A Different Kind (15 page)

Logan frowned. “I just…I thought I’d recognize more of these characters.” He pulled up the profile of another person. This time when he zoomed in on their brain there was a chip, but no lights flickering from it. “This is someone they took; the chip’s gone dead.”

“Do you know what any of it says?”

Logan stared at the symbols around the image for a long time. He dragged his finger through the text, scrolling past the characters. After a while he dropped his hand and sighed.

“No,” he said, his voice sounding thick and toneless. “Take a few pictures, especially this part here.” Logan pointed to a section of the screen.

I did as he asked. “Think maybe your mom could read more of it?”

“That’s what I’m hoping. She’s not going to be happy that we were here though.”

I slid my phone back into my pocket, and with a wave of his hand the glowing green images disappeared. “Why not?”

“She doesn’t like when I come here. She worries that I’ll activate something somehow, and the Greys will find us here.”

“She’s really afraid of going back there, isn’t she?”

Logan looked at me, but he was silent. He didn’t have to say anything. “I’m sorry this didn’t exactly give us the answers we were looking for.”

“Well, we don’t know that yet. We still have the photos.”

Logan nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.” He was trying to be optimistic, but I could tell he was worried.

“So…can we get out of here now? This place gives me the creeps.”

CHAPTER

19

“
P
ayton,” Mom called as I walked through the front door.

“Yeah?” I answered, following the sound of her voice to the kitchen.

She sat at the breakfast counter with papers spread out on the granite countertops.

“What’s that?”

“The guest list and information from the caterers for the party.” I must have looked confused because she glared at me. “Seriously, Payton, don’t tell me you forgot about the Halloween party. It’s this weekend.”

“Right.” I did remember the party, but she’d only mentioned it a few times. That was Mom though. When she decided to make plans for something, she came up with an idea and ran with it. “No, I remember. Jo and I were talking about costumes the other day. I guess I thought it was next weekend, since, you know, that’s actually Halloween.”

“No, that weekend didn’t work for your father. I’m going to need your help decorating. Jo’s too, oh and we should go shopping for costumes soon…but that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. Jo’s mom is really worried about her.”

I bit my lip, not sure what to say.

“I love Jo, and she’s welcome to stay here as long as she likes. But she needs to talk to her parents eventually. I know you kids are going to go through all kinds of phases as you grow up, but Jo needs to think about how much this is upsetting her parents, and about the values they’ve raised her with. The same values your father and I tried to raise you with.” Mom sighed. “She’ll listen to you – just try to get her to call home; her parents have calmed down now, and they all need to talk about this.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’ll talk to her.”

Mom smiled. “Thank you, honey, and don’t forget about the Halloween Party. I’ll need your help, and you can invite a few friends, but nothing crazy.”

J
o sat on my bed, working on her homework when I walked into my room. Her math book and calculator were sprawled before her, but so was one of her young adult novels – not the one about oranges, a different one. I wondered how much studying she’d really gotten done. She smiled when I walked in, and I said hi as I closed my bedroom door.

“How was practice?” I asked.

Jo shrugged. “Same as always; you didn’t miss much. Mrs. Davis didn’t seem too happy that you were gone though. Where were you anyway?”

I paused, unsure of exactly what to say. “I was just hanging out with Logan.”

Jo’s eyebrows rose and she smiled.

“It’s not like that; we’re just friends.” Friends who were searching for a way to keep me from being abducted by aliens that want to take me to their planet and suck the life force out of me.

“
Sure
,” Jo said, her eyes focused on her math book, a smile still pulling at her lips.

“What have you been up to?”

Jo sighed. “Studying mostly. I’ve been avoiding talking to my parents.”

“Yeah, my mom asked me to try to get you to call home.”

“Mom left a message on my phone that we should talk, but I’m just not ready, and honestly I don’t think she is either. Are you cool with me crashing here for another night?”

“Absolutely, stay as long as you want. It’ll be like an epic sleepover.”

Jo smiled. Then she took a breath. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“Do you think being gay is a sin?”

I took a breath. I wasn’t expecting a question of that magnitude. I believed in God. Sometimes I wondered if it was a belief you grew out of, like learning that Santa isn’t real when you’re a kid, but I hadn’t grown out of it yet and hoped I never would. Maybe it was because Jo used to drag me to church with her some Sundays. I used to like going with her. I liked thinking I was a part of something bigger, that things happened for a reason. Especially now, after I’d been abducted by aliens, the thought that maybe there was a reason for the things that happened to me was comforting.

“Honestly, I don’t know.”

“It’s just, my parents said some things…when they found out that….” Jo sighed. “It’s just; this doesn’t feel like a choice, it just feels like this is who I am.”

“All I know is that you’re my friend. You’re my best friend, and I love you just the same as I always have. I mean, if the Pope can be cool with gay people, who am I to judge?”

Jo smiled. “Thanks, Payton.”

“Cheer up, everything will work out eventually. Maybe we should do something fun to get your mind off things. Ohh, tonight we could rent movies. I don’t really have any homework.”

Jo bit her lip, and at that very moment her phone beeped. “Actually, Nikki has a thing tonight – with the band.”

“Oh, that’s okay….”

“Why don’t we both go?”

“I don’t know, I wouldn’t want to….”

“No, really, come with me. It’s a show; I’m just going to be sitting in the audience watching. You could come, you know, sit with me.”

I laughed. “Yeah, okay. Let’s go.”

