Mothership (Invasion Survivor Book 4)

by Hayley Lawson

  “Hey, Lhuke, do you know where your brother is?” Brexton asked.

  “Don't know; don't care,” he replied in the typical teenager's way before turning to walk away. He stopped and returned to stand next to Willow. The way he looked at her was intense as if he’d never seen a human girl before.

  Maybe he hadn’t, Brooke allowed.

  “And who might you be?” he asked her.

  “I’m Willow. Nice to meet you,” she replied, offering her hand.

  After a moment of hesitation, he took it and kissed it, to everyone’s surprise, especially Willow's. “You are gorgeous,” he complimented.

  “And a minor, so back off, Casanova,” Brooke's father grumbled, Brooke barely held it together not to laugh.

  That was such a typical Dad move.

  “Casa-what?” Lhuke asked, confused. He was still holding Willow's hand.

  “Lhuke, behave,” Nalla snapped, and that broke the spell.

  “Yes, granny,” he replied. “It was nice meeting you all,” he said, leaving.

  He stopped by the door. “Call me when you get older,” he told Willow and winked. Naturally, she went scarlet. It was a family trait, unfortunately.

  After they finished eating snacks and drinking delicious homemade juice, they said their goodbyes.

  Luckily, Lhuke didn't come back again. Brooke's father would certainly have an aneurysm.

  “So, this was a complete waste of time,” Brooke said. She didn't want to sound too negative; she was simply worried they wouldn't get to Avignon in time because of this.

  “I'm sorry, Brooke,” Brexton said, “This was my stupid idea.”

  “You just tried to help, and I appreciate it,” Brooke was quick to reassure him. “Do you have anyone else in mind?”

  Brexton thought about that for a moment.

  “Maybe KP Twins, but they’re more of a B team if you know what I mean.”

  “Okay,” Brooke replied simply. She trusted his judgment.

  Brooke turned toward her sister and father who walked a few steps behind them.

  “Let's split up,” she told them. “Brexton will go with me to collect the prisoners, and you two can roam about a little, meet in twenty by the ship?”

  “Perfect.” Willow was pleased. “I’ll have time to pick some of those beautiful flowers.”

  “And I want to see what I can find at the market. Maybe they would like to trade,” her father added.

  With that settled, they all went their separate ways.

  There were three Hosts, and luckily, they didn't put up much of a fight. They were sent there as scouts. Perhaps that would derail an innovation.

  They reached the ship in no time, but only Brooke's Dad was there. He inspected a clock he probably acquired at the market.

  “Where's Willow?” Brooke asked him.

  “I'm here,” Willow said, coming from behind them.

  “Where are the flowers?” Brooke asked curiously.

  Willow shrugged. “I changed my mind. When something is that beautiful, you need to admire it from afar. Nurture it, not destroy it,” she explained.

  “Okay,” Brooke replied slowly. “Let's go.”

  Once they secured the Hosts in the small cell on the ship, Brooke took command and prepared to take flight.

  “Where to now?” she asked Brexton who in return looked at her like she’d lost all her marbles. She rolled her eyes at him. “After we deliver these clowns to the tribunal, of course. Do you want us to visit those twins of yours?” she asked.

  “Sure,” he sighed. “It's a shame we didn't find Aidan. He would be a great help.”

  Willow snorted. “Aidan sounds like a real tool,” she said, and Brooke turned to look at her, a bit surprised she would say something like that.

  “His brother looks smarter and far more competent, not to mention handsome.”

  Brooke couldn't help but grin while her father frowned. Brexton frowned, too.

  Classic big brother syndrome.

  Brooke was with Willow, though. Lhuke did look kind of cute.

  “Have a seat, guys,” Brooke advised. They would leave the planet soon.

  “Hold on for a second,” Brexton said.

  Before Brooke could ask why, he had Willow by the neck.

  “What did you do to her?” he shouted at her.

  Brooke jumped from her seat.

  Willow giggled. “Went too far, didn't I?” she chirped happily.

