The Foreigner Ch. 02

I never planned to write this continuation to my original story but one day I just woke up with it in my head. To understand this chapter, it's important to start at the beginning and read "The Foreigner." It was originally written as a 750 word challenge so it should be a quick read. This chapter has an entirely different tone. I hope you enjoy it. Ratings and comments are always appreciated.

I lay in bed staring at the ceiling. I never considered myself violent but I had killed a man. The police were searching the neighborhood for eyewitnesses but as yet hadn't found any. I knew enough not to panic and run. If I did I'd be at least a person of interest. I had to stay calm and ride out the storm.

I'd already been interviewed twice. Each time I told the police the same story, that all I knew was that the dead guy was a loud and abusive neighbor. To illustrate my point, I told them of the time when his girlfriend asked me for ice for her bruises. I also said that because of his nature it wouldn't surprise me to find out that he had many enemies. I mentioned that my only problem with him was that he kept me awake with his shouting at night. When the police asked me if I noticed anything unusual on the day of his death, I said that the only thing that I noticed was it was quieter than usual.

His death was on the local news for about a week. The newspapers began to focus on another tragedy and a month later things had returned to normal. The police were no longer a common sight in the neighborhood and the only thing different was that the girlfriend of the dead guy had moved out and I had a new neighbor.

Life went on for everyone as it had before, for everyone, that is, but me. On the outside I appeared calm but inside I was always afraid that I would be discovered. The incident in the alley caused me to reevaluate my life. My lease was up in six months and it wouldn't raise any red flags if I didn't renew it. I would just disappear quietly and never return. So, that's what I did. When my lease was up I quit my job. I made up some BS story that I had a sick mother that I had to take care of. Next I headed to my bank to clean out my accounts. I had about $22,000 and I hoped that would be enough until I got resettled and a new job.

It's funny how life imitates art. In comic books, Clark Kent and Peter Parker worked for newspapers. It made it easy for them to gather information. Clark was a reporter and Peter was a photographer. It should come as no surprise that my specialty was computers so my cover was working in the tech department of a newspaper. My hacking skills were well beyond anyone else's but, for obvious reasons, I had to be careful not to draw attention to myself. Those skills came in handy when I had to create an identity for myself.

I thought it best to start fresh. Bob Sanders will disappear and Frank Williams will take his place. I started the process by hacking into the records of a hospital to create another fake birth certificate, two universities to document a nonexistent educational history, and the government to obtain a Social Security number. Getting a drivers license and new credit cards in my new name will be more difficult since they will eventually have to be mailed to me and I don't have any idea where I'm going to live or when I'll get there.

I planned on heading east through Nevada. I thought it would be ironic to visit the "UFO Capital of the World." I was able to book a seat on the Area 51 Day Tour and find a hotel where the tour would start and return. Other than my blue blood there's only one other indication that I might be anyone special. My phone has an iridescent color since it's made of a material not found on Earth and it has a special option in the settings menu that can access a bulletin board which can forward messages to all of my counterparts. I was told that there are others like me on Earth but I don't know who or where they are since I've never used the bulletin board.

I knew it was a risk but until I figured out how to get new ones, I had to use my old drivers license and an old credit card to book the reservations. Check-in at the hotel was anytime after 4:00 pm and check-out was at 11:00 am while the tour started at 7:00 am and lasted about six hours. I wasn't happy with those two pieces of information. It meant that I had to book two days at the hotel and I didn't want to stay in one place too long. On a positive note, while I was at the hotel, my car would be parked in a covered area away from curious eyes.

Maybe I'm being paranoid since it's been a while since the incident but until all of my documents are in my new name and I drive a different car with a different license plate number I worry that I'll be found and put in prison. Actually if the government finds out who I really am, prison would be the least of my worries. But when all of that is taken care of, I'll have my life back. For now, I'm more comfortable driving at night with less of a possibility that my car will be identified. That's why I left for Nevada at 10:00 pm.

Four hours later I arrived at the hotel and I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

The alarm on the clock next to my bed woke me at 6:00 am. There was just enough time to get ready for the day with a shower, shave and a quick breakfast at the hotel restaurant. As I took a seat on the tour bus parked in front of the hotel I counted thirteen other passengers. I had dressed as the website for the tour had suggested; sneakers, comfortable clothing and a hat for the sun but I realized that I couldn't have been more out of place if I tried. The other members of my group were all dressed in outfits you might see in a bad sci-fi movie. It turns out that they were all members of a national organization whose members attended UFO conventions and regularly joined internet chat groups on aliens. I smiled as I thought of the stories they could take back with them if they knew they were actually traveling with one. I planned to sit quietly, keeping to myself but that was never going to happen. A woman who looked to be in her twenties sat next to me and introduced herself. It was hard to tell exactly how old she was with all the stage makeup she had on.

