Chapter 5

“Are you still angry?”

I was walking with Shin outside. My brother had gone back to...the tall building in the middle of space station. There were artificial gardens built up on the space station. Overhead there were projectors screaming across the sides of the building showing news. Antliens walked past us busily. They seemed very busy during the day like ants in a hive. They all had a job. They all seemed to have a purpose.

Then there was Shin. I wondered what his purpose was?

To baby sit me?

“Why would I be upset?” I asked him.

I had avoided him. I didn't think he knew but since my brother told me the news about him and Shin all I felt like doing was sleeping. It made me sick. It made me literally sick to my stomach to have to deal with something like that.

Shin looked over at me, “Because I'm married to your brother. And you are in love with him.”

I paused.

A few Antliens walked past. They had been so busy but even they seemed to notice the look I gave Shin at that moment. Shin gave me a half cocked smile as though expecting me to react in the way that I was.

I stopped completely on the pedestrian bridge.

“I don't know much about humans but I have seen the human romances. Once a week there is a screening of human movies in the station square. All the Antliens come around. In those romances I see how the man looks at the woman. It's so similar to how you look at your brother at times.”

Was I so obvious?

I was in love with Kaden. There was no denying that to myself but it was something that I didn't want anyone else to know. Shin was walking with his head held high as he talked to me. He had very patronizing personality.

“I don't know what you are talking about,” I denied.

“So you support my engagement to Kaden?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

I stopped walking with him, “I don't know you. And neither does Kaden.”

“I've read in our studies that some humans do arrange marriages as well. Is it so uncommon?”

“Yes where I am from it's very uncommon. Being that my brother is from the same place I don't think this is a good idea,” I stated.

He gave me a smug look, “Kaden doesn't seem to mind.”

Shin was right. It had blown my mind. At dinner Kaden seemed so cool with it. It was almost so casual to him. It was like picking out an outfit.

“Kaden isn't thinking right. He's so taken by...this alien culture.”

“We aren't the aliens. You are. Imagine you grew up in a strange land, full of strangers? Imagine you always felt left out. Matter of fact you wouldn't have to imagine. How happy would you be to see an actual human right now after being among Antliens this whole time?”

“Very happy.”

What I wouldn't give to see a female or someone with clothes on. What I wouldn't give to see someone fat or out of weight! What I wouldn't give to see an ugly person? Hell. I at least wanted to see someone less attractive than I was. Back home I was catch. Here I was the bottom of the barrel.

Shin nodded, “Wouldn't you embrace the people you actually belonged to?”

I paused.

I hated to admit it but Shin actually made sense. I had never thought of it that way. It made sense why Kaden was so desperate to please these Antliens. It made sense why he seemed so happy and optimistic. All I saw here were red flags. Kaden didn't seem to think anything was off or suspicious. He was living happily. Maybe he wanted to live like that.

Maybe Kaden just wanted to belong.

I had to give in to Shin, “I suppose you're right.”

That was when Shin said something straight out of left field again, “Besides. We are the superior race. He should be happier here.”

It was blunt, heavy and short. Shin walked away at that moment as though letting it settle in me. I almost wanted to fight him at that moment. It was almost like he wasn't just saying Antliens were superior to humans. It was like he was saying that he was superior to me. He wasn't just saying that Kaden should be happier here. He was saying that Kaden should be happier with him.

I tried not to strangle him as we continued to walk. I lagged behind Shin. He took me on these walks from time to time almost like I was a dog he was walking on a leash. Most of the time he didn't leave my side.

We had come to a garden area and Shin took a seat on a metal bench. He looked down at the flowers. I looked down at them as well. I leaned down at that moment and picked up a rose plucking it from the root.

Just at that moment another rose grew back!

“Did you see that?”

“See what?” Shin asked me.

“A rose just grew out from where I plucked it,” I stated, “Right in that fucking garden. It just grew out of no where! Did you NOT just see that?”

I held the rose I plucked in my hand. I couldn't believe my own eyes. What the fuck had just happened?

“It's simple technology. Energy transfer. The Queen is connected to all things here. Through her, all things are made possible.”

“Sounds religious.”

