Penelope Ann cocked her head to one side. “What do you mean?”
“I saw you out there,” Carmen replied. “I saw the way you chopped at his neck with your hands and the way you headlocked him. You’ve got hand-to-hand combat training.”
Penelope Ann shrugged. “What if I have?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Carmen asked.
“What good would it have done?” Penelope Ann returned. “You wanted to believe you were the big, strong police officer who would get us out of this situation and the rest of us were weak, helpless maidens in distress.”
Carmen blushed. “I didn’t think that.”
Penelope Ann shifted her weight to one side. “Call it what you want. You didn’t believe any of us could be any good in a fight, but you didn’t bother to find out if you were right or wrong. Well, now you know you were wrong.”
“What training do you have?” Carmen asked.
Penelope Ann looked the other way.
“If you’d spent any time in our neighborhood at all,” Aria told her, “you would know Penelope Ann is a national champion jujitsu competitor. She brought home the grand title the last four years running.”
Carmen stared at Penelope Ann with new eyes. Penelope Ann was right. Carmen never considered any of these women would offer anything that could help them escape. Now her whole concept of their situation rearranged itself. They still couldn’t fight back against the aliens’ psychic power, but Penelope Ann’s combat skill changed everything.
A glimmer of hope entered in Carmen’s mind. She wasn’t alone in this the way she thought she was. She could count on at least one of these women when the hammer came down. Maybe the others had skills she could count on, too.
“Did you see the black spots on his neck when you hit him?” Marissa asked. “And the way his tentacles withdrew into his face when he was hurt. Those spots must be the source of their telekinetic power.”
Carmen rounded on her. “What are you talking about?”
Marissa faced her. “You saw the same things I did. They manipulated and controlled us with their tentacles. They never touched us until Rotnim decided to help himself to Penelope Ann, but they held us still and moved us around with their power. That power is called telekinesis. It means they can act from a distance with their minds. In their case, their tentacles must direct that power, but it’s the glands in their necks that produce it.”
“And did you notice how Rotnim’s tentacles are longer than the others’?” Penelope Ann asked. “He must be the strongest of the bunch.”
“That explains why he’s their leader,” Aria added. “He must be some sort of captain on board their space ship.”
Carmen threw up her hands. “This is nuts! You’re talking about aliens and space ships and telekinesis. This isn’t Star Trek, you know.”
Aria rolled her eyes and turned her back on Carmen. “Shut your face, fool. If you can’t talk sense, then stick a sock in it. I’m not talking to you anymore.”
Penelope Ann got to her feet. Slime stuck her golden tresses to her face and neck. “Aria’s right. You’ve done nothing but antagonize the rest of us since you first walked into my bakery this morning. If you can’t stop getting in our way, then move over and let us do our own thing. We’re trying to have a conversation here about the creatures who abducted us. This information will help us when it comes time to escape.”
“No one is escaping with those....those things around,” Carmen replied. “You saw the way they controlled our every move. If we’re going to escape at all, we’ll have to do it when they aren’t around.”
Penelope Ann whirled around. “You saw me put that piece of trash on the ground in two seconds. I would have smashed his head to smithereens if his friends hadn’t saved him. These creatures maybe have some kind of telekinetic power, but they aren’t invincible. We can defeat them if we fight back, so stop making excuses to sit on your backside and wring your hands. We’ve got a battle to plan here, and you aren’t helping at all.”
Carmen started to say something, but Marissa stepped between them. “Everybody cool your jets. We have no reason to call Carmen a coward just because she thinks we should take a careful approach to planning our escape. She’s right that the aliens’ telekinetic power puts our escape in a whole new light. If we can plan to avoid them, we should do it. That only makes sense.”
Carmen looked up at her face. “Thank you, Marissa.”
