest part of night, the vivacious colors of the flowers in the woods shed light on our surroundings.

“It's just so beautiful here,” I breathed. “How do these plants flourish here in this climate? This close to the sun, it should be impossible for them to grow.”

Ignoring my question, Noah reached under one of the bright yellow and orange flowers, pulling off a brown ball and tossing it to me. “Catch.”

I caught me off-guard, but I managed to snag it. I turned it over for inspection. The closest reference I had for comparison was a coconut; it was brown with a flaky skin and smelled sweet. “What is it?”

“It's food. Try it.”

I frowned. “Like this? Don't I need to peel it or anything?”

“No. Just bite into it,” he encouraged.

So I did. I thought I recognized the taste from the salad I had eaten at the welcoming dinner the night before. It was juicy and sweet. The flakes from the skin dissolved like sugar in my mouth. Its inside, yellow and soft, was cold and honey-like in my mouth. “It's delicious,” I said before taking another bite, bigger this time.

I glanced up at him when I felt his eyes on me. He was smiling as he watched me devour half of the fruit. “It makes me nervous when you watch me eat,” I said, tossing the fruit back at him.

My aim was terrible, but he jumped high to catch it before it flew over his head. “I know it does,” he said.

“You do?” I asked.

He didn't answer, but changed the subject. “You've got quite a throwing technique.”

“I sense some sarcasm there. In my defense, I wasn't trying to throw it well – I just wanted you to stop staring at me.”

The smile fell off his face as his cheeks flushed. An awkward silence ensued. I desperately racked my brain for a way to break it. “Do you play sports of any kind here?”

“Sometimes,” Noah said, obviously relieved by the change of subject. “We have exercise time daily. It's up to the individual what kind of aerobic activity to complete. Groups of us will occasionally get together to play a sport to fill that requirement.”

“Wow. Forced daily cardio. And everyone in your society is required to take part in this? No wonder you're in such great shape.” I felt my cheeks grow hot and decided to keep talking. “What kind of sports do you play?”

“My favorite is Checkpoint. Do you know it?”

“No. Explain it, please,” I requested.

“Okay. You have a ball, and you have four different checkpoints set up in the playing area. The participants are divided up into two teams. One team spreads out across the area, while the other takes turns kicking the ball. When you kick it, you have to run to the first checkpoint before someone on the other team gets it and tries to tag you. Does that make sense?”

I laughed. “Perfect sense. It sounds exactly like what we call
kickball
. That's one of my favorite sports, too. Only we don't call them ‘checkpoints,' we call them ‘bases.' We play that in gym class at school all the time.”

“You get to play sports at school?” he asked.

“Yes. I guess that would be what you call daily exercise time. Only it stops when you get done with your schooling. When you're an adult, exercise is voluntary.”

“Interesting,” he said with a slow nod.

“So what does the winning team get, anyway? A prize? Or just pride?” I questioned.

He shrugged. “We don't keep score.”

“Never? That would drive me crazy,” I told him.

“It
does
drive me crazy. In fact, I do keep score in my head. Every time. Sports are supposed to be for recreation and exercise only – we are not supposed to turn them into a serious competition. But I do. I can't help it.” He stopped walking after his admission, turning to look at me abruptly. “I've never told anyone that before.”

I felt pleased at his small confidence. “Your secret is safe with me. You sound just like me. I'm a very competitive person, even when it comes to little, stupid things. Like one time, when I was in seventh grade, I had to take a test in my pre-algebra class. I didn't study, because I was confident that I knew what I was doing. And I did, for the most part. There was only one problem that I wasn't sure about. After I turned it in, this girl, Cassi, leaned over and said, ‘I bet I did better than you did.' I just rolled my eyes and said, ‘What do you wanna bet?' We decided to bet the silver dangly bracelet I was wearing, which was a gift from my mom, against her beaded necklace.

“Sure enough, when the tests were handed back the next day, she beat me by two points. It was all because of that one problem that stumped me. I had to give her my bracelet, and then I asked to go to the bathroom and I just locked myself in there and cried. It wasn't about the bracelet or even the fact that I lost the bet – it was because her score was higher than mine. I knew it was stupid, but I wanted to be the best.” Suddenly I stopped talking and looked up at him. “You know what? I've never told anyone that story before, either. And it's completely mortifying. I have no idea why I felt the urge to tell it to you.”

