“Heads up, guys,” Lola said as she started toward the front door. We always kept it open to let light in considering there were no windows in the place. “A vehicle’s here.”
The three of us hurried outside to get the news but it wasn’t Kyle or Garrick driving, it was Roch. “Good morning,” he greeted us.
“Morning. What’s going on?” I asked. He didn’t get out, just stood in the doorway.
“You’re all going home. Pack your things, we’ve got to get moving,” Roch said. None of us moved, I think we were all too shocked.
“Like home home?” Lola wore the same look of confusion as I felt.
“Yeah. Unless you want to stay here and get blown up by Flaming Britna one day.”
None of us wanted that.
“We’ll be right back.” I didn’t need any further explanation. If we could go home then it meant Krom had called with good news. As much as I needed to know what that was, I knew Roch wouldn’t be the one to give it to us.
Lola and Lochie followed me in, close on my heels. We rushed upstairs and threw the few items we had brought with us into a bag. When I was done with my things, I moved onto the boys’ room intending to pack Garrick’s things too but Lochie had beat me to it.
“I figured he probably wanted to keep these,” Lochie explained. He didn’t bring anything with him, not even his wallet. It was sweet that he actually thought about Garrick. And a miracle.
“I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. Got everything?” We both did a visual sweep of the room and deemed it empty. Only whiteness was left. We all returned to the vehicle and climbed in. Roch wasted no time in getting the thing moving.
Just like I suspected, Roch didn’t know anything about what had happened that morning. He was given an order to pick us up and take us to the spaceship where he would fly us back to Earth and that was it. He was as in the dark as we were.
Lochie came up behind me, rubbing his hands down my arms as we both watched the ashen landscape whiz past outside. “This is a good thing, right?”
I wasn’t convinced yet, not until I had spoken with Garrick. A small part of me questioned whether he would actually be on the spaceship to go home with us. Perhaps the news from Krom was so bad that he would have to stay here forever. Maybe we were going home without him.
“I hope so,” I replied.
“You’re not sure?”
“I haven’t been sure about anything in a long time.” His hands skimmed my arms and I remembered the tenderness he had shown me the previous night. “Except you, I’m sure of you.”
“I’m here if you want to talk, don’t forget.” He stepped away again like a shadow, leaving me to get lost in my thoughts. The knot that had been in the pit of my stomach since hearing about Garrick’s murder charge was now twisting tighter. I felt nauseous with worry.
The trip seemed to take a lot longer than it had when we were going in the opposite direction. By the time we arrived, I was a mess with nerves. I just needed to see Garrick, I had to see him on the ship. There was no way I was leaving without him.
Roch pulled up at the spaceship. All the lights were on already and the door was open, revealing a set of stairs up to the craft. Someone had prepared it for us.
We got out of the vehicle and headed toward the ship. The entire time I was planning my escape, how I would get out of there if Garrick wasn’t joining us. I could probably drive the vehicle if I absolutely had to. I wouldn’t be good at it, but I might be able to get it back to the city without killing myself.
I would make sure Lochie and Lola were taken back to Earth so they could resume their normal lives. They wouldn’t like it so I would have to make sure they didn’t realize what I’d done until it was too late and they couldn’t leave the ship. I could do it, I just had to be ready for it.
I made sure I walked behind them all so I would be closest to the door. They didn’t realize what I was doing, they were all too eager to get inside and go home. They didn’t expect my betrayal. I couldn’t share their emotions though, not until I knew about Garrick.
CHAPTER 18
All the lights in the spaceship were on inside. I was momentarily blinded by them all as I reached the last step. My eyes darted around the small space, desperately searching for two familiar faces.
Then I saw them. Kyle was standing at the control board, he had obviously been the one to prepare the craft for our flight. Garrick was standing beside him, watching us.
I ran over and threw my arms around his neck, so happy to see him. “You’re coming with us.”
He returned my hug, squeezing me tight. “Of course I am. Did you think I wouldn’t?”
“I didn’t know.”
He let me go and regarded me curiously. “You thought I was staying?”
I shook my head, wiping the small tears of relief from my eyes before anyone saw. I took a step back, suddenly aware of everyone watching me. “We weren’t told anything. What did Krom say?”
“I’ll explain everything,” Kyle interrupted. “After we get in the air. We’ve got a long flight ahead of us. Everyone take a seat and prepare for takeoff.”
We did as told and took our seats while Roch closed the door and sat at the front console. I sat in the middle with Garrick on one side of me and Lochie on the other. Lola was on the other side of Lochie.
I braced myself for the takeoff, at least I knew what to expect this time. My mind was too preoccupied with all the questions I wanted to ask to concentrate on the horrible feeling in my stomach from the ship lurching forward.
I didn’t fight the force that was keeping me in my seat like my instincts told me to. It was better just to relax and go with it. I knew it would eventually subside like it had last time.
