“Wow,” Shailene said behind me. “This looks like the bedroom of the twelve dancing princesses.” She gestured to the two rows of beds. “Where’s the secret passage you use to get to the magical kingdom every night?”
“Hilarious,” I sniped. “Gail, have you seen my big?”
“I haven’t seen her, but she left a note on your whiteboard,” she said, giving Shailene a curious look before scampering back over to the bed.
“Thanks.” I maneuvered around the island of desks in the middle of the room to my own. My whiteboard was propped against the hutch where I’d stacked a few books and my mountain of CDs. In blue marker, Ana had written:
Little—
My texts aren’t going through anymore. I figure you forgot to charge your phone again. I hope you aren’t mad at me. Please understand, I wasn’t trying to keep secrets from you. When you get back, coffee?
Ana.
I stared at her flowery handwriting with its large, rounded loops, and tried to choke back the emotion burbling up in my throat.
Beside me, Shailene picked up a stack of CDs, flipping through them. “This is pretty old-school,” she commented.
I shrugged. “I have pack rat tendencies.”
“I see that. And you like boy bands. New Kids On The Block, Backstreet Boys…” She turned one over and snickered. “Seriously? One Direction?”
I snatched it out of her hands before I could stop myself, my heart suddenly feeling like it was clawing its way out my chest. Ana had given me that One Direction CD in one of her secret care packages last semester—before I’d known just who my mysterious sister really was, when she’d heard how much I liked boy bands. After initiation, we’d karaoked shred versions of all the songs on the album while our sisters had laughed raucously around us.
“I wasn’t trying to keep secrets from you,” she’d written. But I had. I’d been keeping secrets from her for days. She was my best friend, my sister, and I’d pushed her away when I needed her the most. How could I have left her alone like this?
“Let’s go check in her room,” I said raggedly.
I led Shailene up the stairs to the third floor, where Ana’s room was. She had a double, but the junior she’d roomed with last semester was studying abroad this semester, so the other bed was empty. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Hesitantly I pushed it open. The room was empty, Ana’s bed neatly made like it had been the other day. She wasn’t there.
“Don’t panic,” Shailene said, watching my expression. “She might be here. Does she have any other friends in the house? She might be with them.”
“Yeah, the Deltas,” I said, rushing down the hall to where Natalia and Makeisha’s room was. I could hear voices and laughter drifting from their open door, and for a moment, relief washed over me. But then I stuck my head in the doorway and saw that it was just those two and their own littles back from break.
“There you are, chickie,” Natalia all but shouted. “Where the hell have you been? You look like you’ve been hit by a semi.”
“It’s a long story.” I sighed. “Don’t give me that look. I’m fine. Where’s my big?”
Makeisha raised her eyebrows and shared a glance with Natalia. “There’s the question. You’ve been missing the hanky-panky, girl.”
I felt the blood leave my face. “What?”
“She went off with that Beta of hers. Said there was some kind of family emergency. Their dog needed to have surgery or some other bullshit lie that we all saw through. She said she might be gone for a few days, she and the BF were going to ‘pet-sit’”—she made air quotes—“the other animals for his parents.”
“What?”
Natalia glared at Makeisha. “Come on, you don’t know it was a bullshit lie. After all, you know how Ana is about animals. I wouldn’t put it past her to cut school for a few days to pet-sit.”
“Yeah, but why would his parents be gone for a few days if a dog is having surgery? They’re not going to let them sleep at the vet, and I don’t think the Ronald McDonald House puts up pet owners.”
Makeisha’s little spoke up. “You never know. My dog had hip dysplasia, and we had to take her down south for her evaluation—”
I couldn’t take any more of this. “Let me use your phone,” I interrupted, my voice shrill.
“Where’s yours?” asked Makeisha.
“I lost it.”
“Again?” Natalia shook her head. “Am I going to have to get you one of those key beepers for your birthday? One for your wallet, one for your phone…”
“Just let me use your phone!” I shrieked.
