Nathan Hystad: New Threat

“What if we just got a place here? A condo on the park?” I gazed back at the beautiful buildings to the west of us, peeking at us from above the trees. “We can walk Carey, go for runs in the park… see a show every now and then.” I tried hard to sell it.

I wasn’t sure what Mary would say, but she just smiled at me and held my hand. “I think that’s the perfect idea.”

“So do I,” I said, and we walked the rest of the way in near silence, just enjoying ourselves.

The Boathouse was coming up quickly, and I could spot Magnus’ red hair from a way away. He came trotting toward us, and Carey growled a bit as he saw a shape rushing at us. When he saw who it was, he turned into a wiggling mess.

“Dean! Mary!” He grabbed Mary and squeezed her, spinning around. “How have you two been?”

“Buddy. We talk every couple days,” I said, laughing at his excitement.

“I know, but we haven’t seen you guys in weeks,” he said, motioning to Natalia coming down the sidewalk toward us.

Mary waved to her, and I saw Nat’s eyes light up just a little bit. She was a closed-off person, and even though she had started to talk again during the events of last year, she still said few words, at least in public.

“Hi, Nat,” I said, and gave her a light hug. She smiled and hugged Mary. Before we knew it, we were sitting on the patio by the little lake by the Boathouse, watching a few couples idly paddle by in rented canoes.

Mae walked in as we were finishing our meals. I had a flashback to the night I’d seen Janine here for the first time, eight years earlier. My throat closed up a bit, and I pushed aside the feelings and memory. So much had changed since then.

“Sorry I’m late. We had something come up last night,” she said, sitting down at the table. We cleared a spot for her, and after waving the waiter over, she ordered a latte. “I can’t get over the luxuries of Earth. We were used to protein slop up there.” She pointed to the sky and my stomach tightened.

“What happened?” Mary asked.

“You know how our group is still under surveillance, right? Well, a couple of the ones I had marked as potential dissidents have been meeting secretly. Of course, they have no idea the government is watching them. They’re tired of being confined out on Long Island, but most of us understand the concern. We were piloting your people to their deaths.”

“Most of us know you guys were doing what you thought was best. And almost all of you have been more than amiable since arriving on Earth. Sharing knowledge and being productive members of New Earth.” Magnus said this, and the name some people had been giving our planet sent shivers down my spine. If anything, this was still old Earth. Perhaps half-Earth. That might have been more fitting. The planet was still the same; it was the people that had changed.

“Well, we’ve been keeping an eye on them, and last night the mics picked up a name. Not one anyone on this planet wants to hear about. The Bhlat .” She said the last in a hushed tone, and we were all leaning in around the table. Damn. We’d learned a lot about the race from Mae and the other hybrids, but it still seemed like only a little.

“The Bhlat? Why would they be sneaking around discussing that?” I blurted, and the answer came to me before the words were out of my mouth.

“It seems to be the game these days. The Deltra infiltrated the Kraski, and the Kraski hybrids like us. It seems only fitting that somehow the Bhlat had gotten to someone on the Kraski before they evacuated their planet.” Mae stopped and looked at each of us before continuing. “If you thought the Kraski were bad news, you were wrong. They were just low-level compared to these guys. Sure, they took the Deltra and treated them like slaves, but they kept most of them alive. The Kraski only decided to kill all of humanity near the end. Those transport vessels were supposed to bring their people with them. That was, until the Bhlat came and destroyed them.”

We knew this story, but it still drew us in: a huge intergalactic war we were now a part of.

“If these guys find out where Earth is, it’s only a matter of time,” Mae said.

“Do you think there’s any way to prevent it?” Magnus asked, chest puffing out a bit.

“I hope so. I’m starting to like this world.”

The trip to Washington went by fast. Mae rode with us, and Carey sat in the back with her. She had started off cautious of the animal, but had quickly warmed to him, and now they were old friends. Carey rested his head on her lap as we raced down the interstate to the capital city.

I drove to the Capitol building. The sun shone bright in the sky, and for a moment, I thought I saw something. Was it a ship? Then my panic subsided as I recognized the shape. It was an airplane. Flights had begun six months after the Event, and though most of them were still commissioned flights by world powers, they were becoming more and more common to see.

As we approached the Capitol, I was in awe of the beauty of it. There was something about classic architecture that appealed to me. Domes and pillars. They were a sign of strength.

We stopped at a security booth and we all showed our passes to the guard at the gate. He frowned the whole time and gave me a double look before heading into his little booth. He made us wait good five or so minutes, before grunting that we could go on through.

“Nice guy,” I said sarcastically.

“We’ve all been through a lot. Try to not judge anyone too harshly,” Mary said, setting her hand on top of my right thigh. For a tough Air Force vet, she had a heart of gold and an awareness of other people that continued to inspire me to be better.

“Sorry, honey. You’re right.”

Standing by the front doors, we waited for Magnus and Natalia, who appeared to be having an argument with the same security guard in the parking lot.

When they got to the entrance, Magnus was still red, and Natalia was laughing at him.

“Don’t ask,” he muttered, and we entered. I’d been there many times, but the sight of the work put into it blew me away each time. A quiet, spectacled man greeted us and led us through the rotunda, and instead of making our way to one of the massive halls, we headed back into the library. The smell of old books, leather, and wood wafted to me and I wanted to stop and sit on one of the chairs, to relax with one of the ancient bound history volumes.

Instead, we were guided to a back door; the man guiding us unlocked it. Armed guards were at either side of the room, and they watched us with either interest or duty. Through it we went down a spiral staircase that was dimly lit by some ancient-looking wall sconces. I had a feeling we were heading somewhere few were allowed to see. Mary was behind me and she put a hand on my shoulder, giving me what felt like a reassuring squeeze. I turned back to her and lifted my eyebrow: a “what is going on here?” look.

“Dean, maybe we finally got invited to the Senate’s cigar club.” Magnus gave me a nudge with his elbow as we reached the basement level.

“This way,” the guide said, leading us down a long hall lit by the same sconces. It gave the hallway an ominous feel, and I felt like this was going to be more than a casual “thanks again for saving the world” meeting.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Natalia said quietly.

“Yeah, me too,” Mary replied, holding Carey’s leash as he looked around, sniffing everything he could get his nose on.

We were led through a mahogany double door and entered a room with a few people milling around a large table. I spotted the interim president, Patrice Dalhousie. Since the previous one hadn’t made it, nor had the vice president, someone had to fill the spot. There was talk of another election, but the polls showed everyone was happy with the way she was running things. A proper balance of philanthropy and economic stimulus, at least in my eyes.