《Parasite Paradise》


 New beginnings

    Parasite Paradise


    Written by: Jake Temple


    BOOKER 1


    The humans call me Booker. My real name doesn¡¯t have any equivalent in any human language so we will skip that. What¡¯s important is Earth is in danger and no one will listen to me! How did this all start? Funny you should ask, I was just about to tell you.


    It all started back on my home planet of Thrae. We were evacuating the planet due to an immense volcanic eruption on a scale earth has never seen in its history. Only fifty million of the twelve billion of us made it off the planet. Who is us you ask? We are the last survivors of our species, our planet, and quite likely the last of our solar system. We are the Snamuh, biped humanoids like you¡­.well, not completely like you.


    We are completely purple, in various shades and designs of course, we tower over you standing at anywhere between twelve and sixteen feet tall. In addition we have shark teeth¡­yeah I know that sounds bad, but we¡¯re really peaceful. We only eat fish, as it¡¯s the only thing our body processes. That is until we get infected by the parasite. It is said that the parasite creates a hive mind amongst its victims and enhances each species in a different way. Although we will get to that later.


    Anyway, we were all evacuating, our ships had just cleared Thrae¡¯s upper atmospheres. We saw our four dwarf star suns, orbiting our massive planet, larger than one thousand earths. As we left orbit, space got darker, which was odd, considering our planet resides in a large stellar nursery. We looked back and saw it. It was a parasite so massive and so evolved that it could feed on the stars themselves. Within minutes the three closest suns had been drained of all their energy and matter. Thrae was being reduced to nothing. Parasites the size of your Earth were bringing back sustenance to the queen. We couldn¡¯t use our hyper drive until we cleared our solar systems asteroid belt.


    By the time we had crossed the field we lost another fifteen million. The parasite didn¡¯t destroy those though. Down to thirty-five million, we activated our hyper drives and sped off into to the eternal night. No we¡¯re not going light speed, that¡¯s impossible. The hyper drive accelerates the total mass of the space craft, to as much as our bodies can withstand.


    My family, along with millions more, were the last chance of our kind. My father, who was one of the scientists involved with building the space cruisers was inventive, but particular, and was middle aged, coming in at one hundred years old. He¡¯s followed by my mother who helped finance the project, she was brilliant but strict. We weren¡¯t allowed to talk about how old she is.


    My older sister had just finished our schooling program. Consisting of twenty years of schooling starting at age five. She was due to be one of the best minds our species had ever produced. Lastly there was me. I, however, was known as the ¡°accident¡±. While people didn¡¯t have high hopes for me, I hoped to prove them wrong. I was a mere child back then, no older than eight. Little did we know that our trip would be cut short.


    Halfway to our destination things started going wrong. Snamuh would start trying to eat each other, foaming at the mouth. In an attempt to save our species several ships self-destructed to stop the parasite from spreading. Over the span of eight years I watched as one by one the remaining cruisers detonated as the parasite overran them. All but two million of my people were lost.


    Our last day on that cruiser is still burned into my mind. It started out like any other, our artificial radiation lights came on and we woke instantly. We were supposedly only a month or so away from our destination, but everyone was getting restless even as our long and perilous journey was almost at an end. There had been more fights than usual, but no one thought anything of it¡­until there were bites.


    Every time there was a fight with a bite, everyone involved was sent to quarantine. That morning a fight was happening in the cafeteria, when my family got there we rushed in and rushed out, not wanting to be there when the correctional division arrived. We had just gotten back to our living quarters when the sirens blared. We were packed within minutes and heading to the escape pods when everything lurched forward.


    They had decided to take us out of hyper speed! There could only be one reason for that; they found a viable planet to escape to. With newfound hope we sprinted down the corridor, towards the escape pod assigned to our quarters. We found it, and were in the process of boarding when a crazed Snamuh tackled my father and chewed his head off with vicious fever. Time seemed to stop. That was my first time seeing the effects of the parasite up close, but it changed me forever. As he fell to the ground blood erupting from his neck, draining his body, shock had set in and I couldn¡¯t move. The infected Snamuh was about to enter our pod when my mother launched herself at him, knocking him out of the pod, ¡°GO!¡± she ordered my sister and I.


    Just as I was pulling my mom back in my sister closed the pod and initiated takeoff. I was thrown back into my seat and forced to watch as I saw our cruiser getting smaller and smaller in the window. I didn¡¯t know how many of us had made it off. I saw a few pods but not nearly as many as I thought I would. It seemed as though one thousand¡ªmaybe less¡ªSnamuh had survived the event.


    Nearly a minute after our escape from the cruiser it exploded, creating a shock wave that propelled us across space sending us towards a new planet. Its name? Earth. I was left with only one reminder of my parents. My mother¡¯s left arm from her elbow down, I was still holding her by the wrist. My sister was speechless trying to comprehend what had just happened, tears were forming in her eyes. Her first word was ¡°Sorry.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know how to react. I wanted to scream and yell but it wasn¡¯t her fault. All I could do was cry as the only family I had ever known was now vaporized. I looked around for the blue and green planet the pod advertised but all I could see was a massive red planet with several moons orbiting it. ¡°How long until we arrive?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Judging by our current velocity I would guess a couple of days.¡± My sister replied. I could see the wheels in her head turning, what was she thinking about? Was it, why it took so long for our cruiser to be infected? Was it, how to stop the parasite? ¡°Stop staring at me you idiot.¡± She said glaring at me.


    ¡°Oh sorry.¡± I said, ¡°I was just wondering what you¡¯re thinking about, considering you¡¯re supposed to be our brains and all.¡± I didn¡¯t mean for it to be rude, but she took offense to it, turned around and laid down. Due to our trajectory we would be facing earth¡¯s sun the entire way in which meant little to zero sleep.


    Several hours had passed since our last fight and Veralyn was on a rant. ¡°I¡¯m actually thinking about what kind of life earth has. We can¡¯t do anything about our current situation if we¡¯re dead you know?¡± While she had a point, I had a hard time focusing on the next step instead of the larger picture. I hadn¡¯t even thought about earth¡¯s life, what if they were intelligent? What if they had language? How we¡¯re we going to express ourselves, relay our message? Which brought me back to the larger picture. The fact that the galaxy was doomed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know but I do know there is only one snamuh alive right now who can figure it out.¡± I sighed.


