Hope (Other World Protection Agency Book 1)

by Serena Simpson

  “Excuse me miss do you have any spare change?”

  Thea, controlled the urge to jump as a man peeled himself off a wall. How had she missed him? “Sorry, no change.” Slipping her hands into her pocket she palmed her key fob and silently opened the door of her modified car. There were no clicks to let someone know the lock had been disengaged and the lights never flickered. She had been called paranoid more than once, but she simply thought life was worth living.

  “Anything you have miss would be appreciated.”

  Thea noticed that he seemed to be advancing on her. She bit her lip briefly as she realized he was gaining ground. She started walking backwards, keeping her eyes on him. She watched as his smile changed from harmless to predatory. That’s when she dropped her bags, turned around and started to run. Elbows down she thought, forearms out and hands straight, this was her version of a sprinter running for her life. Panting she scolded herself for not working out harder. Not daring to look behind her, she kept running until she reached her car. She opened the door and slipped in thinking she had made it.

  She heard the loud thump and saw the heavy weight land on the hood of her car. It was the man who wanted her to think he was homeless. Not looking at him she slid her keys into the ignition, she started the car not thinking about the crazed man on her hood. She winced as he started beating her front window in an attempt to break the glass and grab her. She stomped on the gas and threw the car into gear driving blindly. She was thankful for the lateness of the hour her chance of hitting someone had dramatically decreased. She drove straight ahead and then did a U-turn that she was sure was straight out of the ‘so you want to go directly to prison’ handbook, but it did the trick.

  Thea watched as the large enraged man on her car went flying off the hood with screams of pain as he landed. She high tailed it out of there not stopping to ask if he was ok. She came to a red light and stopped like the law abiding citizen she was. She tapped her fingers on the wheel and watched as a black on black sports car came up behind her. Sighing she knew she had been right, not only had they made her, but that big lump on her car had marked it. She hated when they did that. Now she would have to ditch her car and steal another until she could get herself one. She pulled out slowly like she had no cares in the world when the light changed.

  She glanced at her mirrors wondering how many of them were on her. She took her time and drove around as if she was lost until the second one pulled in front of her. Smiling, she was ready to play. She could tell both of them had tricked out cars so that would make this more of an even exchange, besides she was sure theirs did not compare to hers. She frowned, she had just realized she was going to have to run again. This time she would pick a bigger city. Playing nice she stopped at all the lights like nothing was amiss as she aimed for Oakland and lots of college age students.

  She loved Oakland with the various colleges in such close proximity to each other. She was hoping to lose herself in the college crowd and if that didn’t happen she would make another plan. Oakland was dead when she got there. She laughed, thinking that maybe someone had warned them she was coming before she got there.

  Grinning evilly she hit the gas pedal testing out what they had under their hoods. They kept up with her a little too easily. Damn! This was going to be more of a challenge than she had bargained for. Going a little faster, she started to look for someplace to disappear, she found herself downtown

  Pushing the gas pedal down she gave it all she had as she raced along the mostly deserted streets. She was close enough to where she lived that if she could shake them, she should be able to get home and gone before anyone noticed. She looked at the rearview mirror and saw they were on her heels, but she was not worried. She waited until they got closer and then did an illegal U-turn. At 130mph her car went up on two wheels and to her surprise made the turn. She laughed with pride, she had made those modifications.

  She knew that was why those government boys wanted her. She functioned in a way that other humans didn’t. She saw circuits, wires and whatever else she needed in front of her. She didn’t know why, but she always knew what she should do with what she was seeing. Did the government guys tell her good job? No! Instead of rewarding her with a great job and a high paying salary they hunted her like she was a criminal. She was sure they wanted to interrogate her then dissect her, or at least use her for their own gain. Where was the fun in that? She was tired of running true, but running had its own thrill.

  She checked out the damage behind her. One car had spun out and hit a wall, but the other had slowed down enough to make the turn. She raced off, looking for a place to ditch her car. She knew getting to her apartment would be the priority after the car. She was still going at an insane speed when she saw the perfect spot. Using all the skill she had developed she pulled in and brought the car to a stop. She would laugh if her heart was not in her throat, but she had done it, more importantly her car had done it.

  Saying goodbye to her car she hit the button that would change the color, camouflaging it. She knew it was just an illusion, but it was an effective one. By the time they found her car, every electronic circuit would have burned itself out starting with the transmitter they had placed on her car. She had designed that one too, but had anyone congratulated her on her brilliance. She had seen the fear in their eyes as they whispered she needed to be contained. Fighting the urge to throw the middle finger, she reached for a different jacket.

