by Lauryn April
I twisted and turned all night, attempting to find a comfortable enough position to fall asleep. Hours passed. I glanced at the green light of my alarm clock, wishing I would drift off into my dreams. I hoped that maybe by morning the pulsing in my head would have disappeared. I sighed, turned onto my side, pulled my turquoise comforter up over my head, and closed my eyes. A short while later I felt this warmth fall over me. I opened my eyes; there was light beyond the barrier of my comforter as if someone had turned on my bedroom light.
I flung the blanket away.
My heart raced.
As my room came into view I saw a bright beam of light falling through my bedroom window.
“No.” I heard the coarse tone of my voice.
My stomach turned as the weightless feeling returned, and I was lifted from my bed.
“No!” I screamed, my voice trembling.
I was shaking as I wrenched about, snatching at my headboard, fingers clawing, grasping, begging to grab on to something, but I was already moving through the light.
“Please, no.”
My fingers grazed the metal post of my bed. They curled around the bed knob. I held on tight, fighting against the pull of the light.
Then it slipped away.
CHAPTER
16
My fists pounded against Logan’s door. Haggard breaths fell from my lips. They’d taken me again, and this time I knew they were real. My mind wouldn’t let the memories vanish into oblivion like they had the time before.
My skin crawled, remembering where their cold grey fingers had touched my arm. The memories had tears streaming down my face. They had started out dream-like and hazy, but every second I remembered more. Whatever alien-mojo they used to make me forget wasn’t working this time. This time it was all too vividly real.
After my bed post had slipped from my grasp, I’d tried to grab onto the window frame. I’d clawed at the molding until I’d broken every nail, but I couldn’t hold on. Again my screams had gone unanswered. I shouted for Logan, praying he’d come to his window, but his lights had been out and his blinds hadn’t parted.
They’d sucked me into their ship and laid me on a metal table. I could do nothing but lay there as strange instruments poked me. One pinched my arm, another pulled at my eyelid. They prodded me like I was a cow passing inspection for slaughter.
One of the Greys pushed back my lips to look at my teeth, and another grabbed my arm. With a long syringe-like device he injected something into me. It felt like liquid fire had been pushed into my veins. The serum rushed through my body, burning me from the inside out.
I was trembling as my hands hit the door one last time. It swung open. I sighed, relieved to hear Logan’s front door squeak on its hinges, but the eyes that greeted me were not the glasses-framed brown orbs of the boy next door. They were the sleepy and concerned brown eyes of his mother.
“Mrs. Reed.” My voice wobbled. I still felt panicked and frightened but now embarrassed as well. “I’m so sorry to bother you.” I backed up a step, running a hand through my hair as I turned away.
“Wait,” Mrs. Reed said.
When I turned back to her, I saw her eyes were narrowed on my arm where a red, three-pronged mark still remained from my most recent abduction.
“Quick, come inside,” she said.
I stepped into the house, and she peered into the street. My eyes momentarily caught on a black sedan parked on the road; then Mrs. Reed looked up into the sky before shutting the door behind us. She spun around and grabbed my arm. Roughly she flipped it over so the mark was visible. Behind me I heard footsteps on the stairs; when I looked over my shoulder I saw Logan. He wore a pair of green plaid pajama pants and a white t-shirt. He seemed to be rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, which for the first time weren’t framed by his glasses.
“What happened?” he asked.
“She’s been taken – did you know?”
Logan’s eyes went wide. “They came again?”
Mrs. Reed dropped my arm and glared at her son. A beat of silence passed as if they were having some silent conversation, then Mrs. Reed looked back to me. She felt my forehead with the back of her hand and frowned.
“She’s going to be sick. Logan, take my car and get some white soda and saltine crackers. The Texaco is open all night.”
Logan hesitated.
“Go, now,” she said more forcefully, and Logan rushed out the door.
I sat at Logan’s kitchen table, fidgeting in my seat. Logan’s mom stood before the stove, a silver tea kettle resting on the burner before her. Their kitchen was smaller than mine, the appliances older, but unlike my kitchen this one felt lived in. It felt warm and comfortable, and I could see Mrs. Reed cooking dinner here every night. I could picture her making Logan chicken noodle soup when he was sick, or baking him birthday cakes instead of buying them at the store like my mom. I didn’t know Logan’s mom very well, but she had this nurturing feeling about her that set me at ease.
“You didn’t have to send Logan out. I think I’ll be okay.”
“No, you won’t.” Mrs. Reed pulled out a teapot, placed some herb-like ingredients at the bottom, then filled it with the water from the kettle. “And I sent Logan out to give us a minute to talk.”
She grabbed two blue mugs from hooks that hung above the stove. Setting the mugs and teapot on the table, she sat across from me. I took a deep breath, feeling like whatever we were about to talk about could only be bad news.
“Mrs. Reed, I–”
“Payton, dear, call me Linda.”
“Why’d they take me again?”
Linda sighed. “I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I remember when they took me.”
She poured us each a cup of tea. I picked up my mug and took a sip. It tasted like ginger. When I set the cup down it clinked against the table. I was still shaking.
