Shadows of the Mind

Jacob Theison thinks he’s better than all the other folk who live in the picturesque town of Pembroke Eve. It’s no place for a modern guy and he wants to leave, try his luck on the greener pastures of anywhere else. That is until he realizes one thing. Deep down he’s just like everyone else, a country guy through and through. That realization comes just in time, because on a moonlit night a green glowing spaceship lands in Wilson’s field. Aliens, it seems, are real. But why are they in Pembroke Eve of all places? Pembroke is a nowhere place. And why is everyone acting weird all of a sudden, even more so that usual? Are the aliens’ friendly or do they have a more sinister reason for being here? It seems Jacob is the only one who can see what’s really going on. But why him? What’s so special about a gay young man living in a small town? Sure, he’s never had a boyfriend, never been kissed for that matter, so why? Curious, he goes to investigate the spaceship and gets far more than he bargained for as soon as he gets over his back fence. His life will never be the same again.

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Shadows of the Mind Copyright © 2010 Mark Alders ISBN: 978-1-55487-493-4 Cover art by Angela Waters All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. Published by eXtasy Books Look for us online at: www.extasybooks.com

Shadows of the Mind

The Pembroke Eve Chronicles Book 1

By Mark Alders

Dedication This book is dedicated to my Family.

Chapter 1 everything changed. Lastyounight To really get to the meat of what I have to say, to impart to the true purpose of what I want to tell, let me step back a

little. You will then understand how I’ve come to realise that things were amiss. I’ll go back to when I was fourteen, I think. Yes, fourteen. How I think about my life now has dramatically changed since then. Which, in hindsight prepared me for what I am about to tell you. Back then I thought the town of Pembroke Eve, where I live, was like one of those villages you see on National Geographic, stuck in a time warp and never changing no matter what. It was mind-numbing sometimes how much didn’t go on here. If there was a big delivery at the General Store, then it hit front page in the local newspaper. I remember Mum served tinned five bean mix for three days in a row. Every meal had the stuff in it, breakfast, lunch, dinner and a helping for afters if she thought I’d been good. The General Store owner must have got crates of the bean mix in at a special price. I hate beans now. So, yep. The town, as far as I was concerned, was boring. I mean, there are only so many chocolate box sunsets and cobbled country walkways one can take. My God, I couldn’t wait for the endless summers to end back then. I thought that if I saved enough money, I’d be able to get out of this hole. Mind you, 1

Mark Alders working at the local fast food outlet—replace fast food with Mr. and Mrs. O’Doherty’s Food Emporium where they have served the same menu of greasy fish and chips and mushy peas and nothing else since Adam was offered the apple, then you’ll get some idea of what I’m talking about—didn’t pay well at all. I thought I was stuck. A victim of circumstance. Because the actual town was boring, or rather, the place was populated by boring people, didn’t mean I was like that. Oh, no, I thought I was different. In fact, I’m the one that caused quite a stir when I was in high school a few years back. Yes, little ol’ me. People still don’t talk to me because of it, I’m sure. It all happened on my fourteenth birthday. That was the day I decided to tell them, my parents, my family and everyone present I wasn’t one of them and never would be. I actually thought I deserved better than what this town had to offer. How? Well, I’m gay, you see. Yep. Me. Gay. Surprises me as well when I think about it. Who’d have thought I’d be like that? Certainly not my parents or those present at my birthday, that’s for sure. It’s funny, the town’s folk kind of avoided me, and Mum and Dad did a lot of that pregnant pause talk once I had told them. I bet they all thought gayness was contagious or something. I didn’t announce such a thing out of spite. Oh no, on the contrary. I did it because I knew I was different and wanted to solidify that in their minds. I wanted to separate myself from them as much a possible. For a long time the locals gave me knowing glances or crossed the street deliberately when I approached. The only reason I retained my employment with Mr. O’Doherty was because he was a close friend of the family. I bet he went home and scrubbed himself clean if he thought he’d come in contact with me during my shift. Bah! Who cares about what they thought anyway? All of them, the O’Doherty’s and the town folk, they 2

Shadows of the Mind could all get stuffed. Looking back, I can’t believe I would’ve thought like that, but I did. The people of the town were all so worried by such insignificant things, like when the milk would be delivered or whether or not it would rain during the Spring Carnival, that they had become small-minded individuals who feed off each others’ ignorance. Gay man in small town equalled one lonely man. I do have to admit I was shocked to discover that I was gay. On the other hand, it was something I had kind of known about since I can remember. You’re born like that, right? It’s whether or not you accept the fact that sets you apart. The first time the realisation struck me, I mean really sunk in, was when a new boy, Thomas was his name, moved into town with his family. He was naturally placed into my class at about the same time I had outed myself. Just my luck. I was full of raging testosterone—still am—and the slightest thing would give me a boner that seemed to last for hours. Suffice it to say, I did a lot of cross-legged sitting back then. Wouldn’t you know it, Thomas had to sit next to me, didn’t he? He had an engaging smile, one that would expose his eyeteeth and kind of screw up his freckled nose. I was smitten. I mean, he didn’t even talk to me for goodness sake. We never hung out together or anything like that, and he never made any attempt to get to know me. He sat there, doing his work like a good little boy, smiling and being all prim and proper. God, I had it bad for him. I remember I beat myself off every night for about two weeks dreaming of his smile. I mean, he wasn’t even anything special. He wasn’t attractive by any stretch of the imagination. He had small beady eyes and a 3

Mark Alders lanky body for a start. But my, oh my, did he make me lose control. I choked my chicken until it was red raw some nights as I thought about what I was going to do to him if I ever got him naked. I would dream, both at night and during the day, about how I would wipe that sickly sweet smile off his face by plunging my cock deep into his mouth. Then it all became clear to me. And this is the reason why I can see what I do now. I remember vividly the revelation that struck me like a slap upside my head. I was in the boys’ toilets and scrambling for toilet tissue out of one of those paper saving dispensers, to try and wipe up the after effects of the latest Thomas fantasy I had experienced. Not an easy task when you are trying to keep your shirt up by clenching it between your chin and your chest because you have cum all over your stomach. Those dispensers never work at the best of times. I think I gave up and used my underwear to clean up the mess. Suffice it to say, I avoided getting close to anyone that day, especially Thomas. I could smell myself, even through my trousers. I dreaded to think of what others would have thought if they got a whiff of my stale dick cheese. I still cringe to this day when I think of that. But it was important as you will see. As I said, I had an epiphany. One that shook me to my core. In a way, I have Thomas to thank for it. I began to understand Mum’s five bean mix mentality. I began to understand why the town’s folk were like they were, and I began to understand a lot of things about myself. Really, I had done the same thing as Mum. Something new in town and I was all head over heels like some pathetic love-sick school girl. God, I felt…well, I felt guilty first and foremost. The experience made me realise I wasn’t all that different after all, and that scared the absolute spit out of me. 4

Shadows of the Mind I was like all the other inhabitants of this town. Yeah, I know my dream of Thomas was only a fantasy. But from that fantasy, I grew up a hell of a lot. The whole Thomas situation not only woke me up to my sexuality, but it made me appreciate the place where I had grown up. I had to admit, from then on in, I loved Pembroke Eve. Things have certainly changed since I had my epiphany. I’m eighteen now, still single, but hopeful. And sure, some folk still avoid me, but Mum and Dad have gotten better. They love me. I know that because they tell me. That’s all that matters. Anyway, getting back to the town. Remember when I said I had to step back a bit to tell you what I needed to tell you? Well, now that I understand myself, I can do that. I mean, I’m sure that I wouldn’t have seen what I did last night before I had my revelation. If I had still considered myself different from all those around me, as I did before my fourteenth birthday, I may not have noticed at all. How did I come to this conclusion? Simple. By discovering that I was a part of the town, I saw things more clearly, because before I didn’t want to be here. Remember, I was saving my money to leave. Good thing I didn’t go. All I know is that last night, everything changed, and I was there to witness it. I thought I lived in a town called Pembroke Eve, a beautiful, picture post-card type of place near the sea that the tourists love and the locals brag about. I thought everything was black and white and all I knew was at face value and that nothing out of the ordinary ever happened here. How wrong was I?

5

Mark Alders

Chapter 2 night is still so vivid in my mind, yet so surreal. So much Lasthappened I am finding it hard to get my head around it all. Some things I cannot believe…oh, yeah, sorry. I’ll get to it

then. It all started to happen when I was asleep—well, that’s not entirely true. I was about to go to sleep. I had finished reading the latest issue of Blue magazine Mum bought for me at the General Store. Yes, even Mr. Barnaby the owner there seems to have accepted a few things in life as well, and he orders stuff in for me. Wonders will never cease. Although, bless him, his intentions are sometimes not that appropriate. Not all gay men want to have fluffy hand-cuffs, bare arse aprons or studded dog collars. Actually, replace reading the magazine with jacking off to the magazine and you will then know what my night-time routine usually involves. Hey, what can I say? As I said, I’m a hormonesoaked young man that also needs a lot of stress relief. One thing I had learned from the toilet incident back at school was to capture most of my fluid within my foreskin. As I am about to cum, I pinch the skin closed. Less mess that way. I had wiped myself clean, pulled up my boxers, turned off my bed-side lamp and was about to drift off to sleep, when a flash of light caught my attention. 6

Shadows of the Mind Normally, a light wouldn’t bother me. But this one was different. It was intense, like it came from a blast of an explosion or something. The other thing that struck me was the fact there was no sound that accompanied it. I even counted the seconds, remembering that lightning is followed by thunder. But no. The flash of light was so powerful it illuminated my room even with the curtains closed. I jumped out of bed. That’s when I saw the object fall from the sky and land by the Wilson family’s field. The thing must have passed right over our house. Before I knew it I was out my door and running down the hall. “Say, where you goin’ in such a hurry, Jacob?” Mum said as she bumped into me—well, actually I bumped into her as she came out of her bathroom. She was in her favourite pink nightdress. She also had those freaky looking curlers in her hair, too. She looked rather unimpressed at the sight of me in my boxers and not much else other than the cheeky smile I pulled when I had been caught with nothing to say. I was terrible at making stuff up on the spot. “Um…nowhere. I thought I saw something outside, is all.” “Just put some clothes on will you please if you’re going out anywhere?” And that was all she said. She turned and went back into her room, gently closing the door behind her. I assume Dad was asleep and she didn’t want to wake him. My charging through the house probably didn’t help matters and was probably the real reason for her unimpressed expression. I decided that she was right, and I slipped on a T-shirt I found crumpled up on the laundry floor before I left the house via the back door. Outside it was cold. 7

Mark Alders So god-damned cold I wished I had put on more than a thin cotton T-shirt and silk boxers. My nipples stood to attention until they hurt, my nose ran and I found it difficult to take in deep breaths without getting a pain in my chest. I’m also pretty sure my genitals wanted to retreat back inside my body to try and keep warm. I didn’t have time to check that though. I had other things on my mind. The realisation that things were unnaturally cold for this time of year being one. The glow near the Wilson field being the other. I clutched my arms around myself to try and keep some heat near me. It didn’t work. I decided, regardless of the weather, to at least walk to the back fence for a better look at the light that glowed eerily in the distance. It was green! Fucking green! I had to check it out. At the fence I couldn’t see anymore than I did back at the house. My breath was about the only visible thing near me. Somewhat despondent by this discovery, I climbed over the fence. As I landed, I heard a squelch. I was ankle deep in mud. I cursed myself under my breath and was about to try and move out of the quagmire I had found myself in, when I heard a click of a twig or something similar coming from the undergrowth to the right of me. I froze, literally. “Who’s there?” I finally asked feebly. There was no answer. I called out again, and again there was no response. Okay, I thought, probably an animal of some sort foraging for food, an owl or fox or possum for example. There are plenty of those kind of critters around here, especially near the fields. But that sound did come across as if it were made by something a lot larger than a fox. It sounded more like a bigger 8

Shadows of the Mind animal—say a deer or something—had crushed the twig to breaking point. I shook that thought from my head. The still night air probably amplified any sound beyond what was normal. I concluded there was no immediate danger from anything within the undergrowth. I still can’t think of how I came to that conclusion, but anyway, I eventually plucked up enough courage to move myself out of the mud. I then found myself smack bang in the middle of the soft, wet, colder than the air, grass that bordered the fields around here. My lips began to quiver and gooseflesh covered every inch of my skin so it hurt. I was about to continue on my merry way toward the field when I heard a twig snap again. This time the sound in question was closer and louder. Quickly, I turned toward the sound, nearly losing my footing on the wet grass. “C’mon! Who the fuck is there?” I yelled, more angered than anything. “Show yourself.” Out of the bushes two young men stumbled. “Hey there,” one chimed with a cheeky smile. “Why didn’t you answer me before?” I asked, coming closer to the two. They were both in a jovial mood and giggled behind their hands and nudged each other as I approached. They were obviously good friends. They were also better dressed, those duffel coats sure looked warm. “What? We just got here,” the one who had spoken the first time replied. His giggle then became more than that. He laughed, one that punctuated the air with its starkness. “Yeah, we came to check out that spaceship that landed on that field over there,” the other said as he gestured casually to the light. I didn’t know what to say. If they had only arrived, who or 9

Mark Alders what snapped the first twig? Or even the second for that matter. They did come out of the bushes away from the sound, didn’t they? I answered by saying, “Spaceship?” God, I’m a dumbass. I hadn’t seen either of these men before, and I should have asked a more pertinent question like, ‘who are you?’ Or something equally profound like that. No. Instead, I stood there with my mouth agape, sucking in the cold into my lungs and shivering because I was wearing clothes only a lunatic would wear at this time of night outdoors. “Say, you a queer or what?” the first man said. The other one laughed, the blond-haired one, then added, “You kind of give it away, mate.” Did I have a banner on my forehead proclaiming such a thing, or what? I was flabbergasted to say the least by what these two had said. First they appear out of nowhere, then they claim the light in the Wilson field is a spaceship and now they have the balls to confront me about my orientation. Talk about being both forward and rude all in one foul swoop. I was about to answer, give them a piece of my mind, when the first man said, “Your T-shirt, buddy. Kind of revealing, isn’t it?” In my haste to get out of the house I hadn’t checked what Tshirt I had picked up off the laundry floor. I looked down. Yep. There it was. My banner. I was wearing the I like boys T-shirt with the picture of two men kissing underneath the slogan. Another one of Mr. Barnaby’s inappropriate purchases that Mum bought for me out of guilt for the man who was trying so hard to understand my lifestyle. Geez, I must have looked a sight. No doubt I was probably blue from the cold, legs covered in mud and wearing inappropriate clothing to top things off. I had never felt so exposed. 10

Shadows of the Mind “I-I,” was all I could manage. “Hey, relax, mate,” the second man said as he came close to me. He offered his hand and I shook it without hesitation. “We understand. This is Callum. We used to go out together. Now we’re just friends. Hang out buddies, you know?” His hand was warm, and I have to admit, I didn’t want him to let go. A wave of relief washed over me as I looked up at him. This was the first time I had laid eyes upon real life flesh and blood homosexuals. I was overjoyed to say the least. Oh, happy day, there are others like me around these parts. “You got me. I’m gay,” I said as casually as I could manage. “Yeah, Derek’s right. We’re cool,” Callum said. “Say? You from around here?” I nodded. I was still numb from disbelief that I had met these two like this. Or was it because the cold had now taken a hold of me and I had lost all feeling. Either that, or I was experiencing some sort of infatuation. I had to admit. The two that stood in front of me were quite handsome. “Up the hill there.” I pointed to my house. “You’d better get something warm on if you want to come with us to check out that spaceship,” Derek said. “You look like death warmed up. I bet your ‘nads will drop off at any moment from this cold.” Go with them? Why wouldn’t I go somewhere with two attractive young men my age who happen to be gay as well? I thought all my dreams had come true all at once. Perhaps that was my mistake. Perhaps the decision I did make was the turning point that punctuated when things began to go so terribly wrong.

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Chapter 3 snuck into the house, trying hard not to wake anyone or leave Imuddy footprints anywhere conspicuous. Sometimes I wish I could turn into Spiderman at will. Mind you, footprints on the

ceiling would make Mum cuss even more than those on the floor. Without hesitation, I grabbed a fleecy hooded jacket, jeans and boots and got out as quickly as I could. The time, I noticed as I dashed past the kitchen to the laundry, was before midnight. I didn’t want to keep Derek or Callum long, so I changed into my clothes as I made my way through the house. Besides, there was that light in the Wilson field to investigate if nothing else. What other reason would you need for being in a hurry? Well, okay, the fact there were two good looking guys waiting for me outside also added a slight incentive. When I got outside, I slipped on my jacket. Derek and Callum were waiting by the back door, talking quietly and leaning against the wall as if by doing so they would save the house from collapsing. No matter how much clothing I added I was chilled to the bone and no amount of coverage now would thaw me out. “So, where you from?” I ventured as I zipped up the jacket to my chin. I didn’t care how I looked, but I bet it resembled an Eskimo or something. 12

Shadows of the Mind “Wayfarer’s Court,” they both said in unison. “Gee, that’s a fair ways away.” “Yeah,” Derek said. “We’re sort of on a road trip. We were driving through Pembroke Eve, when whoosh, that spaceship nearly clean knocked us off the road.” “You actually saw it? Up close?” Callum nodded. “As plain as day. Hovered right over us, it did.” “Don’t listen to him. He exaggerates…say, what’s your name?” “Oh, um, Jacob. Jacob’s my name. Jacob Theison.” “Right-o.” Derek smiled, then winked. “Anyhoo, we saw the light come over us as intense as if it were the middle of the day.” As Derek explained what had happened, his arms gestured wildly to emphasise his words. He even did the action for a whooshing spaceship. A pretty convincing one I had to admit. “We got out of the car and ran to see if we could catch it. That’s when we met you.” It was kind of hypnotic watching Derek. He had a presence about him, an attracting aura that sort of commanded attention and authority. Which was quite the opposite of how I felt about Callum. I have always been a firm believer in first impressions, and well, that was how I saw them. Can’t help how I feel, can I? I nodded at the appropriate moments as Derek explained their encounter with the light. As I listened, I couldn’t help but think if it wasn’t the middle of the night, freezing cold and a spaceship hadn’t just landed— gee, there I go. Now I’m calling it a spaceship. See? I think I’ve become infatuated with Derek in the brief amount of time I’ve come to know him. He’s got me convinced already and I haven’t even seen the thing in the field yet. Talk about putting the cart before the horse. I mean, gosh, I bet if he told me in that deep 13

Mark Alders sexy voice of his he wanted me, I would have let him take me to bed and rummage around in my pants no worries at all. Without even a bat of my eyelids, I’d be in the sack with him. Derek kept on talking. Finally, I said, “So…I suppose we’d better go take a look at this spaceship then, huh?” I tried with all my might to peel my gaze away from Derek’s fine physical frame. Callum had already made his way to the back fence. I realised I could see him as plain as day, and for a moment could not understand why considering it was the middle of the night and no Moon was present. It took my mind a couple of seconds to register a mist, thin but luminescent, had appeared all across the back yard and the surrounding areas. The fog glowed green, just like the light from the spaceship in the distant field. I suppose I could describe the mist as swamp gas, but the thing is, I didn’t live anywhere near a swamp. The sight of the glowing gas was weird to say the least, but I dismissed it as something inconsequential. Probably happens all the time, I never come out this time of night to see it. Derek coughed, knocking me out of my reverie. He smiled, one that sent little butterflies fluttering up and down inside my stomach. He then gestured for me to lead the way. I led the way. The only sounds, besides distant night noises, were that of Derek’s foot shuffles behind me. If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn he had deliberately made me walk in front of him. I could almost feel his breath at the nape of my neck. Not that I minded. Not at all. Actually, my heart hadn’t even finished a beat before I got a hard-on. Damn my lust. When we got to the fence Callum was already over it. I turned. Derek’s intense blue eyes met mine. I nearly yelped. He was close. So close, the faint gasp that parted from his lips tickled my 14

Shadows of the Mind skin. My boner was justified, and I reached down to adjust myself, hoping he didn’t notice. Bloody jeans restrict a hell of a lot, don’t they? I let out a nervous giggle. “You want me to give you a hand over the fence?” Derek said, his gaze wandering over me as he spoke. I think I actually squeaked in reply. Yep. I did. Thankfully, Derek answered my noise with a smile. Not only was he gorgeous, he was gracious as well. I think I’m in love. Okay, that may have come across as being rather sudden, I have to admit. But who the fuck can blame me? Here I was, outside in the dark with a handsome man, surrounded by a glowing mist that kind of added a romance to the air, and me with a raging boner. How was I supposed to feel? There was a moment of silence. We looked into each others eyes. I think I actually got lost in there. Then, to gently remind me that there was a purpose to us being outside in this weather, he passed air out of his mouth again. His breath was minty. I shook my head and took a step back. I had forgotten all about the cold, that was until I was clear of his body and the misty air closed in around me. It must have been like ten below. It nearly kicked the air from my lungs. I coughed. “Ready?” he asked. Derek then weaved his fingers together to create a foothold. Without hesitation I placed my foot into the cradle of his hands and he heaved me over the fence with one fluid motion. I landed safely on the other side. As Derek scrambled over the fence Callum patted me on the shoulder. “He’s hard to resist, isn’t he?” I nodded, realising that my erection had eased somewhat. “How did you ever break up with him?” 15

Mark Alders “I didn’t.” Callum’s voice turned serious. “He broke up with me…about a year ago now.” “Oh,” was all I could offer. I actually felt sad for him in a funny sort of way. “C’mon you two,” Derek interjected. He brushed his hands across his jeans. “No time for chit-chat. We have an alien to welcome to Earth.” “Alien?” I questioned. It was a leap of faith for me to believe that the light was a spaceship in the first place. But aliens? C’mon, what did he take me for? I wasn’t that gullible. “Who do you think fly spaceships? Russian dogs?” Derek added with a gentle giggle as he trotted off. The mist swirled around him as he did so. I shrugged my shoulders. I supposed if you followed that kind of logic he was right. Of course, that meant believing in extraterrestrial life in the first place. A notion I didn’t think I could get my head around right now. All three of us crossed the expanse of grass that bordered Wilson’s field. The mist had become thicker and it danced and eddied eerily at my feet, as if it had a life of its own. As I watched the mist, somewhat amused by the patterns its movement created, I realised my legs below my knees were warm. This strange fog was not only heavier than air, it held temperature as well. First I wrestled with the concept of spaceships, then aliens and now a fog that wasn’t like any fog I had ever known. Tonight was getting weirder with every passing moment. I was kind of freaked out. Derek then tapped me on the shoulder, drawing my attention to the distance. Ahead, the green light beckoned. It was so intense I couldn’t define the size or shape of the actual object that created the light. The greenish hue saturated everything around the object, 16

Shadows of the Mind including the clouds above. I mean, it could have been the size of a bus for all I knew. The whole landscape around me had become surreal, and I caught myself with my mouth agape. “Look!” Callum screamed, his face bathed in green light. I quickly turned, only to gaze upon something I didn’t think I could properly define. Not without something to compare it to anyway. This, as far as I knew, had no comparison. Actually, I was more than freaked out now. All I could hear was Callum’s shrieks as I tried to comprehend what was going on. I don’t know if the whole experience of what I had witnessed so far had confused me, but what I saw was the mist swirl up to take shape and form. It only took seconds for the fog to become a mass of snapping tentacles. Derek was ahead of me, a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He didn’t have time to react, the poor guy. The octopus-like blob or whatever the fuck it was, engulfed him as soon as it materialised. It went straight for him. Why the thing picked him and not me or Callum was anyone’s guess. Callum screamed out again and I instinctively tried to pull Derek from the glowing green entity. I failed. He disappeared. Just like that. The mass had gone, too. Only the mist at my feet remained. I was stunned. There was no other way to describe how I was feeling. Before I knew it Callum clasped his hand in mine. I turned to him, but before I could place any thought into words, he pulled me away from the edge of the field. “C’mon, Jacob!” His eyes were wide and intense and the expression on his face horrific. “We’ve got to get out of here. Now! Otherwise we could be next.” He pulled me toward the undergrowth that bordered each property. I didn’t want to go. I wanted to find Derek. We couldn’t leave without knowing what had happened to him. 17

Mark Alders “Wait!” I shouted back. “What about Derek?” But Callum’s grip was vise-like, and his intent driven by fear. As I looked at him, I not only saw the horror reflected in his face, I saw the dark patch at the front of his jeans. I had no choice but to let him take me.

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Chapter 4 Stop!” “Stop,ButCallum! Callum didn’t stop. He ran and ran, through the

undergrowth, over Mallory’s field and into the Westfell forest. He never looked back and never faltered with his blistering pace. The man was like a machine possessed, and unfortunately I was there for the ride. My shins, knees and back began to ache, and my breathing became short and shallow. I needed to catch my breath. Not only that, I developed a stitch, too. Just my luck. My gait became awkward as I tried to ease my discomfort. But that didn’t deter Callum. The light from the spaceship permeated the forest, giving everything a kind of green night-vision goggle glow. Callum tripped on a fallen log as he tried to jump over it. I landed on top of him with a thud that made me gasp. “What the fuck?!” I screamed, catching my breath. Sweat poured off me and I ached all over from the sprint I was forced to endure. I tried to clamber off him, but ended up going nowhere. He wasn’t going to let me go in a hurry. “I told you to stop. Didn’t you hear me?” He pulled me closer. Callum’s eyes still had that look of utter terror glazed over them. His lips quivered and spittle flew from his mouth as he mumbled incoherently. Most of it peppered my 19

Mark Alders face. His breath most certainly didn’t smell minty by any stretch of the imagination. “Snap out of it, Callum! We have to go get Derek. He may be hurt. We’ve got to make sure he’s all right. Don’t you understand that?” Callum gasped, mumbled some more, and then said, “There’s no mist here.” I was taken aback. That wasn’t the answer I was expecting. But he was right. The mist had disappeared. Either that or it hadn’t reached the Westfell yet. I didn’t care. Derek was missing. There was only one course of action as far as I was concerned. I had to find him. Callum began to weep—well, not exactly weep, more like he made a noise that resembled someone that would be weeping. I couldn’t see tears in his eyes, but his body shuddered. I then felt for him again. A mixture of sadness and pity. In my haste, without thought or consequence, I forgot about how he may have felt about this situation. If we had tried to save Derek, would we have met the same fate? Was Callum right to run first before any other course of action was warranted? I mulled those thoughts over and over in my mind. Callum seemed to calm. “You can let me go now,” I whispered into his ear. “But we must find a way of getting Derek back. Okay?” He nodded and slowly released his grip. “You won’t leave me? Promise me, Jacob. Promise you won’t go.” I nodded. “I promise.” He released his grip fully, and feeling came back into my hand as I flexed it. I rolled off him, the front of my jeans were wet, transferred from him. The pungent smell struck my nostrils as I lay next to him in the leaf litter. “Hold me,” he said. 20

Shadows of the Mind I placed my arm around his chest. He was warm, obviously because of the physical activity we accomplished. Sweat made his skin shine and his hair stick to his forehead. “Why did you run?” “Because one of those green monster things was behind you, Jacob. I couldn’t let you be taken like Derek.” I gasped. “You’re joking?” But as soon as I said it, I knew it was a reaction. He was scared, so why would he lie about a thing like that? The evidence was there he was frightened. I could smell it. “No,” he whispered. I took in a lungful of air and caught the scent of his sweat. I wriggled next to him, trying to get myself comfortable on the forest floor, not an easy task considering there must have been a twig the size of a tree lodged between my ribs. I winced. “What do you want to do now then?” I said, resigning to the fact our escape was probably a narrow one. I had Callum to thank for that. We couldn’t rescue Derek if we were in the same predicament, now could we? We needed a plan. I had no idea what that plan would be at this point though. I sighed. “Kiss me.” I had to admit, again that wasn’t an answer I expected. Callum was handsome, as I said before, but compared to Derek, he was—well, let’s just say not as attractive to me as Derek was. The best way to describe Callum would be plain. Yep. He was plain. He had brown hair and regular features, nothing sticking out as either attractive or ugly. He had a regular kind of body, too. Not fat, not thin. An all round regular guy. But as I studied him, something struck me. It may have been his mannerisms, like the way he moistened his lips every time he spoke. It may have been the way his eyes expressed so much emotion. Or it may have been that, like me, he seemed to care 21

Mark Alders deeply for others, even those he had only met. Before I knew it my lips were pressed against his. The taste of his salty sweat was the first thing I experienced. I moaned, and he must have taken that as a signal to deepen the sensation. His tongue, gently at first, parted my lips. The taste of his tongue was far different. His saliva had a spice I couldn’t determine, and as he pushed himself deeper into my mouth, the taste intensified. Did he smoke? I couldn’t help but become immersed in the moment. It was sad to say, because even though I was eighteen, this was my first kiss from a boyman. His kiss was fucking awesome. I felt myself stir. He parted and the taste of him lingered in my mouth for a long time after. I yearned for his contact again immediately, and wanted to kiss him again. I smoothed my hand across his chest. Okay, I wanted to be greedy. Why not? I wanted him to kiss me until I became asphyxiated by his passion. If I dropped dead now I would be satisfied. I had been kissed by a man. “Did you like that?” he whispered. I nodded. The pain from the twig no longer irritated me. I realised why, I was back on top of Callum, brushing my hands across his stubbled cheek. He had his arms around me, clutching me tight. “Yes,” I replied. “Did you want more?” “Yes. Kiss me again.” Callum then let out a chuckle. “No. I was thinking of something else. I want to suck you off.” He pecked me on my chin. “Then I want you to return the favour.” For the third time in as many minutes I was taken aback. That most certainly, without a shadow of a doubt, would have been the last thing I would have thought he was going to say. Regardless of what I was feeling about any physical contact 22

Shadows of the Mind right now, I heard myself say, “I’d like that.” “Have you ever blown anyone before?” I gulped. “No.” He licked his lips, smiled, then said, “I’ll show you. You just copy me, okay?” I got off him and stood up. Within seconds he reached down and began to unbutton my jeans. I couldn’t believe what was happening, and I have to admit, I felt a little guilty considering Derek may need our help right about now. Before I could quantify my conscience, Callum took down my boxers. My cock was fully engorged and he was feeling the weight of it. “You’re a well equipped guy, Jacob.” All I could do at this moment, because my body had decided that it wanted to play, was let out a breath as I watched him hold my cock. My stomach quivered as he pulled back my foreskin to reveal my bright red head he so wanted to get at. He rubbed his fingertips over my sensitive skin, sending shudders of delight through me. “Fuck!” I wheezed as soon as he took me into his mouth. If I thought his kiss was awesome, this was fucking amazing. His tongue rolled around my cock continuously as he worked his lips up and down my length. His fingers both gripped and pulled at the root of my dick, causing my skin to tighten more and more with each pass over me he made with his mouth. He had certainly done this before. He slurped and made funny guttural noises as he sucked, but I didn’t care. I was numb. My cock tingled from all the attention, and I knew I would shoot my load soon. Did I do it in his mouth? Was that the right thing to do? I had absolutely no idea the etiquette involved here. I groaned louder to try and make him aware that I was near climax. He didn’t slow. In fact, he moved harder and faster over 23

Mark Alders me. My fucking God, I was gonna fill every inch of him with my cum until it came out his ears. I was certain I was going to offload enough to do so, too. I blew my load. Callum took it all. For a long time he continued to milk me, even when I began to go flaccid. He swallowed every drop I offered, and I was in awe of what had transpired. So much so my toes tingled. Yep. My bloody toes. When he let me go, he said, “Your turn.” He must have taken down his own jeans while he performed the most delightful thing a man had ever done on me. He was rock solid and about the size of any I had ever seen on a man, even in all those magazines I hid under my bed. Not that I had seen many dicks in real life. Only those I caught a glance at in the locker room or toilet in high school. I knelt down in front of him and the leaves crunched under my weight. His foreskin still covered his head like a hood, and as he had done on me, I retracted the soft skin to reveal his full glory. His cock glistened from pre-cum. I touched the silky fluid, then rubbed it over his head, as I liked to do when I wanked. He moaned then placed his hands gently onto the top of my head, gripping my hair, encouraging me to enjoy what he offered. “Take me,” he said with a gasp. Callum’s cock throbbed in time with the pulse of blood that supplied it. And as he gently pushed me toward his body, I opened my mouth and let him enter me. His dick was more than a mouthful I had to say. The taste that flooded my mouth was a mixture of salt, cinnamon, urine, and something I couldn’t fathom. But I didn’t care. I was sucking a man off. Me. I could only describe the sensation, as I slid my mouth back and forth over him, as one of 24

Shadows of the Mind joy. Finally I had experienced another. Finally I knew what it was like to taste, smell and touch another man. I stirred again. “I’m gonna…cum soon, Jacob.” Sure enough, the words he spoke were the truth. Moments later, my mouth was filled with his ejaculate. The taste sensation was overwhelming. The salt of him was sharp and tangy, and left an after taste that seemed to numb my tongue. He pushed himself in deeper and deeper as he came, pumping more and more of his fluid down my throat. I couldn’t move my head back because his hands prevented me from withdrawing. I know he didn’t hold me there intentionally, and understandably he was caught up in the moment as I was before, but I gagged. He let go immediately. I coughed and spat until I purged my mouth of all the taste I could. Thankfully I didn’t spew. My stomach ached. “I’m sorry,” I said, my voice hoarse. My eyes welled up and tears rolled down my cheeks as I looked up at him. “Are you all right?” He took me by my hand and helped me to my feet. “Don’t be sorry. You were fantastic. Here. This is for you.” He kissed me again. As I enjoyed his tongue rolling around in my mouth, his closeness, and the touch of his wet with my saliva dick touching mine, I caught something that disturbed me out of the corner of my eye. I pulled away from Callum, and at first he looked hurt. A puzzled expression crossed his face. That was until he saw what I had. Fingers of green mist had found its way into the Westfell forest. 25

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Chapter 5 allum and I started to run. A difficult thing to do, I had to Cadmit, considering my jeans and boxers were around my

ankles. Guilt prickled at my conscience. How could I have thought about the pleasures of my own body when Derek had been taken by God knows what? After I had pulled up my clothes and Callum had, too, I grabbed his hand. I don’t know why I did that—well, okay, I did. We’d been sucking each other off amongst other things. Seemed like the right thing to do. He didn’t offer any complaint. We sprinted through the forest. I glanced behind me and noticed the mist had entered the forest proper, reaching the place where we had been physical. A shape appeared out of the mist, all tentacles that touched the dirt over and over. To me it looked like it was examining the ground where we were, as a dog would do to catch a scent. I knew we would soon reach the Longmuir River. Would this mist monster be able to cross the water? If it did hunt by smell, would going into the river disperse our odour enough to throw the monster off track? Urine and sweat and cum would certainly be hard to disguise. I could still taste all of that in my mouth. I shuddered. That thought haunted me as I ran with all my might, faster than when Callum had pulled me along earlier. I now knew the 26

Shadows of the Mind threat the mist possessed and I wasn’t going to hang around waiting for the stuff to take me. “There’s an old cabin just past the river. Belongs to a family friend,” I said as I jumped over a fallen log. “If we can make it there, perhaps we’ll be safe for the rest of the night.” Callum nodded, squeezing my hand tighter. He looked frightened again and this time, I hated to admit it, but I could relate entirely. The trees thinned, and the bank of the river came into view. The water reflected the unnatural green light that soaked the clouds, and visibility was like that of day time. Callum still looked scared, but I had gone beyond that. I was more concerned with the larger picture. Had this mist entered the town? If so, were others taken like Derek? As I pondered those possibilities, I couldn’t help but think there was something more going on here. What that was I had absolutely no fucking idea. “Where’s this cabin then?” Callum said. “We have to cross the water.” “What?” Callum seemed genuinely shocked and he tightened his grip and glared at me wide-eyed. “It’s cold enough out here. I bet the water’ll be like ice. We’ll freeze to death, Jacob. Isn’t there another way?” I twisted my neck to look behind me, to see if there was any other route of escape. The sight that confronted me made my heart sink. In fact, it made me feel sick to my stomach. The green mist had oozed out of the trees and was touching the sand of the river bank. It would only be a matter of moments before we were surrounded by it. “We either die from cold or let the green fog monster take us. Your choice, mate.” I hated to sound abrupt, but really, things were desperate. We had two choices. Both were fucked. Besides 27

Mark Alders the bridge was too far away from where we were. Callum mumbled something under his breath in reply, before he said, “We swim then. I’m not letting no green gas take me anywhere.” He let go of me and began to remove his clothes. Callum actually had a good idea. If the water was cold, as I knew it would be, then having dry clothes to put on at the other side made perfect sense. I unzipped my hooded jacket. Seconds later, we were completely naked. If I felt exposed in my boxer shorts and T-shirt before, I felt utterly helpless now. In one hand I held my clothes. I didn’t know how deep the river ran, but I hoped it wasn’t above my head. I didn’t fancy staying naked under these conditions while I waited for my clothes to dry. “Take my hand again, Jacob.” The hairs all over my body, from those on the nape of my neck to the ones that trailed up to my navel, stood to attention, and my legs felt warm. I looked down to see the mist swirl around my feet. I completely understood why Callum pissed himself earlier. The sight of the mist around my legs scared the absolute spit out of me. “Fuck!” I gasped as I grabbed Callum’s hand and charged into the water. Oh my mother fucking God! The water was cold. It was so cold it hurt, and I was only knee deep in it so far. There was a long way to go before we reached the far bank. I swallowed hard, trying to remain positive but unable to stop the niggling doubt within me. “Jacob,” Callum whined. “I don’t know how much longer I can stay in the water.” I turned to him. He was shivering. Even his hand within mine wasn’t as warm as it once was. He had gooseflesh all over, and 28

Shadows of the Mind his once amply sized appendage had been reduced somewhat. Then again, mine had, too. My balls, along with everything else, would have crawled up into my stomach if they could. “We’ve got to go on.” It was far easier to say that than to actually do it. I began to shiver as well. “Perhaps if we hold each other, try and keep as much body heat around us as we can. Then we’ll take it one step at a time. Okay?” Callum nodded. He came around and grabbed me tight, pressing himself against me. I felt reassured by his touch, and not only that, there was a marked difference in temperature where we had come in contact with each other. So far so good. Slowly but surely, we moved toward the far bank. We did a sort of side-step movement that was awkward but really the only way considering we were holding each other face to face. The water got deeper and deeper. Before too long, the ice-cold fluid lapped at my genitals. It was agony. I winced so hard tears were squeezed out of my eyelids. He yelped continuously. Once the water passed my navel, and I had lost all sensation below my waist, I began to feel light-headed. Was I about to lose consciousness? Callum tightened his hold around me. I struggled to breath. The water and his bear hug were taking its toll. I didn’t know how much longer I could last and the idea of getting into the water didn’t sound so fantastic as it did before. I wish we had a boat and I hate boats. The mist swirled at the bank we had left, but thankfully, didn’t seem to cross the river. That was one consolation. “Keep g-going, C-Calluuum. Nearly t-there,” I said. My lips wouldn’t stop shivering, and my speech had become impaired. Callum didn’t answer. That was fine. I didn’t expect him to. My words were only encouragement. The water reached the little patch of ginger hair I was so 29

Mark Alders proud of on my chest. My gasps for breath had become shallow and quick and I now had to hold my clothes above my head. Half of me was numb, the other half hurt like I had pins and needles. I began to hyperventilate, my anxiety taking its toll. Callum then began to laugh. I was shocked. There was nothing funny about being naked in freezing water, clinging onto someone for dear life for the small amount of heat they may generate, then hearing someone laugh about it. “W-What’s…sssso f-f-funny?” I managed. My teeth chattered, making speech a near on impossibility now. “The…m-mist monster g-gave up. We…we b-beeeat it,” he replied. He was right. Again. The mist had retreated back into the forest. Water was obviously a barrier for it. Thank the Lord above. What’s more, the water was getting shallow again. Before I knew it the water was below my knees. Moments later, we were at the shore. I collapsed into the sand out of sheer relief and Callum, unwilling to let me go, came on top of me. I didn’t mind. Not at all. He pressed his cold lips onto mine, parted quickly, then said, “I didn’t think we were going to make it.” “Neither did I, mate. Neither did I.” My skin felt tight, I shivered uncontrollably, and my bones ached. But overall I was sure glad I made it to the other side of the river. The funny thing was, as soon as my wet body became exposed to the air, I realised that I could no longer feel any sensation in my toes. I began to panic. What if I had developed frostbite? He managed a smile and then clambered off me. “Better get our clothes on before we get pneumonia or something.” I agreed with him. Once he was off me, I rubbed my toes 30

Shadows of the Mind vigorously, trying desperately to get some feeling back into them. He had begun to dress. As he did so I couldn’t help but study him. His skin looked like it was made of alabaster, soft and beautiful. He was actually quite toned, something I hadn’t noticed before. Callum had nice muscle definition and well shaped buttocks, too. He was fine. Mighty fine indeed. I had misjudged him. “You can have more of me when we are in that cabin of yours, if you like,” he said with a cheeky smile. I took it from that comment that he was in a better frame of mind. I smiled. I did want him. It was then I knew that I was going to be all right after being exposed to the cold water. I could feel my toes and was getting my libido back, too. Always a positive.

