CHAPTER 20
Terror gripped me at the realization that we shouldn’t have lingered so long at the scene of Aeron’s prior attack…We would be sitting ducks if they decided to come back to ambush him.
I clung more tightly to Aeron’s torso as I whipped my head around to face the approaching sound. Aeron’s arms wrapped securely around me as he fixed his eyes on the end of the hall, waiting for the footsteps to round the corner. I held my breath in anticipation, then started with a jolt as a man appeared there…To my immense relief, it was a familiar face.
Dr. Raymond Bradley was a pathologist who taught at the medical school. He had been there since the beginning of time. In his balding state, his ears were clearly visible—and clearly rounded. He was most definitely not an assassin—just a man with no social life, who came in to work on weekends voluntarily.
Aeron and I stepped a little distance apart to avoid drawing attention to our embrace, but Dr. Bradley scarcely noticed. He had his nose buried in a journal, as he strode past us with a vague nod to acknowledge our presence. I heaved a sigh of relief as Aeron turned to pull open the door to the lab. He held the door in place, gently guiding me through with his hand at the small of my back.
Once safely inside the lab, we agreed it would be best to wrap up our work as quickly as possible. Even if there was no real danger, we were expected back at Sabela’s house soon. Tonight we were moving Aeron and Ewenami’s things to her place. The more of us who were there to help, the quicker (and therefore less conspicuous) the job would be.
Aeron picked up where he had left off with the test sample, and thankfully his optimism was rewarded—it proved to be the successful antiviral agent. Though we were both greatly relieved, there was no thrill of celebration. The hardest part of the job, by far, was yet to come. I was confident that Sabela’s skills would efficiently guide us to the enemy ship—but it was hopeless to think that there would be no one there to guard it. It would take a miracle for us to locate the weapon, disarm it, and escape unscathed…All without leaving a trail for the enemy to eventually track us down. Aeron had a plan, but it left minimal room for error. If we were unsuccessful on the first try, we knew there wouldn’t be a second.
By the time we had finished producing enough of the antiviral agent to be sufficient for the job, it was time to pack up and head to Sabela’s. We loaded everything into Aeron’s car, then he drove me to my parking space.
Before I got out of his car, he reached over to sweep my bangs across my forehead, tucking them back behind my ear. He wrapped his fingers around the back of my neck, gently tugging me forward to rest his forehead against mine. I took hold of his wrist, securing his hand in its place as I stroked my thumb along his smooth skin. I didn’t want to move, to be separated from him—but we had decided it wasn’t practical to leave my car behind at the school. Who knew if I would ever be returning to get it?
I took one more deep breath, then slid his hand from my neck to my cheek, turning into it to kiss the palm of his hand. He pressed his lips to my forehead softly, then whispered in my ear, “Be safe, Palta…I will follow behind you.” I looked up to take in the brilliance of his vibrantly green eyes for one moment more, then turned to let myself out of the car.
He watched over me as I got in my car and started the engine. I led the way out of the parking garage and across the campus. Once on the highway, he followed closely behind me, never leaving enough space for other drivers to work in between us. The drive seemed much longer than usual, despite my attempt to distract myself by singing along to the radio. Finally we arrived at Sabela’s house, where Ewenami was already waiting to get started with the move.
We parked in the front drive, then Aeron came over to take hold of my hand as we walked up the sidewalk. We hadn’t discussed whether we would make our families aware of the news of our relationship…He seemed to know that I was too close with Sabela to want or need to conceal my happiness from her. Though I knew he was equally open and honest with his own sister, I still felt a thrill at how comfortable he was with overtly showing his affection.
When Sabela arrived at the door to greet us, her eyes immediately lit up at the sight of our joined hands. I smiled sheepishly as I reached my free hand up to wrap my fingers around the crease in Aeron’s elbow, hugging his arm against the side of my body. I swear Sabela would have broken into tears of joy if she hadn’t been interrupted by Ewenami coming to stand at her side, eager to see that Aeron had returned safely.
