Hey guys! 🙂 Thank you all for your patience in waiting for this latest chapter! Just wanted to give everyone a heads-up that, unfortunately, I have to change my update schedule. Instead of weekly updates, we will now have new chapters every-other week, on Mondays.

Thank you all ❤

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Juniper’s eyes went wide at the sight of Cole’s badge. “FBI?” She whispered. “Ferocious Bot Invasion? I knew it!”

“Ferocious… what? Jesus Christ.” Cole paused for a moment, rubbing his temples after returning his badge to his coat. “Federal Bureau of Investigation.” He spoke the words slowly and clearly. “I’m a government agent.”

“Wait, so… You’re not a robot?” Juniper eyed him curiously.

“Of course not!” He shook his head. “Though once I figured out that’s what you and those things thought of me, I kind of rolled with it.” He admitted.

Juniper wasn’t buying it. “But you’re usually so stiff and emotionless and robot-y.”

“Oh, that…” Cole laughed nervously for a moment. ” I gotta admit, I don’t do very well under pressure… The boys down at the agency used to tease me about how much I’d clam up when I’d try to go undercover.” He shrugged. “With you, it’s different. But when I’m in the presence of those… things, I guess I get a little nervous and don’t know what to say.”

Not a people person? I guess that makes sense… Hmm… “Okay, but why do you clang around all the time? Like you’re made of metal?”

He bent down to tap his fist against his left shin. “Joined the army right out of high school.” He explained. “Got my leg blown off at the knee. My doc keeps offering me a, uh, more subtle prosthetic, but I guess this one has some sentimental value.” Cole chuckled softly.

Juniper raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Hmm… Alright, what about all that beeping?!”

Cole shrugged. “Surveillance equipment. Eyewitness testimony won’t be enough… I’ve been recording everything from the moment I arrived.”

For a moment, she was at a loss for words. He couldn’t be serious, could he? “So… so you work for the government?”

Cole nodded.

“And… and they sent you here? But… why?!”

The man bit his lip uncertainly for a moment. “Well… They didn’t exactly send me… I… I kinda sent myself.” He admitted. “I’m, erm… I’m on… ‘administrative leave’ for a while.”

“Huh?”

“They wouldn’t listen to me! I told them I’d seen the signs!” He cried almost frantically. “He’s not human! I’m telling you, he isn’t!”

Cole paused for a moment, closing his eyes and calming himself. “Sorry.” He muttered. “It’s… it’s still a sore spot for me. Anyway, they caught me trying to plant a wire in the Oval Office and, well… Here I am. Paid leave while my case is ‘under investigation’… But I’m not the one they should be investigating!” Cole shook his head.

Juniper just stared, dumbfounded. She had no idea what he was talking about, but whatever it was sounded insane. She tried her best to keep her composure. “So… I guess I’m still kinda wondering what you’re doing here?” Her voice was very small. “Why are you spying on everybody?”

Her neighbor’s eyes suddenly lit up. “I got a tip a while back. Some guy said he’d been held in an underground lab for months. Experimented on. Real sick stuff. And when it finally came time to release him, I guess his captor fudged the memory wipe. Poor guy was really confused. Kinda out of it. But he remembered enough…” Cole paused. “So I knew I had to come here and check it out myself. It was right up my alley. I’ll prove to them I’m not crazy! Aliens are real! They’re walking among us every day!”

“Wait… That guy was a prisoner here? In Newcrest?”

“In this neighborhood.” Cole corrected her. “Right underneath your nose…” He paused, shaking his head. “I thought you were playing dumb or something. Figured maybe these things were holding you hostage. But you really have no idea, do you?” He took a slow, deep breath.

“I’m not sure how else to say this… But your friend John is an alien.”

There were several long moments of silence before Juniper was able to respond.

“Oh my God… He…?” She shook her head. “He can’t be! He… he told me he’s from Texas!”

“Texas? Ha!” Cole shook his head. “Try a few million light years further than that.”

“I can’t believe this…” Her voice shook slightly as she spoke. “Does this mean… Are you going to deport him?”

“Wait, what?”

“He’s an alien… He’s in this country illegally, right?” Juniper felt like she was going to cry. “Isn’t there something we can do for him? Amnesty or something?”

“Holy shit. You’re serious. What is wrong with you?” Cole paused for a moment, sighing heavily. “Let me spell this out for you, Juniper… John is an alien. An extraterrestrial. You’re right, he’s not from this country. But it’s not from this planet either.”

Juniper opened her mouth to try to speak, but no words would come out.

Encouraged by her silence, Cole continued. “And that little girlfriend of yours? ‘Jane‘? I’m not sure how to say this… But she’s one too. I think… I think maybe even the same one. Those things are shapeshifters, far as I can tell.”

“That’s insane!” At last, she found her voice. “You’re crazy!”

“No, you’re crazy, Juniper! Open your damn eyes!” Cole was suddenly yelling. “No one in this neighborhood is human! No one except you and me and those poor kids in that house on the corner.” He paused for a moment, sighing. “It’s so much worse than I thought. I don’t even know what the hell half of these things are yet.. But I’m working on it. And once I get it figured out, I’m taking care of these creatures once and for all.”

Juniper said nothing for a few moments. “I know what’s going on here.” She said at last. “Your programming’s all messed up! You’re… You’re trying to mess with my head! You are a robot! And that creepy mailman guy’s your creator or something. You’re both crazy!” Why was there such a heaviness in her chest all of a sudden?

“The mailman?” Cole raised an eyebrow at her. “Oh! You mean Jerry! Yeah… He’s, uh… a little undercover too.” He confessed. “My inside guy from the agency. They won’t let me have any of this monitoring equipment while I’m on leave, so he’s gotta smuggle it to me in packages, piece by piece… But I promise you, Juniper. I’m not a robot. I am a human, just like you. And I’m trying to save us all from those things!”

Juniper just shook her head. “You can’t be serious… You can’t!” She insisted.

“Think about it. You know it’s true. There’s no way in hell you haven’t noticed how weird everyone is around here. Haven’t you ever wondered why?”

I… I guess everyone DOES act a little strange… Or VERY strange, sometimes… But… But they… They can’t be… She shook her head once more, chasing the thoughts away. I can’t let him get to me! I’ve gotta figure this out on my own…

“I need to go home.” Juniper’s voice cracked a bit. She swallowed against the sudden dryness in the back of her throat. “I… I need to talk to John. Or Jane… I need to tell them all the crazy stuff you’ve been saying!” The words felt so empty, even before they passed her lips.

And clearly Cole had noticed too. He simply shook his head. “You’re not going to tell anyone.” He replied. “You’re going to go home, take off that silly costume of yours, and you’re going to think about what I’ve told you, aren’t you?” He smiled. “Because you know it’s true, Juniper. You can’t hide from this anymore. And you need to help me stop these monsters. You know that, don’t you?”

Juniper left the room without another word.

And Cole was absolutely right.

When she got home, she didn’t call John or Jane. She didn’t tell anyone what she’d heard.

Instead she put on her pajamas, sat on the couch, and stayed there until sunrise, thinking about everything he’d said.