My parents and I left Grandpa’s house later that afternoon and headed back to Desertville, Arizona. As we pulled into our driveway, I received a text from Naomi. She told me that Marley had woken up from her coma, and had been awake three days now. She also mentioned that Marley wanted to see me.
I asked my parents if I could go see her, so they dropped me off at the hospital.
I entered the hospital, and nervously took the elevator to Marley’s room. I didn’t know how I would react when I saw her. When I go to the room, Naomi and Mrs. Susan were there.
“Hi,” Naomi gave me a hug.
“Hey…” When I looked at Marley she was sitting up. She gave me a weak smile. I was relieved that she had finally woken up. I had so much to talk to her about.
I cleared my throat, “How are you?”
“I’m fine. I guess?” she said. “It was like I died and came back.”
“Well, you’ve been asleep for a few months,” I said.
“Yeah. So much so that when I woke up, I thought my mom and dad were waiting for me in the lobby.”
I nodded. It must have been hard remembering the truth (her mother still being in the psyche ward and her dad still missing).
“You wanted to see me?” I said.
“I would just feel better if you, Grandma, and Naomi were here with me.”
“Why me? I’m just your local Benjamin Harris.”
“You're my best friend. Well, Jesus is my best friend. You’re my second best friend.”
I chuckled.
“So, what did I miss these last few months?” Marley asked us.
Naomi and I looked at each other.
“You missed a lot,” I said.
Marley shook her head. “You guys can tell me everything that happened after I get some food. I’m starving. Grandma, did you bring blueberry pie?”
“Yes, I did, honey. It’s in here,” she reached in a bag that was sitting on the chair. She brought out two small containers that had pie in them to share with everyone.
“You were dreaming about that pie weren’t you?” Naomi said.
Marley giggled, “Yeah I was…”
Grandma laughed, “Just eat slowly and make sure you take small bites.”
~~~
I told Marley and Naomi everything that had happened at the Top Secret Institute in California; about the files with peculiar names, about Dr. Maddison, the jewels, Kay-ani, and the Island. But I didn’t tell them what happened to me (you know, my neck glowing and everything…).
I told them that Kay-ani who I had met, was their so called cousin Kayla. That meant that everything Uncle Marcus had told them was all true. Their father never went to their Uncle Marcus’s that night to drop off Kayla.
“She told me that she’s from another planet called Rasad, and she’s a Rasadian. Your father placed a device in the back of her neck that made her look like a human,” I rubbed my neck, thinking of my current situation. “This was after he had freed her from the T.S.I, he brought her to your house.
“So he was protecting her the whole time?” Marley asked.
“Yes. On the night your father vanished, she recalled him mentioning that he was planning to reunite her with the others of her kind who were in hiding, as he could no longer ensure her safety. He was protecting the others also. He must have decided to move Kayla because he had received a threat letter from Dr. Maddison. On the way to the others, they had made a stop at a gas station, and that is where they were found by the T.S.I.. They took them to the facility in California, and interrogated them there. Kayla said that she had overheard Dr. Michael Richardson tell the guards to ship your father to Bueno Island.”
“So that’s where they sent him,” Marley said, placing her hand on her forehead. “I can’t believe this!”
“Well, it doesn’t mean he’s alive,” Naomi added. “We’ll just have to go there and find out.”
“I know he is alive.” Marley said. “God told me.”
Naomi rolled her eyes.
“Your father was protecting Rasadians, and I think that it was a lot of them. But how could anyone find out what your father was doing?”
“You think someone may have ratted him out?” Naomi said.
“If that’s the case, then who was it that ratted your dad out?”
We three contemplated the idea.
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