By the time I came out of the bedroom, Tracey was awake, and she was tucking into breakfast.
“I didn’t know you could do magic,” I told her with a smile.
Her responding smile was a bit brighter than the night before, which was reassuring.
“Hulaz just came with the tray; it’s almost as if those angels are psychics,” Tracey said with a raised eyebrow.
I smiled again as I sat at the small table to join her. I poured some coffee from the tray and relished the delicious smell before taking a sip. ‘What would I do without my coffee,’ I thought.
“So, what would you like to do today?” I asked Tracey.
I wasn’t sure how Tracey would be feeling after such a hard-emotional day and night, so I didn’t want to assume anything. When she looked at me, I could see and feel a steely resolve flowing through her. She’d put her big girl pants on.
“As much as I’d like to curl up in a ball and sob my heart out; we haven’t got time for that shit!” She stated determinedly, “Those Marilian monsters could arrive any day, and I want us to be prepared.”
I was blown away by how strong my friend was. No wonder John and now Akhenaten had fallen in love with her. If I hadn’t had been straight, I could have had a serious crush on her myself.
“Well, ok then,” I said with a smile, “So, what’s the plan?”
“I’ve already located all the buildings we need, so let’s check the last two out and make sure everything is going to plan,” she answered.
After reaching out to James and the kids after breakfast, Holly and Nalik decided to come with us. James was going to be busy getting the ambushes ready with Derek and the other ex-service people. April and Abigail were helping Ann with the other artists, and lastly, my boys were helping Christine and her dad, who we still hadn’t met. The thought made me feel a little guilty, but we didn’t have the time to worry about it.
Nalik took us ladies to the first building in one of the small crafts. The sky was cloudy by the time we got there, and it felt like it was going to rain. The clouds looked dark and heavy in places, and the air was cool on my skin. We were quite close to the fake holding structure, and I could see it in the distance. Nalik landed the small craft in a now unused pharmacy car park, and we began to follow Tracey to the building. The building she’d picked was brilliant. It was a large red-bricked old library, which seemed to tower over all the other buildings.
We followed Tracey inside, and we walked through a very old-fashioned foyer and reception area. It was lovely to see and admire all the old wood they’d kept and the vintage lamps, ‘that is history right there. James would really appreciate this place,’ I thought to myself.
Tracey led us through the library until we reached a very old staircase, and we followed her up. The dark wooden steps creaked as we climbed and because the stairs were so narrow; we had to ascend in single file.
“I could fart right now, and none of you could save yourselves,” Tracey stated from the front.
“Oh my god, woman, I can’t believe you just said that,” I told her as we all burst into laughter.
“I’m just saying,” Tracey said with a giggle, “I’m not saying I would, I’m just stating facts.”
Climbing up steep steps while laughing wasn’t the easiest thing to do.
“What is a fart?” Nalik asked in utter confusion at the word and our laughter.
“I’ll explain to you later,” Holly told him through her own giggles, which grew even louder as she took in his confused expression.
“Oh Nalik, you have a lot to learn,” I said through my laughter, barely getting my words out.
The moment we all stepped into the first-floor room, we became silent. Suddenly, the situation had become very real. There were stacks of various guns, ammunition magazines, body armor, night-vision goggles, and much more.
“Wow, you have all been very busy,” I said in awe.
I walked through the dark wood-paneled room, taking stock of everything in there. I was amazed at how much everyone had procured from the local military bases. When I got to the other side of the room, which was framed by a large bay window, I was also impressed with the stunning view of the town. I could see all the buildings and most of the roads from where we were. Tracey came and stood next to me.
“Now you can understand why I picked this building,” she said, “If you look to the right of the holding structure, there’s a large park. There’s nowhere else that’s close with room to land a craft,” Tracey explained. “The Marilians won’t have a choice but to land there, and we’ll be able to see where they go from here.
Tracey certainly had a tactical mind, and I greatly admired her cool, calm and collected manner. She was certainly a force to be reckoned with.
“How are we going to get everyone into place ready to fight?” I asked, hoping one of them would know.
“Do not worry, Mel, we have everything in place,” Nalik assured. “Everyone who will be fighting has an angel assigned to them. As soon as the Marilians begin to approach your planet, the angels will collect their human counterpart and flit to their pre-arranged place,” he explained.
‘Wow, everyone really has been busy,’ I thought to myself.
“What about the people who can’t fight, such as the older people, children and pregnant women?” I asked, “Where are they going to be?”
Nalik smiled warmly at all of us as we all looked at him as if to say ‘Well?’
“Christik has a safe place in mind for you and the others who will not be fighting,” he said confidently, “I believe she is activating the location later today.”
As soon as he said it, Stonehenge popped into my head, and I couldn’t stop myself from getting excited.
“Nalik, do you think that we could watch the place being activated?”
All of us turned to look at Nalik with puppy eyes full of hope. We must have looked hilarious because the angel looked back with a smirk and humor in his sparkling, peacock eyes.