“Their planet is dark; that’s why Logan’s eyes are black like theirs. It allows them to see in perfect darkness.”
“You know–”
“That my son has told you things he wasn’t supposed to. I assumed you came knocking on our door for a reason, though that hardly matters now.”
Her words sent chills through me.
“There are things you should know.” She was quiet for a moment. “Humans are kept like cattle on their planet. We lived in small villages waiting in fear for Reaping day.”
“Reaping day?”
“The Greys don’t age, and from as far as I can tell they can’t reproduce. They survive by sucking the life force out of their victims.” Now Linda’s hands were shaking as she picked up her cup and took a sip. “Once a month they would pick the most skilled of us…sometimes they were the strongest physically, other times they picked the people we looked up to, the wise ones. The Greys…would reach their hands into someone’s chest.” Linda paused. Her eyes squeezed shut, and she set her cup down. “All the color would drain from the person’s face, the light would vanish from their eyes, and then they were gone.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
Linda reached her hand across the table and gripped mine. “Because you need to be prepared for what’s coming next. They’ve been preparing to take you, and you need to know how to survive.”
I shook my head. “No, no, Logan said they just tagged me. That they were just observing….”
“They do that, but that’s not what they’re doing with you. They’ve taken you twice now. Next time they’ll take you for good. Now listen, when you get there you’ll be disoriented, you’ll want to fight back – don’t. Stay under their radar, look after yourself, and help no one. Don’t let them see anything about you that makes you special.
“When we escaped there were rebellion groups springing up everywhere. That was fifteen years ago, but I firmly believe that they haven’t gone away. Over the last five years the number of abductions has more than doubled.”
“How do you know that?”
“I watch for them; I know
the signs. I know the differences between a child gone missing or a runaway teen and an abduction. I also know that more people like me have been escaping to earth in the last few months. Our ship crashed here, but I believe the rebels managed to get ahold of another one and are using it to bring abductees back to earth. Now listen, keep a look out for anyone that seems out of place; they may be part of the resistance. Find the rebels and escape into the rocks.”
I pulled my hands out of her grasp and stood. This was too much. This couldn’t really be happening. I paced the room as my breathing grew erratic.
“No, I won’t let them take me again.”
“It doesn’t matter where you go or how hard you try to hide – they’re tracking you and they will find you. You need to be strong. You’re a smart girl, Payton, you can survive this. You just need to prepare yourself.”
My head was spinning, and I was starting to feel nauseous. Images of their faces, the black eyes and grey skin, flashed through my mind. I imagined their spindly grey fingers tracing over my skin. Then I thought about them taking me – again. It was too much. My stomach flipped. I bent over and heaved.
As I vomited I heard the front door open. I heard Logan’s voice. When I stood the room was spinning. I felt hot and dizzy. Then everything went black.
CHAPTER
17
Images flashed through my mind: snapshots of their faces, bald heads and grey skin. My terrified expression reflected in their eyes. My hair was a tangled mess of stringy blond strands. I blinked, and my blue eyes looked grey. My pupils dilated, widening until my eyes were completely black. I screamed and shut my eyes.
I woke groggy and disoriented. My body felt like it did the time I’d gotten pneumonia while visiting family in Wisconsin over Christmas. I sat up. My head felt like it’d been dribbled against the floor, sending my brain ricocheting inside my skull. I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut. Slowly, as the pain faded, I looked around to see I was lying in Logan’s bed. I was still in pajamas. The alarm clock on his night stand told me it was 5 a.m., and when I glanced at the windows I saw it was still dark outside. The conversation I’d had with Logan’s mom slowly returned, and I started to feel sick again.
The house was silent when I walked down the stairs and into the living room. Logan was asleep on the couch, covered with a throw blanket too short to cover his feet. I glanced at the door. I thought about sneaking out. My brain was still processing everything that happened last night, and I wasn’t exactly ready to be around people yet. But before I could turn and leave, Logan rolled over and opened his eyes. He took a deep breath, then sat up.
“Payton.”
“Hey.”
“How…how are you feeling?”
I shrugged. “I’m gonna go home. I just need some time to think.”
Logan nodded. “Look, Payton, I know what my mom told you, but…I’m not going to let that happen. We’re going to figure something out. I promise you, I’m not going to let them take you again.”
My eyes filled with tears. I took a deep breath. I wanted to believe him so badly, but I couldn’t help feeling like there’d be no escaping my fate. I nodded, then left.
After I got home I stared at myself in the mirror. I looked into my eyes, pulling at their lids. I waited for them to turn black, like in my dream, but they didn’t change. I rubbed at the spot behind my ear where I knew a chip that tracked my every move lay buried deep within my brain. I wished I could cut it out, but that didn’t seem like an option.
I couldn’t sleep in my own bed. One glance into my room, and I started to shake. Grabbing a blanket off my bed, I went downstairs to sleep on the couch. I lay there for a long while, staring at the ceiling. I tried not to think about being taken into their ship, but the memories wouldn’t go away. I rubbed at my arm, staring at the three red dots of the injection site, and sighed. How can this be real? Tears pricked at my eyes. I wanted so badly to believe it was just a nightmare, but I knew it wasn’t.
