"They came down here," Ellie whispered, afraid that her words would disturb the stagnant garbage can. She looked down the alley, searching for other signs of their passage. Searching for where they would have gone, what door they could have gone through. There were two doors, one on either side leading into the two bordering buildings, but neither had a way into them. Their single, solid loop handles showed no way to open the latch, no keyhole to open a lock; they were just there to lend a grip when the door was already ajar.
"We should get the others," Becky said. Ellie turned back to her when the fear in her voice registered to her. "We shouldn't go down there alone."
"We don't have time," Ellie said. She was sympathetic to her fears, feeling a similar emotion herself, though she had been living in fear for almost a month and had lost her ability to gage its strength. Was this a new fear, one based around the situation they were in, or just more of the same. More of the fear that those eyes had always instilled in her.
"There's always time to not be stupid," Becky said.
"Not if we want to stop Eric and Red from joining team alien."
"Do we want to stop it? Do we really care? Eric was always a jerk."
"Yes, but he's our jerk. Besides, he knows too much. We can't let the aliens know what we know."
"But we don't know anything. At least, not any more than they already know we know. You know?"
"Exactly," Ellie said, understanding the spiraling words better than Becky could. "We can't let them know that."
Ellie headed further down the alley, hoping that something would reveal itself the deeper she went. Trash littered both sides of the alley, the entire area reeking of garbage and other, less pleasant smells. An abandoned bike had been tossed aside in the far corner, both tires flat and the chain broken. Two rats were chasing each other near the end, fighting over a half-eaten piece of pizza. But there was nothing else. No sign of a door. No sign of the passing of a group of aliens or the two boys in their clutches.
"There, see?" Becky said. "There's nothing."
"Help," came a shout from above.
Ellie looked up, the one direction she hadn't been looking. The one direction they had taught at school that people tended to ignore. There was a fire escape on the building to her right, leading up. She couldn't make out how far up it went, but she imagined it led to the roof. The ladder that led to it was pulled up, held aloft by a spring-loaded pulley system, keeping it in place.
Becky was staring upwards as well, though she didn't seem any more eager to head up as she was to head in. Her knees shook visibly, her mouth open and slack as she stared at what she must have been thinking of as certain doom. Neither of the girls had discussed what would happen if they were turned. If they were captured by these aliens and made into one of them. Ellie still wasn't sure how she would feel about it herself.
"Come on," Ellie said, coming up next to Becky. She placed her hand on her shoulder, trying to snap her out of the spiraling fear she must have been feeling. "Give me a boost up. You're taller than me and I need to reach that ladder."
"What?" Becky asked. She glanced down at Ellie for a moment before going back to staring up. There was nothing to see up there, nothing but the fire escape. But she seemed captivated by it nonetheless.
"Come on," Ellie said again.
When it became apparent that Becky wasn't going to be of any use to her, she headed back down the alley, running towards the garbage can. She thanked her lucky stars that the can was empty, that it was light and free to be picked up. But that didn't mean she wanted to do it any more than she would have had it been full. Still, she darted towards it, skidding to a halt next to it and scooping it up in what she tried to make a fluid motion, before pivoting and running back to the ladder. It was awkward to run with the trash can, which was almost as tall as she was. But it wasn't too heavy and she managed it well enough. Once back, she slammed the metal object down on the ground, upside down so that the bottom was pointed up.
Ellie jumped onto the can and then sprung forward and upwards, hitting the brick wall on the side with her feet. She pushed off of the wall itself, up and away from it, spinning in air for a moment before grabbing hold of the ladder. Her weight pulled against the pulley system, dropping the ladder back down to the ground. It slammed loudly into the bottom of the garbage can, announcing her presence to the world. With just a single glance down at the still frozen Becky, she scrambled upwards, up the ladder and to the fire escape. Her heart raced as she took each step in turn, trying to be as stealthy as possible on the rickety old contraption while still running upwards, running towards her friend.
Her head poked out above the lip of the roof. She wasn't expecting what she saw up there.
Chapter Forty-Two
Rooftop Conversion
Directly across from the ladder, on the other side of the building, Eric was struggling against the strong arms of one of the aliens. He was pinned, face downward, into the side of the roof, the low wall that ran around the perimeter of the rooftop. As Eric bucked and twisted, Ellie could just make out the face of Barry as he held him steadily in place. From what she could see from her lower vantage point, Barry wasn't putting much effort into restraining him. And, yet, no matter how much force Eric was putting in his swings, he couldn't break free.
Red was in quite different, though no less dire, straights. He was running around the perimeter of the roof, fleeing from Miranda, who was hot on his tail. They had just passed the ladder, so Ellie hadn't seen why Red hadn't tried to escape down it. The look of glee on Miranda's face suggested that she was only playing with him. From her own interactions with these aliens, Ellie had no doubt that Miranda could just jump forward and catch him with little effort. She wasn't even running full force and, as Red tired himself out, she even slowed down to match his pace.
"Can you stop playing with him?" Barry said. "We're missing the fun downstairs."
"I'm not playing with him," Miranda said. "You know how this whole thing works. We've done it often enough."
