Over the Moon (26 page)

"What's wrong?" I wasn't sure I really wanted to know. I had
never seen him like this before. It had to be very bad, worse than
bad. Disastrous or tragic were words that came to mind.

"Give me a minute," he said, biting his lower lip. We continued
in silence. I waited until we were parked safely in the school lot
before I dared to ask again.

"You've got to tell me," I pleaded, bracing myself for the worst
possible news.

"Three Hellites escaped before we destroyed their ship four
months ago. We thought we had killed them all. They have been
hiding out while they learned the language and made plans to exact
revenge on my family. They've killed and devoured several homeless
people in Las Vegas. They are somewhere in our area now. They kidnapped Sonya and James from their parents' hotel. James managed
to escape and returned with the information that they are after our
ship. They are holding Sonya hostage. The Hellites have only managed to make small spacecrafts that can travel near light speed. Their
attempts at engineering larger vehicles, able to move that fast, have
been futile. My father's plans for our two ships were destroyed when
we left that planet. They want revenge on my family for successfully
escaping with the knowledge they feel is their key to conquering
the universe. Adam and I are the only ones in this country who are
trained to pilot our ship. The Hellites will use any means possible to
gain access to our technology and to force me or my brother to fly
them back to Helam. Everyone we care about is in danger.

"What are you going to do?" I had never understood people who
would kill for world domination and cannibals were even harder to
fathom. Cannibalistic terrorists who wanted to take over the whole
known universe were completely incomprehensible. I didn't want to
think what these monsters would do to my boyfriend. I knew if they
captured him and made him fly them to Helam, he wouldn't be coming back. My stomach lurched up into my throat at that vile idea.

"They won't catch me," he assured me as he read the fear in
my thoughts. "It's going to be okay. We'll find the Hellites. Several
families are coming to help track them." His words were meant to
reassure me. They didn't. I could tell he was more seriously worried
than he wanted me to know.

"So, you're on the Hellite hit list." I was terrified for his sake
as well as mine. Heck, the whole world was at risk. These were evil
aliens with a fondness for human flesh. They had killed all of the
Helamites, millions, maybe even billions, of people, all those unfortunate humans who hadn't escaped with Andrew's father. They may
have kept some alive to use as slaves or stored as food for later. They
were cruel and ruthless miscreants. They were experienced, depraved
killers, and they ate their victims.

"There's more." He swallowed hard. Of course there would be.

"The planet Helam is dying. We were working to stop global
warming and to decrease air and water pollution when we lived
there. The Hellites were only concerned with their savage and selfish
lifestyle. They took everything they could from the planet without
any thought of the damage they were inflicting on the environment.
If any of their scouts make it back, we may have a war on our hands,
as they are seeking a new planet to adopt as their home base, one
with a large human population to invade, conquer, and consume.
The group that escaped has made it their personal mission, to return
to Helam and lead the rest of the Hellites back to Earth."

"Oh, this is just getting better and better," I replied with obvious
sarcasm. So in addition to being cannibals, these monsters were ecologically destructive. They not only wanted to eat us, they wanted to
destroy our home.

"Are you sure you want to go to school today?" he asked hesitantly.

"I think I have to. I don't want to get in any trouble. My parents
will ground me from seeing you. I don't want that to happen."

"Tonight, I have to join the others in the search for Sonya. We
have to find her as quickly as possible. I can't let her suffer at the
hands of the Hellites."

"I understand," I said, although I had a sickened feeling in the
pit of my stomach. I really didn't like the idea of Andrew chasing after cannibals to save his psychotic ex-girlfriend, but no one
deserved to be eaten by evil barbarians that had no respect for
humanity or the Earth.

"I don't deserve you. You are much too good for me," he said as
he led me into the building. I could hardly believe he said that. He
was too good for me, not the other way around. He had it all wrong.
Silly spaceman!

