Chapter 8: Hard Decisions

Perdition Island Day 2- 3

Darren POV: Cont’d

Last night’s events made coming back to work today very difficult for both JB and me.

When we told Brenda and Brad everything that went down last night with Charlie, Bob and the ‘travelers’, he said he’d cut JB and me some slack.

As long as we remembered we still had work to do and that this was our ‘Main’ job now!

I argued that what happened last night could have a profound impact on our story and JB agreed wholeheartedly.

Some of what happened Brad and Brenda would never be totally privy to, but, I’ll get to that later.

Brad and Brenda went to their private areas to get busy when JB and I promised we wouldn’t be long.

We still had a few things to talk to Ibera about. (They didn’t have to know we’d be in a special area, taking advantage of the time dilation there.)

For us, though, this was probably going to be a very long day!

Ibera joined us and we went over a few things JB and I did after we left to go and be with Sarah. (Things we didn’t tell our two co-workers!)

When we got to Arizona, we found Sarah with Charlene and Linda. They were all sitting around a large table in the back of what was their ‘Toy Hauler’. That’s a very big RV where the back third is technically a garage for hauling motorcycles and ATVs. They were using this space for their dining room/meeting room because you could seat a dozen people or more around this huge, expandable table they had in there.

Linda told us that she’d already contacted Bill and Emmy and they said they and their three kids would be out here as soon as they could get a few things put together. (They’d been staying in Glencoe, IL at Emmy’s parent’s house so everyone would have more room in the trailers here.)

Now, they wanted to be with the ‘Family’ during this major crisis.

Sarah told us that she’d also contacted the ‘East Coast’ clan and they’d be out there shortly to spend the night and get more details.

Then Lenny and three ‘older’ people showed up with two small toddlers.

Sarah introduced us to Charlie’s and Bob’s parents. Lenny, who we already knew, and his wife, Nancy. The other gentleman was Linda’s dad, Ray and her mother, Iris. The two little ones were Eric and Olivia, Bob and Linda’s twins.

I could see the guys’ resemblance to Nancy, with Charlie having more of her features while Bob favored Lenny. Linda was a spitting image of her mother, Iris, but I couldn’t really see it in Ray ... I’m just sayin’.

I was surprised when the bright-eyed little Eric said, “Hi JB and Darren! Will you be my Uncles, too?”

Olivia walked right up to JB and hugged his leg. It was the cutest thing and JB dropped to one knee, “Hi, I’m JB! You’re a very pretty little girl, did you know that?”

His eyes nearly exploded when she giggled, “Daddy says that all the time, too!”

I was just as shocked that these two tiny tots could speak so well! They couldn’t even be one-year old, yet, they were both walking and talking!

Lenny asked Linda and Sarah if they should stay in the ‘old’ fifth-wheel for the time being. They nodded and said that would be fine for tonight.

It looked and sounded like they might not be needing me and JB for very long, if at all.

We found out quickly, however, that wasn’t the case.

I mentioned those thoughts to the girls while Lenny and company were taking the kids to the other trailer for the night.

They both froze “Why would you think that?” Sarah asked with a slightly hurt look on her face.

I told them it looked like things here were going to get pretty crowded all of a sudden.

Sarah started pouting, but then suppressed a giggle, “MY bed will NOT be that crowded, with just you and JB in it with me! Now, if Charlene joins us, it could get a little cozy? Don’t worry, between the three trailers, we have room for over 22 people, not counting the kids! I only count 19 that will be here tonight.”

JB looked flabbergasted. “But, but, what will the parents think if they find out me and Darren were sleeping with you, in the same bed!?”

Linda chortled loudly, “They’ll think Sarah was hogging you and that one of you shoulda been sleeping with lonely little ‘ole ME.”

Ibera couldn’t stop laughing, “Boys, I wish I could have seen your faces when Linda said that! It must have been priceless!”

The next thing I knew Ibera had a portal, showing that very scene! BOTH JB and I turned three shades of crimson! Just seeing ourselves with our jaws on the table was eerie.

It took 10 minutes for Ibera to stop looking and laughing!

At us.

JB was now smiling, “Well, there’s a lot more that happened last night and I did end up sleeping with Linda. Did you know that all of the Family’s parents are polyamorous too?”

Ibera pinched JB’s cheek, “See? I told you that you needed to open your mind, your eyes and your heart. Charlie’s whole family is very special. You two couldn’t be in better hands.”

I grinned, “I know that, now. When the East Coast guys arrived, they even ‘fooled’ around, kissing and hugging the old fogies, just like everyone else!”

Ibera slapped my arm, “Hey! Who are you calling ‘old’!? Charlie’s parents aren’t even in their fifties yet!”

JB chuckled, then slapped my other arm, “Yeah! Don’t be insulting sweet Ibera like that!”

Ibera stopped giggling, “Especially if you want the special ‘Gifts’ I have for the two of you!?”

JB and I were still eyeing each other and blushing when Ibera noticed and harrumphed, “Let me guess ... my shy lover, Jeremy, beat me to the punch?”

