Inhuman (15 page)

Closing the door behind me, I cringed at the questionable state of the bathroom. If there was one thing that I’d been pleasantly subjected to while locked up at the facility, it was sterility. I was sure that the cleaning lady who’d cleaned my cell never left even one hair or speck of dust.

This place, however, didn’t look like it even had a cleaning lady.

Turning and looking at myself in the mirror, I gasped. It was much worse than I thought. No wonder Keanu had insisted we stop so I could get cleaned up.

A two inch gash marred the entire left side of my forehead. In a normal situation, I’d have at least ten stitches sewn onto my head by now.

Blood had run down my face from the wound like a river that had burst free from a dam. Clotted blood coated my left eyelid and had meandered all the way down to my collarbone. Chunks of my hair were so matted and colored with my blood that they looked like thick dreadlocks.

If someone had seen me, they’d surely mistake me for the character in the movie ‘Carrie’. I shuddered as I stood before my reflection.

Creepy.

Undressing, I noticed my swollen belly in the mirror. Despite my horrific appearance, I saw the beauty of creation budding right before my eyes. Caressing my baby’s temporary home, I smiled as she wriggled within me.

Turning on the water and stepping into the shower, I let a moan of pleasure escape my lips as the hot water pelted my skin. Raising my face to the showerhead’s rain, I felt the pains of the day wash from my face. Looking down at the drain, the red-tinted waters swirled down into oblivion.

If only my problems could be resolved so easily.

I lingered in the warmth for as long I could, but I knew I had to get out soon. We had to get back on the road as soon as possible.

Guilt twisted in my stomach, I hated the fact that Keanu had to be brought into this nightmare. Sure, he was
assigned
to me in the beginning, sent to uncover all my secrets and knowledge about my strange background.

Too bad there was nothing to tell. Like I had any idea I was some oddity, a rare anomaly among men.

Examining my hand as the droplets of water trickled over my skin, I wriggled my fingers, watching the tendons and muscles bend and flex with the slightest movement. Turning my hand over, I followed the swirls, patterns and lines etched upon my fingertips and palms.

How was I so different? I had the same skin, the same muscles and bones, how could I have a completely foreign genetic blueprint compared to everyone else?

Assuming I was the only one.

It then dawned on me.

My mother knew!

She’d abandoned me in the cave for a reason and this was it! She knew I was ‘different’ because…she was.

I exhaled as I came to the realization. The anger that I carried for her all these years dissipated and was replaced with a mixture of guilt and relief. Pregnant with me, the situation was likely very similar to what I was experiencing. She was most likely an alien too, or whatever I was, carrying the child of a human.

Alien.

I didn’t even believe in that kind of stuff before all of this. It was Agent Evans who used the word first, leaving me to come to no other conclusion except that I was of some extraterrestrial descent.

Closing my eyes, I tried to imagine what my mother looked like. It was impossible. As much as I would’ve liked to picture her to be a raven-haired beauty with bronzed skin and a graceful body, I could envision nothing more than some weird alien creature, all gangly, scaly and green.

I was sure she was beautiful. How could she attract my father if she were some deformed beast?

My father…a human maybe?

I’d never given much thought to him. Maybe he was the alien and my mother was the human. My head began to hurt as I contemplated all the ideas. Somehow, though, I knew that my mother was the one. The one like me.

He could’ve been just a guy she met once or maybe they’d been in love. All I knew is that my grandmother never mentioned anyone but my mother. Grandmother had always been very secretive about finding me in the cave and come to think of it, how did she know it was my mother that left me there? How did she know that my father wasn’t there too?

As the puzzle pieces of my past began to fit together and more pieces came to light, I knew what I had to do.

I need to get to Sedona. I have to talk to grandmother and I have to make her take me to that cave!

A deep sorrow eclipsed my soul as I realized that my mother was only trying to protect me. It made sense that she would leave me behind; it was the only way to make me anonymous.

Frowning, I contemplated all the scenarios that my mother might have endured. The days leading up to my birth were likely wrought will peril and pain. Now knowing the fierce instinct of protection I had for my own unborn baby, I understood my mother’s decision wholeheartedly.

Warm tears rolled down my face as I faced the truth. I too, was going to have to make a decision. If I gave birth to my baby and kept her, her identity and bloodline would be evident.

How was I going to protect her?

***

Thankfully the front desk had a first aid kit. Keanu had requested a band-aid for his blistered heel, which was a lie of course; he needed it for my forehead. He had to change the story a bit to hide the fact that I was in the room too.

He’d originally checked in with his false ID telling the receptionist that he was staying in the room alone for the sole purpose of throwing off the authorities. I didn’t say so but I was certain
they
were much smarter than that, and by the energy that Keanu was giving off, I was sure he knew that too.

They
. Who were they? I intended to find out.

“Keanu.” I mustered up the courage to ask him after we’d gotten back into the car and driven a few miles out of town. “Who are…the men in black?”

Exhaling sharply, he turned his head away from me. His eyes scanned the rolling hills of white moving quickly passed his window. He was silent for a few moments. I wasn’t sure if he was deciding how to tell me or if he should.

Finally, he spoke. His eyes clouded over with a dark hue and his voice was low and monotone. “They are an elite task force designed to find, capture and contain any and all anomalous beings or objects.”

