John pointed his gun at one of the worktables and fired. It glowed brightly for a split-second before vanishing. Then he turned back to Carol and Tracey.
“I won’t ask again,” he said.
“It was me.” Tracey raised her hands and took a step forward. “I set it off.”
The two men behind the first one laughed.
“What’s so funny about that?” Tracey said.
“Shut up.” John must be the leader, from the way the other two suddenly stiffened. “No lies. One of our scouts had to have been here to set it off.”
“I could be a Tau Ceti scout.” Tracey actually sounded offended.
Carol leaned forward and whispered, “All Tau Ceti are male.”
“Oh.” Tracey gave an exaggerated nod. “No wonder you guys have a reputation for being dicks.”
One of the guys in the back actually snickered. John lashed out, smacking his underling in the face with his gun. Bright red blood splattered out of the guy’s crushed nose, standing out in livid contrast on the white floor.
It was the perfect distraction. Kyle dropped down on John’s back, grabbing at the guy’s arms to try to pin them to his sides. They didn’t budge. The Tau Ceti was so solid, it felt like Kyle had landed on a rock.
John reached behind him and grabbed Kyle’s shoulder, digging his fingers into his flesh. Pain blinded him as his arm went limp. Then Kyle was flying through the air, the far side of the room coming up so fast he barely had time to raise the arm that still had feeling in it to keep from face-planting into the wall. He bounced off the surface, his good arm stinging from the impact, and landed in a heap on the ground.
At least he was closer to Carol and Tracey and could protect them. Except, when he’d recovered enough to look around, they were gone.
There was scuffling and yelling by the door. Kyle looked up just in time to see Carol throw a beaker of something in the face of one of the Tau Ceti. Steam rose from his skin and he screamed. While John lunged for Carol, Tracey dove to the floor. She rolled onto her back, one of the weapons held in her hand. She pointed it at the nearest Tau Ceti, and a beam of bright yellow light shot out of it.
The guy was still yelling from whatever Carol had thrown at him. He glowed for a moment, then disappeared.
“I got one.” Tracey’s eyes widened. “Oh shit! I just killed someone.”
“Tracey,” Carol yelled.
Tracey’s head jerked up at the sound of Carol’s voice. John held Carol in that iron grip against his chest. He was small enough that Carol’s body completely blocked him. How the hell was he so strong?
“This one, I need.” John lifted his weapon again. “You, not so much.”
“Wait!” Kyle yelled.
Everyone paused.
“Tracey, put down your gun,” he said.
“But…”
Kyle slowly rose. “Just do it.”
He flexed his injured arm as the feeling started to return to it—needles of pain radiating out from his shoulder. Tracey lifted her hands in a gesture of surrender he prayed the aliens understood, then set the gun on the floor next to her. She scooted away from the group, heading closer to Kyle after she stood.
“What is that?” The Tau Ceti with the broken nose stared at him. His bloodstained badge read, “Toby”.
“I don’t know, but I think this Earthling can tell us,” John said.
Carol gasped as he tightened his grip.
“Mom.” Kyle took a step forward, but stopped as John lifted his weapon.
“Only someone with Tau Ceti DNA could set off that beacon.” John glanced from Kyle to Carol and back again. “Would you care to explain, ‘Mom’?”
“Not really,” Carol said.
Shit. Kyle shouldn’t have let that slip. Now, Carol was in even more danger.
John glanced around. “This place looks like a laboratory. Did you capture a scout and dissect him? Maybe use his DNA to create this abomination?”
“My son is no abomination,” Carol said.
Tracey took a step closer to Kyle. “Love is love, asshats.”
“Love?” John sniffed the air, then paled, giving a greenish cast to his skin. “You’ve pair bonded with that thing.”
“That’s one word for it.” Tracey cast a tight smile at Kyle.
He couldn’t imagine what she must be going through after killing that Tau Ceti. At the same time, Kyle was certain those aliens wouldn’t have a moment’s hesitation in killing the rest of them.
“I’m confused,” Toby said. “Then how did the throwback happen?”
