“AJ, who are you?” Paige asked abruptly.
A part of her knew this was no time for a serious conversation since the wave was slowly engulfing her, but she needed to know. She needed to feel safe enough around him that she could let him help her.
The questions were very important.
AJ spread his hands away from his body. “I’m the same person I always was. Just a kid from school, your friend.”
Paige pondered that. He didn’t look like he was lying, but how the heck could she know for sure? She didn’t have a lie detector on her. Only her gut feeling.
“Paige, we don’t have time to talk now. Just trust me! Come with me. You’re wasting precious time,” he added, clearly losing patience with her.
Trust him! Paige was very much aware she was wasting time, but it couldn’t be helped. She needed to understand what was happening.
“If you’re just a kid from school, even one of my friends, then how can you be one of them? Please tell me!” Paige countered in exasperation.
She felt so much right then. There were so many opposing thoughts it made her want to scream.
AJ sighed, taking another tentative step in her direction. “I will explain everything when we’re safe. Now please… trust me. The black mass will take you away soon if you waste more time asking questions.” He looked into her eyes, silently pleading with her to trust him while trying to convince her to give in.
Paige needed to know more about him and the bomb he’d just dropped on her, but the wave was already pushing her toward the exit.
There was a deafening whooshing sound that echoed through the empty building. Paige knew what that roar meant. More aliens were coming their way. Soon, the entire apartment would be filled, and even standing close to AJ might not be enough to help her survive that.
Sure enough, the mass around them, around her, started to rise. Paige was running out of time. Seeing no other course of action that wouldn’t end with her being enslaved on an alien ship, Paige decided to surrender to AJ.
Paige slowly nodded. A visibly relieved AJ stepped closer to her, causing the black mass to move away from her immediately.
“Don’t touch me,” Paige said swiftly, raising her hand to prove how serious she was.
He looked a bit hurt, but she wasn’t about to budge on that. She was forced to trust him, but she still pictured him as one of the Shadow Men, with holes in their faces, and that made her jumpy. Even though she’d obviously hurt his feelings by saying that, he abided, stepping even closer but was careful not to touch her.
Paige looked around, trying to see what was happening with the black mass. It was moving away from them completely. Paige felt almost instant relief when it slid off her body and moved away from her.
Maybe it was just her imagination, but she felt like the mass had been reluctant to do so. She wondered if it was even pissed to lose its prize.
Paige couldn’t care less about that. She was just happy it had listened and moved away. Slowly, Paige’s heartbeat started to return to normal.
* * *
“You’re welcome,” Francis said.
Even though he couldn’t see his ugly face, AJ knew that the alien was smiling. He was smug about something.
“FYI, I will never be grateful for anything you do. There will be a cold day in hell before that happens,” AJ snapped back. “But let’s say, for craps and giggles, I’m saying thanks because...” AJ trailed off, knowing Francis would fill in the blanks.
“I eliminated the competition for you. Now Paige is all yours once again,” Francis informed him smugly.
AJ groaned inwardly. Paige already hated his guts right then, and if she learned he was to blame for this alien abduction, his ass would be toast.
“Francis, you are one insane weirdo. Why in the hell’s name would you help me? The last time we spoke, you said you would have us all.”
“Don’t you get it?” Francis countered. “I can do whatever I want, and watching you run around thinking you have the upper hand is amusing.”
AJ didn’t like that they were essentially lab rats, only free because Francis wished it so. That made him pissed off beyond reason.
“You know what, Francis? I am so done with this. No more running! I’m coming for you.”
“How lovely,” Francis responded flatly.
“We’ll see how amusing you find me when I come and bust that ugly face of yours,” AJ screamed back.
With that said, he forced that bastard out of his head. Refocusing on Paige, he was reminded that she still didn’t trust him and was still looking at him funny. It looked like she was waiting for him to shed his own skin and transform into one of them.
That hurt a lot, more than he’d admit right then, but he needed to grow the hell up and prove to her he was still the same guy. Maybe then, when he finally asks her out, she wouldn’t flat out say no. Even better, she wouldn’t try to kill him.
A guy can only hope...
* * *
Paige scooped up her backpack and threw it over her shoulder. AJ slowly led them toward the window they’d originally climbed through.
“Paige, we need to use the fire escape again and leave the building. It’s not safe to stay here any longer, ok?” he said in a single breath. He seemed worried that if he stopped, Paige would freak out again.
“But what about Dave?” she argued. “We can’t just leave him.”
“One problem at a time,” he countered.
Paige hated that idea with every fiber of her being, but she could see the logic in it. Dave was one of them. He was her friend and had helped her countless times since they’d met. Paige wanted to go find him, plain and simple.
That being said, if Paige and AJ were captured as well, then they couldn’t help anyone.
“All right. Let’s go,” Paige replied with a sigh. “But I’m not sure what’s down there.”
She glanced out the window. The streets below appeared to be empty of people and Shadow Men, but she knew enough to know the black wave could be on the ground, invisible because of the darkness. The creatures were good at blending into the real shadows.
