IT’S TIME TO GO

CHAPTER 8

22.

Just like a rolling tire on an endless road, days repeat as it travels forward through time. As a certain part of the tire hits the road, it will eventually leave as it goes full circle and hit the road once more. The same way the days of a week, chronological repeat, in order to finish the entirety of it. As everything constantly moves to the inevitable, some things are bound to end.

It is time for their own regular schedule as Monday starts again. The psychiatrist is well prepared this time, thanks to the advanced information that she received from Milly. The previous session really had an impact and it is the primary reason why they are here in this state today. Of course the environment surrounding Alioth was the grounds, but the psychiatrist serves as the trigger to finally push Alioth further.

As their session starts, Alioth is eager and actively participating. Unlike before, the session focuses on helping him to specifically speak once more. The trauma is still there and needs to be solved. The previous sessions were all about helping him to build his lost footing back. Since Alioth is doing better than before, also highly spirited to move forward, the psychiatrist grabbed this opportunity to have more meaningful recovery.

Everything went as smoothly as it could. In fact, the session lasted way longer than the previous ones. The focal point is how they deal with phonetics, the way a person produces sounds which are related to symbols, and also the proper way of saying so. Thus the path towards their goal extends in an unforeseen way.

While the session is ongoing, meanwhile there's a different scenario in Alioth's hometown. A suspicious black yet classy car roaming around the place. Eventually, a man in mid 40s, white short hair with white trimmed beard, wearing a black civilian outfit, came down from his car while holding his fedora hat.

In a distance, McPilly thinks that the guy seems familiar, he tries to remember the person as the guy walks towards him.

"Good day, I am Agent Cole from CSIS. I have a few questions for you. Can we talk in your place?" Agent Cole said as he showed his badge.

"Hmm.. Agent Cole… You look familiar…" McPilly said.

"Your memory is slipping away, lieutenant-colonel Phil McPhee" Agent Cole replied.

Due to Agent Cole calling him his rank with full name, McPilly finally remembered his old colleague "OH! Wet wipes! Good to see you, ey!" McPilly reacted.

"You finally remember, it's good to see you too, McPilly" Agent Cole responded.

"What brings you here? You still love using wet wipes?" McPilly asked.

"I still use those, we can talk about your first question at your place" Agent Cole answered.

"Aight! Follow me!" McPilly replied as they both headed to McPilly's place.

They arrived at their destination after a few minutes.

"So this is where you stay? In the dumpster…" Agent Cole mentioned as he questioned why McPilly is living there.

"Yeap! A little bit messy but it's comfy!" McPilly replied.

"Why are you not living in the retirement house that the military provided?" Agent Cole added.

"Living there makes me go nuts! it feels like I'm not retired. I can't relax, those military services are hunting me, at least that's what the place reminds me of, " McPilly answered.

"I can't blame you for that, as the brain of the military, you've done so much for the intelligence" Agent Cole responded.

"Though I'm still getting my retirement fund! All is well~" McPilly added.

"So back to the business, you are the smartest person I know, and I need some help" Agent Cole said.

"Ho ho ho, your flattering won't work on me! I'm past my prime and already a cuckoo head now. People around here call me crazy!" McPilly replied.

"Listen to the details first, this is no longer military involvement. It is way beyond our imagination and I'm sure you'll want to crack this one" Agent Cole negotiated.

"Hmmm… Very well, your next line will determine my answer. Keep it short" McPilly said.

"Remember the recent car accident here? I think there's more to it than the records show" Agent Cole answered.

"Digging up an already solved case? HA HA! I love it, you still a skeptical thinker wet wipes! The curse of being smart will forever tie you with that job" McPilly commented.

"This job is what I live for, so are you in?" Agent Cole reiterated his question.

"Well I am actually bored… Fill me up with the case" McPilly answered.

After a long negotiation, Agent Cole finally managed to get McPilly on his side. The discussion of the case continues.

"I am currently assigned to investigate the signal disturbance here in Ohio. More than a month ago, a sudden breach to the network was detected. An unregistered network managed to connect to the signals, but there's no trace of it, the record of breach immediately disappears upon notice." Agent Cole said.

