“Yeah,” I said. “I mean, I kind of hate seeing him in the middle of all this. It makes me feel like he’s still in danger. But I guess he’s better prepared. And it’s weird, all this stuff should scare him to death, but he seems more content than ever.”
I looked around. On one side of the room Angelica was showing Kaela something on her computer screen. In a cleared-out corner behind me, Miriam was teaching Austin how to block a mental invasion while defending himself against attack. Austin took a hit and cried out in pain, but seemed to recover quickly when Miriam softly stroked his cheek.
“He has a bigger family,” Micah said. “We will keep him safe together.”
“I almost believe that,” I said, sighing.
Micah’s face pinched as he looked at me.
“I know, we’re safe for now. But ...” I scratched at my wrist. “I just don’t feel safe with this stuff in my system. What if they come back some day and search for us?”
“They don’t have any reason to. Miriam changed your data to indicate your study as finished. And with Teavers gone, no one will question that.”
“But they could decide to come for us—Ethan, or Auggie, or me. And if they do they’ll hit the jackpot. I’m exactly what they’re looking for.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Micah said, holding me close.
“Lexi, can E-Hot-T spare you a minute?” She grinned at me from across the room.
“How long you been waiting to use that?” I asked.
“A while.” She took my arm and pulled toward the stairs. I followed her up.
“So I’ve been hacking their system again,” she said. “There’s still no indication that Agent Warner told anybody anything about you before the big showdown. She probably didn’t want anyone scooping you up and taking all the credit. And she and the agent who was with her have apparently stuck with the story Micah planted.”
“Good,” I said.
“Not for her. Micah was surprisingly creative with his story. She’s considered a nut job even among the alien hunters. After she got out of that mental facility they gave her a crap assignment in rural Oklahoma.”
“That all?”
“No. Remember that guy? The one who supposedly figured out how to disable the tracking stuff? He agreed to meet. Shoshone Falls, ten minutes.”
“Wow, when he’s ready, he’s ready.”
“The thing is, he wants you to meet him.”
“Why? How does he even know about me?”
“Well, we let your story circulate a little, minus the super powers. He made a connection between us somehow. Asked for the girl who took down the Slime.” She paused, frowning. “It is a little creepy.”
“No. That’s fine,” I said, ignoring the nerves that crept into my gut. “It should be me.”
“No, it should be one of them.”
Micah and Miriam hadn’t done anything to Angelica’s aunt, but I understood why there were still some bad feelings. Especially after Miriam told her she’d looked her aunt up in the system and found out that she’d come back to Earth after all. Just not whole. She’d made her way to Memphis and died on the streets. She’d been identified as a Jane Doe, but the Slimes knew better.
I gave Angelica a squeeze. “He won’t want to talk to one of them.”
“Yeah, I’d imagine this guy’s in deep enough to spot a hybrid in an instant. Especially after the what-to-look-for guide we posted on the internet. What are you carrying?”
I patted my pocket. “Just my taser.”
“Auggie won’t like that. I’m sending Micah. He can stay in the car, but you should have back-up.”
“Fine.”
Angelica hurried downstairs, and Micah came up shortly after. He took my arm and we walked out to the van together.
“Do you think he’s legit?” I asked.
“I couldn’t say. I hope so.”
We drove down the grade into Shoshone Falls. My stomach lurched at every turn. I hadn’t been here since the time I’d fallen, and Micah took me up into his ship. I glanced at him. His eyes were on me.
“I’m not sorry, you know,” I said. “My life isn’t going to be what I thought it would be. I might be too occupied with the survival of mankind to go to college or travel all over the place. But I’m not in the dark anymore, and I’m going to make sure that other people find out what’s going on too.”
He nodded, his expression a little pained. I knew he was still sorry I wouldn’t have a normal life. But normal was truly overrated anyway.
We pulled into a parking spot, and I glanced around.
“Where’s the meeting spot?” Micah asked.
“Here. That’s all I know,” I said.
“I’m coming too,” Micah said as I got out of the van.
“No, you look all alien-y.” I leaned into the car and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. “No offense.”
I walked over to the metal stairway that led down to the overlook. There were a few tourist snapping pictures of the falls, but no one that looked like they were expecting us. I looked to the left. Off in the distance, sitting on a bench, was a man in a heavy coat and a ball cap. He was turned away from me, watching a small group of tourists walking down the trail, so I couldn’t see his face. But I could read the back of his cap. It said Roswell, NM.
“That’s my guy,” I said quietly.
I started walking toward him, my chest tightening with each step. Then he turned to me, and I stopped dead in my tracks.
“Did you like the shoes?” he said, his voice soft and gravelly.
My eyes burned with tears and I covered my hands with my mouth. I’d always hoped that he was still alive somehow. I’d imagined seeing his face again a thousand times, and in my mind the meeting had gone a thousand different ways, from me throwing my arms around him to me walking away without a word. Now that he was really here I didn’t know how to act.
I ran my sleeve over my eyes and cleared my throat. “Yeah. A little big, but I wouldn’t expect you to know my shoe size.” Other emotions bubbled to the surface as I came closer. “They said you were dead. Why did you leave? We—Cody really needed you.”
He ducked his head. “At first I thought it might keep you safe. If I was gone, maybe they’d leave you alone.”
“It doesn’t work like that.”
“I know that now. I spent some time hiding out, acting like a lunatic. Then I got it together and started doing research. I found out that an abductee’s children have a significantly higher probability of being abducted than other people. That’s why I started working on the serum.”
“It’s a serum?”
He nodded. “It deactivates the tracking fluid they put in you.”
“Where have you been?”
“Close by. Keeping an eye on you.”
“Um, ... so you probably know I was snatched up by aliens several times and a government agent locked me up and then nearly killed me.”
His eyes glistened. “For the last few weeks I’ve been traveling, checking up on the progress of test subjects, and giving injections to some folks in Montana.”
“So when did you get back?”
“A few days ago. I’m sorry I wasn’t here.” He wiped away a tear.
I shrugged. “Turns out I’m a force to be reckoned with.”
“I’m not surprised.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “So you were close and you didn’t contact us. Why?”
“I had to work without distractions. I knew I was close. Besides ...”
“Besides what?”
“I didn’t think you’d want to see me.” His voice shook. “I didn’t know how you’d react to me showing up again. And I was still an embarrassment. A raving lunatic.”
“But you were our dad,” I said, my throat tight. “We wanted you, lunatic or not. Maybe I didn’t act like it.” I sat down on the bench, wiping my cheek. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I’m sorry I was embarrassed. Even if it hadn’t really happened, I shoul
d’ve—”
“I’m here now,” he said, putting an arm around my shoulder and pulling me closer. “And I have the serum. I hear there are some folks here who need it right away.”
“I think they’d like to see you.” I turned, wrapping him in a hug. “I think there are some other people who’d like to see you, too.”
Other Books/Newsletter
Also by Jessica L. Randall
The Obituary Society
The Stranger’s Obituary
The Obituary Society’s Last Stand
Golden Hood
Lovers’ Quarrel
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