Live Love Rewind: The Three Lives of Leah Preston (5 page)

“Alien visitation isn’t anything new or shocking, not to the GJSA. Not for decades.”

“Decades?” 

“A Fifth Encounter occurred in the late 1940s,” Clarissa told her. “Society was in the middle of the Cold War and everyone was scared to death of Commies. No one was even thinking about aliens.”

“I’m sorry but…a what encounter?” Leah asked.

Jon explained, “A Close Encounter of the Fifth kind.”

“There are five kinds of Close Encounters?”

“Seven, actually.”

“A Fifth Encounter is when there’s direct communication between an extraterrestrial and someone on Earth.” Clarissa’s diamond earrings caught the light as she shook her head in irritation. “May I finish?”

“Please.”

“It’s the ‘40’s, the world is in the grip of paranoia, and no one is watching the skies. When he found out what had happened, President Truman played Joe McCarthy like a puppet, using him to raise millions of dollars to fight ‘the Red Menace’. Almost all of that money went to building a highly advanced research laboratory in the Nevada desert.”

Leah listened with rapt attention. It was exactly like in the movies.

“We’re taking you to the one place where we know aliens have appeared and where, for the last half-century, we’ve had the opportunity to study one another.”

“Study one another?

“We haven’t learned as much as we’d like. Many of our questions are ignored. When we do get an answer, we struggle to understand its meaning. When we answer their questions, they often seem amused by our responses.”

“The aliens speak English? Or – or Earthling?”

“Not exactly. And, here, we don’t call them ‘aliens’. The extraterrestrials are called ‘the Visitors’.”

Ahead of them, another gate came into view. Behind the guard post, the tunnel opened into a huge dome, multi-storied but curiously empty of people. Even though the dome was underground, an artificial sky sparkled overhead, its glowing light provided by some hidden source. It offered nearly as much visibility as if she’d been outside during a cloudless day.

“It’s time for you to meet Colonel Dahlgren,” Clarissa said.

Jon added, “Welcome to Area 72.”

Chapter Seven

Colonel Ronald Dahlgren joined them at the Hummer. He was of medium height, with sandy-colored hair, pale blue eyes and a soft chin. On Leah’s first impression, his chin was his only hint of weakness. Every other aspect of his physicality suggested strength and command.

Entering the back of the SUV, he sat beside her. He said, “You know where to take us, Jon.”

Jon shifted into gear and the vehicle rolled toward the center of the dome.

Colonel Dahlgren sat rigidly straight, a photo-perfect image of a military leader – except for the cord dangling around his neck. A rock rested at the bottom of the strand.

The necklace looked out of place against his uniform.

“Pink quartz,” he told Leah, looping a similar string over her head. “Before we get any closer, you’ll need to wear this.”

Reaching into the glove compartment, Clarissa removed a second pair of necklaces. She passed one to Jon, and they each pulled one around their necks.

Leah fingered the rough stone before resting it on her blouse. It looked and felt like a common rock. If there was anything special about it, she couldn’t tell.

When the truck braked, Dahlgren gestured for Leah to get out. She stepped out onto the floor of the dome. While most of the surrounding surfaces appeared to be covered in asphalt or concrete, this area was left barren. Well-packed dirt crunched beneath her feet as she moved. Towering around her, gray rocks stood in a circle. She guessed that each of the rocks was nearly 14-foot tall and almost 8-foot wide. Stretched across every three rocks, a horizontal capstone added even more height to the display.

How far underground were they, after all?

Following behind her, the military officer said, “This is the portal. The Visitors’ entrance onto our planet.”

“You’re not serious.”

“I’m always serious.” When Leah didn’t respond, he added, “Incredible, isn’t it?”

“I thought it was, the first time I saw it,” she said.

“You can’t have seen this before.”

“It was after I graduated college and toured Europe. Except, all those years ago, the tour guide called it Stonehenge.”

Jon moved closer to her. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder, earning himself an unhappy glare from Clarissa.

Leah said, “It’s not an exact replica, I can see that. Stonehenge has rings of stones, one inside the other, and this is only a single circle. For another thing, there’s no internal ditch here. Everything is on one level. Even without counting, I can see there are more of the rocks here than there, and they’re in better repair, but it’s obvious that someone is copying what the Druids built.”

“Stone circles existed even before the Druids. But you’re correct when you say this was built to order.”

“So the military built it. But who ordered it? The aliens?”

The Colonel asked Clarissa, “Didn’t you brief her?”

“There wasn’t time.” She focused on Leah, as if daring her to mention the silent hours they’d shared on the road. “She signed the contract. She’ll do as she’s told.”

“She doesn’t have to do anything,” Jon interrupted.

Clarissa’s eyes flashed and Leah knew that Agent Wexler was at risk of finding himself reassigned to a new post. If he irritated his superior enough, his next job assignment might well be in some distant, miserable port of call.

“This isn’t Stonehenge,” Dahlgren said, “but it’s not simply an inexact copy, either. If you were an archaeologist, you’d realize that there are a thousand differences, from the type of stone to the configuration, to…well, I’m not an archaeologist, either.”

Leah continued to study the display around her. The pillars were more tightly grouped than those she’d seen at the Wiltshire site and these great rocks might have stretched slightly higher but, to her eyes, the difference between the two arrangements was fairly minimal.

Jon told her, “The researchers here have asked the Visitors more than once if there’s some correlation with Stonehenge. They’ve never received a straight answer.”

