The Watchers (2 page)

She gave a slight nod and watched him
as he walked off.

As soon as he was out of viewing
range, Alicia hurried back over. “What did he want?”

“
Just to tell us that we
have to keep working if Iran decides to attack Israel.”

Alicia shook her head. “If it does,
then the aliens will have to intervene.”

“
So they warn us,” Autumn
stated. She couldn’t understand why demons would want to save
people...if in fact she saw what she thought she saw at Area 51.
The event might have happened back in May, but she could still see
the alien transform into a monster. And that monster had to be a
demon, right? If an angel protected her and Alex, then angels
existed. If angels were real, weren’t demons real too? She rubbed
her forehead. Great. Another headache was coming on. It seemed to
her that she continually got headaches. Picking up her purse, she
asked, “Do you mind if I take a break?”

“
Go for it, girl. You need
one after dealing with Hampton.”

Autumn eagerly left the store and
stepped outside. The air was slightly cool, but the leaves hadn’t
changed color yet. Fall would come soon. Despite the disappearance
of her sister and millions of people, the seasons still came and
went. Life went on like usual. And the people around her seemed
oblivious to the fact that things weren’t as “normal” as they
appeared. Aliens made contact with them. Sure, they weren’t the
aliens portrayed in the movies, but they were still aliens.
Shouldn’t more people be reacting to this? Millions of people
vanished. Shouldn’t there be more than a few groups forming to
discuss this? Shouldn’t the media be investigating it?

She took out a cigarette
and lit it up. She’d given up on trying to quit. What was the
point? They’d all probably be dead soon anyway.
What is going on? Why are people going about their lives like
a bunch of robots?
And why wasn’t she
affected?

Shaking her head, she sat on the bench
by the trashcan and scanned the parking lot. She straightened up
when she saw Alex getting out of his car. She stood up and put out
her cigarette before she threw it out. As she made her way across
the pedestrian crosswalk, he reached her.

“
Hey, Autumn,” he greeted
with a smile.

“
Hi. How are you
doing?”

“
Fine.”

She turned so they could walk back
toward the mall. “Did you come to do some shopping?”

“
No. Actually, I came to
talk to you.”

“
What about?”

He motioned to the bench, so she sat
down. When he joined her, he pulled out a letter from his pocket
and handed it to her. “It’s from Marianne. She wrote me while she
was finishing up her law degree. Usually, she sent emails, but this
time, she chose snail mail. The storm three months ago wiped out my
emails, so this is all I had left. She wrote about you and how you
were the best sister in the world. I thought you might like to have
it.” He took a deep breath and stared at the ground in front of
him. “I don’t think she’s coming back.”

“
I expect you to move on,
Alex,” she softly said as she turned the letter over in her hands.
Marianne’s familiar script graced the envelope. It was dated almost
a year ago. Not a day went by where Autumn didn’t miss her
sister.

“
You’re not mad at me?” he
asked, looking in her direction.

“
Why would I
be?”

He shrugged and let out a low sigh. “I
thought you might feel like I betrayed her.”

“
I don’t feel that way.
It’s different for you and me. No matter what, she’ll always be my
sister. You were going to be her husband, but as soon as she
vanished, that pretty much put an end to that plan. The angel just
told me she was safe. He didn’t say she was returning. I don’t know
if we’ll ever see those people that disappeared. But I don’t want
you to waste time missing her. I’m grateful that you loved her, and
she loved you too.”

He nodded.

She realized this was hard for him.
The decision hadn’t been an easy one. “It’s okay, Alex. I’d do the
same thing if the roles were reversed.”

He relaxed. “Have you seen the angel
again?”

“
Not since that night we
went down to Area 51. How have you been doing? Has the prescription
from the psychiatrist helped?”

“
Yes. It’s helped a lot,
actually. I see the alien once in awhile, but when I take the pill,
it goes away. I think Dr. Reyes is right. It’s all in my
head.”

Maybe. She wasn’t so sure. She knew
what she saw when they were leaving that underground facility, and
she knew she didn’t imagine what terrified Alex. But she feared
that telling him that would only increase his anxiety, which was
the last thing he needed. So she chose to keep quiet.

“
There is something that
still bothers me.”

She slipped the letter into her pocket
and studied him, noting the way he seemed hesitant to continue.
“What is it?”

“
With everything that’s
happened, someone should be questioning it. Don’t you think people
are acting strange?”

“
They’re acting as if
nothing happened.”

“
Exactly. There should be
more of a response. It’s like no one cares. When I was growing up,
I thought if aliens came to this planet, there would be a worldwide
panic. At the very least, there ought to be reporters questioning
what’s going on. But all I hear is how wonderful things are now
that they’re here and that they’re going to lead us to a new dawn
of humanity.”

“
Everyone’s too accepting
of it,” she agreed. “I don’t know why everyone seems to
be...oblivious to it.”

Alex leaned back on the bench and
rubbed the palms of his hands on his jeans. “I wonder if we could
find out why.”

“
You really think that’s
possible?”

“
In the past five months,
everything’s become possible.”

She couldn’t argue with him on that
point. Her entire world had changed. On the surface, when she
watched people going about their daily lives, it was easy to think
things were alright. But she suspected it was all a ruse. A ruse
for what though? To lull people into a false sense of security? Did
the demons posing as aliens have something planned but they needed
people to be ‘asleep’ until the time was right to act? Was everyone
going to wake up one morning and find out the truth? She shifted
uneasily.

