Girl Vs (Sinister Skies Book 1) Read online

  I looked away as I approached the spot where Shawn had died. I didn’t want to see the dried blood that was smeared over the rocks and bushes. This was the first time I’d come back, and my unease was practically audible.

  The forest was still. No breeze disturbed the trees, no squirrels darted to and fro, no birds chirped to each other. Something was wrong.

  All my senses on high, I climbed another tree—the tallest I could find.

  Then it appeared. The Vela came slogging through the trees. It looked the same as them all—four long legs, bent into a ‘z’, supported the plump abdomen. Rising above that was a middle section from which taut appendages shot forth long serrated claws. The swiveling head, with its unblinking black eyes, was perched on top. I readied my blow dart and took aim.

  But stopped.

  The Vela wasn’t alone. Dozens appeared, all trudging in the same direction as the first. It was the largest group I had seen since leaving the city. They weren’t heading straight toward the cave, but they would surely pass close by, if they kept in the same direction.

  My hand covered my mouth, as if reminding it not to shriek.

  Eventually they disappeared from sight, and it was only then I realized I should have been counting. There had to have been at least two dozen. Which was at least twenty-two more than I’d ever seen together in the forest. Why they amassed together in the cities but only straggled into the woods, I’d no idea. They didn’t exactly spell out their plans in English.

  When I was sure they were long gone, I climbed down from the tree and made a beeline for the cave. The aliens tended to meander slowly, but could be quick when they needed to be, sort of like a bear. And like a bear, they usually had no problem dealing with soft, clawless humans.

  “Quick!” I yelled at Vanessa. “Help me move the boulder!”

  “What?”

  “The boulder! They’re coming!”

  Vanessa jumped from her sleeping bag where she’d been reading and together we moved the boulder in record time.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, panting a little.

  “A whole herd—they passed right by me! At least twenty of them!”

  “But—why?”

  “I don’t know! We didn’t exactly sit down for a chat!”

  “You should lower your voice,” John said from his corner.

  I scowled at him, but didn’t reply. Easy for him to be calm, sitting around the safety of the cave, playing with his stupid radio.

  The radio. Tristen and Tanya had brought it back with them a few days before, in hopes it might help us learn if there were any cities or anything that hadn’t been overrun. John had been messing with it ever since. Maybe they picked up the frequency or something and realized we were here.

  “What about Tristen and Tanya?” Meg asked quietly. She was pouring the river water we’d gathered through the purifier.

  “What about them?”

  “Did you see them out there?”

  “No.”

  “It’s getting late.”

  “I’m sure they’re fine,” I said. But my voice wavered.

  “They’re usually back by now,” Vanessa said.

  I scowled at her. “Well, what do you want me to do about it? It’s not my fault!”

  Grabbing my sleeping bag, I stomped to the back corner of the cave no one ever went to. I threw it down and lay on top of it with my back to the group.

  “No one’s blaming you,” Meg said.

  I ignored her. Already I could feel dampness seeping up into the fibers of the sleeping bag. No wonder no one came back here.

  Meg and Vanessa had a whispered conversation that I was sure was about me. Then Meg tried to coax me out of the corner with an offering of canned oranges. Which worked. But I ate them quickly and went right back to ignoring them.

  Eventually everyone clicked their lights off. For the first time, I lay awake not thinking of my family, but of Tristen and Tanya. They were still out there, in the dark, in the forest. Being hunted. At least if they were lucky, they were.

  Chapter 3

  I couldn’t sleep. The typical clinks, thuds, and drips I’d grown accustomed to had become Tanya’s desperate attempts to alert us that she and Tristen were being torn apart just outside the boulder.

  Of course, my rational side knew better: the two of them were more than capable of removing the blockade and entering the cave.

  So why hadn’t they?

  Surely they would have if they could have. Which meant they couldn’t. Which meant….

  I couldn’t take it anymore. I got up from my spongy sleeping bag and gathered my things.

