Aliens That Walk Among Us by Janice Mayer

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Aliens That Walk Among Us (2/2)
By Janice Mayer

Julia strolled into the clearing, the vacant expression on her face not revealing her conflicting emotions. Almost instantly, she was surrounded by familiar people, the worry and anxiety evident on their faces. John pushed his way through the crowd, and took Julia roughly by the shoulders. "Where's True?" he demanded.

Julia looked at him, a stunned expression on her face. "True? I don't know. Why? What's wrong?"

"Where did you take her?" he yelled, shaking her by the shoulders. Alonzo made his way through the people, and placed a hand on Danziger's shoulder.

"She probably has no idea what's going on. Get a grip, John," Alonzo said in a soothing voice. Danziger released Julia and stepped back, looking at her warily. "How can we trust her?" Silence came over the group as they all remembered how, not long ago, they had come to discover Julia's secret link with the Council. How little they knew.

"I can promise you, I am no longer with the Council. Besides, what would that have to do with True?" she asked, her hands up in the air in exasperation.

"I don't know. It's just that..." John paused. "You gave her that shot last night. Then we found True was gone this morning. And so were you. Isn't it natural for anxious people to fear the worst...? You should know, you're the doctor here. I can't believe True is gone as well..." His rugged features clouded over as John's thoughts took another course. "It's like I place a curse on every female that happens to cross my path. First Elle, then Devon. Now True... My darling daughter True." He broke off on a note of hysteria and grabbed Julia roughly by the collar of her shirt.

"What did you do with my daughter, you betraying traitor?" "I DIDN'T DO *ANYTHING* TO HER!! THEY DID, NOT ME!!!" she screamed, pounding her fists against the man who was accusing her. The others watched in a stunned silence.

Bess spoke calmly but firmly. "Who's `they'? John, put her down."

"NEVER! NOT UNTIL SHE TELLS ME THE TRUTH. WHO THE *HELL* ARE `THEY'?" John yelled.

"The Bromaggs... The Council... Them..." she sobbed, finally letting loose all her emotions. "That *damn* Council. Those wretched Bromaggs. They... They *CHANGED* me, John." She looked at him pleadingly, tears running down her cheeks.

"Julia, I thought you learnt you lesson last time," Morgan said sadly from the outskirts of the group. Julia looked around at the nodding heads.

"I--I did..." She choked out. "But they...they control me. You don't understand. It's a thing you cannot fight. If you ignore them continually..." She shuddered. "You have a complete breakdown. You fall apart. I can't help but follow their orders, you have to understand that. I CAN'T HELP IT!"

"Julia," Alonzo said softly. "Did you take True?" All eyes focused on her.

"Not to my knowledge. Maybe I was under influence, and I can't remember. I honestly don't know where she is. I didn't even know she was gone," she whispered.

"What were you doing in the woods, then?" Morgan asked, still unconvinced.

"Taking a walk," she said softly. Bess bent down and picked up Julia's bag. She opened it and withdrew Julia's Gear set.

"Why the secrecy, Julia? We all use Gear, so why hide it?" "I--I don't know. I just happened to pop it in my bag after I used it," she said boldly.

"Did anyone talk to Julia via Gear this morning?" Bess asked, glancing around the group. There was a murmurer of no's.

"What were you doing with the Gear, Julia?" One could guess the answer to Morgan's question.

"Talking to the Council," she answered shamefully.

"I'm sorry, Julia. We must hold you personally responsible for the disappearance of True. You are in serious trouble this time, and you're not going to get out of it," John said coldly.

"Wait a minute," Alonzo interrupted. "You're jumping to conclusions here. Julia says she has no memory of doing anything to True. Does that mean she did? And you know how she said the Council is using her. That can't be helped if the consequences are dangerous," Alonzo said, while the group stood in silence, pondering his words. Julia was beginning to wonder if anyone was on her side. She knew that one was.

"Are you on her side, 'Lonzo?" Morgan asked.

"There is only one side here on G889. And everyone here is on it. Even Julia. We are a team, a group. You must come to accept that some are different. Julia can't help but obey what the Council wants. At this stage, all that is, is reports on our progress. What harm is that in reality?"

"Alonzo," John said coldly, "we have a member of our crew missing, and Julia here is the prime suspect. We can't just ignore that and let her be."

"And we can't ignore the fact that she has nowhere to go. She will not survive long without us. Besides, what are we doing here fighting when we could be searching for True?" he said.

John sighed, running his hand through his shaggy browny-blonde hair. "You're right, 'Lonzo. We need to look for True. Julia, you need to tell us all you know." He looked at her.

"Can I sit down first?" she asked.

"Sure, why not? You want a *drink* with that?" he asked sarcastically.

"I'm on your side, John. Nobody else's. I want you to remember that," Julia said softly.