    ¡°It will have to wait until after we land but I¡¯ll see what I can do Booker.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the first time you¡¯ve ever called me by my name Veralyn.¡±


    ¡°Just because mom and dad didn¡¯t like you doesn¡¯t mean I didn¡¯t.¡± With the weight of our parents behind us it was time to see what the next generation of snamuh could do.


    As Earth was becoming larger in our windows, we started to see just how far along you humans were. You had expanded beyond your own world, but not yet to the point of multi-world colonization. We were excited to be able to share our wisdom with you. Apparently you weren¡¯t. Upon our arrival were shot out of the sky, our pod exploding just over southern North America. The last sensations I remember were free-falling and having my skin roasting, burning to my bones. I didn¡¯t expect to wake up after that.


    The parasite had other plans. I felt a burning in my chest, and suddenly I was alive again, laying down in a crater. Looking back into the sky I saw not darkness, but the unforgiving light of the sun. Almost blinded I turned away. It was at that point I remembered what happened before I died¡­Along with everything any organism the parasite infected had ever experienced. I was infected. How long did I have before I went berserk? Only time would tell.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    I went on a search for my sister, maybe we were both infected when the pod exploded. I found her bleeding next to a boulder, I hovered over her looking for her injury. There was a large gash on her forehead. As I leaned in to start treatment, I felt a sharp pain in my neck. I pulled out a dart of some kind, and then I went dark.


    I awoke in a bed chained by my hands and ankles, several of my teeth were missing and I was cut in multiple places. ¡°Where is my sister?¡± I growled. I looked around there were only the two of them¡­and me of course. We occupied an examination room with a laboratory overlooking it. The two humans in the examination room with me were both wearing yellow hazmat suits.


    ¡°Careful Sir, its heart rate just spiked.¡± One of them said.


    ¡°Can you understand me purple people eater?¡± This one seemed to be in charge, and though I heard his voice, I couldn¡¯t decipher what he was saying. After his remark I heard a chuckle.


    ¡°Please unchain me and tell me where my sister is.¡± I said calmly. They both shook their heads, clearly our languages weren¡¯t compatible through speech. Next they wrote down something on a pad and gave it to me. The lettering was small but precise, each symbol thrown together into packs. It read, ¡°Where are you from?¡± ¡°How did you get here?¡± I knew not what it meant but I attempted to scribble down, ¡°Where is my sister?¡±


    ¡°Sir, It knows what a question mark is!¡± one of them yelled.


    The one that seemed to be in charge turned around. ¡°Yeah, and what proof of that do you have?¡± he said back.


    ¡°He used it!¡± The other one exclaimed. Why this human so excited about what I wrote I didn¡¯t know. Was it possible they recognized one of our languages symbols? The next piece of paper I saw had just one line of symbols all in one pack. I guessed it was their alphabet so I wrote down ours.


    This learning process continued for two years. It didn¡¯t take long to find out that humans can¡¯t speak snamuhian.


    Within my first month I learned what was necessary for my survival on this new planet. They kept giving me this clear liquid and telling me to drink it. It didn¡¯t have any taste but when I drank it I felt hydrated and refreshed. They called it ¡°water.¡± They tried to feed me many things, all of which I couldn¡¯t keep down.


    Slowly I learned their alphabet, studying each character intensely. Then I learned their numbers, I would spend hours memorizing. Next came words, forming them, understanding them and writing them. Everything changed when I learned the word fish. I know you¡¯re laughing, but that night I had fish. It looked like our food source back on Thrae, so I asked for it. It was the first time I didn¡¯t throw up after meals since I came to this planet. From that day on all I got was fish and now I could truly focus. After all I still hadn¡¯t seen my sister yet and it might be up to me to save the planet.


    Within three months I was having conversations with my captors. Sometimes I would ask a question they didn¡¯t like and they would throw me in a cell for hours. They wanted to know where I came from and what I knew. I told them of my doomed planet and species. I told them of our near extinction, which they were very interested in how we got away. I did not yet want to share our technology with them and lied. I said I was too young to know how to build the ships. Meanwhile I could see each cruiser being rebuilt by the reborn parasitic survivors. I tried to tell them about the space parasite capable of eating suns¡­they didn¡¯t buy that one.


    After six months I finally got to see my sister. Speechless. I couldn¡¯t utter a word as they let me into her room. I gasped as I saw her attached to life support, apparently in a coma. With her brilliance locked away the responsibility of saving the planet now fell to my shoulders.


    I walked up to the container she was being kept in and sat down. When they said it was time to go I refused. Even when they tried to move me I wouldn¡¯t budge, I had some new found strength on this world. Odd but I assumed it was due to the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere. They sent three armed men to retrieve me. They first shot a tranquilizer dart which missed. The second attempt was to electrocute me, only half of the charge hit and I leaped to the man who pulled the trigger. The security footage showed me what I didn¡¯t remember. I swung one like a ragdoll knocking down the other two and follow it up by stuffing his arm down my throat and biting his arm and shoulder off.


    After that they left me alone. I went into the corner and puked the soldiers arm up. I went back to my sister¡¯s tank and put my hands on the glass and looked at her seemingly asleep in a container filled with some strange liquid. ¡°Veralyn.¡± I said, ¡°C¡¯mon get up. I need you to get up. You would know what to do here.¡± I started pacing in front of her tank talking to her, telling her about what earth was like¡­well what this building on earth was like.


    Oh and the fish! How could I forget the fish? All of the ways you humans have learned to flavor it¡­ I must say it is the highlight of your species. I¡¯m getting carried away.


    After venting to my unconscious sister I decided to get some sleep. I woke up sometime later with a rush of peppermint in my nostrils and an extremely large human in front of me.


    ¡°This is Agent Pikman. He will be your security for the remainder of your stay here.¡± Said the oldest man in the room. ¡°He will also serve as correctional services for any bad behavior.¡± He continued. ¡°You bite one of my soldiers again and he will hurt you.¡± They told me that the soldier I bit yesterday was still in the hospital. I nearly killed him, my teeth punctured his armor and I ripped his whole arm off. After the old guy left Agent Pikman acquainted himself with a punch to my stomach and a mean right hook.


    Nine months in and my sister had still not woken. The humans were starting to lose hope in her. I was now teaching the humans our advances in technology. If I didn¡¯t Agent Pikman was very specific about what he would do.


