Alien Past Pt. 7

As soon as the door to her suite closed Ella began to shake. Her breath came in small gasps. She leaned back against the door, trying to think. What did that metal man, Lear she corrected herself, mean when it had said the train wreck wasn't an accident? Who was that thin man with the wide grin and cold eyes? Why had he shot the metal man? Shot Lear? Why had she instantly known he wasn't human?

To many questions, no answers. Opening her eyes Ella looked down at herself. He clothes were torn a bit and covered in soot and dirt. She felt a tightness in her side, a reminder of her recently healed wound. The blood was now tacky and her dress clung to the dried blood. She needed to clean up; she needed new clothes.

“Yes ma'am,” the concierge still sounded eager to please, that was good, “how can I help you?”

She made her voice sound as calm and placid as she could, “Yes, I require a few things, will that be an issue.” Her voice sounded strange, it wasn't her voice any more. That is to say it wasn't just her voice any more. Throughout the nights excitement she hadn't noticed, but there was a deeper tone underneath her normal voice, almost an echo.

“That should not be difficult ma'am, just give me a list of what you need and we will rush to meet your needs. We at the Peery aim to please!”

Her eyes widened and she smiled, “ Good, good! I am going to a need some new clothes, and room service,” she was suddenly very hungry, running for your life can work up an appetite, “Breast of Chicken a la Rose, Potatoes a la Hollandaise, Medaillon of Spring Lamb, and coffee, black.” She rattled it out before she even thought about what she wanted. Where had those names come from? Ella had certainly never even heard of most of them. She hung up the phone and went to the bathroom to clean up.

She stepped back in shock at seeing herself in the mirror. She was covered in bruises. There was dried blood on her neck. Her eyes, they were different. They were wrong, not hers anymore. There were two pupils now, in a figure eight pattern. Her hands shook for a bit as she took it all in.

Purposefully she went about cleaning up. Turning on the tap for the bath, she stepped back and removed her clothing, leaving it in an ugly pile on the floor. When the bath was full and steaming, she stepped in.

Her eyes widened in shock. She had never felt a sensation like this before. As she lowered herself into the water she felt everything as if it were the first. The sensation of the steam mixing with the cold air and the hot water was overwhelming. She was breathing hard again, but not from fear. She had never felt so alive, so aware, in her whole life. If this is what it meant to be an Aurem, it would take some getting used to. Not that she would mind getting used to it.

She breathed in the scent of the rose water added to her bath and sighed happily, she felt new again, she felt whole. She ran her fingers against the already fading scar where the train had sent a sharp piece of steel though her abdomen. It should have killed her. She found herself wondering about the other Aurem she had met. She wondered how he had come to be this way, she wondered if he had wanted this for himself.

The thoughts began to fade to the back of her mind and she slid deeper into the water letting it cover her completely. She held her breath and enjoyed the feeling of her full lungs struggling for a breath. She barely heard the knock at the door when the concierge arrived. Ella slowly got out of the water and walked over to the door, leaving soggy footprints in a trail across the room. She swung the door open and smiled. The concierge stared at her and began stammering, “Here you go mmmm, uh, mmmiiiiiiisssssssss.”

Ella had stepped closer to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, with the other hand she took the parcel from the stammering concierge and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek, “Thank you, that will be all.” She closed the door and grinned to herself. The parcel held a white linen dress which wouldn’t hold up well at the mines at all. Ella frowned and tossed it over a chair. She was going to have to make a lot of changes in her life, and she figured that her way of dressing would be a good way to start. There was another knock at the door, the concierge had brought up her dinner. With a chuckle to herself Ella returned to the door, “I see you’re making excuses to come up here as many times as-- Oh, you’re not who I was expecting.”

Detective Ace Branson stared at the naked woman standing in front of him. She was a pretty young thing and seemed too healthy to have left the train accident, but several eye witnesses swore up and down that she had been seen running from the site covered in blood, and mud. This girl looked like she had just finished an intimate evening judging by the flush of her, er...cheeks.

“Hello Ma’am, I know you’ve probably had a very busy night, but, well... Would you mind putting some clothing on?” Ace covered his eyes as Ella shrugged and put on the dress the concierge had just brought up. He peeked at her legs which remained bare and found himself imagining her in black silk stockings and a lace garter. Ella smiled at him and sat down.
“Come on in officer, I don’t bite,” She enjoyed seeing a man blush around her. Daniel never blushed around her, all he ever mustered was a sideways glance as he’d try and grab her ass and convince her that blow jobs wouldn’t be a danger to her chastity on their wedding night. This man looked like he wanted to devour her whole, and she liked how he kept glancing at her legs.

“My name is Detective Branson, er, Detective Ace Branson,” he walked into the room and shut the door behind him.

