Bill and Grolen sat in Bill’s office for quite some time afterward, each of them viewing Nick’s quarters on close circuit television. When they saw him finally drift off to sleep they both relaxed a little.
Bill closed for a second and cleared his mind. Taking a deep breath he opened his eyes and asked “Do you think he buys it?”
Grolen was alert and calm as usual, unaffected by the stresses of mankind. Pursing his lips thoughtfully for a moment he replied “I think that, like most humans, Nick is struggling with what we have revealed to him. I think it’s only his predisposition to believing in life on other planets that is helping him cope with it all instead of having a complete nervous breakdown.”
“Now for the big question, will he do it?”
“We could force him as you know, but it would make everything a lot simpler if he did it willingly. We do have backups but as we both know he is the best one suited for the job” Grolen said with a grimace. “I think in the end he will come around and see it our way. I mean who could pass up an opportunity to be the hero and save the human race” They shared a knowing look and Grolen got up and left the office, the door closing softly behind him.
Bill leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his head. Yes who could pass up that opportunity?
The next morning Nick awoke and for the first time in a few days actually felt better. Having his decision made and his path clear had given him something to focus on and the determination and resolve to pull it off. How he would pull it off he did not know, but he knew that given time the opportunity to escape would present itself. The information he had been given was incredible but he could not envision himself being able to do all the things that Bill and Grolen had told him yesterday. He had to get away and spread the word, get a message out to his fellow human beings about what was happening. Also he had to not think about his plan, to try and put it out of his mind until the exact time the opportunity presented itself. Nick didn’t know if Grolen or even Bill for that matter could really read his mind but he couldn’t take the chance of his plan being foiled before it even got off the ground. He arose as usual and cleaned himself up. He decided to look through his stuff that was hastily put in one corner. A quick inventory revealed what he expected, any communication type of electronics was removed and all that remained were changes of clothes. As he stood and surveyed the room the door silently opened and another gray appeared bearing a tray laden with breakfast items. Nick didn’t know what to call him, nobody had told him if they had a name or not. He wasn’t even sure if he was friendly, as Grolen had pointed out; they were supposed to be in place to spy on humanity. The gray placed the tray on the table and moved to stand by the door. Nick sat down and noticed a note on the tray. It was from Bill and said plainly; after you have finished eating please follow Javon and he will bring you to my office so we can talk.
So he did have a name Nick thought as he surveyed him over the top of the note.
Nick ate and stood up and said “Ok, Javon, I am ready. Let’s go”
Without a reply of any sort the gray turned and the door opened and he went out and waited for Nick. After the door to the room closed they went silently to the elevator and rode up to where Bill’s office was located. The gray stood obediently beside the door as Nick entered.
A Jovial “Good morning Nick” greeted his ears as Bill looked up from his desk “How are you feeling today?”
Nick wasn’t sure but he figured that Bill could tell that he was feeling a lot less anxious. “I am feeling better today, thank you for asking”
“Let’s sit over here” Bill said as he got up and wandered over to the chair and sat down.
Following suit, Nick joined him and sat down squarely in the middle of the couch.
Not waiting to be addressed, Nick asked the one question that was burning in his mind at the moment “What’s with the Grey’s? I thought they were working for the Annunaki?”
“Well” Bill began “As with the spaceship you saw, we have recovered some of their technology, and the grays are a part of that recovery process. The ones you see here were found on board crashed ships and we have since reprogrammed them to work for us” The answer was quick and succinct explaining their purpose in one brief summation and Bill, sensing Nick's hesitation, pressed on “but what of our we discussion from yesterday? I am interested in hearing your thoughts on that matter”
Nick paused for a moment while he replayed portions of yesterday’s conversation over in his mind and asked “What if I don’t want to do it?” more as a way to buy some time for him to think than anything else.
“That could complicate things Nick. We have chosen you for a reason. A lot of research time and money has been put into finding just the right person for the task. To just throw all that away isn’t something we want to do. The Annunaki are coming here Nick, and they want to complete what they started the last time around; there’s no way around that. Isn’t saving mankind a big enough motivator?”
“Yes but I need to know, what if I refused?” Nick pressed on, undeterred at the attempted sidestep of his question.
“If we had to we could modify your memory and return you to your life. Any memories of this place, what you have seen, what you have been told would all be gone and you would wake up in your nice little life and continue on as if none of this had ever happened”
For some reason Nick had a feeling that while this may be true, he felt they would do anything possible to avoid that route. Nick stared at the table for a second and slowly formulated what he wanted to say next. He thought of his friends and their children and the responsibility he felt he had to help them if he could. With a deep bracing breath he said “I’ll do it”
If Bill was excited he hid it very well. An almost unnoticeable smile played on his lips as he leaned forward and extended his hand to Nick. As Nick was shaking it Bill said “You have made a difficult decision Nick. To have the world as you know it so tumultuously turned upside down and be able to find a way to see through that and put it aside for the greater good shows a man of great compassion, wisdom and most importantly a man of immense bravery. You can’t begin to comprehend what this means to the human race.”
Bill beamed at Nick for a moment and quickly stood up and crossed the office to his desk and sat down behind it. “Time is a precious commodity Nick and no more precious than in all this mess. We have to get you into training as soon as possible.”
“Does that take place here as well?” Nick probed.
“No, we’ll be sending you to Dulce base for most of your training and after that… well, you’ll see when the time comes, but for now you’re off to Dulce. Don’t worry about anything; we have had everything in place and ready to go awaiting your final decision. We can leave straight from here.”
With that Bill stood up and marched over to the door and exited beckoning Nick to follow. Nick left the office and got in step beside Bill down the hallway and into the elevator.
