From a Distant Star (21 page)

“We’re both legal adults,” I said, which technically wasn’t true, but whatever. “But yes, they do know. They don’t know that someone is after us, though. We didn’t want to worry them.”

“I see,” Roy said, his brow furrowing in concern. “Who were those people and what do they want with you?”

“I’m not sure,” I said.

“Emma, we can tell him,” Scout said, his hand squeezing my upper arm. His movements were so awkward, but it was starting to get endearing, like when toddlers are figuring out how to hug, but don’t quite do it right. “It is okay. He will help us.”

I sighed, putting a hand to my forehead. I was starting to get a headache. “Okay, it’s some agents from the federal government. They think we know something about an aircraft collision. They threatened to have me arrested if I didn’t go back today and tell them what I know.” I gave him a pleading look. “But we can’t go back today, because Scout needs to get home. It’s very complicated.”

“Wait a minute,” Roy said. “They threatened to arrest you? On what charges?”

“Oh, um. I don’t know.” I tried to think back to my phone conversation with agent Mariah Wilson. “I think it was withholding evidence or something. But I already told them everything I know.”

“So you’ve already spoken to them?”

“Yes, they questioned me and I told them everything. Then they started tracing my cell phone and bothering a woman we know. A friend of ours.” Was I saying too much? My brain seemed to shut down, while my mouth went into overdrive. “All we want is to be left alone.”

“Well, that’s just a load of bull crap,” Roy said, looking to his wife, who nodded in agreement. “Tracing your calls? Harassing your friend? Unbelievable.”

“It’s been a nightmare,” I said.

Now Roy was revved up. “That’s the problem with our government today. They’re all up in everyone’s business. It’s almost like they’ve forgotten we have rights.” His anger on our behalf was making me feel better.

“We really haven’t done anything wrong,” I said. “I swear to you.” This was easier than I’d thought. Their outrage was keeping them from asking too many questions.

Beverly said, “We’ve had some problems with the government ourselves. It’s ridiculous.”

Roy shook his head. “This makes me sick. I never thought I’d live to see the day the United States of America, my country, would go so low as to hunt down a nice young lady such as yourself who is taking care of a special boy like your friend.”

“He
is
special,” I said, shooting a glance at Scout. Special, but not Lucas. Somewhere though, on another planet, far, far away, there was a girl waiting for him. She was going to be overjoyed when he came back. If he came back.

Roy clucked. “It’s a sad day, let me tell you. It makes me ashamed to be a citizen.”

“So what are you kids going to do now?” Beverly asked, concerned.

“We’ll figure out something,” I said, pulling on the strap of my backpack just to reassure myself it was still there. I still had the handgun Mrs. Kokesh had given me. She said it was my ace in the hole, something to use as a last resort. I hoped I didn’t have to use it ever, but I felt better knowing it was there.

Both Beverly and Roy were looking at me now, which made me nervous. I said, “Would you mind if I visited your bathroom? I’m feeling sweaty and I’d like to change my clothes.”

“Not a problem,” Roy said, gesturing to a hallway. “First door on your left.”

“Oh no, not that one! It’s a mess,” Beverly said. “Use the upstairs bathroom. Top of the stairs on your right.”

As I made my way up the stairs, I heard Beverly offer to get Scout something to drink and his answer: “Yes, please.” In the bathroom, I turned on the fan, shimmied out of my pants and unbuttoned my shirt. Standing there in my underwear, I felt vulnerable and defeated, but a little bit cooler too. I grabbed a wad of tissue and got it wet, then dabbed my face and the back of my neck. I was a hot mess, and I could still smell the damp wood chips from
the back of the truck. The odor had permeated my skin and now surrounded me. I pulled on my shorts and a T-shirt and stuffed my dirty clothes into one of the compartments of my backpack. Just having fresh clothes made me feel much better.

