10. Its Been Awhile
Chapter ten
It's Been Awhile
T he next morning it took all the restraint that Angela possessed to keep herself from waiting inches from Talia’s door. Talia needed space and she was going to honor that by not freakishly standing by her room like an obsessed puppy slobbering at the mouth. Angela paced the short length of her bed again and again until her footsteps were permanently ingrained into the carpet.
Angela was sure that centuries from now historians would discover this spot and declare, ‘Here lies the place where someone was surely tortured to death.’ because that is precisely how waiting felt to Angela. Each tick of the clock on her wall was an annoying reminder that time passed far too slowly for her liking.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
“Ugh! Make it end!” Angela shouted under her breath and pulled at her hair before sighing deeply and falling backward onto her comforter. She lay there, feeling the pulse of her heart, her human heart, pumping blood through this body. Each breath calmed her deeper and deeper into a sense of sanity-until her mind wandered back to Spencer.
Where was he? Surely the data she held should have been collected by now. His absence left an unsettling void in her chest. Something was wrong, that, Angela was sure of.
The click of a lock pulled Angela from her thoughts. She strained her ears to listen as Talia left her room. Footsteps padded on the carpeted hallway. The bathroom door creaked open, then shut. Then, the sound of running water. Angela began to pace again. Should she give more space? Stay in her room? Her nerves couldn’t take the uncertainty. She decided to be as open and calm to whatever Talia’s reception of her may be today. She also decided that it may help sway her likability by being a good roommate. For a start, she would make Talia’s favorite comfort food, pancakes.
Angela cautiously opened her bedroom door and peeked out. The bathroom door across the hall was still shut. She made her way to the small living room with an open view of the kitchen. The two spaces were separated by a short bar with two barstools.
Angela entered the kitchen and started taking down mixing bowls and pulling out eggs, flour, and the other ingredients she would need.
She spoke to the smart device hooked up to their small apartment. “Hello Otto. Play Talias’ playlist.”
“Playing, Talias’ playlist.” It replied in a robotic voice.
Angela danced around the small kitchen barefoot as she mixed, taking an extra deep whiff of the vanilla before she added it in. She turned the skillet on medium high and cut a tablespoon of butter onto it. Before long the savory sizzle of margarine filtered to her nose. She was flipping the second batch of pancakes when Talia’s sweet voice rang in her ears.
“Pancakes, huh?”
Angela twirled around to see Talia’s combed wet hair dripping down the front of her flannel Pj’s.
Talia’s lips quirked up into a small smile when she said. “Trying to suck up to me I see.” She said with a knowing grin.
Angela gulped and cleared her throat. “I just thought maybe you might be hungry.” She shrugged.
“Well, don’t just hoard em, pass them on over here.”
The light in Talia’s eyes instead of fear gave Angela far more hope than she felt she deserved. She could feel her heart beating again as she passed the plate full of pancakes and bottle of syrup over to Talia who was sitting at the kitchen bar.
Too scared to push her luck, Angela smiled then turned back around to finish cooking the last of the batter.
“Playing my playlist too, huh? I thought you hated my music? Called it-what was it you said? Auto-tuned crap?”
Angela stiffened and then relaxed when she heard Talia’s laugh. She chuckled in return and said. “I just thought you would appreciate it.”
Every silence, no matter how small, sent Angela’s pulse racing.
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Talia’s beautiful voice. “Well, you thought right. Thanks, Ange.”
A deep breath.
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“You’re welcome.”
A smile.
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Angela placed the last of the pancakes onto the large serving platter, grabbed her own smaller plate and filled it. We’re eating together. She couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. She felt like pumping a fist into the air and dancing.
When they were finished, Angela gathered their plates and took them to the sink to wash. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Talia got comfy on the couch and put a live news channel on the television. Angela smiled again. She didn’t retreat to her room.
When Angela was done cleaning up, she stood uneasily in the kitchen, until Talia said. “Do you need an invitation?”
Angela laughed in relief and slowly made her way to the opposite end of the couch and sat down.
Talia muted the TV and turned to face Angela, scooping her legs up to sit criss-cross, then said. “So. Let’s talk about last night.”
Angela’s fingertips tingled and she had the urge to bounce a foot up and down nervously. She didn’t know where to start, what to say first? There was so much undiscovered territory to cover here.
She was reprieved from talking when Talia spoke again.
“So, you aren’t Angela. But you’re in Angela’s body. And you claim you’re not in a mental health crisis.”
Angela could only nod her head in agreement. So many words were stuck in her throat.
