Chapter 39: Chapter 39: UFO

CARTER

Later that night, after work, Carter pulled back into Briar Oak apartments and just... waited... as Allison left to acquire his antibiotics. It went against every instinct in his body to let Allison walk into that dangerous apartment complex alone, he had to learn to trust her to take care of herself when he wasn’t around. Which she obviously could. He’d get use do it.

When she returned, he soon learned Skeeter was as good as his word. Allison was quite pleased with herself, and Carter was pleased with her. Finally, he didn’t have to worry about this infection spreading. They’d gotten him some medicine without getting caught.

Given the good news, Allison was more than up for heading home and spending the rest of the night enjoying the same activities they’d enjoyed on prior nights. Carter, however, was still focused on their plan to finding Larika. As much as he’d love to just go home and fuck Allison until they passed out, he couldn’t stop thinking about his great plan.

Which wouldn’t be remotely possible without her, of course.

So, reluctantly, Allison agreed to direct him to the woods near where she’d stashed her ship right after they left the Briar Oak apartments. It was a good thirty minute drive, and all on back streets. She and Larika must have walked for hours after they arrived.

As he pulled to the end of the pavement leading up to the forest trail, flipped off the headlights, and glanced at her, she stared off into the woods with visible determination. Carter wondered just how much she could see out there. Had she changed her eyes?

Finally, she looked to him. “I want to share my ship with you. I want to show you everything. If this works, will you come out here again this weekend?”

“I’d love to.” He grinned. “But it’s already getting late, so we’d better get a move on if we want to get this done tonight.”

“And you’re certain it can’t wait? I feel like we are rushing ahead recklessly.”

“It’s less risky now because the Tharons still have a couple of weeks to find you. They’ll be more patient now, and there’s also far less for you to cover up. The longer we wait, the more chance you’ll make a mistake with me. You said that yourself, didn’t you?”

She bit her lip. “I did. But I still don’t like you taking all the risk.”

“But you can’t, and I can.” He leaned close. “That’s what partners are for. I can’t do the crazy mind stuff you do, but I can sure as hell bullshit a cop who’s not even a cop.”

“But you won’t be bullshitting him.”

Carter winked. “Even easier then, isn’t it?”

She sighed and gazed at him. “Your plan has great promise, but I still hesitate to accept what you would entrust me with all of this. Your mind. Your memories.”

“I trust you because I know you can handle it.” Carter squeezed her arm. “And it’s not like you’re mind wiping me. You’re just... shifting some stuff around. For a few hours. And you’re also going to put it all back the way it was when we’re done.”

“Let us hope it is as easy as that,” Allison said. “Are you ready?”

Carter nodded. “But hey, one thing first.”

“What?” She blinked.

“Take a peek in my mind before you leave.”

He leaned in and kissed her, gently and then far more hungrily as she instinctively responded. His midsection didn’t hurt at all, thanks to her. He had no problem moving. She sighed against his lips and moved close, wrapping her arms around his waist.

As he kissed her, he made sure to think about just how much he enjoyed it. How much he enjoyed talking with her, being with her, laughing with her, fucking her... all of it. He made sure to think about how much he cared about her and how he did not want her to leave, ever.

When he finally eased away, her eyes were a bit glazed over, and this time, it had nothing to do with anything he’d done between her legs. He’d hoped to do something similar to her mind, and he’d lavished as much affection on her as she could. Had it worked?

“Carter,” she said softly.

He grinned. “Good luck.”

“That was both incredibly kind and incredibly cruel, given you also made it clear you have no intention of fucking me in your car right now.”

He laughed as he imagined how turned on he (hoped) she was right now. “Consider it incentive to surprise me in my apartment later tonight. After everything works out just like we hope it will. We’ll have reason to celebrate then.”

“We will.” Allison kissed him again, and then opened his door and slipped out. Once she stood before the woods, she glanced at him. “Are you ready now?”

Carter nodded. “Do it, Allie.”

She blinked several times. “Done.”

Carter frowned and considered. He didn’t feel any different, and he still remembered everything they’d done over the past few days. “You sure that worked?”

“It did,” Allison assured him. “Once you wake and are back on the road, you will remember only what we discussed. Now, sleep.” She stared for a long moment. “Partner.”

Somehow, she packed a lot more into that single word than he’d thought possible. As he considered asking her to stay just a bit longer, he realized she was already gone. She’d dashed off into those woods like a startled doe.

Then, he found himself getting sleepy.

 

***

 

As Carter did all he could not to speed down the highway back toward town, his heart pounded and sweat covered his palms. As much as it seemed like he must have, he hadn’t imagined it. He’d actually seen that thing take off. What if it was following him?

It took all his mental discipline not to put the pedal down and get back into town as fast as this car could take him. He didn’t like being out here in the dark, but he couldn’t speed. He couldn’t get pulled over even if he had seen... whatever he’d seen above that store.

