Aliens and Angels
By Brinatello
Created October 27, 2003

A bright pen light clicked on in front of the girl seated on the examining table.  The doctor slid the pen from left to right, making sure her eyes followed the same movement.  Next, she watched him reach for a tongue depressor and proceed to look down her throat.  She always hated those things and gagged at him uncontrollably.   Another evil tool was his stethoscope that had once again been sitting in the freezer.  When he told her to take a breath, she took a full gasp from the thing being terribly cold!  The next two things he checked were her pulse rate and temperature, both getting perfect results.  The last thing he tried was a reflex hammer, watching her leg snap up to attention.  All of her vitals seemed to be in ship shape order for an average kid like herself.  However, it was when he cupped his hand under her chin and tilted her face to the light that made his expression change from pleased to utter disappointment.

The crater-like scars upon her face, chest and upper arms looked horrible, painful, and worst of all, difficult to conceal from prying eyes.  Normally, the skin would heal remarkably and show no signs of ever being there.  He could plainly see she was going to have these scars for a very long time, perhaps as a reminder of the foolish mistake she made when she chose not to trust her instincts.  The doctor had seen many cases such as this in children her age.  Every time they came in looking as if they had just escaped from Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory, he liked to give his usual lecture about safety precautions.

"How old are you, Julia?"

"10."

"You must be in the fourth grade."  She nodded with a shrug.  "I'm sure this has taught you a very valuable lesson?"  She nodded again, but the doctor turned away, his eyes narrowing down on his notes.  "Now, tell me again, for the record, why did you do it?"

"I didn't know it was a trick," she dropped her gaze, "I was lucky to have been found and healed."

"And what of the people who healed you?  Do you remember who they were?"

"Um,"  The girl shook her head, "I think they were aliens..."

"Aliens?"

"No, wait, they were angels."

"Well, which is it?"

The girl frowned deeply.  "Both..."

5 years later...

The circular mirror inside her small compact held a reflection no different than from what she had seen since she was 10.  Had it really been that long?  She could only remember bits and pieces, and the parts she remembered the most became imbedded into her mind like a repeated nightmare.  Did aliens and angels really help her, and if so, why couldn't she get a clear picture of them?

She read about UFO sightings, the countless abductions of people beamed up into a space ship and treated like helpless guinea pigs.  They often recall being probed and pricked on a cold slab of steel with a light shining down on them, completely stripped to nature's own and screaming out in sheer agony.  Those were the nightmares she kept having.

However, something else tugged at her memory.  Despite their unusual features, they weren't evil, nor did they treat her like a lab test subject.  They were gentle, spoke soothing words of kindness, catered to any whimper of pain, and they made sure she rested comfortably to regain her lost strength.  How could something so strange and so out of this world carry human-like characteristics?  Then there was the sight of the angels who appeared from out of nowhere.  Were they real angels, did she see strange aliens, or was it all just pure fantasy?  It could have been for that particular night, but there was too much of it that was very unclear.  She knew she needed help and she had come to the right place.

Julia put the compact away and sat back in her chair, trying to read the magazine sprawled out on her lap.  The words were there, but she could care less about who was kissing who or what new marriage developed in Hollywood.  No, there was something far more important to her, far more intriguing...and far more personal.

"Julia Timber?"  A nurse peeked her head out from the office door, holding a clipboard in her hand.  Julia blinked and looked up to her.  It was her turn to face the music.

The patients in the waiting room all watched her stand up and make her way to the adjoining room.  She knew they were staring at her face.  Those deep scars healed over time, but could easily be spotted at a mile of a distance.  At times she knew exactly how the Phantom of the Opera felt and often considered buying a mask, just to avoid the incessant turn of heads.  They probably wondered where she got the scars from or what did them to her.  She knew the answer to that, but who it was that saved her was another question she was dying to know.  For the first time in a long time, she was finally going to find out...through hypnotism.

A very young doctor greeted her at the door to his office.  Great, another doctor to put up with.  After the amount of therapy, step-classes, and check-ups she went through, she hardly knew anyone that wasn't in the medical field.

"Hello, Ms. Timber.  How are you doing?"

"I feel a little nervous."  Julia said shyly.  "I've never done this before."

"I know this is not easy for you, but I can assure you, you will feel a lot better when we're finished."  The doctor pointed to the long, black leather sofa in front of him.  "Go ahead and lie down on here."  Julia turned and stretched herself out on the sofa.  "I understand you want to know what happened to you as a child, how you got those scars?"

