“Lochie says you’re leaving,” Lola said sadly. I wondered when they found the time to keep having these little discussions. It annoyed me that they were always talking about me behind my back more than I liked to admit. I tried to push the thought aside.
“It’s only temporary, I’m going to come back as soon as I’ve done my job,” I explained, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice. “It was only decided yesterday.”
“Lochie is pretty upset about it.”
“Yeah, well, Lochie should be talking to me about it instead of running to you every time he has a problem.”
“He didn’t have anyone else to go to, his friends have practically disowned him.”
I didn’t know that, he had never mentioned it. My anger dissolved into disappointment that I had caused yet another mess for Lochie. “He still could have come to me. When he left my house he seemed fine with it.”
“He’s a guy, you know they are emotionally stunted,” Lola joked, trying to lighten the mood a little. I appreciated her effort but it wasn’t going to work.
“It doesn’t mean he can go talking about our problems to anyone who will listen. We’re supposed to be partners, there for each other.”
“Perhaps he just didn’t want to worry you, he knows it’s something you feel you have to do. You know, for your people? He does understand you-”
The bell rang, echoing down the corridor. It was a relief, I was done with the conversation, I needed some time to think. “I’ll see you at lunch,” I said before hurrying toward class.
I caught up with Garrick in Geography, taking the desk beside him. At least with him there I only received a fraction of the glares I normally did. If there was anyone else my peers were more scared of than me, it was him. An alien they didn’t know, it was the perfect combination for an enemy.
Miss Hudgens prattled on about latitudes and plateaus for most of the class. Toward the end, Garrick angled his cell phone my way so I could read his screen. He had received a text message from Kyle.
Reinforcements are on their way, mission to Trucon is off. Call me when you can.
I scrunched up my face with confusion, silently questioning what it meant. Reinforcements? Were they calling in the army from Trucon?
Dread coursed through my veins as I thought about a war between our people and the humans. If Krom had called in for more of our kind to join us on Earth, it could only mean they were coming to fight. We would be meeting violence with violence, that could only end in disaster.
The only good part of the text was the news the mission was off. All that tossing and turning I did last night was all for naught. Lochie would be happy to hear the development. I was happy too, but I couldn’t stop thinking of the impending war.
By the time class was over, waves of nausea were crashing over me and I was a nervous wreck. Garrick followed me into the supply cupboard, the same one Lochie and I had hid in from the Originals. That seemed like a lifetime ago.
“What are reinforcements?” I demanded once we were alone.
He showed me the next text message he received from Kyle. It confirmed ships were on their way, full of people from Trucon. It didn’t go into further detail but it didn’t have to. We both knew what that meant.
“They can’t do this to Earth,” I stated bluntly, appalled at the action. Things were bad, but they were only going to get worse. The whole point of Project Integrate was to unite the two races peacefully. A war was the complete opposite of what we were trying to achieve for the past seventeen years.
“Whose side are you on?” Garrick asked. I had to look at him intently just to make sure he wasn’t joking.
“The side of peace. Whose side are you on?”
“We need to get off Trucon, we don’t have a choice. If the humans aren’t going to accept that, then they brought it on themselves.”
“They are scared and going to war with them is just proving the Originals right. How can you believe it’s the right thing to do?” I demanded, my voice wavering with the anger rising inside me. I was going to erupt like a volcano soon.
“Humans had a choice, they could have accepted us. The Department had a chance to step in and they’ve chosen to leave us out in the cold. Humans have brought this on themselves.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing coming from his mouth. I felt like pinching myself just to make sure I wasn’t stuck in one of those nightmares where nothing made sense and you woke up in a cold sweat. I wished that was all it was.
“You are a human, Garrick. We are no different to everyone else on Earth. How can you be so flippant to believe this is the way it has to be?”
“We are not human. It’s about time you realized that, Amery.”
Before I could form a sentence to reply, Garrick stormed out of the supply room, slamming the door behind him. I was alone, grateful to have the peace to take a few deep breaths. I relaxed my hands, realizing they were in tight fists. The blood returned to my fingers but my head was still throbbing.
I leaned against the wall, my mind racing with what I should do. Garrick’s words were whirling around like a windstorm, determined to repeat over and over again in a loop. How could he be so pigheaded? He had lived on Earth his entire life, surely he wouldn’t want everyone he had ever known to perish in an unwinnable war?
There would be absolutely no way to take on Earth and be triumphant. Even if they managed to make the humans retreat, to get the Department to change their mind, nobody would forget that our integration was accomplished by force. All the deaths would not be forgotten, hostility and hatred would be passed down for generations well into the future. We would forever be aliens, not welcome on their planet.
My phone beeped with a text message, pulling me from my reverie. I pulled it out of my pocket, it was a message from Lochie:
Having a party of one?
I shook my head, I wasn’t in the mood for his games. I texted back a question mark and nothing else.
The doorknob turned and opened, Lochie stepped in. He closed the door behind him. “Hiding?”
