game. I sneaked out of the house once again.
I rode my bike around town. The farther I rode, the more terrified I became.
I saw people sitting on their front lawns, eating clumps of grass and dirt. People on the street gazed at me with flashing blue eyes.
A group of kids hissed at me as I rode by. They hissed and giggled and rolled on their backs in a puddle of wet mud.
Finally, my legs were shaking too hard to pedal my bike. I climbed off and walked it home, leaning on it for support.
The aliens are everywhere, I saw. Everywhere.
Somehow they have possessed nearly everyone in town.
Am I all alone now? Am I truly the only one not possessed?
I can’t be, I decided. There are still people like me who can be rescued—if they find out the truth in time.
Who could I talk to? I had no friends left.
Suddenly, I thought of Ms. Crenshaw. The only teacher who never laughed at me about aliens. The only teacher who encouraged me, who was nice to me.
Ms. Crenshaw. Was she my last hope?
On Monday morning, I rode as fast as I could to school. I locked my bike and ran straight to the photography room.
The lights were out. Ms. Crenshaw must not be in yet, I decided.
At the back of the classroom, Ms. Crenshaw had a big darkroom. I knocked, to make sure she wasn’t in there developing photos.
No one answered, so I opened the door.
I flicked on the light.
“Oh, no!” I cried. “Oh, no!”
20
I couldn’t believe my eyes. I blinked to make sure they were working okay.
I stared at a wall of metal cages. Dozens and dozens of cages.
And inside the cages…
…inside them…
Creatures! Weird-looking creatures! Living creatures!
What were they?
I had no idea. But one thing I knew for sure.
Those creatures were not from Earth .
Trembling, I stepped into the long room. The metal cages were stacked one on top of the other, lining every wall.
My eyes moved from cage to cage. Inside each cage sat an egg-shaped thing, covered with fur, about the size of a tennis ball.
Eggs, I thought. Eggs with thick fur.
The furry eggs had three blue eyes and small jagged mouths that drooled a greenish slime. They didn’t seem to have any arms or legs.
My stomach churned. I struggled to breathe.
What were these things? Were they alien food ?
The furry eggs clapped their mouths open and shut, making tiny squeaking noises. Like baby birds.
In a corner I spotted a larger, golden cage. The brown egg-shaped thing inside that cage was bigger than the others—a little bigger than a softball.
It pulsed with energy. Its fur glowed with a strange blue light. It opened its mouth, and I saw bigger, sharper teeth than the others. It drooled a constant flow of blue slime onto the bottom of its cage.
The pulsing blue light reached out through the cages to the smaller eggs. They all seemed to lean toward it the way plants lean toward the sun.
Are they feeding on it? I wondered.
I stood frozen in the darkroom, gazing at these creatures in amazement. For so long, I had wanted to meet an alien. It was my dream, my obsession.
But now that I was finally staring at alien creatures, I felt only terror.
I started to back up to the door. Then I gaspedwhen I heard voices outside—in the photography room.
Who is it?
I have to hide!
But where?
I glanced around the darkroom, searching for a hiding place. I saw a door at the far wall. I yanked open a door—and discovered a small bathroom.
I heard footsteps. Someone was about to enter the darkroom.
No time! I squeezed into the bathroom and silently pulled the door, leaving it open just a crack.
I hid behind the door, peeking through the crack.
A second later, I recognized Rikki’s voice. “We don’t have much time,” she said. “Come and see for yourselves.”
Who was she talking to?
“We’ll do whatever we can to help,” a boy said. That voice sounds very familiar, I thought.
Rikki walked into the room and sat down. Two other kids followed her.
At first I couldn’t see them clearly.
I rode my bike around town. The farther I rode, the more terrified I became.
I saw people sitting on their front lawns, eating clumps of grass and dirt. People on the street gazed at me with flashing blue eyes.
A group of kids hissed at me as I rode by. They hissed and giggled and rolled on their backs in a puddle of wet mud.
Finally, my legs were shaking too hard to pedal my bike. I climbed off and walked it home, leaning on it for support.
The aliens are everywhere, I saw. Everywhere.
Somehow they have possessed nearly everyone in town.
Am I all alone now? Am I truly the only one not possessed?
I can’t be, I decided. There are still people like me who can be rescued—if they find out the truth in time.
Who could I talk to? I had no friends left.
Suddenly, I thought of Ms. Crenshaw. The only teacher who never laughed at me about aliens. The only teacher who encouraged me, who was nice to me.
Ms. Crenshaw. Was she my last hope?
On Monday morning, I rode as fast as I could to school. I locked my bike and ran straight to the photography room.
The lights were out. Ms. Crenshaw must not be in yet, I decided.
At the back of the classroom, Ms. Crenshaw had a big darkroom. I knocked, to make sure she wasn’t in there developing photos.
No one answered, so I opened the door.
I flicked on the light.
“Oh, no!” I cried. “Oh, no!”
20
I couldn’t believe my eyes. I blinked to make sure they were working okay.
I stared at a wall of metal cages. Dozens and dozens of cages.
And inside the cages…
…inside them…
Creatures! Weird-looking creatures! Living creatures!
What were they?
I had no idea. But one thing I knew for sure.
Those creatures were not from Earth .
Trembling, I stepped into the long room. The metal cages were stacked one on top of the other, lining every wall.
My eyes moved from cage to cage. Inside each cage sat an egg-shaped thing, covered with fur, about the size of a tennis ball.
Eggs, I thought. Eggs with thick fur.
The furry eggs had three blue eyes and small jagged mouths that drooled a greenish slime. They didn’t seem to have any arms or legs.
My stomach churned. I struggled to breathe.
What were these things? Were they alien food ?
The furry eggs clapped their mouths open and shut, making tiny squeaking noises. Like baby birds.
In a corner I spotted a larger, golden cage. The brown egg-shaped thing inside that cage was bigger than the others—a little bigger than a softball.
It pulsed with energy. Its fur glowed with a strange blue light. It opened its mouth, and I saw bigger, sharper teeth than the others. It drooled a constant flow of blue slime onto the bottom of its cage.
The pulsing blue light reached out through the cages to the smaller eggs. They all seemed to lean toward it the way plants lean toward the sun.
Are they feeding on it? I wondered.
I stood frozen in the darkroom, gazing at these creatures in amazement. For so long, I had wanted to meet an alien. It was my dream, my obsession.
But now that I was finally staring at alien creatures, I felt only terror.
I started to back up to the door. Then I gaspedwhen I heard voices outside—in the photography room.
Who is it?
I have to hide!
But where?
I glanced around the darkroom, searching for a hiding place. I saw a door at the far wall. I yanked open a door—and discovered a small bathroom.
I heard footsteps. Someone was about to enter the darkroom.
No time! I squeezed into the bathroom and silently pulled the door, leaving it open just a crack.
I hid behind the door, peeking through the crack.
A second later, I recognized Rikki’s voice. “We don’t have much time,” she said. “Come and see for yourselves.”
Who was she talking to?
“We’ll do whatever we can to help,” a boy said. That voice sounds very familiar, I thought.
Rikki walked into the room and sat down. Two other kids followed her.
At first I couldn’t see them clearly.
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