This was crazy. I had to know something else. “How many of you were brought here ten years ago?”
“Almost a hundred around the world. Most didn’t survive long. Some of us were more immune to the planet than others. I have every reason to believe I’m the last remaining alive.”
“So how does this device actually work?” I asked, trying to not sound accusing.
“I have no idea. Our jobs were to reel the assets in to our cause; have them fall in love and be willing to do anything in our name, once we were gone and the invasion began. All I know is it will bring them back, whether it’s through some sort of teleportation, or whether they’ll be lowered slowly via green beams from the massive ships they’re currently occupying. From what I understand, the invaders beam them up and there they sit in containment cells, presumably in a coma-like state until later.”
I didn’t want to ask, but Mary beat me to the question anyway. “What’s later?”
“In our planet’s case, they waited about a week, and did tests on our race while everyone was under. They kept five percent alive. The others they destroyed,” Vanessa said, before breaking into another coughing frenzy.
My breath caught in my throat and I thought I might be sick. A ship full of humans up in space, and only five percent were going to make it. I found myself praying to a God I wasn’t sure existed, for the sake of humanity.
“We’re nearing a week. We have to get to this damned device now.” Mary got up and helped Vanessa to her feet. Ray stood looking bewildered. We got Vanessa back to her seat and gave her another bottle of water, where she pulled a couple pills from her breast pocket and downed them.
“Helps the pain,” she said.
I saw something glimmer behind some bushes, and when I pulled a branch back, I spotted the man-door into the guard station. I tried it and found it unlocked. From there, I searched for a way to release the gates. I didn’t find one, so I hopped into one of the camo Jeeps sitting idly by and ran through one a way down from the van. It did the intended job, and we now had a way to get through.
From the window, I tossed Ray the van keys. “You guys follow behind me. I’ll take this bad boy in case we hit some rough terrain. Then we can all hop in here. I’m pretty sure this thing will climb a mountain if I ask it to.” I really just wanted some alone time after being jammed in with someone every step of the way. Carey ran over and barked at the door. I opened it and he hopped in, giving me a sloppy kiss on his way to the passenger seat.
Mary looked my way as she got into the van and gave me a light smile and a nod. What we’d just heard was heavy stuff, and we were on a deadline now. I wished Vanessa had just told us the truth from the get-go, but I could understand her reluctance.
The Jeep had the T-top off, and warm air rushed through my hair as I drove down the main road, which was mostly paved, but free of lines and shoulders like the ones we were used to back at home. There were a few cars lined up to get into Panama at the time of the taking, but we were able to maneuver around them with ease. I checked my watch and it was three PM, so we really only had a good three or so hours before the sun went down; less if we were in a mountain range by then.
Two hours passed by with nothing but the sound of Carey panting and the hum of the Jeep’s large tires on the road. “Dean, come in,” the radio crackled.
I grabbed it with my right hand, pressed the button, and brought it to my face. “Roger. I’m here. Over.”
“I think we better stop soon. I don’t think Vanessa is going to make it.” Mary sounded worried.
We were coming up to the entrance to the mountain range, and sunlight was limited. “Mary, can we see if we can just make a few more miles to get into the valley before dark? We need to get as far as we can. Over,” I said into the radio.
“Okay. She says to keep going too. See you in a little bit… Over.” The pause made me feel she had more to say, but maybe couldn’t under prying ears.
As I approached the foothills, I saw that there were no lanes cutting through the two peaks ahead. Instead, the road just started to elevate. “Mary, any chance that GPS shows a better road into the valley? I have a bad feeling this one just goes up and around the nearest mountain. Over.” I waited a moment, slowing down in case we had to make a turn soon – or turn around.
“Negative. This is the way. There’ll be a lot of switchbacks coming up. Just take your time. I think we’ll be through it with enough light, and then maybe we can stop for the night. Everything goes well tomorrow, and we get an early start, I think we’ll reach our destination tomorrow. Over.”
Tomorrow. I was so excited and nervous at the same time about getting to the device and deactivating it. What would happen? Would everyone go back to the place they were beamed up from? Would they all go to the center of Russia? I blinked and had a vision of half the population being transported back, but into the ocean by random draw.
“Okay. Follow me at a safe distance and let me know if the van is too tough to drive on these narrow roads. Over.”
Carey watched me as he lay down with his face between his paws on the front seat. I wondered if he thought of Susan, his mom, on this trip. Did he go to sleep picturing her rubbing his belly or feeding him a treat? I reached over and scratched his ear, and was rewarded with a soft groan.
I was really going to miss him when this was all over. Maybe I was being a little presumptuous about the end of whatever this invasion was being near, but I felt in my gut that we were almost done with it.
Turning my attention back to the road, I could feel the humidity rising as we rose in elevation; large green-leaved trees surrounded the narrow road. After ten minutes of driving at a high grade upwards, and two ear pops, I plateaued and came over a wooden bridge. Then it all opened up in front of me. I could see the winding road down the hill and into the valley. It looked like a hundred-mile asphalt snake, winding its way southwards, pointing me to my destination. It was beautiful.
The sun was behind the mountain range to the west and we would be out of light before we knew it. I kept driving, the van following behind, until I wound halfway down the mountain side road. There were no guard rails anywhere, and a few times I caught myself peeking down the ridge into oblivion as we went into the valley.
“We’d better stop. Light’s almost gone and not only do we not want headlights bringing attention to us, Ray doesn’t want to be driving this thing over the side. Over.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll pull over ahead.” I noticed they had already pulled to the side. I was watching the rear-view mirror and when I looked forward, there it was. A ship hovered there, a horrifying game of chicken in play. It was smaller than the ships we’d seen in New York and cutting up the world on the trip south, but mostly the same shape. I twitched and panicked. What to do? I saw the look on Mary’s face in the van. They hadn’t been moving, so more than likely, the ship had only seen me. Conflicting debate ran through my head faster than I’d have thought possible. I went with my gut. Seconds after I spotted the ship, I hit the gas, racing down the hill. It followed me.
SIXTEEN
Gravel spun under my tires and flung behind me as I tore down the mountain. Carey was sitting up, scared by the movement and noises. The ship, silent as ever, followed me effortlessly. I knew I either had to hide somehow, or just keep driving until this thing blew me up. Either way, I hoped I’d been able to give my friends time to get away and keep themselves safe so they could complete the mission. Vanessa would probably be dead soon, so that left Mary and Ray to do the task. I had faith they could do it.