Alien Busters: Alien Hunting (Alien Busters Series Book 1) Read online

  “I don’t think we can.” I whispered back. “Nat, we don’t have a choice,” he said as he searched my face. His face was covered with ashes from the mission.

  If we got into an interrogation, four evaluators will ask us some questions about the mission. They’ll have our data and our reports from all our missions and they’ll read our reports to search for any past charges. My team’s report cards were clean for years as far as I know. We didn’t mess up before and we didn’t break the rules, until now. The evaluators should decide if we are guilty or innocent. Innocent means we’ll be safe from further investigations. The institute’s investigations are the worse, because they’ll search every team member’s house for faults. All this wasn’t necessary, only in one case. If my boss demanded it. Gale.

  “They’re going to find out,” I warned.

  “Whatever they ask you, just change the subject” Andie said, “Try to distract them.”

  “Do you really think they’re stupid?” I said, “That will make them more suspicious.”

  “I don’t care, just do what I tell you” Andie said, urgently. “Andie” I said. I heard Kraig call for us, and realized that they stopped in front of Gale’s office door, waiting for us.

  Andie gave me a warning look.

  “I’ll try,” I whispered, “But I won’t promise you that it’ll work.” We walked to where Kraig and Isabel stood, and I heard a male voice inside Gale’s office. The voice sounded familiar and my heart skipped. It was President Dean Clarke’s loud voice, and he seemed to be scolding Gale for some reason. Then I realized that it was probably about us that he was mad about. It was our fault that Gale was scolded for our mistakes. But why would the president leave his office for ordinary people’s deaths like Frank and Pam’s. There was something else going on that we didn’t know about. On the other hand, it was good that we don’t know what’s going on. I didn’t think we were ready to know what was going on, and it wasn’t important. What was important was the interrogation and what Gale was planning to do to us.

  I heard Dean’s voice as he said, “You need to fix this mess, and I don’t care how you’re going to fix it.” Then it was Gale’s turn to reply with a shaky voice, “Mister Clarke, this matter will be cleared right away.” “It better be,” Dean said, threateningly. Then they were silent for a few moments and the office door burst open. Dean was in the doorway, staring at us in a shameful way with his neatly combed light brown hair and dark suit. “Alien busters,” he said as he gulped, like he didn’t know what to say to us. He straightened his back and raised his chin, “It’s good to know that people like you, are protecting my city from the invaders,” he complemented, “I appreciate you taking the risks to save us and I know that the citizens of Adkad are feeling the same.” None of us said anything to Dean, and I saw the puzzlement on everyone’s faces. Dean pulled the edge of his suit jacket and nodded to us, “Good day,“ and left.

  “That was the president,” Isabel said a matter of factly, her eyes wide with astonishment.

  “Yeah, and this doesn’t bode well,” Kraig uttered. Gale came to the doorway and looked at us with suppressed rage. He didn’t hold any eye contact with any of us for several seconds, like he was shameful of something. “Well, come on. Get inside my office,” Gale said, and ruffled his hair out of tension.

  We exchanged glances and with hesitation, we entered Gale’s office and sat on the chairs. Gale sat behind his office desk and clutched his hands on the table, looking at us. He raised both his eyebrows, signaling for us to start confessing about the mission. Each one of us looked at the other to start talking, but no one did.

  Gale shook his head, “Can any one of you confess?” he scolded.

  Isabel covered her face with her hands and started weeping loudly beside me. “It was Pam’s idea to climb that alien tree,” Andie started in a calm voice. “We tried to stop her, trust me. But she didn’t listen.” Andie’s face was filled with guilt.

  Did he regret for not trying to save Pam? But he can’t feel guilt, because it wasn’t his fault. He reacted to the situation in order for him to save the rest of us. Not us. Me. I couldn’t let him say more than that. When Andie was about to say something else, I interrupted him, “Actually…it was my fault Gale.” My eyes watered, and Gale’s face became blurry. But I knew that he twisted his face with fury. I don’t know why I was about to cry. For the fact that I didn’t do anything to save Frank and Pam, or because Star might get in trouble because of the possible investigations. Mom, dad, where are you when I need you? Where are you when I need your help? When I need your calm voices telling me that everything will be alright. I pressed my nails into my palms, balling my hands into fists over my lap, and I sensed everyone staring at me with shock.

