If an infected person came at her, she couldn’t defend herself with a bag of beef jerky. Who knew, maybe she could distract them with it like they were a pack of wild animals.
Thinking about the virus made her pause. She didn’t see a single infected person after the black wave.
What’s up with that? Did the aliens take care of them? That made her shudder.
Continuing with her useless search, Paige looked behind the counter, hoping the store owner might have had a gun to protect him or her against potential robberies. Instead of a gun, she found a note.
<
Great. She was right. That bastard left without her. Even though I told him yesterday I’d go with him, he went without me.
Paige took a deep breath as worry built in the pit of her stomach.
Will he be all right? What if something happened to him? Paige panicked.
What if the Shadow Men realized he was working against them? Thinking about AJ going all alone inside of a lion’s den, even if he was supposed to be their cub, made her heart race.
Despite everything, she still cared for him. Even though she told him last night she needed to go with him because her family was there, that was only partially true. She needed to be by his side, so they could have each other’s backs and make sure they all survived.
Paige wanted him to be safe. After all, he did everything he could to keep her safe, and that was why he left without her.
Maybe he did have a point. The Shadow Men would capture her, even if he was by her side. His presence wouldn’t protect Paige if they found her since she didn’t have the black mass inside of her.
I’m the golden child. Paige chuckled at her own joke as the image of Eddie Murphy popped into her head. Paige did enjoy the old classic movies. Most of her friends only knew Eddie Murphy from Dr. Dolittle.
Still, just because AJ’s actions were logical didn’t make them right. Paige could have helped him if he would have allowed her to.
She sat on the counter and grabbed the nearest candy to her, a Butterfinger. She unwrapped it and ate it without actually tasting it.
Her mind shifted from AJ to the people in her life who were captured. She wondered what was happening to them right now. They were in the spaceship, that much was obvious since she’d watched them taken last night, but then what?
What are the aliens doing to them now? Has AJ gotten to them already, or was he somewhere else?
Paige sighed loudly.
“What should I do now?” she asked out loud.
Should I leave? Paige wondered, but that didn’t sit right with her.
If she left, then AJ, Mom, Willow, and Dave wouldn’t be able to find her, so she needed to stay. On the other hand, if Paige stayed, how could she be sure they would come back? On and on she went, going around in circles with what she should do.
Confused by her thoughts, Paige glanced around, hoping something in the store would bring her much needed clarity. It was then that she noticed a brand-new baseball bat under the counter. She couldn’t help but smile like a kid on a Christmas morning.
Paige grabbed it and walked toward the doorway of the store to watch outside. Other people began to emerge from buildings as well. They were still in a daze by the night’s events. The evidence was all over their faces. Paige was shocked to see that none of them looked sick.
Where were the infected ones? she wondered. Maybe the infected ones already died? Stupid aliens! How she hated them all!
Most of the people were staring up at the sky. Paige followed their gazes and looked up to see the spaceship still there, hovering above the city. She concluded that it was probably the same one that took her mother and sister. Gaping at it, she questioned if they were still there.
People on the streets looked confused and scared. They watched one another, seeking answers. They looked like they had no idea what to do or where to go.
The horrifying fact was that the spaceship over the city wasn’t the only one. There were more of them hovering in the distance. They were everywhere. That meant that what happened here last night had happened all around the world.
Humans were literally trapped, and it was only a matter of time until the aliens got all of them.
Unable to withstand it anymore, Paige moved back away from the window and deeper into the store to turn on the TV by the counter. She subconsciously did it in a vain attempt to get the latest news, but the attempt was pointless.
The power is out, she remembered.
Dave said yesterday that they must have sent out an EMP wave or something that knocked out any form of communication.
That made her frown. She didn’t know how to get in touch with anyone, including her father. Still, Paige checked her phone, just in case, but it was also dead.
What am I going to do? How can I reach my Dad?
Paige really hoped he was ok. They’d spoken briefly on the phone while she was on the plane, but that was right before everything went to hell. She hoped they hadn’t taken him, too. If only he could have come to them. He would have known what to do. Maybe, they’d all be safe with him now, maybe even traveling to another safer place.
Still very hungry, she grabbed another chocolate bar from the shelf and tore it open. It felt like such a long time since Paige had eaten anything significant that she couldn’t even remember when her last meal was.
Oh, yeah, Mc D’s. Dave had made it for her.
Thinking about him made her heart tug in return, and she promised to find a way to get to him as well. She would behave like a Marine, leaving no one behind.
When Paige finished, she reached for more snacks, but this time it was a bag of potato chips. The bell over the door of the store rang, and Paige jumped down from the counter, rushing to see who it was and remembering to bring the bat with her.
She’d hoped it was AJ, her mother, Willow, Dave, or all the above together. To her disappointment, however, it wasn’t a familiar face that greeted her.
It was a police officer with a gun on his belt. He was surprisingly young with sandy brown hair, tall and broad-shouldered. It struck Paige as odd that his uniform was clean and looked new.