Marissa nodded at her. “You have to admit, though, Carmen, Penelope Ann proved these aliens can be overpowered by strength. They held us with their telekinetic power, but only Rotnim dared to come anywhere near us. They must understand they’re fundamentally weaker than we are. Now we know they can be defeated, we might try fighting back a little harder when the time comes.”
“As long as we wait until the time comes,” Carmen replied, “I’m willing to go along with that. But I don’t want anybody throwing themselves at a brick wall, busting their heads and breaking bones.”
“I understand,” Marissa replied.
Aria spun around. “We’ll bust their heads and break their bones.”
Marissa held up her hand. “Carmen has a point. We should save our strength for a time when we’ll have the best chance of success.”
“Not necessarily,” Penelope Ann countered. “They plan to sell us, so they won’t want us bashed up or damaged. Rotnim said so himself. Maybe if we fought back harder now, they’ll back down.”
“You can’t tell me Rotnim will back down on anything,” Carmen argued. “He’s ruthless and bloodthirsty. If he thinks we would rather damage ourselves than cooperate, he won’t waste his time on us. He’ll kill us.”
Marissa placed herself between Carmen and Penelope Ann. “Okay, okay. Enough arguing. There are four of us and four of them, and we have a common enemy. If we’re going to get out of here, we have to work together, not fight amongst ourselves. Now I’m making a decision that we’re going to stop talking about this right now. We need rest before they come back for us again.”
“If they have telekinetic power,” Carmen pointed out, “they can probably read our thoughts, too. They’ve probably been listening to every word we’ve said.”
Marissa chopped the air with her hand. “Enough! I’m ordering all of you to rest before they come back. We can talk about this again when we know more about our situation.”
Penelope Ann stiffened. “You’re ordering us?”
“That’s right,” Marissa replied. “Somebody’s got to take control around here, and it just happens to be me. Now go sit down in that corner over there, Penelope Ann. You go over there, Aria, and Carmen, you sit down over there.”
“We’re not children you can order around,” Aria grumbled.
“If you act like children,” Marissa replied, “you can expect to be treated like children. I spent the last five years running the reading sessions for children at the library, and I learned a thing or two. Now go sit down and don’t make me have to tell you again.”
Aria glared at her. Then she wilted and slunk off to her corner, where she slid down the wall onto the floor. She bent her knees up to her chest, crossed her arms on her knees, and cradled her head on her arms.
Penelope Ann stared at Marissa for a moment. Then she nodded and went to her own corner. She sat cross-legged on the floor and folded her hands in her lap.
Carmen retreated to her corner, but she didn’t sit down. Nervous energy kept her pacing in circles for a few minutes. Then she leaned against the wall. What would happen when one of them needed to go to the bathroom? Their prison cell was a padded room without the padding. Bare white walls surrounded them on all sides. She couldn’t even tell where air got in. Maybe air didn’t get in and they would suffocate in here.
In the end, she sat down with her back against the wall. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes. No more than a couple of hours could have passed since she walked into Penelope Ann’s bakery, but overpowering exhaust
ion threatened to swallow her and drag her down into sleep. Maybe this was the space equivalent of jet lag.
Chapter 5
She might have dozed off, but she couldn’t tell. When she opened her eyes, Aria lay curled up in the fetal position on the floor. Penelope Ann hadn’t moved a muscle. A woman with as much martial arts training as she had could probably sit there for days without moving. Carmen shook herself when she noticed Marissa sitting near her.
Carmen inclined her head toward Marissa and murmured into her ear. “I really appreciate you supporting me the way you did. I won’t forget it.”
Marissa smiled and nodded. “You were right, Carmen. Fighting back right now won’t get us anywhere. We’ll keep an eye open for a better opportunity.”
Carmen glanced across the room. “I didn’t know Penelope Ann was a trained fighter. I’m glad I’m not the only one here with combat training.”
Marissa peered into her face. “We’re lucky to have you with us, Carmen. We should all follow your lead on this. Penelope Ann might know a lot about jujitsu, but you’re the only one of us with specific training in these types of situations. I’m sure when Aria and Penelope Ann get over their shock and anxiety, they’ll realize the same thing.”