  “What are you talking about? You didn’t do anything,” Andie contradicted.

  Gale leaned closer in interest, “Can you explain?”

  I gulped, “I was supposed to call you when we first found out that we were chased by the aliens.” Isabel lifted her head the moment she stopped crying and whispered, “Nathalie, it wasn’t your fault.” I licked my lips to taste the salty tears, “You warned me, Gale. Remember?” I sniffed, “You said I wasn’t focusing on my job.”

  His eyes met mine, “I did warn you,” he replied, “But, I won’t just blame you. I mean, you all were there, weren’t you?”

  “Yes,” said Kraig, “But after what Pam did, things got worse. The flying aliens woke up and later killed Frank too. We couldn’t do much about it. If we stopped, we would have been attacked by those aliens.”

  Gale turned his eyes on his desk that was filled with screens. He scrolled the screen and read quietly to himself and he said, “It says here, that the trees had wild flying aliens and they chased you down?”

  How did he know about the aliens who hid inside trees? Had our Scahets been recorded? We all nodded. “That’s not an issue. Things happen in the field,” he said and nodded sadly, “But what the issue is that I get one of my teams on the field and none of them contact me about the situation,” this time he said it loud.

  “We tried to call you Gale, after we hid in a cave, but you didn’t answer,” Kraig confessed and turned to me, “Nat, tell him.”

  “I did call you. Many times, but you weren’t online,” I uttered. I wanted to scream at him and tell him that it was partly his fault too. On the other hand, I couldn’t do it, because we should have called him sooner. Maybe things wouldn’t have been so messed up. But out of fear, we did what was logical, we ran for our lives and to find a safe place to hide.

  Andie squinted his eyes with suspicion and asked, “Why didn’t you answer our call?” That question made Gale lean back to his chair as he glared at Andie and Andie stared back. They shared an intense stare for several seconds before Gale said, “You know how busy I am.”

  “I don’t believe that,” Andie muttered. Andie don’t do it, I prayed to myself. Gale finally broke eye contact and looked at the rest of us, who were as shocked as Gale was. Andie was gritting his teeth and was about to say something else, but Kraig broke the tension when he said:

  “I’m sure Gale was busy. Why would he lie about it, right?” and eyed Andie to shut up.

  Andie didn’t say anything and that made Gale’s tensed shoulders, drop. “Now, about the interrogations,” Gale started. “You are having one tomorrow morning. The evaluators will evaluate your answers as well as the evidences and that will determine your punishments if they were required and proved you guilty. If you’re innocent, no further investigations will be made.”

  Great, that means I can make it through the interrogation. I can distract them when they ask me questions, just like what Andie told me to do. We didn’t say anything to that and I felt the silence drop on us like a giant bolder. Maybe it was fear, doubt, remorse or sorrow. Whatever any one of us felt, it didn’t matter now. Now we had to focus on getting through this.

  “What happens when we were found guilty and had to be investigated?” Isa
bel finally asked. “The investigators will turn your house upside down and you’ll be monitored while on duty. You’ll be recorded in the field and then asked questions when they find something odd about your actions or recordings.” I didn’t want to hear what happens after they found something odd, like an alien. And I didn’t want to imagine the punishments for it. My heart leaped and I tried to steady my breathing for Gale not to suspect my fear of investigation.

  “I rather not see one of you break the rules, because the punishments are severe and could lead to banishment,” Gale warned. “You’re dismissed.”

  We got on our feet and headed to the exit and before I got out of the doorway Gale called me, “And Nathalie?” I turned to look at him as he looked at me with disregard. “Like I said. I’m watching you,” he warned. He returned to his office and shut the door behind him.

  Chapter Seven

  “One cannot keep or interact with an alien for the reason that aliens are unintelligent, raw and savage creatures. If one of the Adkad citizens saw an alien down the city, they should

  call Alien Busters for help.”