"Is it the weekend?" McPilly questioned.

"No, it was weekdays" Agent Cole answered.

"Is it raining heavily? Coz I remember there's close lightning that time" McPilly added.

"Yes, the records showed that it was raining heavily. The team speculated that the lightning disrupted the signal, causing some bugs on the system" Agent Cole said.

"True, Lightning can disrupt networks, plus your system is shitty. So what's the problem?" McPilly questioned.

"A few weeks later, the same thing happened again. This time it was used to send an sms to a certain device. The trace disappeared immediately and we failed to locate the recipient. Same place detected, it wasn't raining that time." Agent Cole said.

"Ho ho ho, this is a spicy take! So… Why do you think it's connected to the previous car accident?" McPilly questioned.

"Prior to the network breach issue, the car accident was the last case that occurred in this town. I find it odd since the reports are not well compiled. The records show that it was an accident wherein an animal possibly ran towards the road. There's no other report about what would cause the disruption of the animals' slumber. As I investigated the place earlier, I saw a hollow boulder, meters away from the accident. It looks like something exploded there, causing the hollow crack in the huge boulder. I suspect that a misfire happened, which caused the animals to run away from the place." Agent Cole answered.

"Yeah… I remember there's a loud boom on the ground that night. We all thought that it was an earthquake, coz you know, that's pretty much normal to have those here. Though it wasn't that strong, that's why none seems to be alerted. The neighborhood was probably waiting for an earthquake announcement the next morning. But everyone seems to have forgotten what happened, since they were all occupied by the accident report. The accident basically covered the headlines." McPilly answered.

"The team suspects that there's a possible terrorist, highly advanced foreign tech. Though I'm the only one who suspects that this network disruption is connected to the prior accident." Agent Cole added.

"No no no no… I believe that it is beyond foreign tech…" McPilly argued.

"What do you mean?" Agent Cole asked.

"You see, almost the same timeline, I experienced something phenomenal here. There was this time I was walking on the street where we met earlier. It was a nice temperature but suddenly at a certain point, It felt warm for a short span then it disappeared! I tried walking back again and again, but I never felt the same scenario." McPilly told his experience.

"So like a radioactive heatwave.. I see.. When did this happen?" Agent Cole questioned.

"Can't remember the exact date, but it was a few weeks ago." McPilly answered.

"Is there more?" Agent Cole added.

"I'm glad that you asked! This one actually was like a week and a half ago. I was walking on that sidewalk again, then I tripped out of nowhere! There's no trap, the sidewalk is fine, yet it feels like I kicked some solid metal or some sort, which causes me to trip, but there's nothing there. You know I never tripped out of nowhere!" McPilly answered.

"Besides those happening in the same place, is there anything similar that you noticed in this warm and tripped mystery?" Agent Cole questioned.

"Hmm…. Oh yes! The kids are there" McPilly answered.

"kids?" Agent Cole asked.

"You know, the kid from that accident and his friends…." McPilly answered then he suddenly realized something. "Oh! I see! I guess you are right! You have a lead now!" he said.

"Thank you for this information, I'll be going now to check some records." Agent Cole said as he moved immediately.

"No problemo! I'll be waiting!" McPilly said. "This is interesting…" He whispered.

23.

According to the records, it showed that Alioth was taking sessions from a professional psychiatrist in a nearby town, in order for him to recover from the trauma. Minutes away after Alioth and Milly left the psychiatrist's office, Agent Cole arrived.

"Good day, I am Agent Cole from CSIS, we are currently solving a case here and I'm here for some questions" Agent Cole greeted as he showed his badge.

"Greetings Officer, sure. What can I do for you?" The psychiatrist responded.

"There's a kid undergoing your sessions, may I have a copy of his papers?" Agent Cole asked.

"I'm sorry sir, that will be against the client's privacy. I can only give you his details if the guardian of the child will allow you to have it" The psychiatrist answered.

"Look, we are currently dealing with a possible threat to that kid's town. There are notices of system breach located there and if it is left unchecked, more civilians will suffer." Agent Cole explained.

