Equinox

by L. J. Higgins

  Inside, I heard the door click closed behind me before he removed the blindfold.

  I blinked a few times, my eyes adjusting to the bright fluorescent lighting and my head adjusting to the familiarity of the room. A red rug lay beside the tightly made bed with a black bedside table beside it and the door to the left lead to a bathroom ft. It was identical to room 565. The room I’d spent over two years in as an alien hunter. Eyeing the door to the bathroom, my eyes widened, and I couldn’t help but smile at the prospect of being clean again.

  “I’ll leave you to it,” Sebastian said, before leaving and locking the door.

  Without a second thought, I undressed, leaving my clothes in a pile on the floor at the foot of the bed, and padded towards the shower.

  Stepping under the cascading warmth, I scrubbed my skin clean until every inch of grime from being on the run with Reece and every drop of filth from being imprisoned in the cells ran down the drain. The warmth permeated my skin and soothed my aching muscles. After scrubbing my hair, I reluctantly turned off the water and stepped out, wrapping a towel around me.

  Making my way to the bathroom sink I found a hairbrush in the top draw and took my time to brush out every knot I’d collected on my travels. I wondered what Reece had thought every time he’d looked at my mattered hair and dirty skin. It didn’t matter what he thought. I was back at Skywatchers, and once again, I was alone. The way I’d always liked it.

  A knock at my door drew my attention from the mirror, and I tightened the towel around my chest as it opened. As if reminding me I wasn’t as alone as I’d once liked, Natalie stepped into the room before the door was locked behind her.

  “You have two guards posted outside. They really don’t trust you,” she said.

  I shrugged. “They have nothing to worry about. I’m just happy to have a warm shower and a comfy bed again.”

  “I bet,” she said, as she began looking around the room. She ran her hands underneath the desk and lifted up an empty photo frame. When she’d looked at every inch of the room, she turned to face me. “I’m pretty sure there are no cameras or microphones. How are you, really?”

  “Much cleaner,” I replied.

  “I wasn’t going to say anything, but you were pretty ripe when I saw you last,” she said.

  “Was that why you didn’t come back to see me?” I asked.

  “While you were sleeping, most of your days away, I was working on a way to get you and me out of this place.” She sat on the edge of the bedside table.

  Part of me wanted to open the drawer and see if my pendant was resting inside. But I knew it wasn’t. Ricko had thrown it when I was captured, and now it was left to the elements.

  “Want to know what I came up with?” she asked.

  “Can I at least get dressed first?”

  “Of course.”

  I opened the wardrobe to find a pair of clean underwear, sweatpants and a singlet, all in Skywatchers signature colour… black.

  Natalie continued talking as I ducked into the bathroom to dress.

  “Agent Rickson asked me to come up and spend the night with you tonight. Remind you, you still have someone you can trust at Skywatchers. Little does he realise, he’s the one who can’t trust me.”

  “Should you be saying that so loud?” I asked.

  “I did a pretty thorough search. They don’t want to risk scaring you away again. Like you said, they need you.”

  “But they posted two guards at my door.”

  “Guess they don’t want you running off anywhere.”

  Dressed, I walked out of the bathroom and ran my fingers through my damp hair. “What made you change your mind about Skywatchers? What did you discover?”

  Natalie had moved to perch herself on the metallic black chair at a small desk. “After I let you go in the bush, Agent Rickson took Justin and me off duty while Justin recovered from his injury.”

  “Justin’s pretty pissed about his leg, isn’t he?” I said.

  “If Reece hadn’t shot him in the leg, he’d have been killed himself,” she said. “Justin doesn’t realise he’s lucky he didn’t get shot in the head. Anyway, what you said to me in the bush about discovering the truth for myself stuck with me, and was driving me a little crazy, so I went to request a meeting with Commander Kane. Only, when I arrived at his office, he wasn’t in. I snuck into his office and sitting on his desk was your file.”