He couldn’t stop expecting that UFO to swoop out of the sky, stall his car, and drag him up into the air to be... probed... before it abducted him forever. What if it was following him right now? How could he spot a fucking UFO in the middle of the night?

He only wished he’d brought the mobile phone his uncle had purchased for him, but he always left that in the apartment. For emergencies. He’d just have to avoid speeding long enough to get back to town and find a payphone.

Somehow, he made it back into town without getting abducted by aliens. He stopped at the first gas station he found and was relieved to see several other people either inside or getting gas for their own cars. Aliens wouldn’t abduct him around other people, would they?

He parked, hurried to the payphone, and pulled the FBI agent’s card out of his pocket with shaking hands. At least he’d kept it. He checked the number three times before he dropped in his quarters and dialed. Two rings later, the man who’d invaded his shop picked up.

“This is Agent Holloway. To whom am I speaking?”

That was a weird way to answer a phone, but at least he’d gotten the man on the first ring. “Yeah. Hey. This is Carter. Carter Reed. I don’t suppose you remember me?”

“You are the Sandwich Artist.”

So the weirdo FBI agent had a sense of humor. Good for him. “Sure. Yeah. That’s me. You said to call if I saw anything weird. Right? Like... really weird.”

“You have seen something,” Holloway said. “Something you cannot easily explain.”

“Yeah.” Understatement of the century. “You could say that, definitely.”

“Where and when?”

Carter hesitated. “Are you sure this is something we can just talk about on the phone?”

Silence on the line for a moment. “You are correct. Speaking in person would be best, if you are available now.”

“I’m available,” Carter assured him. “The faster you can get here the better. I’m at—”

“The gas station off Central Street,” Holloway interrupted. “I am less than fifteen minutes away. Go inside the store and browse. Do not leave. I will meet you there.”

So the FBI had already traced this pay phone? At least it proved Holloway was with the FBI. Still, this was a weird place to meet. “You want to talk in the gas station?”

“Remain there,” Holloway instructed. “I will be there in fifteen minutes. Understood?”

“Right,” Carter said. “Got it. I’ll... be here.”

There was no response from Agent Holloway. It was only when the tone sounded that Carter realized the man had hung up without even a goodbye. He remained a dick.

Even so, Carter honestly had no idea who else to call. Who would believe him?

You are reading story Syren’s Song at novel35.com

Just under fifteen minutes later, a plain brown sedan that looked exactly like what a Man in Black would drive pulled into the gas station. Carter hurried outside to find Agent Holloway just as he’d been the night the man forced his way into his store before close. Dark-skinned, dark suit and dark tie, built like a pro-wrestler, and wearing sunglasses. At night.

Carter was eventually going to ask him about the sunglasses. For now, he was just relieved to see the man. As dickish as Holloway had been to him and Allison Meadows, his co-worker at the local Subway, he was here.

As Carter approached, Holloway rolled down his window. “Come with me.”

Carter hesitated. “Why do I need to go with you?”

“This area is too public. If we are to talk about you saw, we should do so in private.”

Now Carter’s earlier nerves returned. He might have seen something he couldn’t explain tonight, but he wasn’t going anywhere with this guy. “No, I don’t think so. We can talk here.”

“This discussion would be easier back at my office.”

“And I’m not going to your office.” Carter scowled. “Unless you’re arresting me? Remember, I came to you with this. I called you.”

Holloway’s invisible eyes bored into him from behind his sunglasses. Finally, he nodded... reluctantly. “Very well. We will speak here.” The man rolled up his window, pulled past the pumps, and parked his car. Then he emerged, reminding Carter of just how tall he was.

“We will speak behind the gas station,” Holloway said. “Is that private enough?”

Carter debated, clenching and unclenching one hand, then nodded. He was starting to trust Agent Holloway less and less, but he trusted whatever he’d seen out the old box store even less than that. This man might be the only one who could ease his mind.

“Sure,” Carter said. “After you.”

Agent Holloway walked as if headed toward the bathrooms, which were outside. Carter followed and resisted the urge to glance around for onlookers. He also resisted the urge to glance up at the dark sky.

Once they were out of view of the street and anyone in the gas station, Holloway turned and stared at him from behind those dark glasses. “Now. Tell me what you saw.”

Carter frowned at him. “Don’t you need to take those off?”

“What?” Holloway sounded annoyed.

“The sunglasses.” Carter waved his own hand by his eyes. “Can you even see in those things? Why are you still wearing them in the middle of the night?”

Holloway’s brow visibly furrowed in confusion. Then, he slowly reached up and slipped off his sunglasses. It looked like he was worried he might break them. That was as odd as everything else about the man, but at least he had normal eyes. Dark, normal eyes.

Carter was relieved to see those. “All right. So, first thing’s first. You’re really the FBI?”

“I am with a branch of that organization.”

Which meant he could be one of the Men in Black. Carter honestly didn’t care anymore. He just wanted someone to believe him about what he’d seen.

“So a few nights ago in the Subway, you said you were looking for a woman who’d killed someone. You also said to call you if I saw anything I couldn’t explain. What did you mean?”