"Yes, yes, the more they resist, the longer it takes to convert them. What I don't understand is why do we even care? Let's just convert them and leave them up here. It's not like they can do anything to reverse the process. Not that anyone would want to, once they're fully converted and see how awesome it is."
"I'll never become one of you," Eric said. He snapped his head backwards, only just missing Barry's face as the alien moved out of the way.
"Oh, you will be soon enough," Barry said. "And you'll be thanking me for it."
"Yea, for the next ten years or so," Miranda said.
"But it'll be a glorious ten years, one that will be worth the shorter lifespan. Plus, there's always a chance that they figure out why we're dying off like that. Wouldn't that be nice?"
"Then we can convert the whole world without those stupid moral questions getting in the way."
Red was panting heavily, barely managing to walk forward at all. Miranda just stood there, watching the man continue to walk around in a circle. He was almost to the ladder, but Ellie ducked down beneath the lip, trying not to draw attention to herself. She looked down to the ground below, down to Becky who was still there, looking up at her. Ellie waved to Becky, but she didn't see any signs of a response from her. When Ellie looked back up, Red was leaning heavily against the ladder. He was staring down at her, wide eyed.
"Get... help..." he panted, but he didn't manage much more than that. After a few seconds, he slipped backwards and out of sight. A loud thump made its way down to Ellie's ears.
"Finally," Barry said. "Now, let's get him done so we can move on to the brother."
"You're just annoyed that you can't do this," Miranda said.
"Obviously. Why would I bother with you if I could? You play with them far too much. They're not food, they're not mice. They're just... inferior, in every way possible."
"Except maybe lifespan," Miranda said.
"Only for the weak. Besides, you burn hot, y
ou burn bright, you burn out. Now get it over with."
"Don't worry. This won't hurt a bit."
"It'll just feel really weird."
Ellie peeked back out from the top of the ladder. Right in front of her was the back of Miranda's head. She seemed to be crouching over something, Red's prone form probably but Ellie couldn't see much. As Miranda leaned forward, a weird choking sound started coming from her, like she was trying to force herself to throw up but there was nothing in her stomach. As the sounds started to get less dry and more substantive, Ellie reached out, grabbing her hair and pulling her backwards. Had she put more strength into it, she could have thrown Miranda off of the roof. But she settled for slamming her into the ladder.
The sounds continued uninterrupted, as Miranda didn't seem to notice her new position or the pressure on her hair. Ellie turned away from her, shielding her eyes, as the vomit flowed forward. As she held the alien in place, she waited for the sick sounds to stop. They went on for almost a minute, and the sounds of it hitting the roof suggested that, whatever it was, it wasn't really vomit that she was expelling.
"What the fuck," Barry yelled.
Red's face appeared over the edge of the roof soon after the sounds stopped. He gave her a thumbs up before disappearing once more. His disappearance was the only hint that Ellie got before she was being pulled up onto the roof. Her feet left the ground and she was flying through the air. For a split second, she thought she was going over the edge, missing the roof completely. But then she hit the ground hard, rolling across the slick surface to stop at Eric's feet.
Ellie scrambled back to her feet, brushing herself off and trying to get any trace of whatever it was that Miranda had spit up off of her. She hadn't thought to get away from the two men. Barry had no trouble reaching over and grabbing her by the hair, much like she had with Miranda only moments ago. His grip sent a wave of terror through her and she stopped moving. Instead, she just stared into the wide, dark eyes of Miranda, standing in front of a big pool of an unknown orange substance. Something told Ellie that it wasn't Tang.
"You have a lot of nerve," Miranda spat at her. The orange liquid flitted out at her words, like so much spittle. But it didn't cross the distance between them. Didn't come close to hitting Ellie.
"I have a lot of nerve? What the hell do you think you were doing?" Ellie asked. She tried to pull away from Barry, but his grip was too firm, too solid in her hair. Several strands pulled free at the attempt, but not enough for her to free herself. She feared that she would have to tear her scalp off to get away from him. Worse, what would he do while he had her in his clutches?
"The same thing I've been doing all month. You know, there was a time that I thought you were on my side, on our side. Especially when you broke into Rebecca Anne's room. That was hilarious, watching her chase after you like that over that stupid list. Not sure what the hell she was thinking, though, making a list of all the people we converted."
"Maybe turn you in to the police?" Red said. He managed to catch his breath, though he was still leaning heavily against the ledge. Every few seconds, he'd adjust himself, sliding further along and away from Miranda. However, since Miranda was standing by the ladder, the only way off the roof, he wasn't going to get far.
"Oh, like they'd believe you," Miranda said. "You'd probably be committed just for suggesting it. Just ask Ellie over here about Sam's parents. It's been amazing cover over the years, on those few, rare instances where people had gotten wind of what we were. What we are. What we're doing. We give great human, and who would ever believe that aliens were here without proof?"
"Even with proof," Barry said, laughing it off. "Even with a disappearing plane and a picture of an alien climbing down a bridge, no one believed it. Or, at least, not enough. No, it was just another conspiracy theory, and that one actually looked like an alien."