  “Vanessa,” I hissed.

  She didn’t move.

  “Vanessa!”

  “Go away.”

  “Help me move the boulder. I need to go out.”

  “Now?”

  “I’m going to look for Tristen and Tanya.”

  Meg stirred. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Rhyan. They know their way. They’ll get here when they can.”

  “I don’t care. I’m going crazy just sitting in here.”

  “Then sleep,” Vanessa grumbled.

  “Just get up and help me out. Then I’ll be out of your hair.”

  “… Fine.”

  John, who I’d thought was asleep, suddenly spoke.

  “You won’t do any good out there. You may as well stay here so we don’t lose another person.”

  “Oh, that’s great,” I said. “Already gave up on them, huh?”

  He didn’t reply.

  Vanessa got up with a huff and together we moved the boulder just enough so I could slip out before it rolled back into place.

  Outside, a faint paleness emerged from the eastern horizon. The air was brisk and a light breeze rustled the leaves.

  Now what?

  I really hadn’t thought about that. I’d been so troubled inside, all I could think about was doing something. I settled for climbing the hill over the cave again. If nothing else, it was a good vantage point. One from which I’d spent dozens of late afternoons watching for Tristen and Tanya.

  The first time I’d met Tanya was weeks after civilization had collapsed. Dad and Zach had been dead for a while. I’d been hiding out in a mall, sleeping in the perfume section since the Vela had an apparent dislike of the manufactured odors.

  Tanya had come walking stealthily down the broken escalator, saw my nest (a sleeping bag, Oreos, and a flashlight), inside a kiosk and began to search for me. I watched her, crouched in the middle of a nearby clothes rack.

  “Tanya!” Tristen had whisper-yelled. “What are you doing? You’re supposed to be finding binoculars.”

  “I think someone’s here!” she’d replied.

  Tristen was by her side instantly, gun unholstered.

  “Let’s go. We don’t need any trouble.”

  “Maybe they need help.”

  “We have a hard enough time helping ourselves. Let’s go.” He attempted to pull her by her arm. She jerked away and in that instant, locked eyes with me.

  “She’s over there,” Tanya tattled. Tristen raised his gun.

  Unarmed and terrified, I emerged from my hiding spot before Tristen could catch me cowering like an abandoned puppy.

  “Who are you?” he demanded.

  “Who are you?” I echoed.

  We glared at each other until Tanya stepped in.

  “I’m Tanya. This is my brother Tristen. Do you need help?”

  I could imagine what I’d looked like to them: hair a greasy mess, eyes wild from being constantly alert, dirty clothing hanging loosely from my gaunt figure. I don’t know how Tanya found it in her to be empathetic instead of disgusted.

  But she had. She’d made Tristen lower his gun and had talked me into coming back with them to the cave, where I’d been introduced to John and Meg. (Shawn and Vanessa had come later.) With untactful reluctance, they’d allowed me to join them.

  Life in the cave had been surprisingly more c
omfortable than life in the mall. More people meant less work, and my mind had gradually relaxed into allowing itself more sleep, since the need for never-ending lookout had eased.

  I’d be forever grateful to Tanya. Without her, Tristen would probably have shot me then and there.

  I summited the hill just as the sky turned pink. After fishing a pair of binoculars from the leather pouch, I began scanning the trees. The most frequented trails were mostly blocked from view, though, so it wasn’t surprising I didn’t see anyone. I’d have to search for them on foot.

  Moments later I was traipsing down the one of the main trails, unsure whether or not it was worth the risk of calling out Tristen and Tanya’s names.

  The sunrise was dazzling, bathing the forest in a creamsicle orange. For someone who hadn’t spent much outside the city as a kid, my new home had me in a constant state of awe. As if reflecting my thoughts, a large doe suddenly dashed across the trail only ten feet away, immediately followed by two fawns. None of them even glanced at me. They were bounding along at full speed, heedless of anything but their flight.

