“From around the world sightings of mother ships not seen in two decades are being reported. From New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., London, Paris, Rome, the list is endless…”
“La Guardia, Kennedy… all reporting sudden grounding of all flights…”
“The President and Vice President are now en route to private bunkers at undisclosed locations…”
“The Department of Defense is reporting dark approach…”
“At this hour, ships are simply hovering all over the world…”
“At last count, over two hundred sightings reported…”
“The world appears to be on hold as we wait…”
“Stay tuned to this station for further updates as they become available…”
Julie ran towards the Suburban with Will close by her side. They jumped inside, locked the doors and fastened their seatbelts.
“Will, grab my cell phone and call your Dad at the station. Tell him, we’re on our way home.”
Will pressed the talk button.
“Nothing. They must be jammed.”
“Dammit,” she said, flipping on the radio.
“All members of the listening area. If you are on the road, please get home now as soon as possible. All major roads, highways and interstates are being shut down effective immediately. I repeat…”
“We’ve got to get home Will. We’ve got to get home…” Julie sped down the street and hit a bump. The vehicle swerved toward a tree but Julie missed hitting it.
She hit a traffic jam as she neared the bridge. The traffic was bumper to bumper and she watched and waited.
“Let me have that phone. I’ve gotta call Mike. Let him know we’re okay.”
She grabbed the phone and punched the talk button. Nothing happened.
“See. I told you,” Will said.
Julie grabbed the steering wheel with both hands and leaned her head against it. Tears were streaming down her face as Will placed his hand on her back.
Not again, she thought. This can’t be happening again.
“Mom. Everything’s gonna be okay.”
Looking up he saw a large lightning flash come from the mother ship hovering over the city. He wasn’t convinced that he had seen anything until he saw the bridge in front of them begin to break away and collapse.
Julie looked up ever so slowly and took in a deep breath. Her eyes widened as she watched in horror the bridge falling into the water below, the bumper to bumper traffic falling into the void of her vantage point.
“Will, grab your stuff. We’re not going to be able to get home. We’re gonna have to leave on foot.”
They scrambled for the essentials and Julie grabbed her flare gun and the cell phone.
She could hear the screaming as they left the vehicle behind in the traffic of blaring horns.
Mike looked into the camera.
“Ladies and gentlemen what you’re seeing is an attack by what we believe to be the return of the Visitors.”
He gulped, trying to maintain composure. “Dan Jamison is on the scene. Dan, can you tell us what’s going on there?”
“Mike…Mike…it’s mass chaos here right now. We were on our way back to the studio when we got stuck in this traffic jam. My God. Look at the size of those things. They appear to be much larger than before…”
People were running in the background. Screaming overpowered Dan’s words.
“People are fleeing their vehicles and running for their lives…”
The studio lost signal with Dan as the crowd overtook the scene.
The director held up a handwritten sign.
“We now return you to network coverage of these events.”
“We assume the ‘first wave’ of attacks is focused on major thoroughfares of transportation. San Francisco is reporting a massive attack on the Bay Bridge. New York is reporting a similar attack on the Manhattan Bridge…”
Mike watched in horror as live shots from around America filled the screen.
“It appears these attacks are, for the time, focused on the United States. At this hour, reports from other countries detail peaceful hovering of their mother ships.”
“Danielle, have you been able to reach my wife?” He asked, eyes not moving from the screen.
“Sorry, Mike. All the lines are jammed.”
He knew Julie must be as terrified as he was. He hoped Will had made it home safely. And Meg. Poor Meg. He felt powerless. Julie had been right. Letting her go so far away…. And Sean….he was a survivor. Sean would know what to do. Yes, Sean would be okay.
“We’ve got to get to shore, Patty,” Sean stammered as he steered the boat on course.
Storm clouds began to move in around them.
“Where we going?” She asked frantically.
“I know a place not far from here. We’ll be safe there.”
The mother ship had passed over them and he looked back to see it going towards land.
Patty was sobbing.
“We’ll be alright. Trust me…”
Robin watched the mother ship moving above them. Her hands nervously grasped the crucifix on the chain around her neck.
“Look at the size of those S.O.B.’s,” Conroy said excitedly, as his camera focused on the underbelly of the mother ship.
The panicked crowd was now running away from Elizabeth who was still standing in the water. She felt the whispers of the others around, speaking in their voices to her. Slowly her eyes closed, as she gave into their words and moved in the water.
“Oh my God! What is she doing?” Robin asked in fearful awe.
Conroy turned his camera to Elizabeth.
“She’s walkin’ on the goddamn water. Sweet Jesus…I don’t know which one to look at,” Conroy said, focusing his aim on Elizabeth as she walked trancelike towards the shore.
