Charged - Book One Read online

“Actually, a law was put in place about two hundred years ago that companion production would cease forever.”

  “You’re two hundred years old!” Aaron blurted this out; I wasn’t sure if he was amazed or laughing.

  I knew she would be older, but I didn’t think she would be that old.

  “No, Danel broke the law when he made me. He went against Ben’s wishes and put an order in for me and because of his rank, I was produced. It’s complicated. Danel’s wife died before they were able to clone themselves, so his grief governed his actions. Ben could feel his grief; all of them could. To say the least, it was disruptive to the others. So Ben let me live and now Ben loves me as Danel does. You see, everyone here is my brother, my sister, my mother, my father… do you understand?”

  Her expression was almost pleading for us to accept her people. I nodded and so did Aaron.

  This explained the sorrow behind her brief smiles. She was the last of her kind and also she was created at a time in which she was the only one.

  Aaron and I were quiet for a while, trying to absorb everything she’d said. She leaned back in her chair, tilting her head to the left, crossing her arms. It was a protective position; she was almost curled up into a ball. She was staring at me — probably sizing me up, too. I found myself focusing on her full lips and thick, long eyelashes.

  “So why isn’t Ben in charge instead of Danel, if he’s the oldest?” Aaron said. This was a question I hadn’t thought of, but had my attention.

  “He’s what you would call ‘retired,’” she said, smiling again. She found us amusing and I think she was expecting harder questions.

  She got up and poured herself a cup of black coffee out of the new pot Aaron just made. Thank God, they had coffee down here. She didn’t drink it, though, but instead sat down with it smelling it occasionally, appearing to enjoy the aroma.

  “So they are just content to stay down here?”

  “Yes. The Earth was given to you first. They are happy to have a place in it at all,” she said. “It’s already 7 p.m. Do you need me to get you something else to eat?”

  I hadn’t realized the time passed so quickly.

  “What time did we get up?”

  “Around 1 p.m.”

  “That would be great. I know you must have other things to do.”

  “It’s been a long day for you, with the knee and all. You need to rest. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Do you want steaks or chicken?”

  “Steaks,” Aaron said.

  “Thank you… for everything,” I said to her, on her way out.

  “We’ll have plenty of time to talk tomorrow. Be right back.”

  My fears started to fade. Danel was still terrifying to look at, but I was somewhat reassured that they also had laws to abide by. And so far, only one was broken, when Danel demanded the production of Kye, like ordering a new car. Now I had a moment to talk to Aaron.

  “Did you catch the clone info?”

  “Yes. And I know what you’re going to say. But I don’t think cloning themselves in masses is their intent,” he whispered. He got up and turned the water on in the kitchenette sink and sat back down. We were probably still being recorded and I’d totally forgotten.

  “What makes you think that?” I whispered back.

  “If the light in here makes Danel cringe, it most likely affects the rest in the same way. I don’t think living topside is a possibility for them, even if they wanted to.”

  “What if they could reside in a place like Seattle, with little to almost no direct sunlight?” I said.

  “Based on the very low blue light settings they have now, I would say it would be very uncomfortable for them.”

  “But is it possible?”

  “It depends on a lot of factors. This is artificial light here,” he said, pointing up. “The UV rays of the sun could blind them entirely. They could’ve landed on the dark side of Earth when they got here, only to find out it rotated at a much faster rate than their planet and had to literally run from the sun. I don’t think you embed your ship hundreds of feet into the ground, in a place where it’s surrounded by thousand-foot-high canyon walls, if you’re not terrified of the sun.”

  I understood what he was saying, but I still thought it was possible and he saw this in my expression.

  “Lewis, we are talking about photons and spectrums here. The very dim blue light in this station has a very short wavelength and scatters easily. It’s probably why they’re somewhat translucent. And did you see how their suns moved in the hologram? None of them were ever in the same place until the planets had rotated each other fifteen times. I think our sun would cause them great damage over time. I also think that if they were ever topside communicating with us, that it was after sunset.”

