Patricia's Extraction
1586 Words
Patricia - Earth 2015
Patricia paced her small apartment trying to get her infant son, Richie, back to sleep. He had colic and was miserable. She did everything her mother, her sister, and her brothers all told her to do to settle him. Nothing seemed to work. Cali, her older 2-year-old daughter, never suffered from colic.
Patricia was grateful Cali slept through Richie’s crying. Just when she was about to give up, he finally settled. A knock at her front door startled her.
Was it him? No, he was locked up. He could have sent someone to get her. She cautiously approached the door.
“Who’s there?” she said not opening it.
“FBI. Can we speak face to face?” a woman’s voice called.
Patricia opened the door, carefully shifting Richie, leaving the chain on. “How can I help you?” she asked.
“I’m special agent Bendixon. We’re investigating the disappearance of a Kevin Kall. Do you know him?”
Bendixon was a tall older lady and her curly hair had been trimmed into a short bob. She wore a light gray blazer over a white blouse and matching slacks. Patricia looked down and noticed running shoes instead of heals or flats. She examined the badge, but couldn’t tell if it was real or not. Being tired made it impossible for her to think clearly.
Behind her stood a tall, chocolate colored woman with her hair pulled into a bun. She was different. She wasn’t FBI. The way she stood gave Patricia the impression of military training. This lady wore a dark gray long sleeve, button up shirt, matching cargo pants, and combat boots.
“I’m sorry, I’ve told the cops all I knew about it. You should talk with Nate, his son,” Patricia said quietly.
“May we come in?” the agent asked.
“I just got my son to sleep. If you wake him, you have to put him back to sleep,” Patricia warned.
She closed the door and removed the chain. Once in the tiny apartment, the unnamed woman kept looking around.
“He’s not here,” Patricia said to her.
“Who?” the woman asked.
“Ryan. The police hauled him away weeks ago. Nate saw to that.”
“We aren’t looking for him. Do you know who Kevin is?” Bendixon asked.
“He’s my brother-in-law, although he’s more like a brother since my oldest sister died.”
“We have reason to believe the people who took Kevin have targeted the rest of the family,” the unnamed lady said looking directly into Patricia’s eyes.
Patricia suddenly got uncomfortable. “Who?”
“We can’t be for sure who it is, but we do know they took Kevin, and they will be here soon,” Bendixon said. “For your protection and the protection of your son, we need to relocate you.”
“Not without my daughter,” Patricia said moving to the bedroom.
She stopped when she saw a dark, hooded figure standing above the crib Cali slept in, softly stroking her back. She really couldn’t see much of anything because before she could move, she was yanked backwards.
“Cali,” she yelped.
The lady charged into the room and threw the figure against the far wall. Cali woke up and started to cry. Bendixon retrieved the toddler while the lady and the figure fought. With the toddler in one arm, the agent pulled Patricia from the apartment and out to a waiting black SUV. No baby seats for her children, Patricia buckled Cali into the middle backseat. Bendixon sat in the driver seat and the lady came running to the front passenger.
“Drive,” she ordered as soon as the door shut.
They peeled out of the parking lot, sirens and lights.
“Who was that?” Patricia demanded.
“High Command, they found Patricia. I have her and her children and we are on our way to the shuttle,” the lady said. “I don’t recommend you coming to the surface… I understand but… Yes, High Command.”
Patricia couldn’t see who this lady was talking too. There was no radio or phone she could see. She concluded there must have been one just out of sight.
“What is going on?” she cried out.
“That man was who we were warning you about. I am grateful we got here when we did. Is she ok?” the lady asked turning in her seat.
“I think so.” Patricia examined Cali the best she could. She looked back to the lady. “What did he want?”
“He is a follower of the person that wants your family dead.”
Patricia let the words sink in for a few moments. She wrapped her arm around Cali. “Why?”
“High Command will explain everything when you see her. My name is RuAnn, by the way.”
They drove a few blocks away from her apartment when Bendixon turned off the lights and sirens. They rode in silence. Patricia was amazed Richie slept through all of that. Cali had stopped crying and fell back asleep while leaning on her. She wondered where they were going. They arrived at the outskirts of the city before pulling into an abandoned warehouse area.
A large garage door opened and then closed when the SUV pulled in. Patricia could see Gideon, the largest of her brothers, talking with a dark-haired man. This man was dressed much like RuAnn. Dark gray button-up shirt, matching cargo pants, and combat boots. His sleeves had been rolled to his elbows. Behind him stood Gideon’s two children Kat and Harold. Being the second largest of her brothers, Gideon stood at an impressive 6’5”. Harold, his son, stood two inches taller. The only other person who could match their height had been Andrei, another one of Patricia’s brothers.
Patricia got out as soon as the other doors opened.
“Gideon,” she called out.
He looked over and came to her.
“Here, take Richie. He’s asleep.”
Gideon cradled his tiny nephew in his giant hands. Patricia extracted the sleepy Cali from the middle seat. Harold came forward to take the toddler from her.
“Where are the others?” RuAnn asked.
“Joula is having a hard time convincing Justin and his family to come. I was about to join in assisting him-,” the man started to say.
“Negative. We still have one more family not accounted for. You need to get Celia and her children,” RuAnn commanded.
“Ok,” he said and then turned to Bendixon.
They both went back to the SUV and left.
“All of you need to come with me. They will have to catch the next transport up. With what we encountered at your place, I don’t feel comfortable leaving you on the surface longer then needed,” RuAnn said beckoning Patricia to follow.
“Where are we going now?” Patricia asked as she followed RuAnn. “And what do you mean surface?”
“We are going to the Lillian.”
RuAnn led them through a back door out of the warehouse and to a large alien aircraft. Patricia stopped. Where were they going and who was trying to kill them? She wondered if this was dream brought on by an extremely cranky baby.
“Let’s go,” RuAnn ordered.
This snapped Patricia back to reality. She followed her brother on with her niece and nephew behind her. The hatch closed and they sat as they waited for something to happen. Patricia took Richie back from Harold as the aircraft went straight up. She looked out the windows and saw them rising swiftly above the city. They went through the clouds and she watched as the bright blue of the day faded to the inky blackness of space. Her heart started to beat rapidly in her ears. Above them, a larger ship loomed. Beside it were two smaller ships. They approached the middle ship and docked. Once landed, the hatch opened again.
Two soldiers stood at the bottom of the ramp as RuAnn motioned for Patricia and her family to exit. As they walked down, the soldiers bowed slightly, startling her.
“Take them to the guest quarters. They are Kallis and will be respected as such,” RuAnn commanded.
Patricia’s last name was Kall not Kalli. She looked at Gideon who shook his head slightly to discourage her from speaking up. They followed one of the guards to a set of large glass doors. Once through them, they found themselves in a sitting area with a door to the back and a kitchen area off to one side. Armchairs and sofas sat along the walls with space to walk through them to each of the doors.
“High Command will be here to see you when she returns,” one soldier said. “Please make yourselves at home.” He bowed slightly before leaving.
“What is going on?” Patricia asked again. “And who’s High Command?”
- Writer