“I will ask Christik if it is possible,” Nalik answered with a full-blown smile.
“Thank you Nalik,” I told him warmly before turning to Tracey again. “Ok lady, where to next?”
“There an underground garage close to the library that’s going to be used for an ambush,” Tracey said matter of factly, “we need to make sure it’s set.”
The underground garage was just as unkempt as the surrounding buildings. There were weeds sprouting from every cement crack and gap, giving another indication that nature really was trying to reclaim the land. As I looked at the weeds and overgrown vegetation, I wondered if we would ever reuse all the empty buildings again, and if we did; how long would it take? Our future was so uncertain, but with the angels’ help, I truly believed that it could be a brighter one.
Tracey led us down a concrete slope and into the parking garage, and just as I wondered how on earth we were going to see anything, lights suddenly came on.
“How the heck did that happen?” I asked, taken by complete surprise.
Tracey smiled knowingly from the kneeling position she suddenly had.
“It’s amazing what can be done with solar power, isn’t it,” she said with a smile, “John and the other guys managed to locate the solar lights from the big abandoned hardware stores.”
“That’s fantastic,” I told her, “we’re going to need as many as we can get after the angels leave.”
Tracey nodded, stood up, and continued to walk further down the slope, which was now brightly lit. As we followed her, we could see more guns and ammunition on either side of us, which had been neatly organized for quick use. I was suddenly grateful for all the target practice, but then as I thought of my own kids shooting the weapons and going up against the Marilians; my heart sank in my chest. ‘I’ll be so glad when this is over,’ I thought as I followed behind Tracey.
Further into the garage, I began to notice military vehicles lined up in the parking spaces. Any non-military vehicles that had b
een abandoned had been moved and were neatly parked further away.
“You found these military trucks too?” I asked Tracey.
“The guys did,” Tracey said proudly. “It was amazing what they found at the abandoned bases. The angels helped us store everything in the right places.”
As Tracey’s eyes scanned the supplies, she looked as if she was mentally ticking off everything that was there.
Holly bent down to a neat spread of handguns that had been laid out on a wooden crate. Tentatively, she picked one up and surprised me by checking if it was loaded.
“You seem very capable with that gun, Holly,” I told my daughter.
Holly looked at me with a new confidence that I hadn’t seen before.
“I’ve done some shooting with Luiza before,” Holly explained. “I’ve also been getting in some practice every chance I’ve had, too,” she added.
“I do not want you to be in the coming battle, Holly,” Nalik told her with a sadness to his tone.
Her responding glare made it clear that she was offended. The angel quickly raised his hands as if in surrender.
“It is not because you are female Holly,” Nalik quickly told her, “I do not want you to get hurt or killed,” he admitted, lowering his head.
Holly placed the handgun back amongst the others on the crate before turning back to face her angel.
“I understand, Nalik because I feel the same about my family and our friends,” she told him softly, “I don’t want any of us fighting the Marilians, but we don’t have a choice my own, my one,” she said as her hand cupped his shimmering face.
As my daughter and Nalik’s eyes locked; the angel began to glow. I could feel the connection between them, and it was very strong. I knew Nalik would do anything to protect her, and the thought was very reassuring.
“I wish James and the kids had their own personal angels to protect them,” I said to Tracey quietly.
As Holly lowered her hand from Nalik’s face, he turned to look at Tracey and me.
“They do,” he said, looking surprised that we didn’t know, “They have all been assigned an angel to protect them and fight with them. They will be the same angels who will flit them to their places.”
“One fricking guess who my angel bodyguard is,” Tracey laughed.
Nalik looked at her with a serious face.
“It is Akhenaten,” he stated.
That made Tracey laugh even more.
“No shit, Sherlock,” Tracey told him, making Holly and I burst into laughter too, “Anyone would think we’re a bunch of pussies. Not the badasses that we are.”
Nalik suddenly seemed very sad.
“We don’t want to lose any of you, Tracey. You have all lost too many already,” the angel told her.
Tracey looked at Nalik guiltily.
“I know Nalik, you’re right,” she told him.
Tracey took a deep breath and gave us all a thin smile.
“I think we’re good to go,” she stated confidently, “I already know the other buildings are ready, so we can head back now.”
We followed Tracey out of the parking garage into the natural light and headed back towards the small craft. Just as we rounded an empty street corner, I suddenly stopped. I could feel another presence, and I knew it wasn’t Tracey, Holly or Nalik. It wasn’t an evil presence; in fact, it was emanating a nervous excitement.
“What’s wrong, Mel?” Tracey asked as she stopped beside me.
Nalik and Holly stopped behind me just as confused.
“Someone or something is here, but I can’t see where,” I told them as my eyes scanned the streets.
It was so weird feeling something and not being able to see it, but at least I could tell that it wasn’t malevolent. All of us began to scan the streets and buildings, looking for anything off.
“I can’t see anything,” Holly said as her eyes darted from building to building.
“I can feel them too, Mel,” Nalik said as his eyes also roamed the scene, “there are angels close by.”
