Young Writers Society

*Part two of my “Alice and the aliens” series. The first story is under my folder “Alice and the aliens”. Gacha Club character designs are on my wall. Enjoy!*

Alice found herself in a silver room, surrounded by many beeping computers, whirring sounds like that of a fax machine.

Bryon stood in front of her, eyes full of concern.

“I’m really sorry that you had to find out this way, Alice. I’ve been meaning to tell you, but it just…slipped.”

Bryon rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact.

“Where am I? What are you going to do? Can I even trust you?” Alice asked. She always thought that Bryon was different, but it had never once occurred to her that he was an alien.

Did he even love her? Or was she an experiment to him?

“You can trust me, I promise! You’re in my spaceship, that’s all. I just need you for this mission. That’s all.” Bryon said.

“Mission? What mission? What’s going on?!” Alice asked.

Why on Earth would he need a human for whatever mission he was going to do?

Bryon sighed heavily and haggardly.

“My…my real name isn’t Bryon. I used it for my human name. I’m actually A2614. My older sister, B392, is in another ship. You’ll like her. She’s really nice and-“

“What’s going on?!”

“Right. That.” A2614 said with an edge of nervousness in his voice.

“There is a group of aliens called absorption vampires. They’re like your vampires, except they absorb blood from others just by staring  at them. Here’s another thing: Unlike the vampires in the stories you read, they’re mortal. They can die. There’s a small but powerful group of absorption vampires called “Life seekers.” Their leader is Captain D9302. For years, they’ve been searching for a planet with infinite life and now, they’ve found it. They’re in Earth now, looking for humans to steal the life from. Only the kindred spirits, the kind human ghosts that haunt your planet, know that they’re there. They’ve been trying to warn the living humans, but the Life Seekers have caught on. They’re sending the human spirits to space.”

“If there are too many ghosts in space, the very universe will explode into nothingness. It can contain galaxies, planets, and stars, but not the human spirit. It’s too much. We need to send the ghosts to the afterlife first. After we save the ghosts, we’ll have a better chance of saving Earth. The universe first, Earth next.”

Alice’s head was swimming with thoughts, but only one was strongest.

“What does this have to do with me?” Alice asked.

“Me and B392 tried sending the ghosts to the afterlife, but they haven’t responded to our technology. Our theory is that the ghosts need to possess a human body for a short amount of time, then use that energy to get to the afterlife. That’s where you come in.” A2614 said.

“So I’m just an experiment?! You want to use my body to help ghosts?!”

He didn’t really love her?! He saw her as something useful?!

A2614 shook his head, tears shining in his orange eyes.

“No, no. Alice, you were completely unplanned for. I was looking for someone on Earth to help, yes, but you were unexpected. When you came into my life, it was the best thing that ever happened. I saw how you cared for me even when I did things out of the ordinary. You didn’t think that I was strange. You are someone who loves strongly. You are good luck. I brought you here because you would be perfect to help the ghosts pass on.”

Alice’s heart flushed with joy. So he did love her! He thought of her as someone more!

Still, a cold, clawing thought scratched the corners of her brain.

“Will I die?” Alice asked.

A2614 laced his hands with Alice’s own, warmth radiating from the lizard green skin.

“No. It will only be for a short amount of time. You will live. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Then let’s do it. Let’s save the universe.” Alice said with a soft smile.

…………………………………………………

Alice and A2614 were looking out the main window from the aircraft. It had been awhile since he brought her to his ship and they were both searching for any signs of a ghost. So far, only the stars blinked merrily back at them.

But then, they saw her. The ghost.

Alice knew who she was from legends told at her town. Back in the 1950s, a woman named Giselle had married a man named Joseph. On the night of the wedding, Giselle was found dead in a hotel bed, both eyes missing, still in her wedding dress.

Joseph was the main suspect, for he was the only person with her, but no one could prove it, so he wasn’t sent to jail.

Instead, he was killed on the night after Giselle’s death, in a different hotel, missing both eyes. Legend had it that Giselle’s ghost killed him for revenge, but, again, no one could prove it.

Alice stared at Giselle’s sagging sockets, rotten and decaying skin surrounding them. Her white bridal dress was yellowing with age, her coarse, gray hair, once thick and brown, stuck to her face in stringy clumps, her veil had faint rusty red stains.

She stared long and hard at Giselle, studying every detail of her lost body, of a life that was meant to thrive, until Giselle collided into Alice with brilliant white wedding light and they became one.

Alice saw the thoughts of Giselle as though they were her very own.

Giselle sat in a cafe, blue, sparkling eyes bright with hope and possibility. A young, handsome man with youthful pale skin in a suit joined her and her whole body seemed to have a hint of elation in it.

Such a happy young woman, wishing only to be with someone who cared.

Every day was the same thing. Every day, Giselle and Joseph linked hands and promised to marry each other when the time was right.

All she wanted was someone to spend the rest of her life with, someone to hold her when things got rough and Giselle was a vulnerable creature to the forces.

The wedding night, where Giselle walked down the aisle in a flowing white dress, pure as a flower, blue eyes even brighter than before. Everyone watched with eager eyes as she made her way to the man of her dreams.

She really thought that he was going to be the one.

The honeymoon, running off to a hotel of fresh young meat, couples unaware of life’s trials. The hotel itself was painted sunshine yellow, Florida flowers decorating the outside, chlorine blue pools glistening, begging to be jumped in.

It was all so well, it seemed like a dream.

Joseph and Giselle in their bedroom, all too giddy to change out of their wedding clothes. Joseph reaching out towards Giselle’s giggling face, tearing off the blue eyes with a sickening RIPPPP.

Blue eyes fell to the carpeted floor. Joseph greedily snatched them up and chewed on them, white goo spilling from his mouth like melted marshmallows.

The man was a demon, an actual demon who ate eyes to live.

Then the next night, Joseph ran off to a motel, dirtied and filled with sad secrets. Trying to run from his sin.

But Giselle had found him. She rose above him, glistening the way ghosts did. Just as he did to her, she reached out to him with a grin on her bleeding face. Though a demon, he could not harm what was already destroyed.

Out came his eyes, so easily a human caused his demise.

Something else flashed in Alice’s mind, a golden glow, welcoming and sweet, like a Grandma’s hug, soft and hazy, as if to say “Thank you.”

Giselle rose up into Heaven, a field of climbing wildflowers and an always blue sky, a garden that never died.

Alice fell into A2614’s arms, feeling as though a chunk of cement was lifted from the crevices of her body. She took in large, gulping breaths, needing to feel alive once again.

“Alice? Are you alright? Do you want to go home? I can take you home and this will all seem like a bad dream. I didn’t realize how…how this would affect you. You can opt out if you want.” A2614 said. His voice was ragged with fear, a face creased with worry.

“I’m…okay…I…just…need…to…rest…for a moment…” Alice said between pants. Yes, she felt like the wind got knocked out of her, but she was okay overall. She could help them. Pain was a part of life. To avoid it was futile.

“Rest? Sure, you can rest. I have a bed you can lay on.” A2614 said, carrying her in his arms.

Alice placed a hand on his cheek. He told her the truth. He saw her as a human. He wanted to protect her.

“You can lie with me if you want.” Alice said. It would be nice to not feel alone.

“Really?” A2614 asked, surprise in his voice.

“Yes, it would be nice to have you with me.” Alice said softly.

On A2614 went with Alice in his arms, to a safe bed away from the horrors outside.