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Chapter 6 cabin was where I remembered. By the time we reached it TheISwallowing was not only tired from being up all night, I was hungry, too. cum wasn’t exactly filling. I’ll have to remember

to eat after I got intimate with Callum. The doors and windows were locked, but that didn’t deter me. I knew the bolt on the front window was broken. I had carefully jimmied it open many years ago. I used to come to this cabin a lot, mainly to wank over underwear catalogues. Hey, what can I say? Gay-orientated reading material was non-existent in our town when I was going through my I-want-to-be-alonebecause-I-have-teenage-angst period. Mr. Barnaby had rectified that now, thank God. He did get some things right. We climbed in through the window. I went first, and Callum patted me on my backside when I was half-way into the cabin. I giggled. Once inside, I fumbled around in the dark for the matches I remembered I had left on the table by the window. Actually, it wasn’t pitch dark, there was the ever present green light which now covered everything like dust. I hated that green light with a passion. I lit the candle and the cabin took on a warmth that lifted my spirit, mainly because it dispersed the green. I still couldn’t feel my toes properly, and was actually worried I may have caused 32

Shadows of the Mind permanent damage. I knew the next thing to do was light the fire. Perhaps that would help get the blood flowing around my extremities again. Callum fetched the wood from the log box while I lit the kindling. Soon enough we were sitting together, warming our bones by the flames. I took off my boots to expose my feet to the direct heat. Callum curled up beside me on the rug, his arm around my waist. My eyelids were heavy. I wrapped my arm around him and kissed him tenderly on his forehead. The instant I closed my eyes, I was asleep. I woke with a start and I got up off the floor instantly. My head ached dully. I felt clammy and sweat covered my brow. I groaned and rubbed my chest, which felt tight. I had to think about calming myself before my breathing returned to normal. My dreams hadn’t been pleasant, pervaded by green light, suffocating water and alien abductions. “You all right, Jacob?” Callum asked. He wasn’t next to me. I turned to see him rummaging around in the pantry. “You know, there’s quite a bit to eat here? Sure, it’s all in cans. But hey, food’s food, right?” I nodded. I then noticed my hunger and my stomach growled to emphasise my feelings. “Right,” I replied groggily. The fire was still roaring, Callum must have added more wood through the night. If there was one thing I was good at, it was sleeping. Mum used to say a S.W.A.T team breaking down my bedroom door wouldn’t wake me. I supposed she was right. I got up off the floor and realised I could feel my toes. A sense of relief washed over me and I smiled. As I went to Callum I ran my fingers through my hair. I needed a shower. I must have looked a sight after everything I had gone through last night. 33

Mark Alders “You want me to fix you breakfast?” Callum had picked up a tin of baked beans. He hugged me as soon as I approached. “Sure,” I added. I was also a pathetic conversationalist after I had woken up. Usually a good injection of caffeine, preferably diluted in the form of coffee, fixed that. Callum also looked like he needed to wash. I then had an idea. “So…you wanna have a shower with me once we’ve eaten?” We had already seen each other naked. I didn’t see a problem washing myself in front of him. I thought it would be a good way to save water in these environmentally conscious times. That’s my excuse anyway, and I’m sticking to it. Callum ignited the stove burner. “Are you asking me to get more serious with you?” That was a weird thing to ask, I thought. I mean, if running through a forest hand in hand, pashing someone, sucking them off, then clinging onto them for dear life while naked wasn’t serious already, I didn’t know what was. My eyebrows lifted. “What do you mean?” Callum then let out a laugh as he stirred the beans. “I mean, are you asking me to be your boyfriend, or what?” There was no other answer I could think of. “Yes.” I blurted. Then, as I took in completely what he said, added, “Say, come to think of it, I don’t even know your full name.” “Callum Burroughs.” He poured the heated baked beans onto a plate. “And I would love to be your boyfriend. Derek blew me off ages ago, and I’ve been hanging around him in the hope I could change his mind. I had it bad for him. God, I must’ve looked like a dickhead hanging on his every word.” Those words actually sent relief through me. I was afraid he was going to say no for a moment there. But when he talked 34

Shadows of the Mind about Derek, I had to admit, a certain amount of guilt crept up inside me. With Derek I felt an instant attraction. Callum kind of grew on me. Although, having said that, I don’t know whether or not my judgement was based on lust or love. The incident in the forest was most certainly lust. “Good, that’s settled then, I suppose,” I said as I sat down at the table. Callum bought breakfast over. We ate off the same plate. “But this doesn’t change the fact that we still need to find Derek.” “I know. He’s a mate, after all. And mates don’t leave each other,” Callum said between mouthfuls. He then swallowed, paused and added, “Oh, and sorry about last night in the woods when I kind of made you give me head…I just thought, you know, that we were cactus there. I didn’t mean to force myself onto you like that. I was scared. I’m sorry. If my last moment was to be with you—” I waved my hand to dismiss his justification. “Don’t worry about it.” I did have to admit, though, his motives had crossed my mind plenty of times. Why did he choose that moment to decide we needed to shove our cocks down each others’ throats? I suppose he was right in a funny sort of way. If you think you’re going to die, grab the nearest person and get off. Die happy. Then again, that thought made me feel like a piece of meat. I hoped any future rolls in the hay with Callum would have a lot more passion and romance added into the mix. I looked outside. The green light had disappeared, probably diluted by the rising sun. It was 6:00 AM according to the cuckoo clock on the far wall. I felt a little better now I was warm and I had something in my stomach. After breakfast, I went straight to the shower. Callum came with me. We undressed each other. As he took off my clothes his 35

Mark Alders hands brushed my skin, making me shudder with delight. He kissed me along my neck, across my chest, then back again. His hot breath tickled me. It was wonderful how something so simple like undressing had become such a turn on. And, yes, this was far more appealing to me than our first encounter together. By the time he took off my boxers I was hard. Mind you, he was, too. His foreskin had retracted of its own accord and his head glistened like the skin of a red waxed apple. “I’ll turn on the shower, shall I?” Callum said. Turn on the shower? Geez, he was doing a pretty good job turning me on, never mind anything else. I nodded eagerly in reply, then offered a smile. Steam soon filled the small bathroom. We washed each other. Another simple act that took on a whole new meaning. Mind you, he did concentrate his efforts around my genitals and backside a hell of a lot. I loved it. He kissed me like he did back at the forest, all roving tongues and dizzy spells on my part. That must be his style. Geez, I wanted him so bad. “I want to suck you off again,” I caught myself saying. Now it was his turn to smile. “I promise I won’t hold your head this time. I don’t want you to…you know, gag or anything.” I think he actually blushed when he said that. I know he was embarrassed by what he had done, and I bet my bottom dollar he’ll be apologising to me for ages, too. “I’d appreciate that.” Callum sighed, and I could tell something was still on his mind. His next words confirmed my suspicions. “Derek was always the man, you know? He liked things rough…I shouldn’t have done that to you. I wasn’t thinking. I-I saw you with Derek, giggling and stuff. I knew then…I knew that I wanted you more…I would appreciate you more.” He cut himself off then 36

Shadows of the Mind turned off the tap. “I wanted you from the minute I saw you, Jacob.” I didn’t answer him verbally, just gave him a hug. He obviously had a lot more stuff to get off his chest. That’s fine, I can listen. As we stepped out the shower, his hands firmly around my waist, I came to realise I hadn’t felt the same as he did. Not at first anyway. I then felt guilt, the kind that made that lump rise up in my throat. If Derek hadn’t been taken would I have missed an opportunity with someone that was proving themselves to be both sweet and caring like Callum? Before I could contemplate my thoughts any further, the sound of smashing glass made my heart skip a beat. “What the fuck was that?” Callum squeaked. I bolted out of the bathroom, Callum close behind me. What I saw made me gasp and my stomach turn. The mist had entered the cabin through the window we had come in last night. Somehow the fog had smashed the glass. “They found us!” I screamed. The mist formed tentacles. “Quick, Jacob, let’s get out of here! Is there another way out?” “The back door.” Callum pulled me away. His hands slipped over my wet skin so that his fingernails raked over my stomach, drawing blood. I yelped. But I couldn’t think of that now. We had to get out of the cabin. When we got to the back door he slid the bolt across and pulled it open. He shrieked. The mist was there, too. Before I knew it, there were tentacles slapping at the door frame. It then oozed into the cabin, silent and quick and fucking scary. Callum turned and pushed me back. I tripped on my own 37

Mark Alders feet, landing on my backside. The air was knocked out of my lungs and it took me a few seconds to get my orientation back. Callum extended his hand to me. Before I could grab hold of him the tentacles engulfed him. “Callum!” I screamed over and over as I tried to clamber to my feet. The water off my body made the floor slippery, and my feet and hands lost their footing many times on the wet wood. The last thing I saw before he was taken was that look of sheer terror in his eyes.

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Chapter 7 was a patch of water on the floorboards where Callum There stood. I was now alone. I cursed myself many times. How could I have been so clumsy at such a vital moment?

When I finally did get off the floor I noticed the mist had retreated back into the forest that surrounded the cabin. Was it only after Callum? Or could it only take one person at a time? I didn’t want to hang around to find that out. I went into the bathroom to collect my clothes. One thing was certain, a mist monster appearing was a sure fire way of killing a romantic moment. I no longer had a boner. Callum’s clothes were crumpled next to mine. I picked up his jeans, and immediately the smell of stale urine filled my nostrils. For all the running we did, it came to nothing. I sighed. What we had gone through last night was all in vain. He had been taken anyway from me. That lump rose up in my throat again, but this time it hadn’t appeared out of guilt. I had to force myself not to cry. Doing so wouldn’t get him back. I missed Callum. Typical, I finally get me a boyfriend and that very day I lose him. I stood there for what seemed an eternity, clutching onto his clothes. I wanted to wash them, mine too. But I didn’t know how much time I had before the mist would return. I had a nasty feeling it wouldn’t be long. The mist was never away for long. I 39

Mark Alders mean, it must have crossed the river by using the bridge. I shook my head, unable to believe such a thing had happened. The bridge was well over a kilometre north from where we were. The thought of the mist actually searching for a means to cross water made me shudder. If that wasn’t a sign of intelligence, I don’t know what was. Perhaps I didn’t stand a chance myself. Was it only a matter of time before it got me, too? I dressed. I searched the cabin for a bag or something to store Callum’s clothes and boots in. I found a canvas carry-all. If he were alive, I would make sure he got them back. I left the cabin, deciding to head south. Why? Well, I knew that if I walked along the Longmuir River for long enough, I would eventually reach the old tannery. My logic was simple. I needed help if I were ever going to get Callum and Derek back. Besides, the guys that worked the tannery were some of the toughest bastards you’d ever want to meet, all rippling muscles and that act-first-ask-questions-later mentality. To go anywhere else would be difficult. I didn’t fancy a swim across the river again and to head north for the bridge would bring me near the field where the spaceship had landed. Going east also presented a problem, the Westfell continued until it came to the ocean. I only had one option. With the canvas bag slung over my back, I trudged through the leaf litter toward the river. When I could see the river I would head on south. It sounded like a reasonable plan to me. Well, okay, it was the only plan I had. I sighed. I felt despondent without Callum. As I walked, I remembered the little things he did that fascinated me. The way he held my hand, the way his smile lit up his face and the way he always surprised me pretty much every time he spoke. 40

Shadows of the Mind I saw the river through the trees. I also saw the mist. The deadly fog was on my side of the riverbank. I swallowed hard, hoping it hadn’t caught scent of me. Well, I assumed that’s how it found us in the cabin. What other way could there have been? I was about to quicken my pace, to try and get as much distance as I could away from the mist, when I was struck by something that sent me to the ground. Before I knew it, I was flat on my back and covered in leaf litter, my view that of the canopy and the sky beyond. I was somewhat bewildered by this, because I knew there was no one around except me. Not even the mist had come close to me yet. The bag full of Callum’s clothes dug into my back and I rolled over. My head ached. No. Actually, it fucking throbbed. I couldn’t understand what could have caused me to be flung to the dirt like that. I stood up. Again, as I took a step in a southerly direction, I was propelled to the ground. I let out a yelp as I hit the dirt again. Now my head pounded and the back of my eyes hurt, like I had a migraine. I could taste my own blood. I panicked. What the fuck was going on? I scrambled to my feet, disturbing the leaves again. Before I decided to do anything else, I picked up a pebble. As I did so, blood dripped onto my leg, only to be instantly absorbed by the cloth of my jeans. I touched my top lip. Yep. I had a blood nose. I cursed as I wiped my mouth with the back of my sleeve. I threw the pebble. About a half a metre in front of me it instantly disintegrated. The dust created by its destruction rained down on me. I sneezed, something I wish I hadn’t done with a blood nose. In front of me, in mid-air, little speckles of my blood sizzled. The only conclusion I could come to, even though I couldn’t 41

Mark Alders get my head around it, was that there was some sort of force-field in front of me. Talk about unbelievable. I blinked. It was the only thing I could think of doing as I tried to wrestle with the concept of an energy barrier even existing. I felt my nose drip blood again. Whether I believed in force-fields or not, my body certainly knew about it. About a metre from where I was a mangled pile of feathers lay in the leaves. How come I didn’t notice that before? Well, okay, I admit I was more pre-occupied with getting away from deadly mist that turned into an octopus-like body snatcher than worrying about a few dead animals. Nevertheless, something like that would have been nice to know before I nearly knocked myself unconscious. Which begged the question. Why was I thrown back when everything else, like the rock and the bird, was destroyed or killed? I then shuddered and my skin crawled. It was clear why really. The aliens wanted us humans alive. But what did they want us alive for? I then had a second thought. If they wanted us alive, that meant that Callum and Derek would also be alive, wouldn’t it? Then a third thought struck me. What if they only wanted us alive because they wanted to hunt us? Perhaps we were sport to them. I shook my head. I think it would be better if I didn’t think about it any longer. The more I second guessed myself, the darker my thoughts became. The simple truth was I didn’t know enough about what was happening here to even make an educated guess. As I studied the ground, I noticed the feathers were black, probably those of a crow. Next to the dead bird, there was a larger mound of what I assumed was a disintegrated animal of some description. All that was left of it was a tangle of hair and bone. Perhaps that pile of gore belonged to a rabbit or a fox. 42

Shadows of the Mind Poor thing, whatever it was. Actually, for a far as I could see, in a straight line from the river to the east, dead bodies of critters were scattered. I knew without a shadow of a doubt I couldn’t go south. My stomach turned. I’d failed before I even began. I sat down, and the leaves crunched under my weight. I felt dizzy. I needed to gather my thoughts before I could decide what the hell I was going to do next. Callum and Derek needed me. But what good was I if I couldn’t help them? I knew I could travel north, I had come from the cabin. The trouble with that was the simple fact I would soon be surrounded by the deadly mist. Nope. I had to find another way. I picked up another rock. This time I threw it as hard as I could in an easterly direction. About five metres away, the rock exploded. That confirmed my suspicions. The force-field surrounded me. I was trapped. The mist at the riverbank thickened. I looked in desperation toward the cabin, thinking that I may be able to hide in there for a little while. At least give myself enough time to clear my head. I got up, determined to at least do something. Sitting around all day wasn’t getting anyone rescued, was it? As I came to the cabin I noticed the building was surrounded by the deadly fog. That was fucking quick! I let out a gasp. I turned. Nearly every tree around me was now ringed by the mist. You know, it’s true what people say about the moments before you think you’re going to die. My life flashed before me. As the mist closed in, closer and closer, I remembered all the little things that had made up my life and those who had enriched those moments. My parents, my friends and even Callum. The mist then transformed into tentacles. The monster lunged toward me. I didn’t scream. I didn’t flinch. I didn’t blink. I at 43

Mark Alders least wanted to go out with some dignity. My world went black.

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Chapter 8 woke in my bedroom. Iclambered Immediately I threw the bedclothes off myself and out of the bed. I looked down. I had a morning

stiffy, and my boxers billowed out in front of me. I adjusted myself, only to discover a dried glob of my own cum matted into my pubes. I must’ve had a wet dream last night. Then something struck me. Yes, last night, that was weird. I mean, the dream I had was not only vivid, it freaked me out, too. I could remember everything as though it actually happened. Which made me think. I could never remember any of my dreams. Ever. Even the ones that made me wet dream. How come I could recall every detail of what I dreamt last night as though it really happened? I dismissed that thought. Perhaps because it was so vivid, so haunting, I was able to remember it. Who knows? To dream of spaceships, alien mist monsters and a boyfriend all in one go was sure bizarre to say the least. I didn’t think I had that kind of imagination. Then something more important crept into my conscious thoughts. I needed to piss. After I had been to the bathroom, did what I had to do, like shower and change my boxers, I bumped into Mum in the hallway. She had come out of the laundry. 45

Mark Alders “I’ve just put a load on. If you have anything dirty, put it in the hamper, okay?” she droned. “Sure.” I noticed my I love boys T-shirt was no longer on the floor. Mum must’ve washed it. I went back into my room to find some clothes. “Jacob.” Mum called from the kitchen. “Yeah!” I yelled back. Communication was often done like that in our house. Dad said once he wanted to install an intercom system so we didn’t have to shout. What would be the fun in that? “Can you pick me up some things from the General Store before you head off to work today?” “Sure.” Actually, I needed some more reading material. I believe the latest edition of Blue was due out any day now. “What do you need?” “Butter and milk.” I heard the refrigerator door slam shut. Mum could never get hold of the idea that the door was self closing. She always used way too much force. “Oh, and word is out Mr. Barnaby has ordered in some tins of spaghetti and meatballs. If there are some there can you get me twenty cans?” I chuckled to myself as I got dressed. No prizes for guessing what was for dinner over the next week or so? “No worries.” I walked to the General Store. It was a fine day, and besides, I didn’t have to start at the Food Emporium until before lunch. I had plenty of time. The shop bell tinkled as I opened the door. A quaint greeting if ever there was one. Mr. Barnaby, a squat rotund man that always had a jolly disposition, nodded to me as I entered. “What’s on the list today, Jacob?” I glanced around the store. The place was crammed full of shit. Boxes and bundles of stuff were stacked to the roof around the already full shelves. There was barely enough room to move, 46

Shadows of the Mind let alone find anything. I supposed he knew where everything was though, which was just as well. Someone could get lost in here. “I hear you’ve got some meatballs and spaghetti in. And, yeah, we need a carton of milk and a tub of butter, too.” Mr. Barnaby came around the counter and headed for the cold display case. “No problem. But I have to warn you, there’s only a pallet of the meatballs left. When Mrs. Joyce gets wind that’s all I’ve got, they’ll be snapped up.” “Mum wants twenty tins.” I smiled as he handed me the milk and butter. “Say, you got my magazine in yet? I’ve read the other one.” Mr. Barnaby paused, rubbed his chin, then replied, “You know, I think I do. Hang on. Let me get you those tins first.” When he returned from the storeroom, a box full of tins in his arms, he disappeared behind his counter. After a few moments of him rummaging around, he re-appeared, magazine in hand. “There you go. Enjoy.” He slid the box with everything I had bought toward me. I took the magazine off the top of the box. “Um, Mr. Barnaby, this is Ralph. I don’t read that.” He looked at me. “Yes, you do. You get it every month, says so in my order book.” I was taken aback. I had been reading Blue for about a year now and been out for four. Surely, he knew that. “I don’t read that sort of magazine. You know that. It’s not my thing.” “All young men your age read that sort of magazine. I sell heaps of them.” He chuckled. He then waved his hand to dismiss me. “You boys with all your raging hormones and what not. Such jokers. You simply can’t tell me you don’t like ogling over the good looking girls in between those pages, now can you? I bet it eases some of that pressure, hey?” He winked. 47

Mark Alders “Um…I’m gay, Mr. Barnaby. Remember?” The smile was wiped from his face. His eyes glazed over and his bottom lip quivered. The cheerful expression that seemed to be permanently stuck to him had also disappeared. It actually looked like his mind had frozen. Finally, he said, “Yes, you’re a happy fellow indeed, Jacob. I’ll put your groceries onto your family’s account, all right? See you later.” I was speechless. Before I knew it, I was outside the shop. I clutched the box of groceries close to my chest, trying to work out what had actually happened. The magazine I had bought featured some girl in a leopard skin bikini on the cover with big tits and her legs spreadeagled. I didn’t know if Mr. Barnaby suffered from senility, but I couldn’t think of any other explanation right now. I mean, I knew Mr. Barnaby had lapses every now and again, but what happened kind of went beyond that. Perhaps he had confused me with someone else. I pitied the poor guy who got my copy of Blue. I threw the magazine into the bin. I wouldn’t have given a second thought to the incident at the General Store had things not got even more confusing once I got to the Food Emporium. Mr and Mrs. O’Doherty acted even stranger than Mr. Barnaby. Was there something in the water, or what? As soon as I began my shift and started counting the money in the till, Mr. O’Doherty came over to me and slapped me square in the middle of my back. I nearly choked. He never touched me, not for four years, anyway. “What was that for?” I asked, genuinely bewildered. “Eh? Nothing, sport. Just a bit of rough-housing, you know. Got to keep you on your toes.” 48

Shadows of the Mind “Oh, leave the poor boy alone, Harold,” Mrs. O’Doherty said as she came out of the cool room carrying a box of frozen chips. “He’s probably full of teenage thoughts, is all. That’s why he’s been all quiet and moody lately.” My mouth hung agape. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I didn’t think I’d been quiet or moody lately. What an odd thing to say. Mr. O’Doherty grinned, one that revealed his crooked yellow teeth. “I bet he’s full of something all right. Full of wanting to get laid, hey sport?” Now that was fucking weird. They never, ever, ever talked to me like this. “Um, yeah,” was all I could manage in reply as I secured the fifty dollar notes into their clip. He slapped me again, this time on my shoulder. “So, who’s the lucky girl in your sights? Spring dance soon, you know? A fine looking boylad like you shouldn’t sit on his hands. You want to make sure you get the best pick.” I looked at him. Then I looked at Mrs. O’Doherty. Both of them had a gleam in their eyes. Like the kind of expression expectant parents get when a good report card is due or something. “I’m gay,” I said flatly. I’d been through this once already today. I didn’t fancy a repeat. “We know you’re a happy lad,” he said. “So. Suzy is it? She’s a fine one. And, you know what? She asked me about you the other day. You’re in there, man.” I stared at him for a long time. “No, Mr O’Doherty, gay doesn’t mean I’m happy. It means I like to be with men.” Mrs. O’Doherty had emptied the carton of frozen of chips into the hopper and turned on the oil to the deep fryer. “What are you trying to say, Jacob? You don’t want to ask Suzy to the Spring Dance?” “Jenifer then!” Mr. O’Doherty interjected. “Yep. He wants 49

Mark Alders Jenifer. I bet her parents would be proud to have you on their doorstep in a couple of weeks time all done up to the nines.” I saw red and I slammed the till door shut. The loose coins clanked and rattled inside. “Listen. I don’t want to go out with Jenifer. I don’t want to go out with Suzy. I don’t even want to go to the stupid dance. I told you, I’m gay. That means I love the company of men. Don’t you get it? If I was going to any dance I would take a man. Understand?” Then their faces went exactly like Mr. Barnaby’s did earlier this morning. It was eerie. Both of them stood there, zombie-like, staring at nothing in particular. Finally, as if a switch had been turned on, Mr. O’Doherty came to life. He said, “You look a little ill, Jacob. I think you should go home. No good to me if you’re coughing all over the food.” No one was home when I got there. Mum was probably at the recreation club and Dad worked, so that was no real surprise. I didn’t know what was going on lately, but it sure confounded me. First there was that really strange dream last night, the one I actually remembered, and now all the townsfolk seemed to have been inflicted with mass memory loss or something. As I was about to sit down and put the telly on, watch something that would take my mind off what had happened, there was a knock at the door. When I opened it, I was confronted with the sight of Callum and Derek.

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Chapter 9 to come and shoot a few hoops with us, Jacob?” “WantDerek said as he and Callum barged past me and entered my house.

I was unable to place any thoughts into coherent order. What’s more, I think that was the exact moment, the precise second, my world came crashing down. With all the strange happenings of late, the townsfolk acting weird, and then that dream…well, was it a dream? I mean, my God, here they were in front of me, the two I had dreamt about. What was going on here? I held my head, as if doing so would stop my confused thoughts from spinning around inside my brain. “Fuck!” I screamed as I stumbled back. I then felt pain across my stomach. I lifted my shirt. I saw the marks across my skin where Callum had tried to grab me before he was taken. But that was a fucking dream, right? Wasn’t it? This can’t be happening. How can people from a dream exist in real life? How can I get a real scratch from a dream? The room spun. I tasted blood. My nose hurt. I tripped. The last thing I saw was Callum and Derek reach for me as I fell backward. Then there was darkness. But not the kind of dark that belonged in my unconscious 51

Mark Alders world. This was like being in a dark room, disorientated but oh, so very much aware of the fact that I couldn’t figure out where I was. I could blink. I could move my head—no, wait, I couldn’t move my arms. I tried to move my legs. Nope. That didn’t work. Had I been restrained? Yes, I could then feel the straps or rope or whatever it was around me. They were tight. I also felt uncomfortable and a dull pain throbbed through me, especially around my stomach. Surely a few scratches wouldn’t cause that much discomfort. I wish I could see where I was. I felt suffocated. Panic rose up within me and my breathing became shallow. I tried to scream, but no sound eventuated. That made matters worse. Was I even alive? I then heard a voice. At first, I couldn’t understand the words spoken to me. The voice or the sound I heard was funny, and not in the ha ha sense of the word either. It was kind of like listening to a foreign language or a voice on the radio that wasn’t quite at the right frequency. The voice became clearer, as if it were being tuned in. I began to recognise more and more words with each tune in. “This one has resisted the frequency,” the voice said, loud at my left-hand side, piercing the dark. “The field must have been set too low for it. The injuries it sustained have released too many endorphins. Its brain must have been shielded from the initial wave.” “Increase the dosage,” another voice said, this time on my right. A voice that sounded harsher, more authoritative. I tried to scream, but again there was no sound from my mouth. “But what if that doesn’t work? It is different to the others. It acts strangely. We don’t fully understand them yet,” the voice on the left said. 52

Shadows of the Mind I tried to force myself out of restraints. No good. I couldn’t move. Concern mixed with fear washed over me. “Continue as planned for now,” the voice on the right snapped. “We need this shipment as soon as possible. You already know they don’t produce much. Time is of the essence here.” I felt a slight release of pressure around me and the throb at my stomach eased. I blinked. Light flooded into my eyes. My vision had returned. I blinked again, forcing water from my eyes that had seemed to have built up. Had I cried? I didn’t remember crying. Derek and Callum came into focus. “Hey, you all right, Jacob?” Callum said as he pulled me off the floor, his hand clasped tight in mine. Callum’s grip was as I remembered. But how did I remember that? I thought he was…wasn’t he in? Oh fuck, my mind didn’t want to work. I had hit a mental block, like when someone asks you something really simple, like what’s your favourite movie, and you can’t think of the title. “I…don’t…know,” I said. “Am I…supposed to know… you?” Derek let out a chuckle, then said in that deep voice of his, “You’re such a kidder, Jacob. We’re from Wayfarer’s Court and we moved into town last week. Remember? We met you at the Food Emporium. That’s when you bought us some really nasty fish and chips, you know, to welcome us here.” “I did?” Callum directed my attention to the open front door. He licked his lips, then said, “C’mon, half an hour of basketball and you’ll be yourself again, I promise. Gotta be ready for the state try-outs after the Spring Dance, hey?” 53

Mark Alders “I suppose.” I looked at him, directly into his eyes. That’s when I noticed Callum’s eyes were different to what I remembered. How did I know that though? Were they normally brown and were now hazel? Or was it something deeper than that? His eyes didn’t seem to reflect any emotion or personality. Mind you, I couldn’t put my finger on how I knew that either. My head ached dull at my temples and I rubbed them to try and help me focus. Really, I wanted to be held, touched by someone I loved so I could feel them against me. Take in their smell, feel their breath against my skin and be comforted by their warmth. I think that would confirm to me the fact this was real and my doubt and confusion wasn’t justified. I slipped my hand into Callum’s. He recoiled instantly. “What the fuck are you doing?” I was stunned. He was my boyfriend, wasn’t he? Now I wasn’t sure. A pain shot through my head again as I tried to recall how I knew he was my boyfriend. Then, as I thought about what I did, I realised I had asked him to be my boyfriend and that my action was correct. So why was he acting so strange? Then in my mind’s eye, I could picture a cabin in the woods. As I tried to recall details the image became fuzzy. Had I made a mistake by assuming we were going out? Then again, how come I had come to that conclusion in the first place? I wouldn’t normally try and hold a complete stranger’s hand. And why was I able to recall the cabin where we had spent the night? Did we spend the night? The smell of cooking baked beans struck me. I had asked him out. Yes. He cooked me breakfast. He said he wanted to be with me. We were naked together. I then tasted him in my mouth. The sensation of his saliva and semen and sweat then tingled my tongue. 54

Shadows of the Mind I was right. Callum was my boyfriend. “You’re my boyfriend,” I blurted. “Why wouldn’t I hold your hand?” I could feel tears well up. This was getting too much for me. Why was everyone acting so weird? Was I the only sane one? Or was I insane? No, wait, if you can question yourself, you are sane. Right? Derek laughed. “Men don’t go out with men, silly.” “You don’t look well, Jacob,” Callum said matter-of-factly. “Perhaps you should go lie down or something. We’ll come back tomorrow to shoot some hoops with you.” “What are you talking about?” I stepped away from them. “Don’t you remember when we kissed, Callum? Don’t you remember when you and me were in the cabin together? We showered. We…don’t you remember that?” “Calm down, Jacob,” Derek said. He came over to me, holding his hands out, as if I was going to lunge up at him like a rabid dog or something. “A good rest and you’ll be right, mate.” My lips quivered and my eyes widened. I think I actually did begin to cry. “Calm down? Calm down? I am calm. It’s both of you that are fucking freaking me out. What’s going on here?” Then, as I tried to quantify my thoughts and memories into coherent words, to explain to them that I was right, I felt pain across my stomach. I doubled over. Blood dripped from my nose onto the carpet. My vision faded. I was back in the dark room. Alone, unable to move and scared out of my fucking mind. “This one is a problem,” the voice on my right said, the voice of authority. “We simply don’t understand it. It doesn’t behave like the others.” “Shall we dispose of it?” the voice from the left asked. 55

Mark Alders The pressure I felt around me was released. I then heard the sound of metal sheering over metal, like large scissors were being opened. “Where the fuck am I?” I yelled. My God, I could hear myself. I closed my mouth quick. I needed to hear. I needed to know what was going on, and at the moment hearing was the only sense I had. I could hear my heartbeat loud in my ears. I could hear my skin rasp over my restraints. I could even hear the two next to me, moving around me, slowly and carefully. I knew they were studying me, I could feel their cold touch on my skin. It was then I realised I was naked. I could feel cold metal on my back and legs. Was I a guinea pig in some sort of experiment? The image of the mist monster then filled my thoughts. I swallowed. Had I been abducted by aliens? I think I nearly choked on that thought. Only drunken hicks claim they’ve ever been taken by aliens. Didn’t they? I then felt hot. There was also pain, sharp and intense, particularly near my stomach. “No. We need to get this done as soon as possible,” the voice of authority said. “One less human for the collection will only delay our plan. Increase the dosage to maximum.” The sound of a switch being flicked echoed through the dark. I then felt the pressure return. My breath was nearly knocked from my lungs. I could no longer hear anything. Panic rose up within me. I then tried to free myself again, but couldn’t. The pressure upon me was too great. I was stuck to the metal, like I was a magnet. “Won’t the maximum dosage kill it after a while?” the left voice said. How could I hear their voices if I could no longer hear myself? Were they speaking directly into my mind? I then realised 56

Shadows of the Mind I had indeed been taken by aliens. I felt tears roll out of my eyes onto my cheeks. Why me? What could they possibly want from me? I had nothing to give them? Did I? “Once we have the fluid it won’t matter. A few losses can be explained.” “As you wish.” “Oh, but return it to the middle of the day,” the voice to the right said. “Let it think it has overslept. That way it may not have time to ponder any glitch in the holographic field. All going well, by the time their sun sets we will be finished here.” “Of course, Controller. I’ll get onto it immediately.” “Don’t make me come to this specimen again. If it gives you any more trouble, you can have your wish. You can kill it. Clear?” “Yes, Controller.”