That could be easily explained if he was staying in some bomb-shelter with other survivors up until now.
Do we still have those? she thought at random.
Two kids walked up behind him. Tilley and Peter. Paige was disappointed it wasn’t anyone in her family but also relieved to learn she wasn’t the only one who was left behind.
“Paige!” Peter squeaked and rushed into her arms. She hugged him, messing his hair. “Good to see you, Peter. Both of you,” she corrected herself, looking at Tilley.
She still felt a bit guilty for kidnapping her, but by the look on the president’s daughter’s face, she long forgave her.
“Where is Dave?” Peter asked, looking around.
Paige made a face. She really didn’t want to lie, but she felt like the truth would be just as harmful.
“Well,” Paige started.
“He’s gone, isn’t he,” Peter guessed, and Paige simply nodded in return.
“I’m sorry, but we’ll get him back,” she promised. She meant every word.
“Paige, your mom and Willow were taken as well,” Tilley said.
Paige nodded. “I know. Where are your secret service agents?”
“They got taken—because of me.”
More good news, Paige thought to herself.
There was a moment of silence, but the police officer broke it. “We’re leaving the city, and you need to come with us,” he ordered. “I’m rounding everyone up, so hurry.”
“I can’t come,” Paige countered immediately. “I’m waiting for someone, so I have to stay here.”
“No, you have to come with me,” he insisted. “It’s not my request, but the president’s.”
“The president’s?” Paige asked, her eyes widening in surprise.
There were moments when Paige wondered what the government had done since this invasion started, and this was the first time she’d heard mention of them. What he said made her pause.
How has he been able to communicate with the president if all the networks were dead?
“How did you get an order from the president?” Paige asked.
He looked sternly into her eyes, as if her nosiness irked him. Well, tough shit. She wasn’t about to go anywhere with some stranger, even if he was wearing a uniform.
“We need to leave immediately, and we’re wasting time on empty talk,” he repeated, his tone sharp. “You need to come with us.”
He marched towards Paige, and she pushed Peter behind her. “I’m sorry, but I’m not going anywhere,” Paige countered. She sensed that he was about to grab her, so she lifted her bat and swung it at him.
“Tilley, Peter, run! Run away from him!” Paige shouted, taking a step back.
Peter complied, immediately hiding between the isles, but Tilley stayed put.
“Tilley, you need to stay with me,” the police officer said, trying to coax her. “Don’t listen to this girl. You must stay with me. Your father has ordered me to take you to him. He’s waiting for you.”
Even though he was saying all the right things, Paige was certain he was full of shit. “Stop lying!” Paige warned, raising her bat again.
Tilley didn’t know what to do. She just stood there, looking at Paige with frightened eyes before looking at herself, trying to figure out where to run.
“Tilley, run!” Paige screamed again at the top of her lungs, trying to force her to act.
The police officer grabbed Paige’s arm. “You, stupid girl!” he seethed.
She tried to fight him off. She started wiggling and shaking the baseball bat in hopes of breaking free, but he was strong. On the other hand, so was Paige. They continued to do this strange dance, like two dogs fighting over the same bone.
The obviously fake police officer lost his patience and released the bat, causing Paige to stumble a little before recovering.
He reached for his gun, but Paige acted fast and hit him on the hand. The police officer growled and came at her again. Paige swung again, but her aim was off. In one swift move, the officer managed to take her bat and throw it away.
“No!” Paige yelled in desperation, charging at him with as much force as she could manage.
She hit him in the face, and it felt like hitting a concrete wall, but she didn’t stop there. Paige hit him again, but he was ready for her the third time and ducked, pushing her away with such force that she smacked against one of the shelves. The whole row shook, and all kinds of goods fell to the ground.
The hit knocked the wind out of Paige’s lungs, and she needed a second to recover, a second, she didn’t have.
The police officer reached for his gun again, and it took a lot of energy, but Paige managed to jump on him and grab hold of it. They wrestled for a bit over the weapon, but Paige remembered she had a slight advantage over him and hit him between the legs with all her might.
He doubled over in pain, releasing the gun instantly, and Paige pointed it at him. Now Paige stood between the police officer and Tilley.
“Peter, you can come out now,” Paige called out, and the boy ran to stand beside her.
Paige never took her eyes off the officer, and her hands were steady as she aimed. She was cool as a cucumber. The officer smiled slyly, making her shiver. Then he took a step toward her.
Based on his behavior, Paige was now sure he was one of them, which meant he would probably recover if she shot him. Just like AJ recovered from his cuts last night.
He kept grinning and kept coming toward them. Without another thought, Paige fired the gun. The time for thinking had passed. It was him or the three of them. He jolted back with substantial force but still stood.
Well, damn!
Paige shot him again. This time, the force dropped him to his knees. When the gun clicked in her hands, the magazine empty, she quit pulling the trigger.
He was lying on the ground but was unfortunately still alive. Paige watched as the blood pooled around him.
There was no time to hesitate, she reminded herself.
