Fallen + Marli & Lalo (Fallen Invasion, #3) (12 page)

Lalo wrapped me in his arms and we met them in the grass.

Kallen smiled.  “Marli, I’m so glad you are alright.  We thought—”  He reached a hand out toward me, and I pulled back.  The joy in his face faded.  “We need to go inside.  Let’s go to your house.”

“Why mine?” I asked, keeping an eye on Kallen.

He stared at Lalo.

“It’s more familiar to you,” he said.  “It will help you relax.  You don’t trust me anymore.  You will feel safer there.”

“You can still murder me in my own house,” I said.

“That won’t happen,” Lalo interjected.  “Let’s go.”

Kallen desired to travel behind us.  We stepped to his side.  I guessed Kallen thought Lalo would do something.  I was worried that Kallen would throw bags over our heads and drag us out to some abandoned warehouse.

K
allen, Shelie, and Lalo sat at my table.  I got everyone some water and sat next to Lalo, who held my hand.  It was weird that I had more trust in a stranger I met days ago than one of my new best friends.

“So here we are,” Kallen said.

“Who are you Kallen?” I said.  “Who are you really?  What did you do?  And who is she?”

His eyes met Shelie’s for approval.

“She is Shelie,” Kallen said.  “I am Kallen; the same Kallen you’ve known.”

“No!” I said.  “In your house, minutes ago, you admitted to killing or hurting someone.  The Kallen I know would never do that.”

“This has to do with what I’ve been secretive about—who I’ve been aiming to protect you from,” Kallen said.  “It’s why I turned into who I did.  Marli, I was once like them.  You need to know what we did over there in Greele was necessary, but wrong.”

I wanted to run.  I became so tense that it became hard to breathe.  I didn’t know Kallen was talking about the people in Greele.  He was a monster!  How could I ever trust him again that is if I was allowed to live?

“Marli, please just listen,” Kallen said, placing his hand on my knee.  “I’m not going to hurt you.  Shelie is not going to hurt you.”

“But you’ll hurt someone else,” I said.  “You’ll hurt other humans that are useless to you.  Where are those children Kallen?  Are you going to hurt them too or have you done it already?”

“It was necessary to do what we did in Greele to show we are heading towards our purpose,” Kallen said.  “If it didn’t happen, more of us would be sent down to do the job, my lead position would be taken away, and our troops would carry out the desires of someone else.  Yes, those children are gone.  But we have a plan for them.  We needed to take them.  To train them for their protection.

“Marli, like Lalo, I am Masqysava.  This is Shelie Martinez.  She is also Masqysava.  We are aliens to this world.  We came from a planet in outer space.  I can’t tell you which one, due to security, but I can tell you that you are in the middle of an invasion.  The disappearances all are a sign of our invasion.  Some are meant to show we are ready and nothing more.  Some are to get people to safety.  One, we don’t know who performed.  Others are to use people.  Your blood can be valuable at times to us.”

“Blood!” I said.  “I-I can’t ...”

“Yes,” Kallen said.  “We have been invasion mode for more than fifteen years.  There were several waves of Masqysava sent down to Earth.  Most of the early visits were to investigate Earth and its people.  We knew that your planet was much more kind to our bodies.  Our theories become true year by year.  We can only survive on our planet for a certain amount of time.  Then it will be too hazardous for us to live there.  So we have been trained since birth to be able to come here, to Earth, and live.”

“And eliminate us in the process?” I said.  “Move us out of the way so there is space for your kind?”

Lalo’s grip on my hand loosened.  His eyes began to narrow.  His gaze fixed on my table.  It was like he was in a trance.

“At first, no,” Kallen said, taking a peek at Lalo.  “The original idea came from a different emperor.  She believed we could live together.  She almost went as far as to sign a treaty with the United Nations.  But things went sour.  We lost communication with the Masqysava sent to live on Earth.  We searched for but never found them.  And all ideas about peace with humans were destroyed.

“Our emperor still didn’t want to be violent, so she modified our approach. We would sustain our life on Earth but be unknown to others.  The idea didn’t last long.  When she got word of humans tracking Masqysava to capture and run tests on us, her tactic adapted into a violent one.  The humans, at least most humans, would have to go.  Or become our slaves.  We’ve studied all of your history.  We weren’t going to be the ones going down.