Makeisha tossed me hers without another word, and I raced back out into the hall, scrolling through Makeisha’s contacts and frantically dialing Ana’s number. It rang once, then went to voicemail. Dammit. I quickly typed out a text.
Ana, this is Laura. I don’t have my phone. Please call ASAP.
I hit send and waited. A few moments later, a red exclamation point flashed on the screen. Message Delivery Failure. I let out a growl of frustration. He had her. Damien had her. What was I going to do?
“Hey,” Shailene said, her voice soft. I jumped; I’d forgotten she was standing next to me. She looked at me, her eyebrows drawn with worry. “You okay?”
“I don’t know,” I said, my voice breaking. “I don’t know what to do.”
She folded her arms slowly, looking down at her feet. “I know exactly how you feel,” she whispered. And I knew she did. This is just what she’d been going through, losing the other cheerleaders, losing Janice. I couldn’t have possibly understood. Not until it had happened to me.
“She’s really important to you, huh?” Shailene asked.
I nodded, sniffling. “She’s like… It’s like Janice, I guess. I mean, I know it’s not, because Janice is your mom, but Ana’s like…” I stared up at the fluorescent lights on the ceiling. “You know when you find someone you didn’t realize you were looking for until they’re there? And they become your family, and you realize… without them there’s a big hole.” I swallowed. “And I’ve been ruining it. I’ve been so pissy and moody ever since all of this started.” Since I’d met Shailene. But no, Shailene was only part of it. It was Damien. I’d been jealous of him. Not romantically, but jealous that he was spending time with her. Afraid he’d take her away from me. Even though Ana had tried to include me, I hadn’t wanted any part of it. And now she was gone, and it was all my fault. If I’d gone to breakfast with her, if I’d met them for dinner—I would have sensed what he was, I knew it. I could have warned her, could have protected her. Instead I’d been selfish, and it could cost her her humanity.
“It’s not your fault, Laura,” Shailene said.
“Yes, it is.” It was. In more ways than one. It wasn’t just that I’d left her alone, it was that my family—I—was somehow involved in this. My mom was possibly complicit with these kidnappings, these experiments. Whatever was going to happen to Ana, it was all my fault. In every way.
I had to stop this. There still had to be time. I could save her.
And I had an idea as to how. k12
“We’ll find a way to get her back, Laura,” Shailene said, cutting through my thoughts. “We’ll think of something.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I said. I didn’t mention that I’d already thought of something. But it was way too dangerous to bring Shailene along. I couldn’t let her get near the Anesidorans again, not when they were planning to erase her.
I smiled casually. “We’ll think about it in the morning. It’s been a long two days, and both of us are beat. I don’t know about you, but I need a nice, long shower.”
“You’re not the only one,” Shailene said.
My face flushed, and I tried to keep my thoughts from wandering in the direction that sentence took me. “Where are you going to stay tonight? It’s probably not safe to go back to Bayview, or wherever you and Janice live.”
She bit her lip. “Probably not.”
�
�We have a guest room downstairs by Claudia’s apartment. We can make up some excuse as to why you can’t make it back to campus tonight. I’m sure she’ll let you stay.”
Shailene nodded. “That’s a good idea.”
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s get you set up.” I led her back into Natalia and Makeisha’s room, briefly introducing her and explaining that she was a friend who had gotten stranded due to a broken-down car. “I’m going to ask Claudia if she can stay in the guest room. Natalia, any chance she could borrow some of your clothes?” They were about the same height and looked like they’d wear the same size.
“Sure thing,” Natalia said. “I’ll get you set up.”
She led Shailene down the hall to the wardrobe room, where all the girls who lived in the small, closet-less doubles kept their clothes. While they rummaged through Natalia’s drawers, I quickly typed out another text, to a number I knew by heart.
This is Laura. Don’t respond to this because I don’t have my phone. Just get your ass to the Gam-Lam house by 11 if you ever want me to speak to you again. I thought for a moment, then added, And not one word to my mom. As soon as the delivery checkmark appeared, I deleted both messages off Makeisha’s phone and handed it back to her.
