Don't Look Back (Warders of Earth)

by S. E. GILCHRIST

  Every girl likes to dream.

  Closing my eyes to shut off my turbulent thoughts and enjoy the moment, I nestled closer until I rested my head on his chest. His mouth nuzzled my forehead in a way that sent my tummy quivering as our footsteps slowed and we swayed together in a sensuous rocking movement. My hormones roared into life, squealing...yes!....yes!...yes! Every part of me fizzed and sizzled. With his arms round me and pressed so close, I wanted to stay in his embrace forever.

  What happened to keeping it cool?

  The song came to a crashing end and the band broke for a break.

  Feeling more than a little guilty, I pushed out of Alex’s arms and avoiding his eyes left the dance floor.

  “I think I’ll go home,” I tossed over my shoulder, deciding it was time to retreat before I caved and dragged him off to some dark corner. That was something I could never allow to happen.

  “I’ll drive you.” His tone was flat, hard and instinctively I knew it would be useless to protest.

  Outside the hotel, the night was still and warm and rich with the aroma of the bush. Alex linked my fingers in his as we strolled to the rear of the building and the carpark. I didn’t protest although in my mind’s eyes, all I could see was Em’s tearful face.

  When we reached his car, he pressed his key lock and opened the passenger door for me.

  It didn’t take long to drive the few blocks to my mother’s house. When Alex pulled into the curb and turned off the engine, I sat, waiting.

  My conscience battled the pull I felt towards him. Em. What would I do if he kissed me? Should I give in and kiss him back? Push him away? Invite him inside? Make a run for the front door?

  “Tara?”

  Suddenly there didn’t seem to be enough oxygen inside the car.

  I forgot about my best friend.

  Breathless, I turned toward him. “Yes?”

  “What’s your Dad’s take on this meteor shower? Has he mentioned it to you?”

  “Huh?”

  With shadows painted across his face, it was hard to read his expression but there was no mistaking the grim slant to his voice. This was not about me. He was fishing for information.

  Disappointment sliced into my heart and the bubbling lust frothing about inside me, cooled. This would teach me to poach on my friend’s preserves. Blindly I groped for the door handle. “Thanks for the lift and for the food, Alex. If you want to ask my father questions, why don’t you talk to him yourself?”

  “I don’t have his number. He’s like a ghost, not listed anywhere.”

  I shrugged. “Try the observatory. See you around.”

  I opened the door. Alex’s hand landed on my shoulder but I wriggled out from under his hold and escaped.

  I couldn’t reach the porch quick enough. It wasn’t until I entered the house before I heard his car roar off down the road.

  He’d waited until I was safe inside.

  I really wanted to kiss him. Damn it. What, if anything, was I going to do?

  ***

  Alex

  I should have kissed her. Bloody hell, I wanted to do more than kiss her. The realisation beat inside my skull with an insistent tune similar to that last head-banging song played by the band in the pub.

  Feeling a little as if I’d been blindsided, I changed down a gear and took the next corner wide. As soon as the car straightened, I pressed my foot down, heavy to the metal. The car responded, surged forward with a power that normally thrilled me, normally sent the adrenaline crackling through my blood. Heightened every sense I possessed.

  Nothing.

  Fuck it. My jeans felt painfully tight, my body still tense, and stupid, dumb thoughts filled my head.

  The fact I didn't experience that quick rush worried at my mind like a rodent chewing on wood.

  This chick is getting under my skin.

  My shoulders twitched.

  I can’t let it interfere with my mission.

  The thought of seeing that cold disappointment etched on my father’s face, effectively chilled the heat that had flooded my body when I’d been near her. But it had been more than a shit-load of lust that had sent my senses reeling like a monk in a whore house.

  It had been worry.

  The way her pain had split inside my head as if I was right in there with it had knocked me sideways. I hadn’t expected it; heard about it but actually experiencing a sacred connection like that with another person was mind blowing.

  All I could think about was my need to take it away.