    I met Earth¡¯s greatest scientific minds. Before my arrival they were all forced to sign documents about keeping quiet about my existence for a little while longer. I entered the room and a few of them fainted on the spot. Most of them were speechless. There was only one who was brave enough to say anything, ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Neil DeGrasse Tyson.¡± He extended his hand and it puzzled me. Agent Pikman informed me it was a greeting sign for his people. I extended my hand the scientist grabbed it and shook it. ¡°And you are?¡± he prompted.


    ¡°My name is Pbvsiubfeskhebhj.¡±¡­Yeah that¡¯s about right, ¡°But that¡¯s a little hard to pronounce so I am called Booker.¡± This meet and greet continued for a few hours. They were astonished by my coloring and texture. It was odd being in the center of attention for once. Once we had covered my anatomy we moved on to how I came to their planet. I told them my tale.


    Yet again they did not believe me, they did not believe what horrors would befall their planet. They wanted to know how to solve their problems on their planet. I did not have the answers they wanted. I knew nothing of this planet or its people. I barely had a handle on one of its languages. I did my best to show them how to use the hyper drive. They understood the math but building and testing will take time.


    A full year had passed since our arrival on earth and still my sister showed no signs of waking up, overburdened with the cost of keeping her alive, as well as secretly building and testing intersystem travel. The humans decided to pull the plug on the project at the time named Purple Light. Her body was cremated and that¡¯s when I saw the phoenix adaption for the first time.


    As her body was finishing burning to a crisp time seemed to slow down. It all started with a spark in her chest. An ember the size of your fist erupted into flames in her chest. That ember then exploded, sending light into her veins and arteries. The resulting shockwave blew open the protective glass and the heat from the explosion vaporized the room and everything in it.


    Entering the room where the incinerator was vaporized I looked down and saw my sister. I fell down to the body of my sister now with a burning ember at her core. I now knew how I came back to life as well as whether or not my sister was infected by the parasite. I jumped down and waited there until she woke up, knowing I would either end up killing her or hugging her. When she woke back up she jumped, startled by the new life about to begin.


    ¡°Booker?¡± she choked, confused by her surroundings.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I replied, ¡°I¡¯ve been learning their language for the last year, I can roughly translate.¡± It was at that point that we both were knocked out, again by some sort of tranquilizer. When I awoke my sister and I were surrounded by armed guards as well as men in hazmat suits.


    Their leader, a mysterious fellow wearing a long tan raincoat and a bowler hat came out of the shadows.


    ¡°What the hell was that?¡± He questioned. Everyone looked terrified. I calmly explained,


    ¡°The explosion earlier was created when the parasite I¡¯ve been telling you about inhabited my sister¡¯s body and triggered its phoenix adaptation, recreating her body after it burns.¡± I continued, ¡°It will happen anytime you burn one of us. Including the other thirty five million of us who made it out, and don¡¯t you dare say they aren¡¯t coming. I can SEE them.¡± The bowler hat man was about to retort when my sister gasped into life. My sister awoke in terror. In our native tongue I said ¡°Relax. Relax. They won¡¯t hurt you if you let me translate.¡± She nodded. I continued, ¡°What do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°Everything.¡± Veralyn said. She stared coldly at each of the men in the room. ¡°I want to know why we are being treated like this, who these lifeforms are and why I feel so¡­different.¡± As she said the last bit she started to look herself over starting with her extremities and working her way to her core. ¡°Where is the gash on my forehead? I remember getting it from our fall.¡±


    ¡°Veralyn, this is going to be difficult to hear.¡± I started, ¡°But the parasite which decimated our species has now infected us.¡± Her head dropped. I could only imagine the questions going through her head. ¡°You no longer have the gash on your forehead because you were reborn. It is also the reason why you feel so different. The parasite left some gifts¡­if you want to call them that.¡±


    ¡°Hey! What are you two talking about!?¡± This was a different man dressed in military camo holding a rifle of some sort. Switching back to English I answered back,


    ¡°She¡¯s just scared, and wants to know what¡¯s going on.¡± My sister looked puzzled by this new tongue, but if anyone could learn it, Veralyn could. Switching back to my native tongue a continued talking to Veralyn. ¡°We uh¡­well we have one mind. The parasite does anyway. It¡¯s like being able to see into a billion eyes, a billion minds.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean they can see what you¡¯re doing then?¡± She asked. I hadn¡¯t thought about that. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s why everyone goes berserk at different times. The parasite activates us when we no longer serve a purpose?¡± She continued. I missed her. Over the last year Earth had become a very lonely place. I was just glad to have my sister back. Now we could focus on what was at stake. Life as we know it.

 Outside the box

    VERALYN  2


    After I woke up, I knew everything had changed. We were no longer the children of renowned intellect, and wealth. We were now Guinea pigs waiting for our next meal. We were obsessing about the future without the power to change it. While Booker was thinking about how to beat the parasite, I was thinking of how to escape our box. I saw into the lives of our parents and the rest of our species. They were hard at work repairing the cruisers, since their rebirth lead to the cruisers¡¯ destruction. I knew that our secrecy was paramount to these men, and as much as I wanted to escape I knew not how nor what I would do afterwards. Now it was my turn to do as my brother had done before.


    I was used to learning fast. That was my gift you might say, however, this was completely different. Instead of learning a whole new language over months and years, I caught up to Booker in weeks. He gave me lessons when we had our exercise time in a giant bunker. He did give me a few tips here and there, but I¡¯m telling you something¡¯s different. Booker did say that we are connected to the hive mind, but he did not experience this massive acceleration in learning speed.


    ¡°I think that the parasite is actually much more complex than previously thought. Instead of it affecting a species one way, and one way only, I believe it now has evolved to go to individual genes, and mutate them at will.¡± I said to Booker. We were out in the bunker.


    ¡°It would explain a few things.¡± Booker said. I wondered what he meant. ¡°Come jog with me.¡± Booker motioned.


    He knew that I never ran. Booker didn¡¯t wait for an answer, he took off running to the other side, and Booker was outpacing Agent Pikman by five or six times, all without even breaking a sweat. That¡¯s when I noticed that we was still the same size in my vision, even though he was five hundred feet away.


