Equinox

by L. J. Higgins

  I sighed. “I guess so. But it’s easy to rationalise what I’ve done when I’m far away. Can he really face what I’ve done when he sees me face to face? I just worry about the way he’ll look at me. I know deep down he loves me, but will he look at me different now?”

  “Do I look at you any different?”

  No, he didn’t. And that was what drove me crazy.

  “I think I’d feel more comfortable if you did,” I confessed.

  “If I was angry at you?”

  I nodded and shrugged.

  “How can I be angry? I saw firsthand the way they work and who you are. I just wish I’d been able to get you out earlier.”

  “Me too,” I said.

  “But we’re here now, and it is what it is. All we can do is move forward, and we can’t unless we face our demons.”

  “Yeah? And what demons do you have?” I asked. “Pretty sure you’re not responsible for the slaughter of innocent beings.”

  His shoulders rose and fell as he drew in a deep breath. “You’re not as far from the truth as you might think. It’s my fault my family are dead.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” I said.

  “Like I said. I was a different person on Terra Sol. I loved to take risks, drank and partied too much, and got tangled up with a girl who was a lot of trouble. I’m not proud of it. My parents had no idea what to do with me. I think they were at their wit’s end, so when the opportunity came for people to be recruited to go to Earth, they put our family’s names forward, hoping helping on another planet would not only settle me down, but bring us closer together as a family. They were so happy when I agreed to go. I was sent away for training, and when the day came, I was dragged onto the spaceship, and we made our way down to Earth.”

  “It’s hard to imagine you being a party animal,” I said.

  “You of all people know how much losing your family changes you. I bet you were a different person before you lost your parents and Tyson.”

  “I was definitely less opinionated. A tad less sarcastic. And I wore a lot less black. You probably would’ve liked me,” I said.

  “You would’ve hated me,” he said. “Let’s face it. You hate me now anyway.”

  “I don’t hate you.”

  “But the idea of being with an alien freaks you out, right?”

  “I’m not going to lie, it’s kind of weird.”

  “How is it any different from me growing up in another country?”

  “I guess it’s not that different, really. It’s just hard to completely erase all of the training I’ve had.”

  “I see the way your body tenses every time the A word is mentioned.”

  “It’s visceral. I can’t help it.”

  “I know. But I can’t say it doesn’t hurt. I miss what we had before you knew the truth, I guess that was part of what stopped me from telling you earlier. I knew it’d change everything between us.”

  “I miss what we had, too,” I confessed.

  His eyes locked onto mine, and his face inched closer, mine moving as though his lips had some sort of gravitational pull of their own. My eyes fluttered shut, and I could feel his breath…

  “What was that?” Reece said, forcing my eyes open.

  He’d sat up straight, holding his finger over his lips.

  The familiar whip of helicopter blades filled the air around us.

  Reece shoved what was left of our picnic lunch into the backpack and passed it to me. I flung it over my shoulders as he retrieved the motorbike and began wheeling it into the bushland. I followed as he found a large bush to park it beside, and we covered it with sticks and branches as the helicopter drew closer.

  Finding a small gully covered by a shrub, we both climbed down the shallow embankment and crawled beneath the leaves just as the helicopter roared above us. Squeezing my eyes shut, the sound filled my ears, my heart echoing in my chest. Reece took hold of my hand and squeezed it tight, and I hoped they wouldn’t see us or the bike.

  The helicopter seemed to fly back and forth above us for an eternity, but eventually, the sound began to fade, and after another long moment, it couldn’t be heard at all.

  “I think we’re okay to climb out,” Reece said. “You okay?”

  “I’m fine. I just want to get back on the bike and get to my brother.”

  “Didn’t think I’d ever hear you say you wanted to get on the bike,” he said, his smile softening my tense muscles.

  “Yeah well, there’s a first and last time for everything.”

  We climbed out and uncovered the bike in silence, my body recovering from the noise and intensity of the helicopter.

  “You ready to keep moving?” he asked once he’d wheeled the bike back to the dirt road.

  “More than ready,” I replied, not sure if I was happy or sad the moment we’d shared had been interrupted and forgotten.

  The bushland cleared as the sun began descending once again, and the fresh smell of salt hung in the air as we rode into a small beachside township. The road weaved towards a grassy parkland bordering a long flat stretch of sand with waves rolling in with the cool breeze. Goose pimples erupted over my skin, and I sidled a bit closer to Reece as he pulled the bike into a parking lot.

  After dismounting the bike and removing our helmets, I stretched my arms and legs.

  “I thought some salt air would do us some good. How long has it been since you went to the beach?” asked Reece.

  “Too long,” I replied, closing my eyes and letting the breeze cool my face.

  We followed the sound of rolling waves to the warmth of the sand, and I removed my boots to sink my feet in.

  “We can’t hang around for long, but I’ve taken the long way around and I need to contact your brother so we can work out where he’ll meet us,” he said.

  “You’re not taking me to where he’s been staying?” I asked.

  “He insisted he meet us here. It’s still quite a drive out to the base.”

  “So, this whole time you could’ve called him, and you didn’t?” I asked.

