"Actually, no," Eric said. "You're going to let her out of those restraints."
"What? No, I'm not. I'm not. I'm not going to let this control me. I may be an alien, emphasis on the ‘may’, but I still know what team I'm on."
"You're not on any team that I'm on. But, no, I don't care what you do with that... thing. I just want off this stupid roof, and she's blocking the only way down."
"Hear, hear," Red said. "Deny being an alien all you like, just do it away from me. I want no part in any of this."
"Fine," Ellie said. "Good riddance. Off with the both of you. We don't need you. Eric had always been a reluctant participant of this group, and you were only here because of him." She went over to stand by Miranda. Her skin still crawled from being too close to the woman. Miranda's eyes still filled her with a level of dread that she couldn't quite explain. Even knowing the why of it all, even knowing that it was some reaction to being close to a fellow alien, the feelings were so powerful that she wanted to leave that rooftop herself.
Ellie grabbed hold of Miranda's arm, forcefully and firmly, holding it and her in place while she pulled the bungee cords away from the ladder. She pulled the alien a few steps away, making sure to refasten the cords into place, even pulling them tighter so she would have less give to play with. Once they were away from the ladder and Ellie was certain that she wasn't going to escape, Ellie pushed her into the far corner, opposite from her friends.
"There," Ellie said, gesturing towards the ladder and the setting sun in the distance. "There's your exit. I'd say don't let the door hit you on the way out, but there is no door and I would have wanted it to hit you if there was."
"Just... get away from the ladder," Eric said. He motioned for her to step back, to stay away from him and his path. Despite her words, despite never really liking Eric to begin with, it still hurt her to see that expression. To know that he didn't like her, didn't trust her, so much so that he didn't want to be anywhere near her. She put up her hands in surrender, taking a few steps further away from the ladder to stand next to Miranda.
Eric and Red walked forward together, arm in arm, a united front against the otherness of Ellie and Miranda. Neither let their gaze wander from Ellie's. Neither let their guard down in the least as they made their way to the ladder. Once there, they had a disagreement about which of them should go down first, taking place entirely in a shoving match between them. Eric lost and ended up waiting the three seconds it took for Red to hop over the edge of the ledge and down to the landing below. The metal slammed and groaned against his weight. As he descended, his footsteps echoed around the area, furiously hastened as he ran towards the ground below. Eric took his time, descending down the ladder one rung at a time, still keeping his eyes on Ellie.
"Good riddance, am I right?" Ellie said, once the brothers had gone. She looked over at the rest of her friends, a confident smile on her face. That smile died when she saw the look of utter disgust on Alex's face.
Chapter Forty-Five
Betrayal
It had been a cold, late August day. Alex had nabbed the keys to her father's truck and the two of them were lying down in the bed, looking up at the clouds as they gradually made their way across the sky. Neither of them was saying much, not that Ellie minding. Any time she could spend with Alex was enough for her. Little did she know how badly that day would go.
"Look at that one," Ellie said, pointing up at one of the clouds. "It looks just like your dad, passed out on the couch after another binge."
"Ellie, I can't do this anymore," Alex said. Despite her words, she didn't move from the spot next to her.
"Bored?" Ellie said. "I don't know. I could never get bored with you next to me. We can do something else. We could go fishing. The lake is right there."
"That's not... I meant..." She let out a deep sigh, let out a wave of emotions that Ellie could almost read in her voice. Almost. "Jared Horowitz asked me out on a date."
"Jared Horowitz? The quarterback? Seriously? Doesn't he still eat paste?"
"That was three years ago," Alex said, defensive about the boy that they had both teased multiple times over those three years. "He's actually a nice guy."
"I didn't say he wasn't." Ellie sat up, putting her back against the side of the truck bed so she could look over at her. "I get it. I don't know why you won't just come out to your mom, but I get it. Honestly, things have been awesome with my dad since I came out. Trying to make up for my mom not being with us or something probably. But, still, he's really trying. Your mom might surprise you. Then, you wouldn't have to go out with some guy to make her happy."
