The HUM: The complete novel by Michael Christopher Carter

Author:Michael Christopher Carter
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2017-04-01T06:00:00+00:00

The next day didn’t get off to a good start as she’d forgotten to set her alarm (or slept through it through sheer exhaustion.)

She hated being late for college lectures. It was hard to catch up, and that made Professor Simpson less than pleased with her.

Disappointed to have missed the praise she’d learned to rely on, Carys was surprised when at the end of the lecture he asked her to stay behind. He was full of smiles so she knew she wasn’t in trouble. Saying his goodbyes to the rest of the class as they departed, when he was sure the last of them had left: hearing the flapping closed of the double doors and fading chatter of the class along the corridor, he peered at Carys over his spectacles. His eyes twinkled from his lofty height, lessened by his posture leaning against his desk.

He slumped his shoulders in a pseudo-defeated manner before speaking. “What’s the matter, Carys?” he asked. “You don’t seem yourself at all today.” Carys shifting from foot to foot betrayed her internal struggle. “Trouble at home?”

Problems in the home were the usual cause of teenage angst, and speaking out often compromised their loyalties. His next presumption would have been boy trouble, but he had no need to guess. Carys was perfectly forthcoming.

“I think I’ve been seeing things: people. Well I definitely have seen them, but I don’t think they’re real.”

Professor Simpson gasped. It wasn’t what he’d expected. Broadening his smile for a moment, his lips pursed and he rubbed his chin in thought “When have you seen these people?” he inquired eventually.

“Well one of them isn’t people, really. It’s an alien. And the other one’s an Amish bearded man in a hat. Oh, and there were thousands of spiders, everywhere; all over the floor and dropping from the wardrobe.” The thoughtful look persisted on Professor Simpson’s kind face.

“So, you’re happy to admit these people, and the spiders were not actually there, but you saw them as though they were?” he nodded slowly, confirming his point. “You had a bad night by the sounds of it. No wonder you look so tired.”

Carys nodded distractedly as she considered how she did feel. “I think they weren’t real. Well, I know the spiders weren’t real because they disappeared when they reached me.” She paused, feeling embarrassed before continuing. “I don’t know about the alien… it seemed true, and I could feel it touching me.”

Professor Simpson smiled in amusement. “What about the Amish gentleman?” Carys shrugged. He chuckled. “So you’re happy that the spiders, and Amish man aren’t real, but you’re not so sure regarding the alien?” he asked rhetorically.

“Given that we know Amish actually exist, it could be argued that it’s far more likely the man was real, and not the alien? And as an Amish gentleman from Pennsylvania in your room, in Wales, in the middle of the night is extremely unlikely, it’s probably fair to presume that neither were true.”

“Not very scientific!” Carys argued. “What if the

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