by Gwynn White
“I understand. Well, I’d better get back to my room and get some bonding time with Alexandra.”
“You do that.”
“Good luck with your switch.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Life is a beautiful thing, is it not?”
“It’s the only thing,” replied Hamilton.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I crawled out of the vent and back into the storage room, unsure of what to do. I knew that Jimmy was on his way back to our room and would probably look for me. But, Hamilton was about to take over Blayze’s body, and desperately needed my help.
I decided that what I needed was to find Mara or Ellie.
I snuck out and headed toward the cafeteria again, hoping that Ellie was still there eating with her friend. Unfortunately, she was nowhere to be found. Frustrated, I changed course to try and find Mara. Instead, I ran into my parents.
“What are you doing wandering the hallways?” asked Dad, looking nervous.
“Hamilton is about to take over Blayze’s body,” I whispered. “Now.”
Dad looked around and then asked quietly, “Now how is it that you know that?”
I smiled grimly. “I know everything, Dad. In fact, I know the agreement you made with Hamilton, or should I say Maelshuck?”
“How?” asked Mom. “How in the world did you learn about that?”
“I was in the air-duct when you were talking to him in his office. Just a little while ago.”
“You were spying on us?” he whispered in shock.
“Yes, I was. You should also know that after you left, Hartkish, who is the alien that has taken over Jimmy, stopped by his office. Hamilton offered your body as his next host, Dad. Your body.”
He blinked and looked at Mom.
“He wouldn’t do that,” she whispered. “Would he?”
“Of course he would,” I said, frustrated. “Why would you trust him? How could you trust him?”
“We had no choice,” he replied. “We did it to protect you and your brother.”
“Obviously, it’s no longer working,” I snapped.
He ran a hand through his hair and scowled. “Obviously, it’s not.”
“What are we going to do?” asked Mom, her voice shaky.
“We have to stop him from getting inside of Blayze,” I said. “He’s weak right now and plans on switching bodies. He’s probably doing it right at this very moment. Where are his quarters?”
“We can’t stop him,” said Dad.
“We could try and kill him,” whispered Mom. “Before he leaves Hamilton’s body.”
“That won’t work. He’ll just jump into one of ours.”
“I have something that will kill him,” I whispered. “Once he’s inside of Blayze.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“It’s called Bargonite. It was created by The Resistance.”
Mom’s eyes widened. “What do you know of that group?”
“More than I can tell you. Listen to me,” I pulled out the small encasement with the toxin, “this is filled with Bargonite. It will kill the alien living in the host.”
They looked at each other and then back to me.
“Where did you get it?” he asked.
“From them. The Resistance. I can’t tell you any more. I promised to keep it a secret. Even from you. I’m probably saying too much as it is.”
“You have to trust us. We’re your parents,” he said.
“Hey, you’re the ones who have lied to me,” I protested. “About everything. Even this mission. I mean, seriously, I almost feel like my entire life is a lie.”
“We did it to protect you,” said Mom, her eyes filling with tears. “We had no choice.”
“She’s right,” said Dad. “We wanted to tell you, but if Hamilton knew that you knew… it would have put your lives in so much more danger.”
“Apparently, I found out about everything, didn’t I? Before you erased my memory,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “How could you do that?”
“Hamilton demanded that we do it. We had no choice,” he said. “It was that, or –”
“He said he’d make you a host if we didn’t follow his orders. We were frightened, honey,” she said quickly. “We couldn’t allow that.”
I grunted. “Well, now Jimmy is a host. So, I guess following his orders doesn’t mean any of us is safe. He’s just using you.”
“You’re absolutely right,” she whispered, pulling me into her arms. “We know that now. I’m so sorry, honey. We never meant to hurt you. You have to know that.”
I sighed. I knew they both loved us. I never doubted that. “Is there anything else that I should know?”
She released me. “I guess I’m not sure. We’ll need to talk about this. Find out what you’re missing. What we’re missing.”
“There’s no time right now, obviously,” I said. “Things are going down as we speak.”
“Is there any more of this toxin?” asked Dad, taking it from my hand. He removed the cover and stared at the tiny needle.
“Not much. I guess there is more on Planet Z,” I replied as he put the cover back on.
“We should use it on Jimmy then,” she whispered. “We have to save him.”
“Your mother’s right,” he said. “I’m sorry, even though I like your friend, Blayze, I think we can agree that we all love your brother and he should come first. Every hour that he’s host to that alien is detrimental to his health. That thing inside of him is literally sucking up his life-force.”
He was right. My brother was dying and if I couldn’t get my hands on any more of the toxin, I would never forgive myself. “Okay. Okay. I agree. What about Maelshuck?”
“You said there would be more of this toxin on the planet?” he said.
“Yes. I mean, that’s what I was told.”
“Then, we’ll worry about it when we get there. Right now, we take care of Jimmy,” said Mom. “And let Maelshuck switch hosts.”
“After that, we’ll play along and pretend that we don’t know anything,” he added. “In the meantime, hopefully The Resistance will solve the rest of our problems by the time we reach Planet Z.”
I let out a shaky breath. “Okay.”