    I am now a full year into my stay here on planet earth and part of me is scared, while I¡¯m learning more about these humans, they seem like a violent and hungry species. Booker has given them the technology required to travel the stars and I¡¯m not sure if they¡¯re ready for it. I have been postponed teaching them our species advances in weaponry. While we will need it to fight the parasite, I am afraid of giving humans this kind of power. I am constantly arguing with the Presidents of each nation, on why we need to focus on the construction of our own carriers, so we can attempt to save the human race. They do not understand what we face.


    Booker has only scratched the surface of the parasite, he hasn¡¯t told them of the Mother. The Mother is the first entity that the parasite infected and also the largest. She is the largest entity in the known universe, hundreds of times larger than the largest stars. Her pawns destroy everything in their paths. The parasite is coming, but the humans would not to be able to tell for centuries. As the light from their Milky Way galaxy starts to disappear, only then would they understand what was about to happen.


    Booker and I have now been captives, lab rats, and teachers for two years. In that time the humans still refuse to believe, of ALL the things we have told them, that a parasite can live in space. They believe we are infected, but not that it can spread, nor that it is hunting them down. They are intent on keeping us locked up and secret. We have other plans.


    ¡°Okay. Okay. Okay. Let¡¯s go through the plan one more time Booker.¡± I pleaded.


    ¡°Why? It¡¯s not like they can stop us.¡± Booker was used to living in my shadow, but this felt different.


    He was brooding, I think he was hoping to finally be the one mom and dad would be proud of. What he doesn¡¯t already know though is that he is the reason we¡¯ve made it this far. He¡¯s made more progress with another species than any Snamuh from Thrae had achieved since our existence began, more than one hundred thousand years ago. Still, he insists on being moody because he¡¯s not the prized pig anymore.


    ¡°Because we are about to break out of a military instillation in who knows where on an UNKNOWN planet!? If we have any chance of actually helping these people we have to do this right.¡± I got a little more heated than I should have, because Booker started walking away.  I was about to call out to him when he blurted,


    ¡°We¡¯re connected remember? I know what you¡¯re seeing, hearing, thinking. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t mess it up and we start as soon as they go lights out.¡± He kept walking towards the main building where we stayed, and that¡¯s when the sirens rang out.


    It was only the second time I had heard it. The first time was because of a fire in the kitchen¡­I was learning to cook okay? The second was also a fire in the kitchen¡­I don¡¯t cook anymore. Since I wasn¡¯t in the kitchen and Booker wasn¡¯t either, it must have been for something else. We both ran inside and waited around the elevator that led to the outside world. It took its time descending, truth be told I didn¡¯t know far down we were. I couldn¡¯t see the top when I looked up.


    ¡°What do you think this is about Booker?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Well, the first year I was here I heard a siren similar to this one but they never said what happened. The elevator activated but didn¡¯t come all the way down here. At the time it¡¯s where I thought they were keeping you.¡± At that point the elevator stopped moving. It was stopped about one hundred feet above us. ¡°I haven¡¯t really tried jumping yet. You think I could make it up there?¡± Booker asked while looking up at the elevator.


    ¡°No, there¡¯s no space on the sides to fit through.¡± I said. Booker never was a good listener.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning on going on the side.¡± He said, already in the air. To his surprise it was at that moment the elevator started to descend. ¡°I¡¯ve never had to use the brakes on this before!  He cried, flying through the air. What an idiot. He slammed against the bottom of the elevator. It echoed all the way up and down the elevator shaft. Good job Booker! I thought to myself, now I know we are about three hundred feet below ground. He fell to the ground gracefully, considering how he started his fall.


    I helped him up and teased, ¡°So was that the plan or was that practice?¡± He glared at me. He was dusting off his pants, about to tell me to jump into a volcano. Instead, the elevator opened and outstepped a man who they called The Director.


    ¡°It is a pleasure to finally meet you two, I am The Director. However, you two may call me Jason.¡± He extended his hand out and we took turns shaking it. Looking at me he said, ¡°Now Veralyn, it is Veralyn correct?¡± I nodded. He continued, ¡°Good, I hear you are the more advanced of you two as far as our language, correct?¡±


    ¡°I am. However, my brother Booker was the first one here-¡° I said before being cut off by Jason.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about experience I need speaking skills.¡± He barked.


    ¡°Why?¡± I questioned.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Jason sighed, looked down at the ground and said, ¡°We have another snamuhian pod incoming. We spotted it orbiting Jupiter, using it like a gravity slingshot. It will land in approximately two days.¡±


    ¡°You going to shoot down this one as well?¡± Booker snapped.


    ¡°Actually no, I was going to go send you two as a welcoming party.¡± Jason said smiling. ¡°Now I know we haven¡¯t let you outside in the last two years, but now we feel like it¡¯s a better time to announce your arrival to the public. Thanks to your efforts, Earth as a whole has improved. You have given us terraforming technology, to transform the planet into an oasis for life. Your advancements in farming technology has eliminated famine, and hunger across the world. Lastly, from studying the two of you, we have synthesized a parasite that should counter act the one living in you.¡± He finished.


    ¡°So like a cure?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Think of it more like a vaccine. Exposing the public to this specimen might help in the survival of the human species.¡± Jason said.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t just about humans anymore Jason. It never was.¡± Booker said through gritted teeth.


    ¡°Jason,¡± I started saying. ¡°You don¡¯t understand and you must if you are to prepare your people effectively.¡± Booker knew what I was thinking and yelled,


    ¡°No! No! No! Veralyn! You don¡¯t have to, there is one already. Can¡¯t you see him?¡± My eyes rolled in the back of my head as I began searching the hive mind for any human presence. After a moment I saw him, his connection was weak. He was laying on a hospital bed much like the one I woke up in. One of his arms were missing. He was wrapped up in gauze. When I was about to leave his mind he woke up. Screaming he looked down to where his arm used to be. That is when something interesting happened. His arm grew back.


    I rolled my eyes back to where they are supposed to be and said to Jason, ¡°Jason the man that Booker bit, he¡¯s infected!¡± Jason looked at Booker like he was saying ¡°really?¡±


    ¡°Veralyn, we know. We¡¯ve been watching his condition since it began.¡± Booker told me.


    ¡°Oh. Well any other symptoms?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not yet, he¡¯s been in a coma since the day Booker bit him. We had to medically induce it.¡± Jason stated.


