by Sherry Soule
I wait for the bomb to drop and explode in our living room. I wait for them to protest and say, Oh no, Sloane Masterson, that young man is not your future husband. I wait for the screaming and yelling and the freak out.
David sucks in a breath. My mom swallows, her face turning a deep shade of red.
“W-what?” my mom sputters. “Please tell me that you did not say yes!”
“Why?” I lift my chin. “Don’t tell me you don’t like Hayden now.”
“I wasn’t going to say that, and I don’t not like him,” my mom says slowly.
“Go ahead and state your concerns,” I say, hoping she’ll have some reasonable objections I can use to persuade Hayden that getting married at eighteen is insane.
Plus, is it wrong that it’s kinda fun to watch my parents squirm?
“Hayden is a nice boy, but…” David rubs his neck with stiff fingers. “You should wait until you finish college.”
“I guess,” I say, lowering my arms. “Sooo, you don’t object to Hayden, only to my marrying him at eighteen?”
“Yes, please give it time. There’s no rush and you might feel differently in a year or two,” my mom says gently.
“I doubt it,” I say just to argue. “Hayden’s the guy I will be spending the rest of my life with—”
“You’re not old enough to decide the rest of your life, young lady.” My mom blanches. “There’s a reason sappy Hallmark movies always end with a wedding. Women are often infatuated with the pursuit of finding true love, but let me tell you something, real life is filled with nosey in-laws, financial difficulties, and dirty dishes. Very non-romantic. Besides, you haven’t discovered who you are or gone to college, or…or…” She glares at my dad. “Help me out here, David.”
“All we want is for you to be happy, Sloane, and to make smart choices regarding your future,” David says. “Don’t rush into marriage. You’re still young, and you’ll probably fall in love and get your heartbroken more than once before you meet the right man.”
“Who says you can’t find your soulmate in high school?” I say.
“We can talk about this later,” David says. “After…”
The roar of car engines is followed by screeching tires. My mom twists in her seat to peer out the front window as two black Suburbans, like hulking, gas-guzzling omens of death, park in the driveway. Two more skid to a stop in front of the house, like an action scene from a Michael Bay thriller.
Suddenly, it feels like I’m diagonally parked in a parallel universe.
SIX
My breath comes in short bursts as several soldiers hop out of each SUV. Next, Agent Dixon appears, followed by a robust man with silver streaks tinting the sides of his short hair.
Loud knocking shakes the front door. Sweat prickles my underarms and ice trickles through my veins.
My mom stands and David squeezes her hand before crossing the living room to the foyer. She spins the wedding ring on her finger, her complexion turning ghostly white. On shaky legs, I move to stand closer to my mom.
My dad opens the front door. “Agent Dixon.”
“David.” Dixon wears a tailored black suit, flashing a hard-edged smile. He’s slim and handsome for a thirty-year-old dude. Lifting one hand, he removes his aviators, revealing deep brown eyes. “This is General Athens.”
General Athens nods. The older man is dressed in fancy military garb with a scarlet stripe along the outer seam of each blue trouser leg and his boots are shiny black. “Hello, David…and Karen, is it?”
“Yes, nice to meet you…I think,” my mom replies stiffly.
“And this must be Sloane.” General Athens gazes at me like I’m the winning prize at the county fair. “I’ve heard so much about you, darlin’…um, actually, that’s a lie. We only just discovered your existence through an anonymous tip.” He shakes his head at my dad. “Shame on you, David, for keeping such valuable secrets from Sector Thirteen. Very naughty.”
David steps aside to let Agent Dixon and General Athens enter the house. Four soldiers cluster in the doorway between the foyer and living room, as if waiting for further instructions. Besides General Athens, Agent Dixon, and the soldiers with them, I count ten more men outside. The soldiers look more like the Doom Squad than a welcoming committee. They’re all wearing camouflage fatigues with handguns strapped to their belts.
None of the Doom Squad makes eye contact with us. Uh-oh. This doesn’t look good. Way too early for hysterics. Yet these scary dudes make Vin Diesel look anemic and puny. And I could really use Riddick’s Pitch Black prowess right now.
