Equinox

by L. J. Higgins

  “You want to give up your beautiful planet to live underground alone with me?” I said. “I think you drank more Kota than you said last night, and it’s finally hit your brain.”

  He laughed. “I mean it. I want to stay here with you.”

  Before I could get another word in, he pressed his soft lips to mine, heat rushing through my mouth and cheeks and rushing through my body down to my toes. My stomach fluttered and my head was giddy. His arms wrapped around my back, and mine pressed against his firm chest as the kiss deepened.

  Chapter Nineteen

  I awoke early the next morning in a naked tangle of bed sheets and rolled over to find Reece sleeping peacefully beside me. Our voyage back to the room was dotted with passionate kisses and wide smiles, and I’d had the best night’s sleep I’d had in years. But despite how much I wanted him to stay with me, I couldn’t let him. It’d be selfish to keep him hidden underground instead of sending him back to his beautiful planet.

  “Hey,” he said quietly as he opened his eyes.

  “Morning,” I replied, pulling the sheet over my chest.

  “You trying to sneak out on me?”

  “Bit hard when this is my room,” I said.

  “Oh, right. You want me to leave?”

  “No. I was just admiring the view.”

  “Is that right?”

  “And thinking…”

  “That sounds dangerous.”

  “I don’t think you should stay on Earth,” I said.

  He sighed. “Ky…”

  “Let me rephrase. I don’t think we should stay on Earth. I’ll face whatever judgement the Solians throw at me. But with Tyson gone, and your heart belonging on another planet, there’s nothing left for me here anymore.”

  “You mean it?” A smile broke across his lips.

  “It’d be a pretty cruel joke if I didn’t,” I said.

  “I wouldn’t put it past you.”

  “You have a point. But yes, I mean it. I’ll come to Terra Sol.”

  He pulled me in for a kiss, but we were interrupted by knocking at the door.

  “Ky?” Tyson called out.

  “Crap,” I said before calling out. “Hang on!”

  The door cracked open as I pulled on my underwear. “Jeeze, Ty. I said hang on!”

  His eyes found me covering as much as myself as I could before they found Reece in my bed.

  “Good morning, Tyson.” Reece wore a broad smile.

  “Crap, I can’t unsee this,” Tyson said finally, covering his eyes.

  My cheeks were warm as I finished dressing. “Okay, you can come in now.”

  “I was going to see if you wanted to join me this morning,” he said, swallowing down what I was sure was bile.

  “Are you sure you can stand looking at me after that?” I asked.

  “I’ll be avoiding eye contact,” he said.

  “What about your shadow Natalie?” Reece asked.

  “I convinced her to be Cleo’s shadow today,” he said. “I want to spend some time with you before we leave.”

  “Well, I may have some news you’ll be happy to hear,” I said.

  His eyes widened, and he looked to Reece. “You convinced her?”

  “More, she convinced herself,” said Reece.

  “You’re coming to Terra Sol?” His voice was a strange high pitch.

  I nodded, and he wrapped me in a tight hug as though the news had wiped the earlier scene from his memory.

  “I can’t tell you how happy I am. I knew you’d change your mind,” he said.

  “I just hope the Solians feel the same way,” I said.

  “Whatever happens, we’ll be there beside you,” Reece said.

  “Can’t you put some clothes on or something?” Tyson asked. “You’re making my stomach queasy.”

  “Too much awesomeness for you?” Reece said.

  “What have you done to him?” Tyson asked. “Actually, don’t answer. Let’s just get moving so I can show you what we’re doing today.”

  “I’ll see you later,” I said to Reece.

  “See you later,” he replied.

  Following Tyson out of the room, a weird sensation came over me. It made me want to run back inside and give Reece one more kiss. Look at him one more time. But I shook the notion from my mind and continued down the hallway. All this happiness and lovey-dovey stuff was going to my head.

  “Do I have to talk to you about the birds and the bees and all of that stuff?” Tyson asked.

  “Please don’t,” I said.

  “You know I’m here if you need to talk,” he offered.

  “I promise I have everything under control,” I said.

  “Just trying to be a good big brother.”

  “Well, you can focus your energy on showing me what needs to be done today.”

  “I’m happy you’ve decided to come with us. We’re pretty much ready for launch. A bit of tinkering today, and we should be ready for tomorrow night,” he said.

  “Already?”

  An alarm blared down the hallway, and I cringed at the sound ricocheting off the walls.

  “What on Earth…” Tyson said as the lights went out and red lights flooded the metal hallway.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “Nothing good. Quick, let’s get to the control room.”

  I followed him back the way we’d come until we arrived at the control room.

  “Luckily these run on a different power source,” he said more to himself then me as he started up the monitors lining the walls.

  He looked up scanning them, and I followed suit, unsure of what I was looking for. Then I passed a screen revealing black SUV’s and what looked like an army of people in black uniforms holding rifles. Skywatchers.

  “Ty, this isn’t good,” I said.

  Tyson arrived beside me and swallowed hard. “How did they find us?”

  “I don’t know, but we need to get everyone out of here,” I said.