  Shrugging out of her nice bright coat, the one she had worn so everyone could spot her, she grabbed a nice black jacket and walked away, leaving her life without a thought. She slipped into a crowd of people laughing as they came out of the theatre and walked with them blending in.

  “Hey where did you come from?” This came from a young man in the crowd who spotted her immediately.

  “I just came out the theatre.” She gave him a smile. “Where are all of you on your way too?” She liked the looks of him. He was tall and slender and friendly looking. His looks would make her want to get to know him better any other time.

  “They.” He indicated his group of friends with a wave of his hand. “Want to go to Cheese Cellar. I guess that’s where we will go. Why? Were you thinking of someplace else?” He gave her a genuine smile.

  She suddenly felt alone and tired the desire to have someone special to spend her life with was already becoming a dream.

  “Unfortunately I won’t be able to tag along. I’m just ducking some over needy acquaintances.” Turning to face him she gave a sudden laugh, then stepped into his arms planting a kiss on him.

  She watched out the corner of her eyes as the car that had come to a stop picked up speed. It left not finding her and she knew it was time to go. She pulled out of his embrace and smiled.

  “Wow that was hot.’ He was grinning at her.

  “And it was also goodbye. Sorry we met my last night in town.” With a sad smile she walked away with him calling out. “At least tell me your name.” She kept walking.

  Thea made a mental apology to whoever owned the nice car she was stealing, she jumped in and headed to her apartment one last time. She stopped two blocks away and walked, making sure it was not being watched before going in. She slipped into her first floor apartment thinking about how it was important for a woman on the go to be on the ground level.

  She took her time to look around. She had been in her apartment longer than most of the other places she had lived. She knew it was not saying much, but this was the closest thing she had had to a home ever since her mother passed away. Her home actually had detail this time. Her white walls were lined with pictures of exotic lands and faraway galaxies. They made her feel good when she looked at them. She would have to leave her favorite picture behind. She had bought it from an artist on the street. The guy had said he dreamed about the place and thought she should have it. It was of a big palace on an obviously alien planet. It called to her. She had lost hours just staring at it.

  Shaking her head sh
e hit the bedroom running, knowing her time was short. She grabbed a large gym bag and packed her on the run clothes, emergency cash and the one thing she knew she couldn’t leave behind. It was a gift from her mother that she always kept close. She walked into the living room just as a man materialized before her.

  Biting her tongue to keep from screaming she ran through her escape scenarios, but stopped to wonder how a man could materialize in her apartment. Even she couldn’t do that.

  “Finally I found you, we have to go now.” Thea just stood still. “What’s your problem?”

  She looked at him mouth hanging open for a minute. “You. You’re my problem. You just pop into my living room and tell me we have to go? Who are you? What do you want with me? How did you get into my living room? She thought about telling him there was no way she would go with him. Taking a good look at him she decided against it and backed away. She just needed time to make sense of what was happening.

  “Here are your two options.” She was startled out of her thoughts of escape by the sound of his voice. “You can trust the government guys that are closing in on you or you can trust me. I am on the retrieval team from the planet you should have been born on.”

  Thea took a minute to laugh at him. “Really, what drugs are you taking and can I have some? Your world seems even more fascinating and twisted than the one I live in.” She grabbed her bag and made for her bedroom hoping she could get out of the window, before he tried to kill her.

  “Why do they always send me after the less intelligent ones?” She heard him say aloud. “Just once couldn’t I retrieve a gifted one?”

  She was no longer paying attention because her apartment was being surrounded with guys in black suits. Seriously, it was like a bad movie version of Men in Black without the humor.

  “Ready to listen,” the invader asked, as she came back into the living room. “There’s no time for the version of this where you ask all the questions and I get to enjoy the very clean air here.” Nodding she needed a better alternative to what was shaking up outside.

  “Here’s the quick and dirty synopsis. You were born here but conceived on a different planet, on a parallel world. Don’t know how and I can’t answer that question, I am not a doctor or scientist, I just know it happens. The government here wants to study you and maybe use you if you have gifts or talents. Your world wants you back because we cannot survive without you and yes there are more like you here. We need everyone.”

  She felt the building shaking as if it was being invaded. Alien’s maybe? Wait was that a battering ram against her door?

  “Times up, I won’t force you but you have to choose now!” Doing something with his hand he opened a hole or a portal. Whatever it was, he was standing there with his hand outstretched. Acting braver than she felt, she took that hand and went forward. She had been in the hands of the government types outside before and it wasn’t nice.