CASSIE
As I suspected, it only took a couple of seconds for Jason to rush out of the cabin after me. He called my name, and when I didn’t answer, he headed for the road, walking fast at first, then running. I remained hidden around the side of the cabin until I was sure he was out of earshot, then I went the opposite direction.
Jason would go to the agency but only after he searched for me, which would give me a window of time to do what I wished I didn’t have to. I walked for a few miles, making sure I stayed out of sight, then found a moped parked outside a house that I swiped and used to get to Dane’s house. After I’d gone on that balloon tossing ride with Sydney, him, and the other members of the football team, he’d become a friend of sorts and said if I ever needed him, he’d help me.
I tapped on his bedroom window, then waited. I could hear his snores. The guy could sleep like the dead. I tapped harder a second time and was rewarded with a half-asleep Dane poking his face up close. When he saw me, he yelped, and jumped back. Pushing open the window, he said, “What the hell? You’re on the agency’s top ten most wanted list.” He held his hand out and helped me inside, then turned beet red when I looked at his comic book underwear. “My grandma gave them to me for—it doesn’t matter. What are you doing here?”
“I need something I can use as an explosive. I don’t want to blow anything up,” I assured him when his eyes widened. “I just want someone to think I will if they don’t do what I say.”
“Aiding and abetting, do you know what that means?” He folded his arms and scowled. “Did you and boyfriend really do all that stuff the agency says you did?”
“No.”
“Is Jason an alien?”
I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Aliens. Really?”
“Yeah. I guess that’s pretty stupid.” He scratched his head. “My dad has some rifle target explosives in the garage. You mix it, and then have to use a projectile to make it explode, but you can’t be within a hundred feet of it when it goes off. Seriously, it’s dangerous.”
“I understand. Do me a favor and call my mom and Syd. Let them know I’m okay.”
“Okay, fine.”
I waited for him to throw on a pair of sweat pants before he led us to the garage.
He looked around, then handed me a wrapped package from a bench. “Hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Me, too. One more thing. I need to borrow your car.” As soon as I asked, I knew that was a lost cause.
Dane shook his head. “Fat chance, fugitive.” He thought for a second. “My neighbor is out of town and I have the keys to her car. I’m supposed to start it for her every few days. You can use that as long as you bring it back in one piece.”
“Done,” I said. Whether I could keep that promise remained to be seen.
By the time I was in the woman’s car and on my way to the agency, the dark was already starting to fade on the horizon. I drove as close to the agency as I could, then parked where I could keep an eye on the main gate. By seven-thirty, several agency cars entered only to turn around and leave a few minutes later. I remained where I was until I saw the Ragespawn that was still pretending to be my father leave.
Since I couldn’t walk through the front and announce myself, not unless I wanted to see the business end of the guard’s gun, I went around the back of the property and hefted myself over the fence. I managed to cut myself twice on the sharp metal before I dropped to the ground. Hoping the Ragespawn hadn’t changed my father’s security pass code, I punched the number into the box by the back door. The lock clicked open, and I eased inside, scanning the hallway.
In a room to the left I could hear voices. Hurrying past the room, I headed straight for my father’s office. I didn’t expect the wall of emotions to slam into me. Brushing my fingers against an old ball cap hanging on the coat rack next to one of my real father’s jackets, I could almost sense his presence. One of his agency winter coats was still tossed across the back of the sofa by built-in bookcases. It took every ounce of willpower I had to push myself to keep moving. I pulled out the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet and knelt to stick my hand past the back of the last file.
My father had hidden records containing his DNA markers in case something happened to him. Science didn’t lie. I searched the chair the Ragespawn had used and collected hair strands. I dropped them into an envelope I found on the desk, then poured the coffee out of a paper cup from the desk and added that as well. I would get these tested and when they came back as Ragespawn DNA, it would prove he wasn’t my father. If the Ragespawn didn’t go along with my plan, I’d need these records.