"Well..."  Julia rolled her eyes.  "I know how I got them.  I just wondered what happened between when I got them and when my parents found me waiting at the hospital, already patched up."

"So, what you want to know is who patched you before you arrived at the hospital?"

"Yes."  Julia whispered.  "Scars are one thing, it's who helped me out that leaves me in deep question.  I want to know who they were...if possible."

"You know, you're not the only one who has had such an experience and have little recollection of what happened."  The doctor took his seat beside the sofa and pulled out his clipboard, beginning to write frantically.  Julia stared at the clipboard, seeing this act before.  "The best way to learn from your past traumas is to relive them through what many call hypnosis."

"Right, but the ad said the results were usually 98% effective, like I would remember quite a bit of my past experience."  Julia casually stated.

"Indeed."  The doctor agreed.  "You may also recall some disturbing scenes through the course of the procedure.  With that in mind, are you sure you wish to continue?"  Without hesitation, Julia nodded silently.  "Very well, then we will begin.  To start, I want you to focus on any object in my office and keep staring at it.  Stare at it long and hard.  Can you do that?"

Julia nodded again and floated her eyes around the room.  There were many things to stare at, but one large object instantly caught her eye.  It was a beautiful suit of armor from unknown origin, possibly from a foreign country.  The armor was radiant; it shone a heavenly glow at her tiresome eyes.  The doctor noticed this and continued to write on his clipboard, a smile curling up and his voice becoming monotonous.

"Did you find something?"  Julia nodded a third time.  "Good.  Now, I want you to clear you mind as you focus on the object.  Your eyes are growing very heavy.  You can no long fight the will to stay awake."  Julia's eyelids began to droop and blink slowly.  "You only see the object in your vision."  Julia closed her eyes and began to drift out of the room and into some other world.  The doctor quietly stood up and reached into his desk, pulling out a very small clamp-like device.  He carefully placed it on her head and clicked a small button marked 'ON.'  The device lit up, making him smile again.   "How are you doing on the object?"

"Fine."  She simply said.  The object remained in plain sight, but soon started to fade and a scene took over, one she remembered quite well.

"What do you see now, Ms. Timber?"

"I'm on the street..."  She whispered.

"Mm, hmm."  The doctor wrote down her words.

"It was dark outside."  Julia squinted a little more.  "I was walking on the street carrying a bag, but then I noticed these teenagers running out of an alleyway.  I was very curious at that age, and went to go check out what they were running from."

"Was anyone else around at the time?"

"No, I was alone.  My parents were at a party and I took off from the person who was watching after me.  I didn't like her, anyway."

"Mm, hm.  Go on."

Julia paused at the foot of the alley and held her breath to a horrible smell coming from a side door.  A sign marked 'free candy' tacked on the door got her immediate attention.  Inching closer, she pulled it open and heard a low hissing sound emerge.   Seconds later, she felt her body hurl against the opposite building by a massive eruption of hot flames.  A back draft set off as the fire hungrily jumped out at her and the surrounding area.

"Good lord."  The doctor's eyes widened.

Julia sniffed a little.  "I was lucky.  It was only a small set, but it seemed so sudden, like a very hard slap to the face,"  She shook her head, "I never expected such a thing to happen..."

Julia clambered along the wall and lost her footing, feeling the flames burn upon her delicate face and arms.  Her legs kicked up to block out the heat, but it was too much to avoid.  She finally screamed in agony as the dull sound of a fire truck came barreling down the street.  Fear mixed with shock as she felt the heat rise higher around her nose, mouth and eyes.  She knew she shouldn't have worn flammable make-up that night.

"No...No...Noooo!"

"What kind of building did you say it was?"

"An old bakery store."  Julia jolted.  "It was damaged beyond repair from the fire.  The whole place had to be bulldozed to the ground before being rebuilt into something more modern."

The doctor pulled out a folder and glanced down at other recorded notes.  "Hmm...yes, it was a bakery store built back in the late thirties. They were known for their homemade apple pies and hot cider.  Such a shame to see it destroyed.  Please, go on..."

Did she have to?  Julia groaned and thought deeply.  "I ended up on the ground...in a lot of pain...I felt so hot on the inside as well as the outside.  I couldn't move too good.  I felt...paralyzed.  It seemed like I was lying there for a long time while the flames spewed all over.  I soon found a hole in the ground and climbed down into it."

"A hole?"

