shears lying on a shelf and cut off a four-foot section. She reached inside the open window of the Jeep, looking for a release lever for the gas cover, realizing she would have to open the door briefly to reach the latch near the floor.
Saying a silent prayer that no one would see the dome light shining in the car, Jodie quickly opened the door and reached up to switch the light off. While it was still on, she noticed something else. Keys were hanging from the ignition. After briefly considering starting up the vehicle and making a break for it, she dismissed the idea and felt around for the fuel cap release lever. She found it and slid out of the Jeep, ready to siphon. She paused when she heard noises coming from what seemed some distance away. The roaring of motors, grinding of gears, crunching of stone. Vehicles. Many large vehicles, from the sound of it.
Jodie moved to the side door of the garage and peeked out the window at the roadway, seeing headlights illuminating the forest. They were headed into town from the direction she had come. The vehicles would have passed her father, Isaiah, Noah and Hunter, hidden in the woods. Jodie hoped she'd pulled far enough off the road to keep them and their SUV hidden. She watched as the caravan rumbled past, a fuel truck bringing up the tail end. "Sure could use that right now," she said to herself.
As she watched the last of the vehicles pass, she pulled the two-way radio out of her coat pocket. She was sure that her father must be okay. After all, he would've called her if they were in trouble. But, why didn't he warn her of the caravan? Surely, he would have called her to tell her they were coming. Suddenly, something felt terribly wrong. Jodie pressed the call button and spoke quietly. "Isaiah? Isaiah, come in . . . Dad? Dad, are you there?" No answer. Jodie dropped the garden hose and closed the door to the Jeep. She wanted to, but didn't dare take the vehicle now that she knew Gypsum was in the area. She placed the empty gas cans in the back of the garage and slid out the side door, unlocking it as she left.
Jodie sprinted across the lawn, going back the way she'd come, not waiting to see if anyone followed. She ran and stumbled through the dark forest, her face whipped by branches, the brush tearing at her clothing. When she finally reached the clearing where she’d left her father and the others, she was stunned. Other than tire tracks to tell her she was in the right area, no evidence of them remained.
She pressed the radio button again. "Dad? Dad, where are you?” The sound of her voice was dampened by the dense growth in the forest. She pressed the button once more, hearing a static-filled clicking noise coming from the woods. As she followed the noise, she kept pressing the button on and off. Finally, she saw it lying in the leaves at the base of a tree. The other radio, her lifeline to her father, lying in the dirt. "Oh, no," Jodie said as she grabbed the radio and started running.
* * *
Chuck lay on the tile floor, surrounded by stacks of file folders he’d cast aside as he frantically searched for some sign that his condition wasn't terminal. He'd found none. The realization that he might have a defined lifespan of only a few days left him utterly spent. And depressed.
What he'd pieced together from reading the files left him shaken and confused about what to do next. While he held a fierce desire to see Jodie again, he knew it was his responsibility to let the rest of the world know what Gypsum had done. Experiments with human and alien DNA. Failed experiments.
The words repeated over and over in his mind. Alien DNA ... experiments ... hybrids. So that's what all of this was for. The underground installation, the secrecy, the murders. Chuck stared at his metal legs. "Is that what I am now? An alien mutant experiment?"
Chuck had read about people who had apparently been kidnapped and taken into space for tissue and bone collection, left with
Saying a silent prayer that no one would see the dome light shining in the car, Jodie quickly opened the door and reached up to switch the light off. While it was still on, she noticed something else. Keys were hanging from the ignition. After briefly considering starting up the vehicle and making a break for it, she dismissed the idea and felt around for the fuel cap release lever. She found it and slid out of the Jeep, ready to siphon. She paused when she heard noises coming from what seemed some distance away. The roaring of motors, grinding of gears, crunching of stone. Vehicles. Many large vehicles, from the sound of it.
Jodie moved to the side door of the garage and peeked out the window at the roadway, seeing headlights illuminating the forest. They were headed into town from the direction she had come. The vehicles would have passed her father, Isaiah, Noah and Hunter, hidden in the woods. Jodie hoped she'd pulled far enough off the road to keep them and their SUV hidden. She watched as the caravan rumbled past, a fuel truck bringing up the tail end. "Sure could use that right now," she said to herself.
As she watched the last of the vehicles pass, she pulled the two-way radio out of her coat pocket. She was sure that her father must be okay. After all, he would've called her if they were in trouble. But, why didn't he warn her of the caravan? Surely, he would have called her to tell her they were coming. Suddenly, something felt terribly wrong. Jodie pressed the call button and spoke quietly. "Isaiah? Isaiah, come in . . . Dad? Dad, are you there?" No answer. Jodie dropped the garden hose and closed the door to the Jeep. She wanted to, but didn't dare take the vehicle now that she knew Gypsum was in the area. She placed the empty gas cans in the back of the garage and slid out the side door, unlocking it as she left.
Jodie sprinted across the lawn, going back the way she'd come, not waiting to see if anyone followed. She ran and stumbled through the dark forest, her face whipped by branches, the brush tearing at her clothing. When she finally reached the clearing where she’d left her father and the others, she was stunned. Other than tire tracks to tell her she was in the right area, no evidence of them remained.
She pressed the radio button again. "Dad? Dad, where are you?” The sound of her voice was dampened by the dense growth in the forest. She pressed the button once more, hearing a static-filled clicking noise coming from the woods. As she followed the noise, she kept pressing the button on and off. Finally, she saw it lying in the leaves at the base of a tree. The other radio, her lifeline to her father, lying in the dirt. "Oh, no," Jodie said as she grabbed the radio and started running.
* * *
Chuck lay on the tile floor, surrounded by stacks of file folders he’d cast aside as he frantically searched for some sign that his condition wasn't terminal. He'd found none. The realization that he might have a defined lifespan of only a few days left him utterly spent. And depressed.
What he'd pieced together from reading the files left him shaken and confused about what to do next. While he held a fierce desire to see Jodie again, he knew it was his responsibility to let the rest of the world know what Gypsum had done. Experiments with human and alien DNA. Failed experiments.
The words repeated over and over in his mind. Alien DNA ... experiments ... hybrids. So that's what all of this was for. The underground installation, the secrecy, the murders. Chuck stared at his metal legs. "Is that what I am now? An alien mutant experiment?"
Chuck had read about people who had apparently been kidnapped and taken into space for tissue and bone collection, left with
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