Equinox

by L. J. Higgins

  “Betty, it’s me. Ky. Reece’s friend. Natalie helped me escape from Skywatchers.”

  Betty’s stance relaxed at the sight of me, and her body began to tremble. “Oh, Ky. It was so terrible.”

  I raced forward, pushing past Natalie, and took Betty’s arm as her legs began to collapse. Passing the gun to Natalie, I ushered Betty to an overturned stool and righted it before sitting her down.

  “Grab her a drink of water,” I instructed Natalie, and she did as I asked, returning with a glass.

  I helped Betty take a sip and set it on the bench behind me.

  “What happened?” I asked her.

  Her eyes were wide with fright, and her body still quaked. “I caught sight of a light in the bushes outside the permitter, and then I caught the movement of more than one body. I’ve always trusted my gut on these things, and my gut said to run. I have a secret hiding place I ran to, and I could hear them yelling and destroying my house. All of my things, ruined.”

  Betty burst into tears, and I held her in my arms, anger burning through my veins.

  “I was so angry when I saw two more hunters arrive. I told myself I was going to shoot them, or at least die trying,” she said.

  “I’m glad you realised it was us before it was too late,” I said. “And that we weren’t hunters.”

  “Me too. I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I guess this isn’t a safe house anymore.”

  “It’s okay. Let’s hope, seeing as they’ve already raided your home, they’re gone for now. Natalie and I will help tidy up, and you can have a rest, okay?”

  “You’re so wonderful. Thank you,” she said. “I might go have a lay down. I didn’t get much sleep in my secret place.”

  “Where is your secret place?” asked Natalie.

  I shot her a glare. This wasn’t the time to ask stupid questions.

  “It wouldn’t be a secret place if I told you about it, now would it?” Betty replied as I helped her up from her chair.

  Once I’d remade her bed and settled her in, I made my way back out to Natalie.

  “Do we seriously need to clean this up? It’s a pigsty. It’ll take days,” she groaned.

  “This is my fault. The least I can do is tidy it up. It’s up to you if you help.”

  “How do you figure it’s your fault? You just got here,” she said.

  “When Reece and I stayed here last, she was really good to me. I owe her this at least.”

  Natalie rolled her eyes. “Fine. Let’s get started then.”

  Natalie had been wrong. It didn’t take days. But it was late when we finally had the bulk of the house tidy and put away. Betty had woken just before nightfall and set about fixing dinner with whatever food she had while we finished.

  “I can’t thank you girls enough. The clean-up would’ve taken me weeks to do on my own,” Betty said as she sat our meals on the table.

  “It’s our pleasure,” I said.

  “I don’t know what you did to Ky, but I’ve never heard her be so nice,” Natalie laughed. She took a mouthful of chicken and vegetable soup. “Okay, now I get it. This is to die for.”

  “I’ve found Ky to be absolutely lovely,” Betty said.

  “See, Natalie? I’m lovely.”

  Natalie choked on her soup. “Yeah, you’re the sweetest.”

  After dinner, I helped Betty take the dishes to the kitchen.

  “You’re more than welcome to have a nice warm shower if you like, Natalie,” Betty offered.

  Natalie yawned and rolled her shoulders. “Shower and bed sounds perfect.”

  “I’m guessing you know where the towels are, seeing as you helped tidy them up,” Betty said.

  “I do, thank you. Do you need a hand before I go?” Natalie asked.

  “Betty and I have this sorted. Enjoy your shower,” I said.

  “Oh, I will. Just sucks I don’t have clean clothes to change into when I’m done.”

  “You’ll live, princess,” I said.

  She flipped me the bird as she left the room.

  Watching Natalie disappear around the corner, I laughed and turned back to Betty who was filling the sink with soapy water.

  “Thank you so much for dinner. It was delicious,” I said.

  “My pleasure. It was the least I could do. I’m so grateful you came when you did.”

  She passed me a plate, and I picked up a tea towel and began drying.

