Beyond Sol B. 01

Chapter 1

Amy was late again. It was the third time I had to stay back this week because of her. We weren't allowed to lock up since we were supposed to be open twenty-four hours, and not permitted to leave the place unmanned even for five minutes. So here I sat like an idiot, not able to claim overtime while Amy took her sweet ass time showing up to work. Speaking of sweet ass, she definitely had one of those. That is probably why she thought she could get away with everything and anything. Everyone knew Jacob, the area manager, wanted to hit that; even Amy.

I checked my watch, for what must have been the tenth time in the last five minutes—3:15 AM. My shift was over fifteen minutes ago, but our contract with the fuel company—Big P—forced us to start at least fifteen minutes before our shift started. While this was normal behavior for her, I still wouldn't complain. Amy was a short redhead with great curves and a fantastic ass. She was friendly and flirty, even with the resident dork, me. So, I would sit here and wait for her to show up and act like it was no problem at all, even though my guild was waiting for me to do a raid. My phone was probably exploding with messages asking where I was. Unlike Amy, I wasn't allowed to use my phone on shift.

I was more than a little irritated by Amy's special treatment for being a hot girl. But my irritation was less about her special treatment and more that I got treated worse than anyone. Jacob just didn't like me for some reason. I covered every day he asked me too; I never took sick days—not that I could afford too—and I was always nice to him. He just didn't like me for some reason.

While I waited, I decided I may as well get some of Amy's work done for her, knowing she wouldn't, and I'd probably get blamed for it anyway.

After about five minutes, I heard the door chime as someone approached the sensor. Since it was so early in the morning, I'd have to buzz them in personally. It was a pain in the ass sometimes, especially if you were off taking a shit. People always tend to know when it's the most inappropriate time to show up, like a super-power or something. Without looking up, I headed into the booth and flicked the switch, unlocking the automatic doors. But as I looked up to greet this annoyance of a person with as much friendly cheer as I could muster at three in the fucking morning - which was fuck all - I was presented with two people, both wearing what looked to be cartoon pig masks. The ones you found at a one-dollar shop. But most importantly, they both had guns. And they were aimed right at me.

It took me a moment to realise they were yelling at me. Then I noticed the door to my booth was still open, and I had no way of closing it on time.

What. An. Idiot.

"Money! Now! Give me everything!" Yelled the taller man with the much more feminine pig mask. Seriously, why would anyone buy these things? Except to rob idiots who don't lock their doors.

The other man headed around to the open door holding out a dirty cloth bag with one hand and jammed his gun into my right shoulder. I've seen plenty of action movies, and I even did a tiny bit of martial arts training as a kid, but nothing can prepare you for the moment someone has a gun held against you. I imagined myself grabbing the gun, knocking the guy out, and shooting the feminine pig asshole right in his stupid face. But I didn't. I knew if I tried anything, I'd be dead, and they'd still have the money. Plus, why did I even care? I was working minimum wage for a company that didn't give a shit about me. And a manager who hated me. Fuck them.

I grabbed the bag and opened the register. The drawer only held a few hundred dollars, company policy being that we do a cash dump into the safe every hour, a safe I couldn't access. And most people paid by card these days.

"Okay, I'll give you everything I have, just please don't shoot me," I pleaded.

The man with the gun to my shoulder looked in the drawer and grunted an angry response. "What the fuck!" He shoved me against the register drawer and pushed his pistol against the base of my skull. "We need more than this. Get the safe open."

The girly pig masked robber was in the tiny booth now, rummaging through the drawers and cupboards, jamming cartons of cigarettes into a bag while his buddy dealt with me. "Open the safe, or I'll blow your fucking head off!" He yelled and pressed the barrel of the gun hard against my head to emphasize his threat. I was sweating badly now, my heart was racing, and I could barely think, let alone speak.

"I can't," I stammered. "I don't have full access to the safe. I dump money in, but I can't get it out."