Alien Past Pt. 6

Sorry, I was not able to put this out yesterday...homework. Anyway, here is the newest addition of Alien Past. I think Carol and I will be taking a break fro it for a while, as we both are leaning in very different directions creatively. I will still be posting stories and stuff here. It just won't be this after the next few posts. sorry about that, but that's how this collaboration thing works, or doesn't work as the case may be. as always, let us know what you think.

Far away from Ella and Valance, Leer sat in a study, reading a book about demonic possession. Leer knew that what it saw tonight wasn’t a demon, but it hoped that perhaps some humans had unknowingly stumbled across some sort of protection from the Aurem in their never ending attempts to shield themselves from any outside force.

Lear had met the Aurem on three separate occasions including this evening’s encounter, and while this one had been the most violent, they all had left Lear feeling uneasy.

The Aurem usually started out sane enough. Born without physical bodies they would ask the permission of a host before bonding with it. Usually the host would be an animal or small child so that the host’s understanding of situations wouldn’t affect the Aurem’s experience. Somewhere in the midst of it all they all seemed to go a little haywire, though rumor had it that many of the oldest aurem were also sane.

Lear didn’t understand the aurem, it seemed vulgar to inhabit flesh, something dolls only did in the most gruesome of circumstances. In order for a colony to consider a fleshy host all other options had to be exhausted and found impossible. Usually these colonies were hunted down and destroyed. Lear figured it had to be for the best.

The book spoke of souls and their nature, Lear discussed this within itself. They were not in accord as to whether a soul was a human invention, if one existed, and if that mattered in the least. The colony set the book down, it was couched in many different human ideas that were difficult for it to understand. Humans were individual, Lear knew this and yet the colony could not comprehend. So many of the humans’ ideas were so alien. It would be so lonely to not hear the song of the many. While he may share the concept of a single body with humans. There were a thousand minds within that body, a thousand thousand even. The body was a mere shell to convey the masses wherever they wished.

If there was a way to ward of or excise an Aurem, it was not apparent. It would have to unravel this mystery without the help of human philosophy. Turning toward the door Lear glanced down at its chest plate where the strange man had shot it. Though dull from the fire the metal was new. Lear had been lucky that the shot had taken place so near a source of metal.

During the great war it had been shot many times, the worst had been in no mans land, between the trenches. It had thought that the colony was going to fail, all life within would die. There had been no metal near, save for a the bullets within Lear's human comrades lying dead around it.

Eyes dimming somewhat lost in thoughts, it shook the memory away and went to the wall safe to gather a few things. A Marley .38 went into a shoulder holster, and the federal marshal badge was placed on the strap. If it was going to investigate the train crash, it would need to be prepared. Apparently others were after the same thing, and Lear was already behind. It had no ideas as to why the train was forced off the rail. Lear walked out into the breaking dawn, it would find out.

Alien Past Pt. 5

Ella was running on instinct in the night. The light formed patterns that were both alien and familiar to her somehow. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she stumbled through the forest along the railroad tracks. She had to get away from that awful man. The Doll had been strange, no doubt, but just killing it like that was horrifying. She could still see the gout of silver black liquid shooting out of Lear as it fell. She could feel him chasing her, familiar, yet all the more terrifying because of that familiarity. She ran on. No matter how tired she was; she ran on.

Valence rumbled parallel to the tracks as much as he could. He focused his eyes in a way only the Aurem could. Double pupils dilating out to the point they resembled a figure eight. In all his life he had never met another Aurem. They were that rare. Staring out into the ghostly trees passing by, he wondered how best he could use her. She must have been new to the experience, otherwise she would not have acted so surprised by him. She was fast and strong, and apparently had survived the train wreck.

He idly wondered if she was the item Mr. Torio had sent him after. Even if she wasn't she would make a fine present to the mob boss. Gazing into the woods he finally spotted her running. She was going to hit a clearing soon. He sped his car into a tight corner and arrived there right before she, cutting her off.

Stepping out of the car he smiled, though his voice was cold, “You can’t outrun me. you may as well just come with me”

Standing in the headlights, washed out, out of breath, and out of options, she said, “If you touch me I’ll-”

“You’ll what? you have no other options. You’re going to get in the car. You are going to tell me everything that happened, and then, “ his cold smile widened, “ you are going to meet my boss. One way, or the other.”

Everything turned a bright red to Ella, her temper flared and inside she felt her timid personality begin to wilt under her anger, “Well then,” she said, wiping the sweat from her eyes and grimacing, “I choose the other.” Ella grabbed a branch from a near-by tree and ripped it from it’s place, then with all her strength she swung and slammed Valance in the chest sending him flying. The aurem inside her pushed its way to the surface and spoke, “You will leave this one alone, she is mine!” then returning to its place deep below the surface it allowed Ella to return to control.

Valance could only stare in surprise at Ella, he was strong fast and ruthless but this slip of a girl was stronger than he was. Brute strength alone wasn’t going to cut it. Ella vanished into the night again, and Valance decided this time it would be better to bring reinforcements, luckily he knew just the guy, or thing to help him out.