  Tyson grabbed hold of a mic on the desk and pressed a button. “All members of the bunker, make your way to the airships immediately for launch.” His voice echoed around us. “All members of the bunker, make your way to the airships immediately for launch. The bunker has been breached. I repeat. The bunker has been breached.”

  He pressed another button, and the message he’d said began to repeat.

  “Do you think they’ll get to the airships in time?” I asked.

  “I’m not sure. I’ve sealed the first few doors into the bunker. That should slow them down a bit.”

  We both stared at the screen and watched as they took aim and fired at the first door. A well-built man with short brown hair stood at the lead, sending a rush of anger racing through my veins.

  “Ricko,” Tyson and I said together.

  “I’m going to kill him,” I said. “Where do you keep your weapons?”

  “Ky, you need to get to the airship.”

  “I need a weapon. This…” I gestured around the room. “This is what you’re good at. Weapons and shooting, that’s what I can do.”

  He released a breath and passed me one of his cards. “Next door along this hallway. Be quick. The moment they get through the door, I’m initiating the launch and making my way to the airships.”

  I nodded and darted out of the doorway, sprinting down the reddened hall until I found the door to the armoury. Sliding his card across the panel, it beeped before letting me open it, and I stepped inside, closing the door behind me. Tyson’s words still repeated in the air around me as I scanned the walls lined with weapons. I found a belt to wrap around my waist and a knife to tuck into it. I also found a rifle, much like the ones I’d used at Skywatchers, and grabbed as much ammunition as I could.

  Leaving the room, I made my way back to Tyson and poked my head through the door.

  “How’s it looking?” I asked.

  “Not good,” he said gravely. “They’ve already gotten through the first door. Cleo said they’ve started l
oading the ships, though, so hopefully, we can take off before they get in.”

  “I’m going to go find Reece and Natalie. Then I’ll come back,” I said.

  “Take a radio with you.” He pointed on a bench by the table. “Stay in contact.”

  I took the radio and clipped it onto my belt. “See you soon.”

  “Be safe.”

  I nodded before making my way down the hallway back towards my room. People rushed past me everywhere, and it felt like I was swimming against a current of bodies. Tyson’s voice still sounded above the ruckus of fast talking and stamping feet, and I managed to push my way through the group, illuminated in red, until hands gripped my shoulders.

  “Ky, thank goodness.” Reece held me in front of him, people filing past on either side of us.

  “It’s Skywatchers. Someone told them where the bunker is. You need to go help Tyson in the control room. I’m going to find Natalie,” I said.

  “I just saw her in the dining hall. Maybe she’s still around there,” he suggested.

  “I’ll see you in the control room as soon as I find her. I have a radio to talk to Tyson, so let me know if anything changes,” I said.

  “Okay, I’ll see you soon.”

  “And, Reece?” I said before he could dash away.

  He turned to face me, and I placed my hands on both of his cheeks, pulling him towards me and pressing my lips to his as though it may be the last time I ever kissed him. When he pulled away, I swallowed hard.

  “Stay safe,” he said.

  “You, too.”

  Turning away from him, I made my way towards the dining hall.

  Inside, it was empty. The only sound was Tyson’s voice over the loud speakers.

  My radio crackled, and I unclipped it from my belt.

  “Ky?” Tyson said.

  “I’m here,” I said into it.

  “I can see Natalie. She looks like she’s walking towards the locked doors. I think she’s lost,” Tyson said.

  “I’ll go get her,” I said, clipping the radio to my belt and making my way out into the now empty hallway.

  A few stragglers hurried towards the airships, and I lifted the radio back up, pressing the button. “Where do I go from the airship room?”

  “Turn left, she’s almost at the door. Hurry,” Tyson said.

  Sprinting as fast as I could, my legs ached as the muscles warmed, no longer used to hours of exercise a day.

  I caught sight of her bouncing blonde hair and called out. “Natalie!”

  Her pace quickened, and I followed suit, spotting her as she reached the door.

  “Natalie, stop! You’re going the wrong way!”

  I slowed to a jog as she came into full view, but the sight of her proud grin as she turned to face me stopped me in my tracks.

  “You don’t think you can take on Skywatchers alone, do you?” she asked.

  “Are you saying you’re here to help me?” I asked. “You don’t have a weapon.”

  “You really don’t get it, do you? I always thought you were so clever. The youngest and most skilled recruit Skywatchers had ever seen,” she said. “Agent Rickson was right. That alien really got into your head. He’s made you weak.”

  “What are you saying?” I asked, despite the sinking of my stomach already telling me what I needed to know.

  “I’m saying I lied to you, tricked you, pretended to be your friend so you’d lead me to your alien friends, and you did just that,” she said.

  “You evil piece of…” I growled.

  She clapped, cutting off my words, the echoes bouncing off the wall. “Finally! Skywatchers fallen hunter has caught on. Too bad it’s too late.”

  She reached for the door, and I flipped my rifle off my shoulder and aimed it towards her, stilling her hand.

  “Why? You said you’d learned the truth. You said you believed me. How could you do this after everything you’ve learned?” I said.

