The Arrival (9 page)

The plan I thought was crazy now sounded
completely insane. Dr. Ridus had no idea if the serum would even work. Hell, it
might even kill me. Was it really worth the risk? If Kate heard all of that,
she would back out--no question about it. I had to think about what to tell
her.

“So, let me guess. I’ll have to wait
twelve hours before I give myself another dose, which doubles my risk of
bleeding out as well.”

He resituated his glasses on his nose.
“That is correct.”

“Let’s say it doesn’t kill me, I use the
tracker, and it picks up my signal. It will send a message to the mainframe,
and Cyrus will be informed of the missing device and know that I have it. Dimas
would order I return immediately.” I reviewed the data transmission process from
the tracking devices to the computer system. They knew which devices sent what
signals.

If only there was a way to disable the
identification signal from the equipment.

 “That is a risk you will have to take.”
Dr. Ridus gave me a sympathetic smile.

The real question he failed to ask:
Was
I willing to take it?

I looked at Gaby. She chewed on her
fingernail and then stopped when she caught my gaze. She lifted her chin and
said, “You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”

“What about Kate? How much should she
take?”

“The same thing applies to her,” Dr.
Ridus said with a solemn expression.

I nodded and closed my eyes momentarily,
while I measured the risk carefully. I could die taking the serum. I could die
from complications from the genetic modification. I could die at the hands of
Dimas. I could die from a hovercraft crash. I could even die on the way home in
a car wreck. Either way, I could die.

But what if I didn’t die? What if I
lived, saved every girl at Nidus, and spared every girl that would eventually
have to face testing? What if I actually saved the human race?

Freedom.

Was it worth dying for?

Hell, yeah.

Pushing all negative thoughts aside, I
held out my hand. “Give me the vials.”

θ

“You ready, Kate?” I asked, as I entered
her room.

“Hey.”  She heaved a sigh, and her
shoulders relaxed. “I started to get worried.” She pushed me into the bathroom.
“So, what happened?”

“No time, Kate.”  Despite my urge to
give a quick play-by-play of the scenes from the Tech Lab and Med Center, I
pointed to my watch. We had exactly thirty minutes before our flight departed.
“I’ll tell you later. Oh, and it’s probably best if we don’t say anything or
try to discuss the plan on the flight. The hovercrafts have eyes mounted
everywhere. I’m sure they will be watching and recording us.”

“Okay, I understand.” She bit her lower
lip and cast me a stare of disappointment. “Did Dr. Ridus make the serum?”

“Yes.”

She yanked my arm.  “And?”

“Don’t worry. Everything’s in place.
After we get home, I’ll come to your house, tell you what happened, and we can
figure out our next steps.”

“All right.”  She nodded
enthusiastically.  “Sounds like a plan. See you out front.”

I hated to keep Kate in the dark, but
she tended to worry and talk too much. The less she knew the better. At least
for now.

On the way to the flight deck, Kate and
I kept our conversations to a minimum. Dimas had the eyes watching. At the same
time, I didn’t want to seem suspicious, so I told her to act excited that we
were going home.  Well, she didn’t have to act.

Thirty minutes later, we landed at
Myrtle Beach International Airport. I wondered why we no longer got center
stage access to the town square, like they did when they took us. Being the
city mayor, I guess Dad felt it was unnecessary. The town square or
‘Market
Common’
had grown into a full-fledged shopping mall, with restaurants
galore, not to mention a huge tourist attraction. It never made sense to me why
they landed the hovercraft in Valor Park.

We stepped from the aircraft directly
onto a section of the runaway blocked off at the corner of the airport. Our
parents waited for us several feet away. Kate and I hugged, and I promised I’d
call her. Mom waved as she held onto Dad’s elbow for support. Her copper red
hair glistened in the hot setting sun, and her sheer dress clung to her long
and slender body. Dad stood with his arms crossed in front of him, retaining
his reserved stance. Neither one of them had changed, with the exception of Mom
appearing thinner and Dad’s hair turning slightly more gray than brown.

The minute I saw my brother, Matt, I
wanted to hug the little guy. It had been way too long since I had felt his munchkin
hands tickling my sides. I did a quick perimeter check, hoping to see Bryce.
Knowing Mom, she had called his mom, told her I was coming home, and asked if
he wanted to join them. But Bryce was nowhere to be found, and by the
expression on Mom’s face, I knew she had heard the news.

“Oh, baby. I’m so glad you’re home.” Mom
embraced me in the tightest bear hug ever.

