You mean worse than the world being invaded by aliens? Luna asked. Or worse than being grabbed by a guy with a gun at a press conference?
I dont know, Kevin repeated. He got the feeling that he should probably go after Chloe, but he didnt feel strong enough to do it yet, and in any case, he also had the feeling that Luna wouldnt be happy with him if he did.
I figured she would have told you, Luna said. I mean, you looked to be having a nice talk when I showed up before.
It sounded almost jealous, but why would Luna be jealous? She had to know that she and Kevin would always be best friends, and nothing would come between that, right? And as for anything else well, that would imply that Luna was interested in being more than just his friend, and Kevin couldnt really believe that would ever happen.
She didnt really say much, Kevin said. Just that she ran away.
Looks like shes good at that, Luna said, with another pointed look toward the door.
Luna, Kevin said. Can you at least try to be nice to her? I mean, I dont know why youre even mad at her. Id have thought youd get along.
Because were both girls? Luna said.
No! Kevin said hurriedly. I mean, because youre both He tried to think of the right words. Would tough be right? Chloe certainly looked it, while Luna didnt, but Kevin knew from experience that she was.
Were nothing alike, Luna said. She called me a cheerleader.
She made it sound like an insult.
Well, you were on the
Thats not the point, Luna said, but then stopped. Okay, though. Ill be nice. I guess if were all stuck in a bunker together, well have to get along. But Im doing this for you, not for her.
Thanks, Kevin said.
Of course, if theres some new signal, then were not going to be able to stay in the bunker, are we? Luna said, sounding as though it was all pretty obvious. Maybe it was to her. Luna had always been good at coming up with plans for things. Quite often, theyd been plans for getting into more trouble.
Kevin hadnt thought it through yet, but Luna was probably right. If there was a new signal, then they had to find out what it meant, and there was only one place they could do that.
I think we have to go back to the research institute, Kevin said.
Even though we barely got out of there the first time? Luna said. And we dont know whats on the message, and we dont know if it will do any good when the aliens have already taken our world. It could just be sorry, we tried to warn you.
What if its not, though? Kevin countered. I mean, do you really believe theyd send a message all the way across space for that?
No, I guess not, Luna said, looking more serious now.
What if they found a way to beat the aliens, or force them out of controlling peoples bodies? Kevin said. What if they give us some way to make this better? We have to go back. Well I do. I mean, you might be safer if
Finish that thought and Ill punch you, Luna said. Of course Im going to come.
But I thought that
You thought youd leave me behind while you had an adventure by yourself? Luna demanded.
Kevin shook his head. I thought that wed finally gotten somewhere safe. I thought maybe you wouldnt want to give that up. I have to be there to translate the message, but no one elseow!
He rubbed his arm where Lunas fist had connected with it.
I told you I would, she said with a broad smile that suggested she wasnt remotely sorry. Im coming with you, because someone has to keep you from getting grabbed by controlled people. Besides, if theres anything there that will let us turn around and kick their asses for what they did, I want to know about it.
That was part of what was so incredible about Luna. She didnt give up, even when everything said that it was the sensible thing to do. Shed fight anything, up to and including an alien invasion.
Did I ever tell you how amazing you are? Kevin asked.
You dont need to tell me, Luna said with another grin. I just know. Frankly, youre lucky you get to be my friend.
True, Kevin said. He turned serious for a moment. We need a plan if were going to go back.
Well need supplies, Luna said, starting to check items off on her fingers. Well need food, maybe tools to get inside, masks
Chloe said that the vapor was gone, Kevin pointed out.
And how does she know? Luna countered. Okay, maybe, but Id rather have one with me just in case. You can have the job of telling her that were going.
Maybe shell want to come with us, Kevin said.
Luna made a face. I guess its better than leaving her here and wondering if shell let us back in again. Ill get started getting supplies together. You go and talk to her.
***Kevin made his way through the underground complex, looking for Chloe. It took a while to find her in the tangled corridors and storerooms, but eventually he heard her ahead. She seemed to be talking to herself.