  What was even more amazing, was I succeeded. Her headache had eased once I was in her company. Whether that was pure luck or something else, I couldn’t figure out.

  I’d blown it though. The first opportunity I’d had to spend a little one-on-one with her and I blew it.

  Maybe I should have started with a kiss instead of a question.

  She’d withdrawn from me immediately.

  Shit! I’m not getting anywhere with this mission. What if I’m wrong? What if it’s not her? Fuck it. I need those answers. Fast.

  Cause I could have done with her trust. That would have helped big time.

  Guess that was something I had yet to earn.

  I thought of Shay and his dead mark, Lorraine. Jaw clamped tight, I lowered the window.

  A wash of cool night air swirled through the cabin as I sent the car roaring down the dark country road.

  The intel my father had greeted me with before I’d left for the pub, pounded with urgent force inside my brain.

  The seeders were coming.

  Our time on this Earth had reduced to days; if not hours.

  What I needed was some solitude to bring me to my senses.

  Force me to remember there was more at stake than one, amazing, sweet...and hot girl.

  Chapter 11 – THE LIST

  Tara

  It was thirst that woke me.

  Blearily, I opened my heavy eyes. I swallowed over a throat that felt like the bottom of a budgie cage. I really needed to stay better hydrated.

  The faint light from the moon illuminated the face of the antique clock on my bedside table. It was after three in the morning. I cocked my head and listened, but apart from the creaks of old timber, the house was quiet. I looked over at the sleeping form of Em on the camp bed. From the sound of her regular, soft breathing she appeared to be dead to the world.

  I smiled glad now I hadn’t kissed his hotness.

  Friendships like ours were sacred.

  Sitting up, I ran a hand through my tousled hair and yawned. The events of yesterday, seemed a million miles away. Dawn might bring disaster and god only knew what new revelations about my secret past but for now, I desperately needed water.

  I shuffled along to the bathroom and after emerging wandered down the hallway to the kitchen. The power still hadn’t come on which made it difficult to see the interior of the refrigerator. After a bit of rummaging around, I found a two litre plastic container of water and poured a large glass full.

  I drank then pressed the glass to my hot cheeks before opening the refrigerator door again. Puddles of water left from the slowly melting blocks of ice Mum had placed in the refrigerator to keep the food from spoiling had formed on the shelves. Grabbing a sponge I soaked them up and tossed the sodden sponge back into the sink.

  Mum might have thought she’d given us answers but really all I had were more questions. What did it all mean? If what Mum said about Dan and me being genetically bred inside some lab was true then that meant we really were in hiding.

  But from what or whom?

  I remembered the white room and shivered.

  Pouring another glass, I slumped against the cupboard and sipped. I didn’t know what to think any more. I was so hard to imagine an organisation such as Mum described taking it lightly that two of their scientists had run off with the results of their research.

  No, they’d move mountains to get back what they believed belonged to them.

  What if they were he
re, in this town, looking for us?

  There’d been a few newcomers to town recently, including the two suits in Mr Andrews’ office and Alex and his father. My heart constricted painfully at the thought of Alex. Pushing my yearnings to the back of my mind, I concentrated on the serious stuff. What had Mum said about recognising a Warder at the supermarket and her belief he was Bob Garroway?

  Then both Alex and his father were Warders.

  And what the hell was a Warder? Someone we should be worried about?

  But Mum hadn’t given us that impression, although she’d expressed concerns over whether they could be trusted. Rather she’d seemed more worried with a group called, the Mundos Novus Force. Could they be linked to the research organisation?

  Is that what we were running from?

  I clutched my hair with both hands and tugged hard.

  Zeeze, I’m acting like I believe this stuff.

  I tried to make sense of my whirling thoughts and think logically. Those two men in Mr Andrews’ office had certainly acted strange. Now, that much I did accept. I knew I’d heard that tall guy’s voice somewhere before. What if he were connected to my past? It might pay to find out more information about them. Get some proof.