"A manhole cover was left open."  Julia nodded.  "It smelled horrible, but the cold air and darkness below was inviting.  I climbed down and found a trail of sewer water.  I didn't care about the odor and quickly splashed it on my burnt face and arms.  It was ice cold and felt good."

"Good lord."  The doctor repeated, scratching down more words.

Julia collapsed against the brick wall of the underground sewer labyrinth and howled like a wounded animal in excruciating pain.  Her arms were like two dry twigs, her face continued to feel as if it were still ablaze, and she suddenly got a terrible wave of nausea.  She had no idea what she splashed herself with, but it started to smell as if she went all over herself.

Minutes later, she heard distant footsteps approaching closer, causing her to pause in her moans and listen.  A large dark form was making its way towards her, the appearance of it nearly frightening her to death.  It wore thick boots, a heavy cloak, and a dark, wide-brimmed hat.

"You thought it was what?"

"Heh, The Opera Ghost lives in Paris, so I thought it was the Phantom of the Sewers."  She smiled a little.  "Thing is, I wasn't laughing in the slightest."

"Who was it?"  The doctor asked.

"It was one of them..."  Julia let out a yelp of fright as the person paused a few feet away, staring down at her. "He just stood there staring at me."

"Did you see his face?"

"Yes, I finally did, but..."  A green face loomed over her, the eyes piercing down to her blinking ones.  "He didn't look normal.  He didn't look...human..."

"Are you all right?"

"No...help me...help me, please..."

"What did he look like?  Describe his features."

"All I could think of was wanting help.  I didn't care about his looks."  Julia sighed.  "I inched my way into the light of the opened sewer lid and he got a better idea of what happened to me.  I must have looked worse than I felt because I never saw anyone move so fast."

"What did he do?"  The doctor asked.

"He took me...I remember him picking me up and carrying me away."  Julia relaxed a little.  "He must have been used to the smell because he didn't flinch in the least."

"Where did he take you?"  The doctor asked with interest.  Julia wanted to say 'up into a space ship' but she knew that would be completely far-fetched.

"He carried me deeper into the darkness of the sewer lines.  It smelled rancid all over, including on myself since I threw the disgusting water onto my face and arms."

"So, he carried you through the sewers the whole time?"  The doctor suggested.

"I think so.  He was carrying me and then...we were in some underground cavern.  There were some dim lights and I heard other voices.  All male voices."

"Mikey?  What the hell did you find now--"

"Raph, don't be mad.  I found her down here.  She's hurt really bad--"

"Okay, okay...I can see that, but what was she doing--"  Raph jumped up from the couch and inched closer, wrinkling his nose, "--whoa, pew, she smells really bad, too."  Julia looked up to him, then back to the other one.  "Umm, what's your name, kid?"

"Ju...lia..."  Julia started to quiver as she continued to stare at them.

"Where's Leo?"  Mike backed away and looked around.

"In his room, I'll get him."  Raph shook his head and started to head off down the hallway.  "Stay right there and don't move!  Don't do nothin' till I get back."

"So, you got a good look at them by now?"  The doctor interrupted.

"Yes, and I can clearly say they weren't human."

"From these notes, you told your primary doctor that you thought they were aliens."

"Uh-huh."  Julia sighed.

"And do you really think so?"

"Uh-huh..."

Michaelangelo sighed and looked down to the child in his arms.  She looked as though she was about to scream or faint, either one he hoped wouldn't happen.   Leonardo finally emerged with Raphael in tow.  In about two seconds, his expression went from annoyed to concern when he saw his brother standing there.

"Mikey?  What's going on?"

"This kid was just layin' by a sewer ladder.  She's been burned pretty bad."

"Where did this happen?"  Leo took wide steps over, stopping short of the odor protruding from the girl's clothes and body.

"Down close to 9th, next to that old bakery."  Mike looked between him and Raphael.  "I'm sorry, Leo.  I didn't know what else to do--"

"Don't apologize.  Here..."  Leo took her in his arms and held in his breath.  "Go into the bathroom and get the tub running.  Make sure the water is lukewarm.  I'll meet up with you in a minute.  Raph, go see if Don has returned to our planet and locate the first-aid kit.  It should be in his lab.  That's the last place I saw it."

"Right, the damn boy genius keeps bangin' himself up in there all the friggin' time..."  Raph muttered as he took off down the hall.

Leonardo felt a sudden rush of panic as he strode down the hallway to alert their father.  It was never a dull moment for him and his family; Michaelangelo always brought home either sick or injured animals to patch up and release.  This, however, was something new.  Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine he would be doing something so unusual, and rather graphic, such as this.