  I’d gave some thought to what he’d said and after a few minutes Kye was knocking on the door. Aaron was up in lightning speed, making it look like he was getting a glass of water when she let herself in. She brought back steaks, baked potatoes and what looked like grilled asparagus with lemon sauce. Aaron was drooling.

  “You have a replicator back there?” Aaron said, shocked at the food.

  Kye smiled really big. “No, but Collin’s been making me steaks for a while now. I should have said earlier that everyone but me is a vegetarian. I’ll be by around nine to wake you.” She left quickly and the door remained unlocked, but I found it amusing it had inside bolts. They were probably useless really.

  Everything was on the table. There was butter, sour cream, steak sauce, even a few Cokes.

  “Wow, I’m liking her,” Aaron said, sitting down. “We’re eating now, right? I’m still starving.”

  “Definitely.”

  I sat down at the tiny table after flicking on the kitchen light to see better and proceeded to consume everything she’d brought.

  “I don’t think she’s your type, bro,” Aaron said, trying to lighten the situation a little, with a mouth half-full of steak.

  “I know she’s not your type, Aaron.” I played along; the day had been too serious for us both.

  “She’s half your age, dude.”

  “Actually, I’m pretty sure she’s twice my age.” He laughed at this comment and we continued to enjoy our dinner.

  Aaron and I spoke very little after dinner. I washed the plates in the sink with the dish soap I found. The suite was definitely made for humans. I was washing dishes. Surely they had some kind of beam that would just evaporate the remaining food and bacteria. I had to laugh at it.

  Afterwards, Aaron and I both seemed deep in thought, still unsure of our situation. Were we really safe down here with them? I wanted to believe they were vegetarians. I wanted to believe they had no weapons. But I couldn’t believe Danel and I felt a strange sadness for Kye.

  Around eleven o’clock, Aaron was still jotting down questions for Kye. I made sure Aaron had a loaded gun under his spare pillow and rolled into the other queen bed across from his and put my .357 where I always did.

  I had to admit things didn’t play out the way I expected them. The assumptions I’d made didn’t even slightly resemble what had actually occurred. I was more than glad to be wrong about most of it and I trusted the rest would be revealed in time. Currently, the circumstances were not volatile and there was a hint of compassion in Danel’s voice. Although there were more unanswered questions, I knew Kye wanted us here. An image of Kye lingered in my mind; the tight calves, the shiny dark brown hair, the slight smile and almond-shaped eyes. I drifted off with all of these things lingering in my mind.

  CHAPTER 25

  “GOOD MORNING! I have coffee and bagels and donuts! And we are meeting everyone today, so get up, you guys!”

  The sound of her voice made me smile and I awoke in the same suite we were in yesterday. It was still not a dream, but this time I didn’t feel the need to pull my gun on her. I searched for any discomfort in my knee; there was none. This was real. All of it was real. For the first time in a long time, I wasn’t dreading getting u
p. But Aaron was moving slower than molasses. I looked at Kye and she was riveting in a tight blue silk dress and matching heels. Her thick hair was set in large shiny curls and I gave her a dazzling smile and she smiled softly back at me.

  She set down the tray on the little kitchen table for two and on her arm was a black duffel bag. She tossed it on the kitchen counter with a renewed sense of energy. It was full of toothbrushes, toothpaste, shavers, soap, everything down to dental floss and nose-hair trimmers, which I laughed at, ‘cause they were clearly meant for me. She laughed, too.

  “Am I being too subtle?” she said, with a big smile.

  “No, you’re being very clear,” I said, smiling back.

  Everything was still so unreal. I looked at her for a long moment, taking in her translucent skin and gold glowing eyes. I wanted to reach out and touch her for a second, but I restrained myself. When I walked across the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee, everything sank in. My knee didn’t fail me, not once.

  Kye seemed to glow today. Yes, her skin did have glowing swirly things under it, but her face just beamed with excitement. She reached into the hall beyond our door and brought in more duffel bags of new clothes: jeans and button-up shirts, socks and underwear. She had thought of everything.