I showed Shailene to the second-floor bathroom. “The plumbing is old, so if someone comes in here, they’ll yell that they’re flushing and you can step out of the water before you get scalded,” I said, pulling aside the shower curtain on one of the stalls and looking it over to make sure it wasn’t completely disgusting.
Shailene looked like she was having trouble keeping her mirth to herself. “This is a very interesting living situation,” she said dryly.
I let out a snort. “Tell me about it. Here.” I handed her a comb. “You can use this to comb your hair out when you’re done. I promise I don’t have lice.” I set it on top of the neatly folded clothes she’d placed on the bench inside the shower, in the little changing area where the water didn’t hit.
“Gee, thanks,” she said sarcastically, then caught my eye. “But seriously. Thanks.”
My cheeks colored. “You too,” I said.
* * *
By the time Shailene got out of the shower, I’d gotten clearance from Claudia that she could stay, and the guest room was unlocked. I showed her inside. “If you think you’ll be okay by yourself for a little bit, I’m going to take a shower now.” She’d tossed her dirty clothes on the bed in a heap, and I picked them up gingerly. “I need to do a load of laundry later, so I can wash these up for you if you want.”
“Yeah. Thanks, Laura,” she replied with a smile.
I smiled back at her. “See you in a bit.”
I closed the guest room door and hurried back up the stairs to the bathroom. She’d set my comb on the bathroom counter. She’d cleaned it out, but there were still a couple strands of hair wrapped around the plastic teeth. I just prayed they weren’t my own. I grabbed it, ducking into the empty shower stall. I stripped out of my own clothes and quickly pulled her grimy workout clothes from yesterday on. The pants were way too tight on my hips, but the stretchy fabric had enough give to it that I managed to get them up over my butt. I clutched the comb, closed my eyes, and concentrated.
My body shifted effortlessly.
When I stepped out of the shower, I refused to let myself be startled by her reflection in the mirror. I gave myself just a cursory once-over to make sure that the change had taken completely, that no part of Laura remained. Then I rushed out of the bathroom.
Back at the Anesidoran base, the cells had all been empty. The sentry had said to me, “The test subjects have been loaded onto the transport ships already.” If Damien had abducted Ana for the Anesidorans to experiment on—and I was certain that he had—she would be with them. If I wanted to free her, I had to find a way to get aboard one of those ships.
I had to go back to the base.
I was already standing on the sidewalk when Tonio’s steel gray Oldsmobile turned into the street. I waved frantically as he approached, flinging the door open before the car had come to a complete stop.
“Thank God, you got my text,” I said, slamming the door shut and buckling my seatbelt. Then I turned to see him staring at me with an expression of bewilderment. “What?”
“Uh, who the hell are you?” he said.
Crap. I’d forgotten already that I was in Shailene’s form. I couldn’t morph back, either, because then I wouldn’t be able to get her back—I’d left the comb in the bathroom like an idiot. “Tonio,” I began, “I know this is probably really, really weird, but I can explain…”
He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Laura. I should have known. So you’re doing that again, huh?”
“‘That’? Oh, you mean—Have I done it before?”
He pulled away from the curb, driving down the hill away from campus. “I’m not getting involved. Where do you want me to take you?”
“Head for the interstate. I’ll give you directions as we go. And you sure as hell are getting involved. You’re already involved, obviously. How much do you know, anyway?”
He looked at me sideways, pursing his lips. “How much do you know?”
I ground my teeth in exasperation. “Seriously, Tonio?”
“Yes, seriously.” He flipped on his turn signal, barely looking over his shoulder before charging into the left lane. The first rule of driving in the City was that it wasn’t for the meek. “I’m going to be in deep enough shit with your mom when I get home—not to mention mine. I’m not supposed to talk about this with you.”
