Track 49

“Come Together”

Present Day

Alondra’s pacing outside her house when I pull up. She’d texted me her address and insisted I come straight over. Jake’s nosebleed had slowed somewhat, thanks to the spare tampon I’d stuck up his nostril. I once saw a triage nurse do that while waiting in an ER, so I figured it’d work for him as first aid. Judging by his look of abject horror, it seems he would have preferred another abduction.

I pop a couple of Lisa’s vitamins in my mouth and swallow them without water.

“Are you all right?” is the first thing I sign to Alondra when I tumble out of the car.

She nods, then does a double take when she sees Jake staggering toward her. “Is he all right?”

“He will be. I hope.” I wave Jake around to my side. “Jake, this is Alondra.”

“I saw you on the ship,” he says, loud enough for the sleepy neighborhood to hear him.

I sign what he says for Alondra. Never did I dream my interpreting skills would be needed in this way.

Well, obviously a part of me knew they would. I’m glad I took notice of the voice inside me that insisted I learn how to sign.

Alondra’s eyes grow huge. She beckons us down a path alongside her house. “Come this way to my studio. We won’t be bothered by anyone down there.”

I interpret what she says for Jake and try to lead him by the arm.

Jake shrugs me off. “I can walk—”

“And bleed at the same time?” I finish.

He dabs his nose gingerly. “I think it’s stopping. Can I take this thing out yet?”

“Soon.”

Alondra leads us into a walk-out basement that smells of oil paint and turpentine. She bundles us in and closes the curtains. Lights buzz on, then dim.

Jake and I stand side by side, our mouths falling open. The walls are covered in canvases of varying sizes. Abstract figures and landscapes are all painted in the same gray-purple color palette.

We’re surrounded by aliens.

Depictions of them, anyway.

These are disturbing. Slashing lines. Dangerous curves. Oppressive colors. Just looking at them makes me break into a sweat.

I’m drawn to a half-finished painting. It’s an extreme close-up of large bulbous eyes. They’re deep onyx at first glance. Then in the center, the tone fades to a dark gray, where I can just pick out a human silhouette.

Looking sheepish, Alondra moves close to an easel. A charcoal sketch shows the outlines of four figures. Whether they’re human or not, I can’t tell. “I may be a little obsessed.”

“A little,” I sign after interpreting for Jake, who seems to have forgotten all about the tampon in his nose.

She touches the easel, her face contorting. “This isn’t art. It’s a documentary.”

“What are you going to do with them?” I spy dozens more canvases stretched on pine frames stacked in corners and on metal shelves. She’s sure as hell prolific.

“I’m torn,” she signs. “Some days I feel like I can sell the paintings. Other days I want to pile them up and start a bonfire.”

“Happy to help.” Jake puts his hand up. “But first, can I take this thing out of my nose? I think the bleeding’s stopped.”

Alondra gives him a grim smile. She points at a door. “There’s a trash can in the bathroom.”

“Thanks,” he mumbles, ducking his head to avoid a painting hanging from a shelf.

“Who is this guy?” Alondra asks me when he’s gone.

“Jake was at the support group meeting,” I sign. “It turns out he’s my best friend’s new boyfriend. But he’s been standing her up a lot because he says he’s been abducted by aliens.”

“He is a mess,” she signs.

I chew my bottom lip. “He claims we were abducted last night, too.”

“We?”

“You, me, Hayden, him. The reason why I brought him here is because he saw me communicating with ‘a girl’ through sign language on the ship. That could only have been you. How many deaf abductees could there be?”

“I get that it’s uncommon. No one in my Deaf community has ever admitted to being abducted.” Alondra’s brow wrinkles in concentration. “But I don’t remember anything.”

“Neither do I.”

I check my phone again. Nothing from Hayden. Not even an irrelevant emoji.

Jake finally gets out of the bathroom. He scrubs at his right arm, making the skin raw with nail marks. At least his nose is all cleaned up.

“Guys, I think I found a needle mark,” he says.

Bile races up from my stomach. I whisper, “What?”

Stepping forward, he rolls his sleeve up higher. Slowly, I do the same with my right sleeve. So does Alondra.

There, right in the crook of our right arms, is a raised red bump. We stare open-mouthed at each other, frozen to the paint-stained tile floor.

