Masks

“We need to question her,” White said to his partner, Blue, as they approached the crime scene. “What do we know so far?”

The crime scene, a rustic cabin in the woods, looked eerie in the harsh floodlights of the law enforcement response to the discovery. It was late at night, the moon was full, and the surrounding bushland was surprisingly quiet. Smells of eucalypts and stink bugs filled the air.

“Her name is Anna, and she’s twenty-two years old,” Blue said, wrinkling his nose against the smells. “An urban explorer from YouTube discovered her. He thought the place was deserted, but instead found Anna chained to the bed. She was barely conscious and very dehydrated.”

“How long has she been held here?” asked White.

“We don’t know, yet.”

The two agents approached the back of the ambulance where Anna sat, wrapped in a blanket, sipping a warm drink. The fluid smelled of oranges and chemicals. She stared into the cup, unaware of their approach.

“I’m Agent White and this is Agent Blue,” White said, without preamble. Anna looked up slowly from her drink. “That’s quite an ordeal you’ve endured. Are you up to answering some questions?”

Anna looked around slowly, eyes wide, taking in the scene. Forensic technicians swarmed in and out of the cabin, gathering evidence. Police officers secured the crime scene and established a perimeter. Two EMTs stood off to the side, waiting for the agents to finish interviewing Anna before they fussed over her again. Her rescuer, the YouTube urban explorer, gleefully sat on the porch, livestreaming the scene to his followers. Then she looked down into her cup and nodded at the agents, gingerly.

“Do you know who did this to you?” White asked. Anna shook her head as she wiped her nose on the blanket.

“How long have you been here?” Anna shrugged her shoulders at this question, a tiny movement, more a suggestion of movement in her neck.

“Do you remember how you got here?”

“They pulled me from my car,” she said. Her voice was soft, just above a whisper. “There was a bright light, but it was nighttime. It was all so confusing.”

“Do you know how many there were?”

“Two,” she answered. “Maybe three. I think I hallucinated the third.”

“Can you describe them?” White asked, and Anna looked at the agents for the first time, intently. Both agents were tall, well proportioned, with piercing blue eyes and blond, almost white, hair. They had an ethereal quality about them.

“Not really,” she said. “They were wearing masks.”

“Can you describe the masks? Every little detail helps.”

Anna took a few deep breaths, pushing through the painful memory.

“One had a bulbous mask with big black eyes,” she said. “It was grey and had no ears. Just those big black eyes.”

“And the others?” White prompted as Anna fell silent.

“The other had a lizard mask, like a water dragon. It was surprisingly realistic. The tongue even moved.”

White and Blue exchanged a glance as Anna continued.

“I don’t think the third one was real. I must have been seeing things. He was a little green man, with skinny arms and legs. He was only about a metre tall. He was nice to me, but only when the others weren’t around.”

“Did they probe you at all?” White asked, wincing as Blue dug an elbow into his ribs. “I mean, did they assault or rape you?”

Anna sobbed, nodding in reply. “Every day.”

White raised a hand for the EMTs, signalling they could tend to the visibly distraught woman.

“Thank you for your time, Anna.” White said. “These EMTs will take you to the hospital now.”

White and Blue walked away as Anna climbed into the ambulance.

“We need to return to the mothership and give a report to the Nordic Council,” White said softly to Blue.

“A Grey and a Reptilian working together to impregnate a human?” Blue’s voice cracked with concern. “It doesn’t bode well. Not at all.”