Mothership (Invasion Survivor Book 4)

by Hayley Lawson

  And once she felt connected, she opened her eyes again and concentrated on the door behind Dillon. There was a panel and she focused on it.

  This time she couldn’t simply see the digits she needed to open it all the way.

  Come on, come on, she urged herself, impatiently.

  Frustratingly enough, even though she could feel what she needed to do, there was something missing.

  “Paige, you need to hurry,” AJ whispered to her.

  “I can’t do it.”

  “You have to,” AJ encouraged.

  There was only one way, and she was dreading it.

  “Keep him busy,” Paige instructed.

  “You Blue Coats are such cowards, scared of a little alien,” he taunted. “Useless.”

  Unfortunately, it didn’t work so AJ switched tactics.

  “And you bastard, you hide behind the Black Mass because deep down you know you are nothing without it. Less than nothing,” AJ ridiculed.

  “What did you say to me,” Dillon swallowed the bait. He sent a tentacle right to AJ’s head. He screamed.

  “Who is nothing now!” Dillon started laughing like the mad man he was.

  Paige concentrated on what she needed to do, not wanting AJ’s sacrifice to go to waste.

  Focusing on the Black Mass, she urged it to break free even though she was terrified.

  She started to feel tingling in her left hand’s fingers and hoped that meant it was working.

  A cold sweat broke across her forehead as she ‘worked’ and after a lifetime of pain inside her head, or a few heartbeats, in reality, a single, solitary tentacle broke across her index finger.

  “Grow,” she murmured, and the thing obeyed, going straight to the panel next to the door.

  And the moment she connected to it, Paige’s head practically exploded. She was instantly connected to everything. And she cried out in pain.

  So much... there's just so much... Paige struggled.

  “Focus,” AJ managed to choke out and she used his voice as a guide to sift through the vast information she was receiving.

  From this place, she knew she could connect with everything on this mothership.

  I am the mothership! Came a sudden thought that scared her.

  Focus on the door, Paige, she reminded herself.

  And the second she had that thought, the red light on the door panel became green and it sprung open.

  The tentacle sprung back to her body as if satisfied of the job well done.

  “Kwan, now!” AJ yelled and Kwan didn’t need to be told twice but simply sprung to action.

  Pushing the too stunned guards out of the way, Kwan rolled under AJ and Paige, and coming behind Dillon’s back jumped through the airtight door and now only a small corridor separated him from the Viper.

  “There’s a bag on the bench! Get the metal disc that’s inside it! Hurry!” AJ yelled and Paige was impressed by his strength to do that even while Dillon was torturing him.

  “No!” Dillon shrieked figuring out what was going on and instantly he released another tentacle, aiming for Kwan. But it only managed to touch Kwan’s foot, making him stumble.

  Kwan landed on his face, but that didn’t stop him. He got to his feet once more and made it to the other side of the small bridge and disappeared inside the ship.

  “No!” Dillon spat again like a petulant child and seeing that Kwan was going to succeed, he withdrew the tentacles causing AJ and Paige to land hard on the ground before jumping onto the Viper. He left Angela by the door as well, and she looked out of it when Paige rushed to her side.

  “Mom?” She started to shake her.

  “I’m fine,” she mumbled. “Go get him,” she breathed, obviously still in a lot of pain.

  “That asshole is mine,” AJ growled, running toward the ship.

  “Not if I get to him first,” Paige replied, doing the same.

  It took them a whole second to reach it and once inside they could see Dillon got hold of Kwan and was choking the life right out of him.

  Kwan’s face grew redder, as he tried to fight for air. He opened his mouth wide and looked at Paige, his eye bulging, pleading for help.

  AJ didn’t waste time to do just that while Paige focused on a different matter.

  She needed to find AJ’s bag because she knew he had some alien weapons in there that could hopefully end Dillon once and for all.

  “Why don’t you just die,” Dillon spat, fighting with AJ with one hand since his other was still busy with Kwan.

