Nina woke Ada in the middle of the night. She was frantic.
“Ada! They’re trying to talk to us!” she whispered loudly.
“What? Who?”
“I don’t know. But someone. Or something!”
George woke up too. The little light Ada had installed on the top of his head glowed.
“Everything will be all right,” said George. He started playing “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley. It was a song that Ada’s mom used to sing to her when she was very small.
“See,” said Ada. “Listen to George. He knows what he’s talking about.”
“You don’t understand! I heard something. It sounded . . . alien. Like high-pitched beeps and pops. Probably alien speech.”
“There are some funny noises on hams, I think. You were probably still dreaming, and that made it sound extra strange. George, play Nina a lullaby,” said Ada.
A simple version of Brahms’s “Lullaby” played over George’s speakers.
“Does that make you feel better?” asked Ada.
“No. It was not a dream,” said Nina. “I know what a dream is like.”
“Okay. But remember Occam’s razor?” asked Ada. “The right answer—”
“—is usually the simplest one,” said Nina. “I guess . . .”
“Well, whatever you heard, the radio is quiet now,” said Ada. “I almost wish you did hear something—”
“No, you don’t,” said Nina. She sounded really spooked. Ada had never seen her like that before. She usually seemed pretty excited by her kooky ideas.
“Okay,” said Ada, getting out of bed. “Let’s see if we can contact anyone.”
Ada walked over to the radio and turned up the volume a bit. There was just the hissing of static. She pressed the button for the mic.
Kilo Delta Eight Papa Kilo Romeo. Anyone up for a chat?
No one responded.
This is KD8PKR. Hello? Is someone up?
Ada spoke a few more times but didn’t reach anyone. She searched through different frequencies but heard no weird sounds.
“I’m sorry I woke you up,” said Nina.
“It’s okay,” said Ada. “That book has probably gotten into your head.”
• • •
Ada woke the next morning to find her friend already awake. Nina had her back pressed against the far wall. She had wrapped herself in her sleeping bag and was staring suspiciously at the radio across the room.
“Nina? What’s up?” Ada asked. “Are the creatures from beyond calling again?”
“They said . . .” Nina paused. She swallowed. “They said, ‘Release the swarm!’ They’re coming for us, Ada.”
“Oh, Nina. I think you need some sleep.”
“I heard it!” cried Nina. “It was faint, but I know what I heard.”
Ada went to the radio. She realized she had left it on scan. She tried again to call other operators and heard a few faint, ghostly voices, but it was mostly just static.
“Nina,” said Ada.
“I’m not crazy, Ada!”
“I know you’re not,” said Ada. But she was beginning to worry about her friend.
• • •
That morning, Mr. Lace made his famous pancakes. Nina barely touched them. In fact, she nearly fell asleep at the table.
“You girls weren’t up talking on the radio all night, were you?” asked Ms. Lace. “You look a little sleepy, Nina.”
“Nina had some bad dreams,” said Ada.
“Let’s hope they were just dreams,” said Nina. Then she went home to take a nap.
• • •
Ada went back up to her room to try to get the radio working. After trying a bunch of different positions for the antenna, she gave up. Perhaps Mr. Peebles would know what to do. She headed over to his stoop to find out. He was throwing a ball for his little dog, Alan.
“I’ve checked all the wiring, extended the antenna, and even moved it to the rooftop to get a better signal,” Ada told Mr. Peebles. “But I just can’t connect with anyone. George set the sprinkler off yesterday morning. Do you think that did it?”
“Was the radio open when it happened? Did the wires or any of the connections get wet?”
“No. I threw my raincoat over it pretty quickly, and I made sure to wipe it down afterward, but there wasn’t much to wipe off.”
“Huh,” said Mr. Peebles. “Well you said you heard some things. What kinds of things are you hearing?”
“Faint voices, mostly. Nina thinks she heard something,” said Ada, “But it’s a little far-fetched.”
“What did she hear?” asked Mr. Peebles.
“She thinks she heard aliens,” said Ada. Ada noticed Milton Edison lurking by the fountain with his remote control car. Milton didn’t seem to be listening, but who knew with him? He couldn’t be trusted.
“You know Milton has a ham radio,” Mr. Peebles said. He must have seen her noticing Milton. “Perhaps you two could try to communicate with each other.”
“Uh, yeah, maybe.” Not a chance, Ada thought to herself. Milton was a sneak and a cheater. Why did he have to do everything that she did?
“So, what do you think I should do, Mr. Peebles?” Ada asked.
“It’s been a while since I used my old Heathkit ham,” he said, “but the city is pretty hilly. Maybe the signal is being blocked by some high terrain. We may just need to boost it a bit. I have some ideas. Let me do a little research and grab some equipment. Meet me back here in an hour, and we can work on it together.”
“Okay,” said Ada. She was afraid to get her hopes up. She wasn’t asking for much. She just wanted to be able to use her new license and talk to a few people in the area. Why was that so hard?
