Starseed (16 page)

“
You mean like the kids get shots for school here on Earth?”  She remembered feeling like she was safe when they did it and was still amazed it didn’t hurt. Now, she finally knew why.

“
Yes, that’s all it was. No big deal.”

“
It was a big deal to me. I was scared to death that they put something in me to make me turn into some kind of monster or something would grow out of my body. Why didn’t they tell me? It would’ve made my life so much easier.”

“
They couldn’t tell you. Missions like that are top secret. Only the elite members of our Star Command handle those jobs.”  He hesitated for a heartbeat. “Under normal circumstances the Star Children are never told. They live out their lives on Earth or wherever without knowing. Most of them don’t remember getting the immunization.”

“
You’re telling me there are others who feel the way I do about the stars? They’ll never know? Why?” 

A rumbling filled the starship
. She startled. “What’s that? Is that normal on this ship?”

“
No.”  A frown crossed his face. “Hurry, come with me.”  He pulled her from the spacecraft and pushed her behind him. Turning, he held out the palm of his hand with another glowing blue marble. The crevice closed with a deafening sound. “We’ve got to get out of here. Mother Nature is tampering with the mountain. This part of the cave is going to come down.”  He turned his head as if listening to something she couldn’t hear. “Ari says we’ve got about twenty minutes. We can make it. Run, Elle, it isn’t much further.”  He tugged her along the small cavern. “I think I see light up ahead. Yeah, there it is. We’re almost out of here.”  He pulled her out into a larger cavern. Ducking behind a huge rock, they could see a well lit area up ahead.

“
What’s going on here? Look at these huge piles of wet rock,” she said. “And look over there.”  She pointed to a pile of old empty oil cans. “It looks like some kind of mining equipment.”  A bulldozer and some other machines sat like iron sentinels guarding their path.

“
Yes, someone has been working hard down here.”  Kole rubbed his finger on the side of the cavern. “Look at this. It’s a vein of gold. They’re taking gold ore out of here. It’s not aliens, but we’ve got to get out of here.”

“
That’s it. They’re stealing gold from the caves.”  She stood still for a moment, then rushed forward behind Kole as thoughts tumbled and skidded across her mind.
It isn’t aliens. They’re good old-fashioned criminals
. They murdered Herman because he knew too much. A warning vibration flowed through her overloaded brain. Danger was near. She turned and screamed. Huge bulbous eyes glared at her from an enormous gray head. Two creatures stood there.

“
Come this way or die,” one of the things said. It pointed toward the lighted opening with a rifle.

Even though they looked scary, she knew they were
fake. They were the creeps who took her and Sara and killed Herman. She smelled it on them. They had set the fire and caused the rockslide. What to do?

Elle, it’s okay
, Kole whispered in her mind.
We’ll go along with them for now. When I say run, run fast. The mountain is still going to come down.

Okay,
she thought. She shivered and held his hand.

“
This way.”  The fake alien pointed to the large opening again. One walked ahead of them and the other followed behind.

Around the corner of the narrow passage-way the cavern opened into a huge wide open space similar to being inside an open volcano
. Then they were led into what appeared to be in some kind of room made up to look like a spacecraft. There were the cold metal tables she and Sara had been tied to. They stepped out into the moonlight and Elle saw it.

At the corner of the mine was a huge black helicopter with racks of lights attached to the front and sides
. It had been altered to look like a triangular spacecraft. This was what the citizens of Sweetwater had been seeing at all hours of the night. It was part of the cover-up for the crooks so they could scare the locals away in order to steal the gold from the cave.

She shivered
.
They had killed Herman. They would kill her and Kole.

From out of nowhere, the wolf ran from behind some rocks growling, snarling and knocked down the man with the rifle, and chewed on his arm
. Kole kicked the gun away from the fake alien up front and pushed Elle toward a side entrance back into the cave.

Run
. The thought screamed through her mind. She didn’t have to be told twice. She ran deeper into the cavern with Kole. Elle was confused. He had said the entire mountain could come crashing down at any minute.
Why are we going back in the cave?
But she trusted Kole.

Chapter Thirteen

Darkness swallowed them as they ran through the damp cavern. Kole pulled his last flashlight from the pack and shone it in front of them. “We’re going back to the starship. We’ll be safe there.”

“
I’m with you. Oh, Kole, those men looked as if they really were from another world.”  No wonder the people that had seen them were so frightened.

“
Looks can be deceiving.”  He grabbed her arm and pulled her along through the cavern. “Here we are.”  He let go and held out his hand and a bright golden light filled the cavern as the crevice opened once again. They hurried inside.
The Ancients are counting on me. I will keep her safe or die trying
.

“
Stay here.”  He shoved her into a seat and rushed toward the back of the largest console and pressed buttons.
I have to stop the destruct sequence and I have to do it fast
.

“
There, I’ve stopped it.”  He sighed in relief. “We’re safe. They will never find us here.”

“
What are we going to do?”  Elle slumped down in the chair, her green eyes huge with fear. “We’ve been through a cave-in, practically smothered by smoke, and chased by fake aliens. What’s next?”