Both JB and I started ‘levitating’ while Ibera still pouted, ever so sweetly. “Okay, so, just what other abilities did he give you two jamokes?”

JB bit his inner cheek slightly, “Well, now we can both teleport from anywhere to anywhere, we can turn invisible or make this ‘protective bubble’ form around ourselves. He said we could do either/or, but not both at the same time. We can read peoples thoughts, not just those with abilities, but anyone who we can touch, even for a second. AND ... we can fly and make things move with just our minds! He said we’d need to practice to get super strong, but, like right now, we could probably lift something as heavy as a big car!”

Ibera was nodding and smiling, “He must have talked to Zeus. Did he say if it was a ‘package’ or were the gifts all separate?”

I looked at JB curiously, “He didn’t say anything about a package ... did he?”

JB shook his head, “No, what’s the difference?”

“A ‘Package’ would have included a mental ‘instruction’ manual, so you’d know all about each one and how they work.” Ibera said.

“No, I don’t think it was a package. But, he did have us go outside where he showed us everything and let us practice a little bit. He stressed that we pay attention and be very careful when we flew since crashing would really hurt! That was after we told him we’d flown when we ‘Spirit Walked’.”

Ibera was giggling, “Uh, yes. You can crash in a ‘Spirit Walk’ and you just go through the obstruction. If you run into a tree while you’re flying, the tree WILL win! And when you’re invisible, that doesn’t mean you’re not really there. If someone runs into you, or you run into something, there will be a collision!”

JB was nodding, “Yeah, he stressed that. When he had us switch to the ‘Bubble’ thing he threw a big rock at us and it just bounced off! He said it would protect us from all but possibly a massive explosion. Even 50 caliber bullets won’t hurt us! We couldn’t really practice the mind reading since everyone there had telepathy! Even the ole ... er, parents.”

Ibera screeched for a second then just smirked, “Nice catch, Lover!”

When JB stopped blushing he asked, “Does that answer your question? Oh, and who is Zeus? I thought that was the name of one of those little dogs you gave George’s group?”

Ibera looked conflicted. Like whether or not she should tell us.

She let out a deep breath, “No, you didn’t get a package and you’re right, Zeus IS the name of one of the two dogs...”

I gave her a mild ‘evil-eye’, “And...?”

We watched her wave her arm around in a circle, “I just created a secret area so Brad and Brenda can’t accidentally hear us. What I’m hesitating to tell you is ... well, it’s super-secret and only 10 human beings even have a clue.

“I am an ‘ET’. I’m not a spirit or human with special abilities. My species are known as Chaemarians. Please don’t call us ‘aliens’ because that term is not very nice and we take great offense when we hear it. Zeus is like our President or Commanding officer. We’ve been here on Earth for over 3500 years!”

JB and I nearly passed out from holding our breath, then practically hyperventilating.

Holy shit! I don’t know what I thought Ibera might really be, but, this sure wasn’t it!

“May I ask who these ten people are?” I managed to sputter out.

“Only Charlie, Bob, and your eight ‘East Coast’ Family members.

“And only Charlie and Bob know this. This ‘area’ we’re in is actually within the Mothership that we all came here in! We ARE in the 5^th dimension but this dimensional area is located inside our ship. Our ship is over 6000 feet long and 2000 feet wide. Right now we’re in a 27,000- foot deep trench in the Atlantic Ocean not far from the East Coast of Florida. I’m not going to give you the exact location, but, I think you get the idea.”

My mind was now completely blown! Yet, strangely, EVERYTHING that we’ve recently learned made complete sense! Like how Ibera knew so much about all those different aliens, or, oops, ETs.

JB and I were now in a very elite group! Not even Linda or Sarah knew about Ibera’s true identity or her ship.

We took turns showing Ibera just how much her trust in us meant to both of us. When I finished giving her a warm, loving hug and kiss she said quietly, “Do I even need to tell you to keep this a secret?”

I was shaking my head, “Oh no. We fully understand. I feel extremely honored that you trust us with such a sensitive secret.”

Ibera then giggled, “Well, I should let you guys get back to work! We don’t want the Professor to think I’m always seducing you boys!”

“Gee, I have a million questions I wanna ask?” JB lamented.

“We’ll talk more later. Right now I have things I need to do to try and find Charlie. And, Bob, Mary and little CJ!”

I really wanted to talk about what William Monte and the guys were going to try and do. He told us there was a chance they might be able to get some ‘secret info’ on these ‘Gromorik’ aliens that Ibera is sure had kidnapped our friends.

Yeah, I said aliens ... Ibera said it was okay ... to call the Gromoriks that!

Brad POV:

I knew the Normistronzo’s group was dysfunctional.

And they are living all the way down to my lowest estimations of them!

It started the second their monstrous boat landed on their beach.

This was ‘Day 2’ of Perdition Island, even though they’d just arrived.

Lola’s daughter, Precious (the one who managed to sweet talk Ibera into a few ‘comfort’ items) immediately jumped out of the boat and ran towards the woods.