He smiled. “It's not mortifying. It shows that you care about what you do. I think that's a good quality.”

“Thanks,” I said, suddenly feeling shy. “As I've gotten older, I've learned that I can't always be the best at everything. I don't let myself cry over little things. I try not to compete with other people. But I can't help but compete with myself.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” he said with wide eyes. “I find myself trying to outdo myself in things all the time.”

“I think that's good,” I told him. “If you're not always trying to get better, then you're standing still.”

He stared at me incredulously. “It's amazing how alike we are. We've only known each other for such a short time, but I feel like I've known you for so long.”

I bit my lower lip, feeling some tension rising between us. Not a bad tension, but a scary one. Scary in the most wonderful, exciting way possible.

I stared back at him, thinking about my response when he suddenly turned and continued to walk. “We need to keep moving.”

Disappointed, I agreed. “Yes, we don't have much time.”

After our journey through the wilderness, we came into a clearing. Noah pulled back the last part of the brush to let me walk out in front of him, but what I saw literally stopped me in my tracks. In front of me was a beautiful pond with turquoise waters that actually lit up. I knew then exactly what Noah meant when he said you had to see it in the dark to
really
see it. All around the pond were oversized, vibrantly-colored flowers with petals that were bigger than my hands. At the head of the pond was an enormous but quiet and gently-flowing waterfall. The water rushed down over the rocks and plants, causing everything it touched to light up.

I stared in awe as I took in the beauty in front of me. Until Noah gently nudged me forward, I didn't even realize that I was holding my breath. “You can go closer. Feel the water.”

I gulped and moved forward, never taking my eyes off the waterfall ahead while I stepped over the large rocks to reach the pond. I slipped off my shoe and dipped my foot into the water with a gasp. “It's so warm!” I exclaimed with a laugh. The air outside, even at night, was almost stifling before the lotion began to cool down my body. But the water made the air outside feel cool. It was nature's hot tub.

Noah was watching me with amusement. “I told you that you wouldn't have anything like this on Earth.”

I shook my head furiously. “No, we definitely don't. This is amazing. Thank you for bringing me here.”

He drew in a breath, and then put his head down. “I didn't just bring you here because I thought you would like it; I need to discuss something with you.”

Our conversation from earlier in the day popped back into my head, bringing me back to reality. “Oh, yeah. What is it? There was something you needed to know?”

His expression was so serious, I started to get a little nervous. It suddenly occurred to me that in reality, despite how connected I felt to him, I knew very little about this guy. He could have brought me out here in private to hurt me, for all I knew. What was I thinking, coming out here with him?

But something inside me knew better. I stared into his perfect eyes, watching the indentions in his cheeks where his dimples appeared as he formed his words in his head. There was something that made me feel connected to him in a way that I had never felt with anyone else. It sounded crazy and I knew it in my head, but everything else in my body and soul were telling me that my instincts were right. Though I wasn't sure why, I knew we were supposed to meet. So, I waited patiently and without fear as he thought about what he was going to say to me.

Finally, he looked back up at me. “Jady, I know about your…your gift.”

“My gift?” I stared at him blankly.

He nodded. “I've never encountered your gift before, so I want to know more about it.”

My mind raced, but felt cluttered. I didn't know how to make sense of what he was saying. “Noah, you're really going to have to explain what you mean. You've lost me.”

“Jady, please just be honest. I can tell that you're not using it on everyone here, but I want to know why you've chosen me.”

I sat down on a rock as my head spun. While I tried to decide how to respond to this strange conversation, I stared up at him, unsure of where to even begin.

Before I could piece together an answer of any kind, he took a step back. “I see so much confusion radiating off of you. You really do not know what I am talking about, do you?”

“I wish I did,” I told him honestly, wondering what he meant by that comment about my confusion. “Please help me understand.”

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as he came over to sit beside me on the rock. He looked at his feet while he spoke. “You have this…this
pull
over me. It's unlike anything I've ever felt, and I struggle to find the right words to describe it. I feel so drawn to you, physically and mentally. It doesn't make any sense; it has to be something you've done to me.”