I badly needed to wipe my sweaty palms on something, but I didn't dare lower my hands or reach for anything just in case I spooked one of the gunmen standing behind me. "Those ain't words I want to hear, blondy," the primary gunman growled. "Please. I can't help you open the safe. If I could, I would. Their money isn't worth dying over," I pleaded.

I closed my eyes tightly and waited for the bang, signaling the end of my short, twenty-five years of life. Would I even hear the gunshot? Or would I just be gone? Maybe I would get to see my parents again.

After what felt like an hour - but was only a minute or two - I opened my eyes to find the two armed robbers were gone. I looked out the front window and saw them getting into a car with a third person already behind the wheel. It looked like a black or dark blue sedan. I tried to get a good look at the car's license plate. But they'd parked in the one spot with a broken overhead light. With a screech of their tires, they sped off.

I hit the button to lock the front door and slumped onto my seat, hands shaking and heart thumping. I looked at my watch, Three Twenty-Five. They'd only been here for five minutes, but it felt like an eternity since my shift was supposed to end.

The buzzing at the door didn't pull me from my stupor. But the banging startled me out of my chair with a fresh surge of heart palpitations. Had they come back? Well, I wasn't fucking letting them back in. They could fuck right off.

I glanced at the monitor displaying the multiple camera locations around the building and saw Amy at the front door. She was looking up at the camera, mouthing the words

'let me in.'

I promptly opened the door and stood to grab the phone since I wasn't going home anytime soon. I needed to call the police to make a statement and file a report. Then I had to call Jacob and let him know. I got the feeling I was going to miss my raid. Again. "Hey, Jace!" Amy said with a genuine smile. She was always smiling. "Sorry, I'm late. I was out with friends, and then I had a nap and overslept. Hope I didn't keep you from anything important."

She smiled at me, craning her neck as I towered over her. I was a good six inches taller than the cute redhead. She finally looked at the register drawer, which was sat open and emptied of everything bar the small change.

"Robbed," was all I said before pushing past her and dialing the number for the police.

The closest police station was only across the road. There would only be a few officers handling the phones at this hour, and because there were no gunshots, they'd be oblivious to any crime that took place. The close proximity of the police station was probably the only reason I was still alive. I made my report over the phone, and they instructed me to stay on-site until an officer came to take my statement and review the security footage. While I waited, I headed out back to officially clock out for the night. I signed myself out and grabbed my keys, wallet, and phone from my locker. The guild group chat was exploding with messages asking where I was. Then it devolved into the back and forth of sharing memes and shitposting. I responded with a vague reply about being held up at work and closed the chat window, deciding to deal with it later.

"I'll be in the parking lot when the police come," I said as I came back out. "I'll fill out my report and bring it back when finished. Then I'll call Jacob and ask him to come in, as we need the float replaced in the register."

I was suddenly feeling exhausted.

To my surprise, Amy came around and wrapped her arms around me in a big hug. I didn't know how to respond, so I put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into me. "I'll call Jacob for you," Amy said after we parted. "You've got enough to do as it is, and Jacob seems to have something against you. I'll take that off your plate." Then the pretty redhead surprised me by stretching up on her toes and planting a kiss on my cheek. "Thanks for never reporting me for being late, Jace. I don't know what I would have done if I had been here alone when this happened. I promise that I'll be on time for work from now on," Amy added.

I was so stunned by her kiss that I had to rethink what she'd said multiple times.

"Yeah, sure. It's no problem, Amy. I'll see you tomorrow," I said, trying my best to sound casual and relaxed about everything.

The cute little redhead gave me another smile and a wave before grabbing the phone from me to call Jacob.

I had the forms for the robbery report on my car's boot as I filled them out and chain-smoked to calm my nerves. Smoking was a dirty habit I picked up from my father, but I was glad to have something right now to take the edge off. I had the reports done in no time, and before long I watched the blue and white police cruiser pull up beside my beat-up Subaru. Two officers stepped out: a tall, middle-aged man with a shiny bald head and a younger one—my age—with a buzzcut. He was relatively short, only coming up to my shoulder, and I recognized his familiar face from when we went to high school together.

"Doug? is that you?" I asked.