General Athens exhales loudly, as if Darth Vader has stepped into the room. “Wonderful to finally meet you, Sloane,” he says, then faces David. “Lucky for us, the reapers picked up the residue on your daughter, and after some recon and a solid tip from one of your fellow Meleah, ST discovered your mix-breed family. You must’ve known you couldn’t hide forever, David.”
My chin quivers and I glance at my parents. My worst fears have become reality. It’s all my fault. The ectoplasm led ST straight to our door, even after all the precautions we took. Two soldiers stay in the foyer, while another two men circle behind us to block the backdoor.
David shifts his weight, eyeing the general. “Now that you’ve found me, what do you want?”
General Athens lifts one hand and waggles a finger at my dad. “You already know the answer to that, David. This isn’t a social call. We’re here to take you in. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, and then probably used against you.”
My mouth drops open. This guy’s batshit crazy. I’m staring and I can’t stop.
General Athens’s cold gray stare scans the room like he’s accessing any threats. His very human gaze settles on me, one side of his lip curling up. “Are you trying to catch flies in that mouth of yours, darlin’?”
My jaw snaps shut and I grind my teeth.
Agent Dixon motions with a nod of his head for one of the men to approach David. The soldier removes titanium handcuffs from a pocket and slaps them onto David’s wrists. Titanium is like Kryptonite to the Meleah, so he won’t be able to teleport. Then General Athens and Agent Dixon pull David aside and they speak in hushed voices. My mom glares at the Doom Squad, her fists clenched.
Adrenaline surges through my body, causing my skin to tingle, almost humming. Energy crackles around me, a blueish light flashing across my body. The metal grates over the heating ducts tremble and a crunching noise vibrates throughout the room.
I step forward, my voice loud and clear. “You can’t take my dad!”
Agent Dixon turns his head. “Excuse me?”
My heart races, pumping blood way too fast. “He hasn’t done anything wrong…I mean…”
David shakes his head and I go still.
“My daughter’s right,” my mom says. “My husband’s not to blame.”
General Athens gives her a condescending smile. “We’ve been hunting David for years. Now he must face the consequences.”
“Please don’t take him,” I beg. “My dad never meant to break the law!”
“He only needs to be debriefed,” Agent Dixon says, but he doesn’t meet my eyes.
Yeah, right. And I’m getting an Oscar for a blockbuster screenplay. Debrief might mean a number of things, like painful mind-wiping, lethal experimentations, or long-term incarceration.
General Athens slides over to me, placing a heavy arm around my shoulders. I want to recoil from his touch, but remain immobile. “I realize you’re an innocent in all this, darlin’. How much longer do you have before you finish school?”
I swallow before speaking. “About six weeks until graduation. Why?”
“Come see me when you’re done. We’ll find a spot for you on our team.” General Athens digs his short nails into my shoulder. “In fact, you’d make a wonderful addition to Sector Thirteen.” He smirks, keeping his taunting stare fixed on David. “Would you like that, darlin’?”
; Nausea builds in my throat. “No thanks. I won’t be joining your lab rats anytime soon.”
“Chew it over.” General Athens removes his arm and drags a hand over his cropped hair, checking its placement. The stiff bristles snap back into place. “We can offer training, benefits, and even a competitive starting salary.”
General Athens’s villainous monologuing sounds menacing and foreboding, like a bleak glimpse into my too-short future.
“Where will you take my dad?”
“To our new headquarters,” General Athens says. “At the Naval Base on the island.”
Agent Dixon’s temple tenses. “Thought it was classified,” he mumbles.
David shifts his weight. “Will you consider sparing my children? Please?”
General Athens moves away from me. “We’re not monsters. We have no intention of harming them. We’d only like to study their abilities.” He whirls on his booted heel to face me. “Assuming they have any unique abilities.”
“Not yet,” David answers. “If they’re mostly human, then they’re no threat to the operation, right?”
