Author's Note: FINALLY! Finally I've updated! Sorry, sorry, sorry for the long wait guys. School has been CRAAAAAAAAAAZZZZYYYY! I'm finally done so I can write again, yeah! So, if you've followed this far I'm sure you're familiar with what's been going on (and it's just past midnight here so I'm too pooped to write a decent author's note). I really like the next chapter so you can assume it will be up fairly quickly. Thanks for all the reviews and fav's guys! Happy reading!
Chapter 5
A hand shook my shoulder, pulling me from my slumber. The bright lights were back- oh joy- and my head was pounding, probably because I hadn't slept for very long. I looked up and found Simmons standing over me. I recognized him, but it took my mind a few seconds to remember why he was even there.
"Time to get up, kiddo." He gave my shoulder a firm pat and stepped back, "Don't wanna miss your first day of your new job, do ya?"
"Can I call in sick?" I rubbed my eyes and yawned. I stood up, feeling my joints popping and clicking. "Or dead?"
"Nope." Simmons replied quickly, but with humor. I huffed in frustration and righted my shirt which had gotten funked up while I had been sleeping.
"Follow me." Simmons told me over his shoulder as he walked out of the small room. I was momentarily shocked that I wasn't being blindfolded or cuffed. I was cautious as I followed him out into a white hallway and past a few pairs of suited men, I assumed guards, on the way. After several minutes of random turns and endless hallways we neared a door, under which I could see daylight shining, and a new sound could be heard aside from the tapping of our own feet. It sounded like a horde of bees was waiting just outside the door.
Simmons pushed the door open and held it for me. I walked out and was greeted by the sight of a large jet sitting on the tarmac I was standing on. It was white and silver with black markings, but otherwise very nondescript. The engines were whirring at a deafening volume and the area around it was crawling with men in black suits and even soldiers in uniform; all in all a very intimidating scene. I kept feeling like Simmons had lied to me and they were taking me away to be locked up in prison, partly because walking around these men without cuffs felt too good to be true.
I didn't let my worry show, despite the buzzing of my thoughts. The sound must have been similar to the jet in front of me. I stopped and waited for Simmons as soon as I got outside. I may not have been restrained, but I knew how to mind my manners.
"Hurry this way." Simmons gestured towards the plane.
"Even though I'm sure they're waiting for us." I replied.
"What makes you say that?" Simmons eyed me with an amused expression.
"Well, for one, no one else is getting on," I stated matter-of-factly, "and something tells me you guys don't hand out a lot of job offers like mine."
"Still, best to be safe than sorry." He looked at me with a grin that said he knew something I didn't, "And with your career field and expertise, this is the one plane you don't want to miss."
We boarded the plane. I sat down in a comfy leather seat and was absorbed by the luxury of the plane. Everything was sleek and modern-looking. There were TV screens on the walls, wide leather seats, plush cream-colored carpet, and lights sunk into the ceiling at regular intervals. It looked more like a billionaire music mogul's private jet than a government plane. Simmons said something to one of the stewards and sat down in the seat beside me. We were in the middle, away from the windows.
Geez, I thought, what do they think I'm going to do? Jump out?
"Like what you see?" Simmons said, indicating the whole cabin with a wide wave of his hand.
"It's… fancy." Was all I could think to say.
"Well, get used to it," Simmons said casually, "because you'll be seeing a lot more high-tech stuff from now on." He said this with a knowing expression. I pretended to blow it off, but internally I knew it meant more than I understood at the time. I was still trying to mull over the possibility that I could be working with aliens in my new job. After Simmons asked me my opinion on their potential existence and remembering the odd absence of the meteorite I had a sneaky hunch of what I was in for.
Maybe I've got a new gig at Area 51, I thought a bit of excitement. After hearing so much about that place it sure would be something to work there.
"Would you like a drink? Something to eat?" Simmons asked me, drawing me from my thoughts.
"Got any soda? A Pepsi, maybe?" I asked politely, "And anything in the way of food, really." I added after my stomach let out a pathetic moan. I hadn't eaten anything since lunch the day they had arrested me, Jeremy, and Eddy. Who knew how long they had kept me locked in that building.
Simmons nodded, spoke quietly to a stewardess, and we both watched as she walked to the back of the plane to get my food.
