Earth (The Invasion Trilogy Book 1) (13 page)

“So you were
home-schooled?”

“Yes, sort of.
I had trainers and teachers.”

“Was your dad some kind of leader or high ranking officer or something back home? I mean
, that vest is a bit of a giveaway that you’re either someone important or a thief.”

“I’m not a thief.” I gape at her. Does she think I’m a criminal? Would she think any differently
, though, if she knew the truth?

“So your dad is someone important in France?”

“Yes, he is important everywhere,” I say slowly, fearing I’m going to have to lie again soon.

“So
, does that mean you had bodyguards with you in Canada?”

“No, why would I need that?”

“I don’t know. Don’t all rich, important people have them these days?”

“No, I just had my brother here.”

Darkness has settled deeper into the forest as we’ve spoken, and while there are bright stars in the sky, the trees block out most of their light. I listen to Mattie yawning, knowing she’s probably just as tired as I am.

“We should get some sleep. We’ll have another big day tomorrow
,” I suggest.

Mattie moans. “Don’t remind me. I’ve never properly prayed to God before, but I think I’ll try anything to get back Hank and Lisa.”

“Who is God?” I’ve heard the name mentioned before, but nothing I’ve read appears to have a definitive answer.

“He’s whoever you want to believe he is. Goodnight
, Marduke.”

“Sleep well
, Mattie.”

***

The next morning, I wake, feeling just as tired as yesterday, maybe even worse.

Mattie checks my knee
along with my arm before we drink a little more water and take off in our search for Hank and Lisa, walking slowly through the dense forest.

I have no idea where we are, what direction we should be heading
in, or if we’re walking in circles. I trust Mattie knows what she’s doing, and thankfully, she never asks me for any advice.

When we’ve been walking for hours
, I begin to worry about our food situation. If we can’t find fresh water and food soon, we’ll starve in here. Although I might be able to go on longer without food since I don’t appear to eat as often as humans do, I still will starve eventually. We need to get out of the forest.

We also face another problem.
A moody five-year-old.

Logan is hungry, tired, scared and wants badly to go home. We all feel like that
, but since he’s only five, he displays his feelings quite obviously through whining and crying. Twice, he stomps his foot down and refuses to walk. During these moments, he also refuses Mattie’s hand or even mine. He doesn’t want to be held, however he also doesn’t want to walk.

Eventually
, we realise the only way to get him moving is to just walk away from him. At first, I fear that, when we turn away and start walking, he’ll run off on us. I’m not sure if I’m scared we’ll lose him because Mattie is clearly attached to him and will be devastated if we lose him, or it’s if because I have quickly grown the same urge to protect him, like I have with Mattie.

Logan is small
and vulnerable, causing something inside me to immediately want to save him. I want him to be okay, to survive this and to be happy. Seeing his innocence and pain only reinforces that my family is making the wrong decision to invade Earth.

When we’ve walked a few steps away from him, fear kicks in and he rushes towards us, usually finding Mattie’s side and
huffing aloud to let us know he’s not happy, but he walks. Until his next tantrum.

When he loses his short energy to walk, I pick him up before Mattie can. She deserves a break, especially since she’s already holding the bag. My knee twinges under the added pressure,
yet I ignore it.

Mattie finds a great way to distract him. She begins asking him questions, starting with his
favourite cartoon—SpongeBob SquarePants—to whether he likes The Wiggles—which she reminds him are Australian like her—to what is his favourite song. They then both break out into a song about potatoes, which apparently are hot. It’s not all that lyrically complicated, but Logan smiles for maybe the first time since I’ve met him yesterday, and even Mattie is smiling by the end. Logan knows a lot more songs than Mattie.

W
hen I admit I have no idea what a wiggle is, I’m then forced to learn as many songs as Logan can sing. He forgets a lot of words, but he tries, and I in turn sing along with him. Mattie laughs at my attempts, which I love, so I sing louder.

The only reason we stop is because Mattie hears something. She goes immediately on high alert
while I shush Logan. I strain my ears, wondering if she’s heard Hank and Lisa, or worse, if she’s heard a hinema.

It turns out
, I’m wrong on both of those possibilities.

Chapter 12

Mattie

At first, I think I’m imagining it. Don’t people get delirious when they’re dehydrated? You see mirages of something you want so badly, but it always turns out to be all part of your imagination. During a hallucination, can you hear noises, though? Or is it possible the water I hear trickling nearby is just teasing me?

I hold my breath, sensing that the boys have stopped to listen, too. Have they heard it? If all three of us have, then it can’t be a delusion. I’m too afraid to ask because I don’t want my hopes dashed.
So I keep my question to myself and rush forward, finding new energy.

I follow the sound, getting excited when it gets louder the closer I get. Then I see what I believe to be the most beautiful sight in the world.

A waterfall.

Water is lightly falling down the wall of rock and crashing down into the stream of water below. The area of water is as large as a basketball court
with several smaller rivers diverting off it, disappearing through the forest. There is a large break above the water from the trees surrounding us where the sun warms the top of the water.

