Visitors (7 page)

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. To
push 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.”

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? What will they do to me?

Jeff pushed open the door. The bottom of the door bumped against my sneakers and bounced back at Jeff.

He peeked around the door.

He saw me.

I was trapped.

I smiled meekly and gave him a little wave.

He wasn’t happy to see me.

“Ben!” he growled. He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me out of the bathroom.

“He’s been spying on us!” Jeff cried.

Rikki glared at me. “You pain! I warned you to stay away! What are you doing here?”

“Summer!” I cried. “You’re not really one of them—are you?”

Summer nodded. “Don’t be afraid. It is your fate.”

I tried to back away, but there was no room.

“Don’t be afraid,” Ms. Crenshaw repeated. “It doesn’t take long.”

“One day, all earthlings will host our kind,” Rikki
said. “You are powerless against me.”

“You’ll never get away with this!” I cried. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to stop you!”

“Oh, no, you won’t,” Rikki said. “Because you’re next.”

I started to run for the door.

Rikki and Jeff grabbed me. Rikki pushed me into a chair. She, Jeff, and Ms. Crenshaw kept me pinned there while I squirmed.

Summer opened one of the cages. She carefully took out a round, furry alien.

“What are you doing?” I screamed, struggling to get away. “Let me go! Let me out of here!”

Summer carried the alien to me.

“How can you do this?” I wailed. “Summer—it’s me! Ben! You’ve known me since first grade! Remember? Remember how we met? At lunchtime?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Summer said. “Now be quiet!”

She lifted the furry egg toward me.

It isn’t really Summer, I realized. An alien has taken over her mind and body.

Jeff reached for my mouth. “Noooo!” I screamed. He pried my jaw open.

“Okay,” Rikki said to Summer. “Shove it in.”

I tried to scream. I tried to pull away.

But they held me tightly in place.

Summer held the furry egg in front of my face.

I stared at the green drool running down the creature’s furry front. Its three eyes stared at me, not blinking, not moving.

The whole creature throbbed excitedly. Its thick fur bristled.

Then Summer shoved it into my mouth.

I struggled and squirmed, trying to escape. I tried to clamp my mouth shut, but Jeff held it firmly open.

I shot my tongue forward, trying to push the horrible creature away.

But Summer pushed hard and crammed it farther into my mouth.

I gagged as the fur bristled in my mouth. Summer pushed it deeper.

I gagged again. The fur scratched the back of my throat.

Summer gave it another shove. My mouth was filled now.

The egg squirmed. I choked. I couldn’t breathe. A sour slime trickled down my throat.

Summer gave the alien one final push.

“HUNNNNNNNNNNGGGH!” I gagged as it slid down my throat.

Jeff let go of me. I swallowed.

I could taste the sour slime on my throat. Could still feel the bristly fur filling my mouth.

The alien slid down to my stomach.

It was inside me.

I coughed and gagged again.

Ms. Crenshaw walked to the bathroom and returned with a paper cup of water. “Drink this,” she ordered. “It will help.”

I drank the water. It helped clear my mouth and throat a little.

Rikki let go of me. I jumped to my feet, dazed and frightened. I could feel the alien inside me, moving in my stomach.

I’ve got to get rid of it, I thought. I’ve got to get it out of me as soon as possible!

I stuck my fingers down my throat and tried to vomit the alien up. Nothing happened.

Rikki laughed. “Once we are inside of you, you can’t get rid of us.”

“That can’t be true,” I said, and tried to vomit it up again. It wouldn’t budge.

Instead, a strange feeling surged through my body. It felt like electric waves rising from my stomach—to my brain.

“You will feel strange at first,” Summer told me. “But you’ll get used to it.”

“The alien inside you connects you to the leader,” Jeff explained, pointing to the biggest egg. “Soon you will feel his magnificent energy.”

I did feel something. It wasn’t magnificent, but it was powerful.

I felt wave after wave. And then I heard a voice. A voice deep inside me.

“
You are my host body now
,” it said. “
You will receive my thought waves. You will do all you can to protect me
.”

My own brain struggled against this. No! I thought. I’ll fight you! I’ll fight you!

But I could feel the alien’s power growing stronger and stronger.

“I tried to warn you not to meddle with our plans,” Jeff told me. “When Summer took you skating, I trashed your room. I left that message on your computer to frighten you.”

“And we sent you that e-mail, warning you to stay away,” Summer said. “But it doesn’t matter now.”

“You’re free to go,” Rikki told me. “Now that you have one of us inside you, there’s nothing you can do to stop us. You are on our side now. You will help us.”

“You can help us tomorrow,” Summer said.

“Tomorrow?” I choked out. “What is happening tomorrow?”

“You’ll see,” Rikki replied. A cold smile spread over her face. “Tomorrow will be a wonderful day.”

“But—but—” I sputtered. “Tell me. Tell me about tomorrow.”

“Go home,” Jeff said. “You are one of us now.”

“
Yes
,” the alien voice inside me said. I could feel it getting stronger, louder, taking over my brain. “
You are one of us now. You will follow our wishes. And you can’t do anything to stop it
.