  “What did it say?” I sat on the edge of the bed.

  “That your brother was alive,” she said. “That it was a priority to keep you away from him and the aliens. But when I lifted it, there was another folder. Inside it was an order to shoot down any alien spaceships approaching Earth, despite the fact they were invited to come.”

  “So, it was all true. Everything Reece told me was the truth.”

  “Everything.”

  “So, what now? How do I get out of here and find my brother?” I asked.

  “That’s for us to work out tonight,” she said. “While giving ourselves facials, of course.”

  Natalie wasn’t kidding about the facials. We’d smeared some dark green, cold slime over our faces before we sat down on the rug beside the bed to talk over our plan. We’d stayed up to the early hours of the morning, long after we’d rinsed the green gunk from our faces and marvelled at how smooth our skin had become. We’d fallen asleep on top of the made bed and were awoken by a loud knock on the door.

  Justin appeared in the doorway. “We have training.”

  She stretched and climbed off the bed. “Morning, Justin.”

  “I’m sure you two had a great time reconnecting, but some of us are keen to get back out in the field to kill alien scum. You remember what that’s like, don’t you, Ky?” he said, his anger radiating from him.

  Natalie turned him towards the door. “I’ll see you later okay?” she said to me.

  “See you later,” I replied.

  The two of them disappeared through the doorway, and I rolled over and closed my eyes. We’d worked out how we were going to escape, and I was sure our plan would work, but to be certain, I knew a few more hours sleep wouldn’t go astray.

  I didn’t wake again until a knock sounded at my door, and one of the guards delivered my lunch. My stomach grumbled as the smell of roast chicken filled the room, and I devoured both it and the accompanying salad. Awake, I stretched out the stiffness that’d reformed in my muscles overnight and tied my hair up into a pony tail before plaiting it. I pulled on a pair of black leather pants from the wardrobe and found a pair of socks in a drawer. I put the socks beside the boots resting in the bottom of the wardrobe and sat back on the end of my bed. When Natalie distracted the guards, I’d be ready. Even if it was a few more hours away.

  Chapter Ten

  “Ky, time to move.” Natalie’s voice roused me from my sleep.

  I’d sat on my bed in an attempt to stay alert and ready, but somehow, I’d managed to curl up onto my pillow and close my eyes. With Natalie hovering over me, I was now wide awake, and I immediately sprang into action.

  After pulling on my socks, I tugged on my boots and joined Natalie, who hovered near the door.

  “What about the guards?” I asked.

  She opened the door to reveal an empty hallway.

  “They’re currently indisposed.” She grinned.

  “Should I ask?”

  She shook her head. “Best if you don’t. This way.”

  She led me down the hallway past the elevator and to the fire exit at the end of the empty hall.

  “Hope you’re up for some cardio. We have to run up five levels,” she said.

  “I can’t promise anything after being couped up for the past… how long have I been here exactly?”

  “Almost two weeks,” she said.

  My eyes widened. “It’s been a while since I moved more than a few meters, but I’ll do my best.”

  By the third round of concrete steps, my legs were burning, and my chest was heaving, but I gritted my t
eeth and chased Natalie up the stairwell until we reached ground level.

  “Where do we come out?” I panted, bending over my knees.

  “At the back of the entrance. We’re going to take one of the cars. We’ll drive it as close as we can to the bush where I found you and Reece. Then I’m hoping you can guide us to your hideout.”

  “You get me to that spot without being caught, and I’ve got this,” I said.

  She cracked open the door and peered outside. “Coast is clear.”

  We snuck through the door, the darkness of night interrupted by the lighting behind us. Being careful to shut the door gently, we were immersed in darkness as we made our way towards the shine of one the parked, black Skywatcher sedans.

  “How do we get keys?” I asked.

  Natalie held a key in the air.

  “You really thought of everything,” I said as the car’s lights flashed, and I jumped into the passenger side.

