David’s dreams were haunted again. This time it was an urgent call from across the galaxy. He tossed and turned, feeling as if the alien had invaded his brain. His imaginary friend from another world was begging him for help. It was only a dream, but he knew it was time to build the portal. But it was only a dream.

He woke up in a sweat. He wondered if the past week had been real. He tried to assess the situation logically. It was true that he had changed, but perhaps he was just coming out of a three-year funk. He’d always been athletic, which would explain his strength, and he’d always been smart, if not quite at the genius level.

He got up and climbed the steps from the basement, went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. As he drank, he felt the ground shake. Though he knew he was awake, a flash from his dreams returned as a bright light appeared above him, piercing through the kitchen ceiling. He looked up, and the light pulled him through the ceiling and through the roof and into the stars.

His mind and body flew across the galaxy. Stars flew by so fast that it looked like he was flying through a tunnel made of strands of gold and silver light. He came to a sudden stop. He was floating in outer space like a stranded space probe. A round, yellow alien with smooth skin, one large eye, and no body, approached him through the blackness of space.

“Am I dreaming?”

“No,” the creature said, projecting its thoughts into David’s mind.

“Why am I here?”

“You were chosen to become an Ascendant. Now you are here to complete the task asked of you.”

“What task? And what’s an Ascendant?”

The creature chose to impart only what was relevant. “Return our own by completing the portal. In turn, you’ll receive what is needed to save your planet.”

“What are you?”

“I am the collective consciousness of the body of beings that inhabit the planet of your true ancestors, David Noble. I am connected to the one you are to save. You are one as well.”

“What am I doing here?”

“You are here to receive the gift of knowledge, so that you can complete your portal and save your own world.

“Then I’m ready.”

“It is done. Knowledge will come as needed.”

In a flash, David felt a magnetic pull sucking him back toward Earth. He watched the tunnel of light and space whiz by in reverse.

“Whoa, that was crazy,” he said as he was returned to the kitchen. Water spilled from the glass he held in hand. As his mind settled, he knew it wasn’t a dream. Equations and geometrical shapes danced in the air before his eyes. It was as if he were connected to some sort of universal Internet, the empty air in front of him his monitor screen. He shook the thoughts from his mind, and the images faded as quickly as they had appeared.

He stood frozen, steadying his water glass as he reviewed his vision. The captive alien was real, though he couldn’t perceive how. And how he’d gotten back home from the hills remained a mystery. Nonetheless, he knew he had a job to do. The alien needed to return home, and it was up to David to build the portal that would return the being to his home planet. He rubbed his eyes and thought about what was required of him. A spherical shape appeared before him floating in the air. It was made of what looked like glass, and equations painted in gold and silver covered its surface. The shape began to spin wildly, emitting blinding light as it spun.

Starfire cube. The name popped into David’s mind, though the portal wasn’t a cube. He ran down the stairs and turned on his laptop to search the Internet for “starfire cube.” He found nothing. “What are you, starfire cube?” he whispered. As he did, his gaze drifted past his monitor. The empty space in the basement room was coming alive with more visions. David ignored his laptop and began typing at the air, his fingers moving at a speed beyond human. The air around him was glowing with words and equations.

“It’s me,” he realized, his heart racing. “All I have to do is think about something, and I can see it in the air.” Information was pouring into him so fast he almost couldn’t keep up. He shrieked with laughter. “I’m a friggin computer!” he yelled.

Memories of the alien returned. “We are one,” it whispered. A revelation struck. David abandoned his mind monitor and ran to the bathroom. He grabbed a hand mirror, held it behind his neck, and looked at the big mirror in front of him. A small geometrical shape was emitting light from beneath his skin. The light was so bright, he could tell that it was the same shape as the starfire cube and had similar etchings. “No friggin way.”

The lights went black. When they returned, he’d become the alien again. “We are one,” it whispered. He knew the alien was hidden just north of Atlantic Bay. Tubes ran into him, pumping him full of sedatives as the same group of scientists continued their tests. David could feel the physical pain as if it were happening to him. “We are one,” he realized. “I’ve got to finish the cube!”