“
Don’t worry, it’s nothing we can’t handle. Together, we’re a strong force to reckon with.”  A whimpering sounded from outside the craft. Kole turned his head and listened closely.

Ari is out there
. He opened the crevice and the lone wolf jumped into the room as the circle closed behind him.

“
Ari, good to have you with us.”  He hugged the wolf and rubbed his ears for a split second. “We don’t have much time. Both of you prepare for take-off. We’re getting out of here.”  He would get them to safety.

“
How can we do that?”  Elle fastened herself into the chair with the seat constraints. The wolf jumped into the other chair next to Kole as if he understood everything.

“
I thought the starship wasn’t working,” she said.

“
It’ll do to get us out of here, just not good enough to travel one-hundred-sixty-three-thousand light years back to my world.”  A thunderous roar filled the confines of the craft.

“
What’s that?”  Elle shouted over the noise.

“
Ari told me it’s a rockslide caused by lightening. The mountain is coming down on us.”  He didn’t want to scare her any further. “Hang on. We’ve got to get out of here or we’ll be crushed. It could be rough for the first few minutes.” 

The sides of the starship buzzed and changed color causing her stomach to cramp
. Her bones vibrated like they were being lifted out of her skin. It wasn’t really painful–more uncomfortable.

“
Hold on, we’re almost there.”  She heard Kole as if from a great distance.

“
Wh . . . where is there?”  She asked. Her teeth chattered as she held on tight with her eyes closed. The darkness made things better. She wondered if they were going into outer space. Her thoughts tumbled at the prospect. After all, what did she know about Kole, other than the man is an alien.

Over the loud noise, he shouted as they burst out of the mountain
. “We’re going on a small trip. I turned on the invisibility shield after we left the mountain. Only a few people were able to see us.”

“
Good, I think.”  The loud noise had ceased and she could hear Kole clearly.

Her stomach calmed, her bones stopped vibrating and she opened her eyes and glanced toward a huge screen on the wall to watch the Earth fall far below.

“We’re already this high? That was fast.”

“
Yes, even though it’s obsolete on my planet, this little baby can move at the speed of light.”  He grinned. “After all these years of sitting and reenergizing it has the get up and go when needed.”  He shook his head in awe.

“
Where are you taking me?”  Her skin crawled at the realization that she was being abducted, again. “Will I be able to go home?”

“
Ari, come and take over for me.” 

The wolf sat at the console beside Kole and turned into a golden glowing being, then into a human like male figure in a tight black space suit that fit him like a second skin, right before her eyes
. The handsome man smiled at her and then began to turn dials and fly the starship.

Stunned, she sat there in disbelief as he took the controls
.
It’s happening. I’m not imagining it.

Kole squeezed her shoulder
. “Don’t be afraid. There’s nothing to worry about. I’ve set the instruments to take us to the first star system. At that point, I’ll send the package on to my people. Then we’ll go back to Earth. I’ll deliver you home, safe and sound.”

“
I have to call Sara and let her know we’re all right.”  Duh, her cell phone wouldn’t work in outer space. As the words fell from her lips she felt like an idiot and kept jabbering nonsense, trying to come to grips with the fact she was cruising in a starship with two aliens. She clutched the arms of the chair and waited for the next incredible thing to happen. When traveling in space with aliens, everything was an adventure. She glanced toward Ari and he actually smiled again. His grin radiated warmth and friendship in his big blue eyes. He looked similar to Kole, but different. He was cute.

“
That’s possible,” Kole said. “I can patch into a feed for you. There will be no record of your call at the phone company, but she’ll think you’re on Earth calling from your cell phone.”

“
Really, but first, why is Ari a wolf, then a golden boy, then a man? Who is Ari?”

“
Ari?”  Kole glanced at Ari. “He is my best friend and guardian. He chooses to be a wolf on other worlds.”

“
Oh.”  She considered the idea that Kole could turn into a golden boy or a wolf. Then she remembered the first time she saw Kole in her dreams. He was a golden boy.

“
Here, speak into this.”  Kole handed her a shiny silver disk that looked for all intents and purposes like a tube of lipstick.

“
Tell her we’re fine. I linked into her number.”

“
Of course, she’d never believe where we are if I told her.”  Not that she would say anything. Sara would think she was out of her ever loving mind.

Sara answered on the first ring
. “Elle, thank goodness, I’ve been so worried about you. Where are you?”

“
We’re fine,” Elle said, not quite sure how to talk into the compact as she watched the wolf-golden being-Ari, pilot the starship.
Everything is unreal
.

“
Elle, are you still in the caves?”  Concern tinged her voice. “You sound far away.”

If she only knew
. Elle almost laughed. “We’re out of the caves and I wanted to let you know we’re okay so you don’t need to call Dad.”

“
I was about ready to. I’ve been worried about you. What happened? Where are you? Did you find anything?”

Now what was she going to say
? She couldn’t lie to Sara and she couldn’t tell her she was wheeling through the Milky Way. “We’re around. I’ll come see you in a day or so and tell you everything. We’ve got a lot to do and right now I’m too exhausted to think straight.”

