Nemesis Alien Hybrid Read online

  Table of Contents

  THE RETURN OF THE MAN IN BLUE, VOL. 4…

  A Strange Day

  The Night after

  The After

  The Principal

  Visitor

  The Superintendent

  The Man in Black

  The Dinner

  Shadow Man

  Prom

  The Stranger

  Milton’s Prom Queen & King

  The Dream

  Graduation

  All Eyes on ME

  Dinner for racists

  The Last Days

  Milton High School

  Dr. Michael McClellan

  Return to Demos

  The Truce

  The Christmas Guest

  John Slater’s Return

  The Ghost of Christmas past

  The Principal of Milton

  Trouble is My Middle Name

  The Burden

  Unwelcome

  He Knew

  Bad News

  The Invasion

  Untrustworthy

  The Deal

  The Descent

  The Talk

  Die Quelle

  The Man in the Black Suit and Red Tie

  Old Friends Quentin

  Source

  The Link

  The Hand of Death

  Unreadable

  Meine Quelle

  The Great Escape

  German Translation References for pages 90-91

  German Translation References for pages 386-387—

  German Translation References for pages 416-419—

  Also by C.S Luis

  Nemesis

  Alien Hybrid

  C.S Luis

  NEMESIS

  ALIEN HYBRID

  THE CLAUDIA BELLE SERIES

  * * *

  FIRST PUBLISHED 2017

  * * *

  ALL CHARACTERS AND EVENTS IN THIS PUBLICATION ARE FICTIOUS AND ANY RESEMBLANCE TO REAL PERSONS, LIVING OR DEAD, IS PURELY COINCIDENTIAL.

  * * *

  Copyright © 2017 by C.S LUIS

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without written permission from the author.

  First Edition: NOVEMBER 2017

  Printed in the United States of America

  ISBN-13: 978-1548992477

  www.FACEBOOK.COM/THECLAUDIABELLESERIES

  TWITTER: @CSLUIS2

  Contents

  THE RETURN OF THE MAN IN BLUE, VOL. 4…

  1. A Strange Day

  2. The Night after

  3. The After

  4. The Principal

  5. Visitor

  6. The Superintendent

  7. The Man in Black

  8. The Dinner

  9. Shadow Man

  10. Prom

  11. The Stranger

  12. Milton’s Prom Queen & King

  13. The Dream

  14. Graduation

  15. All Eyes on ME

  16. Dinner for racists

  17. The Last Days

  18. Milton High School

  19. Dr. Michael McClellan

  20. Return to Demos

  21. The Truce

  22. The Christmas Guest

  23. John Slater’s Return

  24. The Ghost of Christmas past

  25. The Principal of Milton

  26. Trouble is My Middle Name

  27. The Burden

  28. Unwelcome

  29. He Knew

  30. Bad News

  31. The Invasion

  32. Untrustworthy

  33. The Deal

  34. The Descent

  35. The Talk

  36. Die Quelle

  37. The Man in the Black Suit and Red Tie

  38. Old Friends Quentin

  39. Source

  40. The Link

  41. The Hand of Death

  42. Unreadable

  43. Meine Quelle

  44. The Great Escape

  German Translation References for pages 90-91

  German Translation References for pages 386-387—

  German Translation References for pages 416-419—

  Also by C.S Luis

  THE RETURN OF THE MAN IN BLUE, VOL. 4…

  “Is it for me?” I wondered, suddenly blushing.

  “I’m not sure, my dear, but let’s read and see what it says.”

  Michael offered. The note read;

  Dear Michael,

  I thought you would be interested in hearing I’ve uncovered incriminating evidence regarding our phony Mr. Vega and his claim of being Claudia’s uncle. It turns out that he and Mr. West; Dr. Edwards’ attorney conspired to forger Dr. Edwards’ will in the attempts of extorting Claudia’s inheritance. It also appears that Dr. Edwards knew of this imposter long before anyone else did. And tried to expose him but was unable to before he died.

  Within the contents of this envelope are the details and information you’ll require to prove such corruption. I’ve taken the liberty of mailing a copy of these documents to your attorney, Mr. Jenkins, who should also be receiving them presently.

  Don’t worry about Mr. West. I’ve had a long discussion with him and I’m happy to say that I’ve convinced him to see things my way. The documents you hold in your hand should prove who this imposter truly is, enough to put him in prison for a long time. I’ve taken the liberty of composing several police reports and a well-documented criminal background record pertaining to this phony Vega. In case you need more proof, although I’m sure you have more than enough. But rest assured that this imposter has no leverage in the stakes of Claudia’s estate. I’ve made sure of that. As always, please take care of yourself, and my girl…

  1

  A Strange Day

  March – June 2013—

  * * *

  “My pet, I need you. I must have you.”