  Wondering what could have worked them into such frenzy, I climbed a tree to get a better look around. The tree’s roots clung into the slant of a small hill, and as I ascended, I could see the other side.

  My heart stuttered. There, a mere fifty feet away, was a small multitude of Vela. They were burbling at each other, bustling around. But most importantly, they were prodding a small group of people—two women, one man, and a boy about my age—into a large steel sphere.

  I’d seen those spheres before—they used them everywhere in the city for transportation. (Our cars didn’t exactly fit their awkward proportions.)

  But why were they taking these people? All I had ever seen the Vela do—all anyone had seen them do, was kill. They had never bothered with hostages. Not even the President, whose grisly death had been broadcast on live TV.

  Wishing I had a camera, I tried to fix the scene into my mind. I counted the creatures—twenty-six. They didn’t stay long. As soon as the people and all but two of the creatures were secured inside the sphere, it rolled away down the path. The two aliens left behind strolled away and it was only then I allowed myself to breathe.

  I couldn’t believe what I had just seen. Was there something special about those people? Did they somehow negotiate with the beasts?

  Concerns of Tristen and Tanya flew from my mind as I ran back to the cave. I banged on the boulder with a rock three times, the signal to open up, and slipped inside as Vanessa, John, and Meg greeted me with worried expressions.

  “You didn’t find them?” Meg asked.

  “No,” I replied breathlessly, “but I saw a whole troop! A bunch of them all together. They were taking people—putting them into those big silver balls they use.”

  “Taking them?” Vanessa asked, voice full of skepticism.

  “Yes! Four of them. They didn’t hurt them—just pushed them into the sphere and rolled away.”

  Vanessa and Meg looked at me blankly, like they couldn’t make sense of my words.

  “Are you sure?” John asked.

  “Yes. Why would I make this up?”

  “Did you see which direction they went?”

  “Just down the path.” All the paths went back to the city.

  “Which path?” John demanded.

  I’d never seen him so interested in anything from outside the cave.

  “Why does it matter?” I asked. “They took some people and left.”

  “If they took those people then maybe they have others. Others they didn’t kill.”

  Vanessa, Meg, and I exchanged glances, and a breath of silence filled the cave.

  Meg broke it.

  “Well,” she said, her voice croaky, “I know my family’s gone. Happened right in front of me.”

  Vanessa continued. “The last person I had was Shawn. Obviously, he wasn’t taken.”

  “Maybe…” I said. “Maybe they did take Tristen and Tanya. But there’s no way we could know that.”

  “I don’t care about them,” John snarled, making us jump.

  “You… had a family?” Meg asked tentatively.

  “Yes,” he said gruffly, then gestured toward me. “But if what she says is true, maybe some survived. We have to look.”

  “You want to go into the city?” Vanessa said. “Are you crazy?”

  “I’m done sitting around here,” he said. Then suddenly he turned and began gathering his things into a pack. There wasn’t much.

  “You’ll die if you go down there,” Vanessa warned.

  “Dying is easier than living.”

  He scooped up his pack, carefully enclosed the pistols, and hoisted it onto his back.

  “You can’t take the guns!” Vanessa said.

  He began filling his canteens from the water stores, ignoring her.

  “You’re going to leave us here, completely unarmed?” she persisted.

  Looping the canteens over his shoulder, he tried to walk past her, but she grabbed his arm.

  “You’re not going anywhere with those guns.”

  “Get away from me,” he snarled, jerking his arm back.

  “There’s no point in leaving. The odds of your wife being alive—“

  “She’s not alive!” he yelled. “After I saw what they were doing to people—how they were slaughtering them…”

  Abruptly he covered his face with a hand. I tried not to let my curiosity show. John never showed emotion.

  “Well, I couldn’t let them do that to her. She was sick. She couldn’t walk. I couldn’t let them find her. I made sure they would never hurt her.”

  His hand dropped and he glared at us with hard eyes. I shifted uncomfortably.