I cant do it I cant do it
Kevin cautiously looked through a doorway to find Chloe sitting on the floor of a storeroom. There were things scattered around in a spread that didnt look accidental. It looked as though shed swept her arm along one of the shelves, knocking everything to the floor. She had her head in her hands and seemed to be crying.
Chloe?
She looked up as Kevin approached, wiping away her tears as if afraid they might be used against her.
Im fine, she said, before Kevin could even ask if she was okay. Im fine.
I used to say I was fine when people asked me about my illness, Kevin said, moving to sit down beside her. It mostly meant I wasnt.
I just get upset sometimes, Chloe said, and Kevin guessed shed picked that word carefully out of all the ones that had come to her. I do stuff without really thinking. Its part of why people said I was crazy.
I dont think youre crazy, Kevin said.
Chloe sighed. You dont know me yet. Did you just come here to see how badly I was messing up?
No, of course not, Kevin said. We I think that we need to go back to the NASA research institute. With what I saw, there might be a message, and it might be important.
You want to go into the middle of the city, to a place that might be full of them? Chloe replied. Thatsthat doesnt make any sense. We could go anywhere. There are the Survivors in LA, or my cousin up north
We need to do this, Kevin said. Lunas collecting supplies, and well work out a plan for getting there safely. You could stay here if you want, though. You dont have to come with us if you dont think it would be safe enough.
You dont want me to come with you? Chloe said, and now she sounded as upset as shed looked before.
Thats not what I said, Kevin said.
Its what you meant, though, isnt it? Chloe shot back.
No, Kevin replied. I just thought you might not want to come. You said yourself it might be dangerous.
Chloe shrugged. Whatever.
Chloe, Kevin said. I dont want to
Whatever, Chloe repeated, in a dull tone. Do what you want. I dont care. Go off and make your stupid preparations.
Whatever, Chloe repeated, in a dull tone. Do what you want. I dont care. Go off and make your stupid preparations.
Chloe
Go! she snapped.
Kevin went, hoping that if he left Chloe alone for a while, they might be able to talk about it again later or something. That was what people did, wasnt it? They talked about things and made up?
For now, he knew he should probably help Luna find supplies for their journey. They would need all kinds of things, from gas for the car that theyd left waiting outside to clothes, to maps. He passed a door with the word Armory printed above it and tried the handle, but it was locked. Maybe that was just as well. He doubted that he and Luna could fight their way through a horde of controlled people no matter how many weapons they had. Besides, just the thought of it made him picture his mother running toward him, or the scientists from the Institute, or Lunas parents. He didnt think he would be able to hurt any of them.
He was still thinking about it when he heard alarms going off in the direction of the control room.
Kevin ran there, hoping it would all just be some false alarm or minor fault, but in his heart, he knew it wouldnt be. He knew exactly who would be responsible for that alarm, and he didnt want to think about what she might be doing.
He saw Chloe as he ran into the control room. She was pressing buttons on the computers through a haze of tears, stabbing at them with her fingers as if pressing them harder would make them work better.
Chloe, what are you doing? Kevin demanded.
I dont have to do what you say. I dont have to do what anyone says, she said, in a determined tone. You cant keep me here. I need to get out!
No ones trying to
I thought you liked me. I thought you might be my friend, but youre like all the others. Im going. You cant stop me!
She pressed something else, and the tone of the alarms changed. Computer-generated words blared over the speakers.
Emergency Evacuation Procedure begun. Opening doors. Please exit the base in an orderly fashion.
What? Kevin said. Chloe, what have you done?
Whats she doing now? Luna asked, as she ran into the room. She had a backpack over one shoulder that shed obviously been using to collect supplies, still half open because of the hurry to get there. She didnt look happy.
Not as unhappy as Chloe did, though. You were going to leave me behind here like some kind of of prisoner, she said, and her tone was frantic, angry, and scared all at once. Youre not going to keep me here. Im going to my cousin. Im going to find out what happened to him. Then Im going to the Survivors.