  “Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you,” AJ countered, punching the bastard straight in the face.

  Unfortunately, he noticed Paige was there as well, and in an instant, he dropped the panting Kwan to the ground like he was a rag-doll.

  Paige grabbed the bag but now didn’t know how to get out. AJ and Dillon were blocking the exit.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” He yelled as he tried to swipe at Paige, but AJ jumped to stop him and Paige used that opportunity to leap out of the Viper onto the dock again, the bag held close to her chest.

  Suddenly the stupid Blue Coats started shooting at Paige with their guns, yelling something she couldn’t quite understand in the noisy commotion.

  Trying to dodge them, she felt a hard punch to the stomach and fell backward. The

  Blue Coats was smiling triumphantly, as though impressed that they had bravely killed a real monster.

  Idiots! All of them!

  Paige knew they couldn’t waste any time, but it took her a moment to realize that she could still carry on.

  After all, no gunshots can kill me, like Dillon, I have the Black Mass in me as well, she reminded herself.

  With that on her mind, Paige attempted to stand up, with the bag still securely in her hand.

  The Blue Coats looked stunned, watching speechlessly as Paige moved.

  And she felt a sudden urge to jump in front of them and yell Boo!

  “What the...”

  “How... why...” They started to stammer watching her transfixed, clearly not knowing what to do.

  Feeling slightly confident that the guards wouldn’t try to shoot at her again, Paige glanced back at the ship and could see that AJ was still fighting Dillon hard.

  Actually, he was blocking the way so that Dillon couldn’t reach her.

  He must know something important is inside this bag.

  AJ lunged but they ended up on the floor wrestling. Once Dillon was on the bottom, he managed to throw AJ away with his legs and he hit the wall.

  And every now and again Paige could hear Angela squealing as she was still recovering from Dillon’s vicious attack.

  Paige wanted to unzip the bag and end this once and for all.

  “Paige, watch out,” AJ shouted when Dillon jumped onto Paige, his face furious beyond imagination, inches away from her own, his disgusting breath on her face, eyes glowing like fierce fires. He really looked like a monster they pegged him to be.

  Luckily for the good guys, Paige was a pushover no more. She let the anger ripple through her, vibrating every particle of her body.

  Paige let it consume her, inviting the Black Mass out to play. Her entire body seemed to shake a little, and she smiled while Dillon watched in horror as black tentacles grew out from the tips of her fingers ready to do whatever she pleased at her command.

  “What the …?” Dillon froze briefly but recovered quickly.

  He tried to get away from Paige but to her delight she used her new-found extensions to slap and punch at him, holding his neck tightly and removing his nasty tentacles from her own body.

  “Wow! Paige! Get him! Yes … like that!” She heard a voice in the distance and knew immediately it was AJ’s.

  “Paige?! How is she doing that?!” Kwan’s shrieks could also be heard, mixed with the screams of the Blue Coats and her Mom’s horrific chanting.

  With a couple of spare tentacles, Paige got the metal disc out of the bag. And she couldn’t get over th
e fact how easily all that became for her. She didn’t even have to think about a specific action. Paige simply wanted something and that was that. It was as if the tentacles were an external part of her. Which in a way, they were.

  “Oh, my God, Paige,” in the distance she could hear Dave's voice. And she was glad he made it back, but she didn't have time to dwell on that fact.

  Paige held the metal disc tightly and carefully while she fought Dillon.

  Using one of his own playbooks she shot two tentacles up to his eyes, and while he screamed and tried to fight her off, Paige fumbled with the device in hard concentration.

  Paige felt a slight sting as Dillon broke free from her. Still, she wasn’t worried.

  “Nooo!” Dillon screamed, reaching his tentacles out, swiping around trying to grasp the disc, but he was too late.

  Paige threw it onto him in what seemed like the speed of light.

  “Bullseye,” she murmured with a grin on her face.

  He shook sideways violently, trying to grab it, but he couldn’t, as it all happened too fast.

  The metal disc hit him hard in the face, dropping him backward.