  “No. There’s another person who helps us out from time to time who’ll be able to contact him for us. He lives around here.”

  “What are we waiting for then?”

  “Like I said, I thought the fresh salty air would do us some good. That was a close call back there.”

  “It was the girl from the service station. I knew she was dodgy.”

  “Do you want to talk about what almost happened before the helicopter?” he asked.

  My throat clenched at his question. The moment had been replaying in my mind over and over as we travelled, but now the thought of talking about it made me feel nauseous.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I turned and started walking back to the motor bike.

  “Are you serious?”

  “Okay. I know what you’re talking about, but I don’t think we need to keep over talking these things. Thankfully, the helicopter arrived and stopped us from making a huge mistake. I was confused and vulnerable.” I sat on the edge of the path and brushed the sand from my feet, tugging on my socks.

  Reece sat beside me and did the same. “You’re a lot of things, Ky, but vulnerable isn’t one of them. You wanted to kiss me just as much as I wanted to kiss you.”

  “And what would be the point? In the next twenty-four hours I’ll be reunited with my brother, and you’ll be back with your people, who, no matter what you try to tell me, aren’t exactly going to be impressed I killed so many of them. How do you think they’d feel about you kissing an alien hunter?”

  I pulled on my boots and tied them, not making eye contact.

  “I already have kissed an alien hunter,” he said.

  “That was different. I didn’t know all of this then.”

  “I did.”

  Rising to my feet, I continued towards the bike, followed by Reece. “That makes it worse.”

  “But I still knew who you were, and I still kissed you. Th
at must count for something.”

  “It counts as you being a masochist.”

  “Can we not do this?”

  “What?”

  He met my gaze with a glare.

  “You just don’t know how to let things go. We had a moment. The moment passed. I don’t know why you need to talk these things to death. Let’s just get to Tyson so you can be with your people, and I can be with mine. Then you can work out how to get back to your amazing planet, and we’ll be able tell our kids when we’re old and grey about the crazy adventure we had with someone from another planet.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Of course, I am.” I paused, cocking an eyebrow as I turned my gaze to him. “Hang on. I am?”

  “Yeah. My goal is to help my people get back home, and anything happening between us is pointless.”

  My stomach twisted at his words. Stupid stomach.

  “At least you see my point of view, finally,” I said, hating the lump in my throat. “We should go find this friend of yours before it’s too dark.”

  Without another word, we both pulled on our helmets and climbed onto the bike. It was hard to imagine never seeing Reece ever again. He’d been one of the few people I’d been able to call a friend since I’d joined Skywatchers, and as much as I hated to admit it, it was hard to believe I’d go from seeing him every day to never again. I was in a daze as Reece wove the bike down streets and pulled up outside a lowset wooden-clad home. Climbing off the bike, I didn’t say a word as he unbuckled my helmet, and I slid it off, following him up a small wooden staircase to the front door of the house.

  He knocked three times and stood back, and we waited a moment before the door cracked open.

  “Who is it?” the gruff voice said behind the door.

  “Reece. I’m here to make a call.”

  The door closed again for a second, and there was the sound as though someone was rummaging through boxes and cupboards. After a long moment, the door swung open again.

  “Come in, come in,” said a tall man with broad shoulders and wearing a white tank top only just covering his round belly. “Would you like a drink?”

  “I’d love a juice or something if you have one,” Reece said. “How about you?”

  He turned towards me, but his eyes didn’t quite find mine. So this was how it was going to be.

  “A juice would be great, thank you,” I said.

  “Two juices and a satellite phone coming right up. Haven’t seen you around for a while, Reece,” said the man as he left towards what I imagined to be his kitchen.

  Reece followed him, leaving me standing in the small lounge. I didn’t bother listening into their conversation, instead I shuffled on the spot uncomfortably.

  “And who do we have here?” asked the man as he returned with a glass full of juice.

  He handed it to me, but as I opened my mouth to answer, Reece replied for me.

  “This is Melissa. I’m taking her to live with the others.”

  “Glad to help. It’s a shame those Skywatchers scum are hunting you lot. Too many of you have been lost to those evil people. Let’s hope you can get home sooner rather than later,” the man said.

  “Let’s hope so,” I replied.

  “My name’s Gary, by the way. Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself earlier.”

  “Nice to meet you, Gary.”

  “It’s nice to catch up, Gary, but I really do need to make contact with the others,” Reece said.

  “Of course, give me a moment.”

  Gary disappeared again, and I looked to Reece who did his best to look everywhere other than at me.

  Gary returned, a large grey phone in his hand. “Here it is. I’ll be out the back, so just call out when you’re done.”

  He handed the phone to Reece before leaving.

  “You can go hang out with Gary if you like. This won’t take long,” Reece said.

  “Will you be talking to my brother?” I asked.

  Reece shot me a stern look. “Gary can’t know who or what you are.”

  “You didn’t care about Betty knowing,” I said.

  “That was Betty. This is Gary. He isn’t as forgiving.”

  I swallowed hard. “Then wouldn’t it be safer if I stayed with you? You know. In case I let the truth slip.”