Behind her, the great door to the airlock was swinging open. To Kevins shock, so was the outer door, both of them opening at once in a clear path to the outside. Kevin could see the mountain road outside, and the trees. Worse, he could see figures moving out there, turning toward the sound almost in unison.
Pretty much as soon as the way was clear, Chloe darted through the doorway, out onto the mountain. Kevin was too shocked by it all to try to stop her, and Luna was pulling on her gas mask in a hurry, obviously still unsure about whether to trust the air outside or not.
The door, Kevin! Luna yelled as she hurried to put it in place. We need to close the door.
Kevin nodded. Ive got it.
He hoped he had it, at least. He could see the people outside advancing toward the door, more of them than he could have believed given that the aliens were supposed to have taken the people. There were soldiers and hikers, whole families moving in a kind of stilted, silent coordination.
Kevin pressed buttons on the computer, hoping to undo whatever had been done. Nothing seemed to have any effect. It didnt help that he didnt have a clue how the computer system here worked. It wasnt as if everything was labeled for anyone who wanted to try using it. Besides, he suspected that an emergency door opening like this wasnt supposed to be easy to undo, in case people got trapped inside. He mashed at the computers keys, hoping to find some combination that might do something.
None of it worked. The doors stayed open, a clear path standing to the outside, and now, along that path, the people controlled by the aliens were stalking forward.
They were coming.
And if they reached the bunker, Kevin was terrified of what would happen next.
CHAPTER FOUR
Run! Kevin yelled as the people the aliens had converted closed in on the bunker. Luna already seemed to be taking his advice, running back into the confusing depths of the place, so fast that Kevin had to push to keep up.
Theyd always been good at running away. Whenever they got into trouble for being somewhere they shouldnt be, they always managed to keep ahead of whoever was following them. Well, most of the time. Well, at least better than half. This time, though, Kevin suspected they would get something a lot worse than a stern warning if the creatures behind them caught up.
He could hear the thud of their feet on the bunkers floor as they followed, the sound of their pursuit silent except for the clatter of boots against concrete. They didnt call out in their pursuit, didnt screech or scream or demand that Kevin and Luna stop. Somehow, that made it all scarier.
This way! Luna called out, still leading him deeper into the base. They passed the armory, and now Kevin did wish he had some kind of weapon, simply because it seemed like the only way they were going to be able to get out of there in one piece. Since he didnt have one, he settled for knocking over whatever he passed as he ran, pushing a cart into the path of the advancing people, closing doors behind him. Crashes told him when they slammed into the obstacles Kevin was putting in their way, but so far none of it seemed to be slowing them down even a little.
Quiet now, Luna whispered, pulling Kevin into another corridor and slowing down to a tiptoe. A crowd of hikers and soldiers hurried past just a second later, moving with all the speed and strength that seemed to come from being controlled by the aliens.
Why are they so fast? Kevin whispered back, trying to catch his breath. It didnt seem fair, them being that fast. The least you should be able to expect from an alien invasion was to be able to run away from it properly.
The aliens are probably just making them use all of their muscles, Luna said, not caring if they hurt them. You know, like when grandmas lift cars off people.
Grandmas can lift cars off people? Kevin said.
Luna shrugged. With her gas mask on, it was impossible to know if she was making fun of him or not. I saw it on TV. Have you got your breath back yet?
Kevin nodded even though it wasnt exactly true. Where are we going? If theyre smart, theyll have left people by the entrance.
So we go to the other entrance, Luna said.
The emergency exit. Kevin had been so busy thinking about the bunker being overrun that hed pretty much forgotten it. If they could get to it, then maybe they had a chance. They could get to the car and drive to NASA.
Ready? Luna asked. Okay, go.
They scurried along the corridors, and somehow, not seeing the controlled people was worse than seeing them. They were so quiet that they could have been around any corner, waiting to grab them, and if they did, then what happened next wouldnt be worth