Page 8 of Her Alien Matchmaker
“You have a child, correct?”
My jaw dropped.“How do you know?”
He rolled his eyes.“Do you really think XVU is superior to us?I chose this mission, to be your subject of torture, so we can ascertain your plans.Now I know where you are at in the program, it is time to report back to my commanders.”
I gripped the wheel, turning my knuckles pure white.I’d cut on this being, taken his DNA and other genetic material.“You’re saying you could’ve escaped at any time?”
He nodded, switching his attention from me to the fence, which loomed closer and closer.
Several military police vehicles approached from behind and from either side of the parking lot, lights flaring and sirens blaring even through the closed windows of my car.
“You can stay here and face the repercussions when I leave or choose to come with me.”
“I can’t leave Aaron behind.”Not that I would even consider going with him.The thought terrified me.What if he’s right?What if XVU decides his escape is my fault, and they fire me, or worse… What if they put me in prison?I can’t let anything happen to Aaron.
“It is your choice.As I have pointed out before, though, my people are not the villains.It is you and your people.I can promise your child will not be harmed.We have a small community of humans who have chosen to stay with us over the years, who are even helping us prepare for our homeward journey.Your skills would make their team even stronger.Or, you can stay here and take your chances, and if XVU decides you are not at fault, you can go back to torturing innocent Volderens and lie to yourself at night, sacrificing your morals for a paycheck and security.”
An urge to stop the car overwhelmed me, yet I kept my foot on the pedal.Something in his words rang true.
The shame and guilt I’d experienced resurfaced.Whatever I decide, only one thing is for sure: I need to get to Aaron before anyone else.Jetarin had had plenty of opportunities to hurt or kill me, and he hadn’t.If what he said about his mission was true, then he’d chosen to sacrifice himself for his people, and I’d been the one who ordered the experiments.
Twenty feet separated the front end of my car from the gate.A quick judging of the distance, and I was pretty sure the pursuing vehicles would just miss us.
I pressed harder on the gas and squinted my eyes as we tore through the chain-link double gated fence with a godawful screech.
Chapter 5
Acloudofsandfilledmy rearview mirror as the car bounced along the desert.Above, the shadow of three helicopters darted across the hood of the car as they flew.
“Keep going north.There is a small arroyo there that will give me what I need.”
“I don’t know how much more my car can take.These rocks are knocking the hell out of the undercarriage, and I’m pretty sure the collision with the fence damaged the radiator.”
“Keep driving if you want to see your son again.If they catch up to us, I can still get home.You, however, will be thrown into an interrogation cell.”
I gritted my teeth and arrowed toward the dry arroyo, its sides shading the rocky riverbed underneath.
“When we get there, stop.”
“What about the helicopters?And the police behind us?”
“It is shielded.It will look like we disappeared or took a turn around it.I will be able to reach out to a nearby ship and they will scramble their electronics so we can find safety for an hour or so while I repair my lifecord.”He still held the scalpel, but his attention wavered between the looming arroyo and his life cord.“I must replace a component before we can get inside my ship.”
“Why can’t your buddy or whatever come pick you up.Actually, why can’t you teleport to wherever you need to go?”
“I need exact numbers to account for distance, altitude, and a multitude of other factors.Otherwise, we could teleport inside a rock or appear thirty feet above the location.”
There goes my hope he’ll disappear.
The untraceable cell phone from the lab vibrated in my pocket.Every team leader had one to use in case of emergencies that could never be traced back to XVU or reveal its location.The phones were designed to bounce around from satellite to satellite every half second, creating a false location signal to increase the difficulty of being traced.
I slid the car into the arroyo and decelerated.In my rearview mirror, one of the helicopters veered away.The trail of dust behind the vehicles also turned in the same direction, leaving the path behind clear.
I jammed on the brakes, stopping in the smooth dry creek bed.“Now what?”I glared at the alien.
He pushed the button to roll down the window and threw the scalpel outside.“Now?We learn to trust each other.”
I grunted.The vibration against my hip distracted me, and I dug into my coat, pulling it out.Caller ID showed it to be Nelly, and I held it out to Jetarin.“I need to take this.It’s my friend.”
