more about people who could use such technology, in order to tear open a cruiser like the Melville .
âAnnabel was sick,â her mother said. âWe thought we could keep away from the invaders. We thought we might creep in and out without them even knowing we were there. So we tied up Annabel and lowered her through the high ceiling of a new storeroom weâd found. She was crying and vomiting and suffering mightily, but the brave girl never lost heart â even through all that hullaballoo. Down and down she went and straight away started putting the things she found into the bags we lowered after her. We kept hauling up bags of clanking tins and sending Annabel down for more.
âPoor Annabel was feeling even worse by now and I was scared we had pushed her fragile health too far. Her ears were ringing with all the noise and she was dizzy. Her hands were covered in rope burns, the poor child. I had to keep telling her about the almighty feast we could have when we got home. Now all we had to do was finish loading up the hovercart and steal away. Before any of the noisy ones realised that we were there.â
Mrs Adams paused. I knew she was enjoying everyone looking at her. She was drinking all that attention in.
âWe worked and we packed our hovercart with all these essential goods and then â miraculously â we got away unscathed and flew home.â
She threw up her hands to receive our applause, which was thunderous. Only Da looked perturbed and annoyed by her words and I knew why. The Adamses had only thought about themselves â their own business and their safety. To him, they had a duty to investigate further. Me, I shared his feelings.
The evening went on and more tales were told. Silly ones and old ones â about people who ate human flesh and drank blood and those who turned into four-legged beasts with fangs and wings. And skeletons that came out of the sand, back to life, and pumpkin heads that haunted the cornrows and prairies.
Later I was out back, feeding the new Molly and George. The animals hunkered down, snuffling and grateful as I patted them and whispered. But after a few minutes I realised I wasnât alone at the back of the Homestead. A small figure was sitting there, staring at the sky.
âThose germs still ainât gone away,â I remarked, sitting beside her.
âNope,â she said.
I looked sideways at her. âYouâre braver than I thought.â
âYeah?â
âI never knew, till your Ma said. I never knew how they put you on a rope and all.â
She sighed. âYeah. Just about as soon as I could hold a torch and lift boxes. Just as soon as I stopped screaming when they put me down in the dark.â
âThatâs horrible,â I told her.
âMa sure was the star of the show tonight,â Annabel said.
âI guess she was,â I said.
âOne thing she got wrong,â Annabel said. âThe people who were drilling and lasering and cutting open the insides of the Melville . I saw them. When I was down in the hull.â
âYou did?â
âI tried to tell my mother. I tried to tell my father. They didnât want to know. But I am telling you, Lora.â
My heart was thumping, because I knew something bad was coming.
âThey werenât human beings.â
11
Colder days came in. There were ice crystals in the air some mornings. Al and I would go to stand on the tallest dunes and open our mouths, sticking out our tongues, even though Ma always said it wasnât safe. One evening Da came back from the fields coated in frosting like weâd spray on the tree at Christmas.
Molly and George were stamping and groaning, complaining about the cold. Their smelly breath came out in long trails of vapour. When I had Da on his own, I decided to broach the subject that had been bothering me for some time. I told him what Annabel Adams had told me, standing in that very spot, late on
âAnnabel was sick,â her mother said. âWe thought we could keep away from the invaders. We thought we might creep in and out without them even knowing we were there. So we tied up Annabel and lowered her through the high ceiling of a new storeroom weâd found. She was crying and vomiting and suffering mightily, but the brave girl never lost heart â even through all that hullaballoo. Down and down she went and straight away started putting the things she found into the bags we lowered after her. We kept hauling up bags of clanking tins and sending Annabel down for more.
âPoor Annabel was feeling even worse by now and I was scared we had pushed her fragile health too far. Her ears were ringing with all the noise and she was dizzy. Her hands were covered in rope burns, the poor child. I had to keep telling her about the almighty feast we could have when we got home. Now all we had to do was finish loading up the hovercart and steal away. Before any of the noisy ones realised that we were there.â
Mrs Adams paused. I knew she was enjoying everyone looking at her. She was drinking all that attention in.
âWe worked and we packed our hovercart with all these essential goods and then â miraculously â we got away unscathed and flew home.â
She threw up her hands to receive our applause, which was thunderous. Only Da looked perturbed and annoyed by her words and I knew why. The Adamses had only thought about themselves â their own business and their safety. To him, they had a duty to investigate further. Me, I shared his feelings.
The evening went on and more tales were told. Silly ones and old ones â about people who ate human flesh and drank blood and those who turned into four-legged beasts with fangs and wings. And skeletons that came out of the sand, back to life, and pumpkin heads that haunted the cornrows and prairies.
Later I was out back, feeding the new Molly and George. The animals hunkered down, snuffling and grateful as I patted them and whispered. But after a few minutes I realised I wasnât alone at the back of the Homestead. A small figure was sitting there, staring at the sky.
âThose germs still ainât gone away,â I remarked, sitting beside her.
âNope,â she said.
I looked sideways at her. âYouâre braver than I thought.â
âYeah?â
âI never knew, till your Ma said. I never knew how they put you on a rope and all.â
She sighed. âYeah. Just about as soon as I could hold a torch and lift boxes. Just as soon as I stopped screaming when they put me down in the dark.â
âThatâs horrible,â I told her.
âMa sure was the star of the show tonight,â Annabel said.
âI guess she was,â I said.
âOne thing she got wrong,â Annabel said. âThe people who were drilling and lasering and cutting open the insides of the Melville . I saw them. When I was down in the hull.â
âYou did?â
âI tried to tell my mother. I tried to tell my father. They didnât want to know. But I am telling you, Lora.â
My heart was thumping, because I knew something bad was coming.
âThey werenât human beings.â
11
Colder days came in. There were ice crystals in the air some mornings. Al and I would go to stand on the tallest dunes and open our mouths, sticking out our tongues, even though Ma always said it wasnât safe. One evening Da came back from the fields coated in frosting like weâd spray on the tree at Christmas.
Molly and George were stamping and groaning, complaining about the cold. Their smelly breath came out in long trails of vapour. When I had Da on his own, I decided to broach the subject that had been bothering me for some time. I told him what Annabel Adams had told me, standing in that very spot, late on
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