How We Forget..

"Look at them. I wonder where they were found?" One of the Soldier's points to a wormhole adjacent to the boulder we were using as a table. His voice was filled with such a sarcastic tone, I glance up as well, partially out of curiosity but partially to sigh with agitation. I'm attempting to eat a ration or two and slug down some refreshments before I head out. Sadly I had to do it with unwanted company: sarcastic AFS members.

My eyes glance over the familiar sight. I remember that trip... The wormhole hummed once more and another body appeared. He was dirty. He looked very lost. Yeah, I remember that one well.. Then he fell, stumbled to his knees, and grasped his eyes with a cry of anguish and pain.

I winced involuntarily. I remember that too...

The others are laughing. I can only shake my head. How soon they forget the trip. How soon they forget the fear. How can we forget? We shouldn't forget. Ever. I close my eyes and breathe in the scent of the wormhole as more people come through...it makes my head dizzy as memories begin to travel forward from somewhere far away in me.

I scan the people around me. It is like we are all the same. Dusted. Worn. Tired. Hungry. Scared. Angry. Frustrated.

And now this.

"..designed by the Eloh! It will help you travel from here on Earth to a safe location!" The man was literally shouting now as we approached the circular, humming, swirling machinery. My eyes, like many, traveled over the wormhole with hesitation. As I studied the big thing, I could see people walking into it, and in moments, dissipate. I know, like others, my jaw dropped. I know, like others, I was too petrified to go near that thing.

The man paused, allowing us to watch and take in what we were seeing. Others in uniform, leaving through the wormhole as if it were a walk in the park. More, who looked like me and those around me, staring in wonder at the thing...walking timidly toward it, then upon it, and then into it. And then nothing.

I could see flecks of debris floating and swirling around it and then being sucked in. Not one time did it touch the ground. It's like a tornado? "Is it like a tornado?" A woman's voice asked this, from close by, and I swallowed my shocked surprise. I'm glad I wasn't alone in my thoughts.

The man who was leading us to this point hesitated. His eyes turned to another man, who was wearing several types of gear and tools. He stepped forward some to help the younger guide. When he spoke, there was a slight accent, but I could not place it's origin. "It is not like a tornado, no," his voice was deep, but his eyes were very
kind, like that of an educator. "Imagine, if you will, Star Trek, perhaps, or the show Sliders?" His eyes glanced from one person to the next for a type of recognition. "There is also the show and movie called Stargate?" This one got more responses, and I almost chuckled at how tv was being brought in to help people understand this.

With a slow nod he waved toward the machine that was still sucking stuff up into it. "It is a simple travel between locations via technology and...well...perhaps some natural occurrences," his hesitation of not exactly knowing made me have that queasy feeling once again, but his voice broke through to pull me back. "It goes from here, on Earth, to a new planet. One that is much safer. One that is much more stable. And it is controlled better from these creatures that hunt us," his eyes roam out into the city where half was missing, most was on fire, and barely anything was even recognizable as the city I love: Chicago. They took the Sears Tower. Damn them.

"Is it safe?" This was from a man on the far side of the group.

"Perfectly," The man nodded once. "Now, I get back to work. You, you go. You go be safe. We need you there."

I wasn't certain what he meant by needing us, but I certainly needed something better than an invasion, death, and destruction. I moved ahead of those who hesitated and approached the pad in line. I wasn't about to stay here. No. My eyes fell on the lake filled with junk that was once beautiful and refreshing, the museum that
was now crushed and burning and only days before had giggling children and happy parents within it's walls...

No, nothing is here now.

"Does anyone know what an Eloh is?" This came from behind somewhere as we were slowly getting loaded onto the wormhole pad. I glanced back to the man who asked. He was rather short, bulky, but there was something spirited in him as he waited with the rest of us.

A woman beside me answered. She was thin, and very dirty, as if she had been stuck in the lake itself. She was attempting to brush off leaves from her person as she spoke, frustrated. "I heard them referred to as the Benefactors as well. I'm not sure why."

"They're aliens," a man's voice close to us spoke up. My head swiveled to stare at him. He was cloaked, and I could only make out his lips and eyes. There was an odd tint to his "skin". It was almost like he didn't have skin at all. "They're peaceful, too. Without them we would be dead."

I didn't know what to think about the word "alien". When that comes to mind the thoughts of movies and television spring up so fast it's much easier to accept the reality that it isn't real than to glance over my shoulder and stare at my ruined hometown. Those things that destroyed it and the people I loved were...monsters.

"They're not monsters," the man's reply startled me, and I studied him with only a start of surprise. His smile was not mysterious or full of sarcasm. It just was. "They're a highly advanced race. If you would rather not hear the word alien," he shrugged. "They are very intelligent. They have knowledge that spans the galaxy. They're here to help us. You're all very lucky," his last words were a gentle nudge for us to move more toward the wormhole.

How can we be lucky if we have dead relatives, dead friends, and a destroyed planet?

I noticed I was next, so my thoughts ended before I could really expect an answer.

Well, here we go...

As I approached and then stood upon the edge of the platform, a man came over to check me and my clothing to keep them secure. "Tie things down if they're not, including in the pockets, please," he tucked in my shirt and made sure buttons were buttoned. "Now, this thing is a bit odd for some. There have been some reactions to it. We Humans are a gentle species. The Eloh think it may be because our species hasn't adapted to it yet. So, if you have any trouble at all when you get to the other side, tell someone."

I nodded and he stepped away. "Go on," he smiled some. "It's perfectly safe. I've done it hundreds of times now."

With a deep breath I moved forward.

The voice of the man in my head was startling, and I spun to stare at him with an incredulous gape.

You will soon see and realize why it is you are so lucky to be alive, Human..

I was suddenly whisked away and sucked up into the wormhole...



"...and kick some butt!" The roar of the Squad around me startled me back to the present. The area around the wormhole had already been cleared. Those who had arrived were off now on their assignments or in the medic's tent. I glance down at my food and wince.

I think I'm done eating for now.