  “I know it was a bit sneaky of me, but there was a reason I sent your friend to have a shower,” she said.

  “What reason?” I asked.

  “Reece left something for me to give you.” Betty looked toward the bathroom before continuing. “He made me promise the only other person who would see it was you. He had a feeling if you got out before he could get to you, you’d come here. It appears he was right.”

  “Appears that way. What did he give you?”

  She wiped her soapy hands on her skirt and disappeared from the room, returning with a mobile phone.

  She handed it to me. “I took it with me into my hiding place. He said it only has one number on it and to call him when no one could hear you.”

  I held the phone to my chest, thankful Reece had thought ahead.

  “He really cares for you,” she said.

  “I know,” I replied, surprised at my admission.

  “Can you say the same for your new friend?” She looked towards the bathroom once again.

  I followed her gaze. “I think so.”

  “You think so?” Her brows creased.

  “I know so. If it wasn’t for Natalie, I’d still be stuck in Skywatchers. She’s the one who broke me out.”

  “As long as you’re sure. Reece told me you have a bad habit of trusting the wrong people.”

  Did he just? Had he told her one of those people happened to be him? Although, trusting him meant I might one day be reunited with my brother. Maybe he was the one person I picked right.

  “I think Reece means I rarely trust anyone. Thank you for this, Betty.” I gripped the phone. “Can I?”

  “Of course, dear. I’ll keep Natalie occupied until you’re done. Go for a walk outside.”

  Leaving the house like a giddy teenage girl, I made my way towards Betty’s shed and dialled the only number in the phone before putting it to my ear. It only rang twice before he answered.

  “Ky?” Relief rang through his deep voice.

  “Reece?” I replied.

  “It’s really you,” he said.

  “Were you expecting someone else on this number? I can go give the phone back to Betty and tell her she gave it to the wrong girl. Or do you get her to do this for all of the girls in your life?” I said.

  “Only the special ones,” he replied. “You don’t know how good it is to hear your voice. Tyson and I have been so worried.”

  “Is he there?” I asked, hopeful.

  “No, sorry. He’s helping with… ummm… repairs. I don’t want to say too much on here. Just in case. How did you get out? We’ve spent hours trying to formulate a way to get to you without much luck.”

  “Natalie,” I said.

  “Natalie? As in, I hate aliens, and I’ll hunt them till the day I die Natalie?”

  “As in, I listened to Ky, did my research, and realised she was right Natalie,” I said.

  “Wonders will never cease. Well thank you to Natalie,” he said. “How’s Betty?”

  “When we arrived, her house had been ransacked by Skywatchers. You should’ve seen her, Reece. She was a mess. She’s too old to defend herself. We need to get her someplace safe.”

  “I’ve tried, trust me. She won’t budge. Maybe she’ll listen to you?”

  “I’ll try,” I said.

  “Do you think it’s safe to stay put for another twenty-four hours? We’ll get a van to come collect you.”

  “I think so. It’s not Skywatchers style to hit the same property on consecutive nights.”

  “And Natalie… are you sure we can trust her?” he asked.<
br />
  “I think so. She did break me out of Skywatchers.”

  “You don’t exactly have the best track record with picking who to trust,” he said.

  “Just like I trusted you, right? Don’t worry, I’ve already had this conversation with Betty. Thanks for telling her how useless I am by the way.”

  “I didn’t say you were useless. And I’m glad you trusted me, because now I can get you back to your brother. Finally.”

  “Let’s not jinx it. You said that last time and look what happened.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “No, I’m sorry I didn’t stay with you. I just thought if they caught me, they’d kill me. I knew they wouldn’t hurt you.”

  “I understand.” I let my words hang between us for a moment.

  A rustle caught my attention to my right.

  “So...”

  “Sssh,” I hissed at him.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Shut up.”

  He did as I asked, and in the silence that followed, I heard a footstep.

  “I have to go,” I whispered.

