13

The menacing figure took an awkward step toward us, raising its stiff arms. Had the aliens posted one of their creatures to grab us if we tried to escape?

Jessie jumped in fright and I skidded on the damp grass, almost falling. The creature flung its arms out and both of us leaped away, getting our feet under us to run for our lives.

“Hey! Guys! Where you going?”

Jessie and I skidded to a stop. “Frasier?” we both asked at once.

“Well, yeah, who did you think it was?” He pulled the helmet off his head and grinned. “I got out okay but I was afraid the aliens might steal my brain. I thought this might help protect me,” he said, indicating the helmet.

Now we could see it was only an old dirt bike helmet with a Plexiglas faceplate. I remembered Frasier used to wear it riding his regular bike, pretending he was revving a motorcycle.

The massive shoulders turned out to be a loaded backpack. Not a day pack, a real backpack.

“I guess we ought to be used to you by now,” said Jessie, who was still shaking a little.

“That’s right,” said Frasier. “‘Cause I’ve got a plan.”

“Forget it,” I said. “We’re not going back to Harley Hills. We’re not going back into the tunnels and we’re not—no way, no how—we’re not going to fight those slimy aliens. I know we’ve got to figure out how to save our parents but those aliens are too strong.”

Frasier just looked at me calmly. “That wasn’t my plan, donut brain. My plan is much simpler—and much, much safer.”

“So tell us, already,” Jessie said impatiently.

Frasier looked over both shoulders then pulled us into a huddle. We were so close I could smell the toothpaste on his breath. “We camp out,” he whispered. “That’s my plan.”

Jessie pulled away. “Camp out? That’s your plan? Pretty lame, Frasier. Obviously we can’t go home until we get our parents straightened out but camping isn’t going to make the problem go away. This isn’t Boy Scouts. This is alien invasion.”

Frasier looked mildly injured. “I didn’t say where we were going to camp out, did I?”

“Not Harley Hills,” I said.

“No, not Harley Hills,” Frasier agreed. “The school. We’ll camp out behind the school.” He looked very pleased with himself. “Nobody will ever think to look for us there. We can keep an eye on the other kids, find out what the aliens have planned, and then stop them.”

“How do we do that?” Jessie asked.

Frasier ducked his head, fiddled with his backpack. “I don’t know. I haven’t got that figured out yet. We can plan that as we go.”

“Oh great,” I said.

Frasier turned and started into the night. “Coming?”

What else could we do? We couldn’t go home. We couldn’t go to the Harley Hills. So we followed Frasier into the darkness.