Moving away from the replicators, Tsij stretched out between the heating vents, enjoying the limited warmth. If he found a suitable specimen, he would need to isolate it for the final round of tests. The girl had shown no fear of him. If she proved to have the proper genetic codes, he'd choose her. She was kind - he smiled at the memory of her shy look when she'd offered him another drink. Hopefully, she'd cooperate. He'd probably end up having to abduct her, but with enough sedation, she should eventually give in and assist him.
Or maybe she'd do it willingly? He snorted at his own whimsical thoughts. Humans could barely comprehend the idea of life on other planets. There was no way she'd just let him expose her to alien bacteria to process antigens from her system. She'd be convinced that he was trying to take over the world, or something equally silly. So many of their movies were based on the same idea that it had to dwell in their subconscious. It would be nice, though, to have a willing partner rather than a reluctant specimen.
"Hahley," he tried, whispering her name under his breath. "Haeyley."
As his eyes slipped closed, he reminded himself that she'd likely be showing symptoms in the morning. He was just following her so closely because she was the first positive exposure he could record. It had nothing to do with protecting her. She was simply a case study. If she succumbed, it would give him a timeline to work from; that was it.
But damn it, he sure hoped she'd be the one. She liked his accent, after all.
Chapter Five
She'd forgotten to get groceries. By the time Hailey made it to the store, the shelves were nearly empty and all of the toilet paper was gone. Worry about the lockdown was starting to spread through town. Now, a breaking story on the news proved the media was willing to risk broadcasting the truth. Standing in the middle of the local Wal-Mart MegaStore, she stared at the wall of screens, looking at the insert over the reporter's shoulder as the woman explained what it was.
"These are images of the beings. The near-Earth object appears to have been an extraterrestrial vehicle much larger than scientists estimated, with eighty-seven humanoid visitors. They have all been taken into military custody for their protection. These videos were released this morning."
Scenes of abnormally-colored creatures flashed across the wall of televisions. Some were short clips, others longer, but all showed strange markings on almost human-like people. It looked like footage from security tapes. Armed guards moved groups of aliens from one building to another, the group placidly walking where they were directed. None of them lifted their heads; their posture seemed defeated, reminding Hailey of prisoners of war. Hailey pressed her hand over her mouth, staring in fascinated wonder, and she wasn't the only one.
Behind her, people muttered in shock and surprise. These looked nothing like the grey aliens so often described by "abductees," or the little green men made popular in the previous century. They looked amazing and real. They also looked very sad.
She refused to watch anymore. No wonder there was panic-shopping! Those videos had just changed the entire country's view of humanity's place in the universe. Aliens were not only real but here, so who knew what would come next. Considering that Haven was already on lockdown? Stocking up didn't sound like that crazy of an idea anymore. Unfortunately, there wasn't much left to actually buy. At least not until the next shipment came in.
Making her way to the front of the store with a cart full of canned vegetables and boxes of store-brand junk food, she couldn't help but wonder just how much life on Earth was about to change. They weren't alone anymore, but if this was how her species treated visitors in need, it wouldn't be a great start to interstellar relationships. She almost hoped the aliens would find a way to get revenge. Almost. She didn't exactly want to be caught up in some crazy technological war. She just wanted a decent package of cookies.
But if Haven was quarantined, would more supplies be coming? How would they get in? She hadn't even thought to check the news about that. Then again, it wasn't like she had the money to stock up. The government would have to figure something out, though, so she wasn't too worried. How long could this last anyway?
Around her, people coughed. Some sneezed. It was probably due to being locked together over the last couple of days, passing around everyone's colds that they'd brought in. Even better, everyone seemed to have some kind of low-key panic going on, since no official date had been given for the end of this quarantine.
Although she didn't really understand why everyone was acting like things were so different. At least here in Haven, daily life carried on like normal. Tourists were still spending their money, hotels were all full, and except for the smoking hulk on the edge of town, it was business as usual for the locals. There hadn't been any blue lasers shooting down from the sky, or red ones. It was nothing like any of the movies she'd seen. Just a ship smoldering in the marsh islands and a whole lot of military guys hanging out when they were off duty. Some were even cute.
Speaking of that, Tanya had said a few of them had been seen at Pandora's Box when they weren't on duty. One of the best DJs in town was spinning there tomorrow, and combined with the increase in potentially single men, it was as good of an excuse to go out as anything. Maybe if Miles saw her with a hot military guy, he'd realize she'd moved on and would finally leave her alone. Besides, maybe she'd pick up some hot military boy if she went!
She was thinking about that as she pushed the cart across the parking lot to her car. Yellow lights cast a soft glow on the late-night shoppers, the number of people active at this hour a bit more than normal, but not excessively so. Out of the corner of her eye, Hailey noticed something strange and turned, but it was only her imagination. At least she thought it was until the air rippled as it slid past a few cars. She'd seen that happen before.
Trying not to gawk, she tracked the movement from her peripheral vision. It was actually easier than trying to look directly at the thing. It slipped between her car and the one beside it, so she walked faster, hoping to keep tabs on where it went next. She was almost jogging, the wheels of her shopping cart clanking loudly, straining her ability to hear any sound it might make.
There it was again! And yes, that was definitely a person - or at least something shaped like one. This wasn't her imagination, although if she'd tried to imagine what a ghost would look like, that certainly qualified. The only problem was that she'd seen the exact same phenomenon through the telescope on the night of the crash.
Then someone coughed right beside her. She jumped, spinning in place, but sighed when she saw the man. He looked miserable. His eyes were red, and he held a clump of tissues to his face.
"Sorry," he mumbled around his blocked nasal passages. "Hay fever."
"Seems like it's going around," she said, smiling politely.
Turning back to her car, she knew she'd lost that strange shimmering shape. She'd taken her eyes off the distortion long enough that it was just gone. As she scanned the area where she'd last seen it, slowly working her way out, she knew she'd lost it.
Flinging the plastic bags into the back seat, she shoved the cart into the return bay, then slipped behind the wheel of her car before growling a string of profanity under her breath. She'd seen the same distortion of light around the ship. The aliens had vanished just before she'd seen it, so if her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, that meant one thing.