Alrik D. finds himself stuck in a vision of the past.
The lights in his house were off, which was no surprise seeing as it was three in the morning. He'd just gotten back from a very long work trip, and he's debating whether or not his wife would be upset if he woke her up to let her know he was home. His gut told him yes.
With a heavy sigh, he opened the front door, and to his surprise, he found the light to his den on. His first immediate thought was that she was cheating on him, and the man was still there. Then the stench of rotting meat filled his nose, the smell so foul his eyes began to water. He gagged, his hand raising to cover his mouth and nose to lessen the smell but it didn't help.
"Lisa?" He called, his voice echoing in his ears. He began to wonder if she left out meat in the kitchen and forgot to put it away. The closer he got to his den, the stronger the smell became.
He came to a stop the slightly ajared door, but what he saw made his blood turn to ice, his gut clenching with a fear he only felt when he came face to face with a life or death situation.
"Mr. President." A sharp and urgent voice snaps through the daze Alrik is in. He blinks rapidly, pushing away the tears that formed in his eyes, and focuses on what's happening now. "Someone is hacking into our systems."
Alrik stands from his desk at the head of the surveillance room and marches to stand behind the man who called his attention. "Get Leroy in here, immediately." He snaps.
"Yessir." Another person, nearest to the door, pushes it open and disappears into the white hall behind it.
Alrik peers down at the screen of the man's computer, watching as whoever dares to invade them easily bypasses a seven level security lock, accessing private files and research data that they've collected on the zombies. The door to the room opens and Leroy walks in, a hand adjusting his red hair so it isn't in his face. He's wearing striped pajamas, a scowl on his face as he glares at everyone and everything.
"Move." Alrik taps the man's shoulder. He quickly vacates the chair, and Leroy yawns as he plops down in his place.
"Hacker? That's a first." Leroy murmurs, his voice thick with sleep. His fingers fly over the keyboard, small windows popping up and disappearing as he tries to lock out whoever it is. "Well hello, CP1." He murmurs. Leroy hunches closer to the screen, his eyes scanning the lines of code.
Alrik crosses his arms over his chest, content to watch.
"Oh, you're good, aren't ya?" Leroy continues to murmurs to himself. "Bring me a cup of coffee, yeah?" He lifts his right hand, his left flying over the keys, to wave at Alrik. He glances at the man who brought the hacking to his attention and nods his head.
The guy grumbles under his breath about being an errand boy, but turns to do as he says.
"God damn it," Leroy mutters.
"What is it?" Alrik frowns down at him. A moment later the guy comes back with a steaming cup of coffee and Leroy snatches it. He takes a large gulp of the scalding liquid, hissing as it burns down his throat, but already he feels more alert and less groggy than before.
"Whoever it is, they're quick." Leroy murmurs. He sets the cup down and continues to fight against the hacker.
"Can you get a location?" Alrik asks, his eyes scanning the screen despite not understanding anything on it. Leroy hums, not giving an actual answer.
"Ah, shit, shit," Leroy mutters, leaning forward in his seat. Then his eyebrows raise, "They found the space pod," He says, a harsh breath escaping him.
"The space pod?" Alrik murmurs, his brows furrowing. Dozens of possibilities flash before his mind, could they use this to their advantage? He's damn well going to try. "Location?" His voice takes on an edge.
"Working on it, they're a tricky little bug." Leroy chuckles. Alrik glances down at the young man's expression and scoffs. He's enjoying this. "Just a little longer." He murmurs to himself. Then he sighs and leans back in the chair, linking his fingers together and stretching his hands out in front of him.
"Well?" Alrik snaps, his patience thinning at Leroy's continued silence.
"Huh?" Leroy glances up and then smiles, "Oh, yeah. They're somewhere in Sedona, Arizona. They know our location, and even accessed our data on the dead." He shrugs.
Alrik blinks down at him, "So you failed in keeping them out?"
"Yup " Leroy pops the word and sighs. "Sorry boss. Least we know where they're at, right?"
