Over the Moon (27 page)

"How do you kill them?" I asked as he was driving me home. I
can honestly say I have never asked how to kill anything before.

"Decapitation, burning, explosives, or we can inject them with
certain noxious chemicals," he answered, not at all alarmed by my
question.

"So if they get you, you're pretty much toast," I said, suddenly
realizing that myself and all Earth people were extremely fragile when compared to these maniacs. Andrew was a little less breakable,
but fighting the Hellites was super risky even for him. This made
me feel helpless and frustrated. I knew I could not fight alongside
my boyfriend. I could barely kill an insect. I usually enlisted help to
eradicate spiders from any room I couldn't leave. How could I possibly inflict bodily harm on a human being, even if that human was
evil, repulsive, smelled bad, and was trying to kill Andrew or me?

He pulled the car to the curb in front of my house. Then he
pulled a duffle bag out of the backseat.

"This is our bag of tricks." He took a can of pepper spray out of
the bag. "This will slow them down and give you a chance to run."
Next, he removed a quart bottle with a spray nozzle and a longhandled lighter. "This is accelerant. After you spray them, you can
light them on fire, and they're cooked almost immediately." He then
showed me a small syringe with a long, narrow needle attached. "If
you inject this directly into their bloodstream, it will kill them in five
minutes or less." Last, he showed me some kind of terrifying ninja
sword that collapsed into the handle. "This sword can sever a head
with very little effort. It is made from the finest and strongest steel
alloy available on this planet. The blade is incredibly sharp. When
you push this button on the handle, it springs out like a switch
blade, thus incorporating the element of surprise. I also have a few
trusty grenades that are much more stable than regular ones until
you detonate them. Of course, they are loud and would attract a lot
of attention unless we were alone in the desert and far away from
civilization."

"If I have to use any of these things, I am totally dead!" Now
I was feeling thoroughly hopeless. There was no way that I could
pull any of these tricks off. I would end up setting myself on fire or
injecting myself with poison. Maybe I'd blow myself up or accidentally slice off my own arm.

"They're not for you, love, except the pepper spray. I think you
can handle that. The rest are mine. I already told you. I'm going to
find them. You are not required to fight these monsters. They're my
demons, and I will take them down. It's my job, and I'm good at it, so stop with the panic already. I just want you to know that like a
good boy scout, I am always well prepared. I don't want you to be
afraid, and I don't want you to worry about me."

I know he meant to make me feel better, but it wasn't working.
I was far beyond afraid. My current state of mind was more like
hysterically horrified. My trembling had reached the highest rating
on the Richter scale that measures earthquake and seismic activity.
I was seriously shivering so hard my teeth were chattering. I didn't
want to think about the things they would do to him if they caught
him. Boy Scout or not, he could die.

He kissed me good night on my doorstep, holding me close for
several minutes until I stopped shaking. Then he waited until I was
inside and the door was locked behind me before he drove away.

Every day that week seemed completely normal, but I was constantly
worried about Andrew. Both James and Sonya were safe now, so he
didn't have that hanging over his head. Sonya had apparently blocked
the whole episode of her abduction from her mind. Andrew said he
couldn't read her thoughts because she had safeguarded her brain.
It was like her mind was a locked box. Evidently, Helamites can
keep other Helamites from entering their heads if they want. Supposedly, it's also a coping mechanism similar to temporary amnesia in Earth humans. It was quite understandable that she would
want to bury this traumatic experience. I tried to feel sorry for her,
but it wasn't easy since my last really traumatic experience was all
her doing. Andrew seemed to think that she would soon remember something that would help them find and destroy the Hellites. I
knew he blamed himself for her capture because the Hellites were
after him and his family. I also understood how relieved he was that
she was now safe. I tried not to think of the implication that he still
cared for her. I would be relieved when the imminent danger passed
and I could put all my fears behind me. So far, there had been no
signs of the elusive aliens. No half-eaten corpses had shown up, and
no sightings were made. Andrew's family and friends had searched
all the abandoned buildings in the area with no success. These were
very slippery, sneaky, evil spacemen who somehow managed to stay
under the radar.

Friday night, we attended another football game. It was fun to
watch Matthew play the hero. He made it all look so simple. It was
easy for him to score and win the game. To his credit, he did try to
give his teammates opportunities to make plays. Sometimes they
came through and scored. Other times they failed miserably. It all
worked out in the end with us beating a St. George team that was
supposed to be the best in our area. The highly ranked Pineview
Panthers weren't exactly ecstatic to have been beaten by the lowerdivision Hurricane Tigers. There was much cause for celebration if
you were oblivious to the whole alien-threat-to-the-Earth thing.

The cheerleaders went crazy, as did the rest of us on a smaller
scale. Jenna waved, and Alexis glared at me. I no longer cared what
Alexis thought. If she wanted a piece of me, she'd have to take a
number and get in line behind the insane flesh eaters that wanted
us all dead. I was no longer afraid of her. It was kind of liberating.
Leave it to cannibalistic barbarians from outer space to put everything into proper perspective.

On Saturday morning, Andrew arrived just as I was finishing
getting ready for the day. My dad had let him in and was quizzing
him on his plans for the future when I came into the living room.
Dad looked pleased by his answers, so he must have said the things
Dad wanted to hear.

"Where are we going today?" I asked as he drove the car toward
St. George.

"We're going to have a pleasant diversion," he said mysteriously.

"Just tell me. I can't take any more surprises," I declared with an
involuntary shiver.

"We're going to the mall," he said, watching my face intently
through his mind-assessing, aquamarine eyes.

"You've got to be kidding! There are crazy cannibals on the
loose, and you want to take me shopping? Is that a sensible course
of action? Have you thought this through?" I admit my reaction was
a little hysterical and overly dramatic, but this whole cannibalistic
aliens thing was starting to get on my last nerve.