  “Too easy,” she said.

  “We aren’t at the hideout, yet,” I reminded her. “Do you even know how to drive?”

  “We’re about to find out.”

  The answer? No. No, she couldn’t. If she did have her licence, I couldn’t imagine what blind old man thought she knew what she was doing. I didn’t see her reach for the blinker once, and she only remembered to turn on her lights because I commented how dark it seemed to be outside. As though trained by a race car driver, we screeched around a number of corners until she finally planted her foot on the brake so hard my hands flew out in front of me to stop my face from hitting the dash.

  “I told you I could drive,” she beamed.

  “You nearly freaking killed us. Whoever gave you your license should be fired.”

  “Oh, I don’t have a license. I just figured I’d work it out as I went.” She swung open her door and hopped out.

  “That would’ve been nice to know before I let you drive.”

  “Stop your whining. We’re here, aren’t we?”

  Straight in front of us lay the dense vegetation of the bush. The last time I’d stood there, I’d been running away from Skywatchers hunters with Reece.

  “Did you manage to sneak out any weapons?” I asked.

  “No sorry. I figured, once we’re at your hideout, we’ll be okay until you work out how to get to your safe house.”

  The thought of being back in the comfort of Betty’s home made my muscles relax a little.

  “I do, however, have this,” she held up a device. “It’ll show us where I was when I ran into you and Reece.”

  “Can it be tracked?” I asked.

  “Nope. It’ll just show us where to go. You coming, or what?”

  “Lead the way,” I said.

  We left the car behind and made our way into the bushland.

  “Do you think it’s weird how easily we escaped Skywatchers? No-one even tried to stop us.” I stepped over a large log, leaves crunching beneath my boots.

  “That’s because I planned everything. Trust me. No-one will know you’re gone until morning.”

  Trust. Something I’d never seemed to figure out. Anyone I’d ever thought I could trust had betrayed me in some way, and once again, I was following someone who wanted me to trust them.

  “I know you don’t think they can track your device, but maybe we should ditch it when we reach our destination, just in case?” I suggested.

  “Paranoid much?” Natalie laughed.

  “Pretty sure being hunted by Skywatchers gives me the licence to be at least a little paranoid. Once we get to the spot, we won’t need it anymore, anyway.”

  “If it’s going to make you feel better, we’ll ditch it,” she said.

  “It will.”

  We continued in silence, the sliver of moon barely shedding enough light for us to avoid tripping hazards. But it wasn’t long until Natalie came to a halt, raising her hand.

  “This is where I found you guys,” she said.

  I scanned the area around us, spotting the log I’d hidden behind to take aim at Justin before being caught by Natalie. I’d watched Justin smack Reece across the head and cringed each time. I flinched at the memory and swallowed down the sadness that came with wishing he was there. After all we’d been through, I trusted Reece more than anyone, even my own brother. I laughed to myself. Who would’ve thought the only person I’d ever trust would be an alien?

  “What’s so funny?” Natalie quirked an eyebrow.

  “Nothing. How about you ditch the tracker thing somewhere over in the bush.” I gestured towards the bushland. “Then I’ll show you the cave.”

  Natalie wandered off into the bush disappearing for a moment before returning empty handed.

  “Okay, where’s this secret hide out?” she asked.

  I made my way to the bush along the front of what appeared to be a large boulder and used my hands to move branches aside until I spotted the thick darkness of the opening.

  “Did you bring a flashlight?” I asked.

  She pulled one from her belt and passed it to me. I flicked it on and crawled through the cave’s opening, rising to full height once inside. The light danced off the damp walls as Natalie followed close behind me, and I breathed in the sweet mossy air. Memories flooded in of my time spent there with Reece. It’d been our safe place, our haven. And now, I was bringing someone else into it.

  “Well this is nice and cozy,” Natalie said behind me.