Maybe she didn’t want to know. She’d
already found out more than she wished. Part of her envied those
who seemed blissfully unaware of the danger lurking around the
corner. However, if something serious was about to happen, if the
aliens weren’t bringing them into a utopia, then did she have a
responsibility to find out? And then what? Tell others? But who
would believe the aliens weren’t who they were pretending to
be?

Alex cleared his throat, directing her
attention back to him. “I want to know what happened to me at Area
51. We lost an entire day down there. I have flashes of
memories.”

She straightened in interest. “You’re
recalling what they did to you?”

“
Nothing concrete. It’s all
like a puzzle, and I get one piece at a time. All I know is that
aliens were there and they were using me like a lab
rat.”

She shivered. That didn’t sound
pleasant. But then, she shouldn’t be surprised. Nothing in that
underground place was pleasant. “Do you remember any
people?”

“
No. Should I?”

“
Well, I did see a man and
a woman in your room. They inserted something behind your
ear.”

“
They did?” He reached up
and traced the skin behind his ears. “I don’t feel
anything.”

“
Let me see.” She brushed
aside the hair from his ear and squinted, but she didn’t see a mark
anywhere. “That’s odd. It was behind this ear.”

“
Is it possible you thought
you saw it but was asleep?”

She shook her head and eased back into
her previous position. “No. The angel was there, and I know I
didn’t dream him up.”

“
You really think you saw
an angel?”

“
Yes.”

He simply nodded and glanced at his
watch. “I have to get back to work. I just wanted to stop by and
give you that letter.”

“
Thank you, Alex.” She
stood up with him. “And I hope you can get on with your
life.”

“
Thanks.” He slipped his
hands into his pockets. “Is it alright if I keep in touch? You’re
the only one I know who realizes there’s more going on than the
media’s telling us, and I’m tired of feeling like I’m alone in
this.”

“
Of course, it’s alright.
Let me know if you do figure out what’s going on. I’ll keep my ears
and eyes open too.”

He smiled before he turned and headed
back to his car.

Autumn glanced at the mall
entrance. She knew she should go back to work since she’d used up
all of her minutes for the break, but she wanted to see what her
sister had written. Pulling the envelope out of her pocket, she
took out the letter and unfolded it, careful not to tear it since
it was her last ‘contact’ with her sister. As she did, tears came
to her eyes, especially when Marianne wrote,
I’ve idolized Autumn ever since we were kids. I’m sure she
thought I was a pest. I’d try her clothes on and listen in on her
phone calls, but it wasn’t because I wanted to be a snoop. It’s
just that I wanted to be like her. She’s always gone out of her way
for other people. I admired her for that. There’s no one else I’d
rather have as my maid of honor than her. If we have children, I’d
like her to be the godmother.

Autumn finished the letter, rereading
parts of it, and then neatly tucked it back into the envelope. She
looked up at the clear blue sky. Why her? Marianne had a husband
and children to look forward to. Autumn didn’t have anyone to stay
for. If anyone had to go, Autumn should’ve been the one. It didn’t
seem fair. Marianne had so much to live for.

The watchers are watching
you.

Her head snapped up. A familiar car
drove through the parking lot. It was him. The man she’d seen three
times. Once at this mall, once at the Bismarck state capitol
building, and then at Area 51 when he injected Alex with something.
As the man drove, a dark shadow flickered in the passenger seat.
She blinked, but the image was gone.

Him. He knows something.
Somehow, he’s a part of this whole thing.

That was when she made her decision.
She’d have to keep an eye out for him in the future. Maybe then,
she could start getting some answers.

Chapter Three

Autumn sat on the bench in front of
the Bismarck capitol building. Was this a good idea? She glanced at
her watch. It was her third Sunday here, and snow scattered the
ground. She’d wasted two weekends already. Did she want to waste
another one? Just what did she expect to see anyway? What were the
chances that the strange man with that alien would return in that
limousine?

She’d spent a good half hour here.
Last time they came at two. It didn’t look like that was going to
happen again. If she had any other idea on what she might do, she’d
abandon this silly notion. But this was her only lead. Alex was
hard at work trying to figure out what was going on. The least she
could do was follow her gut instinct, and her gut was telling her
to start here.

With a heavy sigh, she
opted for one more lap around the lawn. If the man and alien didn’t
show up during that time, she’d give up this crazy plan. She made
it halfway around the perimeter of the lawn when she heard the
familiar words,
The watchers are watching
you.

She looked up and saw the limousine
drive into the tunnel beneath the capitol steps. Excited, she ran
forward, hoping she wouldn’t get there too late. If they went in
before she could see where they were going, then she’d lose them.
By the time she reached the tunnel, she was out of breath. Careful
to keep hidden from view, she peered around the tunnel’s entrance
and saw the limousine pull out of the tunnel.

The door to the entrance that had been
closed off since 9/11 swung shut. Waiting until the car was out of
sight, she hastened to the doors in time to see the two men and the
alien enter an elevator. Squinting, she realized that the down
arrow above the elevator door was lit up. Good. So now she knew
they were going down. Once the elevator doors closed, she reached
for the door handle and pulled the door open. Then she
stopped.

Was this a good idea?

Her mind flashed back to the night
almost six months ago when she and Alex went to Area 51. The angel
had warned her not to go, but she had anyway. Maybe this was a bad
idea. Maybe she should leave well enough alone and turn
back.

“
Go.”

She jerked and glanced behind
her.

The angel stood in front of her, but
he wore regular clothes, as if he were an ordinary man.

Blinking in surprise, she asked,
“Where are your wings?”

A slight smile crossed his face. “We
do not always have wings. Sometimes we appear as humans.” He
motioned for her to go into the building.