She crashed through one day, frantically searching for something. No one noticed her at first.
She didn't land anywhere close to civilization. She was stuck in a vast cell of preserved land for the longest time before anyone found her.
She sometimes tripped across the cameras set up to observe wild life. But she was gone by the time wildlife experts came to check out what the odd creature was.
They thought she was a sick canine at first, running around on all fours, furless and pink-skinned.
But they found some prints in the mud that were eerily human, and some trees along the tracks torn to shreds by thin, sharp claws.
Teenagers online theorized she was some sort of cryptid. They got pretty damn close too.
Eventually, she barreled into the walls that fenced in the enclosure. And that was when she was first captured.
A group of men on patrol for poachers heard her roaring and looked down to see her scratching at the gate. They were terrified. She looked nothing like an animal.
According to their testimonies, she has huge, yellow sheep-like eyes. And stiff blonde hair that grew out curving down over her back, reminiscent of a porcupine's quills. That her face draws out like she's supposed to have a muzzle.
One man said, "Imagine someone fucked a deer and had its baby. That was its face. Its creepy, nightmare fucking face!"
They were the only ones who saw her before black trucks moved in to control, or cover-up, the situation.
The public raged. Some demanded to see the creature, most called it a hoax.
The administrator of the EPA soon claimed that the guards were high on something, mistaking a diseased wolf for a monster.
It was a pain in the ass to deal with.
Mateo threw down the reports with a huff and rubbed at his aching temples. He felt nauseous, and every joint in his body ached from pulling three all-nighters back to back. It seemed like he'll have to stay up 24/7 for the rest of his life to get through half of the paperwork on his desk alone.
He stomped every newspaper article and every slip of paper that didn't require his signature into the trash bin. Kicking it over to spill out onto the glossy floor at one point.
"This is such bullshit." He hissed through his teeth.
It wasn't until a year into being a personal architect for the government that he found out that he was collaborating with NASA to build, not a space station, but a prison. Although, it wasn't that hard to figure out once they requested him to make it virtually inescapable and locked from the outside mid-way through planning.
Then it wasn't until nearly another two years passed that he was finally allowed to see the prisoner that he was building the massive cell for.
And he's been having nightmares about that creature since. It was pinned to the floor with huge weights. IV's were strung about everywhere. Soldiers posted on guard duty sniped at it with sedatives every hour. And the screaming. There was no doubt that it could feel everything that was happening to it.
It was poked and prodded. Strips of pink flesh were peeled away to reveal white muscles and gray bones.
He's seen it pace back and forth like an agitated dog for the daily hour it was observed untethered. It would sometimes try to stand up like a human, only able to get as far as animals could do, before lunging towards the glass and bashing itself against its room.
It would slam and slam and slam its head against the walls until it beat itself bloody.
But it looked like a woman despite it all; albeit a demonic woman. It had breasts, it had a vagina, and a rushed CT scan revealed it more or less had the same major organs as a human.
A "she", the scientists concluded brilliantly. Maybe if more like her had turned up, they would have concluded that she was a member of the homo sapien branch. An individual of an underground species that evolved from another animalistic ancestor at the dawn of time alongside humans. That's what they were hoping for at least.
But after scouring the woods she was captured in, they figured out what she was really was. A burnt crater, nestling some sort of fried pod that looked like it belonged in Tron gave it away.
An alien. It was fascinating and horrifying.
The NSA had them take the whole operation, everything, and everyone, completely off the grid. Their work was scrubbed off all government records.
He felt like a joke. He can still walk around in public during broad daylight. Still flaunt his bachelorhood for a few quick hook-ups, and pass out drunk with his friends. Like it was another normal day. But on the side, he was to keep an homicidally insane alien locked away in space to cover up that fact that homicidally insane aliens existed.
He and every other person caught up in it all were sworn to secrecy. Paid off or threatened, it didn't matter. Most kept quiet from the sheer pressure of it all. If that thing got out, what the hell would happen? They didn't want to find out.
He left his office, grabbing the cup of coffee his assistant was about to bring him. He waved her off and went to the one place he could actually collect his thoughts.
It was disturbing in a way. That he could only think straight while staring at the source of all his confusion.
He sat in the observation room for a while. Sipping his coffee, sometimes daring to tap his fingers against the two-way mirror.
The alien didn't react. It was either unconscious via drugs or sleeping. He didn't care to know.
After some time, the door opened and two people walked in. He didn't recognize either of them. Maybe he knew the lady in the lab coat, might have passed her in the halls once or twice, but he never bothered to memorize any of his co-workers.
But he didn't know the old man dressed only in a nappy, trotting up to the window to gaze at the alien with a thoughtful hum. The old man was super short and hunched over. He looked like he came there straight from bed. Puffy gray hair, beard, and eyebrows. He had a stone lodged in his belly button.
Mateo was going to go insane.
"Who's the guru?" He rasped out to the scientist. His throat hurt after being up for so long.
"I am actually a monk. Although not by standard means." The old man answered him.