“I thought…I thought it was another insect bite,” I sign, then something inside me stills. Yeah. Another insect bite in the same spot as before. What a coincidence. But why would I have thought it was another kind of injury? We live in semi-rural Colorado. Even now, in early October, mosquitoes are more common than needle-wielding aliens.

“So did I,” Alondra signs. She inspects the wound again and winces. Alondra motions for us to sit on a group of mismatched furniture. They’re splashed with dried paint.

But I can’t sit. I start pacing. “Okay, obviously we’re connected somehow. We should compare stories. Alondra, you remember the two of us getting abducted five years ago.”

Jack jerks backward in surprise. “You didn’t mention it at the support group.”

“That’s because I have no memory of it,” I tell him and sign for Alondra. “Maybe it’s my brain’s way of protecting me.”

Alondra signs, “After I saw you at the diner, I did a little research into memories of alien abductions. It seems some people, lucky people, get to walk away from abductions blissfully unaware they even happened in the first place.”

My gaze drops as guilt overwhelms me. What made me so special? Why do other people suffer so much through every waking hour? Or could it be that it’s manifesting in other ways with me? Like disturbed sleep patterns?

“Do you think aliens have the power to wipe people’s memories?” I sign.

“Yes, but obviously their methods are hit and miss,” signs Alondra.

“Pretty sure my brain got erased after an abduction,” Jake claims. He sets himself down in the middle of an overstuffed couch. “Didn’t realize what happened until about a year ago.”

“What happened then?” signs Alondra.

The jiggling of Jake’s left leg gives away his nerves. “I got knocked out during a game. When I came to, all these visions started coming back. It freaked the hell out of me.”

“Visions of an abduction?” I sign and speak. He nods.

“I’m going to take a wild guess,” Alondra signs. “Were you abducted at around twelve years of age?”

He nods again. Much more slowly this time. I let out a tiny gasp in response.

“I’ve been seeing a shrink on and off since I got that concussion on the field,” Jake says, and I continue interpreting for Alondra. “Thought I was starting to deal with the visions okay. But these past few weeks, I’ve felt…tormented, I guess is the right word. That’s another reason I’ve been bailing on Angie so much, ’cause I’ve been seeing the doc more often. Trying to get my head screwed on straight.”

Alondra grabs cans of sodas from a bar fridge, hands them to us, and sits on the padded arm of a chair. “Seeing a psychiatrist is nothing to be ashamed about.”

“I know,” he mutters. We watch Jake intently. His right hand shakes as he tries to sip his drink. “Stop looking at me like that. I’ve been studied enough for one day.”

Both of us look away from him. I feign deep interest in the graphics on my soda can, then notice his left nostril start trickling blood again. I hand him some clean tissues from my purse. He’d taken my last tampon.

“Jesus, why won’t the bleeding stop?” he says.

“They must have really done a number on you,” Alondra signs, her eyes full of concern.

“It’s not like the first time this happened to me.” Jake sits up straight again, which is a real feat considering how soft and fluffy those cushions seem. “Something’s different.”

“In what way?” Alondra signs.

“Last night’s guys were mean sons of bitches. It was out-and-out torture. I mean, look at me, no wonder my nose is bleeding.” Jake’s eyes water. As I sign for Alondra, a rush of sympathy wells in my chest. We look bleakly at each other.

“What if these are a different breed of aliens than the…nicer ones who’ve taken us before?” Alondra signs. “Maybe there’s something we have in common that makes us attractive to aliens from all kinds of planets.”

From a physical standpoint, none of us have anything in common. Alondra’s small-boned, Hispanic, and deaf. Jake’s built like a towering Polynesian warrior, all muscle and brawn. Me, I’m Eurasian with a penchant for fried brains. But could there be something in our collective DNA that the aliens want? It’s an unnerving thought that I’m not ready to share.

Jake sighs heavily. “Yeah, I can imagine an interstellar network where they’re saying, ‘Hey, guys, we’ve struck gold. Found a tri-county area full of chumps here. Guarantee you they won’t fight back.’”

“There must be a way to fight back, if that’s the case,” I sign, drawing my spine upward.

“Cassidy. I’m a hundred-and-ninety-pound football player and I didn’t stand a chance against them last night.” Jake grimaces. “Why are they even messing with us? What’s the point?”