"How long's the flight?" I asked.
"About an hour or so." Simmons replied, then addressed another stewardess, "Would you be so kind as to bring me a DVD?"
"Which one, sir?"
"From the pile that I keep in the back." Simmons waved a hand dismissively, "Any one will do."
Before long the first stewardess had returned with my meal- a Pepsi and a cheeseburger, which was perfect- and the second had popped in a DVD. Simmons explained that the flight could get boring and that he wanted me to be relaxed for my first meeting with my new employers.
Simmons seemed pleased with the stewardess' choice. To my surprise it was an alien, science-fictiony flick. It didn't take long for short grey creatures with the bulbous heads and big eyes to start appearing. About halfway through I turned to Simmons and said, "So, are you preparing me to meet my new coworkers?"
"Now when did I ever say you were gonna be working with little green men? Or at Area 51?" He laughed at me.
"You never said it. You implied it." I retorted with humor.
"No, I definitely never meant that you'd be working with little critters like E.T." Simmons was chuckling to himself afterward. I simply rolled my eyes in response, but truthfully I was disappointed that I wouldn't get to see any aliens. I simply reasoned now that he had been asking me things about aliens to see if I would be willing to help in a secret extraterrestrial contact program.
Bummer, I thought a bit glumly. Being a scientist around aliens would have been pretty groovy.
The rest of the flight went without many more interesting events. The aliens proved to be benevolent, but of course didn't stick around for long. I did enjoy the fact that they hadn't been out to destroy the Earth like so many films portrayed them doing. Not long after Simmons informed me we were descending and not long after that I could feel the wheels of the jet hit the ground.
I was soon led to a vehicle identical to the ones we encountered when we investigated the impact sight of the meteorite. My first instinct was to prepare to be cuffed and shoved in the back seat. To my momentary surprise Simmons directed me to the front passenger side of the car. I climbed in as he took the wheel, leaving the guards and other agents behind. Several nondescript metal buildings sat around the tarmac, which Simmons deftly navigated around to stop at a gate posted with armed guards. They had on military uniforms and looked grim and authoritative, but I figured that was the whole point.
Silence filled the car as the pavement suddenly gave way to a dirt road. It looked like the desert dirt I was used to, but I had a feeling I wasn't in Arizona anymore. After several long minutes of traveling along the winding dirt path Simmons pulled on to a deserted highway that soon came to life with what I suspected to be the beginnings of morning rush hour.
We had been driving for over twenty minutes when Simmons turned to me momentarily and said, "You look nervous."
I turned to him, sighed, and shrugged my shoulder in response. Simmons seemed in no way bothered by my vague answer.
"So the junk food and movie didn't do it for ya?" Simmons inquired. I shook my head at him in response, but with a small smile on my face. Soda had sugar and sugar only jacked up my nerves at times like these. And the movie just left my head buzzing.
"What's wrong?" he frowned. "Don't go mute on me now, kid. You used that silver tongue of yours to throw Galloway off your trail and talked me into setting your little friends free. Why aren't you talking now like you were in earlier?"
"I've learned that if it's not necessary to say something, it's best not to say anything at all." I said out loud for the first time one of the bits of advice my life was basically built upon.
"Good point." Simmons nodded slightly. "What's got you bothered?"
"Just wondering why you haven't told me any specifics on my job yet." I answered quietly. It felt inappropriate to speak up in the sudden hush in the car. "Makes me feel like you're going to pull over and snuff me at any second." I tried to inject some humor into my voice, but even I could tell it fell flat.
"I wouldn't do that," Simmons looked at me seriously, "You're too valuable of an employee. Anyway, I like you too much to ever do it myself." He added the last bit with a smile.
"But I haven't even had any time on the job yet to show you that I'm valuable." I wasn't trying to convince him to shoot me, but I was confused as to why he said such a thing.
"I already explained." Simmons rolled his eyes, "You have the kind of level-headedness and experience needed for a job like this."
"You're straying from my point. You haven't told me anything about my job." I knew he was flattering me, hoping I'd take the bait and change the course of the conversation. I wasn't one to enjoy talking about myself.
"Alright, alright." Simmons seemed only half serious so I let it go, "I know we could use your personal traits. It makes you a great agent. I'm not quite sure what your actual job title will be though."