  AJ and Kwan came to stand next to her, and together they watched as a large blue sphere appeared from the disc and surrounded Dillon. It caused a slight detonation that scattered all of them in different directions.

  No one was badly hurt, but the Blue Coats were freaking out without reason, yet Paige ignored them. Until she spotted a wide-eyed Dave among them. He got Peter piggyback style, who in return held Smokey the cat with both his hands. And the cat looked pretty freaked, which would be comical in any other situation. Paige gestured for Dave to join them.

  Despite being surprised at what he saw, he jogged across to them, avoiding Dillon, instantly. And that put Paige at ease that he still thought of her in the same way despite the Black Mass.

  “Perfect timing,” AJ told Dave and he just nodded in return.

  Dillon was entirely inside the blue sphere now, looking around at himself in utter amazement. His black tentacles quivered, started to shake uncontrollably, and then they dropped onto the ground in slow motion.

  I really like these gadgets AJ found on the Viper, Paige mused.

  The moment they hit the floor, they became Black Mass smoke, the gas-like substance that they all encountered first on Earth.

  “You took my Black Mass away!” Dillon shrieked and his cry seemed to echo around the entire mothership. He watched in horror as his Black Mass left his body and entirely covered the floor spreading farther. It was everywhere.

  I really should think before I act, Paige started to worry looking at the scene in front of her.

  Dillon fell onto the floor, screaming in pain, helplessly watching the Black Mass exit his body.

  In attempts to gather it back, he spread his arms around, taking handfuls of it. But there was no way he could put it back. He would need one of those pods from the mothership and they were fresh out of them.

  “Why did you do it? Why did you have to do it?” he continued to scream, lying on the floor, his hands swiping around him.

  Paige watched with disgust as he grew so desperate that he even tried to eat it.

  Dillon must have thought it would be absorbed into him that way, but no, the Mass just kept being regurgitated back up and out of him, making him scream in horror and despair.

  And there was no point in answering him, Paige realized so she simply focused on finding a way to contain the Black Mass.

  The blue sphere was still there around Dillon and Angela, AJ, Dave, and Kwan were trying to avoid the Mass and reach the Viper, breaking apart.

  Which left Paige a fair bit away from it, so she stood on a small protruding panel that came out of the wall.

  The Blue Coats retreated, getting out of the docking area completely, yelling in a panic about the Black Mass.

  “We have to warn everyone! There’s a space monster on the mothership! Warn everyone!” They shouted as they ran away.

  “Sound the alarm! We are under attack!”

  Now there was only Paige in the docking area, surrounded by the Black Mass, while Dillon wailed hysterically.

  Paige didn’t have much time, she needed to reach the Viper. It seemed impossible without crossing the Black Mass or the blue sphere that was on the floor.

  What will happen if I touch the Black Mass? She wondered, not really wanting to be in a position to find out.

  Because it would probably capture her like it did on the Earth. She had a feeling that it wouldn’t leave her alone, even though she had the Black Mass inside her body.

  Is it because I’m a Seedling too? She wondered, even though that didn’t feel right to her. Dillon was one as well. So, it had to be some other reason.

  And the blue sphere? What if I accidentally touch it? Would my Black Mass pour out just like Dillon’s?

  Was this her opportunity to get rid of it? She wanted that from the start.

  “Paige! Hurry up!” AJ asked her from the Viper’s cargo door. “What are you doing?!”

  “Come on, Paige! Get in here fast!” Angela joined in, and Paige was glad she was looking and acting more and more coherent.

  Yes, Paige also wanted to be there, on the Viper.

  But how? She thought angrily.

  She didn’t really think there was any way to reach the ship.

  “What about the Black Mass?” She yelled back.

  “We don’t have time for that, we have to leave,” Angela argued back.

  There was just one tiny problem, Paige couldn’t get to the Viper.

  Except … Paige mused making calculations.

  Except jumping high enough to cross the Black Mass and the sphere and landing in the Viper.

