Fallen + Marli & Lalo (Fallen Invasion, #3) (6 page)

Kallen was the first person Dr. Stevenson introduced me to when I moved out to Millsee.  Kallen agreed to show me around town and watch out for me.  He certainly did keep that promise.

The roaring of Kallen’s truck got louder as he traveled a few seconds from his driveway to mine, breaking me from my thoughts.  He slowed down as he pulled up my driveway and opened the passenger door.

“Figured I’d give you a ride to work since you had those headaches yesterday and all,” Kallen said.  “You can call anytime you finish.  I’ll pick you up.”

“But I have to go to the store later,” I said.  “I’ll drive.  I’m fine.”

“I insist,” Kallen said, raising his eyebrows.

Did Kallen have something to hide behind that look?  Did he know true things about aliens and had to hide it so people wouldn’t think he was insane?  Maybe he knew the woman. 

It probably would be best, for Lalo’s sake, to find out everything Kallen knew.  Would he be on our side or become our greatest enemy?

Repeating over and over in my mind as I got in the car were Lalo’s words, “I don’t trust him.”  To agitate things, a force fought against me as I closed the truck door too.  But I met Lalo less than two days ago.  I trusted Kallen.  Kallen wouldn’t do anything to me.  Would he?

—-

T
hat day my job consisted of inspecting one of the lakes, Lake Lakada.  Kallen hung around, talking to everyone while my team waited for the rest of our members to arrive.  My other colleagues updated me on what they found during the previous day.  The fish and insects were migrating at their own pace.  They also followed our mysterious northern route.  The same route that the first set of migrating animals took.  This was, in fact, the exact problem that gave me my job. 

The land animals and insects’ behavior first caught the scientists’ eyes.  Some of the animals and insects, who roamed the area for decades, headed towards major cities.  Then the other insects and animals that stayed behind started avoiding certain places.  It took a little while to notice because the behaviors changed gradually.  It was like they tried to make sure no one would figure it out on purpose.  This was a very strange realization.  And on top of that all of the animals, land and water, were leaving in the same direction.  The migrating animals were also too early for their departure. 

That day Dr. Stevenson became something we never saw before, nervous.

“I’ve called in people, more experts,” Dr. Stevenson said during our morning meeting.  “Maybe they can see what we aren’t.  I also talked to other scientists across the U.S.  They haven’t seen these types of changes or noticed any abnormal climate or weather differences.  People in South and West Texas haven’t seen unusual things either.  Does anyone have a theory about why this is happening?  Let’s hash this out.”

“We already mentioned climate change,” Ashley, an ecologist, said.

“With the effects due to global warming,” Myoko said.

“And we found the climate hasn’t changed,” Tyree, a climatologist, said.  “In fact, there is no significant difference from last year or the prior five.”

“But could it be due to longer than normal days and shorter nights?” Ashley said.  “Ignoring the climate aspect, what about considering daylight only?”

“Would moving north help them though?” Laksha asked.  “They should be going south.”

“True,” Ashley said.

“I think we also have to keep in mind that this was a sudden change,” I said.  “What suddenly changed for them?”

“The food supply hasn’t dwindled,” Ren said.  “There is no increase in predators.”

“Yes,” Dr. Stevenson said.  “Then what is it?”

“A different type of predator?” Kallen threw in.  “Or an old one that has altered its ways.”

“One study did show that certain animals will put themselves in danger with predators to avoid humans,” I said.  “But barely anyone lives out here.”

“And to my knowledge there hasn’t been a drastic increase in humans,” Dr. Stevenson said.  “You’re looking at all of the new people of this town.”

“No new animals have been found dead,” Ren said.  “No remnants of any either.”

“Let’s do this,” Dr. Stevenson said.  “We will all meet with the new specialists...”  He continued on, speaking about how some new people would be joining us, and we were to divide to make sure we weren’t missing any information. 

I continued to listen to the plan but couldn’t help to be suspicious of Kallen.  During the ride over to Lake Lakada, I wondered if there was another reason Kallen was adamant about carrying me.  He personally knew almost everyone already.  Showing up wouldn’t be strange.  But why show up? 