“ELIZABETH!!!” Robin shouted.
The words shook Elizabeth. Her arms extended from her sides while her eyes opened with a glow about them. She lost her footing on the water. Her arms outstretched, she fell back as the water engulfed her.
The doors of the security facility swooshed open as a group of uniformed armed guards rushed down the hallway. One after another, the bars unlocked and lifted.
The man leading the team had a look on his face of purpose and disdain. He was dressed in black and commanded attention as he approached Charlie and the other guard.
“Commander!” Charlie exclaimed. “You never come down here…”
“Take me to her,” Ham Tyler ordered. “Now!”
From the alley Julie poked her head out to see the mass of people invading the street as they ran from what moved above the buildings.
“C’mon, let’s go,” she told Will, pulling him by the arm down the alleyway.
“We are we going?” he asked.
“To the clinic.”
They ran through a maze of abandoned alleyways, avoiding the main streets. She saw a band of rats scurrying away into a sewage drain.
“Will, you’ve got to move faster!”
“I’m running as fast…as I can.”
The sky above was turning darker as the mother ship loomed above, blocking the light.
If we can just get to the clinic….Julie thought. We’ll be safe there.
“Damn these phones,” Mike said, slamming the receiver. He looked at the monitor.
The mother ship loomed slowly over the city like a dark cloud. The official report was the attacks had ceased for the moment. All major roadways were affected. Vehicles were lined up in traffic but no one was in them. Everyone had abandoned them.
He had to get a hold of Julie. He had to know that she and Will were okay.
“Mike, we need you back on the set,” the director said.
“On my way.”
He hustled to the set and took his place behind the desk where Lisa applied powder to his face.
“A l’il shiny. That’s all,” Lisa tried consoling him.
“And we’re on in three, two, onc,” the director announced. Lisa stepped out of the way.
“This is Mike Donovan with a local update. We have just received confirmation that a special live feed from the New York mother ship is expected anytime. Stay tuned for our special coverage of this development as it unfolds.”
Sean reached the beach first.
His arms and legs were sore as he lifted himself up and trudged heavily on the sandy shore. He ran back to Patty and placed his arm around her.
“You gonna be okay?”
“Yeh. Fine, Sean.” She wrapped her arm around his waist as they walked up the beach in the rain.
Patty pointed up at the cliff above. For a moment her mind escape the panic.
“Look at that. It’s beautiful…”
A lighthouse stood in dire need of repair.
“Is that where we’re goin’?” she asked.
“We’ll be safe there. I promise.” He grabbed her hand as they ran through the rain toward the lighthouse.
Julie pulled Will by the arm into another alleyway. They were less than a block from the clinic. She spotted Dan Jamison and his cameraman running with the crowd.
“Dan!!” she yelled, waving her arms.
Dan barely heard her over the chorus of chaos and struggled against the crowd to the alley where she was.
“Julie? Will?” He asked but the mob was too forceful. “Bob get that camera on her.”
Bob jerked around and focused the camera on her.
With quick thinking Julie opted for another means of communicating.
She raised her hands and began to sign as quickly as she could.
She finished with a gesture of her two fingers in the shape of the letter V. Tears ran down her face as Dan and the cameraman disappeared into the throng.
Charlie and the other guard did as told. No further questions. They led Commander Tyler and his team to the barred glass cell. Ham stood for a moment and peered into the darkness.
“Turn up the lights. I wanna see her.”
The fluorescent ceiling panel slowly lit up and at first Ham didn’t see her. Slowly, in the corner, he saw her come into focus. The light was blinding at first to the reptilian eyes but quickly adjusted.
For a moment they stared at each other. Their eyes locked, calculating the other’s move.
“Commander Tyler. How nice of you… to drop by.” The slits of the eyes narrowed while the arms and a regenerated length of tail curled around the reptilian nudity as she stood to her feet.
“Modesty in your old age?” Ham commented, eyes never leaving hers.
The mouth forced a smile of jagged teeth and the face changed to a matter of seriousness.
“I’m fully aware of my people’s return to your planet. I… could be…of great resource to you.” The mouth curled with a smile as she approached the glass.
“My, my, Diana…Always one for self preservation.” He paused. “However, I come bearing different news.”
A look of interest and curiosity showed in her eyes. She stood face to face with him, only barred glass separating them.
“You’re being relocated.” His nostrils flared.
Her eyes narrowed. Interest and curiosity faded into controlled panic.
“Not quite the homecoming you expected?” Ham asked in a mocking tone.
With a laugh, he turned away and back to the guards.
“Sedate the bitch. Get her ready for transport. Use extreme force if needed.”
