Read Online Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch - Free Book Online

uncle says so.”
    “Fast reflexes for a human are what you and James have,” White explained. “And all your machinery is made for humans. Believe us when we tell you that our reflexes are fast enough to destroy the machines, not handle them better.”
    “Oh, my God. Christopher took my car!” I loved that car. I took better care of it than of my apartment.
    “He took your keys. Someone else drove it,” Martini said reassuringly. “We roll with drivers at all times.”
    “He sounds so ‘street’ when he says that,” Reader said with a laugh.
    “Yeah, you’re all keepin’ it gangsta, really.” I shook my head. “Okay, so you can move fast. How do the human operatives make time, though?”
    “If we’re touching you, you move as fast as we do,” Gower said. “You wouldn’t notice it, either, even if we’re going at hyperspeed.”
    “You’d be too busy blacking out,” Reader said. “Trust me, I still do.”
    “Is that why I fainted before?”
    “Nope,” Martini said. “That was because you were overcome by my lips being so close to yours.”
    “Good to know. So, other than making my hand disappear, why are we here, exactly?”
    “Well, we were going to use the transference machine here to go to Dulce,” White answered. “But I’d prefer to wait until we know the situation with your mother is handled.”
    “Christopher won’t take her here or the Science Center, though,” Gower said. “Standard procedure is to take her to Home Base.”
    “True,” White sighed. “Okay, off to the Box, then.”
    “No. I want to see this crash site, since we’re here.” I was worried about Mom, but if I believed them, the A-Cs were taking care of her. I wanted to see the crash site as a distraction, so I could focus on it instead of on what I couldn’t do. Mom’s training, as I thought about it.
    “Fine, as long as you’re up to it,” White said.
    “Hold onto me,” Martini said, offering his hand.
    I decided not to argue. He had a good grip—it was clear he was holding my hand firmly but not so that he’d crush it. I had to admit, I felt better with him touching me.
    We walked forward, and then, right there, where nothing had been before, was a huge, rounded ditch. I could see where something big and heavy had landed and then skidded for a good, long way, ending up right in front of where we stood.
    I looked back. I could still see the limo and the other SUVs. “Can they still see us?”
    “Lift your top. If they react, the answer’s yes.”
    “You’re so suave. Can I let go of your hand now?”
    “It’d be better if you didn’t, and not just because I like holding your hand.” He led me around the outside of the ditch. “If you were to slip and fall, you’d get hurt, and if you fell through an open door, you’d get sent to whichever transport point you hit. Not pretty and not safe, especially under the circumstances.”
    “I don’t see anything but the ditch. I mean, at least I can see that now. But I don’t see any machinery, let alone a door, open or not.”
    “It’s cloaked.”
    “Like in the movies?”
    “Only real, yes.” Martini was fiddling with something. He seemed to be spinning a dial in the air.
    “What are you doing?”
    As I asked, he stopped fiddling with the air and then pushed at something I also couldn’t see. There was a hissing sound, like an air lock opening, and then Martini stepped onto thin air. At least, that’s what it looked like. “We call it ‘opening the door.’ Come on in,” he said, pulling me with him.
    As I stumbled over, I saw we were now in a dome made of glass and metal. Inside it were what looked like the metal detectors at the airport—doorways that go nowhere. There were dozens of them, and two particularly large ones, at the edges of the dome, opposite each other. I could also see more men who looked like the rest of the boys from Alpha Centauri in there. They were bigger and more imposing than Martini or Gower, and I got the