  “After doing that, well, getting rid of other people didn’t seem so hard.”

  I averted my gaze. I’d been right to fear him.

  “But my brother—he might still be… if they didn’t kill everyone….”

  He pushed the boulder aside, unaided. Then he went out, just like that. Didn’t even say goodbye.

  After a pause, Vanessa asked, ““Think he’ll be back?”

  “No,” Meg and I harmonized. I knew we’d never see him again.

  Not that I’d miss him—he wasn’t exactly pleasant company. But as the three of us exchanged glances, I knew we were all thinking the same thing: our group had been halved in just twelve hours.

  Chapter 4

  “Here,” Meg said, setting a cup of lukewarm cocoa next to me. We didn’t use the propane much, but she probably thought we needed a pick-me up.

  Following John’s departure, Meg had begun rustling through the pile of supplies, but her intent seemed uncertain. Vanessa had laid stomach-down onto her sleeping bag with a book in her face, but her eyes weren’t moving.

  I sat hunched facing the entrance, my chin resting on one knee. The pitiful cup of expired cocoa sat beside me, the last bit of its warmth seeping away as the minutes dragged on.

  Meg broke the morose silence. “We should have a girls’ night.”

  Vanessa didn’t even blink in response.

  “Girls’ night?” I asked. I didn’t want to be rude too.

  “You know, brush our hair and talk or something.”

  “I’ve never really had a girls’ night.” Mom had run off when I was a kid. It had just been my brother Zach and Dad.

  “All the more reason to have one now,” Meg replied. “Vanessa?”

  “If you touch my hair I will skin you alive with the cheese grater.”

  “See?” Meg said, undeterred. “It’s nice, having a chat.”

  “What do you want, Meg?” Vanessa snapped. “You want us all to sit around painting our nails, and pretend that the whole world didn’t collapse before our eyes? To just forget that everyone who ever mattered is dead?! Wake up!”

  I glanced at Meg, expecting her to be offended, but she wasn’t at all.

  “And the alternative is what? Lay around and mope?”
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br />   “You’re a fool,” Vanessa muttered. Snapping off her flashlight, she slid into her sleeping bag and pointedly faced the wall.

  Meg turned to me.

  “Well, Rhyan? What do you want?”

  “I don’t know,” I answered quietly. “Do you think Tristen and Tanya are okay? Honestly?”

  “Honestly? No.”

  I agreed, but having someone acknowledge it out loud brought the weight I’d been holding at bay to come crashing down onto in my chest. Tristen had been right; I should have talked Tanya into staying.

  Silence again settled between the three of us.

  It wasn’t much later that it began, first with the sound of human voices. Someone was just outside. Vanessa, Meg, and I looked at each other uncertainly as the talking was followed by scraping and clunking noises. Then suddenly the boulder—our trusty protector—was knocked violently from its resting place. A group of masked people barreled into our cave.

  I screamed, more from surprise than true fear, and reached for my daggers. There were four of them, the invaders. No telling the men from the women in those masks. Two had guns raised.

  They made a beeline for the supplies. Meg ran to defend them.

  “Get out of the way or I’ll shoot,” a male’s voice ordered.

  “You get out of here or I’ll shoot,” Meg bluffed with her hand hidden from view. John—curse him—had the guns.

  “I warned you,” the voice said, and a deafening shot echoed throughout the cave. Meg fell to the ground.

  “Meg!” I ran toward her and, out of the corner of my eye, saw Vanessa slip out unnoticed by anyone else. The coward.

  “Are you all right?” I asked, frantically searching for blood. It was so hard to see in the dimness without a flashlight.

  She went limp just as I found the wound—dead center of her chest. I tried to check for a pulse but it was useless. She was gone. Enraged, I raised my knife as I stood to face her murderers. They were busily stuffing our food and medicine into their bags. I watched as the can of fruit cocktail for Tanya’s birthday was taken, and lunged. I made it two steps before one of them targeted me.