“Laura?”
The girl looked up, then nodded as she moved her hair from in front of her eyes. “Fine. But what about Luke? He thinks it’s best to stay here.”
“Then we let him stay here. You can say goodbye if we pass him on the way out.”
Laura pouted, but Maya had weathered many teenage pout storms before. “Now, finish grabbing your things so we can leave.”
The kids packed the rest of their belongings into the bags, and then each threw one over a shoulder. As they were about to leave the room, Reno showed up at the door with the police officer, John, standing behind him.
“You all ready?” Reno asked.
“Yeah, I think so.” Maya glanced back at her kids. Neither would look at her, but both had bags slung across their backs, ready to go.
Reno put his hand on Maya’s shoulder. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Let’s leave before I change my mind.”
Reno smiled and nodded.
“We need to get going,” John said.
They headed down the corridor, passing others who stood silent and wide-eyed. Maya thought she heard whispers of “crazy” and “suicide.” When they came to the door at the end of the hall, Cameron stood there wearing a backpack.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m coming with you.”
“Don’t you want to stay here with Gerald?”
“You had every chance to ditch me and abandon me, but you didn’t. You didn’t leave me at that house. You got me out of there, and you probably saved my life.” Cameron shook her head. “I’m not going to abandon you now.”
Maya felt a flutter in her stomach.
“So, where are we headed?” Cameron asked.
“The country?” Maya and Reno hadn’t really talked about it, but anywhere they could hide without drawing attention would be best. The fort was like a big, bright, neon sign saying, “Humans in here.”
“There’s a garage a couple of buildings over.” John held up the keys to a vehicle. “Our ride should be in there.”
“Let’s not waste anymore time.” Maya opened the door.
They walked outside and headed across the lot. After meandering through the halls, she estimated there to be about 150 people staying at the base, including soldiers and civilians. Dozens of them stood around now and, to Maya, it felt like all eyes were on their group. Some of the soldiers shook their heads while others ignored them completely. It had only been dark for a few hours and people were heading back into the base while Maya and her crew were leaving it.
“There it is.” John pointed to the third building on the right. “Garage number fourteen.”
Maya went to the metal garage door and kneeled to grip the handle. Then she stood, raising the door with her, and saw the barrels of several guns pointed at her head. “Gerald?”
“What’s the deal?” Reno asked.
Gerald stood in the middle of four soldiers, three of them men and one woman. He wasn’t holding a gun, but each of the soldiers with him had a rifle trained on Maya, Reno, and John.
“I can’t let you take my kids. I brought them here for a reason, to keep them safe.”
Maya took a step forward. “I already told you that you don’t have a say.”
Laura grabbed Aiden and they both stepped behind their mother.
“Yeah, well, I’m afraid I disagree.”
“Bullshit.” Reno stepped forward.
The soldiers raised their weapons higher, but Gerald put up his hand. “Take him and his cop buddy to lock-up. They’re too dangerous to be free in the base.”
Two of the soldiers went to Reno and John, grabbing their arms. John tried to pull away, but Reno looked at him and shook his head.
“I don’t know why you don’t understand me, man,” Reno said. “I know how to take down the domes.”
“Yeah, and we appreciate the intel. But I can’t have you brainwashing people, especially my family. Get him out of here.”
Maya watched Reno fight as the soldiers approached him, and she felt her cheeks flushing. Gerald then looked at Cameron.
“And you. How could you leave me like this?”
“Are you kidding me?” Cameron approached him. “You left me for dead back in our house. Maya was the one who saved me.”
“I was going to come back for you.” Gerald had lowered his eyes, his words coming soft.
Cameron crossed her arms and shook her head. “You’re unbelievable.”
Time slowed for Maya. She turned to see Reno staring at her, even while screaming at the soldiers. Standing behind her, both of her kids had begun to cry, asking why their mom and dad couldn’t agree. Maya suddenly questioned whether she had made the right choice, her resolve weakening now that she saw the confusion etched onto Laura and Aiden’s faces.
She glanced back at Gerald, unsure of what to say or do, and then an alarm sounded. Along with the others, she looked around.
“Shit,” Gerald said as the two soldiers next to him sprinted back toward the base.
“What is that?”
Gerald took her hand and then Cameron’s. “Grab the kids and let’s go.”
“What’s that alarm, Dad?” Aiden asked.
Gerald narrowed his eyes and said, “Just keep quiet and follow me. We’ve got to get to—”
An explosion shook the ground and Maya pulled away from Gerald to throw herself over her children as the people walking around the base screamed. Maya looked up to see smoke billowing from a building on the other side of the compound.
Soldiers hurried past, carrying weapons and positioning themselves for the attack. Maya stood, grabbing her children’s hands and pulling them to their feet. Together, they looked at the horizon and saw a swarm of aliens headed for the base, followed by a single ship. A hand grabbed her arm and she turned to see Gerald on his radio.
“They just took out the beams. Repeat. Lights are not operational.”
“Shit.” Gerald shoved the radio back onto his belt. “We’ve got to get to safety. The aliens took out our best weapon.”
He started to pull her, but she resisted. He turned back and clenched his jaw as she yanked her arm away.
“C’mon, Maya.”
She shook her head. “We can’t stay here. The aliens are launching an attack. Reno was right. We need to leave.”
Gerald looked to the sky and then to the dozens of soldiers gathering in the lot.
“We’re not staying here. Not me or the kids.”
“Don’t be stupid. They’re coming this way. We can bunker down in the fort’s sub-floors. They won’t be able to reach us down there.”
Maya shook her head. “It’ll only be temporary. They’ll destroy the base, find us, bury us alive.”
Cameron spoke up. “Stay if you want. We’re going.”
Another fireball lit up the sky, crawling up the side of a building and exploding at the top. People screamed below it and even some of the soldiers with guns turned to run back into the base.
A secondary blast tossed JLTVs and other military vehicles into the air. Soldiers ran in every direction now as the alien swarm filled the night sky above like the floating ash of a raging bonfire.
Gerald looked at Maya, his face white. “We’re not going to outrun them.”
The explosion had torn the side off a maintenance garage where two battered pickup trucks sat side by side. The beds had been modified to hold tankers of some sort, which filled the space, leaving only the single bench seat for the driver and passengers.
“What about those?”
He laughed at Maya. “We can’t all fit in one.”
“Then we’ll take them both.”
Maya ran along the side of the building, toward the truck. Gerald and the others followed her. A door on the side of the building burst open, slamming into her left leg and knocking her over.
“Maya!” Reno bent down and lifted her to her feet, John right behind him. “It’s happening right now!”