Fire in the Woods (17 page)

We headed down the line of stores, crossed the side-street and entered the Pavilion shopping center. Huge stores and carefully manicured landscaping sprawled out in the overwhelming high-end outdoor mall. The last time I was here was two years ago, with Mom. We didn’t buy anything. We just spent the day shopping and laughing at price tags.

David’s eyes widened as his gaze fixed on the huge stone statues of old Chinese warriors in front of P.F. Chang’s restaurant. Mom and I had actually stopped there for lunch that day. We ordered an appetizer, and they brought out something unidentifiable wrapped in lettuce. We joked about if for weeks afterwards. Days with Mom were always like that. She found joy in everything.

I had to turn away from David and wipe my eyes. I didn’t want to explain my tears. They were happy memories, really they were. I just missed her, that’s all.

Shoppers in expensive sneakers and designer handbags passed us. I perused my duct-taped jeans and David’s matching taped sweatshirt, already sensing the snooty eyes of shoppers on us. I tugged David’s arm. “I think we better keep walking behind the buildings.”

David nodded and we backtracked around the restaurant, probably adding a half-hour to our walk, but it was better than crossing right through the rich-people-are-us shopping center.

The bandage shifted on David’s hand as he pulled the backpack into his arms. Thoughts of the pearly violet skin hidden beneath the sloppy dressing gnawed at me.

My heart kept trying to deny the truth, focusing on David’s strong arms and handsome features, while my practical side continued to struggle with the idea that aliens were real. Not only were they real, but they’d been walking around among us, and could be disguised as anybody. The thought creeped me out. How long were they here? Why were they here in the first place?

“Are you hungry?” David zipped open the bag and handed me a pear.

“Thanks.” I bit down into the tasty fruit as we kept walking. “So, these people you were signaling, what were they doing on Earth?”

The muscles in his neck tightened, and he hesitated before rifling through the pack once more. “They are scientific researchers. Looking and taking notes I guess.” He removed an apple and held it up to the light. He smelled the red skin and smiled.

“So why didn’t they tell anyone they were here? Why are you guys being secretive?”

He stifled a laugh. “Jess, your military shot my ship out of the sky without any warning. They didn’t say ‘Hi how are you would you like to chat’…and you wonder why we want to be secretive?”

I hunched my shoulders. “I guess that makes sense.”

“It made sense to shoot me down?”

A twinge of guilt crept over me, as if I’d been the one in the cockpit of that plane.

The weight of the human race’s failings suddenly hung on my shoulders, like I was the one who had to make this right. But how could I explain fear? How could I explain paranoia? I rubbed my temples. Sometimes the truth was the easiest to swallow.

“We have these things called movies and television. They sometimes make aliens out to be the bad guys.”

David’s pace came to an abrupt halt. He tossed his apple core into the dumpster beside me. “But I wasn’t doing anything wrong.”

“No, that’s not what I said. I mean, they were probably just scared.”

He rolled his eyes and continued his gait.

For the first time on our journey, the silence between us seemed uncomfortable.

The woes of humanity spiraled through my mind. We cut down our trees, we pollute our atmosphere, we eat meat, we waste food, and we shoot first and ask questions later when other planets come to visit. What idiots humans must seem like to him.

David remained silent. My stomach flipped, raging against everything I’d eaten. No longer hungry, I stared at the remainder of my pear in disgust, but chewed the soft fruit down to the core anyway. I wouldn’t dare waste it.

A cool breeze hit us, slowing David. “How long until dark?” he asked.

I squinted into the sky, but I couldn’t see the sun from our vantage point. I turned on my cell phone. The screen showed I had a message from Maggie, and another from
unavailable
. I flipped past them both. “It’s five o’clock. We probably have about two and a half hours. Let’s see how close we are.” I clicked on the navigator.

“Calculating route.” The circle-thingy spun on the screen. “Go to route 73 south.”

I advanced to the next screen. “We’re actually not that far away from Cross Keys Road. Are you sure you can’t feel anything like you said you would?”

“It’s too early. They’d be coming tomorrow night.”

