21. Invisible

Confused, I stare blankly as the guards, Mr. Crosswell, and Kayla leave the room. The guards take one look around the room, then march out. I waste no time. I crawl quickly and quietly around the circular protrusion and glance into a vent.

A buzzing hallway lies below. Guards line the edges, and people walk right by them. I see three guards as they march down the hall, grins spread wide across their faces.

"Hey! You won't believe this!" One shouts and all the guards in sight look up, but the people walking about in white clothes, seem to not even hear. The guard carefully dodges a young boy as he runs down the hall, then continued, "Some foolish boy tried playing tricks in the green house!"

Some guards snicker and others look shocked. "What'd he do?" One asks.

"He tried to make that girl we just 'sweeped', see a floating tomato!" He burst out laughing. "Oh, but he scurried away like a chicken when we walked in." The hallway exploded with laughter.

"Tom!" A speaker crackles "Tom! Come to my office immediately! You are going to tell me everything about this, this boy who dares interfere with the project! IMMEDIATELY!" I could hear the boiling rage in his voice.

"Yes, Sir! Right away, Sir.! But, Sir... May I suggest that you send a few guards up the ventilation system? That's where the boy is hiding and it may spare you quite a bit of trouble if we go sooner-"

"Fine! Go! But be quick about it!" A crashing sound comes from the speaker, as if the man on the other side had thrown the mic across the room. Then, a loud, high-pitched electronic tone pierces through the air.

All the guards slap their hands to their ears. I do the same, cringing from the pain of the note. It stops, and another voice quickly, apologizes for 'technical issues'. After rubbing their ears briefly, the three guards shrug and walk away.

I collapse onto my back, next to the vent. I breath in and out. What do I do now? I wonder. It won't be long before I'm found, and how can I explain why I'm here again? They BRAINWASHED an innocent girl! What would they do to me? 

I jump up at the sound of clashing metal. A light bursts through the floor and a ladder slides up into the opening. In flash, I am on my feet, in full sprint. I feel a rattling beneath me. The floor gives way and I tumble to the floor below. The door above, slams shut. I freeze and watch the trap door as footsteps approach.

The handle rattles and I hear the men rush past it. Again, I sigh with relief. Well, Jake. Nothing has really happened to you. I laugh. I guess it's not that difficult to sneak around a top secret fortress swarming with dark guards.

I sit up, a stack of white, metal barrels tower over me, casting a dark shadow. I hear a small click and a pen rolls around the barrels. I reach out to grab it. Without warning, Kayla steps into view. She glances about the dark area, looking right through me.

"Kayla!" I gasp again. I reach out to give her the pen back, but stop, remembering her reaction to the tomato. I notice a tablet in her hand.

An idea jumps into my head, and I grab the pen. I leap to my feet and cover her mouth before she has a chance to scream.

"Shhh." I whisper into her ear as she screams into my hand. I tap her tablet to unlock it. A long list of produce appears in neat handwriting. I slide my finger across the screen, flipping through pages. At a blank page, I bring the pen to the screen and briefly scribble:

Please be quiet and I will tell you something you won't believe!

I slightly release my grip on her mouth. She rips away, tripping over onto her back. Naturally, I reach out my hand to help her up. She stares at the tablet in my hand, her whole figure quivering. Remembering I am invisible, I grab her hand, gently lifting her to a sitting position. Her head whips from side to side. I cautiously kneel next to her, and lift the pen to the screen again.

Okay, this is going to sound insane, but please stay quiet. I kinda have people that are looking for me. Okay?

I look to her for some sign that she can see what I wrote and will listen. She lifts her hands, inching them toward the stylus. I stand perfectly still. If she can't see me... can she just reach through me?

Her hand bumps gently into my elbow. She jumps away, her eyes shooting around.

"How-" She stammers "What's- What's going on?"

I scoot closer and write again:

I can hear you. My name is Jake. Your name is Kayla Dalery. Right?

She nods, her brows coming together.

Now, this is really crazy, but {I pause, wondering how exactly to phrase this} I just watched you get brainwashed.

"Um..." She reaches her hand out for the pen again.

No, I can hear you, just whisper. Please.

She looks around, "Um.... What are you?" She whispers in an almost inaudible voice.

I am a human. Just like you. You knew me before. Before you were brainwashed. In my town. I was told to take care of you. I wasn't supposed to bring you here. I'm sorry, Kayla. I didn't mean to hurt you. I just thought you could find out the truth. You never were on Mars. You've just been in a facility that.. I think is trying to find out if humans could live on Mars.

Kayla eyes go wide. "I... I know."