David was a bucket of nerves when he entered school that morning. He knew what had to be done, and it had to be done soon, but he knew he couldn’t do it by himself. “The Fannins,” he thought. “They’ll help me.” But he hadn’t spoken to the Fannin brothers since his father’s death. His best bet was to catch them after school in their garage, also known as the Fannin Brothers’ Bachelor Pad. He had a feeling that that day would be the longest of his life.

David was right. The day dragged on. He thought it would never end. His only enjoyment was the look of fear in Brice’s eyes every time they crossed paths. He made sure to glance his way often. School finally let out and he raced to the Fannin house. His heart was racing, too. The house, a two-story white colonial with a two-story garage their parents had built years earlier, was situated on a double lot at 1312 Farney. The Fannins had bought the second lot after an old run-down crack-house had burned down. No questions were ever asked about the fire. The police figured that was one way to get rid of the druggies. At least, that’s how the rumors went.

“Wassup, boys?” David asked as he entered the garage. Chris was spotting Jeremy while he bench pressed, and Mikey was hitting the treadmill. Besides girls, the brothers knew only two things—working out and rebuilding engines. David was counting on their mechanical skills as well as their forgiving natures. The three brothers ignored him. “Look, I know it’s been years, and that was my fault, but I—”

“Don’t want to hear it, Noble,” Mikey said, killing the treadmill. “You abandoned your friends like they were nothing. Heck, you and I were as close as you and John. We understand you were heartbroken, but man, the way you treated us was just plain cold.”

David stared at the floor. “Sorry.”

“Hey, we’re men, we don’t hold grudges,” Jeremy said. “We figured that one day you’d quit being an idiot. We just didn’t think it would take you so long.”

“You’re not mad? You forgive me?”

“Of course we’re mad, and we’ll harass you for years to come,” Chris replied. “That is, if you’re back with the pack.”

“Guess I’m back with the pack,” David said.

“So, why are you back?”

“Sit down, boys, you aren’t going to believe this one.”

The Fannins sat listening, entranced by David’s story. None of them believed it.

“Let me get this straight,” Mikey said after David finished. “You’re telling us that you’re now part alien and you need us to build you a space engine?”

“Yes,” David said. “That’s about the size of it.”

Jeremy frowned at him. “Man, didn’t you pay attention to the ‘Just Say No to Drugs’ rally at school last year?”

“I swear it’s all true,” David said. “And I can prove it.”

David got up and left the garage and walked to the four-wheel-drive Chevy that the Fannins had turned into a mudding truck. The Fannins followed him and waited. David grabbed hold of the back of the vehicle with both hands and then hefted the rear end into the air with one tug.

Jeremy shook his head. “That’s nothing. I once saw an eight-year-old girl squat 400 pounds. You’re not part alien.”

David scanned the open air, typing away at the wind, searching for other talents he might possess. The Fannins stared at him like he was one of the druggies their family had chased off years ago. Finally, David smiled and said, “Follow me.”

He walked back into the garage and found an electrical socket. He placed his left hand inches from the socket, and pulled a stream of electricity into his fingers. He pointed the fingers of his right hand toward a 45-pound barbell on the other side of the garage and sent a beam of gold and silver light, thin as a laser beam, toward it. As he moved his fingers, he burned the initials D.N.A. into the metal plate.

The Fannin brothers stared in awe, until Chris finally spoke. “Um, so what’s it like to be an alien?”

“It’s strange,” David said. “But I kind of like it.”

“D.N.A.? What’s that stand for?” Chris asked.

David smiled. “David Noble—Alien.”

“We’re in,” Mikey said.

“Yeah,” said Jeremy. “But I have two questions. When do we start and where are we building this … what did you call it?”

“Starfire cube,” David said. “We’ll start tomorrow after I figure out what materials we’ll need to build it. We’ll use the old mill at the end of town.”

That night, David dreamed of the starfire cube. It was a perfect dodecahedron made of what looked like Plexiglas. In his dream, he watched himself from above as Jeremy, Chris, and Mikey helped him in the dead of night gather the materials to build the portal. They worked like Energizer bunnies. The dream was so real he felt as if he were living it. In the next instant, they were parked at the old mill, toting the materials down below the dilapidated building. A live electric line still fed the building. Feeding off the electricity, David used the tips of his fingers as lasers to cut the Plexiglas into identical pieces before fusing each piece together. Streams like electricity flowed from him, welding the clear sheets together as the Fannin brothers held them in place.