He turned around to face Mateo, waving for the scientist to leave. She did, and the two men were left alone in the observation room to stare at each other.
"You are Mateo Kahlo, correct?" The old man stuck his hand out for a shake.
Mateo returned the gestured, saying, "Yes, I am. Who are you?"
The old man shook his head, "I threw away my name along with my other possessions when I took to the path of enlightenment. You can simply refer to me however you will."
'Of course, he did.' Mateo sighed at the newest bit of complication.
"Alright, gramps. Why are you here?"
"I'm here to provide information as to the intentions of the woman you and your country are holding prisoner," The monk answered.
"And how the hell would you know that?" Mateo crossed his arms, setting his cup aside on a table.
"I traveled and learned much during my aging years. I spoke to a variety of spiritualists and scholars. I visited Holy sites, and places thought to have been abandoned by whoever created us. So I picked up a few tricks here and there."
The old man turned his attention to the alien on the other side of the glass.
"She's looking for someone. She wants to stop them, from coming here and destroying this world. She didn't intend to clash with us. But if she becomes free she won't hesitate to strike us down if we get in her way of stopping the threat to come." He spoke like he was reading out a book.
Mateo blew out his lips, "Bullshit."
The old man turned back toward him with a considerate look.
"You're Mateo Kahlo. You're 22 years old, graduated with honors at the top of your classes. Your mother is Elfriede Belmonte-Kahlo. You have an older sister and brother, both half-siblings through your mother. Their father is dead, killed in action in an unnecessary war. Yours was Fujita Hiroto. It was a brief, physical relationship. Your mother and he never married. He paid upfront for whatever your mother would need and left when she got pregnant. Mrs. Belmonte raised you and your siblings by herself on her meager waitress earnings."
Mateo was stunned. Then he understood and chuckled at himself for being mystified.
"Stay out of my personal history."
The old man shrugged.
"I wouldn't have pried into your background if I had the choice. When I approached your superiors with what I knew, they shoved everything to know about everyone here in my face. It just happened to include you as well." He stared Mateo down.
"But there are some things they don't know about you. Your greed, your selfishness, and how brash you are. The men in charge of this whole operation see everyone here as nothing more than tools. And you see them as a means to an end."
"So, you're to lecture me on what? Human decency?" He laughed.
Mateo knows who he is and all his vices. So long as he can control himself, he doesn't need speeches.
"Hardly. Though I do prefer to shed light on the sources behind them."
The monk waited for a bit and Mateo gave the go-ahead to continue, curious.
"You hate your older brother, Delmer. He is sadistic. He mocks your Asian heritage and pushed you to the point of attacking him. He cried to your mother and you were punished in his place. If anything were to happen to him, you wouldn't care." The old man gave him a compassionate look.
So that's where the old man was taking this.
"Well, pleasant chat. I'm off to work." He moved off his seat to walk out of the room. But the monk grabbed his arm to stop him.
"I understand you're tired and agitated. But it is for your best health to do some introspection."
"I don't need to. Just because he's family doesn't mean I should love him. He lost that right long ago. I've dealt with it, so don't pity me." Mateo argued.
He nodded, "Your sense of perseverance is strong. I'm glad you're the kind that takes things in stride. There is much to come where such a trait will be vital. Both without and within yourself."
"For the sake of my sanity, stop with the cryptic bullshit." Mateo tried to gently shake him off.
The old man held on and continued.
"Your older sister, Jaliyah, is a lot more amenable. You feel more relaxed around her like you can be yourself. I hope you come to cherish your time together."
The monk seemed like he had more to say but he suddenly went into a coughing fit, hard enough to make Mateo's lungs hurt. Thankfully, the monk let go of him to cover up his mouth.
"You okay, gramps?" Mateo resumed walking to the door, to get someone to help the old man and to get away from him.
He grabbed the attention of someone passing by and went to leave as they fussed over the monk.
"Esperanza." The old man huffed out.
Mateo stopped and turned to face him again.
The old man stared back at him with a glint in his eyes like a cat that got the cream.
"I recommend the name Esperanza."
The monk was shuffled out of the observation room and towards the doctors. Leaving Mateo dumbstruck in the hallway.
He shook his head and walked back to his office. He plopped himself down in his chair, but couldn't find the energy to pick up a sheet of paper.
He accidentally left his phone next to an enormous pile on his desk. It buzzed and Mateo managed to reach over to answer the call. He didn't bother to check the number.
"Yeah, who is it?" He asked.
"It's Mary. Mary Jones." A sweet voice drawled out.
"Sweetheart, I met a lot of Mary Jones." He could really go for some Tylenol and his Jacuzzi.
"The blonde chick in jean booty shorts you had Gold Rush with at a strip club. Promised to date after sex and then haven't called once in the four months after."
He vaguely remembered now.
"Yeah." He started sinking in his chair, ready to get verbally grind down to a pulp for his play boy ways.
"Well, now you're obligated to buy me a drink." She took a deep breath, and Mateo felt his stomach drop to his toes. "I'm pregnant."