It seemed to be a boy and a girl. They both had light blond hair.
“We need a plan,” Rikki said. “We need to work fast.”
“Ben Shipley should be next,” a girl said. “I’m tired of his spying. He is a big a troublemaker.”
“Yes, Ben should definitely be next,” the boy agreed.
I nearly choked. My breath caught in my throat.
What did they mean? Why were they talking about me? Who were they?
Then the girl turned toward the bathroom door. And I could see her face clearly.
Oh, no, I thought.
Not you. They haven’t gotten to you, too!
Sitting next to Rikki I saw Summer and Jeff.
21
Summer walked along the room, studying the weird, egg-shaped things in their cages.
“They look weak,” she said.
Rikki nodded. “They won’t survive much longer. They need human hosts.”
My mind spun.
The egg creatures—they weren’t alien food. They were the aliens!
But they needed to be inside humans to survive on earth.
I pressed myself against the door and listened hard.
I saw Jeff studying the bigger egg in the golden cage. “But what about the leader?”
“He is keeping the others alive,” Rikki explained. “He is keeping us all alive.”
“But he cannot continue if the others do not find human hosts,” Summer said. “We have only a day or two to find them hosts.”
I couldn’t believe it. I felt so dizzy I could barely keep on my feet.
Summer and Jeff! They were helping Rikki and the aliens! They were possessed by the aliens!
And all along they’d been telling me I was crazy! Telling me to forget my alien obsession.
Where is Ms. Crenshaw? I wondered. Does she know that they are using her darkroom to hide the aliens?
“There are dozens of aliens here,” Jeff said. “How can we find that many hosts so fast?”
“Think about it,” Rikki said. “That’s why we’re keeping them here at the school. We have hundreds of healthy young host bodies here. We just need to figure out a way to get the aliens inside the students.”
“Don’t worry, my brothers and sisters,” Summer cooed to the furry eggs. “We won’t let you die. We’ll find a nice host body for every one of you—just like mine.”
“And mine,” Jeff added.
“And mine,” Rikki echoed.
It took all my strength not to scream out at that moment. I wanted to scream. I wanted to run. Topush right past them. To leap out into the hall and warn the other kids to escape—before it was too late.
But before I could move, the darkroom door opened and Ms. Crenshaw walked in.
Thank goodness, I thought. She’ll see what they are doing. She’ll stop them!
But no.
“How are they doing?” Ms. Crenshaw asked.
“They’re weakening,” Rikki said.
“We must take care of that quickly,” Ms. Crenshaw said. “We don’t want the mission to fail.”
22
Ms. Crenshaw…my last hope. She was an alien, too!
“We must find host bodies. And we must find The One.” Ms. Crenshaw said.
The One?
Who was she talking about? One of the aliens?
The alien leader?
Find The One ?
I shut my eyes, my brain spinning.
The warnings had been true. These egg-shaped aliens had invaded earth. And each one needed a host body.
Ms. Crenshaw, Rikki, Summer, and Jeff were already host bodies to aliens. And they had a plan.They were going to plant the others inside the kids at school!
I’ve got to stop them! I thought. I can’t let them get away with this!
I’ve got to get out of here and warn everyone! I realized.
But for now I was stuck in the bathroom.
And that’s when Jeff said the words I dreaded most.
“My host body ate something sticky for breakfast,” he said. “I’ve got to wash my hands.”
I backed away from the bathroom door as Jeff moved toward it. There was no place to hide in here. Just a sink and a toilet.
I flattened myself against the wall behind the door. I knew it was hopeless. If Jeff pushed the door open, it would hit me. He’d have to be an idiot not to notice me.
I swallowed hard. What if they catch me?
“We need a plan,” Rikki said. “We need to work fast.”
“Ben Shipley should be next,” a girl said. “I’m tired of his spying. He is a big a troublemaker.”
“Yes, Ben should definitely be next,” the boy agreed.
I nearly choked. My breath caught in my throat.
What did they mean? Why were they talking about me? Who were they?
Then the girl turned toward the bathroom door. And I could see her face clearly.
Oh, no, I thought.
Not you. They haven’t gotten to you, too!
Sitting next to Rikki I saw Summer and Jeff.
21
Summer walked along the room, studying the weird, egg-shaped things in their cages.
“They look weak,” she said.
Rikki nodded. “They won’t survive much longer. They need human hosts.”
My mind spun.
The egg creatures—they weren’t alien food. They were the aliens!
But they needed to be inside humans to survive on earth.
I pressed myself against the door and listened hard.
I saw Jeff studying the bigger egg in the golden cage. “But what about the leader?”
“He is keeping the others alive,” Rikki explained. “He is keeping us all alive.”
“But he cannot continue if the others do not find human hosts,” Summer said. “We have only a day or two to find them hosts.”
I couldn’t believe it. I felt so dizzy I could barely keep on my feet.
Summer and Jeff! They were helping Rikki and the aliens! They were possessed by the aliens!
And all along they’d been telling me I was crazy! Telling me to forget my alien obsession.
Where is Ms. Crenshaw? I wondered. Does she know that they are using her darkroom to hide the aliens?
“There are dozens of aliens here,” Jeff said. “How can we find that many hosts so fast?”
“Think about it,” Rikki said. “That’s why we’re keeping them here at the school. We have hundreds of healthy young host bodies here. We just need to figure out a way to get the aliens inside the students.”
“Don’t worry, my brothers and sisters,” Summer cooed to the furry eggs. “We won’t let you die. We’ll find a nice host body for every one of you—just like mine.”
“And mine,” Jeff added.
“And mine,” Rikki echoed.
It took all my strength not to scream out at that moment. I wanted to scream. I wanted to run. Topush right past them. To leap out into the hall and warn the other kids to escape—before it was too late.
But before I could move, the darkroom door opened and Ms. Crenshaw walked in.
Thank goodness, I thought. She’ll see what they are doing. She’ll stop them!
But no.
“How are they doing?” Ms. Crenshaw asked.
“They’re weakening,” Rikki said.
“We must take care of that quickly,” Ms. Crenshaw said. “We don’t want the mission to fail.”
22
Ms. Crenshaw…my last hope. She was an alien, too!
“We must find host bodies. And we must find The One.” Ms. Crenshaw said.
The One?
Who was she talking about? One of the aliens?
The alien leader?
Find The One ?
I shut my eyes, my brain spinning.
The warnings had been true. These egg-shaped aliens had invaded earth. And each one needed a host body.
Ms. Crenshaw, Rikki, Summer, and Jeff were already host bodies to aliens. And they had a plan.They were going to plant the others inside the kids at school!
I’ve got to stop them! I thought. I can’t let them get away with this!
I’ve got to get out of here and warn everyone! I realized.
But for now I was stuck in the bathroom.
And that’s when Jeff said the words I dreaded most.
“My host body ate something sticky for breakfast,” he said. “I’ve got to wash my hands.”
I backed away from the bathroom door as Jeff moved toward it. There was no place to hide in here. Just a sink and a toilet.
I flattened myself against the wall behind the door. I knew it was hopeless. If Jeff pushed the door open, it would hit me. He’d have to be an idiot not to notice me.
I swallowed hard. What if they catch me?
Similar Books