“When she stepped down, a more intense leader took her place,” Kallen continued.  “He said humans inherently don’t reason beyond their own needs.  Therefore, all humans other than connectors and their families would die.  That is the order that exists today.  And while the connectors are being saved from death, they would become our property.  If you were connected to evil Masqysava then you would most likely be tortured.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I said.  “If you are going to make most humans extinct and enslave me.”

“Because,” Kallen said.  “I don’t want to kill or own you.  I need you.  We need human allies.  Lalo doesn’t remember.  You may be able to help us with him too.  And, most importantly, we want to stop the invasion.”

“You and I both,” Lalo said.  “I was ready to hunt you down this afternoon when I saw what you did.  So my question is how can we trust you?”

“You can’t,” Shelie said.  “At least not right now.  Not until you remember.”

“Won’t I be lethal when I remember?” Lalo asked.

“It depends on which side you choose,” Kallen said.  “Your memory, what happened that made you come so early, might be able to help you with that.”

“Memory huh?” Lalo said.  “You know something about mine?  You told us who the Masqysava are and why we are here.  But why am I here?”

“You don’t remember having fun, running along the hills, playing in the sands and waters?” Shelie asked.

“No,” Lalo said.

“Good,” she said.  “Because we didn’t.  The water outside our compound was too hot to play in.  There were hills of rocks, but they were also too hot.  Yes, our bodies can adjust to weather changes here, but it gets overwhelmed at home.  If you ever stepped in the sand there, you wouldn’t have lived to tell about it.”

“Okay it was too hot,” Lalo said.  “What does this have to do with me?”

“Everything,” she said.

“So what did we do?” Lalo said.

“Train,” Shelie said.  “And absorb human culture.  I think that’s why our missing don’t return.  They don’t want to be found.”

“That is if they weren’t captured by the government,” Kallen said.  “I, along with other commanders, put together the program where we fit ourselves into society here.  Many of us were everywhere, living lives along with humans, working with them.  Of course we weren’t allowed to choose from too many jobs.  All had to be positions we could use.

“About two years ago, a few of us were very successful and got to the top of the government,” Kallen said.  “Then some got into secret places inside the government.  Then they saw what humans did to us.  That sparked the kill all and invade ideas I spoke of.  But to exterminate all we needed a smart, charismatic alien.  It certainly didn’t hurt that he had a superpower, one where you could vanish at any moment.  He would lead us because of this ability.  The Emperor only knew of one.”

“No,” Lalo said shaking his head.  “I’m not who you say I am.  I’m not a leader.  I don’t want to exterminate humans.”

“You are,” Shelie said.  “Everyone knows you.  You were chosen to lead a team.  Then you were chosen to lead the leaders.  You are our chief Lalo!”

“I wasn’t and I’m not,” Lalo said.

Shelie faced Kallen.  “Maybe this is why he came early.”

“What do you mean?” Lalo asked.

“When did your desire to harm humans dissipate?  After you landed or before you departed?” Shelie said.

Lalo stared at the wall and closed his eyes.  A few seconds later, he opened them.  “I don’t know,” he said.  “But I do know this.  If any of you attempt to hurt Marli, you will pay.”

“We’re on your side Lalo,” Kallen said.  “That is if you want to stop this invasion, and it seems like you do.  Come.  Talk to the others.  They are waiting for you to lead.”

“I won’t,” Lalo said.  “Not until I can remember.  Not until I know for sure.”

“Keep in mind that you need to tread lightly,” Shelie said.  “That’s the reason we wanted to find you first.  Yes, Earth has changed us some.  Our side doesn’t want to be killers.  It would be foolish to think that Earth hasn’t changed others for the worse.  Especially others who don’t want to be found.”

“Point taken,” Lalo said.

“I’m glad you’re safe Lalo,” Shelie said.  “But I have to go.  I told them I was inspecting this area.”

“They let you go alone?” I said.

“No, but my partner understands,” she said.

“How can we find you?” I said.

“Ask for Detective Shelie Martinez,” she said.  “Or have Lalo call me.”

“What do you mean?” Lalo said.

Shelie wrote down some numbers and gave it to Lalo.  “When you remember how to call.  Oh, and Marli, don’t go anywhere without Lalo.”

“What about work?” I asked.