"Master?"  Leo paused in the doorway to Splinter's room, looking around.  He would have knocked, but his arms were full.  "Master, are you in here?"

"Leonardo?"  Splinter emerged from the side near a rice paper closet, frowning deeply.  "What is wrong...good heavens!"

"Mike found her outside in the sewers.  He's drawing a bath for her right now.  Where do you keep those herbal medicines for burns?"

"Over here..."  Splinter continued to stare at the girl as he pulled open an ancient-looking cabinet and reach for a large glass jar.  "This is an old remedy passed down from my master.  I am pleased to say he used it quite sparingly.  It will not cure the burns, only soothe them."

The doctor went slack-jawed.  "You saw a giant talking rat?"

"I remember one of them bringing me to him."  Julia frowned deeply as the doctor scribbled some more.  "He looked kind of frail and spoke with a husky accent."

"A foreign accent, maybe?"  The doctor lightly suggested.

"I think so.  It's too hard to recall."

"That's fine, unimportant."  The doctor's jaw lifted up into a grin as he continued to write.  "Please, continue...so, you saw this giant talking rat..."

Raphael rushed into the lab room to find his brother hooked up to a microphone, ear-set, power gloves, and what appeared to be a virtual reality headgear covering his eyes and head.  Apparently, he hadn't zoned back in to planet Earth just yet.

"Launching missile one!  Fire!"

"Yo!  Ground control to Major Don!  This is your brother speaking!"

"Hmm?"  Don lifted his head and looked all around, his goggles beaming in all directions.  "Who's there?"  Raphael smacked the goggles off and stared evilly at him, only to receive the same expression.  "Hey!  Raph!  What are you--"

"We need the medical kit, damn it!  Mikey brought in some injured kid."

"Are you sure you don't remember any names?"  The doctor asked.

"No, I don't."

"But, they did speak English?"

"Perfect English."

The doctor nodded silently, dropping his head into his notes.  "Go on..."

Donatello looked totally perplexed, if not exceedingly concerned, as he rummaged through the junk in his lab to find a very large box with a red cross on it.  The supplies were minimal due to the many times they had to use the kit after a simple fight or a life-threatening battle.  They just had to work with what they had left which, to his dismay, wasn't much at all.

"Why did Mike bring her here?  He couldn't get her to a hospital?"

"Prolly wouldn't have made it, Geek Boy.  Not in her condition."  Before Donatello could question him further, Raph was already half-way down the hall and into the room they've often used for health recovery or surgical procedures.

"What can you tell me about their skills, if any?  I assume none of them had any degrees in the field of medicine?"  The doctor scribbled some more.

"That's another strange part.  They were almost like real, professional doctors minus the white coats and M.D.'s.  It was rather astounding.  They took no time at all to bathe me and take care of my burns.  After I was cleaned up from the sewer water, I was placed onto a table so fast, I thought for sure I was already at the hospital awaiting surgery."

"But, you weren't taken to a hospital?"  The doctor said in more of a statement than a question.

"No."  Julia shook her head.  "I wasn't."

A bright heat lamp flickered on over her head, adding more warmth to her already burnt skin.  Tears blinded the young girl's vision from seeing exactly what was going on.  More tears slid down her temples from the rising temperature on the inside.  Her body began to shake from head to toe, her breathing became irregular, and her heart pounded so fast, her rescuers feared it would burst right out of her chest.  A hand lightly pressed a cold cloth across her face, followed by a pair of hands covering her body with a thin blanket.  The top part of her chest was beet red and missing layers of skin at the neckline.

"You were how old when this happened?"  The doctor tapped his clipboard.

"10."  Julia shrugged with a squint.  "I was just a kid who was really confused...and scared."

"Indeed.  So, what happened next?"

"What I fear every time I close my eyes and go to sleep."  Julia squeezed her eyes tight, her lip starting to tremble.  "The nightmare."

"No, not again...."

"Hmm?"

"No, they're doing it again!"  Julia squinted.

"What?"  The doctor looked up.  "What are they doing?"

"It was just patch work, but..."  She bit her lip.  "...under the heat lamp, I could firmly tell it was being done by....aliens!"

"Hmm..."  The doctor wrote some more down.  "How do you know they were aliens?"

"Because..."  Her eyes squeezed out tears.  "Their hands weren't normal, their bodies looked deformed and...they had green skin."