  But how?

  The USB stick.

  Of course.

  I sculled the remaining water then went back to my room where I stripped out of the thin tank top I wore to bed and pulled on a pair of cargo pants and a tee-shirt. After pulling on my joggers (this was definitely not the time to be wearing high-heeled boots), I roughly shook Em by the shoulder. I was going to need reinforcements for this one.

  “Come on, Em! Wake up.”

  “Huh?” mumbled Em groggily rising to her elbows. She stared at me, blinking owlishly. “Tara is that you? What are you doing here?”

  “What do you mean, what am I doing here? Don’t you remember? You’re at my house.” I shook her again as she slumped, mumbling to herself, back down amongst her pillows. “Oh do wake up.”

  “Okay! Okay, I’m awake. Just stop shaking me. What’s happened?” Her voice rose.

  “Shush! Not so loud, Em.” I perched on the edge of the camp bed. “Remember the USB stick?”

  “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Remember those men in your father’s office?”

  “So?”

  “One of them handed over a USB stick to your father. I need to see what’s on it.”

  “You’re kidding me right?”

  “No, I’m serious.” I eyed my dazed-looking friend now sitting up and yawning. How much to tell her? Keep it simple. Give her something that’s plausible. “I think it has some details about the meteor shower.”

  “And?” She sounded thoroughly irritated.

  “And if it does, then I believe it should be made public.”

  “You sound like your Dad.”

  “I mean it, Em. Knowledge should be transparent and available to everyone.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I realised I believed what I said. Guess Dad’s beliefs had rubbed off on me, too.

  “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to take a look.” She gave another bone cracking yawn. “Can’t this wait until morning? I could phone Dad and ask him then.”

  “I don’t want him to know.”

  “You’re acting really strange these days, Tara. What’s got into you?”

  Only that apparently I’m some kind of mutant who can talk to aliens.

  “Did I hear the sound of Alex’s car? Did he bring you home from the pub?” Sharp suspicion was rife in Em’s voice.

  “It was a lift, okay. He’s not into me.” I spread my hands wide. “Nothing happened.” Should I tell her I danced with him? Better not. I rubbed my damp palms over my pants feeling the bite of guilt snap at my conscience. My secrets were piling up.

  “Humph. Alright then, what do you want me to do?”

  I said gruffly, “I knew you wouldn’t let me down, Em. We break into the office, grab the stick, copy it and put it back before anyone knows it’s missing.”

  “I shouldn’t have asked,” groaned Em. “If the stick is important, Dad wouldn’t leave it at the office. He’d put it in the study safe at home. But we’ve got a problem. Dad texted me today and told me he’s changed the locks and I haven’t seen him to get the new key. I don’t see how we are going to get inside.”

  “We’ll go up the trellis and through your bedroom window, just like we used to do when we were in high school.”

  Em threw the cotton blanket off, and scrambled to her feet. “I can’t believe I’m letting you talk me into breaking into my own home!”

  “Think of it as a learning experience.” I grinned while Em dithered over her clothes before finally settling on pale pink track pants with matching tee, and then pulling on her shoes. “We’ll go in Mum’s car.”

  It didn’t take long before we pulled up in front of Em’s house. For two minutes we sat without moving, both looking out into the darkness. The street appeared deserted. Not even a dog barked. It was once again, hot and humid. No breeze stirred the leaves of the remaining trees lining both sides of the street.

  We either did this now or hauled our butts back to bed.

  “Come on.” I grabbed my satchel where I’d placed my Acer notebook and slipped the straps over my shoulder then opened the car door, closing it as quietly as possible. With Em leading the way, we hurried down the path to the back of the building.

  Feeling like I was a kid again, I grasped the trellis and began to climb. Em was close behind. The window was opened wide. I had to fight my way through those bloody lace curtains, and then scramble over the chest of drawers. Ornaments tumbled to the ground thumping dully on the carpet. Heart pounding I waited in the centre of Em’s bedroom. A thud and a muffled yelp singled her arrival.