I
can’t say “Monday’s Rebellion” played my kind of music, but they were fun to watch. Nikki was good on the drums, and their singer, Frank, had a decent voice when he wasn’t screaming. Jo and I were sitting in folding chairs at the St. James Teen Center. The church ran all kinds of activities for teens, and Tuesday nights apparently were reserved for high school bands. Jo told me they made you okay your music choice with them first. But from the sound of it, so long as you weren’t swearing, they pretty much approved anything.

Both Jo and I stood to applaud when their show ended. Nikki and her bandmates moved off the stage and packed up their instruments. While we waited for them I looked around. The place was packed. A group of guys from our school we generally considered “burn-outs” were in deep conversation in a corner of the room. The artsy girl who was always doodling all over her notebooks in my history class was talking to some kids from another school. There were even a couple guys I recognized from the football team, underclassmen.

Seeing all those people there gave me this strange feeling. I was the odd man out. I was used to being the one running the show. I thought I knew everyone and everything that was going on in high school, where all the best parties were, where the best people hung out. I realized maybe I wasn’t as connected as I’d always thought. Maybe I’d been the one kept out of the loop when it came to some really awesome stuff.

While I was in the middle of musing over the possible things I’d missed out on during my high school career, Nikki and her bandmates walked over. Nikki rushed forward with a huge smile on her face and hugged Jo. Behind her their singer said hey. He was a tall guy with wide shoulders. Light brown hair swished around his square head. Behind him were the guitarist and bassist, both skinny guys with dark hair. One had side-swept bangs, and the other’s hair was spiked up.

“You guys were great,” Jo said.

“Really?”

They both glanced back at me.

“Yeah, yeah, you um…rocked it,” I said a little awkwardly. Being encouraging about something I didn’t particularly care for wasn’t my strong suit. But I figured if I actually liked eighties punk rock and metal, I would have thought they were good.

“So hey,” Nikki said, looking back at her bandmates. “You all know Jo already, but this is her friend Payton.” She turned back to us. “And this is Frank, Joey, and Randy.”

“Hey.” I waved. I saw Frank’s eyes narrow on my arm.

Nikki was asking if we wanted to hit up Denny’s with her and the boys when Frank grabbed my arm and flipped it over.

“Hey!” Freaked out I tried to tug it back, especially when the red three-pronged mark became visible, but he had a firm grip.

Nikki slapped Frank. “Jesus, Frankie, you can’t just assault my friends.”

Frank ignored her. His eyes met mine and he said in a soft voice, “When did they take you?”

My mouth dropped open, but I couldn’t speak.

“Don’t tell me this is more alien stuff,” Jo said. She grabbed Frank’s hand, the one that held mine, and in a firm voice said, “Let my friend go.” Frank did, but as I dropped my arm, I saw Jo notice the mark.

“Sorry,” Nikki said. “He can be a little intimidating.”

“It’s okay.”

Frank’s eyes were still glued to me. “When did they take you?” he asked again.

“Dude, Frank, you’re freaking her out,” Randy said.
Or was that one Joey?

“Listen, I
know
, and I know if you have that mark they’re coming back for you. There are things you can do. God, we need to talk. I need to know your story. Have you seen them?”

“
Okay
, I’m sorry, Nik.” Jo pulled my arm. “But we’re gonna go.”

“Wait,” I said as she started to drag me away.

Everyone paused.

“How do I stop them from coming back?”

Jo’s eyes were huge when she looked at me. I ignored her.

Frank tapped his head with his pointer finger. “You gotta have it removed. It’s the only way.”

I nodded.

“Okay, seriously, Payton, let’s go.”

I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to ask Frank how I could remove the chip, but when I turned to Jo and saw that frightened look in her eyes, I didn’t want to do anything to freak her out anymore. I could talk to Frank again later. I nodded and followed Jo out of the Teen Center. Glancing back, I saw Nikki’s red curls sway around her face as she punched Frank in the arm.

J
o was quiet on the drive home. It wasn’t until we were both in my bedroom and I shut my door behind me that she said something.

“Okay, what was that about?”

“What?” I asked, though I knew perfectly well what she was talking about. I just wasn’t sure how much I wanted to tell her, or how much she’d believe.

Jo sighed. “Frank creeps me out. He’s always going on about one conspiracy theory or another. First time I met him he asked me if I was a believer because I wore a necklace with an owl pendant. What the hell do owls have to do with aliens anyway, and–”

“It’s the eyes,” I cut in. “The big black eyes.”

Jo stopped. Her mouth hung open until she snapped it shut. Slowly she sat down at the edge of my bed.

“Okay.” She took a breath. “Like I was saying, I get that Frank is a little nuts, but you went along with his little freak out tonight and…Payton, just tell me you don’t believe in aliens.”

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t.

“Aliens aren’t real.” She sighed again, slumping deeper into my mattress. She stared at the floor for a long moment. When she looked up, her eyes were haunted. “I had a dream a few weeks ago. I dreamt that I woke up in the middle of the night and looked out my bedroom window. There was this bright light….”

I gulped and felt a shiver run through me. Silently I prayed that what had happened to me hadn’t happened to Jo as well.

“And there was this…ship in the sky, this big black thing. It was all sharp angles and reflective. There was a hole in the center with a bright light beaming down, then the center closed and it was just gone. I’d never seen anything move that fast…but it wasn’t real. It was just a dream, I mean, it doesn’t seem real thinking back on it. That wasn’t real, right, Payton?”