(This is an excerpt from A Twist in Time: Something’s in the Sky chapter 2
It is mid-February; Alyssa took up a class located somewhere in Riverside County to learn how to use a gun. She wanted to learn and always thought it would be fun to take up a sport. Though her husband was the gun lover in the family, she wanted to see what all the fuss was about. She was a quick learner, surprising her coach and herself. Her husband normally goes on weekends with his buddies to the local shooting range, but she never would join them, in fact her motive for learning how to use a weapon is simple…Summer Lynn. She would never really use her skill to kill an innocent animal, but lately her thoughts have swayed to the dark side. When Alyssa goes to the shooting range, she made sure to give them another name, she does not want her husband to know about her extracurricular activities since he goes to the same shooting range also. She gave the instructor her mother's address just in case he wanted to know where she lives. As she practices her skill, it gives her time to contemplate her marriage. It seems odd to some that learning to master a weapon is a way for her to relax. Her best friend Lynda once said, “Don’t worry about it, just divorce him already. He’s nothing but a waste of space.” Alyssa thought about her kids and how that would hurt them if she did divorce her husband, they are young, and it would scar them.
“If only I can fulfill my fantasy in killing that bitch who is ruining my marriage,” she thought as she shot another round straight into the bullseye, dead center. Others in her group clapped and cheered. “Good Trista you stayed focused. Your skills have improved, I am proud of you,” her instructor said, as he gave her a friendly hug.
“You really have it down to a T,” another student chimed in.
Alyssa smiled and nodded. After her class was over, she drove home and found
her kids playing outside while her husband barbecued in the backyard. She has
never told him that she suspects his infidelity, in fact she’d rather that he
thinks she’s naive about the whole thing. “Honey I was wondering if you would
consider a babysitter,” he said.
“Why?” she responded.
“Well, I
was thinking that maybe we should take a trip like how we used to before we had
kids, you know,” he flipped the burger patties on the grill. “Oh, well I have
my mom to take care of the kids, free of charge, and we can take a trip anytime
you’d like just say when,” she said and smiled, grabbing a coke from the ice
box.
“Well, I
was thinking of hiring a coworker I know, she needs the extra money, and I am willing
to help her by getting her to babysit for us once in a while,” he suggested.
Alyssa jutted her chin forward slightly, pursing her lips. She took a sip from
her coke, eyed him suspiciously under her sunglasses.
“Who is
she?”
“Her name
is Summer Lynn, and she is a good person but she’s suffering a bit of financial
hardship.” Alyssa was drinking her coke and nearly choked on it when he
mentioned her name.
“That fucking bitch?” She set her coke down on the wooden picnic
table that sits close to the barbecue homemade grill that her husband and his
friend built out of bricks. “Why don’t you invite her over? I would like to
meet her,” said Alyssa. “Sure, I will. I am so glad I married a wonderful, nice
woman like you.” Alyssa’s eyes narrowed as she looked at him. He did not notice
her cold expression, and the derisive undertone in her voice. “I can’t wait
to meet her,” she thought. “Come on kids let’s eat,” Alyssa called out to
them. Their pet cat ran toward the table and jumped on top. “Oh no you don’t,
not you Kitty,” Alyssa grabbed her and set her down on the ground. “Go on now.”
“My kids are growing so fast. Richard is in 9th grade and the other two are in middle school,” she sighed. “How time flies.” A week later, her husband invited Summer Lynn, the 28-year-old woman, over for another barbecue. She has light brown hair, coffee colored eyes and a flirty smile. Summer was wearing a pair of old jean shorts, a pink tee shirt, with mauve colored Nike shoes.
Once a month the
Castros throw a barbecue for family and friends if the weather’s good. However,
the family that goes to their barbeques are just their family and Alyssa’s
mother. Alyssa very rarely sees her brother. Their divide happened years ago
due to politics; the one thing Alyssa was never interested in politics, but
because she voted for a president that her brother and her parents did not like
it, well it affected their relationship.
Her mother
always insisted that she apologize to her brother, but she doesn’t realize that
the divide was not caused by Alyssa but by her brother’s asinine convictions
over politics, her father is no different. His beliefs are just as headstrong
and annoying. She remembers her mother agreeing with her father over things she
vehemently opposed to, her mother accepted that her marriage was fine and
beautiful, but Alyssa knew better. Alyssa doesn’t see her marriage as perfect, nor
would she lie to herself and others that it’s perfect, she’s real and keeps it
that way. Alyssa invited two of her friends, Lynda and Maggie, the neighbors
next door to join them.
Maggie
knows nothing about her husband’s infidelity, but Lynda does. “Your mother
didn’t come?” asked Lynda. Alyssa shook her head, “No she was busy today.”
