Track 24

“Break On Through (To the Other Side)”

One Year Ago

On the football field, no one could outrun Jake Letoa. No one else could grip the ball and break through the defensive line, shrugging them off like flies. No one scored as many touchdowns throughout his high school career. No one was as focused on the game. Football was going to be his meal ticket to college.

Until an elbow from an opposing player struck his temple, and everything he thought he knew about his world changed.

Because when he came to, fragmented memories flooded his mind. Memories of a time when he could not outrun them, could not get a grip, could not shrug off the virtual flies.

Flat on his back, he stared past the concerned teammates who’d formed a ring around him. For a nanosecond, he thought he was surrounded by them—the creatures. Tormenters from the past. He kicked. Someone put a bag of ice to his forehead. Overlapping chatter about calling paramedics sounded increasingly frantic.

But he ignored all of them.

He sat up, brushing off hands that tried to help him. Pain bloomed from ear to ear as he got to his feet, but not for long. A corner of his mind heard the roar of the crowd. They were happy to see their hero rise once again.

He wasn’t sure if the humming he heard was the beginnings of a concussion. It seemed to come from outside of his head. Not from the bleachers, but from beyond the goal posts thirty yards away.

Robotically, he put one foot in front of the other, crossing soggy grass. His gaze fixed on a bank of floodlights.

The crowd hushed.

Jake stared unblinkingly at the lights. Studying those glowing, pulsing filaments. Trying to reassure himself. He knocked on one of the metal poles holding up the grid.

It’s not them. Not them watching over me. Thank fuck for that. A teammate ran up and thumped his shoulder lightly. “You all right, man? You’ve got me worried.”

“Yeah…uh, Luca. I just needed to check something.”

“Um, what? To see how many lightbulbs are out?”

Slowly, Jake turned to him. “To check that the aliens aren’t coming back for me.”

Luca’s concerned expression slipped, a look of panic taking its place. He flicked a glance at the coach jogging toward them. “And…are they?”

Lifting his face to the stars, he whispered, “I hope to God they’re not.”