Wanted
Part Three
Standing dazed on the shore after her boat had been recovered and she had been rescued by the Coast Guard, Mindy stared at the ocean, far into the horizon, wondering where Mork was and what had happened to him. Alerted to what had happened, Dr. Feldman arranged a special government flight to Florida to meet and debrief her. Knowing she was still in shock over the event, he gently took her aside as if she were a child, speaking to her calmly.
"And there was no storm activity before the incident? No reports of hurricanes?" He asked.
Mindy remained unresponsive, staring blankly into the distance.
"Ms. McConnell, I'm trying to help you," he said. "You know that. I want to see Mork returned safely and alive as much as you do, but I can't do anything unless you talk to me and tell me what happened out there."
"No, there weren't any storms," she said, looking down at the ground. "The day was as clear and calm as it is right now."
Dr. Feldman nodded, making some notes in his notepad. "Well, these phenomena are not unknown to happen," he said. "Whirlpools like you describe have occurred, both in nature and as part of man-made activity."
Mindy shook her head, wiping tears from her eyes. "I just don't understand it," she said, replaying his terrified screams and pleas for help in her mind, remembering vividly how he was sucked beneath the waves, the disturbing image haunting her and refusing to fade. "He just disappeared. Were we near the Bermuda Triangle or something?"
"No, your coordinates were far from that area."
Mindy looked at him. "So it does exist?" She asked.
Dr. Feldman's thin lips twitched uncomfortably. He cleared his throat. "That's uh…that's classified," he said.
"Doctor, I think you can tell me," she said. "After all, my boyfriend is an alien." She paused, catching herself. "I mean…was. That is, if he's still alive." Her voice cracked as more tears formed. "We've got to find him. Please, you've got to help me. I don't know what I'd do if I never see him again." Her sobs increased and she buried her face in his shoulder.
"It's all right," Dr. Feldman said, awkwardly consoling her by stroking her trembling shoulder as she leaned against him for support. "I told you that's why I'm here. We're going to get him back, I promise you. My men are out there right now, searching for him. It will only be a matter of time before he's returned to you."
"Yes, but will he be alive?"
She looked at him hopefully, her eyes swollen and red from crying.
Dr. Feldman sighed. As a government scientist, so much of his job involved spreading disinformation to the public. With Mindy, he always found himself incapable of lying. He wished he could tell her everything would be fine, but he honestly did not know what the outcome would be.
"I don't know," he said.
As Mork paced inside his cage, he suddenly found himself surrounded by some transparent material that obstructed his path. It enclosed around him and was spherical like a clear bubble, and like a bubble, it began to lift him in the air until he touched the top of the aquarium. Confused and terrified, he touched the walls of the bubble, trying to determine if there was a way out of it. The material was sticky like flypaper, making it difficult for him to escape, his hands and feet continuously being cemented to the surface, firmly affixing him like glue.
"Don't worry," a voice said, intruding his mind. "I'm here to clean your tank. This bubble of air will keep you protected while you're outside of it. It will provide you with enough oxygen to allow you to breathe."
Mork looked up. The younger sea creature had returned, smiling reassuringly down at him as she reached into his tank with one of her tentacles. She attached his bubble to a rod, which caused him to dangle from it as if he were a fishing lure. He hoped he wasn't, hoping she wasn't deceiving him, using him as bait to catch her prey. She stuck the end of the rod into the sand, making sure it was secured before returning to her task of cleaning the tank, making sure Mork wouldn't topple over in his helpless, compromised position inside the bubble. Relieved that it appeared that was all she intended to do with him, he relaxed, reclining inside the bubble, feeling oddly at ease as it swayed slightly with the steady undulation of the water surrounding him. The initial stickiness of the substance enclosing him had diminished, feeling now more like a soft cushion, making him feel much more comfortable and less confined. Besides, he knew it was useless to attempt to escape now, the bubble shielding him from the water that surrounded him outside, threatening to drown him. Inside the bubble, he at least had a pocket of oxygen keeping him alive, a protective barrier that would keep him insulated.
"I realize we never properly introduced ourselves," the young water creature said, turning to Mork and smiling down at him. "My name is Sabrina. My mother is Andrea."
"And I'm Mork."
"I knew that." She turned back to the tank. "So Mork, what made you decide to travel around the universe? It must be exciting to go on as many adventures as you have."
Mork looked down sadly, feeling the implant in his neck. He momentarily felt a rush of vertigo as he could clearly see the sea floor beneath his feet, forgetting that the bubble would keep him safely suspended and he would not fall. Regaining his bearings, he sighed, pressing his hands firmly against the floor of the bubble to assure himself that he was safe.
"Actually, I didn't have a choice," he said.
"What do you mean?"
"Well Sabrina, it turns out that I'm a criminal on my own planet, too."
