Zane could see the girl better now. Her sallow features and gaunt appearance left no doubt that most or all she’d told them was true.
Rebecca took another long swig from the canteen, her throat rippling as though she hadn’t had water in weeks. After finishing, she wiped her mouth with a sleeve and said, “I believe they came to get me two nights ago. It’s the third time for me.”
Zane saw Katiya and Max exchange a knowing glance.
“Where do you live?” Amanda asked.
Rebecca turned and looked at her for a moment, as though the answer were hard to remember. “Prescott… Prescott, Arizona.”
Katiya nodded as though she had somehow expected the answer. At least, it didn’t surprise her.
Rebecca took another swig from the canteen then said, “They first came late last year. I’d been having trouble sleeping… which isn’t like me. Normally I sleep like a rock. My roommate often stays up late working, and I never hear her. Ever.”
Katiya’s brow knit together. “So your roommate was or was not in the house on the night you were taken?”
“No, she wasn’t. They seem to know when I’m going to be alone.” Rebecca stared at the ground for a moment, lost in her thoughts. “Anyway, I tossed and turned that night, and finally — I think it was well after midnight — I began to drift off. Only it wasn’t the way I normally go to sleep.”
“How so?” Katiya asked with a frown.
“It was strange, almost like I’d been drugged.”
Katiya looked at Max and mouthed something that looked like telepathy.
“So you went to sleep?” Brett asked.
“Not completely. Right as I was about to, I knew that someone or something was in the room. And then, when I opened my eyes, I saw him… or it… just standing there, watching me with those eyes.” She visibly trembled, so Katiya reached over and rubbed her leg again. The small gesture seemed to comfort her. “I know you’re going to think I’m crazy, but this person, this creature… it looked almost like the ones in the movies. It had a bulbous head”—she held her hands about a foot apart—“and these large, black eyes like bottomless pits.”
“What did their bodies look like?” Katiya asked.
“Thin, but you get the impression they’re not weak.”
“And did they pull you out by force?”
Rebecca shook her head. “No. I couldn’t move, so they didn’t have to force me to do anything. I tried to scream, but I couldn’t even open my mouth.”
“Highly advanced telepathic powers,” Katiya whispered.
“So how did they get you out?” Amanda asked.
“I just floated. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true. They had the window open, and about the time I passed through it, I just blacked out.” Rebecca’s eyes moistened at the memory.
“I know this is difficult, but do you remember anything after that?” Katiya asked.
“A little, but not much. There were times I came to, and when I did, I would soon feel a pinch on my arm, and then I’d pass out again.”
Katiya nodded. “It sounds like they were administering something to keep you under.”
Rebecca pulled her knees up against her chest and stared out into the jungle. As she rested, Zane wondered how much of what she’d said was true. She seemed like an honest girl, and he doubted she’d purposefully lie, but it was also obvious she’d been heavily sedated. No telling how many drugs were coursing through her veins.
But why else would she be out in the middle of the jungle? The only thing that seemed remotely possible was the sex trade. Maybe she’d been kidnapped at one of the local resorts.
After a long minute of silence, Katiya asked, “So, did you report this first incident to the authorities?”
Rebecca shook her head. “The first two times I thought it was a dream, a really bad nightmare. The three people I shared it with told me I should see a psychologist.”
“How did you ever find out it was real?” Max asked.
“A couple of things happened.” After taking another sip of water, she said, “After the second abduction, I ran into a neighbor the next day as I got into my car. She asked what was going on the night before, and I asked her what she was talking about. Apparently her dogs had run over to the fence separating our backyards and wouldn’t stop barking. She eventually had to go out and pull them back in.”
“Did she see anything?” Zane asked.
“Nothing. Not a light. Not anything. She has some pretty thick bushes on her side, and I have a row of trees on mine, so that didn’t surprise me. But that’s when I started thinking that my dreams might not be dreams after all. I mean, her dogs weren’t even the type to bark. And yet, that night they couldn’t stop.”
Zane ran his fingers though his hair. “You said there were a couple of things. What was the other one?”
“Yes.” She trembled briefly but gathered herself. “It was when I got home. I went upstairs to change into something more comfortable, and that’s when I saw that my window was shut on my curtain.”
Max frowned in confusion. “Why is that so surprising?”
“Because I have allergies and I never open my windows. I’m also big time OCD, so if I ever did, I certainly wouldn’t shut it on the curtain.” She gave a little chuckle, the first Zane had heard from her.
“So what happened this time?” he asked.
“I was abducted again, and once again they injected me with something. After some period of time, I just woke up.”
“Which is what usually happens, right?” Brett asked. “Then they inject you again.”
“Normally, yes. But that’s the odd thing… this time they didn’t. As I lay there, I realized that I was slowly waking up and no one was with me.”
Zane sat up straight, his brow furrowed. “Where were you?”
“At the time, I didn’t know. All I knew was that I was alone in a room that looked like something out of a science fiction movie. I remember these strange-looking glass panels… and I also remember some instruments on a table a few feet away. They were like nothing I’d ever seen before.
“Anyway, at some point I realized that I could move my limbs. I was still woozy, but I could move. So I got up and made my way out into the corridor. It was dark, with lots of little red lights in the floor. I heard a soft hum, so I figured I was on some kind of ship.”
“Then what?” Zane asked.
“I ran down the hall, and before long I entered this room with a high ceiling. That’s when I saw a door leading to the outside.”
“So you ran out into the jungle?” Katiya asked.
“Before I ran out, I heard voices.”
Zane frowned. “Human voices?”
Rebecca shook her head. “Not like any I’ve ever heard. It was the strangest thing. The language used a lot of clicks and strange sounds that I’ve never heard before. Even now it gives me the chills.”
“I’m surprised you were able to move around so easily,” Brett said.
“I felt the same way,” Rebecca replied. “It’s almost like God was protecting me or something. Those… things… they seemed to be upset about something.”
“If you couldn’t understand them, how did you know they were upset?” Zane asked.
“Call it gut instinct, sixth sense, whatever. They seemed to be angry, talking over the top of each other. I’d heard snippets before when I came to, and this was different. Very different.”
“What then?” Katiya asked.
Rebecca wiped her nose. “This voice inside of me said to run. I’d like to think it was God. So I ran outside and found myself on a ramp. When I got to the bottom, I didn’t know what to do.”
“Where were you?” Katiya asked.
Rebecca nodded toward the valley floor. “I was in a large clearing. It looked like some sort of airstrip. Once my eyes adjusted, I also saw that I was somewhere in the jungle. At that point, I just froze. Then I heard that inner voice again, telling me to turn left and run. So I ran.”