  “Brexton,” Brooke warned. “What's going on?”

  “Go back,” he said simply.

  “Why?”

  “Because this is not your sister,” Brexton dropped like a bomb.

  Sure enough, Brooke's lovely sister turned silver in front of her eyes, shapeshifting into an alien named Lhuke.

  “Did I fail to mention they’re a race of shapeshifters?” Brexton said conversationally, still holding the boy by the neck. Lhuke didn't look concerned about it.

  “Yes, you did fail to mention that,” Brooke snapped, turning back immediately.

  “Where is my sister, you brat?” Brooke asked the boy.

  “She's fine, probably still picking flowers,” he chuckled

  As he’d suspected, she was waiting for them right where the ship was supposed to be, all red-faced and shaking from anger.

  “I can't believe you left without me,” Willow accused, infuriated.

  “Hey, flower girl,” Lhuke said to her, sending her a kiss. That made her pause for a second.

  “Scram, before I strangle you for real,” Brexton told him.

  “Take me with you,” Lhuke surprised them all by saying. “I can help,” he pleaded.

  They all looked at one another, unsure what to say to that.

  “I will behave; I promise,” Lhuke added with a smile.

  Somehow, Brooke seriously doubted that. On the other hand, however, she thought he could come in handy.

  “Will your grandmother be okay with that?” Brooke asked.

  “Yes,” he replied instantly.

  Brooke looked at Brexton, and he shrugged. “Okay, let's go.”

  “Hey, what's that?” Willow asked, and Brooke turned to see what she was talking about.

  Brooke frowned. “We have a message from the Watcher's Space Station,” she realized.

  “I hope they decided on having a casual Friday like I requested,” Brexton said straight-faced, but Brooke didn't laugh.

  “Actually, the message has been forwarded.” She turned to look at her companions. “It's from Dave.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Dave returned to the Green Level. He looked but had a big grin across his face. Paige jumped from the couch to meet him halfway.

  “What happened?” she urged.

  “I’m a hero,” Dave announced.

  “And humble as ever,” Paige replied in the same manner, and he chuckled.

  “You know me so well.”

  “Dave, speak,” she snapped at him to focus.

  He sat down. “I convinced the General-in-Chief to let them stay,” he started.

  “How did you manage that?”

  “With money, of course. But it’s only temporary since I don’t know how long this money will last,” he confessed.

  “Why do I have a feeling there’s a but coming?” Paige asked, speculating.

  Dave smiled again. “Because it does. Remember that plan of mine?” he asked instead.

  “Yeah, of course,” Paige replied without a thought.

  “Well, I planned to call Brooke and ask for her help.”

  That happily surprised Paige to hear. “And did you?”

  “Sort of. I sent her a message. I wanted to try to call her over the radio, but those bastards forced me out of my ship. They said we are in some kind of a lock-down.”

  “Really?” That was the first time Paige heard about that.

  “Yeah,” Dave replied with a sigh. “I would bet my sweet ass that we and that Green rebellion are the reason for it.”

&nbs
p; “Still not regretting it,” Paige insisted, and the boys agreed.

  “So, will she come or send help?” Paige asked, returning them to the main topic.

  “I hope so,” was all Dave said.

  I guess that’s more than we can hope for at the moment.

  “You should go speak with the parents, I know they are aching to hear what is happening,” Paige advised, and Dave nodded.

  “Good thinking,” he rose but paused. “Are you sure they’d be okay hearing it from me?” He pointed at his uniform.

  “Of course. You are one of us—where it counts—no matter the color,” Paige instantly replied, and he smiled.

  “Damn straight I am.”

  “That’s a great thing he did,” AJ complimented once Dave left.

  “Yes, it is,” Paige agreed. She saw good in Dave almost from the moment she met him. He tried to hide his big heart, but Paige got through to him. He still surprised her and pushed her to do better.

  “He still owes us some donuts, though,” AJ deadpanned, and Paige laughed.