"What happened?"
"Emotions are illegal on Ork," he said. "I was born with them, so it made it difficult if not impossible for me to express them eventually, and eventually I was caught and sent to prison. As punishment for my crimes, they placed me in a state of suspended animation, and I would have remained that way had my superior Orson not intervened on my behalf. He convinced the other superiors that although I may have emotions, I was curious and intelligent, and therefore worthy of a second chance. He gave me an ultimatum—either I explored and studied other planets of their choosing and reported what I had learned, or I was to remain imprisoned inside my body. So, I chose the least painful option. It turns out it was the best decision I ever made, too. For the most part, my travels have been rewarding. I have been mistreated at times, but at last I found a planet I love here on Earth, and a girl I love, and I decided to stay and make this my new home. Now though, I'm not so sure what my future will be, with your mother threatening to turn me in for a reward on some distant planet where I can't even remember what I could have done to displease them."
Sabrina turned to look at him, her expression sympathetic once again. In her strange way, she was almost beautiful, her glowing, translucent form almost angelic as it floated in the water. He wondered if she would be his savior, showing compassion for him where her mother would not.
"You are not a criminal," she said. "I don't know what you did on those planets either, but I don't care. You are a kind, sweet little creature who deserves a good life, a life of freedom."
"Then you will help me get out of here?" He asked.
Sabrina looked down sadly. "Oh Mork," she said. "I wish I could. I wish it was that simple. It's just my mother—you don't know how much this reward means to her—to us. You see, life hasn't been easy for us, either. We're refugees. Our planet became uninhabitable. Since Earth is over 70% water, it was the best possible place for us to settle until we can find a more suitable alternative. There is a planet not far from here that would be ideal, but unfortunately we cannot afford the passage to it. We're poor, Mork, barely hanging on. Mama is desperate. She wants to find a home as much as you do, but until we have the money to make that possible, I just don't see how. We can't remain on Earth. The composition of this planet's oceans is far too salinized. We need fresher water to live. Already I can tell that Mama is becoming sick from the amount of salt in the water here. We've got to find a new home, and we have to have money to join the other survivors from our planet there. You do understand, don't you? She doesn't see how else to make it happen."
"I see," Mork said. "So she is willing to sacrifice another innocent life if that means that you both will find happiness."
"She doesn't want to do it, Mork. Please understand. My mother is not a monster. It's just—
Mork nodded. "I know," he said. "I just wish you both could think of another way to get to your new home without destroying me, surrendering me to another planet's harsh system of justice where you have no way of knowing what they'll do to me. I thought you at least cared more about me than to allow that to happen."
Sabrina cupped her tentacles around the Mork's bubble as if he were trapped inside a fragile family heirloom or ornament that she didn't want to break, guarding his life from the water outside. She held him as preciously and gently as if he were her beloved pet. He supposed, as small as he was in comparison to her, that's all she would allow him to be to her, but he still appreciated her caring gesture.
"I do care about you," she said, "and I don't want to see you harmed, but—
"Come on, Sabrina, it is time for your supper," Andrea said sternly, entering the room. She looked at the tiny Mork dangling from his bubble in disdain. "You may finish cleaning your pet's cage, but do it quickly."
"Wait a second, now I'm a pet?" Mork asked, insulted. He knew that Sabrina probably saw him the same way, but hearing her mother declare it so boldly felt condescending.
"As small and insignificant as you are in comparison to me, I could crush you if I so desired," Andrea said coldly. "However, as it stands, you are very valuable to me, and shortly I expect to get my money's worth for you."
"Mama, what do you mean?" Sabrina asked, pulling the rod holding Mork's bubble from the ground, carrying him back to his air aquarium. She gently placed him back inside, where the bubble drifted to the bottom and popped, leaving him safe and uninjured back inside the tank.
Andrea's hardened features softened. "Oh Daughter, I think it's finally going to happen for us," she said. "We're finally going to our new home. Tonight, after dinner, I'm going to make an offer to one of the planets wanting Mork. They have the best reward out of all the other possible planets, I think. We will soon have enough money to travel. Isn't that exciting?"
Sabrina looked sadly back at Mork.
"But what about Mork?" She asked. "We can't do this to him. There's got to be a better way."
"There is not. My decision has been made, and it is final. We will deliver Mork to the authorities on this planet as soon as dinner has been completed. Now, come along."
"But—
"Do not argue with me. You will do as I command. Now, come."
Andrea grabbed one of her daughter's tentacles, pulling her from the room.
"Wait! No, please! Don't do this! No amount of happiness is worth the price of my freedom!" Mork shouted in his mind after them, pounding on the glass of his tank. "Please, don't do this to me! Please!"
Andrea reemerged, but only briefly, glaring at him and shutting to door to the room, effectively drowning out his mental pleas from her hearing.
