Everglow: Friend From Far Away

27 - Knock Knock

It was getting frustrating, how many websites she'd now been through. They all said the same thing.

"What's really out there?"

"Do extraterrestrials really walk among us?"

"Has the government been lying to us all along?"

"Why haven't we found alien life yet?"

It was all the same as before, conspiracy theorists looking for some quick clicks and views. Nothing actually reputable. Mira sat back in her chair, cupping her face with her hands and letting out a heavy sigh. She still wasn't one hundred percent sure if she was dreaming or not. The sound of her laptop whirring was the only noise in the room, the rest of her house dead silent.

Not wanting to sift through anymore bullshit articles, she closed her laptop and stood up from her chair, heading to her kitchen. Flicking the switch on the wall, the lights turned on and the kitchen jumped out from the darkness. She headed for her fridge and pulled out a nice loaf of bread. Staring at the clock on the wall, it said it was almost four in the morning. Hardly the time for a snack, but she figured after everything she'd just been through, she deserved a little break.

Swiping the spread from her pantry, she began to lay it out on the bread. She noticed something.

Her hands were shaking rapidly.

They'd never done that before. Then again, she'd never met an alien before. It's face was still burnt into her head. It's large eyes and chipped horn stuck out to her. Her conflict with Fischer was playing over and over in her head, again and again. She was beginning to realise just how much of a jerk she'd come across as. Even now, she was beginning to question if Ko really was some horrid creature like she'd first assumed. She certainly hadn't left a good first impression on her.

But then again, she was an alien. Fischer had purposely hidden Ko from her. Yea, she understood why, but that didn't mean she felt any better about her best friend lying to her. Especially since neither of them knew a whole lot about who Ko really was.

Throwing the knife in the sink, she walked over and sat down on the couch, resting her weary eyes. It was all so much to take in. She still couldn't shake the idea that this was all a dream from her head. But it was very real.

All the research she'd done had just lead to dead ends. Nothing but trolls and people who were trying to be taken seriously but ultimately just ended up making a fool out of themselves. However, there was one thing she had picked up on. There was one name that had appeared on a few different websites.

The USETRD. It was never specified what the acronym stood for, or even if it truly existed. In fact there was almost no information on it at all. But the fact that it had cropped up in more than just two or three websites had grabbed her attention. She decided that it was her best option as far as it came to finding answers.

Seizing her laptop, she opened the search engine and typed the acronym in. There weren't many results. Once again, most of the websites were trolls or hoaxes. Scrolling through them, she was beginning to dismiss the entire thing once again. However, one site caught her attention. It was formatted properly, neatly laid out and appeared quite presentable. She began to read through what it had to say.

"When it comes to the search for alien life, there are a lot of false leads and red herrings. It can be hard to determine what is just fake news and what is actual evidence. However, we think we may have discovered something big. You may have heard the name USETRD floating around. For good reason. While at first it might just seem like another made up acronym for an important sounding company, we have reason to believe that it's very real. Starting with the name. After extensive research, we believe that we may have found something along the lines of a title. The United States Extra Terrestrial Research Department.

Almost nothing is known about the company at the moment, let alone it's past. It is theorised that they were created back in the aftermath of World War Two, particularly after the infamous Roswell Incident. However it is speculated that the origins of the company may even date back to the late nineteenth century.

It is thought that while Area 51 is the most popular location for conspiracy theorists to point at, it is actually the Duga Radar Array that is the most likely location for specimens to be stored. This location is highly isolated, and a large array of communications equipment may allow for contact with extraterrestrial life. Although it is worth nothing that there are thousands of places all over the globe that could house the basis of operations.

The company seems to be an international organisation despite the title's implication that it is localised within the United States. Nothing more is currently known. It is unclear what the intentions of this group are or if they have been successful in containing any sorts of specimens."

"United States Extra Terrestrial Research Department? Well they certainly could work on their name," she huffed, looking closer at the screen. The article didn't contain much more than that, just a name and information on how much they don't know. Although it did seem semi believable. If it was a hoax, it was a good one.

Then again, she would've never believed anyone if they said they were hiding an alien in their backyard.

Mira closed her laptop, figuring that it was time for bed. She'd been through enough and deserved a little bit of rest. As she placed her computer on the bench, a knock at her door caught her attention.

Figuring that it was Fischer, since there was no reason anyone else would be knocking at her door at three in the morning, she sat up and headed across the room. Taking a deep breath in, she prepared to apologise to him for the way that she acted before.

Opening the door however, she wasn't greeted with the face of Fischer. Instead, two tall men in black suits stood in front of her. One of the men had a bald head and glasses on, the other had short brown hair. Both of them had some sort of earpiece in, a small wire leading from their ears inside the pocket of their suit.

Mira's eyes widened as she stepped back. This was not what she was expecting.

"Hello ma'am, sorry to bother you this early in the morning," the man with the bald head greeted.

Mira stuttered for a second before any sort of response left her. "Uh. . . yea. . . no worries, that's alright. Can. . . can I help you?"

"We think you might be able to. Do you know Fischer Emerald by any chance?"

Her heart sank at the question. She'd just found out aliens exist and now there were two men in black looking agents at her door.

"Y. . . yeah? Why?"

"I'm afraid I've got some bad news. There's been a shooting at his house. We were hoping you might be able to help us locate him," The other man stated, showing her a picture of Fischer's house with police cars out the front and yellow tape everywhere.

"Oh. . . oh my god. . ." Mira stuttered, holding her hand above her chest.

"Do you know where he might be?"

"He's ok? Did he get out alright?"

"We didn't find any body at the scene and there was shattered glass everywhere. Right now we suspect he may have escaped into the forest area. Are there any locations you know of where he might have gone?"

"I. . . I'm sorry, I don't think I can help you. I don't know anywhere other then here or his house that he'd go. He doesn't have anywhere else to go."

The haired man's face suddenly contorted into a very slight grimace.

"Oh I think you can help us. Ma'am, we know you're his friend, please just tell us where he is and we'll be out of your way."

Mira suddenly realised something.

"Wait a second, how did you know that I was his frie-OOMPH!"

The bald man suddenly whipped out a bag and threw it over her head. The other man grabbed her hands and with the strength of an iron vice, held them in place so the other agent could zip tie them. The two men grabbed her by her neck and shoulders and hauled her from her house, throwing her into the boot of their nearby blacked out jeep. Despite her struggles, she was no match for the two tanks that opposed her, easily overcoming her with brute force.

"Like I said, I think you can help us.