“
You are powerless
,” the voice roared inside my head. “
Powerless
.”

I hurried out of the darkroom, through the photography room, and into the hall. The halls were empty. Classes had started.

I didn’t bother going to class. I ran outside, climbed on my bike, and pedaled for home. Leaning forward, gripping the handlebars for dear life, I fought the waves of alien energy that surged through me.

I’ve got to tell someone, I thought desperately. Mom and Dad?

Can I trust them?

Or have they swallowed aliens, too?

But then I felt my brain arguing with me. “
It’s not a horrible thing. It’s wonderful thing. You are a hero.
You are saving an alien life
.”

Oof!
A sharp pain stabbed my stomach. I tried to keep pedaling, but the pain forced me to stop.

I bent over, clutching my stomach.

“
What are you doing to me
?” the voice demanded. “
Stop! I order you to stop causing me pain!
”

Huh? I’m not doing anything, I thought.

After a short while, the pain eased up. I continued on my way home.

Hurry! I told myself. Hurry!

But to my horror, my body began to slow down. I struggled to pedal faster, but I couldn’t.

I leaped off my bicycle. A sharp stab of pain shot through my stomach again. I crouched down, moaning, rolling on the ground and holding my stomach.

“
What are you doing to me
?” the voice called. “
You are not allowed to cause me pain
.”

“I—I’m not doing anything!” I cried out loud.

“
You are not cooperating!
” the voice boomed. “
I will make you pay for that!
”

Somehow I made it home. I staggered into the kitchen. Mom and Dad were still home, cleaning up the breakfast dishes.

“Ben! What are you doing home?” Mom demanded.

I can’t tell them, I decided.

I can’t trust them.

“I’m not feeling well,” I said. “The nurse sent me home sick.”

I felt another stab of pain. “
You must suffer the way you are making me suffer!
” the voice inside me boomed.

I suddenly felt so weak.

“You do look pale,” Dad said. “Why don’t you go upstairs and lie down?”

“Good idea,” I said. Holding my breath, I walked upstairs to my room. Another sharp pain seized my stomach again. I collapsed on the bed.

What is this pain? I wondered. Why is the alien doing this to me?

I lay huddled on the bed as the pain grew sharper, so intense I could barely breathe.

I’m…dying, I realized. And suddenly, I knew it was true.

I was dying! Disappearing.

I was vanishing as the alien came to life inside me.

I writhed and moaned in pain, struggling against it with all my might.

The pain moved to my head, pounding, throbbing. Worse than any headache I’d ever had. Pain so intense I couldn’t see.

I’m going crazy! I thought. I’m going to die! To disappear inside this pain.

Have to fight it. Have to fight it…

And then, deep inside me, I heard a horrifying
snap
!

At that moment, I knew what had happened to me.

The alien inside me had taken over.

I had fought the alien—and lost.

I felt as if I were floating. I didn’t know if my eyes were open or closed, but I couldn’t see anything.

Everything went very still.

Then I felt my chest move up and down. I’m breathing, I realized.

I opened my eyes. I stared at the ceiling above me. The ceiling of my room.

My
room. Was the alien controlling my thoughts now? Or could I think whatever I wanted? I decided to test it.

The aliens must be destroyed!

I have to fight them however I can!

“Hey!” I cried out.

That was
me
thinking! Not an alien!

I sat up. I had a heavy feeling in my stomach. As if I had eaten too much.

I tried to sense the alien’s energy, his thoughts, the waves of power he had spread through my body.

No. Gone. The pain was gone. All that was left was the weight in the pit of my stomach.

What happened? I wondered. Did the alien die?

I looked up. Mom and Dad were staring at me from the doorway.

“Ben—what’s wrong?” Mom asked, hurrying into the room. “How do you feel?”

“We heard you talking to yourself,” Dad said. “We were worried—”

“The aliens,” I blurted out. “I was right. The aliens have come. They’ve landed and—and—”

I stopped.

A chill of fear ran down my back.

What was I saying? Why was I telling
them
?

I had seen the blue glow in the attic. And I had overheard their conversation about the “home planet.”

I knew I couldn’t trust them.

They both stood over the bed, staring down at me. Gripped with fear, I watched for their eyes to flash bright blue.

“Ben, we have to tell you something,” Mom said.

“Yes. This is the right time to tell you,” Dad whispered.

Oh, no, I thought. This is it.

This is where I learn the horrifying truth about my parents.

I realized I was holding my breath. I let it out in a long, shuddering whoosh.

“What? What is it you want to tell me?” I choked out.

Mom sighed, a sad sigh. “We have to tell you the truth, Ben,” she said. “The time has come.”

“You know, you’ve been obsessed with aliens since you were very small,” Mom said. “You’ve always been desperate to contact an alien visitor.”

“I know that. So?” I demanded eagerly.

“Well, we know the reason. We know why you’re so interested in beings from other planets,” Mom said.

Dad grabbed my shoulder. He stared deep into my eyes. “You’ve always been interested in aliens,” he said, “because
you
are an alien!”