"Sorry I'm confused, what does it have to do with the kid?" The psychiatrist questioned.

"The previous accident that the kid suffered. There is a disruption meters from the said accident. We believed that it was a misfire which caused the animals to run. It was the last recorded incident before the network breached." Agent Cole explained.

"I still could not understand why his psychological process will help you with your case…" The psychiatrist argued.

"I know that we are both professionals and we cannot just give vital information, but I'm right here, risking and telling you the scenario that should be kept from the civilians, just to have a lead. As far as the investigation goes, every clue is connected to that kid. He might be interacting with someone that would pose a threat" Agent Cole argued back.

After hearing Agent Cole's speculations, the psychiatrist realized that he could be right. She remembered that there was a time wherein she asked Alioth if there were only 3 of them, but Alioth was observably hiding something. It was indeed suspicious and his guardian probably does not know about it.

"Fine, I'll give you his records but you have to promise me that you won't do anything to the child. He is extremely fragile and I want him to be happy again" the psychiatrist said as she finally agreed to the request.

"I promise that I will protect that child, thank you for your cooperation" Agent Cole stated as he got the records from the psychiatrist. With a mission accomplished on his bag, he went back to his car and headed to McPilly's place.

After a couple of minutes, Agent Cole arrived.

"Welcome back, any update?" McPilly asked.

"I got the kid's treatment record" Agent Cole said,

"Oooh ho ho, that was some privy papy, impressive~" McPilly commented.

"Quite a negotiation, let's see if there is something odd here" Agent Cole responded.

The next couple of hours were spent reading all the recorded details, while Alioth is completely clueless of everything, the investigation continues secretly.

"There is something off with this…" Agent Cole said.

"I agree, why are they using A4 papers?" McPilly answered.

"Not that kind of suspicion, I mean there's a certain moment wherein Alioth is participative, and wants to get home immediately. I think there's something off about this record because the kid immediately changed the way he interacts with the psychiatrist in a week span…" Agent Cole hypothesized.

"Maybe he met someone during that week, or perhaps planning to meet them again that day." McPilly speculated.

"Hold on, let me double check the timeline here" Agent Cole said. As he plotted the timeline, he saw that the first network breached is only a week away from Alioth's sudden behavioral change. "Surely this is too unbelievable to be coincidental" Agent Cole said as he presented the timeline to McPilly.

"I'm guessing that it has something to do with the project that they are doing" McPilly argued.

"What project?" Agent Cole asked.

"Here look, the records state that a certain craft caught Alioth's interest. Also we saw them spray painting a huge mechanical toy outside of their house" McPilly explained.

"Mechanical toy? Are they building it on their own or there's a mentor?" Agent Cole questioned.

"Well it could be both, as far as I know, those kids love to do random things. On the flip side, there's Martin, who can teach them in that field. He once fixed a junk tv I saw, he is a very nice guy." McPilly replied.

"Something tells me that the mechanical toy is being used to lure the kids. I hope the kids are not being used to let the enemy stay hidden from this town. Tell me more about that guy and his whereabouts, maybe we could get the next lead with that guy." Agent Cole said.

"Sure thing!" McPilly responded as he started to explain details about Martin.

After their discussion, Agent Cole ordered McPilly to investigate the area where he often encounters the kids, and retrace the possible previous location of the kids. Agent Cole will talk with Martin while McPilly scouts the area.

Later that afternoon, Agent Cole arrived at Martin's house. He knocked on the door, and started to introduce himself as soon as the door opened.

"Good afternoon mr. Martin, I am Agent Cole from CSIS" Agent Cole said as he showed his badge.

Martin immediately anticipates that something is about to happen. "Good afternoon officer, what can I do for you?" He asked.

"I'm just casually checking the neighborhood, mind if I go in?" Agent Cole responded.

"De.. definitely, welcome to my house" Martin replied as he stuttered quite a bit.

As soon as they sit in the living room, Martin immediately asks "What brings you here, officer".