Now, I had to trick the Ragespawn into meeting me at the spaceship. Hoping the creature still had my father’s phone, I used the office phone to dial the cell number. When the Ragespawn answered sounding so much like my father, it rendered me speechless for a second.
“What is it?” he demanded.
His tone grated on me. “You said you want the spaceship.” I sounded a whole lot braver than I felt.
“Cassie. Didn’t expect to hear from you.” He chuckled, and the sound made me shiver with fear. “You don’t know where it is.”
“I do.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I want you to clear my name and Jason’s name. Call a press conference. Say the agency made a mistake; Jason and I are innocent. Tell them someone faked the video or whatever you have to do.”
“Or how about I don’t do that. Instead, I find you, and make you tell me where the ship is.”
“I have enough explosives to blow the ship to pieces.” I paused to let that sink in.
“You have half an hour to make that conference happen. Once I see it air, I’ll call you and tell you where it is.”
When he didn’t say anything and I feared he wasn’t going to give in, I deliberately whined, “All I want is my life back. I want to be able to return to school and hang out with my friends. I want to get a scholarship and attend an—”
“Enough! You play me, human, and I’ll take apart everyone you care about right in front of you. Understand?” His words played into my fear that my plan wouldn’t work. My worst nightmare was failing and having this creature torture and kill my mom, Sydney, or Jason and me being powerless to prevent it. I took a calming breath. “When you speak at the conference, make us heroes.” I slammed the phone down, and took several breaths, surprised my legs were still able to hold me up.
The leather chair behind my father’s desk creaked when I spun it around to sit. After opening the laptop, I searched through the agency files until I pulled up the information I needed. I don’t know if it was my father who did it or if it was the Ragespawn but there was a database of addresses and phone numbers including the information about Jason’s family. There were notes documenting suspected alien activity. I deleted everything, then took out the screws holding the laptop together, and pulled out the hard drive.
Once I was done, I pocketed the hard drive, then picked up the phone and called Jason’s house. I was thankful his mom answered. I doubted his father would listen.
“Jason will meet you at the spaceship. It’s time to go home. You have to hurry and be careful. The Ragespawn posing as Sam Grant will be there.” I disconnected the call and started for the door, then decided to take the hat and coat with me. I covered my hair with the cap and put the coat on, then strode from the room with a confidence I didn’t feel.
As I bypassed an office, I snagged a cell phone lying unattended on a desk. Once I saw for myself the Ragespawn had held the press conference, I would go to the ship. Everyone would be in place and all I had to do was to be brave enough to make my plan a reality.
* * * *
An hour had passed since I talked to the Ragespawn. Being alone in the woods near the alien’s spaceship was a little unnerving because the Void was nearby and the creature would be here any second. My leg cramped, and I shifted my position, moving quietly so I wouldn’t rustle the leaves.
I studied them for a second, then picked one up. The edges of the leaf were black as if had been—
“Stupid human. Did you think you were smarter than me?”
I whirled around, nearly slipping on the covering of leaves. The Ragespawn who’d taken over my father’s body was less than three feet from me. I couldn’t back up and run. With a tree right behind me, I was trapped.
JASON
By the time I realized what Cassie was doing, it was too late to stop her. I only hoped I would get there in time to save her. I’d seen the press conference where the Ragespawn had announced our innocence. Somehow, she’d convinced the Ragespawn to clear our names. She’d given us both back our lives. I admired her bravery, but taking on a Ragespawn was way outside her ability.
I neared the rock where the spaceship was hidden, and saw the Ragespawn walking closer to Cassie. I saw the fear on her face, but she stood her ground. “If you kill me, you’ll never find the ship. You need my help to do it.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I kept up my end of the deal. Now where is it?”
I stepped into the open. I couldn’t let him hurt Cassie even if it meant giving up the spaceship’s location. “The ship is—”
A burst of power hit me on the arm, knocking me off my feet. With a loud curse, the Ragespawn ran behind the cover of a tree. At first, I thought the Ragespawn had done it, but when I rose, it was my father glaring at me. “Outcast! You will not give this creature our only way home.” He nodded at someone off to his left and Carl raised his hand toward Cassie.