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Chapter 10 light from the window woke me. Mum had opened the Thecurtains and fingers of dappled light danced around my head. “Mum!” I said as I pulled up the bedclothes to my neck. “I

could have been…busy or something. You know…doing private stuff or whatever.” She turned and looked at me blankly. “Don’t be silly, Jacob. I looked before I came in.” “Oh, my gosh, Mum,” was all I could manage as I watched her strut out of my room. She left the door open. Then again, my door was always open. I couldn’t sleep with it closed, something about the ridiculous notion I had about the air going stale or something if it were shut. I know, sounds pathetic, but that’s how I felt about it. I only ever closed my door when I got changed or needed to wank, but quickly opened it again when I was done. So, when thinking about it, I suppose she would have known I wasn’t doing anything of that nature and decided it was all right to come in. Which was weird on an entirely different level. Why? Because, since puberty, I hadn’t recalled a time when she had actually come into my room and done anything, much less open my curtains. The pile of laundry under my bed proved that fact. Mum had the theory that boys will be boys and let me to it. If I wanted 58

Shadows of the Mind to live in a pig-sty, as she so eloquently put it, then that was my problem. “I’ve seen it all before anyway,” she called from the hallway. “Who do you think cleaned your bottom when you were a baby? Mmm?” Her last words kind of stunned me. Perhaps she was in a bad mood. “Yeah, but you didn’t have to say it?” I heard the lid of the washing machine slam shut. “Just get up. It’s nearly ten thirty. You planning on sleeping all day, Jacob? That’s not like you at all.” “Ten thirty! Damn-it!” I jumped out of bed. “I’m gonna be late for work.” “Language, Jacob.” I was in such a rush I forgot to change my boxers. I didn’t even shower. I chucked on whatever clothes happened to be the easiest to grab that lived under my bed at that point in time. Some old jeans, a T-shirt and a hoodie that hadn’t seen the light of day for three weeks. I could smell my own musk and recoiled. There was an awful combination of sweat, clothes that hadn’t been washed because I was too lazy to put them in the hamper and numerous other stale body smells that only occurred after a night’s sleep. I applied heaps of deodorant. Before I left the house and ran up the hill to the town centre, I kissed Mum on the cheek. Now that I think about it, running like mad kind of defeated the purpose of applying lashings of deodorant in the first place. I was sweating so much by the time I got to the Food Emporium it dripped off my fringe. I hated being late to anything. Mr. O’Doherty was going to kill me. As I ran up the road, I couldn’t help but think about Mum. It 59

Mark Alders certainly wasn’t like her to be so terse. Perhaps she was upset because I had slept in. She was right. I never slept in. Was something wrong with me then? I felt okay, I thought. For what it was worth I was ten minutes late. My shift was supposed to begin at 10:30 AM sharp. But Mr. O’Doherty had the mind of a drill sergeant and hated any form of laxness, punctuation being on the top of his list. When I entered the Food Emporium, Mrs. O’Doherty had already turned on the deep fryer. She didn’t even look up to acknowledge me. Oh darn-it, I was gonna be in the shit big time. Once the fryer is on, that’s it. The shop should be open. Mr. O’Doherty liked everything, the till balanced, the chairs and tables set out and the lights and warmers put on by the time the first batch of chips hit the fryer. All of that was my job. I expected the worst. I looked around, slightly bemused when my ear-bashing didn’t eventuate. I couldn’t see Mr. O’Doherty anywhere. “Where’s Mr. O’Doherty?” I blurted as I came around to the till, still trying to catch my breath. I noticed that all of my jobs had been done already. I opened the till. Yep. That had been sorted out, too. “He’s gone.” She didn’t even look up at me as she continued on her merry way, placing half a dozen pieces of frozen fish into the reservoir basket on top of the deep fryer. I didn’t understand her answer. Mr. O’Doherty never, ever missed a day of work—well, okay, he did once when he had to have that ingrown toenail seen to. The man walked around for weeks in agony, telling everyone that no stupid toenail was going to stop him. Talk about being a stubborn old bastard. Suffice it to say, he was flat on his back for two weeks after the operation. 60

Shadows of the Mind Even so, the whole town had known why he was sick. I hadn’t heard anything from Mum or even from the town busy-body Mrs. Joyce about why Mr. O’Doherty wouldn’t be here today. “So…where is he then? Is he all right?” She placed the chip basket into the hot oil, and I swore the loud sizzle that resulted drowned out some of her reply. “…Don’t know.” I turned to her. “What do you mean you don’t know? Where is he then?” “Gone.” She looked up. No emotion was evident in her eyes. In fact, her face was blank. “Gone where?” This conversation had become rather robotic I had to say. Not like the way Mrs. O’Doherty acted at all. Normally she was a chatty woman, all giggles and out of place comments. Like when Mr. O’Doherty and me would discuss politics. We’d get right into the depth of party policies and what not, when she would add something irrelevant like, he’s got shifty eyes or I don’t like his suit. Stuff like that. I’m sure she voted based on those observations. In any case, she didn’t answer my question. Instead, she continued to cook as though I had mentioned the weather instead of showing concern about her husband. Stupid me. What was I thinking? I mean, my God, if I hadn’t known she had spent the last twenty-five years married to the man, I still would have been mortified. What was going on with her? Come to think of it, what was going on with Mum this morning, too? Had the world gone topsy-turvy? Or was I missing something obvious? Mrs. O’Doherty was so blasé about his disappearance that I didn’t actually know how to continue with the conversation. I felt awkward. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but something really 61

Mark Alders seemed amiss today. But, as I tried to think, my mind went blank. Kind of like the feeling you get when trying to decipher the takeaway menu from the Chinese restaurant across the street. Mr and Mrs. Foo Hue have a rather limited understanding of the English language and their attempts have bought me delight on many occasions. It took me ages to figure out that not pork but we like was actually sweet and sour fish. Bless them. Luckily the shop door opened, distracting me from my conundrum. In stepped two young men. They looked familiar somehow. I swore I knew them from somewhere. But where? As I stared at them my head hurt and I doubled over. An intense pain struck me around my navel, as if a knife or something had been thrust into me. Everything went hazy and I couldn’t focus my eyes. I lost my balance. Then as I clutched onto the counter top to stabilise myself, to try and stop myself from falling, it struck me. I began to remember. One of the men was Callum, my boyfriend. The other man had been abducted. Yes. That’s right. His name was Derek. It all became clear to me. No wonder Mum and Mrs. O’Doherty didn’t act like themselves. How could they? They had been captured as I had been, and this was all a complicated fabrication of some sort. I wasn’t in the Food Emporium at all. I squeezed my eyelids shut. When I opened them, I was confronted by darkness. I felt suffocated and I gasped for breath. “You are a problem indeed, human male,” a voice on my left said, calm and sinister. “Better be careful. If you can’t accept the field, I will have to kill you. You don’t want that now, do you?” Then the darkness lifted. A noise, like the rush of wind, filled 62

Shadows of the Mind the air. I could see. But the joy of sight was short lived. The dark had been replaced by green light. Everything was soaked in it. I could make out weird shapes, pipes and objects I had no idea of their function all around me. I must be in some sort of laboratory. I then felt an ache rise up from my stomach. I could taste blood. I coughed, an action that sent waves of sharp pain through me. But I couldn’t move, the straps around my arms and legs saw to that. “I have taken the holding field off you.” “Where am I?” I heard myself say. My voice sounded harsh and laboured. “You are an interesting specimen.” I continued to struggle in my bonds. “What do you want from me?!” “I don’t understand your ways, human. Why do you behave differently from what we know? Our knowledge is limited, yes. But still. You are a puzzle.” There was a pause. I felt my abductor brush against my arm. His touch made my skin crawl, it was wet and sticky. “Leave me alone!” I screamed. The voice continued, obviously my protests meant nothing to my abductor. “I know humans are divided into gender for the purpose of procreation. So why do you not want to mate with a female? Why are you attracted to the male of your species? What purpose does that serve? There are so many questions about you I would like answered. I would have liked more time.” There was then the sound of metal being moved over metal. “The engineers of the field had not considered such variation or factored in your unusual behaviour. We cannot adjust the field to this variable. Not without time. A luxury we don’t have.” I turned my head to see who was talking to me. I wasn’t going 63

Mark Alders to answer a voice anymore. I wanted to know who or what the voice belonged to. I deserved to know that much. Before I could catch a glimpse of my abductor, I heard a clicking sound, as if something had been turned on or off. “I really don’t want to kill you.” I then felt my captor touch me, run his hand or whatever it was, across my bare chest. I shuddered. His touch gave me gooseflesh. “You would make an excellent object for study. But the need we have far outweighs my curiosity. I warn you—don’t resist us anymore.” I closed my eyes. Not because I wanted to. But because whatever the voice had done, whatever switch he had flicked, made me do so. When I opened my eyes, I was back in the Food Emporium. This time my memory, everything I had gone through last night with Callum, the alien mist monster that captured us, absolutely everything, I remembered. My abductor had given me a choice. Accept what was going on and stand by and do nothing while they did whatever they were doing to the people of my town, or be killed. I was never one to do nothing.

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Chapter 11 What you doin’ after work today?” Derek asked “Hey,as heHeJacob. came over to the counter. leaned his arm onto the countertop and offered me

a boyish smile. I knew the man or image or whatever the fuck it was in front of me grinning so his eye teeth were revealed wasn’t Derek at all. I knew that the real Derek was strapped onto a table in some lab somewhere. Possibly on the spaceship that landed last night in the Wilson’s field. I knew he was not only helpless, but he was also being used in some sort of experiment or something like it. Just as I was. “Wanna hang out after, or what?” Callum added. “You know, go down to the ol’ boat shed or whatever.” I turned to look at Callum and as soon as my eyes met his, my spirit sank. There was no life behind them. The thought of Callum lying there, oh so helpless like the others, made me sick to my stomach. I wanted to hold him, to tell him everything was going to be all right. I wanted to feel his warm breath against my skin as I hugged him. I wanted what should have been mine before the mist monster took him away. I wanted my real boyfriend back. The thing is I couldn’t do that. The fake Callum, programmed by the aliens or whatever, couldn’t understand why I would do such a thing as hold his hand or touch him as a lover would. The 65

Mark Alders aliens hadn’t grasped the concept that humanity was a wonderfully varied thing. They couldn’t understand that our differences as a species make us strong. I mean, if we weren’t different to all the other species who have walked the Earth before us, we’d still be hunters and gatherers in Africa. Either that or extinct. When I had placed my hand into the fake Callum’s, the result was immediate. I had caused a glitch in their system. Whatever that system was. The field I think I remembered my abductor saying. In any case, their field was flawed. How many variables would humanity as a species have? Too many to count, I’d bet. So, if I acted according to their design, I wouldn’t be killed. I would have to play along with my abductors, let them take from us whatever it was they wanted, and that would be that. Be a good little boy in other words. I had to follow a set path with set rules. If I deviated, the result would be final. As I studied Callum and Derek, I thought long and hard about what I was going to do. What would happen to all of us once the aliens got what they came for? Would the aliens then kill us all? And what exactly was it they wanted anyway? Another wonderful trait of humanity boiled up inside me to consume my thoughts. I became curious. Was I going to lie there, literally, and let the aliens take what they wanted? Fuck no! I hadn’t struggled all my life to be who I am and true to myself, to then have some alien monster thing tell me how I should or shouldn’t be behaving. It has taken four years for certain people of my town to at least accept me enough to say hello as they pass me in the street. Was I going to give all that away by acting differently all of a sudden? If I’m going to die, I wanted to die as me. I’m a gay man. No amount of blackmail—yes, blackmail, was going to stop me 66

Shadows of the Mind being who I am. No matter how absolute. As that realisation struck me, I fumed. My stomach knotted and I had to take in a couple of deep breaths to calm myself. I had an idea. I closed the till, walked slowly around the counter, avoiding Mrs. O’Doherty along the way, and grabbed Callum by both shoulders. “This is for all of us,” I said. I kissed him. Square on his lips and with tongue, too. My eyes were forced closed. When I opened my eyes I found myself in the laboratory, as was to be expected. I had achieved what I wanted by creating the glitch in the system that made me return to reality. My plan had worked. What I was going to do next though was anyone’s guess. It took a while for my eyes to become adjusted to the green light. Then, as I looked around, something struck me as being different to the other times I had recalled being here. At first I couldn’t put my finger on what was wrong. Then, as I thought about my previous memories of the lab, I noticed I could move my head. Before I had been restrained by a…what did the alien call it? A holding field? Yep. That was it. This time I could definitely move. I looked down. The sight that confronted me sickened me to my stomach and I gasped, startled by what I saw. I blinked rapidly a few times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. Nope. Unfortunately, this was real. I shuddered and my stomach began to tighten. From my navel, a tube protruded. The tube was clear, but where it came in contact with my skin, where it must have pierced my navel and gone inside me, a metallic ring sat. A thick greenish-yellow fluid trickled up the pipe to a reservoir hanging 67

Mark Alders from a frame above me. The whole apparatus was reminiscent of a portable holder for saline drips or other fluids in hospitals, yet distinctly more alien in appearance. My body fluid was being drawn out by this machine. Something the aliens wanted came from inside me. What was green and thick and made by my body? I closed my eyes again, trying to focus my thoughts. So many horrible images flooded my mind. Did these aliens eat humans by sucking out our fluids like spiders did to insects? Or did they want the fluid for some other reason? Whatever they wanted the fluid for I knew it wasn’t going to benefit me or the people of this town. I could feel myself losing control of my senses. My throat seemed to close, I could feel my eyes well up with tears and my bottom lips began to quiver. But I couldn’t let my fears control me, even though I was nearly numb. I was the only one in the town that knew what was going on here. Without me, the others might all be killed. I mean, what happened to Mr. O’Doherty? Sure, his disappearance may have only been an oversight in their field, but why wouldn’t the aliens include him if he were still alive? Was he murdered because they had taken what they needed from him? Was he going to be the first of many? I opened my eyes. “Think, Jacob. Think,” I said though my fear to myself. What was green and inside me? Mind you, everything was fucking green in this place. Even my skin glowed green. No. Stop. I can’t be distracted. I had to think to get out of this mess. Again I gasped. I tried to move. As I did so, a sharp pain coursed through me. I yelped. No wonder I had been in so much agony before. I thought the pain had come from where Callum had scratched me. It hadn’t. Sure the scratches were there, but 68

Shadows of the Mind the real reason was the fact I had a fucking great tube through my navel sucking out my body fluid. It was in that moment I thought I was physically going to heave my guts up. As my stomach convulsed, I then knew what they were taking from me. I could taste the substance in my mouth. Why hadn’t I thought of it before? The aliens wanted the fluid that comes up through your digestive system and tastes bitter after you have vomited up everything else and there is nothing left inside your stomach. They were taking human bile. I looked down at the tube again. As I did so, I caught a glimpse of what was beyond my immediate surroundings of pipes and alien equipment. I saw the rest of the people of the town, secured as I was to metal tables in alcoves along the walls. The room was massive and went on well beyond what I could see. At the centre of the room there was a great machine of some sort. What the machine was for I couldn’t tell. All I knew was that all the bile collecting tubes originated from the machine. Was it a processor of some sort? Then a realisation dawned on me. I wasn’t in a laboratory at all. I was in a factory. A spaceship factory that farmed humans for bile, while creating an artificial environment in their minds so they would remain blissfully unaware of what was happening to them. I threw up. Saying I had to get out of this factory was an understatement that eclipsed all others. That kind of statement didn’t even need a second thought. I had to get out no matter what. I could taste and smell and feel my spew all over me. It was on my lips, on my chin and over my neck and chest. I could even taste the bile the aliens found so precious they needed to farm it 69

Mark Alders from us. I retched again, but the result was dry. Still, that didn’t stop my stomach from convulsing. The tube danced and the machine hissed next to me as my body shuddered. A light then flashed. I became hot and began to sweat. My legs slapped against the metal table I had been secured to. I began to panic and second guess my decision. Would I have been better off accepting my abductors condition to be an obedient human? I wiped away the filth from my face. At first what I did didn’t register in my mind. But then, as I cleaned myself with the back of my hand, I noticed that I could actually do such a thing. The bonds around that arm had become loose. I supposed the beauty of having blissfully unaware ‘farm animals’ was that the restraints didn’t have to be so tight. I hated the thought of us being animals to them. But really what other word could you use here? That’s what we were, animals to these aliens. The abductors must only use a restraining field when they needed to wake one of their animals. Or in my case, when that animal didn’t conform to their field and had to be told to do so or else. I didn’t want to waste any more time. I used my free hand to undo the other straps around my legs and arm. My suspicion I had that I was naked was confirmed as I leaned over myself. In fact, all the townsfolk were naked. Not a pretty sight seeing Mr. Barnaby with no clothes on I had to say. Poor guy. The straps secured around me were easy to pull apart and made an organic slurping noise when I broke them. Once I pulled the last strap off my leg, I slid off the table. I panicked and tried to grab hold of anything to stop my fall. Before I knew it, I was on the cold steel floor covered in conduit and wires of all shapes and sizes. As I fell I had clutched the tube tight, not wanting to let it go, even as I hit the floor with 70

Shadows of the Mind a thud. I feared having it pulled out of me would do more damage than I would like. Would removing it kill me? What was I going to do now? I couldn’t move. I was still attached to the machine. I looked around. I was frantic and my eyes were wide. My breathing became laboured as my fear knotted my stomach again. I needed scissors or some sort of cutting device to cut the tube. I couldn’t see anything of that description in the mess of pipes and other alien shit around me. Then I heard a loud hiss, as if a hydraulic mechanism had come to life. I turned, sweat dripped off my nose and fringe. What I saw filled me with dread. On the far side of the factory floor, a light burst forth as if a door had been opened. From that portal of light a body came, one that cast a massive shadow of tentacles far into the room. I grabbed the tube and yanked as hard as I could.

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Chapter 12 tube came away at the metal ring. Actually, I meant to say Thethat the ring consisted of two parts joined together and when I pulled, the top ring came away with the tube. Fuck, I was so

relieved the tube was no longer attached to me I didn’t care what the mechanics of the machine were. I was free…sort of. I still had to get out of the factory. I stood up. The bottom ring was still attached to my skin. How? I don’t know. But the hole into my stomach closed like an aperture lens of a camera a few seconds after I pulled the tube away. I could only assume I still had the rest of the tube inside me. Whether or not I would have the ring for a navel on a permanent basis was a secondary concern at the moment. I was more worried about getting the hell out of here than cosmetics. I heard a clanking noise. I tried to stay as still as possible, even going so far as breathing as shallow as I could. The alien had reached the central machine. Its hulking body moved slowly, and its many tentacles flicked switches and touched dials. If I didn’t know any better, the alien hadn’t noticed I was free. Didn’t it care I had escaped their farming machine? Mind you, how was I going to get out of here? The alien probably knew I was trapped whether I had got out off the table or not. The door it had come in through closed instantly the 72

Shadows of the Mind moment the alien was through it. I then had another thought. How was I going to get everyone else out of here? I swallowed hard. I had to think quick. Not something I was good at I have to say. I was always the one that had the witty retort well after the moment had passed. Like when my mortal enemy from high school, Michael Peterson would say stuff like, “Hey, faggot boy, where’s your pink handbag?” I would pull a funny face, kind of sneer in response and run along, embarrassed and hurt. Then again, he touched more boys than I ever did, especially being the captain of the football team. Every time a goal was scored there was backside groping a plenty. I remembered how I used to run away from Michael regularly. I ended up hiding or keeping out of sight of anyone for the rest of the day most times. Not a very cool thing to do having to dash into the library even during lunch break, but that’s where I spent a lot of my time in high school, unfortunately. Only after I had got home and under the safety of my doona would I then think of quips like, my handbags under your bed where I left it last night or I’m not missing my handbag. You borrowed it, remember. Geez, I’d love to see him naked in one of these alcoves right now. I’d bet my last cent he had a small wiener and hairless boy balls between his legs. I’d laugh and laugh. Such sweet justice wouldn’t happen to me, though. The thing is, he left town early last year to join the army. Of all the things he used to do to me, of all the teasing and harassment, I have managed to forgive him. I know he’s been posted to Afghanistan. No one deserves to die. I snapped myself out of my reverie. For a moment I hoped I wasn’t on an alien factory floor. As I looked around and the green light soaked my vision my hopes diminished. I tried to see if there was somewhere to hide. I didn’t want to be captured again. 73

Mark Alders Then as I was about to move, a burst of light ignited the room once again. Another alien came onto the factory floor. I crawled into the next alcove, both stunned and concerned to see Mrs. Foo Hue being farmed on the table. I gasped. I knew the whole town was here, that’s true, but to actually see such a thing so in your face scared the spit out of me. “Pull yourself together, Jacob,” I whispered. I hid behind the machine that guided the tube into her. I closed my eyes. I know it was pointless to do so, but if I couldn’t see them, then maybe, just maybe, they couldn’t see me. “There has been a change of plan.” I heard one of the aliens say. I recognised the voice immediately. It was the voice of authority. “What do you mean?” Yes. That was the other voice I had heard. The one that was curious about me. The one that touched me. As I thought about when the alien’s tentacle ran across my skin, I bought my knees up to my chest and held myself. I slowly opened my eyes. The two aliens were practically in front of me. Sure, they were by the central machine, but nevertheless, I could see every detail, every undulation on their slimy skin. They were hideous, no kidding. I mean, their bulbous hulking squid-like bodies had no definable features other than eyes in odd places. I couldn’t make out where anything was. How did they smell? How did they eat? How did they…do it? Did they do it? I hugged myself tighter. Those kinds of thoughts weren’t constructive. Thinking about getting the fuck out of here would better serve my needs. “The shipment has been doubled,” the voice of authority said, the one I remembered the other refer to as the controller. “We 74

Shadows of the Mind will be here longer than anticipated. Unfortunately for you, that means the specimens will have to produce far more of the fluid than we had first calculated. Will they be able to survive a longer exposure to the field?” “The field would be the least of our con—” “I think not,” the controller interrupted. “The field is our primary concern. Without it we would have to resort to more brutal methods of extraction. Stock loss would be too great, delaying an already lengthy process. Answer me. Will the other specimens be able to develop an immunity to the field like that adolescent red-headed male?” Both aliens turned their attention to the alcove where I was supposed to be. I swallowed. “No, Controller, I think the field is secondary,” the other one said. “Keeping the specimens in their place should be our main concern.” There was a long moment of silence, before the controller finally said, “You’re right. We can’t have specimens running wild around the ship. If you cannot replace the specimen in alcove 496beta by the time the new containment tubes are in place, you will be responsible for any delays. Clear?” “But—” The controller waved his tentacles. “The value of human ursodeoxycholic acid has quadrupled on the black market recently, doctor. I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to.” The one referred to as the doctor seemed to fade, as if it were transforming into the mist. “I know the penalties for our operation if we’re caught. I also know the rewards. Now, let me get on with it. I will find specimen 496beta. And when I do, I will complete my arrangement with it.” Both aliens became mist. 75

Mark Alders Trying to see green mist through green light was a near on impossibility and my eyes stung from the strain. I could hear movement. The loudest of the noises around me were my own heartbeat, my shallow breaths and the constant hum of the machines that extracted the bile. Having said that, I couldn’t hear the mist move, no matter how still I tried to sit. I didn’t want to get out of Mrs. Foo Hue’s alcove if I didn’t know where the aliens were. Well, that’s not true, I knew that one of them had left the factory floor. I saw it leave. “I know you’re in here, human,” the doctor said. “Show yourself. I don’t have time for games. I promise I will make your death as comfortable as I possibly can.” I saw a faint outline of misty tentacles move past the alcove. I sucked in my breath and clenched my lips tight. Again I closed my eyes. A noise, like that of a klaxon wailing, pierced the air. I opened my eyes to red light. The difference was a relief even though no less comfortable on my eyes. I could see the alien. The thing was at the other side of the factory floor, heading for the door. Whatever the sound was, it must have been important. The machine in the middle of the room stopped humming. Seconds later, as the alien left the room, a large aperture opened up in the ceiling. From the hole above, a machine comprised of twisted shapes and pipes of varying thicknesses came down. Both machines joined. Plumes of gases erupted randomly from the machines as they amalgamated. It was like watching two metallic amoebas mate. The noise was deafening. There were no aliens in the room with me, a thought that took a while to register. Was this my opportunity? I jumped up to my feet and got out of the alcove as quick as I 76

Shadows of the Mind could. I found myself on the metal landing that ran around the factory floor in front of the other alcoves. The metal was cold under my feet, and my toes ached. I knew I was trapped in here, but surely there would be another way out. Even an air duct or access tunnel would do. Behind me the machine continued to merge. I ran along the landing for a bit, checking the floor and surrounds for any possible way to get out. I saw a lot of pipes, a lot of machines parts and a lot of people I knew farmed on the tables. At the opposite side of the factory from the main door something caught my eye. I saw a grate in the wall behind a farming table. It might be big enough for me to squeeze through. I looked up to see if I knew the person in the alcove. “Shit!” I gasped and my stomach knotted as I touched his leg. I had found Callum’s alcove. He looked terrible. Pale, helpless and cold. I came around the table so I could see his face. His eyes were closed. How the fuck did I wake him from the field? I had to get him out of here. There was then a spluttering noise, and the extraction tube attached to his navel dislodged with a hiss. Bile dripped off the end of the tube to stain his stomach. I shook him. Perhaps now was my chance. “Callum!” I screamed. I could see another pipe snake its way toward him. The machine in the centre had finished it union and was now sending out fresh tubes. Obviously the new containers had to be filled as the controller instructed. One by one the new tubes attached themselves to the people of my town and the old ones retracted back into the machine and disappeared. “C’mon, Callum,” I said as I pushed open his eyelids and patted him on his cheeks for good measure. 77

Mark Alders He groaned. That one noise filled me with hope. I shook him again. As he opened his eyes proper the new tube came into his alcove. I grabbed it. I couldn’t think of anything else to do. The next thing I knew, I was pulling hard on the tube, trying to stop it from attaching itself to Callum’s navel ring. If the machine attached itself to him would I be unable to wake him from the field again? I had a feeling this would be my only chance. The tube in my hand whipped frantically in protest, but I continued to pull. I had to use both hands. Because, to be honest, this thing was overpowering me. Whatever it was made of, it seemed to have a life of its own. I began to sweat as I fought the tube. “Where am I?” I heard Callum ask, his voice groggy. He looked at me blankly as I fell over him. The tube was close to its goal and I didn’t have much room in the alcove to wrestle it properly. The tube was determined to complete its task. “Jacob?” Callum added, just as bewildered. “Help me here, will you?” The tube slipped in my sweaty hands. It was hard to hold on to, and for all my struggling, it was now only inches away from its goal. Callum screamed as the tube connected itself to his navel ring with a click.

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Chapter 13 hands reached over me and together we grabbed the Callum’s machine’s siphon. The tube came away, immediately

retracting back into the central machine. I looked at him to see if he were all right. He grabbed me as I undid his restraints, his hands around my arms were tight. “What the fuck is going on here, Jacob?” I could see fear in his eyes. “I remember the mist monster taking me…then I wake up to this. What’s happened? Where are we? What was tha—” I placed my finger onto my lips. “Shhh. We have to get out of here first.” He raised his eyebrows. “And you’ll tell me on the way, is that it?” I thought about his words. What I said did sound corny. Like a line from one of those cheesy horror films. But really, for this moment right here and now, the words were so appropriate that anything else I said would delay my desire to get the fuck out of here quick smart. Callum let go of me. Then, quite unexpectedly, yet thankfully, he hugged me. His embrace was full of rough movements and raw emotion and I felt him shudder as he pressed me closer to him. I then clasped onto him as forcefully as he did to me. My fingernails raked across his back as I became swept away in his 79

Mark Alders embrace. I didn’t want to let him go. I didn’t want him to be part of the field. I didn’t want anyone to be part of the field. The only hope of escape we had was to crawl through the ventilation shaft. Once we were off the factory floor we may have some chance of saving the others. “We gotta go,” I whispered into his ear. My lips brushed against his earlobe. He gasped. I couldn’t describe how wonderful it was to feel him against me again. Although, as I breathed in the air, all I could smell was my vomit and bile and his stale sweat. We stank. Then again, I didn’t give a fuck about that. We were together again and that was all that mattered. Callum finally pulled himself away from me and I helped him get off the table. Again, it was such a wonderful feeling having his hand in mine. I watched him intently as he looked around the alcove. “How do we get out of here?” he said. He then mouthed other words. I didn’t need to hear them to know what was on his mind. They were words I wouldn’t use in front of my mother. His eyes glazed over as his stare fell over the rest of the factory outside his alcove. Being confronted with the sight of a few thousand people being farmed for bile by a machine that looked like an amorphous metallic thing, would make even those with the strongest disposition question reality or go insane. Callum’s mouth dropped open and he let out a noise that sounded like a cross between a gasp, a swear word and a growl. I felt the warmth of his water at my feet. He looked at me. His eyes rolled in their sockets and without another thought I quickly grabbed him around his waist. He stumbled. Without me there to support him he would have fallen flat on his face in his own mess. I couldn’t blame him. “Easy now,” I said. He now knew of the horror these aliens 80

Shadows of the Mind had inflicted onto the people of my town. As I held him his body become heavy and I strained to keep him upright. For a long moment I stood there trying my hardest to keep him from falling by using the table to support us both. He moaned. At least he was conscious. I could only imagine the thoughts going through his mind. To wake up to a real nightmare would have made me react similarly. I also knew we had no time to waste. The alien would surely come back onto the factory floor now that the new machine was operational. Finally he said, “I-I just. My God, what…w-what is this place?” Before I could answer him, the factory door opened. Shit! My fear had been realised. From Callum’s alcove I got a clearer view into the room beyond. Beyond there was another factory floor. How fucking big was this spaceship anyway? I couldn’t recognise the people in the alcoves from this distance, but I’d bet they’d be the people of Wayfarer’s Court, a town only a few kilometres west of where we were. Mind you, that was assuming we were on Wilson’s field in Pembroke Eve. We could be anywhere. Even in orbit. I shook my head. Seemed Callum and Derek would have been captured no matter where they were travelling to. How much bile did the aliens want? The alien began inspecting each alcove. “Quick!” I yelped. “We need to go now.” I let go of Callum and got down on my hands and knees in front of the grate. “We’re going into that duct to get out of here?” “It’s the only way I can see.” I tested the grate to see if it would give. It didn’t. The fucking thing was secured solid. The metal that made the grate was more part of the wall than an attachment over a hole as humans would have made it. I had a feeling that escaping through the ventilation shaft was going to be too good to be true. What other choice did we have? “You come 81

Mark Alders up with anything better, just let me know,” I added out of frustration more than anything. I twisted my neck, only to see the alien had already inspected the first half a dozen alcoves. Callum came down next to me. “So long as you go first.” “See if you can find anything to smash our way through this grating, will you?” I pulled again. That time there seemed to be a bit of give. The grate must be magnetically sealed to the wall. Again I looked behind me. The alien had reached my alcove. I licked my lips and pulled on the grate, determined to get it off the wall. “Like what?” Callum said. “There’s nothing around us but pipes and weird looking alien stuff.” The alien came out of Mrs. Foo Hue’s alcove. I wiped my brow, but that didn’t stop the sweat from dripping off my nose as I continued to tug at the grate. I pulled and pulled. The fucking thing still didn’t want to come away from the wall. I cursed under my breath, before I said, “On second thoughts, I need your help here. I think we can get this grating off if you pull with me.” Callum and I pulled together. My arms ached up to my shoulders and my fingers bled at my knuckles where the metal of the grate had rubbed my skin off. I couldn’t see what alcove the alien was up to when I glanced behind me for the twenty millionth time. I knew the alien wouldn’t be far away now. There wasn’t that much distance between my alcove and Callum’s. “Jacob…there’s an alien coming this way!” Callum shrieked right into my ear. My ears rang and my thoughts were filled with his words. I shook my head and droplets of my fear fell onto the metal floor. When I looked behind me again, the alien came out of an alcove 82

Shadows of the Mind that wouldn’t have been more than a few away from us. “Pull!” Callum’s fingers also bled. But that didn’t stop him either. We continued to work on the grate in the confined space of his alcove. We were covered in sweat, stunk to high heaven and determined as ever to open the grate. I decided to look behind me again. I couldn’t see into the alcoves nearest to us because of the curvature of the wall. The alien was probably inspecting an alcove next to Callum’s. “I know you’re in here, human.” Those words confirmed the alien was close. Callum and I pulled on the grate again and again. I could hear the tentacles slither over the metal floor. I could see a shadow move across the landing. My stomach tightened and I felt nauseous. My vision blurred and again I shook my head to try and clear my thoughts. As I saw a tentacle reach into Callum’s alcove, the grate came away from the wall. I pushed him into the hole without hesitation, not caring how rough I was. Such details at the moment were unimportant. I scratched him across his arse and he let out a yelp in protest. I ignored him. Another tentacle came into the alcove. I clambered in as quickly as I could, even before Callum was inside the hole. We were a tangle of arms and legs, both of us trying to get into the same space at the same time. Seconds later, thank fuck, we were inside the ventilation shaft. I placed the grate back over the hole just in time. The alien entered Callum’s alcove. The great hulking mass of the creature examined the table first. Callum held onto me, not that he had much choice. The space we had found ourselves in was cramped. Through the grate I could see the alien touch everything in the alcove, the machine that guided the tube, every inch of the 83

Mark Alders table and even the conduits under the table. The alien was certainly being thorough in its search. A tentacle slapped against the crate, startling me. I had my hand over Callum’s mouth so I felt him recoil from fright as well. His hot breath tickled my skin. He wrapped his arms around me. Thankfully, he didn’t make any noise, and neither did I. I didn’t even blink. Actually, I think I held my breath for the longest amount of time in my life as the tentacle moved across the grate. Even longer than when I went swimming with Corey Harrington in the local dam and he said I could touch him until he came so long as I did it underwater. The tentacle touched the puddle of urine, hesitated, then slithered across the floor, carefully and deliberately examining every square centimetre of the alcove. The tentacle even felt each spot of my sweat on the floor. I licked my dry lips as I watched. “Saving your friend won’t do you any good,” the alien said. I knew it was the doctor. I recognised the voice. “Come out from wherever it is you are hiding, otherwise I will make things very unpleasant for you.” I didn’t move. Callum squeezed me tighter. I felt like I was being constricted. If I didn’t already know he was scared out of his brain, I wouldn’t have expected him to hold onto me with such vigour, and I think I would’ve yelped out. Thank God, I was kind of prepared. I continued to hold my breath. The alien left Callum’s alcove. I breathed out slowly so as not to make any noise. Callum sighed relief, too, also doing so quietly. We then hugged for what seemed an eternity. The heat of our bodies made me feel intoxicated. I wanted to be in his arms forever. I wanted all of this alien stuff to disappear. I wanted to be home with him in my arms on my bed. My eyes became heavy and I felt my shoulders throb. All the tugging on the grate had taken a lot out of me. I 84

Shadows of the Mind realised I needed something more than the need to get out of here. Without any thought, I pressed my lips onto his. Our warmth swam around me as we moved our bodies even closer together. He obviously wanted the same as I did, and he returned my kiss. We even folded our arms and legs around each other. Not an easy thing to do in the confined space of a ventilation shaft. Our genitals made contact. My balls tingled. Callum parted my lips with his tongue, the silk of his touch sent shivers down my spine. He was that wonderful to experience I had nearly forgotten where we were. Sweat trickled down my face only to end up on my lips. I tasted myself as I tasted him. A loud thud echoed around the factory floor. We parted, only to be confronted by the sight of the doctor standing next to the central machine. The light had returned to green. In his tentacles he held Derek. “Come out now both of you, or I kill this one,” the doctor demanded.

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Chapter 14 know this male is important to you, human. If you don’t “Icome out he will be the first of many I’ll kill because of your disobedience.”

“What do we do, Jacob?” Callum asked with a gasp. I turned to look at him. The light that filtered through the grate created little green squares over his skin. All our touching and kissing must have got him excited. He had a hard-on. I could feel him press against my stomach. Fuck, only Callum could piss himself from fear and then get as horny as a lovesick stallion all in the space of a few seconds. Mind you, I couldn’t blame him, we were naked and tangled together in the ventilation shaft, getting all touchy feely. The if-this-is-going-to-be-my-last-moment mentality of his really made sense right about now. I had to admit, the temperature wasn’t the only thing that was hot in here. If the situation were different, you didn’t need a genius to figure out that two men in love cramped in a tight space would eventually lead to some swapping of body fluid. Callum was more enthusiastic than most would ever be to get into the sack as he had already proven. God, I loved him. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “If I go out there I’m dead, probably you as well. If I stay here Derek’s dead.” I hated fucked up choices, and I winced as each one rolled around in my mind. 86

Shadows of the Mind “You have ten of your seconds,” the doctor called out, raising Derek high above him. Callum touched my face. “I don’t want you to be killed, Jacob.” “I don’t want Derek to die. He’s innocent. Remember, this all happened because of me.” “Eight,” the doctor said with a calmness that was more than unnerving. “Don’t say that.” He kissed me and his warm lips made my mind swim with thoughts I shouldn’t be thinking at this moment. He parted, and I saw his eyes well up with tears. He then added, “Jacob…I-I love you…You know that? I have from the moment I first I saw you.” “Seven.” “I love you, too.” I clasped my hands over his cheeks, gently rubbing his tears away with my thumbs. I noticed my blood stained fingernails. Then, without another thought, I kissed him all over, from his wrinkled brow to his beautiful plump lips. “Six…Five…Four…Three.” I pulled myself away from Callum—well, actually, I forced myself away. I wanted our passion to last for a lot longer than ten lousy seconds. I licked my lips, savouring his taste. His flavour was sweet and spicy, as I remembered from the first time we kissed back in the Westfell forest. The green spots of light highlighted the wetness of my love on his lips and face. God, I wanted him bad. I wanted more than a kiss—no, I needed more than a kiss. So much more. I smoothed my hand over his face, his stubble prickled my fingertips. The gesture was all I could think to remember him by in the few remaining seconds I had left. I was about to call out my surrender when the other alien came into view. The controller, I believe. I couldn’t tell one 87

Mark Alders green blob with tentacles from another. “What are you doing with that specimen, doctor?” “It is bait for our pest, controller.” The doctor lowered Derek. “Put it back onto the table. We need all the bile we can get and as soon as we can get it, too. Do it! I’ve intercepted a disturbing communiqué from the Intergalactic Species Protection Agency.” “I.S.P.A. are close to Earth?” There was an audible gasp from the doctor. I decided to stay put, for now. Callum held me tight and snuggled into me. It was good to feel his breath on my neck. Seemed I had a few more moments of life left. A reprieve if you will. I might as well enjoy them with Callum. “Yes,” the controller snapped. “Seems our operation—” “Our illegal operation, you mean?” the doctor interjected. “If I.S.P.A. have pin-pointed our location, we’ve got to leave as soon as possible. Don’t we?” “Not without our quota.” “But the risk.” The controller then blocked my view. “Is less than the reward. You know that.” “Where are I.S.P.A. now?” the doctor moved around the controller. Derek was no longer in his tentacles. There was a pause and I think it would be safe to say that this was one of those moments where you could cut the air with a knife. “I said, where are I.S.P.A.?” The doctor’s voice was strained, not how he usually spoke at all. The controller slithered out of view. Derek was on the floor in front of the doctor. He looked like a discarded rag-doll, his arms and legs askew. “They are in the Terran system from what I could calculate—just beyond Jupiter and closing.” The light 88

Shadows of the Mind from the other room flooded my vision. “Just get the specimen back onto the table. I suggest you turn the milking machine onto full and forget about the pest. We don’t have the time to worry about trivialities, doctor.” “There are now two humans who have escaped the field.” “What?” There was a pause. “No matter. They can’t get out of here, anyway. You’ll catch them sooner or later, I know you will. When you do, dispense with them as you see fit but not before you have milked them for everything they’ve got left in them.” The door closed and the green light welcomed my eyes again. “I will get you, human,” the doctor said as he picked up Derek off the floor. “And your mate, too. And when I do, I won’t make your deaths pleasant.” The doctor slithered out of my limited view. For a long time we held each other. The fact Callum wanted to be close was a comfort, but really, hugging each other didn’t get us any closer to solving our current situation. “To help all these people we’re gonna have to get out of here,” I whispered. Callum grunted in reply, his face buried in my neck. I took his response as him agreeing with me. The trouble was, how were we going to get out of here? I turned to look behind us. The ventilation shaft continued, but the tunnel seemed to narrow too dramatically for my liking. I didn’t fancy getting stuck in an alien air duct, completely naked, scared out of my brain and with no one aware we were even here in the first place. Not my idea of fun. Besides, I didn’t know how much ducting I would have to crawl through. What if there was no way out after hours on my hands and knees? I looked out beyond Callum’s alcove. There were two options as far as I could see out there. Go through the door or climb through the gap in the ceiling far above the factory floor where 89

Mark Alders the new machine had come from. Both options presented problems, the least of which included the fact that the doctor was still in this room with us. If he left, then perhaps we stood a chance. For me, in the right here and now, I favoured the climb up the machine to the hole in the ceiling. I thought going through the door sounded less favourable, but a bit more attractive than pushing our way through ducts. I wanted to get out of here, not get ourselves into a worse situation. “Why don’t we just wake everyone up?” Callum blurted. “I mean, the alien tentacle things can’t catch us all at once, can it? In the confusion, some of us could get out.” You know, he had a point. I hated to admit it, but Callum’s idea had no less merit than anything I had thought of. I mean, really, this whole situation was fucked. We needed help. We needed to get some people aware of what was going on here if nothing else. “But what about the aliens?” “I really don’t know.” Callum sighed and his bottom lip quivered. “We’ve gotta do something though, Jacob. I’d rather be with you in that cabin and in front of the fire. But that won’t happen if we stay here.” “Yeah, I know.” I moved my leg, but couldn’t feel anything other than pins and needles. I didn’t know how much longer I could stay in here, either. As that realisation struck home, I knew that the next few moments of my life would determine my fate, forever. Callum was right again. We had to do something. “We get out then and start waking up some of the town’s folk,” I said, determination in my voice. Together we jimmied the grate off the wall, something that was far easier to do from the inside. I wasn’t surprised by that discovery, to push on something was far better than to pull on it. 90

Shadows of the Mind Some of the wounds on my knuckles had re-opened. I didn’t care. There were far more important things to worry about than a few scratches on my hands. Both of us were crouched behind Callum’s farming table when we saw the doctor. He was at the milking machine, turning dials and stuff. Obviously the alien was cranking up the machine to full, as more gases and noises resulted from whatever it was he did. I gestured for Callum to go to the left and start waking up whoever was in that alcove. He nodded slowly. We were as ready as we were ever going to be. As I was about to stand, my hand slipped on the metal pole I held onto. It was then I noticed I was covered in sweat. I shivered, and actually felt exposed out in the open. My skin had formed gooseflesh and the finer hairs over my body stood to attention. Callum’s skin also had that sweaty sheen, even his hair looked sopping wet. He looked like one of those oiled-up models in one of those glossy magazines. I couldn’t help but stare. He was fine. Damn fine. I did manage to steal a glimpse of his lovely tight arse before I too stood up and decided to concentrate on the task at hand. He managed to give me a quivering unsure smile. I think he noticed me checking him out. Beyond the alcove, the doctor continued to work on the milking machine. My stomach tightened and I found it difficult to swallow. I knew how Callum felt, that’s for sure. My plan was to go to the right. If we separated, we might have a better chance of actually accomplishing something. I didn’t want to leave Callum, but couldn’t think of any other way to wake up as many people as we could if we stayed together. We needed to separate. 91

Mark Alders I pecked Callum on the cheek before I made dash to the next alcove. On the farming table there laid Suzy, my made up date for the Spring Dance. I touched her. Her skin was soft and smooth, like dough. I poked her stomach, only to discover she had no real muscle tone there. It was a weird sensation to touch a girl. She was…feminine. There was no other word I could think of to describe her. As I came around the table, trying to keep out of sight of the doctor, I noticed there was no hair whatsoever over her body other than a neat little triangle of pubic hair between her legs. She was blonde, had those tits Ralph magazine likes to feature and a pleasant enough face with a button nose. I suppose you could say she was attractive. But to me, there was something missing—well, a lot missing really. She wasn’t a man. Not her fault. She was a nice enough girl, I supposed. I ripped the restraining straps off her, pulled the tube from her navel, and shook her to wake her. Seconds later, she groaned. I didn’t fancy a repeat of Callum’s awakening, so as soon as she opened her eyes I placed my finger over her lips. She seemed to understand and remained silent, even though her brow creased and her eyes questioned me. “Stay here until you get your bearings. I’ll be back soon,” I whispered into her ear. “Just keep quiet no matter what you see, okay?” In the next alcove there was Derek. I hadn’t noticed before, but he was circumcised. I’d never seen a cut cock. Well okay, I had seen more than a few on the internet, in magazines and in certain DVDs I hid from my Mum. But never in real life. Every guy I had seen naked, from Corey Harrington to Callum, all were uncut. I think I stared at Derek’s cock for ages. I would have liked to run my finger over the length 92

Shadows of the Mind of it, concentrating my touch on the silky skin of his head, especially where his frenulum should have been. Then a noise pierced the air, one that sent shivers up my spine and shook me from my reverie. Callum screamed.

