After the cremation service, I was sent to the hospital to recover from shock syndrome. The doctors turned my empathy completely off. I felt nothing. I floated in a kind of netherworld haze. The doctors monitored my body signs and gave me potions until it looked like I had recovered enough to face the world again.
After that, I had a month to rest, to wander the hospital gardens and swim in the fountains and under the waterfalls.
Eventually, when it was determined that I was strong enough to resume my time traveler duties, I was prepared for my next mission: Roswell, New Mexico in the twenty-first century to procure blood and other human substances that would be used for splicing aggression into our DNA. It suddenly dawned on me that this wasn’t completely dissimilar to cannibalism or making potions out of albinos… or out of Waylon. Even with photosynthesis, we seem to have a need to perform some kind of cannibalism in order to insure our own prosperity. I put those thoughts out of my mind. I would get consent from the people from whom I took samples or I would steal samples from a hospital or medical facility. I would never hurt a living human being in order to protect the future of the human race. That made no sense.
The place in Roswell where I was to conduct this mission was the absolute best and safest place I could possibly be sent. It was a compound built by a cult who had named their organization The Astral Plane. The name referred to their belief that aliens from another planet would visit them and take them out through the astral plane to their home planet. The members of this cult revered these supposed aliens as gods sent to rescue them from Earth’s problems.
I and my new assigned partner, Zander, would be gods. That had to be a whole lot better than being viewed as demons.
PART 4
Jade Whitaker
Chapter 14
I started watching the news on my flight to Roswell, but turned it off and watched a daytime talk show instead. The news was covering a story about people who had lost their ability to concentrate and started having hallucinations after a bright light exploded over Roswell, New Mexico—exactly where I was headed. Several doctors commented on the situation, saying they thought this was the result of an alien virus. I did not need to hear that. It scared the living daylights out of me every time I thought I might catch a virus that would scramble my mind. I already felt scared to death that I had cancer. The talk show was all about people who had silly dance moves. Now, that I could handle.
When I finally got to Roswell, I took a taxi to my hotel. It was the cheapest hotel I could find that was close to the compound where my biological mother was doing research.
There were stencils of silly-looking aliens with green skin, huge heads and large black eyes on the windows of the reception building. Faded by the sun, they were seriously out of date. No one thought goofy alien images were funny anymore. People were afraid. Recent comic strips showed them with fangs, and horrible red rashes to illustrate the virus they had brought to Earth with them.
The guy at the check-in desk seemed to hate his job. He didn’t smile, just robotically went through everything he had to do for each customer. Name? Looking at his computer: Yes, we have your reservation. Here are your keys. Breakfast is served in the room across the hallway from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM every morning. I’m required to warn you to be careful about a virus that may be spreading in this area. If you feel exceptionally dizzy or experience hallucinations, we suggest you contact Public Health to report your symptoms and find a doctor. He pushed a pamphlet toward me. Here’s a list of local Urgent Care facilities. Anything else I can do for you?
Wow. How many times had he repeated that spiel? He seemed positively bored by it all. Hello. You might catch a virus here that will infect your mind and drive you crazy. But, hey, have a nice day. Most likely, he didn’t believe all the rumors about the alien virus. Not everyone did. Also, he seemed fine. When you feel healthy, you tend to think you’re invulnerable to stuff.
I took the key and found my room. It was OK. It had a bed and a chair and an air conditioner/heater unit. That’s pretty much all I needed. I hoped to God there weren’t any bedbugs. Those were definitely real and they could give you some pretty nasty bites.
I lay down on the bed just to take a short nap, but fell asleep for hours. I was woken up by the most intense pain I’d ever experienced in my right side. I felt petrified. I was in a strange town where I didn’t know anyone and didn’t have a regular doctor. I curled up into a fetal position and rocked back and forth, trying not to scream or moan too loudly. When the pain finally lessened enough to stand up, I went into the bathroom and took a shower, letting the warm water relax my muscles that had tensed up while I fought through the pain.
The next day, I took a taxi to The Astral Plane compound. I should have watched the local news first. There was police tape across the front yard and cop cars everywhere. The police refused to let me onto the property.
Two guys in orange astronaut-looking jumpsuits were hanging around outside the area marked off by the tape. They seemed to be deep in discussion. They kept gesturing emphatically with their hands. I walked over to them and said, “Hello. I’m looking for my mother, Dr. Cora Frost. I have a very important message for her. I’ve been trying to reach her, but haven’t had any luck. I flew all the way across the country to find her. It’s a family emergency.”
I hoped to God they’d never repeat exactly what I’d said to her. She’d think I was a lunatic, probably refuse to ever have anything to do with me.
The taller of the two guys said, “Yeah. Reception’s really bad out here. Plus I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if the police haven’t blocked our signals. They’re treating us like we’ve all committed murder.”
I was going to ask if someone had been murdered, but I decided against it. I really didn’t want to know. I was scared to death over this whole trip and I didn’t need anything else making me too frightened to go through with finding my biological mother. I was here. If I didn’t do this now, I’d probably never do it.
The shorter guy said, “I can take you to your mother if you want.”
I asked, “Is she inside?”
He said, “No. She’s not here. She’s just down the road a bit.”
I said, “Sure. Thanks.”
I followed him to an old beat-up black van with desert dust all over the lower half. I climbed in. Normally, I would never hop into a van with a stranger, but these weren’t normal times.
He drove to a barn out in the middle of the desert. I couldn’t see another building anywhere in sight. He pointed at it and said, “She’s in there. I gotta get back, but I’m sure she’ll take care of you.”
I hesitated a moment. What if she wasn’t in the barn? What if this was a trap? What if there wasn’t any cell phone reception out here? I’d be stranded. This was the desert. I’d die from dehydration.
Then I have no idea what came over me, but I said to myself that it was now or never and stop being such a coward. I opened the van door and climbed out. The driver turned off the engine, walked me over to the barn and opened a side door. I heard voices inside the building. The driver said, “Go on in. I have to get back.”