  “All joking aside, with this crisis averted, we can now focus or getting my mom out,” Paige said after the laughter died down.

  “I agree,” AJ replied.

  There was no telling how long they had, so they needed to come up with something fast.

  As far as she could see, only the Blue Coats could go down there, and that gave her an idea.

  “Look, I think the first thing we need to do is score some Blue Coats, that way no one will recognize us,” Paige said after some thought.

  “That’s a pretty nice first step in the plan,” AJ nodded approvingly, even though his tone was teasing. “We’ll have to sneak into their wardrobes to get them. That will be hard because there are cameras everywhere.”

  “What about the laundry room?” Paige suggested. “Those uniforms have to be washed, right?”

  AJ pondered about that for a second. “Yeah, maybe. I think it would be noticed sooner if we steal them from there. Besides, there are cameras there, too,” he countered.

  He’s right, Paige thought to herself, trying to find a way out of this mess.

  “We’ll have to break the cameras somehow or just turn them off quickly. The question is how?” Paige looked at him, thinking out loud, then slowly her gaze dropped to her hands.

  “AJ, we have the Black Mass in our bodies. We have to use it somehow,” Paige said, fidgeting with her fingers. She was afraid to even make that suggestion. Beggars can’t be choosers.

  She was afraid, but more importantly, she didn’t want Dave to find out.

  Not that way.

  Paige wondered what exactly Dillon had done back on the Viper to get those tentacles to come from his fingers. Paige shivered while remembering the experience from her point of view.

  It was no picnic.

  “I wonder how we can use the Black Mass to our advantage. We have more stamina, we’re faster, stronger, quicker, but in this case, that’s not enough.”

  “I have no idea how to use it more efficiently,” Paige replied honestly. “What if we try to sprout those tentacles?”

  AJ looked at her with raised eyebrows. “I don’t know. It’s not safe. What if we spill the Black Mass out of our bodies and unwillingly put other people’s lives in danger?” he asked.

  He had a point there.

  “I guess you’re right. We can’t use it,” Paige replied and shivered, remembering how the Black Mass chased after her. “We still don’t know how to control it.”

  Paige stopped herself from dwelling further on it.

  “There must be another way,” AJ said with a sigh, leaning against the back of the sofa.

  Paige was certain there was, but she just couldn’t figure out what it was.

  “What if I use the brain power the Black Mass already improved?” Paige asked.

  AJ took his time before answering. “That’s a possibility. Though there must be a way to deceive the cameras. I guess you’re more inclined to find a way since you’re working in the tech department, right?”

  “That’s right,” Paige replied, suddenly sitting upright. This conversation made her feel good and excited. “Hey, I have an idea.”

  AJ chuckled. “I knew that was bound to happen soon enough,” he teased. “So, what’s this idea of yours?” He leaned forward as if she was about to reveal some big secret to him, but then he snapped back.

  “Cameras. Paige!”

  “What is it?” She was on high alert suddenly.

  “We’ve been talking carelessly all this time about our plans and what not, and there’s a camera recording us all this time,” he said in exasperation, his eyes wide.

  Paige burst out laughing, which made AJ look at her like she lost her mind.

  “I already took care of it,” she told him, putting him out of his misery.

  “For real?”

  “Yup,” she said, raising her chin slightly. “It didn’t sit well with me either, so I turned it off. It’s a miracle they didn’t turn it back on with all this going on, though.”

  “You really are amazing,” he repeated his previous statement.

  “I know,” she deadpanned, and they both burst out laughing.

  “Parents informed. What did I miss?” Dave asked, jumping on the sofa between them.

  “We were just brainstorming, thinking of ways to get Mom out,” Paige replied.

  “No rest for the wicked, right,” Dave joked. “Did you come up with something?”

  “Ok, just let me ask this,” Dave started after AJ explained everything to him. “Why Blue Coats and not Red?”

  “Blue Coats can go to the Zero level. Plus, no offense, but Red stands out too much,” Paige explained.

