The light slants through the dusty windows, casting an eerie glow throughout the spacious building. My heavy work boots echo with each step I take. Glancing down at the small crumpled paper in my sweaty palm, I assure myself once again that this is the correct building and the correct place. I am not sure why they have to change the location every time, but I oblige to avoid the consequences. With each step, the floorboards creak. I shudder. I can’t even hear the cars from the nearby highway. It makes me feel that I am breaking the holy order by disturbing the otherwise church-like silence. I have done this many times before and I’m not sure why this time is making me shake to my core. When I reach the lone office chair in the exact center of the building, I slowly lower myself into the chair and wait for the familiar process to begin. 

I close my eyes and feel the light begin to shift from a blinding white, to a soft pink, and into deep blood red. Cold iron clamps tighten my wrists to the armrests, not yet cutting off circulation. When the bell rings I open my eyes. I look around, surprised to see that I am surrounded by them. More of them than any other time before. Normally it’s just one or two. They stand there blinking at me, each with their singular green eye. 

“In this past month, we started finding a way to hand out booster shots for our pandemic,” I hesitated as one of them steps forward. “And it has been…it’s been…umm.”  He glares at me with his red eye. I wait in the silence of nothing other than the sound of my own beating heart.

“What did you do?” it growls, smoke curling out of his lips with every word. “You promised you would tell no one of our existence. I am a keeper of my word, and I will harm your mother for your disobedience.”

“I-I am, I am not sure what you are talking about.”             

“There is no way you don’t know!” He slams the helmet over my head and I am brought to the past. The scene unfolds around me and I see myself writing a letter. To my mother. Red creeps in on the edges of my vision and I black out, the scene fading away. 

When I come to, only the red-eyed one is there. There are four white walls and the chair I am in. There seems to be no exit or entrance. In this dimension, the only thing that makes sense is that nothing makes sense. I start to speak, hoping he will accept the truth. “I was just writing to my mother about my life. I omitted all details pertaining to you. I swear.” The bands around my arms tighten and bite into my skin.  

“Then why did we receive contact? From your so-called ‘Space-Expedition-Program?’”

“You mean NASA?” 

“I DON’T CARE WHAT IT IS CALLED!” He slams his fists into a table that wasn’t there moments before. He blows a puff of smoke out and then continues. “Eric, I can’t have our plans ruined, you know that right?”

“I am aware. I am sorry.” I wait for a response, but when nothing comes I offer my explanation, “NASA has been trying to contact other-worldly life for many years now. I am just an average citizen and have no way of influencing their actions or research. Maybe they just finally figured it out.” 

The metal bands hiss and then click open. I look at my wrists and then up at him. They’ve never taken them off before. He gives a slight nod, so I go ahead and massage the chafed area. 

“Follow me.” He turns and walks through the wall, leaving a shimmering outline where he exited. He didn’t even look back, confident that I will be obedient.