“So that’s
the whore, huh,” Lynda whispered to Alyssa, as she watched Summer Lynn walk
toward the barbecue. Alyssa nodded. “She looks like a dumb blonde to me,” added
Lynda, they both giggled. Maggie didn’t know what was going on but caught on
quickly. She had no idea that Victor was cheating on Alyssa, but it didn’t take
much to see what was going on. Summer Lynn walked over to the group and sat
down on a lawn chair next to Alyssa. The four ladies’ chitchat while the men
talked amongst themselves, enjoying a beer. Alyssa’s sons were playing
badminton outside away from the group. Alyssa’s house is a standard family
unit, large backyard, and a small front yard, with a desert landscape, perfect
for the region they live in. “Will you ladies excuse me, I’m going to get
another beer,” said Summer. She stood up and walked on over to the ice box that
was next to the barbecue.
Alyssa’s
eyes followed her. Her husband glanced at Summer, their eyes met,
and Alyssa could see the attraction between them. She glared at them. “So, is
she going to be your babysitter?” asked Maggie, eyeing Summer Lynn dubiously.
Alyssa shook her head, “No, she will not be my babysitter, never,” she snapped.
Maggie exchanged a concerned glance with Lynda.
“Why not?
She seems like a nice person,” said Maggie. Lynda gave Alyssa a sidelong
glance.
“I have my mom who lives nearby so she can
take care of my kids whenever my husband and I need alone time,” she said.
Summer returned and sat next to Alyssa.
“So,
Summer, do you have kids?” asked Alyssa, with a touch of satire.
Summer ignored it.
“Oh no, not
me, I don’t have time for them, and I’m not married. I’d rather be single and
enjoy life.”
“Yeah,
enjoying yourself with another woman’s man,” thought Alyssa, as she took a sip from her coke, her nose flared,
and she sighed. “Mom, can we go inside and play with our Xbox 360? It’s kinda
boring out here,” Alyssa’s older son Richard, asked.
“Sure, go ahead.” She smiled and kissed her son on the forehead. Richard, David, and Josh went into the house. She turned to Summer. “I know my husband wanted you to babysit for us, but my mother lives nearby, and she loves taking care of my kids so, no offense but I don’t need a babysitter at the moment,” stated Alyssa, firmly. Lynda gave Alyssa a clandestine wink.
“If only you knew how much I want to kill you, bitch,” thought Alyssa as she eyed Summer. No one would’ve thought that Alyssa had dark thoughts, thoughts that would be concerning to some people.
“Oh well, that’s fine then,” she left it as that and did not pursue the conversation any further. Victor stepped inside for a moment, unbeknownst to Alyssa. “Excuse me ladies, I need to go to the bathroom,” said Summer and existed toward the house. Summer walked in and headed to the bedroom, where Victor met her. He closed the door so that the kids wouldn’t interrupt. “So, what happened?” Summer shrugged.
“I think
she knows about us,” she said.
“No, she’s
naive, she’s too into herself to see anything else, don’t worry she will never
find out,” he said. He hugged her and kissed her full tender lips; he patted
her behind playfully.
“I don’t
feel comfortable with her around, I should go,” she said.
“Okay, see
you tomorrow at the same place,” he said as he stole one last kiss. He walked
outside, headed toward his friends sitting on the picnic table. Alyssa noticed, that Summer stepped out soon after he did. Lynda stared at her as she approached them. “Well ladies I am going to leave, I
have to get up early tomorrow for work, it was nice meeting you,” she shook
their hands and left. The rest of the evening went smoothly, without Summer
there, the thickness in the air dissipated and a calmness flowed over everyone.
That
evening, Lynda spoke with Alyssa on the phone. “So, when are you going to tell
that bastard that you know?” she asked.
“Well, my
cancer is in remission, and everything is going well Healthwise, I think I will
be doing it soon but not yet,” said Alyssa.
“Why wait?
I think you need to get rid of him. He’s only gonna cause you more grief.”
Alyssa nodded. For a couple of weeks, Victor has been spending more time with
his friends at the shooting range, or so he told her. Alyssa knows better and
he was in fact upset about her rejecting Summer as a babysitter, but Alyssa
doesn’t care she’d rather spend more time with her children than him. Her
children are everything to her, she goes to their plays at school whenever
their classes perform for the holidays, she goes to teacher conferences, she is
always there, however her husband is like a ghost, just someone who’s there in
name. “My kids mean everything to me; I don’t care about Victor he is
not important but a part of me feels disheartened by the revelation of his
affair; I am shocked that this is happening to me considering that I had cancer
and he stood by me at the time. I suppose it was out of obligation. Now that my
cancer is in remission, he wants to be free to have sex with whomever he wishes,”
Alyssa told her mother on the phone. Her kids are in school, and her husband is
at work. “Honey, I think Lynda is right, you should seek a divorce,” her mother
advised. Alyssa sighed, “Yes, I know,” she responded. She is surprised her
mother even suggested it. A week after the conversation she had with her
mother, she was sleeping peacefully, her husband snoring next to her, and her
children lost in their dreams.
