Earth: Population 2 (Paradise Lost Book 1) (13 page)

“I was only kidding.” Gale smiled apologetically. “You just need something to do. Stir these eggs while I melt some butter.”

“Okay.” I joined him at the countertop and grabbed a fork. Surprisingly, the powder started to look like fresh-cracked eggs. Wasn’t I just thinking of eggs? All at once, my nightmare came back to me. Save ’n Shop, ringing at the cash register, Mr. Harrisburg, Mom, Hailey, and Gale.

Gale elbowed me gently. “Are you all right?”

How could I tell him I’d dreamt about him? Whenever Hailey told me she’d dreamt about me, it always weirded me out. Better to play it safe. “Yeah. Just stirring.”

Mom used to watch this New Age network all the time, and one of the psychics used to talk about how every dream means something and how every dream serves a purpose. I’d lost Mom, Hailey, and even Mr. Harrisburg. Was I afraid of losing Gale as well? I had to be. There was no way I’d have to choose between him and everyone else, though. We were going to find them and stop the Sparkies then we’d all be together. I could introduce Mom and Hailey to Gale. Just to see the look on Hailey’s face would be worth it. Now, all we had to do was save the world.

“What’s on your mind, Julie?”

“It’s just…I feel so lame standing here making eggs while everyone else is gone and needs our help.”

He placed a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll find them. We’ll make it right.”

“How do you know they’re not all dead and we’re not the only two people left?” I stopped stirring. I couldn’t believe I’d said the obvious truth we’d both denied all this time. But maybe that’s what my dream hinted at—that I couldn’t have both worlds.

Gale grew solemn. I’d never seen him this serious, not even as Jay Dovetail when he’d lost his ship. “Because I have to believe I still have a say in my own destiny. Without that, I wouldn’t have the will to go on.”

Nodding, I hoped for his sake and mine that my dream was wrong. I turned to him, feeling helpless, like a float adrift in the middle of the ocean. He was my only point of reference, my tether to the world I’d known. “What do we do now?”

Gale squeezed my shoulder. “Wait till nightfall. Then, we try again.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

SECOND TRY

July 5, 2013, 1:15 a.m.

Day 12

“Go fish.” I organized my hand of cards. Thank goodness he hadn’t asked for my threes. I needed a three of hearts to make a new set.

Gale pulled a card from the deck, frowned, and filed it into his hand.

I smiled. “For an actor, you suck at bluffing.”

“This isn’t a play or a movie.” Gale shot me a dead serious glance. “This is real life.”

“Or what our lives have become.” I stared at the iridescent ship in the sky. We’d been up for hours with no sign of any activity. At this rate, we’d save everyone by the time we turned forty.

“For the moment.” Gale glanced at the ship. “Your turn.”

“Do you have any threes?”

“As a matter of fact,” Gale pulled a card from his deck, “I do.”

“Yes!” I took the card from him and put down my set. “I win!”

“Looks like someone here
is
good at bluffing.” Gale smiled as if he was genuinely happy I’d won and he’d lost.

Instead of basking in my win, guilt rolled over me. I excelled at bluffing. In fact, our whole relationship was founded on a bluff: the fact that I already knew him, idolized him. I bit my lip. I had to tell him sometime, especially if our rescue mission dragged on like this. I couldn’t keep lying forever.

But, what would he do if he knew not only was I one of those crazy fans, but I’d kept it from him for this long? He was the only human left on this world. I couldn’t risk losing him.

“Over there!” Gale pointed to a ship arcing down toward the east. He stood and grabbed my backpack. “Come on. We have to get there before it takes off again.”

I grabbed my rifle and shoved the smaller pistol into my pocket. “Game time.”

We ran downstairs to the Jaguar. Gale threw my backpack in the back, and we jumped in as the automatic garage door opened. Gale revved the engine and took off before I had my seat belt on. We sped through the grounds. The iron gate opened inch by inch.

“Slow down. The gate’s not all the way open yet. We’re not going to make it!”

“Wanna bet?” Gale winked at me, and we accelerated.

“And I’m the crazy one?” I held onto the door handle.

We sailed through, centimeters from the gate. Gale laughed, and I hit his arm. “You could have crashed.”

“Nah. Pete and I used to race this all the time. I know how fast I can go.”