“We don't have religion. That is far too advanced. Besides, given enough energy our Queen is must more powerful than your human God. Something real. Something measurable. Something tangible.”
“What is she?”

“She is the reproducer. I couldn't explain it to you. Human brains couldn't comprehend how complex the Queen is. Don't worry about it...”

“If my brother is working for her than I need to worry about it.”

Shin shook his head at that moment, seeming very irritated by me, “Fine. She feed her our energy, our...essence. Humans may call it semen. She uses that semen in the same way that a human female uses it. She uses it to reproduce. However her reproduction is far more complicated than a human's reproduction. Yes she can reproduce children, but she can also reproduce so much more. By the Queen, all things are made possible.”

He made a sign with his hands at that moment almost reminiscent to when someone crossed themselves. It freaked me the fuck out.

He had closed his eyes. Was he...praying?

Just at that moment luckily I saw a familiar face behind Shin. There was a building not too far in the distance. The building was connected to the walkway that we were on.

That was where I saw Vino. He was standing there. He signaled for me at that moment and disappeared in the building behind him.

“I have to go pee...I'll be right back.”
Shin looked at me suspiciously, “You used the bathroom before we left...”

Was he really paying attention that much to what I was doing?

“I pee a lot. Is that OK? What...do you want to come with me? You want to hold my dick? I don't know how my brother, your husband would feel about that?”

I stood there waiting for him to answer making sure that my voice was as offended and annoyed as I meant it to be. Shin made a grimace. Either he had learned that grimace in one of his 'human research studies' or this was a universal sign for displeasure.

“Be fast. It's dangerous...”

“I'll be fine.”

He kept saying how dangerous it was. Truth was the Antliens seemed far from dangerous. As I walked to the building and some stared, but that was the most they did. They all seemed busy in whatever tasks they were doing.

I walked to the building looking for Vino. As I walked into the building I didn't see him at first. The halls were white like most of the halls that I had seen. Everything was clean and segmented off. I made my way down the halls. Two Antliens looked at me suspiciously, but they were carrying papers and seemed too busy to stop me to ask me what I was doing in the building.

I continued down the white halls.

There was a familiar sound in that filled the hallways. There was a choir of voices, young innocent voices and they chanted a song. It was a familiar song but the song was mixed with a ton of strange buzzing noises.

Sweeping the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet
Can you tell me how to get
How to get to sesame street
Come and play
Everything's a-okay
Family neighbors friends
That's where we meet
Can you tell me how to get
How to get to sesame street
How to get to sesame street
How to get to sesame street

I looked in the room and what I saw almost wasn't right. They were children...except they had antlers. Small antlers sprung from their domes. They were singing Sesame street over and over. However they weren't singing it like human kids. This was something else. There was something serious about it. It was almost like they were...

There was something so cold...so haunting about the way they just stared at the screen. None of them moved. They were almost...hypnotized by it!
“Boo...”

I jumped as I felt a cold hand touch my shoulder. I gasped a little bit and all the children in the auditorium turned to look at me for a quick second. They did it all together. It was so fucking scary. It was almost like they had all turned at the exact same fucking time!

Suddenly the familiar voice came out, “It's just me...”

It was Vino.

All the children seemed uninterested all of a sudden and they turned to back to the screen and in unison continued to sing the anthem to Sesame street. I watched for a moment. When it was over it began to repeat over and over again.

“What is this?” I asked him.

“From a young age we study humans. These children are the newest batch of boys. They are being primed. Look...it's about to change.”

All of a sudden the video changed. Instead of Sesame street another program was on. It was a YouTube video. The video was a man. Some crazy looking man arming a gun.

“Why the hell are kids watching this?”

Vino put his arm on my shoulder, “Keep watching...”

I watched almost in awe at what happened next.

The kids had boxes next to them. It was a similar box to what the human on the you tube clip had. The man started to assemble the gun. They kids mimicked the man on the screen. They started to put the gun together. The majority of them were almost like robots knowing exactly where to put what. Some lagged behind and let out frustrated buzzing noises.

“Those are real guns?”

Vino nodded, “Yes. Collected on one of many excursions to earth.”

It was so strange but then I realized just how much the Antliens looked like us. They could have been among us and we would have never known. We would have just thought it was a regular handsome guy walking across the street. No. This was different.