“No!” I screamed. “Run, Cassie.” But she didn’t. If she was afraid, she was doing a good job of hiding it.
“If you kill me, you lose your ship.” Cassie stared Carl down. “I attached a rifle target explosive to the control panel on the side of your spaceship. There’s a rifle poised to fire at it. All I have to do is pull the string and the trigger will release. Your ship will explode.”
An unnatural stillness surrounded all of us. I didn’t think anyone had expected Cassie to face us all down. We were all at a loss for words. I couldn’t take a deep enough breath.
“What do you want?” my mother asked in a tight voice. She moved slightly to the right, trying to edge her way closer to Cassie.
Cassie tensed and kept a wary eye on her.
“Stop,” Eli begged, tugging on my mom’s arm. “Let’s hear her out.”
Cassie sent him a grateful smile. “You have to help stabilize the Earth’s core, and then if that works, you can leave.” She swallowed, glanced at me, then quickly looked away. “But some of you have to stay to help repair the damage the Voids have done in other places.”
My father shook his head. “You will receive no help from us, human.”
A burst of power landed close to my dad’s foot and we all ducked for cover.
“The ship is mine!” the Ragespawn screamed as he fired a second shot. He ran up behind Evonie and grabbed her. “Move, and I’ll break her neck.” Walking backward, he dragged Evonie with him. She struggled in his grasp but couldn’t get her palm toward him to be able to hit him with a burst of her power. None of us could fire at him without hitting her.
“Help me,” Evonie mouthed, her gaze meeting mine. Her eyes wide with terror.
The crack of the rifle firing ripped through the air, and the Ragespawn froze. “The next one goes into the explosive,” Cassie said, her finger shaking against the string.
“Ultimatums piss me off.” The creature jerked his hands swiftly to one side, breaking Evonie’s neck. Eyes staring at nothing, she dropped to the ground. Eli’s scream rang through my head as the Ragespawn charged my mother.
My father stepped between the two of them and barely missed taking a shot to the neck. With how fast the creature was moving, there was no way I had the element of surprise. The Ragespawn kept up a steady volume as he fired his shots at my father until he had him pinned in between two rocks.
Rushing toward the creature in a last ditch effort to save my parents, I leaped at him only to be blown backward by the force of an explosion. Chunks of rock and pieces of metal peppered the ground around us.
“No, no, no!” The Ragespawn dropped to his knees, then lifted his head toward the sky and screamed. Eli sneaked up behind him and fired a burst of power at the back of the creature’s head, then kicked him over onto his back and fired a shot at his abdomen.
“The stupid human destroyed our ship. Kill her,” Carl raged.
I couldn’t believe that Cassie had blown a hole in the spaceship. For a second, all I could do was stare at her in horror.
She didn’t run, but stood facing us with tears tracking down her face. “I’m sorry. I wish there had been another way.” She glanced where Evonie’s body lay and wept harder. “I know that you’re all smart enough to repair the ship and you will some day. But for now, you have to stay and help save the Earth if you want to stay alive yourselves.”
Carl made a guttural sound and ran at her. I was angry with Cassie, but I couldn’t let Carl hurt her.
I tackled Carl, knocking him to the ground. He screamed at me and fired a shot, burning through my jeans to sear the side of my leg. I grunted but wouldn’t let go of him. He buried his face into the soil and cried out his wife’s name. “Kill me,” he pleaded.
I squeezed his shoulder. “No.”
Cassie was pressed against a tree, still crying. “Jason, I’m—”
The betrayal of her actions tearing through my heart, I sliced my hand through the air. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” I asked.
“Yes, but—”
I rose. “It was a rhetorical question.” I glanced over my shoulder where my family huddled in conversation before I looked at her again. I kept my face emotionless. “They’re going to kill you, if not now, then they’ll try someday. Which means I either let you die or I have to fight against my family to save your life.”