    ¡°That¡¯s not completely true.¡±  I said. ¡°He just woke up and his arm grew back.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not possible I would have been notified.¡± Jason said as his pocket started to ring. He picked up his phone and spoke into it. ¡°Yes I heard. Quarantine him. I¡¯ll be there shortly.¡± He hung up and said, ¡°Would you look at that. Mr. Garrett has woken up and has some questions. I¡¯ll be back later. We aren¡¯t done talking.¡± He stepped back into the elevator and pushed a button. The elevator rose back to where it was previously.


    ¡°What else do you think they¡¯ve neglected to tell us?¡± I asked Booker. He put it off with a shrug. ¡°Booker, look at me.¡± He turned his head. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    He had tears in his eyes as he cried out, ¡°EVERYTHING! Everything is wrong, you know what this means don¡¯t you? It has begun. Now horde after horde of that scourge will pour onto this planet, destroying everything it touches.¡± He collapsed, still sobbing he choked out, ¡°It was our job to stop it. OUR JOB. And we failed to get the humans to listen.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right Booker. We weren¡¯t able to stop the parasite from getting to earth. You know what we haven¡¯t even tried yet though? We haven¡¯t tried to talk to the humans Booker, we have been talking to the elites. We need to take our message to the masses.¡±


    ¡°Well our only way up is that elevator.¡± Booker said. ¡°The only way we are getting out of here is if we take the deal to go investigate the pod.¡± I knew he was right, however I didn¡¯t like the look Jason had on his face when he mentioned the welcoming party.


    Hours passed before Jason returned. ¡°Are you two ready?¡± He asked smiling. ¡°Today you two leave this place and finally answer the question humanity has been asking for millennia. ¡®Are we alone in the universe?¡¯ Today you usher in a new age.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Booker and I answered in monotone unison.


    ¡°Good. Then please follow me.¡± Jason gestured to the elevator. We walked inside and began the ascent.


    ¡°What¡¯s on this level?¡± asked Booker as we passed the level where we had seen the elevator earlier.


    ¡°That is our hospital unit.¡± Jason replied. ¡°In the field of extraterrestrial containment people tend to get hurt. Badly.¡± There was some weird noise in the background.


    ¡°What is that noise?¡± I asked.


    Jason looked confused before responding, ¡°It¡¯s called music. Are you telling me they never put any music on for you two?¡± We shook our heads. ¡°For Pete¡¯s sake no wonder you guys look like you want to escape. You must be so bored down here. I¡¯ll see what I can do about that when we get back. You will have a new roommate as well.¡± When we get back? I thought to myself. I was starting to see that Jason loved to hear himself talk. ¡°If you were curious, this level is where our testing for our hybrid technologies takes place. You two will be responsible for a near elimination for the need of fossil fuels. As well as completely transforming our understanding of physics.¡± We were finally nearing the top. ¡°Careful when you first go outside the sun is bright today.¡±


    I don¡¯t know how I would explain that first step back into sunlight after being deprived of it for years. After absorbing enough radiation from its rays Booker and I returned to our normal size. While we were contained we shrank down to about six feet. Minutes after our release we towered over our captors reaching fifteen feet tall a piece. Finally we were us again.


    Jason nearly wet himself at the sight, ¡°You weren¡¯t this big when we found you!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care, blame the parasite!¡± Booker yelled as he launched himself into the air. Reaching the climax of his jump he yelled down, ¡°How high Veralyn?¡±


    ¡°Just under five hundred feet!¡± I screamed. It was incredible! The highest high jump our species had ever achieved was three hundred feet. Booker landed with a thud.


    ¡°Now that was fun.¡± Booker laughed. His eyes rolled back in his head and he quickly turned to face me. ¡°I sense the power in you, child. Even if you do not. When the time comes do what is right.¡± Following this outburst Booker collapsed.


    As he came to I started asking, ¡°Are you okay?¡±, ¡°Who was that?¡± and ¡°Do you remember anything?¡± Before I could ask anymore he put his hand up. He looked up and locked eyes with mine. I saw into his mind and felt the fear and doubt soaking into his brain. The Mother.


    Jason was the first one to speak, ¡°What the hell just happened?¡± I wanted to answer but the truth is I couldn¡¯t. I had no idea what that was about. All I knew is that The Mother knew we were alive and that expected me to make a choice. ¡°Booker what did you say?¡± Jason asked, his eyes frantic. Booker was still lost in his mind unable to move let alone talk.


    ¡°Booker,¡± I started in our natural tongue, ¡°Booker tell me what you saw.¡± He looked at me eyes full of tears. I saw into his mind and that¡¯s when The Mother actually spoke to me.


    ¡°Yes. Veralyn of the snamuhian race, former home-world of Thrae. You interest me child. You are capable of so much more than you think. Your future is still uncertain though. So many choices still left to make. This has a fun first impression. Ta Ta for now.¡± I felt this evil energy leave Booker. Returning to my mind I ¡°awoke¡± to find Booker giving me the biggest bear hug.


    ¡°Veralyn. You can¡¯t do it. You just can¡¯t.¡± Booker was still on the verge of tears. He switched to Snamuhian. ¡°She showed me what she wants you to do. She wants you to infect all of the humans.¡± My eyes widened. ¡°That is your choice Veralyn.¡± Booker continued, ¡°Do you spare the human race or lead them yourself?¡± While I couldn¡¯t help but think of leading a seven billion strong army, I knew that this was only to serve her.


    ¡°Guys. Guys. GUYS!¡± Jason was yelling at us. Dazed, Booker and I looked back at him before he tapped his watch and said, ¡°Remember we have a job to do?¡± Booker and I got up slowly.


    ¡°So where are we launching from Jason?¡± I asked. With our new size Jason was getting more and more uneasy. Looking at his feet he answered back,


    ¡°Well we built this craft based on your old proportions. So right now we aren¡¯t launching from anywhere.¡± ¡°We also can¡¯t risk the public seeing you like this. It would incite panic.¡± An immediate sense of danger fell over me. I told Booker to run. He was gone before they had a chance. The last thing I saw before I was knocked out was his big purple body leaping across the desert. I wondered how long it would be before I saw my brother before me again.