"Jason?! That was you who called in the robbery?" Doug replied with a smile.

We shook hands enthusiastically, and Doug even pulled me into a quick - but firm - hug. We were good friends in high school but had drifted apart when the world of adulthood reared its ugly head. I'd heard from other friends that he had joined the police academy. Something we'd both wanted to do. I guess he followed his dream while I wasted mine by playing video games and watching way too many random YouTube videos late into the night. I took a few moments to admire his uniform. The shiny badge, pristine uniform, and utility belt with the tools of his trade were everything I wanted back in high school. If only I had focused on what was important, maybe I could have been where Doug was now. I suppose it's never too late to change. I was still young.

Doug's partner introduced himself promptly, and before long we finished my report. They mostly just wanted to know how many suspects there were and if I'd seen any distinguishing marks. How tall they were, what they were wearing, what they'd stolen, and what car they were driving. I answered everything as truthfully as possible, and they sounded confident they would find them. Saying they've had three other petrol stations hit that night.

After the report, Doug and I chatted for a while. Mostly about what we've been up to since high school and university; not that I went to university. And I learned that I really should get my shit together. Doug was married with two kids, and he also owned his own house. Well, he pays the bank for it. All that, and I worked minimum wage, rented a one-bedroom shithole, and spent all my time gaming with people I met on the internet. Well, there was nothing I could do about it right now. After some goodbyes and a promise to stay in touch, a promise that neither would likely keep, we parted ways with a firm handshake. I watched the police cruiser pull away before heading into the petrol station to drop the reports off to Amy and let her know the police had already come. And bid her goodnight. I didn't want to hang around here any longer than I already had; mostly because I didn't want to stick around for Jacob to show up. But I felt terrible for leaving Amy to clean up this mess.

"You can go home," she said as if reading my mind. "I got it from here."

"I kinda feel bad just up-ing and bailing on you with everything that happened," I replied.

"With everything that happened?" she asked, taking a step closer to me.

Amy craned her neck to look up at me, and I was suddenly very aware of how close she was. The next thing I knew, her hand was on my forearm. Her touch was warm and welcoming, and I found myself wanting to stay just to cling to that touch a little longer.

"Yeah. Now you have to deal with Jacob, and I'm gonna leave you high and dry," I said, trying to act as casual as possible at her touch.

"I was late to work. Again," Amy smiled. "You've stuck up for me sooo many times without asking for anything in return. Let me be your hero this time, Jason."

"Thank you, Amy," I nodded. "You're welcome," she smiled. "Maybe we can grab a drink sometime and call it even?"

"Umm...sure," I stammered.

"Awesome," she all but bounced and kissed me on the cheek. "It's a date."

I stood there stunned for a few seconds as Amy skipped into the small booth. My brain was still processing that Amy had just asked me out on a date as I headed outside with a stupid grin on my face. A grin that I couldn't wipe away as I walked to my piece of shit car. After a few failed attempts to start the engine, I was on my way home. But not before stopping off to get some disgustingly tasty fast food. Hopefully, my guild would still be up to raid by the time I got home. They usually dicked around for a good hour or more before everyone was ready anyway. It was like herding cats with that lot.

I ate while driving. I lived a reliable thirty-minute drive away from the petrol station I worked at - I couldn't afford anything closer. It wasn't too bad since I enjoyed driving, and I got to see Amy almost every morning when shifts changed. Even though she was late all the time, it was worth it. I was about halfway home when I finished my burger. I quickly checked my mirror to see how much sauce was stuck in my short, unkempt beard when I heard a low rumble pass overhead. It sounded like a hundred semi-truck engines idling simultaneously, crossed with a clap of thunder. I slowed down and stuck my head out the driver-side window to get a better look. The road I travelled down didn't have any streetlights, and I couldn't see clearly, but it looked like a plane. And it looked to be coming in for a landing, which was strange since the closest landing strip was at least a thirty-five-minute drive in the opposite direction.

