Preparations to transfer the human, alien, and inorganic cargo were stalled until the following night because of a bizarre twist of events. Power shut down across the underground facility repeatedly, equipment and vehicles stalled, and computers froze up before rebooting. The scientists scratched their heads. David laughed once under his breath, which was a big mistake. An agent who’d been watching him throughout the events put two and two together. Minutes later, both David and the alien were heavily sedated with morphine.

Jameson’s convoy of military vehicles from Fort Tucker, which included Jeeps and armored cars, rolled into the back parking lot of the Allianz Insurance building. His men set to work immediately. Three armored vehicles were loaded with the cargo. An escape route over back roads had been chosen to avoid alarming the citizens. Once clear of prying eyes, the convoy would split into three groups, one heading to Ohio, one to Mexico, and one to the Arizona desert.

Miles away, Atlantic Bay High School was alive with the first pep rally of the year. Blaring lights lit up the football field as the pep band played. Fans and supporters quickly filled the bleachers. David’s mind remotely wandered the area, utilizing one of his new-found talents, until he found his friends. His plan was under way.

“Do you really think this will work?” Mikey asked Tara. “If our parents know we’ve slipped out, we’re grounded for life.”

“Being grounded is the least of our worries,” Tara said. “I’m telling you, David did something to me. It’s like I was him for a split instant. Now I can see his whole plan to get them back, like it’s my plan. It’s up to the four of us to pull it together. We don’t have any time to waste. That convoy is coming through the backside of town along Dogwood Ridge tonight. If they cross Suttles Bridge over the gully and make it out onto the highway, we’ll have lost our chance to save them. We only have a couple of hours left to pull this off.”

“How do we convince a football stadium of kids and parents to believe this crazy story?”

“We don’t have to, David will do it. Just get me to the podium.”

Mikey nodded. As planned, the three brothers made their way to the doors of the field house that opened onto the field. Then they began stripping. In the absence of Coach Butler, who was still protesting the FBI’s decision to hold his infected stepson hostage, Assistant Coach Crawford took the podium and began a long, drawn-out speech about how this was the year to make it to the state championship. The crowd roared.

It was obvious that Coach Crawford enjoyed the attention as he continued his spiel. But the crowd’s attention was drawn from the coach to the three streakers dashing across the field. People pointed and laughed. Coach Crawford turned red and began to scream profanities. He jumped down from the podium and began chasing the streakers, his substantial belly jiggling with the effort.

Tara made her move. She ran to the center of the field and took the podium. “Hey, everybody,” she nervously said into the microphone. As the Fannins disappeared over a fence and the crowd settled down, all eyes turned to Tara. She felt the stares of thousands of people, and it made her realize how much she hated public speaking. But she soldiered on.

“The government has lied to us,” Tara said. “There is no terrorist. David Noble is in trouble.” She paused as people in the crowd began laughing and shaking their heads. She closed her eyes. Come on, David, I’m losing them, she thought. Help me. Suddenly, Tara felt a spirit pressing against her body like a breath of wind falling down upon her head. David’s ethereal form settled down into her until he was one with Tara. Staring out at the crowd in the stands, Tara’s eyes lit up with bright light. The air filled with strands of gold and silver, which settled down upon everyone in the stadium. In unison, the crowd stood up and began pouring out of the bleachers. Within minutes, cars were roaring out of the parking lot, all heading toward the same destination—Suttles Bridge.

Thirty minutes later, hundreds of angry teens and parents stood blocking the bridge across the gully. The lead Jeeps in the convoy heading south slowed at the sight of a crowd of people blocking their path. Seconds later, the rear of the convoy was blocked as well, as people poured out of the trees to cut off any potential escape route. Soldiers jumped out of the vehicles and raised their rifles, but the protesters stood their ground, almost as if they were in a trance. The crowd surged forward. More soldiers exited the vehicles to confront the mob. The troops spread out and raised their weapons. They glanced around at one another. No one fired. A gray-haired woman in a flowered dress stepped up to a soldier standing at the front of the formation and placed a flower, stem first, into the barrel of his rifle. The soldier stood down and nodded at the woman. The other soldiers stood down as well. Agent Jameson vowed to have them all court-martialed.

“David,” Tara whispered. She had found him as if she’d been led to him by psychic GPS. David settled back down into his body. But as his spirit reattached to his physical form, the morphine drip took over. “David, wake up,” Tara whispered again as she yanked the needle from his arm.

David struggled to speak, his voice groggy. He pointed to a small suitcase and gestured for Tara to open it. Inside lay what looked like an oversized Taser gun. “Shoot me with it,” he said, his voice barely audible. Tara looked doubtful. “I need a high-voltage shock,” he said. “Do it now or we’re done for.”

Tara took the Taser, turned it up to full power, and shot David point blank. Voltage coursed through his body, and he shook convulsively. She began to cry and started to take her hand off the trigger.

“Don’t, Tara, don’t stop,” he uttered through chattering teeth. David soaked up every ounce of electricity the Taser could release until he had completely drained it. He was alert and alive again. Energy coursed through him, building inside as if he were a human transformer. In the next instant, he snapped his restraints. He got up, took Tara in his arms, and kissed her.

“Quick, we’ve got to find the alien,” David said. He took Tara’s hand, and they exited the rear of the vehicle. Pandemonium threatened as friends and parents David had known his whole life argued with the military men. The confrontation provided a diversion and allowed them to slip unnoticed from one vehicle to the next, where they found the alien. The being was still sedated, but it was struggling to wake up. David realized it had felt the surge of electricity David had received. To see the being restrained made David’s heart heavy. He knew he was part of this being from another world. Pushing his emotions aside, he pulled tubes from the alien’s body and sent a surge of electricity into its chest with the touch of his palms.

The alien snapped its restraints, sat up, and embraced David. “We’ve chosen right, brother.”

Tara stared in disbelief at the short, gray creature on the gurney.

“Come on, we’ve got to go,” David said. He took Tara by the hand, and with the alien beside him, they rushed to find the starfire cube. The moment they stepped from the armored vehicle, dozens of eyes fell on the bizarre creature, including the eyes of Agent Jameson. Gunfire erupted as Jameson screamed, “Stop them!”

The creature waved its hands across the air, creating an invisible force that blasted Jameson and his men back twenty feet. David, Tara, and the alien ran to the third armored vehicle and hopped in. David started the engine and turned off the path into the grassy field beside the gully. Other vehicles gave chase, guns firing at the vehicle, as townspeople tackled soldiers. Suddenly, Jameson appeared, veering beside them in a Jeep, then swerving directly in front to cut off David’s path.

David slammed on the brakes. The vehicle slid sideways and flipped, rolling twice before crashing into a tree. David opened his eyes, barely in time to catch the view in the smashed rearview mirror. The starfire cube had rolled out from the back of the vehicle and was rolling toward the gully. It slipped down the hillside into the trees and disappeared.

“Are you all right?” David asked Tara.

“I’m okay,” Tara said. The alien slid out of the vehicle through the broken window and ripped the door off its hinges. He pulled David and Tara from the wreckage. The three bolted away from the armored vehicle as Agent Jameson struggled to pull free from his own Jeep. As David, Tara, and the alien fled into the trees, Jameson and a dozen men gave chase. Within a hundred yards, the three reached the edge of a drop-off. Fifty feet below floated the starfire cube, lighting up the slow-moving stream.

The alien came up beside Tara and took her hand. “It’s all right,” it projected. Tara heard its thoughts and didn’t resist its touch. The alien took David’s hand and projected a single thought into their minds. “Jump,” was all she heard before her feet left the ground.