Just A Rat In A Cage
Morgan was released to the custody of his living family on the condition that he stayed away from Gordon and vice versa. Gordon had no problems accepting these orders because technically they were come from someone with a far higher rank than his own. It took a few weeks, but Morgan convinced the town officials to release Demetri, saying that he would not rebel and that Morgan would be responsible for the big Russian like before. No one in the town wanted to open their homes to the hostile soldier, most of them being American and fearful of the big red machine. To resolve the case without issues, Demetri pitched a tent in the fairly sized back yard behind the house that Morgan's brother owned. While not the most ideal accommodations, Demetri still thought it was better than being in the town jail. To thank Morgan's brother for their hospitality, Demetri helped with the big chores around the house, like cleaning gutters, mowing the lawn and even some gardening. Morgan understood that the big guy was just trying to keep himself busy, which he could certainly relate to. Morgan really didn't have anything to do in the small town. While he was thankful to be in the small town, which was called America for whatever reason, Morgan felt like a fish out of water. He just didn't seem to fit in and this drove him to look around and investigate where exactly they were. He got his brother to pick up some stuff from local shops and began to McGyver together his own scientific instruments. Something he could use to scan his surroundings and analyze the town just by walking around, which he did for hours every day. He would stroll around and occasionally do a scan when no one was looking, continuing to do this for weeks, even months looking for clues that might give him the answer.
One day Morgan was standing on the edge of town, on the side of a road beside a corn field. He stood there waiting, until finally what he was waiting for drove up and parked on the side of the road just a few feet away from him. The door opened, and Captain Rogers stepped out to greet his friend.
"What do you think?" he called out, tapping the hood with his hand. "Isn't she a beauty?"
"It looks great," Morgan confessed, "But that's not why I asked you to meet me out here."
"There's the sixty thousand dollar question," Rogers asked as he walked closer, "What the hell are we out there in the corn fields. Please tell me you're not going to plan another revolt.
"No, nothing like that," Morgan confirmed, "I've discovered something and I thought you deserved to know the truth."
"I don't like the sound of that," Rogers admitted, "What did you find?"
"The answer to where we are." Morgan said, picking up a rock from the ground. He turned around and hurled the rock as hard as he could in the direction away from the car and the town. After flying for about twenty feet the rock slammed into something and then fell to the ground. The edge of town fizzled for a moment and then went back to its normal stance showing a road going off into nowhere with endless fields.
"What the hall is that?" Rogers called out.
"Our cage," Morgan replied, "We're not on Earth. This is a make shift town on another planet."
"Oh man," Rogers said, walking back to the car and sitting on the hood to think about it for a moment. "Why are we here then? Why are people who were supposed to die on Earth here too?"
"Because we're endangered," Morgan answered, "Think of this like what we did to the elephants on Earth."
Rogers let out a laugh, "This is an alien wildlife preserve?"
"Pretty much," Morgan replied, "This is why everything is so perfect. They're keeping us here to make sure our species doesn't go extinct."
"This is screwed up," Rogers said, scratching his four day beard. "What we do about this? Who do we tell?"
"I would prefer you told no one, Captain Rogers." A voice called out.
Morgan and Rogers looked around but couldn't find where that voice was coming from. Morgan had an idea of who it really was.
"I'm under the assumption you're the little grey men that I was told about on Lunar One?" Morgan asked.
"That is correct, Doctor Taylor." The voice replied, "We received your request for help a while back, and what you didn't know is that the help you asked for was already being done long before you asked."
"So you took people from Earth and brought them here?" Morgan asked.
"Correct," the voice answered, "We don't have the technology to stop an asteroid, but we did what we could to help out. We were content to leave you on Lunar One to see how well you would all do, but once the violence started, we chose to remove you from there as well."
"Well," Morgan said as he thought about it, "I guess I should start by saying thank you."
"You are welcome, Doctor Taylor." The voice replied, "What we would really appreciate is your discretion. We would like you to tell no one else besides the two men you've already discussed this with. We fear there could be a panic and even loss of life if the town were to discover their true surroundings."
"I don't want that anymore than you do," Morgan admitted, "If anything, I'd like to offer my help to improve things here so that the preserve is more accepted and in control than it is now."
There was a long pause as Rogers and Morgan waited for the aliens to respond to his offer.
"Your offer is appreciated," the voice answered, "But I would have to pass that by my superiors before being able to, as you say, take you up on it."
"Alright," Morgan said, taking this as a half win. "We'll stay quiet and I looked forward to hearing from you again."
"Thank you, Doctor Taylor." The voice replied, "Have a good day and please return to town before people become suspicious of your activities."
That was the last thing Rogers and Morgan would hear as the alien that was speaking to them never said anything to them again that day. Rogers clapped his hands to get Morgan's attention.
"You heard the little gray man," he called out to his friend, "Hop in and I'll give you a ride back to town. If anyone asks, we were just cruising so that I could show off this bad boy to you."
If Morgan learned anything from his time on Lunar One, it was not to give the person in charge something to worry about it he didn't have to. He turned back to his friend and smiled. "We should go for pizza."
"Sound sweet to me," Rogers called out, "but no anchovies this time."
"Alright," Morgan said as he started to walk back to the car. "So how are things going with the ex-wife?"
Rogers laughed out loud at the question. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but this is the best we've ever been together since we met. You'd be surprised what the apocalypse can do for your relationship."
"I can imagine," Morgan said, softly chuckling. He opened the door to the passenger side of Roger's car and stopped for a moment and looked back at the road where he tossed the rock. Then he took a deep breath and got into the car and complied for a change. The voice was right; if the people in this small town was the last of the human race, this was definitely one boat that he didn't want to rock, especially since he was in it too.
"Forget about my dreary love life," Rogers said as he started the car, "What's the deal with you and Elizabeth?"
"We're just friends," Morgan answered, "For now."
Rogers laughed as he pulled the car round and started to drive back into town. He wouldn't hear from the voice again after that day for at least another few months, but when he did, he became a sort of emissary for the small colony to make sure thing were easygoing for the people of the small, unknowing town. This also gave Morgan something interesting to do, which helped with his boredom. He had finally found his place in the small town, and in the Universe for that matter, which made him content enough to become more comfortable with his surroundings,making it a home instead of a prison. He would never tell anyone what he knew about the preserve or the aliens, even on his dying day. Keeping his word to the little gray men, and doing what was necessary to preserve the longevity of his species.