The Fellowship for Alien Detection by Kevin Emerson Page B

here. . . .
    There was a brilliant flash of white light, and Haley lost track of the world.

Chapter 8
    Memphis, TN, July 4, 9:26 p.m.
    Sound returned first. Haley heard a voice.
    â€œWell, that was easy.” The speaker was male, his voice low and calm.
    Now a second voice, female and bored-sounding, replied: “It always is.”
    â€œI know, but she’s a sharp one. And this was risky. All these people.”
    â€œStill human, though,” said the woman. “Once we leave and the lights start flashing, they won’t know what happened. Besides, we couldn’t wait any longer. She was headed to Insertion Point Beta Seven. And apparently Keller called in reinforcements.”
    â€œThat’s right,” said the male. “I haven’t seen anyone. You?”
    â€œNo.”
    Haley opened her eyes. She was still on her back. Her balloon, fully black and white, hovered above her, hanging frozen. Beyond that, a brilliant, pure white light flickered like a movie projector from beneath the silent craft. Those voices nearby were absolutely the only sound in the world other than Haley’s breathing. It was as if everything had been frozen, except for Haley. She realized it would probably be a good idea to be as still as possible. She turned her head ever so slightly. . . .
    In front of the now completely colorless bathrooms stood two people, a man and a woman. The man wore a yellow polo shirt tucked into his shorts. The woman had straight blond hair and wore a sky blue sundress with white polka dots. Other than the fact that they were both oddly pale, no color in their skin whatsoever, the only weird thing about them was that they seemed to be wearing identical tiny black oval sunglasses. And Haley felt fairly sure that these were the same gogglelike sunglasses she’d seen on the figure in the mine.
    But from this close she could also see another feature of these two that she had not noticed on the mine figure: there was something strange about their faces. The skin was too clean— lineless and smooth, expressionless: like a mask . Their arms and legs looked that way, too, like they’d been taken from a mannequin.
    â€œBy the way, One, I hate these outfits.”
    â€œThe Director says we need to blend in,” the female named One replied.
    â€œThe Director. That’s such a human title.”
    â€œFor one with such concerns, Two,” One sounded annoyed, “you’ve certainly embraced their moodiness.”
    â€œPlease,” the man named Two said. “Let’s just get this over with. I’d like to get back for the temporal loop reset. I have some experiments that need updating.”
    The couple started toward Haley. “Poor girl,” said One. “She should be at home writing some silly blog or doing her summer reading.”
    â€œPlenty of time for that,” Two agreed, “once we get her back to Juliette and get rid of her troublesome thoughts.”
    It was all Haley could do to remain still, but they seemed to think she was frozen. If she waited for the right moment, she might be able to get away from them. And go where? There were no other sounds. It was like the world had ceased existing.
    It has , Haley thought to herself, in a way . Because she realized that this must be missing time. She was in it, right now. But . . . why wasn’t it affecting her?
    One spoke from right nearby. “Hmm . . .”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œIs there some reason why she looks different?”
    Haley heard a clicking sound, like buttons being pushed. “I’m reading the MT Field at full strength.”
    â€œStrange,” said One. Haley heard the ruffle of her bending down—
    And then she thrust herself into a roll across the gravel.
    â€œWhat—”
    Haley was up in a second, sprinting away. She glanced over her shoulder to see One jumping to her feet and Two racing after her.
    Haley spun back