Chapter 37: Home?
The following morning began with an argument.
"...This is a terrible idea."
Roger glanced over his shoulder as Edith hurried Sasha through the rear entrance of the REACH Institute. The alien’s oversized hood concealed the porcelain plates covering her face while Katie repeatedly checked every corridor before motioning them forward.
"We’re clear."
Edith exhaled.
"I still can’t believe we got away with it."
Roger snorted.
"We didn’t get away with anything. We just haven’t been caught yet."
Sasha tilted her head.
"...Caught?"
"No." Edith smiled reassuringly. "Not caught."
She gently squeezed the alien’s hand.
"You stay close to me today, alright?"
"...Stay."
"Good."
The porcelain woman nodded obediently.
"...Stay."
Katie looked between the pair and sighed dramatically.
"I swear she’s become your duckling."
Before Edith could answer—
The laboratory lights suddenly dimmed.
A chime echoed throughout the building.
AUTHORIZED GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL ARRIVING.
Roger frowned.
"We aren’t expecting visitors."
The automatic doors slid open.
More than twenty armed security officers entered first.
Behind them walked government officials dressed in charcoal uniforms.
And behind them was the one and only Merit Smith.
His immaculate suit looked almost comical beside the heavily armed escort surrounding him.
He smiled.
"Good morning, Edith."
Every conversation between the trio died.
Katie’s cheerful expression disappeared immediately. "What do you want, dipshit?"
Merit ignored her. Instead, he studied Sasha.
"So..."He clasped his hands behind his back, "...this must be our esteemed extraterrestrial guest."
Sasha stepped slightly behind Edith making Merit’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
Interesting. He thought to himself.
"I wasn’t informed of an inspection od whatever this is," Edith said coldly.
"You were not supposed to be.
Merit produced a slim tablet.
"This isn’t an inspection, actually."
A small pause.
"It’s a seizure order."
The trio exchanged surprised looks.
Roger stepped forward. "A what?"
"The United Earth Government has determined that the REACH facility no longer possesses the authority to independently house or supervise an extraterrestrial lifeform."
Katie barked a short laugh. "...You’re joking."
"I’m afraid not."
Merit handed the tablet toward Edith again.
"The council reached this decision late last night."
Edith barely skimmed the documents and video tapes before glaring back at him.
"You pushed this through, didn’t you?"
"I recommended it."
"You sick fuck. Why won’t you just drop it and leave me the fuck alone?"
"I am after the safety of our dear mother planet. That is all."
"The difference? Tell me what difference does it make if she’s here or wherever you’re taking her?"
"The law."
He pressed a finger against the screen.
Several videos appeared.
Edith’s smile vanished.
"...How..."
The first image showed Sasha walking through Meredith beneath military escort.
The second was her inside the Burkman residence.
Xavier waving excitedly from the front doorway.
Roger felt his stomach drop.
"You’re having us tailed?"
The third showed Edith leading Sasha through restricted agricultural districts.
The fourth...
Katie buying flowers while Sasha waited beside her beneath an umbrella.
Merit slowly looked around the laboratory.
"You removed humanity’s first extraterrestrial visitor from government instructed supervision."
Another video played.
"You transported her between planets without authorization."
Another.
"You introduced her to civilians."
Another.
"You took her..." He paused."...into your own home."
Nobody spoke.
Merit sighed theatrically.
"Look, I understand your excitement." His gaze settled on Edith. "I truly do but affection and attachment clouds judgment."
Katie finally exploded.
"Fuck you, you’re doing the same thing!"
Merit looked at her.
"No."
Then at the alien who was trying to grasp the situation unraveling before her.
"She’s an unknown alien species possessing technology and biology centuries beyond ours."
He gestured toward Sasha.
"And you’ve allowed your emotions to override protocol."
Katie stepped forward.
"You’ve been spying on us. That’s a breach in protocol."
"I’ve been documenting violations."
"They’re the same thing."
"Only if you’re guilty."
Roger clenched his fists.
"You’ve wanted REACH since the day it opened."
"I want humanity protected."
"Bullshit. You fucking leech, you just can’t leave me and my wife be, can you?"
Several soldiers immediately aimed their weapons toward Roger.
"I could have you riddled with bullets for the vile words you’ve said to me...but I’m not so cruel."
Merit merely raised one finger.
"Seeing Edith in tears of sorrow doesn’t get me going."
The rifles lowered.
"You bas—"
"There is no need for hostility."
He turned back toward Edith.
"The transfer begins immediately."
Two soldiers approached Sasha, the alien looked toward Edith. Its rings flickering with uncertainty.
"...Stay?"
Edith moved in front of her. "No. You go, I’ll come for you, okay?"
One officer cleared his throat.
"Dr. Burkman, please don’t interfere."
"I won’t let you drag her away like some criminal."
Merit’s expression softened.