  ~Alien Busters Manual, section seven, page 60 I got back home to see Star sitting by the door. “Hey” I said and kneeled down, patting his head. “Are you hungry?”

  He droned and gapped his mouth biting my hand. I winced from the pain, “Ow!” I snapped, “Why did you do that?” I yelped, as I pulled my hand from his mouth. I glanced at my shaky bleeding hand to see bite marks on the back of my hand; it almost looked like a shark bite. “I can’t believe you.” I scolded.

  That made Star lower his head to the floor and cover his eyes with his hands, looking guilty. Fear

  overwhelmed me, when I remembered that Star was an alien, not a pet. What if all aliens were the same? That they were all hazards to humans and if I wasn’t mistaken, all aliens we dealt with in my missions were dangerous. Aliens kill humans, that’s what everyone kept saying. That’s what Adkad’s citizens believed in and passed on for generations. That aliens can’t be our friends, they never will. They’re enemies, and always will be. I shook my head to banish those thoughts and walked to the kitchen drawers looking for antiseptic and bandage. I sprayed the antiseptic and rolled the bandage over my hand securing it with tape.

  “You know? You have to be careful whose hands you’re biting,” I warned Star, calmly. “You can’t display as an enemy, Star. It’s dangerous out there. If anyone found out that you’re aggressive, someone will report you and you’re history.”

  Star ran to my legs and cried like he was sorry for what he has done.

  I snickered, “Okay. I forgive you.” Star jumped up and ran behind the kitchen counter, peeping his head from the bottom of the counter. After a few seconds, he jumped out and ran to my legs again, pacing and circling to get my attention.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, sweetly. Star did the same thing all over again. He hid behind the counter then peeped his head, but this time I ran after him to the living room. We ran around the coffee table and around the sofa. I forgot to change from my mission suit, so it was hard to run with heavy gear on.

  “You can run,” I said laughingly under my breath, “But you definitely can’t hide.”

  Star squished himself under the sofa. I stopped, leaned over with my hands on my thighs to catch my breath. “Come out wherever you are,” I said, and looked under the sofa to find Star covering his eyes with his hands. “Got ya.” I said.

  Star got out from under the sofa and jumped at my chest, which made me stumble back and fall flat on the floor. Star was on top of me, licking my face with his rough wet tongue as I laughed. He jumped out and landed on the floor, as I lifted myself to sitting position. With my cheeks wet I say, “I think you’re the one who got me,” and raised my eyebrows. I leaned my back on the coffee table and patted his head, “I’m so lucky to have you.” I murmured.

  But of course, Star didn’t understand what I meant, so I just stared at him rubbing his head on my leg, thinking about the interrogations and the possible investigations. And all I thought was, I have to survive this. I have to do this for Star.

  I took a shower and changed from my mission suit to casual nightwear, boxers and a large dark T-shirt. I combed my tangled short black hair, while I looked in the mirror. I had the usual frown and my eyebrows were tensed like I was about to fight aliens. My skin was nearly brown because of the repetitive exposure to harsh sunlight during fieldwork.

  I took a deep breath and muttered to myself, “You're always up to something. Aren't you?” but I didn't answer my own question. I walked out of my bedroom and sat on the sofa, while Star titled his head and his eyes focused on me. “Don't even try. I just fed you,” I said. I waved my hand to activate the video again. Just like every day. I watched the video until the end when my dad's face was frozen with shock. Like he didn't intend for someone to find out about their experiments. So I stopped the scene, to look closely. “What happened there, dad?” I murmured. But surely no one will answer me, and I was the only one who knew about this. I might have to dig further for more proof. I didn't know what kind of proof I wanted, but I sensed that the Institute is involved somehow in my parents’ deaths. Maybe someone found out what they did and planned to kill them. No, I told myself, I won't go crazy about this. My parents weren't killed by people, but by aliens. At least that's what I convinced myself to think. That's what I always taught myself to think when I got paranoid. No Nathalie, paranoid meant suspicion in your society.

