Sisterhood and the Stars

There are few concepts more feared and mythologised among some sections of the ufological community than that of the human/extraterrestrial hybrid. These mysterious genetic chimeras are said to play a key part in the eventual takeover of Planet Earth after having been sent down into our society in order to seamlessly blend in before carrying out their apocalyptic mission - according to theories first proposed by author David M. Jacobs. Of course, if you look into ancient history you can see that folkloric entities such as elves, trolls, djinn and demons have been allegedly interbreeding with humans for thousands of years, producing hybrid beings just like the ones that Jacobs is so scared of. Nothing changes with regards to folkloric experiences - the only thing that really shifts is the lens through which we see the same weirdness.

However, if we are to suppose that Jacobs' concerns are valid and that there really is a shadowy agenda to undermine humanity through use of covert hybridisation and the planting of inhuman sleeper cells - just how worried should we be? If one account recorded by David Weatherly is to be believed, then the aliens are further along with their insidious plan than we might want to believe...

## Halfway There

Justine's parents had separated when she and her sister Catherine were only teenagers - but their desire to persevere through that time of personal hardship drew them closer together. They were both just as divorced from their parents as their parents were from each other, feeling '*just a lot of anger*' towards them. However, sometime during the late 2000s (approximately 2009), Catherine told Justine that she had to leave, and that she wouldn't hear from her for a while. At the time, Justine had thought that this meant a few weeks, but it ended up being three years. Feelings of irritation and sadness ultimately congealed into a deep sense of having been hurt. She started to wonder if her sister was even still alive, but eventually she moved on. She focused on other aspects of her new life, and had all but forgotten about Catherine's sudden departure when she suddenly reappeared in the early months of 2012. This triumphant return, however, would also bring something else into Justine's life - something otherworldly.

Catherine told Justine that she was now living in Colorado, and that she wanted her to come and visit as soon as possible. Justine jumped at this chance, and spent the next few months rearranging her life to allow herself enough time off to venture off to Colorado to rekindle the relationship with her beloved sister which she had previously been so sorely lacking. By springtime, she was on the road to Colorado. As she had likely predicted, seeing Catherine again brought back the flood of emotions that had previously been contained at the back of her mind. Justine arrived at her sister's house late one Thursday night, and she felt '*comfortable and tense at the same time*' as they talked avidly through the night. They discussed their favourite old memories, and Justine told Catherine about what she had been doing in her three year absence. She started to relax, and found that she couldn't stay angry at someone she loved so much. When the time came for Justine to press her sister about what had been happening to her in the mysterious three year period, however, Catherine quickly shut her down and encouraged her to go to bed - saying that they would discuss it the next day.

Catherine dropped a bombshell on Friday night - finally plucking up the courage to tell Justine that she was an abductee. These were seemingly the exact words she used, as this prompted a long conversation in which she had to convince Justine that she had not been taken by a criminal or a cult - and that she was in fact claiming to have been repeatedly abducted by aliens. It apparently took quite a while for Justine to realise that her sister was serious. Catherine went on to explain that she had been being abducted for many years, and that she had felt the need to move to Colorado when the memories of the traumatic experiences had started coming back so that she could focus on them and try to come to terms with what had happened to her. Most of the rest of the weekend was spent discussing her odd experiences, and then recommending some books for Justine to read before she finally had to get on her way. As she was driving back home, Justine's mind was racing with images of little green men and flying saucers from Mars. She had promised Catherine that she would read the books and would visit again that Summer - and it was clear that her sister was hoping that she would be able to accept what had happened to her and they would be close again. Justine was understandably overwhelmed.

It was a long journey home, driving South through Colorado. She had called into her work and asked for extra time so that she didn't have to be back for another two days - and she was making good time anyway. The extra time was to help her come to terms with what her sister had revealed to her, and obviously to make sure that she was able to take her time in driving back to her home state. It was mid-afternoon when she came to a halt by a gas station on the interstate to refuel her trusty vehicle and get something to drink. With all that her sister had told her, her mind was racing and she was acting almost on autopilot. She pulled up to the pump, ran her credit card through it and started pumping gas all without really thinking about it. As she looked around, she suddenly noticed a young girl stood in front of her car on the island where the pumps were situated.

