The Bonding (26 page)

“I meet them all the time,” Tarku said.

“And I envy you for that, sir. I didn’t
get a chance to show you everything we have back at area 51. Would you mind
going back there with me? We also have very comfortable personal facilities
where you can stay for the next few days.”

“That is fine with me,” Tarku agreed. “I
am beginning to get quite tired,
General
. Janet and I
have been awake a very long time.”

“No problem! You can sleep on the jet and
we’ll get you settled into a private room as soon as we get there. I’ll need
you to be wide-awake for the next few days. There is so much I need to show
you.”

Tarku slept on the plane and the General
was on the phone almost the entire trip. Janet got settled in with her parents
and also went to sleep early. Both of them had been awake for over twenty-four
hours and exhaustion had finally taken its toll.

Darkness had fallen as the black jet
touched down onto the runway. The landing woke Tarku from a very sound sleep.
The seats were designed to lay flat and were actually large enough to fit his
massive frame. He looked around and the General was smiling at him.

“Did you enjoy the ride?”

Tarku yawned. “It was quite comfortable.”
He looked out the window and saw nothing but darkness. “Have we arrived?”

“Yes. We should be pulling into the
hangar in a few seconds.”

A huge hangar door opened just far enough
to allow the jet to enter, then quickly closed. Once stopped, the entire floor
of the hangar began to descend. Tarku watched out the window, his observant
eyes remembering all that he saw. The floor stopped approximately two hundred
feet below the surface.

“Looks like were here,” the General said.

He stood up and Tarku followed him from
the jet. Tarku recognized the surroundings and felt a bit more at ease. He had
a suspicion that the General was going to take him somewhere else. He still
couldn’t put his finger on what was bothering him, but there was something
about the General that he didn’t trust. He kept thinking that coming to the
Earth was a big mistake, and he wanted very much to be back on board his ship.

“Tarku, let’s get you settled into your
quarters. I’m sure that little nap on the jet didn’t give you all the sleep you
need.”

They boarded an electric cart. “Yes, I do
need some additional rest,” Tarku agreed.

The cart sped off down a long corridor,
past the space ships that Tarku had earlier visited. There seemed to be no end
to these underground tunnels and rooms. Tarku watched carefully and noted
exactly which way they turned, so he’d know how to get back to the jet. They
stopped in front of a large metal door that slid open as they approached.

“These are the living quarters for
everyone who works here, and chooses to live here.”

“Why would someone choose to live in an
underground facility when there are many homes on the surface of the planet?”

The General rubbed his chin as he thought
about that. “I guess the best way I can answer that is that we have a lot of
scientists and specialists working here who are, shall we say, a little
strange, in that they like to be alone. They don’t really care to socialize,
except with the other scientists. These people have brilliant minds, but very
poor social skills. When they get out into the regular world they don’t know
how to interact with regular people. Here, we cater to all of their needs as
payment for their intelligence. Some of these people have not left this
facility in years, and are quite happy. They occasionally go up to the surface
for a walk around the base, but they never leave.”

Tarku shook his head. “I consider myself
a very intelligent person, but living in a cave is not my idea of living.”

“Nor mine, Tarku.”

The General took Tarku into one of the
living quarters. Inside
was
a bedroom, bathroom,
workout room, office, kitchen and living room.

“Is this all right for you?” he asked.

Tarku was impressed with the quarters and
now understood why some of the scientists felt at home. “Yes, this is very
nice.”

“Great! I’ll let you get some sleep. You
are free to go anywhere you wish. I will have a cart left outside of your door.
If you need anything, just pick up the telephone. It automatically connects to
a guard on duty, and he’ll get you anything you want.”

“Thank you, General.”

The General left and Tarku looked around,
opening drawers, cabinets and the refrigerator, which was stocked with soft
drinks, bottled water and snacks. He opened a Coke, smelled it, and then poured
a small amount in a glass. He touched it with his tongue and smiled, then
filled the glass and drank.

“Not bad.”

He retreated to the bedroom and retired
for the night.

In another room the General watched him
on a monitor. He smiled and turned to a soldier who was also watching.

“I want to know immediately if he leaves
that room.”

“Yes, Sir!” the soldier snapped.

Back in Padgett, Texas, Major Barton and
his team were building scaffolding around Tarku’s ship. The entire town had
been quarantined, and scientists were crawling all over the huge ship, trying
to find a way in.

The long shaft extending from the bottom
to the ground was made of the same dull green metal as the rest of the ship,
but not even a seam showed where the door was. The entire ship was seamless.
They figured that the shaft was the entrance, but no one could figure out how
to open it. The ship was too large to move across country, especially with the
elevator shaft extended to the ground, and they didn’t know if they could move
it anyway.

All of the local town’s people had been
moved into special quarters, and were not allowed to leave the town or
communicate with anyone outside of the town. Tempers ran high and several
fights had broken out between some of the younger adults and the soldiers. That
night, a couple of teenagers had attempted to leave by way of the local forest,
thinking that the cover of darkness and their knowledge of the area could get
them through. But the military had the town surrounded, and was monitoring the
perimeter with guards who had night vision goggles. The boys were caught and
brought back. They were told that they would be shot as traitors if they tried
to escape again.

“This ain’t right,” complained the Mayor.
“This is the United States of America, not some communist country controlled by
a dictator. You have no right to keep us here.”

