(unedited author's note)Thanks Miss Awesomsauce for helping me with this chapter. You provided me with some good ideas, especially since I stumped myself from the last chapter. XD

I have now learned my lesson. Never, and I mean NEVER write a story and publish it if you don't know where its going.

It's so much different with romance, though. I did that with Running On Empty, and it turned out fine, but with this one, where you have to have everything planned out...its just different.

So...enjoy!


Ashleigh Gordon pursed her lips, looking down at the tiny earth. Its orbit was already messed up, hopefully beyond repair, all thanks to their friends. No one had ever done this before, communicated with beings smarter and more witty than the human race, but she was learning.

She smiled, a cruel evil smile that mimicked the smiles of those who were helping her. The earth was out of orbit and the plan would go as projected, thanks to the Glysi.

If it did . . . only time could tell what would happen to the idiotic citizens of the dying sphere.

But Ashleigh knew what would happen to her. Wealth beyond her imagination, power beyond that of the Cahills. It was hers and hers to take. Of course, she would have to share with her friends, but when there is unlimited wealth such as the Glysi possessed, there was no need to break alliances.

She looked down at the blue planet, spinning out of control, out of orbit, into disaster, with its miserable wretched people soon to be at her command. They were so vulnerable, so easy to manipulate and control.

Especially with the little secret she had gained. With this thought, she grinned. Her plan was coming along quite nicely.

oO0Oo

Nellie Gomez stared out at the frozen world around her. Cars could now operate again, if they wished to drive on ice. Before, nothing could operate, there was no where to drive it, but now the flood waters were ice. You could drive across the ocean if you wished, so it was rumored . . . if there had been enough fuel.
People across the globe had hyperventilated when they realized they wouldn't be able to drive their cars anymore. They had gotten their wish, Nellie reflected grimly. The only problem was that fuel was running out.

No one coould drill into frozen soil to find the black gold, no one could grow corn as an alternate fuel souce, and even if they did grow corn people would rather eat it than feed it to their cars. And as for solar power, that was out of the picture. The sun had retreated behind a mass of black clouds, leaving the earth to fend for itself.

Shivering, she wrapped her feathered parka closer to her body. She wished she hadn't cut her hair last month. If it was longer, down to her shoulders, instead of cut short to her head, it would keep her ears warm. She also wished that she'd dropped the neon colors at home. People looked at you funny if your hair looked like the fireworks display on Independence Day.

Nellie glanced out her car window, observing the fat, fluffy flakes of snow that were falling, covering everything with a layer of poofy white. At least it wasn't pure ice, Nellie thought. The day before it had rained small ice balls, similar to hail, that stung your face when they touched your skin.

She turned on her car and drove towards London, where her Cahillian friends awaited her arrival. Now if she had enough fuel in her car to make it . . .

oO0Oo

When she arrived at the hanger where Amy had told her the plane was located, she saw Ian. Ridiculously hot, as usual, he was stomping about the plane angrily.

Amy looked up and saw Nellie standing awkwardly outside the plane. "Nellie!" Amy squealed, throwing open the plane hatch and running towards Nellie with open arms.

Nellie enveloped the frail girl in her open arms, hating how skinny Amy had become and wondering when she had gotten enough strength to run across the room, rather than slowly move from object to object.

Maybe the Kabras hadn't been all that bad . . .

Nellie had been lucky. For babysitting . . . au pairing . . . the Cahills during the clue hunt, Grace's lawyer had given her several million plus her wages. She still had money left over, enough to get her through the famine with some to spare.
If the famine ended within the next five years. And if food didn't run out before then.

"Finally." Ian snapped, breaking into her thoughts. He stood in front of her, his arms crossed across his chest. "We've been waiting for a long time."

Nellie arched one eyebrow. "I'm sorry, Ian." She said. "But if you haven't noticed, the roads are frozen. Have you ever tried driving on a sheet of ice?" She held out a hand.

Ian took it, shook it gingerly, and dropped it quickly like it was a piece of dead fish.

Nellie looked at Amy who was shaking her head. "Is he always like this?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "I don't know. If he is, I just don't notice, thank goodness."

Nellie frowned. "Where to?"

Ian smiled. "Lake Fain, Prescott Valley, Arizona. Land as close as you can."

Nellie nodded. "Will do."

Amy nodded. "Just do your best."

Ian cleared his throat. "And don't kill us, please."

