Alien Past Pt. 9

This is the last one, for this story. I delayed it for a long while, mostly due to laziness. It is a bit of a jump from the previous bit. This was an attempt, on my part, to start putting together an explanation for the train wreck. also I wanted there to be a zeppelin. So I like dirigibles, so what?

The wind whipped by the small Dirigible as the electric motors silently pushed it through the air. Mack smiled as the pilot guided the airship away from the train wreck. no matter how long he lived he knew he would never forget this day, this flight. He was just some hood from Queens, and now he flew through the sky with the biggest score of his life.
Mack had set the charges that knocked out the train. he was a powder man, just like his father. learned all he knew of blastin’ as a sand hog before moving on to safes and the like. Last week he was offered a job, at a price he couldn’t refuse. the crew was good, and the money was out-a-sight.
There was the engineer, Hank. He had known where the train would be and where to place the charges. Clarence was the muscle, he had removed the trunk and carried it like it was nothing. big fella, didn’t say much. and then there was the pilot, Ibson. no first name given, he was the bosses eyes and ears, they all knew it. He scowled all the time, except when he talked. then he sneered. not a man Mack wanted to tangle with.
Clarence and hank were playing cards. they had asked Mack to join, but he wanted to enjoy every minute of the flight. Airships were more common now, than they had been, mostly because of all the war surplus, but that didn’t make them exactly common.
As the dawn was breaking he spotted the gleam of what he expected was the great salt lake. silhouetted against the rising sun the airship tether and radio tower loomed over the waking city. He had heard of a similar tower in France, but he thought it couldn’t compare to this. the tower rose into the sky a grid work knife cutting through the morning light.
Guide lines were attached and the ramp connected. Mack breathed a bit easier. the job was done, easy money. all they had to do was take the trunk to the Boss and he would be sitting pretty. they hired a wagon and made their way toward the higher ground. the houses were all at least three stories and in pristine order.
upon arrival at a particularly fine residence they off loaded the trunk and walked to the door. A man in a very fine suite opened the door, nodded to Ibson and motioned for the rest to follow. In the library an old man sat in front of a fire in a red leather chair. he had slicked back white hair and large mustache that would have been comical on anyone even slightly less severe.
“I hope there were no problems in gaining the items?” his voice was deep and baritone, and though the words were light, his tone was harsh and unforgiving.
Ibson nodded, holding his hat in his hands.”yeah Mr. Sinclaire, we got the trunk for you.”
“let me see the contents.” Clarence set the trunk in front of the high backed chair and opened it. Mr. Sinclaire looked over the contents slowly, a look of smug pride filling his stern features. he stopped moving suddenly, his face gone blank. “where is the rest of it?”
they all shuffled uneasily, Ibson said, “rest of it, sir? I am afraid I don’t know what you mean. this is all there was.”
Mr. Sinclaire’s fingers dug into the arms of the chair, his knuckles white with tension. “ Where is the owner of the trunk?”

Alien Past Pt. 8

Miles away Valance was sitting in his car sipping the rum from the bottle. The night had not been as successful as he had hoped, he couldn’t find the girl’s trail and when he went back to the wreckage he found that the Doll was gone as well. He wasn’t used to failing and he wasn’t about to develop a taste for it now. Drunkenly he started up the car and headed home to his terrified wife. She was a weak little thing who rarely said anything except for a bit of a sob when he took her to bed. He found himself often deliberately tormenting her in an attempt to get any sort of reaction from her besides trembling. He wondered what she would be like angry, would she raise her voice to him? Would she try and fight him? He caught her staring at him occasionally and wondered what the hell was going through her tiny mind. When he arrived that evening he found her waiting for him, she looked pale and nervous, as usual. “What is it now Mary? I’ve had a long night,” Valance growled.

“I...I’m pregnant,” she said in barely a whisper. She raised her hands to shield herself from the onslaught she expected, but the strike never came. “Di-Did you hear me?”
Valance paused for a moment and then started to laugh, he had knocked the old lady up. The evening was starting to look up.


bit of a short one this week, sorry.

