The Deep Beneath (11 page)

“More?” he asked.

Ian laughed and held out the bag for him. “I think I’ve created a monster. Here. Take it.”

Erika gave Jack something that she called a ‘hot dog’, a sports drink and a bag of chips. “Sorry, it’s not what you ordered. But it’s the best I could do in there.”

The smell of the nutrition that Erika handed Jack made Tex’s stomach feel queasy. The odor was unlike anything that he had ever experienced, as he had never eaten charred animal flesh. “Are you eating a canine?”

Jack’s mouth was full of the substance, but he chuckled. “It’s not a real dog. We don’t eat dogs. It’s other meat.”

“If you can call it that,” said Erika.

“Don’t confuse him,” said Jack. “It’s like pork and beef mixed together with spices.” Jack chewed loudly. “Might even have been good if it hadn’t been rolling on heat rollers for a week. Wanna try it?”

Tex nodded. He had never had animal flesh, and though it did not smell as though it would provide sound nutrition for his body, he was curious. The twizz had not smelled appetizing either, but it had been enjoyable.

Jack broke off a piece and handed it to him. Tex chewed and allowed the full flavor of the hot dog to fill his mouth. It did not have a sweet, happy taste like the twizz. It was not dry and pulpy like his nutrition bars. It was, Tex decided, disgusting.

“What a face,” Jack said. “I guess you don’t like it.”

“It is not an enjoyable experience to eat a dog.”

“I agree,” said Erika. She smiled at him when she said it.

Jack quickly finished eating the dog that was not an actual dog. He drank the entire cup of liquid Erika had given him. Tex was glad that Jack had not offered him a taste of the drink. He did not want to dull his senses with added moisture.

“I’ve got something for you,” Erika said. She handed Tex a pair of large, oval eyeglasses with very dark lenses.

Tex took the glasses, examined them, put them on and turned to look at Ian.

“Erika, you got him chick glasses. Now he looks like a super freak with that stupid cowboy hat and those bug-eye glasses,” said Ian.

“I had to get ones big enough to cover his eyes.”

Tex had never truly understood the word ‘gift’, as he had never received one before. Now he comprehended it. Erika had given him the glasses by her own choice, not because she was commanded to. Tex did not know why she had given him a gift, but he was pleased that she had. “Thank you, Erika. These glasses will provide protection for my eyes when the sun rises.”

“You’re not going to burn up like a vampire or anything, are you?” asked Ian.

“I do not know what will happen to me, as I have never seen the sun. But my eyes are quite sensitive to light. I, therefore, infer that eye protection may be necessary for me.”

Tex was intrigued about the star that humans called the sun. He understood its physical properties and that the photons from the sun allowed for photosynthesis by plants and thus was a necessary component for life on Earth. He had learned that some cultures worshiped the sun though he could not comprehend why humans could mistake a star – and an ordinary one at that – as a god. Perhaps there was something about the human ‘sun’ that he had yet to learn.

“So how old are you?” Erika asked.

“I am seventeen years old.”

“And you’ve never seen the sun?” asked Ian.

“That’s crazy,” said Jack.

“And sad too,” said Erika.

Tex had never considered it either crazy or sad that he had not seen the sun. He lived in a temperature and humidity controlled environment that supplied adequate warmth. Electric lights provided illumination though he had little need of it. He could not fathom why Erika harbored sadness over this.

“This is a strange question, and I don’t mean to be rude, but were you born like a normal human, or were you – I don’t know how to put it –” asked Jack.

“Grown in a vat or something?” asked Ian.

“If you mean was I a fetus in a womb and extracted from the womb as an infant, then yes. I was born like a human.”

“But where did they get alien DNA? And how did they combine it with human DNA?” asked Ian.

“You have many questions,” said Tex. He wanted to answer their questions as Erika seemed displeased with him when he did not. But he had been trained to respond only to the doctors at A.H.D.N.A.
You are free. Do as you wish.

“I think a more important question is why did our government go to all the trouble to create a … a creature like him?” Jack said.

“That is a good question,” said Erika. “Do you know why you were made?”

