Sixteen (ON HOLD)

3.5 Nola

“Look, I know that what I’m saying sounds rather ridiculous but there’s no reason to make fun of me.” Ginny did not look at all amused by Kate’s startling revelation. In fact, she started to leave the room, completely frustrated by the whole thing.

Cole stepped between Ginny and the door. “Whoops, can’t let you leave now,” he said, arms crossed over his chest. At first Ginny thought he was kidding, that he would bust out a sly smile or soft chuckle if she looked too shocked. She knew his type. Except, he wasn’t teasing her and he wasn’t letting her out of the room either.

“Alright, look, you’ve had your fun. Now, let me out. If you don’t want my help then we’re done here.” Ginny tried her best to look calm but fear was starting to creep into her voice.

Kate’s eye brows raised, her brow creased with wonder. Turning to Sadie, their only experienced field researcher, she asked,” Why does she keep saying that? We are not having fun. Are you having ‘fun’ Sadie?”

Sadie just smiled and looked down. She didn’t like making her friend feel foolish, so she answered her telepathically instead. “Ginny doesn’t believe you. She thinks you’re making it up.”

“Oh,” Kate responded aloud, “then let me prove it.” All eyes in the room were on her as she took a moment to think about what she could use as proof. Kate liked to prove things, she was a scientist after all. She looked around the room, at the plain white walls, no help there.

As she gazed at the walls, looking for ideas that were not there to be found, her mind drifted. Something inside her mind was pulling her attention away. Her bright eyes glazed over with a dull lifeless expression and she slipped quietly away while standing perfectly still in front of everyone.

What Kate saw was a man with jet black hair and an impish lopsided grin staring back at her. He moved elegantly and spoke with a thick yet non-distinct accent.

“Let’s start over. I’ll ask you again. What do you remember about the night you disappeared?”

Kate opened her mouth to respond but no words would come out. Then, she heard a male voice answering the question in her place.

“Nothing. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

It was Troy’s voice. Kate realized she wasn’t seeing with her own eyes. Troy was sending her a memory and if that was true then what she was seeing already happened. She focused her attention back on the scene.

The man in black stood upright, folding his arms at his chest. “Then maybe I’m asking the wrong question.” The man nodded his head to someone Kate couldn’t see and suddenly a second man dressed all in black came forward, holding a blank manila folder. He opened it and took out a photograph and laid it on a table. Kate could feel Troy’s anxiety twisting her stomach into a knot. Without knowing why, Kate started to tremble. She didn’t want to look at whatever was on that photograph. She heard Troy’s voice utter a name, “Nola.”

“Where the hell did you get that,” came the booming voice of the Chief. It startled Kate since she hadn’t realized he was there at all. The Chief snatched the photo up and shoved it in back in the man’s face before Kate could get the chance to see what was on it.

“This is Casey Donoven. One of the kids that didn’t return. Where did you get this damn photo? I want an answer, now!”

“Casey, you say? Well that’s not what our friend Troy here just called her now was it?” The man’s voice had an eerie calm to it. He completely ignored the Chief’s obvious rage. “Nola, I think he said.”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass what the boy just said. I want to know how the hell you got this photo and I want to know right now!” The Chief was turning red and his voice was getting louder.

“You are forgetting that I don’t answer to you.”

The Chief dropped the photo. He took a swing at the man and landed a punch square across his cheek. The man’s head flew to the side, but his body didn’t move. The room went dead silent. Kate looked down at the photo.

She recognized the girl instantly. Nola, number three. Her skin was pale and splattered with blood. Her white shirt was soaked in blood. A long ragged line ripped across the girl’s face, her arms and legs were cut up as well. All Kate could hear was the sound of her own heart pounding, everything else just fell away.

“Kate! Kate!” Cole snapped his fingers in front of Kate’s face. “You’ve been thinking for a few minutes now, everything alright?”

Kate turned to look at him, tears streaming down her face. Despite himself, Cole embraced her, squeezing her tight and asking her what was wrong. Kate didn’t answer him, she looked at Ginny instead.

“We come from a planet very much like your own, called Septeria. Our people are dying, we had no choice but to come here to look for solutions. These agents, these men in black, they will torture and kill every last one of us. Please help us Ginny. Please.”

**************

Thank you iEmzy101 for the planet title! Congrats on winning the contest, I will be contacting you for your interview for Watt's Happening!