It suddenly dawned on me why Nalik and I could feel the angels but not see them.
“Ok, you got us, you can come out now,” I called aloud as I giggled to myself.
By the expressions on Holly and Tracey’s faces, they’d realized what was happening too. We all stood there, straining our eyes to see if we could see the angels who were hiding. Something moved against the front of a deli shop, and I gasped in surprise as the angel peeled herself from the window signage.
“That was freaking awesome,” Tracey blurted out.
It wasn’t until the angel walked towards us that we realized it was Hulaz. It was strange to see her body painted now she was away from the shop. She looked odd with half a poster painted on her face and right shoulder, with the colors of the glass covering most of her remaining body. It was also weird not to see her shimmering as she usually did. Even her hair had been tied back and painted.
Hulaz laughed as she walked towards us.
“You’re enjoying this way too much, lady,” I told her in good humor.
“Ann is a talented woman,” Hulaz replied with a smile, making the letters on her face look even more bizarre. “I am enjoying this new experience. It is making me more confident that we will be able to surprise the Marilians and have an advantage,” she added.
Just as she said the last words, three more angels peeled themselves from the buildings. They’d been so well-camouflaged that there was no way we would have spotted them.
“Bloody hell, you’re right about Ann’s talent,” Tracey blurted out, “there’s no way the Marilians are going to know you’re there.”
As the other three angels approached, they all dipped their heads in respect. Two of the angels were covered in painted brickwork, and the other was partly painted to look like a shop door. I’d looked directly at the shop across the street where he’d come, and I hadn’t spotted him. We dipped our head back in response.
“We will come back to the main craft with you,” Hulaz said as she indicated the way.
“You all look amazing. How long did it take Ann to paint you all?” I asked Hulaz as I walked beside her.
“It took many hours, but Ann had help from the other artists before the final details were added,” Hulaz told us. “I understand from Christik that you are coming with us to prepare the refuge later today,” she added.
I hadn’t realized that Nalik has already asked Christik, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. When I glanced at Nalik, he dipped his head to me and smiled.
“Yes, we’re looking forward to seeing it,” I told Hulaz.
She didn’t seem to be giving away any details either, which intrigued me even more. We made our way back to the small craft, and once on board, we headed back to the main craft.
Tracey, Holly, Nalik and I were all having lunch with Hulaz back at our room when James and the kids came back. The kids seemed to be buzzing, so I could tell that they’d enjoyed themselves. James walked straight over and came up behind me, wrapping his muscular arms around the top of my body and kissing my ear. The kids all said their hellos; then sat on the floor and began to tuck into the food.
“How did it go, baby?” James asked as he released me and sat in the remaining chair.
“It was good,” I told him with a smile, “Tracey’s fricking awesome; she’s found the perfect buildings for everything we need.”
“I told you all; I was a badass. I don’t know why you’re all acting surprised,” Tracey stated smugly.
As our laughter at Tracey wore off; James and the kids told us all about how they got on. I was pleased that the kids had done so well, and it reassured me that they were doing so well.
When Christik arrived, we’d already finished eating and were raring to go.
“Are you all ready?” Christik asked as she gracefully glided into the room.
“Are you going to tell us where we’re going, Christik?” Abigail asked politely.
Christik smil
ed at our daughter, affectionately.
“Nalik thought it would be a nice surprise for you all. So, you will have to wait to discover where we are going,” Christik told her. “Come, let us go!”
We all followed Christik to the hanger part of their ship where a small craft was waiting for us. Everyone started to board the craft apart from Nalik, and just as Holly noticed that he’d stopped moving, I noticed a look between the angel and James. ‘That’s interesting,’ I thought.
“Why aren’t you boarding the craft, Nalik,” Holly asked, clearly disappointed.
I could sense that Nalik was uncomfortable having to disappoint our daughter.
“I am sorry, Holly, my one, but I will have to meet you there,” he told her. “Do not worry, I will see you soon.”
Holly nodded to Nalik before boarding, and I happened to notice a shared knowing look between James and the angel. ‘What the heck was that?’ There was definitely something going on, but I didn’t want to ask my husband in front of everyone.
I waited until we were all seated and had taken off before touching my com and reaching out to James. ‘Ok, husband, spill it!’ I told him, ‘what’s going on between you and Nalik?’
James looked at me with his sexy smirk on his face and his eyes twinkling. ‘I know nothing of what you’re referring to, sexy,’ he said smoothly in my mind.
‘Oh, like that is it!’ I told him while trying my best to give him a stern look. It wasn’t helping. The sexy git liked it when I was being stern, and I could tell by his increasing smile that he was enjoying the situation and my reaction, way too much for his own good. ‘You know I have my ways of getting everything out of you!’ I warned.
‘Oh, bring it on baby; I will let you torture me for hours,’ he said seductively while wiggling his eyebrows.
It was hard not to start laughing at his cheeky and defiant look. ‘You will be begging for mercy,’ I told him with a raised eyebrow of my own.
The Marilians Page 16