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Chapter 15 Suzy, Mr. Barnaby and a young man who I think was Callum, named Zane were behind one of the farming tables. The thing

is, the table had been pulled out of an alcove and was being used as a barrier. All four stood huddled behind their makeshift shield as the doctor aggressively lashed his tentacles at them. Actually, the table had probably been ripped out of the alcove. I say this because I saw twisted metal scattered everywhere. The alcove where the table had come from had broken pipes that spewed clouds of gas in protest and the air was filled with a continuous popping noise, like that of an arc-welder being ignited. An acrid smell filled my nostrils. I was surprised to see such a sight as I came out of Derek’s alcove. I was also surprised to see Mr. Barnaby in front of the other three, waving his hands about and shouting obscenities at the doctor. He was obviously trying to distract the alien, and by doing so, protecting the other three who were behind him. I knew I liked Mr. Barnaby for a reason. He may be old and absent-minded, but he sure knew how to behave in a crisis. I felt somewhat reassured having an older person here right now. A tentacle struck Mr. Barnaby over the head as I came out onto the landing. The old man fell and the other three backed away from the table. They had nowhere to go other than into an 94

Shadows of the Mind alcove that held Corey Harrington. Callum screamed again, and Suzy and Zane held each other. The look on all of their faces said it all. They were trapped. The doctor pushed the broken table away with such force that sparks flew out from underneath it as it careened across the landing. What was left of the table crashed into the alcove wall it had come from with a loud bang. The noise deafened. Without thinking, I picked up a large tubular piece of metal and ran down to the milking machine. “Hey, doctor!” I yelled at the top of my lungs. “Touch them and I’ll smash your machine to pieces.” I held the tubing tight and waved it about in the air for emphasis to my words. The doctor turned to me. He slapped his tentacles angrily onto the metal floor as he made his way to my location. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was pissed off. I saw Callum and the other two rush to Mr. Barnaby’s aid as soon as the alien moved away from them. I hoped with all my heart that Mr. Barnaby was all right. There was blood on his forehead. The alien slithered toward me and for the first time I noticed the creature had numerous golf ball sized eyes dotted about its body mass. There was even a mouth, lipless and large, on the lower part of him. Knowing the alien had eyes and a mouth didn’t change the fact that they were still the ugliest fucking things you’d ever want to see. As I examined the alien bearing down on me, I realised I was exposed and had no protection. Oh fuck! I raised the tubing closer to the machine, it was the only thing I could think of doing. I noticed the milking machine had clear cylinders stacked in a circle inside it. They were huge. The bile trickled into those containers from the farming tubes after the fluid had gone through the workings of the machine. Perhaps the stuff was 95

Mark Alders filtered first. The cylinders weren’t even a quarter full. The aliens had a long way to go yet before they met their quota. “Put that down, human,” the doctor screamed—well, he shrieked the words really. My ears rang. But I couldn’t cover them. I had to keep up the charade as long as possible. I had to save my friends. “Why?” I blurted. “So you can kill me and my friends, is that it?” “I won’t hurt your friends if you put that down right now.” The doctor seemed to calm. He stopped his advance about a metre away from me. Could he still strike me with his tentacles from that distance? I didn’t have time to ponder such things. I was more concerned with getting everyone out of this nightmare, myself included. “And what about me?” I added. “Our original agreement stands. I will kill you quickly. What more could you ask for?” “That was your agreement. Not mine. I don’t want to die any more than you do. All I want is my friends to be safe. Now, let us go or I smash this thing so you can never use it again.” I swung the tubing, deliberately trying to get it as close as possible to the milking machine without actually damaging it. My threat was just that, after all. I hoped the doctor didn’t catch on that I was bluffing. I mean, if I struck the machine, would it explode and kill me and everyone on the factory floor in the process? Not something I wanted to happen at all. I misjudged one of my swings. The end of the tubing struck a protruding switch. A loud bang resulted. I nearly jumped out of my skin, but managed to keep a brave face. The doctor physically recoiled. “Careful! You will damage our work here.” “That’s my plan, fucker. Let me and my friends go. Now!” I 96

Shadows of the Mind spat as I stood firm. The doctor had slithered back to where Mr. Barnaby and the others were. Callum, Suzy and Zane backed away quickly, leaving the old man exposed to attack. Sure enough, the doctor’s tentacles wrapped around the man. “If you don’t step away from the machine, I will kill this one.” “I thought you said you needed them for your operation? If you kill your specimens, you won’t be able to meet your quota. Am I right?” I tapped the tubing onto one of the milking tubes of the machine, trying to look as threatening as possible and convincing enough that I’d carry out what I said, even though my stomach did somersaults. “You’re a clever little human, aren’t you? But you see, this one is old and therefore expendable. He’s past the ideal production age anyway. Your younger friends are far more valuable to me than this one.” The doctor lifted the unconscious Mr. Barnaby into the air as he had done with Derek. Actually, my initial shock at seeing the old man naked had eased. I then completely understood the attraction some gay boys had for bears. Mr. Barnaby was a bear, solidly built, all hair and a cock that could choke an eager guy no worries at all. No wonder his wife of nearly twenty years stayed with him until the day she died. Lucky lady. Then something else struck me. Shit! In the rush to see what all the commotion was about when I was reviving the townsfolk, I had forgotten to wake up Derek. Damn-it. How stupid was I? I had failed my friend. My shoulders slumped and I let out a depressed sigh. I cursed myself mentally, then said, “You so much as scratch Mr. Barnaby and I’ll do it. I’ll fucking destroy this machine here. Then you’ll be in more shit than you already are with your controller and I.S.P.A.” 97

Mark Alders There was a long agonising pause, filled only with the occasional pop of static electricity being discharged from the pipes of the broken farming table. Finally, the doctor said, “So we have a stale-mate then?” That wasn’t the response I was expecting. I felt sweat trickle down from my temples. I liked my lips. How much longer could I keep up this charade? How long were we willing to wait for the stale-mate to end? “Let us go.” But my voice sounded feeble. “You see, I can’t afford to lose even one of you.” I was somewhat surprised by his words and I felt my eyebrows lift. Then I knew. I’d got him. The doctor was bluffing, too. He wasn’t going to kill Mr. Barnaby. He wasn’t going to kill Callum or Suzy or Zane either. He needed to make his quota, and even if that wasn’t important to him, he had someone to answer to. The controller would blame him for falling behind. I also knew that these aliens were desperate, because what they were doing was illegal. They knew it. I knew it. Getting off Earth with the required amount of bile was far more important at this point in time than anything else for them. I felt a wave of victory rise up within me and fill me with confidence. I narrowed my eyes and nodded at the doctor to let him know I had called his bluff. Whether or not he got that, I didn’t give a fuck. I knew what I wanted to do next. Then, as I felt myself smile, I thrust the metal tubing into the heart of the milking machine with all my might. “Run!” I screamed at Callum and the others. I was blinded by an intense flash of light as the metal pierced the workings of the machine. I heard glass shatter as I forced the tubing in deeper and deeper. A shock wave hit me, and I was forced to let go of the tubing. Stumbling back, I tripped on the raised landing. Intense pain, like a knife had stabbed me, shot up 98

Shadows of the Mind my leg from my ankle. I yelped. “Quick, Jacob!” I heard Callum say. I tried to see where he was, but scintillating stars had filled my vision. I rubbed my eyes. Nothing. Fuck! “I can’t see!” I yelled, verbalising my fear. I felt many hands grab me. One of those hands clasped into mine. I knew that hand belonged to my Callum, because the grip was tight. The hands pulled me up to my feet. Again pain shot up through my leg. No amount of me hobbling stopped me from running. I fucking ran with everything I had. I can only hazard a guess that we ran for the door on the other side of the factory floor. I could hear us run over the grating of the landing. Then we jumped. I landed on my bad foot and I let out a yelp. Callum squeezed my hand and I knew he was concerned about me. Still, my worries were insignificant compared to everyone else in the spaceship. I swallowed hard and kept on running. We had to get out of the spaceship if we were going to save the others. Underneath me I felt smooth metal, and I slipped a couple of times. My friends supported me and stopped me from falling. Even though we slowed a few times, we ran as fast as we could considering they had me as a burden. All the while Callum kept his tight hold on me. He would have to be my eyes, for I certainly couldn’t see. How long would I be blinded for? A few times I tripped. Every time I did, all those hands supported me again. I blinked water from my eyes. I thought I could make out shapes, but then again, I wasn’t sure. Perhaps my mind was compensating for the lack of vision and made me see things to comfort me. God, I hated being dependent on others. I wanted to see what was going on. Fate was sure cruel. I instigated our escape, yet couldn’t witness it. 99

Mark Alders I felt more grating. Again we ran for a long time until, as if a miracle, I felt dirt between my toes. We had to be outside the spaceship. How did we get past the aliens? Or were they too concerned about their machine to even notice us slip out? Damnit! Damn-it! Damn-it! I hated not being able to see. We ran and ran for what seemed like ages. We were obviously crossing Wilson’s field, for many times my feet sank into mud. Finally, after I thought I’d collapse from all the exertion I’d suffered lately, we stopped. I was no longer pulled along. Many hands patted me on the back and I could hear excited whispers. “We made it,” Callum said, his voice broken by heavy breathing. I panted like a dog and the sweat poured off me. I was sore, tired, hungry and thirsty. But you know what? An overwhelming sense of joy filled my being as I thought I saw the outline of my house. I blinked hard many times to make sure. Yep. It was true. There was my house. My vision had returned. “Quick. Inside before the mist stuff finds us,” Suzy said.

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Chapter 16 was the first person I saw when my vision returned Callum fully. He looked fucking terrible. Grime and dirt covered his

sweat-drenched body and he looked gaunt and pale. I wanted to hug him. Fuck it. I did. I embraced him so tight, thankful that we made it out of the spaceship, that I thought I’d restrict his breathing and he’d choke or something. I closed my eyes and took into my senses his touch and the warmth of him against me. When I opened my eyes, and while still rubbing my hands across Callum’s back, I caught sight of Zane. “You guys together, or what?” Zane said with a slight lift of one of his thick black eyebrows. He studied us. As he did so he tilted his head, a somewhat fitting gesture for him, simply because he looked rather endearing as he did so. Zane was a young man I’d seen at the bus stop on my street many times. He had finished high school a year or two back. I supposed he’d be about eighteen or nineteen, but I wasn’t sure. Pembroke Eve Senior High School was on the other side of town to where I, and obviously he, lived, so he would have had to catch the bus. I had many memories of that bus. The least of which was hiding from Michael Peterson. I let go of Callum and offered my hand out to Zane. He shook it without hesitation, even offering a crooked smile. He was a 101

Mark Alders cutie, I had to admit. “Hi ya, I’m, Jacob Theison. And yeah, Callum and me are together.” “I’m cool with that,” Zane made his way to my couch and flopped down onto it. Suzy was drawing the curtains of my lounge. Smart idea. I didn’t fancy the aliens seeing us. Not yet anyway. “Oh yeah, sorry, I’m Zane. Zane Carson. But you probably knew that, right? And so you know, I dig chicks, too.” Zane’s gaze slid over to Suzy and a faint smile creased the corner of his lips as he spoke. As he spread his arms over the back of the couch, trying to look cool I’m sure, I noticed how much of a rake-thin lad he was. I could see his ribs and hip bones. The hair on him, all of it, from the top of his head to the trial up to the alien navel ring, was as black as crow’s feathers. He even had that emo-boy fringe thing happening as he looked up at me through his hair. He had deep brown eyes, nice lips, and a smile that looked adorable on him. His skin was whiter than Callum’s, and that was saying something. There were also numerous piercings, a fancy bar-bell through his eyebrow, a silver stud below his bottom lip, and a little golden ring through each nipple. I couldn’t help but look at his genitals. I felt kind of dirty as I studied him, especially considering Callum was standing next to me. My eyes wandered across his body naturally, without me even thinking. He was certainly well endowed. His foreskin barely covered his head. I could plainly see his piss slit. He had red balls that hung nicely between his legs, too. In fact, if he were into men I wouldn’t have hesitated to ask him out on a date. “Right,” Suzy blurted. “Can we get ourselves cleaned up and dressed? As much as I like seeing men with nothing on, none of you are my type. Besides, I’m freezing here. Don’t you have heating on, Jacob? A girl could catch a death of cold in your 102

Shadows of the Mind home.” I caught myself with my mouth open. I mean, she was right, but she didn’t have to be so blunt about it. We did need to put on some clothes. I didn’t fancy running around town naked all day either. Callum wouldn’t be a problem finding clothes for, he was about my build. Suzy could put on something of Mums. But Zane…well, he was going to be a problem. I had nothing that would fit him. “Hey, I’m first in the shower,” Zane said. He got up, clapped his hands and then shot me one of those adorable smiles. “Where is it, then?” “Um, down the hall to the left. Next to the laundry.” I gestured to the main bathroom. “We’ll meet back here in ten minutes or so to discuss what we’re going to do.” “What’ya mean, Jacob? We’re gonna get out of here, ain’t we?” Zane added. He had already made his way out of the lounge room and had craned his neck to look back at me. “No, stupid,” Suzy snapped, glaring at Zane. She folded her arms. “We’re going to get everyone else out of that horrible place. Mr. Barnaby is hurt. He’ll need us. As will everyone else…and Corey.” “So…you like Corey Harrington then?” I asked. “Yes.” It was my turn to receive her glare. “Right-o then,” I added smiling and taking a step back. I hoped she could hold her breath underwater for a long time. Aside for my feelings about Corey, again she was right. And again, she was terse. I actually think I liked her and probably would have asked her to the Spring Dance if I weren’t with Callum, just for laughs. Then again, I may ask her anyway. She’d be kind of fun. I looked at Callum. His brow creased. On second thought, I’d better take my man if I went. Then again, I couldn’t believe I was even considering going to the dance. 103

Mark Alders “Look. Let’s just get ourselves sorted,” I said. “Suzy, you can use the other shower. Get dressed into something from my Mum’s room after, okay?” She tsked, then trotted off. “But I don’t know what you’ll wear, Zane. I don’t think I’ll have anything that’ll fit you.” “Sure you will. My stuff’s all too big for me anyway, fashion and all that shit, you know. I’ll find somethin’.” Not a lot I could say in reply to that, now was there? When Suzy and Zane left the room, Callum turned to me, putting his arms around my waist. “You wanna have some fun first? We’re already dirty…what’s a little more before we get cleaned up?” He pecked me on the cheek. That’s my Callum, always thinking with his dick. But you know what? For once I felt the same way he did. I mean, back in the forest, what we did was more animalistic than anything. Now that we were safe, at least for now, I could be more intimate with him. Something I liked the idea of. Besides, I wanted to continue where we left off before Callum was taken away by the alien. I was kind of sorry we couldn’t shower together, though. Zane was in there. I don’t think he’d appreciate us getting physical in front of him. “Sure,” I said as I grabbed his hand and led him to the kitchen. “But I want to get the sweat and grime off me first. I reek.” After I had cleaned the worst of my filth of, and rubbed Callum down, too. I led him to my room. I closed the door. As I turned, Callum had already made himself comfortable on my bed. He stroked himself. I was on top of him before he could get hard, I was that quick. “I wanna fuck you real hard, Jacob,” Callum whispered into my ear. Those few words, even though sounded corny, like they were 104

Shadows of the Mind taken from a b-grade porno or something, drove me crazy. I, too, was hard seconds later and tangling my arms and legs around him in a wild embrace. He kissed me, tenderly at first. He then began to tease me with is lips by pulling away as I came closer to him. I began to breathe heavier as my blood rushed through my body. The anticipation I felt began to overwhelm me, and as our passion ignited, he stopped his teasing and sent in his tongue into my mouth. I revelled in his taste. Callum pulled away again, his smile and his glistening eyes that were so full of life were so fucking sexy. “I want you,” I said, almost gasping for breath. “Beg me for it.” I could feel my pre-cum dribble out of my cock and my stomach churned. I thought about him inside me, what it would feel like, and I nearly blew my load right there and then. I wanted him so fucking bad I don’t know how long I’d last once he pierced me. I groaned, and he smiled up at me. The prick. He was playing games. God, he was hot. “Fuck me now then, will you?” I tried to calm myself. It didn’t work. “Or I’ll blow all over your stomach.” He rubbed his hands across my chest and I arched my back. He concentrated his touch on my nipples. They were so hard they ached. I was hard all over. Every muscle and sinew seemed taught, and at any moment I was going to snap like elastic stretched too tight. “Ask properly.” I growled. Yep. I actually growled. Now my balls fucking ached. When I shoot my load I’m gonna drown the fucker. “Please…I want you.” I said with more moans. Callum then pushed me off him and came around so that he was on top of me, all the while he raked his hands across my 105

Mark Alders skin. He wasn’t rough, but hard enough for me to know his intentions. This was the moment I had been waiting for. I wasn’t going to be a virgin anymore. I closed my eyes. I could feel myself quiver all over. “You didn’t ask right. I said to beg.” Those weren’t the words I wanted to hear next. I opened my eyes, only to see him smiling down at me. He was holding his cock tight and had retracted his foreskin so that his bright red head glistened before me like a jewel. A bead of his pre-cum oozed out of his slit. Fuck he looked good. My lips trembled. “I need you, Callum. I need you so bad,” I whispered. I opened my legs for him. “Again. Say it again. Say it like you mean it.” He grabbed my legs below my knees and spread them apart even wider. His finger explored my arse hole and I let out a yelp as he prepared me for what he had in mind. I said I wanted him again and again, louder and louder with each passing word from my lips. “Who’s your man? Who’s the one that will give you everything you want?” “You…are.” I was nearly in tears. My stomach was wet with my pre-cum. I was so hard, even my foreskin had retracted of its own accord and the pulse of blood through me moved my cock in agonising rhythm. “You are my man, Callum. Take me. Please. I beg you.” He plunged his cock into me. I nearly exploded as he pushed himself deeper and deeper. The sensation of having another man inside me was absolutely fantastic. It hurt. Fuck he hurt me. But that hurt was insignificant compared to the pleasure that soon overwhelmed me. I tingled all over, the majority of that sensation around my arse and genitals. If this was how it felt to be loved, I wanted more. 106

Shadows of the Mind Callum came over me. His face had softened and his eyes were no longer wanting. He had me, he could now concentrate on other things. He wrapped his arms around me carefully and kissed me again and again all over my neck and face. He finally rested his hot lips onto mine. I tasted him again. Both of us groaned and panted and sweated as we made love. Yes. We made love. Even though he tried to be all masculine and up front at the beginning with his ‘beg me’ act, he was tender and wonderful and everything he did was perfect. I pushed myself up to him, and he thrust himself in faster and faster in response. I wanted him as deep as possible. He must have achieved that, because I went numb from the waist down. I heard that prostate stimulation is the best sexual experience a man can have. I could now say with absolute certainty that statement would be right. Even my fingers tingled as I ran them through his hair. “Cum with me, Jacob.” Callum’s breathing was deep, in rhythm with the movement of his body over me. We were one. Locked together, moving together and breathing in unison. I couldn’t see anything but him. I didn’t want to. He was all that mattered. This was one of those special moments I wanted to last forever. Callum completed me. Although, I’m glad he said he wanted to cum. I knew I wasn’t going to last too much longer myself. I could feel my build up. “Tell…me…when,” I managed. His eyes rolled in their sockets. “Now!” he said with a whine. I had reached the point of no return even before he had told me to cum with him, so I didn’t require much prompting. I let go. My cum exploded out of my cock and with each pump, I released more and more. My stomach, chest and neck felt warm. Callum’s body shuddered as he climaxed, too. He continued to lavish hot kisses all over me, also giggling. I laughed, too. 107

Mark Alders We did indeed cum together. “…your turn in the shower. I’m done.” The first words the strange voice spoke were somewhat muffled as I was in the throes of ecstasy and not concentrating on anything other than the one in my arms. I turned to see Zane in my room. He was dripping wet and rummaging through my drawers, obviously looking for clothing. To say I was surprised to see him already, was kind of an understatement. “Um…how long have you been in here?” I asked. Zane obviously wasn’t bothered by the sight of us being physical in front of him, because he looked somewhat unperturbed by the whole thing. I liked open-minded straight men—if he was truly straight, that is. Something deep inside gave me an indication that he was probably curious, if anything else. I liked Zane. Callum had buried his head into my neck. I knew how he felt. I wanted to crawl into a small hole and stay there. I’d been caught in the act. I felt my cheeks grow warm. “Long enough, I suppose.” He shrugged his shoulders. “You wearin’ these?” He pulled out my ‘stud muffin’ motif boxers, the pair Mum bought me for my birthday. “No. You can…you can use them.” Callum dismounted and my stomach quivered as he pulled himself out of me. “I’ll go and turn on the water.” He then got up and dashed out the room. His body a blur. “You’d wanna clean all that off,” Zane said nonchalantly as he slipped on my boxers. “Pain gettin’ cum spackle out of your pubes once it dries solid, you know.” “Thanks…I um, I know that,” was all I could manage. I, too, jumped up and got out of my room as quick as possible. I bumped into Callum in the hallway. We looked at each other, and before I knew it, we were 108

Shadows of the Mind laughing our arses off, hugging and touching each other as much as we possibly could. “Jesus!” Callum blurted. The truth be told, I didn’t really care about Zane seeing us, not deep down anyway. In fact, it was quite liberating. Someone else knew how Callum and I really felt about each other. I kissed him, then said, “C’mon, let’s get into the bathroom and wash each other. I think I’ll lock the door.”

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Chapter 17 were sitting in the lounge waiting for us. She Suzyhad andher Zane arms folded and a dark cloud over her that would

have dropped rain, I’m sure. We were a lot longer in the shower than I had planned. Not entirely my fault. Our washing and touching and kissing inevitably led to more cock play. He sucked me dry and I did the same to him. Twice in one day. How lucky was I? My balls ached, and I constantly had to move myself to get comfortable in my clothes. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Callum was worth any discomfort. “You two love birds finished?” Suzy said as soon as she saw me. “Or do you want us to come back tomorrow?” She was wearing a blue blouse and black trousers I hadn’t seen on Mum for years. She’d put her hair up, and for the first time I saw her face radiate her natural beauty. I had always thought she was rather plain, the truth be told. Not now. She stood up and began to pace the room, gesturing wildly as she spoke. “I mean, there’s a lot more important things going on here, Jacob, than whether or not your dicks gonna get in or not. Seriously.” Callum snickered. Bad move. She shot him a glance that would have curdled cold milk. He stepped behind me, quick smart. “Sorry, Suzy,” I said. “Callum and me, well we’ve just started 110

Shadows of the Mind going out together…and you know, one thing leads to another.” She harrumphed. “Zane told me what you had been led into.” Zane shrugged his shoulders, then cleared his throat. “Hey. She asked me why you both were taking so long, is all. I spilled. So don’t blame me.” He raised his hands in resignation, then slapped them back down onto his knees. I noticed he’d found a plain old white T-shirt and blue jeans. My clothes didn’t look too bad on him. Sure, a little big, but then again, that was the fashion, wasn’t it? He had grabbed my favourite black studded belt, too. I actually didn’t mind. Something had to keep my jeans from slipping off his skinny arse. She turned her attention to Zane. “And don’t you start. You’ve been undressing me with your eyes ever since I came out of the shower. Why don’t you put your eyes back into their sockets and go wank or something. Save us all from hearing you drool.” “Ooh, can I watch that?’ Callum said. “I mean, fair’s fair, after all.” “Sorry, Callum, you missed my show when you were ploughin’ Jacob. But I’ll let you know when the second act’s due, all righty?” Zane turned to Suzy. “Anyway, I’ve already seen you with nothin’ on, Suzy,” Zane added with a cheeky boyish smile. “Got enough in my head now to keep me goin’ for ages.” “Ahh! Why is it men always think with their dicks?” she said with her hands in the air. “Straight or gay or whatever, it doesn’t matter. You’re all the same. If we don’t get on with doing something right now to save our town, I’ll go on without you all. Got it?” I noticed a pattern with Suzy’s logic. She got to the point, even though her method meant being feisty and impatient. I wondered if she had done it with Corey yet. I tried to imagine them together, but drew a blank. My experience with him was one that 111

Mark Alders left a lot to be desired. Everything was about him. Still. I’m sure she’ll find that out soon enough. That, of course, relied on my assumption that she didn’t mind a one-way relationship. I then felt sorry for her. “Jacob!” Suzy barked. “Are you listening to me?” She had got up and was sitting on my computer chair, swirling around impatiently from side to side. She had turned the machine on and was waiting for the logo screen to finish loading. My password page flashed up. “Say, what’s your start-up password so I can get on?” Without hesitation, I said, “Gay lower dash cock lover sixty nine. All in lower case.” Zane snorted. The reason my computer wasn’t in my room, as would probably be expected, was because Dad insisted that it be placed in an open location. Something he heard on one of those current affairs programs that suggested doing such a thing so your kids could be watched. I mean, fuck me, I was an adult. What I did on my computer was my own business. Who’d care? I didn’t argue, but when he pissed me off I’d watch gay porn really loud while he tried to read the newspaper or catch the latest cricket score. He’d scream at me, saying it was hard to concentrate while he could hear two men grunt and groan. I screamed back. Mum had a grand ol’ time calming us both down sometimes. I missed my parents. “And…yeah, I’m listening to you, Suzy,” I added. “I’m just thinking about stuff.” “Well, what have you thought about? Nothing probably,” she snapped back. “Damn, I can’t seem to get online. Perhaps you could make yourself useful, Jacob, and come over here and help me instead of staring out into space.” “What’ya mean?” Zane piped up. Obviously computer stuff 112

Shadows of the Mind pushed his buttons. He was off the couch and over at the computer before I could blink. See? Teenagers did move when they wanted to. Suzy’s nose screwed up. “I don’t really know. I tried to see if there was any news about alien sightings and your stupid computer won’t let me connect. It keeps saying ‘page not found’ to everything I type in.” Zane’s long fingers danced across the keyboard and numerous screens popped up. “Nothin’ wrong with the connection.” “It should be okay.” I glared at the screen. “I mean, I only used it yesterday to download a couple of Franz Ferdinand vi—” “Hey,” Callum interjected. “Your phone’s dead, too, Jacob.” I turned to him. “What?” “Here. See for yourself.” Callum handed me the handset. Sure enough, there wasn’t even a dial tone or anything. The phone was dead. I shook it, pressed the re-connect button and even banged it onto the coffee table to try and revive the thing. Still nothing. “Freaky,” Zane said. “You guys can sort it out. I’m gonna watch the tube.” “Oh, that’s real productive,” Suzy said. She got up off the computer chair and headed for the kitchen. “Zane, you’re a waste of space, you know that.” “Whatever. Can you get us a drink, seeing as you’re off your arse now?” Zane flopped back onto the couch and began flicking through the channels with the remote, a blank expression on his face. “I’m not getting a drink for you,” Suzy shouted from the kitchen. I heard the fridge door open. “Callum, Jacob, do you guys want anything?” I let out a giggle. Suzy was evil. 113

Mark Alders “No thanks,” we said in unison. Zane began to chuckle, too. “You’re both better off being cock boys. See what us pussy chasing dudes have to put up with?” “She’s all right,” Callum said as he sat down on the couch next to Zane. He looked up at me like he wanted confirmation for his words. I nodded. Suzy was all right. “Yeah, I know,” Zane said. “I just like gettin’ her back up. She’s an easy one to bait.” A few seconds later, Zane’s brow knitted. “You know…the telly’s stuffed, too.” Now I knew there was something definitely wrong. I felt my face drain. I took the remote off Zane and came around to look at the TV. Yep. Snow. On every channel including the cable ones. Had the aliens cut off all communications out of Pembroke Eve? If they had, we were alone. My God, that thought scared the spit out of me. What do we do now? Suzy ran into the lounge, her eyes wide and her face as white as Zane’s skin. “The green mist is coming over your fence into your backyard, Jacob. They’ve found us! They’ve found us!” The sound of smashing glass filled the air. “Quick! Run!” I yelled. Callum and Zane jumped to their feet. “Which way?” Suzy said. “The mist is everywhere out there.” “Out the front door.” I grabbed Callum by his hand, and Suzy, charging through the lounge, pushed Zane into action. “Hey, easy there,” Zane complained. As Suzy grabbed Zane by his T-shirt front and practically dragged him across the lounge toward my front door, she added, “Just move, you lump.” I saw the green mist lick the skirting boards along the entrance way into the lounge. Callum yelped. I didn’t need any more encouragement than that. We ran for our lives…again. 114

Shadows of the Mind This time I could see. Thank fuck! “C’mon!” I thrust the front door open. Outside, green mist swirled around the front yard of my next door neighbour’s house. Tentacles lapped at our picket fence. Before I knew it, we were in the street. My head ached dull at my temples as I tried to assess the situation. The road up to the Food Emporium was covered by green mist, which meant the way into the town was blocked. The only path that remained safe was down to the river and the old boat shed. “Fuck me!” Zane said under his breath. “The shit’s everywhere.” “To the boat shed, it’s our only chance,” I said. We all ran. “How will that save us?” Suzy asked. She had taken Zane’s hand and was leading him. Both were in front of Callum and me. I imagined Zane smirk when she placed her hand into his. I think he had it bad for her. “The aliens hate water…well, at least I think they do,” Callum called out. “They didn’t follow us into the river the last time we saw them.” “What do you mean, think?” Suzy craned her neck so she could shoot him a glare. “Think? Do you know or not, Callum?” Suzy’s voice wavered. It seemed her hard façade may have crumbled and her emotions were getting the better of her. Callum seemed taken aback by her words. He was only trying to help, after all. Suzy’s acid tongue was fine, but she needed to learn when the time for being terse was appropriate. I squeezed Callum’s hand to let him know I understood his reaction. “What other choice do we have?” I said. Callum squeezed my hand in return. He understood. I looked back to see that the mist had crept across my front 115

Mark Alders lawn and at any moment my home would be consumed by it. Seemed the aliens wouldn’t stop until they had captured us again. We were obviously precious cattle to them. We ran the rest of the way to the boat shed in silence. I was more concerned about getting there without incident, and I’m sure the others were, too. Thankfully, my wish came true. By the time we reached our destination the streets of Pembroke Eve were covered in eerie green mist. The boat house was on a jetty which went a fair way into the river. The distance was hopefully enough to stop the mist. The only access to the shed was by the boardwalk. I had an idea. “Zane, Callum, give me a hand here, will you?” I said. “What’ya thinking, Jakey?” Zane replied. “I want to smash a section of the jetty out. Just to make sure we don’t get any unwelcome guests while we try and figure out what the hell we’re going to do.” Suzy let go of Zane and disappeared into the shed. Seconds later, she came out, an axe in hand. “Will this do?” “Yes.” I said excitedly. “Any more?” Callum ran into the shed. “There are heaps of tools in here.” All four of us, armed with picks and axes, began to hack away at the wood of the jetty. I imagined we needed to cut out a section big enough so that the mist couldn’t cross the gap. Say two sleepers or so. I’d hoped that’d be enough. “Here it comes!” Callum cried. We only scratched the surface of the thick sleepers that made up the boardwalk. Already my arms felt like lead as I hacked away, wood chips flying everywhere. Zane and Callum grunted and groaned as they too tried with all their might to break the wood. The saying, getting nowhere fast seemed to apply here. “Hurry!” Suzy said. “It’s coming down the bank.” 116

Shadows of the Mind “We’re goin’ as fast as we can, girl,” Zane said. “Now leave us to it.” We finally managed to loosen one of the sleepers. I suspected the result had a lot more to do with the vibration of our tools hitting the wood rather than us actually doing any deliberate damage. The idea of destroying a section of the jetty sounded good at the time. Damn shame we didn’t get here earlier. Heaps more time and a couple of big burly woodcutter-type guys right now would be a Godsend. Callum got down on his hands and knees. To my surprise he then tried to jimmy the wood manually from its holding. Then I saw what he must have to make him do such a thing. The bolts that held the sleepers into place had rusted over the years and most were ill-fitting. Zane and I looked at each other, then threw down our tools. Next thing I know, we’re all down on our knees. We concentrated on loosening those bolts. I looked up and wiped my brow. The mist had indeed made it to the riverbank. As I caught sight of it creeping closer, tentacles formed. An alien materialised. “Done it!” Callum declared. Sure enough, a huge sleeper had come away. He threw it into the water, a loud splash the result. A welcome sound if I ever heard one. Would the gap be large enough, though? My stomach tightened. Perhaps the mist might have had trouble crossing that sort of gap. But what about the alien? I didn’t know. Seemed we’d soon find out. The alien was on the jetty, heading straight for us.

