Erin M. Leaf (7 page)

The light suddenly flooding into
the basement hurt like crazy. She’d been in the dark for so long, her eyes
couldn’t adjust. Bea blinked back tears.

“I’m here, Ivy. Shh,” Theo said. He
stood there, holding a girl with the same color hair in his arms. She barely
reached his shoulder. She was clutching a half-finished knitted hat in her
hands. A bright battery operated lantern sat on the floor of a small room built
from concrete bricks. When Theo looked up, eyes bright, Gideon seemed to know
exactly what he wanted because he ushered Bea inside the small space and closed
the door.

After being trapped in an elevator
just a little while ago, the feeling of being shut inside another box wasn’t a
pleasant one.
At least this one has light, though,
she told herself. She
looked around, trying to distract herself from her nerves, only to find out
that the wall she faced was stacked with weapons.
Holy crap,
she
thought, staring. She had no idea what any of them were. She saw what she
thought was maybe a shotgun, but the rest were beyond her. She was way more
used to seeing the damage they caused people in her ER than the weapons
themselves. Unfortunately, the thought of the hospital in flames didn’t calm
her. Instead, her mind went right to her friends and the people she worked with
every day.
All dead now.
She clenched
her fists and took slow, deep breaths. She wanted to vomit.

“Bea, it’s okay,” Gideon said,
sensing her discomfort. He put a hand on her arm.

“You and Theo keep saying that,”
she replied, rolling her shoulders. His hand fell away. She had to get a grip.
No more thinking about the hospital. She stared at the guns again.
These
weapons might keep me alive.

“Because it’s true.”

She gave him a weak smile, turning
back to Theo. His niece had calmed down and was staring at her from between
Theo’s arms.

“Who are you?”

“Ivy, this is Dr. Bea Morgan,” Theo
said, stepping out of the hug. “She sewed me back up after your knitting needle
punctured my leg.” His voice was gentle.

Ivy frowned. “I’m
really
sorry about that, Uncle Theo. I lost the needle before I went to school this
morning and then I had practice, and then—” She broke off, her face going dark.

“We’re going to find your mom, as
soon as we get some supplies,” Gideon said. That seemed to reassure the girl.

“What happened here?” Bea asked the
girl. What if she didn’t know about the aliens?

Ivy took a deep breath, sitting
down on the only chair in the room. “I came home after soccer practice and
found mom’s note about your leg, Uncle Theo.” She made a
sorry
face at
Theo. “She said you’d be home later, so I made myself a sandwich and then the
power went out. I tried to turn on the television and nothing happened. Then I
heard sirens and a few loud booms and then nothing. Even my cell phone is dead.”
She looked at Theo. “You told me if anything weird ever happens to hide in
here. So that’s what I did. I was going to stay here until Mom got home.”

Theo rubbed his face. “You did
great, Ivy. You did exactly what you were supposed to do.” He crouched down. “This
is going to sound crazy, but we were invaded. That’s why the power is down.”

“Invaded?” Ivy said, obviously not
believing him. “Who would do that? The North Koreans?”

He shook his head. “This is where
it gets really weird. There are aliens outside. They kind of look like bugs.”

Ivy laughed. “You’re joking with
me.”

Theo shook his head slowly. “No, I
wish I was.”

Ivy kept smiling. “We’ve been
invaded by aliens? That look like giant bugs? You’ve been watching too many
horror movies, Uncle Theo.”

He stared at her grimly. “They’ve
destroyed most of the town. The hospital is burning. And they’re collecting
bodies.”

“Wait.” Ivy’s smile slowly faded. “You’re
serious.”

Bea’s heart lurched at the look on
Ivy’s face. The poor girl didn’t deserve this.
None of us do.

“I’m sorry, Ivy, but it’s true,”
Gideon added.

Ivy shook her head. “No way. That’s
nuts. You’re just trying to scare me.”

“We came here to get you, and now
we’re going to go find your mom.” Theo stood up and began grabbing weapons from
the walls.

