Page 57 of Unrest
“From what we know, yes. And they used humans as Disaster Relief Personnel to do their dirty work, mostly people who were in dire straits and could be bribed to work for food.”
“What happened to him?” a woman in the back blurted. “The, uh,Baeleseguy you captured?”
“He is still alive, still confined and under guard.”
“Where?” she asked. “Here?”
“That I cannot say.”
He was here. I knew it. An alien was probably somewhere in this compound with us. A creature who could mentally manipulate us. Aliens had been in my house, at my job, and I’d looked them in the eyes, talked to them like people, even though they’d given me the creeps.
“This is a lot to take in,” First Sergeant said. “And though this is a different kind of enemy, we will fight it. We are not alone, though I cannot divulge who or where our allies are. When the time comes, we will take our home back. We’ve been tirelessly working on plans to do just that, and I want you all to be involved.” He moved to stand behind the desk and leaned his fists on the top as he looked at us. “In the time between now and this summer when their next vessels arrive, it is pivotal that we take them down. We will have to be precise. Expedient. Soundless. We have very little time to plan, and I need every single one of you. We are the past and present, and we are the future. It’s up to us.”
The room was absolutely still as his words fell on us. I felt my heart pound with belief. We could do it. Wehadto.
“Go,” Top said. “We’ll debrief again soon. Hooah.”
“Hooah,” we all murmured.
We were silent as we shuffled out of that room, back down the hall. And as we entered the common area where people sat and chatted, I understood the look on Rylen’s face when I’d seen him come out with Linette after learning the truth. Nothing felt the same. Everything that used to appear normal was now blurred. Looking around at Remy, Tater, Rylen, and all the guys I’d come to count as friends—we were all smudged around the edges. Changed. Lost. Like gravity had lifted and we couldn’t quite get our feet to plant on solid ground again.
The world and everything we’d taken at face value wasn’t what we thought it was. I understood how the information had made some turn to madness, because I felt very small and fragile at that moment. Like we were all standing on landmines.
