Track 61

“This Tornado Loves You”

Present Day

“This is it. We’ll walk from here,” I tell Jake and Alondra on the service road leading to Eden Estate. And I tell myself to keep my focus on the task ahead.

Easier said than done.

Alondra filled me in on a few of the documents they’d found while I was getting my heart torn out at Hayden’s house. But I could barely concentrate on what they were telling me. Government experiments. Cover-ups. Charlie must have known. Those files were stored at his and Dad’s firm. Is he in on all this? My father, too?

I cast another bereft look at the clear night sky. The storm has well and truly passed.

When I met Jake and Alondra at my house, they were both pale. They’d worked out a way to communicate through text messaging each other. They, too, had witnessed the ship as it passed like a black cloud over Saddleback Ridge, carrying the McGraws to an unknown universe. Incredibly, not a single post on our social media feeds reported on it.

It’s still hard to comprehend that I’ll never see Hayden again. Never feel the warmth of his kisses or his intense dark eyes. I can’t even send him a random text and expect a reply—not all the way from Agua. No Instagram account to stalk. No glimpse of him in the hallways at school. It’ll almost be like he’s…dead.

I shake my head to vanquish that thought.

Hayden is not dead. He will always be alive in my heart and in my hopes. Some way, somehow, we’ll see each other again. I have to believe that.

Jake parks his truck under shadowy trees on the interstate’s shoulder. From a tool chest in the back, he gets out a pair of bolt cutters. Alondra gives my shoulder a sympathetic squeeze, then glances around uneasily. Tall pines tower around us, forming an almost impenetrable wall along the lonely highway. Apart from distant coyotes and nearby crickets, there’s not a soul to be seen or heard.

“I don’t think we should go in without weapons,” Jake says.

“You mean guns?” Alondra signs. “Do you know how to use one?”

“No,” he admits. “But I’m a quick learner.”

“Putting aside the fact we can’t just raid a gun shop at ten o’clock at night, we are not using guns.” I turn my phone on vibrate-only and slide it into my back pocket. “Someone could get accidentally hurt or killed.”

“I agree with Cassidy,” signs Alondra. “Besides, I want answers from these guys. Can’t get anything out of them if they’re dead. But feel free to knock them upside the head with those bolt cutters.”

“Hands, feet, knees, nails, teeth—those are our weapons.” I start tramping uphill. A three-quarter moon illuminates our path. I’m grateful it gives just enough light for Alondra and me to communicate meaningfully. It’s vital she sees my facial expressions as well as gestures..

“Guys, we should head into the woods instead of sticking to the road,” Jake suggests.

“Good idea.” I shine my phone’s flashlight onto the overgrown shrubs. Vines tangle with rusty barbed wire. “Could you do the honors, please?”

“Sure.” Using the bolt cutters, Jake clips away sections of the slack barbed wire. “Through here.”

A few steps away, Alondra’s standing by herself, frowning toward the interstate. I round back to her and sign, “What is it?”

“I just feel like we’re being watched.” Alondra shifts from foot to foot. “Or followed.”

I squint at the tarmac stretching into the distance. “Did you see something? Like a drone or another car?”

“I saw a black town car at that gas station we passed a few miles back.”

“What about it?”

Alondra peers back at the empty highway. “I’m probably just paranoid, but…it seemed to be following us. Not closely. For a few miles, every time I turned around, there it was.”

“Where did you last see it?”

“At the turn-off. They kept going on the interstate.”

“Are you guys coming?” Jake whisper-shouts.

I cast another look down the road and listen. There isn’t a soul around. Or a black town car. “Yeah, we’re coming.”

In the thick woods, we dodge spiky bushes and prairie dog holes. Ten, twenty, who knows how many minutes later, we’re facing Eden Estate.

“This is your mom’s hospital? It looks like it needs to be bulldozed,” Jake says.

“I think they want it to look uninhabitable so no one would disturb whatever freaky shit they do here,” I sign. The guard’s booth is empty. Somewhere close by, a creature squawks.

“But why not just hire tons of security people?” he asks.

“Budget cutbacks?” I study the sprawling, rundown building. Boards cover windows. Gutters hang sideways, dragged down by years of dust and cobwebs. Over the front gate, a single feeble light shines. I move to a dark section of chain-link fence and grab the bolt cutters. “Let’s get started.”

I clip a single rusty wire. Each of us stops breathing. Waiting for an alarm to wail or for a fleet of drones to dive-bomb us. When nothing happens, I keep going. Each snip sounds like a shot from a cannon to my ears.

“What are we gonna do once we’re inside?” Jake asks me.

“Search room by room until we find my mother. And we’ll do it as quietly as possible. So turn your phones on silent. Switch to dark mode, too, so your screens won’t stand out.”

“You know what we should do? Split up. We’ll cover more ground that way,” Jake says. I stare at him, incredulous. “I’m kidding. I’ve always wanted to say that. Classic horror movie stuff.”

Alondra signs, “I think you’re right. Someone needs to keep a lookout. I’ll hide out here and let you know if someone comes.”

