Beyond our Earth

1: Abducted

~~~~~BRADEN'S POV~~~~~

The beginning of the day had been mundane and uneventful. A regular Friday at my nine to five job. There was a lack of new stories as usual, and the newspaper I worked for was not exactly what you would call ethical. It had gotten to the point where we would write fictional articles to fill any empty gaps in our columns. I'm not saying I agree with it but I had to make money somehow. After moving to New York hoping to become a journalist, I was rejected at six different newspapers before being hired here. The job was far from perfect, but I wasn't complaining.

I've always been good at writing stories. This morning I had finished a rather compelling article about a string of dog-nappings. I laughed to myself as I read it over. The boss, Harold, only had one rule when it came to creative writing; it had to be about little things. Things that happen all the time and no one would be surprised to find in a newspaper. Most of the time that was a task I was given. I didn’t have a car to get to any real news scene quickly, so I wasn’t often given leads. I spent most days in my little office.

After I finished my story at two o'clock I had nothing left to do. I gazed out my office window at the familiar view of the busy streets of New York. I had spent many hours daydreaming before. I fixed my short brown hair in the reflection of the glass.

I was looking forward to tonight. I had started seeing someone I knew from my old high school in Stamford. We were twenty one now and had run into each other a few weeks ago. Sara was going to university here. She explained her interest in science. Tonight would be our third date.

I had wondered back to my desk and was debating playing tetras or solitaire for the rest of the day when Harold burst through the door.

"Somethings happening!" his voice was loud and startled me. "there's an accident on Lexington avenue."

"Since when is that news?" I chuckled. An accident in New york city, yeah that'll make headlines.

"Take my car. Go, go, go". As I stood up he dropped his keys into my hand. I was surprised at his urgency and the fact that he cared about documenting an actual event, but lending an inferior his car, his beloved Mercedes. That was unheard of!

As he rushed me down the hall I stared at him.

"Harold are you feeling okay?" I asked. 

Apparently he didn't have time to answer. He pushed me into the elevator and said one final thing, "get there quick, son." The doors began to close. "I'm counting on you."

The closer I got to Lexington, the slower the traffic was. Eventually it was completely stopped up. I sat behind the wheel, watching the minutes go by, not wanting to disappoint Harold by coming back with nothing. I saw clusters of reporters and camera men running up the street. I looked in the rear view mirror. People were leaving there cars and running towards Lexington. I wondered what could be such a monumental event. For a brief moment I thought about leaving Harold's car. I had decided against it at first but somehow the curiosity got to me. I grabbed my note book, shut the door behind me, and ran.

The second I saw it, my heart sank. As I pushed my way through the crowds it only became clearer. There, behind the yellow tape was the one thing I didn't want to see; Sara's little blue car. Unmistakable. I stared in awe, verifying that it was really hers. Every little detail matched the picture in my mind. I had even memorized the license plate on our last date when we took her car and parked at a busy mall. This was it. I pushed my way closer, maneuvering through photographers and camera crews. Everyone wanted to get closer. I had to. I got to the yellow tape and ducked under it. I could see a police man on his way over to me but I didn't care. I ran to her car, but as I got closer I saw why everyone else was here. This was not just a car crash.

The back side of Sara's car was warped. It looked like a still shot of ripples in water after a pebble is dropped in. I looked around. All the surrounding cars looked to be frozen mid way through melting. It was nothing like I'd ever seen before and I think right then I knew; nothing on earth could have done this.

The police man was approaching. I stared into the window of her car. The front seat was empty.

"Where is she?  Is she okay?". My questions were ignored.

"Sir I'm going to have to ask you to stay behind the yellow tape. This is a dangerous area. There could be radiation."

He put a hand firmly on my back and lead me away from the car.

"The girl who was in that car. Is she okay?" I demanded.

He stopped walking. As if just now realizing that I obviously had a connection to her. "the blue one?" he asked quietly.

"Yes."

I faced him and looked him in the eyes. He motioned for me to follow him, then lead me to the nearest side walk next to a parked police car. He called another police man over who looked at me hesitantly.

"Is she dead?" I finally blurted out.

The second police man leaned on the car with one hand. He stared at me with his dark brown eyes and an expression that made my skin crawl.

"Sir, when we arrived on the scene there was no body in the car..."