In one swift move, AJ took something that looked like an ice pick from his bag before dropping it. The ice pick in his hand attracted a piece of the black mass from the wall, coating it and making it bigger and longer. He created a sword-like weapon, and then he charged.
The alien and AJ engaged in some kind of weird swordplay, but it wasn’t a play at all. AJ tried to slash the Shadow, but every time he did, the sword went right through it. Paige still silently cheered as she heard the thing hiss in pain with every one of AJ’s strikes.
How do you defeat a Shadow? Paige wondered.
After another unsuccessful attempt to disarm him, it was the Shadow’s turn to advance. With a grace Paige wouldn’t believe possible, it twirled forward like a whirlwind and slashed AJ across his hand, causing him to drop the sword.
In the next moment, the Shadow’s blade was pointed at AJ’s forehead. It pressed against him, causing a cut to form. The Shadow’s blade forced the mass inside the small wound. By the look on AJ’s face, it became pretty obvious that the Shadow Man was doing something other than just causing physical pain to AJ.
“I can’t,” AJ managed to choke out.
Without thinking, Paige simply acted. She took the discs from AJ’s bag, and even though she didn’t have the slightest idea how they worked, she threw one in the Shadow’s general direction.
It opened, and the bright blue sphere appeared, but her aim was too far off. Still, she was pleased it was that simple.
She tried again, but that moment of distraction had done something to the mental connection between the Shadow and AJ. Gritting his teeth, AJ suddenly broke free from his stupor and started throwing metal discs on his own once again.
His aim was much better than hers, though it didn’t take much aim on his part since the creature was standing right in front of him.
The Shadow Man staggered backward then collapsed on the ground, becoming less and less corporeal by the second.
“Let’s go,” AJ said before running in the opposite direction. He didn’t even bother to check if Francis the Shadow Man was still alive or dead.
After Paige was relatively sure that they were safe for the moment, she decided to return to the topic that was on her mind before the appearance of that alien.
“AJ?” Paige asked, as she ran across the hall. She was one step behind him, but she still held his hand. “Where are my mother and sister?”
She was beyond afraid he was going to tell her something bad had happened since he came to her rescue all alone, but she needed to know.
“Don’t worry, Paige. They’re safe,” he replied instantly, glancing at her over his shoulder. She instantly felt better. “I’ll tell you more after we get off this spaceship. It’ll blow up soon,” he informed her.
That startled her. “It’ll blow up?” Paige repeated, filled with horror.
“I’ll blow it up,” he corrected.
She’d never seen that expression on his face before. “But, AJ, you can’t!” Paige protested, forcing him to stop for a second. She didn’t care if they were being chased around. This was too important to ignore.
“Why?” he countered, frowning as they stopped.
“Because there are innocent people on this spaceship. How can you blow up the ship and kill all the people who haven’t done anything bad?” she asked him. “Dave, his little brother, and Tilley are on this ship as well,” she added, trying to make him see.
“Come on, Paige,” he snapped back. “You know that once the black mass is in them, they’re already dead. They can’t take it out. So, there’s no point in trying to save them.”
“How can you be so sure?” Paige challenged.
He gave her a knowing look. “I just am, ok?”
But it wasn’t ok. Paige felt sick at the thought of all of them dying. Paige was terrified that if he thought that way about them, it would mean he would think of her in the same fashion.
Am I already dead, too? Is this the way he really thinks about me now?
“Am I dead now, too, AJ?” she asked.
“That’s different, Paige, and you know it.”
She did. It was because of her bracelet. The one Willow gave her. The one Brooke had brought for her.
Despite logic, she was still mad at him. “AJ, what about you?” Paige asked suddenly. “Are you dead?”
He jerked as if she’d slapped him. “No. I’ve been reprogrammed,” he replied matter-of-factly.
“What does that mean?” Paige asked, her tone accusatory.
It was obvious that questioning him in the middle of a hostile alien ship irked him. It should bother her as well that she was wasting precious time on chit chat, but she was too mad for that.
“I’ll tell you more when we’re safe, Paige. Enough for now. We don’t have much time.” AJ was adamant, and to prove his point, he took her hand again and forced her to move without giving her the chance to reply.
But she wasn’t about to let this slide.
“No,” she rebelled, jerking her hand away.
“Paige, what are you doing?”
“I’m staying,” she told him, already moving away. “I’ll find the rest of our gang, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
“Paige, be reasonable,” he said.
“AJ, stop. You can either come with me or get out of my way,” she snapped.
AJ frowned, obviously frustrated with her. He was trying to figure out a way to persuade her to come with him, but she wasn’t backing down.
To prove her point, she left him standing there in the middle of a corridor. She wanted to return to the pod rooms. She thought that was a good place to start the search.
She was at least twenty feet away when she heard a voice behind her.
“Paige, wait,” AJ called out after her. “I’m coming, too.” He wasn’t happy about it, but Paige didn’t need him to be. “So, do you have a plan? Or are you just planning to search every spot on this huge spaceship until you find them?”
She shrugged. “If that’s what it takes.”