"No, you don't get it," she said. She closed her eyes, pressing the heels of her palms into them. A lone tear escaped the effort, making its slow way down her cheek. "I can't... I can't do this anymore. I can't do us anymore. I can't be your girlfriend."
"What?" Ellie asked. A slight chuckle came out with the word, thinking this was some kind of bad joke. They had been together, really together, the entire summer. It had been what they had always wanted. Wasn't it?
Was it?
"This isn't funny," Ellie said, as she started to fear the worst.
"I'm not joking," Alex said. She got up, jumping down from the bed and taking several steps away from her. Her arms crossed protectively over her chest, Alex stared out over the lake, giving Ellie nothing but her back. "I can't do this anymore. I can't be your girlfriend. I can't be... I need to be normal."
"And I'm not normal enough for you?"
"No," Alex said. "You're not."
Normal. It had always come down to that word with her. Even after she had come out to her mother, even after she came out to the world, it wasn't enough for her. She wasn't enough for her. She wasn't normal.
Tears filled Ellie's eyes, distorting her vision of her first love, the girl that she had almost given up everything for again. It had been so easy, spending time with her, slipping back into those old habits with her. Even as guarded as she had been. Even as often as she insisted, to herself, to Alex, to the world, that she had a girlfriend, one that she loved. Even with all of the walls she had put up. Alex still managed to slip her way back into her heart. And, as Alex stood there, again with her arms crossed protectively across her chest, staring out into the sky behind her, all she was left with was that word again.
Normal, something she had never been. Something she could never strive for. Something that, again and again, had been stolen away from her. It wasn't her fault that she wasn't normal. That had been stolen from her before she was ever born, by these creatures that had been plaguing her life for almost a month. Yet, from the look on Alex's face, Ellie would think that she thought she chose it. Alex thought that Ellie chose being an alien over being with her.
Ellie took a step towards Alex. Alex shied that same step away from her. She backed up, bumping into Becky, then the wall behind her. For a moment, she lost her balance, almost falling over the small wall, almost toppling off of the roof. Her hands waved around for a moment before landing hard on the brick wall. The smell of fresh blood filled the air.
Ellie moved forward, darting forward to cross the distance between them, desperately trying to stop her from falling. Without realizing it, without trying to, she sprinted across the distance between them in less than a second. She stood there, just as Alex got back to her feet, at a loss for how she managed to do that. Had that been in her all the time? Was that what it was? Was that the alien in her? Had she always been capable of that? Was it her knowing that she was an alien that unlocked it in her or had she been doing it without even realizing?
"Stop," Alex said. She put up her hands defensively, holding Ellie away from her. She skirted further along the wall, making her way towards the corner, away from Ellie. "Don't-Don't come near me. Stay away from me."
"Alex, I..."
"No, Ellie," Alex said. Her voice broke as she said her name. The love she still felt for her flashed across her face for a split second before it was gone, this
time for forever. "I'm leaving. Don't stop me."
Again, a slap across her face. They were the words that she had said the day after, back when Ellie had still thought she could win her back. She had crashed Alex's date with Jared, hoping that it would be terrible and she would come back to her. It hadn't. She hadn't. She never would.
Despite all the care she had put in. Despite promising herself never to let Alex hurt her like that again. Despite how high she had kept her guard. She still had hoped they could be together again. The look of utter disgust, not just for who, for what she was, but for everything they had ever been for each other. She wasn't just disgusted in Ellie for being an alien. She was disgusted in herself for having been with her, for still wanting to be with her. It was the look she had when Ellie had threatened to tell Alex's mother about them, even though they both knew it was a hollow threat.