All of a sudden it became clear.  Kallen was nervous about being safe, he had his alien ideas, and he actually saw an alien.  Weird things were happening with the animals.  Kallen was on the prowl for something out of the ordinary.  The facial expressions he gave during the meeting made me feel like he knew more about what was going on than us.  He could have volunteered to give us the information, but didn’t.

It was possible this whole being suspicious thing wasn’t entirely about Lalo.  It could have been about an attack that was about to occur.  Soon, more aliens would come down from the sky, if they haven’t already.  Perhaps Kallen had the connections and power to stop a large alien invasion.  After all, he did work from home doing some sort of consultant writing.  He gave me the impression that he was the boss by canceling his once a month meeting.  All the more reason to think that writing wasn’t his real job.  He had to be working for the CIA or some similar type of organization.

“Marli,” Kallen said, pulling me off to the side after the meeting was over.

“I know,” I said.  “Be careful.”

“It’s very important,” he said.

“Kallen, what are you not saying?  What’s going on?
Who are you?
” I whispered.

Kallen’s eyes scanned mine.  “There are some things I need to tell you,” he said and glanced over to the team who was getting things ready to put on the boats.  “But not here.  Like I said, things are changing.  Things will get worse.  Even more so for your team if their theories become aligned with mine.”

“Your theories?  Care to share?”

“There are spies everywhere.  Don’t trust anyone.”

“You included?” I asked.

“Here.”  Kallen rustled around in his pockets and pulled out a compact walkie-talkie two way radio and gave it to me.  “Keep this on you at all times.  Cell phones can break down—on purpose.  Do you understand?”

“Yes,” I said and slid the device into a pocket.  “You sure aren’t being slick.”

“I want the attention,” Kallen said.  “See you later.”  Kallen strolled back across the camp site and tapped Dr. Stevenson on the shoulder then said goodbye to everyone and left.  I rejoined the group to help prepare the boats for our trip down the lake.

“Looks like you have another father,” Ashley said.

I chuckled.  “I basically do.”

Three hours of relatively tame, hot and humid weather, coasting on murky water, was all it took to find out the fish and other insects we were tracking continued north.  Some crossed areas they avoided in the past.  Most of my team was worried about the safety of each species.  I began to worry that it was our species we should be concerned with.  The fish, insects, and animals were all telling us to run.

T
aking the walkie-talkie out of my pocket was a relief.  I didn’t even use it.  My phone worked just fine.  I rotated the device in my hand.  Although it had normal characteristics, I questioned if it doubled as a tracking instrument or monitor.  If Kallen was interested in spying on us...

I set my sight out to the tall trees that framed the lake.  Why would Kallen want to spy if Dr. Stevenson was his friend?  Or was he really Kallen’s friend?  With the arrival of Lalo I began to question everything.

Was the idea for this team all planned?  Was I a specific person chosen?  Were we all brought there on purpose? 
This is exactly the recipe for going insane
, I reminded myself.

“What are you thinking about?” Ren asked as he moved some jet black strands of hair away of his face, tucking them behind his ear.  He must have noticed I was drifting away when he and Ashley had nothing else to talk about.  Ashley’s squinting eyes examined me too.

“Home,” I said.

“Hmm,” Ashley said and got up to crank the motor. 

What did she mean by that?  What was it about? 

When we made it back to our meeting site, Kallen was there waiting.  Dr. Stevenson most likely informed him we were on our way back.  Kallen at least benefited from one of our problems that day.  The mosquitoes had already fled too.

During the brief meeting we had prior to leaving for the day, I made an effort to secretly check everyone out.  No one was acting out of the ordinary.  If they were spies, they played their role well.

—-

T
hrough the trees, in the parking area, a large, black tarp stood out.  It covered the bed of Kallen’s truck.  The same bed that was empty when Kallen dropped me off that morning.  Getting closer, I noticed fresh mud covering the jet black coating of the truck.  Adding to the oddities, a wonderful rose potpourri scent filled my nose as I climbed in. 
Who rode with Kallen during the day?
  Or what was he hiding? 

Kallen started the truck without speaking a word.  I remained quiet, waiting for him to determine the safe zone.