“God, you’re stubborn,” he grumbled.
“If you have a better idea, please, do tell,” she countered. Honestly, she was getting tired of his attitude, and a part of her wished she was on her own to search for her friends.
“Paige, stop,” AJ held her by the hand, forcing her to stop and face him.
“We don’t have time for this.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.” She could see in his eyes that he meant it. That calmed her temper quite a bit. “I do have an idea,” he added.
“What is it?” Paige prompted.
“Well, I’ve been thinking. There’s a limited number of pods, but the aliens harvested a lot of people. They can’t turn them all at once,” AJ said.
“Ok,” Paige interjected. “So?”
“So,” he continued, “after beaming people up, I think there’s a chamber where they keep all the humans who are waiting to become Hosts.”
That sounds logical, Paige thought.
“Do you know where it is?” questioned.
AJ shook his head. “Not exactly, but I can find out. I just need a screen.”
“We can’t go back to the main deck,” Paige said with a shake of her head. The Shadow Men were there, and she wasn’t looking for another round with them.
“We don’t have to,” AJ reassured her. “They’re scattered all over the place. You just have to know where to look. Come on,” he said.
Once they encountered the first random door, AJ paused. He tapped the wall next to it, and the black mass parted, revealing a small tablet with a bunch of alien symbols moving across the screen.
“That’s so unfair,” she grumbled, and AJ chuckled in return.
“I got it,” he announced after one minute of search. “Let’s go.”
Paige was glad they had a specific destination in front of them because, despite her previous words, she really wasn’t looking forward to trying to find a needle in the middle of an alien
haystack. This plan was much better.
After the ruckus they’d caused and probably killing one of the Shadow Men, it was imperative for them to be as inconspicuous as possible. Paige’s uniform went a long way to help with that.
As they made their way through the halls, they saw another worker coming their direction. There was no way for AJ and Paige to avoid him.
“What are we going to do?” Paige inquired under her breath.
“Just act normal, and push me forward,” AJ instructed.
That was exactly what she did. Paige kept her face neutral and gave AJ a push every once in a while. She acted like she didn’t appreciate him trying to slack off. Her heart pounded like crazy, and she was certain everybody could hear it.
The worker, a cute African American lady, didn’t even spare them a glance as she walked past. Paige was relieved when they lost sight of her.
“That was intense,” Paige confessed.
“Only because you’re such a bad liar,” AJ teased, and she pushed him again out of embarrassment. He laughed quietly at her reaction.
With AJ knowing the way, they quickly reached the room he believed the humans were being held in. They busted inside, and sure enough, it was filled with people. Paige couldn’t help but gasp when seeing such a vast number of them.
“Oh my God,” she breathed.
“Let’s not waste time,” AJ reminded her, and she nodded, snapping out of her stupor.
She quickly looked for Dave, Tilley, and Peter, which proved to be extremely difficult since the people inside were scared, and she was wearing a green uniform. She didn’t have time to reassure them that she was one of the good guys.
“Dave! Tilley! Peter!” she called out to her friends.
“Tilley! Dave! Peter!” AJ joined in.
“Paige?” She suddenly heard a very unsure voice behind her. She turned, and someone hugged her with all their might.
“Tilley, thank God,” Paige sighed in relief, hugging the girl back.
“Paige, I can’t believe you’re here. We were so scared,” she practically cried out.
“Everything will be fine now,” Paige tried to reassure her, hoping she wasn’t lying.
“Where is Peter?”
“I told him to hide, when we heard that a worker entered,” Tilley explained, pointing behind herself.
“Good thinking,” Paige praised.
“Hey, buddy,” AJ said as Peter appeared.
The little boy rushed to give Paige a hug, too.
“I’m so glad we found you,” Paige confessed, “but we need to get going now.” She didn’t know how long they had until the Shadow Men discovered them, but she wasn’t lingering around to find out.
“Where’s my brother?” Peter asked.
“We’re still looking for him,” Paige said, deciding the truth was best.
“We have to leave now, Paige,” AJ warned.
She really wanted to, but how could she leave all those people?
“You can’t save everyone,” AJ warned, accurately guessing her thoughts.
“We have to at least try,” she argued.
AJ was about to tell her something else when the massive double doors opened, and a dozen workers entered.
“They’re here to move them to the pods,” AJ said. “We have to go—now!”
Luckily for them, the chamber had a few smaller exits, and AJ started to push Paige toward one of them as Peter and Tilley clung to her.
She felt terrible for leaving.
“There’s nothing we can do,” AJ said. “Unless you want to be captured again.” His final statement worked. His words forced Paige to realize the very real situation they were in.
They snuck out and ran toward their way out. As they ran, Paige spotted Willow and her mother standing at the end of the corridor, waiting for them. She barely stopped herself from calling out to them. They already had enough on their plate. She didn’t need to add to their problems by drawing unnecessary attention.
She couldn’t help but tear up when she saw them. Only a few hours ago, Paige thought she’d lost all hope of ever seeing them again, and now they were all back together, alive, even if they weren’t out of the woods yet.