Jake shakes his head. “I can’t leave you out here alone.”

“Why not? I’m deaf, not helpless. I’ll stay behind these bushes.”

Jaw clicking, Jake nods. “Point taken.”

“Okay, guys.” I push through the fence. Sharp wire scrapes my arms and legs, but I ignore the pain. “Text me if you see anyone coming. I’m going in.”

The sound of an engine in the distance makes me freeze. I squint in the direction of the interstate. There’s no glow of headlights.

“What is it?” Alondra signs.

I signal to both of them to crouch and be still.

Car doors thump quietly, as if the people were trying to close them without drawing attention to themselves.

“Someone’s coming,” I sign as I whisper, tightening my grip on the heavy bolt cutters. I glance at Jake. He’s low to the ground, looking like a coiled spring. “Don’t move a hair.”

Alondra taps on my knee. “It’s those people who were following us. I’m sure of it.”

I shrug helplessly and peer through the bushes. The tops of two heads bobble. Right. Toward. Us. Not a word passes between them. They must have been tracking us. With every cautious footstep that crushes dry, fallen leaves, my heart pounds. Though the night is cold, sweat forms on my brow. As they come ever closer, I bunch myself into a ball, keeping my head down.

“Cassidy?”

I snap my head up, almost giving myself whiplash. I blink once, twice, a hundred times before I can believe what’s in front of me. Or rather, who.

“H-Hayden?”

With Olympic-level agility I didn’t know I possessed, I leap up onto him and wrap my legs around his waist. Hayden doesn’t even stagger at the sudden acrobatics. I slide down to the ground. He buries his face into my neck, the stubble tickling me, telling me I’m not dreaming.

“It’s really me.” Hayden stares at me with a tide of emotions washing over his features. He cups one side of my face, then kisses me sweetly. When he drags himself away, I’m so dizzy I have to cling to his arms to keep from falling.

“But I saw your ship leave,” I say, savoring the taste of him on the tip of my tongue.

“It left without us.” He grips my hand like he’s never letting go. “I don’t know what you said to Lindsay, but it worked. She and Sam are circling on the interstate with Trudy, ready to back us up.”

“I’m so glad your mom saw the light.” I didn’t say much to her. Not out loud, anyway. She must have heard my silent pleas. I just hope there won’t be any consequences for the family unit. Like being sent to an icy planet on the far side of the universe for disobeying an evacuation order. “Does this mean you’re staying?”

He clears his throat, then signs as he says, “For as long as we can.”

It’s not lost on me that he means there’ll be a time in the future when it really will be goodbye for good, when his mission on Earth is officially over. But I can’t allow myself to think of that day right now. There’s still tonight to get through. Still time to find a way to stop whoever’s abducting us.

“Ahem. Did you miss me, too?” Angie taps me on the shoulder and grins. She’s entwined with Jake, whose face is a picture of bamboozlement, eyes wide with shock. Instead of her usual top-to-toe fall colors, Angie’s wearing all-black clothing. Behind them, Alondra looks bemused, her lips turned downward. “Jake told me everything.”

“Angie…” I breathe.

“Don’t worry. My lips are sealed shut. If you don’t believe me, Hayden—aka Zhor of Agua—will permanently seal them for me.”

“I would never do something like that,” Hayden signs.

“Right, your type of aliens don’t interfere, blah, blah, blah.” She tosses her hair and turns to me. “I went to your house to see if you were okay after saying goodbye to Zhor. Imagine my surprise when I saw him trying to laser down your front door.”

“I wasn’t trying to break in,” signs Hayden, darting glances from me to the others then back to Angie. “And I did not use lasers.”

“I know. You used your brain power,” I sign. Then I squeeze him tight as if to prove to myself he’s really here and not a hologram or something.

Angie beams at all of us and claps her hands. “Okay, so what’s the plan? Are we gonna get these creeps or not?”

…

A ring of overgrown shrubs surrounds the sprawling building. I gesture for Hayden and Alondra to follow me single file into the shadows. When we’re in line with the wide front porch, we wait. I scan around for surveillance cameras or movement inside the dark building. Since the three of us can communicate with sign language, I figured it would be best to let Jake and Angie keep watch from the estate’s perimeter.

I shiver. Not just from the cold, but from a burst of anxiety. What if we are being watched and we’re heading into a trap? What if I’m putting Mom in even more danger by breaking in?

But the way I see things now, I have no choice. I’ve got to take this risk.

Hayden nudges me. “I see a broken window on the side. What do you say we try that first?”

“Yep. Not as noisy as jimmying open the door,” I sign, fingerspelling some of my words because I’m distracted by the thought that Mom could be hurt during this operation. “And we should keep singing with each other, too, instead of using our voices.”

Hayden smothers a laugh.

“What’s wrong with that?” I sign.

Alondra grins. “I’m presuming you meant signing, not singing.”