“Gale, if anything happens to us—”

He grabbed my hand and squeezed. “Nothing is going to happen to us. If we’re going to get through this, then you’ll have to trust me.”

Warmth spread from his hand to mine, and he didn’t let go. I sensed this bond growing between us, like a magnetic pull in the air. He wasn’t just Gale Williams—teen heartthrob and actor—he was my friend. “I do trust you.”

“Good. Glad we got that straight.” Gale glanced at our entwined hands then took his back and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. It was the first time I saw him nervous and not looking cool, which made him ultra-endearing.

We sped through the windy, treelined streets and took a ramp onto the highway. A full moon illuminated the rain-slickened pavement, and the stars glowed bright. I glanced through the moon roof wondering if I’d ever see them the same way again. Now. they reminded me of a dangerous world outside our own, with aliens out to destroy us.

“Over there.” I pointed toward a light shining in the west. My pulse increased. “Take the next exit.”

“Yes ma’am.” Gale swerved around a black Lexus and took the ramp. We drove through some poor suburb of Boston with a bunch of tenement homes all stacked up one next to the other. Laundry left to dry on the porches fluttered in the breeze. Yellowed plastic toys and rusty bikes lay scattered on the sidewalk. Graffiti scrawled on the cement foundations along with chalk stick figures and smiley faces.

Gale turned the corner into a fenced area with trucks lined up on either side. My hands tightened around my rifle. “What is this place?”

“Some type of sand and gravel refinery.” Gale hid the car behind a giant pile of dirt. He turned off the engine and the lights. “We’re too close to take the car in any farther. Come on.”

We got out, making sure to shut the car doors quietly. I grabbed my backpack and followed Gale into the main area where sand piles surrounded a dilapidated metal building. The spacecraft sat between two of the piles. Two Sparkies patrolled the front, sending out static currents with their tails. Another one leaned over a sand pile.

I pulled Gale toward me and whispered in his ear. “Why do you suppose they came here?”

He shrugged. “Who cares. Let’s see if we can create a diversion and get them away from the ship. Look for something flammable.”

Something flammable? This wasn’t one of his movies. We couldn’t blow everything up, jump off the ship, and say “cut.” I grabbed his arm. “What exactly are you thinking of doing?”

Mischief sparked in his eyes. “An explosion. A big one.”

“An explosion?”

“Yeah.” He must have seen the horror on my face, because his eyes grew apologetic, and he pulled me close. “Listen, Julie. You want that ship, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then, we’ve got to find a way to get them away from it. Unless you want to just charge at them with our guns?”

I counted three, but more could be lurking in the surrounding area. And I wasn’t sure just how good a shot I was. Probably terrible. “No.”

“Okay. So we need something explosive. Gas maybe?”

“I’d go for that truck over there.” I pointed across the yard. “Poke a hole in the tank and let the gas drain.” I had no idea how that thought came to mind. Maybe I’d watched too many action movies. I dug in my backpack. “Here’s a lighter.”

Gale squeezed my shoulder. “Julie, you’re a genius.”

I smiled despite the life-threatening situation. “Either that or I’m the crazy one, remember?”

He touched my cheek. “You’re not crazy.”

After an awkward moment of staring, he turned back to the truck. “I’ll sneak over there and create the diversion. You get the ship.”

I grabbed his arm. “Wait a sec. I don’t know anything about the ship. You’re the one with the pilot lessons, remember? I should create the diversion.”

He shook his head. “I don’t like it. It’s too dangerous.”

I took the lighter back and handed him my backpack. It would be easier to run without it. “It’s the only way.”

My throat tightened and I struggled to breathe. I smoothed my hands over my jeans.
I can do this.

Gale pulled me toward him. I thought he was going to give me advice, but instead he leaned down and pressed his lips against mine fiercely. I froze in total, earth-shattering shock, my eyes wide open like some zombie girl. The kiss only lasted two seconds, but it was the best two seconds of my life. He tasted like breath mints and hot guy, and my whole body lit on fire. If the aliens could have seen the explosion in my heart, that would have been all the distraction we needed.

All of my fear; fear of a guy getting between me and Mom, fear of getting hurt, fear of what our lives had become,
all
of it melted away.