Talia continued. “Look, Angela is my best friend, and I would absolutely put her health as a priority, but I can’t explain the hovering, or the clouded over eyes. That’s not exactly a normal thing, and you haven’t seemed to be a threat. That’s the only reason I haven’t called the police or an ambulance, and it’s the only reason I’m going to give you a chance to explain.”
Angela finally was about to find her voice when Talia kept talking.
“ But. One false move, and I’m calling the cops. Understood?”
Angela nodded her head fiercely before saying. “Uh huh, yes, absolutely, understood.”
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Say something.
“Um… so… I’m not Angela. But I’m also not really sure who I am.”
Talia squinted her eyes. “What do you mean? Where is Angela? Is she dead? Are you a ghost? Did you possess her?”
Angela’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “No-”.
Talia interrupted her. “And what do you mean, you don’t know who you are?”
Angela laughed internally when Talia used her fingers for air quotes on that last question.
Feeling a little calmer and surer about herself, Angela said. “Why don’t I tell you what I do know?”
Talia seemed to be nodding and shaking her head at the same time as she clasped her hands together and said. “Sure. Why not.”
Angela cleared her throat and started. “I’m not a ghost. I woke up on the mothership-”
Talia snorted, then promptly erupted into laughter. “Wait-wait, wait, wait.” She laughed so hard and long that she began gasping for air. “Mothership?” More laughter. “You mean like, take me to your leader. ” She said mockingly with her arms straight out like a zombie. “Aliens. You’re saying you’re an alien?”
Angela gave her a stone-cold stare and remained quiet.
Talia stopped laughing and sat up a bit straighter. “Okay. Prove it. Prove to me that you’re an alien.”
Angela took a deep breath then let it out slowly, thinking of what she could do to prove herself. Blasting a hole through the floor with her super strength probably wasn’t the best idea. After a few moments of silence, she had decided what to do. She wiggled her jaw side to side until it unhinged. She stretched her mouth wide open, reached her hand inside her mouth, pulled the little flap open and pulled out Claras’ Stapes bone.
Talia shot off the couch like she had seen a giant spider and screamed. She jumped around waving her arms and rubbing her body free of the heebie jeebies.
“What the fuck!” She shouted. “What in the actual fuck?” She yelled again and turned away from Angela as she desperately grabbed at her skull through her curls as she bounced around.
Angela calmly put her jaw back in place and held the Stapes bone on her open palm. She waited until finally Talia quieted and cautiously, step by step, made her way back to the couch.
Talia started to speak but her voice caught in her throat. She tried again and said almost in a whisper. “So. Aliens. You’re an alien. Okay.” She took a deep breath, “And what is that ?”
“It’s a Stapes bone.” Angela simply stated.
“No. It’s not. human bones aren’t golden.” Talia said.
For the first time Angela realized she was the one getting new information. She tilted her head and asked. “What do you mean?”
Talia grabbed Angela’s wrist to pull her open palm closer for a better look. Angela’s skin warmed under her touch and her heart flip flopped.Talia grabbed her phone off the table, and for a split-second Angela was scared she was making due on her promise to call the police; but instead she kept tapping at the screen. A few seconds later she held up a picture of a human Stapes bone.
“Yeah, you see, that’s the same size and shape of a Stapes bone, but human ones are definitely not gold. Also, how old is this? It’d have to be pretty fresh if it was human.”
Talia paled. “And where did it come from?” She leaned away. “Are you going to eat me?”
Angela’s eyes widened in terror. “ What? No. Never. Oh my god you’ve got it all wrong.”
Angela placed the bone on the coffee table and reached for Talia but stopped when she saw fear in Talia’s eyes. She scooted back to the far end of the couch and said. “This bone is from a grave that was decades old. They store the entire life of the person it belonged to, like a biological hard drive. I gather them and file the data.”
Talia seemed to relax, if only a little. “Yeah, definitely not a human bone, that thing would have disintegrated a long time ago.”
Angela digested this information and wondered to herself, if not human, then what kind of data was she collecting?
Talia interrupted her thoughts. “So, where is Angela?”
Angela looked at her. “I’m sorry, but I don’t exactly know.” She paused and when Talia didn’t say anything, she continued. “The bodies seem a little bit like blank slates when I enter them, but I slowly take on bits of their personality and memories. I’m not sure if their consciousness is removed for the length of inhabitation, or just dormant, like put to sleep while I’m in here. And after meeting Brad the other day, it seems they don’t remember anything from my time being in their bodies.”
Talia’s mouth hung open, her eyes disbelieving what she was hearing.