  “You have guests,” R said in monotone. I checked the screen from my Inhab to see Andie and Kraig waiting outside. I cursed to myself, grabbed Star abruptly and put him in the garage. “Stay” I instructed, “And be quiet. We can't let Kraig know about you.”

  Star lowered his ears in disappointment. I sighed, “please,” and locked the garage door with a pin code. I dashed to open the door and when the door slid open, Kraig and Andie entered. My heart was racing and I tried to look as comfortable as possible. “Well, look who came for a visit,” I said, “what brought you here?” I looked at Andie for an answer, but he averted his eyes looking guilty.

  “I suggested to Andie that we stay the night with you, since you looked stressed about tomorrow's

  interrogation,” Kraig said delighted. “But someone insisted on leaving you alone.” This time Kraig glared at Andie.

  Andie was tapping the front of his shoe on the floor out of nervousness. “What?” Andie said, “Look, I said that because Nat can take care of herself,” and gave me a help me here look.

  “He's...right.” I defended, “I need to be alone.” Kraig shook his head disapproving, “Mh, mh. Not this time. I won't let you get swallowed in a black hole of fear and who knows what you feel right now?” Kraig insisted, “We could stay, only if you allowed us to”

  “Actually, you’re right. I do feel bad,” I confessed, “I feel like I can’t stand this job anymore. Can you two stay?”

  “Alright,” Kraig answered.

  We walked to the sofa and sat beside Kraig.

  Kraig clapped his hands softly and rubbed them together, “So, what's up?”

  Andie rubbed his forehead on distress.

  “I was watching one of my parents’ videos documenting their experiments,” I said. He nodded in understanding. The scene was paused to when my dad was wide eyed looking in the other direction.

  Then I thought why not tell them about my crazy suspicions. Since they're my best friends and already thought I was mad. As long as Kraig didn't know about Star, everything was about the same. “Since you two are here” I started, “You need to watch this video” and I waved it to start over again.

  Andie and Kraig watched the video until the end, when my dad was looking at the unknown person. I waved my hand to stop the video and asked, “So, do you see anything unusual?” Kraig turned to look at me, “I see they were studying and experimenting with aliens and I think that was part of their job,” and casually shrugged.

  “No” I said
, “If you look closely, you can see my dad is looking at someone who was talking to him.” My heart ached when I saw both of them looking at me like I was losing my mind, like I was being paranoid.

  Andie’s face softened with sympathy, “Maybe the person was working with them?” he suggested. I couldn’t believe that Andie was on Kraig’s side. He was supposed to have my back, to support me when I needed a friend. But I kind of understood that it was too much for them and I couldn’t blame them for not believing me. I mean the whole city thought my parents were nuts. Why would they think the opposite about me?

  “Come on you guys. Can’t you see the fear in his eyes?” I questioned. “Look at his face, he seemed shocked to see whoever was there, or someone who wasn’t supposed to be there.”

  Kraig and Andie exchanged a worried look. “Forget it” I said, and looked the other way in frustration.

  “Hey,” Andie called calmly, and I looked at his dark eyes. “I believe you, okay?”

  I nodded. Kraig looked from Andie to me, like he has changed his mind about me “I believe you too, even when you talk crap,” Kraig tried to lighten the mood. “You make me worry, but umm… we’re there for you. No matter what.”

  And there it was, the perfect time to tell him what was really going on. But I couldn’t do it, even though I felt guilty for not telling him the truth. That he was there for me no matter what, even when he finds out about Star. Is he really going to be there for me when I tell him that I’ve lied to him? That I’ve kept a big secret in my house?

  Andie placed his soft warm hand over mine and said, “Any day, anytime,” and smiled. “Every day and every hour,” Kraig continued. “Every second and every minute,” I completed.

  “Every heartbeat, and every breath,” Andie said as his eyes met mine.

  “We help one another,” Kraig replied as he grinned. “Forever and ever,” I said. We declared this as our motto back in Soplea, where we went to learn every day, every time any one of us got in trouble. We would always stick together, and help one another. That was what best friends were for. “That means you two are in this mess with me.” I warned.