“The program is dead,” General Athens snaps. “But Doctor Krilova, the head of the Genetic Trials, wants your children to join us at the lab for…testing.”
David bristles. “If anyone hurts my kids—”
“Save your posturing for someone who gives a crap.” The general’s nostrils flare and a vein pulsates in his forehead. “But if you want to get down to brass tacks—let’s get dirty, shall we? You disobeyed a direct order and decided to play house with a human. Then you proceeded to impregnate her—twice!” He chuckles. “Lucky for you, Doctor Krilova thinks it’s marvelous. Now he wants to examine Karen because she’ll make a remarkable test subject. She’s what the doctor calls special.”
“You’re not taking my mom anywhere,” I say, my voice booming off the walls. The heat building inside my body intensifies. I need to chill. Literally. And contact Hayden. “You don’t want to mess with a teen girl who’s PMsing. I will so cut you.”
My mom puts an arm around me and I lean into her side. “What my daughter means is, I can’t leave my children.”
“Oh, but I insist.” General Athens ignores my idle threat and taps a finger on chin. “You know what keeps me up at night? It’s what the rest of the world will think if they ever discover an alien species living secretly in their midst. One that could annihilate them. It’s just too bad the Meleah have become so unpredictable, so uncontrollable.” He sighs heavily as if he carries the fate of the world on his shoulder-padded shoulders. “I’m not the bad guy here, Sloane. Not by a long shot.”
David struggles against the restraints binding his wrists. “Don’t you dare a lay a finger on my wife!”
Agent Dixon clears his throat. “Pardon me, General, but we should go before the Galactic—”
“Yes, yes. I got the memo, thank you.” The general dismisses Dixon with a wave of his hand. “As for you, David, if you speak out of turn again, I will rip out your innards and feed them through a wood chipper. Am I clear?”
David’s shoulders sag and he hangs his head. “Crystal, sir.”
“That’s much better,” General Athens replies smugly.
I try to catch my dad’s eyes to send him a silent message: Fight for us. Don’t let the Doom Squad take Mom! But David avoids looking at anyone. He might be defeated, but I’m certainly not.
“So,” General Athens says, “should we head out?”
Though it’s phrased as a question, no one answers. General Athens moves to the door.
“What about those two, sir?” Agent Dixon takes a step in my direction. “We should take them, too.”
No friggin’ way am I going anywhere with these evil bastards.
“Yes, yes,” General Athens says from the doorway. “Bring them both to the lab.”
“No!” I cling to my mom. “Please.”
I stare at my dad, lips parted, with unsaid pleas for help sticking to my tongue. David lifts his head and something like regret flashes across his face. Agent Dixon leans over and says something quietly to David, who nods.
Reaching into my pocket, I slip out my phone. I’ve got Hayden on speed dial. While the men talk amongst themselves, I send a help me text and pray he reads it.
“Miss?” a soldier says. “Perhaps you should come with me to one of the vehicles.”
I take a step back, bumping into the wall. I shove my phone into my pocket. “I’ll join you guys at the military base. My brother isn’t home from chess club yet and I should wait for him here.”
“You’ll come with us now,” Agent Dixon insists.
“Sloane can stay if she wishes.” General Athens winks at me. “It’s not like she’s going to run off while we have her parents on the base for a visit. Isn’t that right, darlin’?”
I nod, my stomach pitching. That vacation on another planet is sounding better by the second.
My mom hugs me and kisses my forehead. “Make sure you make the flight no matter what,” she whispers into my ear. “Promise to take care of your brother while we’re gone.”
I hug her hard, not wanting to let go. “I promise.”
“Good girl. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
General Athens lifts his hands. “See? We can all act civilized. However, in case you get any ideas, like leaving the island, I’ll allow a few men to stay behind and keep an eye on you and young Jonah. Pleasure to meet you, darlin’.”
SEVEN
Sector Thirteen takes my parents, and I’m powerless to stop them. I clench and unclench my fists. The Doom Squad escorts them to their vehicles followed by General Athens and Agent Dixon, who I’d thought might be an ally. Guess I was wrong.