Talia’s voice was so small when she said. “Wait, what do you mean, ‘after meeting Brad the other day?’ Are you?... you’re who I went on a date with last week? You’re the one who I gave the Heimlich to?”
“Yes.”
Talia stood and began to pace again. “Okay. Okay. This is a lot .”
“There’s more.” Angela said.
Talia let out a maniacal chuckle. “Of course there’s more!” She shook her head and continued to pace.
When I woke on the mothership, the ship told me that my species was collecting information from your planet because your species was slowly killing the Earth. I was also told that I was assigned the important task of collecting the samples, and that this wasn’t my first body. After meeting, Brad, I remember some time spent in his body, and I vaguely remember one other body before that. But they didn’t tell me, and I don’t remember, who I am, or how old I am.”
Angela paused again, but when Talia stared at her silently, Angela cautiously said. “And I think they are keeping things from me on purpose, and I feel like something might be wrong, my handler hasn’t checked in with me like he supposed to.”
Talia silently, and wide-eyed, nodded at Angela, as if her brain was trying desperately to make everything Angela said compute.
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“Okay.” Talia said. “So, you’re a good guy, but your species might not be? What am I supposed to do with that information?”
Angela shrugged. “Help me? Be the friend to me that you would be to Angela?”
Talia nodded again and slowly sat back down on the couch. “Okay. I can do that.” Her mind seemed to have caught up with handling the situation she was so suddenly thrust into as she laughed and said. “Afterall, I am the one who solved the mystery of which student Mr. Smith was having an affair with freshman year. It was pretty obvious though. Mr. Smith was a freaking creep.”
She winked as if she were a superhero doing a favor for the greater good by exposing a predator, and that small gesture sent Angela’s heart soaring again. Her hope flooded back into every corner of her body, she blushed with happiness.
Talia stood back up, placed her hands on her hips, and looked up as if in thought.
“Okay.” She said. “So, we know for sure that your mothership is keeping information from you. We know for sure that you are not collecting human samples. What kind of information is on these golden Stapes bones?”
Angela relaxed against the couch and responded. “Out of the three I remember, all the subjects had supernatural abilities. All three were different though. One saw ghosts. One could go into peoples’ minds and heal them of physical ailments. And one had telekinesis.”
Talia rubbed her chin and nodded. “Okay, so special aliens. How often do your species stay on Earth? Long enough to die here?”
It was as if a light-bulb blinked on in Angela’s brain. “Never. We’re supposed to possess bodies momentarily, collect our data, and leave as little of an imprint as possible. These data samples must have been from defectors! Why else would they have memories of full long human lives, and why else would they be buried on Earth? Maybe the mothership is trying to discover what makes certain members of our species want to live a human life. Talia you’re a genius!”
Talia slumped back down. “You experiment on human bodies.”
Angela’s elation plummeted. “What?”
“Your kind uses us like puppets. It’s obvious there have been some kind of modifications on Angela’s body. How do you justify that?” Talia asked.
Angela could feel her slipping away again. She desperately wanted to grab hold of her and never let go. She said softly. “I know.. I’m sorry. I wish I had more information. I do know they put the bodies back exactly as they found them. The real Angela won’t remember a thing.”
Talia glared at her. “But that doesn’t make it right.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“I do. I really do.”
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Talia sighed. “Okay, so your species is chasing down aliens that didn’t return their bodies. But why has your contact gone silent? Do your kind die if the body dies? Maybe they got hit by a car.”
Angela nodded. “It’s possible. I don’t think I would survive if Angela’s body died. But I imagine the mothership would send a replacement for my handler, so it doesn’t really make sense that I still haven’t had any contact.”
Talia visibly shivered, and Angela’s skin crawled, as though they were both sitting with the unsettling knowledge that they were sitting ducks waiting for a predator to come and attack.
“Well.” Talia stood and clapped her hands together. “I don’t know about you, but I could go for Kung Pao chicken and dumplings!”
Angela laughed incredulously. “But we just had breakfast!”
“And I eat when I’m nervous.” Talia shrugged.
As they settled into fluffy blankets with their open oyster pail’s and chop sticks, Talia reached for the remote to find something to watch. The live news feed was still displayed on mute, and when Angela looked up her mouth dropped.
“Wait! Don’t change it, turn the volume up!” Angela said as she gaped at the TV.
“What? What is it?” Talia asked as she hit the plus button on the controller.
On the screen was the senator for the largest district in the state, and beside him, according to the banner at the bottom of the TV, was his son.
“Angela, talk to me. What’s happening?”
His blonde hair and blue eyes were unmistakable, standing next to the senator, was Stathos-6, or as he was known here on Earth, Spencer.