Gold rings and silver necklaces that the four had somehow collected were piled in front of David. Piece by piece he held the jewelry in his palm. As the solid gold, then silver, melted in his hand, he dipped his finger in the liquid, then painted equations all over the starfire cube. When they were finished, the structure looked like a piece of art. They gazed at the dodecahedron, which was eight feet tall and eight feet wide, and realized there was no entry point. It was solid. As they continued to stare, the lights around them faded. As darkness descended, the buzzing of an alarm clock pierced David’s mind.

“At least I know how to build it now,” he thought as he woke up.

That school day was filled with teenage angst and drama. Chastity Bertrum had broken up with Brice the night before, and then let it be known that she had set her sights on David. The news spread quickly, and the school was abuzz with it before second period.

David wasn’t amused. He had always liked Chastity, but as his overall intelligence evolved, his emotional intelligence evolved with it, and he knew that Chastity only wanted to use him to make Brice jealous. She played her part well. In biology class, she playfully flirted with him as others stared and whispered. He turned away from her and saw Tara looking at him. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. Her smile felt like sunlight streaming through a window and warming a room in early spring.

The warm feeling dissipated when Brice, late as usual, walked into biology class, his face radiating anger. He made his way to a seat, trying not to look at David, but his emotions played him false, and he tackled David and brought him to the floor, where he began pounding his head. Afraid of revealing his super-strength, David curled up and put his arms over his head, as kids yelled, “Fight, fight, fight.” David peered up from the floor to see Chastity smiling contentedly. Seconds later, Mr. Bonzo broke it up.

“To the office, Brice,” he yelled.

“You’ll get what’s coming to you, Noble,” Brice huffed. “I swear!”

“Mr. Bonzo, I think we need to change lab partners,” David said.

“I agree,” the teacher replied.

“Wait a minute,” Chastity said as she stamped her foot. “Don’t I get a say in this?”

“I think you’ve already had your say,” David said as he brushed past her. “Tara, would you mind if I were your new lab partner?”

“Not at all,” Tara said, and she flashed him her sun-warm smile.

Chastity plopped down in her chair and folded her arms in front of her, glaring at David and Tara.

“Wow, if looks could kill,” Tara said.

“Yeah, she’d be a serial killer,” David said, and they both laughed.

The day finally ended. David found the Fannins and hopped into the bed of their truck.

“Time to build that crazy cube-looking thing?” Chris asked, riding in the truck bed with David.

“How did you know what we were building?” David asked. “I never told you what it looked like.”

“I had some weird dream about a see-through shape with gold and silver markings on it.”

“That’s funny, me, too,” Jeremy said, peeking his head through the rear window.

“Me, too,” Mikey shouted from the driver’s seat. Their smiles faded.

“Me, too,” David said.

“Freaky,” said Chris.

Getting a hunch that their work was done, Mikey changed directions and sped toward the mill.

Pulling up in front of the mill felt like déjà vu. They went into the basement and saw the dodecahedron hovering a foot off the floor.

“We really built this thing last night, didn’t we?” Jeremy said. “Like, in our dreams.”

“Seems so,” David replied.

“What now?” Chris asked.

David walked to the electrical outlet and drew out an enormous amount of electricity. He directed it through the air, and the portal began to absorb it. The electricity spread through each equation, line by line, until the dodecahedron blazed with light. The light receded until it was a faint glow. The dodecahedron, still hovering, began to pulse, producing a low hum.

“So our work here is done and we didn’t even know it,” Jeremy said.

“Not quite,” David said. “We’ll have to come back over the next few days. I need to keep feeding electricity into it.”

“Why not finish powering it up right now?” Chris asked.

“It’s too much for me to handle all at once. I feel weak right now. In fact, I’d appreciate it if you three came with me every day, in case something happens down here.”

“No problem,” Jeremy said. “What happens once it’s powered?”

David smiled. “That’s when we free the alien.”