Ascension: Invocation (11 page)

"If you're here," she said to the girl, "then that must mean that the rebellion has already begun, right?"

"It’s happening right now but what we do today, irrevocably changes the course of all things as per the Grand Revelation. Ceasing the Human ascension tips the scales to our favor.”

"So, you're after the same thing? You just want us as warriors."

"No. They will send you off to slaughter...”

“We teach them death and then they... use it on us?”

“If the Humans accomplish their goal of greater ascension, they will know more of the omniverse than any given soul group; including death. They will then have no purpose for you. Your only directive will be exhausted. Your souls will be disposed. It would be far too dangerous to allow your souls to further evolve. You will be put down for the greater good.”

“How? How would they do that?”

“Your kind knows this better than any. I suppose you could tell me.”

“Just regular war, I guess, right? Killing. Another day at the office from what you’re telling me.”

“But it’s a war you cannot win. Yours are infant souls. The Humans have ascended so many dimensions above you.”

“If I understand you, you’re just asking us to trust you the same way they’re asking us to trust them.”

“This is true but we need you as equals. We are one. I am descendent from your soul group. This is something we must discuss...”

“But what makes you different than the Humans?”

“The Humans had no right to grow sentient souls solely for war. They certainly have no right to extinguish your soul group when and if its purpose has been served.”

"So, we stay behind. We don’t stand in the rain. Then what?"

"There is a plan. We will help you cross over to claim your rightful place in the omniverse."

"And we go to war with our creators? The Humans?"

"It is in your nature to assume this. We do not wish for war. You are... leverage. It is our hope that if our numbers are great, the Humans will abandon their pact of aggression and seek only enlightenment. This is the wish of all species in the omniverse."

"Except the Humans? They are the only bad guys?"

"They have alliances but we believe that if the Humans are to fail in the quest for an absolute, these alliances will fall." Alicia began sounding the horn as she tried to navigate her way through the drunken horde. Sariana took a deep breath. "We should probably talk about you and I...”

Alicia’s cell phone began to ring. She closed her eyes and sighed as “Dancing Queen” by ABBA began to fill the cab of the truck. “Hold that thought.” Alicia knew the ring-tone. “Goddamnit, Hal.” She tapped the screen and answered. “Yeah. Dude, I am literally right down the street. Right. Well, what the fuck, Hal? Do you want me to just mow down this herd of hicks? I can only go so fast.” Alicia looked Sariana up and down. “Yeah. I’ve got something. I think so.” Sariana smiled. “Hal, I’m pulling into the parking lot right now. I will see you in a min-” Alicia shook the phone in a rage and her face flushed red. “Jesus! Goddamnit!! Shut the fuck up, Hal!!!” She slammed the phone down on the console as she swerved the truck into a parking space at the Dollar Store.

Sariana giggled and began to tear up just a bit as she looked admiringly at Alicia.

“What?”

“That was so cool for me. You have no idea.”

Alicia gave her a funny look and shook her head as she began to collect her things.



Once inside the studio, Alicia found her producer. She sat the girl at her desk while she first explained that Brady would need to return home to Colorado. Alicia then detailed Sariana, the giant bug, and Brady's sudden deafness. Regarding the girl, the producer hesitated.

"I don't know about this, Alicia," he said. "You don't have any footage of the bug. Things are really heating up in Russia and China. I don't know if L.A. is going to go for having a crazy girl on the air in the middle of it all."

“Who says she’s crazy?”

“Alicia. The whole ‘I’ve come from another dimension to save you from space warlords’ talk doesn’t strike you as a little... odd?”

“You are aware that there’s a giant hole in the fucking sky, right?”

“Alicia...”

“And it’s spewing yellow gas all over the planet-”

“I’m not going to...”

“And a spaceman is talking to us on the radio?!” Alicia smacked him in the forehead. “Are you high?”

“That’s a bold statement coming from you, lady. By the way, you can’t expense booze. I’ve told you that a thousand times.” Hal began to walk away and Alicia relentlessly followed.

“Don’t change the subject. All of this other shit is perfectly normal to you but this... the girl that kills space armadillos is crazy-talk? Seriously?”

Hal did recognize that he was being more than a little contradictory. “I know. I really do. You have to understand, Alicia. I’ve got new-age gurus coming out of my ass here. Every nut-case in the world is claiming to have some sort of inside knowledge. If I put every one of them on the air, our credibility goes right out the window. This isn’t the George Noory show.”

“But, I saw this.”

“I just wish you had footage. I need something that bleeds.”

“Let me see if I can get something more out of her. In the meantime, get the wheels rolling to get this girl on the air.”

“How, Alicia? What do I pitch to L.A.?”

Alicia thought for a moment.              "Our angle," she explained, "is that this poor thing is suffering from P.T.S.D. This is what's happening to our children. Get a psychologist to comment about her state of mind. We explain to parents how to talk to their kids about this. Pitch it that way. By the time you get approval, I’ll have something more. If I don’t... well, I’ll figure something out."

Hal frowned but with this, he agreed to run the story by Los Angeles. Alicia popped a few more pills and returned to her ‘office’. She found Brady sitting on her desk, playing with the girl's monitor. He couldn't get it to do anything. Sariana was examining Alicia's iPad. Alicia shooed her away, sat at her desk and began writing her piece.

"When do we address the world?" Sariana asked.

"Shortly. They'll let us know."

"What? We should do this now. It's of critical importance. The cloud has already been released. We can’t wait."

"There are procedures.”

“Your procedures do not matter. This is taking too long. It’s clear that I’ve already arrived too late...”