"Hi, I'm Kelly. Isn't this exciting?"

"I hope it will be. I don't know what to expect. By the way, I'm Frank."

"I came all the way from Dayton, Ohio for this tour. My boyfriend decided he'd rather stay in the hotel casino than take the tour. Are you traveling alone?"

"Just me. I decided to take a cross country trip."

"Cool. It looks like all the others are couples, so we might as well be tour buddies. Where're you from, Frank?"

"LA."

"Wow, the land of movie stars."

"It's not that glamorous. Most of LA is just like any other big city."

"Compared to Dayton, everywhere seems glamorous."

"Don't sell your city short, Kelly. After being in one of the big cities you might actually prefer a smaller one like Dayton."

"Have you ever been to Dayton, Frank?"

""No, but I wouldn't mind living in a smaller city."

It wasn't long before the bus turned into Harry Reid International Airport and our tour guide pointed out some airplanes with no markings on them. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you look out of your windows you will see the airline that doesn't exist. It is the famous Janet Airlines. It transports hundreds of workers daily to and from the place known only as "Area 51."

I took out my phone and started taking pictures along with all of the others. People started asking the tour guide a million questions about Area 51 which, of course he couldn't answer. No one except the people who work there could.

For the next hour we traveled on a desolate strip of highway in the desert known as the Extraterrestrial Highway. During that trip we got out at the Delmar Dry Lake flats where UFOs have been spotted. It was only natural that when we got off the bus people started looking up to see if they could see anything. Ten years ago, this was where I landed. Back then, after I exited my craft, I removed the pack of things I would need here on Earth and unloaded a small personal vehicle which would transport me out of the desert to a mountainous area where I could bury it and hike to a place where I would be "just another human." Before leaving the landing spot, I activated the craft to return to my mother ship. Who knows? Maybe that was one of the sightings reported.

It was almost time for lunch and that would be at the Little A'Le'Inn in Rachel, Nevada; a place known for its quirky atmosphere dedicated to Area 51 and aliens. During the ride I turned to Kelly and had an uncomfortable conversation.

"Kelly, at the restaurant I'm going to need a few minutes by myself to take care of some personal business. I like you and I'm not trying to be rude but I need some time by myself, okay?"

Kelly just looked at me with a face that said she didn't understand.

"I thought we were getting along so well, Frank."

"We are."

"Secrets already? That's not a good way to start a friendship."

"Kelly, what's going on? You said you had a boyfriend back at the hotel."

"Yes, but I'm rethinking that. He's not the adventure-loving person that I am and you might be what I need."

"Kelly, I don't think I'm what you're looking for. My life's very complicated. And, talk about secrets, to be honest I don't even know what you look like underneath all of that makeup."

"You're right, Frank. Maybe we can talk again after lunch. Take care of what you have to do." With that, she changed her seat to talk to some other tour members.

When we arrived at the inn, I walked to the counter. Immediately a young waitress dressed in a white shirt, black jeans and an apron came over.

"Hi. What'll you have?"

"I heard your alien burgers are good. One of those, some fries and a coke would be fine."

"Okay, be about five minutes. I'll bring you your food when it's ready."

As I waited for my food at one of the small tables I looked around. The inn looked like it was a mobile home that had been converted into an Area 51 shrine with tables and a bar added. There was a huge selection of merchandise on display. Very little of it was close to being accurate. They were just the fantasies of someone's imagination. Unfortunately there were two items that were real. One was a rock that I knew contained minerals that didn't exist on Earth and one was a metal fragment that came from a rocket that transported someone from my planet to Earth. I was hoping that I'd be able to purchase them before anyone realized what they were.

I was lost in thought thinking about my car, my drivers license and credit cards when the waitress returned with my food.

"You're different from the others on the tour. Are you a nonbeliever?"

"Let's just say I don't think about aliens the same way the rest of the people on the tour do."

After placing the food down on the table she said, "Is there anything else that you need?"

"Perhaps you can answer a question for me. Is everything on display here for sale?"

"I think so. Was there something specific you were interested in?"

"I'm not sure yet but if I am, I'll return in a day or two to discuss it further. In the meantime would you forward my question to the owners of this place?"

"Sure. My name's Katherine but everyone calls me Kat."

"Mine's Frank."

"Frank, would you mind if I put my number in your phone so you can contact me with any other questions?"