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Chapter 18 and Zane had pried another sleeper loose, an Callum achievement marked by the sound of the wood splashing into the river. The alien had fully formed and was now half way along the boardwalk. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear the green mass coming for us was the doctor. The words the alien spoke left me in no doubt. “Your escape has got you nowhere, humans,” the doctor said. I could see teeth inside that lip-less mouth of his. Small serrated fangs that seemed to have many rows, like that of a shark. Did the aliens also eat us? Was human meat sought after like our bile? A shiver ran up my spine. That wasn’t a pleasant thought. The doctor had reached the gap in the boardwalk. His tentacles touched the edge of the sleepers. For all our effort, we had only managed to remove two planks. The doctor tested the gap tentatively. I stepped back as I watched the doctor’s dogged determination result in him lumbering across the gap. He used the sheer size of his body to traverse the distance. We hadn’t stopped him at all. Callum and Zane backed away quick smart. A tentacle brushed against my foot. I yelped. As if thunder cracked the air, the doctor let out an earpiercing wail. At first I was confused. Was that a victory cry? I 118

Shadows of the Mind stumbled back. Thankfully, Callum caught me. I felt water or something splash my face. I touched my cheek, only to see that my fingers were covered in green fluid. The doctor hadn’t screamed out in joy. He had screamed out in agony. Suzy had thrown an axe at the alien. The tool had wedged itself in its flesh right between its numerous eyes. Such a beautiful sight if I ever saw one. I turned to see Zane and Callum pick up their tools. “You going to stand there and stare into space again, Jacob? Help us, will you?” Suzy demanded. She had gathered up more tools. Spades, shovels, pick axes, anything. All sorts of metal implements were now scattered along the boardwalk. I grabbed the axe at my feet. Again and again the doctor was struck, and again he screamed as he did before. My ears rang, but I didn’t care. We were defending ourselves, and doing a pretty damn good job at it as well. The doctor didn’t advance any father. “Take that, you freak,” Zane screamed as he threw a pick axe. I threw my tool with all my might. The axe didn’t get a chance to strike its mark. The doctor had transformed himself back into mist. All I heard was the axe clank along the wood, then slide off the edge to plop into the river. Wisps of mist curled around the sleepers. Thankfully the gap we had created was too large for the doctor to cross in that form. I sighed relief and then actually laughed. Yep. I laughed. The others joined me. They obviously felt as I did. We did a lot of back-slapping and hugging, too. It was a great feeling. The trouble was, we were trapped. Even though the doctor was mist, he had the boardwalk and river bank covered. We 119

Mark Alders could only go into the boat house. “We’ve gotta get away from here,” Callum said as he looked around the boat house. I agreed with him. I’d have to say, once we were inside the boat house building, I realised it didn’t look like a place I’d want to spend too much time. The building was bare, aside from equipment and what not for boating. Which was all well and good if you liked boats. I didn’t. There wasn’t even a seat to be seen. “Let’s take a boat,” Suzy said. “Then, hopefully, we can get as far away from the alien as we can. You said they don’t like water, Callum. Well, we won’t be followed, will we? Perhaps we can go downstream a bit where it might be safer.” “Good idea,” Zane added with a clap of his hands and a crooked boyish smile. Callum nodded enthusiastically. I wasn’t so sure. The mist could still travel along the river bank. If we found ourselves on the other side, we’d only be able to go into the Westfell forest. That defeated the reason we were doing all this. Wilson’s field and the rest of the townsfolk were on this side. The only boat moored at the boat house at the moment was a small row boat. I frowned at the sight of it. Suzy, Callum and Zane jumped aboard. A little too enthusiastically for my liking. “You comin’, Jakey?” Zane said. I nodded, then stepped aboard. Rather reluctantly I had to admit. I really hated boats. Our seating arrangements meant we had to sit in pairs. I sat with Callum. We faced Zane and Suzy. Moments later, we were away. Zane and I had an oar each. I got stuck with rowing. Let me say right up, rowing wasn’t fucking easy. After a lot of swearing and sweat, we finally found each others rhythm and managed to move the row boat in the direction we wanted to go instead of in circles. 120

Shadows of the Mind We headed downstream, toward the town centre. “Say, why don’t we play truth?” Suzy piped up with a beaming smile that lit up her face. “It’ll pass the time. I’ll go first.” “Don’t ya mean truth or dare?” Zane questioned. “Well, we’ve already seen each other naked, which is what most dares end up being about. So, we’ll just play the truth bit, okay?” I nodded. Such a game would pass the time and rowing was a slow process. Callum remained silent, which was kind of weird, seeing as I thought this would be his kind of thing. He held me. “I could see you naked again, no worries, Suzy,” Zane added. I giggled. Yep. He had it bad for her. “Eww. No, Zane. Besides, I thought you had enough in your memory to last you? Truth it is. When it’s your turn, you have to tell us something no one else would know. All right, then?” She shuffled her weight on the bench seat, obviously getting comfortable. I had a feeling she was about to talk for hours. I kept the smile on my lips. “Well, as you already know, Corey and I are getting real serious. He asked me to the Spring Dance and I thi—” “You know he’s a bi boy, don’t ya?” Zane interjected. Uh oh. I knew instantly where this was going. I, too, shifted my weight on the bench seat, but not to get comfortable. Callum remained silent. Wise move. Suzy tutted and rolled her eyes. “He is not. He’s sweet and he loves me, so there. He told me so.” “You’re his handbag…He shoved his cock in my face at Michael Peterson’s goin’ away party a few months back. He said he liked dudes givin’ him blow jobs. Said girls don’t know how to do it proper or some shit like that.” “You’re such a liar!” Suzy’s expression turned dark and she folded her arms. She shuffled herself as far away as she could 121

Mark Alders from Zane. “I was at that party, Zane. He never left my side.” Zane continued to row. I knew he wasn’t lying. I saw pain flash across his eyes. He felt for Suzy, that much was obvious. I also knew he was only trying to protect her, even though he was probably going about it the wrong way. “Why would I lie about somethin’ like that? Anyway, for your info, I helped Mr. Peterson set up that party. While I was in the shed gettin’ the chairs and stuff your man came in. As I bent over to pick up something he grabbed me. I…I.” Zane coughed, as if he’d swallowed a fly or something. “I couldn’t fight him off…I’m piss weak and he knew it. He shoved his cock right in my face, okay?” There was silence. Gee, this game was fun, wasn’t it? Zane didn’t say whether or not he did anything with Corey, but his cheeks were bright red and he no longer looked up. In fact he looked right at me. Did he know I knew? “Zane’s telling the truth,” I said. I felt compelled to come to his aid. He wasn’t a liar. To call him one wasn’t fair. Suzy lowered her arms. “What?” I added, “Corey’s slime. He’s only out for himself.” “He’s asked you to do stuff with him, hasn’t he, Jacob?” she said with pleading eyes. In that moment I could see her vision of a white wedding, curly-haired kids with rosy cheeks and a house on the hill with a white picket fence out front, come crashing down. I stopped rowing and reached out and grabbed her by hand. She took in a deep breath. “Yes,” I whispered. She placed her other hand onto mine. After a moment, I got back to my rowing. “Your turn, Zane,” Callum said. “Why? I’m a liar, remember. Kind of defeats the purpose of telling a truth if no one believes me…Except you, Jakey, you’re a mate.” “I’m sorry, Zane.” She then reached over and hugged him. 122

Shadows of the Mind That was a nice gesture. Seemed we were achieving something, after all. Zane and I stopped rowing. I decided to let the current take us for a while. Zane continued, “Well. Okay. If I have to play. I write poetry so you know. There I said it.” “You do?” Callum said, surprise in his voice. I, too, was surprised to hear that. “Yeah,” Zane coughed again. “Not anything good. But I—I do it to escape from shit…you know?” “That’s wonderful,” Suzy said. “Thanks for sharing that. You’ll have to read us some, someday.” She hugged him again. I think she must’ve felt guilty. Zane beamed. “Your turn, Jakey.” I swallowed. “Um, let me see. Well, about an hour ago I lost my virginity. Callum was my first.” Zane slapped his knee with his free hand and let out a little cheer. He had certainly plucked up all of a sudden. “You mean, I saw your cherry gettin’ plucked? Cool!” “Zane!” Suzy exclaimed. But she smiled. “Yeah. You saw it all right.” Callum rubbed his hand across my back. He came in closer to me so he could rest his head against my chest. I was glad he was my first. “Your turn, Cal,” Zane said with enthusiasm. “Aw, don’t worry about me,” Callum said, lifting his head. “I’m not that interesting, really.” “Oh, rubbish,” Suzy said. “Tell us something.” I placed the oar into its holding ring. “I would love to hear what you have to say.” I placed my hand onto Callum’s knee. Callum’s bottom lips quivered. “I can’t.” “I have something to add.” We all looked at Zane. He, too, had rested his oar. His sudden exuberance had subsided, and his face went blank. He looked as serious as Suzy. “If you’ve got to 123

Mark Alders know I—I gobbed Corey down just to get him outta my face. He wouldn’t take no for an answer…So I—I sucked the fucker good. He told me I was the best…better than you, Suzy. I’m so sorry.” “I’m so going to kill him when I get him out of that spaceship,” Suzy said. “Why didn’t you tell someone, Zane?” “Who’d believe me? You didn’t.” But he didn’t say those words with any malice whatsoever. In fact, his voice was surprisingly gentle. Suzy didn’t reply. “He hit you bad, too, didn’t he?” I said. I saw water well up in Zane’s eyes. He nodded slowly and turned his face away from me. Suzy offered him an embrace and without hesitation he wrapped his arms around her. Coming into her like a hurt little boy. Corey, the cowardly fucking toad, was worse than Michael Peterson. With Michael it was verbal harassment. Corey had molested Zane, plain and simple. “Okay,” Callum blurted. “I’ll tell you all something.” He sat up and leant forward. “My Dad died when I was very young—” “I’m so sorry, Callum,” Suzy said interrupting. Zane had sat back up. His face streaked with his tears. But he didn’t wipe them away. I think, the truth be told, seeing as that was the game we played, it had been quite cathartic for him to get that off his chest. “No…that’s not it. I wish it were.” Callum looked up to the heavens, sighed, then continued, “I grew up with Mum…So not having a dad really didn’t bother me. But Mum…She must’ve missed him bad, because she got into drinking. More and more as the years went on, she drank. At first she drank most nights, then every night, then finally, every day as well.” Callum began to blink rapidly and his voice wavered a few times. He sat upright. 124

Shadows of the Mind “When I was about sixteen, I came home from school. She asked me to join her for a couple of drinks. I did. I got drunk with her.” “You don’t have to go on,” I said. I could plainly see the distress in his face and body movements. He had even started doing that hiccupping thing when you became overwhelmed with emotion. Callum raised his hand. “It’s okay, Jacob. I’ve started now, might as well tell you it all.” He took in a deep breath. Tears rolled down his cheeks only to drip off his chin, and even though he wiped them away with his sleeve, more quickly followed. “When I tried to get up, she…she pushed me so I couldn’t move off the couch. She then began to touch me.” Suzy gasped. I placed my arm gently around his shoulder. Even Zane moved closer to Callum. The boat rocked. “She played with me until I got hard. She then…she then took advantage of me.” More than once Callum had to pause. He let his tears flow and I’m sure he wept like he would have on that terrible day. “She…had sex…with me,” he whispered with such pain in his voice it was tangible. Again there was silence. The only sound that of the water lapping against the bow. We all held each other, lost in ourselves for the longest time. The boat now rocked more violently because our weight wasn’t evenly distributed. None of us cared. Callum and Zane and Suzy and I, we all wept in each others arms, and for each other, too. I felt sick. Callum was the first to move. Zane, to my complete surprise, kissed him on the cheek. Then Suzy, too, kissed him tenderly. I’d never felt so close to my friends as I did right now. “There’s nothing I can say that will help. Just know, we’re your friends, Callum. We’re here for you,” Suzy said. “You, too, 125

Mark Alders Zane.” “Thanks,” Zane added. He wiped his face. “That means a lot.” Me. I kissed Callum on his lips. The taste of his tears tingled my tongue, and I loved it. He was my lover, he was my best mate and I loved him with everything in my being. “I love you,” I whispered into his ear, reinforcing his feelings. I came to realise how lucky I had been in life after hearing of both Callum’s and Zane’s experiences. Finally, Callum spoke, his voice broken by his emotion, “I love you, too, Jacob… And I have an idea how we can save the people of this town.”

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Chapter 19 was now late afternoon. My stomach rumbled and I realised I Ithadn’t eaten since Callum made me breakfast…whatever day that was. How long I had been in the alien holding field, I had

no idea. To me we were in the cabin this morning. The reality might be something entirely different. For all I knew, a week could have passed. I couldn’t see the green mist along the town side of the river bank, and was comforted by that knowledge. At least something was going our way. Seemed we’d escaped from the doctor for now. We had travelled right up to the place where Callum and I had crossed the river. Again, I supposed that happened last night. “So, Cal. What’s the plan, then?” Callum continued to wipe his face of tears, but his emotional induced hiccupping had subsided. “When Derek and me came into town, I noticed a big water tower. You, know, the one with Welcome to Pembroke Eve all over it.” “Yeah, that’s right,” I said as picked up my oar and started to row. “Been there forever apparently, so Dad reckons.” Callum managed a smile. “Don’t the fields get irrigated by that tower?” “Yes,” Suzy answered. “It’s used mainly in the summer. Why?” 127

Mark Alders “Oh, I see where you’re goin’ here.” Zane had also picked up his oar. With me the only one rowing, the boat began to circle. His face darkened. Guess he hated rowing as much as I did. I clicked, too. Callum’s idea might work if we could pull it off. “You mean to say we’re going to topple the tower and flood the…oh, that’s perfect, Callum,” Suzy said as her eyes lit up. “The spaceship’s under the ground.” “Yeah, and those alien fuckers hate water. Might even kill ‘em,” Zane said. I then had a dark thought. “Won’t the people inside drown?” I hated to be a wet blanket, but wasn’t our goal to save the townsfolk, not murder them? Callum wrapped his arm around me. “Oh, that’s right, I forgot. When we escaped, you couldn’t see, could you, Jacob?” I shook my head. Zane also let out a laugh. “The mother fucking thing is huge, Jakey. I bet we’d need a river full of water to fill it, not a pissy little tower.” “Zane’s right.” Callum kissed me on my cheek. He’s so sweet. I knew he did that so my feelings wouldn’t be hurt. It wasn’t my fault I was blinded by that explosion. “My idea is to create a diversion. Hopefully, we cause some damage to their spaceship with the water and in the confusion, start reviving the people.” “Sounds like a plan, then,” Suzy said. I couldn’t help but think of the negatives. I suppose that’s me. How were we going to knock over a tower that had been standing for longer than living memory? And for that matter, how were we going to avoid the aliens? Going onto Wilson’s field would kind of draw their attention, wouldn’t it? The corner of my lip creased as I thought. Before I could voice my concerns I then heard the sound of sand scrape against 128

Shadows of the Mind the bottom of the boat. We had hit a sandbank. The boat no longer moved. We seemed to be stuck in the middle of the Longmuir. And let me also say, no amount of frantic rowing or rocking of the boat helped to dislodge us. We were stuck good. The only solution as far as I could see was to try and lever the boat away from the sandbank using our oars. “Give us a hand here,” I said to Zane as I leaned over the side and began thrusting the oar into the water. Zane understood what I was doing, and he did the same. Callum held my legs and Suzy supported Zane as we tried with all our might to dislodge the boat. I plunged the oar into the sand over and over, as did Zane. To my utter disappointment the oars sunk into the sand, offering no leverage whatsoever. “Fuck!” Zane screamed. I didn’t need to ask him why he swore. His oar floated past seconds later. I tried to grab it, but the boat rocked way too much as I reached out. Suzy screamed and I heard Zane yelp. She had fallen onto him as the boat tipped. Callum had no choice but to let me go, he needed to counter balance the boat, otherwise we’d all be in the water. “If you want me that bad, Suzy, just say so,” Zane said with a wince and a groan. He’d obviously been hurt when she fell on him. Suzy scrambled off him as quick as she could, but offered her hand. His stomach was across the edge of the boat as he leaned over. He rolled back into the boat with her help. My suspicion was realised when Suzy spoke. “My gosh, you’ve been hurt, Zane. I’m so sorry.” Zane sucked in air through his teeth as she lifted up his Tshirt. Sure enough, a large red mark crossed his stomach above the alien navel ring, in some places blood had been drawn. The wood of the boat was rough. 129

Mark Alders I couldn’t offer any help though. Not having Callum hold me nearly made me fall, too. Thankfully, I had my oar and I used it to lean on as I pushed myself back into the boat. When I got into the boat properly, I was oarless as well. My oar had sunk deep into the sand, and I didn’t have the strength to pull it out. Seemed we weren’t going anywhere in too much of a hurry. “We need to get some antiseptic lotion onto that scratch, Zane. Otherwise it might get infected.” Suzy touched him tenderly on his stomach around the mark, as if doing so would ease his pain. Her intentions were correct, bless her, but the only trouble with her logic, as far as I could see, was the simple fact row boats don’t come equipped with medical kits. How we were going to find any sort of cream, antiseptic or otherwise, while stuck on a sandbank was anyone’s guess? Zane’s stomach quivered as she ran her fingers across his thin frame. I thought it funny that he hadn’t offered a smart quip yet, seeing as she was lavishing so much attention on him. I mean, the opportunity was perfect for him to say something like, you can run your fingers over my cock like that or your lips on my lips would make me feel better. Stuff like that. But he didn’t say a word. He looked at her intently as she showed her concern. I smiled. I think, if the signals I picked up were correct, they were actually falling for each other. Well, by that I mean, Suzy began to show more than her ice queen side toward him. I know Zane had it bad. Yep, I had to say, the way they now looked into each others eyes really sealed the deal for me. I nudged Callum. He nodded. We could both see the change. Perhaps that game of truth opened Suzy’s eyes a bit. The exercise sure affected me. 130

Shadows of the Mind When Zane placed his hand onto hers as she pulled down his t-shirt and she didn’t recoil, everything fell into place. They, at the very least, had respect for each other. “So how are we going to get out of this mess now?” Callum asked. “We need to lighten the load.” I hated to state the bleeding obvious again, but really, there was no other choice now. Something about having fucked up choices lately really haunted me. Why couldn’t I have easy options for a change, like choosing whether or not Callum and me spent the night together. No. Instead we had aliens running all over town spoiling a gay man’s dreams. Why was nothing easy? “I don’t fancy getting into that water,” Suzy said as she sat herself down on the bench seat. “It looks freezing.” “It is,” Zane said. He had lent over to her. She cradled his head. “I’ll go,” Callum added. “I’ve been in the water before. Besides, Zane is injured, Suzy wouldn’t weigh much to make any difference, and you, Jacob, you’ll be needed to look after them should anything go wrong.” “Hang on,” I said. “Before we all get excited, let’s think about this. No one is expendable. We need to stick together if we’re to achieve anything.” But before I could even finish my sentence, Callum had stripped off his clothes. I grabbed him. I didn’t want him to go. Fuck me, he looked fantastic with nothing on. I even noticed Suzy’s eyes widen as she studied him. I’d not seen him naked in broad daylight before. He was a sight to behold. Every detail of his body was wonderful, especially his genitals. I could plainly see the blood vessels that fed his cock, the faint hairs over his skin, and even those little bumps where the hairs sprouted out from his ball sack. I then 131

Mark Alders ran my eyes over the rest of him. I think my mouth dropped open as I took him in. His thick pubes were honey brown and his stomach, flat and smooth with a faint trail of hair that ran up to his navel ring, demanded me to begin drooling. Everything about him was perfect. I knew that he was right. One of us needed to get out of the boat if we were to have a chance of getting off the sandbank. “You stay here, Callum. I’ll go,” I offered. “Don’t be silly.” He closed my mouth gently, then kissed me. Yep. I was gawking. I didn’t care. If I couldn’t stare lustfully at my boyfriend, who could I look at like that? “I’m ready to go, anyway.” And with that, Callum brushed past me and climbed over the edge of the boat. I helped him into the water. “You okay?” I asked. “This water’s even colder than the other night, I think.” Callum edged his way to the bow, never once taking his hold off the edge of the boat. He was waist deep in the water and his dick waggled hypnotically from the gentle current as he began to push the boat off the sandbank. God, I hoped he’d be all right. “We’re moving,” Suzy proclaimed. Sure enough, Callum had done it. We were moving. I heard the sand scrape along the bottom again. Then, much to my relief, only the sound of Callum and the boat moving through the water met my ears moments later. I sighed in relief. “You did it,” I said enthusiastically. Callum’s lips were now blue and the water lapped his chest. “You can get out now. Here, I’ll give you a hand.” Zane came to the edge, too. He offered his hand as well. “It’s okay. I’ll p-push us to shore.” Callum began to stutter, the water temperature was already beginning to affect him. “How else are w-we going to get anywhere. We d-don’t have oars, do wwe?” 132

Shadows of the Mind I nodded. Callum was right. “Just be careful, you hear me?” All I could do was keep my hands on his shoulders for support. He was doing all the work. Zane turned to me. “I thought you weren’t goin’ to let him go for a minute there, you know?” “I very nearly didn’t, mate.” I admitted. “You okay—how’s your stomach?” “I’m okay, really.” “I’m glad you spoke out and told Suzy about Corey. She really needed to hear that,” I whispered to him, trying to keep my voice out of Suzy’s earshot. “She d-deserves better than t-that low life,” Callum added. He had gooseflesh all over him and he shivered. I felt for him, but his efforts weren’t in vain. Thankfully, the water had receded. He was now waist deep, with the water getting lower with every passing moment. We were heading for the shore. Zane smiled. “Yeah, Corey’s a jerk-off all righty. You’re both lucky you’ve got each other, that’s for sure.” “I know. I’m glad I got him.” I looked at Callum, right into his deep brown eyes and winked. He smiled, a full smile that revealed his teeth. “What are you boys whispering about?” Suzy snapped. I craned my neck to turn to her, tell her we were boy talking, when I felt my hand fall off Callum’s shoulder. My attention had been diverted for a split second. At first, I thought Callum had fallen into the water. But there was no splash. For a moment I was confused and I couldn’t focus. “Callum!” Suzy screamed. The boat rocked wildly. As I turned to see where Callum was, a tentacle slapped me across my face. I screamed. We had made it to the shore. Unfortunately the alien had, too. Callum was suspended in the air by his ankles. He and Suzy screamed and 133

Mark Alders screamed. Zane’s mouth was agape, as was mine. “Now come to me quietly all of you or I kill this one,” the doctor said as he sent out his tentacles to each of us.

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Chapter 20

B

efore I could get to my feet, one of the doctor’s tentacles wrapped around my waist and pulled me out of the boat. I screamed until my voice became hoarse as I was dragged across the pebbled shore. The tentacle was tight around me and breathing became difficult. I couldn’t pry myself from the doctor’s grip. But you know what? I was actually more concerned about Callum. He wasn’t screaming anymore. I could hear Zane and Suzy behind me. They were yelling frantically. I could even feel their hands grab at my legs in a desperate attempt to try and save me. The doctor was obviously too strong, even for both of them, because I was only going in one direction, toward the doctor. I looked up. I also knew the reason for his silence. He had fainted, obviously overcome with fear. I think in that split second, as I was pulled up off the ground and suspended in the air as he was, I understood how Callum felt. I was scared shitless, too. Was this the end? “I’ll destroy you, human,” the doctor said. “You’re troublesome and not worth the bile you can produce.” I assumed he was talking to me. I couldn’t feel anything below my waist now and the bits that I could feel, tingled. Everything went quiet and moved in slow motion. I shook my head to try and get my senses back. Nothing. I screamed—well, I knew I was screaming, but I couldn’t hear 135

Mark Alders anything. Fingers of sheer and absolute fear rose up within me. I was petrified. Even Zane’s and Suzy’s frantic yells dissipated. My eyes lost focus. The constriction of the doctor’s tentacle must be cutting off my circulation or something, because I also found my strength drain from me. I felt a release, as if a weight had been lifted off me. That sensation was quickly followed by two things. The realisation that the doctor had let me go and me hitting the ground, having the wind knocked out of me. When I hit the ground, I doubled over. I couldn’t breathe, and gasped like a fish out of water as I tried to get oxygen into my lungs as quick as possible. My stomach hurt like hell where the tentacle had been wrapped around me. Finally, as I managed to suck in air with some sort of regularity, the tentacle came around me. I was in the air again within seconds. My head spun as I was raised higher and higher. I didn’t usually suffer from vertigo. But then again, I’d never been lifted like this before. “I’m going to enjoy killing you,” the doctor added. I was dropped again. The ground and me kind of didn’t like each other, because when we met this time, I landed awkwardly. Again the air was knocked from me. Through my numbness I felt a sharp pain shoot up my arm. I gasped, I also let out a wail. I still couldn’t hear myself, focus properly, or gather my thoughts so that they offered any coherent meaning. I clawed my way across the pebbled shore toward the boat, desperate to get away from the alien. My hands and arms were scratched by the sand and rocks I was dropped onto, a few deep enough to draw blood. I could see Zane and Suzy, they were trying to avoid the doctor’s grasp. But I don’t think they were his 136

Shadows of the Mind concern at this point in time. The alien wanted me. By the time the doctor picked me up again, I wanted this to end. If I were to die, then at the very least I wanted my passing to be swift. Not like this. I was being tortured, plain and simple. I now knew how that poor field mouse must have felt when the neighbour’s cat got a hold of it. The animal played with the mouse until it died, probably from shock. I was that mouse to the alien. I felt tears fall from my eyes and I could taste my own blood in my mouth. I must’ve bitten my cheek or something in that last fall. Then again, I suppose that was the least of my worries. The tentacle squeezed me tight, then let me go. Again, I hit the ground hard. This time I didn’t move. Not because I couldn’t, but simply because I knew that doing so wouldn’t get me anywhere. The doctor’s reach was great. What would be the point, anyway? The doctor would soon be rid of his pest. I would only delay the inevitable. As I closed my eyes, all I thought about was Callum and Zane and Suzy. I was thankful we had become friends, and even more thankful Callum had taken me and made him his. I managed a smile as I remembered Callum’s laugh, his glistening eyes that invited me into him and his warm sensuous touch over my skin. My thoughts then wandered, and images of Zane, sitting naked on my couch spread-eagled like he owned the place, actually made me chuckle. He sure was cool. The tentacle grabbed me. Then I thought of Suzy. How I disliked her acid tone and arrogance at first. She grated on me, I had to admit. But her deeply ingrained caring for others shone through that façade once she let her guard down. I would imagine she’d have been a friend for life, what little I had left of it. I was dragged across the pebbles. 137

Mark Alders My T-shirt offered no protection and I could feel the stones scrape my chest and stomach as the doctor pulled me to my fate. Then, somewhat unexpectedly, I felt the tentacle unravel. But that couldn’t be possible, could it? I wasn’t in the air yet. Wasn’t the doctor’s plan to keep on dropping me from a great height so he could savour my death? Why was I released so soon? I opened my eyes and couldn’t believe the sight that confronted me. Zane and Suzy were scooping up handfuls of water and, get this, throwing it at the doctor. They were running back and forth, trying to get as much of the water onto the doctor as they could. I heard, much to my surprise, Suzy say, “Get Jacob now.” Zane came up to me. He pulled me up. I offered as much help as I could, but I found supporting even my own weight a difficulty at the moment. I still felt numb and even though I tried with all my might, I couldn’t get my legs to stiffen enough to be of any use. He struggled, but eventually, after Suzy had made numerous trips to the water’s edge and back, Zane got me to the boat. Callum was already in the boat. “Now, Zane!” Suzy screamed. I felt the boat move. I turned to see Zane pushing us into the middle of the river, obviously trying to get as far away as possible from the doctor. I sat up, finding that my strength had returned somewhat. I suppose not being constricted anymore helped. My left arm throbbed. I hope it hadn’t been broken. “You all right, Jacob?” Suzy asked, coming over to me. From the corner of my eye I saw the doctor on the river bank—well, not the doctor in his ugly solid form as such. He had transformed himself back into the mist and had actually retreated back to the grassy section of the bank. Good riddance as far as I was concerned. I hoped I never saw that alien, or any 138

Shadows of the Mind other for that matter, again. I swallowed. I was wishing, because I knew our paths would cross again soon. We had to be better prepared next time. “Yeah, I think so.” I held my head. Geez, I must’ve looked a sight. My T-shirt was tattered and I didn’t even want to look at my skin. “How’s Callum?” “I think he’ll be fine.” Suzy was now fussing over Callum by dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief, one I recognised as my Mum’s. It must have been left in one of the trouser pockets. “We got to him first. The doctor let him go when we splashed the first lot of water onto him. Pity he didn’t let you go.” I raised an eyebrow. “I think he’s got a special kind of attachment to me or something, because I didn’t accept their holding field. He’s now got it bad for me.” Zane chuckled, then added, “You not into tentacle sex then, Jakey?” He was waist deep in the water, although, unlike Callum, he was fully clothed. I’d imagine having a green alien grab your friends kind of meant that he didn’t have time to disrobe before he got into the river. I managed to laugh at his attempt at lightening the situation and I appreciated him for that. “I’m only into one person’s tentacle…and that definitely ain’t green.” Zane peered over to where Callum lay. “You’re right. He’s got a mighty fine tentacle there.” Suzy tutted, but then giggled, too. “Men!” I ignored her gibe. Besides, I know she meant it in the nicest possible way. “Well, at least we now know they don’t like water at all.” “Yeah, it kind of burns them from what I saw,” Zane said. He was chest deep and beginning to struggle. Whether that was because he found it difficult being weighed down by his clothes or because the boat was harder to push the deeper he got, I 139

Mark Alders couldn’t tell. Either way, he needed help. “I’ll give you a hand there, Zane.” I reached down and grabbed the bottom of my T-shirt, ready to take it off. As I lifted my shirt, I saw the scratches and grazes all over me. To me, they looked worse than what they actually were. I could move okay and to touch them didn’t bring about shooting pain as I would have thought. Only a few had drawn blood. Relief washed over me. “Don’t worry ‘bout it. We’re nearly at the shore. I’ll manage.” I turned to realise that the shore he was referring to was the opposite to where we wanted to be. We were on the cabin side of the river. “We need to go back, Zane,” “No way, Jacob,” Suzy blurted. “We were lucky we were near water that time. What happens when we bump into that alien thing somewhere away from water?” She was right. I hadn’t thought of that. But how were we going to get across the river without the doctor knowing? I’m sure as soon as he saw us, we’d know about it. And, yes, we might not be as lucky next time. Perhaps we’d have to carry buckets of water on us from now on. I think I remember the cabin having some under the kitchen sink. “There’s a cabin that belongs to a family friend not far from here. I suppose we go there for now. At least until we’ve figured out what to do next, anyway.” Callum groaned. He was coming to. “We all need some rest and something to eat before we do anything else.” Suzy’s voice sounded final. “We won’t last long without any food, that’s for sure.” I didn’t have the strength to argue with her. Not that I really wanted to. She was right. I was tired, hungry and sore. I bet Callum and Zane felt the same. 140

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Chapter 21 helped Callum out of the boat. I think, other than being shook Iupthink a little, he’d be okay. Me? Well, my arm hurt, but I didn’t it was worse than a strain and I had a few scratches over

my body. Other than that, I’d live, which suited me fine. Zane came out of the water and Suzy immediately went to his aid. “We’d better get those clothes dry as quick as possible. You don’t want to catch your death of cold, now do you?” She sounded like my aunt Jeanie then. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Suzy pulled out that handkerchief, licked it, then wiped it over the dirty spots on his face for good measure. That would certainly complete the picture for me. “Here, let me give you a hand, Zane. You’re still injured and should be taking it easy.” “Can’t wait to get me naked, can you?” he said. “No funny business.” She brushed his hands away and commenced to help him out of his wet clothes. He rolled his eyes, but ultimately let her fuss over him. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Zane was enjoying the attention. By the time she got him down to his boxers his delight was clear. “I think I’ll stop right there. Your boxers will dry quick enough.” I noticed the mark across Zane’s stomach. A bruise had started to appear, his skin yellowing where the boat’s side had dug into him under Suzy’s weight. 141

Mark Alders “Yes, dear,” Zane added, his voice dripped sarcasm, but he also had a smile from ear to ear. Suzy bundled up his wet clothes in her arms and trotted toward the Westfell forest. When Callum came back from washing himself off in the river, he said, “Spot the married couple, hey?” He picked up his clothes out of the boat and began putting them on. Pity. I was getting used to seeing his fine naked form. Clothes spoiled him, I thought. I laughed at his comment, one that embarrassingly ended with a snort. “You got that right…they don’t even have sex either.” “Hey! That’s my wife you’re talkin’ about,” Zane said with a wink and a boyish smile. Callum continued to giggle as he took my hand and led me off the riverbank. Zane followed. “You boys coming? Or do I have to find my own way to this cabin?” Suzy called from way up ahead. I could only see her. The thick trees around the river and the light that dappled through the canopy made everything disguised at ground level. She blended in easily. “Better do as she says, I don’t wanna sleep on the couch tonight.” Again Zane laughed. The back door of the cabin was open and the front window smashed. Which I know was to be expected, because the last time Callum and I were here that’s how the alien got to us. But still, to see such a thing bought the reality of our situation chillingly close. Too close, in fact. I wanted all of this to be over. I wanted to waste hours with Callum. I wanted to go to work and chat with Mrs. O’Doherty about nonsense and nothing. I wanted to show Mr. Barnaby my favourite men photographs from Blue. Oh my God, I just realised. Mr. Barnaby! Was he all right? 142

Shadows of the Mind The last time I saw him he was on the factory floor bleeding from his forehead. My stomach knotted. “You okay, Jacob?” Callum came around to look me in the eye. I wiped my face. “Yeah. This is all getting to me, is all.” Zane and Suzy looked solemnly at me. We all understood that no matter what, we had to get those people out of that spaceship. We had a weapon to use against the aliens. They hated water. We even had the idea of toppling over the water tower to create a distraction while we woke people from the holding field. I hoped we could pull off such a scheme. There seemed to be a lot of details to iron out. I hated grey areas. We walked into the cabin’s main room, the one with the fireplace. Suzy immediately laid Zane’s clothes over the guard. “I’ll get this lit so Zane can get dressed as soon as possible.” “I’ll light the fire,” Callum offered. Zane had flopped himself down onto the couch on the far wall, arms and legs everywhere. Yep. He thought he owned the place. The button on the front of his boxers had popped open, and the access hole was agape. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I could see his family jewels as plain as day. Then again, I’m sure he wouldn’t care. Zane obviously felt comfortable around us. Besides, I think he enjoyed the attention no matter how it came about. “I’ll see if there’s anything to eat,” Suzy said. She didn’t say whether or not she’s seen what I’d seen, but she certainly turned away pretty quick. The next thing I saw, she was rummaging around in the pantry. Moments later, the fire was lit. Suzy served up a sort of tinned ravioli thing. Stuff reminiscent of something Mr. Barnaby would get in at the General Store at discount. It didn’t look too appetising but tasted okay. Food was 143

Mark Alders food, and as I ate, I realised how hungry I was. We all ate in silence. Finally, Callum said, “I think we should wait until night time before we do anything.” “Why’s that, Cal?” Zane said with a mouthful. “We can see the mist better at night.” No argument there from me. That was actually a good idea and made perfect sense. The doctor kind of snuck up on us the last time because we couldn’t see him clearly. Luckily the aliens glowed while in mist form. “So what do we do in the meantime?” I said. “Sleep.” Suzy got up and picked up the empty plates. “I bags the bedroom. And no, Zane, you can’t sleep in there with me.” Before I could say anything, even utter a word of protest, seeing as Callum and I were the only couple here, she had begun to make her way to the bedroom. I mean, why should Suzy get the double bed all to herself? Zane added, “I’ve got the fold out.” That only left the couch. “I’m gonna sleep in front of the fire,” Callum said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Just no gruntin’ and groanin’ so I can’t sleep, you two,” Zane said wiping his plate with his finger. “I know what you both sound like when you plough.” Suzy stopped. “On second thoughts…Callum, Jacob, you can have the bedroom. I’ll take the fold out.” “Hey, what about me?” Zane protested, sucking on his sauce covered finger. “I ain’t sleepin’ on the floor.” “There’s the couch.” Suzy pointed to the object Zane had flung himself onto when we first arrived. “You’ve already made yourself quite comfortable there from what I saw earlier.” Callum and I giggled. Zane screwed up his nose. “Damn, we are married.” 144

Shadows of the Mind “What?” Suzy snapped. “Nothin’.” I’m glad Suzy gave us the bedroom. Not because I wanted to ravage Callum all over, that would come later, but because I needed to know a few things. Ever since the game of truth, I’ve wanted to get him alone. I didn’t waste any time and as soon as Callum closed the door, I said, “Can I ask you…something personal?” Without hesitation, he replied, “Sure. You’re my boyfriend. Whatever you need to know is fine with me. I got nothing to hide from you.” I patted the bed, gesturing for him to take a seat. He did. “I want you so bad, Callum, but I don’t want to hurt you like the others have done.” “What’ya mean?” He wriggled closer to me. “Don’t be silly. You would never hurt me, I know that.” “That story about your mum.” As soon as I said that, Callum’s gaze fell to the floor and he shuffled his feet across the rug. “And from what you’ve told me about Derek…I wanted to hear it from you that you want me to love you.” I paused. “I mean, if I made love to you, I don’t want you to feel obliged…I want you to feel that when we get close it’s because we do love each other, if you know what I mean.” That didn’t sound anything like I wanted it to. I hoped he understood. But I think I was confusing the issue somewhat. I wanted him to know that I wasn’t going to abuse or take advantage of him in any way. The words were far more difficult than I first thought. A long moment passed before he answered. “I’ve never felt for anyone as I have done with you, Jacob. I want you to…I want you to have me however you want.” 145

Mark Alders “But that’s just it. I don’t want to have you because you think I need to do that. I want you to be happy. You’re right, I am your boyfriend. But that also means we’re in an equal relationship…I don’t want to do anything to spoil that.” “I see.” He looked up at me and immediately I could see the emotion in his eyes. Callum’s eyes already gave him away, and in the short time I had known him I had learned to understand the clues they reflected. He added, “I think I know what you’re saying.” I held him. “Look. I want you to know that you don’t have to feel as if you have to act a certain way or do certain things if you don’t want to, that’s all. We will work out things at our own pace…that’s all I’m saying. We’ll do stuff together, for each other.” I knew I was rambling, but because he sat there in silence, listening, I took that as a positive. So I kept on talking. “Okay, Callum?” A tear rolled down to his chin. “I was Derek’s fuck tool, you know. He…he only wanted me because he could wank in a different way when I was there to take him.” Callum’s bottom lip began then to quiver. “And…Mum…she wanted a release, and I-I was the only thing she had. She raped me more than once, Jacob. And each time I told myself I wouldn’t let her do it anymore. But she got worse. I’m piss weak…and so far, accept for you and one other, everyone has taken advantage of me.” “You’re not weak. Don’t think like that.” I cleared my throat and moved so that my legs were now wrapped around him. “What happened to your Mum?” “She was killed a few years ago. Just when I got the courage to tell someone about what she did to me…she had the car accident.” He began to gently weep, digging his head into my neck. “I’m so sorry.” I hugged him. 146

Shadows of the Mind He then looked up at me, determination had struck his face and his eyes narrowed. “Don’t be. I’m not. As far as I’m concerned, alcohol took my Mum away years ago.” He wiped his tears away. “When that woman had me, I hated it. I threw up every time she touched me. One thing she did do for me, Jacob. I knew I didn’t want to be with a woman.” “And Derek’s been the only one you’ve had?” I know I shouldn’t have kept up with my questions, but as far as I was concerned a relationship would only be solid if it were built on truth. I needed to know everything and he needed to tell me. Otherwise, we could risk becoming each others fuck buddies. Not what I wanted at all. “Yes and no.” Callum wrapped his arms tighter around me. I kicked off my shoes and together we lay on the bed. I could hear his heartbeat as I placed my head onto his chest. “I mean, there was one other boyguy I liked. He lived next door. But we never got beyond holding hands and kissing. One day his Dad caught us in his room. I think he was under a lot of pressure from his family to grow up and be a man, whatever the hell that means, because I wasn’t allowed to see him again.” Callum smiled, obviously talking about this boy bought back pleasant memories for him. “His name was Armin…he was sweet. Actually, he was my first after my ordeal with my my mother. He treated me good. So gentle and caring and so different to what I knew. I wanted to be with him forever…I still get email from him… Then I met Derek…and, well, you know about that.” I looked up into his eyes again. I think I saw relief more than anything. “I needed you to tell me all this, Callum.” “I’m glad I did. I understand.” We didn’t talk anymore. Instead, we held each other, surrounded by each others warmth. After he had calmed his emotions and his tears no longer flowed, I became hypnotised by 147

Mark Alders his breathing and the beat of his heart. I didn’t remember how long it took, but sleep washed over me pretty quick. I was awakened by a loud crash.

