“Oh yeah. Oooh. Aaaah. That’s how it always starts.
Then later there’s running and screaming.”

-Jurassic Park II: Lost World

Rachel

No one ever noticed me before I met Cynthia. I wasn’t pretty. My parents weren’t rich. And I always wore the wrong clothes, said the wrong things.
Cynthia was a transfer student. She was everything that I was not. We never would have become friends under normal circumstances, but she needed someone to tutor her in Spanish.

She wasn’t even nice to me at first, I admit that she used me. I made her homework for her. In return, I became popular by association.
It didn’t matter to me. I was glad to have someone to talk to.

I’m not sure when we actually became friends, because in the end she was just that. My friend.

Now I don’t even have that.

My father was a bus driver on one of the school busses. My mother cleaned houses. They were always nice. Maybe that’s why I didn’t notice at first.

***

I walk into the kitchen. We always have breakfast together. Since my father drives on the school bus, I always ride with him in the morning.

My mother loves making us breakfast. She smiles when she notices me. “Good morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, mom. Thank you.”

She smiles again and places a cup of coffee in front of my dad. He’s reading the paper.

A sigh escapes his lips. “War, domestic violence, robbery. The world is still full of bad things.”

My mother gives him a sad smile. “It won’t be like that for much longer, darling.”

He smiles back. “Yes, I know. I can’t wait.”

I smile uncertain. “What are you two talking about?”

They turn to me with loving smiles. “Don’t worry honey,” my father says, “you’ll understand soon enough. It’s a surprise.”

“ A surprise? But its not my birthday.”

They only smile.

My father reaches for his coffee, but accidentally knocks it over. He gaps. “Ah, I’m sorry. I’ll clean it up right away.”

“No, no. that’s not necessary,” my mother objects, “it was an accident. I’ll do it. Just finish your breakfast.”

I eye them confused while they apologize back and forth. “Is something wrong?” I ask, “did you two argue last night? You are acting strange.”

“Don’t be silly honey,” my mother says, “why would we argue?”

“I don’t know,” I mutter.

My dad folds his paper. “Come Rachel. It’s time for us to leave.”

I nod and follow him out the door. Behind us, I hear my mother call after us. “I’ll see you tonight.”

I never did.

***

The memory still makes me shiver. When I told Cynthia that morning, she only shrugged and told me my parents had always been weird. I wondered about it later. Perhaps I should have known.

But who believes in aliens?

My father smiled at me that day, just before they shipped everyone off to their Insertion Centers. He drove one of the busses.

My father, the Seeker.

“Everything will be perfect now sweetheart.”

How long had that monster worn my father’s body without me knowing?
I remember the loving look in his eyes when they pushed me into the school bus.

“Everything will be perfect now.”

That he loved me saved my life. He believed me when I said the words he wanted to her. ‘I need to use the restroom first and then I’ll join you.’
Did he look for me?

I ran back to the school, which was completely abandoned, and hid there under the staircase, crying.

Blake found me.

I went hysterical when he touched me. I thought he was another one of them.

He’s been amazing. He’s taken care of me ever since, until Nate found us.

He’s been the one I could lean on.

And now Emma is back.

How could she possibly have survived that long? On her own? And why is she with that alien?

I narrow my eyes. Emma comes in and immediately Blake comes to the rescue. It’s always been like that. And she doesn’t even make an effort. It almost makes me jealous.

I watch as they walk away from me, Blake’s hand slipping into hers.

It hurts.

After all we’ve been through, he’s never been like that with me.

How can he still like her after what she did? She made friends with one of those… things. And now that thing is here, on our hide-out.

A shiver runs down my spine. There’s no safe place. Not even here.

I make my way back to the common room and sit down next to Sophie. She’s cleaning the dishes that we used for breakfast. At first she doesn’t speak, but then she bites her lip and looks at me. “Did you see him?”

I shiver. “That alien?”

Sophie nods. “It’s so strange,” she says, “they look so human.”

A memory of my father’s face flashes through my mind and I try not to cry. “Why is it here?” I whisper.

“My dad says the alien saved his life.”

I stare at her. “What? How?”

“I’m not sure,” Sophie says softly, “apparently he saved that girl, Emma, too, protecting her from his own kind.”

“He protected Emma?” Even aliens can’t resist that girl. What does she have that I don’t?

“Oh, that’s right,” Sophie says, “you must know her. She said she knew Blake from school. You did too, right?”

“Hmm,” I mutter. I glance around the room. Evan and Ellen are softly conversing. Anna-May and Kelsey leave to do their chores. They’re going to pick vegetables for the day. We grow a few in a primitive greenery. It’s not much, but it’s enough to sustain us.

What we don’t have, we raid, but we lost an entire car with supplies when the Seekers found Nate, Rob and TJ.

I bite my lip. TJ is dead now. Rob told us he swallowed his vile of cyanide. We all carry it with us in case we are taken. That way we can never betray the others that are here and with the other groups. It’s the only way we’ll survive. There are so few of us left. We’ll probably get extinct anyway.

“Is your father going to let it stay?” I ask.

Sophie nods. “Yes. For the time being.” She shudders. “I wish he wouldn’t, but he’s determined. Besides, that girl Emma throws herself I front of bullets when they try to kill it.”

“Rob really shot her?” My eyes widen at Sophie’s nod.

“It was an accident though,” she says, “and that alien healed her with his alien medicine. Dad says he’s used some of it too. It cured his fever within seconds.”

“He took alien medicine?”

“Yeah,” Sophie whispers, “but the others were there. It didn’t do any harm.”

“What if it did something to them?” I whisper, “maybe that’s why your father allows it to stay and why Emma defended it.”

Sophie’s eyes grow wide and she stares at me horrified. “You really thing that’s possible?”

“I don’t know,” I say defeated. If it’s true then they’ve found a very effective way of capturing us. Why chase after some renegade humans when you can make them come willingly?

There’s no way to be sure.

I sit up straight when Blake returns. He didn’t stay with Emma then.

He sits down with us.

“Rachel thinks that alien medicine did something to Emma and my dad,” Sophie blurts out.

I bite my lip and look down.

Blake stares at us and then his lips curl upwards, amused. “Nah,” he says, “I was there when he used it.”

“He might have done something to her before,” I insist, “why else would she stick up for him? It.”

“Because she’s Emma,” Bake grins, “you know what she’s like.”

Actually I don’t. Not really. And Blake’s biased. I’ll just have to keep an eye on her myself.