Not all together, she amended, remembering that Dave was still somewhere on the spaceship.
With her family by her side, and most of her gang intact, Paige was positive she would find a way to get him back as well.
Only if I manage to stop AJ from blowing the ship up before I can...
Chapter Twenty
“Mom! Willow!” Paige whispered as she ran to hug them. Willow was beaming with happiness to see her and met her halfway.
“Paige! You’re here!” her sister exclaimed, hugging her with all her might. Paige was pleased to see she had her bracelet, and that comforted her.
“Willow!”
“Tilley!”
Paige heard the girls greet each other, which only warmed her heart further. Tilley was alone in all this. She had no one with her from her family. Willow was the only person she knew.
Once they parted, her Mom winked at her.
Yeah, she’s still strange, Paige thought to herself. She felt cheered up by that for some reason.
Checking her mother over from head to toe, she noticed her glow and wondered if she was all right. She swallowed as she wondered if she had the black mass inside her now as well.
Paige wanted to ask about that, but AJ interrupted her. “Paige. We don’t have much time.”
He looked impatient, glancing behind himself ever so often, and Paige couldn’t really blame him. There would be enough time for catching up later. The aliens were after them right now, and whatever they were going to do, they needed to do it quickly.
Paige was beyond grateful AJ had a plan because she wasn’t capable of shouldering that responsibility at the moment. Again, she was reminded of how safe she felt when he was by her side.
AJ led them into a room. Cylindrical holes covered one wall, and Paige wondered what they were for.
“Those are emergency evacuation capsules,” AJ explained as if reading her mind. She nodded, grateful he’d provided her with that information. “You’re not going to use them. It’ll draw too much attention to you.”
Moving past the capsules, they entered another room, but this one was a bit smaller and round. Paige looked around nervously, expecting to see aliens, but there were none there. The room seemed to be completely empty. Several advanced computers lined the walls, and there were five circles on the floor.
“These are the transport beams they used to bring you up. We can use it to go back down.”
“I can’t go without Dave. I’m sorry,” Paige told them. She turned to run away, but a strong hand stopped her.
“Paige, you can’t go back,” AJ pleaded.
“I have to. Now let me go AJ,” Paige snapped.
“Just go with the gang, and I promise I’ll look for him,” he tried to bargain.
“Wouldn’t you be too busy blowing the ship up?” she challenged.
AJ gritted his teeth. “Have I ever let you down before?” he argued, and Paige really wanted to hit him for trying to guilt her into listening to him.
“Take care of them,” Paige said instead.
“Paige,” her mother interjected.
“Mom, don’t. Dave saved me, us, a lot of times. I owe this much to him.”
To Paige’s complete surprise, her mother simply nodded. “Be careful, honey.”
Paige nodded in return. AJ still wouldn’t let her go, and she looked at him expectantly. He sighed. After several tense moments, he reluctantly let her go.
“I’ll be back. I promise,” she said before running out of the room. She hoped like hell she could keep her promise.
So where to start the search? Paige wondered.
Dave wasn’t at any of the places they’d searched so far. Maybe it was time for her to get a bit more creative. There had to be a part of the ship they were overlooking.
<
br /> Then inspiration smacked her in the head—sort of.
As she ran, she crossed paths with a fellow worker. He looked at her like she’d committed some mortal sin. Fixing her face to appear more lifeless like his, she straightened her shoulders and continued walking without uttering a word. The worker continued on with his business. When she was sure he wouldn’t suspect anything, Paige started to follow him. It was a long shot, but it was also the best option she had.
She followed him around for a while and was about to lose hope when he entered something that resembled a locker room. Before the door closed, she got a glimpse of Dave. He was putting on the same green uniform she was sporting.
He’s in there! Paige thought to herself, but it was too early for cheers just yet.
She waited on pins and needles for him to exit, and when he did, she grabbed his hand.
“Dave, I’m so glad I finally found you. Let’s go. We have to hurry,” she blurted out all in one breath.
But even though she gave him a little push, he didn’t move. He frowned as he looked at their joined hands.
“Go where?” he asked in a tone of voice that wasn’t quite right.
That was when Paige realized the significance of the uniform he was wearing.
“Dave?” she asked tentatively.
“I’m late for my post, but I think you should go to physical maintenance. Your Host is malfunctioning,” he informed her coldly. As if he was disgusted by the contact they’d shared, he picked up her hand with his free hand and removed it from his body.
With that, he left. Paige could only stare after him, frozen in place.
Dave was gone, she realized. He was a host, being controlled with the black mass inside his body.
She snapped herself out of her moment of despair, refusing to cry as she willed her legs to start moving again.
Paige ran after Dave. She was determined that he was coming with her! Time to see what my new upgrades can do!
“Dave wait up!” Paige yelled, and it got the response she wanted.
Dave turned to face her. With all the force she could muster, she punched Dave in the jaw. His feet were knocked out from under him, and his body slammed down to the floor.
Inhabitable (Invasion Survivor Book 2) Page 21