Ivy stared at him. “She’s at work.
She’s probably super-busy trying to organize the office right now. They’ve
probably locked down the campus and she’ll be trying to get things organized.”

Bea glanced at Theo. The look on
his face…
God.
She crouched down next
to Ivy. “What does your mom do, Ivy?” she asked, hoping to distract her.

The girl glanced at her, then went
back to staring fixedly at her uncle. “She works in campus security at the
college downtown. She doesn’t usually work night shift, but this week she’s
filling in for someone. She handles the phones and paperwork and stuff.”

Bea pressed her lips together.
Given what she’d seen of the hospital, she had little doubt that the local
college in town had been destroyed. Dammit. She glanced up to see Gideon also
taking down weapons. He shoved ammunition into a black duffel, then looked at
her, his face grim. He knew what she was thinking.

“Maybe you should get some stuff
together. We’ll be leaving soon,” Bea said gently.

The girl frowned at her. “I have a
change of clothes and my homework in here.” She pointed a toe at her backpack.

Bea nodded. “Okay. That’s good.”

Gideon tapped her on the shoulder. “Here.
Put this in your pocket.”

Bea’s eyes widened. “I have no idea
how to use that.” He was holding out a small gun. It looked tiny enough to fit
in her bra. She didn’t even know they made guns that size.

“Just flick off the safety, point,
and pull the trigger. You get six shots before you have to reload the clip.” He
held it out to her.

Bea took it gingerly, like it was
about to bite her. “Thanks. I think.”

“Can I have one, too?” Ivy asked,
perking up.

“No,” said Theo and Gideon
simultaneously.

Bea smiled as she stuffed the
weapon in her jacket. The look on Ivy’s face was classic disgruntled teenager.
At least some things haven’t changed
,
she thought.

“Is there anything else you need
from your room, Ivy?” Theo asked. “We may not be coming back here for a while.”

“No. I’ve got everything I need in
here,” Ivy said, shrugging on her backpack. She’d added her yarn, knitting
needles, and half-finished cap to the bulging bag.

I don’t think she understands what
Theo means,
Bea thought sadly.
We’re probably never coming back here. Ever.
She considered
her little apartment with her books and television and her favorite blanket and
sighed. Hell, she didn’t even have her purse. She’d never see her home again.
It was probably already gone.

A deep vibration shook the house
and Theo and Gideon exchanged worried looks.

“Time to go,” Gideon said.

“Yeah,” Theo replied, hand on the
doorknob. “It’s time.”

Chapter Four

Bea looked across the truck’s cab.
On her right, Gideon held onto the door tightly, staring out into the dark.
Theo was driving. Bea and Ivy were shoved in between them on the bench seat.
That’s
one good thing about having an old truck. There’s almost enough room for us all,
she thought, wincing as Theo took another turn at breakneck speed. He may have
driven cautiously to the house, but he was going all-out to get to the campus
where his sister worked. Bea had a feeling that Theo knew Ella was probably
dead, but no one wanted to tell Ivy their suspicions.

“What is that?” Ivy abruptly said,
her voice shrill. She pointed out the window. “Oh God. It’s huge.”

Bea knew exactly what she was
seeing. A large alien ship hovered over a clearing and the insect-like
creatures were loading bodies onto the ship. Everything was dark and blurry.
She didn’t think the aliens needed much light. Otherwise, why were their ships
all black?

“Don’t look,” she said, reaching
for Ivy’s hand.

“Oh my God.” Ivy’s voice shook. “They’re
stealing people!”

“Don’t look at them,” Bea said,
more urgently. She put her palm on Ivy’s cheek and turned her face.

“Uncle Theo wasn’t joking, was he?”
Ivy asked, eyes glittering in the dimness of the truck.

“He wasn’t.” Bea didn’t let go of
her, didn’t let her turn her face. “I’m so sorry.”