“Fine. I’ll tell you, then.” I gave him an account of everything that had happened over the last four days, culminating in our escape from the Anesidoran base and discovering that my DNA could open the lock.
“So that means… I’m part Anesidoran,” I finished in a small voice.
“Well, yeah,” Tonio replied. He seemed unperturbed.
I stared at him incredulously. “What do you mean, ‘well, yeah?’ So you knew about all this? You knew that I’m… that I’m part alien?” Saying the words aloud was harder than I would have expected. Even with all the crazy things happening to me, it was easier to believe that I was an ordinary human who’d been experimented on than to believe I was… something else.
“Um, duh,” Tonio replied, in that same casual tone. I realized he was chewing gum. My world was falling apart and he was just sitting there chewing gum. Then he said, “Who do you think my dad was?”
The meaning of his words hit me like a physical blow. “Oh, my God. Oh, my God! You’re one, too?”
He looked away from the freeway for just a second, his nose wrinkled and his brows furrowed like I’d said something super offensive. “Way to be rude about it.”
I ignored his hurt expression. He didn’t get to be a drama queen when he’d been complicit in this for all these years. “So you’re saying Grandpa was an alien? Does that mean all of us are aliens? Julian and Rolando and Cristina, too?” I hadn’t considered this before. Even after I’d figured out I was part alien, I hadn’t thought about how those parts had gotten into me. What had happened to Lola? Had she been abducted? The thought made me feel sick.
“No, those three are human. Mom’s first husband was their dad. When she got remarried, she had us.”
“Married? She was married to him? Lola married an alien?!” I screamed. Tonio’s window was down, and I heard my voice echo off the tall buildings outside. He glared at me and rolled the window up.
“You’re being an asshole, Lee,” he said. “My dad was a nice guy.”
I spluttered wordlessly. A nice guy? He was Anesidoran! He was an alien from a planet whose species was currently in the process of invading us and kidnapping our youth to form a super army, and Tonio was saying he’d been a “nice guy”? It took all the strength I had to rein my temper in. At last, I said, “You guys told me he was a bus driver in Manila.”
“That was Mom’s first husband.” When I glared at him, he ad
ded, “Besides, that’s not what we originally told you. You used to know the truth. We only told you that after… the incident.”
I bristled. So this was another thing that they’d taken from me when they’d wiped my memories. Who I was. Fury swept over me again, as strong as it had when I’d heard Mom say those words on the webcam. “But why?”
“You were really upset. You were making problems.”
I blinked rapidly. “Problems? Like what?”
“I dunno, man. I was in college at the time, if you’ll remember. I wasn’t around for most of this shit. No one ever listens to my opinion, anyway. Mom and Rosie and Phil run the show. They said this is what they’re doing, and that’s what they did.”
Anger coursed through me. I’d been maintaining Shailene’s form pretty well up until now, but the fury bubbling through my veins was making my skin tingle and pulsate. I had to close my eyes, focus on my breathing in order to keep my own appearance from slipping out. “Tonio. What was ‘the incident’?”
He shifted in his seat. “Lee, I don’t think—”
“Tonio, please.”
My voice, unfamiliar in my own ears, threatened to break. He seemed to soften at the sound. Finally, he exhaled, his shoulders slumping. “Okay. You want to know? I’ll tell you. But remember, I wasn’t there for most of it, so I don’t know all the details. I’m sure you figured out by now it had to do with that Shailene girl.”
I nodded, finding I couldn’t get words to form in my mouth.
“Well, it didn’t have anything to do with the fact that you guys were an item,” he said quickly. “You know Rosie doesn’t give a shit about that. I never met her, but you talked about her a lot, and we’d all figured out you liked her from the way you were mooning over her that year. But someone apparently missed the memo, because I guess some technician got a hold of her or something. Like I said, I don’t know the details. Rosie wouldn’t tell me. I had to kind of piece it together from what she wouldn’t say. I always thought it was weird, though, because they’re not supposed to make contact with humans who are close to us. But—”
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