Carmen shook her head. “I might be a police officer, but I’m no better than any of you. You’ve proved yourself to be very levelheaded, Marissa, and I don’t think I could have attacked Rotnim the way Penelope Ann did. My expertise is in firearms and target shooting. I’m not much good without a weapon in my hands.”
Marissa smiled again. “Each of us has skills and strengths the others don’t have. That’s all the more reason we should work together. We’re all frightened and confused over what’s happened to us, but that will pass, and when it does, we need to be allied with each other so we can stand against these creatures. We need to trust each other and depend on each other for our very lives. That’s the only way we’re going to get out of here.”
Carmen passed her hand over her eyes. “I’m sure glad you’re here, Marissa. I don’t know what I would have done with Aria without you. I couldn’t tell her to go sit in a corner the way you did. I’ve never met anybody with a mouth like hers.”
Marissa chuckled. “That’s just her way of covering up her fear. I’ve seen it a million times in the kids in our neighborhood.”
Carmen gazed down at her hands. “I guess I don’t really know as much as I should about the neighborhood. I only just moved there.”
“What brought you there?” Marissa asked. “You could have picked a much nicer place to move.”
Carmen shrugged. “My marriage broke up, and I needed to move out of Illinois. Your police department was hiring, so I applied and I got the job. It was a quick way to leave the past behind and start over. I didn’t care about the rough parts of town. That just makes for more interesting police work.”
“I won’t ask what happened with your marriage,” Marissa replied. “It’s none of my business.”
“I don’t mind telling you,” Carmen told her. “He left me because—he said—I spent too much time on my work. I was trying out for the US Championships target shooting team, so I had to practice long hours on top of my scheduled shifts at the police station. I guess that didn’t leave much time left over for him. He decided to move on.”
Marissa shook her head. “I’m sorry to hear that. I’m glad you moved here—I mean, there. I’m glad you moved to our neighborhood. We need dedicated cops who care about people, and I can see you’re one of those.”
“I don’t think Aria and Penelope Ann see it that way,” Carmen murmured. “They think I’m the enemy.”
“Don’t worry about them,” Marissa replied. “They know you’re a good person. Penelope Ann was concerned about the young girls that disappeared from the neighborhood, and you can’t blame her for getting frustrated with the police department when they won’t investigate.”
Carmen frowned. “Yeah, that is odd. I wonder what it’s all about.”
“It’s all about their budget,” Marissa told her. “An investigative reporter ran a story in the local paper about the unexplained disappearances, and another reporter interviewed the Chief of Police to get his response. He said they didn’t have the manpower or the resources to fully investigate every single disappearance, especially since they couldn’t really be sure the women involved hadn’t just slipped farther into the criminal underworld. He said until they have some more concrete proof some crime took place, they would concentrate on more pressing matters, like patrolling the streets and combating gangs.”
Carmen looked away. “I don’t know about all that.”
Marissa laid a hand on her arm. “Listen, Carmen. Neighborhood politics is the least of our worries right now. Let’s put it aside, at least until we get back to Earth.”
Carmen smiled. “Okay.”
Marissa sighed and leaned back against the wall.
“What about you, Marissa?” Carmen asked. “I’ve been rattling away about myself all this time, but I didn’t ask about you. Are you married?”
Marissa blushed and stared down at her hands. “No, I’ve never been married. Maybe someday, but not now.”
Carmen cocked her head to one side. “You must have a boyfriend, though. You’re as beautiful as Penelope Ann.”
Marissa snorted. “No, I’m not! Penelope Ann is a supermodel. I’ve got librarian written all over me.”
Carmen shook her head. “You might not be six feet tall with long curly blonde hair and blue eyes, but you’ve got your own beauty. You’re a lot more beautiful than I am. I look like a scarecrow.”
