A New Beginning

Chapter 6- The Ghost

As Noelle limped through the front door, she didn't see anyone home– which was weird, she thought. As far as she knew, everyone was supposed to be here.

Then it hit her again.

The news...

She didn't know what to think, or how to feel. She should have expected this to happen, putting herself out there like that. It was all she had been able to think about since seeing that headline at the newsstand with all those people.

They were all asking questions and saying things that frightened her.

"It's not real."

"If there was someone else involved, someone would have seen it. No one is that fast."

"What if it's an alien?"

Her head had started spinning, so she forced herself away from the crowd before the panic had started to set in.

Shivering, she pulled her jacket tighter around her. They hadn't found her yet, and she hadn't done anything wrong.

Noelle threw her bag down on the table and moseyed her way into the refrigerator before she was about to go back upstairs and sleep, when she heard the unmistakable sound of the TV.

She closed the fridge and frowned. Someone was definitely home.

But why was it so quiet?

Noelle forgot all about food and sleep as she crept into the living room. Her entire family was seated in front of the television set– with the local news station on.

Swallowing, she froze in her tracks. Her family had just noticed her now and they slowly turned their heads, with looks of pure disbelief on their face.

It actually looked more like disgust to Noelle.

"What?" she mouthed.

Her father gave her an extremely pointed look. "Is this you?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Noelle felt her breath catch sharply in her throat. "You believe me?" She raised her eyebrows.

Silence.

Her parents looked at each other, and Joseph looked at them.

Noelle had the feeling they didn't want to believe her, but now the truth was revealing itself.

"You said there was an alien attack on New Mexico last year. Why is my story so hard to believe?" She bit her lip at that last part. It was hard to believe, and a lot to ask from a person.

"That could have been a rumor," replied her father, looking at the ground.

"And what if it wasn't?" Noelle interjected sharply. "Would you believe me?"

Noelle hoped the "alien invasion" was a farce, but she didn't think so. There was other life out there in the universe. She knew that for a fact, but the chances that someone else out there didn't know of Earth's existence were slim to none. After all, Gandalf had known she was here.

Besides, the government was not going to let the public know aliens existed, let alone had come to visit Earth.

Whether her parents believed in "aliens" or not, it didn't matter. Noelle knew the only way she was going to make them believe her was that she was going to have to show them.

She stretched out her hand ever so slightly and aimed for the empty coffee mug on the table. Her parents and brother still weren't paying attention.

Until the mug moved.