“Early this morning there were these . . . lights in the sky,” Sigrid explained. “Like rings. And then the news said there were spaceships. Aliens. Everyone’s been calling them the Visitors.”
Leo couldn’t believe it. The guy on the highway had been right.
“But before they could say much else, everything got zapped,” Sigrid continued. “No power, no telephones, nothing. I heard one army guy call it an EMP—electromagnetic pulse.” She shook her head. “How could you not know about this? It’s all everyone was talking about at school today.”
“Neither of us were there this morning,” Leo said. He looked over and saw James staring down at his knees.
“I was playing video games all morning. My mom kept calling me, and I didn’t feel like answering. She was trying to tell me.” James clenched his fists. “Do you know if they evacuated DPI too?”
“I mean, it sounded like they were making everybody leave,” said Sigrid. “They might have cleared our town because of the DPI buildings. Who knows what kind of stuff they’ve got going on in there. Maybe they thought the EMP made it risky.”
“I should have answered the phone.” James sighed. “She would have told me what to do. And she probably left a voicemail, but I can’t even check it now. I’m an idiot!”
“You didn’t know,” Leo said. That didn’t seem to bring James much comfort. Leo tried to change the subject. “If they were evacuating everyone at the schools, why did you come home?” he asked Sigrid.
“Because of Sandy.” She reached down and rubbed Sandy’s ears. “I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving her. I live with my grandparents, and they both teach at the elementary school. I knew they’d be with those kids in the transport. Everyone was panicking at the school, so I sneaked out an emergency exit. I thought I could get Sandy and bring her back with me in time, but when I got back to the school the transports had already left. I would have gone after them, but I didn’t exactly want to go by myself. I’ve been sticking around here until I can figure out what to do next.”
“How long until everyone comes back?” James asked.
She shrugged. “They didn’t say.”
“Do you know where they went?”
“Actually, yes,” she said, perking up. “The old Air Force base.”
“That’s a long way away,” said James.
“Well, yeah. That’s why I haven’t tried to head there on my own.”
Leo sighed. “So we can either try to make our way to the Air Force base with no idea of how to get there and no GPS, or we can stay in town and hope everyone comes back soon.” He looked at James. “What do you want to do?”
Sigrid watched quietly as both boys thought it over.
“Well,” James said eventually, “we don’t know when everyone will be back. For all we know they’re already on their way home.”
“That’s true,” Sigrid said.
“And,” he continued, “what if we leave right as they’re coming back? We might take a different route and pass them completely.”
“Then we’d be stuck at the Air Force base by ourselves. Back to square one,” Leo added. “So . . . we wait it out here? At least for a few days?”
James nodded, and they both looked to Sigrid, who leaned back in her chair. “Well, you both know my plan was already to stay put. You guys could stay here with me if you want. Our kitchen is pretty well-stocked with food.”
“My house is outside of town,” James said. “I’d rather stay here.”
“Yeah, okay,” Leo agreed. “Beats being home alone.” He smiled at Sandy, who crossed through the room. “And at least we have a guard dog here.”
Sigrid grinned. “Best guard dog around.”
All three were quiet for a moment, glancing around the room. Leo noticed Sigrid’s fingers tapping against the table, and he wondered if she was missing the habit of checking her phone as much as he was.
“Well,” James said. “We’re the only ones left in town. I say we make the most of it.”
Leo was about to say something in agreement when they heard James’s stomach growl loudly. His face flushed red, and he gave them a sheepish smile.
Sigrid laughed softly. “How about we raid my kitchen first?”