The Unknown

SEVENTEEN | together.

The screen shut off but the lights stayed on. They were alone, though Tess knew they were probably still being watched.

Kyle sat on the cold, hard floor and stretched his limbs out, getting comfortable. "Well, after everything, it's actually kind of nice to just be together. You know, without having to run for our lives."

"Yeah. No one to command that we stay apart, either." Jade's face, framed with dark waves of hair, appeared in her mind. She'd become so cruel and unsympathetic, entirely different from the friend she'd once known.

He cracked a grin. "On the other hand, if we're here too long, I hope we don't get cabin fever."

She managed a tense laugh, then the room went silent.

"What do you think they'll do with us when we stop being useful to them?" she asked, sitting down cross-legged beside him.

"Who knows."

"Who knows?" She paused, considering his response. "You seem awfully relaxed about this."

For a moment, her mind spun with a sudden assault of confusing, intrusive thoughts. Was this really something Kyle would say? 

Who were they anymore?

If they were only half human, were they only half themselves? How much had their transformations permanently changed who they were?

Her lungs tightened and her heart began to pump harder. Anxiety.

"When there's no way out, all that's left is how you feel about a situation," Kyle explained. "Panicking won't help. All we can do is stay calm, alert, and wait for our enemy to present a vulnerability."

He was right, of course. Panicking wasn't productive, but her body had a tendency to do exactly that.

Tess drew in a long, deep inhale, then released the air in an even longer exhale. She willed her pulse to slow, her muscles to relax, and her stress hormones to normal levels.

It worked. The power to exert control over her body had been there the whole time, but she hadn't known to use it. She felt focused and centered, ready to take on anything the government could throw at her. But she knew she'd need to practice and recognize when she was tense, then train the habit to calm herself.

"We shouldn't be so eager to tell them everything we know," Kyle said, rubbing his temples. "We can retain some power if we make them think we still have information they want."

He was planning. This was definitely the Kyle she knew. She shook her head, clearing the doubts away.

Hours passed. Eventually, the lights shut off again. Kyle figured this was their simulated night and took it as a cue to sleep, falling into a light snore with ease.

Tess felt her mind racing again. She closed her eyes and forced her breathing to slow.

It was difficult, but eventually, she sunk into a vivid dream.

There was plant life all around that looked dazzlingly bioluminescent. She wasn't walking but rather floating through a dense gaseous atmosphere. There were two moons above her head, dangling in a sky void of any recognizable constellations.

She was on another planet.

In the distance, through the misty air, she saw a smooth chrome shape. Immediately, she knew it was the ship currently suspended in Earth's atmosphere—or one just like it.

She was headed straight for the ship, but something was coming for her. She didn't know what, but she was certain it was there, something deadly and terrifying just behind her, reaching out, about to grab her—

Tess woke up gasping, eyes searching the darkness, finding nothing. She remembered where she was and clambered around, needing to contact Kyle for some comfort. 

For a moment, she couldn't find him and felt a rising panic too strong to halt.

Then she tripped over his sleeping body, hearing the breath forced from his lungs.

"Was that you?" he groaned.

"Sorry," she gasped. "I think I just had an alien dream."

She described it to him, sitting down in front of him, facing away. His strong arms rested over her shoulders. Despite their predicament, she felt safe and secure like this.

"It must have come from the alien part of you. Memories unlocked in the unconscious." His voice was soothing and thoughtful at her ear. "I never considered that we could experience memories from their brains...or whatever they have instead. Maybe, if it keeps happening, it can tell us more about them and why they came here."

Her mind spun with more dizzying uncertainties, but something in her was excited to have experienced the beautiful planet. "I think maybe they didn't want to leave their world. Something forced them to leave for their own survival."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"That's what it felt like. Fleeing. Something was coming for me, and I was rushing to the ship."

"That's huge." Kyle's voice was full of wonderment. "If we can figure out what they were running from, we're so much closer to understanding them and their motivation." He laughed softly. "We just need you to keep dreaming."

It was days before they saw the man on the screen again. In that time, Tess only had ordinary Earth dreams. It felt strange, waiting and hoping for something she had no control over.

Twice each day, a tray of food was pushed in through a small slot in the door. It was meager and bland. Their lack of control began to sink in. Tess paced their small prison, frustration growing in her bones.

Then the screen finally came to life, their first interaction with another human in days. She stared with both relief and trepidation.

It was the same man as before. This time he was emotionless, his eyes impossible to read.

"There's been a decision. You'll be moved now. They want you in a more active role. Don't panic."

They looked at each other, confused.

Then a hiss came from the corners of the room. Gas, just like before, swirled in the air, dark and menacing.

There was nowhere to run. Tess grabbed Kyle's hands, guiding him to sit down. She had accepted what would happen and that it was out of her control. So she faced him, wanting his green eyes to be the last thing she saw before falling unconscious.

__________

a/n

btw I never talked about the switch from first person to third person perspective between parts 1 & 2.

It was kind of to signify the transformation Tess went through, literally being abducted and fused with an alien organism. We're now a little more outside of her head. And maybe things feel a bit off because we don't know exactly who or what she is anymore, and neither does she. So I guess identity ends up being a bigger theme and question in this second half.

It's super interesting (to me) to read about philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience. Like most of our cells are replaced in a certain number of years, yet most of us obviously consider ourselves the same person (sort of like the ship of Theseus). Or a brain injury/condition can, in some cases, drastically alter an individual's behavior, such that family/friends may see them as a different person before and after (like Phineas Gage). It's all pretty wild