by M. K. Krys
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Galen said, but he’d stiffened, almost imperceptibly.
“The girl in your wallet,” Beacon said. “You’ve been keeping an eye on her. That’s why you have those computers set up. You watch her.”
“You were on my computers?” Galen’s skin began bubbling and flowing like a current ran under it. He was a second away from transforming, but Beacon knew he was onto something. Why else would Galen be so mad?
“We just wanted to see what you were up to,” Beacon said. “And now we know you were watching someone. Someone on that underwater ship. You left her behind, didn’t you?”
Galen roared and advanced. Everleigh grabbed Beacon’s arm, but he shook her off and stepped forward, facing off with Galen. “You ran away, but she’s still there, isn’t she? You watch her because you want to make sure she’s okay.”
Galen’s eyes flashed, his fingers curling tighter around the knife “I didn’t leave her behind! She didn’t want to come.”
A solid mass bulged underneath Galen’s skin, like a baby trying to push its way out of its mother’s belly. That tentacle was one wrong word away from bursting out of his skin. And if it did, Beacon didn’t know if Galen would be able to stop the rest of the transformation.
“Who is she?” Beacon asked calmly. “A sister. A . . . girlfriend?”
“Just a friend,” Galen said quickly.
“Has it been a while since you talked to her?” Beacon asked.
Galen looked like he might answer, but then he shook his head. “I’m not talking to you about this. I can see what you’re trying to do, and it isn’t going to work. Get out of here.”
“She’s in danger,” Beacon said.
Galen tensed, and Beacon held up his hands. “Just listen to me for a second. There’s something big going on in Driftwood Harbor. It isn’t safe for her there. For anyone. If you care about this girl, you need to get her out of there.”
“What are you talking about?” Galen said. “What do you know?”
“We’ll tell you everything,” Beacon said. “But first, you need to put that knife down.”
“And stop doing that freaky thing with your skin,” Everleigh added.
Galen’s jaw rippled with fury. His nostrils flared and he gripped the knife tighter as he stared Beacon down. Then he sighed and threw the knife into the corner.
* * *
...............................
A few minutes later, they were back in Galen’s headquarters. They eyed each other like wary cats circling.
“Talk,” Galen said.
He was still angry, but at least now he wasn’t a hairsbreadth away from transforming.
“I don’t even know where to start,” Beacon said.
He brought Galen up to speed on everything from their move to Driftwood Harbor to stealing the car and meeting their dad in the diner the next county over, ending with the discovery that their dad wasn’t really their dad, but Victor in disguise. The whole time, Galen listened, poker-faced.
“And that’s pretty much it,” Beacon said.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Galen said. “Why would Victor pose as your dad? Why wouldn’t he just kill you, or lock you up?”
Beacon remembered what Victor had said about him saving the planet.
“I don’t know,” he said.
Galen’s eyes narrowed, and Beacon was suddenly sure that Galen knew he was lying. Maybe Galen was also thinking back to what Victor had said in the alley, and wondering what Beacon was hiding from him. Even though Beacon wasn’t entirely sure what Victor had meant himself.
Galen held his stare, and Beacon struggled not to fidget.
“Okay, so now it’s your turn to talk,” Everleigh said, interrupting the silent standoff.
Beacon thought Galen would argue, but the boy just crossed his arms. “What do you want to know?”
“Why did you help us?” Arthur said.
Galen shrugged. “I wasn’t going to just let Victor murder you. It really isn’t more complicated than that.”
“But you were following us for at least a week,” Beacon said. “You admitted that. Why?”
“He was following us?” Everleigh said. “How come you never told us that, Beacon?”
“Because you never would have come here if I’d told you,” he said.
“And that’s a bad thing? He just had a knife to your throat.”
“Just answer the question,” Beacon said. “Why were you following us?”
Galen gritted his teeth, then sighed.
“I first saw you that day outside the pawnshop. Thought nothing of you, except that you were probably some rich kid who got his allowance cut off so he was selling his Christmas gift for spare cash. But then you came back later. I knew right away your dad was Sov. Boots can always tell.”
“He trained his dog to scent Sov,” Beacon explained to the others, gloating.
“Gives me a little warning,” Galen said. “Buys me enough time to get away before anyone gets too close. It’s how I’ve been able to stay out of their grasp for this long.” Galen affectionately scratched Boots behind the ear.
“So Boots did his thing. He growled at your dad while I got away. But then your dad attacked Boots in the alley after you’d run for help. I whistled for Boots, he escaped, and we came back here. I got all packed up to leave town, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how weird it was that a Sov was traveling with human kids who weren’t on the Program. I was curious, so I went back to the pawnshop. I waited around for a bit, hoping you’d come back, but when you never did I tracked you down.”
“You scented us, right?” Arthur asked excitedly.
“No,” Galen said. “I got lucky and saw you when I was walking past the junkyard.”
“Oh,” Arthur said, visibly deflating. “So you were following us since then?”
