Chapter 12- mind games

Maureen dragged the old blanket over to where Judy lay and wrapped her daughter in its caress. She had never planned for her grandchildren to be born underground in tunnels, but it was probable that was exactly what was going to happen. So she needed to be prepared as possible.

Locating another blanket, she draped around her son in laws shoulders. He was shivering, though that had nothing to do with any changes in temperature. What he had told John had been terrifying. It was the type of nightmare that should only happen if you were asleep.

The robot reported that Don, had all the signs of a virus, with rapid breathing and an elevated temperature. It was his body's response to an invasion from the parasitic form of life that were masquerading as the citizens of this world .

Now she knew why their hosts had stared so much, they had been aligning themselves to their minds and bodies, getting to know their next prey, so taking over would be easier.

Maureen felt her own stomach heave for a moment. That was a response of pure terror.

How could she protect her children. Swivelling her head, Maureen hurriedly sought out Will and Penny. Her son still hovered close to his father. He was pale and also shaky. Penny's head was up and she had a determined look upon her face. It was pure bravado, from a girl who believed that her new maturity meant she was no longer allowed to be afraid.

That bravado would be shattered ,when the aliens finally decided to make appearance.

She had to hope that they could not just fly out of the walls. The man made walls of the tunnel should prevent that from happening. Yet, the tower was also man made and it had been filled with aliens. So their safety was not assured. The original settlers had left a warning to stay out of the..something. John had assumed this meant, 'stay out of the tower". But she was not so sure. If it was only the fact the tunnels were man made that kept the parasites at bay, then why was the tower also not safe.

There were so many important questions and very few answers. The aliens had the upper hand and knew it, so perhaps they were just being patient and waiting until they all were too fatigued to fight.

At least they had some light. The robots domes head was being used as a source . He had tried so hard to defend them, by using an electrical charge. But even that would not be enough to defeat the aliens. They could be doing subtle damage even now. How did they know that their next action was their own.

"Here , I found some freeze dried food", John told her as he handed over the packets. Maureen's stomach churned as she saw the contents. "It looks like insects", she muttered. "Yeah, well insects are filled with nutrition. Try not to think about what it looks like just eat the stuff", John remarked.

He felt on edge, it was because the burdens upon his shoulders were getting heavier. It was as if a giant mountain was weighing him down. The others felt the same . Don looked like the fight had been sucked out of him. He would not be the one to lead the charge against the aliens.

Smith's eyes were darting toward the walls, and he he kept sitting down and then standing up, as if deciding whether to stay or run. No help there either.

"Alright everyone, we have to snap out of this mood and start thinking. That is the advantage we have over them, our minds." The settlers were safe down here for awhile, so what changed?", John asked.

"If the air filters were turned off, the inhabitants would have to flee to the surface, there they would be vulnerable to attack from the parasites", Don muttered. He tried to get up and join John, but found that Judy's hand clamped around his own prevented him from moving too far away.

"The air filters do not show any signs of permanent compromise", the robot stated. "Well they would not damage them permanently as they wanted more victims", Don's response dripped despair.

John could see the effect that was having upon his children. He moved over to sit by his son in law. "Don I know what you experienced was terrifying, but we need to have some hope. Giving into despair is probably what those creatures want". John rested his hand upon Don's stiff shoulder. He could feel the trembling. Don held his gaze for several seconds. Then he finally reached up one hand and gave John's a squeeze. "You are right, I am sorry", he said.

Don looked down at his wife, whose eyes were closed. She was resting. The birth of their babies was still several hours away. That was the ticking time bomb they were working against. The babies would not be able to wage any type of defense against mind control. He shuddered.

"The air filtering system has many fail safes that prevent it being accidentally shut off", the robot remarked, "thus it is unlikely it was shut down, even for a short period.' The robot scanned the damage to the lighting system, "the lights could have been temporarily switched off, yet the damage done to them is quite excessive. It is like it was done out of desperation. The Major's theory is that the aliens did this to retain the element of surprise, I do not think that is accurate. Their numbers would have been greater than the settlers, and that would have been enough of an advantage."

