Oh No, Aliens

Jack woke up in a bathtub. His own bathtub. Why would he have slept in the bathtub if his bed was there? He woke up and groaned as he cracked his strained back and neck. Hershey padded up to him and mewed loudly.

"Hershey, please," he winced. "My head is killing me."

He shuffled out into the living room. He was startled when he noticed a girl sleeping there, curled up in the armchair. Memories of the prior night started coming back, but he wondered if he'd missed something. He certainly didn't remember getting into the bathtub.

He went over to the girl, gently shaking her shoulders to wake her up. She groaned and slowly opened her eyes, then saw him and jerked away.

"Ew, were you touching me?" she questioned.

"What?" Jack frowned. "I mean, yeah, but not in a bad way? I was just waking you up. You fell asleep here."

"Shit," she grumbled, checking the time. "The subway. Show me how to get there, like you said you would."

"Right now?" he said. "We just woke up. And frankly, I was hoping you could refresh me on what happened last night. Especially since it looks like I'm making promises tomorrow."

"You told me that your boss is responsible for this mess," she huffed. "And then you cried a little bit because now you feel involved. That's not my problem, I just need you to swipe that Leon badge and let me through to the station. It's a company partially funded by the government, so they'd let you through."

"The government," Jack said slowly. "Shit... do you think they're in on all this too?"

He started pacing anxiously, Hershey following his every step in hopes that breakfast would be somewhere in between there. The interruption in Jack's routine wasn't helping with the anxiety, either.

"They have to be," he concluded. "GOSH DARN. They're definitely working with Michael and the aliens."

"Did you just say 'gosh darn'?"

"Yeah," Jack sighed. "I have a rule that I'm not allowed to swear before noon. It fills my mind with too many bad vibes early in the day."

"Bad vibes- Are you going to take me or not?"

Jack gave her a weird look. The hostility was really starting to get uncomfortable, especially this early in the morning. Bad vibes all around.

"Why?" Jack asked. "Why do you need to leave so bad? And why are you being so... standoffish?"

"Because I have a family to get to," she said. "I need to be with them. Not here. Especially not here with you."

"I don't even know you!"

"Don't you?" she snapped.

Jack stared at her for a few moments that felt like hours. He felt terrible. Really, he didn't recognize her. He had very few friends so it was hard to forget, and he didn't date around much. He'd never want to dump his baggage on another person.

"Can I have a hint?" he asked hesitantly.

"You used to call me 'Morticia'?" she suggested. "And you started a rumor that kill squirrels on full moons? Is that enough of a hint for you?"

"Kill squirrels..."

Jack felt the blood drain from his face. Hadley. From school. Way back when he lived in Texas. Suddenly, he felt shivery and nauseous. He had lived a certain unsavory life back then, but it was a dark time for him. Very dark times. He was speechless, but Hadley was waiting for an answer from him.

"That's right," he squeaked. "I remember..."

"Right," she said. "So forgive me if I'm not all that ecstatic to see you."

"I... uh... okay...," he said. "Grab your stuff, let's go."

She moved past him to get her bag, slinging it over her shoulder and whacking him with it while they were at it. It was a Saturday, but he had never seen so few people out and about. The station was walking distance away, but it felt like forever to get there.

"Hey, I'm sorry," he said after a long silence.

"Sorry?"

"For how I was," he said. "As a kid. You didn't deserve that. No one did. I was projecting a lot of... inner rage. You know?"

She seemed caught off guard by it, but she didn't say anything. That didn't make him feel better. Not that it mattered how he felt. She was the one who had been hurt.

They approached the station, but all the gates were turned off and locked. Jack tried scanning through, but they all alerted him with an error message. A security guard came up to them and gave them a shake of the head.

"Sorry kids," he said. "Subways shut down since those hovering plates showed up. Only those with a business ticket can leave the city, and that wouldn't be by the subway."

"Shit," Hadley scowled.

"Thank you," Jack told him, following her away from the station.

She paced in frustration, hands on her hips.

"I'm stuck here," she said. "Alone."

"Not necessarily," Jack said. "I could probably get my hands on a business ticket. They'd give me a company car to take out. A little tweaking and I could turn off the tracker."

"And why would you do that?" she questioned.

"Because I want out, too," he said. "I don't want to be a part of all of this. I don't want to fuck with Michael, or the government, or anyone. I can't. It's against my morals."

"So you have morals now?"

"Look, you don't have to like me," he sighed, "But if you want to get out quick and easy, I'm your only way. And I'm willing to take you all the way to Texas."

"I'm supposed to road trip with you across the country?"

"Halfway," he corrected. "You don't have to talk to me, or look at me, or anything. I drop you off and I go the rest of the way to Houston. There's nothing for me over there, anyways."

They stared each other down for a few tense moments until she gave in.

"Fine," she said. "How're you going to get that ticket?"

"It's easy to lie in an email."

Jack took out his phone and quickly typed one out to Michael.

Hi Michael,

I've been thinking a lot about what you told me, and I'd really like to learn more about your amazing discovery. There's debris in New Jersey that I'd like to check out up close, and I think I can bring back some field notes for you. Let me know what you think.

Best,

Jack

Within five minutes, Jack had a response.

Jack,

Great job with taking initiative! I knew you'd be the man for the job. I'll email you your exit ticket and car rental ticket.

Regards,

Michael

Jack showed Hadley the email with a smug grin, which she did not return. He shrunk back, clearing his throat awkwardly.

"Uh, I'll pick up the car on Monday morning," he said. "Then I'll swing by and get you. Deal?"

She still seemed reluctant, but nodded.

"Fine, just don't be late."

Jack watched as she walked away from him. This would be a long trip, for sure.