The atmosphere took on a sober note as they led Julia to the congregational meeting place. They sat and each pair of eyes were turned expectantly to Julia. "From the top, Julia, that's all we want." Morgan said, his eyes boring into hers. She sighed.

"I don't know much about *what* I am. But I have an idea. When I found out that my parents had my DNA altered, my life totally changed. I wanted to know *why* they did that to me. They said that I was made to serve, and somehow, I became a part of the Council. I don't know if I joined willingly, or if they forced me to do so, but I was soon wandering the stations, reporting, recording and secretly testing people. After all, I was a Doctor. They told me that I was just another "normal" part of the Council, but, somehow, I knew I was much more than that. They kept tabs on me, and were always setting me new and more challenging tasks." She paused, collecting her thoughts.

"Then I heard about the Eden Project, how they were going to journey to another world, a new world, and settle there. I didn't know why, but I was drawn to the Project, and found myself looking up Devon Adair's background and work with the Syndrome Children. I asked the Council if I could be a part of the Eden Advance team. They permitted me that privilege. I thought I was alone in the world, that no one cared about me apart from the Council. So I jumped at the opportunity, and joined Eden Advance as an assistant doctor."

"So you weren't ordered to sign up?" Danziger asked. "No, I wanted to. They hadn't told me to do anything specific like research or anything, they just said to keep checking in and tell them our progress."

"But you experimented on Uly. How did you know there would not be another doctor around to get in the way?" Bess asked, curious.

"They only told me to do that after they found Uly had a link with the Terrians." She paused. "This was a link with the planet they did not know about, and they were afraid."

"What do you mean they did not know about it? What kind of links *did* they know about?" Alonzo asked angrily.

"They didn't know about you, either Alonzo," she said hastily.

"Then what do you mean? What links?" Morgan asked. Julia sighed.

"My links," she said softly, watching the surprise light up on many of her friends' faces. "But I'll tell you about that later. I have to continue my story." Danziger nodded her on.

"Everything was going fine, I checked in with them as soon as I came out of cold sleep, on the ship when no one else was around. My orders were still the same: they wanted me to report in on our progress. It confused me a bit, as all we would be doing would be landing in New Pacifica and setting up a colony. The Council acted like they knew more than me, and when we crashed, they were not the least bit surprised. Then I knew why. Alex must have been part of the Council, too. But they didn't tell me...

"Things went on, and I told them all. And when Uly was cured by the Terrians, they were shocked. They wanted to know *what* they looked like, if we could understand them, if any of us were familiar with them. I told them about Alonzo. They wanted me to experiment on the both of them, but they lay off when they realised that Eden Advance was going to desert me and leave me to die. Somehow, they got you to come back for me." She placed her head in her hands.

"I don't know how, they just do all these things that I find totally baffling. Totally inhumane. They acted like they were God or something, telling me what to do. They used me like a pawn, DO YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THAT???" Her voice had risen to point of hysteria. "They used me all these years. They have been controlling and monitoring my actions since the day I was born! And everyone acts as if I'm some kind of traitor. Can't you see that I have no choice?" She looked up, tears running down her cheeks. "They will kill me, trust me, they *will* find a way! I have no choice!!"

"Julia, you do have a choice." Alonzo said soothingly. "You can help us find True, can't you?"

Julia shook her head. "I have no idea where she is. I can't do anything. I lay in the shadows for a while, not attempting to do anything. They gave me no new orders, and I was beginning to wonder if they had forgotten about me. Then Devon got sick. Since everyone was so depressed, I used that time to keep in contact with the Council in depth. They gave me shocking new orders. They wanted me to get rid of the *entire* Eden Advance team, one by one. They told me to make it look like an accident." She stared hard at the ground, tears falling silently.

"I'm sorry, it was me who killed Walman. I didn't mean to... But by the time I realised what I had done, it was too late. I came to the conclusion that they had... *controlled* my body and told it what to do. I guess they had gotten tired of the delay. I didn't want to kill my closest friends. You mean too much to me. So I broke off with the Council, figuring it was better to get hurt than to hurt others. That's when I started to get sick. I realised that I would never get well again, unless I did what they told me to do." She looked around at the group.

"But when we entered these forests, I got better. It was like they couldn't hurt me in here or something. This morning I talked to the Council, for the first time in weeks. When I got back here, you told me that True was missing, and that's all I know."

"Wait a second. You said something about "your links". And you mentioned "Bromaggs". Are they linked with the Terrendlers True talked about last night? Are you forgetting something, Julia?" Danziger asked gruffly.

Julia sighed yet again and shook her head, almost as if she were trying to clear her thoughts.