"You've got to stop worrying so much, love. It's an excellent strategy. It's the perfect place to hide. There will be lots of people, and the
Hellites won't try anything around so many witnesses. All of the local
Helamites will be there watching. We might be able to draw them out
and follow them back to where they are hiding. You and I will just be
shopping, of course. It will be fun." He grinned at me.

"Do you actually like to shop?" I asked suspiciously. I knew my dad
and brother hated it worse than going to the dentist for a root canal.

"I'm up for anything as long as I'm with you." He laughed. I
relaxed a little and decided to go with the flow.

We arrived at the Red Cliffs Mall in St. George. We parked and
entered through the northwest entrance. He led me to an exclusive
and expensive department store, where I tried out a bunch of different perfumes with names I couldn't pronounce. I finally found one
that we both liked that didn't make me sneeze and purchased it.

We ate lunch in the food court and spent the afternoon looking
through the various stores. I tried on shoes. He tried on hats. We
played some games in the arcade. He won. We ate chocolate and
vanilla swirled frozen yogurt and shared a pretzel with cinnamon
and sugar coating. We looked through the aisles of books in Barnes
and Noble. He bought me one on stargazing. It seemed like a good
hobby if you were dating someone from outer space. I should get
my facts straight so I could keep up with him when viewing celestial
bodies at night. I mean stars and planets. Finally, he talked me into
trying on a royal blue dress with a few too many ruffles and way too
much lace.

"You look like an angel in that dress!" he exclaimed when I came
out of the dressing room.

"It's not my style." I frowned at my reflection. "I like simpler
lines. It's too frilly and lacy. I look like a Southern belle straight out
of a Civil War movie." I saw another gown in the same color without
all the showy ornamentation.

"Try it on," he said. "It looks like you-simply elegant."

I put it on and returned to show him. I liked the way it made
me look. It flattered my figure and made my body look kind of
celestial.

"It fits you very well," he said. "You look positively enchanting!"

I found the price tag. It cost as much as a used car and probably
more than I could get for my Honda if I were to sell it. I went back
into the dressing room and changed into my Levi shorts. I came out
and reluctantly returned it to the rack.

"Don't you want it?" he asked incredulously.

"It's a little too pricey." I frowned.

"What are you going to wear to the homecoming dance? It's
only two weeks away," he asked.

"Are we going? I mean, if we're still alive." I hadn't thought that
far ahead, and I was shocked that he had.

"We will be alive, and we are going." He picked up the dress,
handed it to the clerk, and paid for it. She put it in a garment bag
and handed it back to him.

"Thank you, but you didn't need to do that," I insisted.

"I know, love. I want you to have something to look forward to.
We're going to get through this. It will all work out. We're not going
to die. I would never let that happen. You need to trust me on this,"
he assured me. I tried to have more faith in his ability to protect the
world. I ran through his list of super powers in my mind to help me
believe. We walked slowly out of the mall to his waiting car. We took
our time driving back to my house.

My parents were out on their weekly date, so we had the house
to ourselves. He found an old movie that had nothing to do with
death, horror, or outer space. Yeah, it was animated, and it was about superheroes. I popped some corn, and we pretended all was well
with the world. The show had a happy ending, of course, and it
helped renew my faith in my superhero.

My parents came home about eleven thirty and went to bed.
Andrew kissed me good night and said, "I'll see you soon, love."

I was feeling pretty good. My psychic boyfriend thought we
would live to go to the homecoming dance, and I had a very expensive dress to prove it. I took the stairs two at a time and thought
about how great I looked in that dress. Maybe everything would be
okay after all.

That night I had no trouble falling asleep. Sometime in the wee
morning hours my cell phone rang. My brain was still foggy from
deep sleep when I answered it. I didn't recognize the female voice.

"Tiana, this is Evelyn. Is Andrew still there?"

"No, he left hours ago. Didn't he come home?"

"Not yet, I hope he didn't go after the Hellites alone. The others followed a sighting on a dirt road out on the Arizona Strip near
the Grand Canyon. There's no cell phone service out there. Andrew
got some news about suspicious activities at an old abandoned warehouse near our pharmaceutical headquarters out on industrial road.
I'm afraid he may be following that lead."

"Do you think he's in danger?" I was still disoriented, or I wouldn't
have asked such a stupid question. Of course he was in danger.

"Possibly, but don't you worry, Tiana. I'm relatively sure he can
take care of himself. Although, I really do wish he hadn't gone there
alone. He could be in mortal danger, but don't let that bother you. I'm
not asking you to risk your life and go out looking for him. I would,
but I don't have a car right now. He'll probably drive up any minute.
I'm sorry I woke you. Go back to sleep, dear. Heaven knows I can't
sleep until he's safely home. Everything will most likely be okay in the
morning. At least I can hope it will be. Again, don't even think about
rushing over there or anything like that. Good night, Tiana."

Her attempt to reassure me wasn't working. Something felt all
wrong. Her words had an unsettling effect. I know things always
seem worse in the middle of the night. There was no way I could go back to sleep. I'm not sure why, but I felt compelled to go out
looking for Andrew. I don't usually rush out into imminent danger
after midnight, but this was exactly what I had to do. I didn't bother
to dress. I was wearing my pink flannel monkey-covered pajamas.
I grabbed my Adidas and forced them on my feet without untying
them. I ran my fingers through my unkempt hair. I felt a deep sense
of urgency, and there was no time to primp. An indescribably force
was pushing me on, pulling me to that warehouse. Without considering the possible, dire consequences, I snagged my car keys off my
dresser and snuck out into the night.