School was the same as always. No one knew there were flesheating aliens at large somewhere in the immediate vicinity. No one
had a clue that Andrew was from a different planet or that his job
was to keep them safe from a possible hostile invasion from Hellite
barbarians. They walked around in ignorant bliss, thinking about the
newest video games, the latest contestant voted off some trendy reality show, or who they might hang with. They could even be deciding
who to hate, who to date, and how they were going to pass the math
test they had to take today. I remembered what it was like to be
carefree and completely unaware of the perils that had infiltrated our
small and secluded spot in the universe. It was hard to realize that
only a few short weeks ago I was worried about fitting in and making friends. Now, I knew of lethal enemies who wanted to murder us
and eat our remains.

After school, Andrew left to meet with the others who were
searching for Sonya and the Hellites. I still cringed when I thought
about how he was out there facing incredible danger so he could save
her, but I knew it was his job to perform such duties, and I really did
want him to save the world from those evil alien monsters. I guess
he should save her as well.

I tried to act like everything was normal. I worked on homework after dinner, but I found it difficult to concentrate on anything.
Staying focused was impossible. I kept thinking about the fact that
crazy cannibals were on the loose. I didn't even know what they
looked like. I imagined them as giant, green reptiles with crocodile
jaws full of pointy, sharp teeth. I knew I was most likely wrong about that. They probably looked like everyday, average-looking humans.
That made them more frightening because they could be anyone,
anytime, anywhere. Dad asked me if something was wrong. I didn't
tell him that space aliens wanted to kill us. I just said everything was
fine. I don't know if he believed me. He wouldn't believe me if I told
the truth, so why bother? It was best to just shut up and try not to
have a meltdown in front of him. Collapsing, sobbing, and sinking
to the floor in uncontrolled terror was not an acceptable option. It
was good that my mother had gone to an art pottery show in St.
George with her artsy friends. I don't know if I could have deceived
her as well as I could my dad.

Andrew came back around seven thirty. He was in a more positive mood. He said they were following some leads. They thought
they had a few good ideas as to where the Hellites were hiding.

I tossed and turned that night and dreamed about Andrew
being eaten by ugly green ogres. I awoke feeling scared and anxious.
I told myself to have more faith in my own, personal Superman who
wouldn't let that nightmare come true. With all his superpowers, I
had to believe he was invincible.

Andrew was at my door at seven thirty sharp, just as always. He
smiled at me when I opened the door. He looked much better than
yesterday.

"You look a little tired this morning. I hope you didn't lose sleep
over what we discussed yesterday. Things are looking better today.
After I left here last night, James had an idea of where they had
taken Sonya. He asked me to go with him, and we found her wandering around in the desert near Mesquite."

"That's great," I said. "Was she okay?"

"Yeah, thank heavens she was unharmed. She was hysterical,
and it took hours to calm her down. She was very clingy. I thought
she was never going to let me go home. I guess she had a right to
be upset. I was really afraid we would never find her. The Hellites
aren't known for their mercy. I think she annoyed them so much they
decided to let her go. It was nothing short of a miracle that we found
her alive. She said they had pigged out on homeless Earth humans and they have lost their taste for Helamites. After eating earthlings,
they think we taste like bland junk food. You, on the other hand are
an epicurean delight. Sorry, that was in bad taste, wasn't it? I'm a
little punchy. I didn't get much sleep. They let her go with a message
for us to give them our ship and they would let us all live happily
ever after. They promised to leave Earth and never return."

"Do you believe them?" I asked, wanting it to be true but knowing it wasn't.

"Of course not. They're scum. Deception is all part of their game.
They're pathological liars. We no longer feel they are that big of a
threat. We'll find them and eliminate them just as we have countless times before. No worries!" He seemed very confident today, and
I was relieved that he no longer had to chase after Sonya. I wasn't
happy to hear that he'd had to spend so much time with her. I felt
guilty for feeling that way, but I couldn't help fearing that she was
still trying very hard to regain his interest.

He poked his head in the door and addressed my parents. "Hello,
Dr. and Mrs. Dawson."