  Vines ripped through the school marble and wrapped around her legs holding her securely in place. Her terrified scream the only sound. Quentin’s face appeared but now it was something far more than just him. Another form emerged from behind, until it was the only thing she saw. The shadow form that had appeared to her before, the one that had almost taken her life in the pool that didn’t exist. And now here he was again.

  Instantly, his mouth opened, spread apart so wide in an unnatural manner, and from the darkness of his mouth tentacles began to ascend from the back of his throat to reach toward her. Claudia screamed…

  * * *

  Claudia sat up immediately. She was alone in her room; it was dark and late at night. Michael rushed in and dropped to the side of the bed. She fell into his arms crying hysterically.

  “I saw him! I saw him again. Why is this happening?!”

  Michael held her tightly in his arms. He felt her pain but gave no answer. Her grip tightened around him, she was trembling. He had never seen her this way; so frightened about her dreams. They seemed to be getting worse each week. At first, they were dreams of the events that had taken place. Things that she could speak of with great detail and was able to brush away as nothing more than dreams. Now, they seemed to be taking on another form, becoming more vivid and spawning into something that she couldn’t bear to talk about.

  “It was only a dream,” he softly whispered. “Just a dream; you are home and safe.”

  “He’s coming for me! He’s coming back!” She cried. “I can feel it.”

  Every time she said that, it frightened him because she was never wrong. What could she be seeing in these nightmares?

  “No one’s coming, Claudia. John— Mr. Slater made sure of that.” He hoped the name would bring her comfort. But she barely reacted to the name now, and it both
ered him. He didn’t know what to do or how to help her.

  “The crystal will keep you safe.” He opened the nightstand drawer and searched its contents. There, he found a small, spherical crystal sparkling back at him; it took the color blue from the angle he was holding it. Sometimes after her dreams it seemed to take a blushing red color, though the burning red was the most disturbing. Its color indicated both good and evil.

  “This will keep you safe,” Michael said, lifting the crystal in his hand so she could see it. He forced it into her hand, “I won’t let him or anyone else harm you.”

  “You don’t understand; it wasn’t him— it was someone else, something else. And he doesn’t fear the crystal. That won’t stop him. He’s coming and he won’t stop until he has what he wants.”

  Michael held her tightly in his arms. He was afraid to ask what this thing wanted. Each night she had awakened in the same manner. And when she awoke later, she didn’t want to talk about the previous night’s nightmare. Or about what the dreams might mean.

  Michael rocked her in his arms, while he made her hold the crystal in her hand.

  “I promise nothing will harm you. I’ll be right here. Keep the crystal with you,” he whispered softly as she snuggled into his embrace. It seemed to ease her a bit as she relaxed and calmed down, closing her eyes. Finally, she fell asleep. Michael hoped this time she would be able to stay that way.

  He didn’t know what else to do. How to help her. The crystal was all he knew, and if this thing or whoever it was didn’t fear the crystal, then he didn’t know what he would do to protect her.

  2

  The Night after

  That evening—

  * * *

  We were in the kitchen when he brought up the subject again. The dish of the day was enchiladas, with Mexican rice and beans; my favorite. But, for some reason, not today.

  “Have you thought about prom? Has anyone asked?”

  I stared at Michael from the end of the table, playing with my enchiladas instead of eating.

  “If you like, we can go shopping for a dress. I know how crazy you girls get about the dress. Believe me, I know.”

  Being the principal of a large high school I suppose he knew, he had seen his fair share of teen dances and proms. Well, at least a few while my grandfather was principal.

  I glared at him as he took a drink from his glass. He seemed to be in good spirits this evening. I wasn’t sure why. Not that Michael wasn’t usually a good-spirited person. But his eyes seemed to indicate that he held a secret. Or maybe he was trying to cheer me up since I hadn’t been the best company the past few weeks.

  Michael didn’t like the idea that I wasn’t getting excited about things like prom. He talked about it more than I did. He brought it up during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I didn’t want him to worry, so I just nodded.

  “I really haven’t thought much about it.”

  His eyes blinked to life, “Honey, it’s only the most important night of the high school year. I remember my prom.”

  I wrinkled my nose at him, eww really? Do we have to go there?

  “I’m surprised no one’s asked you yet,” he sounded surprised, but he actually sounded far more curious to know why.

  “No,” I said, inviting further discussion.

  He gazed over at me, startled.

  “I’m shocked,” he said. I merely stared at him; that made two of us.

  “What about that boy?”

  I stared at him, taking a drink from my glass of water. I had an idea who he meant. There was one boy Michael liked and he was always trying to get us together. He knew I could read his thoughts but he acted like this was a normal conversation.

  The first time I complained about him following me around, Michael said to me, “Get to know him, you might like him.” Not what I expected a concerned father figure to say.