  “What is it, Ky?”

  “Someone’s here.” I hang up the phone and pushed it into my belt before making my way over to the house as calmly as possible.

  Stepping through the door, I found Betty and Natalie sitting at the dining table drinking tea.

  “Where have you been?” Natalie asked.

  I ignored her and turned to Betty. “Your secret place. You need to take us there now.”

  “What’s wrong?” Betty asked.

  “There’s someone outside. We need to hide,” I said.

  She nodded, rising from her chair followed by Natalie.

  “Follow me,” she said, making her way to the back of the house.

  Chapter Eleven

  Betty made her way into the laundry room, closely followed by Natalie and me. Inside, she stepped up on a nearby stool then climbed atop her washing machine. Above her, she pushed aside three planks of wood and pulled down a short ladder before climbing up.

  Turning towards Natalie, we exchanged a surprised glance before following her steps until we all crouched in the darkness of her crawl space. We helped her slide the ladder back up and covered the hole once again with the wood planks.

  “There’s more to you than meets the eye,” Natalie whispered.

  Betty gave her a wink.

  We all jumped, our breaths hitching as the sound of the front door busting in reverberated through the ceiling, forcing us to move. We crawled across the inside of the ceiling, careful to place each step on a wooden beam as quietly as possible until we arrived at the opposite side of the house. Once we huddled around each other, Betty reached above us to slide a piece of iron across to reveal the dark sky and splatter of stars outside. Footsteps creaked across the wooden floors below us, and we did our best to remain quiet as we followed Betty through the hole and onto the roof.

  When we were all through, she slid the iron back across and climbed down a ladder she’d leaned against the house. For a woman of her age, she moved like a ninja, and I found a new admiration for this amazing woman. Once back on solid ground, we all crouched around the corner of Betty’s home. Betty pointed toward the tin shed. Her hiding spot. She peered around the corner and beckoned for me to run.

  “You first,” I whispered.

  “I’ll keep watch,” she said. “Please, you go first.”

  “I’ll get to the shed and then let you know when the coast is clear,” I replied.

  She nodded. “Go.”

  Drawing in a deep breath, I bounded across the lawn, the damp, cold grass numbing my toes as I ran. I reached the door and spun around, peering towards the home. I could see movement inside, but no one had seen me.

  I waved towards the side of the house, and Natalie dashed out, followed by Betty. Natalie made it to the shed, pushing past me inside, and I peered back through the doorway to spot Betty on the ground.

  “Betty,” I said, leaping towards her only to be pulled back.

  Natalie gripped my forearms, holding me tight. “Don’t be stupid,” she growled at me.

  I met her gaze and shot her a glare. “If anything happens to her, it’s on me.”

  “If they catch you this time, you’re dead.”

  I snatched my arm from her grip once again, and she pushed me sideways with all of her strength. Hitting the floor with my side, I let out an ‘omph’ as the air left my lungs.

  “What’s your problem?” I spat at her.

  “I just risked everything to save you. I’m not letting you run back to them. Betty’s coming,” she said.

  Heart pounding, I climbed to my feet, dusting the dirt from my hands on my pants. I waited a moment that felt like an eternity. Betty didn’t arrive.

  “Where is she?” I asked, pushing Natalie aside.

  She attempted to push me aside once again, but this time I was expecting it and held my ground. Peering through the door, I spotted Betty, still lying on the grass, struggling to get up.

  “You said she was coming,” I said.

  “Ky,” she said, but I wasn’t listening.

  My eyes met Betty’s, and she shook her head as though begging me to stay hidden. My throat tightened as I gripped the doors handles. Ignoring her, I took a step but was distracted by the appearance of a man in black.

  “I found one!” he called, his voice filling the empty night air as he approached Betty.

  At the sound of the voice, Natalie gipped my biceps tight once again to hold me in place.

  “Let me go.” I attempted to twist out of her grip, but she wrapped an arm around my chest.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t,” she said.