“Throwback?” Kyle knew he should be focusing on getting them all out of this alive, but couldn’t pass up the chance to get some answers.
“Scouts used to be green a couple of centuries ago.” Toby flinched as John lifted his ray gun again.
“We aren’t here to talk genetics,” John said.
Toby gestured to Kyle. “But we are supposed to figure out where this guy came from, right?”
“Well, kids, when a space frog and an Earthling love each other very much…” Tracey let her voice trail off.
“Wait, a scout had sex with an Earth-monkey?” Toby put his hand on his chest just below his throat. It looked kind of like he was about to throw up—if that was where his stomach was located. “That’s disgusting.”
Tracey shrugged. “Don’t knock it till you try it. How do you guys even breed if you’re all dudes?”
“Brood males are absorbed into pools that house spawning queens,” Toby said.
“Absorbed?” Carol shivered, then lifted her hand to rest on John’s arm. “Perhaps you should explore alternatives. Especially those poor ‘brood males’.”
John’s lip curled up and he loosened his grip. “We’ve studied your reproductive techniques. They’re barbaric.”
“Actually, they can be quite beautiful,” Carol said. “And informative. Being intimate with Kyle’s father gave me a chance to study Tau Ceti physiology very closely.”
“Carol,” Kyle said. “Come on.”
She glared at him briefly, then twisted in John’s grasp, jamming her thumb into a spot just below his armpit. John let out a high-pitched squeal that made Kyle’s eardrums ring.
Tracey was close enough to grab John’s weapon. Toby reached for it as well, and managed to get ahold of her arm. She stomped on his foot, hard. He yelled, but didn’t let go of the gun.
Carol was only a few steps away when John grabbed her again. Kyle leapt forward, aiming for John’s legs instead of his torso. John stumbled, but didn’t fall. Kyle grabbed Carol’s arm and spun her away from the melee just as John picked up one of the worktables and held it over his head. His arms coiled to throw it, but then another burst of yellow light shined out in the room.
Kyle saw the after-image of John for a moment before the worktable fell to the floor with a crash. Toby and Tracey were standing next to it, absolutely still, both holding the gun, staring at where John had been.
“That wasn’t my fault!” Toby yelled.
Tracey slammed her shoulder into Toby’s side, right near where Carol had poked John. Toby didn’t let out the same screech, but his face paled even further and he fell against the wall, holding his side. It looked like the Tau Ceti equivalent of getting racked in the balls.
She stumbled away from him, then glanced at the weapon in her hand. With a huge smile on her face, she wheeled around and pointed it at him.
“Don’t move, space frog,” she yelled. “Oh, sorry, Kyle. I didn’t mean to be insensitive.”
“Focus on him.” Kyle stepped up next to her. “And be careful. These guys are incredibly strong.”
“I think this one is a regular scout,” Carol said. “No cybernetic implants or enhancements.”
“Implants?” Tracey said. “You guys are cyborg vampire space frogs?”
“Cyborg vampire…” Toby actually laughed. Then he cleared his throat and straightened. “Yeah, I am. So you should totally give up.”
Tracey
snorted. “Why would we do that?”
The sound of footsteps echoed from the doorway behind him.
Toby started backing toward the door. “Because I’m pretty sure my reinforcements just arrived.”
Chapter Twelve
Tracey really didn’t want to shoot Toby. She’d already killed one of these guys, but that had been in the middle of a “fighting for their lives” moment. Same thing with John—which had totally been Toby’s fault.
This would be cold, intentional, and premeditated.
Plus, Toby at least had a sense of humor. Maybe they could win him over to their side.
“Stop moving.” Tracey brandished the gun at him and he froze. “You’re bluffing.”
“What’s ‘bluffing’?” Toby said.
“It isn’t a bluff.” Kyle cocked his head to the side. “I can hear footsteps upstairs.”
“How many?” Carol asked.
He shook his head. “I only hear one, but this is all kind of new to me.”
“We have this guy as a hostage,” Tracey said.
