Among Us

Chapter one

I was driving down a small road in up state Elverson, New York. It was an old part of town where the old and rich lived. Elverson was small but very close to New York City. I was driving to Aidan Adair; He was an old man whom I've known all my life. He was best friends with my Grandfather and been the Guardian to my mother. They were archaeologist and historians, partners in crime so the story goes. Mammy died and Grandpa left and never came back. Aidan took in my mom. My Dad became a favorite student of Aidan. He met mom in a class Granddad was teaching. They fell in love and also became Archaeologists. They had my younger sister Sarabella and me. When Sarabella was three and I ten, Mom and Dad died in the Andes on a dig. We've lived then on with my paternal Grandma Helen. I love her but she's not a big fan of Granddad Aidan. He's to "eccentric" and "He doesn't understand that a child needs something stable, poor Iona was dragged all over the place!" Eccentric is just a nicer way of her saying crazy.

You see things went bad for Granddad Aidan, after I was born. He started proclaiming of the existence of an Alien race living here on earth. He became a laughing stock and fired from his position as a professor. He was churned from society and by his friends and peers. He became a recluse. My parents couldn't get him to come out of the house.

I pulled myself back to the present from my thoughts and parked in the driveway noting as I was getting out of the car that Trudy the housekeeper wasn't here. I unlocked the double dark red door, dropping my book bag next to the table and key holder by the door.

"Granddad I'm here." No response

Raising my voice I said. "Granddad?"

I heard a distant reply far to muffle for me to distinguish. I sighed to tire for this, but I loved him and I didn't want him to be alone even though I honestly wanted to be at home in bed. I made the trek up stairs and in to his cluster of a study. The room was filled with papers and books stacked on tables, floors and the occasional chair. He had maps on the walls tacked with blue and red pins that were connected by different colored strings. There were path ways that I created turning the room in to a floor maze, the stacks only going up to my hips or knees.

Trudy never bothered with this room and I eventually gave up. I found Granddad flipping through journals, marking things down on one of the maps I mentioned and muttering things.

"Come on Granddad time for lunch."

"Can't I'm much to busy! I'm on a big find here." He didn't even look at me.

I was use to this; I knew that I just had to sit it out. He would be done because soon his hunger pains would kick in and I would lead him downstairs. This happened often, practically every other day. I sat down in my chair next to the fireplace. The only empty seat besides the one next to it where Granddad thought and slept most nights.

I grabbed some book on strange supernatural events in Peruvian history deciding it would keep my mind off waiting. I found passages that had been circled or underlined by Granddad.

The Norte Chico civilizations, one of the oldest to the world. Spoke of legends of strange foreigners to their lands. Men of strange ways, and body's. These strange people declared themselves rulers of the lands and quickly defeated the Norte Chico's with their vast armies and God like weapons. The Conquers were attacked by another set of foreigners, who quickly destroyed the false rulers. They vanished after returning the land back to the people.

This was similar to many of Granddads old books found in this room. Strange people showing up saving some old civilizations from cruel evil people. I grew up to these stories, to his Aliens the Aloc's and Saturi. I thought it was all great and fun as a child listening to stories about beautiful extraterrestrials that save us from evil. But naturally as I got older they were just crazy stories he believed.