“Science? Curiosity? Exploration?” I sign. “Maybe it’s the same reason we go out into space. One small step for alien, one giant leap for alien kind.”

“You sound like you’re on their side,” Jake says, his blood-encrusted nostrils flaring.

“I’m not!” Shuddering, I sink onto the couch beside Jake. “Look, I seem to be lucky enough to have amnesia when it comes to these abductions. I wish it were the same for you guys. Moira tried to hypnotize me, but my memories aren’t reliable.”

“Hold on. You remember what happened now?” signs Alondra.

I wave my hand. “Not really. When she put me under, I had a vision of aliens but it wasn’t real.”

“How do you know?” she signs.

“Because one of them was Hayden. Or had his voice, anyway.” I gesture at one of her many art pieces. “And he looked like a classic alien in the vision. Clearly, that was just my mind compiling every sci-fi movie and conspiracy story I’ve ever seen into one nightmare.”

“I wish I had abduction amnesia,” Jake says, his tone bitter.

I shift on the chair. A spring pokes into me. “I asked Moira to plant a hypnotic suggestion so I would remember from now on.”

“Then why didn’t you know about this latest abduction?” Alondra signs.

“Maybe she’s not a legit hypnotherapist? Or it simply didn’t work?” I turn to Jake. “Tell us what happened to you last night.”

“Uh… Okay, last night…” Jake swigs from the soda can. He runs a hand through his hair. “I dropped Angie off at her house. Maybe twelve thirty. So this morning, really.”

Hayden left my house just after one. It seems like our goodbye kisses under the streetlights outside my house happened a millennium ago. But does it seem that way because we were again intercepted by aliens at some point?

“Then what?” I sign.

“I drove a few miles. Switching stations on the radio ’cause I couldn’t get decent reception. And the Bluetooth wasn’t working between my phone and the car stereo.”

“Electronic interference,” signs Alondra. “That’s a classic sign of an approaching UFO. Sorry. Go on.”

“I started driving across that ridge between Dawson and Bartlett,” Jake continues. “You know how dark it is there, right, Cassidy? No streetlights, no houses. Cliffs on either side of the road.”

“Why did you go that way instead of the freeway?” I ask him as I sign.

Jake’s cheeks redden. “I was trying to avoid the highway patrol ’cause I had a swig or two of whiskey early in the night at your homecoming. A mouthful. I swear to you I wasn’t drunk. Stone-cold sober. Angie wouldn’t have gotten in the car with me if I wasn’t.”

It’s true. Angie might drink like a fish, but she doesn’t get in cars with people who are any more or less drunk than she is.

I hesitate for a few seconds, then sign, “Did you smoke anything?”

“You mean like weed?” Jake’s lip curls. “No, not last night. And no marijuana gummy bears or brownies, either. I swear to you.”

“Just wanted to cover all bases.”

Alondra signs, “Then what happened, Jake? When you were driving.”

“Oh yeah,” he says, shaking his curly head. “Driving along. Doing the speed limit ’cause, you know, those turns are tricky up there. All of a sudden, the engine starts sputtering. Now, I work on that truck myself. I know it’s running sweet. And I know there was three-quarters of a tank of gas left. The battery’s a few months old.

“But the engine just cuts out. Completely dead. The lights flick on and off and then die. I roll the truck onto the shoulder. I get out. My phone won’t work, so I can’t even use that as a flashlight, let alone call the auto club. Total darkness. No one around. No crickets chirping. It was like I was in a bubble. And the air felt different, you know? Thicker. Like I was underwater, but not wet. I can’t explain it.”

“I know that feeling,” Alondra signs. “There’s, like, resistance against your body.”

“Exactly. That’s exactly it.” Jake nods. “I popped the hood. Couldn’t see a damn thing, of course. Until…suddenly, this bright beam of light just shone down. I swear to you it was like somebody flicked a light switch right above my head. I tried to look up, but it was so fucking bright. It felt like my skin was on fire.”

“It was a UFO? Could you hear anything? What did it sound like?” I sign. What he’s saying is so vivid. And the fear on his face is real. How could I not believe him? Or Alondra?

“It didn’t sound like anything. Seriously, no sound. It’s impossible, I know. But you’re gonna have to believe me.” Jake straightens.