Nick racked his brain for any information he had read about Dulce Base. All he could remember at the moment was that it was a supposed secret underground base that went several floors underground and was a joint operation between humans and extra-terrestrials where technology was traded for the continued research on mankind. Still other reports listed horrific genetic experiments being conducted on animals and human abductees; as well as research into the human aura, ESP and mind control were the main functions of the base. “Train level please” Bill commanded.
The elevator started moving and if Nick didn’t know better he would have said it was moving horizontally instead of vertically and just as he finished that thought he felt a faint downward motion and sensed that they were going down. It seemed to take hardly any time at all and they came to a stop and the door opened onto a railway station platform. It was small to medium sized at best with a high ceiling, well lit and clean and what looked like a command center or control room at the far end overlooking the whole ar
ea.
To the right a series of bay doors that, at present, were closed. On the left is where the track should have been, only there were openings in the rock at either end of the platform, the ground below was flat and it looked like the rock had been polished to a shiny black and was smooth as glass. It was big enough to drive a tractor trailer through there if need be.
They walked across the platform to the control room at the other end, their footsteps echoing ominously in the emptiness, and ascended a small flight of stairs. The door to the control room silently slid out the way for them to enter.
Inside the room, large displays and touch-pad controls bearing a mix of English and some strange glyph type symbols were all dormant at the moment and emitting a purplish glow that filled the room.
Bill walked over and touched a series of buttons and the displays changed color into a brilliant blue white and sprang into life displaying all sorts of graphs and images. One of the displays was sectioned into small surveillance type squares, each showing another dock similar to the one he was on, several of them having activity.
Looking closer Nick could see names at the bottom like Dulce, Toronto, New York, Colorado and several other major North American cities.
Nick had barely enough time for all this to register when Bill said “There, the shuttle is on the way, let’s go down to the platform” He got up and gestured toward the door and Nick turned away from the control panel and walked toward the door. It opened as he got there and he and Bill climbed down the stairs and walked toward the edge of the platform. “These are some pretty big tunnels” Nick observed, wildly looking for something to talk about.
“Sometimes we need to transport large items and for obvious reasons, we can’t do it above ground” Bill curtly replied.
Without any noise to announce its arrival a small shuttle shot into view and stopped abruptly right in front of them, the door opening slowly. Bill walked in and sat down in one of the pair of chairs nearest the front. Cautiously Nick followed him and took the chair opposite Bill, across the aisle. Noticing Bill put on a seat belt Nick did the same. The shuttle was about the size of a private jet with four rows of single chairs separated by an aisle. In the front was a small control panel that Bill was leaning over and entering information in a rapid fashion. Leaning back he gave Nick a quick smile and said “I hope you’re ready for this”.
If it wasn’t for the fact that the dock they were at had disappeared Nick would never have noticed that they were even moving. The ride was so quiet and smooth it felt like they were floating on the air itself.
“How fast are we going?”
“Just a little faster that the speed of sound” Bill replied as he peered ahead out of the front window.
“So this shuttle isn’t mechanical then”
“Its propulsion system uses magnetic energy. That’s why the ride is so smooth.”
“How long will it take to get to Dulce from here?”
“It’s only a few minutes”
“I noticed in the control room there were monitors for other cities in North America”
“Yes, there are other bases. The Annunaki went into hiding and made these tunnels and the other bases so they could have a few escape points if the need ever arose. If they ever came under attack they could escape to another base and collapse the ones that were under attack. Looks like we're here”
The shuttle came to a stop abruptly yet smoothly at another dock that was an exact replica of the one they just left; this one too was empty which Nick found strange and unnerving.
He and Bill exited the shuttle and made their way to the right side of the platform where an elevator was waiting for them.
“Fourth floor” Bill barked out and the elevator started moving in that strange unnerving way Nick had come to associate with these elevators.
Bill seemed a little on edge to Nick, like something was bothering him.
As the elevator ascended, a strange feeling began to build in the back of Nick’s mind. Not necessarily fear, more like an anxious or nervous feeling, like he was going to see the dentist or it was his first day of school or something.
Bill turned toward him and forced a weak smile that was meant to reassure him.
Nick focused his attention away from what he was feeling in an effort to remain calm.
The lift stopped moving and the doors opened slowly onto a long hallway with many doors and interconnecting hallways. Standing immediately outside the door was the most beautiful woman Nick had ever seen.
She was around the same height as Nick maybe one hundred and fifty pounds, long blonde hair falling in loose curls around her thin face. Her eyes were a piercing, azure blue that reminded him of pools of water in the tropics and when she spoke, her voice was soft, soothing and motherly and made Nick feel all at once like everything was alright in the world and his cares all washed away.
“Well, here he is. I have been waiting to meet you” she said extending her hand. “My name is Thralesh. I will be your guide for the next little while. I am looking forward to working with you.”
In a trance like state Nick followed Bill off of the elevator not taking his eyes off Thralesh. Slowly he extended his hand and shook hers. Her skin was nothing like he expected. Soft and warm, even her hands radiated a sense of peace,
“Hello” is all he could say in return.
She flashed him a bright smile and turned to Bill and they walked a short way down the hall leaving Nick by himself.
“Everything is arranged as you specified. Nick will stay right here on the fourth floor. Quarters are all set up and the program has been modified to accelerate his adaptation in accordance with the time pressures we face.”
Seemingly impressed Bill nodded and motioned for her to take a few more steps with him down the hall. As they did a few whispered words drifted back to Nick “…he doesn’t leave this floor”
Chapter 6