"Why wouldn't you know where they'll put me?" It dawned on me as I asked the question so I followed with, "Have you not told them you're bringing me?" The look on his face said it all.
"Not exactly." I knew he had been avoiding telling me this, so the look on his face was understandably strained, "They know we arrested you, though." He smiled as if that were enough to make me feel better.
"So… what happens when we get there?"
"Um, you're gonna just hang out until I talk to the big wigs and… uh, get everything figured out." He suddenly looked more convinced of his own plan, "Yeah, yeah. That's what you're gonna do. No worries."
"So you're the only one in this big organization I'm heading to that knows I'm going to be there and thinks I'm in any way useful." I huffed quietly. "Great."
"Hey, I'm higher up in this organization than you give me credit for, sweetheart."
Shockingly, I wasn't as convinced. "You said I would be a good agent." I said cautiously, "You're not expecting me to tote around a gun and do what those guys back at the clearing did, are you?" I could throw a mean punch, but firearms weren't a skill of mine. My brains always got me out of jams so I wouldn't be of much help in the field.
"No, you definitely wouldn't be a field agent," Simmons shook his head and looked like he was imagining something horrible. "That might not end so well. For you anyway. I think you'd make a great secretary and liaison for a friend of mine."
"So you're sentencing me to a life behind a desk instead of behind bars." I gave a little laugh with true humor. "Personally, I don't see the difference."
"Nah, you'll be on your feet plenty. The base is pretty big so you'll get plenty of exercise. Anyway, you're perfect for the job. I feel it in my gut."
For about another hour the car was void of conversation. The only sounds in the car were the soothing voices of the Beatles and Jimmy Buffet. This didn't bother me in the least. It was actually kind of nice not feeling like I had to keep a conversation going. Near the end of the hour the traffic on the road completely disappeared and Simmons turned the car onto another dirt road. After several minutes we were winding our way along an even narrower path through dense woods. We came to a wall of trees that blocked the path and made it utterly impassable to both vehicle and human. I don't know what grabbed my attention from the walls of wood in front of me, but something rung deep in my chest, making me look straight ahead. It felt like someone had a string tied to my sternum and was gently tugging.
I looked over at Simmons for an explanation as to why we stopped... and to distract myself from the alarmingly new feeling in my chest. I could feel my heart fluttering in my chest. This is it, I think in worry. I kept feeling like something wasn't right. Like he wasn't telling me everything. I imagined he would torture me right there in the woods for information. Death I could handle. It was easy, like falling asleep. Pain was another. Ordeals with which the one escape, death, was unreachable were a hell on earth.
Simmons pressed a button I had seen before, but was unable to divine a use for on the center console. A few seconds later the ground in front of the car began to lift. I could quickly tell it was something mechanical. Within about thirty seconds a hidden tunnel, leading into darkness, was visible not ten feet in front of the SUV. I was impressed by how well the edges of the sealing piece of metal blended with the surrounding earth. I also nearly laughed with relief.
Without hesitation Simmons stepped on the gas and sent us plunging into darkness. Bright lights along the walls on either side then flashed on. The walls, ceiling, and floor were nondescript cement and the lights were nothing out of the ordinary. The tunnel went on for as far as I could see, so I settled back into my seat.
"So, how far does this tunnel go?" I asked.
"About five miles." Simmons answered proudly. I had to admit I found that less impressive than the giant camouflaged trapdoor, but still pretty cool.
We drove for about ten more minutes when I could literally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I could tell the difference between the white lights of the cement walls and the warm yellow sunshine from outside.
And there it was; an absolutely massive complex of tall and flat-roofed buildings. Very few windows were visible, making the structures seem even larger than they were. I mentally noted that the tugging in my chest was getting slightly more pronounced the closer we got to the buildings. Simmons propelled the SUV forward and along a now paved road straight through the large gate in the middle of a very tall and dangerous looking fence. Simmons stopped at the gate and armed guards in military fatigues stormed out. He causally flashed an ID and the soldier who reached the car first nodded him on. The clang of the gate unlocking and the sound of it scraping open sent me on edge.
"Ready to go in?" Simmons smiled with excitement.
You've got to be kidding me…