“We can only expect there are many more moving pieces, and way more involved in this than just those two.” Mary looked at Mae while she spoke, an apologetic air floating with her voice.
“I’ve got a chopper waiting for you guys. This isn’t a time for you all to be taking leisurely trains around the coast. Magnus and Natalia, I’m hoping you’ll come to the base, and the others can meet up with you there in a couple days if all goes well.” Dalhousie was asking as a courtesy, I was sure.
Magnus and Nat looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders at the same time.
We spent the next hour or so discussing how we could get more information about the hybrid network, and by the time we were about to go our own ways, my head was pounding and it was dark outside.
“Do you guys mind taking Carey with you?” I asked, knowing he would be much happier going with them than on a stressful trip in a helicopter to a POW camp. Carey barked when I said his name and sat beside my feet. Kneeling down, I petted him softly, telling him we’d see him soon.
“Of course not,” Natalia said, calling him over. He did so hesitantly, and Mary crossed the room, grabbing the dog’s leash and other essentials from her luggage. I wasn’t looking forward to being separated from the guy, and I doubted he was either. At least he’d be going with people he loved being around: pseudo-uncle and aunt.
Carey accepted our goodbye without too much preamble, and soon we were being whisked away to Long Island.
The military-grade helicopter lowered Mae, Mary, and me down to the school’s football field. The camp, or residence as we were told to call it, was located at the local university grounds. With the turmoil of the world, most post-secondary schools had been on hiatus, with some trade schools and other specialized ones still running to make sure the world could still spin every day and night. This particular university was one that got swiped off the list of funding, and they were going to merge with a few other New York schools in the next year.
It worked out well because it had everything the hybrids could need while they were under our protection… or watchful eyes. They housed in the on-campus residence, and they had classrooms for learning about Earth and our customs and traditions, even though most had a basic understanding already since they’d been trained for coming here, as Janine and Bob had been. Mae told me that while they’d been taught a lot about humans, there were many missing things, like our sense of humor and obsession with sports. I’d laughed but was still scared at the implications that the Kraski had possibly known as much about us as they did. What did that tell us? That someone was feeding them information. Mae was under the theory it was from all the crap Earth was shooting around the universe in the form of radio waves, and other things I didn’t quite understand. Maybe they learned what they did from watching the Cooking Channel.
Either way, the hybrids were here. We had them tucked away into a comfortable area, with food and activities… and a big fence around the perimeter. It was fully dark by the time we landed in the field, right smack dab on the fifty-yard line. The fence was lit up every fifty yards or so, and there were a few towers with spotlights roaming the grounds. There was a curfew, and armed guards in the towers. So far there hadn’t been any incidents of trouble, at least none that the public had been made aware of. I realized that meant nothing, so I’d ask Mae to check into it later.
“Looks like we get an escort,” Mary said, nodding toward the armed guards coming our way.
“They check everyone’s blood. They want to know if any hybrids come or go.” Mae had a distant look on her face.
“You okay?” Mary asked her.
She nodded slowly. “Yeah. I know this is better than most of us deserve, but it’s still a life behind bars. Considering the alternative, I’d say I’m great, though.” She turned her somber face into a forced smile and grabbed her bags.
The copter was loud, and Mary’s hair blew in my face as we set foot on the grass.
“Mr. Parker, Ms. Lafontaine, and Mae, right this way, please,” a fresh-faced guard said, waving his hand. He sounded friendly, but he still held a gun in the crook of his arm.
They followed us to a building near the field, which turned out to be the old locker room. Weight sets still lined the wall, and near the door stood a device that looked much like a free-standing doorway. It reminded me of a high-tech airport metal scanner, only this one whirred as we approached, and was lit with soft blue LEDs.
“Please walk through, Ms. Lafontaine,” Junior said.
“Call me Mary,” she replied, walking through. The blue lights turned yellow for a moment.
Mae went next and the lights turned green, which I guess was to be expected. I walked through last, and expected to be yellow, so we could just go drop our bags off and get some food and shut-eye. It had been an extremely long day, and a bite followed by a pillow was just what I needed. The light turned green.
The guards raised their guns at me. “Why are you undocumented? You don’t look like the rest of them.”
Baffled, I shrugged. “Look, I think your machine is broken.” Then it dawned on me, being shot by a hybrid that looked just like Mary’s dead husband on that vessel, then the transfusion from Mae that would help me heal. I had hybrid blood coursing through my body still.
Mae seemed to know this was a possibility but must have forgotten, because I was sure she would have warned me of it.
“You guys know who I am? Dean Parker. The man who was shot trying to stop the entire population from becoming charcoal on the surface of the sun.” I was tired, and wanted to contain my annoyance, but was having a hard time of it. I nodded toward Mae. “She was nice enough to help me out with some super-healing blood, and voila, a year later, I set off your little sensor. Can we just go on through and get some sleep before all hell breaks loose here tomorrow?” I was hoping there would be no breaking loose of hell the next day, but I pushed the theatrics a little far.
They conferred for a moment, but the gun that had been pointing at me a minute ago was down on the guard’s side. That was a good sign.
“Roberts here will lead you to your bunks. No offense was meant, Mr. Parker. We thank you for what you’ve done. All of you.” The fresh-faced guard tried to give us a weak smile, but it came out a pained look.
“Thank you. Have a good night,” Mary said, grabbing her luggage handle.
We made our way through the locker room building and out into the fresh night air once again. It was quiet there, with no sign of anyone other than guards walking in pairs down the dimly lit sidewalks. Large black lantern posts stood every twenty yards or so, casting ominous shadows among the well-manicured lawns and hedges. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach as we made our way through the university grounds. We had the hybrids in prison but tried to make sure it looked like they were living in a wonderful place. I could smell flowers as we neared a garden to the side of us and wondered if we had human staff tending to these things or if the hybrids took care of the chores themselves.
Mary must have been feeling something was off too, because as we walked, she put a hand on Mae’s shoulder for a shared moment that neither of them needed to speak for. As we walked by the next lamppost, I saw Mae’s eyes were wet. We were ushered into a beautiful brick building, archways over us as we walked into the large wooden doorway.
“We have you two in these rooms,” the guard said, pointing at two doors in the residence, across the hall from one another.
I almost laughed at them giving us separate rooms, but they wouldn’t know we were together. Neither of us said anything, but Mary did throw me a quick wink.