Chapter 2

The Girl Across the Street

Samuel was still standing in the doorway.

For several seconds, Daniel couldn't move.

The world outside was falling apart. Alien ships covered the sky. Sirens screamed somewhere in the distance. Smoke drifted between the buildings, turning the morning sunlight a dirty orange.

Yet Daniel could hear only Samuel's last words.

I was hoping you'd never find out.

Daniel tightened his grip on the backpack hanging from his shoulder.

"Find out what?"

Samuel didn't answer.

"Samuel."

His best friend looked at him.

There was something different in his eyes.

Not confusion nor fear just guilt.

Daniel had known Samuel since they were children. He knew the expression on his face when he was nervous, when he was lying, and when he was about to make a joke.

He had never seen this expression before.

It looked like surrender.

"I can't explain it here," Samuel said.

Daniel stepped closer.

"You've been lying to me."

"I'm trying to keep you alive."

"Then tell me the truth."

A violent tremor shook the house.

The walls groaned.

A picture fell from the hallway and shattered.

Daniel's mother grabbed the kitchen counter to keep herself standing.

Another tremor followed.

This time, something outside exploded.

The windows rattled so violently that Daniel thought they would burst.

Samuel looked toward the street.

"We have to leave."

Daniel didn't move.

"Not until you tell me."

Samuel turned toward him.

"Your father wasn't who you thought he was."

Daniel's could not believe what he just heard. Before he could ask another question, the television switched on.

Nobody touched the remote.

Static filled the room.

Daniel turned slowly.

The screen was completely black.

Then two pale blue eyes appeared.

His mother's face went white.

The voice that came through the television was almost human.

"Daniel."

Daniel took a step backward.

Samuel whispered, "Don't answer."

The voice spoke again.

"Daniel."

The screen flickered.

For an instant, Daniel saw the face of the creature that had been standing outside their house.

Then the message changed.

COME HOME.

Daniel stared at the words.

"Home?" he whispered.

His mother grabbed his arm.

"Don't listen to it."

The television suddenly exploded.

Glass scattered across the room.

Samuel pushed Daniel toward the back door.

"Run!"

They didn't argue.

They ran.

Outside, the neighborhood had become a different world.

Cars stood abandoned in the middle of the road.

Some had crashed into walls. A bus had overturned near the intersection.

People were running in every direction, carrying children, bags, anything they could grab.

Nobody knew where to go.

Above them, the alien ships floated silently.

That silence was somehow worse than the explosions.

They didn't move like human aircraft. They didn't need wings and they didn't seem affected by gravity.

They simply hung in the air, enormous black shapes against the red morning sky.

Then one of them moved.

A circular section opened beneath its body. Blue light gathered underneath it.

Daniel stopped.

"What's it doing?"

Samuel grabbed him.

"Keep moving."

The beam struck three streets away. For one second, everything turned white.

A deep shockwave rolled across the neighborhood.

Daniel felt the heat against his face. A second later, windows shattered all around them.

His mother screamed.

Samuel pulled them into an alley.

"Stay low!"

They crouched behind a concrete wall.

Daniel's ears were ringing.

"What was that?"

Samuel looked around the corner. "A scan."

"A scan?" Daniel said.

"They're looking for something."

Daniel looked at him.

"Or someone."

Samuel didn't answer, that was enough to answer.

They continued north.

Daniel's mother struggled to keep up, but she refused to stop. "Where are we going?" she asked.

Samuel didn't look back.

"My father's safehouse."

Daniel stared at him.

"Your father has a safehouse?"

"He had several."

"You never told me."

"There were things I wasn't allowed to talk about."

Daniel almost laughed.

"Things you weren't allowed to talk about?"

He looked at the burning buildings around them.

"Aliens have invaded Earth, Samuel. I think we're past keeping secrets."

Samuel stopped.

He turned around.

"My father knew this could happen."

Daniel stared at him.

"What?"

"He spent years preparing for it."

"How many years?", Samuel hesitated.

"Twenty-three."

Daniel felt like he had not even known his friends long enough, that he had to hide things from him.

Twenty-three years.

The same number Dr. Amelia Carter had mentioned on the emergency broadcast.

"Your father knew about the signal."

Samuel nodded.

"He was one of the scientists who studied it."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because my father made me promise."

"What did he think would happen?"

Samuel looked toward the sky.

"He thought they'd come back."

A distant rumble interrupted them. Samuel lowered his voice.

"And he was terrified of what would happen when they did."

Daniel wanted to ask another question.

Then he saw her again, she was standing in the middle of the road.