Although she had admittedly been distracted, Justine couldn't comprehend how she could've missed the odd little girl standing there when she'd pulled up to the station. She was wearing a cream-coloured dress when seemed quite old - but at first Justine tried to rationalise the sight by assuming that perhaps the girl had been to church, seeing as it was a Sunday, but she couldn't shake the feeling of unease as the she just stood and stared at her with her blue eyes. Her eyes lacked whites, and were almost exclusively the most '*striking*' colour Justine had ever seen. They seemed to be oversized, but she attributed this to her just having extraordinarily large pupils. Other than her bizarre and fascinating eyes, she seemed normal. Her skin was very pale, and her hair was blonde to the point of almost being white. Justine noted that it looked as if she '*never got any sun*'.

Justine said hello to the girl, but she didn't respond in the way she would've expected. Instead - she simply stated '*We're halfway there*'. Confused, Justine said that she didn't understand before quickly glancing around the parking lot to see if she could spot the girl's parents or what could've potentially been their car - but she was unsuccessful in this. There didn't seem to be anyone else around. When she turned back to look at the girl she found that she was still staring straight at her. She opened her lips again to speak. '*Your sister Catherine will understand; it's for all of us*'.

A chill ran down her spine, and she dropped the gas nozzle before slowly walking towards the bizarre child. The girl didn't move, her gaze remaining fixed on Justine - and suddenly she got the feeling that she shouldn't go any closer. A wave of fear washed over her. She stepped back, set the nozzle down in the pump and opened her car door - all the while the girl was still staring at her. '*We're halfway there*' she repeated.

At this moment, a pickup truck pulled up at the pumps to Justine's right, and she quickly looked over to see an older man getting out of the vehicle. Presumably more than a little panicked, she got his attention - calling out and directing his attention towards the girl in the hope that he would see her as well and that she would also say something to him. However, as one would expect from this type of encounter, the girl had vanished by the time Justine turned back around. She momentarily glanced back at the trucker, mouth gaping open in shock. He stared at her blankly, having clearly not seen the girl. Muttering an apology under her breath, Justine promptly jumped into her car and drove away from the scene as quickly as possible.

She was horrified by her encounter, and had to take time to calm herself down before phoning her sister and asking her about the upsetting little girl who had mentioned her by name. Catherine told her point-blanc that she had '*seen a hybrid*' just like the ones she had previously mentioned that weekend. They hadn't discussed hybrids in great detail - Justine had trouble accepting that her sister had been abducted by extraterrestrials, let alone that said extraterrestrials were using abductees in a hybrid breeding program of some description. Although Catherine had hinted that she had experienced something like this violating procedure, but Justine couldn't bring herself to ask about it. Overall, she says that she doesn't know if the girl she was a hybrid - but she knows that she wasn't imagining it.

## Resurfacing

Justine was thrown fully into the world of UFOs after this experience, and she and her sister started spending more time together as they had originally wanted to. Little by little, Justine herself started to open up about some bizarre memories which ahd apparently haunted her for years. These memories involved bright lights, missing time and oversized jackrabbits. Catherine had always secretly believed that her sister was an abductee as well - and she claimed that their experiences go back to childhood. Catherine told David Weatherly that she decided to disappear from her sister's life for a while so that she could come to terms with her memories of abduction before dragging her into it as well - but that she had decided to get back into contact with her when more memories surfaced and revealed that the both of them had been being regularly abducted since they had been young. She hesitated before contacting her, because she knew that once she exposed her to the concept of alien abduction she would remember her own experiences. Apparently that was exactly what happened - and although it wasn't easy for Justine to accept this - they have resolved to work through their strange experiences together.