“
Well, okay, sure, I’ll catch up with you later.”  She sighed. “I can’t wait to hear all the details.”

“
See you soon,” Elle said and pressed the tube back together hoping that turned it off. She sat there holding the communication devise and stared off into space through the portal. This was simply amazing. The Earth looked like a huge blue, green and white marble hanging in the distance.

“
It’s beautiful isn’t it?”  Kole stood next to her gazing out the portal. “I have always liked to travel. Of course, I haven’t traveled this slowly in a very long time. There’s something to be said about stopping and smelling the roses as you Earthlings say. “In a way this is a leisurely trip for us. Usually at the snap of your fingers we can be in another galaxy.”

“
Please. Don’t snap your fingers.”  She remembered how her body had reacted when they had shot into space. “This is fast enough for me.”  All of a sudden, her stomach was queasy and her head swayed with blinding dizziness.

“
Elle, I’m sorry this happened so abruptly. I was hoping to have time to prepare you to hear the truth. I didn’t want to spring it on you like this.”

She slipped easily into his intense gaze
. She could stay there forever. Wait a minute. She was in a starship going God knew where and getting lost in his eyes. Had he cast some kind of spell over her? Was he a witch, too? She was a psychic who couldn’t keep her thoughts straight. What could she do? Her emotions whirled and skidded like pancake batter on a hot griddle. Her head began to pound and she became weak and disoriented.

“
I think you need to lie down for a while.”  He touched her shoulder giving her strength. He thought she might pass out. “Your system isn’t used to traveling this fast. Perhaps you need a break.”  He helped her out of the chair. “Come with me.”

Like a child with a weak will, she let him lead her down a long narrow corridor
. He stopped at a blank wall and raised his hand. A door opened to show a large white bedroom.

Everything was white
–the bed, the molded furniture, the walls, everything. She didn’t care. She was so tired she was about to fall asleep on her feet. She let him guide her to the molded bed.

“
Don’t worry. This is a normal reaction for an Earthling. You need to rest. Then you’ll be fine.”  He helped her lie on the bed and covered her with a white comforter.

As exciting as traveling in space was, she couldn’t stay awake any longer
. Everything fell away as she slipped into sleep.

Kole brushed the hair away from her face
. “Elle, you are safe with me.”  He knew she had to be terribly confused with everything that had transpired in the last few hours. Now he had to deal with this relic of a starship. He had sent out messages-an emergency signal of sorts-to his people. He hoped they received it before this ship fell apart.

* * *

“What happened? Where did they go?”  Benny asked and pushed back his alien mask. He glanced toward Lee and shoved some large rocks out of the tunnel path.
I’ve worked too hard for everything to end like this. What I’m taking out of here has been in my family for centuries, it’s always belonged to us.
“We’ve got to find them.”  He thought of the day his grandfather had made him an accomplice to murder. Grandpa had accidently killed a young couple that were exploring the caves with a rockslide when he was searching for the gold. Then he had forced Benny to get rid of the car by driving it to a quarry hundreds of miles away and pushing it in.

And after all that the cruelest thing happened
. He had made Benny join the army, telling him it was for his own good. That he would be miles away if the bodies were ever discovered.

Fittingly, one year later grandpa had to move off his land, part of the land that had been confiscated by the government for the High Mountain Array
. He would never forgive them for taking his land. His grandfather died exactly three months later and the bodies of the young couple were never found.

As long as the ranch remained in the family, his grandfather could’ve made it
. But once the government confiscated the land, the bottom fell out and his disabled grandfather was placed in a group home and died there. He shook his head and pulled himself back to the moment.

“
They disappeared. I swear to God.”  Lee’s eyes were round with fear. “They ran right through that rock.” He pulled his alien mask off and tucked it into his back pocket. “I couldn’t do nothing to stop them.”

“
Have you lost your mind? People can’t run through rock.”  Benny punched Lee in the arm with his fist and pulled back his arm to do it again. “That was the Sheriff’s daughter and you let her get away. I don’t like it. I don’t like it one little bit.”

“
Honest, Benny, I seen it with my own eyes. It was some kind of spaceship that shot out of the mountain and disappeared straight into the night sky.”  Not wanting to get hit again, he pouted and moved out of Benny’s reach. He squinted at him. “Then it vanished right before my eyes. Them was real aliens.”  Lee moved farther out of Benny’s reach. “How was I supposed to stop em—they was real aliens?”  He kicked the dirt with his boot staying as far away from Benny as he possibly could.

“
You dumb ass, we’re the only aliens out here.”  He shook his head. “Are you crazy? Have you lost your flippin mind?”

“
No, but real aliens took that girl or she’s dead when that there mountain came down on top of her.”

“
I hope you’re right.”  Benny sighed. “And you can shut up about seeing aliens. That’s old news in this town.”   He laughed. “We’re the only aliens here. There isn’t room for any more.”  He turned back the way he had come.
There’s
no such thing as aliens. And this gold belongs to me
and only me. That’s the least this sorry ass town owes me. There’s not enough for anybody else, alien or not. Let them get their own damn gold somewhere else.
He sighed. “Come on, you dumb ass, we have lots of work to do.”