Page 94 of Strange Lights

[Camera pans across the Winnebago interior, which seems oddly proportioned and appears to hold a greater number of people than it should be able to accommodate. A pale, redheaded teen girl in a ragged, oversized T-shirt showing UFOs abducting dinosaurs blows a kiss at the camera. A brown-skinned woman with a pixie cut and a suit jacket rolls her eyes at the redhead. A Black woman with locs and rainbow glasses gives a vague wave, engrossed in the laptop open in front of her. Next to her is a white man in a Waffle House T-shirt under a plaid flannel who waves at the camera awkwardly.]

Calvin: You might have heard of Adele Kingsley by now. Maybe you sense it too. That bad feeling in the pit of your stomach, just like I felt when I heard what she had to say. That little voice inside your head warning you not to trust her, that gut feeling like there’s more to the story. Well, I have all three of her daughters here with me to tell you their side of the story.

[The camera pans, catches a Roomba with googly eyes and angry eyebrows zooming out of sight under the table. A toddler leaps at the camera, reaching unnatural heights. The camera view switches briefly to Calvin again, the toddler perched behind him in a lofted area of the Winnebago cab.]

Calvin: You’ll meet Eldi tomorrow. [He nods at the toddler.] She’s quite special to me.

[The toddler smiles shyly, her blond curly bangs falling into her eyes, which flash strangely, almost like a cat in the night. Her teeth seem too sharp in the brief instant they are visible when she smiles before turning to hide her face.

[The camera switches perspective again to show a father and son. A pair that looks nearly identical with hair the exact same shade of black. The biggest distinguishers are the boy’s eyes, which catch the light like the toddler’s did. A single second of footage shows the father tapping his fingers (or are they claws?) on the counter before the camera turns toward the front of the Winnebago, where a dark figure lounges in the bucket seat, casually swiveling around and around.

[They’re wearing all black: jeans and a hoodie with the hood pulled up. The sunny yellow canvas of a pair of Converse shoes (Is that dried blood?) contrasts with the figure’s ominous featureless face mask. The figure wears no gloves but holds their left hand up, elegantly twisting it this way and that, as if inspecting it curiously.]

Calvin’s voice from off camera: Meet Reggie Quinn. Or should I say, Regina Kingsley. Just kidding. Don’t call Reggie “Regina” or you’ll find yourself “accidentally” [Calvin’s fingers enter the camera view in a quotation-marks gesture] shot with tranquilizer and locked in the magic cage in the Winnebago basement. [He laughs as the figure mutters something unintelligible.] Long story, but no hard feelings. Got any early messages for anyone, Reggie?

[The masked figure lazily considers this for a moment. Before pulling off the mask to reveal a face that isn’t particularly memorable except for the compelling gray eyes.]

Reggie: Yeah, f*ck you, Mom. [The swear word is censored with the sound of a howling wolf.]

Calvin: Reggie, no swearing! We agreed for the sake of the algorithms!

Reggie: But my message for everyone else is this: Adele Kingsley is trying to convince you to turn on children. Alien children, yes. [Eldi leaps down from the loft, and Reggie catches her, holds her close.] But children, just the same. Eldi and her brothers and sisters mean us no harm. They came here seeking safety and refuge when the real monsters of the story threatened their planet. So I’m asking you to consider this: Are you going to become the next monsters these children have to run from? Or are you going to help me and my family return these wayward wanderers safely to their own family?

Calvin: And if that’s not enough to convince you to hear us out, I don’t know what will. [Calvin holds his hand out and points in Reggie’s direction.] So join Reggie and yours truly tonight, and we’ll tell you a secret or two. [In the few seconds he’s been speaking, his hand has changed, fingers elongating into massive claws, fur sprouting along his arm.

[Reggie wings the mask toward the camera like a Frisbee. The camera pans wildly as if Calvin dropped the phone while recording, and the video cuts to the sound of Calvin’s laughter.]

40

Lifeboats & Motherships

Luca sends out copies of Orion’s memories to any of his contacts who will accept the download disseminated through the robotic Helpers. Zara sends some out to her Waffle agents via Gemma and Wolff.

Meredith, the double agent no one saw coming, does the same with the Agency 51 agents who are loyal to her rather than Adele. I’m frankly shocked at the number of them she’s turned.

Calvin’s teaser video has blown up immediately with rampant speculation and chatter. We really do tell it all on the live stream later that day. Orion isn’t thrilled to be tossed into the spotlight as the face at the forefront of the movement, but he isn’t surprised. It’s the story of his life, thrust into leadership unwillingly and in desperate times. Who else has there ever been? And he knows he’s the most compelling and concrete evidence we have.

I’m hesitant to have Eldi appear. I can’t resist the urge to want to shield her, but she’s got a cute and innocent factor we can’t discount. Dave refuses. Doug is helpful as per usual, showing off his various appendages and features. The more we show live, the less everyone can claim we’re pulling a big hoax. Calvin and Luca both show off their werewolf forms and magical powers. Meredith, Zara, Wolff, and Gemma all do their part as well.

Our audience is immediately compelled by Orion’s tale. Strange lights in the sky, Chupacabras, Beasts, Helpers. The words ripple across the globe and become the biggest news story in minutes. I’ve never seen anything like it.

I find Luca and Calvin outside after the live stream, heads bent together talking, looking oddly furtive.

“Glad I don’t have to worry about pack hierarchy scuffles with you two,” I quip.

They both jump. Calvin looks up wide eyed and blushing, but Luca narrows his eyes.

“Speak of the devil and the devil will appear, eh?” I say a bit bitterly.

“We weren’t talking about you,” Calvin says, then backtracks hastily as I draw myself up and scowl at him.

Luca lets out a low laugh and says, “I had plenty to talk with Calvin about. Healthy adult relationships involve communication, Reggie. I think you missed that memo.”

“We were just getting to know each other. Since it seems like we’ll be seeing a lot of each other. I mean, I assume . . .”

Luca relaxes back against the Winnebago as Calvin blushes and trails off.

A complex mix of jealousy and hurt and indignation swells inside me. Luca only smirks, a glint of something dark in his eyes.