"My links. Bromaggs. Everything is so confusing." She said, clearing her throat. "I believe that the Bromaggs are the same race as the "Terrendlers" True was talking about last night. I am, I think, part Bromagg. I'm not sure why, but I have an idea. I also have a theory to back it up, but since it was not pure fact, I thought you wouldn't be interested."

"We are interested with anything to do with True," Danziger said sadly.

"For starters, I was curious about these woods. Why wasn't the Council able to harm me? Then I figured if something in this forest was concerned about my well-being, they would try to protect me. I found a dead Bromagg last night. I think it got hit by lightning. I find this strange, because they seem like such smart creatures and all. But to be killed by natural lightning, you'd think it died on purpose. I took a blood sample and left it where it was.

"I thought it was really strange, but for some reason, I was not afraid of it. I tested the sample last night, and crossreferenced it with a sample of both my blood and Uly's blood. There was definitely something similar between the three, although there were slight differences with Uly's. Then I decided on my theory.

"Say the Council wants a loyal, reliable person to go on a mission to a planet they want to know more about. But this person must already know something about the planet, and know how to survive against all the odds. So they choose me, alter my DNA and turn me into a doctor. Somehow, they already have contact with an alien race on this planet. They merge my DNA with a sample of the Bromagg's. Since I was human to start with, I took the form of a human. I was raised a doctor, and drawn to the planet by the Bromagg instincts in my blood.

"Don't ask me why the Bromaggs would want a human that was only half their race on their planet, working for humans, possibly against them. But they did, and I was that human." She turned her head upwards and looked at the sky. "I wonder why the Council can't hurt me. I'm glad the Bromaggs are our friends."

"We don't know that. They could be *your* friend and *our* enemy, Julia. We really know nothing about this planet. I hope that we can survive," said John, standing up. "Now that we know your story, I guess we have some leads. Would the Bromaggs have taken True?" he asked.

"I honestly don't know." She said wearily, placing her fingers on her temples. "I don't know anything any more, John."

***

We searched the forest for days, but as I suspected, we found nothing. I didn't even run into my friends the Bromaggs. We had come to the conclusion that it was indeed the Bromaggs that had taken True, although we could not understand why they would want an innocent, young girl to help them on this planet we now call hell. We have lost so many, but to lose a child brings heartbreak to all. Yet, we can not escape the clutches of evil, for our lives are already mapped out before us, our actions destined to be.

So now I sit here, writing down the story of how this all came to happen. I can not believe that they left me once again, and this time I fear they will not come back for me. John still blames me for the disappearance of his daughter, although it was not I who took her. And I find it unfair that they left me behind, for I can not help *who* I am. I was born and changed, I was destined to turn against my truest friends. Ironic how I use the word "True" for it was her that made it possible for the group to turn against me. But then again, I say they were my friends. I find this impossible as I was the one who betrayed them.

But I was not the only one. I had been wondering for days who Reilly was talking about. For there was one other within the group who had once turned against Eden Advance. But she was strong minded, and refused to accept what she was. So they tried to kill her. I have finally come to a decision that the "one other" in our group was none other than our leader, Devon Adair. She has done something that I dared not do before I came across these woods, my protection, my saviour. She turned against the Council, and they tried to kill her. She would be dead now, if she wasn't... I pause, a hysterical laugh rising in my throat. She would be dead if she wasn't frozen.

I find sitting here, worrying to myself, of little use as I can do nothing about it. I have no communications, limited supplies and one tent for shelter. John figured if the Bromaggs could protect me, they could look after me as well. But he was wrong. As each day passes, I am more sure that the Bromaggs will never come for me, and I will never be able to catch up with the group. And, surely, I would not survive long without the Bromaggs' full protection. I feel sorry for Devon, I never knew that all along, she was on my side, working for the same leaders. If only she hadn't turned against them.

I wonder what provoked her to change her mind. Maybe they told *her* to kill off Eden Advance. Maybe they told her something else. I will never know, and can only sit here and speculate. I wonder how the group will survive without me, without a doctor. John said that he would prefer to leave me where the Council cannot harm me, and where I cannot harm another. I know for sure that they will not return for me. I have concluded that Devon was told to turn the party around, to rescue me. I never knew she was my friend.

I stand now, and walk over to my bed. Sitting at the head is the package that Alonzo handed me before they left. I have been afraid to open it, afraid to find what it holds. I pry open the tape and lift the lid of the box. A gasp escapes from my mouth. Nestled amongst packing is a Gear set. I quickly lift it and examine it, but find no traces of the second computer chip I used to contact the Council. I slip on the Gear, praying it will work.

"John," I say simply, watching his face screw up in anger.

"How did you get a Gear set?" he asked angrily.

"Shut up, John and listen to me." I pause, and glance around the room that I now call home. I sigh. "John, we can save her. I know what is wrong with Devon."

-The End-

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