Lola screamed, “Get back here you double-dealing little bitch! You’re going to give me your stuff! That fucking bitch didn’t give me ANYTHING!”

She then ordered Otis, one of her goons, to go after her and drag her back so Lola could take her stuff.

Otis bailed out after her and surprisingly caught her just before she reached the tree line. I could see that this planet’s lower gravity helped him tremendously. The dude was like 6’ 1” tall and weighed every bit of 350 Lbs, yet, he ran like a fat gazelle!

Precious was pleading with him to let her go. She offered to give him 10 blowjobs if he’d just let her go or protect her from her mother.

Otis’ expression changed and while still holding her arm, he was now eyeballing Lola.

“Bring her over here RIGHT NOW, you stupid baboon! What are you, deaf?” Lola screeched. “Brutus, go over there and get her!”

Brutus took one look at the pair and slowly started moving in their direction.

Precious was whispering something to Otis, who then nodded and started grinning, “Brue, when was the last time Lola paid us?”

Brutus screwed up his face as he looked back at Lola. “It’s been a couple weeks, what does that have to do with anything?”

Otis yelled, “Everything, you goof! Is she really our boss anymore? Look around! Do you see any ATMs or banks? NO, at least little Precious here is willing to give us blowjobs! Just what do you think Lola’s going to give us?”

Brutus stopped moving and kept looking between Lola and his buddy, Otis.

Brutus started chuckling, “GRIEF and lots of it! Would you mind if I joined you two?”

With that, Lola started yelling at Elmer to do something about this traitorous turn of events.

When Elmer ordered his guys to end this, Hugo held up his hands, “Hey, Otis just said the same thing that nice lady, Ibera, did! When and how do you plan on paying us!?”

Elmer was sputtering and stammering, “Choo guys knows me always takes care of joo! We figure something out!? Now you and Lugo and Fredo go and make my sister’s guys to cooperates!”

Hugo just shook his head, then noticed that all of their duffle bags were still in the boat.

All four of the other big guys noticed it too.

Brutus started laughing, “Hey E, how’s about we all have a drink and discuss this? I’ll even take your bag out of the boat for you!?”

Elmer’s eyes lit up slightly, “Sounds like good compromise. Let’s parlay a little while we have a drink?”

Lola was joined by Marcy (Marcella, Lola’s younger sister) in screeching, “Hey! E, you need to find me some hangars so I can take off all these clothes! I’m beginning to perspire and these dresses will get smelly!”

Elmer realized he was sweltering too, (judging from the sweat running down his face) still all puffed up in his 5 layers of underwear and suits. He was frantically looking all around when reality suddenly came crashing down on him.

This WASN’T at all what he expected conditions to be like here.

He quickly started stripping off his excess attire, draping it over the gunwale of the boat. All the while, both of his sisters continued to rant and screech about THEIR problems, that weren’t getting resolved.

Their raucous cacophony was falling on ‘ignoring’ ears.

When Elmer got down to just his undies he smiled for just a second and took a couple deep breaths.

There was a brief moment of silence when everyone wondered just what Elmer was going to do next.

Elmer watched as Brutus carefully brought Elmer’s leaky bag over to him. Hugo took over and carefully opened it, managing to extract an unbroken bottle of Johnny Walker Black.

Meanwhile, Brutus, Lugo and Fredo found a couple big pieces of driftwood and made a makeshift bench out of them.

With their bags sitting right behind them, they all broke out their beer and sat down, saving a spot on one end for the slowly approaching Precious and Otis.

Otis, trying to be a gentleman, opened one and handed it to Precious before opening one for himself and sitting down with the five other guys. Precious waited, then sat impishly on his lap, smirking at her mother.

During all of this, Vincent was casually moving HIS bags up toward the tree line.

Away from his sisters. And everyone else!

Cecelia was still sitting in the boat, watching everything apprehensively. (She didn’t have anything but the clothes she was wearing and at least her seat was somewhat comfortable!)

Cecelia seemed to be deep in thought ... about something.

About an hour later their six toolkits appeared on the beach right behind their boat.

(Since there were now 11 of them, and they had next to nothing, I suggested an extra toolkit. All of them only came with the ‘standard’ things alternating hatchets and axes so they wouldn’t have six of just one.)

The guys were all on their third beer except Elmer, who’d polished off over half of the fifth of JWB he was sipping.

Elmer and the gang noticed the toolkits, but seemed content to keep talking and drinking.

Lola and Marcy had cooled their ranting a bit when Marcy begged Lola for some help in folding her 7 dresses, promising to give her a couple. They were now sitting on another random piece of driftwood, well away from everyone else, plotting their next moves.

It was almost peaceful.

I wished I had some help, because I couldn’t keep up with all the different conversations all by myself.

The guys seemed totally oblivious that they needed to get busy and start figuring out what they were going to do about building some kind of shelter. Or, even where to do it!

The ignorant arrogance Elmer was displaying was keeping everyone from wanting to ‘break the peace’ they were currently enjoying.

Except for Vincent.