Chapter 33

Santa Monica Mountains, California, United States

An expression of shock mixed with amazement covered Faraday's face. The squirrel released the fragments from his paws, letting them sprinkle to the ground as he stood mostly paralyzed, staring at the strange beings. His mouth fell open and Gen worried he was about to pass out from excitement—his eyes wide like he couldn't believe what they were seeing.

The glowing flying creatures, seemingly frozen in place by the arrival of these new entities, hung motionless in the air. The steam vents, too, had fallen silent, as if the very heart of the crater was holding its breath in anticipation. Everything was still, everyone's attention commanded by the powerful presence of the extraterrestrial beings.

Gen, her arm still raised in defense, stood her ground, her eyes locked on the alien figures. Faraday clutched his paws close to his chest, looking both afraid and also fascinated by the sight before them. His little body vibrated with excitement and Gen feared his little heart would beat out of his chest if he didn't calm down.

The alien creatures were unlike anything Gen had ever seen before. Their bodies were long and lean, covered in gray skin, and their heads were much larger than those of humans. Their large black eyes hung like oval disks on the surface of their faces. Their mouths and noses were understated, only two holes and a slit, as if given to them as an afterthought.

The stillness was broken when the alien in the center of the group of five took a step forward. Its movements were fluid and graceful as the alien began to approach the trio. Their intentions were unclear, their expressions unreadable. Gen, her heart pounding in her chest, prepared herself for whatever happened next.

The fate of their mission, and the future of love itself, now hung in the balance, as the ancient power of the meteor and the mysterious presence of the creatures collided in the heart of the crater. The light from the fires and magical arrival of the aliens faded, leaving everyone in a state of breathless anticipation. Were the aliens going to attack? Gen didn't think she could fight them and win. She braced herself for whatever came next, knowing that she and Emperor were in it together.

"We have returned to Earth to take back what we lost," the alien said in a strange voice that was neither masculine nor feminine, but rather neutral. The being also seemed to be androgynous, not appearing to be man or woman.

"Return?" Faraday chirped, seeming to shake off his shock.

The alien nodded. "Yes, we have been to your planet many times. This time was an unplanned visit when one of our pods went off course and crashed here." The figure held out his strange long-fingered hand to the large broken rock.

"We must take it back now," one of the other aliens said, an urgency in their voice.

The extraterrestrial in front nodded, appearing very much like the leader. He looked back at the others. "Yes, we will be departing on my command."

"Before you go," Faraday cut in, a nervousness in his voice. "We were hoping that we could have just a tiny sample of your resource…what is it that you call it?"

"In your language it would be called, Ever Grow," the alien answered. "And we cannot share."

Something wasn't sitting right with Gen about all this. She stepped forward and frowned at the aliens. "Why did you lead us here with those communications? You knew about my dragon." She indicated to Emperor beside her. "But then we were attacked and forced to cross danger and now you're not willing to share after your pod hit our planet? That doesn't seem right and is very confusing."

Emperor nodded commandingly beside her. "Yes, has this all been a trick? Did you use us to find the meteor crash site?"

"We did need you to find it," the alien replied. "We knew where it was, but not until a resident of Earth located it could we come through safely to the planet."

"So you did use us?" Gen fired, angrily, not liking how things had turned. "You put our lives in danger and wasted our time."

"We have a prophecy that said when one of our pods went missing that a woman on Earth, her dragon and scientist friend would help us to locate it," the alien explained. "It has proven to be a true prophecy. We simply had to follow it because Ever Grow belongs to us and must be returned to our planetary orbit."

"And wouldn't it be a noble gesture to share some of your valuable resource with us?" Emperor questioned. "You put human lives in danger when that pod crashed on Earth. You destroyed part of the forest."

"Which as you can see is more fertile and healthy than ever before," the alien argued, gesturing around to the tree-filled areas.

"Well, we aren't asking for much," Faraday countered. "Our purpose for using it is honorable. We want to promote love. I don't know what kind of aliens you are, but most respect the mission of creating love since it is the most important resource on any planet."

The alien seemed to think on this. "We are a race of peace and love."

"Then can't you help us?" Gen questioned. "We will use the profits we create through spreading and strengthening love by employing good people to fight for justice. Our mission is solely benevolent."

"That's right," Emperor confirmed in his commanding voice. "We're not going to exploit Ever Grow for our own selfish gain."

They turned, looking at the others behind them. No one said a word or even made a gesture. They seemed to be having silent communication amongst themselves. After a long moment, the leader turned back around facing them.

He held out his hand and a bright light appeared. Then all the fragments of the pod of Ever Grow disappeared in a blinding flash. All of it was gone, even the small bits that Faraday had dropped onto the ground.

Gen's chest fell with disappointment. She felt frustrated and like a failure, but how could she argue with these strange creatures? They had made their case and the aliens were unwilling to help them. She couldn't really argue since Ever Grow was probably the most valuable resource in the world. And these aliens appeared to be incredibly powerful; fighting them would be a death sentence. They probably all had mind control like Emperor and would kill Gen with a blink of their eyes—if they even did blink…

When the light above the alien's hand dimmed completely, Gen spied something small sitting on top of it. The creature stepped forward, offering her what it held. She saw then it was a tiny fragment of the rock—of Ever Grow. Her eyes widened, surprise making her speechless.

"This is only a small amount, but will yield its weight in diamonds," the alien explained. "We offer you this gift due to your bravery, help in finding our prized resource and due to your righteous mission. However, we do have stipulations."

Gen pulled her eyes away from the inconspicuous rock in the alien's hand and looked directly at them. "What is it?"

"You must never tell anyone about Ever Grow or about us and you must never sell the diamonds for anything but the purposes of love," the extraterrestrial answered. "Do you agree?"

Gen nodded, thinking these were easy terms.

"If you ever break this promise," the alien began, a warning in their tone. "We will know and return to confiscate all diamonds produced from Ever Grow and punish you for your betrayal."

A painful chill shot down Gen's back and she really didn't want to know what kind of punishment these strange and powerful aliens would use. They had said they were a peaceful race, but something told her that they also didn't mess around or tolerate deceit.

She nodded sternly, reaching out with a shaking hand. When her fingers were nearly over the alien's she paused. Looked at the creature. Then she took the Ever Grow, finding it surprisingly heavy in her hand.

"Thank you," she said, offering a smile and stepping back with the alien resource in her grasp.

"You are welcome," the alien said. "And it is our hope that we never meet again. If that occasion comes to pass, it will be because you've broken your part of the agreement."

"I won't," Gen assured.

"Very well," the alien replied and simply nodded. Then a flash shot out in all directions from around the aliens. The light was so bright and blinding that Gen turned away at once, shielding her eyes. The assault on her vision was followed by a loud piercing noise that went on for a long moment, making a sharp ringing in Gen's head, trespassing into her being with an uncomfortable sensation.

She braced herself for another attack on her senses or a physical one on her body. But as quickly as the noise and light had started, it was suddenly gone. Gen pulled her arm away from her face, looking around in the darkness, trying to make out the scene around them. It took several blinks of her eyes for her vision to clear and for her to make sense of what was around her.

Gen, Emperor, and Faraday stood in the vegetation-filled crater—alone. The aliens had gone and she hoped they would never return.