“She needs to be alone at work,” Kallen said.  “They may be able to recognize that she is depending on someone.  And if one of them sees Lalo ...”

“Well, don’t go anywhere else without him,” she said.  “But that shouldn’t be too hard, considering we have a travelling ban for a few days.”

Shelie reached out her hand to shake mine and Lalo’s.  Lalo squinted after he let go of her hand.  Then she left.

“Marli,” Kallen said.  “I know it is going to take a long time for you to trust me again.  I want you to know I will continue to protect you and Lalo from everyone.  I only ask that you stop investigating the disappearance.  You are going to run into trouble.”

“You knew about us?” I said.

“I have contacts and spies of my own,” Kallen said.

“Give me a reason to stop,” I said.  “Are we going to find that you were behind it?”

Kallen held up his finger to say, “Shhh” without saying it.

He waited for about five minutes.

“No,” Kallen whispered.

My phone slithered across the side of my thigh as Lalo took it out of my jeans.  Drawing my code, he opened the gallery to a picture of the graffiti we took from the crime scene.  He showed it to Kallen.  “Does this mean anything to you?”

“I’ve seen that sign,” Kallen said.  “It was a while ago.  Some Masqysava followed the clues drawn within it.  We found the Masqysava later.  They couldn’t recall what happened.”

My eyes lit up. 

“Please just stop,” Kallen said.  “I’m not the only one who knows, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Does Shelie know?” I said.  “About us investigating.”

“Yes,” Kallen said.  “But she doesn’t care for you as much as I do Marli.  I’m confident that she knows Lalo will be alright and you can lead us to the culprits. 

“Now, this sign is meant for only a few of us, if not one.  The kidnappers want to find the others who believe in whatever they are planning to do.  That’s why it is treacherous for all Masqysava.  Naya, she could help us, but I want her to become accustomed to Earth right now.  I get the impression that they want Lalo the most anyway.  With Lalo, they can be unstoppable.  Look, I trust you in spite of the probability that you are dangerous Lalo.  You and Naya are exactly alike.  I see that you and Naya will do what’s right.”

“If Shelie is right,” Lalo said.  “If Marli can find the culprits, then wouldn’t we want to know who it is?  How can we get rid of them, or disable them, if we don’t know who we are fighting?”

“There are other ways,” Kallen said.  “Safer ones.”

“What are they?” Lalo asked.

“We will figure it out in time,” Kallen said.  “I’m glad I was able to share our secrets, but I must go too.”

“Isn’t it dangerous to stay by yourself?” I asked.

“It always is,” Kallen said, “if they figure out our plan.  They being humans or the rogue Masqysava.  But I have some work to do with our new arrivals.  I’ll see y’all soon.”

Kallen let himself out of my house, but not before Lalo shook his hand.  My mind suggested I was the one being played.  What if those three (Lalo, Kallen, and Shelie) needed me to help them find more information? 

It was a good plan.  Have Kallen get close to me.  Make me watch out for their enemies and feel like it was necessary to protect Lalo.  Then introduce Shelie, an officer, to help me be comfortable with the situation.  Everything was in control.  This could have been their plan all along.

I
had a hard time falling asleep that night.  I kept tossing and turning, questioning trust and if anyone deserved it.  Somewhere in the middle of my rotations my eyes closed.

“Is it really that important to kill him?” the second man asked.  This second man was different—more intimidating than before.  He wore a mask and gave me the chills.  I knew shedding blood made him happy.  He most likely licked the blood clean off of all his victims.  Physically, he was different too.  This man was a few inches shorter than the tall man and had a deeper voice.

“No one kills him,” the tall man said.  “Not now.  First, we find his connector.  He will address the others.  Then I will kill him myself.”  I embraced the tall man’s energy.  He was ruthless.  Different from the prior tall man.  His long, brown hair covered his face.

“And we will finally stop wasting our time,” the second man said, smiling.

“Yes,” the tall man said.  “And no one will know it was us.  It was these horrible humans.”

I woke up gasping with labored breaths.

I expected Lalo to jump up and protect me with one swift move.  He didn’t.  He opened his eyes.  Then I noticed his arm was already around me.

“Bad dream?” he asked.

“I saw them again Lalo,” I said.  “They were different, but it was still the two men.  They want to kill you.”