“I have every right,” Major Barton
growled. “What you have hovering over your town is top secret and cannot be
known to the rest of the population. There is absolutely no guarantee that if
we let you go that you wouldn’t immediately go to the news and report this.
Therefore, in the interest of national security, this town is quarantined until
further notice.”

“But we got farms to tend and businesses
to run,” one of the farmers said.

“Yeah, and what about getting supplies,
like gasoline, diesel fuel and groceries?” another man asked.

“All of your needs will be taken care of.
We will have supplies shipped in by the military. You can also come and go as
you wish, within the town limits,” the Major replied.

“It also ain’t right that you cut off all
of the telephones,” a woman complained. “We got relatives out there who will be
wondering where we are and what’s happening.”

“Let me explain what a quarantine is,”
the Major said. “Absolutely nothing and I mean
nothing
unauthorized goes
in or out of this town. That includes speaking with anyone from outside. And
anyone caught trying to leave the town or communicate with anyone outside of
the town will immediately be arrested.”

“Yeah, the sonovabitches even took my HAM
radio,” the hardware store owner said.

“Mine too,” complained another.

“The bastards have also been going into
everyone’s houses and vehicles taking CB radios,” the Mayor said.

“Are you keeping a list of what belongs
to who?” one farmer asked.

“Don’t worry,” the Major said. “All of
your things will be returned when the quarantine is lifted.”

“And when the hell is that going to be?”
the hardware store owner asked.

“Whenever I say it is,” the Major
snapped.

“This is a bunch of bullshit,” the Mayor
grumbled. “We’re U.S. citizens.”

“Then you know your patriotic duty,” the
Major warned. “Now go about your business and remember what I’ve told you.
Anyone caught trying to leave or communicate with anyone outside of this town
will
be arrested.”

Chapter Seventeen

Janet was up early and walked into the
kitchen to the smell of bacon and eggs cooking.

“Morning, mom. It smells delicious.”

Janet walked over to her mom and kissed
her cheek, then put her arm around her as she watched her delicately turning
the egg in the frying pan.

“Hi honey. Did you sleep good?”

“Like a rock. It is so nice to be back in
my old bed. I actually woke up once and walked through the house, thinking that
I was dreaming, until I heard dad snoring. Then I knew that I was really here.”

“I slept better than I have in the last
three years,” her mom said. “I think it’s because I now have closure. I know
where my baby girl is. It’s a terrible thing, not knowing.”

Janet hugged her. “A day never passed
that I didn’t think about you and dad.”

“I know, baby. I know.”

“Good morning ladies,” her dad said as he
walked into the kitchen. He wrapped his arms around Janet and kissed her forehead.
“It is so good to have you here, honey. I can’t believe you’re really here. We
have missed you so much. Mostly, it was the thought of not knowing where you
were that really bothered us.”

“Yeah, mom and I were just talking about
that. Just so you know, dad, I never ever stopped thinking about you.”

“We knew that, honey.” He walked over and
gave his wife a kiss. “Well ladies, what would you like to do today?”

“There are two things that I want while
I’m here,” Janet said, “a good steak dinner and a pizza.”

“Oh we can handle that,” her dad replied.

“Honey, what kind of food do you eat on
Tarku’s spaceship?” her mom asked.

“Believe it or not, a lot of his foods
taste like ours, but they’re made from other things. They actually have a bird
on his planet that tastes just like chicken, but it doesn’t look anything like
one. And, they have a type of animal similar to a cow, but the meat is more
like venison. I’ve never actually found
a meat
there
that tastes like a good old steak. They also have foods that taste like nothing
I’ve ever had before, but they’re really good.”

“What is the name of his planet?” her dad
asked.

“Zintandu, and it’s a beautiful planet,
very similar to the Earth, but without all of the surface oceans. Most of the
planet is water, like the Earth, but it is mostly underground. Their cities are
beautiful, and you don’t see any litter. The buildings are thousands of feet
tall, but what is really neat, is that they also go thousands of feet
underground.”

“You said that you’ve been traveling
around the universe with Tarku. What kind of spaceship does he have?” her dad
asked.

“It is a beautiful ship, dark green, and
it travels at thirty thousand times the speed of light.”

“Oh my God! That’s unbelievable,” her dad
replied. “Thirty thousand?”

“Yep! That’s why we can go to so many
planets in so many galaxies.”

Her dad could see the excitement on
Janet’s face as she described the planets and the people from the other worlds.
“You’re finally doing what you dreamed of all of your life, aren’t you, honey?”

“Oh yes, dad. It is so incredible, and I
am so happy with Tarku. He is such a good man. I guess you should know that I
love him, and he loves me.”

Her mom hugged her and kissed her cheek.
“I am so happy for you, baby, even if he is from another planet. And, speaking
of that, I’m curious about something. Does Tarku have, uh, you know…”

“Yes, mom. He has a penis just like human
guys, only maybe a little bigger, and boy does he know how to use it.”

“Ladies, ladies, geez, I can’t believe
that my baby girl is sitting here telling us about an alien guy’s penis,” her
dad groaned.

“Well, mom asked.”

They both look at her mom. She shrugged
her shoulders. “I was just curious, that’s all. I mean, he does have pointed
ears and claws on his hands.”

“Well that part of his body is pretty
normal,” Janet said. “I miss him already. I wish the General would have let him
come with us, but I do understand that his presence, in public, would certainly
draw some attention.”

“I’m sure that he misses you too, baby,”
her mom said.