"So you are saying the lighting was damaged for another reason",Smith pondered. His brilliant mind was already at work on the puzzle. It would give him something other than the fear to focus upon.

"Hmmmm", a mumble from Judy , drew all their attention for a moment. Her brow had beaded sweat dripping off, her head thrashed left and right.

Don felt panic begin to rise again. What if the aliens were trying to take over her mind while she slept. She believed her unborn babies protected her, but perhaps that was just wishful thinking. He had been too terrified to go to sleep himself, even though he was exhausted. Don gave his wife a small shake, "come on Judy wake up", he shouted.

"Don you'll scare her", warned Maureen. "She's scaring me", Don replied. He shook Judy a little harder. "No", Judy threw the word out loudly, and then sat upright breathing heavily.

Her eyes immediately found her husbands and she moved to wrap her arms firmly around him. "It was another nightmare", she said. "This time it felt like the whole planet were chasing me. Only weirdly I was still in that house running up and endless staircase. Every time I neared the top, my twins were there, telling me to go back, only behind me were the aliens". It was horrible", Judy concluded.

Don's response was to hug her even tighter.

Maureen could feel the anxiety rising upward again. She needed them all to stay calm, focused. Perhaps it had been panic that had ultimately caused the downfall of the settlers.

Focusing Judy's mind on the puzzle, would hopefully keep her from being the one who initiated that panic."We were just trying to work out why all that damage was done to the lighting", she told Judy.

That made Judy's head turn to study the damage. 'It does look excessive", she muttered," like something you would do in extreme anger or extreme fear. What does anyone have to fear about...shit".

"I always fear shit", Smith was trying to lighten the mood. "Shut up", Don told him.

"You hardly ever swear Judy", Penny remarked," I think you picked it up from a certain source", she gave Don a glare.

Judy reached up to run her fingers gently down her husbands face. "Myer said they came from the natural world, but he did not specify what they look like" she remarked.

"No, he stopped short of that, just saying it was right in front of our eyes", Don replied. He could see something in her eyes. "You know what they look like", he remarked.

"The dreams have been telling us both Don", Judy replied. 'Think about it, when we look at the tower, and the city, when it was actually there , what was the first thing we saw".

Don was silent for a moment. Then his mouth opened slightly, "oh shit", he remarked.

"Don, language", chastised Maureen.

"It's a true statement Maureen, we have been staring the natural form of these creatures for awhile now".

"In our nightmares, we feel menace and fear radiating from a certain point. You can never see that point because it is hidden by something. It would be easy to dismiss the evidence right in front of us", Don looked from face to face. "Come on, we have all seen them in their natural form", he stated.

Will gave Don a smile as he figured out the answer, "you always pretend to be not as smart as the rest of us". Stop doing that". The boy went over to slip his hand inside Don's. "They are the light", Will told his parents.

John sucked in a breath, "of course, that glow that is all around this valley." He tilted his neck upward to study the lighting. "So perhaps it was the settlers and not the parasites who smashed the lighting, because that light somehow attracted the aliens. Only it was too late to stop them by the time they took action".

He whistled breath out through his teeth, "well Myer and the others would hope that we think it is too late to stop them. Perhaps it is not. Look at these alcoves, they represent all the worldly goods owned by many different aliens who have come to this world. I found evidence of the Halladon language, yet there are none from that race upon this world . Ask yourself why", John demanded.

"There is a rather horrible reason for that", Don told him. He cast a look at the children, then away , they did need to know the truth. "The parasites don't need the bodies only the minds. Myer told me he absorbed the energies of others to keep himself sustained in his present form". "Obviously the bodies are not solid, like ours or they could not come out of the ground like they do. So the bodies are just a representation of an original person".

Thinking about the bodies being mere husks was another shiver moment. Don't get caught up in all of those ,John reminded himself. What was the most hopeful scenario in all that they knew. John felt a smile emerging, as he thought of another reason some aliens were not amongst those on this planet. "Some of that may be true Don. But the fact is there are millions of light beings and most likely all of them want bodies. Myer would not want us to know that some of their potential prey had actually escaped", John replied.