    When I awoke Agent Pikman was standing in front of me. ¡°Booker got to know Agent Pikman very well, I hope you two get just as close.¡± Jason said. ¡°You better hope we find Booker before anyone else does. We are much friendlier than anyone else he could find.¡± Jason added. That night before I went to bed I tried to find Booker. When I finally did find him he was back to human size walking along the side of the road. If there was anything I learned about Booker over the last year, it would be that he would be okay. Not to mention I could check up whenever I wanted. Badly beaten, both physically and mentally I drifted off to sleep.

 Strange New World

    BOOKER   3


    I thought I knew everything about these humans. However, as soon as I left that lab it became painfully clear how wrong I was. I didn¡¯t know where I was, or where I was going. It was my first night outside of the lab, and with the sun¡¯s radiation gone I had shrank back down to human size. I was walking around Phoenix, Arizona. Not many people paid attention to me, which I thought was odd.


    Whenever someone would notice me all they would say is ¡°Nice costume Bro!¡± What was a costume? Why did they think they were my brother?  These were only curiosities though, I was only concerned with finding water and fish. After walking around town for about an hour I managed to get a large plate a fish and a water pitcher from a local business. It was hardly edible compared to what I was served while in containment. When I got up to leave my waitress stopped me,


    ¡°Excuse me sir, you have to pay for that!¡± Pay with what? I thought. I started to turn to walk away again. ¡°Sir if you can¡¯t pay I¡¯m going to have to call the police.¡± The waitress addressed me again. I kept walking until a familiar voice said, ¡°No need, I¡¯ll pick up his tab.¡± When I turned to see who paid for my meal I saw no one I recognized.


    I left the establishment and was followed by the woman who paid for my meal. I was going to cross the road when I heard ¡°Booker, don¡¯t you recognize me?¡± It was the woman again, but it wasn¡¯t English. I was about to speak until I remembered my teeth weren¡¯t exactly human. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I know about your teeth. I used to have the same ones.¡±


    ¡°ALJBVDAKJS?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The humans call me Neila. But yes, Booker, it¡¯s me.¡± She said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you made it!¡± I yelled. After everything that had happened with my family I was shocked anyone else made it out. Especially her. ¡°Wait, how did you make it?¡± I asked. Before she could speak I yelled, ¡°AND HOW ARE YOU HUMAN?¡± This got some looks from the parking lot. Neila put her head down and sighed,


    ¡°First things first Booker, I¡¯m glad you haven¡¯t changed a bit. Secondly, the same reason you can jump super high and run fast; it¡¯s my mutation. Thirdly, while big brother caught you and Veralyn, I was lost in the ocean.¡± I must have looked confused because she continued, ¡°When I drown I come back to life, like when you burn.¡± Grinning she added, ¡°And I turn into any human I touch. Right now I¡¯m Neila Elprup, but that will change at some point.¡±


    ¡°Wow, wait¡­ what do you do about the sun?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Oh it doesn¡¯t affect me while I¡¯m human,¡± Neila replied.


    ¡°Are there any other survivors?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Yea, there¡¯s a few, want to come meet them?¡± She opened the door of a car and said ¡°Get in.¡± I hopped in and she was off. ¡°It¡¯s a long drive so we will have plenty of time to catch up.¡± She said. ¡°So what¡¯s with you? You¡¯ve been here how long and you didn¡¯t come say hi?¡± I was about to start explaining myself when she said, ¡°Stop. It was a joke, remember? Hive mind dude. It looked like a light went off above her head, ¡°Wait Booker, where is Veralyn?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­I-I-I escaped. She doesn¡¯t have the same mutation I do. S-S-She couldn¡¯t follow me.¡± I was starting to break down, for the first time I actually thought about how I left my sister behind.


    ¡°Hey, hey, hey it¡¯s okay.¡± Neila said, ¡°What matters is that you could find Veralyn again yea?¡± I nodded. ¡°Good, because your sister is the key to stopping the parasite.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± I asked. Neila started laughing. ¡°Seriously, how does it have to do with the Mother?¡± A chill went down my spine.


    Neila laughed and said, ¡°Ha, yeah she¡¯s watching alright.¡± I looked down remembering what the after effects of the possession felt like. ¡°Don¡¯t let that get you down though, there is a way to stop that and it involves your sister. For now though let¡¯s talk about who you will be meeting; DFKJKDFSJ, who now goes by Ghost, ZSMJBUF, who now goes by Tech, and QWUIFGI, who now goes by Sandman. They¡¯re weird, but they¡¯re us¡­you know?¡± Neila shrugged


    ¡°At least you had names to call people.¡± I said.


    ¡°Fair enough, but there is a reason they chose those names. Ghost can¡­well name kinda speaks for its self. Tech can control the human¡¯s electricity and Sandman can put anyone to sleep just by touching them.¡± Neila finished.


    ¡°So what do you all do? Sleep under a bridge?¡± I asked, jokingly.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t all fall together Booker. Each of us was the lone survivor of our quarters. Each of us has a unique talent. Sandman was actually the one who first brought us all together.¡± Neila stated.


    ¡°Not what I asked Neila. I¡¯ve been a test subject for two years what did you do?¡± I asked a little louder.


    ¡°We rob places Booker. We¡¯re thieves, no one ever gets hurt, I promise.¡± Neila sighed.


    ¡°If you¡¯re a thief, why did you never come to break us out?¡± I was starting to get angry now.


    ¡°Booker there is a difference between security at jewelry stores and secret military compounds.¡± Neila was starting to get frustrated. ¡°How about you get some rest and I¡¯ll wake you up when we get there?¡± she said, when something came to me,


    ¡°Oh wait that¡¯s right, There¡¯s supposed to be more of us arriving tomorrow. Veralyn and I were supposed to be the welcoming party.¡± I said. Neila¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Did they say where it was coming down?¡± She asked.


    ¡°No, but they¡¯re preparing a transport to go meet them. So probably not close.¡± I said.


    ¡°All right. Well there¡¯s nothing we can do anything about it right now. So get some sleep.¡± She ordered.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Sandman when you need him, huh?¡± I joked. Neila smiled and turned up her music.


    Clearly talking time was over. I rolled over and went into the hive mind, searching for my sister. When I found her she was busy learning Chinese, Spanish and German. She must be preparing to give a speech to the planet, apparently instead of having Veralyn go to the new arrival they would shoot it down and make her take its place.


