Story #341 ("Truth-Seekers: The Metagene Wars" Story #6) Note: Turn on "word wrap" in Notepad before viewing. "Family Holiday II" By Richard Broadstreet ---------------------------------------------------------- Saturday, October 23, 2010 - 10:21am Home - near Nathrop, CO, USA ---------------------------------------------------------- It was almost completely silent as the first snow of the winter fell to the ground, gathering, covering the grass. I smiled as I watched. It made me forget all my troubles, atleast temporarily. Just a few days ago, it seemed as if my world had changed forever. I had discovered the truth, the full, completely truth. It was all documented in Victor's final document. There is a war going on beyond Earth for posession of Earth and the Metagene, between two alien races. The Metagene is a gene rare in human beings that, when activated by overstress, gives the human supernatural powers. The aliens want this gene within thier race as well, so they abduct humans and create alien/human hybrids from the tissue they gather. I have this Metagene. I activated it shortly before being kidnapped by the government in 2007. The government must have somehow turned it off before I escaped them. I stopped thinking about all that and went back to watching the peaceful snow fall. Seconds later, I was at peace once again. A few minutes later, Scott came out onto the porch with a piece of paper in his hand. He walked up to me. "Isabel's gone." he said. "What?" I exclaimed in reply. "She laft last night apparently... She left a note..." Scott explained with sadness creeping into his voice. "Did she say why she left?" I asked. "I was getting too wrapped up in my UFO work. She didn't like me researching. She felt I didn't have enough time for her anymore..." Scott said and sighed. "I'm sorry, Scott..." I told him. "It's... it's alright..." Scott choked out then quickly went inside, obviously hiding his tears. I couldn't help but fell bad for him... and responsible. I attempting clearing my mind again, but I could not. I gave up a few moments later and went inside. Thursday, November 25, 2010 - 03:49pm Home - near Nathrop, CO, USA ---------------------------------------------------------- Scott and I came home from Thanksgiving dinner at a local buffet. We had no family to celebrate with but we did have a good time. And we were so stuffed, our stomaches ached. We sat down in the living room, already beginning to feel drowsy from the turkey we had. "Scott..." I said. "Yeah?" Scott replied. "Have... Do you ever think about... quitting?" I asked. "I've been thinking about it for a while... I just don't know how much longer I can go. We keep failing in our mission. It's starting to seem... impossible." "Don't say that." Scott told me. "I know we can do it. We're so close now, especially with the data in Victor's final document. We can't quit now." I thought and stayed silent for the longest time. "So..." I began, finally breaking the silence. "...what are you getting me for Christmas?" I asked, then laughed. Friday, November 26, 2010 - 09:28pm U.S.S Olympus - Pacific Ocean ---------------------------------------------------------- "Status report." General Turcotte demanded, entering the large room. "The project is almost complete, sir." a man in a white lab coat responded. "The two specimens are reacting well. They should be ready for thier mission very soon." "Great." Turcotte said. "Contact when they are ready." "Yes, sir." the man replied as Turcotte left the room. Early Saturday, November 27, 2010 - 03:13am Location Unknown ---------------------------------------------------------- I stood in some vast, misty area. "Richard." a voice whispered somewhere behind me. I quickly turned and looked behind me to see Dana, my lost sister, standing before me. But she seemed almost transparent. "Dana?" I said. "Am... am I dead? Are you?" "No, you aren't. And I'm not either." Dana answered. "Then, where are we?" I asked, looking around. "That's not important right now." Dana replied. "I've come to warn you." "About what?" I asked. "General Turcotte is creating so--" She began, then suddenly, her tranparent self began to suffer some interference and wavering. "Creating what?" I asked the fading form. "He's creating two--" More interference ravaged the form before me. "--in danger--" Soon after, the form faded away and she was gone. "Dana!" I called. But there was no reply. There was now nothing but complete silence. A few moments later, I began hearing a slight shuffling sound to my right. I suddenly turned toward the sound and saw that a dark-robed figure was slowly approaching me. I watched as the figure casually walked toward me with thier face lost within thier hood. "Who are you?" I asked the figure. The hooded figure stopped only about six feet away from me and slowly raised a human hand coming from within a large sleeve. The hand's palm faced me. The next thing I knew, I had left the ground and went flying backwards, only to land hard on my back a few seconds later. A moan of pain escaped my lips as I managed to get back on my feet. "Who... Who are you?" I repeated. The dark hooded figure walked up to me casually and stopped just a few feet away. They reached a hand up to thier hood and pulled it waway to reveal a very familiar face. I stared in amazement at my own face. He was me. Saturday, November 27, 2010 - 