“How did you know I was in here?” I asked, curious if I had a stalker.
“I saw Garrick come out, looking mad as hell. I figured you would have something to do with that. You know, considering it wasn’t me for once.” Lochie gave me a lopsided grin, trying to cheer me up – or at least try to gauge my mood. I probably looked as stormy as I felt.
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” His expression changed to confused in an instant.
“Be all cute and charming to make me feel better. I don’t want to feel better.”
“What do you want?”
There were so many ways to answer that question. The truth was I didn’t know what I wanted. I didn’t want to get into what Krom was up to, it would be like betraying one side or the other. I knew I would have to tell Lochie eventually, but not until I sorted myself out first.
There was one thing still bothering me though that I could talk about. “Why did you run to Lola last night after we spoke about going to Trucon?”
“I didn’t run to her.”
“Well, considering we talked about it only last night and she knew about it this morning, I would say that classifies as running to her.”
He took a step closer, like a cowboy trying to tame a horse. I took a step back, not falling for it. Surely I was smarter than a horse.
“Is it so bad I talked to Lola? She’s the only one who understands what I’m going through,” Lochie said carefully.
“You are supposed to talk to me. We’re supposed to be a team. How do you think it makes me feel knowing you talk to her about everything?”
“She’s your best friend, I thought you’d be fine with it.”
“It doesn’t mean I want her to know everything about us. How do I know if anything will stay between you and me? Am I not entitled to privacy anymore?” I demanded. A small part of me knew I was flying off the handle about nothing but the screaming voi
ce in my head drowned it out. There was one thing I knew how to do well and that was be angry with Lochie.
“Your privacy?” He said incredulously. “What about how I feel about any of this? Oh, wait a second that’s right, I don’t matter. What I think isn’t any concern of yours.”
“There are bigger issues going on right now. I’m sorry I’m such a terrible girlfriend. I told you to leave, you should have gone when you had a chance.”
“And you really think that was ever an option? How the hell do I stop loving you, Amery? How do I turn off all those emotions I’ve had since I was eight years old? Please, enlighten me, I would love to know. What’s the magic cure?”
I bit my tongue before I could snap back something I knew would hurt him. I shuffled closer to the door instead, I needed to get out of there. I needed fresh air, somewhere I could breathe. The supply room and its chemicals wasn’t cutting it.
“Where are you going?” Lochie demanded. He placed a hand on the door, stopping me from opening it.
“I need to get out of here.”
“I need to finish this conversation.”
“And what? Keep throwing questions at each other so we can hurt even more than we already do? I’m not doing it any longer. I won’t do it.”
We locked eyes, waiting for the other to cave in first. The walls of the tiny room were closing in on me, threatening to fall and crush me to death at any moment. If he didn’t let me leave, I was certain I would collapse onto the floor.
Lochie sighed, recoiling his arm back to his side. I didn’t let a moment pass before opening the door and running out. I didn’t stop until I was outside in the open. I gasped for breath, hoping the world would stop spinning around me soon.
I crouched down, hugging my legs to my chest. People skirted around me, staring. I couldn’t find the strength to care. I felt rather than saw someone standing behind me. I inwardly groaned as I wondered who it was.
I stole a glance, it was Lochie. He was just standing there, doing absolutely nothing.
“What are you doing?” I asked without turning around.
“It’s dangerous for you to be alone today… anywhere,” he replied, his voice cold.
“I don’t need a bodyguard.”
“I don’t want your stubbornness to get you killed.”
I tuned him out, knowing it was pointless to get into another argument. He didn’t move, just waited there patiently for me to move again. I stood, sensing another person joining us. One glance told me it was Garrick. Great, just what I needed.
We were distracted before I could tell them both to go away. Without warning, people in the grounds started screaming. We all turned toward the school gates, trying to work out what was going on.
People were running everywhere, most flooding back to the school building. Beyond them, a wall of people were charging our way. It seemed the people of Portview were ready to take care of their alien problem.
CHAPTER 17
“Amery, you need to run and hide,” Lochie said, panic in his voice. There had to be at least a hundred people headed our way, fully armed and dangerous.
Garrick tugged on my arm. “We need to go, it’s not safe to be here.”
“But… we have to…” I was trying to argue that we needed to stand up for ourselves and show them there was nothing to be afraid of. However fear and reason were preventing me from being so eloquent.
I felt a hand on my back, Lochie was pushing me toward the door. “Garrick, get her somewhere to hide. Look after her. Promise me you will keep her safe.”
Garrick shook his head in response. “I promise. Come on, Amery. We have to go.”
I didn’t try to argue again. I grabbed Garrick’s arm and took one last look at Lochie. Our argument didn’t seem as important now, it felt stupid to even be fighting about what he did or did not tell Lola.
We ran back inside and down the corridor. We stopped at the crossroads. “Where can we hide?” Garrick asked urgently, our heads snapping back and forth between the options. Left or right? I didn’t know. My mind raced trying to think of somewhere we could go. It would be pointless thinking we could outrun hundreds of people. That only left hiding.