Julie unlocked the basement door of the clinic as she rushed Will inside. She locked it behind them and together they struggled with two heavy file cabinets barring the door.
“We’ll be safe for the time being here.”
“What are we gonna do?”
“I have to think. I have to have time to think, Will. There’s an old TV set around here somewhere. See if you can find it.”
She mulled over her options. She had to come up with a plan. Her mind raced.
Mike watched as the network covered the events. Los Angeles was full of people running aimlessly in the streets, some beginning to loot businesses. He hoped Meg was all right and he felt tremendous guilt, as a man, as a father that he was unable to do anything...but wait. It was as if everyone was suddenly paralyzed by the second coming of….them.
“Everybody quiet,” the director commanded as the network interrupted their coverage.
The monitor went black. A great silence filled the studio as they took a collective breath.
A face filled the screen. His eyes seemed to peer eerily back at Mike. The eyebrows arched and the lips slowly covered with a Cheshire Cat smile.
Televisions around the world filled with the extreme close-up of his face. People stopped running in Time Square and peered up at the large mounted screen. Viewers were glued to the face, waiting, as seconds became an eternity.
Slowly his mouth began to open and the words reverberated from his lips.
“People of Earth. My name… is Adam. On behalf of my people, I bring you greetings.
As you are quite aware, intel indicates your planet is now free from a previously… toxic virus. So, now, we have found it safe for our return.
Twenty years ago, my people arrived from the constellation Canis Majoris to your planet with a mission of peace, offering an abundance of wealth and knowledge. In exchange, we requested your help in saving our dying planet by sharing your common elements and resources.
Our mission today remains the same… with minor adjustments. We still hope to co-exist, working with you, in this… new Millennium as a more… united standing ways heavily in the hearts of my people.
With sensitive consideration we return to you with an acceptable manner and physicality. Our renewed goal is to promote a safe assimilation into your society and present that we, too, can be viewed as similar creatures.
To the people of the United States I have this say:
Today’s attacks on your transportation systems are a small, but necessary means of gaining your full attention and utmost cooperation with matters at hand.
I, as appointed leader, must first request the safe return of all prisoners of war you may possess. In particular, one whom you call “Diana” is of… great importance. Our media research indicates she was sentenced to life imprisonment at an undisclosed facility in your United States.
As well, I request the presence of one known as The Great Light. My people are very interested in her spiritual gifts and knowledge that link us together. It is our sincere hope she will graciously accept this invitation and possibly assist us in bridging the gap between our worlds, bringing peace and unity to our races.
In turn, we shall receive the actions of your United States as speaking for the rest of the world as you stand most representative of your… United Nations.
For now, I wish all of you… peace. Thank you.
“End transmission…”
Julie watched the red insignia fill the screen of the small TV set. Her heart raced. The insignia turned in her mind like a swastika.
“He looks human,” Will said, eyes glued to the screen.
“You don’t know them like I do,” Julie commented, placing her arm around her naïve son. “Don’t be fooled. They’re not our friends. They only want to disarm us with their talk of peace and unity while they take everything away we hold so dear.”
“Why do they want this Diana person back so bad? And ‘The Great Light’. What are they talking back?”
“Elizabeth, Elizabeth Maxwell. You’ve watched her show a million times. They want them both back…”
“Yeh, but why?”
“Power. It’s all about power and who has it. If they have them, they hold the power to controlling the rest of us.”
“What’ll happen now?”
“We wait, we listen, question and then…” Julie grew quiet.
“And then…What?”
We act, she thought to herself. We act as if we never have before…
“Is she out?” Ham asked, looking at the restrained form.
“Yes, Commander. It took a heavy dose, but she’s out like a light now.”
“Good.” He gripped the restraints and tested them. “I don’t want that face restraint coming loose. All I need is for her to wake up and eat someone.”
“Perfectly safe, sir. We’re ready for transport.”
Diana’s unconscious form was carted on a two-wheeler restraint board to the elevator by two armed guards and their commander. The doors swooshed open after he inserted his access card.
“Commander,” Charlie said, grabbing the door as it was beginning to close. “There was a transmission for you from head of security.”
“And?”
“Sir, they want us to keep her here. Their leader is requesting her safe return.”
“No can do. There’s no way…”
“Security is sending an escorted helicopter for transport to New York City. We’re under orders to take her to the roof in the next half hour.”
Ham looked back at him, his jaw clenched tight. Slowly, his face relaxed and he took a deep breath.
“Tell them we’re… on our way to the roof now.”
The doors swooshed between them and Ham looked at the two guards on each side of Diana.
Not a chance in hell, he thought to himself.