I squeezed her petite frame, finding
comfort in the fresh scent of her shampoo, body lotion, and perfume. The three
fragrances converged together creating her very own signature scent. “It’s good
to be home.”

“I’m sorry about you and Bryce,” she
whispered in my ear.

A lump quickly formed at the back of my
throat. I took a deep breath and swallowed it. I wouldn’t cry. Not now.
“Thanks, Mom.”

I turned to Dad. “Good to see you,
Miranda.” He leaned forward and gave me a kiss on the forehead, his typical way
of either greeting me or saying goodbye. Would it kill him to tell me how much
he loved and missed me? Just that one time?

“Hi, Dad.”  I gave him a heartfelt
smile, hoping to warm his cold demeanor. “I missed you.”

He nodded, keeping the same straight
face that masked every emotion.

A tear seeped from the corner of my eye.
For a moment, I thought it might stir something inside him but it didn’t. I had
no idea how my mother had a relationship with him. I guess that’s why she made
it a point to show us how much she loved and cared for us.

I bent and spread my arms wide, eager to
hug my baby brother. “Matt, I’ve missed you so much.” Instead of leaping into
my arms, like he normally did, he hid behind Mom.

“Matt, what’s wrong?” Mom said, trying
to unlatch him from her leg. “It’s your sister, Miranda. Give her a hug.”

But Matt only retreated further behind
her.

“Come on, Matt.” I waved a welcome.
If
only I had a present for him.
Then I remembered the flag pendent on my bag.
I unpinned it, and held it up. “Look, I’ve got something for you.”

 Matt shook his head.

“Boy, what’s wrong with you?” Dad
demanded. “Give your sister a hug.”

“No!”  Even Dad’s stern voice didn’t
propel Matt to move forward. He pointed at me. “She has cooties. Send her
back.”

“What? No I don’t.” I flicked my
fingers. “Who told you that?”

“The kids at school.”

The smile on my face faded, and an ache
formed in the center of my chest, which seemed to suck the life from me. How
could my Matty not want a hug from me? Had Dad transformed him while I was gone?
What were people saying about me? I slumped down and choked on the sobs that
threatened to escape. I refused to manipulate Matt into feeling sorry for me.
Heaving a sigh, I dropped my empty arms to my side.

***

“Do you need help with anything else?” I
asked Mom, putting away the dish soap. We finished cleaning up after eating my
favorite meal: Mom’s home cooked pot roast, mashed potatoes, and corn. A nice
change from the food at Nidus. I thought I’d be craving junk food but after
devouring a burger and shake the night I came home, I decided I could live
without the upset stomach.

“No, dear, that’s all.” She dried her
hands on a towel.

I leaned against the kitchen island,
strumming my fingers along the marble counter top. I expected everything to
remain the same, but things were different. Home was not the same as when I
left nine months ago. Matt kept to himself. And even my bestie, Carlie, was
acting strange, making excuses as to why she couldn’t meet up with me. I wanted
everything back to normal.

But nothing was normal.

“Is everything all right?” Mom pushed a
strand of hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear.

The words lingered on the tip of my
tongue, anxious to escape. I had to tell her and Dad what was taking place at
Nidus. If anyone would understand and sympathize with me, it would be Mom. With
her on my side, I hoped we could combine our girl power to overcome my dad’s indifference.
But it wouldn’t be easy. Several days had passed, and I couldn’t put off what I
had to do any longer.

“I have to talk to you and Dad.” I tried
to conceal the severity of the issue behind a gentle smile. I didn’t want her
to worry. Mom tended to take that burden on herself. Maybe because Dad lacked
sympathy and never showed us any concern. I felt bad for Mom. Everything rested
on her shoulders, and it showed in the crevices at the corners of her lips and
the streaks of grey hair. I’d have thought after eighteen years of marriage,
she would have given up on him. Not Mom. No, she believed in marriage until
death. No matter what, she stood by Dad’s decisions. Always making excuses for
his attitude and behavior, pointing to the stress of his job as mayor or what
he experienced in the military. Unfortunately, that didn’t work on us.

“Okay.”  She cupped my cheek with her
hand. “Something tells me things aren’t going well at Nidus.”

Did she see the worry on my face? Or
maybe she automatically felt sorry for me? I settled for Mom’s intuition. “No,
they’re not,” I muttered, shaking my head as I stared at the floor.

“Well, come on.”  She led me into the
family room.  “Let’s catch him while we have the chance.”