“Where is Jimmy?” asked Dad. “Back in your room?”
“I think so,” I said. “Or else, he’s wandering around and looking for me.”
“Let’s go and find him,” said Dad, his face determined. “We need to save our son, Mary.”
“We do.” Mom put her arm around my shoulders as we headed toward our corridor. “Don’t worry. Everything will be okay.”
“I hope so,” I replied, although my gut feeling was telling me otherwise.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Fortunately, Jimmy was back in our room.
“What are you doing?” I asked him. He had all of the toy aliens on the ground and was pretending to play with them. He looked so young and innocent. It gave me the chills.
“Playing,” he said, smiling at all of us. “Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad.”
Dad went over and sat next to him on the floor. “Hey, son. Can I play?”
“Uh, sure,” he said, eyeing him suspiciously. “If you really want to.”
“Of course I do. You remember how much fun this is. Mary? Alex? You want to join us?”
“Sure,” I said, sitting on the other side of my brother.
“I’ll just watch,” said Mom, nonchalantly locking the door. “I don’t like playing with alien toys. They’re vile creatures.”
I hid my smile.
Dad’s cell phone began to ring. He pulled it out of his lab coat and then shoved it back in, ignoring the caller.
“Who is it?” asked Mom.
“Someone who can wait,” he answered.
I wondered if it was Maelshuck.
Dad looked at me over Jimmy’s head and nodded to get ready. We weren’t exactly sure what was going to happen and so I’d agreed to try and keep h
im still while he injected him with the toxin.
“Where were you, Alexandra?” asked Jimmy, looking at me with his big eyes. He looked so cute that it was hard to believe that an alien lived inside. “I was worried about you.”
“I was searching for Mom and Dad. Hey, kiddo, what’s wrong with your arm?”
Jimmy lifted it to look and that’s when Dad stuck his other arm with the needle, injecting the serum.
“Ouch! What is that?!” cried Jimmy, struggling to get away.
“It’s okay,” I said, grabbing his free hand as he tried to push Dad away. “You’re going to be fine, Jimmy.”
“It hurts,” he moaned.
“I’m sorry,” said Dad, looking distraught. “It’s the only way.”
Mom got down on her knees and pulled him toward her. “Honey, you’re going to be okay. Come here.”
“Get away from me!” he shouted, glaring at her. He began kicking her. “Don’t touch me!”
“Settle down, Jimmy,” said Dad, grabbing his legs.
Jimmy screamed and then his eyes began to roll into the back of his head.
“He’s passing out,” said Dad as Jimmy went limp.
“It must be working,” I said.
Jimmy’s mouth began to foam and we turned his head to the side. Then his legs began to stiffen up.
“Is that right?” asked Mom, covering her mouth in horror as Jimmy began to convulse. “Oh, my God, he’s having some kind of a seizure!”
Dad looked at me and then back to Jimmy. “He’ll be fine. Alex said that it’s only toxic to the aliens.”
I sucked in my breath, remembering what Ellie had said about the possibility of a human having an allergic reaction. She’d said it was very slim but…
“Could he be having some kind an allergic reaction?” I said, my eyes filling with tears.
“I don’t know,” he said, his face turning as white as one of his lab coats. “Heck, I don’t even know what’s in the serum.”
“Oh, my God! What have we done?” sobbed Mom, covering her face.
“Maybe this is just a normal reaction to the toxin?” I said, brushing away at the tears now running down my cheeks. “I mean, it could be, right?”
“I have no idea,” replied Dad, looking at me. “Didn’t anyone explain to you what would happen?”
“They just said it would be uncomfortable.”
“That was obviously an understatement!” snapped Mom.
Jimmy’s body was shaking so much that it was frightening to watch. I wanted to help him so badly, but I didn’t even know how to start. After a few more seconds, however, his convulsions began to subside.
“Is he okay?” I squeaked.
Dad felt his pulse. “I think so. His breathing is labored. His heart rate is fast, but… I think it’s slowing.”
Mom pulled Jimmy’s head onto her lap and smoothed his hair away from his eyes, which were closed. “Baby? Are you okay?”
He didn’t answer. He just lay there like he was in some kind of a coma.
“Let’s put him in the bed,” said Dad after a few minutes. He picked him up in his arms. “So, he’s comfortable.”
“He’s going to be okay, right?” she asked, looking at me. “Alex?”
“I… I think so,” I said, my hands trembling.
“He’s going to be just fine,” said Dad, carrying Jimmy over to the bunk-bed. “If he was having an allergic reaction, he wouldn’t be breathing at all by now.”
“Why isn’t he waking up?” she asked, following him to the bunk-bed.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe his body just needs to rest.”
Mom folded her arms under her chest. “Should we bring him to the lab?”
“No. We don’t want anyone to know,” he said. “If Hamilton finds out, we’ll all be in trouble.”
“But… shouldn’t we do something? What if he doesn’t recover from this? What if the serum has harmed our son, Paul?” she asked, looking terrified.
“We’ll just have to wait and see,” he said, looking away.
I couldn’t wait. I needed to know if his reaction was normal. If there was something we could do to help him recover. I got up and moved toward the door.