Ewenami’s reaction was less subdued.
She leaped forward, throwing an arm around each of our necks, practically cutting off my air supply as she hugged us in tightly. I caught my breath as she relinquished her grip, moving over to place both her hands on Aeron’s face, beaming up at him with pure delight.
“I knew it,” she grinned. “I wasn’t about to tell you, but I knew she felt the same way about you.” She gave him a meaningful look as he rolled his eyes and shook his head slowly. I gathered that he and Ewenami had not exactly discussed his feelings for me directly…She had picked up on them through his personal thoughts. Recalling the moment when she had probed my own thoughts, I was grateful to realize she had kept them private.
Thankfully, neither of the mother hens felt the need to grill us about the particulars of our romance. They simply bustled around energetically, seeming to forget for the moment the gravity of the situation before us. The mood was pulled down slightly when Aeron mentioned that we had prepared the antiviral agent—reminding us all that phase two of our operation was now closer at hand.
Even so, we kept a jovial atmosphere as we waited for Dominick to return from picking up the moving trailer. Though Aeron and Ewenami didn’t have many items to be hauled, it would take more than one of our cars to do the job without the help of a trailer. We all felt better traveling together. Hopefully we could each grab a couple of boxes, load up, and be out of sight in under ten minutes.
As we made the drive, Sabela took the opportunity to update us on her progress toward locating the enemy ship. With Father’s detailed description of the ship itself—in combination with her childhood memories—she had effectively narrowed down the location to northern Montana. This made sense, knowing the enemy spies had gained access to the details of my family’s travel to Earth. It was very close to their original landing point.
The feeling of tension was palpable in the car as we all came to the simultaneous realization that time was running short…It made no sense for us to delay, now that we had the key ingredients to our plan of attack. Aeron began to review the strategy as we approached the apartment complex.
We took a break from the discussion to undertake the retrieval of Aeron and Ewenami’s belongings. They had very few personal possessions, all of which were already neatly packed into standard cardboard boxes. Then there were two massive military-style molded plastic cargo cases, large enough that I could have easily curled up to fit inside. Apparently Aeron had not come to Earth unarmed…They were packed with an assortment of futuristic-appearing weapons.
I wasn’t a complete stranger to firearms, thanks to a brief stint of wanting to work in law enforcement—but I had no idea how to even begin to operate one of these. It took two of us to carry each case, which we quickly concealed within the trailer.
I hadn’t really bothered to explore the tiny, nondescript apartment—it clearly wasn’t “home” to either of them. With everything secured inside the trailer, we departed swiftly without returning inside.
As we returned to the preparations for our mission to Montana, Sabela raised a question. “Assuming we are successful in destroying the weapon and escaping, what then?” She was looking directly at me. “Where will you go from there?”
“Meaning?…” We both knew I was entirely aware what she meant.
“Meaning, will you be leaving Earth immediately, or do you plan to come back here first?” Her tone of voice was no different than if she had asked whether I was g
oing to the grocery store or the post office.
“Who says she has to leave Earth?” Aeron was kindly trying to suggest that I had a free choice in the matter. “It may not be our only option.” He was trying to be encouraging, but his eyes told me that he had no other viable suggestions in mind.
“Aeron,” I shook my head softly as I turned to face him. “You can’t stay here. Your only option—and therefore my only option—is to return to Onontí. I’m not staying here without you.” He reached over to squeeze my hand, understanding from my expression that there was no point in debating the issue.
I turned back to face Sabela, meeting her wise, motherly eyes. “You know I will miss you dearly,” she said lovingly. “But I trust you will find a way to get word to us when you can. Your happiness is far more important than my need for your company. Father, on the other hand, may have a difficult time accepting this…”
“I know,” I sighed. “I’m sure I’m in for an earful.”
“What is your plan?” she asked uncertainly.
“I plan on wearing earplugs,” I replied dryly. “Beyond that, I’ve got nothing…”