Emmaline almost felt bad for how good she was feeling as she watched the landscape below slowly pass by her window. This kind of sight never got old, and she was still feeling the high from Mom giving her… yes, giving Emmaline the data pad with all the Mind Bender lessons. She had left it safely tucked away in her nightstand drawer for when she got back home and could go through it some more.

  After a whirlwind of a shower and quickly dressing in jeans and a pale blue sweater, Emmaline had only watched two more of Dad’s recordings before Eric knocked on the door saying it was time to leave. Em had learned just enough to realize that maybe Mom was right, and she really needed a real person to guide her through becoming a Mind Bender.

  There seemed to be so much to learn, and it felt very overwhelming. Em wasn’t sure she could do it on her own. But the overwhelmingness of learning to become a Mind Bender hadn’t quelled her excitement at the prospect of developing her special ability, and Mom seemed to be in a more accepting mood of that prospect today than last night.

  She rested her head up against the cold glass of the helicopter window. The labyrinth of buildings and streets below had now turned into green countryside and houses as far as she could see. It wouldn’t be long now and they would arrive at their destination. She’d much rather just keep flying, but she wasn’t eager to occupy the helicopter with Tyler alone. The man had been unusually cold and silent as he had piloted the Bell 429 off the roof and into the New York City sky.

  She knew why Tyler was in a bad mood. Michael had spun a tale about stopping Dad from paying for a ransom of New Horizons’ secret tech in order to get Tyler to take him to the farm, and now Mr. Delaney was struggling to give the man answers, especially since it was all over the news that the alien ship had abducted a man not too far from where Tyler had dropped Michael off.

  Mr. Delaney had said he’d spoken to Tyler about dropping the three of them off at the farm, after Mom had left them with the man in the New Horizons’ garage. Mr. Delaney had whisked them in the elevator and risen with them nonstop to the roof, and explained the situation.

  “He’s agreed to take you back out there. Though I think he knows, or at least suspects that it was Michael that was taken, but hasn’t come right out and said as much. He definitely knows there’s more going on than what he’s been told, so he might dig around a little for answers,” Mr. Delaney had confessed on the elevator.

  “Do you think he’s told anyone else?” Eric had asked.

  Mr. Delaney had shrugged. “I’m not sure, but Tyler is a loyal man to the company. He might be trusted with at least part of the truth. I certainly feel bad about lying to him.”

  But so far, Tyler hadn’t asked a single question. There had been only a rising and uncomfortable silence inside the helicopter. Normally, Tyler was a talker. He loved to ask questions and liked to know everything about everyone. He especially loved telling people stories of his flying when he was in the Air Force, which actually were quite exciting, and Emmaline loved to hear them. But today, outside of a brusque hello, Tyler had not said a word to any of them.

  Emmaline focused her attention on watching the world outside. She was determined to keep her excitement at least for a little longer despite Tyler’s black mood.

  “Amazing view, isn’t it?” Anna said just loud enough to be heard over the steady thrum of the aircraft so that Emmaline didn’t have to rely on the headphones she wore to hear her.

  Em nodded. “I always love coming up here. I’m going to fly one of these things one day. Just you watch.” She turned her head to look past the empty middle seat and the smiling Anna sitting on the other side of the craft.

  “I can believe that,” Anna replied. “You’ll be a great pilot.”

  “We are coming up on the drop zone in five minutes,” Tyler's voice came through the headphones a few moments later. “You want me to drop you where I did, Michael?”

  Emmaline’s heart picked up at the question as she looked to her brother, who was occupying the passenger seat next to Tyler. Eric was slow to respond.

  “Sure, why not?”

  More uncomfortable silence passed. Emmaline tried to get back to enjoying the view, but her mood was ruined. Now all she could think about was Michael riding this same helicopter just a few days ago, probably occupying the same seat Eric was now. She sighed heavily. Em really missed her brother.

  “You okay, Em?” Eric asked, turning slightly in his seat to look at her.

  “Yeah, just... thinking about Michael,” she admitted.

  Eric’s expression softened. “Me too.”

  The helicopter began its descent, and Emmaline could see the familiar outline of the farm coming up. There we a lot of trees in this area, but a few large meadows too. There was a pretty big one next door to the farm. It was property owned by the Radcliffe’s. She never liked them much. The only girl they had that was close to her age was a total jerk. Kylie always thought she was better than everyone and never shut up about it.