I had seen enough.

I walked back into the hallway.

I started walking away. I stopped halfway down the hall and just stared. There was something about the kids doing this that freaked me out. These were fucking almost TODDLERS. They were almost fucking toddlers learning how to arm guns?

Vino stood over me at that moment.

I could only whisper my thoughts in a hoarse desperate plead, “Please tell me what the fuck is going on.”

Vino nodded, “By age 5 they would have perfected human language. I'm not just talking English. I'm talking all human languages. By 6 they would be well versed in human culture. By 9 they will be experts in all human technology including firearms.”

It still didn't answer the question.

“Why?”

Vino looked over at me, “We are preparing.”

“For what?”

“For your brother's return. That's all I know. Everything else is above my security clearance. We were raised to be the perfect humans...in every way.”
“This looks an army.”

“That's why I wanted to show you this,” he stated, “Now you know why it is so important I find out what your brother is working on for the Queen.”

I shook my head.

“He won't tell me.”

“You need to try harder.”

“You think I'm not?” I asked Vino, “Shin is always there...watching. It's like he has nothing to do all day. He's always home. I can't get Kaden alone long enough to convince him to tell me.”

“Everyone has a job. Haven't you realized that? Antliens are a very productive race. It is our society to be productive. Everyone here is very busy. Shin has a job. And his job is to watch you and your brother.”

“Then it's impossible.”

Vino looked at my eyes, “You don't know how serious this is...”

“Exactly. You're right. I don't know how serious it is,” I stated shaking my head, “Why do I feel like you know things you still aren't telling me. Why is my brother so fucking important?”
Vino looked around.

“Not here. It's not safe. You never know who is watching...”

The hallways were empty but Vino seemed anxious like someone would walk around the white corners at any time. He kept looking back and forth.

“Just tell me quick...”

Vino shook his head, “Look. I like you. I like you probably more than I should. And I'm going to need you to trust me. Do you trust me?”

Vino grabbed onto my arm. I pretended as though it didn't make me anxious to have a man so close to me. I remembered how he felt back when I first met him. I shook the thought out of my head though and just remembered that he was the only one who seemed to be telling me any bit of truth on this entire space station.

“Yes. I trust you.”

“I wasn't lying when I said I don't know what the judges are preparing for...but I know someone who might. If you come he might tell us both.”

“Why me?”

“Because Kaden loves you and that makes you very important. You don't realize it but you have more power than you realize.”

How? Just because I was related to Kaden? We weren't even blood relatives.

I tried to think about it but instead I just nodded.

“Fine.”

“Can you find your way back to this building tonight?”

“Yes.”

“Good...meet me here when the clock strikes 8. ”

“But Shin.”

Vino shrugged his shoulders, “Find a way to get past him. We have to be in secret. Shin can't know what we are up to. ”

I nodded. That was easier said then done.

I spent the day with Shin. I tried to pretend we were really cool but everything was really off. My smile was fake. After seeing those kids I was confused and nervous. I just remembered seeing how quickly some of those kids put together guns. No kid should be exposed to something like that. Human or Antlien. There was something off about this entire place and that just confirmed it.

We got back to the apartment. When the door open I was more than shocked to see Kaden. He was standing in the middle of the room pacing. I never had gotten over seeing him in the sexy straps that he wore. His body was amazing and his ass perfectly sat suspended in the straps around them. He looked nervous and was rubbing the skin on his dark muscles. I was kind of nervous walking in and seeing him like that.

“Kaden are you OK?”

He looked over at me, “I couldn't work today...I told them I needed some time off.”

“Time off?” Shin asked all of a sudden stepping in, “Kaden...your work is very...important, to all of us. Why would you need time off?”

“Because I think I upset someone very important to me,” Kaden replied.

Kaden looked over at me at that moment. It was a small gesture but it reminded me of how Kaden used to be. Shin seemed nervous at that moment as though he didn't know what to do. It was clear he didn't want to upset Kaden but there was something about Kaden stopping his work that made Shin uneasy. Did Shin know what kind of work Kaden was doing for the Queen?
I shook my head at that moment, “You didn't have to call off work.”

“When I told you about me and Shin...you seemed upset. I wanted to talk it out with you and make sure you are OK...”

