ISOA Abduction stories

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ISOA

Abduction stories

14

     "Come on Zan, time to wake up."

     "It's morning already?"
     "Yes, it is. Go get ready, I'll go make breakfast."

     "Do you have everything ready for school?"

     "Yes. I can't wait to see my friends."
     "Ok, but you also have to pay attention."
     "I know, I always do."

     "Are you ready? It's almost time to go."

     "Are you going to take me to school every day?"
     "Yes, I always take you to school, why do you ask?"
     "You have a new job."
     "I'll be working from home but I'll make time every morning, don't worry about it.
"Go brush your teeth, you don't want to be late."

Since Liz was over her morning sickness, she went to work on her first painting. She didn't know how she was going to sell them but before worrying about that, she should at least finish one.

She wasn't so sure what to paint but thought once started, something would come to her.

     "What are you reading?"
     "Cassie gave me this, remember the lady from the bakery? She gave me the manual so I could read it while I get mine. But I just came inside; I started painting."

     "You did? What are you making?"
     "I still don't know what it'll look like once it's done but I didn't paint much."
     "Take your time, don't stress too much; it can't be good for the baby.
"I'm going to finish writing the book and get some things together for the meeting with the publsiher."

     "How was school?"

     "It was awesome! There was a new kid, he's my friend now."
     "That sounds nice, what's his name?"
     "Noah, he just moved here. At first he didn't want to leave his friends but now he likes our school. His dad says they can go visit them and their family whenever they want. He says he has a lot of friends and that they can be my friends too when they come visit."
     "Why did they come here?"
     "His dad got a new job, I told him my dad also has a new job and I didn't want things to change. He says he lived in a big house and didn't want to move but that he also has a huge house here. He said I should go see it, it's three stories tall!"

     "Did he invite other kids to visit his house?"
     "Yes, he was talking to me and my friend."

     "Liz, I finished the book. Can you read it and tell me what you think?"

     "Are you still having second thoughts?"
     "I uh..."
     "Ok, let me read it and then we can talk."
     "Thank you. I'll go work on the rocket."

     "I'm almost done."
     "It's ok, I just want to sit with you."

     "Do you first want to tell me what's bothering you?"

     "There were many things I did... I... I could have done different. I know this doesn't change anything..."
     "Max, we all do things we sometimes wish we could change. We are not perfect, that's what makes you human. This book doesn't really talk about you, I don't think the alien hunters are going through every book. You don't know how many people out there have had contact with aliens and write about it; they won't easily find us through this."

     "I really need to make the publisher believe it's just fiction."
     "I'm sure he won't suspect you're an alien just because you want to write about them. I don't think there's anything wrong with you publishing A King's Quest. If it's something you need to do, keep writing."

Max was staring at the house in front of him with the business card in hand; was this the right address? It had to be, unless the publisher had made a mistake.

The elephant was a nice touch but the house seemed so out of place. He considered twice what to do; should he just knock or get ready in case it was a setup? No one knew they had moved here so there was no way for anyone to follow them, this had to be the place of the real publisher. He just had to knock and wait for an answer.

     "Hello, I have a meeting with Maddox Teague..."

     "Hi, you must be Max, he'll be out in a second."
     "Thank you. I'll go wait over there."

     "Max. I'm glad you came, let's talk in my office; have a sit."
     "I hope you like what I have and you don't find it too far-fetched."
     "I've heard many ideas, yours won't be the strangest."

     "Right. I once worked with a man who claimed to be abducted by aliens; he had some very interesting stories. I'm not going to use them but we could easily come up with a story about this other planet; there is a whole world out there we don't know much about and we could create a fantasy from it."

     "See, I told you it wouldn't be the craziest."
     "Does that mean you like the idea?"
     "We can work something out, you write a story and bring it to me, I'll find a place for your books.
"Now, you said you wanted to use a pseudonym. Did you bring any names? If not, it's okay, we can come up with something together."
     "I think Rob Roy would be a great name for these stories."
     "It has nothing to do with your friend from work, does it?"

     "No, of course not. This will be totally unrelated to him, he just gave me the idea."
     "Good. I don't think we'll have problems with Rob Roy then."

     "Hey"

     "Max! How did it go?"
     "Everything went as I expected. You were right, he has heard many stories and didn't think twice about my idea."
     "So you'll be writing for him now."
     "They'll still be my books, he'll just help me sell them. He's going to charge me for every book I send him, after it starts selling the royalties will be ours."
     "Do you have a deadline for the first one? I don't want you to spend all your time writing."

     "I had to make him think I was coming up with these stories, but since they're just parts of our past I already know what I'm going to write. I'll just change a few things; it won't take me long to write each book."
     "What did you tell him?"
     "That I had been writing down ideas for years and I just have to put them together to make them into stories. He'll give me more time than I really need, that way I have time for you, Zan and soon the baby and still have time to build the rocket."

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