Tex did not immediately answer. Though he was free of A.H.D.N.A. and Commander Sturgis, it was difficult to ignore years of training. But if he answered their questions, it may help to create a more trusting relationship with them.
Do I want or need their trust?

He had escaped A.H.D.N.A. only to land in a world with which he was unfamiliar. He had no money, no car, and no place to go. Tex had powers they could not begin to understand, yet he needed their help.

Tex had not trusted a human since the incident with the attendant all those years ago. He was not sure that he could put faith in these humans either. But he required their cooperation and assistance.
Perhaps it is best if I attempt to gain their trust.

“Dr. Randall told me that I was created to save the human race.”

Erika looked at Jack and raised one eyebrow. “Save them?” she asked.

“If you were created to save humans, then why do you have the power to kill them so easily?” asked Jack.

Tex looked out the window. Though it was still night, he could see clearly the large, columnar cactus that dotted the hillsides they passed. He wondered what it would feel like to touch one.

“I do not know the answers to all of your questions. I know that the alien DNA that they used to create me was recovered from a crash site in New Mexico.”

“Roswell,” said Ian.

“I believe that is correct. Dr. Randall and Dr. Dolan referred to the alien species as ‘the greys’.”

“I knew it. They covered it up all these years like I said,” said Jack.

“You have your vindication,” said Erika. “But that still doesn’t answer the question why.”

Tex was not sure that the time was right to tell the humans all that he knew. He decided not to lie, but he did not tell them the whole of the truth either. “I was created to be a weapon for the U.S. government. Technically, I am government property.”

He had never liked being referred to as property. Despite being told by Commander Sturgis that he was ‘valuable’, he never believed it to be true. Other items of human property were regularly discarded without fanfare. Paper was thrown into wastebaskets. Even larger items such as computers were relegated to the trash. Tex had often wondered if his own fate would be like that of an outdated piece of machinery, retired to the waste receptacle when he was no longer of use.

“Well, you’re at least part human, and in this country anyway, we have laws against you being someone’s property,” said Erika.

“You know the government. Since when did they follow their own laws?” asked Jack.

If anyone answered Jack’s question, Tex did not hear it. His head throbbed with pain. He put his hands to his head and squeezed on either side as if it could somehow push the pulsating drone out of his skull.

“Tex? What’s the matter?” asked Ian.

He tried to speak, but his voice came out in a choked cry of agony.

“What’s happening to him?” Erika asked.

“I don’t know. It’s like he’s in pain or something,” Ian replied.

It was as if a metal band had been wrapped around his head and tightened little by little until it was near to crushing his skull. A pulsating whirr filled his head from the inside. “Stop!” he finally managed to scream.

“Do you want me to stop the car?” asked Ian.

Erika looked to Tex for an answer. He was unable to speak but managed to shake his head.

“I don’t think so. Dammit, Ian, it’s the stupid twizz that you gave him. It’s making him sick,” Erika said.

Tex again shook his head. It was not a stomachache that had him balled up like a fetus. He did not know the source of the pain, but he was certain that if it did not subside soon, he would die from it.
Please stop.

As quickly as the agony had hit him, it ceased. There was only a slight buzz and a mild tingling sensation. Within seconds, he heard what sounded like a voice. “Did one of you say something?” Tex asked.

All three shook their heads.

Voices were speaking to him inside his head. He remained quiet and concentrated. He could not make out what was being said because they were all speaking at once.
I do not understand. Too many voices.

Jack reached forward and put his hand on Tex’s shoulder. “Hey. You okay?”

Tex lifted his head from his knees but shrugged his shoulder away from Jack’s touch. “I am fine.” Though the pain had subsided a bit, the voices continued.

“Sorry,” Jack said.

“What was that about? Does that happen to you often?” asked Erika.

“No. It has never happened to me before. But I am okay. I require silence for a few minutes.”

Tex wanted to concentrate on the voices. They were trying to contact him. It was a message.
But what are they saying?