  “That day I was weak and let you go in the bush, I went straight to Commander Kane and told him what had happened. I was taken off hunting duty and put back into training. Then when they captured you, Agent Rickson offered me the chance to redeem myself,” she said.

  “He wanted you to help me escape so I’d lead you to Reece and the Solians,” I said.

  “Precisely. Maybe you’re not as stupid as I thought. Did you really think it’d be so easy to escape Skywatchers if you were a prisoner? It was all part of the plan to make you trust me, your stupid brother trust me, then tell Agent Rickson exactly where all of these rodents were hiding underground.”

  She reached for the handle again.

  “I can’t let you do that,” I said.

  She smirked. “You won’t shoot me. You’re too soft.”

  Without a second thought, I squeezed the trigger. The familiar push of the gun’s butt against my shoulder was followed by the almost silent pop. Natalie roared as the bullet hit her in the right leg. She screamed as red blossomed from her wound and spread across her pants. She slid down the door onto the floor.

  “You shot me…” she said.

  “You’re lucky it was just your leg,” I said.

  “Skywatchers are going to get in here, and they’re going to kill you and all of your alien friends,” she growled.

  “Not if I can hold them off,” I said.

  She pushed herself up and back onto her left foot, holding the top of her right leg.

  “Don’t make me shoot you again,” I said.

  She glared at me before lunging for the handle. I squeezed the trigger once more, and she crumpled to the floor blood blooming from her chest. Swallowing hard, I lowered my weapon.

  “Aliens aren’t the real monsters,” I said. “People like you are.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Leaving no time to process Natalie’s betrayal and the fact I’d shot her, my mind went straight back into hunting mode. Only this time, I wasn’t hunting aliens, I was hunting Skywatchers.

  Pacing back along the corridor, I hid myself behind a corner, rifle trained on the path where Skwatchers would soon burst through.

  Taking the radio from my belt, I pressed the button. “It was Natalie. She told them where we were. She was lying to us the entire time.”

  “That little…” Reece yelled in the background.

  “We saw you take her out. Are you okay?” Tyson asked.

  “I’m stationed around the corner, facing the doorway,” I said. “You need to start the launch sequence and make your way to the airship. If they get through, I’ll hold them back until you give me word you’re ready. Then I’ll try to make it to one of the airships before launch.”

  “That’s insane,” Tyson said.

  “If I don’t make it back in time, don’t wait.”

  Silence hung in the air for a moment before he replied. “I can’t leave without you.”

  “You’ll be risking all of the Solians lives if you don’t,” I said. “This is what you’ve been working for, Tyson. I can’t be the reason it all falls apart so close to the end.”

  Silence filled the other end of the radio, and I swallowed down the lump in my throat.

  “Just promise me you’ll try your best to make it to the airship,” Tyson said.

  “You know I can’t…”

  “Promise, Ky.”

  “I promise. I’ll do everything I can.”

  Silence again.

  “I’ll initiate the launch sequence. As soon as I tell you to move, get your ass to the closest airship, got it?”

  “Got it,” I replied.

  “I love you, little sister.”

  “I love you, too,” I replied.

  Clipping the radio to my belt, I lifted my firearm in a slow sweeping motion. I rested my left knee on the concrete floor, using my right to prop up my elbow as I stared down the weapon’s scope. I drew a silent breath to release the cacophony of energy building up inside me, focusing on the end of the hallway more intently.

  Tyson’s voice stopp
ed echoing around me before a new message was relayed and repeated. “Airship launch sequence initiated. Launch will commence in fifteen minutes.”

  I gripped the firearm tighter and swallowed hard, focusing my gaze. I’d spent so many years hunting these innocent people, killing their friends and family. I was going to do everything in my power to make sure those who’d survived the massacre made it home safe, or at least die trying.

  A boom shuddered the room around me, throwing me off balance for a moment. A fear I’d never known raced through my veins, and I gritted my teeth against the thudding of my heart beat. Another boom rang in my ears, followed by a crash, and I knew Skywatchers had blasted through the door as the sound of boots crunched over the debris they’d created.

  There was no way I could take them all out on my own. There’d be too many of them. But as long as I could slow them down for long enough…

  A figure appeared in my scope, and I took aim at his chest, pulling the trigger as he rounded the bend. He cried out before dropping to the floor, but there was no time to register his death. Another hunter appeared around the bend. I took him out, too, but it only forced the others back behind the wall. They knew I was there.

  Rising, I backed my way along the wall, not taking my eye off the hallway as I made my way back around another bend. Another body, another squeeze of the trigger, and another hunter was down. How long would it take them to get safely to the airship? How much time had passed?

  As I continued backing along the wall, I found a doorway and slid inside the small room that contained cleaning items. Peeking around the corner, I watched as a group of four hunters pointed down each of the hallways and split up.

  It would be easier to take them down in groups of two. The two who turned down my hallway jogged past me, and I pushed the barrel of my gun through the door, squeezing the trigger once, then twice, and watching them drop. Making sure no more were coming just yet, I crept back out of the cleaning closet and followed the other pair the way they’d gone.

  Spotting them just around a corner, I crouched down, checking no one was behind me as I trained my weapon once again to take them out.