  I swear he rolled his eyes as he turned his back on me and dialled a number. What were we? Teenage girls in high school now?

  But the moment I heard him say Tyson’s name, any animosity slipped away, and I stepped towards him, desperate to hear my brother’s voice.

  “Yeah, I’ll put her on,” Reece said.

  He passed me the phone, and I lifted it to my ear. “Ty?”

  “Ky, oh my goodness. It’s so good to hear your voice,” Tyson said, his voice strained.

  Tears pricked my eyes. “I can’t believe it’s really you.”

  “We have so much to talk about when we’re together again. I’ve waited so long for this.”

  “I thought… they told me…”

  “I know. But I’m here, and I’m coming to get you, okay?”

  “Okay.” I felt like the fifteen-year-old girl who only had her brother all over again.

  “Put me back on to Reece so I can work out where we’ll meet you guys. And, Ky?”

  “Yes?”

  “I love you so much.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Reluctantly, I handed the phone to Reece who finally met my eyes, putting the phone to his ear. I wiped at the tears running over my cheeks and drew in a deep breath, releasing it slowly. It was really happening. I was going to be back with Tyson.

  Chapter Seven

  I hovered around Reece as he spoke with Tyson, but he kept shooting me glares and turning his back to me. When he finally hung up, I opened my mouth to ask him what they’d worked out, but Gary entered the room.

  “How’s it all going?” Gary asked.

  “All sorted, thanks,” Reece replied, handing him the phone.

  “Do you need somewhere to stay the night, or are they on their way to get you?” he asked.

  Reece paused for a moment giving me a sideways glance I didn’t understand. “I think we’ll be okay for tonight. But thank you for offering.”

  “It really wouldn’t be any trouble. I have a fold out couch you two can share.” He waved towards his sofa.

  “Thanks again, but we need to get going. We still have a big ride before we get to our destination.” Reece turned, grabbing my elbow to lead me towards the front door.

  “Do you need some food to take with you? Water?” Gary followed us.

  “We’re fine, really,” Reece said. He led me in front of him as we approached the door.

  I grabbed the handle and jiggled it. It was locked. I turned to meet Reece’s wide-eyed gaze. He ran a hand through his hair and swallowed before facing Gary.

  “You locked the door?” he asked.

  “Sorry. You can’t be too careful around here. Especially, doing what I do. Let me just grab the key.” Gary left the room.

  “Something’s off. Your brother was right,” Reece said in a lowered voice.

  “What did he say?” I asked.

  “He’s not sure Gary can be trusted. He thought he’d been compromised.”

  “What do we do?”

  “Follow me.”

  Reece led me out of the front room, down a short hallway, towards an open door. When we entered the room, which appeared to be an office, he closed the door quietly behind us and flicked the lock. He made his way to the window, groaning at the sight of security screens. He clicked his tongue, and I stared first at him then the door as Greg’s voice came from the other side.

  “Reece? Where are you?” he called out. “I have the key.”

  “The key my ass,” Reece mumbled. “Hand me the cricket bat.” He pointed to a bat leaning against the desk beside me.

  I grabbed it and passed it to him.

  “When I smash the glass, we need to get out of her
e as fast as we can. Got it?” he said.

  “What about the motor bike? Our bags?”

  “We’ll leave them behind. Something’s not right. I think Gary’s been paid off by Skywatchers or something. It happens.”

  “But he said they were scum,” I said.

  “And he’s always hated them. But give someone enough money, and they’ll talk. Especially a guy like Gary.”

  Gary’s voice grew louder. “Reece! Where are you buddy?”

  At his voice, Reece swung the bat with all of his might and shattered the glass. He did his best to smash the broken shards clinging to the edge, but Gary had heard the commotion and was barging against the door and cussing.

  Reece ushered me forward, and I climbed onto the window’s ledge and jumped the short distance to the long grass below. My feet hit the ground hard, and I stumbled forward but didn’t fall. Turning, I backed towards the hedge across from the window to let Reece jump down. The sudden pressure of hands clasping around my biceps sent panic racing through my veins.

  Reece’s eyes grew wide, and I turned to find a man in black gripping me tight as he pulled me towards the front of the house. I kicked and squirmed, unable to loosen his grasp. Reece reached me in the blink of an eye and swung the bat at my assailant, hitting him across the head. He released his grip, and I fell to the ground, scrambling back to my feet.

  “Run,” Reece cried, guiding me towards the back of the house.

  We pushed ourselves towards the back fence, which I jumped with ease, landing in the neighbouring yard. Reece landed behind me, and we continued through until we came out on the street.

  “The rendezvous point is only two blocks away. If we can get there without being caught, we’ll be safe,” said Reece.

  “Lead the way,” I replied.

  We sprinted down the street, turning another corner onto a road leading to a park. The rev of an engine sounded from behind us, and I turned to spot a black SUV speeding our way.

  “Reece!”

  “We’re nearly there,” he said.

  As our feet hit the grass, the car screeched to halt, and we ran towards a row of trees, past a kid’s playground. The pounding of boots hitting the ground behind me spurred me to run faster, my legs aching and pumping.