Tex put his head back down onto his knees and moved within himself as much as he could. He tried his best to shut out the sound of the car’s engine, of Jack’s gurgling stomach and of Ian’s beating heart. And most of all he tried to close himself off from the smell of Erika. He had no words to describe her scent, as it was unlike anything he had ever experienced. Her odor was pleasant to him in a way he had never known.
Agreeable, but a distraction nonetheless.

He focused inward until he was alone in darkness and quiet. He heard the voices more clearly in his mind. The words were garbled at first and layered. But after a few minutes, he was able to pick out a word here, a word there.

Tex envisioned an outdoor location in his mind as if it was a memory of a place he had been. But of course he had been nowhere but A.H.D.N.A. It was a site with spires and strange formations made of rusty red rock covered in sparse green foliage. He was shown a large stone structure with a flat top. And he heard the word ‘Sedona’.

He understood what he had to do. And he knew that he would be free of Commander Sturgis and A.H.D.N.A. once and for all.

The message was from his alien cousins, the greys. They would rescue him. They had a place for him where he would be welcome, not reviled. He would not have to suffer frightened stares. He would be home at last.

“Tex, sorry to bother you, but I’m thinking that maybe when we get to the hospital you should have yourself checked out,” said Erika.

“Have you lost your mind? You think we’re going to whizz him into the hospital and say ‘Hey, can you give our alien friend a checkup?’” said Ian.

“You’re right. I need sleep.” Erika rubbed her temples. “I’m just concerned about him.”

Tex lifted his head from his knees. The tightness eased as if the invisible band around his skull had loosened. The voices were gone.

“Do not be concerned for my health,” Tex said. “I am not in need of medical attention and will not be going to the hospital. But then again, neither will you. I must go to a place called Sedona, and you must take me there. And I suggest that you drive more quickly. A vehicle approaches, and it carries another like myself.”

Alecto sat in the front passenger seat of an all-black Hummer. She was diminutive in comparison to her driver, Sergeant Lopez. His broad, roundish jaw was covered in the dark shadow of hair that had not been shaven. Lopez’s eyes, fixed on the road before them, were dilated wide and nearly as black as Alecto’s. Though her skin was cool and dry, she smelled the rivers of sweat that ran down Sergeant Lopez’s back and neck. His knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel hard.

Clearly Lopez was nervous, but Alecto did not know why he would be. He was a highly trained and experienced military man. When Sewell briefed her, he had said that Sergeant Lopez had done two tours of duty in Afghanistan. Surely driving a car on a civilian road was not as dangerous as his prior experience.

“Sergeant Lopez, you appear to be anxious. Our mission requires that you drive me close to the target. I must ask that you calm yourself.”

“S-s-sorry. It’s that – well, I never saw – I thought it was a rumor some of them guys made up to get attention.”

“You are nervous because you thought that H.A.L.F.s did not exist, yet one sits next to you? Do not be afraid of me. My assignment is to retrieve my bro– the escaped H.A.L.F., not to harm you, Sergeant.” Alecto internally chastised herself for her slipup. It was not appropriate to allow herself emotional attachment to 9.
Focus.

“To be honest, ma’am, it’s not you that I’m afraid of half as much as I’m scared of Commander Sturgis. If I don’t bring you and the other’n back in one piece, she’ll have my hide.”

“Your hide?”

“You know, she’ll chew my butt.”

“I do not believe that Commander Sturgis consumes humans for nourishment.”

Alecto wanted to ask Lopez why he would suggest that Commander Sturgis would eat any part of him, but she decided to let the question pass. Their conversation had caused Lopez to sweat even more.

They had driven at high speed for many miles. The landscape outside of their vehicle was a blur of cactus silhouettes and black pavement. They had passed a few cars much smaller than the one she was in and a few trucks that were much larger. But none had fit the description provided by Sewell. But ahead in the right lane was a small, white car with a cord wrapped around the dented back bumper.

“There they are,” she said. “Get as near to them as you can.”

Lopez revved the engine and pulled as close to the Jetta as he could without hitting it.

Alecto stared straight ahead, but her mind drew a mental picture of her surroundings from the sensations she took in. Commander Sturgis had been correct. Alecto had never felt stronger. More able. More alive.