  Dave mused about that, nodding. “I have to agree. I do stand out. What are we going to do about the cameras?”

  “Paige was just about to say something about that, but I had a small nervous breakdown,” AJ joked.

  “I have a brilliant plan,” Paige announced.

  “Which is?” Dave prompted.

  “I could try to switch the images showing!” Paige whispered excitedly. She was afraid that someone may overhear her plan, so she tried to keep her voice down. “But I’m not sure how yet.”

  “I like it, simple yet effective! Exactly what we need at the moment,” Dave said.

  “Only you have to be very careful. One small, tiny mistake and we’re toast,” AJ added.

  Or more precisely put, floated out, she mentally corrected.

  “Of course, I know that,” Paige replied, unable to stop the wave of excitement creeping through her.

  “So, I will need to go to my department and tamper with the computers regulating the cameras. I’ll try to change the feed of those cameras that are on our way,” Paige continued to think out loud, fine-tuning their plan.

  “In the meantime, you try to fetch some Blue Coats for both of us.” Paige finished quickly as she was almost breathless from the excitement.

  She felt hopeless before, but now they had a course of action, and that filled her with hope.

  “Even without the Black Mass in me, I think it would be easy to break onto their level to get a couple of spare blue uniforms.” AJ said.

  It will be a piece of cake.

  “Excuse me,” Dave interjected. “Why only two uniforms? What about me?”

  Paige hesitated for a moment. She had concerns about him coming to the Zero level. With him helping the Greens so much and flashing cash, she was certain rumors floated around about him by now. That would make things difficult for them.

  How to tell him that? Paige couldn’t.

  “Like you said yourself, you stand out. People know you now even without the Red, so I was thinking you sit this one out, then help us with the big finale.” They needed a distraction, and Dave was a born showman.

  “I don’t like it,” Dave said the moment she finished. “I don’t want to sit on the sidelines. This linebacker wants to play, coach.”

&nb
sp; “You can try to see if your elevator key really works for all the levels, Zero included. You can always play dumb if you get caught,” Paige was quick on her feet.

  “Okay,” he replied slowly. “I’ll do it.”

  “We’ll meet here after finishing our tasks so we can start the next part of our plan. Helping your mom out of her cell and getting the heck out of here,” AJ said calmly.

  “I only pray that I’ll be fast enough. Because if they see us roaming around someplace we’re not supposed to be…”

  “We’ll be floated out.” They finished the sentence at the same time.

  Then AJ eyes locked with hers as he added, “I have complete faith in you. You’ll get it done.”

  I certainly hope so.

  “What could possibly go wrong?” Dave blubbered out.

  “I can’t believe you just said that,” Paige said incredulously. “You totally jinxed us.”

  “Yeah man, not cool,” AJ agreed.

  Dave rolled his eyes. “We needed another challenge.”

  Unfortunately, Paige realized something because of it. “Oh, crap.”

  “What is it, Paige?” both guys asked almost in unison.

  “They told us to stay put and don’t leave the Green Level. They won’t let us go to work!” Everything was hopeless if they couldn’t reach other levels.

  “You’re right,” AJ said, scratching the back of his neck.

  “What should we do?” Paige urged.

  Angela didn’t have a lot of time, so they couldn’t just wait around and do nothing.

  “I don’t know. How about we go anyway and beg whoever is in charge to give us a second chance?” AJ offered.

  Paige didn’t like that one bit. Still, what other option did they have?

  “Maybe I can try to bribe your way out of this mess?” Dave offered.

  “No, better not,” Paige replied. “If they notice how much you help us, you’ll become too suspicious.”

  “Good thinking.”

  With that somewhat settled, they made their way over to the elevator and stepped in. They inspected the buttons.

  “My key doesn’t fit into that,” Dave said glumly. "There goes my great help.”

  “You mentioned you have a private elevator. Why don’t you try that one, just to make sure?” AJ suggested, and Dave nodded, instantly cheered up.