Can I Trust You?

Aug X-2
Dear "Diary,"

Before we recharged him, we put him in a special cage we call the box—an elevated glass enclosure that prevents anything from getting in or out. We use it to contain certain things, and the only way to place objects inside is through a slot at the bottom. 

You insert something, and a piston lifts it into the box. We modified it to accommodate him for the time being, adding a fan at the top, a chair in the middle, and an electrical outlet, monitor, and keyboard so he could communicate.

I was uncomfortable with the whole setup, but at the end of the day, it’s my job. We plugged him into the outlet, and after about seven minutes, his body pixelated out of the base of the TV. As expected, he was confused and upset. The first messages he typed on the computer were basic questions:

"Where am I?"
"Why am I here?"
"Duncan, when did you become such an A-hole?"

A team of people surrounded me, so I had to remain as professional as possible, even though I felt bad for him. At the same time, this could all be a trick—he could be an alien pretending to be my best friend. We had interviewed him multiple times before, and while all the information he provided was factually correct, something about him still felt off to me.

My boss assigned me as his primary point of communication, which made sense.

"You blew a giant hole in the wall of a store and flew ten blocks to land on a rooftop," I said. "I didn’t know you could do that."

"Where is my sister?" he typed.

"She’s safe. You have my word."

"Your word means nothing to me. I know you want to kill me."

"Kill you? Why do you think that?"

"Oh please, I see the way you look at me—like I’m a freak. As if I don’t already know that. It’s the same way my parents look at me. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the year I’ve been back, it’s that my old life no longer exists. I can’t sleep. I can’t eat at Milo’s Pizzeria. And I can’t trust any of my friends… because they don’t exist anymore. You used to be my best friend. Now you’re just some guy I tolerate because Ava says I should."

For some reason, that hit a nerve. I’ve since apologized for my outburst, but at that moment, I snapped.

"TOLERATE ME?!" I shouted. "Are you serious? My best friend disappears in some sort of alien abduction, and I’m the bad guy? My whole life—hell, all of our lives—changed that day! The others used to be in this same division, but they left because they gave up searching for you! Do you know how many nightmares I’ve had about that day?"

"It’s nothing compared to actually living it! You think I want the people I care about to second-guess my identity? To be scared of me? And now beams of light are coming out of my face! I just want to be normal again, but I’m not!"

"So I’m just supposed to believe that my friend who disappeared years ago is now some sort of alien bioweapon with a TV for a head?"

"If you can get it off, I’d gladly believe you actually care about me! See, this is why Miyako always said you had an attitude problem!"

"Miyako and I are married!"

That shut Phil up. He froze, as if unsure what to say. Then I remembered—back in high school, he had a huge crush on her.

After his disappearance, our friend group grew closer as we chased down every rumor, desperately searching for him—even when people called us crazy. Those years meant a lot to me. It’s how I got the job I have now. It’s how Miyako and I became close. Trauma bonds are strong.

Phil stayed silent for a moment. The air in the room turned thick with tension—tension I hadn't meant to cause. Even my boss was giving me a strange look.

"You jerk," he finally typed.

I cleared my throat. I had to admit, Phil was the only person who could get under my skin so easily. And I guess my feelings had boiled over. I did want to tell him… at some point. But not like this.

"Look," I started, "I didn’t know how to tell—"

"At least tell me you didn’t dance for too long. You know you can’t dance!"

"What? Of course I did. We were getting married."

"...You used those stupid ballroom coupons you used to sneak from the laundromat when you thought we weren’t looking! You can’t do a two-step to save your life! All those classes, and you still sucked!"

Everyone around me gave a small chuckle and I immediately became embarrassed. 

That was the moment I knew—without a doubt—it was Phil. No one else in the world could have possibly known that. I hadn’t even realized he knew that. But that’s what friends do. They keep your secrets… until they don’t have to be secrets anymore.

And they don’t judge you.

Unfortunately, that was all I had been doing to him.

We had been arguing a second ago, and now he was worried about my dancing skills. That was Phil. And Phil wasn’t a threat.

"I practiced a lot," I admitted. "Although… looking for you took priority."

Silence settled between us. Then he typed:

"They’re coming, dude. You have to protect Ava."

The entire room snapped back into work mode. The drama was over. Again, I had to apologize for that.

"Who’s coming?" my director asked.

"I don’t know," Phil typed. "The goo people I fought mentioned something about a beast. I don’t know what that means. Duncan, promise me you’ll protect her."

I cleared my throat. "Well, I—"

"Promise me. Please."

How could I refuse? Ava has been like a sister to me for a long time.

"Of course, dude."

How did you shoot a laser beam from your screen?" my director asked.

"I don’t know. I didn’t do it. I felt something hot in my face, and then it just… happened."

Just as I suspected—Ava had triggered it with that remote of hers. Unfortunately, We couldn't find it afterward.

So, in summation: My friend and his sister now have some kind of link that gives them powers, and there’s a looming threat headed for Earth. Our only lead is Phil, and I pray that whatever is coming… can be stopped.

We dropped Phil off at the hospital where his sister was, and he stayed by her side until she was well enough to leave.

- Duncan