As we walked down the hallway, Dad’s
deep laughter roared above the TV. I checked the time. Fifteen after seven. He
was probably watching re-runs of his favorite sitcom,
Seinfeld
.

When we entered the room, my intuition
proved right. Jerry Seinfeld and characters Elaine Benes and Kramer dominated
the sixty-inch screen. The show had Dad so engrossed that he hadn’t even
acknowledged our presence. He sat with his feet propped up, reclining in his
chair, while chewing on a cigar. If not for Mom, he’d actually be smoking it.
The one thing she didn’t allow him to do was to smoke in the house.

As I sat on the couch, Mom perched on
the armrest of his chair. We watched the episode with him, waiting patiently
for it to end. I laughed when he did, trying to show genuine interest, thinking
it might help me earn some points. But he didn’t notice, or if he did, he
ignored me.

As soon as the credits rolled, Mom gave
me the signal. It was now or never.

“Dad, I need to tell you and Mom
something.” I moved from the couch to the coffee table, positioning myself before
him.

He continued to chew on the end of his
cigar, his attention on the big screen.

“Dad?”

“Richard?” Mom spoke, while smoothing
the sleeve of his shirt.

“What do you want, Miranda?” he asked,
pretty much ignoring us. I thought about blurting,
‘I’m pregnant,’
but
figured that wouldn’t be a great start. “Where’s the remote?”  He glanced
around the living room, not moving from his relaxed position.

I picked up the control lying next to me
and turned off the TV.

“Why’d you do that? Turn it back on--now.”
A deep frown etched across his face, and his nostrils flared.

My heart knocked rapidly against the
inside of my chest, as if preparing my body for a sprint. I refused to run. I’d
keep my cool.

“I’m sorry, Dad.” I leaned forward,
resting my arms on my thighs. “I really need to talk to you guys. This is
serious.”

Dad rolled his eyes and pulled out a
newspaper tucked at his side.

“Richard, please. Miranda needs us,” Mom
said, drawing the paper from his grasp.

He gave me a cold, hard stare as he
brought his feet down and swiveled until he faced me. “What do you want?”

I swallowed the huge lump in my throat,
trying to free my airway so my voice didn’t squeak. Dad hated whiners. “Things
are really bad at Nidus.”

“You want to complain to me about
Nidus?” He yanked his cigar out of his mouth. He had the words
‘wasting my
time’
written across his big forehead.

“No, Dad. Not complain. Inform you and
Mom about what they are doing to us, to me, your daughter.”

“Oh, hell.”  He glanced at Mom. “Didn’t
you tell her about the birds and the bees?”

With a perplexed expression, Mom
shrugged. “Well, yes.”

A surge of heat rushed through me. I
balled my hands into fists, digging my nails into my palms. The man was an
idiot. “No—I mean, yes. I know about sex and reproduction. I know more than I
have ever wanted to know, thanks to the Eslites. This is beyond the egg
extractions and hormone therapy we endure every month.” I doubted he read the
reports or knew whether or not I took the hormones.

“Then what is this about?” He let out a
long and drawn out breath. The smell of wet tobacco blew across my face, making
me want to puke.

I swallowed hard. I couldn’t throw up
now, so I fanned the space in front of me.

“Yes, please, tell us. You’ve got me
worried.” Mom covered her mouth.

“They are breaking the agreement.
Several of us have already gone through three egg extractions, and they have no
intention of releasing us.”

“I thought you’d only had two.” He
narrowed his stare.

“Yes, but—”

“Then why are you complaining? They
haven’t broken the agreement.”

“Yes, they have. They are doing genetic
modification on us. And on our eggs. They are trying to make our offspring
one-hundred percent Eslite.”

Mom gasped. “Oh, no.”

“Will you two relax?”  Dad chuckled.
“That’s why they’re here in the first place.”

“What?” I cradled my head in my hands,
completely taken aback by his comment. “You knew about this?”

In a nonchalant manner, he chewed his
cigar. “No, I didn’t know anything about genetic modification, whatever the
hell that is. What I’m referring to is the reason they’re on Earth. They need
to produce offspring to save their race. That means if they need to do some type
of modification to get a species similar to their own, then they have a right
to do that.”

“Are you sure? It sounds like they are
stepping out of bounds,” Mom slid from the armrest and moved to the window seat.

He glared, as though daring her to
question to him.

“Just asking.”  She lowered her chin in
submission.  Mom and I were totally different when it came to confrontation.

“No, they don’t.”  I sprung from the
coffee table. “They don’t have a right to do this to my body or any other
girl’s body, for that matter!”