The girl from the nightmarish morning. Same blue jacket and she dark hair. Dust on her face.

She looked completely calm despite the chaos around her.

Daniel stopped.

"That's her."

Samuel's hand immediately went to his weapon.

"Who?"

"The girl."

Samuel stared at her. For a moment, something passed across his face.

Recognition.

Daniel noticed.

"You know her."

"No."

"You do."

"I said no."

The girl looked directly at Daniel.

Then she raised one finger to her lips.

Quiet.

Daniel didn't understand.

She pointed behind him.

Daniel turned.

A small metallic drone floated above the alley.

Three blue lights rotated beneath it. The drone had found them.

Samuel drew his weapon.

"Run!"

The drone fired.

Daniel felt the impact before he understood what had happened.

Something struck his chest.

He was thrown backward. He hit the ground hard, for several seconds, he couldn't breathe.

"Daniel!"

His mother's voice sounded distant.

The drone moved toward him.

A shadow suddenly crossed his vision.

The girl was standing between him and the machine.

She lifted her hand.

"Stop."

Daniel stared.

The girl wasn't holding anything.

She simply stood there.

The blue lights beneath the drone flickered.

Then the machine dropped from the air and landed motionless on the road.

Samuel raised his weapon.

"What are you?"

The girl looked at him.

"Someone trying to keep him alive."

She pointed at Daniel.

Daniel slowly pushed himself upright.

The pain in his chest was already fading.

He looked at her.

"Who are you?"

"Maya."

"How did you do that?"

Maya ignored the question.

"We need to leave."

Samuel stepped between them.

"You're not taking him anywhere."

"You still don't understand what he is."

Daniel looked at Samuel.

"What does she mean?"

Samuel didn't answer.

Maya sighed.

"You haven't told him."

"Because I don't know how."

"You know enough."

Daniel looked from one to the other.

"What are you two talking about?"

Maya looked directly at him.

"Your father."

"What about him?"

"He didn't die."

The world seemed to stop.

Daniel stared at her.

"What?"

Samuel looked away.

Maya kept on telling him.

"Your father was taken."

"By the aliens?"

"Not exactly."

"Then by who?"

Maya hesitated.

"Something worse."

A distant mechanical roar echoed through the city.

Maya looked toward the sky.

"We don't have time."

They entered an abandoned building through a broken side door.

The lobby smelled of smoke and dust. A staircase led downward.

Maya pushed aside a fallen piece of wood. Samuel followed.

Daniel looked at him.

"You knew my father was alive?"

"No."

"But you knew something."

"I knew my father was involved."

"That's not an answer."

Samuel stopped.

"I was eleven when he started disappearing for days at a time. He told me he was working on something important. Then, one night, he came home and told me never to speak about the signal."

Daniel stared at him.

"What happened after that?"

"He disappeared."

Daniel's voice became quiet.

"When?"

"Twenty-three years ago." "That's impossible. You weren't even born."

Samuel looked at him.

"Exactly."

Samuel continued down the stairs. Daniel followed, his mind racing.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

They reached the basement.

Maya stopped beside an old metal door.

There was no handle.

She placed her palm against it.

Nothing happened.

She looked at Daniel.

"Your turn."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

He placed his hand against the door.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the metal began glowing.

A thin blue line appeared beneath his fingers.

Symbols spread across the door like cracks filled with light. Daniel pulled his hand away.

The door opened.

"That's impossible."

Maya whispered, "No. It's exactly what I expected."

Behind the door was a narrow corridor.

Unlike the ruined building above them, this place was perfectly preserved.

Small blue lights illuminated the walls. There were no electrical cables, no visible machines.

Yet everything hummed with energy.

Daniel walked forward.

On the walls were symbols.

He recognized one.

It was the same symbol he had seen in his dreams.

A circle surrounded by three lines.

He touched it.

A sudden image flashed into his mind.

A vast city beneath a violet sky.

People walking through enormous silver towers.

A strange spacecraft descending.

A young boy standing beside a woman.

The woman looked at him.

Her eyes were the same color as Maya's. Then the vision disappeared.

Daniel stumbled backward.

Maya caught his arm.

"What did you see?"

"I don't know."

"Try to remember."

"I saw a city."

"Where?"

"I don't know."

"Was it Earth?"

"No."

Maya became silent, Samuel watched them. Then he reached into his jacket.

"I think we should show him."

Maya's eyes narrowed.

"Samuel."

He pulled out a small metallic object. It was about the size of a phone, it's surface was completely black.