"Besides," Miranda said. "I take offence to the term." She stretched her back out, flitting her shoulders to and fro. She entwined her fingers in front of her then stretched her arms over her head, extending them behind her in a very not human manner, bending at angles that the human body was not meant to bend at. "I'm as human as the next person, just a better, more advanced form of human. We're what everyone should strive for. We're doing them a favor converting them like this. It's so much better than Barry's methods, believe me."
"Hey," Barry said. "I've had my share of compliments myself. It's not as nice as your way of doing things, but it gets the job done."
"'Not as nice'?" Miranda asked. "Seriously? You're lucky we don't turn on each other. Or, at least, most of us don't." She eyed Ellie dangerously. "Most of us toe the line when we know what's at stake. Otherwise, you would have been arrested a dozen times by now."
"Nowhere near a dozen," Barry said. "Most of them didn't even see me until the day after. If I wasn't bringing them into the Hulandan fold, I wouldn't have bothered to stay at all."
"Oh, yes, wham, bam, who are you?"
"It's not my fault that males can only spread the spores through sex."
Ellie suddenly felt sick as she realized what they were describing. What they had been conspiring to do. It was bad enough thinking that they were converting people, making humans into aliens against their will. That’s what her father had been talking about earlier, the serial rapist that had been at work on campus. It was Barry. And, to think, Becky had actually liked the guy.
"You piece of shit," Ellie said.
Ellie ignored Miranda for a second, turning all of her rage towards Barry behind her. She pivoted in place, sacrificing more of her hair to get a better angle on Barry, on the alien, on the rapist that was holding her hostage. Both titles seemed equally bad, equally monstrous to her. She punched forward at Barry's face. With both of his arms occupied, one holding Eric and the other holding her, he had no defense against her strike. Her fist slammed into his nose. A loud, breaking sound rent the air. Reflexively, he let go of both of them, stumbling backwards into the ledge with his hands to his face. Ellie tried to ignore the large bloom of hair that rained down around her.
Once free, Ellie squared off against her attackers. Figuring Barry disabled for the moment, she ran the other direction, heading for Miranda. Miranda just stood there, wide eyed, in shock as Ellie charged her. Ellie screamed loudly as she threw three quick punches, connecting solidly with Miranda's face, chest, and stomach. Like Barry, she tumbled backwards under the barrage. However, she didn't stop at the ledge. Miranda tumbled over the edge, flipping upside down over the side of the roof. As she did, her legs flipped up into the air, swinging up towards Ellie. More out of her training than any real plan, Ellie grabbed onto her legs as they went by, holding them aloft and stopping her from falling over the side of the building. Her blood pumping, the adrenaline coursing through her veins, Ellie had no trouble holding the woman upside down over the side of the building.
"Don't let go," Miranda shouted up at her. "Don't let go."
"What's the matter?" Red asked. "Aliens can't fly?"
"Of course, we can't. Do you see wings on me? Even if I had wings, they'd need to be huge to hold me aloft. I thought you took Physics already."
"Now's not the time to be teaching us Physics," Ellie said.
Still, she eased Miranda down, letting her fall more gracefully onto the top landing of the fire escape. She held onto Miranda's leg until she was certain the girl wouldn't fall when she let go, or run away as soon as she was free. Even after letting go, Red jumped down next to her right away, literally sitting on her back to keep her in place.
"Now, then," Ellie said, turning back to the other alien in her midst. "Where were we?"
She looked back and forth across the expanse of the rooftop, stunned that Barry wasn't where she left him. Cautiously, she walked across the roof, heading towards where she had last seen the injured man. Eric was still standing where she had left him, an unpleasant smell coming from him. But there was no sign of Barry anywhere. Even when she looked over the edge of the building
, looked down to the ground several stories down, there was no sign of the rapist anywhere.
"Son of a bitch," she swore into the waning day.
Chapter Forty-Three
Kidnapped Alien
"You think these will hold me?" Miranda yelled. She was bound by two old bungee cords they had found attached to the abandoned bike below, holding her against the ladder. Despite her words, she struggled against them, not able to wrest free. They gave under her efforts, not enough for her to maneuver out of them and too much for her to break them.
"For now," Ellie said. Once the altercation between the two aliens had ended, she had waved down Alex and George. Their added presence was enough to break Becky out of her fear. The six of them were reunited once more, this time against a common, and very real, enemy in the alien they had captured.
"What are we going to do?" Becky asked. She still looked paler than usual, which was quite a feat seeing as how she grew up in an area where the sun rarely shone. It was clear that she didn't like being anywhere near the alien, more so this alien than any of the others they had encountered.
"I say we hand her over to the cops," Eric said. "Let them deal with it."
"I say we throw her off the roof," Red said. "Let gravity deal with it."
"I'm right here," Miranda said. "And I'm not an it."
"Yes, guys," George said. "Let's use the proper pronouns, shall we? I say we hand her over to the HPS. They're bound to show up at some point, right? I mean, they took down a power grid and cell towers. That had to have gotten them on their radar if what you sent them wasn't enough."
"The HPS handle demons," Alex said. "This is a little outside of their wheelhouse."
"Actually, this is exactly in their wheelhouse," Becky said. "They don't just handle demons, they handle all..."
Light Through the Window Page 28