  “It’s not much, but it’s home,” I said. “There should be some food and water back here, and I’ll try light a fire.”

  “Ooh, what do we have to eat?” she asked.

  “Don’t get too excited. Unless you like a room temperature tin of spaghetti.”

  “My favourite.”

  After lighting the fire to bring some warmth to the small cavern, we ate some spaghetti and set out the thin mats and sheets I found in another container.

  “How long did you and Reece stay here for?” she asked.

  “A few days,” I replied.

  I looked to the side of the room he’d slept on when we’d been there. I’d fought so hard to keep him at arm’s length because I couldn’t stand him not hating me. But not once did I feel alone. He’d been so patient and understanding. Damn him for being so… so nice.

  “You miss him, don’t you?” Natalie asked.

  “My brother?” I asked. “You have no idea.”

  “I meant Reece.”

  “Oh. Yeah, I guess so. He was alright.” I shrugged.

  “I have to admit, for an alien, he’s pretty cute. Is that wrong?” She screwed up her nose.

  “I don’t think so. Betty said they’re pretty much made the same way as us, biologically speaking.”

  “So, if he and I had a baby…”

  The thought of him anywhere near her like that made my muscles tighten, but I pushed it away with a fake smile. “Apparently, it’d be perfectly normal.”

  “No tentacles or impulse to suck my blood?” she asked.

  I raised an eyebrow.

  “What? We’ve been taught for years they’re horrible, evil creatures. I had to ask.”

  “Let’s hope you don’t have nightmares, then. I’m going to try get some sleep. We’ll try get away early tomorrow morning.”

  “Good idea. Night, Ky.”

  “Natalie?” I asked.

  “Yeah?”

  “Thank you. Not just for getting me out of Skywatchers but believing me that day in the bush.”

  “Don’t mention it,” she said. “You’re not getting all mushy on me, are you?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about. And if you repeat any of this conversation to another living soul, I’ll deny it whole-heartedly.”

  After waking before dawn, we left the cave just as we’d found it and trekked through the bushland towards Betty’s house. It took a bit longer than it had with Reece because I needed to keep stopping to get my bearings and make sure I was heading in the right direction, but eventually the old farmhou
se came into view, and I couldn’t help the small smile the spread across my lips.

  “Is this it?” Natalie asked.

  “Sure is.” I picked up my pace and jogged towards the house.

  Bounding up the front steps, I knocked on the door, but it creaked open at my touch, and I furrowed my brow. Betty had greeted us at gunpoint the night Reece and I had arrived. I found it hard to believe she’d leave her door open.

  “Wait here a moment,” I said to Natalie and pushed the door open further.

  It stopped halfway, and I squeezed my way through to find a chair toppled over behind it, blocking it from opening completely. I slid it out of the way, but as I wandered further inside, all I found was more chaos. Furniture was upturned, paperwork littered the floor, and a broken blue vase lay scattered over the wooden floor boards. I held my breath, and my throat grew tight as I made my way further into the house.

  “Betty?” I called out crossing my fingers I wasn’t about to find her bruised and battered body. “Betty? Are you here?”

  The mess and destruction was throughout the entire house, even the bed Reece and I had shared was stripped bare, a pile of blankets and sheets on the floor. I’d almost checked the entire house when I heard a creak of the floorboards.

  “Natalie?” I asked, my heartrate spiking. “Is that you?”

  “Ky?”

  I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of Natalie’s voice.

  “Far out. You scared the crap outta me,” I snapped at her.

  She held her hands up in defence. “Sorry, I was just coming to make sure you’re okay. What the hell happened here?”

  “I have no idea. But it can’t be good. Betty’s not here.”

  “Who are you?” The sound of Betty’s voice came from behind Natalie, along with click of a shotgun ready to shoot.

  Natalie’s eyes widened before she turned slowly to face her.

  “Skywatchers scum,” Betty spat.

  “A little help here, Ky.” Natalie held her hands up.