I got out my money and counted through the bills. Enough to rent a car, if there had been a car rental place around here, which I was pretty sure there wasn’t. Not to mention that I’d need a credit card and wasn’t old enough, so that idea was out. How frustrating. We were so close to our final destination. Thirty or forty miles, I thought. In a car, that would be nothing. I had a sudden thought—maybe if I paid Roy, he’d be willing to drive us there. That seemed like a good possibility given their reaction to our dilemma. But if he refused, we’d have to hitchhike. Whatever we did, we’d have to do it soon. If we didn’t get there by the end of the afternoon, it would be too late and the building would be closed. It would be ironic to travel so far and arrive after everyone had gone home for the day.

I headed back to the kitchen, following the sound of Scout’s voice saying, “And so we need to go to the place called Erickson Ryder to see if we can communicate with the people on my planet.”

Inwardly, I groaned. I walked into the room to see Roy and Beverly leaning forward, intently listening to everything Scout said. Hopefully, they’d think Scout’s story was just him being special. “I’m back,” I said brightly, hoping to change the subject.

“So now we need a different car because we need to get there soon,” Scout said, still talking to Roy and Beverly.

“He gets confused sometimes,” I said. “Really, he doesn’t know what he’s saying . . .”

But no one was paying attention to me. Roy and Beverly had their heads together and were whispering between themselves, while Scout sat back with folded arms, a self-satisfied expression on his face. The couple talked for a really long time, maybe five minutes or so, which made me nervous. Scout thought these two
were okay, but we really didn’t know them. What if they called the police or tried to keep us trapped here? We didn’t have phones to call 911 and even if we did, I didn’t know where we were. Roy and Beverly whispered back and forth, looking from Scout to me and back again. I gestured to Scout to get up. “I think we have to get going,” I said.

Roy held up a hand to signal we should wait. A second later, Beverly nodded and he said, “I think we can help you out.”

“How?” I asked.

“Bev and I have a vehicle you can borrow,” he said.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Less than half an hour later, we were back on the road, me at the wheel of what looked like a brand-new cargo van, Scout in the passenger seat. I still couldn’t believe complete strangers would just lend us a vehicle without even wanting to look at our IDs. It was a matter of trust, Beverly said, and the right thing to do. The van was white, with two windows in back, and it came, Roy said, with a full tank of gas. And that wasn’t all it came with.

“This here vehicle is something pretty special,” Roy said with a grin, clearly proud. We’d walked around to the back of the house where it was parked, hidden from the road under a carport. “My son and I have been making modifications to it since day one, and believe you me, there isn’t another one like it in all the world.”

It looked like a regular van to me, the kind that made deliveries. “Like what kind of modifications?” I wondered aloud.

“I’m very glad you asked,” he said.

“Just wait until you see,” Beverly said, rubbing her hands excitedly.

“This compartment on the top. It just looks decorative, right?” he said.

“I guess.”

“But there’s something in it that comes down,” Scout said.

“Righty-o young man!” Roy beamed. He flipped up the lid of the compartment and pulled a flexible sheet down all the way until it completely covered the side of the van. It stuck on by itself, like it was suctioned. “Magnetic,” he said, by way of explanation. The sheet was smooth and dark in color. It had the words “Henderson Family Locksmith Company” above the image of a family gathering, the people all in silhouette. Below the family image was a picture of a lock and a key next to a phone number and the words, “One call and your troubles are over.”

“Wow,” I walked up and smoothed my hand over the surface. Even up close, it looked like it was part of the van.

“There’s one on the other side too,” Roy said. “Besides that one, we have other magnetic signs for all kinds of businesses in the back of the van. There are different license plates too. You just slide ’em right into the slot. You can make this van look completely different in just a few minutes’ time.”

“The locksmith one is the only one that completely covers the van,” Beverly said. “But some of the others do the trick almost as well. One of them is an exterminator and there’s a big bug in back that you can clip onto the top of the van. That one’s my favorite.”

“There are also brochures and business cards in back for all the businesses, just in case,” Roy said. “And fake ID badges.” He opened the back of the van and gestured to Scout to come over so he could show him. From where I stood, I could see a large plastic bug the size of a dachshund lying with its legs in the air. Everything else, the brochures and business cards he’d mentioned, was tucked into plastic boxes. Between the boxes were several large flashlights the size of small fire extinguishers. Scout crawled into the back of the van behind Roy, and he and Roy continued the discussion.