  That is an option. But is it a good one?

  Dillon stopped his shrieks and watched her transfixed. It was as though he was seeing her for the very first time. His stare made her feel super nervous.

  He got up from the floor, slowly, even gracefully, not breaking his gaze, which was deadlocked on her.

  Lucky me, Paige thought sarcastically, trying to guess his intentions.

  He probably wants to attack me and get some kind of revenge.

  Luckily, he was trapped inside the sphere.

  “Paige stop overthinking it, and just do it!” Dave shouted, and that did the trick. He always knew just the right thing to say to push her forward.

  So, without thinking too much about it, Paige let her body shiver as tentacles grew from her hands once more. This time she aimed them towards the Viper, and they grew long but stable. And they kept growing until they clung to the Viper’s ceiling.

  Yes! Paige cheered.

  “No! Paige!” Dillon shouted from the floor, going totally berserk once again.

  “Don’t leave me here! Take me with you!” He pleaded, surprising her.

  “I don’t want to stay here forever!” he cried, trying to break free, but Paige was quicker, and her mind felt clearer.

  She understood everything now.

  Angela, AJ, Dave and Kwan were also shouting things from the Viper, seeing the tentacles cling to the ceiling of the ship, but their voices were distant in her mind, as she knew she was beyond everything now.

  Quite literally.

  Trying to block out all the voices, she concentrated on her tentacles. Paige used them as ropes and kicked hard from the floor.

  To her complete amazement, Paige could fly high into the air and over the slick Black Mass.

  She flew over the sphere that was glowing beneath her as well and she had to laugh.

  It was all happening as if in slow motion. Or at least that was how it looked to her.

  Paige watched the floor sweep beneath her slowly before she landed inside the Viper.

  Her feet hit the floor with a loud thud and shaking herself a bit she looked around and could see the disbelief on everyone’s face.

  Herself included.

  I actually did it!

  Chapte
r Twenty-Nine

  Since Angela and friends kept looking at her with their mouths wide, she acted first realizing they didn’t have time to simply stand around as Dillon tried to crawl towards the Viper.

  The sphere was losing its power for some reason.

  “What are you all looking at? Get the Viper going!” Paige yelled clapping her hands, that were now tentacles free. “We don’t have much time! And can someone close the door, otherwise, he’ll get in.”

  That did the trick. The spell was broken.

  Kwan ran towards the pilot’s seat. “I’ll get this thing flying!” He said eagerly.

  “No! I’ll get it!” Angela called out, rushing forward and shoving Kwan out of the pilot’s seat. “I’m the pilot!” she added.

  “I can do it, if you want me to,” Dave deadpanned, putting Peter down on the ground but the pair ignored him.

  After closing the door, AJ sat on the bench by the window, doing nothing. He knew that there was nothing he could do right now. He just looked at Paige and smiled. She returned his smile, blushing a little bit, and feeling ridiculous like always.

  “Excuse me, but I have experience in flying spaceships,” Kwan continued to argue, struggling to stay in the pilot’s seat. “And as a civilian, you have not.”

  Angela stared at him angrily. “I can’t fly a spaceship? I can’t? Who are you to tell me that? I can fly it better than you, boy! And besides, I have the location to where we’re going, understand?” she concluded triumphantly.

  Paige knew she had to intervene, and soon. Or someone could end up hurt.

  Or dead.

  “I …” Kwan tried to counter, but Angela interrupted him.

  “What are you doing on my spaceship, anyway? Yes, yes, this is my spaceship, in case you didn’t know,” she added, seeing the confused look on Kwan’s pale face.

  Kwan looked at Paige, clearly asking for help, but she simply shook her head, urging him silently to back off.

  And he did.

  Nodding he took the seat next to her Mom, staying silent.

  Angela seemed to calm down a little, now that Kwan was obeying her. She sat down and started checking the buttons, for taking off.

  “Don’t forget that the mothership’s hooks are still holding us in place, “Paige said as a reminder.