SEVENTEEN

“Who’s here?” I ran to help Paco shove things into the empty bag. “How many?”

Giovanni looked out the window, making sure to stay out of sight. “Three, no four, all human. They’re going into the office…maybe that’s enough time.”

“Why would they just send humans?” I asked as I continued working.

Giovanni thought a moment. “I don’t think they know we’re here. They were sent to collect a woman and two children, all human.”

“That makes sense. But, we’ll never make it, not with the children,” I said and zipped Paco’s bag. Alegría stood in the corner of the room, her doll grasped in her arms, her face hidden behind it.

Lucia ran to the corner and took Alegría in her arms. “What do they want from us?”

“I’m not sure but we’ll get you out of here. I promise.” I looked at Giovanni whose face remained calm.

What can you do? I asked.

Besides what we’re doing now? Nothing. I’m just smart, strong, and dependable. He shrugged.

Great, that would do a lot of good in this situation.

What can you do? He asked as he walked over to where Paco stood as if cemented to the floor, his eyes wide and his hands shaking.

I can fly but not from the ground. I would need some place high…Oh, wait, that won’t help all of us. Oh, I can kind of mess with people’s minds.

What do you mean “kind of mess with their minds?

Well, I can make them see what I want them to see…

“That just might work,” he said aloud.

“What might work? Please, someone say something before they get here,” Lucia pleaded with us.

“We are planning something,” Giovanni explained and turned back to me. “Think you can make us invisible right now?”

“I don’t know,” I held Paco against me.

“Ouch!” he complained.

“I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” I backed away from him and he ran for his mother and sister but smiled at me, assuring me he wasn’t angry.

“Lily, now please, an answer. They are leaving the office.”

Taking a deep breath, I tried to ground myself. I had to try. I had to get these innocent people out of here safe and sound. I had to. “I think I can. Let’s try. If it doesn’t work, take them and leave the rest to me.”

“No. We go together.” Giovanni announced. “I am going to take my gun out, just in case. I will not use it unless I have to protect you,” he explained to the three cowering in the corner. “We are going to walk outside, close together, and get into the car. Please do not make a sound.”

“This is crazy. They are going to see us,” Lucia protested.

“If this plan works, they will not see us and we don’t want them to hear us either, so please, be as quiet as you can,” he explained with such authority I found myself nodding.

“Mamá, carry me,” Alegría asked already holding her arms up. Lucia looked at me and I nodded. The less footsteps, the better. Giovanni answered my thought by scooping Paco into his arms, gun ready in one hand.

“Whatever happens, we stay together,” I whispered to them, their eyes full of fear. “Ok, here we go.”

I took a deep breath and concentrated on the figures in front of me, picturing them as nothing but air. Giovanni, arms full, motioned with his head for Lucia to open the door. She turned wide eyes to me and I realized I had to concentrate harder. Her image wavered before my eyes before disappearing completely, just as I needed it to. Hopefully, it would last.

To our right, the four humans, three men and one woman, kicked doors open and searched rooms. I counted doors as we took tentative steps and felt panic when I saw they only had three more rooms to check before coming our way. As we inched our way toward the car, the images of Lucia, Paco, Alegría, and Giovanni wavered and swayed in front of me, coming in and out of focus as if a camera tried to zoom in on them. This would never work. I had to make them invisible before the others left the next room.

As we made slow progress on our path, a light breeze picked up the dust of the unpaved parking lot, blowing it in our faces. Alegría sneezed. We froze.

“She has allergies,” Lucia whispered.

“What was that?” The woman poked her head out of a room. A man stepped up behind her and stuck his head out, looking around the parking lot.

My eyes stayed in place, glued on the figures in front of me, picturing nothing but the ground, the trees in the distance, the few cars parked along the outer edge of the lot.

“Someone’s out here,” the woman said from the doorway. “Jorge, go look around.”

“It was nothing. It was just the wind, or a car, or something,” he argued.

“I said go look,” the woman commanded. “You two, next room.” The other two men walked out, following her orders. She stood outside the room, hands on her hips, as she looked in our direction.

Keep going…We’re almost there… I communicated to Giovanni.

She senses something…

I know…I’m working on it…Keep going…

While I concentrated on the scenery in front of me, I heard the woman’s footsteps as she left the room and slowly walked toward us. Lucia stopped breathing. Paco took a deep breath.

“Hello?” the woman called. “Who’s there?”

I looked back just long enough to see her arm stretch in front of her as if grasping for something. She just missed me. I nudged Lucia to walk faster. I concentrated harder, picturing a dog, his brown fur dirty and matted to his thin frame, his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth from thirst. Stray dogs were nothing new in these parts.

“I see no one. I looked all around the building,” Jorge said as he walked up to her. “Oh, look, it’s just a dog.”