    ¡°Stop staring at me idiot.¡± Veralyn said in Thraen. It made me smile. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve learned a lot in the day I¡¯ve been gone. I can¡¯t tell you about a lot of it. She will hear.¡±


    ¡°Who will hear you Booker?¡± Veralyn asked.


    ¡°Mother. In any case I was just seeing what you were doing. I¡¯ll see you later.¡±I came to and Neila had pulled over and was hovering over my chest.


    ¡°What were you doing?¡± she asked.


    ¡°What you can¡¯t do that? Enter the hive mind?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes of course I can do that Booker, but to talk to other people through it? Never.¡± She said.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s Veralyn. The Mother did say something about powers Veralyn doesn¡¯t know she has yet.¡± I suggested.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s your link as brother and sister?¡± Neila added. I shrugged. ¡°You hungry?¡± She asked. I wasn¡¯t but I didn¡¯t feel like I had a choice. ¡°I tell you what Booker, these humans are hungry all of the time. Their entire life revolves around it.¡± She ended up getting us fish sandwiches. I only ate the fish. ¡°A positive of being human though? I¡¯m not stuck eating that all the time.¡±


    I liked the way humans cooked fish. We finished our meal and got back on the road. ¡°If you want to sleep you still have time it will be a couple hours.¡± I nodded and tried to sleep.


    It was a lot harder than sleeping in the beds back at the compound. It took me a while to fall asleep but when I finally did I dreamt of my old life back on Thrae. My mother and Father were always at work during the day. Veralyn was always at school and I was left to my own devices. I didn¡¯t have any friends, and I frequently got in fights. Most of the time it was me who got my butt kicked. Neila was always there to help me back up.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Everything changed when the enormous volcano we had built our city on came out of dormancy. As soon as the first smoke started to rise planetary evacuation plans were enacted. I thought I would never see Neila again. The volcano took weeks to wake up but when it finally did it decimated the continent. Those who hadn¡¯t fled were either vaporized or buried in ash. At that point they started loading people onto the carriers that had been built.


    I awoke sometime later with a white substance smeared all over my face. ¡°What is this gunk?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s called sunscreen and hypothetically it should make it so you don¡¯t become a giant. Now rub it in.¡± That solved one problem. ¡°Ready to meet everyone?¡± Neila asked. I nodded. ¡°Alright then follow me.¡± She said as she descended some stairs. I followed. We must have gone down thirty flights of stairs before she stopped in front of a purple door. ¡°Everybody is just in here.¡± She opened the door and the first thing I heard was loud music, it had a deep bass that I could feel in my chest. I smelt a strong floral scent I followed it to a table. A large scented candle was burning. A smaller snamuhian that was neon purple with scales seated at the table said. ¡°I¡¯m Tech.¡±


    ¡°Neila said you control electricity. Is that true?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yea more or less. You want to see?¡± I nodded. We headed into the next room where there was a kitchen and bottles filled with what appeared to be flavored water. Tech and I grabbed one and headed deeper into the maze. The next room was occupied with nothing but jewelry, I couldn¡¯t help but stare. I walked into something, but when I turned to look in front of me nothing was there. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Ghost.¡± Said a low voice as he materialized in front of me. He was a large snamuhian, coming in at seven feet tall in reduced form.


    ¡°Hi Ghost, out of curiosity¡­ how tall are you when you¡¯re normal?¡± I asked.


    ¡°About twenty feet? When I landed I scared a local city, said they saw a walking tree so I¡¯m a bit less invisible and more like a chameleon.¡± Ghost replied. My jaw dropped.


    ¡°Ghost, Booker wants to see MY mutation.¡± Tech said. Ghost went and turned off the lights. Tech walked over to the wall socket and put his hand on it. Blue streaks of plasma began to orbit his hand. When he drew his hand away from the socket and made a palm. He released the charge and created an EMP. I felt a burning in my neck, but when I reached to feel the spot it was my regular skin.


    I heard Neila yell from down the hall. ¡°STOP DOING THAT TECH!¡± I continued on, now all I heard was light music and the air was filled with relaxing scents and oils.


    ¡°Neila tells me you are named Booker.¡± A cloaked figure asked.


    ¡°You must be Sandman. ¡° I said. He nodded. ¡°Where did Neila go?¡± I asked he pointed even further down the hall.


    ¡°To your room.¡± Sandman replied. I thanked him and left. Every time he spoke I fought the urge to pass out. His mutation was astonishingly potent. He didn¡¯t even have to touch me. I followed the corridor peeking in each room until I saw Neila.


    ¡°Hoping for more guests?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yea, something like that.¡± She grinned. ¡°Here you go home sweet home room B. I¡¯m in room N. Sandman is in room S and Tech is in room T.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just silly, your setup isn¡¯t alphabetically correct.¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s actually reverse because I¡¯m between you and Sand.¡± Neila said. ¡°It¡¯s not really important though Booker, alphabets are created by the species that speak them. It¡¯s an arbitrary order, made to teach children.¡± Neila paused. ¡°What¡¯s important is where our new arrival is landing.¡± She said looking at me.


    I sighed, ¡°It looks like they are going to shoot it down and introduce Veralyn and the first arrival instead. We still have no idea where the new arrival is coming in from to go retrieve them. That is what I learned from Veralyn last night.¡±


    ¡°Any plan on how to get your sister out then?¡± Neila asked.


    ¡°Yea, I¡¯m thinking of one but it¡¯s a bit harder than that.¡± I said.


    ¡°Why is th-¡° I cut her off. Veralyn was talking to me.


    ¡°Booker! Booker listen to me! Jason just shot down the pod, they did it early! I can sense someone in there. Give me a second, I¡¯m going to mind dive them.¡± She said shortly before our connection was cut.


    ¡°The new arrival is coming sooner than we thought.¡± I informed the others.


    ¡°How soon?¡± Neila asked.


    ¡°The Director of the program just shot it down. The pod¡¯s in freefall.¡± I replied to Neila.


    ¡°Booker! She¡¯s crashing right on your position!¡± Veralyn screamed in my mind. I motioned Neila to round everyone up. ¡°I told her to!¡± She added.