My heart squeezes. Life is not like a box of chocolates. It’s more like opening the freezer and having everything fall on your head. And life’s even extra sucky when shady government agencies kidnap your parents.
Right now, I just need to focus on escaping these thugs, then packing our suitcases, getting my cat, and freeing my parents in time to meet the spaceship.
As promised, General Athens left soldiers behind to stand guard over me while we wait for Jonah to come home. When all the Suburbans drive off except one, I scan the remaining soldiers. Each man has a nametag embroidered on the front of his uniform. The two taller men are Lanter and Mitchell, and the shorter men are Finley and Kogan.
Lanter stands near the front door like a sentinel, while Mitchell and Finley do a sweep of the house, and Kogan stays behind me in the dining room archway.
The emptiness caused by my parents’ absence descends upon me, coating my skin like a heavy wool blanket. I stand in the living room, alternating between wanting to burst into tears and wanting to kick the furniture and scream at the universe for dumping this enormous test of strength on me.
Turning, I glance at Kogan, who stares straight ahead. On his left stands the china cabinet and my gaze rests on several family photos on the shelves, along with my dad’s many journalism awards and Jonah’s numerous science honors. No wonder General Athens wants to secure Jonah in a cozy cell, that nerdy brother of mine is a freaky twelve-year-old prodigy.
Lanter stares out the front window. “What the hell?”
Kogan peers around me and points outside. “Shit. It’s the Lancaster boys.” He shakily whips his gun from its holster and holds it out in front of him.
I squint through the glass at Hayden and Zach standing on the lawn with their arms crossed. Thank the gods Hayden got my text. They’ve come to my rescue.
Lanter faces Kogan, his eyes stark and wide. “There’s nothing to worry about. Stay calm.”
“But…but…” Kogan shuffles his feet. “What’d we do, Sergeant Lanter?”
“Just relax, soldier,” Sergeant Lanter orders, taking out his gun. “I should warn you that bullets might not injure these…things. They can control metal.”
A maroon mini-van parks at the curb behind the boys and Jonah hops ou
t. Hayden and Zach stop my brother on the lawn and speak to him. Then Zach ruffles Jonah’s hair with one hand. Hayden jerks his chin at Jonah, and my brother moves toward the backyard out of sight.
Good. Jonah will be safe until I can get us the hell out of here.
Zach wears a deadly smirk. I can practically hear him taunting the men with that smile, as if saying, Come out and play, dumbasses. Hayden cracks his knuckles, and the boys start for the house.
The soldiers exchange worried glances.
Kogan’s head nods. “Maybe they only wanna talk—”
The front door slams into the wall in the foyer. Zach rushes inside and tackles Sergeant Lanter, knocking the guy off his feet. I gasp loudly as Hayden sprints inside the house behind his brother, seizing the gun from Lanter’s grip. Then Zach moves forward and punches Lanter in the temple, knocking him out cold.
The sergeant’s down and only three to go…
Zach and Hayden work well as a team. The Lancaster brothers sure know how to employ those badass moves.
Kogan holsters his weapon, then rushes forward and grabs Hayden’s shoulder, but Hayden lifts his arm and smashes the soldier in the face. Blood from Kogan’s broken nose splatters across the wall and he groans, covering his face with both hands. Kogan bolts outside to the SUV to either get a first aid kit or call for reinforcements.
Two down and two jerkwads left to takeout…
Finley and Mitchell stomp downstairs and halt in the archway dividing the foyer and living room, guns aimed and ready. Hayden moves in front of me and Zach steps behind me to one side.
“I don’t want to hurt you guys,” Hayden says. “Just tell me where my sister Delta is at the lab.”
“We’re not telling you anything, freakshow,” Finley says, backing up into the foyer out of sight.
Mitchell smirks before his finger yanks the trigger. A whoosh of air grazes my right shoulder as the bullet strikes the wall behind me. The gunshot rings in my ears, and I almost pee in my cute Hanes’s boyshorts. The same shot barely misses Zach’s head. Plaster pebbles the floor of the foyer.