It was a little sad leaving Trucon, knowing I would never see it again. It was even sadder still knowing the entire planet wouldn’t exist in the future. Humans had only just learned of its existence and soon it wouldn’t even be a blip in the history books. They probably wouldn’t even bother including it in the first place.
We sat there in silence for close to an hour before Kyle swiveled his seat around to face us, satisfied we had reached our cruising speed. “So your theory was right, Amery,” he started.
“Krom found the person that framed Garrick?” Question one of my million questions.
Kyle started nodding and it made my hopes soar into the sky. “With help from the Department. After he realized he was onto something, Krom asked some agents to assist. They wrapped up the investigation and brought it home.”
“So who did it?” Question two.
It took Kyle hours to get through all my questions. He eventually explained enough so that I could put it all together in my brain. Garrick had indeed been framed for the murder of sixteen year old Chloe Walter. Except it wasn’t the Originals that had orchestrated it, clearly we gave them much more credit than was due.
The person who had framed Garrick was a guy named Adam, his co-worker at the building site. Garrick knew he hated him but there was much more to his hostility than he realized. Adam was the son of his boss, Lou, another fact he didn’t know.
Adam was insanely jealous of Garrick because he was doing so well in his job. Lou was starting to think of him as another son and that didn’t sit well with Adam.
Apparently insane jealousy makes insane people do crazy things. Like framing someone for murder. Chloe wasn’t anyone special to Adam, she was sadly just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He took his opportunity to grab her when he decided on his plan and carried it out with the intention of getting rid of Garrick for good.
When Krom started to investigate everyone in Garrick’s life and shift the focus away from his alien origins, they interviewed everyone he worked with. Adam had boasted to one of his colleagues in a drunken pub session which had ultimately been his downfall. He wasn’t intelligent enough to keep his mouth shut.
The police arrested Adam and he eventually caved. I suspected Krom probably had something to do wi
th his confession. He could be very convincing when unleashed on humans. It worked pretty well on aliens too… most of the time.
“Ah, Garrick,” Lochie sighed when it was all over. “You make friends wherever you go, don’t you?”
“You’re just jealous you didn’t think of it,” Garrick shot back. “But, then again, you’re probably not smart enough to come up with a plan like that.”
“Guys,” I warned. I didn’t want to have to sit in the middle of their smart-mouthed remarks for the next three days. “Play nice. Can you believe we’re all going home?”
We shared a collective sigh at the thought. Trucon was great but there was nothing like the comforts of home. Plus, I was super excited to see my parents, both sets of them. It was worth the trip just to know I would understand my birth parents more now.
Roch finally announced that it was safe to move from our seats. In the boredom of the tight space, the announcement was heavenly. Everyone got up to stretch their legs and find something to do.
I went down the ladder and checked out the living quarters below. The kitchenette area had been restocked with more vomit-worthy food. I could practically taste a burger and fries and wished I had one right then and there. But it wouldn’t be too much longer before I could have the real thing. Just a few more days and I could be stuffing my face with all sorts of unhealthy food. I even looked forward to returning to Adele’s.
“Are you alright?” Lochie’s voice startled me as he jumped down the last few rungs of the ladder.
“Yeah, you?”
“Of course. But I’m not the one leaving a planet I was born on.” He studied my face for a reaction. He wouldn’t get one. I was actually fine with it. My life was on Earth, everyone I loved was there – or would be soon. Trucon was merely a place, somewhere from my history. My ancient history.
I stepped closer to him and linked my fingers behind his back so we were hip to hip. “I’m fine, really. I’m looking forward to going home, seeing my parents, sleeping in my own bed.”
He raised his eyebrows. “I thought maybe you could sleep in my bed.”
“We wouldn’t be sleeping then, would we?”
“So you have no regrets about last night?”
“None at all. Why, do you?” Panic was about to take hold of me while I waited for the answer. Maybe Lochie didn’t find it as good as I did.
“Of course I don’t. You shouldn’t have worried, you know.” I must have looked as confused as I felt, because he continued on to explain further. “The second time was just as incredible as the first. And the morning after? Phenomenal.”
I gently pinched the skin on his back. “Just imagine what the third time will be like.”
Lochie pursed his lips together while his eyes sparkled. I knew that look and I would probably not like whatever escaped from his mouth next. “You know, we’re all alone down here. We could join the million miles high club and see.”
I leaned in closer so my lips just barely grazed his. I could feel his breath and knew his heart had to be racing at our closeness. Mine certainly was.
I teased him again, my lips staying just out of reach before whispering: “Never going to happen.” I pulled back again but Lochie followed. His lips collided into mine as he kissed me deeply. I almost forgot my resolve.
“Ugh, didn’t you two do enough of that last night?” Lola said, making both of our heads shoot around to look at her. Had she crept down like a ninja? I certainly hadn’t heard her. But then again, Lochie had a way of making me forget the rest of the world existed. He kept holding me against his warm body, not afraid to keep me close with our visitor present.
She lay down on one of the tiny bed pods and settled in. It didn’t look like she was going to be moving for a long time. Even if Lochie had convinced me to get up to mischief, that window had obviously closed.