"If that is correct then the question is, how did they escape", Smith remarked.

"I don't think we can count on the fact that there are any other cities on this world. That was just lies on Myers part. He was trying to convince us everything was 'normal upon this world", Don remarked. "If that was lies, then I doubt there are transporters either. That would be way too easy. So the only way to escape is to leave this world and that is impossible because they...oh double shit", Don swore.

"Double shit!", Maureen remarked. "Donald West, will you stop swearing".

When Don actually grinned at her, Maureen felt her spirits leap. He was now acting more like his normal self. "Their efforts at taking over our minds are making it harder to remember certain facts. Which is no doubt something that gives them an advantage. Those memories are not lost forever, yet. Myer told me there were no pilots upon this world". So how did they manage to steal the Jupiter. Also, remember how difficult it was to land upon this world, it was going to be equally as difficult to take off. "

Smith was staring at Don. "Where is the ship then Major, it is not there, that is a fact".

"The city is not there either", Don replied.

"Magic", said Penny.

"You mean a trick, like illusion. If they can project things into our minds then, they can make us believe we see a city, or not see the Jupiter", Will frowned at that thought.

John thought he was onto something for a moment. Then he sighed, "there is a problem with that theory", he pointed to the robot. "His sensors detect solid matter, like the tower. So he should be able to detect the presence of the Jupiter, if it was still there".

Smith thumped the side of the wall in frustration. There were really holding a losing hand

"There are still answers ", Will told them. Penny moved to his side, "indeed, all we have to do is uncover the trick". If their bodies are not actually solid then how do they make them look so real. They also did that to the city, think about the intricacy there, the shops, buildings, roads, that is no small feat".

"But they did not show us a whole city only part of one, so they do have limits", John mused.

"Ah ha, you are onto something there professor", Smith stated. He gave a little skip. "If the city was grabbed from our memories, or the memories of others, then it should be large, grandiose even, afterall there would be no limitations on projecting our thoughts. So that tells me the city was not mere thought. " It did , for a short time actually exist".

"They made the city , just like they are doing to their bodies. They look and feel solid, real. Somehow their light forms, can make objects", Maureen felt a lump in her throat. "Of course since they are not real, the robot cannot detect their presence. Which was one reason they did not want us to restore power to him."

"When we were looking for the Jupiter we shone our torches around. All we saw was the white glow of the snow. Yet if I think about it, snow does not have that type of glow, especially at night. So that glow, was actually the creatures, blending into their surroundings, like a form of camouflage. If we think about creatures who use that defence, they hide themselves, but their bodies are also shielding anything underneath."

"So why did the creatures need to make themselves look like snow, what were they hiding", John asked .

"The ship is still there", Don said it first."They are hiding it from our eyes and the robots sensors. It is the only explanation that makes sense. "The only problem is, the creatures are also there, right on top of the ship. Thus to get inside we have to either force them to leave, or find a way to kill them all".

"I have not had much success at physically harming them, so killing them may be impossible", was Don's last reflection.

"So we force them to leave then", Maureen concluded.

"That is not going to be easy", Smith muttered.

"Yes ,it is, I could lure them away. They want my babies to be part of their new world. So they are not going to hurt me until after I have given birth", Judy told them. She had her head held high.

For a response, Don kissed her. "I wish I had not taught you that particular trait", he said sadly, "self sacrifice , always deprives someone of the right to live". You would not let me try it, so why should I let you. We need another way." He eyeballed them all slowly, with a stare that dared them to even try to disagree. That stare seemed to linger on Smith the longest.

"I think we all agree, that letting you do that Judy, is absolutely out of the question", Maureen told Don.

Don nodded at her, his eyes though were still on Smith, "well", he challenged.

"Major you wound me!" Are you implying that I'd let your dear wife put all the risk upon herself in order to save my own skin", Smith demanded.

"Yes", Don was blunt. He knew Smith's faults.