“Where are you going?” asked Mom.
“I need to find out if he’s having a normal reaction,” I said, unlocking it.
“Who are you going to ask?” said Dad. “The Resistance?”
“Yes.”
“Who exactly are they?”
“I’m not too sure myself. I only know a couple of people.”
“Where are they?” asked Mom.
“I can’t tell you,” I replied. “I made a promise.”
“Alex…” said Dad, sounding irritated.
“I’ll be back. The less you know, the better. Doesn’t that sound familiar?”
Before he could answer, I bolted out of the door and went in search of Ellie.
Chapter Twenty-Six
I wasn’t exactly sure where to go, so I headed toward the supply room, determined to try and locate her by crawling through the vents. As I turned the corner, I ran smack into Bruce’s parents, Sue and Phil.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” asked Phil, smiling at me like we were old friends.
“Uh, I was just looking for my parents,” I said quickly.
“Interestingly enough, so were we,” he replied. “They’re not answering their phone right now.”
“Huh.”
“Why don’t we look for them together?” said Sue, giving me one of her chilly smiles.
“Actually, now that I think about it, they might be with Hamilton still. At their meeting. They wouldn’t want to be disturbed, I imagine.”
“No, I think that was over a while ago,” said Phil.
“Then I guess I’m not sure where they are at the moment. You know, I’m starving. I’m going to the cafeteria. See if they’re still open. I didn’t get enough to eat during dinner and I know I won’t be able to sleep until I do something about it,” I rambled.
Phil sighed and pulled out a phaser. “Actually, we were really looking for you.”
“Yes, you’re coming with us,” said Sue, reaching for me.
Instead of obeying, my body reacted in a way that shocked all of us. I kicked the phaser out of Phil’s hand and then slammed my fist into Sue’s face. She screamed in rage as blood shot out of her nose and all over her hand as she tried to cover it.
Phil grabbed the outside of my arms, trying to subdue me from behind. I slammed my head backwards, hitting him in the chin so hard, that he gasped. He let go and I quickly elbowed him in the stomach and then kicked backwards, the back of my foot connecting with his kneecap. There was a crunching noise followed by him screaming in agony.
“Stop right there,” said Sue, now pointing the phaser at me while she held her nose with the other hand. “Or die.”
“You’re pointing that at the wrong person,” I said, looking past her with a smile.
Her eyes filled with uncertainty. She turned around.
Shocked at her gullibility, I slammed my body against hers, knocking her down to the ground. She let go of the phaser. I grabbed it just as Phil tried reaching for my ankle, to trip me. I turned around and pointed the weapon at him.
“Do it,” he said, with a chilling smile. “Kill me because if you don’t, I’ll kill you.”
An image of the alien leaving Phil’s body and heading straight for mine stopped me from committing both murder and the mistake of a lifetime.
“In your dreams,” I said, moving away from him.
He scowled at me. “You’re a dead girl.”
“And you’re nothing but a spineless thief,” I said, running away from them. My head was racing as I considered what to do next. It was obvious that I was in trouble. That my entire family was in trouble. I had to find Ellie. Or Marla. Or try and stop Maelshuck on my own, somehow.
“Alex,” called a voice behind me.
I turned around
and there he was. Blayze. I went from feeling an overwhelming sense of relief to gripping fear.
“Are you okay?” he asked, walking tentatively toward me.
I pointed the phaser at him. “How did you escape?”
“Relax, Alex. Marla helped me,” he said, smiling in amusement. “Where did you get that?”
Of course! I lowered the weapon, also now smiling. I was so relieved I wanted to throw my arms around him and plant kisses all over his face, but I was also still very shy in that department. “I got it from Bruce’s parents. Thank God you’re okay. I was so worried about you.”
He walked toward me and pulled me into his arms. “I’ve been so worried about you, too.”
I closed my eyes and felt myself go limp with liberation. Things were going to be okay. I just knew it. “I’m fine.”
We held each other for a few minutes and then I asked. “Where’s Hamilton? I mean Maelshuck.”
He ran his hand over the back of my hair soothingly. “Hamilton is dead,” he whispered. “Who’s Maelshuck?”
“That’s the alien who took over his body.”
“Oh.”
“Where’s Marla?”
“Around. I think she’s looking for the alien who helped with the toxin. Do you know who she is yet?”
I pulled away. “The alien?’
He looked down at me and my heart stopped. His eyes were not the same color. They were still blue, but darker. Much darker.
“Yeah. We need to get more of that toxin made. So we can save the others. Marla told you all about this, didn’t she?”
“No,” I said, backing away from him.
He smiled. “What’s wrong?”
“Uh, nothing.”
His smile fell. “I thought I had you fooled. Obviously, you’re a lot smarter than I thought.”
I pointed the phaser at him. “Where’s Marla?”
“She is dead, unfortunately.”
“Unfortunately?” I repeated dryly.
“Actually, it is unfortunate. If she were alive, I could have tortured the name of our traitor out of her.”
“But, you killed her, Maelshuck.”
“Actually, I think she may have killed herself,” he said with a scowl. “To protect The Resistance.”