"No one is dragging anyone."
He looked directly at Sasha.
"...Will you come with us?"
The alien stared at him and slowly hissed.
"...No."
Merit’s smile twitched.
The soldiers stepped forward anyway. One reached for her wrist. The instant his fingers touched the floating ring around her arm—
CRACK.
The ring burned brightly. The man screamed as an invisible force hurled him across the laboratory. He crashed through three desks before collapsing unconscious.
Nobody moved.
Sasha immediately retreated behind Edith again.
"...No."
Edith spread her arms protectively. "Look what you’ve done!"
Merit’s jaw tightened.
"Take her!"
Four soldiers advanced simultaneously. Sasha looked desperately toward Edith, her rings burning brightly again."
"...Edith."
It was the first time she had ever spoken her name.
Edith’s heart broke.
"It’s alright." She lied. "I’ll come see you, I promise."
"...Promise?"
Edith nodded despite the lump in her throat.
"I promise."
After several agonizing seconds, Sasha’s rings dimmed and she slowly stepped away. She offered Edith one final wave.
"...Hello."
Then the soldiers surrounded her.
The laboratory doors closed behind them.
Silence lingered long after they were gone.
Katie punched the nearest wall so hard her knuckles split open.
"I hate that fucker."
Roger wrapped an arm around Edith’s shoulders.
She hadn’t moved.
Her eyes remained fixed on the empty doorway.
"...I promised."
The Smith Research Facility looked nothing like REACH.
Everything was white and windowless.
Cold.
The room prepared for Sasha measured barely six meters across. The ceiling lowered so she had to remain crouched despite her height.
No skylights or overview of the city.
Only reinforced walls and observation glass.
Merit stood outside the chamber.
"Begin behavioral observation. I want to see what this thing can really do."
...
..
.
1439 hours
A alarm rung throughout Smith’s lab.
"Containment breach!"
Every monitor inside the facility switched to security feeds. The reinforced wall had been punched clean through.
Sasha was gone.
She reappeared at REACH just before sunset.
Katie nearly dropped the mug she was holding.
"...Edith."
Edith looked up from her workstation. Floating quietly beside the laboratory glass overview, covered in dust and powdered concrete...
Was Sasha.
"...Hello."
Edith stared.
"...How..."
The alien simply held out both hands.
"...cold."
Edith didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
"You came back."
They had barely exchanged more words when military vehicles surrounded REACH.
"Of course." Katie groaned.
Heavy boots thundered through the corridors. The lead officer stepped forward.
"We’re taking her back. Get her to come inside."
Edith remained standing in front of Sasha.
"No."
"This is not a request."
"She’s no longer under my jurisdiction, she’s your problem now."
"Our orders remain unchanged."
Roger tried reasoning with them.
"Can’t you see she’s choosing where she feels safe?"
"The alien does not possess legal autonomy."
Katie scoffed. "So because she isn’t human, she doesn’t get a choice?"
No one answered.
Sasha clung to the glass.
"...Stay."
Edith swallowed.
"...I know."
"Get her to come inside, Dr Burkman."
And so Edith did.
The soldiers pried Sasha away.
She didn’t fight.
She simply kept looking back.
"...Edith?"
The laboratory doors closed again.
The pattern repeated.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The walls around Merit Facility grew thicker.
Sasha broke through them.
She returned to REACH.
Soldiers arrived.
She was taken back.
She escaped.
She returned.
Again.
Again.
Again.
News outlets never learned the truth.
The public only knew that humanity’s first visitor remained under government observation.
They never saw the bruises forming beneath the soldiers’ restraints.
They never saw Sasha floating quietly outside Edith’s office waiting for her to finish working.
They never saw the way she whispered—
"...Sha’var."
Every single time she returned.
Eventually, the soldiers stopped asking politely.
They grabbed.
Pulled.
Dragged.
Edith argued until her voice disappeared.
"You can’t treat her like this!"
"She doesn’t understand why you’re hurting her!"
"She’s done nothing wrong!"
Merit remained unmoved.
"The safety of humanity comes first."
"No."
Edith glared at him.
"Your pride comes first."
He walked away without answering.
Weeks passed.
Then months.
One morning...
Edith arrived at the laboratory carrying fresh flowers.
She looked toward the corner where Sasha usually sat.
Empty.
Katie looked up from her workstation.
"...She hasn’t come today."
Roger checked the security logs.
"Not yesterday either."
Edith frowned.
"...Maybe she’s tired."
Another day passed.
Then another.
A week.
Nothing.
No broken walls.
No alarms.
No soft voice saying,
"...Hello."
The laboratory felt unbearably quiet.
Edith found herself looking toward the overview every few minutes.
Waiting.
Listening.
Hoping.
But Sasha never came back.
For the first time since humanity had made contact with another civilization...
The REACH laboratory felt completely alone.