"Well you are wrong Major", Smith replied firmly. "I'd never do that and don't you dare accuse me like that again", he held his head high. 'I am part of this family now and as such we must stick together. What happens to one of us happens to us all".

Don stared at him for awhile, then lowered his gaze.

"Let's get back to scaring away our light creatures", John reminded them.

"Well darkness is the opposite of light", Will contributed.

It was almost totally dark now, as the robot had dimmed his lighting to a mere spark when John had proposed the theory that light attracted the aliens. All that remained was the dying light of their torches.

"Yes but we are not safe from them, even at night they are active, so dark cannot be the defence we are looking for", Penny remarked. That also meant they were not safe, which made her inch even closer to her parents. She thought she was so brave, but in reality she was on the verge of becoming a blubbering hysterical mess. All that held that at bay was that she did not want to burden her parents.

"That is true, also think about the fact we've had the torches on for hours now, yet we have not had an encounter with the aliens yet", Maureen stated.

Will knew alot about being scared of the dark. He'd had a night light for a few years, to scare away any monsters that might just dwell in the corners of his room. How could someone so bright, believe in things like that. Well of course he told himself it was silly to believe there were creatures in the shadows. But some part of him was still afraid.

Now he had cause to fear light and he had to reach that logical part of his mind instead of the one that wanted to scream. "They would not fear the dark, as they can make their own light". If I think about our time in the tower, we never actually turned on any form of lighting. It's because they made enough of their own. So they are actually limitless. He looked around nervously, "why aren't they here", he asked.

Don's gaze also darted to the walls. "They were so close to catching me. I did not think there was an escape. The robots charge, seemed to just invigorate them. Yet despite that, they backed off"."I was too scared to think clearly about why they would do that. They had me, they knew it and I did as well". He shuddered.

The shuddering stopped and Don actually ventured a lop sided smile,"enemies stop attacking when they no longer possess the advantage". He looked over at Penny, "sometimes thinking the worse of everyone is actually beneficial. "They would only stop if we already possessed a weapon that could hurt them".

John gave him a smile. Don was definitely shaking of his terror and thinking clearly.

"What weapon is that", Smith asked.

Don sighed, "that's the main problem Smith, I actually don't know".

"Well ,maybe it won't matter, we just make for the ship. If they are afraid of us using this weapon they might just back off and leave", Smith suggested. He was hopeful that it would be as easy as that.

Don knew what he was thinking and he also knew that Smith was dreadfully wrong. "They are not going to go without a fight Smith, and we have no idea what weapon to use in that fight." So therefore we are going to lose. I know you all don't like me talking like that, but truth is truth."

They could not afford to lose. If even one of them was taken over, the impact would ripple outward to affect them all.

"It must be a weapon that we have just attained", Will spoke out in a voice that no longer shook. "Otherwise, we could have repelled them earlier". So what have we just attained". His his wandered lazily over his family and he smiled at all the thoughts that came to him.

His gaze centred upon the one . "It has to be about him", Will said.

The one who was not a person, who was not alive, and hence the only one who could not be taken over, the robot.

"Maybe that is the real reason they did not want the robot on this world", Will remarked.

"Well it was not the electrical charge, of that I am sure", Don said. His eyes wandered over to Judy's as she grunted in pain. "Focus upon something else Judy", he said to her as she squeezed his hand to tightly. "Look at the ceiling, not that you can see it , because of the... oh for triple shits sake", Don swore.

John knew by that remark that Don had just figured out the answer.

"It was the light", Don told them. "The robot had his dome illuminated brightly enough to cover several miles". "Somehow the light affected them, that's why they backed off. It was also why they broke the lighting and robbed the settlers of their only defence".

Don knew the robot was eventually going to run out of power again, and this time it would be permanent.

The aliens could just wait for that to happen. Maybe that was why they were not here now. "We have to attack them, while we still can", he told the others.

"Is the robots lighting going to be enough to repel potentially millions of light creatures", John asked.

"There is only one way to answer that John", came back the answer that he really did not want to hear.