“Yeah, well, welcome to corporate media. We need network approval. This takes time. Be patient. Why not go look at all of our wonderful items of convenience?" Alicia said referring to the junk scattered about the store. Sariana was anxious and began to bite her nails and pace. “I’m not kidding, Sara. Go away. You’re making me nervous. I need to concentrate and get your story ready.”

“We’re wasting time. And I need to talk to you about us.”

Alicia was losing her temper. “What do you want from me exactly?! Frankly, you’re lucky I’m even entertaining this story right now. If this isn’t working out the way you planned, then why don’t you back in time and do it again, goddamnit? I mean, what the fuck?”

“I can’t,” Sariana was meek. “This is my only chance.”

Alicia calmed herself. “This is all part of the process. Hey, have you ever seen chicken and beer flavored beef jerky?”

“You and I really need to speak about why I found...”

“Sara, you need to give me just a minute, okay? Aisle three. Go look. It’s fascinating.”

Sariana was reluctantly intrigued. She took Alicia's advice and began to tour the store and think as Alicia and Brady remained at her desk.

"She seems like a sweet girl," Brady said to Alicia. She rolled her eyes and shrugged. Truth be told, Alicia was coming around to her as well. Something about the girl inherently intrigued her. She began to search Google for various doomsday prophets capitalizing on the tear in the sky. The producer was right. They were everywhere. Each more crazy than the next; selling eBooks promising to explain this whole sorted mess and offering redemption in fifty pages or less. “I’m going to make some chili,” Brady announced. “You want some?”

Alicia crinkled her nose and wrote: “Smells like dog food.”

“Tastes like it too. But I’m hungry and catering’s empty ‘til dinner.”

A half hour passed and Alicia was finally given approval to run with her story. Family counselors would be standing by in L.A. to comment after she interviewed the girl. Alicia found Sariana in the candy aisle, sitting cross-legged, eating chocolate covered raisins.

"They're ready for us," she said. "I see that even in another universe, girls are still suckers for chocolate."

"It's delicious." Sariana said with a big, chocolate covered smile.

She really was kind of a cute kid, Alicia thought. Very pretty. Even if what she said was all bullshit and the world didn’t end, Alicia thought that she would have a bright future. She didn't seem to be afraid of public speaking; certainly had a big imagination. Maybe she could even become an anchor or, God forbid, an actress.

"Let's get some make-up on you," Alicia told her as she helped her up from the floor.

"Make-up?"

"Yeah. You don't want to address the world looking like this do you?"

"I don't understand. We should do this immediately. We have waited long enough."

"It's okay, just follow me. No one’s going to take you seriously with dime store chocolate smeared all over your face."

Alicia led her to a folding table with a lighted mirror that served as the studio's makeshift cosmetics room. She wiped her face with a damp cloth, applied a bit of base and powder. She even went the extra mile and gave her a little lip gloss and mascara. She began brushing the girl's hair. Sariana, for all of her hurry, took a moment to enjoy this. She closed her eyes and relished the bristles of the brush gently scratching her scalp. She indulged in the scent of Alicia’s fresh perfume and Sariana did her best to memorize her every move. These were brief memories that she wanted to cherish. Moments like this didn’t have to happen. Sariana knew this.

"Thanks," Sariana said.

"For what?"

"Thank you for creating this brief respite between us. It’s special to me. I know you don’t know what all of this means. I know that you don’t understand what you’ve just done for me. I also know that you must think I’m crazy.” Sariana smiled sweetly. “So, thank you."

"Well, you're welcome, I guess,” Alicia put the brush down. “ All done. I think you're ready for your close-up, kid." She looked over Sariana’s shoulder to check herself in the mirror.

“First,” Sariana said. “We need to talk about why we’re here. You and I.”

“We’re pitbulls, right? Evil, scary pets,” Alicia smiled and clawed the air. “Rawr!”

“You are, yes. I’m not,” Sariana didn’t quite know how to put this. “Thanks to you.”

"All I did was almost kill you,” Alicia said. “And, now, we’re going to go on TV and talk about that bug and the war on Humanity.”

"No. I’m here because it is my birthright. We are to change the time-line."

"The two of us, huh?"

"You and I. Yes."

"So, you're saying that I was predestined to meet you today?"

"It was your wish. Yes."

"My wish?" Alicia laughed. "And when did I add this item to my agenda?" The girl was silent. Alicia smirked at her. "Well?"

"It was your dying wish."

"No kidding? I’m dead now?"

"I'm sorry. Yeah. Well, not now. Don’t be sad. Before, you lived to be quite old... and wise too," the girl stammered.

“So... we know each other in your dimension?”

“Not exactly.”

"But all of this is going according to plan?' Alicia said as she applied more lipstick.

"Not at all. Not really. No. I feel that it’s very important that you understand...”

“Alicia!” a voice shouted from beyond the cereal aisle. “We need you now.”

“Look, I need you to understand something. I saw what you did out there. But I can’t prove it to anybody. You need to help me convince the world that you’re legit.”

“What’s ‘legit’?”

“That what you’re saying is the truth.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Goddamn it, Alicia!!”

“Ummm... okay. Let’s go.” Alicia took the girl by the hand. “I’m counting on you, kid.”

“Yes, I know but is there not time for us to talk?”

“You want to talk now? What happened to hurry the fuck up?”

“I’m afraid what I have to say... this might be awkward for you.”

Sariana’s warning barely registered with Alicia. “I interviewed Charlie Sheen mid-nervous breakdown, kid. You want to talk about awkward? You’ll do fine.”

Alicia led the girl to the cameras and Sariana was quite impressed. She sat in one of the chairs beside Alicia and the director handed each of them bottled water.

"You have my copy?" Alicia asked. He nodded. "How much time do we have?"