Gale pulled away, breathless. Determination and something else that might be longing shone in his eyes. “For good luck.”

“Of course.” That made perfect sense. Why else would he kiss me unless he thought I was running to my death? I turned around totally shell-shocked on some hormonal high. If I could kiss Gale Williams, then I could distract those aliens.

I ran without looking back. My pulse pounded, and blood rushed to my neck. I imagined the Sparkies’ eyes on my back, their stinging tails sizzling in the breeze. I made it to the first sand pile across the yard. Panting, I crouched beside it, waiting for any hint they’d seen me.

Nothing. I chanced a glance around the dune. Gale had disappeared. He’d probably made his way toward the ship. Yet, his absence chilled my blood. I was alone, and it was up to me to draw them away from him. Either that, or I’d lose him forever.

I crawled around the dune, still clutching my rifle. The truck lay parked against the metal building. One more stretch of open space separated me from the vehicle. I breathed in and out, counted to three, and ran.

Static cracked from the ship. I refused to turn, focusing on my goal. I reached the truck and crouched behind the gigantic snow plow at the front. I crawled from there to the front tire. Where was the gas tank? How was I supposed to pierce it? Why hadn’t I thought of these things before I ran?

Movement from the dune I’d just run from caught my eye. Was Gale following me?

A long, drawn-out hiss followed, and I cringed against the truck. A Sparkie was out there.

I raised my rifle. If I fired, I’d alert the other Sparkies. That might draw them away from the ship, but it would also draw them right to me.

My gaze darted around the yard, looking for a place to hide. The Sparkie rounded the dune, taking samples from a small container in his hands. This one had sunken cheeks. His belly bulged like a small child’s, and a tuft of wispy white hair stood on his overly large head.

It was too late to run anywhere. Instead, I dropped to my hands and knees and crawled under the truck. The Sparkie turned his head in my direction, and I held my breath, trying to blend in. What would Gale do if I couldn’t create the distraction? Would he have the sense to retreat? Could he get away without the Sparkies noticing?

Maybe. But would he have the good sense not to go for the ship without the distraction. Maybe not.

The Sparkie turned back to the sand dune, using a small blue light to illuminate the grains. I looked up, examining the undercarriage. A large metal tank sat behind me next to the back wheel. It had to be the gas.

I crawled toward the tank and felt the metal under my skin. I’d need a drill to pierce it. That, or a gun. I inched back far enough and raised my rifle. The shot would alert the Sparkies right away. I wouldn’t have much time for the gas to leak out to set the fire. But, there was no way around it.

I fired. The shot echoed over the yard so loud, my ears felt numb. A hole puckered the tank. Gas sprayed out, and I crawled out the other side, hoping I could hide between the truck and the building.

I fumbled in my pocket until I found the purple Bic lighter. I’d bought a package of them from the grocery store to light the candles on Mom’s birthday cake just a few months back. Some of them I’d used for candles to make the apartment smell better, and a few of them had run out of fuel. Hopefully I’d taken one that still worked.

Hissing came from the other side of the truck. Static popped and sizzled. The sickly sweet smell of the gasoline tickled my nose. It had drained all the way from the back tire to the snow plow in the front.
Just a little longer
.

One of the Sparkies rounded the truck. His eyes glistened with an oily black sheen as he spotted me. His tail rose behind him like a scorpion waiting to strike. He hissed, and his friend jumped on top of the truck. He sneered at me and clicked his teeth together. His tail rose, and the static changed to something more intense. He called for reinforcements.
Good.

I held up my rifle as the gas trickled over the feet of the Sparkies beside me. I hadn’t noticed before how green veins ran underneath their moon-pale skin. They were flesh and blood, like us, and they, too, could be killed.

The one on top of the pickup moved forward. I sparked the lighter and touched it to the trickle of gas. The fire spread quickly, and a wall of hot air rose, pushing me back against the building. Flames erupted, and the dark night turned orange red.

Both Sparkies caught fire, writhing as the flames engulfed their bodies. Coughing, I forced myself up. The sickly sweet smell of burnt flesh gagged me. I scurried around the corner of the building as an explosion shoved me to my feet. I tasted salt and sand in my mouth. Numb and disoriented, I lifted my head. Flames roared behind me, their warmth spreading over my body. Sparkies ran across the yard to the fire.