  That meadow must have been where Tyler had set Michael down, because he was aiming for it. Only Emmaline was shocked to see that a significant group of people was gathered in the clearing, but thankfully there looked to be room enough for the chopper to still land.

  “You sure you want to go down there?” Tyler asked. “I can set it down on that hill over there.”

  He was referring to a small rise on the other side of the meadow, further from the crowd and only a small jog from the farm.

  Eric leaned forward, squinting through the windshield. “Who are all those people?”

  Emmaline pressed her face against the window. From this height, she could make out maybe fifty or sixty people milling around the clearing. She squinted. Some of them appeared to be holding up signs of some sort.

  “I don’t know, but I want to set down where Michael set down,” Emmaline said. For some reason, it suddenly felt very important to follow in her brother’s footsteps.

  Tyler grunted but adjusted their approach toward the meadow. As they descended, the figures below began to look up, pointing at the helicopter. Some began waving their signs more vigorously.

  “Oh no,” Eric muttered.

  Emmaline squinted harder and could finally read one of the signs. It declared in large neon green Take Us With You. And after a few more minutes there was another she could pick out that said Aliens, Please Abduct Me and then another proclaiming We Come In Peace, Beam Us Up! The rest of the signs were still too small to read from their current altitude, but it was clear what was happening.

  “Oh my God,” Emmaline gasped. Did she really want to go down there and mingle with the crazies? But the helicopter was already descending toward the landing spot. It was too late to back out now.

  The landing skids touched down on the ground, and Emmaline was about to take off her headset when Tyler spoke.

  “Michael’s the one they took up into their ship, wasn’t he?”

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  Emmaline looked to her brother, who had been in the middle of taking off his headset too, but now he was paused and appeared to be thinking. After a moment, he replied with a simple, “Yes.”

  Emmaline watched as the man in the pilot seat in front of her nodded his head. “I thought so. I was hoping it wasn’t true, but Mr. Delaney’s been awfully cagey about the whole affair. When I saw that video on YouTube, I just knew it was Michael. I feel like shit. It’s my fault. I was the one who flew him out here.”

  “You only did what Michael asked you to do, Tyler,” Eric replied. “You can’t blame yourself. Michael wanted to be out here.”

  “Was there even a ransom? If I didn’t know better, I would think Michael knew the ship would be out here, but how could he have possibly known that?”

  “Look, there’s stuff going on that I really can’t get into right now. Just know that you aren’t to blame for what happened to Michael. Or Dad, for that matter.”

  “Is Mr. Layton going to be alright?” The pilot’s voice was tight with emotion when he asked this.

  “That remains to be seen. Thanks for the ride, Tyler, and we’d appreciate it if you kept whatever you know to yourself,” Eric said.

  Tyler turned in his seat, his face a mask of conflicted emotions. “I’ve known Michael since he was a kid. And Mr. Layton—he’s been nothing but good to me. Whatever’s going on...” He shook his head. “I won’t say anything.”

  “Thank you; our family appreciates that.” Eric then took his headset off and opened the door.

  Emmaline quickly pulled her set off too and followed Anna out her door. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Em ducked and ran away from the loud aircraft and the downdraft of the rotors, which ripped at her hair and clothes.

  She pulled up to a stop beside Eric, who was now looking back. Em did the same, and she watched as Tyler lifted the Bell back into the air. Within a few moments, he had turned the aircraft around and was making his way back to the city.

  “So he knows,” Emmaline said, watching the helicopter shrink against the blue sky.

  “Yeah,” Eric sighed. “At least he’s keeping it to himself.”

  “We hope,” Em said.

  “Tyler’s a good guy. I’m sure he will do the right thing.”

  Anna stepped up beside them, her eyes not on the departing helicopter but on the crowd that had noticed their arrival and a large man who was so heavyset his stomach jiggled when he walked. He had on a black shirt with a green alien head that said Take Me To Your Leader in bold white letters.

  “Welcome, my friends. Have you come to join our humble vigil?” the heavyset man called out, his arms spread wide in greeting.

  Emmaline exchanged a quick glance with Eric, whose face had settled into a carefully neutral expression.