Hours passed and the sun rose. Shadows from the blinds moved across the floor. I pushed my anxiety aside and focused on what Logan had said. We’d find a way – I’d find a way. I wasn’t going to let them take me, not again. When I fell asleep later that night I was determined that I was going to take back my life, but I was still too afraid to sleep in my own bed. Once again I slept on the couch. It just felt safer there.
Despite promising myself that I’d take Monday by storm, I slept through my alarm the next morning and rushed to get ready for class. I walked into first hour late. Mr. Henderson gave me a disapproving look as I took my seat. I did my best to focus on the book we were discussing instead of the thoughts that had been running through my mind the night before. For a little while I succeeded. After class Logan stopped me in the hallway.
“Hey,” he said. “You okay?”
I glared at him.
“Right, I know you’re not okay, but….”
“I’m just trying to get through the day without thinking about them, coming with their creepy light beam to suck me out through those big windows in the science lab.”
Logan laughed, but quickly wiped the amusement from his expression. “They won’t do that. Look, I know you’re freaked, but we’re gonna figure something out. They’re not going to come back today. Mom said those drugs they gave you take at least a week to fully kick in. They didn’t come for her until almost a month after the second encounter.”
All I could do was nod. I should have been relieved, knowing I had at least a week, maybe even a month, before they returned for me. I wasn’t. It felt like I had a clock strung around my neck, counting down every second. I was watching as each moment ticked away, knowing I’d never get it back. Still, the rest of the day I tried to use that piece of knowledge as a tool to avoid thinking about things for a little while. I just wanted to get through the day.
Then, when the end of the day came, I realized nothing had changed. I just had one less day.
I’d felt okay at lunch, but since I’d slept in, I hadn’t had time to pack anything to eat. I sighed as I got into the hot lunch line. I avoided the spaghetti and stared at the pre-packaged sandwiches. Nothing looked appealing. I grabbed something anyway and walked to the end of the line. Just before the register, small cartons of milk were arranged from chocolate to skim. I picked one up. My palms grew sweaty as I stared at it. My body stiffened, and my chest tightened.
“Hey,” a voice called.
I looked over my shoulder. Logan stood behind me.
“Can I drink this?” I asked him.
His brow creased.
“I mean, you’re allergic to milk, so will I be allergic to milk now, and milk’s in so many things – ice cream and cheese, and I love cheese….”
“Payton….”
“Are my eyes going to turn black?” I blurted.
Logan looked around, worried someone had heard me. That was probably something I should have been worried about as well, but I didn’t have room to worry about anything else.
“No, and you can drink whatever you want.” Logan pulled me aside. “You’re not like me,” he said in a hushed voice. “I was born on their planet. You were born here. You’re still you, okay?”
I nodded. I’m still me, I repeated in my mind.
“You might pick up some telekinesis, but not everyone does, and you’ll probably be able to see a little better at night, but other than that nothing has changed, at least nothing you’d notice. And nothing more is going to change. We’re going to figure something out, remember?”
I nodded, taking a few shaky breaths. What was I doing? Payton Carlson did not freak out, not ever. If I could handle not losing my cool when Jared cheated on me and spread rumors about me through the whole school, I certainly was not going to freak out about something that hadn’t even happened yet. I was going to handle this like I did everything else. I would simply decide that I wasn’t going to be abducted again, and I would find a way to make it happen. Granted this was a little more complicated
than the time I decided I wanted a new Coach purse, but the principle still remained. That’s what I told myself at least.
“Yeah, you’re right,” I said, stitching up my shredded confidence. I pushed my fears aside.
Logan smiled. “Good. I’ll see you later then?”
“Yeah,” I smiled. “Later.”
I strode to the check-out counter, grabbing a carton of chocolate milk on the way. I was still freaking out on the inside, but if I was going to get out of this I knew I needed to be confidant and level-headed, not worried and neurotic. After all, wasn’t survival strategy #1 to stay calm? I was pretty sure I’d seen that on Mythbusters or Shark Week or something.
At the end of the hour I sat at my usual table beside Jo. Hailey went on about how she and Darren were now officially dating. I was happy for her, but I found my mind wandering and my eyes searching the room. Hailey said something about setting Jo up with one of Darren’s friends with whom she thought Jo would hit it off. Then I saw Ian. He sat at a table on the other side of the room. For just a moment, seeing the smile on his face made me think maybe I’d been wrong not to kiss him after the Homecoming dance. Then I saw the reason he was smiling. My chest tightened.
Sitting across from him was Jenna Swanson. The second I saw her I remembered watching them at the dance. I wasn’t even sure I still liked Ian. But watching him talk to another girl still bothered me. I just didn’t understand what he saw in her. She had straight light brown hair, brown eyes, and fair skin. She didn’t wear much make up or have a particularly awesome figure. She was average, but by the way Ian was looking at her, you’d think she was a goddess. I didn’t get it. What made it worse was that Melissa and Jared were sitting at their table. Across the room Melissa’s eyes narrowed, her dead stare aimed at me. I couldn’t help but feel like they were talking about me.
“You okay?” Jo asked.
Both she and Hailey noticed what I was staring at.
