I am Rome (Complete)

Chapter Twenty

Smoke filled the room, adding to the commotion. Those near the exits attempted to funnel out of the narrow doorway while others keeled over coughing and crying. Nobody knew what was happening.

Rome was startled and was unsure what to do. He quickly grabbed Joe's hand and they both became invisible.

"They're in here somewhere. Seal the doors!" one of the soldiers commanded.

As the men approached the stage, Joe and Rome maneuvered around them. Unfortunately, their movements were tracked through the smoke.

One of the soldiers extended his arm in midair and activated his taser. Rome materialized and collapsed on the floor. His grip disengaged from Joe's hand and Joe too became visible.

"I got him!" one of the men proudly shouted.

"ROME!" Joe cried out before his lungs filled with smoke. He began to cough violently, but still managed to crawl on top of his friend to protect him. "Get away from him!"

Just then, Joe felt a strange object being shoved into his ribs and a surge of electricity coursed through his body. It was enough to incapacitate him. He watched helplessly as Rome was hauled off.

Before the smoke cleared, Joe was already on his feet and running toward the door. He was met by a bottle neck of red-eyed people attempting to shove each other out of the way to exit the building. By the time Joe found his way outside, he was just in time to see a convoy of taillights speeding away. All eyes turned to Joe as he broke down emotionally.

'I'm not sure if you can hear me, Rome, but I'll find you,' Joe said casting his thoughts in the direction of the fleeing vehicles.

"Mr. Smith, do you care to comment on what just happened?"

"Mr. Smith, do you know who those men are and what they intend to do with Rome?"

"Mr. Smith, what does this mean for Rome's movement?"

The camera crews and journalists were relentless. They surrounded an emotionally distraught and vulnerable Joe and bombarded him with questions.

"Please, not now," Joe said as he gently pushed his way through the crowd in an attempt to find his parents. He was a little shaken up by what had transpired. His nervous system had not fully recovered from the electrical charge that rendered him helpless just moments before. He keeled over at the waist and hacked up some phlegm.

"I know where they took him, son," a gravelly voice said.

Joe turned his head to look over his shoulder. Standing over him was the cigarette-smoking man. Joe stood up to address the man's claim.

"You know where they took my friend?" Joe asked, still somewhat on guard.

"Yes."

"Who are you?"

"The name's Arthur Winslow, former intelligence officer for a covert military organization out of Nevada."

"Area 51?" Joe asked.

"Precisely."

Joe was dumbfounded, but didn't see any other options.

"Can you help me get him back?"

"I'm not sure, but I will try. We should go somewhere private to talk."

Joe met with his parents and explained to them where he was going. He then got in Arthur's car and the two drove off, leaving the chaos behind.

"So how long have you worked at Area 51?" Joe asked.

"Over 35 years."

"Wow, that's longer than I've been alive. I'm sure you've seen some crazy things there."

"I'm sure nothing that would impress you."

"From what I've read, Area 51 is one of the most top secret and guarded military bases on U.S. soil. The federal government barely acknowledges its existence and refuses to discuss it with the public. If they've taken Rome there, how are we going to get him back?"

"I think there may be a way we can help your friend, but I'll admit, it's a bit of a long shot."

"Why are you doing this? I mean, why are you helping me?"

"When I was about your age, I was on a family road trip. We were driving down a stretch of highway late at night and there was not another car in sight. I saw some bright lights in the sky and looked out the window. There was a craft silently hovering above our vehicle. I made a fuss and started screaming at my dad to do something because I was really afraid..." the man paused for a moment to choke back his emotions.

"Then what happened?" Joe asked sympathetically.

"My dad lost control of the vehicle and careened into the ditch. I was the only one wearing my seatbelt and — "

"Oh geez, Arthur, I'm so sorry to hear that."

"It's okay. That was a long time ago."

"So what you saw, I mean, the lights. What were they?"

"I don't know. They disappeared in a flash, but I knew what I saw that night was real and I spent the rest of my life investigating them. It became a lifelong obsession. Meeting you and seeing Rome in the flesh has been very rewarding for me."

"So if you work for the same government that took Rome, why should I trust you?"

"For one, I'm retired. And two, at my core, I'm still just a young man like you in search of the truth."

The man exited the highway and turned down a gravely road. The only light came from the two beams on the front of the car, but those were soon turned off leaving them in complete darkness. The moon hovered above, but was barely visible through the dense clouds that had moved in.

The car crept along at a snail's pace and eventually came to a stop in a small clearing on the side of the road. For a moment, Joe was scared, but decided to give the man the benefit of the doubt. After all, he had yet to display anything remotely threatening. Without warning, the man reached in his jacket and pulled out a strange object. Joe thought for sure it was a gun and was already thinking of leaping across the centre console and wrestling it out of the man's grip. Fortunately, that wasn't necessary once Joe caught a glimpse of the object.

"What is that?" Joe asked, staring at a small oval-shaped disk.

"I think it's some sort of transmitting device — a way for E.T. to phone home."

"Where did you get it?"

"I found it at a crash site."

"In Roswell?" Joe asked.

The man started to laugh. "How old do you think I am, boy?"

Joe stumbled over his words a bit. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

"Don't worry about it, kid. I was about your age when the UFO crashed in Roswell — much too young to be a part of any military intelligence outfit."

"So there have been other recovered UFO crashes?"

"There have been a few that I know of. Each country has its own investigation departments and they don't necessarily share that information. What lands on other countries' soil is their business. We have found bodies, but never a live one.

In nearly every culture in the world, they reference some kind of lore about aliens visiting our planet and being instrumental in our development. Some people believe aliens came to Earth many moons ago and spliced their DNA into primates on Earth to create humans. That theory may explain the exponential growth of the cerebral cortex in humans. It could very well be the so-called 'missing link', but those were just theories, we never knew for sure."

"So how does this device work?"

"I'm not sure; I've never been able to operate it. There are no buttons on it and no way to open it."

"I think I've seen this before," Joe said. "I saw Rome with one. Can I see it?"

The man handed Joe the small metallic device.

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