“That’s kind of cool,” I said. So the word had reached England where they were actually doing something to help. It was fantastic news.
“…Teenagers around the world are uniting against anti-alien campaigners. Against all advice and concern for their own safety, masses of young people have congregated in an effort to change people’s minds about the invaders…”
They flashed to several fast shots of scenes from around the world. Peaceful sit ins were going on in every continent. They showed so many images I started to lose track of all the places they filmed.
“…the recent activity has been sparked by an online campaign for alien supporters, asking for help in spreading the truth about the alien residents of Earth…”
Next, they played a bunch of the videos we created the day before. The faces of people I knew filtered across the screen, their memories and experiences of growing up with me were recounted for every viewer to see. I couldn’t stop the smile spreading across my face. I was so proud and humbled by their stories.
“…these videos, a few of more than ten thousand, have received millions of hits and are the most viewed videos of all time. They call for calm, understanding, and acceptance. A message we should all remember.”
The newsreader started some banter with the weatherman and I switched off. There was something bothering me. “They got it wrong, we didn’t make ten thousand videos. We wouldn’t even have had time to do that many yesterday.”
Mom gave me a knowing smile. “Perhaps you should check online.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, knowing she already knew the answer to my question. Mom shook her head and pointed to the computer.
I hurried over and logged on to my account. A quick search brought back just under eleven thousand videos. I started clicking on some I didn’t recognize.
Tears started welling in my eyes as I was overcome. The videos weren’t ours, they were posted by other students who had grown up with members of the project. They had taken our lead and added to the cause. I wasn’t the only one who had succeeded in their mission, all my fellow alien babies had too.
Clip after clip was a testimony about our caring and compassionate nature. They all pledged their support, promising to welcome the rest of our people into the community. I couldn’t believe what we had started. Our videos were just the beginning of it all.
I turned back to my parents. “Do you think this will do anything? Will the Department take any notice?”
They exchanged a glance, telling me everything I needed to know even before Dad replied. “The Department doesn’t like responding to protestors, they wouldn’t want to encourage that kind of behavior.”
I nodded slowly, expecting as much. But we weren’t trying to change the Department’s mind, our entire objective was to change the mind of everyone else. The world at large needed to be with us instead of fighting against us. Only then could we really integrate and have a chance of ending the war.
The newsreader came back to the main news, catching my attention again. In stark contrast to the peaceful protests of the young people, images of the army colliding with Krom’s people flashed onto the screen.
“…it has been confirmed that more than a dozen soldiers have been killed in the confrontation. The government has warned to brace for more deaths as the fighting continues…”
As good as our progress had been, it still wasn’t stopping the fighting. We somehow needed to translate their support to the government and our leaders. We needed to get them to listen to what we wanted – peace.
“What do you-” I didn’t get a chance to finish my question before the front door burst open. Krom and two satellites stormed in. Judging by the scowl on his face, he wasn’t a happy guy. We all stood, waiting to hear what was so urgent he couldn’t even knock on the door.
“Member Amery,” Krom started. “You are to come with me.”
“Why?” I asked as the satellites clamped a strong grip on both of my arms, one either side. I couldn’t move even if I tried.
“You have disobeyed orders and this is a punishable offence. You are to come with me now.”
“You’re not taking her anywhere,” Dad protested. His pleas, along with those of my mom, fell on deaf ears. Krom marched out of the house, the satellites dragging me along without hesitation.
“Get your hands off of her,” Mom said through gritted teeth as she clawed at their hands. They pushed her away like she was a mere annoyance. “She’s not yours, you can’t take her.”
“She is ours,” Krom stated bluntly. He roughly grabbed my wrist and forcibly held up my triangle mark for my parents to see. “This marks her as one of us. You have no claim to her.”
“I haven’t done anything wrong,” I yelled, trying desperately to plant my feet on the ground and get out of their grip. The satellites lifted me off the ground so I was completely useless at stopping them. I tried to wriggle out of their grasp instead but was getting nowhere.
They ignored all three of us and kept going, unceremoniously dumping me in the back of their van and slamming the door closed behind me.
I was trapped, no better than a caged animal. I could still hear the shouts from my parents as the car started and rumbled down the street.
CHAPTER 21
I could only guess where we were going – the bunker. My fears were confirmed as I blinked into the sudden daylight. The open field with the hatch in the middle lay before me.
“Walk,” the satellite ordered me.
“What, no please?” I asked, hoping they picked up on my snarky tone. They merely stared at me, I couldn’t be sure. I shuffled from the back of the van and led the way like they forced me to.
Every rung of the ladder was torturous, taking me further away from the people I loved. Kyle and Garrick’s warnings about speaking against Krom rang in my ears. They said he could kill me for doing it. Was that his plan for me now? Would I ever see the sky again? My stomach was in knots at what was to come.
“Get in there.” The satellite pointed to one of the bedrooms. At least the bunker didn’t have a dungeon, or cell like the Department headquarters.