Galen jammed his hands into his pockets. “I just wanted to see what was going on. I didn’t get why this Sov was sticking around without inoculating you. And your area was crawling with Sov guards. They were posted everywhere. There were even a few on the stoop right across the street posing as homeless people.”
“Oh my God, those were Sov guards?!” Everleigh said.
Galen bobbed his head.
“It was stupid of me to stick around so long. I’ve been on the run for twelve years, and now I was practically swimming in a sea of Sov again. I was just talking myself into leaving when you all ran out of your apartment like bats out of hell. And that’s basically it,” he said, shrugging. “I saw you in that alley, and I guess for whatever dumb reason I decided to help.”
“Wait a minute, you said twelve years on the run—how is that possible?” Everleigh said. “You can’t be much older than that.”
“This body isn’t his real form,” Arthur said, then he leaned in close, his eyes huge behind his glasses. “Have you been on Earth since the Sov vessel crash-landed in Driftwood Harbor?”
“I’m one of the Originals,” Galen confirmed with a nod.
“So you’re, like, sixty years old?!” Beacon said. According to the leaked government documents, the UFO had crashed in the harbor in 1967.
“More like three hundred years old,” Galen said. “If you’re using the human definition of a year.”
They all gaped at Galen.
“What?” he said defensively, his poker face breaking down. “I was told to make myself look approachable. Besides, three hundred years is still a baby in Sov years, so it’s not like I’m being deceitful.”
Beacon sensed his chance and leaped on Galen’s guilt.
“I know I feel lied to,” Beacon said. “What about you guys?”
Everleigh made a face, and Arthur said, “Huh?”
“But I know of a way you can make it up to us,” Beacon went on. “A few weeks ago, t
he Sov knocked out our dad and took him prisoner. We checked the security feed of the ship, and we couldn’t find him. Do you know how to look at the invisible cells?”
“Nice try,” Galen said, the tough-guy mask slipping back on.
“Please, Galen,” Everleigh said.
“No.” From the steely look in his eyes, he was remembering Everleigh calling him out in a fight.
Beacon stepped forward.
“Look, I don’t know what it’s like for the Sov,” he said. “But for us? Family is the most important thing. No matter what happens, they’re the people who have your back, whom you can trust. And if you’re lucky enough to have that, you hold on to it.”
“We just need to know if our dad is alive,” Everleigh said.
Galen shook his head, then he pushed off from the wall and fell into his seat in front of the computer.
“Thankyouthankyouthankyou!” Everleigh said.
“We owe you big-time,” Beacon said.
Galen ignored them and went to work clacking away on the keyboard.
“What are you doing?” Arthur asked, looking over his shoulder.
“Breaking through a few firewalls, installing a rootkit, exploiting the vulnerabilities in their applications,” Galen said distractedly.
“Is all that . . . legal?” Arthur asked.
“Do you care?” Galen responded.
Beacon darted a look at Everleigh. She shrugged.
“How do you know how to do that?” Arthur asked.
“I wasn’t always on the streets.”
Beacon wanted to ask him how he ended up on the streets, why he left Driftwood Harbor, and why he was on the run from the Sov like them, but he didn’t think it was the right time. Not when they were so close to seeing inside the cells.
Galen pushed a few more keys, and the security feed grids appeared on the screen. Beacon instantly recognized metal bed frames and toilets hemmed in by clear, shatterproof glass.
“There it is.” Galen leaned back and crossed his arms.
Beacon scoured each of the cells. Every one was empty.
“Are you sure this is it?” Beacon asked.
Galen nodded.
Beacon didn’t say anything: He couldn’t. This had been their last hope, and it was officially crushed. Their dad was gone.
Everleigh turned away and started pacing the room. Beacon felt a thickness in his throat that he was starting to resent. He was so tired of grief. So tired of hurting. He felt a hand land on his shoulder, but he couldn’t see who it was through the blur of tears.
“There is one more place we can check.”
Galen’s voice pierced the fog.
“More prison cells?” Arthur asked.
Galen shook his head. “It’s the Sov’s massive on-land base.”
“They have an on-land base?” Arthur said. “I thought they operated out of the UFO.”
“They do. This place is more like”—Galen looked up, as if searching for the right word—“a science lab slash prison. It’s where they keep their long-term prisoners.”
“Is it in Driftwood Harbor, too?” Beacon asked.
“Yep. Just give me a minute.”
They leaned over Galen as he typed. After a few minutes that felt like hours, a new grid appeared on the screen.
Storage rooms, filing cabinets, offices, and hallways.
They searched room after room.
No Dad.
“Let’s see some other rooms,” Everleigh said frantically. She tried to reach over Galen for the keyboard, but he elbowed her away. He typed something else, and the grids changed. The kids collectively gasped.
The room was a bare cube of concrete filled with so many people that they were packed together like sardines in a can. The prisoners all shared the same gaunt look and shaved heads, the same bones sticking out through threadbare, filthy clothes. Beacon could practically smell the sweat and festering sewage through the computer monitor. This place looked more like a tomb than a prison. And it would be one, soon, judging by the way some of the prisoners looked.
“Who are these people?” Everleigh asked.
