Exit God Out - Book One - The Unexpected Terrestrial

Exit God Out Book One: The Unexpected Terrestrial Chapter 34

Chapter 34

"You know I showed up just for your birthday and then I'm leaving again for a few days, right Maggie?" asked Anna, kneeling down to look her in the eyes, hoping the child would not take offence to her returning to the Boston Meyer house in Boulder to finish her short holiday. Mayer had offered Anna extra time off which unfortunately landed on Maggie's sixth birthday. Maggie smiled at Anna as if to say I understand, but a deep sorrow lingered behind her eyes.

Anna waved goodbye to a melancholy Maggie standing outside in the front parking lot, her shoulders as low as her pouting mouth, holding onto Annok's empty old belt leash and dressed in the most colorful coat a person could adorn. It was a part of her since the moment she unwrapped it, and made a terrific little blanket at night. Anna suggested she keep the coat as new as possible, and save it for her children one day, but Maggie laughed and said her kids won't be needing these types of garments. Anna was becoming wise to not ask too many questions. No amount of imagination could compete with Maggie's.

The older green Subaru weaved around the extreme mountain corners, until Anna noticed the same dark helicopter above her. Bastards, go rob somebody else, realizing another ticket was soon to arrive in the mail, but she laughed. As of this birthday, she became a millionaire. It was the agreement she and Meyer made: she would give birth, become the prominent caregiver and on the sixth year, if the child showed no signs of devotion to God or any deity, she would receive a first installment of one million dollars, and Meyer was scheduled to arrive at the lab in the next twelve hours with the check automatically deposited. She had high hopes for the money: the next day she had an appointment to see an old but impressive farm not too far from the lab yet close enough to Boulder. Her other agreement with Meyer was another million on Maggie's sixteenth birthday. That was a day she promised never to miss.

As she pulled into the driveway, a lump welled in her throat. Something was amiss. The curtains were pulled tight in the front bedroom. They were open when I left the house. Anna left the bags in the car and walked up to the front door, opening it reluctantly. Someone had been there while she was at the lab for Maggie's birthday, someone very careful not to be overly obvious, but still warning her of the intrusion. Nothing was broken, just a few magazines scattered on the floor, drawers opened and the place left softly disheveled. She decided not to call police or talk to anyone about it, for if she was responsible for not locking the door, Meyer would retaliate. Nothing is stolen. Why would someone break in and not steal anything? A wave of fear washed over her. This wasn't the work of someone interested in peripheral items. This was someone interested in her.

She cleaned up quickly, took a short walk to her bank and then to a favorite restaurant in Boulder's quaint district of Eleventh and Pearl. The busy setting barely eased the tension of frequently looking over her shoulder. Her mind was chaotic. What was the invasion connected to? Why was nothing stolen? What were they looking for, and why her? Do they know about Maggie? She grabbed a paper before sitting down to see if there were any similar local stories, but nothing was printed, and she didn't know if she should be thankful or frightened. When her meal arrived, she ate slowly, trying to not look around but the anxiety refused to lift. She wanted to go back to the lab but the farm she was viewing the next day was a shorter drive from Boulder. She could not shake the feeling she was being watched. For the first time, Anna skipped dessert so the walk home would not be in darkness.

Anna lay frozen in the foreign bed, pulling the quilt up around her head and listening for anything that didn't resemble the sounds of a small town at night. Sleep found her around 3am, after an agonizing night of suspicion and mental chaos.

Hello sunshine! Am I glad to see you! Anna noticed she had slept in just enough to feel better but too much to be able to linger before leaving. The excitement of seeing the old heritage farm took over, and since she survived the night without any intrusion, she decided to let it go and move forward into a new life. Keep the home invasion to yourself.