148

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Chapter 22 was asleep next to me, his breathing gentle and Callum regular. He looked peaceful, even angelic, I suppose, as the

late afternoon light through the net curtained window softened the shadows around him. I didn’t want to wake him. The noise that woke me rang out again, but the sound wasn’t a metallic clang as I first thought, rather, it sounded as though someone had dropped something metallic onto a hard surface. It was difficult to explain, but really that’s the only way I could describe it. I also knew the noise didn’t come from inside the cabin. I jumped off the bed and pulled the netting back across the window. Near the closest trees, I saw something move. And even though the view wasn’t clear out of the window, I was pretty certain that whatever the hell was outside, it wasn’t green. But what was it? Perhaps a deer. No, it moved differently and wasn’t as nimble as a deer. A person? But that couldn’t be. Everyone was inside the spaceship, weren’t they? I scratched my head, pondering for a moment what could be out there. The only solution I could see to ease my curiosity was to go outside and investigate. I left the bedroom and headed into the main room. Almost immediately I heard Zane snoring. He must have been uncomfortable on the couch as his arms and legs were 149

Mark Alders everywhere. Suzy was awake. She came over to me as soon as she realised I was in the room. “Do you hear that?” she asked. For a moment there, I thought she was referring to the noise that woke me up. Then, as my ears became more and more saturated with the sound of Zane’s snoring, I understood that she wouldn’t have heard what I did. Geez, that boy could make some noise. “Yeah, I do.” “I haven’t slept a wink with all that ruckus going on. He doesn’t stop no matter how many times I nudge him. He’s infuriating, Jacob.” She never let her gaze wander too far away from him. “Listen, Suzy, there’s something I need to tell you.” She replied, “What is it?” But she didn’t look directly at me. Her attention was on someone else…namely an attractive skinny guy who happened to be lying on the couch right now snoring his arse off. “There’s something outside the cabin. I don’t know what, but I heard a noise. It woke me up, in fact.” “I didn’t hear anything.” She rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. “Then again, how could I?” She finally glanced at me, but quickly returned her gaze back to Zane. The bedspread he’d placed over himself had worked its way up over his head, his legs now exposed. Zane, right at that moment, let out a snort. He moved into a position that looked equally as uncomfortable, pulling the bedspread down as he did so, then commenced to snore again. “I’m being serious here, Suzy.” I really wish she’d listen to me and not get so worked up about Zane. I tell you what, whether she knew it or not, those two needed to plough as Zane so eloquently put it many times, if only to release the sexual tension in the air between them. Then maybe she could take her 150

Shadows of the Mind gaze off him for more than a few minutes and concentrate on something else. “I don’t think it’s an alien… But there’s definitely someone outside.” She looked directly into my eyes, and said sternly, “Well, let’s go out there and take a look, shall we?” That kind of took me aback, I had to say. Then I knew why. The snoring had stopped. Zane had woken up. He scratched himself across his chest as he slowly got up off the couch. His boxers had that billowy look about them and I knew he had a boner. No prizes for guessing what Zane might have been dreaming about. But as I watched him get up, Suzy become disinterested. I then understood the situation. She was fine staring at him when he wasn’t aware, but when he was, she immediately put up a wall. She was basically playing hard to get. Zane had his work cut out for him. Poor guy. “What’ya talkin’ ‘bout, you two?” Zane mumbled as he adjusted himself in front of us both. “You’re disgusting, Zane,” Suzy snapped. “Anyway, Jacob and I were about to go outside and investigate a noise he heard. If you want to come, put some clothes on, will you? I don’t want to see ‘that’ all the time.” I noticed that she didn’t say he couldn’t come with us. “Hey, I can’t help it I get good mornin’ wood.” He removed his hand. His bulge had got worse and his boxers billowed out even more. “Anyway, wait up…I’m comin’.” I couldn’t help but laugh. Suzy didn’t see the funny side. She scowled, harrumphed, and then, of all things, grabbed me by the hand and commenced to walk me out the door. At the door, and before I could even utter a word, she shot Zane a glance, and added, “You stay here, Zane. That bruise on your stomach looks terrible. Besides, I haven’t had a chance to 151

Mark Alders look at it yet.” “Yes, Mum,” he replied, then proceed to the bathroom. Suzy’s hand was clammy, much to my surprise. Her grip was soft, yet I knew she didn’t want to let me go for some reason. I was actually quite baffled. What purpose did it serve for her to hold my hand? All I could think of as I was led outside, was what would Callum say if he came out the bedroom right now and saw me holding hands with her. I actually felt uncomfortable. Not because I was worried about a girl holding my hand, not at all, but because I didn’t think it was appropriate for her to be doing such a thing. What was her game? Outside, the air smelled of pine. Which wasn’t really surprising considering most of the Westfell contained pine trees. To say that a pine tree forest smelt of pine sounded stupid now that I think about it, but I hadn’t noticed the smell before. In fact, I hadn’t really noticed how beautiful the forest really was at this time of day. I made a promise to myself there and then, that when this ordeal is over, I’d invite Callum to spend many lazy weekends here with me. Very romantic. I looked forward to that. The late afternoon light made everything look soft and orange and long shadows stretched across the forest floor around the clearing. “Where did you hear the noise, Jacob?” “Over there.” I gestured to the place where I thought I saw the deer or whatever the fuck it was, move through the trees. My stomach tightened. She let go of my hand. “Oh my gosh, you were right. I saw something move over there, too.” She then took a few steps back so that she was behind me. I gathered that she didn’t really believe me before now. But, before I could answer her, or tell her that getting behind me 152

Shadows of the Mind wouldn’t be a good idea because I’d be as likely to run as her, that metallic sound rang out again. From behind one of the trees, a part of a machine of some description rolled into the clearing, clattering as it moved and sending up the leaf litter before it came to a stop. The machine looked like it belonged to the aliens. “Don’t just stand there, Suzy and Jacob. Come and give me a hand here?” I then saw a naked Mr. Barnaby come out from behind the trees. “This thing weighs a tonne and I’ve been hauling it for hours.” Mr. Barnaby sure looked like he needed a shower or something. Actually, he probably needed a week’s rest from what I could tell. He was covered in dirt from head to toe, and besides the gash on his forehead, he had what I could only describe as green grease-like stuff all over him. Weird. “What is that thing?” Suzy said, beating me to the punch. Mr. Barnaby shook his head. “I really don’t know for certain and I can only guess at this point, Suzy.” He lent down and began touching a lit up panel on the machine part. “I picked it up after that machine exploded and I didn’t ask any questions as I skedaddled out of there as fast as I could.” He looked up at us and winked. “But whatever it is, they sure need it.” “How do you know?” Suzy asked. Again, before I could get a word in. I didn’t want to be the one not asking any questions, so before Mr. Barnaby could answer her, I interjected, “Didn’t the aliens try and stop you?” “Let me show something first,” he replied. There was then a whooshing sound. The panel that Mr. Barnaby had been fiddling with opened. Inside, I could see an intense light, circular in shape. I shielded my eyes and had to take a step back. Suzy did the same. The heat that the light inside 153

Mark Alders the machine radiated made my clothes hot and prickled my exposed skin. The panel closed. As I tried to blink the spots from my vision caused by the split second I had looked at the light, I saw Mr. Barnaby collapse. We rushed to his side. “Can I have a glass of water, please?” Mr. Barnaby croaked. “We’ll get you inside the cabin. You can rest there and get cleaned up,” Suzy said. “Don’t forget the machine.” I took it upon myself to be the one who would carry the machine. Suzy helped Mr. Barnaby to his feet. I tell you what, Mr. Barnaby wasn’t lying when he said the machine weighed a tonne. How he managed to get out of the alien spaceship without incident and carry it all this way from Wilson’s field was anyone’s guess. The man must sure be strong. I suppose carrying all that grocery stock all day kept him fit. Suzy fussed over Mr. Barnaby like a mother would to a child. She had cleaned him up a bit, although that gash on his forehead still looked nasty, and had fixed him something to eat. She had also commandeered Zane’s blanket. At least Mr. Barnaby wasn’t naked anymore. He wore the blanket like a toga. Suzy tied it up for him. Zane came out of the shower. He was in his boxers, but dripping wet. I suppose he wasn’t in any hurry to get dressed. He had a girl to impress. Not that I cared, but I did notice Suzy take her eyes off him as soon as he looked at her. Yep. They needed a room, them two. “Hey! Mr. Barnaby, how the hell are you?” Zane asked. Mr. Barnaby looked at him. “I’m fine now that I have someone looking after me. Thanks for the concern there, Zane.” 154

Shadows of the Mind He picked up the glass of water Suzy had placed on the table earlier. “I think that issue of FHM has arrived for you… Now, where did I put it?” He got up off his chair. Turned around, and then scratched his head. “Um, Mr. Barnaby, you’re not in the General Store at the moment,” Suzy said as she guided him back to his chair. Mr. Barnaby’s face flashed confusion for a brief moment and his eyebrows knitted. “Of course. You’re right. Silly me.” “What the fuck’s that thing?” Zane added. He had seen the alien machine I had hauled in from outside, nearly breaking my back in the process. Geez, I’m gonna be sore tomorrow. My lower back ached even now. The machine Zane pointed to hummed annoyingly. “I’m glad you asked,” Mr. Barnaby said with glee, as if he had been asked about this week’s special buy. He seemed to be his old self again, all smiles and twinkling eyes. “I think it’s a power source of some description. I had to fend off an alien to get it out, don’t you know?” He tried to rub off some of the green grease on his forearm, but he ended up smearing the stuff across his skin even more. “No. We didn’t know that.” Suzy placed her hands onto her hips. “You didn’t tell us that outside, Mr. Barnaby.” “I didn’t?” Again the old man’s brow furrowed. “I’m sure I did. What do you think this green stuff is? Alien blood, that’s what. I was stopped by one of the beasts, and in defence I threw that machine at it. The next thing I know, I’m covered in green ooze.” Zane had knelt beside the machine, touching it gingerly. “It’s warm, hey?” “Don’t you remember opening the panel, Mr Barnaby?” I said. “And I’m certain you didn’t really tell us that much. I thought you said you didn’t know what it was?” 155

Mark Alders When Mr. Barnaby was about to open his mouth to answer my question, Callum came out of the bedroom. His hair was a mess and he rubbed his eyes as he shuffled his feet across the floor. He still looked dead tired. I smiled. The sight of him made me happy. “Hello, Callum,” Mr. Barnaby chirped. “How are you, my boy?” Hang on a moment. Unless I’m mistaken, how would Mr. Barnaby know who my boyfriend was then? Callum wasn’t from Pembroke Eve.

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Chapter 23 dude I woke up in the spaceship?” “Say,Callumaren’taskedyouwiththea disinterested yawn.

I went over to Callum, he hugged me immediately. “Yes, I am— How did I know your name? I haven’t seen you before you woke me, have I?” Mr. Barnaby swayed in his chair, as if he went dizzy or something. I then felt a weight press against me. The feeling was like you get when you’re on a roller-coaster and the gravity changes as the cart goes down an incline. I held Callum tighter, but more out of reflex than anything. Mr. Barnaby’s brow creased and he cupped his hands over his eyes for a moment. “You okay, Jacob?” I heard Suzy say. A long while passed before Mr. Barnaby looked up, his bottom lips quivering, “You’re Jacob’s boyfriend…I know that. But how?” “Maybe you’ve got some sort of latent memory or whatever from the holdin’ field,” Zane blurted. We all looked at Zane. “How did you know that?” I asked. He shrugged his shoulders. His fingers danced across the panel Mr. Barnaby had opened earlier. A few buttons lit up. I swore I saw something like a glittering light move up into his hand, as if energy had been transferred into him. 157

Mark Alders “You know, I dunno. But I betcha it’s somethin’ to do with this machine.” “Zane’s right,” Suzy said. She, too, had moved over to the machine. Around her I could see a glow, as if she were one of those angels from those old paintings I saw at the art gallery last year. She looked beautiful. I felt that pressure again, like hands grabbing at my insides. I felt giddy and stumbled under my own weight. Callum caught me. I pressed my fingers against the bridge of my nose. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear the persistent humming from that damn machine had gotten louder. Or had it been activated and was now interfering with my head? Whatever, I felt like shit. “How do you know Zane’s right?” I added, realising that I had stepped closer to the machine and that my skin glowed as well. In fact, everyone had a strange orange light around them. The same colour as the light inside the machine. I blinked and when my eyes refocused, Mr. Barnaby and Callum were kneeling next to the machine, too. I didn’t notice him move away. Surely, I would have known if he were no longer holding me. Had I blacked out for a little bit and hadn’t realised it? I felt okay. I mean, my eyes were probably playing tricks on me and I was tired and had a headache. Other than that, oh, and I also felt a little stressed, nothing like running away from an alien to raise your blood pressure. But besides all that, I felt fine. Okay, I didn’t feel fine. Who was I kidding? “I just know he’s right. I can’t explain it, Jacob.” Suzy placed her arm onto Zane’s shoulder. He looked at her with his trademark boyish grin. “You know what? I know things I’ve never seen or read about,” Mr. Barnaby added. He seemed to speak in slow motion and the words I heard were slurred. “I know that Mr. O’Doherty is dead. Yes, he was killed by the aliens for resisting the field. 158

Shadows of the Mind The poor old soul.” “I think this machine is a generator of some sort.” Callum pressed a couple of buttons on the machine. A few panels lit up. How the fuck did he know that? How did Mr. Barnaby know what he did? Why was everyone glowing? I looked at each of them in turn. The seemingly persistent knot in my stomach twisted some more and I felt nauseous. Everything became fuzzy and not in a good way either. My eyes lost focus entirely, my legs gave way underneath me and I saw myself fall. I felt as if I were out of my own body, watching myself faint. Whatever Callum did, the main panel opened again. The noise from the machine deafened me as I hit the floor. I couldn’t hear myself speak. Not that I was saying anything that made any sense though. I couldn’t make heads or tails of anything right now, so how could I put my thoughts into coherent sentences? A flash of light from the machine struck my eyes. I shut my eyelids as tight as I could, but the light burned. I blacked out. I woke up in the cabin’s bedroom and immediately I felt something or someone near my feet. As I moved my head, a dull pain crept through me from the back of my skull. The room spun around. I caught a glimpse of Callum sitting at the foot of the bed. Light from the window surrounded him. I felt a little better knowing he was here with me now. Callum looked down at me, concern drawn all over his face. “You okay?” “What happened?” I mumbled. “Turns out Mr. Barnaby stole the field generator out of the alien spaceship. Cool, hey?” “He did?” 159

Mark Alders “Yep. And somehow we activated it.” He wrinkled up the corner of his lips. “That’s how Mr. Barnaby knew stuff he’s never even heard of before. The field told him and some of it kind of washed over into the rest of us.” “But I didn’t get anything like that. I felt dizzy and stuff.” “You didn’t accept the field in the first place, remember. We were already, how did Mr. Barnaby put it? In tune—yeah, we were in tune with the field.” Callum crawled over the bed until he was over me. “But thankfully we weren’t hooked up to the field as we were back in the spaceship. Otherwise, we’d all be lying on the cabin floor in the alien’s simulated dreamland right about now, all helpless and stuff.” “So, where’s the field generator now?” I reached up and grabbed him, pulling him closer to me. I took in a deep breath, his musk awakening my senses. “Zane and Mr. Barnaby are making a few adjustments to it.” “What for?” “Suzy had the idea that we should fight fire with fire.” He smiled cheekily. He then kissed me on the cheek. His warm lips against my skin sent shivers of delight through me. I had other things on my mind. Actually, I had so many things on my mind I became confused. Now that we had the field generator, what was happening to the rest of the townsfolk? How long would Mr. Barnaby’s knowledge last? Could we really use their own machine against them? “But how?” was all I could manage. “I don’t really know. Mr. Barnaby said all we had to do was change the settings or something like that. Kind of tune it in to alien brainwaves. Then we could use it as a weapon.” How were we going to know the frequency of an alien brain for God’s sake? I closed my eyes, attempting to block out 160

Shadows of the Mind everything except to concentrate on the matter at hand. If we did manage to tune the field generator into the alien brainwaves, would that mean they would fall asleep, trapped in a virtual existence? Callum took me closing my eyes as a signal to get intimate. God, he was a horn bag. Bless him. He pressed his lips onto mine, then after a moment, parted and said, “I want you to take me, Jacob.” I groaned, but gently pushed him away. “I want you so bad, too, Callum. But…I can’t right now. Not at the moment, anyway.” I felt terrible denying him, because I could feel myself stir as he moved his arms over my back and his hot breath tickled my face. He even pushed his crotch down so that I felt his weight against me. I groaned again. “We have to help get this machine tuned in if we’re to accomplish anything.” “I know,” he said with a sigh. He kissed me again, looking forlorn. “What’s up?” “I suppose my plan of bringing down the water tower isn’t a goer anymore, is it?” “Always pays to have a backup plan.” He seemed to think about what I said for a moment. A smile crossed his lips. I then had another thought. “Say, what about the people of the town then? What happens to them seeing as we have the field generator? Won’t they wake up and become aware of what’s going on?” “I don’t know.” Those three words scared the spit out of me. All I could see in my head was Mum and Dad waking up to the sight of the milking machine attached to them. I was terrified when I discovered the truth. I could only imagine how anyone else would feel. That’s assuming they woke up at all. Perhaps, like us, the aliens had a backup plan should the field generator fail…or 161

Mark Alders get stolen. What if the aliens destroyed their specimens if they couldn’t control them? I shuddered. I shook that thought from my mind. I couldn’t think like that. It achieved nothing. “C’mon. Let’s go help as best we can, then.” The field generator was no longer in the middle of the room. Instead, the machine sat on the table looking ominous. Suzy, Zane and Mr. Barnaby were around it. They had opened the machine fully and I could clearly see the ball of energy inside what now looked like an elaborate cage. “Jacob!” Suzy and Zane said in unison. Both then came over to me and gave me a hug. I hugged them with the same intent. “We were so worried about you,” she said. “I was worried about you lot.” “Good to see you up and about, Jacob,” Mr. Barnaby added. “Now, Zane, what band were we up to?” Mr. Barnaby twisted a dial. The central light dimmed. Zane wandered back over to the table. “I thought you said the theta somethin’ or other.” “Yeah, that’s right, the theta band,” Suzy interjected. “Right you are.” Mr Barnaby scratched his head below his temple. “What frequency did I just test in that band?” Callum nudged me, then whispered, “I have a feeling this is gonna be a slow process. Mr. Barnaby seems to remember stuff one minute then forget it the next. Thank God, we have Zane and Suzy here to watch over what he’s doing.” I found myself nodding. “Ten, I think. Try ten,” Zane said as he leaned over Mr. Barnaby, he was obviously checking the man’s work. I know I would be if I were in Zane’s shoes right now. “I kind of feel like a fifth wheel at the moment,” I said. 162

Shadows of the Mind Seriously, I couldn’t see anything I could do right now that would be constructive. Zane and Suzy had Mr. Barnaby covered, so to speak. “I knew we had time to get busy together,” Callum said with a gentle giggle. The caged light inside the machine flickered as Mr. Barnaby turned the dial he had been nursing since I entered to room. Seconds later, it returned to what I could only consider normal from what I had seen of it before, spinning bright and so intense I couldn’t look at it directly. “Nope. That didn’t work,” Mr. Barnaby said. “I try…” I couldn’t hear the rest of what he said because he mumbled and his voice trailed off. He then blurted, “What was I doing, again?” Zane patted the old man on the shoulder. “You were ‘bout to test the theta band thingy at fifteen.” Mr. Barnaby looked up at him. “What are you talking about, Zane?” “The field generator tunes into brain waves, remember,” Suzy said. Mr. Barnaby then cocked an eyebrow. “I think I’ll test the theta band frequency at fifteen. See if that registers something on the readout panel. Well, what are you two standing about gawking for? Give me a hand.” Zane smirked and stole a glance at Suzy. She smiled. I had a feeling Callum was right, the evening was going to be a long one. “I’ll fix us all up some dinner,” Callum added. I went over to the window. In the distance I could see the green glow begin to take over the sky as the sun set. At least I knew the aliens were still here. My thoughts went out to the townsfolk. I hoped they’d be all right.

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Chapter 24 Callum served us our dinner, most of the time was Upspentuntilwatching Mr. Barnaby, Zane and Suzy work on the field generator. Many, many times, too many to count in fact, the old man forgot where he was up to, then remembered once either Zane or Suzy went through the procedure with him. I did notice that each time Mr. Barnaby forgot something, the time it took him to remember seemed longer. I’d say that the positive effects of the field must be wearing off the more they worked on the machine. Last I noticed, they were fiddling with the beta band. From what I understood, they had locked in the delta, theta and alpha ones. What they were locked into, I had no idea. How they knew what to lock anything into was beyond me. But I supposed they knew what they were doing. I wished I could tap into the field. No wait, I don’t. If I could access the field, I’d still be on that table being farmed instead of planning a rescue. I heard Mr. Barnaby say, obviously while he was in one of his lucid periods, “We still have to test the beta and gamma bands, I believe.” I hoped that whatever they were doing would work. I hoped Mr. Barnaby’s memory would last. I had a nasty feeling right in the pit of my stomach that our alien friends wouldn’t let the matter of a stolen field generator slide for too long. They would 164

Shadows of the Mind want it back and I’m sure they must have a backup plan, as we did. “You want me to light the fire?” Callum asked as he took my empty plate off me. I hadn’t even remembered eating. Sorry, that sounded funny, like I was forgetful like Mr. Barnaby or something. What I meant to say was, I remembered eating, I didn’t remember the experience or the taste of the food. I think it was some sort of tinned pasta. Normally I love food. Tonight I didn’t. I glanced out the smashed window. I felt a chill, but not because I was cold. The green glow from the spaceship illuminated everything outside, as it did the night the damn aliens arrived. “Yeah, that’ll be great,” I finally said once Callum asked me again. “So that’s the gamma band set then, is it?” Suzy said. “Are you sure the frequency is right for alien brainwaves, Mr. Barnaby?” “Yes. I’m positive, my dear girl.” “But the little readout thing here says it’s still in the human range,” Zane said. “We haven’t changed the frequency over eighty hertz, yet.” Mr. Barnaby blinked a few times. For more than a good couple of minutes he stared blankly at Zane, like the man had landed in Wilson’s field and asked him to disprove the Theory of Relativity or something. I was beginning to understand that the field generator had different settings for different species. I got up and went over to the table, deciding to take a closer look. The screen Zane was reading had alien writing lit up in the lower panel. To me it kind of looked like a cross between Egyptian hieroglyphics and Arabic script. How Zane was able to read it was beyond me. Then again, I hadn’t been part of the field like him, so that kind of answered my own question. Still, doing such a thing helped me come to 165

Mark Alders grips with everything that was going on right now. Mr. Barnaby blinked again. Then, as if a switch had been turned on inside him, he said, “If you set the gamma band at eighty, that should do it. The aliens use the same frequency as us in that range. So, yes, keep it at eighty, my boy.” Zane nodded. He flicked back his fringe, then said, “So now that we have each band set, you want me to complete the frequency field now, or what?” Zane’s index finger hovered over a button below the panel, a blue one that flashed. “Yes, please.” Mr. Barnaby dabbed his brow with a corner of the blanket. “That was the last band we had to set. I’m eager to see if all this effort pays off.” Zane stabbed the button. My eyes were forced closed and I felt myself fall. I found myself surrounded by darkness. I’m not talking about the kind of darkness you get at night either. I could have coped with that. No, this was much, much worse. Scary as all fuck actually, because I was unable to tell where I was. The darkness engulfed me, sunk into my skin as if liquid. I was surrounded, completely and utterly, by nothing, and no matter how much I kicked or screamed, the nothing still clung to me. “What the fuck’s going on?” I yelled at the top of my lungs. “What the fuck’s going on?” my own voice replied over and over until my words trailed off and I could no longer hear them. I took a step forward, but quickly realised that to do so seemed pointless. How could I tell whether or not I was going anywhere in this nothing place? A noise drew my attention behind me. In the distance—well, I assume it was the distance, a little green light, about the size of a firefly, moved erratically. The thing is, the light seemed to be getting bigger. Was it coming toward me? 166

Shadows of the Mind “Your resistance to the field will not save you in the mindscape, human,” a voice said. The echo followed, and the words rang in my head over and over as the green light came closer. The light wasn’t light at all. Far from it. The light was an alien in mist form and he was heading straight for me. I screamed, “Where am I?” but my words mingled with the alien’s echo and soon all I heard was annoying chatter. I covered my ears and squeezed my eyelids shut, now so terrified my knees gave way and I collapsed onto what I assumed was the floor of this place. “Can anyone help me?” I added to the reverberation of words. “Jacob’s back,” I heard Callum say. I opened my eyes. I was back in the cabin. My friends were staring at me with concerned eyes. Even Mr. Barnaby looked as though I was about to drop dead at any second and that even breathing over me would be a bad thing. “What just happened?” I stuttered, still shaken from my experience in the nothing place. “Sit down, Jacob,” Suzy said, reaching her hand to me. “There’s a problem with the field generator.” “Really? You could’ve fooled me,” I added, not deliberately trying to be sarcastic. It came out like that. Besides, to say I was somewhat baffled would be an understatement. I looked at each of my friends in turn. Their expression hadn’t changed. They still looked at me like I was a patient entering the emergency room or something. I think that scared me even more than seeing that alien in the darkness. Suzy held my hand and Callum held me around my waist. They both led me to a chair Zane had pulled out from 167

Mark Alders underneath the table. Mr. Barnaby coughed, obviously clearing his throat before he began to explain to me what the hell was going on here. “Jacob, my boy, the machine works. We can tap into alien brainwaves, no problem. We can also send them into the field so that they will seem asleep, as they are doing to the rest of the town right now.” “So what’s the problem, then?” “There is a fail safe installed. I suppose to stop situations like this from happening.” Mr. Barnaby coughed again, then wiped his brow. He was sweating and his rosy cheeks looked even redder than they normally did. “Um…well, Jakey, you disappeared as soon as we tested the machine,” Zane said, coming into my view. “What do you mean?” “You vanished is what Zane means,” Callum added. “One minute you were there, the next you were gone. I thought I’d never see you again.” He clutched his chest and let out a gasp. I bet he absolutely panicked in my absence. God, love him. “What was it like, the place you went to?” Mr. Barnaby said. “I’d be interested to know.” “I went into darkness.” I shivered as I remembered the feeling of being surrounded by nothing. “There was also an alien with me in there.” Mr. Barnaby nodded enthusiastically. “Just as I thought. You, my boy are immune to the field, that much we know is fact. The aliens have also protected one of their own from the field, too. A failsafe as I said.” “He said I was in a…what did he call it? Mindscape.” “Well, that’s a good description, but not quite true…” Mr. Barnaby’s face went blank. “What was I talking about?” “Here we go again,” Zane muttered, plonking himself down onto the nearest chair and letting out a deep sigh in the process. 168

Shadows of the Mind “I’ll go make the tea,” Callum said, leaving my side so that he could make his way into the kitchen. I turned to Suzy. She rolled her eyes. “We just have to wait for him to get the knowledge back. We could be a while, though. The last memory loss went for about ten minutes or so.” “How long was I gone?” Zane interjected, “An hour, I think. Yeah, ‘bout that.” “An hour?” I said. Both of them nodded. Mr. Barnaby scratched his head, obviously baffled beyond words for the moment. “Holy fuck! The time that passed only seemed like seconds to me. This mindscape is a place I don’t want to visit on a regular basis, let me tell you.” Callum came back over to the table, immediately he placed his arm around me. I could hear the kettle on. “I think you might have to, Jacob…even though I disagree.” He shifted his eyes over to Suzy. “Why? What do you mean?” I looked up at him. His face grim, even worse than when I turned him down back in the bedroom. “We all have to do our part if this is going to work,” Suzy added. “And the majority ruled.” Zane raised an eyebrow. “When we turn on the machine, you go into the mindscape, right? Or those that can resist the field go there or somethin’, so Mr. Barnaby reckons. Well, we like need the machine on to get the peoples out of the spaceship…know what I’m sayin’?” “I like the water tower idea better now,” I said. No one said anything for a long time. I have to admit my mind wandered in that silence. My thoughts got as dark as the place I knew as the mindscape. Could the alien attack me while we were in there? Actually, could I attack it or even kill it? No, hang on, more importantly, could it kill me when we were in that place? I shuddered. The warmth of Callum’s hand on my back was my 169

Mark Alders only comfort right now. We all looked at each other for what seemed an eternity. The click of the kettle’s automatic shut-off button bought my thoughts back to the here and now. Callum trotted off to the kitchen again. Mr. Barnaby came to life. “The failsafe function has been activated by a machine that would have been attached to the field generator. I presume the aliens would have done that as soon as they discovered the field generator was missing, which is why the failsafe is now activated.” We all turned to him, and I gave him my full attention. Lord knows how long he would be coherent. To interrupt him could mean another delay. Something I don’t think we could afford to happen. My stomach tightened again. That bad feeling rose up within in me, too. Shit. “Unfortunately,” Mr. Barnaby continued, “I didn’t know what I was stealing, otherwise I would have picked up the rest of it.” “So is that why Jacob wasn’t taken to the mindscape before?” Suzy questioned, leaning on her hands. “Precisely. The aliens knew that the field generator could be used against them. I would say the one you saw in the mindscape would have a device that protects it from the field.” “You know, I betcha the immune alien can kind of move instantly from place to place, too. Just like Jakey here disappeared to get into the mindscape. Cool…in a freakin’ scary way though.” Zane, no matter how jovial his words sounded, looked deadly serious. Then it all sank in. “So let me get this straight. Not only do I have to fend off an alien, I have to make sure it doesn’t…what? Touch me or something when you turn the machine off. Otherwise, hey presto, one unwelcome alien guest right on our doorstep.” Again Mr. Barnaby nodded. “That about sums it up, dear boy.” He adjusted the blanket on his shoulder, the knot Suzy had 170

Shadows of the Mind tied seemed to be getting loose. She got up and fussed over him. “The mindscape is a nice name for a room of many doors, if that makes sense.” I nodded. I think I understood. Callum bought over five cups of coffee on a tray and began handing them out. “And a door swings both ways, right? One with sugar for you, Mr. Barnaby.” “Thank you—but I didn’t ask for coffee, did I? Anyway, you’re right there, Callum. The mindscape is like an access way as well as a safe room. Imagine it as a default setting for a computer programme.” I swallowed hard. “Then what are we waiting for? You have the alien brainwave frequency set…and I’m as ready as I’m gonna be to tackle one of the bastards. Let’s just do it before I change my mind. We have a town to save, and from the sound of it, not much time to do so.” “We’ll have to turn the machine on and off intermittently to give you a bit more of a chance, I think. That way you’ll only stay in the mindscape for a little while. Okay?” Mr. Barnaby said in between sips of his coffee. “Oh, and you will also materialise wherever the field generator is, I’ve managed to fiddle that setting… Otherwise you could have ended up inside the alien spaceship. Not really a good idea at the moment.” I cradled my cup. “Sure. Thanks.” “Whatever we’re gonna do, make it quick. Look out the window!” Suzy’s voice sounded desperate, and she had given up trying to tie the knot in the blanket. As I stood up, I saw why. Fingers of green mist could be seen coming into the clearing.

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Chapter 25 seemed to happen all at once. Everything Zane jumped to his feet and shouted something incoherent to Mr. Barnaby, while Suzy looked at me with sheer terror in

her eyes, also shouting words that meant nothing to me. I saw Mr. Barnaby fiddle with some dials on the field generator, and as I got up, I also noticed the green mist creep closer to the cabin. Lots and lots of green mist, in fact. The forest floor was carpeted in the stuff. Callum came into my view, arms outstretched, shouting, “I don’t want you to go!” He spoke that line over and over as he came toward me. All I know is that I dropped my cup as Callum wrapped his arms around me and Mr. Barnaby pressed a button on the field generator. The same one Zane had pressed that took me into the mindscape before. The light inside the field generator intensified. My eyelids were forced closed, a sensation that no matter how many times it happened, I couldn’t get used to. I felt myself fall. When I was able to open my eyes, I knew straight away that I had arrived in the mindscape. This time the alien that was somehow protected by the field was as large as life and right in 172

Shadows of the Mind front of me. I had a feeling this wasn’t going to be a friendly encounter at all. I gulped. I stepped back, but the action didn’t seem to make a difference. “We meet again, human,” the alien said. I didn’t recognise his voice. He must be one I haven’t seen before. Then again, one green alien with tentacles looked pretty much like any other to me. How could you tell them apart? They were all butt ugly bastards. “Now things will get interesting, I can assure you.” I didn’t answer him. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I felt a weight on me I couldn’t explain. As I tried to grasp what the feeling meant, I realised—to my dismay—that if anything went wrong out there in the real world, I could be stuck in this place forever. I swallowed hard as the echo of the alien’s voice stuck my ears. I winced. I really hoped the others would be okay. My thoughts snapped back to the moment…and what did he mean by now things will get interesting? “I will mimic your frequency once I have disposed of you. Then your friends that control the field will be mine, too.” I shook my head. What the fuck did that mean? “What?” I managed. “With your brain frequency mine I’ll be able to materialise at the place where the field generator is stationed. That is your access point into the mindscape, is it not? I’ll soon make it mine.” “I don’t understand you!” I screamed. Moments later, I wished I hadn’t yelled. My echo deafened and my ears rang with my words. I pressed my hands against my head to try and block the sound as best I could. Unfortunately, I could still hear myself. “I would have thought a human as clever as you, one that has resisted our field, wouldn’t need explanations.” I found myself saying, rather angrily, “My resistance was an 173

Mark Alders accident. Nothing more.” Where that anger came from, I couldn’t say. I even surprised myself to be honest. Did these aliens think I was special in some way because they couldn’t understand human behaviour? One thing his words proved to me, they had no respect for us at all. We were a resource to be plundered. I shuddered at that thought. “You underestimate how much of a nuisance you are, human.” The alien flailed his tentacles excitedly. “You are the anomaly we didn’t calculate into our equations and have caused us quite a concern. Just know, we won’t make that mistake again.” The alien’s eyes, all of them, closed. Then, its tentacles came to an abrupt halt and its hulking mass of a body wrinkled, especially around the eyes. To me it looked like the alien was about to pass something. He certainly looked uncomfortable and he made a kind of weird grunting noise, too. “What are you doing?” I heard myself say as the alien continued to make that terrible noise. His voice echoed all around me. “In the mindscape the only weapon we have is our thoughts.” Some sort of force struck me. The air from my lungs was knocked out of me and I was swept off my feet. My chin struck the floor and I bit my tongue. The taste of my own blood soon filled my mouth. What the fuck was going on? I coughed and spat the contents from my mouth then yelped out in agony as pain washed over me. I wiped my chin with the back of my hand and cringed at the sight of my blood. I struggled to get up. Whatever hit me sure as hell drained my body of strength. Finally, I managed to get onto my hands and knees. I crawled around so I could face the alien again. He made that awful 174

Shadows of the Mind grunting sound once more. Shit! Here we go again. How can I stop a mental attack? “Arm yourself, human. Concentrate. Otherwise this will be swift indeed,” the alien said with a laugh that sent cold shivers through my body. “How?” I blurted as I saw the alien close his eyes. I tried to brace myself as best I could, which actually meant that I couldn’t really do anything other than wait for the alien’s mental force to hit me. I suppose I knew what to expect this time, not that such a thing made any difference. I had no idea how to project mental energy. How the fuck was I supposed to defend myself? But before the energy struck me, my eyes were forced closed. I woke up amongst the leaf litter by the bridge that crossed the Longmuir. Callum, Suzy, Zane and Mr. Barnaby were in front of me. I also noticed that the field generator was there, too. They hadn’t got very far. Then again, the generator was heavy, I suppose. “Holy shit, Jacob! What the hell happened to you?” Callum said. Seconds later, many hands were pulling me up off the floor. I spat out blood again, but couldn’t get rid of the taste. I dry heaved, then managed to utter, “I think…I think I lost a game of mental wrestling or something. The damn alien body slammed me by using his thoughts. I’m well and truly fucked if I go back into the mindscape, guys. I don’t know how to defend myself against that sort of thing.” They all looked at each other. Uh oh, I had a bad feeling all of a sudden. “We cannot get away from the aliens any other way. We have to turn on the machine,” Mr. Barnaby said. 175

Mark Alders I looked at Callum and as soon as I did so he lowered his gaze. Something happened while I was in the mindscape. I could tell. “What happened while I was away?” I demanded, verbalising my suspicion. I didn’t feel like beating around the bush. If I was going to risk my life battling some alien in a place I couldn’t even come up with in my nightmares, I needed to know everything. Absolutely everything. Zane turned and walked over to the field generator, his back to me. Callum and Suzy took a step back. Yep. Something wasn’t right here. Mr. Barnaby cleared his throat. My eyes narrowed and I felt my face harden. “There were over a hundred aliens in the clearing by the time the field generator kicked in and affected them. I know, I walked around and counted them as they slept,” the old man said. “A hundred?” I questioned. “More. No chance us four could fend them all off, even if we were near water.” “So…we’ll have to use the field again, then?” I said slowly as that realisation struck me. “Otherwise we’ll never get to the spaceship.” “Callum and Zane here think that we should only use the field if it’s needed.” Mr. Barnaby slipped the blanket back onto his shoulder. “Seeing you like that, all battered and bruised, I reckon I agree with the boys.” I turned my attention to Suzy. “What do you think we should be doing?” She folded her arms as she took another step back, turning away from me. “Doesn’t matter what I think. The majority rules, remember.” “What sort of answer is that?” I went over to her and placed 176

Shadows of the Mind my hands on her shoulders. “Look at me. I was being beaten in the mindscape. If you didn’t turn off the machine, I’d probably be dead right about now.” Callum and Zane had wandered over to us. She looked up at me, tears had filled her eyes. “What happens to the rest of the town if we can’t turn on the field because we risk losing you, Jacob?” I was taken aback by that. My stomach tightened. “What do you mean?” Although, having said such a thing was more a reaction than anything. I knew perfectly well what she meant, I would have to risk my life to save thousands. “She doesn’t mean nothin’,” Zane interjected. “She’s all emotional and stuff, ain’t you Suzz?” “I don’t need you to defend me, Zane,” she snapped. “What I mean, Jacob, is quite simple. We all have family back there in that spaceship. Family we lov—” “I love Jacob,” Callum said, interrupting Suzy. “How can you say his life is worth less than someone else’s? He has family here, too.” “Don’t you think I know that, Callum?” Suzy’s tears fell from her eyes and rolled down her soft cheeks. “But there are thousands of people that need us to get them out of there.” I hugged her and she collapsed into my arms. “So you want me to…what? Enter the mindscape knowing you’ll never turn off the field until you’ve saved the town?” “No. Of course not…oh, I don’t know. I’m just sick of this…and I miss my family so much. Sorry, Jacob. I’m so sorry for even thinking such a thing. You must think me a selfish bitch.” I pecked her on the forehead. “No, I don’t.” Callum said, “We can’t make Jacob go…and if you do, I won’t let it happen,” His voice was getting louder and more 177

Mark Alders agitated. His cheeks had flushed and he came to embrace me. “I’ll smash the generator before I let that happen. You hear me? And don’t think I won’t do it either. I will.” “Hey, were not makin’ Jakey do anythin’ he don’t wanna.” Callum glared at Zane “No. You’re just making him feel guilty so that he has to say yes to a suicide mission.” “Not me, man.” Zane raised his hands in resignation. “I don’t want nothin’ to do with this.” He then skulked out of my sight, his head hung low. I could certainly understand why Zane felt the way he did. Actually, I could understand how they all felt. I frowned. Now was the time to tell them something I think they needed to hear before any decision was made. “I didn’t tell you this, but if the alien defeats me while in the mindscape… He can take my place. You’ll then have an immune alien to the field to contend with. He said something about this being my access point…and that he could use it in my place.” “Geez, we’re so fucked up the arse,” Zane called out. “No offence, Jakey.” I nodded to him. I knew what he meant. He was right. “Now, now, this isn’t getting us anywhere. Jacob, we’re not making you do anything.” Mr. Barnaby placed his hand on my shoulder and he pulled me away from Callum and Suzy. “We need to calm down here, all of us. We also need to think this through.” “There’s nothing to think about, Mr. Barnaby,” I said. “If you don’t turn on the machine you’ll all soon be captured like the rest of the town. If you do turn on the machine, I’ll probably be killed and then you’ll have to deal with an alien that isn’t affected by the field. We have two choices…they’re both shit.” Mr. Barnaby rubbed his chin as he led me to the field generator. “There’s more than one way to skin a cat, you know?” 178

Shadows of the Mind “What the fuck does that mean?” Zane said, raising an eyebrow. I noticed that Zane leant himself against the bridge railings. “We’re gonna be back on those tables quick smart. All we’re doing is delayin’ the inevitable, you know.” “Don’t talk like that, Zane!” Suzy said, still crying. “There’s got to be another way.” “What if you could fight back when you were in the mindscape, Jacob?” Mr. Barnaby said with determination. “What? Me? Use my mind to fight off an alien? You gotta be kidding me, right?” Mr. Barnaby shook his head. “Oh, I’m quite serious.” “How?” “I’m glad you asked.” He flashed me a smile. “Come with me.” “What ever you’re gonna teach Jakey, make it quick,” Zane said. He pointed. “That green mist stuff is coming for us again.” Zane was right, yet again. All around us the mist could be seen through the trees. I also noticed Suzy and Callum were hugging and she wept quietly on his shoulder. Seemed they had sorted out their differences. Seeing that, I couldn’t help but feel a small amount of hope rise up within me. Maybe we could do this if we worked together. “I don’t want you to go back into that mindscape unless you’re prepared. Got me?” Callum said. He and Suzy were now next to me, but were still holding onto each other. Suzy wiped her face. “Callum’s right. We’ve got to look out for one another if we’re ever going to get anywhere—come here, Zane. I’m sorry I shouted at you.” Zane went to her. All three hugged. Mr Barnaby knelt down next to the field generator and began fiddling with some of the dials. I turned to look at Callum. “I won’t go unless I’m better 179

Mark Alders prepared. I promise.” He smiled. “But you do know, I’ve got to go back into the mindscape if we’re going to get anywhere here.” Before Callum could answer me, Mr. Barnaby said, “What was I doing again?”

