Chapter 3. Saved

“Who are you, and what do you want with me?” Jimmy yelled from behind the counter. Nothing made sense to him.

“I’ve come in peace.”

“That’s bullshit!” Jimmy yelled, still hiding behind the counter. He recalled the creature in the woods saying the same thing but kicking their asses at the same time. He didn’t want to take any chances.

“Come out with your hands on your head!” the lady ordered.

“That’s not gonna happen!”

“Then you leave me with no choice.”

The lady positioned her weapon toward the counter. As she was about to pull the trigger, a bright white light shone into the shop from behind. The light came from outside the shop. Although it was still daytime, it lit up the scene of the mini shop since the power had been out for days.

The lady flicked around to see what it was, but then a punch landed on her face, followed by a few more. She was immediately disarmed and held against the brick counter.

Jimmy quickly stood up to see what was happening as he could see the rays of light from his hiding spot. On seeing another lady with ebony black hair holding the previous lady firmly and against the counter, he made a sigh of relief, and with curiosity, he narrowed his eyes on the second lady. “And you are?” he asked.

“Your savior.”

The lady smiled, displaying her white halo of teeth. She had a dainty nose, and her fingernails were varnished. She was dressed in a black leather jacket and blue jeans.

As Jimmy was about to ask more questions, the lady landed multiple punches on the lady with humongous half-green eyes. She pulled out a dagger and stabbed her through the jaw, then tossed her to the floor. She turned toward Jimmy and said with a fancy smile, “Hi, I’m Becky. Becky James.”

“Nice to meet you, Ms. James. I’m Jimmy Davis.”

“Nah! You can call me Becky,” she smirked. “Nice to meet you too.” She stretched her hand towards Jimmy for a handshake.

“Are you one of them?” Jimmy asked, expressing curiosity.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

Jimmy cast a wide-eyed gaze on Becky. “Is that a yes?”

“Oh, hell no! I’m not one of them!” Becky spoke in her defense without relenting. She bent beside the dead lady and, with her dagger, began to peel off the face of the dead lady.

“That’s disgusting! What the hell are you doing?”

“These creatures are not from our planet.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“I’m just trying to show you her real face.”

Becky pulled out the peeled skin from the lady’s face, revealing a bald-looking creature with pale white skin.

She looked exactly like the creature Jimmy encountered in the woods with his comrades.

“Oh shit!” Jimmy cried out as he fell to his knees. “What the hell is going on?” he asked in a faded voice.

“I believe our planet has been invaded by aliens,” Becky replied.

“How do you know that?” Jimmy raised his head, casting a burning sideways gaze on Becky.

“I used to work with NASA before I got my ass fired for questioning their research on a captured alien.”

“Research on aliens?” Jimmy expressed disbelief.

“Yep, research on aliens.”

Six months ago, NASA discovered an alien planet called ‘planet Z.’ This was huge for them after several decades of arguments about whether aliens existed or not. They finally made their findings but didn’t disclose this to the world. During their secret tour on planet Z, they captured a baby alien and smuggled it to earth to research the poor little creature.

However, when Becky found out about the kidnapping of the baby alien, she wasn’t cool with it and argued with her boss on several occasions, stating that they had given the aliens reasons to invade planet Earth, just as they had seen in movies. 

On this ground, she was fired and declared mentally ill and unfit to work with NASA. Her boss arranged everything in such a way that even if she went to press, she would be considered insane, as the news had featured her sacking on multiple news channels, stating, ‘Becky James sacked after she went crazy and jumped her boss.’ Following the due process and the code of NASA, she was rehabilitated against her will, with the claim ‘she has gone nuts.’

Jimmy dragged himself up and cast his gaze on Becky. “Is the government aware of this?”

Becky shook her head gently. “The research was hidden from the government.”

“Why didn’t you go to press?” Jimmy asked. 

“I wouldn’t have succeeded. They threatened my mother’s life.” 

During Becky’s dismissal, her mother, who was in a retirement home, received several threatening letters. She warned her daughter not to go against her boss’s will if she still wanted to see her alive. 

Jimmy pointed at the car outside. “Is that your car?” he asked. 

“Yes.” 

“We need to get out of here before more of them show up.” 

“That’s right.” 

Becky led the way as she took Jimmy to her green car. While driving about 50km away from the mini-shop, Jimmy couldn’t bury his deep thoughts. Seeing the deserted streets of New York City got him worried, and he opened his mouth to fire a fresh volume of questions at Becky.

“How come the aliens took the form of a human? What happened to the rest of the people in the city? Is the government not doing anything about what has happened since it has become obvious?” 

Becky glanced at Jimmy. To her, he sounded like he wasn’t aware of what had happened. She looked at him again as she fixed her eyes on the road. She cleared her throat to speak. 

“There’s no government anymore. Our planet has been emptied, and as for how the creature took our form, that one remains a mystery to me because they look nothing like us.” 

During the alien invasion, Becky escaped from the aliens as she injected herself with ‘Adenocor.’ Adenocor works by slowing down the electrical impulses that control the heart rhythm. This allows the heart rhythm to return to normal. This made the aliens walk past her, for they only came for anyone still breathing as retribution. 

Jimmy shook his head in disapproval. 

“No, this can’t be; there must be other people out there, and we need to find them.” 

Becky cast a gaze on Jimmy. 

“I have searched around, and there…” 

Her words were interrupted by Jimmy as he screamed, pointing toward the road. “Watch out!” 

A few paces away from them stood a 7ft tall creature with a big bald head, pale white skin, and humongous half-green eyes staring with his lethal weapon in place.