Paige grabbed a frightened Tilley by the arm and, stashing the now empty gun, reached for Peter’s hand as well. They ran out of the store, across the street, and away from the police officer.
Chapter Seventeen
They ran with everything they had toward the buildings across the streets. It was an apartment building, but they kept going anyway. Paige quickly looked behind her, and to her despair, the police officer had gotten up and was now coming after them.
All the bullets Paige emptied inside of him seemed to make him slower, but she had no way of knowing how long that would last.
“What are we going to do?” Tilley cried out, noticing him, too. Both Tilley and Peter were frightened and didn’t let go of Paige’s hand.
Tilley reminded Paige of Willow so much, and she wanted to scream as well, but she found comfort in knowing that she was with their mother, even if it was on an alien spaceship. Besides, Paige was preoccupied at the moment, so she banished all other thoughts and focused solely on their survival.
“We’ll hide in one of the apartments. Don’t worry,” Paige tried to reassure them in a rush, even though she felt like she needed someone else to comfort her.
They ran inside, and Paige paused for a second to see if there was something she could use to jam the door closed, but there was nothing.
“Come,” she said, pushing them inside. She was ticked off at herself for wasting precious seconds in vain.
Running up the stairs, all Paige could think was, Third time’s a charm. Since the alien attack, no one wanted to let other people into their homes. She just hoped they would get lucky this time.
Paige checked the doors as they ran. They were all closed except for one at the end, so they ran towards it. As they got nearer, they could see a small old woman’s face, peeking out from the inside.
Her face was as wrinkly as her clothes. Once she noticed them, she opened her door wider and stood in the doorway with a finger on her lips. She looked at them and gestured for them to follow her inside.
At last, someone is willing to help us, Paige thought, feeling relieved.
At the same time, Paige couldn’t help being wary of strangers, so she started looking around, searching for any signs of a Shadow Man.
Cats walked around the old woman’s feet as she ushered them inside.
“Come in. Come in,” she said with a small smile. They silently followed her. Looking around, Paige noticed she had a very tiny apartment with a lot of cats.
“Take a seat here on this chair,” the old lady said, gesturing to a chair. She started to fuss over suddenly having so much company. “I will make some tea for you to drink. You look so tired,” she added in a soft voice.
“Thank you, ma’am, for letting us into your home,” Paige said politely, and the old woman simply waved with her hand as if it was no bother at all.
“I’m no ma’am, my dear. Call me Miss Dolly.”
They sat down, still clinging to one another, and nervously waited for the sound of the police officer to find and take them.
The old woman went into the kitchen, and they heard the kettle going. Some of the cats followed her, but a few brave ones remained. One even came to sniff at Paige’s pants, but when she reached for to give it a pet, it retreated.
“What are we going to do now, Paige?” Tilley asked in a hushed voice.
“For now, we’ll just stay here,” Paige replied.
And hope the policeman doesn’t discover us, she added silently.
Suddenly, there was a sharp knock at the door. Paige jumped up, knowing there was only one person who could be standing on the other side.
Miss Dolly slowly walked to open it.
“
Please, don’t open it,” Paige begged with urgency. “Please! There’s one of those Shadow Men out there. Don’t open it, please!” she repeated.
She took a step toward the old woman but then stopped when she proceeded without a word, as if Paige hadn’t said anything at all.
Frantically, Paige looked around, trying to find a way out, but there was nowhere to escape. They were trapped and out of bullets.
What now?
The door opened, and the police officer strode in with Miss Dolly. Paige could easily see the bullet wounds in his shirt where she’d shot him, and blood was seeping from them. He looked at her smugly.
Paige gasped, and Tilley screamed while Peter jumped on the chair and hid behind them. Without anywhere to run, they were glued to the spot, but Paige carefully watched for an opening. She certainly wasn’t about to go down without a fight.
“I’m so pissed off!” the officer told Miss Dolly, ignoring Paige’s little group for a second. “I guess I’ll have to go up for a new body. Look what they’ve done to this one!” he complained, shooting Paige an annoyed look.
She glared back. If she had any more bullets, she would certainly use them on him again.
“You shouldn’t be the one to complain, Garrett. I, too, want to hurry and get out of this body and away from these cats!” Miss Dolly said in return, kicking one of them away from her, while looking angry.
Apparently done with the small talk, they turned to Paige, Tilley, and Peter. In a move Paige wouldn’t have believed was possible for someone that old, Miss Dolly jumped forward and grabbed Tilley. The police officer—Garrett, as they had learned—tried to grab Paige, but she wiggled out of the way.
“Peter, hide!” Paige yelled, thinking that at least one of them could escape, but to her chagrin, he stayed put.
He ran around the room, throwing various items at the aliens. First, he grabbed hold of a lamp, but his aim was way off. The only thing he managed to do was give a good scare to some cats that now ran around, creating additional chaos. He did much better with a potted plant. He threw and hit Miss Dolly right in the head. He hit her with such force the pot broke on impact and showered the Host with dirt.
Inhabitable (Invasion Survivor Book 2) Page 18