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Chapter 26 past me. “Oh my, God, Mr. Barnaby!” she yelled at Suzythe barged old man before looking at me, frustration in her

bloodshot eyes. “See? This is exactly what I’m talking about, Jacob! I don’t know how much more I can take of this. Really, I don’t!” I knelt down beside Mr. Barnaby. He shook his head at me. “I know where I am. I know what’s going on here. But, you know, for the life of me I can’t remember what I’m supposed to be doing,” Mr. Barnaby said. “It’s so frustrating, Jacob.” “You were gonna show me how to fight off the alien in that mindscape place,” I whispered as I patted him on the shoulder. Mr. Barnaby’s eyes were still blank. “I don’t think Mister B will be back with us in time, Jakey. It took a while the last time.” Zane still had his arm around Callum, the bond of mateship between them was clear. That pleased me. “We don’t have the luxury of time,” Suzy said. “They’ll be here soon.” “Suzy’s right. Look!” Callum yelled. “The mist is getting closer, it’s near the bridge already.” God, I shouldn’t have turned him down when the he offered himself to me back at the cabin. Damn me. Dad always said to take every opportunity in life because they don’t always happen again. With me having to go back into the mindscape, I now understood what he meant. 181

Mark Alders Suzy stood over Mr. Barnaby with her hands on her hips. I looked down at the field generator. As I stared, the light became hypnotic and I knew there and then that I would have to go into the mindscape unprepared. Mr. Barnaby wouldn’t have his enhanced mental abilities back in time. I sighed. The others needed the time to get away from the aliens. I hoped I could last long enough for them. “Push the button,” I said sternly. “No fucking way,” Callum blurted, his voice breaking from the weight of his emotions. He came over to me in a flash and the force of him as he flung his arms around me nearly knocked me over. I took it that he was serious. “Just push the damn button, Zane. Get the machine and everyone else as far away as you can and as quick as you can,” I added. Callum squeezed me tight and pushed his head onto my chest. “I won’t…I won’t let you g-go.” He began to weep. I could feel his body shudder. He then looked up into my eyes. Tears rolled down his cheeks. “You’re all I have…I’m not letting you go without y-you knowing how to defend yourself.” “I have to do this for the town. Really, I do.” “But what about you, Jacob? Just because that’s…. that’s what she wants? No way. I don’t accept that. I won’t l-let you go, you hear me?” Callum pushed me away from the field generator. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the mist creep across the bridge. I knew we only had moments before the place would be crawling with aliens. I looked into Callum’s eyes and whispered, touching his ear lobe with my lips, “I love you.” “I don’t want this any more than you do, Callum.” Suzy said 182

Shadows of the Mind before Callum could answer me. “But seriously we have to get away from here. I promise, I’ll turn off the machine as soon as we’re clear. Okay?” “Fuck off, Suzy!” Callum kept his attention on me. He held me tighter, as if doing so would prevent me going into the mindscape or something. I coughed, my breathing restricted by his embrace. “You…w-wanted this from the b-beginning, Suzy. Don’t lie, especially to your friends.” “Easy, mate,” Zane said. Behind Callum, I saw Suzy and Zane move over to the field generator. I gave them a slight nod as I said, “I’m so sorry, Callum. But for all of us, this is the only way—just be quick getting out of here guys, okay?” Callum’s face drained white. He let me go. As he turned, he unfortunately lost his footing and fell into the leaf litter as he reached out to the machine, screaming obscenities at Suzy and Zane at the top of his lungs as he struck the ground. I stepped toward him, desperate to help, but my eyes were forced closed as the light from the field generator intensified. I opened my eyes to the familiar sight of the alien inside the mindscape. I swallowed hard. “I’ve been wondering when you’d return,” the alien said. “My brood have your friends surrounded. Soon, I will have your frequency. Whether the generator is on or off, we will have our quota. That’s a fact, human, that you need to grasp very quickly.” I had to delay. “How are you keeping the townsfolk from knowing what’s going on if you don’t have a field generator? Surely, humans that are aware would present problems for you lot, wouldn’t they?” The questions were weak ones, but they were the first thoughts that popped into my mind. “I will so enjoy destroying you.” The alien seemed to chuckle. 183

Mark Alders If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was actually mocking me. Bastard. It was one thing to be able to kill me with a mere thought, it was another to gloat about it. “But I will answer so that your feeble mind can find peace in the last moments of your life.” Yep. He was a fucking bastard. What was that term for someone who enjoys another’s suffering? I don’t know, my mind was kind of occupied on more important matters right now. Like how the fuck I was going to stay alive long enough. But whatever the word was, it described this alien perfectly. “Well, tell me then.” Again, I tried to delay as best I could. These aliens, even though they considered humans to be nothing more than cattle, must think of me as being something a little more than stock to farm. I had resisted them, after all. How did I know this? Simple. My delay tactics had worked. The alien must have felt the need to tell me what I wanted to know. Either that or he enjoyed toying with my life. I swallowed hard again. The alien lashed his tentacles. “No thanks to you, we have had to resort to the methods of farming before the field generator came into our possession. The stock are held in a controlled unconscious state created by a holding field. Just like how you humans restrain certain bovines before you milk them, we do the same. True, a more brutal method, and losses are greater, but necessary to achieve our goals.” Oh, my God. Was he serious? They were still farming the people of the town. I felt my stomach turn. “What if someone wakes up while being farmed?” I blurted. I couldn’t help it. “Once stock wakes, it has to go back into the holding field of its own free will. Then, if it cannot be restrained any longer because it doesn’t want to cooperate, we kill it.” I felt queasy and the darkness of the mindscape seemed to close in around me. “But…but that’s wrong! Would you go back 184

Shadows of the Mind into the holding field after you realised what was going on?” “I’m not stock.” The echo of those three words seemed to strike my ears harder than anything else the alien had said. “Neither am I! Neither are humans!” I screamed. “Prove it.” “I have. I beat your system once already.” I placed my hands on my hips. “I can beat you again.” “No. I mean, prove that you humans are on our sentient level.” The grunting noise then filled the mindscape and the alien had taken on that constipated look. “If you can defeat me here in the mindscape, then I may reconsider my opinion.” “You’ll let us all go if I defeat you?” That was wishful thinking at its best, but again, I had to delay. Surely, the others would be far enough away from the aliens by now? The noise from the alien quickly became deafening. “No. Just you. The others are valuable.” I shook my head. While the aliens could farm us for profit, then their attitude wouldn’t change. Greed was greed no matter the species. Then a thought stuck me. I happened to be an anomaly. Nothing more. Nothing less. One human didn’t matter to them so long as they got what they came for. Gooseflesh tightened my skin as I could no longer control my fear. My mouth felt dry, too. God, I so knew I was gonna die in this endless darkness. As I was about to answer him, I felt my chest tighten. I let out a gasp, automatically clutching my stomach as I fell to the cold hard floor. What the fuck was going on? Was this another mental attack? Whatever this was, I made the mistake of letting out the precious little air I had left in my lungs by letting out that gasp. The alien was somehow able to starve me of any oxygen. Or didn’t the alien need oxygen and had somehow purged the air 185

Mark Alders from the mindscape? Didn’t really matter I suppose, I was fucked either way. In that moment of realisation, my extremities tingled and my stomach twisted. I couldn’t let out a cry of protest because nothing came out of my mouth, including my breath. I tried to gasp again. Nothing. My mind went hazy. I then felt a sharp pain quiver through my body as my lungs tried to draw in air. “Humans are such weaklings, both mentally and physically. If your bile fluid wasn’t so valuable, we’d kill you all.” My legs began to slap against the floor as I became desperate to get oxygen into my body. All the while I could hear the alien continue to grunt. I grabbed my throat. I opened my mouth. I even tried to plead for him to stop. But in the end, I couldn’t do anything other than think about getting air into my lungs. I then felt a calm wash over me. I let go of my throat and let my body slump onto the floor. The echo of my limbs striking the hard surface filled my ears. I stared up into the endless dark above me. My mind became clear. I didn’t feel any pain. No longer did I want to scream out. I wanted this to be over. I actually felt at peace as my eyes closed and I lost all feeling. “You will give me more enjoyment than this,” the alien spat. “I need more from you than this pathetic display.” I felt a release. I gasped. Shit! I could gasp. That could only mean one thing. I could breathe again. I had never felt so relieved in all my life. As I lay on the ground, drawing in the air as quick as I could and coughing in the process, I realised how close came to death. Opening my eyes, I saw the beautiful dawn sky above me. “Jacob’s back!” Suzy screamed. Zane came over me. “Somethin’ you should see, Jakey. We need some help here.” 186

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Chapter 27 felt weak from my ordeal in the mindscape, but I eventually Imanaged to get up off the ground with Zane’s help. His grip wasn’t as strong as Callum’s, which struck me as being unusual

for some reason. I don’t know why. Perhaps it was because I was so used to Callum’s hand in mine already. That thought comforted me. The unmistakable sight of bric-a-brac on rickety shelving, all purpose containers crammed around the doorway and various other useless items that had been there for years left me without any doubt that we were at the General Store. At least we were out of the forest. My friends had managed to carry the field generator quite a way this time. Which then begged the question, why hadn’t they turned the machine off earlier? “You right, mate?” Zane said as I slapped my jeans to get rid of the dust from the pavement. “Let’s just say the experience was interesting.” He nodded his head and winked. “Good to have you back, Jakey.” “Thanks,” I said. Mr. Barnaby and Suzy were crouched by the field generator. “So what’s all the fuss about?” “Callum’s been hurt.” “Hurt? How? Where is he?” I looked around. I couldn’t see Callum anywhere. That explained why they hadn’t turned off the 187

Mark Alders machine earlier. They had other things to worry about. “I’m down here.” I heard Callum say. Mr. Barnaby and Suzy stood up. They had hid him from my view. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Callum sitting up against the field generator. My emotions then turned again. My relief quickly became concern when I saw how vulnerable he looked. I went to Callum, brushed my fingers across his forehead, and then kissed him gently on the lips, before I said, “I didn’t think I was going to see you again. Now what’s this about you hurting yourself? Seems Zane’s all in a pickle about something that’s happened to you.” Callum grabbed me, a pained look in his eyes. “I’m glad you came back…I forget to tell you something, and I was scared that I’d never be able to say it…seeing as you know…you may be killed in that place.” I couldn’t help but smile at him. Even when something was obviously wrong, he couldn’t help being so…so frustratingly Callum. Why didn’t he tell me what was wrong straight up? Geez, I bet he didn’t want me to fuss. “What didn’t you tell me?” “I forgot to tell you that I love you, too.” I found myself kissing him again, his tangy taste filling my mouth. “Yeah, and I think I’ve twisted my ankle pretty bad.” He added in an offhanded manner when our lips parted. “What?” My gaze immediately went down to his ankle. He clutched at the left one, and I could see he moved it with trepidation. “How did you do that?” “When I fell.” “What? Before I went into the mindscape, you mean?” He nodded slowly. Holy fuck, had he been limping all that way? Surely, Zane would have helped him…or even Mr. Barnaby for that matter. I know the machine was heavy, but I managed to 188

Shadows of the Mind carry it by myself. I rubbed my hand down his cheek, ending up running my finger tips over his lips. As if he seemed to understand my concern, he took my hand, and added, “It’s okay, really. Suzy was my support while Zane and Mr. Barnaby carried the machine.” “Suzy?” I bet that was an interesting experience considering how he felt about her before the button was pushed. I knew Callum had found a connection with Zane, which was great. But I had to admit, I was concerned he’d never get along with Suzy. I liked her, if only for her determination. As I was about to tell Callum that I was glad he had gotten a chance to talk with her one on one, she came over us. “Yeah, Callum and I have come to an understanding.” She reached her hand to him. “Can you put weight on your other leg yet?” Callum nodded. “Yeah. Should be okay.” “Mr Barnaby says he has some crutches in his storeroom you can use.” Now why wasn’t I surprised to hear that? I bet he got fifty of them all at discount tucked away between a pallet of pot noodles and several weather balloons. “Good. Then we can get on with this,” Callum said. I took his other hand. Zane came over to us, too. He offered nothing more than a smile. That’s fine. He had a cute smile. Besides, we had Callum on his feet in no time. Mr. Barnaby may be forgetful. He could even be considered a bit senile if you felt the need to be cruel. But I tell you what? He knew exactly where everything was in his shop, right down to the little spare aglets he kept for shoe-tying emergencies. He had those crutches out for Callum before you could say strawberry ripple ice-cream. Amazing. 189

Mark Alders “Don’t place the crutches under your armpits when you move. Use your own weight. It takes a bit of getting used to using them that way, dear boy. But it’s better to use these things properly,” Mr. Barnaby chirped. If I didn’t know any better he sounded as he did when he was closing a deal. I could almost hear the till opening and see him rub his hands together. Bless him. “You’re not going to charge him for those, are you?” I questioned. Zane chuckled behind his hand. Mr. Barnaby shot me a glance. “Jacob. I’m surprised at you.” The old man then let out a guffaw. “Only if they get broken will he lose his holding deposit.” Callum coughed. “What?” “That was a joke, young man. Contrary to popular belief, I do have a sense of humour.” “Hey. Good one, Mister B.” “Um, I hate to interrupt this moment, gentlemen, but shouldn’t we be getting on to Wilson’s field?” Suzy asked. She was right, of course. Mr. Barnaby beat me to a reply, “Yes, yes, you’re right, my dear. We should be on our way. Oh, I almost forgot to say. While my mind has access to the field’s enhancement, you’ll need to listen carefully to me, Jacob, while we make our way to the spaceship. There is much to tell you and I don’t know how long my heightened awareness will last.” “‘Heightened awareness’? That’s heavy,” Zane said as he helped Callum with the crutches. “Yes. I know now that the field radiates a sort of mental energy that certain people can tap into. I happen to be one of those people. It’s all about brain frequencies and all that, you know?” “I see,” I blurted. “Kind of like how I am resistant to the 190

Shadows of the Mind field.” “Exactly. Seems our alien friends aren’t as prepared as they may want to think. They haven’t figured out all the glitches of the system yet. And I think we can use this against them.” “How?” Suzy asked, stating the obvious, but really verbalising what we all had on our minds—well, I did anyway. “The field generator doesn’t belong to them either. It’s stolen technology.” Mr. Barnaby went over to the machine. I remembered Zane had dragged it into the shop. The old man then slid down a panel. A bright blue light flashed like a pulse inside the compartment that he opened. “I have just activated the homing signal. From what I can understand, the field generator belongs to the Intergalactic Species Protection Agency.” “I.S.P.A.!” I cheered. “I’ve heard of them. The aliens were all concerned about them for some reason. I remember the doctor getting all uppity like when they were mentioned.” Mr. Barnaby nodded while he rubbed his chin. “It’s all falling into place now. The aliens that are farming the folk of our town are criminals. Simple as that. What they are doing here is illegal. And, Jacob, next time you go into the mindscape, use that information against the alien.” “How do you mean, Mr. Barnaby?” I went over to him. The man’s eyes had that old twinkle back in them. Probably a combination of the smells of the shop and actually being able to remember something long enough to make a difference. I bet he felt fantastic right now. I certainly had more hope…but only a little. Zane and Suzy had picked up the field generator. We all left the shop. Callum hobbling as best he could behind us. “Simple,” the old man began. “Information is the most effective weapon in the mindscape, and one you can use against your enemy very effectively, I might add.” 191

Mark Alders I opened my mouth, about to speak. Closed it. Then finally, I managed, “Let me get this straight. The aliens know that humans cannot survive without oxygen. So…hell yeah! The bastard used that knowledge against me. I couldn’t breathe! That’s what he did. You’re a genius, Mr. Barnaby.” Really, I could have kissed the man. I think the reaction to my praise was reward enough. He beamed. “But how will Jacob use that knowledge that they’re criminals?” Callum questioned. “I’m sure he’ll find a way.” I sure hope I do, too. My life depended on it. Then again, at least I now had something to use against the alien in the mindscape. I smiled. It would be so cool to see the alien get a taste of his own medicine. We stopped at the edge of Wilson’s field. Well, to say it was Wilson’s field kind of meant that you’d expect to see ploughed dirt everywhere or a sea of wheat sway gently in the breeze. That wasn’t the sight that confronted us. The field was covered in green mist, which was the reason why we stopped. Mr. Barnaby had been right when he said that there were hundreds of aliens back in the forest. I bet this much mist could form into thousands of aliens. That thought scared the spit out of me. “Seems it all comes down to this,” Zane said. His gaze was fixed on the green glow the emanated from the spaceship. The sky saturated by the alien light. Mr. Barnaby patted me on the shoulder then went over to the field generator. “We’re going to have to turn on the field generator to get to the spaceship.” Seemed to me the old man’s enhanced knowledge had lasted quite a while this time. It also seemed to me that the aliens didn’t 192

Shadows of the Mind make any move toward us. I’d also wager that they were relying on me being defeated in the mindscape. I also noted, much to my dismay, that there was a distinct lack of water on the field. If the immune alien did kill me and then use my brain frequency to get out of the mindscape, I don’t think Callum and the others would have any way of defending themselves. I guessed that was the alien’s plan. “I know.” I said. “Um, can I suggest something here, guys?” “Shoot,” Zane said. “Nothin’ you can say will be as freaky as what I’m lookin’ at right now.” “Well…I was kind of thinking that I might not be able to make it out of the mindsca—” “Yes, you will,” Callum blurted. “Don’t talk like that.” I hugged him. “Okay. I’ll come back for you…but I do think we need to get that water tower down as you first suggested. Wilson’s field should get flooded and therefore stop any aliens from getting to their spaceship should the field generator fail for some reason. We don’t want the thing taking off with people inside, do we?” “Sounds reasonable,” Suzy said. “How do we topple the tower though? It’s huge. We’d need dynamite or something.” “Wait, wait.” Mr. Barnaby held up his hand. “What if we go get the water truck out of George’s shed? He won’t mind. He owes me a favour or two.” “George Wilson?” I asked. I never realised the man had a first name. Everything of his or his family’s was called Wilson’s this or Wilson’s that by the townsfolk. In fact, I’ve even called the man himself Wilson. Then again, Mr. Barnaby had been around for a long time. He probably knew just about everyone who ventured into these parts and pretty much all their business, too. “Yes, my dear boy. George Wilson has an agricultural water truck in his supply shed over there on the other side of the field. 193

Mark Alders I know, because he bought a radiator hose clamp for it only last week.” “Hey, um, I’ll go and get that truck,” Zane piped up. “It’ll be fun sprayin’ them damn fuckin’ aliens real good.” “Can you drive a truck?” I asked. Zane nodded enthusiastically. I think that whether he could drive or not, a chance to get behind the wheel of a big vehicle would prove to be an opportunity too good to pass up on. I couldn’t blame him. I know I would’ve jumped at the chance in his place. Callum let out a laugh. “Even when the aliens are asleep while the field generator is on we can cover them with water. That’ll teach ‘em for messing with us.” Mr. Barnaby nodded to Zane. “I agree. You’ve got much younger legs than me, Zane. You’ll be the best one to go. Just be careful, you hear me. Damage that and all my favours will be lost with George.” He let out a giggle. “I always like to have something over most people…good for business.” I giggled, too. “Of course I’ll be careful, Mister B.” He gave a boyish smile. “So, we ready then?” Suzy added, somewhat impatiently. Seemed we were ready. Everyone knew what they had to do. Mr. Barnaby, Suzy and Callum would start waking up the townsfolk when the field generator was running. Zane would go get our backup. And me? Well, I would battle in the mindscape for all of our lives. I sucked in a deep breath as Zane pressed the activation button on the field generator.

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Chapter 28 dark of the mindscape’s void filled my eyes once more. TheAgain, the alien confronted me. He slapped his tentacles excitedly so that the echo he created rang loud and I had to

cover my ears. The smirk on his lipless mouth turned my stomach. I could tell he was happy to see me. The alien definitely liked to see others suffer, especially me. “Ready to amuse me again, human?” he asked, once the commotion he had created stopped and I uncovered my ears. If you ask me, he was getting too cocky for his own good. Mind you, he probably had good reason to be like that…he could kill me easily and with a mere thought, too. “I may be able to wipe that smile of your mother fucking ugly face, if that’s what you mean?” This time my tactic wasn’t about delay. I had to find out pretty damn fucking quick whether or not I could conjure up in my mind a suitable attack. That of course, assumed I could do such a thing in the first place. I may end up shitting my pants from the strain, because from what I had seen, mental assaults required extreme concentration and a hell of a lot of straining. “I see.” The alien blinked all of his eyes in turn. “Perhaps I should give you the first shot, then? You’ll lose anyway…but it’ll be amusing seeing what your weak mind can come up with.” “I’ll get you, you’ll see.” Although, that didn’t even sound 195

Mark Alders convincing to me. I thought about what Mr. Barnaby had said. Yes. That’s it. I might be able to do this. I tried to picture an I.S.P.A. agent in my mind. After a few moments of absolutely nothing happening, green tentacles appeared above the alien. They flailed a little and looked sort of menacing, except that they were see-through, like tissue paper. Not really an effective conjured up weapon, I had to admit. I cursed under my breath. “Is that the best you can do, human? Really?” “Shut the fuck up, will you?” I screamed. I wish I hadn’t. My echo made my ears ring and it took a few moments for the eternal silence of the mindscape to creep back into my consciousness. I had to concentrate. I shook my head. Were the agents even the same species as the aliens? That thought quickly dispersed my first attempt. I had failed big time. I sighed, shook my hands at my sides and flexed my neck. C’mon, I could do this. I had plenty of knowledge now to use against the aliens. I needed to think straight for long enough to be of any good. I wish Mr. Barnaby were here right now to help me out. All of a sudden, Mr. Barnaby appeared in front of me. He looked like an apparition. He tutted and shook his finger at me. Suzy also appeared. She had her hands on her hips. I then realised I could project mental images. I simply struggled to solidify that image to be of any use. I sighed yet again. As I looked at my projected friends, I felt their disapproving stares even though the image was clearly a reflection of my own self-doubt. I was pathetic. “Thinking of your friends won’t help you. You’ll have to do better than that,” the alien taunted. The alien closed his eyes and immediately the drawn out grunting sound started. In amongst the noise, I could hear the 196

Shadows of the Mind alien chuckle again. Seemed he had gotten fed up with my attempts and was about to put me out of my misery. Zane materialised. I could see him driving a huge water truck, a red one, rather erratically up an embankment. His hands were working the wheel frantically and a panicked look had widened his eyes so that they looked unnatural on his face. I knew the image wasn’t my creation. Was it the alien? Or was it a projection of what was going on in the real world? Damn-it. I couldn’t work out anything in this place. The truck struggled to get up the hill and Zane crunched through the gears as if his life depended on it. I saw him push down on the accelerator fully. The world looked as though viewed from inside a washing machine. I could hear Zane scream before a fire ball engulfed the truck. “That’s a lie!” I yelled. “You lie! It’s not real at all.” “Aww, seems your friend is no longer with us. What a shame. I would have loved to peel the living skin from his bones while he begged for his life. No matter. I have the other three to enjoy once you’re gone.” “You’re a fucking bastard! I hate you! I know what happened to Zane is a figment of your sick imagination. It’s an image. Nothing more.” I could feel a lump in my throat and my chest tighten. Whether or not the image was real, it certainly got me worked up. “You’ll never know, will you? I’ll kill you before you’ll have a chance to get out of the mindscape. It’s going to take a long time to wake up all the people in our vessel. Time I’m afraid you don’t have, human. Oh, I’m going to relish every painful moment you have left.” “I hate you,” I reiterated. It was worth saying it again. I never hated anyone in my life before. I did now. Truly. I clenched my hands into tight fists. 197

Mark Alders But before I could think of a clear image to transmit, Callum appeared next to me. He placed his hand around my waist. I let out a gasp and before thinking, said, “What are you doing here, Callum?” The cabin’s bedroom rippled into view, dispersing the dark of the void. “I want you so bad, Jacob,” he whispered into my ear, brushing his lips against my earlobe. Hey, that was my thing. “But you’re not real. This isn’t real. It can’t be real,” I stammered. He pulled me closer and planted his warm sensual lips onto mine. Fuck, that sure felt real enough. I noticed the crutches at the foot of the bed. If this wasn’t real, there certainly wasn’t a detail out of place. Including the little break in Callum’s left eyebrow where he might have had an eyebrow ring once. Callum’s tongue gently parted my lips. Before I knew it, I was on the bed and on top of him, his hands clawing my back, sending shivers down my spine. I groaned. No. This wasn’t right. Yet, it felt oh, so very real. I was confused. I pulled myself away from him, slapping my hands onto his chest. “What was that for?” he said, hurt in his eyes. “You’re not real. You’re a figment of some alien’s twisted sense of humour, that’s what you are. Nothing more.” “Am not. You came out of the mindscape and we came back to the cabin together. That’s what you promised me when the townsfolk were freed. You promised me you would have me, remember?” I did remember I had thought about that, he was right. But did I mention that to Callum? I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t only confused here, I was also forgetful. He grabbed my hands and eased them off his chest so that he 198

Shadows of the Mind could push me closer to him. “Fuck me good and hard, Jacob,” he said as he embraced me. Yep. That certainly sounded like something he’d say. Like a line from a porno, yet still able to turn me on. I felt myself stir. Callum pulled off my T-shirt. Without hesitation, he ran his hands down to the small of my back, rubbing hard along my spinal groove, an action that made my stomach quiver with delight. I let out a little gasp as he touched my tail bone. God, he was good. But this wasn’t real…was it? I closed my eyes tight, thought of how this was all made up, then opened them. Callum looked up at me with those wonderful twinkling eyes of his. His full smile dimpled his cheeks. His hands slowly pushed their way under my jeans and boxers so that he could grab my buttocks. He squeezed. Again I let out a gasp. He giggled like only he could, and one that sort of sounded like a nervous warble. Yep. This was Callum. I giggled, too, then kissed him with all my passion. I shuddered with joy as he ran his fingers even further down my backside so that he could explore more of my arse. To my delighted surprise, he ran his fingertips over my arsehole in little circles before gently pushing in one of his fingers. My God, I was being fingered. This felt fucking awesome. Not because his finger that explored my body sent me wild, but because he kissed me, warm and wet, all over my face and neck, as well. His tongue tickled my ear before he concentrated on my larynx. I was awash in a storm of pleasure and I didn’t care anymore if this was real or not. I was with my Callum. I was in my lover’s arms. When I groaned, he pressed his lips harder against my skin. As I arched my back so he could continue to explore me deeper, he said, “I’m so ready for you, my love.” 199

Mark Alders Again that sounded so corny, yet so Callum. As I fumbled with my jeans button and zipper with trembling hands, he moved his hands away so that I could undress properly. I pulled down my pants, kicking them off awkwardly and as quickly as I could, too. He disrobed. Callum’s cock got larger. His head, bright red and glistening, revealed itself slowly as his foreskin retracted of its own accord. He looked amazing and was soon fully erect and oh, so beautiful. I was hard seconds later, too. Without hesitation I took his cock into my mouth. He let out a whimper as he pulled at the root of his dick so that I could enjoy all of the sensitive skin of his head. I concentrated my tongue around his frenulum. The taste of him, so spicy, yet sweet, filled my mouth. He continued to make little noises and his stomach twitched as I moved my lips over his length. That drove me absolutely wild to see and hear him enjoy what I did and I wanted to have him over and over as soon as possible. “Is this real enough for you?” he asked, panting and gasping like an animal on heat. Fuck, I loved it. I loved him. He placed his hand under my chin, pulling me off him. He slipped out of my mouth, my saliva dripped onto his balls and his cock slapped against his stomach, like a spring that had been recoiled. “I want you to fuck me until we both cum together, Jacob.” I didn’t need to be told twice. I parted his legs eagerly. I was so hard now my balls ached. I quickly pulled back my foreskin, noticing that I had produced so much pre-cum, I knew I wouldn’t need lubricant. I was wet and I rubbed my fluid over as much of my cock as I could. “God, Callum, I want you,” I said with a moan as I moved myself into position between his legs. “Now, Jacob. Now!” 200

Shadows of the Mind I pushed my cock into his warmth. Fucking hell, it felt good having him around me. He was tight, but not so much that I was restricted. When I entered him, he smiled, then bit his bottom lip so that I could see his teeth. I smiled back. I stared at him with nothing but affection as I made love to him. Yes. Wonderful love. “You’re so good,” he said. I moved myself, trying to gain a rhythm quickly. His nose wrinkled and he squinted every time I pushed myself into him. His face relaxed when I pulled up. “Fuck!” I added, barely coherent. His anal muscles began to tighten and contract around my cock. “How’s that for you?” he said with little yelps. I nearly couldn’t answer him. I was tingling all over, gasping for breath, and licking my dry lips as I moved my cock in and out of his hot arse. I could feel myself rapidly approach the point of no return. “Good.” His face continued to show his pleasure with what I was doing to him. It wouldn’t be long now before I blew my load. This was my first time. I’m so glad that it was him. I closed my eyes, concentrating now on trying to last as long as I possibly could. I moved myself inside him slower, gaining a better rhythm. I rubbed my hands over his chest and stomach. I wanted to enjoy everything about him. I wanted this to be about love, not just humping until I came. I moved down so I could kiss him. “You are so easy to manipulate, human,” I heard an alien voice say. I opened my eyes. My brain took a few moments to register what had happened. I was on the floor of the mindscape, naked and touching myself. The alien was watching me. My God, what had I done? I then felt warmth over my stomach. Fuck. I had 201

Mark Alders ejaculated all over myself. That was supposed to be for Callum. Not for this fucker. I had been manipulated all right. “What the…?” was all I could manage. “You are such an amusing species. I now know that your perception of reality is controlled by your emotions. In your case, you’re a slave to your lust. So weak, it’s laughable. However, be comforted in the fact that I will use this knowledge wisely. It seems we now have a way to control those that don’t accept the field. How delicious that the one who is immune provided me with the solution.” Before I could scream out my anger, I felt water lap at my skin. I got to my feet. The water was all around me and moving up my legs fast. It was cold. I looked at the alien. He stared, blinking each eye in turn as the water rose up higher and higher. I couldn’t think. Not of anything to try and get me out of this anyway. Not yet. I was still numb from what had happened. I smelt myself and winced. I felt gutted. But now I was going to drown in freezing cold water. I’ll never be able to show my real love to Callum. That hurt me the most. The alien had used my desires as a weapon against me. “Help me!” I cried, desperation in my voice as the water reached my stomach. “Goodbye, my human nuisance.”

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Chapter 29 had reached my neck. Theagain.water “One by one, we will make sure your friends are captured Think of it this way, the sooner we get our quota of bile, the sooner we will be on our way.” I gasped as the water touched my jaw. “Then what? You’ll come back and farm more people from a different town?” The water was even colder than what I remembered that night I crossed the Longmuir. I couldn’t feel anything below my chest and my lips shivered so much my words were difficult to form and sounded slurred. I found it hard to breathe because the water seemed tight around me. Or was that because it was so cold? But was this water really cold? Or was the water a figment of the alien’s imagination, like my encounter with Callum? I couldn’t get my head together enough to think straight while my body was submerged and my mind was consumed with the thought that at any moment I would drown. The alien chuckled. I hated that sound. “Your bile is quite a delicacy on my world. And I have to say, certain members of our society have paid us a small fortune to get it. A meal of motuu flesh marinated in human bile is exceptional.” I heard the alien smack his lips. “You’re sick! I hope you get fucking caught!” Water filled my mouth and I gagged. I craned my neck to 203

Mark Alders keep my head above the water, thrashing my arms, too, as my ears became submerged. As I said that, in a bizarre moment of clarity considering what was happening to me, I pictured in my mind what I thought an I.S.P.A. agent might look like. My thoughts were filled with angry tentacles, stern alien looks and many eyes that judged all those around them. The water fell away from me and I found the hard floor with a thud. I coughed and spluttered. My mind still focused on that agent. Wet, naked and shivering, I got to my feet. I looked down, I was literally blue. Yet strangely, I no longer felt the cold that had previously consumed me. I looked up. I saw the alien’s tentacles quiver as its body convulsed. Its eyes were closed. The darkness of the mindscape was pierced with the alien’s cries. The echo was even worse. If I didn’t know any better I’d say the alien was in pain. But from what? All I thought of while the water covered me was the I.S.P.A. agents entering Earth’s atmosphere. Did I see something in my mind’s eye that was true? Or had something else happened in the real world that had affected the alien? The squealing continued. As I watched, more curious than anything, I had to admit, the alien’s crying reminded me of a wild pig that had been trapped in one of farmer Tucker’s snares that he laid down in the Westfell. Had the alien been trapped somehow? “What’s the fuck’s matter with you?” I blurted. I couldn’t help myself. I needed to know. “Tell me!” The alien opened one eye, the lid quivered. But that’s all it did. “Perhaps I can answer that, Jakey.” Zane? How could he be in the mindscape? He wasn’t immune to the field, was he? Sure enough, next to the alien, there he was. As large as life and one of the most welcome sights I’ve seen in 204

Shadows of the Mind the mindscape, I had to say. I smiled. I was so glad to see him. “Is that really you, Zane?” “Yeah, all me…kinda” Zane came over to me. He could move around in here, too. What the fuck? How come he could do that? “See you couldn’t wait to get your gear off.” “Very funny. I was kind of…ah, doesn’t matter. I’ll explain later. So, how come you’re in here?” He hugged me, then thumped me twice on the back with his fist affectionately, before he said, “Mister B’s figured out some more stuff on the field generator. He’s hooked it up to a…ah, what the fuck did he call it?” He placed his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eye. “Anyway…it’s at the place where the alien has access to the mindscape thingy on their spaceship. We kind of suspended it in a…shit! You think I’d remember seeing as I was only told a second ago…oh wait, Mister B’s yelling at me.” Zane then fell silent while he obviously listened to what was being told to him. He then added, “The alien has been placed in suspended animation, becoming disjointed from both the field and reality…whatever! It’s way cool anyway?” Zane looked around, then scratched his head below his temples. “Whoa, this place is dark and creepy all right. Can’t blame you for not wantin’ to come in here.” “You’re all right then?” All I could think of was that accident I’d seen earlier. The alien had obviously made that up, too. Zane seemed taken aback. “What? Course I’m all right. Why?” “What about Callum and Suzy?” He raised his hand. “Stop, Jakey. Everyone’s fine. Suzz and Cal’s are waking up people right now. We have to hope Mister B can concentrate long enough.” “Um, what does that mean?” Zane scratched his head again. “He’s kinda hooked up to the field generator. That’s how he mentally transported me here, or 205

Mark Alders my mind image anyway—that’s what he called it—it’s hard to explain…anyway, he’s also controlling the immune alien while the machine is on so the fucker don’t pound you into the ground. Looks like I got here in time. Know what I mean?” “So…hang on.” I put my hands onto his. “Let me get his straight. You’re in the mindscape because Mr. Barnaby has projected you in here. And at the same time, he’s controlling the alien?” “Yeah, that’s about the size of it.” I felt my heart sink right down into the pit of my stomach. For God’s sake, we were screwed if Mr. Barnaby lost his heightened connection with the field. Suffice it to say, going on past experiences, the old man certainly didn’t hold his grasp onto his heightened awareness for too long. I swallowed hard. I only replied with a kind of whiny grunt and an unintelligible word that melted into a groan. I couldn’t think of anything to convey how much of a thin thread we hung onto if we were going to rely on Mr. Barnaby. Don’t get me wrong, I love the man to pieces. It’s just that…well, I’d rather have my fate and the fate of my friends placed into someone else’s hands right about now. As I pondered our predicament, I picked up my clothes and began dressing. I think Zane had seen enough of me for one day—well, for a lifetime. Zane then added, “We’re screwed if the others don’t hurry up, ain’t we?” He was a smart guy. “You said it…” An idea then struck me and I’m surprised I didn’t think of it earlier. Zane was the link between the real world and the mindscape. “Um, can you communicate with Mr. Barnaby?” “Yeah, he doesn’t stop nattering at me. I mean, for an old dude he’s all right, but geez, get some air, you know?” “Yeah, yeah. Tell him to turn off the field generator,” I 206

Shadows of the Mind snapped. “What?” Zane seemed taken aback. “We’ll soon be surrounded by aliens— Yeah, I told him, Mister B. Sheesh. I wish he’d let me get a word in.” I of course couldn’t hear anything. But couldn’t help chuckle under my hand at Zane’s unique predicament. “There were hundreds of ‘em laying all over the field when I drove the water truck up to the spaceship, Jakey.” “As you say, the aliens were all out on the field waiting for us, weren’t they?” “Yeah, I suppose.” “So there’s none of ‘em in the spaceship, then?” Zane flickered and as his image momentarily faded from the mindscape my heart jumped into my mouth. “Just tell Mr. Barnaby to turn off the machine. Quick! But before he does that, tell Callum and Suzy and whoever’s been woken up to close all the doors or hatches or whatever. We don’t want aliens getting inside, do we?” He smiled. “Oh, I getcha. Will do.” Zane’s mental image shimmered a few times and I instinctively grabbed him by the arms. Even though doing such a thing was totally and utterly pointless, it felt better all the same. Zane would return to reality whether I held onto him or not. Mind you, I now knew how Callum felt. Thankfully, my eyes were forced closed before I had a chance to think about things any further. I was confronted with the sight of farming alcoves, hundreds of them. A lot of them were empty. That was the best thing I had seen since this whole alien abduction stuff had begun. I smiled. Then I saw the awakened townsfolk. Some were helping wake up more. Others looked bewildered. Most looked frightened. 207

Mark Alders Mind you, whoever said that people all looked the same when they were naked were wrong. I’d never seen so many variations of a theme. Breasts, like a cock, take on all shapes and sizes, don’t they? I chuckled. It was quite enlightening and scary to see everyone with nothing on, I had to say. “Thank God, you’re all right.” Callum hugged me. I noticed he didn’t use the crutches anymore. He must have only strained his ankle. Thank God. As soon as he came to me and wrapped his arms around my body, I kissed him. I couldn’t help myself. I kissed him long and hard and with tongue, too. Right in front of the townsfolk that had been awakened. God, it felt good. I didn’t care. They’ll be awakened in more ways than one now. “There’s our Jacob! I hear you’re our saviour, young man!” I heard a voice cry out above the noise of the machinery. I turned to see Mrs. O’Doherty approach me, arms open wide. Her saggy tits swayed hypnotically as she walked down the metal stairs to the milking machine level I had found myself on. She hugged me, too. Callum happened to get caught in her embrace. Then again, I don’t think he had a choice in the matter. When Mrs. O’Doherty wanted a hug, no one got in the woman’s way. No one. I laughed, but said, “This isn’t over yet, Mrs. O’Doherty.” “I know.” She parted and waved for the others to come down from the alcove level. “But I wanted to make sure these clotheared sheep understood who is responsible for getting us this far.” God, Mrs. O’Doherty was a gem. Bless her. “Thanks,” was all I could say. I was genuinely happy that she should say that, and right in front of everyone, too. Gay man in small town wasn’t so bad, after all. I felt pride swell within me, an emotion justified by the way Callum’s face was lit up. He 208

Shadows of the Mind obviously felt the same. I grabbed his hand. “There’s one of them in here with us!” Suzy screamed. A murmur of concern rose up amongst those coming down to the milking level, and the clanking of feet on metal became louder and more frequent. That murmur soon erupted into raw panic when the door to the farming room opened and a great hulking green mass of tentacles entered. “Quick! Everyone down here!” I screamed. “I’m gonna have to turn on the field, Jakey,” Zane screamed above the cries of the townsfolk. “I’ll get Mister B to get me in there with you so you’ll be safe, all righty?” “Mr. Barnaby, are you ready?” The old man nodded and put on what I thought looked like iPod ear phones that were attached to the field generator. He sat cross-legged on the floor next to the machine. His eyes closed and the light inside the machine intensified. From the corner of my eye, I saw the alien pick up people and began throwing them across the factory. I screamed at the top of my lungs for people to get out of its way. Callum ran to help those that had landed next to us. “I’ll pull you out as soon we get rid of the alien, okay?” Mr. Barnaby added. I shook my hands at my side. I was ready. The light inside the field generator lit up the room as Mr. Barnaby and Zane activated it. My eyes weren’t forced closed. People screamed as I looked at he alien approach me. “Hurry, Mr. Barnaby!” I yelled above the din. “It’s not workin’. The machine’s broken,” Zane said. Someone or something then pushed me in the back. I was on the floor, the wind knocked out of me. My chin ached dull and my eyes watered, but I think I’d be okay. “Here, take my hand.” Zane had rushed to help me. “We’re 209

Mark Alders gonna fight this thing bare-handed until Mister B can fix the generator.” Was the guy insane? Seriously? I got up as soon as the weight was lifted from me. I turned, only to see the limp body of a man I didn’t recognise being pulled away by Suzy and Callum. Mrs. O’Doherty helped. The man was obviously dead. The poor bastard. I gasped. I’d never seen a dead person before. He looked strangely serene. As I looked around, I saw the carnage the alien had inflicted onto the people of my town. There were bodies and panicked looks everywhere. Imagine waking up to this? It was horrible. Suzy and Mrs. O’Doherty tended to the wounded as best they could. “Look out, Jakey!” I dodged just in time. I felt the whoosh of a tentacle swipe past my ears. The alien was right there in front of me. How familiar was this, or what? “Hello, Jacob,” the doctor said coldly.

