Read Online My Cousin, the Alien by Pamela F. Service - Free Book Online
Authors: Pamela F. Service
Ads: Link
jungle temple. And I wished we were. I’d take cobras, panthers, and angry tribespeople any time.
“If we can climb to the top of the quarry hole,” Ethan whispered, “maybe we can lose them in the woods.”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to leave this hiding place. If only the enemy would give some sign of where they were. But Ethan was already scuttling along this one ledge and pulling himself up to another one.
Just as I reached that second ledge, the air above us quivered. With a splintering crack, a rock overhead shattered and rained down in sharp, hot chunks.
We huddled together, arms thrown over our heads. Again the voice echoed over the quarry.
“If you make it easier to kill you than capture you, we will! But if you want to live, come down. You might as well. You know you don’t belong here. We can take you where you do belong. We can take you home!”
In a shadowed corner of rock, Ethan suddenly stood up. “Forget it, turkeys! I belong here! Maybe this wasn’t always my home, but it is now. Go back to wherever you come from and leave me alone!”
I felt proud of him and wished he’d shut up at the same time. But I didn’t have much time for either thought.
Violently, the air quivered. The far end of our ledge exploded into stinging gravel. When I could open my eyes against the dust, I saw Ethan fumbling at the pendant around his neck.
“They said I hadn’t learned how to use the power yet. But I’ve tried. If only I had more time!”
Beyond his crouching figure, I saw that the blast seemed to have opened a new escape route.
“Forget the pendant. Move!” I barked, pushing him ahead of me down a narrow channel in the rock. After a few feet, he squealed and stopped dead.
“Whoa! End of the line!”
I peered around him. There was nothing there. A sheer cliff dropped down to water. Dark, silent water, too dark for even the moonlight to knife into.
For seconds, I felt hopelessly trapped. But neither of us was the giving-up sort. The rocky groove that we’d followed was slightly higher than our heads. Ethan fumbled at its rough sides, trying to find footholds. I knelt down, let him stand on my knee, and gave him a boost up. He flailed and shoved but finally pulled himself out. Then he swiveled around and reached down for me.
After I’d made the top, we crouched low and ran across this new ledge. It ended suddenly. A dozen feet below was another ledge. Between the two stretched a pine tree growing stubbornly in some shallow pocket of soil. For a moment, Ethan looked frantically about. Then, like a panicky squirrel, he leaped across to the tree and started clambering down.
I crouched, ready to follow. Again a wave of quivering air shot toward us. It slammed into the base of the tree. Sawdust and splinters billowed upward. The tree toppled onto the ledge below us.
Ethan’s scream was short and terrified. Its echoes died, and the quarry settled into silence. Deathly silence.
I don’t know how I got down there. I was too scared to think. Somehow, I just scrambled down to that lower ledge. Ethan had rolled away from the ruined pine, almost to the rim of the ledge. He was lying very still.
I crouched over him. He was still breathing, but his pale face was flecked with blood, and his eyes were closed. At least the broken pine branches hid us from below, not that they would do much good against the enemy’s pulverizing gun.
“Ethan,” I whispered frantically, “wake up! Please. Don’t let them catch you. You can still get away!”
Nothing. Not a flicker. He lay there pale, bloodied, and still. Like a little dead bird.
If only I’d believed him, really believed him, earlier. Maybe I could have done more to protect him.
“Come on, Ethan, wake up. I won’t let them get you! I love you, Ethan. You’re my cousin. It doesn’t matter that you’re an alien. Your mom and dad love you too. You’re family! You belong with us. Please, wake up!”
I ruffled his hair and patted his face, but
“If we can climb to the top of the quarry hole,” Ethan whispered, “maybe we can lose them in the woods.”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to leave this hiding place. If only the enemy would give some sign of where they were. But Ethan was already scuttling along this one ledge and pulling himself up to another one.
Just as I reached that second ledge, the air above us quivered. With a splintering crack, a rock overhead shattered and rained down in sharp, hot chunks.
We huddled together, arms thrown over our heads. Again the voice echoed over the quarry.
“If you make it easier to kill you than capture you, we will! But if you want to live, come down. You might as well. You know you don’t belong here. We can take you where you do belong. We can take you home!”
In a shadowed corner of rock, Ethan suddenly stood up. “Forget it, turkeys! I belong here! Maybe this wasn’t always my home, but it is now. Go back to wherever you come from and leave me alone!”
I felt proud of him and wished he’d shut up at the same time. But I didn’t have much time for either thought.
Violently, the air quivered. The far end of our ledge exploded into stinging gravel. When I could open my eyes against the dust, I saw Ethan fumbling at the pendant around his neck.
“They said I hadn’t learned how to use the power yet. But I’ve tried. If only I had more time!”
Beyond his crouching figure, I saw that the blast seemed to have opened a new escape route.
“Forget the pendant. Move!” I barked, pushing him ahead of me down a narrow channel in the rock. After a few feet, he squealed and stopped dead.
“Whoa! End of the line!”
I peered around him. There was nothing there. A sheer cliff dropped down to water. Dark, silent water, too dark for even the moonlight to knife into.
For seconds, I felt hopelessly trapped. But neither of us was the giving-up sort. The rocky groove that we’d followed was slightly higher than our heads. Ethan fumbled at its rough sides, trying to find footholds. I knelt down, let him stand on my knee, and gave him a boost up. He flailed and shoved but finally pulled himself out. Then he swiveled around and reached down for me.
After I’d made the top, we crouched low and ran across this new ledge. It ended suddenly. A dozen feet below was another ledge. Between the two stretched a pine tree growing stubbornly in some shallow pocket of soil. For a moment, Ethan looked frantically about. Then, like a panicky squirrel, he leaped across to the tree and started clambering down.
I crouched, ready to follow. Again a wave of quivering air shot toward us. It slammed into the base of the tree. Sawdust and splinters billowed upward. The tree toppled onto the ledge below us.
Ethan’s scream was short and terrified. Its echoes died, and the quarry settled into silence. Deathly silence.
I don’t know how I got down there. I was too scared to think. Somehow, I just scrambled down to that lower ledge. Ethan had rolled away from the ruined pine, almost to the rim of the ledge. He was lying very still.
I crouched over him. He was still breathing, but his pale face was flecked with blood, and his eyes were closed. At least the broken pine branches hid us from below, not that they would do much good against the enemy’s pulverizing gun.
“Ethan,” I whispered frantically, “wake up! Please. Don’t let them catch you. You can still get away!”
Nothing. Not a flicker. He lay there pale, bloodied, and still. Like a little dead bird.
If only I’d believed him, really believed him, earlier. Maybe I could have done more to protect him.
“Come on, Ethan, wake up. I won’t let them get you! I love you, Ethan. You’re my cousin. It doesn’t matter that you’re an alien. Your mom and dad love you too. You’re family! You belong with us. Please, wake up!”
I ruffled his hair and patted his face, but
Similar Books