"We are currently investigating a case here. I just want to know what your relationship is to Alioth." Agent Cole directly asked.

"Hi.. his father was a good friend of mine. I.. I sometimes teach him some knowledge that I know, he.. He often visits me here" Martin nervously answered because he is fully aware that the topic will lead to Eezo.

"You are an electronics engineer right? What kind of knowledge do you teach him?" Agent Cole asked.

"Yes sir, I teach him only simple things. Quick repair and stuff…" Martin cautiously answered.

Believing that Alioth could potentially interact with a different person, Agent Cole asks "You only teach him? Or there is another person that is with him?"

"He is usually with his cousin, though Alioth knows more compared to Rigel" Martin replied.

"Any other individuals benefiting from your knowledge?" Agent Cole added.

"No sir, I only teach those 2 kids" Martin immediately responded.

"I see, for my final question. Is there anything that you find unusual in this place?" Agent Cole intimidatingly asked Marin.

"N..No sir.. I haven't noticed such a thing.." Martin safely answered.

Agent Cole paused a bit, afterwards he said "Thank you for your cooperation, I'll be going now".

As soon as Agent Cole reached a safe distance, Martin rushed to Alioth's home to warn him.

24.

Miles away, there's a noise that can be heard. A genuine happy tone, it feels like they are really having fun. It's the kids doing their vocalization activity. With the phonetic session earlier, Alioth is pretty much capable of at least vocalizing some tunes. Rigel and Luna are definitely proud to witness Alioth's progress.

"That's amazing! You improved a lot!" Rigel mentioned.

"I totally agree, you are nailing it!" Luna added.

Alioth smiled brightly, proud of his progress and happy from his friends' appreciation.

"Let's do it again! We have to beat Eezo's consistency" Rigel energetically said as he challenged everyone.

"Based on my calculations, beating me is in fact impossible" Eezo responded.

"Ho oh, Bring it on sistah!" Luna replied.

"This is the first trash talk that I heard from a sentient robot… I feel honored" Rigel said.

"Are you a masochist…" Luna asked with disappointment on her face.

"Of course not! Don't judge me!" Rigel madly reacted.

Alioth laughs as this never ending argument keeps on repeating every single time, chaotic but definitely entertaining. While the chaos kept on going, a loud knock on the door stopped everything abruptly.

*knock knock knock* The loud knocks were repeated while everything was in silence.

"Wha..what is that?" Luna cautiously asked.

"Did you guys order something?" Rigel asked.

"Does the delivery man knock that aggressively?" Luna argued.

"Ssssssshhhh" Alioth halted the conversation, keeping everything as silent as possible.

"Alioth? Are you there? Open the door, quick!" Martin shouted from the outside.

"It's mr. Martin!" Rigel shouted as everyone immediately rushed towards the door.

As soon as the kids opened the door, Martin went inside and closed it.

"Good thing everyone is here" Martin said while in panic.

"Calm down mr. Martin, what's wrong?" Rigel responded.

"CSIS, they are here." Martin replied.

"What's CSIS?" Rigel asked.

"Here in Canada, it's the Canadian Security Intelligence Service" Luna answered.

"What are they doing here?" Rigel added.

"The man said that they are investigating a case, they probably have hints about Eezo" Martin answered.

"WHAT!" Rigel and Luna loudly reacted, while Alioth was stunned, it felt like they were hit by a truck.

"You guys need to hide elsewhere, the guy is roaming around like crazy. He might eventually go here." Martin suggested.

Rigel, Luna, and Alioth looked at each other and immediately their hangout place popped up in their minds.

"We have a base somewhere but what about are parents? They'll look for us if it gets too late." Rigel said.

"I'll talk with your parents, I'll tell them that you guys are staying at my place for your project. The important thing is you guys are not here until the guy leaves…" Martin said.

"We should exchange phone numbers for us to communicate effectively" Luna suggested.

"Good idea, I'll message you guys when the coast is clear. As soon as the guy leaves, you all can sleep at my place. For the meantime, I'll keep an eye on him, now go." Martin instructed.