“Save your breath. I'm not OK with it.”

I started to walk away but Kaden grabbed me. He grabbed me hard by the arm and attempted to pull me back. I watched as Shin watched...clearly doing his job of spying very excellently.

Kaden wouldn't let go of my arm, “Look how I told you was wrong, but this is the Antlien way. We are matched. That's just how it is. It happens to all of us.”

“Us? You really are an Antlien aren't you?”

I looked over at him. It was so crazy how Kaden was taking all of this in so quickly. It was almost like he didn't understand that weird shit was going on. Maybe he didn't want to see it.

“Yes. This is who I am.”

“So who were you back on Earth?” I asked, “Who was the guy who used to throw Rice Krispies at me to wake me up? Who was the guy who decided not to go to his modeling gig in New York because he wanted to be around his kid brother? Was that someone else!”

I was mad.

I was screaming at this point.

“It is inappropriate for you to be talking like that to him,” Shin interrupted and looked down at me with this look of scorn.

“Shut the fuck up. OK You know what. Do you want my blessing? You want my blessing to marry this fucking pretty ass, perfect, alien, nosy, peeping Tom piece of shit? Go ahead Kaden. You have my blessing.”

I didn't care that Shin was standing in the room. Shin had even raised his eyebrow. I was glad he understood that I had just cursed his ass out. I was afraid that some of the words I was saying was going to get lost in translation. However Shin seemed to understand loud and clear. I wondered if he noticed that Kaden also didn't seem to give a damn about his emotions and was instead turning to me and trying to cater to mine.

Kaden squeezed my arm harder, “Don't do this.”

“Get off me.”

I pulled away at that moment and walked out. I couldn't take it. I couldn't take Shin watching my every move. I couldn't take not knowing what was going on. I couldn't take the fact that the person I loved most in this world was being sucked into this alien lifestyle so quickly.

“BILLY!”

I ignored him.

That night I fell asleep in my pod thinking about Kaden. I wondered if I was right to be so angry. I wondered if I was right to be so upset. Kaden and I had fights before. Usually it was Kaden who was mad at me over some stupid shit that I did though. I was always the one who didn't belong back home. I was the rebel. Kaden tried so hard to fit in. I never knew that he thought he didn't fit in back home.

I never knew that he felt so alone.

I realized what time it was. The clock said that it was 7:50. Shit. I just had 10 minutes to meet up with Vino. I had completely forgotten about it. Maybe it was the fake climate control outside. Maybe it was the emotions that I was feeling when it came to Kaden.

All I knew was that I was rushing out of the house.

I opened my room door using my voice command. The lights were off in the main room. I looked over on the couch. Kaden was sleeping there on the hard couch. It felt kind of good to know that he wasn't sleeping in the same bed with Shin yet even though they were supposedly 'married'. He wasn't even in the same room. I hoped this wasn't just because of me.

I took a few silent steps past him.

I could hear him lightly breathing. Kaden was a light sleeper. I'd have to be careful. Quiet. I had to be very quiet.

I went to the front door and whispered my command to the door, “Open.”

The door didn't open.

I looked at the door. Maybe I hadn't said it loud enough. Still. Kaden was asleep. I tried to push the door. It wouldn't budge.

“Open,” I said in a normal voice.

Nothing happened still.

Shit. What the fuck was going on?”

“Where you headed?”

I jerked at that moment and turned around to see SHIN!
“Um...no where.”

“You just tried to open the front door,” Shin stated, “I heard you.”

He was standing there curiously looking at me at that moment. His eyes were gleaming at me.

“Why didn't it open?”

“I changed access...”

“So I'm a prisoner here.”

“If by prisoner that means you don't leave, then yes...you are a prisoner...”

Shin and I exchanged looks. At this point I just hated him. I just hated everything about this guy. Vino was waiting on me. This was my one time to really discover what was going on and Shin was just going to blow it just like that.

I could feel my anger speaking for me.

“You don't tell me what to do...Bambi.”

“Bambi?”

Just at that moment Shin seemed to get angry. For some reason the fact that I had called him a little female deer seemed to get to him way more than any insult I had hurled to him earlier. I could hear him breathing heavy at that moment. Shin was shaking. He was so mad that he was LITERALLY shaking.