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.

Alien Past Pt. 3

Ella would never in a million years be able to describe accurately the feeling of bonding with the Aurem, she felt full, yet hungrier than she had ever been in her life. She felt like she was seeing things with new eyes, there were new colors, new sensations. Even the pain she felt from the wreck was a different experience, before it was horrifying as she faced her own mortality, but now it was exhilarating. All around her was twisted metal and twisted bodies, and yet she could feel each breath coming easier and easier, and with those breaths she could feel herself recovering and mending. “I am alive,” she whispered, and her voice shocked her a little. There was the faintest echo to it.

As she began to move herself from the wreckage she heard something faint, like skittering, but not from insects, it sounded like metal skittering across metal.

A voice called out, hollow in the darkness, “Is anyone in there?

“I'm here,” she said with force. She was shocked at her own energy. She was no longer scared and alone in the night. the night had become more than dark, more than blackness. It was a tapestry of overlapping colors, shades, and light. How could she have ever been afraid of this? Her smile was all joy when something heavy hit the ground behind her.

The thing was shaped roughly like a man, but the dull gleam showed it to be covered in metal of some kind. It was very slim, and hunched over in a way that implied motion, even in stillness. Blue light glowed coolly where a human's eyes would be and a steady ticking came from within it's chest, like the radiator pipes in winter. It was a machine man; it was a Doll.

“Are you alright? Do you require aid?” it's voice was reedy and high. “Do not be alarmed, We are here to help, we work with the fire department. We are called Lear.” It tilted it's head, as if waiting a response.

Fear had surged through her for a moment, yet now all Ella had were questions. She normally would have suppressed them, but found the words leaping unbidden to her tongue. “I'm Ella, why do you say 'we'? Are there more Dolls helping the rescue? How bad is the crash? What happened to the train? Is anyone dead?” her eyes were wide in shock, she had never been this forward before,. She didn't act this way.

Lear cocked his head, as though it could not really grasp what was going on. “you appear unharmed, though we notice a stress differential in your voice.” it moved quickly across the room, a blur even to her improved vision. Then the light from it's eyes was shining directly into hers. “Interesting! Unanticipated. You are not human. It could explain-,” it stopped there, pulling it's face away from hers and stood perfectly still.

“Explain what? What do you mean?” her mind whirled trying to piece the information together, and then, “You mean because of the Aurem?”

Lear stepped back from Ella's verbal assault. When it moved there was the skittering of metal on metal. Ella noticed for the first time Lear's hands and feet. They each had long fingers and toes that ended in small, delicate almost, claws. When they passed over metal the noise was a faint skittering.

Lear said, “This train wreck was not an accident.”

Alien Past Pt. 2

Smoke curled from the cigarette in Johnny Torio’s hand. he was finely dressed, and sat ramrod straight at the back table. It was mid day and his speak easy was empty of all but the most serious drinkers. the band was tuning up in the corner, getting ready for the night’s entertainment. Torio’s eyes missed nothing and betrayed no emotion.
There was a sharp rapping at the metal security door. The doorman looked through the slot then back at Torio. “It’s Peebles, looks agitated,” he said.
Torio sighed Nicky Peebles was one of those guys on the periphery of The Outfit, not a made man, but sometimes useful. He nodded to to the doorman. Peebles entered, his suit was worn, his tie slightly off. he was a short man, with a kind of nervous energy about him, always reminded Torio of an agitated rat terrier.
Peebles sat across the table from him his rumpled hat twisting in his hands, “Mr. Torio, sir. how do you do? I hate takin’ up your time, sir really I do. but this is important-”
Torio put out his cigarette, “To the point Nicky.”
“Right sir, right away. You know that I have a friend in the North Side Gang? Yeah well, he tole me that O’Bannion is movin’ somethin’ big by train. Cross country see?”
Torio gave him a condescending look and meaningfully lit another cigarette. “This matters to me, why? If it is already on the train it is too late to do anything about it.”
“Oh, but I ain’t got ta’ the best part, sir. that train got inta an accident, see? An’ I know that it will be at least two hours ‘fore the North Siders can get anyone out there!”
He looked at the jumpy little man, took a drag on his cigarette, and then said, “I don’t know if I should believe you Nicky, I just don’t know.”
“Oh this is the real McCoy sir, honest.”
After Nicky left Torio sat for a bit, then called over Jimmy, “I need you to get Valence over here, quick.”
“Boss, gotta say I don’t like dealin’ with that freak. He’s got the creepy eyes, and his voice always echos. Ain’t natural boss, all I’m saying.”
I know Jimmy, but hes the best driver we got, and if Peebles is right we gotta’ get out to that train, but quick.”
“Alright boss whatever you say,” Jimmy said as he headed toward the door.

