A lone figure skidded down the bluff, trying to get away, as far away as possible. A flock of birds spiraled up from the top of the cliff, making the boy flinch and look up. The tall hooded figure on the top of the bluff stared down at the boy, penetrating his very soul. The boy tore out the short curly brown hair on the back of his head, clenching the strands in his teeth in an effort to break away from the hooded figure's penetrating gaze.
Skidding down the bluff with frantic haste, the boy groped in his pocket, grabbing his cell and clumsily pressing buttons.
"Hello?" The boy managed to gasp into the phone, "Darrel?!" The boy's gaze darted from side to side, hoping that the hooded man wouldn't follow.
"Wha? Garth? Is that you?" The sleep muffled voice crackled through the speaker.
"Darrel. Leave now, take Amanda and leave."
"Wait," Darrel's voice now sharp with tension, "Garth, what's wrong?"
"They're back"
A disbelieving gasp came through the phone. "Shit."
Garth couldn't help but snort at his friend's reaction. "Yah. Shit. Now go!" he pleaded urgently into the phone.
"No."
Reaching the end of the bluff, Garth stumbled into the dense forest, ignoring the briars and hawthorn bushes that tore at his skin.
"Darrel, 'no' what?" the boy panted impatiently into the phone, scrambling over the large boulder in his path.
"No I'm not fucking leaving you behind so that i can be safe!!"
Garth remained calm, used to his foster brother's short temper. The boy leaned wearily against a large oak, oblivious to the ever-nearing shadows.
"Darrel-"
"NO!"
"All right. You win Darrel, ok? Just go to Mr. Kale's house and wait for me ok? I can already see the lights from the highway."
"…All right. But if you're not there in 20 minutes, we're coming after you."
"Fine."
Snapping his phone shut, the tired boy ran his fingers through his short hair, closing his eyes against the moon's soft glow.
…………………………………………………………..
The hooded figure crouched in the shadows, watching his prey's useless attempt to put distance between the prey and the figure. The prey and the hunter. The human and the alien. A thin black tongue snaked across the figure's lips before they parted in a sharp toothed feral grin.
"Fine" The prey blurted out, bringing the alien out of their reverie. The tall, skinny human leaned wearily against the tree trunk, its body still taught with tension.
Another feral grin sprang upon the figure's face. Slowly, it pushed back its hood, revealing strangely feline features which were accented by narrow lips and calculating grey eyes. While the alien was female, it was not like any female seen before, due to the fact that it was part felis vocalis (talking cat) and part pistrix (shark).
This particular female was part of the WNPBWAYA (We're not pedophiles, but we'll abduct you anyways) organization. Having silent grace and swiftness, the alien soared through the organizations' rankings, becoming the 3rd most powerful member. On the day she was promoted, she was named Aziza, or 'Powerful' (in Arabic).
Due to her skill, she was assigned to capture a young boy by the name of Garth. Garth had eluded capture for 7 years, always squeezing out of the narrowest situations. The land slide that killed 5 innocent hikers and the planned car crash that resulted in the death of his parents, Aziza shook her head, once again mystified at how he did it.
A rustling by the base of the oak made her jump ever so slightly. All the same, Garth's head snapped up, his body going rigged before sprinting towards the highway.
Aziza sighed, I don't see why I can't take him now. But no 'Aziza! Follow him back to his hideout, I want all of his companions too.' Stupid KeeLai! That man and his wife Gee-Gee! I don't care if they are the top members, they can take their assignments and shove it up their#&!!
………………………………….
Somewhere extremely far away KeeLai and Gee-Gee twitched, knowing that someone was talking about them.
……………………………………
On the outskirts of Detroit, stood a quiet and seemingly abandoned house. Thick vines snaked up the faded white columns, hiding the peeling yellow paint from sight. Tall withered trees cast shadows over the haphazard lawn.
Three people stood near one such tree, and if someone had seen them together they would be mystified as to why such different people were together. Pacing anxiously under the tree was a boy of around 15, with a crackling atmosphere around him that made people go out of their way to avoid him. Looking down on the boy from her perch in the tree was a willowy girl with waist length blond hair that fell over her face like a veil, pity and sadness creating lines on an otherwise young face. On first glance, the old man leaning against the tree would seem like any other harmless old man. But on closer inspection, one could see the hard sheen to his eyes, and the muscles that, despite his age, bulged and flexed beneath his clothes.
"Darrel," the girl began, "Please stop!"
Darrel glanced up at the girl before continuing to pace. "He said he would be here in 20 minutes. Where is he Amanda?"
Amanda sighed heavily, "I don't know. He should be here soon, just calm down."
Darrel reluctantly stopped pacing and went over to lean next to the old man, Mr. Kale.
A silence fell over the lawn, but did not last long before Garth tumbled out of a hydrangea bush.
"Oh? Look who finally decided to show up?" Darrel said, the dangerous atmosphere quickly disappearing.
Garth flashed grinned at his foster brother and sister. The grin slid off his face like water as he turned towards Mr. Kale.
"We need to leave now," Garth stated, eerily calm, "I found a safe place with people like Amanda."
All three males glanced over at Amanda, conscious once again of the power she held. Amanda was born with a mark in the shape of a sickle moon on her shoulder. That mark gave her the power to repel aliens.
Flashback
A much younger Garth darted through back alleys, an alien hot on his tail. Leaping over boxes, Garth threw a cat at the alien's face, which if he hadn't been desperate at for his life, he would have laughed at the alien's curses of pain. Whipping around a corner, Garth slammed into a skinny blond girl, knocking both of them over.
"Ah sorry!" he stuttered, throwing nervous glances at the corner.
"They won't come," the girl stated in a flat, dull voice, "They can't come."
Just then, the alien sauntered from around the corner. Garth's scream died in his throat when the alien collapsed in pain from the sudden burst of silver light. Startled, Garth searched for the source, and was amazed to discover it was from the mark on Amanda's shoulder.
"I told you so," the girl said in the same emotionless voice, "I'm Amanda, who are you?"
Blinking from the fast subject change Garth managed to blurt " I-I'm Garth. Hey! Do you want to come with me?"
A look of surprise crossed the girl's pale face before once again turning blank. "My power doesn't work against more than two at a time you know."
"And? I don't care about that, at all. You don't seem to want to be here, and I definitely don't want to be here, so let's go," Garth said, sticking out a dirty and bruised hand, to the startled girl.
Lips parted in bemusement, the girl accepted his hand with an equally dirty and bruised hand.
End Flashback
"Darrel, you and Mr. Kale should be all right anywhere, since those people only really want me."
Darrel started indignantly, "What? Tch, fine not like I'd want to go somewhere safe anyways. Where's Amanda going?"
"They probably know about Amanda's power by now, so I think she should go with me," Garth replied.
Mr. Kale nodded, stoic as always, "That would be best."
Amanda, who had quietly watched this scene play out, finally asked the question they all wanted to know, "Where are we going?"
"Rocky Hill Middle School."
End of Part 1