  After coffee and donuts, we showered, shaved and dressed and she inspected us. I felt significantly underdressed compared to her and her new modern outfit was distracting me. The dress, from the waist down, was slightly see-through in our lighting, which I’m sure was not noticeable at all in the dim blue light. When she noticed I was staring, I shifted my eyes down, slightly embarrassed.

  “I kind of need a haircut,” I said, brushing at the thick curls at the back of my head with my hand.

  “No, you’re fine,” she responded.

  “Are there things, subjects we shouldn’t approach?” Aaron asked. His excitement emulated hers.

  I shook my head at my tall, lanky friend and hoped he wouldn’t ask any questions today that were accusatory or embarrassing.

  “Just be yourselves. They haven’t interacted with humans in years. They adore humans, in a simple way.”

  Now I was a little nervous and a little disheartened.

  “So they think we’re pets?”

  “No, it’s not like that,” she said, shaking her head.

  “Then what’s it like?” Aaron said directly.

  “Well, humans are beautiful and frail to them… like children and there haven’t been a lot of children here, if you know what I mean.”

  I wanted to trust Kye and I knew this would be different, but I wanted to stay and so did Aaron, so we would appease those we met for now.

  I put the shoulder holster on and Kye looked disappointed.

  “You won’t need that,” she said, staring at the loaded gun I placed in it. The excitement left her face and her smile straightened into a stiff line. It was like she was scolding me.

  I couldn’t remember the last time I didn’t have my gun on me. I just couldn’t bring myself to take it off. I pulled a light jacket on over it to conceal it. I would’ve been out of my mind to go meet a tribe of aliens on day three without a weapon. After a few seconds, Aaron gave me the same look and I was starting to think I was the only sane person in the room.

  Kye led us down several long corridors to what looked like a café.

  “Okay, we’re at the main hall. This is where we eat. They are expecting you, so be kind.” That was all she said as she led us into the center of the room. I thought it was odd that she was telling us to be kind; they were nine feet tall or taller and I was thinking she should be more worried about us.

  All at once, the creatures in the room rose to look at us. I counted fifteen of them and my heart drummed faster. Most were wearing white lab coats, though some were wearing casual human clothes. There were two wearing grey robes that hung to the floor and the fabric seemed worn and old. The dim blue lights had been turned way up for us and I could easily see all the way to the back of the room. I walked in farther and Aaron followed. It was intimidating and I could feel the tension in the air.

  Some were taller than others, some were heavier, but all of them were over eight feet tall. I felt trivial and my hands started trembling. I was completely in awe at the size of them. Then the tallest of the group walked forward and held out its giant spider-like hand. Immediately, I felt a slight hitch in my breathing and my heart was pounding double-time. I had to look way up at it. For a second, I thought I was experiencing vertigo. The room swayed slightly as I peered at the colossal creature towering over me.

  “I’m Ben. Nice to meet you,” it said.

  Ben was taller and stockier than Danel. I put my hand in his, but he didn’t shake it. He closed all seven of his large fingers around it, dwarfing it considerably and turning what I thought was a large manly hand into an infant’s, then he closed his eyes.

  I didn’t mean to, but I was staring at his thumbs; he had two of them, one on each side of his palm and five fingers between them. I’m sure he could sense I was nervous and if he didn’t, my sweaty palms definitely gave it away.

  His eyes emitted a soft greenish-blue light with a hint of yellow around the edges; I couldn’t name the color exactly. I don’t think it existed on Earth. I waited for a moment. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and I was really hoping he was smiling as he parted back his lipless mouth into a straight horizontal line. And then he let go of my hand. I mustered up some courage and smiled back. I didn’t know if he could see who I was by a simple handshake, but I remembered he could feel the others. I wished we had more time to ask Kye additional questions before this meeting. A few seconds passed then he waved the others forward.

  “This one is good,” he said to the rest and then held out his hand to Aaron, who put his hand in his. Then Aaron put his other hand on top of the creature’s hand. The creature looked up and smiled again.