“Yes, signing.” I give myself a swift mental kick. The movements for the two words are completely different. Even a beginner in ASL wouldn’t mix them up. Flustered, I sign, “Sorry. It won’t happen again, I swear. I’m a bundle of nerves right now. I just want to bust my mother out of this horrible place.”

“I get it. But if you’re looking to get more interpreter gigs on TV, you’d better practice a hell of a lot more,” Alondra says, then she flashes me a sympathetic smile that tells me all’s forgiven. “Come on, let’s go.”

We sprint across the shadowy grass. Of course, with his long legs and Aguan speed, he quickly takes the lead. Using his height advantage, Hayden peers into the broken window.

“See anything?” I sign once Alondra and I catch up.

He shakes his head. “It’s empty. Just a big desk and a wall of bookcases.”

Carefully, he chisels off jagged glass from the windowsill with his bare hands. He grabs me by the waist and hoists me up. On the other side, I land on a rug. Dust puffs around my ankles. The others clamber in behind me. The room looks like a study. One nobody has used for half a century or more.

Dr. Davis had mentioned renovations were underway. But I can’t smell fresh paint or newly sawn timber.

A big clunky typewriter sits on the enormous desk. Cobwebs cling to the keys. The spider that crafted them is long gone. One corner of the desk houses a black rotary phone. Impulsively, I pick up the handset. To my surprise, there’s a dial tone.

Which means the phone service is still connected.

Interesting.

Tilting my head, I listen to the building. Listen for a presence other than us. Try to get a sense of whether or not it’s truly abandoned.

I gesture for the others to follow me, and open the door a crack. The creak of the hinges is so loud it might as well be gunfire. Grimacing, I check the hallway. All’s quiet. Nothing’s stirring, not even a mouse. I tiptoe out of the study and realize we’re in the corridor beside the main staircase. Hayden’s so close behind me that his breath heats my neck.

Moonlight spills in from the windows, showing dark stains in the tired linoleum. The reception desk is silent.

Something glitters in the corner of my eye. I glance down. In a trash can by the desk is the foil pack of speculaas. Unopened. A quake ripples through my body, making me convulse.

“Oh no…” I moan.

Hayden’s at my side in a nanosecond. “What is it?”

“Those are the Dutch cookies I brought for Mom on my first visit here.” I breathe rapidly, trying to calm myself down. “She wouldn’t have thrown them away. I bet that asshole doctor did it. And if a basic thing like trash is being neglected, what does that say about how well they’re taking care of her?”

Hayden gives me a sympathetic squeeze. “Let’s keep looking. We’re gonna find her. You can shower her with cookies once we’re out of here.”

Steeling my spine, I glare around the foyer. I point to the next level. “I think Mom’s room is up there.”

Hayden pulls my arm as I make a move to go upstairs. “I thought we were going room by room. There are still a couple down here to look at.”

I swallow hard. Pale rectangles stand out against peeling, grimy walls—ghosts of long-gone paintings. “I know I said that, but…I’ve just got to check there first. I’ll come right down, I swear.”

Alondra plasters herself to a wall at the bottom of the staircase. “I’ll wait here and keep watch. Don’t dawdle.”

“I’ll go with you.” Hayden takes the stairs three at a time alongside me.

My heart hammers as I stare at the first closed door. Could Mom be in there? Pressing my ear against it, I listen for the sound of a TV or some other signs of life.

“Anything?” Hayden lifts an eyebrow. When I shake my head, he reaches for the doorknob and twists it.

Even before the door opens fully, I know the room’s empty. Stagnant air greets us. I turn on my phone’s flashlight, revealing a timber floor covered by a small area rug. A bed stands in the middle of the room. Its wafer-thin mattress and dark iron frame scream prison bunk to me. Next to it is a nightstand, bare. A wardrobe, bare. Two windows on either side of the bed are nailed down. Behind the thick curtains, I find glass that’s almost opaque thanks to a stubborn layer of dirt.

My heart splits in two. There’s nothing personal in this room. No books, no artwork, no TV. No stimulation of any kind. Even the walls are a lifeless gray.

His face lit from below, Hayden looks slightly scary. But a lot scared. “This might be another patient’s room.”

“I hope it’s no one’s room.”

He kisses me on the head and flashes a quick smile. “Don’t worry. I think we’re close. We’ll find your mom.”

He’s lying through his teeth. Or rather, through his hands.

But I love him for it anyway.

I watch him head out to the balcony overlooking the main foyer, then cast one last look around the cold, lifeless room as I back out over the threshold.

“Oh, sorry, Hay—”

A strong set of hands grips me so hard I yelp.

My whole body turns to ice as a low voice growls into my ear, “Nice to see you again, Cassidy. You’re earlier than scheduled, but I’m sure we can accommodate you.”

Panicked, I whip my head around. All I can glimpse is an old man wearing a calm, yet intimidating smile.

“Dr. Davis?”

He grins. Right before he stabs me with something sharp. My skin burns. I try to scream, punch, claw, but somehow it feels like my muscles are dissolving into nothing.

In a soothing voice, he says, “If you think it’ll make you feel better, sure, I can be Dr. Davis.”