  “Please,” I begged, my eyes not leaving Betty’s.

  The man approached where Betty lay on the ground and lifted her up onto her knees. She turned her gaze from the shed to him, her eyes locked onto his, showing no fear.

  “Where’s the girl? Where’s Kylah?” asked the hunter.

  Betty remained silent.

  “Where is the girl?” he demanded.

  The echoing smack of him hitting her over the side of the head with the butt of his gun made my stomach churn. But Betty didn’t cry out. She righted herself back onto her knees and continued to stare him down, blood running down her cheek.

  “Fine,” was all he said. The only warning before he lifted his gun and pulled the trigger.

  A hand squeezed over my mouth, and I stumbled back from the door, almost falling over Natalie, who was stopping me from crying out.

  They’d killed her. They’d killed her. Tears ran over my cheeks, my eyes wide.

  “Ky. We need to move,” said Natalie.

  She loosened her grip slightly as though testing if I’d fight my way outside, and when she was happy I wasn’t going to leave the shed, she guided me away from the door. She moved a few palings and guided me inside a small room before sliding them back over. I slid to the dirt floor, hugging my knees to my chest, tears running over my cheeks.

  “You didn’t let me save her,” I whispered to Natalie.

  “I’m so sorry. I promised her I’d keep you safe no matter what. She told me where this was just in case.”

  “We could’ve saved her,” I said.

  “She made me promise, Ky. She made me promise.”

  I peered up to find tears welling in her eyes.

  Unable to look at her any longer, I squeezed my eyes shut and hugged my knees.

  Time was a blur as we sat inside the small hiding place. Betty’s hiding place. My chest ached at the thought of her name, and I swallowed hard to stop anymore tears from falling. I’d barely known this lady. I had no right to mourn her. But imagining the look in Reece’s eyes when he found out broke any pieces of heart I had left.

  Orange light crept through the cracks in the wood and across the dirt floor when day finally broke. The night had been long and cold, but I’d been so num
b I hadn’t noticed until Natalie moved closer for body warmth.

  “I think it’s safe to go outside now,” she said, breaking the silence. “We need to get supplies.”

  The thought of going back into Betty’s house made my stomach churn.

  “Maybe I can go grab us some things, and you can just come sit out on the grass?” she suggested.

  “I can help,” I managed to say, my voice croaky.

  “I’ll be fine. You sit out in the sun and warm up. It was a cold night, and your hands are frozen. I won’t take long.”

  “You don’t need to baby me,” I said. “I’m not going to fall apart. I’ve seen people die before. I’ve killed aliens, remember?”

  “I know. I’m not babying you. You’re the strongest person I know. But you’re no good to me if you get sick, so sit out here, get warm, and I’ll be back out shortly,” she said.

  I knew she was lying, but in all honesty, I didn’t have the strength to face Betty’s house. The thought of Natalie seeing me as weak pushed me to stand on achy legs and we ambled out of the hiding place, through the shed and into the backyard. The grass was damp and cold from the morning dew, but the morning sun would soon have it dry.

  Betty’s body was gone. There was no trace Betty had ever died in her own yard. Hunters were trained to leave no trace of a kill. These hunters had been trained well.

  “You okay?” Natalie asked.

  “I’m fine. Just go get what we need so we can hit the road,” I said.

  Natalie left me standing in the yard, looking back once, sending a flash of annoyance through me before she disappeared through the doorway. I didn’t need her to feel sorry for me.

  Running my hands through my hair, I let them drop to my sides, my right hand hitting something hard in my pocket. The mobile phone. I swallowed hard at the thought of talking to Reece and looked back towards the house before deciding it was safe to pull the phone from my pocket.

  Reece answered the phone before I’d readied myself to speak.

  “Ky? We’re on the road. I told you we won’t make it until tomorrow,” he said.

  I drew in a deep breath, steeling myself. “We can’t stay here.”

  “What happened? Did they come back?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you okay?”