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Chapter 30 octor!” I yelped as I stepped back. “Dfield Zane went over to Mr. Barnaby. Both of them lifted the generator and moved it behind the milking machine.

Good thinking. If we lost the machine to the aliens, we’d all be back in those alcoves quick smart. I swallowed hard as the doctor lumbered closer to me. The screaming didn’t stop as people clambered their way back up to the alcove level. Even though the doctor only had eyes for me, anyone who so happened to get in his way he batted aside as if they were a bothersome insect. The one small consolation was that by the time the doctor got to me, most of the townsfolk were out of harm’s way. Callum and Suzy, along with Mrs. O’Doherty, had made a triage area above the stairs. Some of the other folk helped, including Mr. and Mrs. Foo Hue. I noticed that Callum had ripped up his T-shirt and was helping apply make-shift bandages to those that had been injured. “I want to make this as fair as possible for you,” the doctor said. I slid my eyes back toward the doctor, giving the alien my full attention. I was comforted in the knowledge that my friends were being constructive. “Let us all go. This is over, doctor,” I said bravely. 211

Mark Alders Seemed the doctor wanted to have a little chat with me. I wasn’t going to complain. The longer the delay, the more people would be woken up. How did I know this? Simple. From the corner of my eye I saw Zane and another man doing that. Hang on. That wasn’t any old man helping Zane. My God, it was Derek. I’d recognise his smouldering good looks a mile off. That and his cute buttocks, too. I so would have fallen for him and been hurt in the process, too, if things had been different. I’m glad Callum and I found each other. I smiled. “What’s so amusing, Jacob?” the doctor questioned. “That you are referring to me by my name,” I lied. That wasn’t what I found amusing at all. But I knew by saying that, I’d push the alien’s buttons. I was right. The doctor’s tentacles slapped the metal floor. He was obviously pissed. “I think we need to come to some sort of arrangement.” I was taken aback by that. What the fuck did that mean? “Tell me,” I added as cool as I could even though my stomach tightened and my palms were now as sweaty as hell. “There is only one way to resolve this without causing harm to the rest of the stock. We will fight to the death.” I stood there for a long time, before finally, I said, “And if I win, you’ll let all of these people go?” The doctor chuckled. He sounded like that alien in the mindscape. I cringed. “You won’t win.” “But you’ll let them go?” “Very well.” The alien’s lipless mouth creased. I assumed that was a smile. “But if I defeat you, and let me assure you, I will. The people of this town will have to willingly return to the farming tables until our quota has been met. Oh, and one more thing. Your friends will also hand over the field generator as 212

Shadows of the Mind soon as I have destroyed you.” “The generator doesn’t belong to you. You stole it, remember.” I know I laid on the sarcasm thick with that reply, but this really wasn’t the time for being polite. Besides, I was right. The machine had been stolen. I think the doctor took exception to what I said. He slapped his tentacles so hard onto the floor that that I felt the vibration of the impacts through my feet. “Prepare to make the ultimate sacrifice for your worthless friends, Jacob. Whether you fight or not, we will have our quota and you will die.” Before I could answer him, he swiped one of his tentacles across the floor. I didn’t have time to jump. The next thing I knew I was flat on my back, looking up at the myriad of pipes and machinery that led to the milking machine. “Fuck!” I cursed. “Jacob!” I heard Callum scream. “Stay back, human filth,” the doctor cried. “Or I’ll kill more than your mating partner. I’ll kill all of your friends.” I got up to my hands and knees. I glanced over to see Callum backing up the stairs. He was shirtless. God, he looked awesome under the green light. Before I could clamber up to my feet, a tentacle struck me on my back. My breath was knocked out of me and I gasped as I hit the cold metal floor once more. I wasn’t comfortable at all with the knowledge that I had to fight an alien bare-handed. This wasn’t going to be a fair fight. Far from it. “Get up! Get up!” the doctor screamed over and over. “I know you’re more of a challenge than this. Zortö told me you were quite the adversary.” I coughed. The sting of the tentacle across my back still vivid in my mind. “Who’s that?” I wheezed. 213

Mark Alders Again a tentacle found my back before I could pull myself off the floor. He struck me right in the same place as the first, too. I yelled out, spittle flew from my lips as I let out all the air in my lungs. It felt like I was being whipped. “You’ve met him already in the mindscape.” I pulled my knees up and with all the strength I had in me sprung to my feet as quick as I could. I stumbled, but grabbed a metal bollard by the stairs in time. I faced the doctor again. The alien’s lips were even more creased than before. Just my luck. The doctor, like the alien in the mindscape, seemed to enjoy inflicting pain onto others. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “I can’t defeat you, not bare-handed,” I stammered. The doctor didn’t reply. Instead, he came at me again. Seconds later, I was lashed, one after the other until I fell to the floor again. I tasted my own blood. “I want to pulverise you until your bones cannot support the weight of your skin. Then perhaps that will be payment enough for the damage you have done here.” My body tingled with pain and my head felt as though it were stuffed with cotton wool, but I managed to push myself away from the stairs and stagger my way closer to the milking machine. I had to get myself away from people. I didn’t want anyone to be accidentally hurt while the doctor swatted at me like a fly. Besides, the closer I was to the milking machine the better, really. If he missed me, then there would be a greater chance he’d do damage to his own equipment. “You’re one sick mother fucker,” I spat. My reply was a crack across my thigh with a thick green tentacle. I heard a snap. I crumpled like a house of cards and soon found my friend the floor again with a thud. My voice was hoarse from all my screaming, but I screamed some more 214

Shadows of the Mind anyway. I could also hear those around me yell, too. I don’t know what they cried out for the most, my inevitable defeat, or knowing that they’ll soon be back on those tables. Callum came to me as I got up onto my feet once more. My left leg was numb with pain and I couldn’t move it. I think the last hit must have broken a bone. “You can’t help me,” I said to Callum with painful gulps. “You can’t help me, you hear?” His eyes had welled up with tears. “I can’t let you do this for us. There has to be another way. There has to be.” Callum ran his hand over my cheek and looked directly into my eyes. He had that look of both fear and boyish charm about him. I placed my forehead onto his. “I can’t lose you, too. Go. Go help the others.” I pushed him away. It hurt like fucking hell to do so. He let out a cry of anguish. My heart sank and a lump formed in my throat. “I don’t want you to leave me, Jacob,” he said as he slowly made his way back up the stairs to the triage area. He didn’t turn his back on me. Tears rolled down his face as he moved farther away from where I stood. His beautiful eyes, so sad and loving, proved that I was needed by someone else. I had found love. I also found a small comfort in that knowledge as the reality of what was around me struck him. As I watched Callum fall into Suzy’s arms, a tentacle wrapped around my waist. Moments later, I was pulled off the ground. “Every time you breathe, more of your life will ebb away.” That annoying chuckle followed the doctor’s words. Sure enough, the tentacle slowly constricted when I exhaled. The doctor drew me in closer to him. Soon, my vision was consumed by green slimy skin and many, many eyes that mocked me. 215

Mark Alders “I hate you.” I felt so much pressure against my body that forming words hurt more than my leg. I was pulled close to the largest eye in the centre of the alien mass. “I find you both interesting and a nuisance. Tell me why you did what you did?” The doctor then eased his grip and I felt relief wash over me as I could fill my lungs more than what a shallow gasp could give. Did he want me to be able to answer him? I didn’t give him that pleasure. “Answer me, Jacob.” “What…do you…w-want from…me?” I finally managed. “Apologise for the damage you have caused and I will make sure you don’t suffer any longer.” I was horrified that he’d even request such a thing and spat in his eye as he examined me. The doctor screamed as my saliva sizzled his cornea. The smell of burning sulphur or something struck my nostrils. He dropped me. I landed awkwardly on my bad leg and screamed when my head hit the floor. Blood once more filled my mouth. I spat out as much as I could, but the taste still lingered. I felt sick. “You’ll pay for that.” Again I heard tentacles slap angrily around me. I pulled myself up again, only able to get my chin a few centimetres off the floor. The pain that coursed through me sapped my strength and I couldn’t lift my own weight anymore. “Pay…with what? You’ll t-take my…life. I don’t have…any…mmore to give than…than that. A tentacle slapped me across my face. I landed heavily on my back. The room spun. My eyes lost focus, and I felt blood trickle down from my right temple. I couldn’t move. My limbs didn’t want to work. The doctor came over me. “I will make sure I break every bone in your body before I finally do end your worthless life.” 216

Shadows of the Mind “Do…your…w-worst!” I spat. “I’ve d-done all I…can for the people of this…town. I’m glad I-I fought you. I’m…g-glad I showed you we…aren’t…weak.” “You are weak!” the doctor roared as he bought a tentacle down onto my stomach. The tentacle hit me with such force I immediately doubled over. I gagged. Blood spluttered from my mouth and my hands trembled as I slowly bought my knees up to my chest. I tried as best I could to cradle myself against any further attacks. I knew to do such a thing was pointless. But I had to give Zane and Derek more time to wake up everyone. If the whole town saw what was going on here, then hopefully, just hopefully, I may be able to buy them enough time so they can rally together and do something to stop the aliens from getting what they wanted. My death wouldn’t be in vain. I closed my eyes, waiting for the next strike. Nothing came. I opened my eyes to find myself in the mindscape. Shit. I didn’t remember my eyes being forced closed. That horribly familiar alien chuckle then filled my ears. The very same chuckle that belonged to the alien the doctor had called Zortö. “Will…one of y-you k-kill me…already?” I said as I coughed up thick blackish-red globules of blood.

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o one’s killin’ nobody,” I heard Zane say. Fuck me, those were the sweetest words I had ever heard. I felt a warm hand rub my back and then gently help me to my feet. I couldn’t apply any weight onto my left leg. I winced and sucked in air through my teeth as I leaned all my weight onto Zane. “Why did you turn on the field generator. Awww, heck, I’m glad you did. I don’t know how much longer I could have taken the doctor’s beatings.” Zane let out a guffaw. In the subdued light of the mindscape he actually looked quite devilish. His crooked smile, complete with one raised eyebrow, certainly convinced me. “We have an idea.” “Why do I get the feeling that this idea is going to be complicated?” “‘Cause it’s gonna involve the whole town, that’s why.” Zane shimmered and his projected metal image lost cohesion for a split second. It was weird having no support, then almost instantly having him back again. Like the feeling you get when a plane hits turbulence or something. My stomach churned. “Whatever you’re going to do, make it quick. I don’t want to be mentally pulverised by our friend in here or physically pulverised by my friend out there.” Zortö looked as he had done the last time Mr. Barnaby had 218

Shadows of the Mind mentally shackled him. The alien was all quivering tentacles and he had a blank expression that looked as though his mind wasn’t in the mindscape at all. The way I liked it, the truth be told. “I’m gonna check out that leg of yours first. Cal’s orders.” I nodded. Zane helped me to the floor. He ran his hand over my leg. I could see the swelling even through my jeans. “I think your leg’s broken, Jakey.” Stating the obvious didn’t annoy me as much as I thought it would. I know he meant well. God, he was cute. He then took off his T-shirt and applied a make-shift pressure bandage to my thigh. It hurt like hell as he tightened the cloth around my leg. Actually, it felt like knives were being plunged into my leg or something. Surprisingly, after a moment or two I only felt numbness. Zane’s mental image once more flickered out of the mindscape. The amount of time that passed before he came back numbered a few seconds. It seemed Mr. Barnaby was losing his hold. “Go. Just do whatever you’re going to, okay?” He nodded. “You’ll just have to try and hold off as best you can for a few moments while we get stuff sorted out, okay?” “Oh…just great.” I glanced once more at the alien. His tentacles had stopped moving and his eyes opened one after the other. The alien licked his lipless mouth with a green tongue. It was creepy. I no longer felt Zane’s presence in the mindscape. “Seems it’s you and me now, human.” Fantastic. That’s all I needed, another sadistic alien out for my blood. I sighed, but didn’t bother getting up. “Hopefully, not for long,” I said. My mood quickly darkened. I really didn’t feel like another battle right now. “I’ll finish what the doctor couldn’t.” 219

Mark Alders Those words really got to me. You could say, I was pissed off. Some turn around. My buttons were now being pushed. I didn’t have time to contemplate any further why I felt the way I did. All I knew is that I felt anger rise up within me, like the pain that throbbed from my leg. “I despise you,” I spat. I forced the words past my lips with such distaste that I even surprised myself how intense I sounded. My echo confirmed my annoyance. I imagined dark clouds all around, the kind that drop big fucking heavy hail stones and damage car roofs and smash house tiles. In fact, I was now fuming. I understood why. I was in pain and I was in no mood to be fucked with right now. As if my thoughts were amplified by the mindscape, those clouds I imagined, the ones I could picture so clearly in my mind, materialised above. I watched the clouds I had created and pins and needles pricked at my good leg. I tried to move into a more comfortable position. I wished I hadn’t. As soon as tried to move, a sharp pain shot through me. I stifled my yelp and managed to work my way through the pain by concentrating on the clouds. I didn’t want to show the alien any sign of weakness. I wanted to show him that I could defend myself, even in this place. “What’s this?” the alien said with a laugh. “The human can think?” The clouds swirled. A wind had picked up. I know I hadn’t thought about wind. The alien must be trying to blow away my creation. Fuck him! I narrowed my eyes and clenched my fists. I groaned. I could feel the wind whip my hair, even my cheeks began to feel cold. Lightning then cracked the air and struck the floor of the mindscape next to me, by my feet. I felt the static charge and my hairs all stood to attention. This time, I did let out a cry. 220

Shadows of the Mind The alien began to laugh again. “The next bolt won’t miss.” I wished Mr. Barnaby and the others would hurry up with whatever it was they were going to do. I looked up at my clouds once more. After the lightning and the wind, I thought of rain. I always loved when it rained. It always cleared the air. An idea struck me. “Rain!” I yelled. “What are you talking about, human?” Then it happened. Great fucking droplets of wonderfully refreshing rain fell out of the clouds. I was absolutely soaked to the bone within seconds. I loved it and opened my mouth so that my tongue could feel the patter. All I needed now was Callum beside me, preferably with nothing on. Being naked in the rain was the best sensation ever. Being naked in the rain with the one you loved was even better. I began to laugh. My elation consumed me. I raised my hands, watching intently as the water fell through my fingers. I wanted to get up, strip down and then jump through the puddles like I did when I was a child. I wanted to feel the rain I had created touch me everywhere. I knew I couldn’t do that. My broken leg kind of restricted me at the moment. That thought then bought me back to reality. I looked around. I lowered my arms. Where was the alien? “Where are you?” I heard myself say as I tried to get to my feet. It hurt to move and as I concentrated on what I was doing, the rain eased and the clouds dissipated. I no longer felt the anger that had created the clouds. I no longer felt the joy that made the rain. I felt alone. Where the alien had been, there was a green puddle. To me it looked like engine coolant. Was that all that remained of the 221

Mark Alders alien? Holy fuck! It then struck me. The rain had killed him. I had murdered another being because of my joy. I shivered. I was no better than them. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. I didn’t feel guilt. I knew the alien would have killed me. I felt…ashamed. Yep. That’s it. Did two wrongs make a right? Was my own survival more important than anything else? That was my dilemma and I mulled it over in my mind as I looked down at the green puddle. If I had thought of the rain knowing that it would have killed, would it have appeared? I lowered my head. Before I could think of a way to get out of the mindscape, my eyes were forced closed. One nightmare was soon replaced with another. The doctor filled my vision. I had materialised back inside the spaceship, right next to the milking machine, too. I felt despondent. I thought Zane said they had a plan? Surely, me getting whipped by tentacles again wouldn’t achieve anything. I know I didn’t fancy the idea. I swallowed hard and licked my dry lips, expecting the worst. “I can’t fight you anymore,” I stammered. My leg hurt so much I’m sure I’d faint at any moment. The pain consumed my every thought. In fact, I had to lean against the milking machine for support. That’s when I noticed what my friends had done. The milking machine was smashed to pieces and the bile tanks were empty. I glanced around. Every single farming table in every single alcove had an alien strapped to it. None of them moved, and I suspected they were placed into the holding field for good measure. Mr. Barnaby had outdone himself this time. They had all outdone themselves. For the first time in a long time, I felt hope tingle my 222

Shadows of the Mind conscience. “Hey, Jakey. Sorry we took so long,” Zane called from the alcove level. He was waving a large metal pipe enthusiastically. I assume he was the one that destroyed the milking machine. He probably loved every second of it, too. “We did a bit of redecoratin’. You like it?” I couldn’t help but smile. “I love it.” “You have destroyed us, Jacob,” the doctor snarled. I turned to the doctor and noticed immediately that his tentacles were bound with chains. The alien himself was shackled to what remained of the milking machine. I then felt a warm breath against my neck. Callum had put his arms around me, taking my weight. “You’re all wet,” he said with a trademark Callum giggle. “Pity we ran out of room in the alcoves.” He tilted his head toward the doctor. “Scary that there are a lot more aliens than people, you know?” “I wish you could have seen me in the mindscape.” I kissed his forehead. “You would have been proud of me.” “I already am.” He placed his lips onto mine. Instantly that wonderful taste of his filled my mouth. “C’mon you two love birds,” Suzy said. “We have lots of work to do yet. There are people to get home for starters. I don’t think I can handle seeing my parents naked anymore.” I’d never been so happy to see her. And she was right. Seeing your parents with no clothes on was as bad as catching them doing it. I laughed. “So, tell me how you thought of all this. It’s brilliant.” I saw out of the corner of my eye, that Zane was checking the alcoves. Obviously making sure the aliens were strapped in tight. Callum interjected, “It was mostly Derek’s idea. He thought it would be a kind of sweet justice to give them a taste of their own medicine. Mr. Barnaby adjusted the field generator, and well, 223

Mark Alders there you go. The green bastards are none the wiser.” “So…they think they’re still farming us?” “Nope,” a strong male voice said. I craned my neck to see Derek amble down the stairs like a model or something, his genitals swaying hypnotically from side to side. “The green dudes think they’re getting paid for the bile they farmed, living it up and all.” “That’s brilliant.” I couldn’t believe how simple that sounded, even though I’m sure setting up the field generator to accomplish such a thing wouldn’t have been a picnic. “Mr. Barnaby did the work,” Suzy added. “The rest of us, the whole town I mean, made Derek’s idea a reality. We all carried the aliens from outside and placed them onto the tables…anyway, let’s not stay here flapping our jaws, the others are waiting outside. They all want to see you, Jacob.” Mr Barnaby came around the milking machine. He had those rosy cheeks and that jolly smile planted on his face that I had come to know and love. “Just got to make a few more adjustments here and then I’m done. I’ve set the controls for the spaceship to take off. It won’t be long before the I.S.P.A. agents can home in on the beacon I activated earlier on the field generator.” He chuckled, as was now customary when he was excited about something. Callum then began to lead me away, as funny as that was with his sprained ankle and me with my broken leg. A thought then struck me. “Say, you’ll lose your heightened memory soon, won’t you, Mr. Barnaby?” He nodded as he fiddled with a few dials on a panel that protruded from that wall. “Yes. But I think it’s for the best in a way. I don’t think humans are meant to know what I do right now, young man.” I laughed again. I was so happy I tingled with excitement. 224

Shadows of the Mind Finally, this was over. I was about to say to Callum that we deserved a break in the cabin, when something struck my back from behind. I was on the floor and underneath him before I knew it. Suzy screamed. I then heard many feet pound the metal floor. I tried to see what was going on, but Callum blocked my view. Derek let out a yelp. “He’s broken a chain!” Mr. Barnaby screamed. A tentacle came over us. “I’m going to make you human insects pay for what you’ve done,” the doctor shouted. “If I’m going down, you’re all coming with me.” A loud engine noise then filled the factory floor. “We’re taking off!” Mr. Barnaby cried.

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he tentacle over our heads came down onto Callum’s back. He screamed into my ear. I screamed, too. My ears rang and again that familiar haze filled my thoughts. “Suzy, get out the way!” Zane yelled. I heard feet pound the metal staircase. I assumed that was Suzy getting away from the doctor—well, I hoped that was Suzy getting away from the doctor, anyway. Callum rolled off me, his face twisted with pain. I knew exactly how he felt, but I couldn’t think of myself. I had to try and help the others. I used my arms as support as I raised myself up enough to see what the fuck was going on. What I saw didn’t look pretty by any stretch of the imagination. Mr. Barnaby and Derek were heading for the milking machine, trying their best to dodge the tentacles the doctor had managed to pry free from the chains, tentacles that slapped angrily onto the floor next to them. I’d bet Mr. Barnaby wanted to get to the field generator. I think switching it on now would be our only hope. The thing is, the doctor had pulled the machine closer to him, and the only way to get to it was to go through him. At the moment I didn’t like our chances. Callum got to his feet stiffly. I glanced up to the alcove level. Zane and Suzy were safe for now, and they held onto each other. Seeing them safe was one consolation, anyway. 226

Shadows of the Mind “We need to work as a team if we’re to get anywhere here,” Mr. Barnaby said. “The alien knows we need to get to the field generator.” Derek moved away from Mr. Barnaby. I think he must have understood what was being said. Thankfully, I could see that the doctor was still chained to the milking machine. The doctor couldn’t go far, and only having two tentacles free meant that if Mr. Barnaby and Derek could keep the alien occupied, someone else could run and turn on the field generator. “Callum, can you go and turn on the generator?” I said, trying to keep my voice from being heard by the doctor. He looked down at me, horrified. “I-I don’t know how. Only Zane and Mr. B-Barnaby know. I’m so sorry, Jacob.” “Don’t you dare apologise. There’s got to be another way. We have to find it.” Derek then let out a cry, distracting me from my thoughts. He had been hit. I gasped as I saw him careen across the floor, a tangle of arms and legs as he struck the wall to my left with a thud. Callum called out and began to make his way toward him. Amazingly, Derek got up. He looked a little dazed. “Stay there with Jacob, Callum. He needs your protection. We can’t have all of us in the line of fire.” Mr. Barnaby let out a yelp. The doctor had wrapped a tentacle around him and was now suspending him in the air. His old man’s face was a sickly red and he coughed as he was lifted higher and higher. For Mr. Barnaby to be caught so soon I suspected that he must’ve been momentarily distracted by what had happened to Derek. Then again, we all seemed to be caught unawares here. I mean, I didn’t even see the doctor pick up Mr. Barnaby. The alien was lightning fast, that’s for sure. The doctor then began bashing Mr. Barnaby against the milking machine as Zane came thundering down the stairs. 227

Mark Alders “Stop!” Derek shouted as he gestured for Zane to halt, as he had done to Callum. “The old man’s right. We need to work as a team, here. We won’t achieve anything lining up for the slaughter.” I could see why anyone, male or female, would fall for Derek. He had that presence about him. He took command. He acted. That was appealing in itself. Zane stopped. He then turned to Callum. Callum went to him, then said, “Give me the pipe, Zane. You go turn on the generator.” Zane handed the pipe to Callum without hesitation. He tested the weight of it in his hand. I licked my dry lips. I couldn’t believe this was happening. It was worse than a nightmare. With a nightmare, you can wake up. “You can’t fight the doctor, Callum,” I said. “Look at you. You can hardly walk with that sprained ankle, let alone do anything else.” Callum glanced at me once more. His misty eyes met mine. “I have to. Who else will? I can’t let you or anyone else down.” “Don’t talk like that. You’ve never let me down.” “If I don’t do something, all I’ll be remembered for is what? The man who makes the coffee? The man who’s a scaredy cat and pisses his pants? Or am I the man who was fucked by his mother, too weak to say no? I don’t want to be that guy anymore. I have got over a lot lately, and you helped me do that, Jacob. I want to prove to you and everyone else that I’m worth the faith that’s been put in me.” “You’re already proved yourself to me and all of us, Callum. Without you we couldn’t have achieved what we have already. You’re my boyfriend, Callum. I need you, you hear me?” I spoke the truth. I did need Callum. I mean, I couldn’t even get up off the floor without his help. Who else was going to get 228

Shadows of the Mind me out of here? Derek and Mr. Barnaby were doing their best to distract the doctor, even though they were getting beaten as we spoke. And then there was Zane. He had to go and turn on the machine. And Suzy…I turned to look at Suzy. Where was she? Again Derek let out a yelp. He, too, had been ensnared by the doctor’s grip. I struggled to get up. I couldn’t. I needed help. I was about to call for Callum, when a shadow came over me. “Give me your hand, Jacob. You can’t stay here,” Suzy said as she came into view. I accepted her offer. I have to say, I certainly felt better being upright, even though my leg throbbed and I felt as useless as I’d ever felt in all my life, especially seeing as my friends were in so much trouble. Why did I have to be injured? I should be taking on the doctor right now. Not Derek, and certainly not Mr. Barnaby. “I’m going to squash all you human vermin into the ground,” The doctor said before he threw Derek. Suzy screamed as Derek landed by the stairs. My stomach churned as I watched him land. His limbs flailed about like that of a ragdoll’s. I felt sick. I hobbled as best I could over to him. Suzy was already at his side by the time I had even taken a few steps. Derek got up, shook his head, staggered a bit, then moved toward the doctor once more. The look of sheer determination in his eyes. “Stop him, Suzy!” I screamed. “He can’t take on the doctor like that and win. He can’t.” Suzy tried to do just that, but he brushed her aside. Anyway, it was already too late. The doctor had wrapped a tentacle around him again. Derek struggled to try and pry himself free without success. I even saw him bite down into the doctor’s flesh in a desperate attempt to get out of his clutches. 229

Mark Alders “Shit!” I cursed. “We’ve got to do something, and quick.” Callum, who had been nervously testing the pipe in his hands, then said with a sneer, “I know what to do.” He also had a determined look etched onto his face. I’d never seen him like that. “The time has come for me to make a difference.” Before I could even register in my mind what he meant, I heard Suzy scream again. Callum, wielding the pipe like a sword, charged at the doctor at full sprint. “Callum!” I screamed as I saw him raise the pipe above his head. The doctor must’ve been occupied with what he was doing to Derek and Mr. Barnaby. I don’t think, even with all of his eyes, that the doctor saw Callum approach him. Callum let out a battle cry. I had to admit, he looked like a true hero and as brave as all fuck as he plunged the pipe right into the doctor’s central eye. The battle cry was soon replaced with the doctor’s shrieks of agony. It seemed like the whole spaceship vibrated with his anguish. Where Callum had found the courage and strength to do that was anyone’s guess. But my God, I’m glad he did. The Doctor dropped his victims. My heart leapt into my mouth as I watched them fall. Mr. Barnaby didn’t get up, but at least I saw him move. Thank God, he wasn’t dead. I turned to Suzy. “Quick! Now’s the time to act. We have to get them away from the doctor.” She pushed Zane, and said, “Go get Mr. Barnaby, Zane!” I think Zane was as stunned as I was by what Callum had done. “Um, sure thing,” he managed. He went to Mr. Barnaby. Callum retreated as quickly as he had attacked. His T-shirt front was covered in what I could only describe as alien blood. The stuff even dripped off his nose and fringe. But he beamed a smile from ear to ear. He not only proved yet again that he was 230

Shadows of the Mind worth all of my attention, he was my hero, too. I opened my arms out to him. “You did real good, Callum, baby,” I heard myself say as he came toward me. Everything seemed to happen at once. I don’t remember the exact order in which events took place. All I know is that the result of all that transpired was not only horrific, it changed me forever. Screams from both the doctor and everyone else on the factory floor added to my confusion. Callum, as he strutted toward me, was pushed aside by one of the doctor’s tentacles. He gasped out a cry of surprise as he fell to the floor. The doctor had excised the pipe with his other tentacle. He too now wielded it as Callum did only seconds ago. The pipe was then waved high above me. I felt that lump rise up to constrict my throat. I so knew what was going to happen next. The thing is, the doctor wasn’t interested in any one else right now. I was his target, and from what I can gather, Zane and Mr. Barnaby must’ve been swatted away, too. They were behind the milking machine. I was alone. My gaze darted about. Suzy was tending to Callum. Zane, now on his knees, cradled Mr. Barnaby’s head in his lap. I had to admit, the old man looked to be in bad shape, the cut on his forehead had been re-opened. Callum was holding his head as Suzy tried to help him to his feet. He looked dazed. Yep. I was definitely alone. I craned my neck to try and see where Derek was. Holy fuck, where was Derek? I pushed myself away from the railing to try and see where he was. Finally, I saw him to the left of me getting to his feet. He had been obscured by the shadows created by the alcove walkway above him. I then saw that he too had a nasty gash across his forehead. That’s when the metal pipe struck me across my stomach. I 231

Mark Alders doubled over and let out a cry. I didn’t have the strength within me to do anything other than crumple onto the floor. “If I’m…going to…die, I’ll make…sure you…join me, Jacob,” the doctor stuttered and moaned. I could see the doctor’s bulk come over me. Bright green blood oozed out of the hole that had been his central eye, and his body beneath the wound looked as though it were covered with a green oil slick. He’d been bleeding a hell of a lot. The doctor raised the pipe above me. His body shuddered and he let out a wheezy gasp of air as his lipless mouth quivered. Callum’s strike must have done more than damage the doctor’s eye. The pipe probably pierced a vital organ or something. As the doctor prepared to strike me with the pipe, I saw Derek come over me. He must’ve ran from where he was to get to me so quick. “No!” I heard Derek yell. I felt something wet spatter my face. The pipe had pierced Derek clean through his chest, and it took a long time for me to realise that what I was showered with was his blood. The doctor let out an almighty cry. He lifted Derek up higher into the air, as if he were a trophy of battle. I covered my mouth. I couldn’t look away. To me it looked so surreal, so unnatural. I mean, this kind of stuff only ever happened on TV, right? I kept thinking that at any moment he’d come back to life. He’s come back to life, wouldn’t he? As I looked up at Derek, his blood dripping onto the floor and his body lifeless, my face drained as the realisation struck me that he had given his life to save mine. Oh my fucking God, Derek had taken the hit for me. I felt numb as that thought sunk in. I couldn’t even speak, not even to say his name. My vision blurred. I felt many hands pull me across the floor. There was an 232

Shadows of the Mind almighty cry again and the doctor’s body began to slump under its own weight. Green blood poured out of the wound, and Derek was finally let go. His body hit the metal floor with a dull, lifeless thud, right where I had been. It seemed I had been moved just in time. I felt my hot tears roll down to my face. The doctor’s body liquefied as soon as his mass collapsed in onto itself. Derek lay motionless in the mess, his blood mingling with the green liquid to turn it black. Callum came over and pulled me to my feet. He folded his arms around me and we hugged for what seemed an eternity. I cried. And as I looked through my misty eyes at what the cost of our victory meant, my stomach churned so much I felt as though I’d physically heave my guts up. Callum was the next to begin weeping. Then Suzy and Zane quickly followed. Even Mr. Barnaby wept. I found I couldn’t control myself and I cried and cried until every pore on my skin squeezed out my sorrow. I wept like a baby in Callum’s arms as I took in his familiar smell and touched his warm skin. I then felt comforted that he was here with me right now. I really did need him. All of us came together. For a long time all we did was comfort each other. The one small consolation was that this was finally all over. The cost had been high. First we lost Mr. O’Doherty. Then we lost countless others as they ran for their freedom. And then, then we lost Derek. “We’re so gonna remember all of them,” Zane said. His eyes were blood-shot and face was streaked with tears. “We will,” I managed. Mr. Barnaby had hooked himself into the field generator one last time. He got us home. Together we then destroyed the machine and set the controls so the spaceship would take off 233

Mark Alders once we were clear. I know the homing beacon would have been on long enough for the I.S.P.A. agents to locate the alien criminals. Callum helped me walk and even though his ankle still gave him grief and he hobbled, he didn’t complain. We both helped each other. Suzy walked beside me, while Zane and Mr. Barnaby carried Derek’s body off the spaceship. We all walked out onto Wilson’s field. The whole town was waiting for us. Thankfully, they were now in clothing. As soon as we were clear of the spaceship, they all cheered. Derek was immediately wrapped in a shroud and taken away by the town’s ambulance officers. I watched intently as they placed him into the van, closed the doors, ignited the sirens and lights and drive off. “Jacob!” I heard my Mum call. I turned to her as best I could considering I used Callum as a crutch. She looked fantastic as she ran to me. Like an angel walking on the Earth. Even Dad looked great. God, I loved them so. After my parents embraced me and kissed my forehead clean of grime, I said, “This is my boyfriend, Callum. He saved my life.” Without hesitation, my parents hugged him, too. To my complete and utter surprise, my Dad then said, “I’m glad my son has found such a fine man like you. You’ll always be welcome in our house.” I think I saw my Mum wipe away a tear. “Thanks,” Callum said. But I don’t think he could have managed much more. His voice broke even on that one word. Zane, Suzy and Mr. Barnaby joined us. All of us then walked across the field toward my house. “I am so dumping Corey Harrington,” Suzy said. “Good,” Zane said with a snort. “Can I go out with you then?” 234

Shadows of the Mind “No.” she replied without hesitation. But I did see a faint smile crawl across her lips. Give them time. They’ll be all over each other soon enough. “Has anyone thought about whether or not these navel rings are removable?” Mr. Barnaby said as he pulled the make-shift toga away from his chest so that he could look down at his stomach. I giggled. I had totally forgotten about the navel rings. I replied, “Anyway, if they aren’t, they’d be a perfect reminder of what we’ve just gone through. Kind of like a badge of honour or something.” “I suppose you’re right. But I don’t think I’ll ever forget what happened. Not for as long as I have breath in my lungs, anyway,” Mr. Barnaby said. “Me either.” “I’m starved,” Zane interjected. You know, he was right. I had to admit, I was kind of hungry, too. My Mum beat me to a response. “Every one of you has got to come over for a quick bite to eat after you’ve all been to see Doctor Tan—I’ve got plenty of meatballs and spaghetti to go round. It won’t take me long to whip up something.” “Sounds great, Mum,” I said with a giggle.

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About the Author I’m Mark and I live in Melbourne, Victoria. By day I am a public servant, but by night, when I get in front of my computer, I can be anyone. I let my imagination go. I can go anywhere, from the farthest reaches of space, to the dilapidated house at the end of the street, and anywhere in between. I write about people from all walks of life, from teenagers finding out what’s it’s like to be an adult or to adults that discover what it’s like to become a child once more. Characters move my stories just as much as they move me. http://www.markalders.com