Once she was certain that Ellie wasn't going to stop her, Alex turned away from her, focusing on the ladder and the exit. She darted across the rooftop, jumping up onto the ledge and following the brothers down to the ground below. Ellie waited for a few moments, giving her the time to get away from her, giving her the distance that she wanted, before heading over to the ladder herself. She looked down. The fire escape blocked much of her view, but she could still make out the three of them down there. The three of them looked back up at her before disappearing into the city.
"Now I imagine the two of you want to leave as well," Ellie said. She didn't turn around, didn't look back at George and Becky where they still stood, cowering in the corner.
From how Becky had reacted before, back when they were running after Miranda and Barry, it was clear to Ellie that she didn't like aliens. That she was as afraid of them as she probably should have been. The alien movies never really covered how the alien should feel about all of that. Do the monsters care that they're feared? It would certainly make the living situation difficult, to say the least. Would she end up needing to dorm with one of them? A fellow alien? Maybe Rebecca Anne herself? Or worse, would she be expected to subject another unwitting human to her presence? No, she'd move home before that.
"Oh, god," she said to herself. "What about Dad? How can I ever tell him about this? Gay was one thing, but... this?" She could barely bring herself to say it.
Becky came up next to her, looking out over the edge of the roof. Ellie moved down a little, giving Becky access to the ladder. But she didn't move, staying where she was, several feet over from it. A few seconds later, George came over as well, standing right next to Ellie, opposite from the ladder.
"Naw," Becky said. "I don't really want to break in a new roommate. Just do me a favor, alright?"
"What's that?" Ellie asked.
"If you start converting people, please don't convert me. I have plans for my life that require me to live past thirty."
"I'm not going to convert people," Ellie said.
"Yea, you say that now," George teased. "But, once your alien biological clock starts ticking, you might not have a choice in the matter."
"Okay, how about you two make me a promise?"
"What's that?" Becky asked.
"If I ever do start feeling like I should be converting people, kill me before I do."
"I think I can get behind that," George said.
"Hey, if that's what you want," Becky said.
"Because, if I actually want to convert people, if I actually want to take their lives away from them, then it won't really be me anymore. It'll be the alien."
"God, you say that like they're different people," Miranda said. "You are the alien. There's no separation between the two. You're not being controlled by anything. It's a true symbiotic relationship between the host and the--"
"Parasite," Ellie said.
"The spores," Miranda said.
"But you guys are really okay with all of this?" Ellie asked. "You're okay with me being an..."
"I've met plenty of people who aren't human," Becky said. "They're still people to me."
"Yea, and it's not really that much weirder than a guy wanting to be a girl," George said. "You guys didn't judge me for that. So what? Should I judge you for this?"
"Yea," Becky said. "That is weird."
"No, not that weird," Ellie said. "I'd give that a three on the weird meter. Whereas me being an alien? Me. I'd put that at a twelve."
"Aw, how sweet," Miranda said. "Maybe there's hope for alien-human relations yet."
"Oh, shut up," Ellie said. She turned towards the girl, who was still in the other corner, the bungee cords still wrapped around in place. "You don't get any say in all of this. You're the worst type of our kind, the type that thinks they're somehow better than the humans."
"No," Miranda said. "I'm the best of our kind. And we are better than the humans. Could humans do this?"
Suddenly, she puffed out her chest. The bungee cords whined then finally snapped, sailing off through the air. One side flung out over the roof, heading for the next building over, while the rest of the mass headed out over the street. Before any of them could react, could think of anything to do against the alien that was suddenly free, Miranda had closed the distance to Becky. She barely had to lift a finger, just bumping into her on her way past, to knock her over the wall and off of the roof.
Chapter Forty-Six
A Hero Falls
"No," Ellie shouted. She felt like she was running in slow motion, trying to move those last few feet to reach Becky before she went over. It was too late, though. Even before she moved, Becky was already out of her reach. Even her alien speed couldn't save one of the few friends she had left.