The streets were cold and wet from a rain that chilled the bone, Jimmy felt a shiver run down his spine. He wasn’t a smart man, but he knew that he was caught between two places he didn’t like. He didn’t want to deal with Valence and he couldn’t defy his boss and keep all his digits in tact. “Next time Jimmy, just keep your head low,” he muttered to himself under his breath as he pulled his coat around himself tighter and lifted his collar to keep the rain off his neck.

Valance could usually be found at the Green Door Tavern up on Orleans Street, he usually had a drink in one hand and some choice bit of calico in the other, Valance liked those girls with a bit of innocence left in them. It was like he fed on it. Jimmy wasn’t a big fan of those types, those creepy SOB’s who preyed on the weak made his teeth itch. Like that priest who tried to touch him as a boy until Jimmy showed him whats for.

In spite of Prohibition the Green Door Tavern maintained a steady flow of customers looking to take the edge off the day. Its bright green door not only gave the bar its name, but also let the newer clientele that they were in the right place. Jimmy usually didn’t bother with the Door since avoiding Valance was easier if he stayed away. He knocked on the door and the guard let him in once he showed that he worked for Torio and not the feds. Valance was at a booth in the back a high ball glass filled with whiskey and an arm full of tomato. With a shake of his head Jimmy walked over to Valance’s table and had to clear his throat loudly to grab his attention. “Hey, Val! Torio wants you to take care of some business out north, drop the dames and head out.”

Valance gave Jimmy a smile that made him feel sick to his stomach, something about that cat just wasn’t right and Jimmy had tried figuring out why Valance seemed so strange to him while others never bothered to pay attention. Valance’s smile made him seem like some sort of monster, all teeth and the rest fading away, but the more he complained about it, the more he was certain he was the only one who saw it. Valance spoke, his voice harmonizing with itself, “Fine Jimmy, tell Torio I’ll be there in a minute, I got him.”

Alien Past Pt. 1

Ella Dagnell took a deep breath and mentally reviewed her meager belongings she had packed for her trip. Her suitcase was filled with sturdy, joyless clothing which suited her purpose just fine, this along with her handy Oliver typewriter meant she was ready to leave her cozy apartment in bustling Chicago and go to the devastated town of Castle Gate, Utah.

“Dammit Ella, Why the hell ya’ doin’ this?” Daniel, her erstwhile boyfriend, whined at her.

Her hands paused briefly over her well worn folded clothing, “Daniel, Daniel I HAVE to. it’s...it’s for work. I-I have to.”

Ella tried to ignore Daniel’s continued complaints as she gathered up her courage. Her reddish brown hair was in tight little ringlets around her face, a style that wouldn’t last long where she was headed. She went to her sink and ran water over her hair, pulling the wet mess into a tight bun on top of her head.

“You shouldn’t be out in a man’s world, you sure as hell aren’t cut out for it! You should be staying here and marrying me like your parents want you to!” Daniel’s words stung, she knew she wasn’t the type to adventure out, but she had seen how confident flappers and the glamorous women who went in and out of speak-easies had seemed, and she wanted to be like them. She didn’t want to be the girl who baked cakes for the church raffle, she wanted to be Zelda Sayre.