“Somebody call the paramedics!” Robin shouted as she helped drag Elizabeth from the water.
“She’s not breathing,” Conroy said as they laid her on the beach.
Robin placed her ear to Elizabeth’s mouth but couldn’t hear breathing.
She tilted the head back as some water escaped the mouth.
“C’mon…don’t do this to me. Don’t do this…” She began to cry.
She pinched her daughter’s nostrils and placed her mouth to hers. Giving two quick breaths she waited for a response. Nothing. She began quick, steady compressions to Elizabeth’s chest.
“Where’s the paramedics?”
“They’re on their way Ms. Maxwell…they’re on their way.”
Ham pushed the elevator’s button.
“Sir, what are you doing?” Asked one of the guards.
Pulling his hand up, Ham produced his sidearm. “There’s been a slight change of plans gentlemen.”
“But sir, you heard the order. We’re expected on the roof.”
“I’m quite aware of the order.”
One of the guards started to move his rifle.
“Don’t think about it,” Ham warned, his finger on the trigger. “Hand over your weapons, boys. I don’t want unnecessary wet works.”
The doors of the elevator swooshed open as Ham flung their weapons over his shoulder.
“From here on out, I’ll be giving the orders. Understand?” He motioned the guards with his sidearm to move Diana’s restrained form.
“Hustle boys. Get a move on.”
He covered them as they rushed down the ramp to a small moving van as this part of the original plan.
He flung the doors open and they lifted the body inside.
“Okay fellas. Inside.”
“But sir, we’re disobeying a direct command.”
“Do you have a death wish, Bryant?”
The guard went silent. Ham pulled the doors shut and locked them tight. He ran to the front of the vehicle and jumped in the driver’s seat.
Revving the engine, he yanked the stick shift and floor boarded the gas pedal.
“On to Plan B,” he said, racing toward the open gates.
“Thank God you’re here,” Robin said, tears streaming down her face.
“We’ll take it from here, ma’am,” the paramedic said, moving towards the body.
“Is this Elizabeth Maxwell?” The other asked.
“Yes, yes. Please…help her. You’ve got to help her.”
The paramedics checked her vitals then proceeded with mouth to mouth and CPR.
“She’s not responding. How long has she been like this?”
“A couple of minutes, I’m not sure. Please…do something.”
“Ma’am, we’ll do everything we can. I promise.”
“We’ll stay here for the night,” Julie told Will as she handed him a blanket.
“What about Dad?”
“He’ll be fine. He’s at the station and I’m sure he’s just as scared as we are.”
“Dad scared? That’ll be the day.” Will smiled at her as she ran her hands through his hair and kissed his forehead.
“You try and get some sleep, okay sweetie.”
“Okay.” Will lie down on the cot in the storage room. “Mom?”
“Yeh,” Julie said, as she stood in the doorway, an empty juice bottle in her hand.
“Everything will be alright.”
She smiled. “I hope so.”
In the hallway, she stopped and leaned back against the wall. She worried about Meg and Sean and hoped they would be all right. Maybe in the morning, the phone lines would be clear and she could hear their voices on the other end of the line.
Tossing the juice bottle in the waste can she ran her hand down the back of her neck. Her mind was tired and her shoulders were sore from being so tense. Walking to an over chair she flopped down and leaned her head back and closed her eyes.
Just a quick nap. A quick power nap and I’ll be able to come up with something…
“What is it?” Mike asked, looking at Dan Jamison.
“I got Bob to film this as we were on our way back to the studio. I knew you’d want to see it.
Mike watched as he crammed the videotape in the editing room’s console. The monitor showed Dan running with the crowd. He pressed the fast forward button until Mike saw Julie’s face come onto the screen.
Mike watched intently as Julie’s face looked quiet. He focused on her moving hands.
“I know she must be trying to let you know that she’s okay.”
“She’s got Will with her. They’re okay and…she loves me.” Mike’s heart pounded nervously as she formed the peace sign in the shape of the letter V.
Mike touched the screen, his hand touching Julie’s as the screen lit up his face.
Conroy stood with his arms wrapped around Robin.
“Everything will be fine. Elizabeth will be fine.”
Robin watched over his shoulder at the crowd of spectators encircling her daughter.
Tears streamed down her face as she saw the crowd begin to disband and she saw the paramedic moving from the crowd as he came toward her.
He moved slowly, an air of despair covering his features.
Robin pulled away from Conroy and as if life were moving in slow motion she began to run toward him, toward Elizabeth. As the crowd moved away she noticed the other paramedic leaning over the body.
“NNNNNOOOOOO!!!!” She stopped in her tracks her mouth moving with the word as she saw the sheet being pulled over Elizabeth’s face.
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