“I could have sworn…Ok, back to work,” she said as she looked down. The dog was lying on the ground, scratching savagely at its neck. With a disgusted look on her face, the woman looked around one more time before following Jorge back to the row of doors.

She had come so close to discovering us, but my concentration remained solid.

Open the driver-side door, Giovanni. We can all get in that way and climb into our seats. I instructed.

Once we were seated, Giovanni pulled his door shut as quietly as possible. How do we get out of here without starting the car?

I hadn’t thought of that…What if I put in into neutral and you push, at least until we are a safe distance away?

We could do that, but they may notice a car moving with no driver.

That’s a chance we’ll have to take…

Before moving to the driver’s seat, I whispered, “Giovanni is going to push us until we are far enough to start the engine. Please stay down just in case.” I needed to focus on keeping Giovanni and I invisible while steering the car. I wasn’t sure my concentration would last long enough so I mentally let go of Lucia and her children for the time being. They ducked down in the seat, huddled together, as Giovanni started pushing. We rolled along the dirt path of the parking lot in the direction of the paved road leading out of town. So far so good. They were still busy searching rooms.

Lily, how far do you think before we start it?

Just a little more…Oh, no! They are coming out of Lucia’s room. Stop pushing for a moment.

Giovanni stopped pushing just as the woman’s head slowly turned, scanning the parking lot. I held my breath. She shook her head and walked into the open door to the next room. I exhaled. Giovanni resumed pushing the car.

We should be good. Get in… I instructed Giovanni. He ran to the passenger side and jumped in. I looked at him and sighed, turning the key.

“Step on it, Lily,” he looked back. “I’m sure they heard me closing the door.”

The three huddled on the back seat stopped breathing; their heart beats speeding in my ears.

“Can you do something, disguise us, make us invisible again?” Giovanni asked as he signaled for the others to stay down.

“I’m trying,” I accelerated as soon as the road allowed, the tires kicking up stones and hitting the sides of the car. Alegría screamed. “I have to concentrate on keeping us on the road.”

Up ahead, the road began to curve uphill. I gripped the steering wheel tighter. Though I couldn’t see them in the rearview mirror yet, I heard their tires screeching as their car made its way out of the dirt lot.

“They are coming, mamá,” Paco yelled behind me.

“Get down, Paco. We’ll lose them,” I tried to assure him though I wasn’t sure I believed it myself.

“Lily, watch out!” Giovanni yelled as we approached the first turn in the narrow road. I jerked the wheel to the right, the car balancing on two wheels before landing on all four with a bang. Screams turned to the squeals of pleasure from the children in the back seat. “I can see them now. They’re catching up!” Giovanni warned as the road straightened again. In the rearview mirror, their vehicle made an appearance in a cloud of dirt. I stepped on the gas, hoping the little piece of junk we rented would cooperate.

“Seat belts everyone,” I yelled behind me. “But keep your heads down.” The rustle of clothing and the acceleration of hearts and breath in the back seat told me they were doing as I said. As seat belts clicked into place, I coaxed the car to an impossible speed on such a narrow curving road.

“They’re getting close. Can’t this thing go any faster?” Giovanni yelled.

I pushed the accelerator to the floor. The car rattled and shook. “Doesn’t look like it. Take the wheel,” I yelled to Giovanni as the wind hissed in my ears.

“What are you going to do?”

I took a deep breath and gripped the door handle. “I’m going after them.”

“Are you crazy?” he yelled.

“Lily, don’t,” Lucia pleaded from the back seat, her eyes in the rear view mirror wide and terrified.

“We have no choice. This car won’t go any faster. They’re getting too close,” I explained as we were jerked forward with a heart wrenching bang. They were trying to push us off the road.

Giovanni grabbed the wheel and nodded, his focus straight ahead, as I rolled the window down further and gripped the roof with both hands. “I’m going for it…just keep driving and get them out of here!”

Sitting on the window ledge, the wind blew my hair in my face, blinding me almost completely. I took a deep breath and pictured Christian’s face before pulling myself up onto the roof. Even on my hands and knees, the wind from the speed of the little car rocked my body and threatened to throw me where ever it wished. I concentrated on keeping myself, hair around my eyes and in my mouth, steady.

Giovanni, warn me if you’re going to turn…

Pretty straight for a while…be careful…

I had to act before the humans started shooting. Fighting the wind to keep my balance, I bent my knees and pulled the hair off my face with one hand while keeping the other out to my side. I threw my hair behind me, letting the wind take over while I freed my hand, stretching my arm out in front of me. Would this work? I had no idea. Flying was something completely different from what I was about to do now.

Lily, the road curves in less than a mile…hurry!

My fangs protruded without intent as a fierce growl escaped my throat. With my knees bent and my head forward, I pushed off the roof of the speeding car. The wind pushed me back as my arms flailed in front of me to counteract it. I pictured Christian’s blue eyes before I slammed into their hood with a deafening crunch.