“Anyone who disagrees with the Sov’s policies,” Galen said. “Townspeople, top military personnel, scientists, CIA agents—you name it. It seems like no one is safe anymore.”
“Why are their heads shaved like that?” Beacon asked.
“Lice,” Galen said, and Everleigh shivered. Arthur reflexively scratched his head.
Everleigh leaned closer, scanning the eerily still prisoners. No one fought, no one screamed or banged on the walls. It was as if they’d been drained of the will to live, of any hope of seeing daylight again.
“He’s not there,” Everleigh said finally. Beacon didn’t know whether to feel upset or relieved. If his dad wasn’t here, he was probably dead.
Then the prisoner nearest the camera turned.
“Dad!” Everleigh cried.
Every part of Beacon’s body soared with happiness. But the thrill of seeing him alive was brief.
Their dad stared up at the camera. They hadn’t recognized him from behind with his shaved head. He’d also lost at least twenty pounds since they’d last seen him—and he hadn’t had twenty to lose. His mouth hung open, and even from this aerial view, Beacon could see how cracked and parched his lips were, how sunken and lifeless his eyes.
“What have they done to him?” Everleigh whispered.
Beacon’s mouth felt suddenly dry, as if it were filled with cotton.
“What do they do with the prisoners?” Beacon demanded, speaking loudly so that his voice wouldn’t crack.
“You don’t want to hear that,” Galen said uncomfortably.
“Yes, I do,” Beacon said. “What goes on in this place?”
“Experiments,” Galen said.
Bile rose in Beacon’s throat, and he was suddenly close to puking. Everleigh pressed her fingers to her temples and stared at the screen while Arthur awkwardly rubbed circles into her back.
“What kind of experiments?” Beacon asked thickly.
“All kinds,” Galen said. “They’ve had the scientists working day and night the last few weeks. There’s something going on.”
“We need to get him out,” Everleigh said. “We have to go back.”
Galen stood up. “Well, good luck with that. Can I show you to the door?”
A flood of panic washed through Beacon’s body. They couldn’t get tossed out now. They needed Galen. He knew so much more than they did, and not just about computer hacking. Having a sympathetic Sov on their side might be the advantage they needed to save their dad.
“Wait!” Beacon said. “What about that girl? You said they’re turning on anyone who disagrees with the Sov’s policies. What if they turn on her, too?”
“They wouldn’t,” Galen said.
“How do you know for sure?” Beacon countered.
“I just do.” His tone left no room for argument.
Great.
Beacon floundered for another angle. “There must be other people you care about there. What about your parents?”
He’d thought this might spark a reaction from Galen, but he just sighed.
“Look, I’m sorry your dad is in there,” Galen said. “It sucks, but you just have to realize there are bigger forces at work here than you can take on. You need to do what I’m doing. Just keep your head down and hope they don’t find you. It’s the best you can hope for.”
Beacon shook his head. “Even if leaving our dad in there was an option, we can’t keep doing this our whole life. Sooner or later they’re going to find us. And what will the world look like then? How far will the Sov’s control have reached? We have a chance now to stop things. Aren’t we morally obligated to take it?”
Galen rubbed the crease on his forehead.
“I can see you’re contemplating joining us,” Arthur said, leaping on his moment of weakness. “This might be a good time to mention our club—Youth Searching for Alien Truth. We’d love to welcome you as a member.”
“Arthur,” Beacon said.
Arthur raised his hands in defense. “Right, sorry, bad time. We can revisit that later.”
“Help us,” Beacon pleaded. “Not because you care about us. But because you care about doing what’s right.”
“This is stupid,” Galen said. “How are you even going to break someone out of a maximum-security prison?”
“We can iron out those details later,” Beacon said. “Right now we just need to figure out how we’re going to get back to Driftwood Harbor. We don’t have the car anymore. Victor sold that—probably to make sure we couldn’t get too far.”
“Even if we did have the car, it’s not like we can just drive back into town,” Everleigh said. “The Sov would arrest us before we got anywhere near city limits.”
“I don’t know, but we have to figure something out,” Beacon said. “We can’t just let Dad rot in that place.”
“My grandma,” Arthur said suddenly. “My grandma has diabetes!”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Beacon said. “But this isn’t really the time to talk about that.”
“No, I mean, she has regular checkups at the hospital on the edge of city limits. If we can get there, we can sneak with her back into Driftwood Harbor!”
“Where are the three of you going to hide in her car?” Galen said.
“I don’t know!” Arthur said defensively. “Do you have a better idea?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” Galen said.
“You do?” Beacon and Everleigh said together.
“Does this mean you’re joining YAT?” Arthur asked.
Everyone looked at Galen. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes for a brief moment. “I have a feeling I’m going to end up regretting this, but yeah, I guess I’ll help you find your dad.”
He didn’t even finish his sentence before Beacon, Arthur, and Everleigh cheered and jumped up to hug him. Galen tolerated it for a few seconds before shoving them away.
“I’m only doing this because I think you’re all going to get killed without my help,” he said.