Ella shook as she waited to see if she was still being followed, she had been running for miles and now found herself staring at a signpost marking the outskirts of Salt Lake City. She wondered if she could pull off returning to her old life or if she would even want to. She groaned to herself when she realized that she had no money and no clean clothing. The thing inside of her pushed her forward and emboldened she walked into the nearest hotel, pulled down her bun and allowed her her hair to be free and fall around her shoulders. In her mind she was a starlet of the silver screen, and now she was going to sell that to the concierge.

“Hey there sailor, how about you help a damsel in distress and set me up for the night?” Her voice practically sang the line.

The concierge began talking before he looked up, “I’m sorry miss we aren’t running a shel-” his eyes made contact with Ella’s and he stopped talking. He stared, entranced in her gaze, and handed her a key to the honeymoon suite. “It’s our nicest room, too expensive for any one to rent it,” he muttered as she nodded and walked away.

Alien Past Pt. 4

The road’s dust kicked up in a choking cloud behind Valence’s heavily modified Model T. the dark skinned man smiled at the speed the 81 horse-power Lincoln engine allowed. It had taken quite a bit of elbow grease and ingenuity to put the eight cylinder engine into the body of the Model-T, but it was worth it. the speed was unmatched on the road. His long fingers danced across the wheel as the car tilted around a hairpin turn.

He whistled to himself as he raced down the back roads toward the location of the train wreck. he had no idea what he was to retrieve when he got there, but he didn’t care. Smoke curled in the rescuers’ lamp light, adding a gloomy ambiance to the already hopeless sight of the mangled train. Like a sculptured homage to despair, the mangled wreckage made it clear that any hope of survivors was a lost one. Valance shrugged, the smell of rum and mud reached his nostrils, and he chuckled to himself. No doubt someone had tugged his boss’s ear about this shipment, and all it was now was sludge.

He kicked a bit of metal around to see if any bottles had survived the wreck but only found one bottle of Ron Bacardi Superior half buried in the mud. Standing up with his treasure he noticed a shambling thing helping a woman out of the debris, the woman didn’t even stumble as she walked away from the train. Valance felt a familiar presence and knew that this girl was like him, or would be.

Quietly he moved closer, he recognized the thing with the girl as a Doll, or whatever the hell people were calling them these days. The Dolls, near as Valance could tell, had shown up around the same time as the aurem had. To call them living machines hardly scratched the surface of what they were. They weren’t a single machine, but rather millions of tiny machines working together as a community. Talking to them was a treat too, always referring to themselves as “we” and never really grasped the concept of “I” to them individuality was an illness, tolerated in others but eradicated in themselves.

Lear turned his head towards Val and with lightning quick movements he was soon in front of him. “You were not on the train, tell us what you are doing here.” Lear extended to his full height which was a good foot over Valance.

Unceremoniously Valance raised his .45 Caliber pistol and shot Lear through the chest. Lear fell backwards and was still on the ground, his eyes no longer glowing. Val re-holstered his gun and strode towards the shaking young woman.

Ella shook with rage, so many things were happening to her and she felt out of control. While her entire life up to this point had been a series of pushes from one person or another she suddenly felt furious about it. A small tug in the back of her mind was telling her that she should be in charge of herself at all times and this man with his white teeth and slick black hair was strutting towards her like he was king of the goddamned world.

Thoughts like these raced through Ella’s mind until they seemed too big to contain, and as she stood face to face with the grinning man suddenly all she saw was a blinding light as she kicked out, her patent leather shoe connecting with his groin. As he fell to the ground Ella knelt on his chest and placed her delicate hand around his throat. “I don’t know who you are. I don’t want to know, we never saw each other, got it?” Her voice cut through the air with a crackle of energy as she leaped up and ran off into the distance away from the approaching rescue workers.

Valance was surprised by what had just happened, he had never been taken down by anyone before, certainly never by some slip of a girl. Ella was much stronger than he had expected her to be, and the energy inside of her had seemed very familiar. He ran to his car and started the engine, peeling off in the direction the girl had run.

The colony called Lear was mending itself, thousands of dolls were now returning to the gaping hole in the chest and repairing the damages. It was nearly fully operational by the time the rescuers arrived. “We heard a shot, is everyone okay?” a member of the party asked.

Lear stood up and shook its head, “None of the passengers in this car survived. We will be leaving now, we must see if there is anything we missed.”

Lear's sensory apparatus were far better at seeing in the dim lantern light than human eyes. It cocked its head on its thin metal neck. The colony had constructed this shell with speed in mind, the man who shot it would not be able to escape. Light glinted bronze and silver off its form as its claws raked the dirt tracking after the Aurem girl and the man who shot it. It needed answers and all the questions pointed to those two.