“That’s not good planning, is it? Why don’t they come during the day when it’s always nice and warm the way you guys like it?”

David raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, a big transport ship dropping out of the sky while everyone is watching would really go over well. I want to be picked up alive, remember?”

A helicopter flew overhead, flying too high and fast to be searching for anyone, thank goodness. I clicked off my phone and tried to think of something to say to brighten David’s view of humanity, but he was right. A spaceship would cause world-wide panic. His people were much safer sticking to the cover of darkness.

My fingers tightened on my phone as I began to slip it into my pocket. The thought of the message from
unavailable
constricted my chest. Dad must be going nuts about now.

“David, hold on for a second.”

I leaned against the back of the building and turned on my phone. David propped himself beside me and grabbed a banana from the bag. He perused each end. I helped him open it.

He smiled. “Thanks.”

I swiped past Maggie’s message, touched
unavailable,
and brought my phone to my ear.

My father’s sigh tore my soul in two.

“I guess I can’t blame you for not answering.” A slight hum vibrated the casing against my cheek. “I saw the surveillance footage, and it’s pretty obvious you’re not a hostage. I can only imagine what he told you to make you trust him.” I glanced at David as he chewed his banana. Dad’s voice quaked. “Sweetheart, you need to understand that he is a soldier wounded behind enemy lines. He is not above lying to a seventeen-year-old girl to get what he wants.” I could imagine Dad pacing the floor, rubbing his hand across his tightly cropped head. “Jess, you’ve always been like your mother, and I know there’s no changing your mind once you’ve made it up, so I’m not going to bother asking you to turn him in.”

He wasn’t?

“But what I do want is for you to get away from him. Just wait for him to be distracted and run as fast as you can.” I could almost sense him gritting his teeth. “We will find him, Jess. And you know that I’m not going to sleep until you’re safe.” Muffled voices spoke in the background behind my father’s steady breathing. “Please come back. I can’t lose you, too.”

The call ended, and I powered down my phone. I stared at the blank screen as my father’s words bled into me.

I can’t lose you, too
.

I’d never considered the possibility of anything bad actually happening to me. I was safe with David, wasn’t I?

David popped the last of the banana into his mouth and tossed the peel into the trash beside a loading dock.

What would happen if the Army cornered us? Would there be shooting? Would David protect me, or use me as a shield?

David slipped his hands into his pockets as he strolled back to me, his smile easing any uncertainty.

My conscience fought to call Dad—to let him know everything would be all right, but I knew he’d just try to convince me to come home. I slipped the phone into my pocket.

“Are you all right?” David asked.

I nodded, biting my lip as Dad’s voice haunted me.
You know that I’m not going to sleep until you’re safe.

Guilt clawed in my chest, but I knew with every ounce of my being that this was where I needed to be. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “We need to find a place to hide for the night.”

David nodded. “I agree. Do you have a friend near here?”

“Let me see.”

We walked out toward the road. Shielding my eyes from the sun, I scanned the highway. Far in the distance, north of us, several helicopters hung in the air while two others zigzagged in what I guessed was a search pattern. Close, but no cigar, Dad.

I glanced at the sign on the traffic-light pole.
Holiday Inn Express. 1.3 miles.

“Perfect.”

A few cars pulled out of the convenience store as we approached. I led David toward the flying-goose logo on the glass doors.

He jerked back, his gaze trailing the signs in the windows. I wondered where he thought we were. I’d never really found a Wawa to be all that scary, but I needed to remember that everything was new to him.

The rip in his sweatshirt flapped in the breeze as he crossed his arms. I needed to replace that duct tape, later. The last thing he needed was extra ventilation.

“I’m sorry it’s taking so long to get there.” The breeze tickled my skin. Refreshing for me, but David shivered. “Do you want a hot cocoa? That will warm you up.”

I held the door until he passed through. The guy behind the counter crinkled his nose. His gaze seemed to drop to my backpack before inching back to my eyes.
Yeah, dude, ’cause we’re gonna steal a candy bar or something. Get real.

