“Oh, come on!” Genghis announced. “Space is a vacuum, there is no sound.”
Trent couldn’t catch his breath and pointed at the screen. “Look . . . look . . . it’s now on fire with actual flames.” They both broke out in hysterics.
Then, when a firefight scene between soldiers and giant insects erupted, Genghis blurted out, “Oh, really! Those insects would have been crushed to death under the weight of their own exoskeletons.” He then rolled onto the floor laughing even harder, Jeff was holding his side, and wiped away a tear from his eye.
This went on throughout the entire movie.
The next morning, Jennifer woke up still coming to grips with the idea of aliens on earth and living in the same apartment with her. But as Genghis told her the night before, with approximately two to three hundred billion stars in Earth’s Milky Way Galaxy and about one to two hundred billion galaxies out in space, some even bigger then the Milky Way, the reality of other planets with intelligent life on them should not be that surprising.
She got out of bed wearing a long yellow t-shirt that stretched down to just above her knees and wondered if it was just all an elaborate dream as she walked into the living room. Jeff was in the kitchen setting up the morning coffee and Genghis was sitting on the floor, back against the couch, in front of the computer on the coffee table.
He glanced over his shoulder and looked at Jennifer. She just stood there staring back at him. It was a few moments before Jennifer uneasily said, “Morning.”
Genghis, knowing what was going through her head, just looked at her quietly, letting the moment linger, before he said, “Good Morning, Twinkie.”
“Whoa!” Jennifer said, taking a small step back.
Genghis turned back to his computer and said, “Yes, Twinkie, it all did really happen.”
“Wow! Okay, just checking.” She said as she walked into the kitchen. “Morning, Jeff.” She reached into the cupboard and pulled down their coffee mugs.
“Morning, Twink.”
The coffee maker made a beep letting them know that it was ready so Jeff removed the carafe and brought it over to Jennifer and started filling their mugs. As he did so, he looked at her carefully. “Are you alright, Twinkie? I know all this must still be pretty overwhelming for you.”
“I’m fine I guess. I mean it’s still a mind blower.” She took her “Buccaneer” mug and Genghis’s mug and brought them into the living room as Jeff followed with his. She put Genghis’s “Death Before Disco” mug next to his computer and sat on the couch beside him. Jeff sat next to Jennifer and picked up the remote. “But you know,” Jennifer continued, “I think most humans do believe in UFOs and aliens and stuff like that. Just look at all the stuff on TV and in the movies. From The X-Files to Signs to Men in Black. I mean, we all must have thought of the possibilities of life out there at one time or another.”
“Well, Twinkie,” Genghis said, “I must admit,” he reached for his mug, “you're doing very well with this. I don’t think many humans could have adjusted as fast as you have with the reality of extraterrestrials.”
“I guess I watch way too many science fiction movies.”
“I agree, Twinkie.” Jeff added, after taking a sip from his “World’s Number One Dad” mug, “You are handling this very well. But if you ever need to . . . decompress, let me know, and I’ll help you through it.”
“Thank you, Jeff, but I think I’m doing okay.” She took a healthy sip of her coffee, then asked, “Hey, you guys aren't going to sneak into my room one night and eat my brains, are you?”
Jeff was in the middle of a drink and coughed some coffee out his nose.
“Ah, that doesn't sound too appetizing there, Twink.” Genghis replied.
They were all silent for a few moments. Jeff channel surfed while Genghis continued searching the Westberry Police Departments computers. Jennifer looked over his shoulder and asked, “What are you searching for, Genghis?”
“Oh, well, I took your advice, and I’m looking through the Westberry PD’s computers for something that meets with Prodor’s modus operandi.”
“His . . . what?”
Genghis looked up at her and clarified, “His MO you know, like on CSI.
“Oh, I get it!” She took a sip of her coffee. “Well I couldn’t really tell, that computer is in that crazy hieroglyphics. I can’t read any of it.”
“Oh, sorry!” Genghis made a couple of keystrokes and the computer screen instantly switched over to English text. “There you go. That better?”
“Hell yeah! Thank you!” She leaned forward and started reading, “What are those? Police memo’s?”
“Yes, they are, and I’ve found a couple of interesting ones.” Genghis brought them up for Jeff and Jennifer.
Genghis got up that morning, not waking Jennifer with the sole purpose of specifically looking for Prodor Moffit. He would never admit to anyone that he dropped the ball in the Moffit search, and that it took a human girl to suggest the obvious. He was searching through the Westberry PD computer hard drives when he came across a memo addressed to Chief of Police Andrews from Head of Homicide DeLaRue.
The memo provided details about four murder victims who were found in Old Town and The City of Westberry. DeLaRue stated his concerns that these were the work of a serial killer, due to the evidence found at all four crime scenes. He suggested that the time was right to now release the information to the media in the hopes of getting help from the public. He attached a series of gruesome crime scene photos with the memo. Genghis made sure that they would not be displayed on