  In spite of our intentions to be as quiet as possible, we couldn’t help giggling when I tripped over the cat just outside Em’s bedroom door. Bartholomew hissed and swiped at my ankle. Righting myself, I switched on my mobile and using the glowing screen like a torch, we tiptoed down the stairs.

  The cat raced ahead of us and disappeared into a dark room off the side of the front foyer.

  Outside the study, we hesitated before entering, listening intently. But no sound broke the stillness of the night. I took a deep gasp of air to try and still my rapid heartbeats.

  It didn’t work.

  A faint light glowed down the hall from where an old oil lantern burned steadily on a side table.

  “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” She whispered anxiously. “Dad will kill me if he finds out.”

  “We can’t chicken out now.” I turned the knob.

  As soon as we entered the room, Em hurried over to the bookcase, her fingers drifting across the binders. With the curtains pulled wide over a large window, light from the street lamps outside and the fitful moon made it fairly easy for me to see what she was doing.

  She hooked her finger into the binder of a particularly thick book and pulled. A line of mock books swung out and behind was the pale gleam of metal.

  “I hope he hasn’t changed the combination,” Em said as she twisted the handle.

  I crowded close behind her and heard the faint tumbles of the lock disengaging. She yanked open the metal door and rummaged inside. Smiling triumphantly, she turned around and waved a USB stick in front of my nose.

  “Got it.”

  I tugged my mini laptop from my satchel. It fired up immediately and I plugged the USB stick into the connection on the side.

  Em sighed. “This is going to get us into trouble, Tara. I just know it is. But you’re right. It’s odd how those two guys came all this way to give it to Dad. I mean they could have emailed it.”

  “What is all this stuff?” I squinted. Pain slashed across my forehead, my vision blurred, darkened. Crazy glowing glyphs danced in front of my eyes.

  “Looks like a list of different types of equipment. Probably for the hydroponics business. See? Here
it mentions seeds and over here an excavator.”

  “That doesn’t sound important.” I had to force out the words. Should I tell her I saw something quite different?

  “I agree, plus there was no password to unlock it,” she pointed out.

  Chewing my lip, I sent her a sideways glance. The light glowing off the small screen revealed a look of utter boredom on her face. Maybe, I’d better keep this to myself for a while longer. I made an attempt to sound like everything was hunkey dorey. “I was so sure I’d find something on it to explain those two guys.”

  “They’re business acquaintances of Dad’s. There’s no big deal.”

  It couldn’t be that simple. I’d met or heard one of them before. I knew it.

  I continued to open files. And in each one, I saw strange symbols amongst what I knew were normal words. Symbols that I understood.

  It was true then. My chest constricted and I found it hard to breathe without sounding like I was desperate for air.

  “Let’s get out of here.” Em heaved an impatient sigh.

  Then I spotted something else. “Wait. What’s this? Looks like numbers to me.”

  Em leaned over. “It’s a bunch of dates against what looks like random numbers. So what?”

  “Well, that could be important.”

  “Duh! Delivery dates,” snapped Em. “Can we go now?”

  “Shush. Not so loud.”

  “Dad won’t hear us. He’s a heavy sleeper.”

  “Still, I think we should keep it down a little.”

  “Whatever. Can’t you hurry up?”

  “Give me a sec. I’ll just open this last file,” I lied.

  “Honestly.” She strolled off to peer outside the window.

  Quickly, I opened Outlook, copied the files from the disk and sent the email to Dad just as Em walked back where I had perched on the settee.

  “Done. You’re right. This was a waste of time.” My hands shaking, I handed the stick back to Em who tossed it back into the safe while I shut down my computer. “Let’s go.”

  “Finally. I’m going back to bed.” Em stomped out of the room and out the front door.

  I couldn’t believe I’d lied to my best friend. What was happening to me? Surely, of all people, I could trust Em? Confused, I followed as she marched to the car. Nausea swirled in my gut.