“Wow…” Logan gasps, pushing himself away from Marduke
, who lets him down. He runs closer to the water, and I quickly follow. I’m not sure how deep the water is, and I have no idea if Logan can swim.

He crouches down and leans over the water, placing his hands in there. I do the same, staying close to him
. I’m so tempted to just fall in, though. My clothes feel disgusting and my hair is just permanently stuck to the sides of my face. I think, at this stage, if I take my ponytail out, my hair won’t actually move.

“Do you think we can stay around here for a while?” I ask Marduke, needing him to agree that we deserve this short break. I want desperately to find Lisa and Hank, but what if that takes us several days? Can we really give up this slice of heaven without enjoying it a little?

“I don’t see why not.” Marduke shrugs.

“Want to go for a swim?” I ask Logan.

“I don’t know how.”

“I can teach you. Let’s get in with our clothes, soak them in the water
, and then we’ll just stay in our underwear while it dries,” I tell him, taking my shoes off. It feels like a huge relief. I see dried blood around the back of my ankle and know I have blisters. I don’t even want to even think about my toes.

I get in first, finding the water to be shallow until a sudden drop happens
; even I can’t feel the bottom. I briefly worry that maybe there will be some snakes or something equally as awful in here, yet decide the amazing feeling of being in the water is worth the risk.

I watch Logan sitting in the shallow part of the water, which only covers his legs and half his middle. Marduke is just watching
, making me wonder if maybe he can’t swim, either.

I dunk my head under the water, taking my ponytail out and loving the feel of having my hair loose. Some soap, shampoo and conditioner would go a long way right now, but I’ll take what I can get.

I leave my hair tie around my wrist and take off my socks, squeezing them out and then moving them over to the side of the banks, placing them in the sun. I then do the same with my pants, jumper and t-shirt. I’m left in just my underwear and bra, but it’s nothing that a bikini wouldn’t show. I’m wearing black for both, so I don’t have to worry about it being see-through. I then move over to Logan and help him take off his clothes, enjoying him laughing when he dips his head under the water.

“Ready to have your first lesson?”
I ask, hoping it’s not that hard to teach someone how to swim.

Logan nods his head, appearing determined.

I decide he should first learn about floating, since he shouldn’t fear sinking to the bottom. There is a slight current in the water, but nothing strong enough that it will take us away, so I get him to lie on his back and float. Then I tell him to hold his breath and go under water for a few seconds before he comes up, never leaving his side.

H
e is fearless as he tries everything I show him. After an hour or two, I feel like we’ve made real progress, but I don’t think I’ll feel comfortable with him anywhere near the water on his own for a while.

I don’t know how long exactly I stay in the water with him, but by the time he decides he’s too tired to swim, he’s w
rinkled and able to tread the water as well as hold his breath for ten seconds underwater. I think that’s pretty great. When I tell him how well he’s done, though, he turns shy.

He leaves me in the water and lies on the banks, keeping his legs dangling in the water
as he has a nap in the sun.

Marduke had gotten into the water a few minutes into
my “lesson,” staying close to the rock wall that has water falling over its surface. He’s taken his clothes off just like Logan and I have except I realise now he’s still wearing his bulletproof vest. As soon as Logan leaves me, he swims closer to where I am.

“You’re a good teacher
,” he says, dragging me out of my thoughts.

“Thanks
. I’ve never had to teach anyone to swim before.”

“You got all the basics covered.” He swims a little closer to me, within reach now, and I wonder why my heart rate is accelerating the closer he gets. It’s just Marduke
, and I’ve definitely been closer to him than this. Although, I suppose in those instances we were both usually wearing more clothing.

“How come you still have your vest on?” I ask, belatedly wondering if he’ll think I’m complaining that his chest isn’t bare. Is that why I
’ve brought it up?

He looks down at the water, his chest mostly covered anyway
. I think he looks surprised.

“I sometimes forget it’s even on, it sort of feels like a second skin. Whenever I’m not home
, I live in this.”

“Have you ever had anyone try to kill you? Or is your dad just really paranoid?” I ask, curious about his family
and hoping I’m not being insensitive by asking.

“No one has tried to kill me
.” He looks away from me. I immediately think he’s lying about that. Assuming it must be a touchy subject, I decide to let it go, even though I’m dying to know what’s happened.

“So you’re just going to leave it on for the rest of your life?”

Even if he says it’s like a second skin, I can’t imagine wearing something that restricting around me all the time, especially in the water now; it must be weighing him down.

Without responding to my comment, he moves his hand down the front
. Even though I’ve never noticed a split or zip down the front, it opens up. He moves his arms back and takes it off. Swimming past me towards the edge of the water, he then lays it out to dry with the rest of our clothes.

When he turns to face me afterwards, he’s still in the shallow end and his chest is fully exposed to me. I finally get to see the tattoos
I’ve noticed earlier except now I discover they cover his entire chest. There is barely a spot over him that doesn’t have markings, and unfortunately, I can’t make out much from the short glance I’m allowed. He moves towards me and his body dips deeper into the water so I can’t see them.