"I'd like that, Kat."

I handed the phone to Kat but the phone fell as she reached for it.

"Oh, Frank, I hope I haven't broken it."

As I picked it up I said, "Don't worry, it's okay." I handed it to her again and she nervously entered her number before handing it back to me. At that point, she looked around and said, "Sorry, I have to go. The other people are getting a little restless seeing me spend so much time with you instead of their orders. Take care, Frank."

After lunch the tour bus was soon loaded again and we were off to our next destination. I was happy that Kelly had moved back next to me but she looked different. Her outfit was the same but she had scrubbed all of her face makeup off so I could really see her for the first time.

"Is this better, Frank?"

"You're beautiful, Kelly. You should never cover it up."

"Am I better looking than her?"

"Who are you talking about?"

"The waitress at the inn. I saw how long you talked to her and you weren't just placing your lunch order. I saw her type something in your phone, maybe her phone number?"

"Kelly, without that silly makeup you are much more beautiful and I'm not going to lie to you. It was her phone number but it was purely business. I wanted her to talk to the owners of the inn. It was part of the business I told you I had to take care of."

I'm not sure if Kelly really believed me but she looped her arm through mine and rested her head on my shoulder. This trip was turning out to be much more complicated than I could have imagined.

The next leg of the trip was quieter than usual. Kelly just sat cuddled up to me until the tour guide told us we had arrived at our next destination. It was called "The Black Mailbox." When we arrived, the tour guide gave us a history of the mailbox.

"This wasn't the original mailbox. There used to be two mailboxes here. One was labeled with the owner's name; Steve Merlin and a smaller box next to it was marked "aliens." Over the years people have visited this site just to look at the boxes while others have camped for days hoping to see UFOs. The owner had made them of bulletproof metal and attached massive locks to them when some people started shooting at them and others had stolen his mail. In 2015, Mr. Merlin abandoned the mailboxes and put up a new one, painted black. Alien enthusiasts who visit the site often leave messages and random items in the box."

Again, everyone took out their phones and snapped pictures. When everyone returned to the bus there was an air of excitement as they imagined what they would see at the last stop on the trip.

We traveled through a Joshua Tree forest where each tree looked deformed before arriving at a sign that read "Top Secret Military Facility, Keep Out, Use of Deadly Force Authorized." We had arrived at Area 51. We stepped out and our tour guide started talking.

"This is as close as anyone can get. On the hillside you can see guards dressed in black with high powered weapons standing next to 4x4 vehicles. They stand there always on the alert along with motion devices, listening devices and cameras mounted on cactus. You can wave but they won't wave back. The US government denied the existence of Area 51 for decades but now it's known around the world although very few people know what they do there. You can take pictures but if you ever decide to revisit this area on your own, I would highly advise you not to ignore the signs."

When we returned to the bus I realized that I had learned very little new information but it was a trip I felt I needed to take. From Vegas, I guess my next stop will be back to the inn in the hope that I can buy those two items.

As we rode back to the hotel, Kelly asked "Frank, will I see you again after this trip?"

"Kelly, to be honest, I don't see a future for us right now but would you be willing to give me your phone number in case things change?"

Kelly placed a soft kiss on my lips before asking for my phone. After she had entered her number and returned the phone, she slept peacefully, leaning against my shoulder for the entire trip back to the hotel.

No words were exchanged as Kelly and I left the bus. Her boyfriend was there to greet her. I couldn't hear their conversation but it seemed he was surprised to see her without her makeup.

As I waited for the elevator, I thought back on what a day it had been. I'd probably take a shower and a nap before dinner. The desert sun can easily drain your energy.

It was later that evening that I decided to call Kat.

"Hi, Kat it's Frank. Did you get a chance to speak to the owners?"

"As a matter of fact I did. Everything on display is for sale although the price for some of the more unique items might be high. It would help if I knew which items you were interested in."

"I'm not interested in any of the usual tourist merchandise, so I guess I can expect some high prices. Can you arrange for the owners to be there tomorrow at around noon so I can talk to them?"

"Sure. And, Frank, I'm sorry I dropped your phone."

"No problem. It still works. I contacted you didn't I?"

"Yes you did. Frank, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"When you left on the bus, I saw a girl sit next to you. Does she mean anything special to you?"

"Damn, she asked the same thing about you. What is it with you women?"

"You know it wouldn't work out, don't you?"

"Why would you say that?"

"Frank, I'm going to text you a picture."

Ten seconds later my phone beeped to say that I had received it.

As I stared at it all I could say was "Holy Shit!"

It was a picture of Kat holding a phone just like mine.