The door clanged shut behind me and my ears rung with the sudden silence. I had nothing to do except sit on one of the bunk beds.
My mind raced with all the horrible things Krom could do to me. Would he force me back to Trucon so I was out of the way and able to suffer the justice of our hierarchy? Would he just have me disposed of here so I was out of the way completely? Perhaps his plan was to keep me locked up for the rest of my days?
What was his problem anyway? I had only tried to carry on with the project, it wasn’t like I was doing anything horrible to worsen the situation. I thought I was doing a good thing, I never thought he would hate what I did.
I thought Krom said I had disobeyed him. No matter how much my mind reeled through my memory bank to come up with a reason for his contempt, I couldn’t find anything. The last order he had given me was to continue on with the project. Surely rallying support for us fell into that category?
My fists thumped into the mattress with frustration. I felt completely useless being locked up like a songbird. I needed to be out in the world, ensuring the word and support continued to spread. Being underground wasn’t going to help anything. Being killed for my crimes was going to be even less helpful.
There was no way of telling night and day from inside the room but my watch continued to tick. The hour’s hand did a full revolution, telling me night was falling outside. I curled up on the mattress, trying to ignore the rumbling in my stomach. I felt too nauseous to eat anyway but it would have been nice if they actually fed their prisoner.
Sometime during the night I eventually fell asleep. The lights turned off automatically at eleven o’clock and switched back on at seven. When they came to life again, I knew it was morning.
I watched the hands tick around and around, waiting, dreading, and wishing something would happen. Anything had to be better than staring
at the wall, even facing an angry Krom and his minions.
At ten minutes past nine, the door handle creaked open. I sat bolt upright, waiting for my punishment to be enacted.
“Morning,” Garrick grunted, closing the door behind him again. I relaxed a little at seeing him, hopefully he wouldn’t be the one chopping my head off.
“What’s going on, Garrick?” I asked, panic filtering through me and washing away my manners.
He sat on the bed beside me, handing over the apple and banana he brought in with him. “Here, you should eat something. If anyone asks, I didn’t give them to you.”
I accepted the fruit gratefully. “Do you know what Krom is going to do to me?”
He cast his eyes downward, I didn’t know what that meant but it couldn’t be good. “He’s really angry. He thinks humans will consider him weak if a seventeen year old wins the war for him.”
“That’s not what I was doing.” And if his ego was so fragile that he was scared of a seventeen year old girl, then he didn’t deserve to be our leader.
“I know,” Garrick said sadly. My eyes snapped up to meet his, his tired and weary face spoke volumes.
“Garrick, what’s going on?” The knot was getting tighter in my stomach.
“It’s not good, Amery, it’s just not good.”
“Tell me.”
“The Department is refusing to speak with Krom, even though he keeps trying to set a meeting. They are flat out refusing to back down and Krom is determined to find a planet for his people. I… I’m…” He stopped talking, his jaw clenching tight.
“You’re what? Come on, Garrick, I need to know the whole story.”
“I’m worried about how far he’s going to go. There’s talk he’s got weapons, ones that can wipe out entire countries.”
I gasped with the thought. I had seen some of the weapons the spaceships held but it sounded like that was just the tip of the iceberg. If that was the case, humans had absolutely no chance for survival.
“Is he getting impatient?” I asked, cringing as I waited for the answer.
Garrick nodded slowly. “More impatient by the day. He’s talking about putting all the satellites and members into a craft so he can start the process. Once we’re off Earth, he can be free to commence the eradication.”
I let out the breath I was holding. “He makes it sound like a rodent problem.”
“He sees the humans as expendable.”
“Do you think the rest of our people are like that?”
He shrugged. “I don’t think so. I’ve been listening to some of the satellites when they don’t realize I’m eavesdropping and not all of them agree with what’s going on.”
“Enough to fight back?” Hope sparked a little in my brain.
“No, they’re too scared.” And then the spark was gone again. “I’m really sorry, Amery.”
“It’s not your fault I’m in here.”
“Not about that, about everything else. You tried to warn me this would happen and I was too blind to believe you. I should have listened to you about… everything.”
I couldn’t bear to see him so upset. I hadn’t seen him so miserable since the night we talked about his adoptive parents abandoning him. I cupped his hand with my own. He was clammy with the warmth of the bunker.
“I wasn’t right about everything,” I confessed. We both found spots on the floor to stare at intently so we didn’t have to look at each other. “I didn’t really think Krom would allow people to die. I hoped he wouldn’t resort to that and I was just being paranoid. I didn’t do anything sooner because I trusted him too much. If I had acted sooner-”
“It wouldn’t have made any difference. Trust me.”
Silence settled between us. It felt like I was talking to the Garrick I knew at the complex, the one who I trusted with my life. It was a pity it had taken a war to bring him back.