“How come you have so many tattoos?” I ask, wanting
him to turn around and move back into the shallower water so I can have a good ogle.

I don’t have any tattoos, but I’ve thought about it. I had figured when I made it big in basketball and either won some impressive championships
, or even if I got to be in the women’s Olympic team, I’d get a tattoo then. Now none of that will happen.

“I got them when I was a kid.” He shrugs
.

My mouth drops.
“A kid? I think you’ve said the wrong word. You mean you got them a couple years ago, right?”

I know there is no way he got them when he was a child. For one, what type of parents would allow that? Another is
, what tattoo artist would tattoo a kid? Also, if Marduke had been a kid when he got them, then they would have to be distorted as he grew bigger.

“It is a family tradition
. I was around seven-years-old when I started getting them done. Every son born into my family has them, going back generations.”

“You can’t be serious.” I shake my head at him in shock.

“I am. Is that not a custom that is done on your plan—in your country?”

“As far as I
know, it isn’t a custom done on this
planet
,” I state, watching him wince at my words. “Sorry, obviously it must be more common than I’ve realised. I guess I just didn’t hear about it. It sounds so barbaric to me, tattooing a child. I mean, you’re too young to even have a say, and then it’s permanent.”

“I’m proud to be part of my family tradition and history.” He frowns at me.

“Well, that’s good, I suppose. You can’t tell me, though, that you’d continue it and have done it to your kid if you had one, right?” I don’t know why I ask this. There is barely even a chance that we’ll survive this invasion, let alone have a future that includes children. Never mind the fact that right now we’re the only two single adults around, so any children making would have to come from us. Awkward much?

“Of course, I’d
dishonour my child if I didn’t.”

“How is not abusing your child a
dishonour?” I blurt out, not able to censor myself.

“You believe that I was abused?” He stares at me wide-eyed.

“Your entire chest is covered in tattoos, Marduke, and you’re telling me you got that done when you were a seven-year-old?”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t it hurt?”

“I recall a little pain, but the pain fades.”

“So you’re saying that, if Logan was your kid, you’d be okay with putting him through that?”

His eyes move over to the sleeping figure. Logan is tiny, I’d say on the smaller side for his age
, and I know I’ve immediately felt protective towards him—perhaps because I was there when his father begged Hank and me to protect him. Regardless, the responsibility that I have for him weighs heavily on me. I could have sworn there were a few moments I noticed a look conveying the same thing on Marduke’s face when he was carrying him. I think he realises how much Logan needs us, and that, at least for now, we’re all he has.

“Yes
,” he finally answers, but I swear he looks a little uncertain of his response. Maybe there is some hope for him.

“I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree.” I shrug at him, knowing the only outcome that can happen if we keep discussing this is an argument
—one neither of us will win.

“So what are the tattoos of? Did they stretch out as you grew bigger? Are they just on your chest?” I bombard him with questions, not having noticed any along his arms or exposed back when he was placing the vest on the banks.

“They’re only on my chest. They are just family crests using a special ink so it isn’t distorted as my skin stretches.”

“Special ink?”
I’ve never heard of special ink being used for tattoos.

“Yes, maybe I’m not using the correct words
—second language you understand?” He looks away from me, giving me the distinct impression he wants this topic to be over.

“Right, I sometimes forget that English isn’t your first language, even given your accent. I’ve never
learned another language before. I tried to learn Japanese once; did it for a few years at school, but nothing stuck.”

“It’s easy once you get the hang of it.”

I roll my eyes, knowing it’s anything but easy. However, everyone who speaks a second language is always quick to point out how “easy” it is.

“I’m going to go lie down, start to dry off
, and then maybe we should get back to walking?” I suggest, noting that the sun is already descending downwards, signalling night-time will be upon us soon.

“I don’t think it’s worth leaving tonight. We should stay here
for the night and take off tomorrow morning. This water supply is too good to leave so soon.”

I nod, feeling disloyal to Hank and Lisa. What if
they’re in trouble? What if they’re risking their lives trying to find us and here we are relaxing and swimming?

“Okay
.” I swim towards the edge and climb up to the shallower part.

If I had a towel
, I’d be able to dry myself in minutes. Instead, I wring my hair of as much water as I can then lie down next to a still sleeping Logan, stretching out in the sun. I feel Marduke’s eyes on me and know he’s staring not at my eyes this time, but at my body. I’m still in just my bra and underwear, but I’m aware enough to know that I’m not unattractive. Years of training has kept my body fit and slim. I do note that already I’m beginning to lose muscle mass and my stomach is showing signs of weight loss, however. Without a proper diet, I’m afraid my body will continue to weaken.

I close my eyes, allowing myself to doze
, feeling the edge of sleep just out of my reach. It’s only my stomach and thirst that forces me to get up later. Logan is still asleep and Marduke is back to being fully clothed.