Metal clanged against metal, brick, and cement as Becky seemed to hit every landing on the way down. By the time Ellie got to the other side of the ladder, right above where she fell, she had already hit the ground below. Ellie stared down at her, at a loss, in complete shock, to see her there, crumpled in a ball on the cement. Her eyes stared up at her. An accusation, though there was no strength behind it. The screen on her watch was flashing a deep red, a sign that she was still alive, but barely. That same signal would be on every band registered to her family's account. Although, from what she had told her of her family, that was probably limited to her adoptive father, Hero.
Ellie wanted to go after her, to scale the building to get to the ground, maybe even jump over the ledge to get to her quicker. But she knew it would already be too late no matter what she did. There was no way that she would be able to get Becky to a hospital before she died from her injuries. That was what the blinking red light was saying, more than anything else she could see from where she was. Still, she was frozen in place, too shocked to move, or do anything else for that matter.
A flash of white pulled Ellie's eyes away from her friend and towards the sky. Something large flew past her, sailing down into the small alley between the two buildings. Ellie couldn't quite see what it was, and what her mind was telling her it was didn't make any sense at all. That is, at least, until Hero flew back up to the top of the building. He hovered there, Becky clutched in his arms, as he glared at each of the three of them in turn.
Unlike the first time that Ellie had seen him, he wasn't wearing an oversized coat. Instead, he wore a torn up old t-shirt, stretched tightly against his bulging muscles. His large white wings glowed with an inner radiance all their own. They looked nothing like that of a dove's like they were usually depicted in movies. The tears in the t-shirt were perfectly aligned with where the wings attached themselves to his back. They showed that the muscles on his front continued around to his back, warping and merging with those keeping the wings flapping. He popped up and down several feet with each slow flap of his wings, though he stayed above the edge of the building the entire time. It didn't seem like hovering there took any of his attention away from the matter at hand. His eyes passing between the three of them were filled with an inner fire and fury beyond anything mortal men were capable of.
"Who did it?" he asked in a deep booming
voice that shook the building they were standing on. All three of them gawked openly at the man flying in the air. However, George and Miranda were obviously less stunned than Ellie was, as they both pointed at each other. "Enough," Hero shouted. "Do you think this is a joke?"
"No," Miranda said. "No, magic user. This isn't a joke." She breathed in deeply, loudly, with a sick wet sound to it. Ellie thought that it sounded like she was about to spit at him. Instead, she sent out a wave of orange, hitting Hero square in the face. Ellie shied away from the stream, even though she had already been infected by the spores. George, however, didn't move a muscle, which meant Ellie bumped into him as she tried to get away from Miranda.
Hero just hung there in the air for a moment, staring over at Miranda. The orange goop that she had spit at him stayed in place on his face for a moment, before gradually turning black and flaking off. He didn't seem the least bit worse for wear from the interaction, though his menacing glower only intensified as he stared the girl down. Miranda, noticing the ineffectiveness of the spores, shied away from the man. However, it didn't seem like she could possibly get far enough away from him to escape from his ire.
"Do you think me some weak human?" he shouted. "Do you think you could possibly infect me with your disease?"
"I-it's worked before," Miranda said. "You-you magic users are a scourge, a plague on this world. Demons, mages, you're all alike."
"I am no mage," he shouted, his words so loud that Ellie felt them in her chest. "I am no demon. I am an angel, an emissary of God Himself. If I had my hands free, I would smite you in an instant. I still may."
"Uh, Hero?" Ellie said, finally getting over her initial shock at seeing her roommate's father figure flying there. "You're going to need to get her to a hospital. U-unless you can heal her yourself?"
"This isn't over," Hero said, pointing at Miranda. "You shall feel my wrath."
Hero flapped his wings one last time, popping up above the building, before letting himself fall again. His wings were tucked in tightly against his chest as he flew down through the alleyway, pulling up at the last minute. He let the momentum he had built up thrust himself forward, zooming down the alley, over the main road, and out of sight, presumably towards the nearest hospital.
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