Nellie wheeled on Ian. "I'll take my money now." She said.

Ian narrowed his amber eyes and crossed his arms. "Half now. Half when we get there."

"Deal." Nellie said.

Ian retreated, probably to get money.

"Nellie!" Amy hissed.

Nellie rolled her yes. "If I have to live another second with this . . . hottie without knowing I going to get paid, I would die."

Amy stepped back, almost defensively, Nellie thought. "He's not a hottie." Amy said, crossing her arms.

Nellie blinked. Could Amy . . . like . . . Ian? Of all people? After what he'd done to her in Korea? "I thought you got over him in Cairo." Nellie said softly.

Amy looked at Ian. Her eyes spoke what her mouth could not. "Sometimes . . . you don't get over people." Amy said, her voice betraying emotion.

oO0Oo

Nellie had never had such trouble flying a plane. The sky seemed angry at her intrusion of its airy territory and seemed to whip the tiny plane from side to side with a vengenance that was out of this world.

God-like. Nellie thought. It's like the gods are angry at me for intruding in their territory.

Ian came walking in, holding tightly to the wall of the plane as it bucked angrily. "How are you flying this thing?" He demanded. "Amy told me you knew how to fly!"

Nellie's knuckles were bone-white as she gripped the controls. She ignored him, fighting to keep the rebel plane under control. "Can't. Talk. Now." She gasped, jerking at the wheel.

The plane swooshed to one side. Ian fell to the floor. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"I don't know!" Nellie cried, hating the panic that crept into her voice. "The sky hates me today!"

Ian got unsteadily to his feet, rubbing his soon-to-be-bruised head. He opened his mouth to say something, then seemed to think better of it.

Keeping his mouth closed, to Nellie's great relief, he walked out of the cockpit, leaving Nellie to fight with the plane.

oO0Oo

As Ian headed back from the cockpit, he swayed dangerously with each step, despite clinging to the wall.

As he approached his seat, he saw that Amy was struggling to hold on to her seat. He knew the danger. If she let go of her seat she would be pitched to the floor.

She had protested when he had decided that it was Nellie's fault the plane was rocking like runaway child's rocking toy.

I should have listened. Ian thought. He'd staggered away, thrown this way and that by the odd movements of the plane. He'd also seen how tightly Nellie had gripped the wheel.

She knew how to fly a plane. Or they would have all been dead by now.

Ian stepped towards the seat, letting go of the wall. He flung himself at the seat, catching it only because the movement of the plane directed him towards the chair. "Sorry." He said, sliding over her legs to get to his seat.

He shuddered as he felt how small her legs were. Almost like Ashleigh Gordon. The sexy model was tiny, skinny, yet somehow ravishing.

But Ian knew that Ashleigh Gordon's legs were not only bone, maybe because he had studied them for many a time.

"I didn't know it would be so hard to walk." Ian said, trying to break the uncomfortable silence. "I'm sorry, Amy. I should have listened to you."

He stared at her face. The perfect way her jade eyes smiled at him, how perfect her lips were. They were the only thing that was perfect. Her cheeks were hollow, her skins stretched over bone.

Amy said nothing. Ian tried again. "Look." He gestured out the window the plane.

It was dark, and from the looks of it, cold. Angry black clouds enfolded the plane in its treacherous embrace. They could hear the wind howling, screaming, shrieking, over the noise of the engines.

It was an eerie sound, like the screeching of an owl, yet somehow like the howl of a wolf.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked. She sounded near tears.

A small feeling of pity ran over Ian. He felt sorry for the girl. For one thing, she was lower class, for another, she was so . . . vulnerable.

He took her hand in his, tracing the lines in her palm. "I don't know." He said. He tried to tell her, by his touch, that everything would be ok.

But it was difficult, especially since all Ian felt was dread. Dread that the neon-haired woman in the cockpit couldn't fly the plane. Dread that they would fail at their mission.

And a tiny sense of dread that maybe . . . maybe Dr. Luke had been right.

The only way something this horrible could be explained was by out-of-this-world activity.


Auughhh! Why do I feel like all of my chapters have nothing happening in them? Sometimes I don't know why I started writing it.

The only reason I am continuing to write this is because of my readers . . . so .. . . I hate you?

No, that's not right, but hey, you know what I mean.

Thanks for all the support, love and patience you've shown while following this story, and waiting forever to read more of it. :D

39addict101