Extraterrestrial Refugees

The area outside of the ship had changed drastically from the night before. The sun beat down upon the ship, glaring off the ramp and into Gemma’s eyes. A perimeter had been made around the ship’s ramp; the chain link fence was tall with barbed wire around the top. All along the outside of the fence stood armed soldiers. There was also a row of tanks with their artillery aimed at the ship. A crowd of people was still gathered beyond the perimeter.

“Food trucks? Are you serious?” Oscar chortled. There was a line of them in the distance with long queues of people waiting in front of them.

“Is that what I’m smelling?” Gemma asked. “Smells good.” She looked up as three combat jets flew by. Helicopters circled the ship.

Gemma felt Oscar touch her elbow. She looked at him and followed where his gaze led. A group of five uniformed men came out of a tent that had been set up near the foot of the ramp. They began marching up the ramp toward them. “Oh, boy, here they come,” Oscar sighed.

“Let’s meet them,” Gemma said, striding courageously forward.

“How can you not be afraid?”

“Because I’ve done nothing wrong.”

Charles was winded by the time they got to them. “Take her,” he huffed. In one sweeping movement, two of the men grabbed Gemma by the arms.

“Hey, easy!” Oscar snapped.

“Pipe down, Oscar!” Charles hollered. Then, lowering his voice, he said, “Otherwise people might think you’re one of them.”

Oscar stood tall, looking defiantly into Charles’ eyes. Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. He thought it, yet was lacking the courage to actually utter it. What good would it do any of them anyway? He needed to retain his position if he was going to help Gemma.

Charles leaned to the side to look around and behind Gemma, Oscar and the two men. “Where are the others, huh? Too chicken to come out?”

“They’re waiting, sir,” Gemma said, her voice soft amidst all the chaos. She was breathing heavily. Oscar could see it in the way her chest rose and sank. He wished he could offer her some sort of comforting words, but knew there was little he could promise her. Maybe he should’ve defied orders and remained on the ship longer.

“Waiting for what, exactly?” Charles asked, giving Gemma a scrutinizing look. Oscar observed Gemma’s face from the side. He could tell she was choosing her words carefully.

“Waiting on the world to change, sir,” she finally said. Oscar stifled a laugh. Charles shook his head.

“You think you’re so clever, don’t you? Well, we’re onto you.” He jabbed a finger at her. “We’re going to figure out exactly who you are and then we’re going to make you pay for all the unrest you’ve caused. Look at this!” He pointed his thumb over his shoulder. “This isn’t no cheap operation here. Every minute, you’re costing us thousands and thousands of taxpayer dollars.”

“We didn’t ask for any of this.”

“Neither. Did. We.” He jerked his head toward the bottom of the ramp. “Let’s go.”

* * *

Legend sat on his couch, made from recycled water bottles, eating a bowl of cereal with almond milk while watching the news. Every news outlet at every hour was covering the aliens and nothing else. Not even the forthcoming election, aside from mentioning how the current president handled the situation would have a big impact on the results. That fact spawned the theory that this was just some stunt from the opposing party to sway the votes.

The news reporter narrated what was shown on the screen. “What we’re seeing now is the woman who calls herself Gemma being detained for questioning.” An aerial shot showed the woman being escorted down the space ship’s loading ramp. She was guided into a black SUV. The camera followed the SUV as it drove away from the ship, falling into a line of identical vehicles. They merged slowly along through the crowd of on-lookers. “Back to you, Jasper.”

The camera view changed to a middle-aged male reporter. The spaceship loomed in the background, casting a huge shadow over the soldiers, the tanks and the people that congregated around it. “Now Ranae, the military is trying to get this entire area cleared, but as you can see, the people are arriving in droves. As you can see here behind me, there’s even a dozen or so food trucks, and I gotta tell you, the food smells delicious.” He gave the camera a sparkling smile.

“Multiple arrests have been made and several shots have been fired,” Jasper continued. “As you know, early this morning one of the so-called ‘extraterrestrial refugees’ was hit last night, but we have been informed that he is doing well.” The reporter took a few steps until the scene behind him changed. “Now if you’re thinking about coming out here, I would strongly advise against it. I know it looks like it’s turning into Burning Man out here, but the truth is cars are being abandoned and bulldozed off the very narrow and extremely bumpy road to get out here. Four-wheel drive is a must.”

“How did the food trucks make it out there?” Ranae asked as her image appeared on the screen.

“Honestly, it’s a miracle.” Jasper appeared on the screen again. He stooped over to look under a food truck. “I’m not seeing much clearance under these things.”

“Jasper, we’re seeing images of the first look inside of that incredible ship,” Ranae said. “The studio will show those images now.” The photos Oscar had taken appeared on the screen, one after the other: the dining hall with its rows of long tables, the green house, the small bedroom where Oscar slept, the fitness center, the control room, the medical center, and the archive of art and historical artifacts. “I mean, these just look amazing. What can you tell us about Oscar Torres, the man who took these photos?”

“Well, Ranae, from what I gather he works in the Pentagon. Aside from that, I don’t really know anything about him.”

“We saw last night—excuse me, early this morning—how he heroically ran to aid the man who was shot.”

“Yes, indeed.”

“The studio received this clip of those events.” Ranae’s image transitioned to a shaky video taken on a cellphone of the chaos that ensued when the shot was fired. Oscar was seen rushing up to assist the man who had been shot, and then the soldiers pushed their way through the crowd and tackled the soldier. Ranae’s face appeared on the screen again. She shook her head. “It’s a miracle nobody else was seriously injured or killed.”

“Yes, it took quite a while for the military to establish their presence here. It really is quite impressive how all these people have found their way here.”

“And I understand that land is privately owned, correct?” Ranae asked

Jasper nodded. The screen was split now so it showed both reporters. “Yes, it is.”

“Has anything been heard from the owner?”

Jasper shook his head. “Not that I know of.”

“Theoretically all those people, including the extraterrestrial refugees, could be charged with trespassing.”

“Yes indeed. Another reason why I would highly discourage anyone else from making the trek out here.”

Legend checked his phone for the time. He had to be leaving in fifteen minutes. Fortunately, he had a conference in Hong Kong. He was glad to have a reason to be on the other side of the world from these aliens. He launched himself out of his couch and strode over to his immaculate kitchen where he placed his bowl in the sink. His maid would take care of it later. For the longest time, he refused to hire a maid, seeing it as a waste of money because he was capable of washing dishes. His thoughts had changed though; sure, he was capable of washing dishes, but he and his mind were also capable of so much greater, so he saw it best to leave the mundane chores to those who weren’t capable of greatness.

His phone vibrated. It was a message from his secretary: Several offers on the property. Would you like to hear them?

Legend quickly typed his reply: No. Just take the first one. He pressed send then walked upstairs to his spacious master bedroom. He gathered up a few more things in his small suitcase and zipped it up. He trotted down the stairs and out the door. He activated his security system and walked toward his car, a sleek, shiny thing which had pulled itself out of the garage and was sitting there waiting for him. “Time to run away from these freaks before they try to ruin my life,” he whispered to himself as he jumped into his car.