As soon as they exchanged their numbers, the kids immediately moved together with Eezo. Martin was amazed by Eezo camouflage but he slaps his face in order to focus, there is no time to be idle.

Cautiously, Martin leads the way to the woods, he will notify the kids if the guy from CSIS is nearby. The problem is, they don't know that Agent Cole is working with McPilly, and that is the street where they usually cross to get into the woods.

The problem is indeed present in the situation, Martin saw Agent Cole and McPilly, talking by the street. In that instant, he signals the kids that they should find a different route. The kids take a detour while Martin stays and observes from a distance.

"How was your case?" McPilly asked.

"Odd, feels like that Martin guy is hiding something. Better keep an eye on him." Agent Cole answered.

"He can be an accessory to the crime! But I kinda doubt he is fully involved here" McPilly responded.

"We'll see.. How's your end?" Agent Cole asked.

"Ho ho ho, I found a meaningful lead!" McPilly bragged.

"Spill" Agent Cole said.

"There's an ugly hut at the top of the woods. There's no one there but based on my observation, I highly think that place is frequently being used. It so happened that the culprit isn't there." McPilly explained.

"We need to thoroughly check the place, the culprit may be in close parameters. I'm calling backups." Agent Cole said as he immediately dialed on his phone.

After a couple of minutes, reinforcement arrived. A total of 8 cars, parked in the same area where McPilly and Agent Cole were standing. Upon seeing the vehicles, Martin msg the kids "They are here".

As they all went down from the cars, everyone entered McPilly's place, probably for the discussion of plans. Martin made a decision quickly, he needs to at least create a scene in order to delay the inevitable. Martin ran as fast as he could, got a crowbar from his garage, and sprinted back to bust the tire's vehicle while everyone was busy.

All he has to do is to bust one and that would be enough. Though thinking in advance, they might call for supply of tires, he then busts every single tire so that the replacement will be impossible for a short period of time. On to the last tire, the meeting was over and everyone moved out. Agent Cole saw Martin red handed, Martin sprinted away as soon as he saw the reinforcement.

"Now that's an evident case that he is an accessory to the crime!" McPilly proudly said.

"I think it's a diversion. Half of you, go get that guy and inspect everything in his house, the rest will follow me and look to investigate the woods" Agent Cole replied to McPilly as he instructed on their sudden change of plan.

Meanwhile on Alioth's side.

"I received mr. Martin's message, he said that they are here!" Rigel said in panic.

"We might be surrounded in a matter of time…" Luna responded.

"We cannot just let them take Eezo! Who knows what they are going to do with him!" Rigel emotionally said.

"I agree, for sure the adults will dissect him down to his every single part…" Luna replied.

"What are we going to do.." Rigel said in melancholy.

Everyone in their hideout suddenly got speechless. Usually, every time that they are there, it is never ending noise and chaos. This is the first time that everyone could not produce a single sound, speak from their voice, laugh from their hearts.

The silence was broken when Eezo suddenly spoke. "There's only one solution to this problem. I have to go back where I came from"

Emotions burst out as everyone heard the sad reality that they don't want to hear. Tears from Alioth's eyes started to fall down while Rigel and Luna came down to another argument.

"No! You can't go!" Rigel shouted.

"Rigel… You know that he has to…" Luna replied.

"No! We'll think of another way! He can turn invisible right?" Rigel responded.

"There is no other way! He can't be invisible forever" Luna shouted as well.

"Why are you saying that? Don't you want him to stay?" Rigel madly questioned Luna.

"Stop being narrow minded and think! Don't you think that it's hard for me as well? Of course I want him to stay! But even if we try to run from this, we are just delaying what's bound to happen! From the moment you guys discovered Eezo, you know that Eezo has to leave someday. What's worse is if they managed to catch us!" Luna shouted as everyone's emotions were all over the place. "I know it's hard… But at least we can say goodbye…" Luna added as her tone went down.

-There are times that we know that something is bound to happen. Like a good show that comes to an end, a fun ride finally arrived at the destination, a joyful summer that will never last forever. The memories will be instilled in their hearts, but right now, it's time to go.