“But why?” I asked Beverly. “Why would you need to make the van look different?”

“To throw off the feds, of course. You get spotted, then you pull off the road, change your license plate and the way the van
looks, and when you get back on the road, you’re unlikely to get stopped because they’re looking for something else. They aren’t as smart as you’d think.”

I stared at her in bewilderment.

She gently took my arm and pulled me off to the side. “Your friend told us about your troubles and we understand what you’re going through.”

“He’s not quite right. He gets confused sometimes,” I said, ready to launch into my story about his compromised mental status, but Beverly would hear none of it.

“Don’t say that,” she said, waving a finger at me. “There’s nothing wrong with that young man. He just has his own version of events. Roy and I figured it out right away because our grandson does that too.”

“Does what?”

“Makes a story out of things he doesn’t understand, so it makes sense to the way his mind works,” Beverly said. “I can tell you’re very protective of Scout, so I won’t ask you to tell me your secret, but if I guess it, will you let me know if I’m right?”

“Sure. I guess.” This was getting weird and time was passing us by. Roy and Scout were crawling out of the back of the van now and Roy was still talking about custom features and emergency switches. They walked around to the front and Roy said, “Climb on in, son, and I’ll show you everything on the dashboard.”

Beverly leaned in so close her mouth was nearly up to my ear. She whispered loudly, “Scout told us about being an alien and needing to go home to his planet. And that you told him he couldn’t cure cancer here.” She smiled, the lines around her eyes crinkling. “When you say it like that, it doesn’t make much sense, does it?”

I shook my head. “No, it doesn’t.”

“So Roy and I came up with a theory of our own.” She put a grandmotherly hand on my shoulder. “We think your friend is an
illegal alien who needs to get to Canada for medical care, and that if you get stopped by the authorities, you’ll get in trouble because he’s been here illegally.”

I sucked in a breath, stunned at what they’d come up with. “That’s exactly right,” I said.

“I knew it. I knew it!” She practically crowed with satisfaction. “Roy figured out he was an illegal alien, but I was the one who figured out the cancer. Something about him just looks a little off, you know. I notice things.” She smiled. “I mean, he’s a good looking kid, but there’s something that’s different.”

“I know.”

“That cancer is a vicious thing.” Beverly tilted her head to one side and gave me a long look. “You really love him, don’t you?”

Her question caught me off guard. The answer was complicated. First and foremost, Lucas was the one I loved. As for Scout, well, originally all I wanted was for him to get out of my boyfriend’s body and be gone for good. I wouldn’t have cared if that meant an end to Scout’s life. And even knowing he had cured Lucas’s cancer, I’d considered him a trespasser. How dare he take over someone else’s body? What gave him the right?

But in the last few hours and days, my attitude had softened. This was a crazy, mixed-up galaxy and Scout was a lost soul just trying to get home. And I was the only one who could help him.

And it was more than that. When I looked at him now, I saw more than a stranger who’d taken over Lucas’s body. I knew Scout now. He was curious and sweet and thoughtful. Beverly was still waiting for my answer. “Yes, I really do love him,” I said.

She nodded. “I told you I notice things. You know, they’re curing cancer so much more now than they were even a few years ago. New treatments, new drugs. Your friend will probably be just fine.”

“I hope you’re right,” I said.

When Roy came back around to where we stood, he ceremoniously handed me the keys. “Scout says you’ll be the driver. Take good care of my baby.”

I took them and said, “When do we have to have it back?”

“Don’t matter,” Roy said, wiping his palm across his forehead. “A few hours, a few days, a few weeks. Whenever you’re done getting this boy home.” Next to him, Scout stood smiling, the happiest I’d ever seen him.

“Thank you,” I said. “I have some money. It’s not much, but I could—”

“No, no, no,” Beverly said. Next to her, Roy shook his head. “You keep your money. We want to do this.”

We climbed into the front and Roy spoke to me through the open window. He explained how to take an alternate route, a back road where we were unlikely to run into the agents. “You’ll loop around for a while, but eventually, it will take you back to the highway.”

“Will do.” I patted the dashboard. “Thank you again for helping us out,” I said. “I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”