  “This one is a part of us.” There was a slight whispering among the group and then they started to walk towards us. I kept smiling and so did Aaron. I was really nervous now. I couldn’t tell if they were smiling or going to eat us. But I decided for Kye and Aaron I would give all in the room the benefit of the doubt, except for Danel.

  I reached out my hand for any of them to grab and it was taken, again and again. At first it was just the smaller women who had touched my hand, but they still miniaturized it, wrapping all their disjointed fingers around it. It bothered me but I looked into their eyes with an honest soul. They seemed more than intrigued by us, almost excited. And Ben and Kye stood on the side, watching all of this.

  One female had walked up to Aaron, asking if she could touch his hair. The only way I knew she was a female was by the sound of her voice. The males had very low voices, but the females were almost breathy and soft-spoken.

  “Of course,” he said.

  She put her spider-like hand toward the beginning of his hairline at his forehead and moved it back through his hair and told him he was beautiful. He didn’t flinch once. God, this kid was brave. And I thought the “beautiful” comment was funny because Aaron was too thin for his height, but he had a strong face. He graciously thanked her.

  Several others did the same to him, but none of them did this to me. I guess I was too old to look like a child to them. However, I was greatly pleased at our reception. It was going much better than I’d anticipated. None of them seemed to be drooling for human flesh and even some of the females were hesitant to touch Aaron’s brightly-colored hair. I smiled at Kye and she smiled back and Ben took notice of the slight exchange between us. My gaze probably did wander towards Kye’s silk dress one too many times.

  It was as if the only person who didn’t want us here was Danel. Of course, he was not present. One female who got very close to me asked if Aaron was my child and I smiled really big and said, “I wish he were, he’s very smart, but we’re just friends.” Kye overheard this and I felt a little embarrassed. Although, Aaron did look really young, he could’ve pass
ed for a teenager.

  There was a formal introduction of everyone after the initial greeting.

  The others moved away from us and Kye introduced us.

  “Lewis, Aaron, from left to right, this is Jessica, Alma, Ursa, Collin, Kayet, Lyra, Pavo, Loft, Aric, Lee, Cymry, Aeyan, Isaac, Boyd and Ben. I’m sorry that everyone couldn’t be present.”

  “It’s a pleasure to be here,” Aaron said. He was mesmerized by them, as was I. Collin and Aeyan were not as gelatinous as Danel. They seemed more defined, slimmer and I could see the muscles under the fabrics they were wearing. They must have been younger. I wondered how strong they were.

  We sat down for lunch with them. Kye sat next to me, Ben across from me and for the most part, things were quite pleasant. They ate their glowing vegetables and we had pasta and salads. We didn’t comment on their food but what they were eating didn’t seem appealing to me. Aaron and I were the only ones with silverware. Watching them pull apart their vegetables was unnerving, as they slowly mashed them down with glistening, metallic-looking teeth. Lyra made a small comment that human food was very pungent in odor to them. Ben glanced at her for a second and she made no other comments for the rest of the meal.

  We had more questions for them than they did us. Aaron wanted to know how much they could lift, if they were carbon-based entities and what they thought of humans. I tried to ask nothing at all and found myself smiling, even laughing under my breath at some of Aaron’s questions. But clearly he couldn’t help himself. I swear I almost understood one of Ben’s expressions when Aaron kept asking question after question. And the expression was, “oh boy, this one’s young.” I had to smile at that, too.

  Kye was almost laughing out loud when Aaron asked if they could breathe water or any type of fluids, but he didn’t seem to notice. All in all, everything was all right. Ben and Alma had a great sense of humor and Jessica seemed to be the youngest and just as excitable as Aaron. And I tried to mentally catalog their expressions in the hopes to read them better.

  Not everyone was present, but after a while, it was clear that almost everyone at the table were the children of Ben and Alma, except for Cymry and Kye. I asked why others didn’t move from other ships to occupy this one. It seemed too big for just twenty of them, but that was never answered except for a vague response from Ben.