"Hi, Andrew," they replied almost in unison as we ducked out
the door.

When we were safely on our way, he said, "They like me better
today. They both think I might make a good doctor and maybe even
a good husband sometime in the very, very, very distant future."

"I am so happy to hear that. I told you we'd win them over."

Again, school was completely ordinary. No crazy, flesh-eating
spacemen had shown up yet. It was almost disappointing but not
quite. It did make the whole idea seem absolutely preposterous. My
fears were beginning to fade.

We went to Andrew's house after school. His family and the
Allens wanted me to be able to recognize a Hellite if I saw one. I
much preferred not to see any if that were possible.

"They are very sneaky," Luke said. "They are suddenly standing
beside you. They seem to come out of the air."

Well, that didn't help me much. Hello? If they were suddenly
standing beside me, I would be deceased, defunct, obliterated, and I
had absolutely no doubts about it.

"Their eyes look empty, like no one is home. They have a highly
developed sense of smell that they use to track people, so you can't
hide from them. They're like human bloodhounds," Jillian added.

If they looked at all scary, I could guarantee I wasn't going to
be looking into their eyes. No way was I going to make eye contact
with insane cannibals who had almost destroyed a distant planet
and wanted to do the same to mine. I've always prided myself on
my ability to avoid or hide from my fears, but their tracking ability
destroyed my only plausible strategy for evading the villains. I'd have
to concentrate on my avoidance skills.

"They smell like dirty gym socks," Hannah volunteered, wrinkling her nose. "Or rotting garbage. Their fingernails excrete paralytic venom that will immobilize you. It's slow acting. If you can
keep moving, you can avoid complete paralysis."

I was going to stay away from all bad smells. I do try to make
a habit of escaping stinky odors in my everyday life anyway. I shun
all rotten aromas whenever I can. Venomous fingernails might be
difficult to avoid, but I would certainly steer clear of all fingernails
just in case. They probably wouldn't need to use their lethal venom
on me. One look from them and I'd be paralyzed with panic. I was
already feeling pretty paranoid about ever meeting these malodorous
monsters.

" Their teeth are yellow and jagged, and their skin has a slightly
green tint. Other than that, they appear to be ordinary, though grotesque and ugly, humans," Matthew said.

Ugly people with greenish skin and bad teeth should be easy
enough to spot if they opened their mouths. I still wanted them to
look like giant, green reptiles. It would make them so much easier to
pick out in a crowd.

I shivered, and Andrew pulled me closer to him. "Just be aware
of your surroundings at all times," he said. "Don't worry. I will find
them."

"I am never going to sleep again," I vowed. I was feeling halfway
to hysterical. These alien villains were beginning to become real to
me. When I didn't know anything about them, I could deny their
existence to some extent. Denial had always served me well as a coping strategy in the past. Now, I'd have to find another way to face
my fears.

"You know I won't let anything happen to me and I won't let
them anywhere near you," he said as he wrapped his arms around
me. I wanted desperately to believe him.

"Why don't they look and act like you? You are from the same
planet, and they are human, aren't they?" I wondered why they were
so opposite from the Helamites that I now knew and loved.

"Their culture evolved in the hot, steamy equatorial jungles.
They've always preferred meat to anything else edible. After they
killed all the wild animals available, they turned on one another. To
survive, they formed alliances and eventually began to look for people outside of their homeland as they had acquired a taste for human
flesh. They made choices that caused them to mutate into the savage
beasts they are today. They lost their humanity somewhere along the
way," Andrew explained. I wondered what Charles Darwin would
have thought about that evolutionary train wreck.

We watched some pay-per-view movie and ate pizza with his
family. I wasn't hungry, and I don't remember what the movie was
about. I kept visualizing smelly, green creatures with pointy, yellow
teeth poking me with their disgusting, claw-like fingernails and
paralyzing me. It wasn't a pretty picture in my mind. I tried to think
of something else, but the scene simply would not disappear. It was
indelibly etched into my brain matter.