Again he sighed, obviously uncomfortable with my questions, but eventually he surrendered. “At first, they had no name. Just an anonymous division in the shadows of government.” He switched on the wipers as a few droplets of rain fell onto the windshield. “Their name evolved over time.”

I glanced out the window as I waited for him to explain.

“They are the Majestic 12. Sometimes called Men in Black. They formed from twelve different elite secret societies within the United States. The rumors…are true.” Keanu’s face was white. He looked as though he was fighting back the urge to vomit. He also looked scared.

Instantly curious about all the things I’d heard over the years about UFO’s and conspiracies, I turned to him excitedly. “Roswell. The UFO crash. Is it true?”

Furrowing his brow and giving me a disapproving glance, he uttered with anger in his tone. “Many, many people have died for the secrets kept by the Majestic 12. Don’t you understand how powerful…and evil…they are? They’re all about gaining power, money, and manipulating the public.”

I bristled at his annoyance with my question. Facing myself forward, I pouted and stared out at the highway. I understood fully, thank you very much. The brutality and inhumanity I’d experienced over the last few months was all too fresh in my mind.

Sighing, he reached his free hand to my knee and rubbed it apologetically. “I’m sorry Cassia; I’ve seen a lot of bad things.”

A hot anger tore through me. Slapping his hand off my knee, I turned and glared him down like a cat ready to slash open her prey. “You’ve seen a lot of bad things? I’ve lived through those bad things! How dare you insinuate that I don’t understand how horrible these people are!”

“Cassia, I’m sorry.” His eyes focused back and forth from the road to me as he apologized. “I didn’t mean that you…” He gave up on explaining. I’d huddled myself against the passenger door and was staring vehemently out the window.

After a few minutes of allowing my blood to cool, I asked him without facing him. “If they’re so awful, why do you work for them?”

I contemplated my choice of words carefully. The anger behind his eyes was frightening. Slowly reaching my hand out and placing it on his forearm, I probed him further. “How did they force you?”

I had visions of the Majestic 12 hypnotizing Keanu or beating him into submission. My stomach turned as I considered that he, too, may have lived through unimaginable pains.

Though he was a very big man, he appeared so frail to me at that moment. His voice wavered and his eyes glistened with unshed tears as he spoke.

“They have my sister…Keila.”

Chapter 15

My head was pressed against the glass of the passenger side window, bobbing occasionally with the movement of the car over the highway.

The sun had just set leaving the moon in charge of lighting our way. A silvery hue now blanketed the darkening countryside. The snowflakes that had reflected the sun’s golden glow all day now glistened like white diamonds dancing upon a sheet of glass.

The cold of the night invaded the interior of the car. Keanu turned up the heat when I shivered and pulled my hands up into the arms of my sleeves.

The escape had only happened this morning but I felt like it had been weeks already. My brain hurt with all the new information being processed.

Fear and adrenaline had kept me buzzing for most the day. Even hunger hadn’t invaded my thoughts or my stomach until just recently. I had been on high alert all day, anticipating that the Majestic 12 would jump out at us at any moment.

Weary, I closed my eyes for just a second before forcing them open again. I was too afraid to sleep. Unconsciousness would leave me vulnerable. If I stayed awake, I could see them coming.

You should rest.

My mind thought it, but I wasn’t sure if it was me or the baby that had actually said it. Now I was just losing my mind.

Have to get to Sedona. The cave.
I thought, knowing that all my questions were going to be answered there.

One thing that I wondered was if the cave was going to look just like I’d seen in my dreams. How could I know what the cave looks like if I hadn’t been there since I was an infant? Would grandmother even remember where it was? Was it safe to go there? Probably not.

I thought of the dream. The reoccurring dream. It hadn’t visited me for quite a while. Last I recalled, there was a mysterious man in my dreams who’d carried me through a snowy desert to the cave. I actually hoped I would dream soon. I wasn’t enjoying being awake right now. My reality was almost unbearable.

Now that I’d gotten my freedom back, I couldn’t bear to think of the Majestic 12 capturing me again and dragging me back to their facility. Maybe it was just because I was exhausted and delirious with stress, but I actually felt that death was a much better option than facing the men in black again.

In some strange way, I had the feeling that it wasn’t just the Majestic 12 that was stalking us. Death was right on our heels as well. It was just a matter of time before one of them found us.

Resisting sleep, my eyelids forced their way over my dry and exhausted eyes. A wave of relaxation swept over me as I surrendered to the unconsciousness. Almost instantly, a dream began, but it was not what I expected.

***

A rainbow of colors danced in front of my eyes. It was like a blanket of northern lights swirling around me, embracing me. I realized quickly that I was completely naked, but for some reason, I didn’t care. I had no concern whatsoever for my exposure.

As the palette of shades waltzed in a circular rhythm around me, I noticed a figure approaching me from outside the peaceful tornado. Immediately drawn to the being, I opened my arms to offer an embrace. I knew this person, this creature. I instinctively knew her to be my mother even though I’d never seen her before.

Light. She was made of light. Her body, inside and out, was comprised totally of energy. White energy.

Stepping out from the confines of the rainbow whirlwind, I sensed her smile at me. She spoke to me, not with a voice, but with a thought. Tears welled in my eyes as I heard her tell me she was proud of me.