“AJ, are the Shadow Men on the streets?” Paige asked, turning toward him.
AJ shrugged. “I don’t know, Paige. I can’t see anything either, so I have no idea,” he admitted, obviously not too pleased about that fact. “We’ll just have to find out when we get down there.”
“Oh, you don’t know anything about your friends? Shouldn’t you know where your alien buddies are?” Paige snapped back.
Unsure of why she was acting so harshly, Paige could only guess it was because her feelings were still hurt because he’d lied to her.
And that my crush turned out to be an alien, she added.
“Please stop saying things like that. They aren’t my friends, and I hate being one of them,” he snapped back,
She instantly felt sorry for opening her mouth in the first place, but she couldn’t make herself tell him that.
Without further words, AJ gingerly stepped onto the fire ladder, looking around to check if it was safe. “It’s all clear,” he reassured her in a hushed voice. “You can come out.”
“Ok,” Paige replied.
“Try to be careful,” he warned as he held out his hand to help her through the window.
“I don’t need your help,” Paige snapped.
They made their way down without a word. It didn’t take them long to reach the ground. She couldn’t see the black mass or the Shadow Men anywhere. At least, not in their near proximity.
Paige worried because their steps had echoed so loudly in the silent city. She knew it would make them easy targets. She paused for a few moments and waited, but no one came rushing.
There was a very good reason for that. The streets were completely void of people and Shadow Men. The city around her was a ghost town. It was as if everyone had been evacuated by the spaceships.
“Come on, let’s go,” AJ urged.
They
started walking down the street then turned onto a side alley. Paige kept her distance from AJ. She still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that he was one of them.
But is he really, Paige? she asked herself. He was nothing but kind to you from the start, and you’re treating him like the enemy. Snap out of it!
Soon, they approached the edge of the building, and Paige stopped walking, hesitantly peeking her head around the corner. They needed to be extra cautious and not get caught. They also needed to know what was going on, so they could find Dave.
As she looked out, she spotted people on the main street, moving away from the city. The swirling black mass had them surrounded and pushed them forward.
There were easily hundreds of people in that massive crowd. They seemed to protest, and some tried to get away, but the wave wouldn’t let them free. They were trapped.
Paige watched in wonder and terror as the bright lights suddenly shot down from a spaceship above them. Those trapped within the alien wall was lifted into the sky through the beams.
“Oh, no,” she whispered.
Those who were still on the ground tried to scatter, scared they would be sucked in next, but it didn’t help.
Paige watched with wide eyes as the people who were still on the ground tried to grab hold of the legs of loved ones who were being drawn up, trying to pull them back down, but it was of no use.
Together with the ones they held onto, those people were pulled up into an unknown fate.
Paige noticed as one woman in particular clung onto someone’s legs, someone much smaller. She didn’t let go as the two of them traveled up the beam together. Absentmindedly, Paige edged forward, trying to get a better look.
Even though she was far from the spaceship and the people, Paige knew the little girl was her sister, Willow. She was being transported into the spaceship, and the woman holding her legs was their mother.
No! Not Willow! Not Mom!
With her heart suddenly racing and her breath caught in her throat, Paige ran towards them without another thought.
AJ grabbed her and held her from behind, keeping her in place with all his might.
“Let me go! Let me go!” Paige screamed at the top of her lungs, not caring if everyone heard her while trying to break free. “They’re taking my mom and sister! I have to get them! Please let me go!” She pleaded, frantically trying to break his hold.
“I can’t,” AJ replied calmly.
Paige attempted to shake him off and get free, but AJ was stronger as he pinned her in his arms.
“No!” she screamed in outrage. She needed to get to them now before it was too late.
“Paige, please calm down! They will take you, too, if you go now. Stay calm,” AJ begged. He held both her hands and pressed them against her body as she fought against him with all her might, which she had a lot of.
“I don’t care if they take me! I don’t care!” she yelled at him. “They’ve taken them. Don’t you understand? My mother and sister are on that spaceship! Let them take me, too. They need my help. I need to get on that ship,” Paige practically cried out, but AJ was relentless.
“Look, Paige, you have to stop panicking. Please listen to me.” AJ tried to get her attention. “I will go instead of you. I will get your mother and sister, I promise. I will get on the spaceship without anyone knowing about it,” he offered in desperation.
That made her pause for a heartbeat or two. She’d calmed down, but she was still on high alert, ready for anything. AJ slowly turned her around to face him, still not letting go of her.
“What?” she managed to choke out.
AJ looked right into her eyes, as he held her by the shoulders to calm her. “Let me do this for you,” he said softly.
Chapter Fifteen
“Paige! Dave! I’m coming!” Dave could hear AJ yelling, and he was never so glad to hear another guy’s voice before.
Dave couldn’t move at all. The shadowy slime gripped him so tightly, he was sure it rearranged some of his internal organs.
“Paige!” he shouted.