“Anything unusual?” he said as we entered the highway.

“Other than your warning this morning?” I said.

“So your fish continued their path,” he said.  “And you still haven’t figured out why they are leaving?”

“Kallen, what do you want to say?” I said.

His eyes remained locked on the road.

“Kallen, you took me from my home, told me there were spies, and now,” I said and motioned to the rear, “you have something back there.  This truck also smells like flowers or a woman.  You don’t get to be silent now.  You chose to let me know what’s going on.  So what is it?”

He exhaled and gripped a chunk of his jet black hair and slid his hand down half its length.  He released his hair, allowing it to fall back to his waist.

“I don’t want to put you in danger by telling you, but if I don’t, you could be worse off.  I am here for a reason Marli.  One of my jobs is to protect you.  I also have to find the spies.  Failing to identify them all could put us in a horrible position.”

“And,” I said.

“Things are not what they seem.  Everything can tell a truth but depending on how you see it, from your viewpoint, information—people—can be misread.  Like the disappearance of the homeless people.”

“You’re saying they have something to do with you?”

“Us.  Actually all of us.  We think there is also a connection to the spies.  We’re not sure.  It could be something unconnected but—”

“We?” I said.

“Not for me to discuss.  I tell you this Marli because I don’t want you to be going out alone at night or to some secluded place.”

“So this is what the ‘protecting me’ part was about?” I asked.

Kallen nodded.

“You have a gift,” Kallen said, “one that must be protected.  I will not say anymore.  I need you to behave as normal as possible.”

Could this gift be the same as the one Lalo discussed?

“I will,” I said.

“And if you see something out of the ordinary,” he said.

“I’ll tell you.”

“Thank you Marli.”  Kallen glanced over to me and smiled.  “I know you think I’m a little bit psychotic, especially with the alien stories and interests.”

“You know that’s what I thought this was about.  Your alien obsession.”

“Well, parts of it may be true.  They could be coming again.”  Kallen raised his eyebrows as he peeked at me.

“Ah huh,” I said, nodding. 
Good, he didn’t know about Lalo.

“I’ll tell you what.  When this is all over, I’ll take you out for a drink.”

“A drink?” I said.  “That’s all I get?  What about the steak dinner?”

The rumble of Kallen’s laughter filled the cab.  Then out of nowhere, he got serious.  “Marli, I hate to sound so glum, but you’ll be happy to have just that.”

I bit my lip and leaned back in my seat.  He wasn’t kidding.  I wished I would have woken up and took off with the animals months ago.  Escape the impending disaster.

“Remember to be calm.  Normal,” he said.

C
alm!!  Normal!!  These words kept going through my head as Kallen and I entered the supermarket.  It was my favorite place to take a day trip, being that it was one of the places I actually saw more than ten people at a time.  That day, however, it became a source of anxiety.

I had to tell myself to breathe a couple of times.  Kallen asked me what I wanted to buy.  My list kept rotating; I was sure that I forgot what I originally planned.  Why did Kallen have to scare me like that?  I kind of wished he would have left me to unknowingly go through the rest of my life.  I wouldn’t have been the crazy lady in the store.

Maybe it was a test.  To prepare me to learn how to act “normal.”  A way of scattering my brain so I would tell him everything I knew about Lalo.

I finally eased my mind by focusing on Kallen.  He was suspicious of someone.  Apparently it was me because he started making jokes about buying so much food.  It was so I wouldn’t have to “go alone,” I told him.

“Alright.  Good enough for me,” Kallen said and backed off the issue.

Although the situation was a bit daunting, especially since I didn’t know all of the details, it was great to hang out more with Kallen.  We had become friends during my stay in Millsee, what little month of it I had.  But we weren’t even friends that long.  He was gone most of the time during the previous week.

Around 4 p.m. Kallen dropped me off at my house.  My job, most of the time, allowed us to finish earlier during the day.  That also meant we began way too early in the morning.

Once inside, I expected to have to probe for Lalo again, but he was sitting on the couch, watching the news. 
How did he know Kallen wasn’t coming in? 
After putting up the groceries, a yawn initiated my teary eyes.  I shuffled to the couch where my brain told me to go to sleep.