For months Ella had been begging her boss at the local newspaper to give her a real story to cover, she had been covering ladies interest stories for the better part of a year and she felt that if she had to cover one more fluff piece about one of her neighbors baking a pie and winning a prize she would scream. Her persistence had been met with a patronizing dismissal until two days ago. The entire news room stood in stunned silence as her boss, John Radcliffe had read them the telegram, there was an explosion in a mine in Castle Gate, and there were no survivors. Perhaps Radcliffe figured offering the job to Ella would result in her turning it down and giving him some peace, or maybe all the men had turned it down before he approached her but Emma found herself assigned to the story with a train ticket leaving to Salt Lake City that evening.

The train station was bustling with the activity of work commuters in the evening, men going home to their families. The preliminary estimates of the mine disaster painted a grizzly and heart wrenching picture. Of the 171 men in the mine, 117 of them were married with children, those men would never be arriving somewhere again. The people rushing by her, oblivious to the heartache and misery of their fellow man overwhelmed Ella, she felt she could barely catch her breath as she boarded the train to Salt Lake City.

Ella tried to let her mind wander on the train ride, but there was something off about the woman sitting in front of her. Something about her eyes seemed off, Ella had made eye contact for a brief moment and felt as though two people were looking back at her.

“Excuse me miss,” the woman’s voice brought Ella out of her own head for a moment, “I was wondering if you are feeling well, you look as though someone has walked across your grave.”

Ella smiled weakly, “Yes, I’m fine, just a bit shaky from the travel is all. Trains make me nervous,” Ella hoped that the woman would buy her excuse and be done with her, but instead she handed her what at first glance appeared to be a book, but on second glance revealed to be a hidden flask.

“Don’t worry, it’s the good stuff,” the strange woman grinned and nodded to encourage her, “I can’t stand that coffin tarnish.”

Ella had never had liquor before and the burning warmth that spread through her was strangely comforting. She felt peaceful in spite of her destination and found herself growing drowsy. Soon she was drifting off to sleep, the sounds of the train fading off into the distance.

There was a screeching sound and then sudden movement, she awoke only long enough to register that something was wrong. She had time to breath in and shout. Everything was still, everything was silent and she was in pain.

Ella tried to move, the horrible wrenching sensation in her side stopped her from trying more. She tried to see what was going on but something was blocking her vision. Breathing was getting difficult. The air was thick and heavy, smoke and the smell of burning filled the air. There was something else there too, a smell like the air after a rain.

“Ella,” a voice in the darkness, almost a whisper.

She frantically looked around, “Wh-Who is there?”

“That's not important, you're hurt, you need my help,” it said.

“Well help me! Get me out of here!” she started to crawl toward the voice despite the pain.

“Stop moving, you'll hurt you self more.”

Her breath came in short painful bursts, “Who are you? Where are you?”

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she felt something near her. Slight blue sparks occasionally flared but there was no one there, just the sense of something. The was a stack shock on her hand. “I am what your people call an Aurem. I was bonded with the woman in the car with you. She has died, I couldn't save her. I can save you, but you have to let me.”

“ Let you? What do you mean? If, if you can help me, then please help me!”

“ We will have to bond, to join. In order to help you we need to become one.”

“Bond?” Ella was close to passing out again. Her pain allowed her to feel every detain of it. Her whole left side was in extreme pain. Focus, she thought, what does he mean, “join” with me? She thought back on everything she knew of the Aurem. They arrived over a hundred years ago. Some people thought the Aurem were Angels or Demons. They needed a human body to live in. “You want to control me?”

“Not control, never control, you will still be you. You will also be me as well. We will be something new.” The blue sparks flashed more frequently as it spoke.

Tears and something thicker ran down her face. I don't want to die, she thought, I haven't lived, there is so much I want to do. She took a long painful breath, the muscles in her side screaming in protest. Her voice was hoarse, “OK I give you permission. Do it.”