    ¡°Neila grab everyone and head down as deep as we can go.¡± I ordered. ¡°We have an escape pod crashing on us.¡± We headed down a staircase that led to a door. Running through it, we heard a rumble. The pod crashed through the ceiling, first floor and basement. Everyone¡¯s room had been destroyed. I ran over to the pod and pried it open with immense strength. I looked inside and saw a glowing ember.


    I had time to get back through the doorway with everyone else before the phoenix adaption triggered. The pod was vaporized along with what was left of my new home. My friends Tech, Sandman, Ghost and Neila climbed out of the wreckage.


    ¡°The car is still okay!¡± Neila celebrated. I grabbed the arrivals body and jumped back up to street level. I put her in one of the back seats. Everyone else hopped in, and Neila got us out of there before anyone arrived on the scene. We didn¡¯t know at the time, but a camera across the street had seen us exit the building after the explosions.


    It was about an hour since the arrival was reborn. She jerked into consciousness. ¡°Hello.¡± Sand said. Everyone¡¯s eyelids dropped a little and it started a yawning fit.


    Between each yawn the arrival spoke in Snamuhian. ¡°Where-am-I? Who-are-you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m-Booker, my-sister-sent-you-to-me. Welcome-to-Earth.¡± I yawned back. At this point we had to pull off the road and get out. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± I asked.


    ¡°DFJBCKX. It¡¯s short for DSKULBVVKSSKJB. I got it from my mothers¡¯ side.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Good to know. Now are we ready to go or what?¡± Neila asked. We all nodded and got back in the car. ¡°So what¡¯s your deal? Like, what is your mutation?¡± Neila asked.


    ¡°Mutations. I have multiple. Thanks to your sister, Booker. After my pod had been shot she entered my mind and ordered me to find you. I sensed the metal in your neck and propelled my pod towards it.¡± The arrival answered. I had never heard of two mutations. Then I thought about my sister and her connection with the Mother. The connection could finally end this war.


    ¡°So what, magnestism and flight?¡± Neila asked.


    ¡°I guess.¡± She laughed. Adding, ¡°So far, who kn-¡°


    ¡°Alright then your name is Angel.¡± Neila interjected.


    ¡°As in?¡± Angel asked.


    ¡°As in angelic because of your flight.¡± Neila said.


    ¡°What can everyone else do then?¡± Angel asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m Neila and I can become any of the humans. The neon one on your left is Tech, he controls electricity. On your right is the titan known as Ghost. His skin adapts to project his surroundings on his skin to produce camouflage. Behind you is Sandman, who demonstrated his power earlier. He doesn¡¯t talk a lot anymore. Finally up front next to me is Booker who does¡­.wait Booker what do you do?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Oh, uh I¡¯m just really strong¡­fast¡­and agile. It¡¯s kind of just like being supersnamuhian. I already broke our all-time high jump record.¡± I answered.


    ¡°How high did you get?¡± Ghost asked. ¡°I¡¯m number five on that list.¡± He added.


    ¡°Like¡­five hundred feet?¡± I said while shrugging.


    ¡°That¡¯s incredible!¡± They all gasped.


    ¡°Hey what did you guys say? I haven¡¯t understood you the last like thirty seconds.¡± Angel asked. I didn¡¯t even realize I had switched to English. So had everyone else apparently.


    ¡°Oh boy this is going to take a while.¡± Neila said. ¡°Someone start teaching her English.¡± We ended up pulling straws, everyone except Sandman that is. Tech drew the short one and sighed. Tech and Angel went to the furthest back seats and Sandman came up to the first row.


    ¡°I always forget how good you smell Sandman.¡± Ghost commented. Sandman gave a thankful nod and put his head against the window.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to teach her to learn from the hive mind Tech!¡± I yelled. I hoped that Angel would learn faster than I did. She did have the hive mind to use though. I was the first snamuhian English learner after all. ¡°So where are going?¡± I asked Neila.


    ¡°I bought this place last year after a really good heist. It¡¯s on a large plot of land up north about fourteen hours from here. Easily fortifiable, and easily defendable.¡± She answered. ¡°We can lay low there until we know how to break Veralyn out.¡± Neila added.


    I decided to get some rest for the journey ahead. I asked Sandman to show me his power. He cautioned me, warned me of the potency of his sleep. I didn¡¯t care. Seconds later I was snoring. In my sleep I went and watched Veralyn.


    Agent Pikman was there with Jason. They weren¡¯t happy that Angel and I escaped. The burning I had felt in my neck earlier was a tracker shorting out. Probably inserted when I was first captured. I heard them say something about the parasite, but I couldn¡¯t make it out. At that point she forced me out.


    ¡°Booker? Are you okay? Were you dreaming?¡± Asked Neila. She had her hands wrapped around my shoulders.


    ¡°Yea I¡¯m okay, but Veralyn is paying for what we did today.¡± I answered. It was hard to stay calm, doing nothing while my sister was in danger drove me crazy. I kept trying to see into her mind, but it was blacked out, like someone covered a camera in paint. All I heard was static. I went to go look at the scenery outside the car. It must have been several hours since we left though, because it was no longer light out and I couldn¡¯t see anything.


    ¡°Speaking of what we did today Booker, it¡¯s your turn to drive.¡± Neila said.


    ¡°Uh¡­I escaped a secret military lab like yesterday, I don¡¯t know how to drive.¡± I said in monotone, ¡°I may as well be a robot.¡±


    ¡°They have those now Booker, robot drivers that is.¡± Neila pointed out.


    ¡°Well then why don¡¯t you have one?¡± I asked. Neila sighed,


    ¡°Because Booker, they have cameras, and would see the aliens in the vehicle.¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say to that. All of this was so new to me. Back in the lab I had borders, limits, duties. We didn¡¯t learn of Earth¡¯s people or cultures. That thought brought up a question.


    ¡°Neila, last night, when you found me. Why was no one panicked by my appearance?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Oh yeah, I meant to tell you about that. You chose the perfect night to break out of that place. It was October thirty first, also known as Halloween. It happens once a year. The humans all dress up in costumes depicting themselves as different things.¡± Neila answered, cringing when she finished.


    ¡°How long have you been on Earth Neila?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Three days less than you Booker.¡± Neila said. ¡°Now, we have six hours left. Who are you going to wake up to drive? Ghost or Tech?¡± We thought about it a second to long. ¡°Not Tech!¡± Neila blurted. We both laughed, and I went to the back seat to wake up Ghost.