“Is there a reason they won’t tell you?”

“They feel as if they have,” Dahlgren said. “I’ve asked them myself and received two totally contradictory responses. I get the idea that they feel time and space are flexible concepts, open to change.”

Clarissa said. “Which is scientifically impossible. There are times when I wonder if these ‘intelligent’ beings are intelligent at all.”

“I see,” Leah said, not quite understanding the situation but offering empty words in an attempt to give herself time to think.

So. Aliens. Real where-no-man-has-gone-before type extraterrestrials.

Using a circle of rocks as some kind of doorway into the Nevada desert. Not just into the desert, either; into the very spot where I’m standing now.

She surveyed the area around her. If this combination of soil and stone was somehow special, she didn’t see it.

T
he government has known about the Visitors for years
, she thought
. They’ve communicated with them for decades. But it’s obvious that there are things they still don’t understand about them.

Which is why I’m here, I guess. Maybe.

“What happened to the last person who did this job? Did they quit?”

Were they eaten?
It was a stupid, anxious, almost paranoid, kind of thought, and she didn’t dare express it.

But that didn’t mean it wasn’t on her mind.

“There’s been no one else,” Dahlgren said. “You’re the first. You’re here because they asked for you.”

“They asked for
me?
”

“Not you, specifically,” Clarissa told her, speaking the words slowly, as if to a child. “Someone like you.”

The colonel said, “Two years ago, they requested a quarter-ton of black licorice and a tabby cat. We were surprised. They’d never asked for anything before.”

“What happened?”

“We gave them what they wanted. On my orders.”

“You gave them an animal? A living creature?”

Clarissa said, “Both cat and candy vanished from this spot. They were returned to us within minutes, untouched. My team has spent thousands of hours, studying both of the subjects.”

“And?”

“They haven’t found anything out of the ordinary.”

Jon said, “The scientists were comforted to learn that living, breathing creatures could travel from our dimension to their own without harm.”

“The aliens are in a different dimension?” Leah felt her stomach knot. “They’re not in – um, outer space?”

The two men exchanged glances. Sounding unhappy, Dahlgren said, “This should have been explained. Discussed. This is on you, Clarissa. I expected you to do your job.”

“I feel as if I have. Everything will be fine.”

“We’re at a critical juncture here. If we can’t proceed, this falls on you. Only you.”

Clarissa put an arm around Leah’s shoulder. “Ronald, give me a moment with Leah. Woman-to-woman.”

At a nod of her superior’s head, she led Leah toward the center of the monument. Speaking slightly too loudly, obviously wanting the others to hear their conversation, she said, “Dear, I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear when we spoke earlier. You have every right to know what’s going on.”

“Thank you.”

“When you decide on what to do, we want it to be an informed decision.”

The knot in Leah’s stomach felt as if it had grown larger. “What are you trying to tell me? What decision?”

Leading her still further from the others, inside the circle of stones and onto a concentric circle of flat rocks, Clarissa dropped her voice. “Listen, you little shit, you’ll do as you’re told. My career isn’t going to suffer because you suddenly have cold feet.”

“You said you couldn’t share any information with me.”

“I gave you all you needed to know. I showed you the contract.”

“You thought I’d be dazzled by dollar signs,” Leah said. “You didn’t think I’d care about anything else.”

“You knew there was risk involved. You had to suspect. Why else would we offer someone like you so much money?”

A white light sparked overhead, shooting across the electric blue sky. Fighting anxiety, Leah felt her hands curl into fists. “What am I doing here?”

“You’re our ‘ambassador to the stars’. Or have you forgotten?”

“What does that mean?”

“If there was a simple explanation, I’d share it,” Clarissa said. “You have to understand, the Visitors are willing to communicate with us, but only telepathically and only with a few favored people. They seem to prefer our lead scientist, Dr. Berry, and Colonel Dahlgren.”

“Do you want me to try? I mean, telepathic communication?”

“Please. If they won’t talk to me, why would they speak to you?”

“Then what?”

“They’ve requested a human subject for testing.”

“Testing!”

“Lower your voice,” Clarissa hissed. “The Visitors won’t hurt you. They’ve never displayed any aggressive tendencies. You’re perfectly safe.”

“That’s why you didn’t want to discuss this on the trip. You didn’t want to give me time to think about this.”

“Now you know.”

“Yes, I truly do,” Leah agreed. “I’m willing to make an informed decision.”

“Finally.”

“I quit.”

Clarissa’s face twisted, her beauty disappearing inside her anger. “Unacceptable.”

“Jon said this was my choice. I’ve made it.” Leah tried to sound determined but her heart was pounding. “I want to go home.”

“You leave now and you’ll never work for the government again. Any government, anywhere. I’ll make sure of it.”

“There are other jobs.”

“There won’t be. Not for you.”

“I’ll risk it.”

Turning her head, Clarissa lifted a hand. She waved gently at the two men standing outside of the rock circle. Facing Leah again, she said loudly, “It
is
exciting, isn’t it?”

Leah raised her voice. “I told her –”

Grasping the rock on the other woman’s chest, Clarissa tugged at the cord holding it. When the line snapped, white light sparkled around her and Leah disappeared.

Chapter Eight

Where am I?
Leah wondered.

She had no idea. It almost felt as if she was floating. Lazily drifting through the air.

She was surprised that she felt so good. There was something about airplane flight that left her terrified but this was completely different. Here, she felt safe and secure.

I need to open my eyes
, she thought.
I have to see where I am.