Schools weren’t exactly designed to hide in. The big, open classrooms offered no cover whatsoever. The janitor’s supply closet was way too dangerous, we would be found in a heartbeat with nowhere to run.
We had a fifty-fifty shot at choosing the right route. “Left,” I decided.
We weren’t the only ones running through the hallways. Other students were scattering too, trying not to get caught up in the chaos of the mob.
The doors crashed open, the sound echoing off the walls around us. The intruders were now inside the school, right on our heels. I spurred myself on, trying to pick up the pace and think quickly. The thought of the mob reaching us was enough to make me manage going a little faster.
I tripped over my own clumsy feet, grabbing Garrick’s shoulder hard to stop me falling all the way to the floor. He gripped my arm in response, refusing to let it go again. It wasn’t as easy running together but at least we wouldn’t lose each other. With the amount of bodies going everywhere around us, we couldn’t lose one another. We would never reunite again.
We ran to the end of the corridor, our only choices were hiding in the science lab or going outside. Hiding seemed wrong, I was certain they would see us go in there. I didn’t want to be a sitting duck, I would rather take my chances out in the open. At least there were more choices outside.
We burst through the doors, they barely had time to close before the hundreds of people crashed through. They were yelling out to us as they moved like a long snake winding through the corridors. They were worse than that though, like a cement wall we would never be able to get through.
“Maybe we can get to the parking lot,” I called out, starting to lose my breath with the exertion. “We might be able to get to a car to take us away. Lochie might be waiting there for us.”
Garrick nodded and we did a big arc, trying to get around the school building and return to the front again. The school was surrounded by suburbia, unless we wanted to jump over countless backyard fences, the rear way was not an option.
I chanced a glance backward, quickly wishing I didn’t. The angry mass of people were so close I could see the whites of their eyes. Their screams thundered toward us. I pushed myself forward, ignoring all the stabbing pains in my body telling me it didn’t want to go any further. It would be a whole new type of pain if they caught us.
We rounded the corner and came to a crashing halt, almost toppling over with the effort. A whole new wall of people were facing us. We were completely surrounded, unable to go backward or forward.
Garrick and I still clutched each other, our backs to one another and facing opposite directions. No matter where I looked, there was hatred staring back at me.
They had weapons too. I hadn’t noticed them before, their roars for justice distracting enough. Some of them carried knives, some household items like a shovel or stick. A few had baseballs bats. Every one of them looked ready to spring and attack at any moment.
I swallowed a few times as I caught my breath, trying desperately to get some moisture back in my mouth again. I needed to be able to find my voice or I would lose the one thing that might get me out of the situation.
I took a final deep breath. “We are not here to harm you. We wish for nothing but peace. Please don’t hurt us.”
They didn’t seem to have a ringleader, perhaps they hadn’t thought that far ahead? They only seemed to stare and stand with their weapons poised. I got the feeling it would only take something minor to set them off. Once they began their assault, I knew they wouldn’t stop until we were dead.
The saddest part was that I knew some of the people come to tear us limb from limb. My parents played Texas Hold ‘Em with the man to my right. The woman on my left always served me at my favorite café. I had interacted with them and they thought me nothing but a
monster. I almost felt sorry for them, it must be so tiring holding onto all that hatred.
“You’ve got no right being here.” The shout came from somewhere in the back. It started off a barrage of abuse, most of which I couldn’t repeat.
“We won’t go down without a fight.”
“You will not get our planet.”
“Go home to where you belong.”
“You deserve to die.”
The insults and battle cries whirled around and around like a tornado. They all blurred into one, my brain unable to pick out individual voices any longer. They grew louder, I was just waiting for the hammer to fall on our lives. We had no chance of escaping, there was only one way were going to be leaving and it would be literally over our dead bodies.
My life didn’t exactly flash in front of my eyes, but I did think about everyone I loved. I thought about how my parents would take the news of my death. Would they blame themselves for encouraging us to go to school? Would Lochie find someone else to fall in love with? Who would he go to prom with? What about Lola? Who would cheer her on at Rockapalooza next year? I was sad and disappointed, missing them all already.
“Let’s put an end to this!” A woman’s voice shrieked, cutting through me and sending a shiver down my spine. Everyone raised their weapons and took a step closer. They were within hitting distance now, they wouldn’t even have to exert themselves to lay their blows.
I closed my eyes, unable to watch their approach. My breath was already catching in my throat as a lump rose. I hoped it would be swift and painless. Whoever hit me first, I prayed it would be a good blow. One that knocked me out so I wouldn’t feel the rest of the ire directed at me.
Someone took a swipe close by, the wind stirred around me. I clenched every muscle in my body in anticipation for the one that collided with me. It wouldn’t be too much longer. A few seconds, maybe.
Project Integrate Series Boxed Set Page 58