wouldn’t meet his glare. There was an edge to her words that Ethan did not like one bit.
He half suspected if it were up to Madison, she’d actually let Angel
die
.
What if that was the correct command decision? Was Ethan soft for risking everyone’s life to save one team member? And the most troublesome team member at that?
Maybe … but it was the only way he could operate as a commander.
He would have done it for
any
person in his squad, but like Angel said, he and she were both “different.”
Emerson’s gas station was ahead. It was closed for the evening, but Madison pulled up to a pump anyway.
She hopped out, ripped off the panel of the gas pump, got it to work, and started filling the milk truck’s tank.
“I want a full tank,” she told him, “in case we have to make a break for it.”
Ethan nodded, although he wasn’t sure where they’d run to if there was trouble. Without I.C.E. suits that the Ch’zar couldn’t track … without a way to contact the Seed Bank … they might be stuck here for a long time.
Ethan turned to talk to Emma, but he stopped because she had both palms pressed to her forehead in obvious pain.
“You okay?” he whispered.
“Headache,” she murmured. “I felt something like thisback in New Taos … only it was a little buzzing, and
this
is more like a hammer of pounding blood. It’s hard to explain.”
She looked up. Her dark eyes were glassy, her forehead creased with tension.
He reached out to pat her on the arm. He was going to suggest that she grab some aspirin from the first-aid kits, but when he touched her, Ethan felt what she felt, too.
It was like the pulses of a hundred other people thundering in his head. The pressure was intense.
He let go and sat up straighter, both hands involuntarily rising to his head to put pressure on the pain.
Was his sister being affected by the Ch’zar mental domination? She was technically old enough to hit puberty. It wasn’t like puberty was a switch, though, that just got flipped. The physical changes could take months to completely manifest.
Dr. Irving had told him there was a critical point, however, when the chemistry in the brain changed. When Madison’s brother, Roger, was taken over, it was only a matter of minutes.
“It’s not that,” Emma told him. “It’s not like I can’t push the feeling out when I concentrate.”
It bugged Ethan that she could so easily guess what he was thinking.
Was that a symptom of a Ch’zar hive mind?
No … he didn’t think so. He and Emma had always been able to guess the other’s thoughts most of the time.
He took a deep breath and tried not to freak out.
“Let me know if it gets any worse, okay?” he said.
She locked eyes with him. The pain eased from her gaze, and the tension on her face smoothed. She slugged him—hard—in the shoulder. “You’ll be the second to know.” She snorted a quick laugh. “I’ll be fine. Worry about more important things.”
Ethan relaxed a little but wasn’t entirely convinced his sister was 100 percent okay.
He knew one thing, though: with Angel’s deadly radiation poisoning, the alien-controlled adults of Santa Blanca who could recognize them at a glance, and his sister acting “quirky,” the clock was ticking.
It was only a matter of time before
something
went very wrong.
The gas tank of the milk truck gurgled and overflowed.
“Done,” Madison chirped. She hopped back into the milk truck and they sped off.
They approached the edge of Santa Blanca. Things were different in his former home from the last time Ethan was here. The normal warm streetlights had beenreplaced with tall banks of lights mounted on cranes that cast harsh illumination over entire city blocks.
It was bright enough to see that on every corner, two adults in green Neighborhood Watch jackets stood on lookout.
Emma tossed Madison a Blanca Dairy jacket and cap.
“Take the wheel,” Madison told Ethan.
He did, and she shrugged on the
He half suspected if it were up to Madison, she’d actually let Angel
die
.
What if that was the correct command decision? Was Ethan soft for risking everyone’s life to save one team member? And the most troublesome team member at that?
Maybe … but it was the only way he could operate as a commander.
He would have done it for
any
person in his squad, but like Angel said, he and she were both “different.”
Emerson’s gas station was ahead. It was closed for the evening, but Madison pulled up to a pump anyway.
She hopped out, ripped off the panel of the gas pump, got it to work, and started filling the milk truck’s tank.
“I want a full tank,” she told him, “in case we have to make a break for it.”
Ethan nodded, although he wasn’t sure where they’d run to if there was trouble. Without I.C.E. suits that the Ch’zar couldn’t track … without a way to contact the Seed Bank … they might be stuck here for a long time.
Ethan turned to talk to Emma, but he stopped because she had both palms pressed to her forehead in obvious pain.
“You okay?” he whispered.
“Headache,” she murmured. “I felt something like thisback in New Taos … only it was a little buzzing, and
this
is more like a hammer of pounding blood. It’s hard to explain.”
She looked up. Her dark eyes were glassy, her forehead creased with tension.
He reached out to pat her on the arm. He was going to suggest that she grab some aspirin from the first-aid kits, but when he touched her, Ethan felt what she felt, too.
It was like the pulses of a hundred other people thundering in his head. The pressure was intense.
He let go and sat up straighter, both hands involuntarily rising to his head to put pressure on the pain.
Was his sister being affected by the Ch’zar mental domination? She was technically old enough to hit puberty. It wasn’t like puberty was a switch, though, that just got flipped. The physical changes could take months to completely manifest.
Dr. Irving had told him there was a critical point, however, when the chemistry in the brain changed. When Madison’s brother, Roger, was taken over, it was only a matter of minutes.
“It’s not that,” Emma told him. “It’s not like I can’t push the feeling out when I concentrate.”
It bugged Ethan that she could so easily guess what he was thinking.
Was that a symptom of a Ch’zar hive mind?
No … he didn’t think so. He and Emma had always been able to guess the other’s thoughts most of the time.
He took a deep breath and tried not to freak out.
“Let me know if it gets any worse, okay?” he said.
She locked eyes with him. The pain eased from her gaze, and the tension on her face smoothed. She slugged him—hard—in the shoulder. “You’ll be the second to know.” She snorted a quick laugh. “I’ll be fine. Worry about more important things.”
Ethan relaxed a little but wasn’t entirely convinced his sister was 100 percent okay.
He knew one thing, though: with Angel’s deadly radiation poisoning, the alien-controlled adults of Santa Blanca who could recognize them at a glance, and his sister acting “quirky,” the clock was ticking.
It was only a matter of time before
something
went very wrong.
The gas tank of the milk truck gurgled and overflowed.
“Done,” Madison chirped. She hopped back into the milk truck and they sped off.
They approached the edge of Santa Blanca. Things were different in his former home from the last time Ethan was here. The normal warm streetlights had beenreplaced with tall banks of lights mounted on cranes that cast harsh illumination over entire city blocks.
It was bright enough to see that on every corner, two adults in green Neighborhood Watch jackets stood on lookout.
Emma tossed Madison a Blanca Dairy jacket and cap.
“Take the wheel,” Madison told Ethan.
He did, and she shrugged on the
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