The doctor froze in his chair, nearly dropping his clipboard.  "Really?"  Julia nodded, feeling a tear pause and dry upon her memorable scar.  "Tell me what else you remember about them."

Julia looked around at her captors.  Their soft, sympathetic faces showed no signs of evil or hate and yet, she felt completely exposed and in more pain than ever.  One stood at the end of the table, rubbing an antiseptic around her legs, while another stood at the head of the table with a needle hovering over her face.  His eyes were very close to hers, eyes that held a deep concentration on whatever it was he was about to do.

"When I was getting a good look, my eyes caught one of the coming at me with a needle."

"A needle?"  The doctor looked confused.  "Why?"

"There was a large blister bubbling near my eye, obstructing my vision.  He was using a sterile needle to puncture and remove the liquid from it.  The very sight of this alien coming towards me with a pointed object was..."  Julia paused and whined softly.

"I see."  The doctor stared at his notes, shaking his head.

"You thought you could escape?"  The doctor stared closely.

"Yes...but there were too many...and I was too little to fight them off."  Julia swallowed heavily.  "I knew they were trying to help, but I was more afraid of who they were.  Sure, I was being patched up, but what if they wanted to examine me next and stick tubes in places where they didn't belong?"

"Did they?"  The doctor pushed his glasses closer to his nose.

Julia shook her head.  "No, not at all."

"So, even though they patched you up from the burns, they weren't sure if it was arson?"

"Right.  It sounded to me like they were going to investigate the cause of the fire at the store after I was taken care of.  They probably weren't just doctors, but maybe...detectives as well."

"Green, unknown creatures of their own laws.  Hmm..."  The doctor rubbed his chin.  "So, what did they finally do with you?"

"They let me rest and then..."  Julia sighed a little.  "...some holy visitors came in..."

"Who was she?  Did you get her name?"

"No, like I said, I don't remember any names."  Julia stated.  "The alien carried me out through the hallway and toward the woman.  Actually, there were two of them, one was a little younger in age.  They were both dressed in white robes, had wings on their backs, and a halo around their heads."

"So, they were real angels?"

"I thought so!  What did I know?  The painkillers were starting to set in by then.  Whatever the rat gave me to drink, it was making my hallucinations become more real.  Too real."

"So, to sum it up, the aliens healed you in an underground sewer, some angels came to take you to the hospital, and your parents picked you up shortly afterwards."  The doctor scribbled heavily on the clipboard.

"I believe that's what happened."  Julia said.

"Then, I think I can answer some more questions for you, but first...I need you to wake up.  As soon as I snap my fingers, you will open your eyes to me."  The doctor calmly turned off the device and pulled it off, pretending he had just lightly tapped her head.  "Ready?  On the count of three.  One...two...three..."  The doctor snapped his fingers in her face.

"Whoa."  Julia sat up and looked around the room.  The doctor was already scribbling more notes down, his face looking very excited.  "Doctor?"

"Hold on.  Okay, here's the conclusion I've come to, Ms Timber.  The date on your health records shows that this all happened on October 31."

"Well, I knew that, but, what does the date have to do with anything?"

"Isn't it obvious?"  The doctor grinned.  "You were injured on Halloween night and the people who healed and helped you were all wearing costumes."  Julia made a 'ahhh' expression and pulled back.  "The four brothers you encountered were dressed as aliens, the giant talking rat was just a short man inside a costume, and the angels you met were just two normal women."

"But, that doesn't explain why I was taken to an underground sewer lair instead of a hospital."  Julia leaned forward.  "Unless you know the answer to that?"

"No, that part still remains a mystery."  The doctor groaned.  "However, I'm pretty sure it is nothing to be concerned about.  The good news is we discovered more about your experience, enough for you to understand that you were not involved with real aliens and angels.

"So, the ad was right."  Julia looked slightly displeased.  "The results were only 98% effective."

"Yes, we do try hard at helping our patients with their problems, but not all sessions come out 100%.  On that note, our time is up.  Your bill will be ready at the front desk.  Thank you for visiting me, Ms. Timber.  You have been most cooperative."  Julia sighed and walked out of the room, not catching the doctor making a B-line for his desk phone.

"Boss?  It's me.  Yes, I was right.  From the visuals I've gathered from her head, this girl could very well lead us to those freaks.  I know, it was a few years ago, but you'd better send out a search team for them anyway.  Yes, in the underground sewers.  Our master's death will finally be avenged.  They won't get away this time..."

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