Danny Flash and the Alien Crash

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

There were no guards on the other side. I was instead faced with a slightly more challenging scenario. There were three doors that lead to, who knows what?

"You gotta' be kidding me," I said aloud, to no one in particular. It was as if this particular part of the compound was devised just for this scenario, in which a lost and scared kid had to make a decision, and that decision could lead to life or death.

"I guess we'll see what's behind door number one," I said aloud, again not sure who exactly I was putting this show on for, except for perhaps myself. It seemed easier to make a choice, if that choice was made under the guise of being on a TV show, with unseen cameras, and an unseen audience.

I approached the first door, and jiggled the handle ever so slightly, to check that it was unlocked, and perhaps to see if it set off any booby traps on the other side. There was no indication that anything living, or anything meant to harm the living, was on the other end of the door, so I swung it open, and took up a defensive stance, even though I didn't really know what a defensive stance was.

I saw something towards my right, and lunged towards it with my fist in the air, ready to strike.

As my eyes came into focus on the item, I saw that it was nothing more than an old bucket with a mop inside. I scanned the room. It had a few pipes running through it, and a small cupboard, which I could see through the gap in the door, housed paper towels and tissue paper.

"A janitor's closet," I said, feeling a bit disappointed. I mean, I didn't want to face eminent danger, or get injured in anyway, but I also didn't want to go through all of this, just to end up lost in a janitor's closet. I inched back out of the room, and swung the door closed, ready to peek behind door number two.

I opened the second door and peered down a long hallway. This seemed as good an option as any. There were no guards in sight and from what I could tell the hallway seemed quiet. I stepped through the door and walked slowly down the path as my eyes adjusted to the dark hallway. After a few steps, a light flickered on in front of me. I turned to look behind me, to make sure somebody wasn't standing at a light switch. There was no one. The area where I had come from was empty, barren and white. I turned forward, realizing the lights must be motion sensitive. I shuffled along a few more steps and another light came on in front of me. After several more steps, the first light, that was now behind me turned off.

"Cool," I muttered under my breath, kicking myself immediately for enjoying any piece of this horrible place.

"Annabelle?" I whispered, calling out as subtly as I could. There was no answer. I shuffled along some more, and then stopped.

"I have magical powers." These words hit me and echoed inside my head like a bouncy ball in a small tin can.

"Show me where Annabelle is." I put my hands out, feeling energy surge from my throat, down into my elbows, and then to the tips of my fingers as I extended my hands out over my toes, above the ground. From a distance I probably looked like a frozen zombie, but I sure didn't feel like a zombie. My body felt completely alive. Every nerve tingling, every hair on edge. The dirt in front of me began to lift off the ground. Slowly at first; just a few pebbles, and then more and more dirt flew up in tiny little tornadoes of rock, pebble and dust. They hovered in front of me like a mass of Earth, and then they started to spread out in the air, forming an unmistakable arrow pointing down the hallway.

I took a step forward and the arrow moved a step forward with me. I took several more steps forward and the arrow moved forward again this time, the tip peaked around a corner as the hallway made a sharp turn.

"It's telling me where to go," I said aloud, suddenly making a habit out of speaking to myself. I followed the dirt around a corner and there I saw a friendly face. Not Annabelle's. My little alien friend's. He sat, his legs spread out in front of him, his head looking down, eyes sunken. He had not spotted me yet. He looked like all hope had been washed out of him. He didn't have the pep and energy I had come to know over the last few days.

"Hey," I whispered. It's me. I pointed at a pebble that was in the dirt cloud, and flicked my finger. The Pebble shot out from the group of dirt, across the room and pinged against the glass that my little alien friend was behind. My alien friend looked up and saw me. I dropped the spell I had been holding over the dirt. It fell to the ground with a 'poof.' My alien friend stood up and looked squarely at me.

"It's me," I said again, rushing over to my alien friend. It was in some kind of plexi-glass with little holes on the top. What I couldn't figure out was, there was no door!

"How'd they get you in this thing?" I asked.

He looked at me. I could see now that while his face had lost all sense of hope, it had a different emotion that it was showing; anger and frustration.

"I'm sorry they did this to you, little guy." I said, hoping that my voice and perhaps a familiar face would calm him.

His breathing was heavy. I could see he was irritated, agitated, and I wanted nothing more but to help him get out of this cage.

I felt hatred fizz inside my body, like a soda can shaken, the pressure needed to come out.

I was furious at these people. Who did they think they were that they could take my sister, take my parents, take my little alien friend and lock it up?! And him, with no magical powers now because he given them to me. Stupid me. Who didn't know how to use them. Who was just standing here, starring at this plastic box with no way to help. Or did I have a way?

"Shatter," I said and tapped the glass with my finger. It broke into a thousand pieces, and my little alien friend stared up at me. It brushed a piece or two off its shoulder.

"Whoa," I said "I could get used to this." I looked down at my alien friend, expecting to get a hug, or at the very least an alien high five. Instead he barred his teeth, let out a deep growl, and began to puff air into his lungs, making his body double and then triple in size, like he had done before with Michael, except this time, he was starring right at me.