  “What’s his name?” I’ll give him points for pretending he’d forgotten his name.

  I gazed at him, putting the glass down. He actually wanted me to answer.

  “Jimmy?” I answered.

  “Yes, that’s him, Jimmy Reinhardt. Has he asked you? He seems pretty nice, you walk to class together all the time.”

  I wasn’t surprised he knew that. But then should he? What I wanted to know was why he didn’t find it disturbing that a guy would follow his daughter to class every day. Especially when they hardly knew each other. I’d seen Jimmy once or twice near my locker. He’d say ‘hi’, I’d say ‘hi’. He’d ask me what class I had, I’d answer and would then walk to class. Somehow that invited him to tag along? From that point on, it seemed to be his aim to invite or insert himself into my life. When I first met him, sure, I liked him but after what had happened in my life, I could think of nothing else. I thought it would be best to stay away from others, seeing as I was a walking cause of chaos that invited danger wherever I went. Maybe I was exaggerating a bit.

  “I walk to class, he more like stalks me to class.” I corrected him, glaring.

  “Stalk? I wouldn’t call it that, my dear.” He lightly laughed, wrinkling his nose slightly. “I think he’s a pretty nice lad.” Lad?

  “He might have a tiny penchant for you. I mean, you’re very beautiful. Why wouldn’t he?” Were we really having this discussion?

  “I’m handling prom this year, it’ll be my first as principal of course.” He changed the subject, noticing the look on my face. Maybe he realized he was getting a little too involved with my personal life. But I didn’t expect anything less from him. This was Michael, always involved, always the fatherly figure. It was his job after all; he was my guardian. What seemed to trouble him the most was realizing that this year he was in charge of the most important high school day of the year: Prom.

  “I think you’ll do fine, Michael.” I volunteered a few words of kindness, noticing and feeling his anxiety in regards to the preparation that Prom involved. He smiled.

  “Mr. Claypool and Mr. Vasquez will be chaperoning along with me. So, I hope you understand if I might have to leave you occasionally. It is a big day.” I simply stared at him and nodded. Was he trying to tell me I would have to tag along if I didn’t have a date? Or was it just nerves? ‘Can I just stay home?’ I wanted to say. I think that would have invited more questions and worried him more; not to mention a big ‘No’.

  “I’m sure you’ll want to spend time with your friends rather than spend your prom night with a bunch of principals.” I don’t think he knew I had no friends. And I didn’t want to worry him by revealing it.

  He rose and cleaned off his plate, putting it in the sink, then came to my side of the table to lean over and kiss me on the head.

  “How are you sleeping these days?” I stared over at him; I didn’t want to answer with the truth. That the dreams weren’t getting any better. That at night I feared closing my eyes. That I heard them even when I was awake. The first time I thought I was dreaming. And this was during class; it only made me appear more awkward and strange to others. I could forget friends altogether at that point.

  “Better,” I said, and forced a fake smile. I was doing this for him. I didn’t want him to worry. I felt him ease; it had worked. He didn’t need more things to worry about, he already had all that preparation he still had to work out in regards to prom and 300 screaming teenagers. He didn’t need me telling him about the strange demon haunting my dreams or about Quentin occasionally making an appearance in my head.

  “No more dreams?”

  “Rarely.” He gazed at me as if he was trying to read me. He had a hard time doing so. I was better at it than him. But he seemed satisfied for the time being. I knew it was because he believed me.

  “That’s good.” He smiled and for a moment he studied my face. He was thinking about prom again. He was worried for me.

  “Don’t worry, honey, I have a feeling that very soon someone will ask you to prom.”

  I stared up at him as he walked back to the sink and began cleaning the dishes and
putting them in the dishwasher. I just watched him for a moment and thought about what he said. Did he honestly think Prom was what was bothering me?

  “It’s getting late, why don’t you get ready for bed?” he advised, walking back to the table and taking my plate as I handed it to him.

  He kissed my head again and walked back to the sink. I rose and stood there for a moment, just watching him. This was our life, our simple, little life. Prom, graduating, he a school principal. Soon I would be graduating and I still wasn’t sure what I planned to do with myself. But this was our life, simple and nothing of what we had been through. The thought of past of events sadden me a bit. Did I miss it? Did I miss him? I didn’t want to think about him anymore.

  Michael walked back to the table to clean the rest of the dishes; I stepped over and hugged him. He was caught off-guard by my sudden gesture. I guess I surprised myself as well, but it felt right. I loved our little life, no matter how simple and how boring it seemed at times. Michael felt rewarded; I could sense his heart just about lit up.

  “What was that for?” he asked as I pulled away.

  “No reason. I’m just happy,” I said, which was true. “I owe you a lot,” I honestly added.