Daniel recognized the symbol on it.

"Where did you get that?"

"My father."

Maya immediately stepped toward him.

"Give it to me."

Samuel pulled it away.

"No."

"Samuel, you don't understand what you're carrying."

"Then explain it."

Maya stared at him.

"I can't."

"Exactly."

Samuel turned toward Daniel.

"My father said this device could identify the people the aliens were searching for."

Daniel looked at it.

"Does it identify me?"

Samuel didn't answer.

The device suddenly activated.

A red light appeared.

Then a voice filled the corridor.

It was Daniel's voice.

"Subject located."

Daniel stepped backward.

The device continued.

"Guardian identified."

Maya's face changed.

"No."

Samuel stared at her.

"What?"

The device displayed a message.

GUARDIAN ONE: DANIEL.

Daniel couldn't speak.

Then another message appeared.

GUARDIAN TWO: MAYA.

Maya took a step backward.

"No."

Daniel looked at her.

"You knew."

"I didn't."

"You knew something."

"I knew there was a possibility."

The device began to beep faster.

Maya's face went pale.

"Destroy it."

Samuel looked at her.

"Why?"

"Because it's transmitting our location."

The beeping became a continuous tone.

Above them came a deep mechanical vibration.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

Samuel looked upward.

"They found us."

Maya grabbed Daniel's arm.

"Move."

They ran deeper into the corridor.

Behind them, something crashed through the ceiling.

The entire building shook.

A dark shape dropped into the basement.

Samuel fired.

The shots struck its body and disappeared into a shimmering field.

The creature stepped forward.

It was taller than any human.

Its skin looked almost black beneath the blue light.

Its eyes glowed.

Daniel recognized it.

It was the creature from the street.

But there was something different this time.

It wasn't attacking, it was staring at Daniel, then it lowered itself.

Slowly.

The alien dropped to one knee.

Samuel stopped firing.

Maya whispered something in a language Daniel had never heard.

The alien answered.

Its voice sounded like metal scraping against stone.

Daniel looked at Maya.

"What did it say?"

Maya didn't respond.

"Maya."

She looked at him.

Her face had lost all color.

"It said..."

She swallowed.

"It said you're late."

Daniel felt a chill move through him.

"Late for what?"

Before Maya could answer, the entire underground facility came alive.

Lights ignited along the walls.

One after another to hundreds,

the symbols began glowing.

A low vibration traveled beneath their feet.

Daniel looked down.

"What's happening?"

Maya stared at the floor.

"I don't know."

Samuel stepped closer.

"You said this place belonged to Daniel's father."

"It did."

"Then why is it waking up?"

Maya looked at Daniel.

"Because he is here."

A sound came from beneath them.

Not mechanical, not electronic, just something deeper like something is still alive.

The floor split open.

A massive circular structure began rising from beneath the facility.

Symbols covered its surface.

Daniel recognized the center symbol immediately.

It was the one from his dreams.

His mother suddenly screamed from somewhere behind them.

"Daniel!"

He turned.

She was standing at the entrance to the chamber.

But she wasn't alone.

A tall figure stood behind her.

The figure stepped into the light, it wasn't an alien, it was a man.

His face was scarred, and Daniel knew him.

Not from photographs, nor from stories but from somewhere buried deep inside his memory.

The man looked directly at Daniel, his eyes filled with tears.

"My son."

Daniel couldn't breathe.

His mother covered her mouth.

Samuel whispered, "No..."

The man took another step forward.

"I've waited twenty-three years for you."

Daniel stared at him.

"Who are you?"

The man smiled sadly.

"I'm your father."

The chamber shook.

Above them, hundreds of alien ships turned toward the facility.

Every ship's lights changed from blue to red. Then the alien kneeling nearby suddenly spoke.

This time, Daniel understood every word.

"The Guardian has awakened."

The enormous structure beneath them began opening.

And from somewhere deep below the Earth came a sound that hadn't been heard for thousands of years.

Daniel stared into the darkness beneath the chamber.

Maya grabbed his hand.

"We have to get out."

Daniel didn't move.

"What is down there?"

His father looked at him. Fear appeared in the man's eyes.

For the first time, Daniel realized that his father wasn't afraid of the aliens.

He was afraid of what was beneath them.

"Daniel," his father whispered, "whatever happens next..."

The underground chamber suddenly went completely dark.

Then a voice came from beneath the Earth.

Not alien, nor human but an ancient voice, saying “welcome home”

And Daniel realized the aliens had never been trying to get into Earth.

They had been trying to keep something from getting out.