Toby snorted. “They won’t care about me. I’m expendable.”
“Then help us,” Kyle said. “Switch sides.”
A flash of hopefulness crossed Toby’s face, but then he frowned. “It doesn’t matter what side any of us are on. The galaxy is about to hit an event horizon, and Earth is on the leading edge.”
“We’re about to be sucked into a black hole?” Tracey said.
“It’s an expression.” Carol stepped forward. “The closest Earth equivalent would be, ‘Things are about to go to Hell in a handbasket’.”
“Let’s deal with that later,” Kyle said. “I’m pretty sure there’s only one person upstairs and right now we’re pinned in. Toby here might not be useful as a hostage, but he’ll be a fine shield.”
“You definitely have our instincts,” Toby said.
“Shut up and turn around.” Kyle stepped forward and grabbed Toby’s arm as he turned around, twisting it behind the Tau Ceti’s back. Kyle planted his other hand firmly on Toby’s shoulder and started pushing him toward the steps.
“Once we’re upstairs, I can…” Tracey swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I can take out the guy. I’m pretty sure I’m getting the hang of these things, and my dad takes me to the range every month or so.”
“You still keep a go-bag with plenty of supplies in the SUV?” Kyle asked.
Carol nodded. “I do.”
“Sounds like we have a plan.” Kyle steered Toby up the stairs and Tracey followed, with Carol trailing behind.
The house was quiet. Tracey’s own breathing grated across her ears—accompanied by her thudding heartbeat. Where was the other alien? Could he hear her pounding heart? She kept her ray gun pointed at the floor, not wanting to accidentally fire off a shot with her nerves stretched so thin.
“My keys are on the counter.” Carol headed for the kitchen area of the great room.
“Hold on.” Kyle paused, cocking his head to the side again as if listening intently.
Tracey looked all around. She didn’t see any sign of anyone else—just broken glass and an eerie silence from outside.
Toby snorted. “There are always three of us, no matter what you heard. You’re outnumbered. Probably surrounded.”
“So, what?” Tracey said. “I already told you, we’re not giving up.”
“I don’t think you should.” Toby craned his neck as much as Kyle would let him, looking at her over his shoulder. “I think you should try to fight your way out, and hope that they kill you. It’ll be better for you all that way.”
“That’s cheerful.” A shiver went down her spine. Toby actually looked sincere—like he thought he was helping. She heard a faint rustling in the kitchen just as Kyle turned that direction, holding Toby close.
“Get down,” Kyle yelled.
A tall, thin man with dark hair and bronze skin jumped up from behind the counter, a gun in each hand. He fired one at Kyle.
Instead of the dzzz noise of the ray gun, it made a soft pfft, and there was no glowing light. The tranq gun. Toby slumped in Kyle’s grip.
Tracey and the newcomer both lifted their ray guns, hers pointing at him, but his still locked on Kyle. Before either could fire, Carol jumped between them, screaming, “Wait!”
For the second time, everyone froze.
Carol was the first to come unstuck. She took a few hesitant steps toward the new alien, and said, “Alan?”
Kyle let Toby slide to the ground with a thud.
“Alan?” Kyle said.
Tracey lowered her weapon. “Whoa. That’s your dad?”
“Dad?” Alan said. “Who is who’s dad?”
“Put down your weapons,” Carol said. “We need to talk.”
“We don’t have time to talk.” Alan ran around the counter, keeping his ray gun trained on Kyle. “When this team doesn’t call in, command will send reinforcements. It won’t take them long to figure out what happened to my team as well, since I ran a trace on the beacon signal that I left with you before taking them out. We have ten minutes, tops, to get far enough away that they can’t track us. My ship is outside, but we have to leave now.”
“Okay.” Carol turned toward Tracey and Kyle. “Come on.”
“Wait a minute,” Alan said. “If the female is human, she can come along, but the green one is on his own.”
Tracey bristled on Kyle’s behalf. “The ‘green one’ is your son.”
“Now I know you’re human.” Alan chuckled. “Sadirians don’t know how to make a joke.”