We went upstairs instead and got lost in conversation with Roch. He had so many stories to tell us about Trucon and his adventures flying around the galaxy. The guys were utterly enthralled and hanging off his every word.
The next three days passed in a similar way. We did everything we could to stave off the boredom. The closer we flew to Earth, the more the excitement grew. When we caught the first glimpse of our planet, the fact we were really going home suddenly became apparent.
We were all glued to the windows as we approached. Just seeing the fast descent was enough to make my stomach churn. It was like riding the biggest wave in the world as we tumbled forward. I hoped the spaceship’s good brakes held, otherwise we were going to end up a flaming mass in the Pacific Ocean. That was not how I wanted the trip to end.
The planet got closer and closer until we could make out the outline of our country. Then everything started getting colorful as we were as close as an ordinary commercial flight would be.
Roch coasted the ship along like it was no harder to fly than playing a video game. He seriously made it look so easy. We eventually landed in an open field. The white van parked just across the grass through the trees gave away the location as the same one we had left from.
Except it wasn’t just the van awaiting our arrival. A dozen people waited in the tree line. “My parents are here!” I exclaimed happily. I couldn’t wait to unbuckle my seatbelt and get out there.
As I rushed down the stairs, I recognized some of the other people as Krom and his assistant. The others, I had no clue who or what they were. Alien or human, it didn’t matter because my parents were there and I had missed them so much.
I ran into their arms, all eight of them. We had the world’s biggest group hug as they all crushed me together. If I had to die that way, I would have been fine with it.
“I’m so happy to see you guys,” I gushed.
“We’re happy you’re home safely,” Adoptive Mom replied. Everyone nodded with agreement, her words summing up all their sentiments.
I pulled away just in time to see everyone else coming down the spaceship’s staircase. Everyone was smiling, glad and relieved to be back home.
“Greeting Earthlings,” Lola said as she made a peace sign with her fingers. “I’ve always wanted to say that.”
“Welcome back,” Krom started, his voice back to super high volume again. It had to be the density of the air on Trucon or something but he certainly hadn’t sounded that loud in the leaders’ building.
I remembered the formalities and joined the others as we stood in front of Krom and his entourage. The men were in suits, my money would be betting on them being from the Department. They had that I’m an important agent look.
“Well done on transportation, Worker Roch,” Krom started, nodding toward our fearless pilot. He bowed in return. “You are all required to head immediately to Department headquarters where you will be checked for space contamination. We are also to meet with the Portview Police there. Come, now.”
He turned without waiting for any objection and headed into the woods. Roch and my birth parents were the first to follow him, much more accustomed to obeying his orders than the rest of us.
“Come on, we’d better get this over and done with,” Kyle sighed as he gave us a gentle tap on the back to get moving. We didn’t hurry to catch up but we did start walking.
“So I finally get to see what’s inside the secret Department building,” Lola said happily. She was enjoying the whole experience far more than I ever expected her to.
“It’s not as exciting as it sounds,” I replied, still bemused with her attitude.
“It will sound exciting when I tell the story later on, no matter what happens in there.” Fair enough.
We were guided into cars, each one driven by one of the entourage. I was allowed to travel with my parents while everyone else was divided into another two. Both sets of my parents updated me with what had happened while we were gone. They only knew the same amount as Kyle did when we left Trucon. They had been too involved in the investigation to do anything else.
It wasn’t long before we passed through se
curity at the Department building. I hated that place. If I never had to return there again it would be too soon. Yet somehow I kept having to come back anyway. The universe had a sick sense of humor.
My parents had to wait in the foyer while we were taken upstairs. Nobody said a word to us as we took the elevator to level five and were handed over to Agent Williams. One by one, we had to have an examination.
Agent Williams measured us for radiation and so many other things I stopped paying attention until he declared that I wasn’t carrying some alien superbug or something. I joined the others and waited for Garrick, who went last.
When we were all given a clean bill of health, we were handed over to an agent I didn’t know and guided back to level one. From there, we were marched into a waiting room and told to sit down.
I recognized the place from the time Garrick and I had come to negotiate with the head of the Department. No real negotiation had gone on and we ended up being thrown into the dungeons below. I prayed this meeting would end better.
The door to the adjacent meeting room was open. But even if it was closed, I could have still heard Krom. His voice was loud, even for him. Somebody was bugging him.
Then I realized why – he was talking to the police. Things were getting heated.
“You had no right to hide him like that. I should charge you with harboring a wanted fugitive,” a male’s voice said sternly, the police chief presumably. “He is subject to the same law and processes of justice as everyone else in this country.”
“You should have had that conversation in the mirror,” Krom shot back. “You were going to kill him. It was you that caused me to play my hand. I was backed into a corner and not going to let you murder one of my people.”
“He isn’t one of your people, he is an American citizen.”
“He is a Truconian, and my responsibility, before anything else. Do I need to remind you that we are integrating not submitting? You do not own us.”
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