Lost Contact (The Bridge Sequence Book One), Nathan Hystad [primary phonics books .TXT] 📗

“Thank you for having me, Bill.”

“Isabella, tell me about this group you were referring to.”

“They’ve been around for decades. I was brought in young, because of my boyfriend. He was older, successful, but caustic. I found out what he was actually doing when I suspected him of cheating on me; he only laughed and invited me to join their meeting.”

“And where were you, Isabella?” Bill asked.

“I lived in Chicago at the time. If I told you his name, you wouldn’t believe me,” she said.

“I’ve heard a lot of implausible things in my life, and more often than not, it’s the really unfathomable ones that have come true. You can keep him anonymous if you like.”

“The Believers don’t let just anyone leave their fold. Once you’re in, you’re in. It’s… I’ve feared for my life for the last eight years, Bill. Every day.” Isabella’s voice wavered as she spoke.

“I’ve heard of this group, the Believers. You were involved with them?”

“Yes. As I said, it wasn’t by choice. Once they had their claws in me, I couldn’t escape. I saw… too much. But their main focus was preparing for the return of their redeemers.”

“And by this, we’re not talking about Jesus or Judgment Day?” Bill asked.

“We will be judged, according to the Believers, but not by God. By them.”

“Them?”

“Alien beings. I didn’t trust them at the time, Bill, but… have you seen these things? Their trajectory is leading them to one place. Earth.”

There was a slight pause: dead air as the host contemplated what he’d heard. If what she said was true, how had Hunter Madison gotten out of this cult?

“Isabella, was this a cult? What kinds of things were done behind closed doors?”

I waited, leaning closer to the laptop’s speaker.

“Sacrifices, prayer, and attuning.”

Somehow Bill managed to avoid asking about the sacrifice comment, and he went for the easier question. “What is attuning?”

“The Believers await the return of these aliens. They speak their language, or think they do. Attuning is an ancient meditation, meant to link them to their masters when they arrive.”

I had never heard of such a thing and decided to interrogate Hunter further when we were next together.

“Did you practice this? Do you speak their language?” Bill’s voice was low, his excitement palpable through the speakers.

“I tried to. I didn’t attune. I wasn’t high enough. I catered to the leaders.”

“So there’s a ranking system?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

“Can you offer anything in the alien tongue?” Bill asked calmly.

Isabella’s voice changed, her words thick and heavy. “Dreen allono reespenlen.”

“And what does that mean?”

A pause. “Prepare for arrival.”

My skin itched at her words. It reminded me of the scrawling in Hardy’s book, and I decided to ask Hunter about the language. He’d failed to mention that to us.

“You heard it here first, folks. The language of the incoming savior aliens. Take a break, grab a stiff drink, we’ll be right back with more from the former cult member Isabella.”

It cut to an ad, and my buzzer sounded.

I closed the laptop, wondering how much of what the guest had said was true. Were there really aliens coming to Earth, or was it as most of the scientific world thought? Asteroids from deep space. They predicted the twin objects would avoid Earth and head past, using the Sun’s gravitational orbit to loop around, shooting them far away forever.

Marcus waited outside in a thick winter jacket, gloves on his hands. Snow fell, and I shivered, recalling one of our destinations. “You ready?”

“All set.” It had been two days since Hunter had visited, and they’d gone very slowly. With my exams marked and sent to the college, I was done until the end of the year, when I’d have to go in for a few meetings. That didn’t leave us a lot of time, especially during the holiday season. We still had to build our team, and that wasn’t going to be as simple as Hunter thought it would be.

Marcus collected one of my bags and I took the other, glancing at my place before closing the door and locking it. With any luck, I’d be home before I knew it. Over the last couple of days, I’d realized how impossible all of this sounded. A Bridge to another world.

But even if there was no such thing as aliens, I was going to end up where my father was last known to have visited, and I wanted closure on that part of my life so I could focus on my career and maybe settle down eventually. My mind was always wandering, trying to take me to the next thing, the next clue, the trail left by Dirk Walker over thirty years ago. It wasn’t healthy.

I considered what Isabella had said, about some man bringing her into the fold without a choice, and I stopped near Madison’s town car. “Marcus, you know you don’t have to do this, right?”

The driver came around, taking my luggage. He stowed it in the trunk while Marcus stared at me with a confused expression. “What are you saying, Rex?”

“This… it could be dangerous. I don’t necessarily believe everything, but there is an alien cult after us. We’ve seen the cars, the tails, the guns in El Mirador. Even if it’s all in their heads, they will harm us. The trek, the stops around the world… this is not safe and predictable.”

“Rex, are you forgetting I’ve followed you to five continents already, searching for these Tokens? I want to do this. I need to.” Marcus’ voice was low, and I set a hand on his shoulder.

“I just don’t want things to get out of hand. I feel like I’m dragging you into the crosshairs, and I don’t like it. You should go home to Florida for the holidays. See your family.”

“And leave you with no one guarding your back? I don’t think so,” Marcus told me firmly. “Besides, how are you going to get anything done without me around? You’d be lost.” He opened the car door