“I’m not joking.” Tracey stepped closer to Kyle. Reaching out, she took his hand in hers.
Alan faked a laugh. “Ha ha, that’s all very funny. But the Tau Ceti don’t breed that way.”
“You grafted DNA into your species.” Kyle’s voice was tight. She couldn’t imagine what was going through his head.
“DNA that made us biologically compatible,” Carol said.
Alan’s smile lasted about another ten seconds. His face went lax in wonder as he stared at Kyle.
This could go a couple of ways—most of them painful and sad. Tracey said a silent prayer that Alan would prove to be a decent guy, and at the very least offer to help them all escape. Hoping for more than that seemed too much to ask for, given what she’d been told about the Tau Ceti.
“My son?” Alan said.
Carol nodded. “Our son.”
Alan covered his mouth with his hand briefly. When he pulled it away, a huge smile was on his face.
“Our son,” he repeated. He dropped the tranq gun and stepped closer to Carol, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close before kissing her. Soundly.
Tracey leaned into Kyle’s side. “I think your parents are getting back together.”
Kyle cleared his throat. “We need to move.”
Alan and Carol separated—barely. They stood close, staring into each other’s eyes and smiling.
“Catch up later,” Tracey said. “For now, let’s get the hell out of here.”
Alan nodded and grabbed Carol’s hand, pulling her toward the front door. Kyle and Tracey ran after them.
When they reached the driveway, Tracey jerked to a halt. She knew she should keep running, but her brain locked up, along with her body, as she saw Alan’s ship.
It was something straight out of a 1950’s Scifi movie, just like the other had been—a disc-shaped craft resting on three thin metal legs with a ramp descending to the ground coming out of the center of it. Only instead of being shaped like a hubcap, it was triangular, and the metal was bronze instead of silver.
“No way,” she whispered. She was about to board an alien spaceship.
“Come on.” Kyle pulled her hand, casting a tight-lipped smile at her that looked a lot like the one Alan had sported earlier.
Once they were on the ship, she let herself gape again. Alan and Carol were sitting at a control panel. Alan tapped various buttons, and the ship responded with
beeping and flashing lights. The ramp pulled up into the ship and the hatch to the outside closed.
“There are only three chairs,” Alan said. “You two will have to share.”
Kyle sat and pulled Tracey onto his lap. There were straps on the seat, and he quickly buckled himself in, then wrapped his arms around her.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll keep you safe.”
The floor seemed to lurch up toward them, or maybe gravity was just smooshing her against Kyle’s body. Outside, grass and trees and roads sped by so quickly her stomach started to recoil. Then it was just blue sky and clouds for a few seconds, and then…
“Holy shit.” Tracey gripped Kyle’s hand so tight her fingers started to tingle.
The front window had gone dark—except for hundreds, thousands, of tiny sparkling lights. Stars.
They were in outer space.
Chapter Thirteen
Kyle had never wanted to be an astronaut as a child. He’d wanted to be a dinosaur for a while, which, he supposed, he was kind of closer to achieving. Seeing the stars in front of him, though, astronaut seemed much better.
“This is amazing,” he murmured.
Tracey leaned closer. “Yeah. You sure do know how to impress a girl.”
He laughed, nuzzling her hair. She ran her fingers along his jaw, then bent down to kiss him. It started as a light brushing of lips, but once he felt that connection, he needed more. He buried one hand in her hair, tilting her face so he could deepen the kiss.
Carol cleared her throat.
Right. They were on an alien spaceship with absolutely no privacy and his parents were right there.
Both of them.
“I can see where he takes after me,” Alan said.
Carol laughed.
“I guess we should probably focus on what’s going on,” Tracey said.
“Yeah.” Kyle looked out at the field of stars. They seemed to be moving past the ship, which meant Alan hadn’t stopped after leaving Earth’s atmosphere. “Where are you taking us?”
“There’s a space station near Centauri-1 where we can sell this ship and maybe find work assignments on one of the dome worlds,” Alan said.
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