I think of my dad’s electric car and the way it glides almost silently along highways and byways, but I let Jake’s words go unchallenged. For now.

“Did you get a good look at it?” I sign. “How big was it? How low was it flying?”

Jake holds up his palms. “I’m getting to that. It was kind of hard to see because its lights were literally blinding me. But then my eyes adjusted to it. The thing was maybe a hundred feet above me. Not directly above. Just north of where I was standing. And it was gigantic. Like, I don’t know, half a football field. And triangular shaped. As well as the white light on its underside, it had colored lights running really fast around the edges. Green and purple lights. They were kind of hypnotizing. I was paralyzed. Or frozen. Couldn’t move a hair.”

“We should check social media, see if anybody else reported it last night.” I doubt if a ship that big and bright would go unnoticed, even in a sprawling area like Dawson. Jake nods vigorously. “How did you get inside the ship? Did they beam you up, too?”

He scratches his head. “Can’t remember that part. What I do know is that one minute I was standing next to my truck and the next I was horizontal next to you guys. God, everything was so white, I thought I was in heaven.”

“Then the aliens came in and you knew they were no angels,” Alondra signs.

Jake’s mouth moves wordlessly at first. “Man, those horrible operations. No anesthesia. Digging and poking and scratching with those weird instruments. It seemed to go on forever. And Alondra…your screams. I can still hear them in my head.”

“I’m glad I don’t remember that.” Alondra’s hands shake.

I shudder at the mention of instruments and torture. I close my eyes. A blurry vision of something silver glinting under a spotlight flashes. It’s gone before I can make out exactly what it is. A scalpel? A probe?

“What about the inside of the ship?” I sign. “What did it look like?”

He squeezes his eyes shut. His breathing is sharp and quick. “I was in a white room. That’s where they did their worst.”

“I know the one you mean,” signs Alondra. “It’s like you’re in a snowstorm. You can’t see where the walls and ceilings are, but you know you’re trapped in there.”

I clear my throat. “How did you get out?”

Jake’s leg jiggles faster. “You guys all went home before me. I was the last one standing. Or lying down.”

“What do you mean, we all went home? How? Did they carry us out? Wheel us on gurneys?” I sign.

He faces us, jaw clicking. “You just vanished. Like, pop, pop, pop. You, Alondra, then Hayden. Gone like bursting balloons. When it was my turn, I woke up behind a McDonald’s dumpster. How’s that for shitty valet service?”

“We just vanished?” Only weeks ago, I would have dismissed a story like Jake’s as an intense hallucination or even just a nightmare. This is straight out of Star Trek. But there are a bunch of things I can’t deny. Alondra described my twelve-year-old-self perfectly during our abduction or whatever we’re calling it. Jake saw me communicating in sign language with Alondra. And now we all have suspicious needle-marks on our bodies. It can’t be coincidental.

Jake blows out a big sigh. “If you don’t believe me, I don’t care.”

“We believe you, Jake,” Alondra signs. “Right, Cassidy?”

“Yes,” I tell them. “There’s something bizarre happening to us as a group.”

“So…what do we do next?” Alondra signs, then wrings her slender, paint-encrusted fingers. “Can we do anything?”

“Like what? Call the cops?” Jake says. “They can’t protect us from these alien assholes. Even if we did ask them, I’m sure they’d give us some serious side-eye and tell us to get lost.” Jake digs his phone out of a pocket. He sighs heavily. “Angie’s left me a dozen messages. We need to get going before she gets even more upset.”

“Hayden’s a part of this, too. If we’re getting abducted as a group, then we should try to figure out how to deal with the abductions as a group,” I sign. Though, inwardly, I’m not so sure he’ll be open to forming a sort of Scooby-Doo mystery-solving crew. Hayden clams up whenever I try to press him on his experiences. I check my phone for the millionth time.

Still nothing.

As I fire off another message, I’m suddenly overcome by a dizzying thought. “Oh my God,” I whisper.

Alondra studies my face and her expression darkens. “Cassidy? Did Hayden reply? What did he say?”

“Nothing from Hayden.” A shudder rattles every bone in my body. Jake said he saw Hayden vanish, but that doesn’t mean he was sent home. “What if they still have Hayden?”