“I should go,” Garrick said as he suddenly stood. “I’ll keep my ears open out there, if I hear anything about their plans for you, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
He stopped at the door, his hand on the knob. He stared at the wall and wouldn’t look at me. “Lochie’s a lucky guy. I hope he remembers that.”
Without another word he was gone again, leaving as abruptly as he had turned up. I felt even worse for seeing him. While it was good knowing he was okay, it wasn’t good seeing him suffering like that. He was just as worried about the world’s future as I was but he had to pretend to tow the line. At least I didn’t need to hide my true feelings.
I ate in the deafening silence while imagining what kind of decisions were being made through the walls. Was Krom giving the orders to attack the military planes? Was he planning an invasion on the ground? Had his desperation grown so much he was willing to kill innocent humans yet?
I hoped and prayed my imagination was much worse than what was really happening. I just wished I knew what was going on. The waiting was torturous. If Krom wanted me dead, he should get it over and done with.
Lochie would probably be frantic with worrying about me. He would have turned up at my house sometime during the day and my parents would have had to explain about what happened to me. He’d get angry, he’d want to come and rescue me like a knight in shining armor. The thought made me smile, he was too headstrong for his own good.
When he couldn’t get into the bunker, Lochie would probably go vent to Lola. That thought didn’t sit so well. I hated that it bothered me to know they met up when I wasn’t there. I knew nothing was going on between them, but it still irked me. It wasn’t like I was hanging out with Asher behind Lola’s back. Neither of them would probably like me doing that. Lochie didn’t even like me talking to Garrick and we had a legitimate reason to be around each other.
I had to push the thought aside, remembering it was only in my imagination. As far as I knew, it wasn’t actually happening out there. Lochie was probably at home with his mom and Jordan. He would be protecting them from any invaders, not hanging out with Lola. At least I hoped not, anyway.
I hated even focusing on my personal problems like that. When everything else was going on, it felt selfish. I might not even see the outside of the bunker again, where Lochie was seeking comfort should not have been big on my list of priorities.
I needed to get out of there. As if it wasn’t obvious before, I knew I would suffocate to death if I didn’t. It wasn’t just Lochie but everything I had left behind. I was letting everyone down by not being there to help them fight for what was right. I hoped the word was spreading even further, infiltrating anyone who would listen. I hoped it didn’t fizzle out.
I went back to being hypnotized by the hands of my watch as they ticked by. The hours spun around slowly. I lost track of whether it was day or night again. Someone left a tray of food on the floor a few times but I didn’t know what meal it was supposed to be. I ate only to quench the hunger pangs in my stomach.
I began to realize they would never let me go free. Garrick said Krom had plans to get all the aliens off Earth long enough to destroy the humans. I would probably be left behind to die with the rest of them. Perhaps they had already gone and the bunker was empty on the other side of the door? I started to believe it.
The war had to be getting worse above ground. Without anyone backing down and nobody there to lead the cause, the human army would have to be quickly dwindling in numbers. They didn’t stand a chance against Krom’s army and I doubted they were ordered to back down.
I rolled over on the bed to face the steel wall. It was as featureless as the rest of the room, the melancholy matching my mood. I was going to die in that boring room, it was only a matter of time.
Hours turned into days, I lost count of how many. I would have killed for a shower and a decent meal. The water I drank straight from the faucet in the tiny bathroom tasted metallic but it was the only thing keeping me alive.
I lay on the top bunk watching the ceiling for a change of view, my eye
s seeing stars in front of them. I willed myself to go to sleep so I wasn’t so bored but my body wasn’t obeying. My mind was too alert, thinking up all the horrible scenarios that were playing out above ground.
I was so focused on the stainless steel ceiling I didn’t notice the door opening at first. The footsteps rushing toward me was the first thing I had heard beside my own voice in days. I didn’t get a chance to sit up before hands clamped around me, dragging me down to the floor. It was time for my punishment.
CHAPTER 22
“Let go of me,” I yelled at the satellite who had his arms around me. I fought to kick him off, satisfied when I collided with his shins a few times. At least I wasn’t the only one suffering. “Where are you taking me? Where am I going?”
“Shut up,” he ordered, spitting the words at me. I think I might have hurt his pride as well as his legs. Good.
I stopped struggling, going limp in his hands. “I’ll walk, just let me go.”
He hesitated, debating whether he should release his grip or not. It took him ages to come to a conclusion. He gave me a little slack, testing to see whether I was telling the truth.
I didn’t try to run so he let me go in full, keeping only one hand on my arm. He pushed me along the corridor, we were the only two on the walkway. The absence of the satellites and few members that remained behind after we were all ordered to return to our normal lives made me even more nervous. Perhaps they did leave me behind after all.
We reached the ladder. “Climb up,” he ordered. He wasn’t much of a talker.
I started the ascent, excited about actually getting to see daylight again. I imagined the sun shining down, a slight breeze in the fresh air, the sound of rustling leaves. They would all be heavenly after being cooped up in artificial lighting for God knows how long.
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