Just at that moment antlers started to form. The hair on his head parted and his antlers came out pointed, branching out like wooden sticks from the top of his dome. They towered strong and high. I could see him looking at me...eyeing me with his squinted eyes in the darkness. There was so much anger there. There was so much malice.

For the first time I had to admit I was scared.

I was scared as he took a few steps towards me. No where for me to go. There was no where for me to run. I could see his horns coming towards me.

He could charge at me head down right now and kill me. It wouldn't be that hard to do. I could see him put his head down. He must have been thinking the same thing.

He was going to charge me!
He was about to try to kill me!

“Shin what's going on?” my brother stated.

He was up.

“He tried to fucking KILL ME!” I screamed out.

“I did no such thing. I was simply trying to scare him a little,” Shin stated smiling slightly, “It's was all a joke.”

“It's not funny, Shin. You're cool but I told you before not to fuck with my little brother.”

I didn't know who Kaden was to these people. They wouldn't tell me that but whoever Kaden was he must have had a lot of respect. I watched as Shin's antlers disappeared back into his body. He stood there at that moment just putting on this face as though regretful.

“Can you ever forgive me?” Shin asked Kaden.

Kaden looked at me, “You should be apologizing to my brother. Not me.”

Shin hesitated.

“He tried to leave...”

Kaden all of a sudden had his eyes turned to me. It was almost like his anger went from Shin right to me. He gave me the hardest look ever.

“Leave and go where?” Kaden asked me.

“I'm a prisoner here?”

“I didn't say that. But where were you going?” Kaden asked.

I looked down. They were both looking at me suspiciously. I got caught red handed and I couldn't tell them about Vino. I just couldn't.

Shin looked over at Kaden, “I thought you were close to your brother. Seems like you aren't that close...”

Kaden looked embarrassed at that moment. I knew I was keeping secrets but so was everyone else . I found myself just walking away and going into my room.

I sat there for a minute and just knew Kaden was going to come in the door. When he finally came and closed the door behind him I could feel the anger coming out of his body. He looked pissed. He looked beyond pissed. I honestly hated seeing Kaden like that. I didn't know why the Antliens respected him but I definitely knew why I respected him. Kaden was big bro. Regardless of what planet I was on.

“Who the fuck have you met on this planet?” Kaden asked me.

“No one.”

“Shin believes you are communicating with someone. Someone who is feeding you lies and fabrications.”

“Of course Shin believes that.”

“He says that you may have gotten yourself mixed up with a rebel of some kind. Is he right?”

I paused.

“It doesn't matter.”

“BILLY. This isn't you acting out in high school. This isn't you pulling a prank. How are we in another galaxy and you still manage to start hanging around the wrong people? Like how do you attract these losers everywhere you go?”

“My friends back home were not losers.”

Kaden gave me a look.

That look.

“Billy---”

“OK They were losers. But this is different,” I replied desperately, “I promise you. The person I met has told me some crazy stuff. He's showed me some things.”

“Who is it. Give me a name?”

So he could go tell Shin. Even worse, he would go tell those judges. I wasn't going to get Vino in trouble. Even back on Earth I never snitched on my friends.

“I can't tell you that.”

“You got to be kidding me!”

“Kaden. This person is trying to tell me what you are trying to hide from me. You think I want to go to a stranger to get the truth? All I want is the truth. That's it.”

“And you'll stop seeing this person?”

“Wait...are you about to tell me the something.”

Kaden looked at me, “You want to know so badly what I do for the Queen? You want to know what my job is?”

“Yes.”

“Then promise you cut this person off.”
I nodded.

“I promise.”

Kaden nodded, “OK This has to stay between us. They can't know I told you.”

“Yes.”

Yes. Oh yes. He was finally going to tell me. He was finally going to tell me what it was he did for the Queen. He was finally going to tell me what it was that made him so special to these people. I had just promised to give up speaking to Vino though. However this was a sacrifice I had to make. I had to know the truth.

Kaden sat down on the bed. He seemed nervous.

His voice rattled as he spoke, “It starts every morning with me in an all white room...”

To read the next chapter now go to www.crushedcrown.com