Their cat is downstairs on the couch napping but there is a stillness, an uncanny presence in their house; not noticeable, not even to the cat. Its image shimmered as it made its way to the master bedroom where Alyssa and her husband slept. The intruder uncloaked and stood silently over her, watching as she slept soundly. He touched her cheek and Alyssa jumped with a start; her eyes shot open to see a monster staring down at her, with large ebony almond shaped eyes, hungry with desire. She let out a scream, but the creature waved a device over her head, and she fell asleep again. Dark dreams engulfed her mind. Blood swam all around her, dead bodies lie all around her; anger filled her heart. The next two months Alyssa was abducted and taken to a Ny’Karin ship, for evaluation. She did not remember anything about the abduction. One evening, she sat alone in bed, reading a book while her kids slept in their rooms. Her husband was out with his friends or so she thought. Her eyes became weary, and she set the book down and rested her head on the pillow. Nightmares of blood and anguished flooded her mind. She woke up several times that night.
Months had passed and it was now June. The crickets chirped outside as the summer night breeze lightly blew into the room through the open window, gently caressing Alyssa’s bare leg. “Alyssa, you know what you must do. Kill that woman. She has brought you unhappiness, do what must be done,” a voice sounded in her dream. She awoke with a start and rubbed her eyes. Her husband was home, which was a surprise to her, she turned and looked at the clock.
“3:45 am,” she mumbled and fell back to sleep. It is the weekend,
and she took her kids with her to the market. They picked out what they wanted
to eat and as they headed to the car in the parking lot,
Josh, her
youngest son, looked up at the sky.
“There’s
something in the sky mom,” he pointed.
“Come on
you, don’t dawdle,” said Alyssa, with a smile.
“Yeah, shit
head, don’t dawdle,” her older son teased and ruffled his younger brother’s
hair. Josh grimaced and playfully punched him.
“Guys, stop it,” she warned. David laughed at his brothers antics. She got her kids in the car and packed the groceries in the trunk and stopped to look up. Ominous clouds hung overhead.
“There’s something in the sky, watching,” she
thought. When she got home her husband wasn’t there. Not a surprise to her but
she expected that he would be home. He’ll lie to her and say he was at work. She
doesn’t care anymore; she made her choice. She’ll deal with Summer soon enough.
One Month Before the Invasion
Alyssa is
devoted to her skills, while her husband continues his philandering, she
carries on as if she is naïve to his cheating. “So, are you going to go out
with the boys tonight?” She asked him.
“Yeah,
we’re just going to hang out at Caleb’s Man Cave at his home. You should go out
with some of your friends too. Take the kids to your mother’s,” he said as he
grabbed his Dodger blue wind breaker from the closet. Alyssa’s eyes narrowed as
she gave him a cold silent stare. “I know they’re going to meet up with her
somewhere,” she thought. She sighed. “I think I will just stay home with the
kids, besides all my friends are busy with other things,” she responded. He
shrugged and walked out of the room toward the garage door, and she heard the
door slam shut.
The garage door opened, then closed after he left. She quickly went into her room while her kids watched TV. She pulled a medium-sized wooden suitcase from under her bed. In it is something she bought with her personal credit card. She laid it on her bed and closed the door so her kids wouldn’t walk in. “There you are,” she pulled out a black silencer pistol.
“I think I should follow the trail of
breadcrumbs he carelessly leaves,” she said. She asked her mother to come over and
watch the kids so she could step out for a moment. Her mother arrived thirty
minutes later.
“So that
good for nothing husband of yours isn’t here?” her mother asked.
“Yes, he’s
not here but it’s fine, I won’t be long, but if I am, just trust me that things
will get resolved soon,” said Alyssa with a decisive tone. Her mother gulped.
“Okay, be
careful. If you confront him, it can get ugly,” she warned. Alyssa nodded.
“Kids be good for your grandma,” she said and fronted a smile. Alyssa figured
that her husband and Summer would meet on the far side of Elsie Lake. People go
there to fish and picnic but not swim. During the Summer months there are
higher levels of bacteria in the water.
(this is an unedited excerpt from my book, A Twist in Time: Somethings' in the Sky. Since this book is still in the works, the content might be subject to change during the final editing process.)