Alrik growls, "You better hope we don't find them, or that hacker will be taking your place." Before a pale Leroy can reply, Alrik turns and storms out of the surveillance room. He pulls his phone out and dials a number before putting it to his ear.
"Mr. President," The smooth feminine voice of his assistant says.
"I'm going to send you coordinates. Ready the jet and dispatch team two. I'll send you the details." Alrik snaps down the line and ends the call.
Meanwhile, in the garage, Veronica sits in her bean bag chair, a few feet behind where Kevin tinkers with the new space pod they brought in.
"Do you think Alrik will let us take a day off soon?" She mindlessly asks. One of her legs is propped up in the other, her foot idly swinging with boredom. "I don't even remember when the last one was." She pouts.
"Two months ago." Kevin murmurs as he squints down at something. A panel is open, wires sticking out of it as he tries to figure out how to open the pod door.
"Holy- that's a long time!" She gasps. "In the old world, I would've sued him for making us work everyday without a break." She sighs, "Too bad there aren't any more lawyers around." Kevin hums. "Do you want a snack?" Veronica stands from her comfy spot and takes a step towards one of the two working vending machines left in the garage.
"No." Kevin answers, brows furrowing as he disconnects one of the wires. Veronica grabs herself a bag of potato chips and then stands on the other side of the alien pod. She hums, and then tries to peer inside the door, but huffs when she can't. She's done it three times now, and even though she knows she can't see the alien inside, she can't help but imagine what it could look like.
"Do you think it's ugly? Like some weird buggy sentient person, or like a reptile lizard thingy?" Veronica speculates. The crunch of her snack fills her ears.
"Probably a lizard, like in the bible." Kevin murmurs distractedly.
Veronica's eyebrows raise, "Woah, that'd be so scary." She walks around the pod and plops back down onto her bean bag chair, letting the crunch of her snack fill the silence.
Kevin sighs, leans back on his heel, and wipes at his brows. "I think I got it. Can you call the Prez?" He glances back at her, brown eyes twinkling with excitement. She grins at him and pulls out her cell.
It doesn't take long for Alrik, Maverick, a team of lackeys with guns, and a medic with supplies to show up in the garage. Maverick and Alrik stand directly behind Kevin, while the lackeys spread out in a semi circle, guns hoisted and pointed down at the pod. The medic, Doctor Mason, or just Doc, according to Veronica, sets up his gurney, and his saline laced with a drug meant to keep the alien comatose.
When the Doc indicates he's ready, Alrik gestures for Kevin to begin. Veronica has moved her bean bag out of the way, and watches with earnest. They're about to see their first ever space alien. It was about to change the game forever.
"Oh!" Veronica gasps, "Wait!"
Alrik sighs and glares at the back of her head as she scrambles to a table a few feet away. She brings back a pair of gloves and a plastic face mask and shoves them into Kevin's arms. She looks up at him and grins, "Just in case it's a parasite. You know, like from the predator movies."
Alrik pinches the bridge of his nose, but Kevin chuckles and slips them on anyway. Once he's protected, he releases a harsh breath, and with a snip of cord, the pod door hisses, steam escaping from inside as it slowly slides open.
The lackeys' fingers tremble on their triggers, ready to shoot as soon as Alrik gives the signal. Only nothing jumps out at them. Once the steam clears, Maverick steps forward, a hand gun clutched in his grip, and peers inside.
"Well, shit." He murmurs, eyebrows raising at what he sees.
"What?" Veronica hisses, "What is it?"
"Come look for yourself." Maverick mutters, not once looking away from what is inside.
Frowning, she, Kevin, Doc, and Alrik step around the now open space pod. Veronica gasps, her hands trembling as she stares at the very human figure that looks to be asleep. He appears to be albino, with the milkiest skin she's ever seen. Shaggy, white hair comes down to the guy's shoulders. His lashes are pale, his lips thin. He wears a black suit, the fabric tight and moulding with what appears to be thick armoured plating that covers his torso and shoulders.
"There's no way that's a fucking alien." Veronica mutters.