Marissa laughed. “No. You look like a tough female cop. You’re the one who’s just as beautiful as Penelope Ann.”
Carmen laughed, too. “Seriously, you could have any man you wanted. Tell me you at least have a boyfriend.”
Marissa stopped laughing. “It’s very kind of you to say that. Really. But I don’t have a boyfriend. I’m not a lesbian or anything. I just prefer to stick to my books. Reading to kids twice a week is about the closest I can get to having a family.”
“I didn’t mean to....”Carmen stammered.
Marissa waved her hand. “You told me all about your marriage breaking up, so I might as well tell you my story. I grew up in that neighborhood. I grew up in an apartment right around the corner from Penny’s Peppermints. It wasn’t the easiest place to grow up, as you might imagine, and when I was seven, my parents split up and left me.”
Carmen frowned. “What do you mean, they left you? Do you mean your father left? Or your mother?”
“Both of them,” Marissa replied. “My father ran off with a waitress from Seattle, and my mother moved back to Arkansas to search for her old high school sweetheart. I didn’t even know they were gone until I woke up one morning and no one was there to cook my breakfast.”
Carmen stared at her. “So what did you do?”
Marissa shrugged. “I got the cereal and milk out of the fridge and made breakfast for myself and my two younger brothers....”
Carmen gasped. “Your younger brothers!”
Marissa nodded. “They were four and two at the time. I took care of them....”
Carmen covered her mouth with her hand, but she couldn’t stop the cry from tearing out of her soul. “Four and two! And you were seven!”
Marissa nodded again. “Someone had to take care of them, so I did it. I took care of them by myself for seven months.”
Carmen’s jaw dropped. Then she shut her mouth with a click. “How did you do it?”
Marissa gazed up at the ceiling. “I don’t really remember much about it now. I remember some of the ladies in the apartment building used to give me money and food and clothes for the boys. One of them used to come to the apartment and make us hot meals every now and then, and they used to check and make sure our bedding and our clothes weren’t too dirty.”
Tears stung Carmen’s eyes. “And you kept t
hat up for seven months!”
Marissa smiled, but her own eyes misted over. “I think one of them must have reported us to Social Services. They eventually came and got us.”
“Thank God!” Carmen exclaimed.
Marissa studied her. “Not really. I never saw either of my brothers again.”
Carmen couldn’t stop the tears from overflowing her eyes. One of them coursed down her cheek and splashed on her hands. “I am so sorry. I never should have asked you about that.”
Marissa waved her hand. “Everyone in our neighborhood has a story like that. It’s the nature of the beast. Just ask Aria.”
“Did Aria have a similar experience?” Carmen asked.
Marissa shrugged. “I should let her tell you herself. I’m just saying no one is worse off than anybody else. I only wanted to explain to you why it’s kind of hard for me to get close to people. After my parents left, I thought I had a nice little home and family with my brothers. I thought in my childish little way we were doing all right. Then they left, too, and I’ve never had a real home or family since. I don’t think I ever will.”
Carmen bowed her head and sniffed. “I’m sorry, Marissa. I only wish there was something I could do.”
“You’re doing it,” Marissa replied. “You’re a cop. You’re doing what can be done to make the world work the way it should. Now we’re here, and you’re doing what you can to deal with this mess, too. Just make sure you understand the rest of us are doing the same thing. We’re all in this together.”
Carmen raised her eyes to Marissa’s face and nodded. “All right. I understand now. You can count on me.”
Chapter 6
The room vibrated, but no sound entered the cell. Carmen got to her feet, and the others looked around, but they had no way of telling what was happening. When the vibrations stopped, the four women stood together in the middle of the room.
“How long do you think we’ve been here?” Marissa asked Carmen.
“What I don’t understand is why none of us had to go to the bathroom,” Carmen replied. “We’ve been here for hours at least, and I had to go to the bathroom when I arrived at Penny’s Peppermints, but I haven’t had to go since.”
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