<span style="font-family:Arapey"><span style="font-size: 15px">It had been nearly a week now, a week of this silent intruder haunting everybody's thoughts. There had been global panic when the strange aircraft had descended out of the sky which had turned into a low buzz of nervousness as the days went by with no movement or word from the alien vessel. It hadn't threatened the population, but neither had it made any attempt of reaching out peacefully either. No one could get close to it, hitting up against an invisible barrier each time they tried (and the military had tried over and over and <i>over</i> again). It was just simply... <i>there</i>, as if it were watching them, observing them.<br/>
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It was the biggest buzz for news stations all around the world, but especially Allison's. After all, they were the local station just outside of where the strange ship had landed. The station had a 24-hour watch going on the ship and while any hope of contact or communication had fizzled out after the first few days of silence, everyone was tense and still hopeful for more. Alas, the daily news had to continue. The alien ship might be the spectre haunting the earth right now, but it was not the only issue that needed addressing. A journalist's job was never done.<br/>
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Allison Carson sat at her desk, rolling a yellow highlighter between her elegant tapered fingers. She'd spent the past few days looking into a potential cover up scheme between the city and the newest construction company that had come into town to develop land. It had been a rough assignment, one that had involved her being escorted roughly from the construction site, having every office door slammed in her face at city hall when she'd gone to question some of the leaders on the project, and a perfectly good purse destroyed in the process. It was infuriating, feeling like she was hitting a wall at every turn. But, she told herself, this usually was a good thing. It meant her intuition was right, that something more sinister was afoot and she just had to find a way to discover <i>what</i>. She'd managed to hunt down some financial records and reports and was perusing the contents for anything that looked suspicious or was unaccounted for when the sound of harried footsteps echoed down from her cubicle.<br/>
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She looked up just as one of the production assistants screeched around the corner, her eyes wide and panicked. "Allison! Allison, you have to go now!" It wasn't a statement she was used to hearing. After all, besides the typical corrupt politicians and less than ideal infrastructure and crime rate, the town was a fairly quiet one. Or, at least, it had been up until that strange ship had arrived. Allison sighed, glad at least for this little reprieve. "Amanda, I'm not supposed to give my initial report until tonight. The afternoon news is still going on," she retorted, tucking the highlighter just below the band of her ponytail. The assistant shook her head, gasping and looking like she was having trouble spitting the words out. "N-no, Allison, you have to go <i>now!</i>" She insisted. "It asked for you."<br/>
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It took Allison half a beat to understand what the hell Amanda was talking about. But the wide-eyed nervous expression seemed to give it away. Allison pulled up the feed of the news broadcast that had been muted on her computer screen while she worked and rewound it a few minutes. Sure enough, there was a stretch of time where the screen went entirely black and a slightly garbled voice spoke. To her great surprise, she heard her name, <i>her name</i>, spoken! The alien ship had finally communicated with the world and... it had requested <i>her</i>. She didn't spare a thought as to why. She leapt out of her chair, hurriedly shoving her recorder, a few notepads and pens, and her cell phone into her bag and rushed out of the building. To her surprise, there was an entire police escort waiting outside the building.<br/>
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The officer in charge directed her to his squad car, and Allison slipped into the passenger seat, practically vibrating with nerves and excitement. She wasn't sure why these aliens had requested her specifically, but she had to believe that they were finally going to break their silence and share with the world their intentions... and she was going to be the honored one to break the story. She couldn't quite stop a silly grin from splitting her mouth despite the obvious gravity of the situation. Traffic peeled to allow Allison and her police escort through the streets of the city until they came towards the edge of the beach, the strange alien ship visible several miles out. <br/>
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There were multiple military vehicles already stationed on the sand, and people raced about, looking like little black ants scurrying in the wake of this sudden news. A general was there to meet her and helped her out of the car. "She's here," he spoke into a tiny radio and the response on the other end was garbled. Allison swung her eyes towards the ship in the distance, watching the strange floating city with a skeptical eye. She removed the hair tie and allowed her dark chestnut hair to spill down around her shoulders and back. A part of her wished she had had the foresight to grab her small makeup bag, anything that would have disguised the dark circles beneath her jade green eyes, maybe some mascara to help her look more awake. <i>Shut up, Allison</i>, she chastised herself. As if how she looked at that particular moment really mattered, not when the story of the century was within her grasp. </span></span>