Trespassers: a science-fiction novel (20 page)

He wasn
’
t trying to make her feel bad, after all. He was actually on to something.

“
That
’
s interesting,
”
she said.

“
Yeah, they could have said you
’
re away on some exotic trip or that you
’
re going to college in another country. You said that was your handwriting. Maybe you even wrote letters to your family and friends. Maybe you wrote a stockpile of letters and someone sends one off every so often.
”

Sara shook her head.
“
It
’
s too much to think about. Let
’
s just .
.
. drink our tea.
”

“
Okay.
”
He had forgotten to put himself in her shoes. All this talk about family was bound to make her feel bad.
“
I
’
m sorry. I wasn
’
t thinking.
”

After a few sips of her tea, Sara caught a glimpse of the darkness just beyond the kitchen window. It hadn
’
t occurred to her that night had fallen.

“
What time is it?
”
she asked.

Jeremy turned and read the clock on the wall,
“
Ten seventeen.
”

“
I didn
’
t know it was that late,
”
she said, suddenly preoccupied.

“
What? Do you need to get back?
”
He didn
’
t like the sound of his own question. He didn
’
t like the possible answer. Heck, he was thinking it. He hoped she was thinking it. He might as well say it .
.
.
“
Because, you can stay here, if you
’
d like. I can sleep on the couch or in my parents
’
room.
”

There was a pause. She didn
’
t say
no
. That was a good sign. She just sat there, thinking.

“
I should call the Nathans and let them know,
”
she finally said.

Let them know what?
Jeremy wondered.
Is she staying?
She pulled her phone from her pocket and made the call.
“
Hey, I
’
m staying with a friend, tonight .
.
. I just didn
’
t want you to worry about me.
”

At that moment, Jeremy realized she didn
’
t answer to the Nathans. They weren
’
t her parents or legal guardians or even an aunt and uncle. They were her landlords, and she didn
’
t have to ask their permission to stay with a friend.

Sara hung up and looked to Jeremy.
“
I guess we
’
re all set,
”
she said.

“
I want to show you something,
”
he said, standing and walking to the hallway, with his tea in his hand.
“
It
’
s outside, so you can either get your shoes or .
.
.
”
He turned to expose his back.
“
.
.
. piggyback ride.
”

There wasn
’
t a single light to be seen. The dim sliver of moon hanging on the edge of the night sky showed a few worn deck chairs and a tipped-over plastic table on a dilapidated balcony built on the roof. Most of the nails had worked their way up from the wood, and the railings were twisted from age, but the structure was still hanging on.

Jeremy
’
s head rose from the staircase, one careful step at a time. He held two teacups in his hands and one memory-challenged girl on his back. Her legs were locked around his hips, and her arms were wrapped around his collar. The side of her face pressed against his, and despite the ache in his thighs, he wished for a thousand more steps.

“
We don
’
t need any truth device, now,
”
she laughed. He felt her leg against his crotch, and knew what she meant.

He delivered her to one of the lounge chairs and she dismounted. He gathered one of the other loungers and slid it next to hers. She sat with her legs crossed and watched him take a seat.

“
What now?
”
she asked.

He pointed to the sky. She looked up and saw more stars than she could ever remember seeing. The absence of city lights created a vast canvas of stars. After three sips of her tea, she saw it: a shooting star sparked across the sky, as clear as a firework.

“
Whoa, did you see that?
”
she exclaimed. Jeremy had been staring at her the whole time.

“
They start about eight o
’
clock, and they last most of the night.
”

“
You mean there are going to be more?
”
She looked back to the sky.

“
A lot more.
”

“
And this is every night?
”
she asked.

“
Well, this is the right time of year for it.
”

“
How many have you seen?
”

“
Thousands,
”
he said.

She lay back on the lounger and stared up at the heavens, awaiting the next one.

“
How many girls have you brought up here?
”
She wanted him to say
zero
. She wanted to be special. She wanted this to be as genuine and organic as it felt.

“
Thousands,
”
he said again, as he rolled onto his back to view the stars. This made her smile. She knew it was the answer she was looking for. She knew it meant
zero
.

The Ford Edge was back in its spot next to the cornfield. Upstairs, Lyntic peeled the thick, green, quilted cover from the head of the bed. It was very familiar .
.
. not the details, but the general look and feel. Beds were always a reminder of how similar humans were, regardless of which corner of the universe they called home.

Lyntic perched comfortably on the edge of the bed, one foot still dragging on the floor. The sheets beneath her were a rose pattern, and their stems perfectly matched the green pillowcases. The upstairs bedrooms were each outfitted in a different color, and this was unmistakably the green room.