I walked up to the deli counter. “Do you have any vegetable soup?”

“Yes.” The kid behind the counter pointed to a small monitor next to me. “It’s on the lunch and dinner menu.” I tapped the display and ordered myself a roast beef hoagie with everything and a vegetable soup for David. I plucked another few waters from the back cases and three single-serving fruit trays from the Grab and Go counter. “Is there anything else you’d like?”

David fidgeted, shoving his hands into his pockets. “What was that warming stuff? Hot something?”

“Oh, yeah.” I dropped my selections on the counter, and filled up two hot cocoas. I added milk to mine, and marked it by popping the little button on the top of the lid. Non-dairy boy’s lid I left alone.

Pulling two more twenties from my pocket, I made a mental note that we had about a hundred and sixty left. I hoped that would be enough for the hotel room.

So much for those designer jeans I had my eye on.

David helped pack everything but the cocoa and soup into the backpack. I slipped the little compass into my pocket so it wouldn’t get lost and sipped my drink.

The sun had begun to drop below the tree tops as we left the convenience store. David’s lips formed a solid line as the cool night air hit him. He held the soup and cocoa close to his chest as we treaded back out along the highway.

***

“A hundred and twenty-two dollars for a hotel room?”

The man behind the desk raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “Sorry, that’s the price. We take MasterCard, Visa, and Discover.”

Crap. Would Dad even remember that he’d given me the card? Maybe he wouldn’t think about putting a tracer on it. I laughed at myself. Of course he would. I was skunked. And almost out of money. “I’ll pay cash.” Thank goodness David was getting picked up tomorrow night or we’d be camping without a tent.

“Very good.” The clerk took the money and tapped into his computer.

I gave a fake name. Mary Seivers. Hey, they did it in the movies, right?

“I will need a credit card for the security deposit.”

Hashtag: busted. “But I’m paying cash.”

“It’s only for incidentals. As long as there is no damage to the room, all the towels are here after you leave, there will be no charges against it.”

Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. My mental freak-out did nothing to stop the blank stare of the dude behind the counter. There had to be a way out of this. Not everyone has credit cards, right?

A gust of wind assaulted the lobby as another customer entered the building. David trembled, nearly spilling his hot cocoa. I’d have to trust that Dad’s card wouldn’t be used. I needed to get David somewhere warm. With a deep breath, I handed him the little plastic minion of doom. He glanced at the name on the card. Not Mary Seivers, obviously.

“We’re paying cash, all right? We just want to get to our room.”

His expression faded. His stare became blanker than before. WTF?

David placed his drink on the counter, and leaned closer to him. “We really don’t have time for this. Can we go to our room?”

The man blinked twice. “Of course.”

Huh? Did David do that? My alien is a Jedi!

He flipped over my card and swiped it through the reader.

“Wait! What are you doing?”

The machine beside the computer started to print out paperwork.

My hands formed fists. “You said you wouldn’t swipe the card.”

“I said I wouldn’t charge your card. It’s only saved in our computer in case we need it.”

Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. “So it’s not getting sent to the credit card company?”

“No.”

Please, please, please let that be true.

He handed me the paperwork, and a plastic card with the company logo on it. “Room 427. Take the elevator to the fourth floor, and head down to the right.” He raised his eyebrow, his gaze falling on the backpack—our only piece of luggage. “Have a nice evening.”

“Thanks.” My cheeks flushed, imagining what was going through his mind, especially with me acting like a complete ass.

I snatched the cocoas off the counter and handed them to David, hoping they’d warm him up. Too bad it’s only that easy in fairytales. His shiver deepened as I helped him to the elevator, quaking him hard enough to feel the tremor through his sweatshirt.

The chill had nearly immobilized him by the time we stepped out of the elevator. I took the hot cups from his hands and placed them on the floor with the soup as I fumbled with the credit-card key. Give me a regular metal key like the one for my front door any day.

I swiped the card through the lock, but the door wouldn’t open. Flipping the key around, I tried again. After the sixth pass, the little light on the door changed to green, and I turned the handle.