She was trapped as well, but he couldn’t see her anymore, even though he could hear her struggling. The black wave gripped him by the neck, making him choke. He couldn’t open his mouth anymore, and that made him panic even more. It carried him out of the building and onto the street effortlessly.
Despite the darkness the whole city had plummeted into, Dave spotted that he was not the only one being carried away.
But to where? he wondered.
Paige had asked what they would all be used for once captured, but Dave was now the only one who would have the inside knowledge. At least, he hoped he was the only one of them who would find out.
Since he couldn’t hear Paige or AJ, Dave prayed at least those two managed to escape somehow. Whatever happened to him next, he was grateful Peter wasn’t there with him.
Mrs. Moon was one fierce lady, so he was glad his little brother went with her. She would protect him; he was sure of that.
Suddenly, the lulling stopped, and Dave was practically spat out. He smacked hard against the concrete, and when he finally caught his breath and climbed to his feet, he saw something very interesting indeed.
Inside of a circle made of black, shadowy goo was a lot of trapped people. They were being ushered toward some unknown destination. They looked as scared as he was as they called out for help or for a loved one.
“Paige?” he called out, but no one answered him. He hoped that meant she wasn’t there at all.
He refocused on the wall made of the black mass, trying to find a way to escape. Naturally, the first thing he tried to do was to try to break away from that prison. As he bolted, he bounced back against the wave, crashing to the ground once again.
“Damn,” he grumbled, rubbing his back.
Maybe next time you should think before acting. Save yourself from a couple bruises.
“You can’t break through,” a girl informed him.
He hadn’t spotted her earlier, but that meant nothing. Dave had been a bit distracted while inspecting the moving cage he was trying to escape from.
He stood up again, wincing in pain that had resulted from the last throw. It really did a number on him. Dave and the girl had to continue moving since the goo was forcing them down the main street.
“Yeah, I figured,” he replied, dusting himself off. Like that would make a difference on his already ruined clothes. “Do you have any idea where’s this thing is taking us?”
He looked up and wasn’t that surprised to see that the mass was escorting them directly under the spaceship, toward its center. Dave looked back at the girl when she didn’t say anything.
She only shrugged. She was maybe a couple of years older than him with royal blue hair. She didn’t act hysterical like the other people trapped with them.
Then again, everybody responded differently to stress.
“Great, another surprise. Love those,” he deadpanned, and she laughed.
“Really?” she asked, still smiling.
“Oh, yeah, this whole day has been a blast for me,” Dave replied.
“It looks like it,” she responded, gesturing toward his clothes. “I’m May, by the way.”
“Dave. Nice to meet you,” he said then frowned. “Was that a weird thing to say considering we’re captured by the alien equivalent of slime?”
May smiled again. “Totally weird.”
Just as she was about to say something else, the massive spaceship above their heads decided to wake up. A beam of light blinded them as it shot down toward the ground. Unfortunately for them, that wasn’t all it did. The light was a force that was able to levitate humans, pulling them toward the ship.
That was everyone’s cue to freak out. The people who were already captured started screaming and struggling, and those on the ground followed suit. Even though it was already tested and proven that no one could break the circle, that didn’t stop a lot of people from trying again.
“Mom!” a very distinct scream reached Dave, and it froze all the blood inside his veins.
He knew that voice. He started running toward the source of it, but it was hard to locate in a sea of terrified people.
“Mom, help!”
People were shoving him on the way, making him stumble.
“Willow!” Mrs. Moon shouted back.
Oh no, they were all caught.
Dave saw a glimpse of them and ran even faster, running over anyone who got in his way. As he reached the spot where he’d seen Angela, he realized he was already too late. Willow was trapped in the beam, and Angela held onto her, trying to break her free from it. But it did no good because they were both too far away from the ground.
“Mrs. Moon!” Dave shouted at the top of his lungs in an effort to be heard over the chaos.
“Dave! Oh, Dave! Not you, too,” Mrs. Moon spotted him instantly.
“Is Peter here?” he asked while he looked around frantically.
“No, he’s with Tilley,” she called out. That put him at ease instantly. “Paige?”
“Safe,” he replied, though he didn’t know that for sure. He could only hope that was true.
Mrs. Moon shouted something else, but he couldn’t hear her any longer. They were too high in the air.
Dave couldn’t let them go there on their own. When the first opportunity presented itself, he allowed himself to be captured and hoped he could reunite with Willow and Mrs. Moon once they were on the ship.
A very big part of him was freaking out since he was about to board a real fucking alien spaceship, but he forced himself not to dwell on that fact. If only his ten-year-old self could see him now.
Just like always, fantasy was one thing and reality was something else entirely.
* * *
Paige was still stunned that AJ would put himself in that position for her. AJ chose her momentary stupor to look around and noticed a small abandoned Mom and Pop kind of a store. He quickly pulled Paige in its direction.
“Let’s get off the streets,” he said.
AJ didn’t even have to break in. The door was open since the entire city was demolished, and he pushed Paige inside.
Inhabitable (Invasion Survivor Book 2) Page 16