06:58am Home - near Nathrop, CO, USA ---------------------------------------------------------- I jerked awake in my bed suddenly and franticly looked around the room for that hooded figure, but he was nowhere to be seen. It... was just a dream." I muttered to myself. I sighed with relief. Thursday, December 1, 2010 - 02:25pm Car - near Nathrop, CO, USA ---------------------------------------------------------- Scott drove the car down the street surrounded by trees on both sides, heading towards town. "The dream was just so real..." "Quit talking about that damn dream. It was probably nothing..." Scott replied. Suddenly, a dark hooded figure emerged from the woods on the right and casually raised its right hand toward us. "Oh, shit..." I muttered. "What the--" Scott muttered. "I've lost control!" Scott attempted to regain control of the car. Before I could explain what was going on, the car turned sharply to the left and slammed into a large tree. Everything then suddenly went dark. Friday, December 2, 2010 - 02:27am Home - near Nathrop, CO, USA ---------------------------------------------------------- My eyes jerked open suddenly and I quickly sat up in my bed. I was in bed, at home, I realized. The car crash must have been another dream. I sighed and layed back down in bed. After a few minutes of attempting more sleep and failing, I got out of bed, but on a robe, and went downstairs for some milk. I sat silently at the kitchen table in the dark with a glass of milk and pondered about my life. And then about the dreams. "They were just dreams..." I muttered. "It was not only dreams." A deep voice told me. I quickly stood and turned on the light to find a man probably in his thirties sitting on another chair at the table. "Who are you?" I asked him, a little scared. "Turn off the light." the man demanded, then raised his left hand, and the light switch suddenly turned back off. "Are... are you here to kill me?" I asked, more scared now. "Afraid not..." the man answered. "You can call me... Nikolas." "Nikolas... you're the guy who has been in contact with Scott? Helping him?" I asked. "Yes." Nikolas answered. "The dreams that you are having are not dreams." "Then what are they?" I asked. "Premonitions. Small peeks and warnings from your future." Nikolas explained. It was then that I noticed he had a british accent to his voice. "The Metagene powers hidden within you are again beginning to show. They are warning you of what is to come. Beware. Danger is coming." "Who's coming?" I asked. "Who's this hooded figure I keep seeing?" "You already know who it is." Nikolas replied. "I must go now." Instantly, Nikolas just vanished before my eyes before I could even say another word. Friday, December 24, 2010 - 08:21pm Home - near Nathrop, CO, USA ---------------------------------------------------------- Scott and I sat before the Christmas tree and exchanged gifts. "Merry Christmas." Scott told me unsatisfyingly. I sighed. Christmas just wasn't the same when all the other family members were missing or dead. Friday, December 31, 2010 - 11:52pm Home - near Nathrop, CO, USA ---------------------------------------------------------- It was only minutes until the year 2011 began, but still we didn't care much for it all. The Dick Clark New Years' Eve special was on the TV screen and we simply watched as Dick Clark announced the next musical performer. We couldn't believe Dick Clark was still alive. What was he-- a few hundred years old now? All of a sudden, images filled my head. I saw a shadowy figure--the hooded figure from my dreams--walking through snow and approaching a lone house surrounded by forest. Our house. As soon as the moving images came, they were gone. The hooded figure is coming, I realized. I stood and put on my coat. "Where are you going?" Scott asked. "Just for a walk." I told him as I headed out the door. I walked off the porch and into the newly-fallen snow. The snow crunched under my shoes as I went. But the crunching sounded a bit too loud, so I stopped. The crunching sound continued even after I had stopped. And it was coming from the forest ahead. A shadowy, hooded figure emerged from the forest and approached me. "Who are you?" I asked him. He stopped just six feet away from me. I realized then that this was all happening just like in my first dream. I watched as he raised his arm toward me with his palm out. Then the next thing I knew I was flying through the air. I landed a few seconds later into the cold snow with a slight groan of pain. But, seconds later, I struggled and succeeded to get back onto my feet. "Who... who are you?" I asked the hooded figure. As he raised his arm to his hood, my watch beeped. I looked down at it and saw that it was now midnight, the first minute on 2011. I then looked back up at the hooded figure, only to see the figure was no longer hooded. I could now see his face. My face. He was me. My clone saw the frightened look on my face and he smiled an evil smile. End Of Story #341 To Be Continued... Preview of story #342: "Attack Of The Clones" Evil clones of Richard and Scott arrive, causing much pain and confusion. Also, Richard begins a search for Krystal Ford, a past girlfriend from high school who Richard has been told is his soulmate. What are the origins of these clones and how can they be killed? And where is Krystal Ford and is she searching for Richard as well?