Ivy blinked, and Bea thought she
was going to cry, but then the girl took a deep breath. “Shit,” she said, very
clearly.

Bea had to smile at that. “Yeah.”

“Gideon,” Theo said urgently,
interrupting.

He yanked on the wheel, and Bea’s
hand fell away from Ivy as she grabbed for the dash. He’d swerved over a curb
and into someone’s yard. He stopped the truck near the trees at the back of the
property.

Gideon cursed. “Give us some
warning next time.”

“The road is blocked. I didn’t want
them to see us,” Theo said, undoing his seatbelt.

“Walking is a bad idea,” Gideon
said, even as he reached for the door handle.

“We don’t have much choice,” Theo
replied.

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Bea said
in a low voice. She glanced at Ivy. The girl stared fixedly back down the road
behind them. Bea knew her brain was trying to make sense of the large black
shape looming over the houses, but the reality probably wouldn’t sink in until
daylight.

“We need to move,” Theo said.

He’s thinking about his sister.
Bea took a deep breath
and urged Ivy out of the truck. “Stay right next to me, okay?”

Ivy nodded. “I will.”

Bea looked at Theo. “How’s your
leg?”

He shrugged. “It hurts, but not
that bad. No bleeding.”

“How would you even know?” She
frowned. “When we get somewhere safe, I’ll take a look at it.”

He gave her a pointed look. “Thanks,
but I don’t think we’ll have time.” He began walking along the edge of the
yard, not stopping until he reached a small opening in the tree line.

This
neighborhood must run right up against campus,
Bea thought, pushing after him.
Gideon brought up the rear. Theo headed into the trees as if he knew exactly
where he was going. Bea clamped her lips shut on a curse after the third branch
caught her cheek. Now was not the time to complain. She fixed her eyes on his
back, using the lighter color of his shirt as a marker. Otherwise, the dark
would swallow them all up. After what seemed an interminable amount of time,
Theo halted. The scent of pine lay across the night like a blanket.

“There’s the office,” Ivy said,
pushing ahead of Bea.

Bea followed her, staring into the
clearing in front of them. The building Ivy pointed at was dark, but seemed
intact, thank God. The same couldn’t be said for the rest of campus. The
crumbling remains of trees and buildings littered the open space like a giant
had overturned a trash can in a fit of temper.
How can this have happened so
fast?
she wondered, disturbed all over again. Everything was eerily silent,
too, which didn’t bode well. She glanced at the girl, surprised to see Ivy’s
face set in hard lines. In her shoes, she’d probably be having hysterics. Then
she remembered that the girl had already lost her father. That experience had
probably primed her to expect disaster. Bea shook her head, sad all over again.

“We can’t stay here.” Theo started
moving again, walking silently along the edge of the woods. Everyone followed
him. No one spoke. They all knew what they might find.

****

Bea stopped just inside the
building’s outer door, heart pounding. They’d managed to creep across the lawn
and make it inside without attracting notice, but it had been close. One of the
aliens had walked close to them just before they left the protection of the
trees, its inky carapace making a strange creaking sound as it went by. They’d
all frozen and held their breath. She had no idea why it hadn’t seen them.

“I think it focuses on movement,”
Gideon said, as if he’d been reading her mind.

“We were lucky,” Theo said, moving
down the hall.

Bea bit her lip as she looked
around. Her first impression that this building had been left undamaged was
obviously wrong. Chairs and desks were on their sides and some of the walls
were torn down. It wasn’t a large building, but it had been trashed.
Thoroughly. Worst of all, there were no people.

“The back door should’ve been
locked,” Ivy whispered, one hand wrapped in the back of Bea’s jacket. “It’s
always locked.”

Bea didn’t know what to say, so she
didn’t say anything. They didn’t dare use a flashlight, so they were going
slow. Thankfully, the building wasn’t very big. It had a few offices, a small
cell, and a larger front room. That’s where they were now, staring over the
smashed desks and dented file cabinets.