For one indulgent moment, Lyntic allowed herself to consider how far she was from home. She was used to being far from home, but Earth was something very different. For most of her life, Earth had been a source of happy memories. Now, it was making her homesick.

Lyntic had convinced herself that they could pop down on Earth, do their job, and be off again. She convinced herself that she wouldn
’
t be affected by this cute little planet .
.
. and all the memories it held for her. At the moment, however, she wasn
’
t feeling very convinced.

In the room across the hall, Jin could hear the night just outside his window. And it was loud. It sounded like subterranean engines powering up in preparation for a launch. What else would explain the unsteady engine pulses?
Maybe it was a series of subterranean missiles
. He leaned closer to the window and peered out, not really wanting to see anything.

“
Crickets,
”
Tobi said, his head still wrapped in a towel.

Jin turned to see him sitting in a chair against the wall, where he had been for the last half hour since being allowed to leave the tub. The two of them had been working on the tracking device when Jin was distracted by the hum.

This was the pink bedroom. But at the moment, Jin was too preoccupied with the menacing hum to notice how well the drapes matched the pillows and the lampshade.

“
They
’
re crickets,
”
Tobi continued,
“
a little insect about this big.
”
He approximated the size with his thumb and forefinger. This was more frightening to Jin than the thought of subterranean missiles.
“
They play music all night,
”
Tobi added. But this fell on deaf ears.

“
Are they dangerous?
”

“
Ha!
”
Tobi laughed.
“
No, they
’
re not dangerous. They
’
re just noisy. And do you know how they make that noise?
”

Down the hall, in the blue room, Dexim stood at the foot of the bed, staring out the window. He was focused on the mission at hand. Somewhere outside that window was a disoriented girl who needed their help, and they couldn
’
t start their search, yet. Waiting was an unavoidable factor in any mission. But it didn
’
t mean he liked it. He felt an impulse to rush into the night and blindly search for her. Dexim was far from being a rookie though, and he knew better than to indulge these feelings. He knew that rest was the best use of his time. He would rely on Tobi to fix the tracking device before they would begin their search.

About an hour away, in the underground base known as
Home
, Mindy lay on her bed, listening to the silence. The offices were empty. The state-of-the-art facility was shut down for the evening. Stewart had decided it would be best for the team to spend the night at
Home
so they could leave early in the morning. Mindy put up no argument. She found the unde
rground lair to be fascinating, and was thrilled to spend the night.

Since arriving at this facility, Mindy
’
s day had been anything but slow. She sat through orientations, training seminars, and briefings; she even learned about limestone, since it would be necessary for her cover story. She had a physical examination, signed insurance forms and liability waivers, and swore an oath of secrecy, which made her laugh, because she was already harboring a secret
—
one that Stewart had given her within five minutes of arriving.
Don
’
t tell anyone what we
’
re on to here
, he had said. Truth was she didn
’
t know what they were on to
—
something about a heart signal and alien trespassers.

With the orientation behind her, Mindy found herself in one of the overnight rooms. Each was complete with a bed, chair, nightstand, and TV. She was quickly under the covers and staring at the ceiling. It felt like a summer camp for adults .
.
. except that you had to have the highest level of government clearance to attend. She should have been fast asleep. But her girlish grin was keeping her up. She thought back to that decision she made in Darren Kemp
’
s office. She could have chosen any post in the government, and lying on that bed, staring at the ceiling, she was convinced she made the right decision.

Mindy had learned in orientation that they weren
’
t allowed to keep personal journals of their missions
—
for obvious security reasons
—
but if she
were
keeping a journal, she would have a lot to write. There would be no harm in thinking it. In one whirlwind day, she had witnessed an alien abduction, sat across from an actual alien, heard him speaking some alien language, and saw a genuine alien spaceship. She couldn
’
t decide which was more exhilarating:
seeing
the massive ship above her or seeing
right through it
. And now, she was spending the night in the world
’
s most advanced underground fortress. It was indeed going to be difficult to get to sleep. Mindy could feel the grin on her face refusing to budge. A wave of excitement shimmied down her body and disappeared beneath the covers.

One room over, New Guy knelt beside his bed and said his nightly prayers. He didn
’
t pray to a
higher power
or to a
universal force
. He prayed to Jesus. And despite the new sights he had seen today, his prayers were pretty much the same. He found a calming consistency when he talked to the Lord, and that was not shaken by a few visitors from outer space.