I knew this stretch of road quite well, and I remembered that the national forest park entrance was just around the corner. The park was closed to the public, but I'd been there for private camping trips in the past. I tried keeping my eye on the plane, but I needed to focus on the road ahead. The last thing I needed right now was to slam into a kangaroo or something equally as shitty.

The turn-off to the park came by quicker than I thought, but I took it with only a minor slide out as my tires struggled to find traction on the loose dirt. After that skid, I decided it was best to slow down. The plane looked like it was coming in for a landing, and there were no open areas long enough for a landing in the forest. There was a good chance the people on that plane needed help, and it wouldn't help them if I crashed into a ditch on the way there because I was speeding down a dirt road in the dark. I drove for another ten minutes along the winding dirt roads before seeing the lights coming through the trees. They flashed through the branches and limbs of the thick forest growth, growing brighter as I neared the main camping section of the park.

I broke free of the heavily forested trail and switched on my high beams. My lights illuminated the plane, resting in the center of the campgrounds. I gasped as I took in the enormous aircraft. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. I stopped my car about twenty meters away and stepped out, leaving the engine running. What I first thought was a plane in the darkness now looked like something straight out of a sci-fi movie or video game. Before me sat what my brain could only describe as a UFO, only it wasn't the flying saucer-like spaceships in the films and alien documentaries. This thing was shaped like an arrowhead and was all straight lines and angles across the surface, giving it a sleek, elegant look that boasted an incredible speed. The base was flat, resting on a trio of supports that ended in claw-like points that sunk into the soft dirt beneath. The vessel was about fifty meters long and was the single most incredible thing I'd seen in my entire life. The landing supports held the ship about three meters off the ground, making it look even more imposing as it loomed ahead.

I stood there in awe of what I was convinced was an alien spacecraft. That or the military had new technology the public didn't know about; either wouldn't have surprised me.

I took a few steps closer to the ship and stopped as a portion of the hull towards the vessel's rear lowered. I was far from an alien spacecraft expert, but the low hum of running motors and hiss of compressed air signaled a boarding ramp lowering. I was eager to meet whoever owned such a fantastic piece of technology.

I kept my distance as I walked around to the rear of the ship-so as not to startle the owner—but my curiosity kept tugging me forward. The boarding ramp descended between two massive thrusters on the rear of the ship. Three smaller jets sat on either side of the main engines, and they all glowed with a faint orange aura.

A humanoid figure in a bulky matte black bodysuit stepped stopped three-quarters of the wat down the ramp. A large helmet covered the figure's face, showing me a warped reflection of myself as I peered into the mirrored visor.

"Hi," I said, offering a wave and kicking myself for such a simple greeting for what could be mankind's first contact with an intellectually superior alien race. Or any alien race.

The figure took a step forward and raised their hand as if they were about to wave back. My heart slammed in my chest. As far as I knew, I would be the first human ever to meet intelligent alien life. Me. Jason Stone. An average guy, leading a below-average life with absolutely zero prospects or ambitions. Someone who had no interest in anything other than working his shitty job so he could pay for his hobbies. Everything in my world would change from this moment forward, no matter what happened.

Suddenly the clearing lit up like a football field on game night. I turned to see half a dozen black SUVs pulling up to stop in a semi-circle in front of the spacecraft. The path through the forest was narrow, meaning they could only drive in a single file through the forest path. But they peeled off from one another like a well choreographed dance group as they entered the clearing. Floodlights on the roof mounts bathed the area in a blinding white light, forcing me to cover my eyes with my forearms instinctively as I tried to look at the newcomers. I'd been so caught up in my discovery that I hadn't heard the vehicles approaching. They must have kept their lights off until they were right on me.

"Who's there?" I yelled, taking a few steps towards the lights.

"Halt!" A voice boomed through a megaphone.

I immediately stopped walking and turned my head to see if the spacecraft's occupant was still there. The figure stood with one foot on the ramp, its masked head slowly looking from side to side at the assembled vehicles. The sounds of boots hitting the dirt and men walking drew my gaze back to the blinding lights, but I couldn't see much other than two dozen shadows blotting out some of the floodlights' intensity.