“Anything,” Holloway said calmly. “Anything that seems out of place.”

“Does a fucking UFO count as out of place?”

Carter expected Holloway to narrow his eyes in annoyance or in surprise. Instead, the man looked no different than he had a moment ago. In fact, he looked even more calm.

“What did it look like?” Holloway asked.

Carter stared in disbelief. “It was real?”

“I do not know if it was real,” Holloway said a tad impatiently. “But I would like to know what it looked like.”

“Right, but you didn’t even bat an eyelid when I told you I just saw a fucking UFO flying around.” Carter’s heart pounded anew. “Does that mean you see them all the time?”

“I do not know what you saw,” Holloway said patiently. “I simply need you to describe it, and in as much detail as you can manage.”

That was a reasonable request. Carter calmed himself and focused on his still blurry memories. He'd been driving home after picking up his medication at the pharmacy when he noticed the odd shape on top of the box store, silhouetted against the moon.

He ground his teeth and focused. “It was almost like the locomotive on one of those high speed trains they have in Japan. Sleek. But it also had these crazy axe heads as wings, and I swear, it was parked right on the roof of the old box store by mile marker 6.”

“The old box store,” Holloway repeated. “The one that ceased operating?”

“That’s right,” Carter said. “They went out of business, or pulled up stakes, or something. Anyway, I spotted it from the highway and at first I thought it was some sort of... I don’t know. Decoration. Like a Halloween float. Maybe to advertise some new business.”

“A Halloween float,” Holloway repeated doubtfully.

“Well I wasn’t expecting to see a fucking UFO!” Carter glared. “But I slowed down anyway, since I was curious what it was, and then it...”

“What?” Agent Holloway prompted after a moment.

“It took off,” Carter whispered. “I thought maybe someone had cut the strings on it, if it was a parade float, but then it just... zipped off. Like, straight out and straight up.” He shuddered involuntarily as he remembered the terrifying sight. “I’m lucky I slowed down.”

“Why are you lucky you slowed down?”

“Because I probably would have ran my damn car off the road, that’s why.”

Reliving the terrifying experience he’d had as he drove down the highway and passed the store made him shudder all over again. Still, the fact that Holloway hadn’t batted an eye at his claim made him feel a bit better. And it didn’t mean it was a UFO.

What if was some hovering military spy plane, some super secret one the government was testing? That made more sense than a ship from another planet. Carter didn’t know a lot about interstellar travel, but he knew it would take years to go between systems at best.

“Did you see anything else?” Holloway asked.

“You mean after I saw the fucking UFO fly off, or before I nearly pissed myself?”

“Did you see anything other than the... Halloween float.”

Carter scowled. “Oh, you are not going to fucking convince me that was a Halloween float. The whole weather balloon excuse was bad enough.”

“But the ship was all you saw.”

“Yes.” Carter breathed. “And you really believe it was a ship?”

Holloway gripped his shoulder, but kindly. The gesture seemed... comforting. “I believe you, Carter Reed. You did the right thing bringing this to me.”

Did this man now feel... protective? That was a weird feeling. Carter didn’t trust it.

“Without having seen it myself, I cannot say for certain what you witnessed,” Holloway continued. “What I can say with certainty is that I do not believe you to be in any danger.”

Carter’s scowl deepened. “How can you... just... say that?”

Now that Holloway’s hand was on his shoulder, he was feeling a bit sleepy. He tried to fight it and quickly up. Soon, he didn’t remember seeing Holloway at all.

As he pulled into his apartment complex, exhausted from his long but uneventful night, he stumbled upstairs determined to go right to bed. It was only once he was inside with the door locked that he remembered to take the first round of the antibiotics he’d picked up at the pharmacy. He’d have to take them for weeks, and starting now would be best.

It still pissed him off that he’d had to waste a whole night driving all the way out to that pharmacy and back, but it was better than dealing with the pain from the infection he’d gotten after cutting himself on the prep knives at... work? After he’d taken the amount on the label, he thumped down on the couch and finally relaxed. His mind felt hazy.

The whole drive was like a blur. He’d obviously been up for far too long today. Still, he wasn’t ready to sleep. He flipped through channels aimlessly and had just started getting interested in a cooking show when he heard the latch of his front door open itself.

With a key? Nobody had a key to his apartment. He glanced at the door and then sat up straight, wide-eyed, as an absolutely gorgeous blond-haired woman just walked into his apartment like she lived there. She wore a dark sweater that stretched over her visibly large breasts, blue jeans tight enough to be a second skin, and a pair of beaten up sneakers.

As her light green eyes met his, she smiled. “It worked. I found her. You’re brilliant.”

Carter simply stared. “Uh...” He did his best to figure out how this woman had unlocked his door and walked into his apartment. “Can I help you with something?”

You can find story with these keywords: Syren’s Song, Read Syren’s Song, Syren’s Song novel, Syren’s Song book, Syren’s Song story, Syren’s Song full, Syren’s Song Latest Chapter