  “Actually, we’re just visiting family nearby,” Eric said smoothly. “What’s going on here?”

  The man’s face lit up with evangelical fervor. “You haven’t heard? This is ground zero! This is where the alien visitors made first contact! And took that brave soul with them.” He gestured expansively toward the sky. “It was right above this very meadow. We’ve been keeping watch, waiting for their return.”

  Emmaline felt a chill run down her spine. First contact. Brave soul. These people had no idea what they were talking about, and she hoped they never returned. Well, she hoped Michael did, some day.

  “We saw the video,” Eric replied, maintaining his casual tone. “Pretty wild stuff.”

  “Indeed, it is a brand new era for our planet. We will travel the stars with our alien friends. It’s just a matter of time before they come back to take us with them. In the meantime, we’ve brought provisions.” He gestured to the crowd behind, who were all looking at them curiously. “There’s some beer and brisket over there and some homemade brownies too. My Shirley made those,” the man said proudly. “Come, why don’t you join us?”

  It was then that Emmaline noticed the smell of barbecue and a few people hanging around portable grills. There were bag chairs scattered all around, a blanket laid out, and four massive coolers lined up over near the grills.

  “You have permission to be out here?” Eric asked with a raised eyebrow.

  The man waved a hand as if that wasn’t a concern. “Well, after the military opened the area up and let all the homeowners come back early this morning, we ran into Mr. Radcliffe. He was all too happy to let us use his property for a small fee.”

  Eric’s jaw tightened slightly. “I see.”

  “So where’s your family’s place?” the man asked, his eyes drifting to the helicopter that was now just a speck in the distance.

  “About a mile that way,” Eric pointed vaguely toward the farm. “And we actually need to be going; they’re expecting us.”

  “Oh well, that’s a shame, but if you change your mind, we will be here until that ship comes back.”

  That might be a long wait, Emmaline thought to herself, but she stayed silent as Eric nodded. “We appreciate that. Good luck with your vigil.”

  “Thanks, friend. May the stars guide your path,” the large man replied with solemn gravity, making a V-shape with his fingers that Emmaline recognized from old sci-fi shows.

  Eric nodded politely and placed a hand on Emmaline’s shoulder, gently steering her and Anna away from the man and toward the tree line. “Same to you.”

  They were nearly at the trees before Emmaline took a glance backwards. The large man had walked back to his group of people, who flocked around him, probably with questions about who they were.

  “What a bunch of nutcases!” Emmaline exclaimed.

  Eric chuckled softly. “Harmless enough, I suppose. Though I’m not sure how Mom is going to feel about having a UFO cult camped out practically in our backyard.”

  “She’s going to flip,” Emmaline muttered as they entered the shade of the trees.

  It was colder out here than it had been in the city, and Emmaline shivered. She should have brought a coat. She stepped quickly through the small stretch of forest, watching where she put her feet. Em had nearly broken her neck last summer when she’d come out here to look for wild blackberries and almost stepped in a large gopher hole. At least it was pretty out here. The leaves were changing color fast. It wouldn’t be long before the whole countryside was aflame in gold, yellow and reds.

  The three of them had just passed through the forest and were making their way up the hill, when Anna raced ahead. She stopped a few feet away and stooped down to pick something up. It was bright pink.

  “This looks a lot like the taser your dad gave your mom for Christmas a few years back,” she said as she turned it over.

  Eric and Emmaline raced to catch up. Eric eyed the device. “That is the taser Dad gave Mom for Christmas. See the inscription on the bottom.”

  Anna turned it so she could see what he was talking about. Em leaned around Anna to get a better look. At the bottom were the words “To My Beloved Cassie––May You Never Need This. Love, Arie.”

  Emmaline felt her throat tighten. The taser had been one of those practical gifts that had become a running joke in their family. Her mother had laughed when she’d opened it, claiming Dad was always too overprotective, but it was the thought that counted. She made a big production of putting in her purse for that “just in case” moment that had never come.

  “I wonder what it’s doing out here?” Anna asked.

  A memory came to Emmaline. Michael stood in the kitchen after Mom had told them both all about the Ethians, why they had come, and what they were going to do once Dad gave himself up.

  She remembered Michael’s words as if he’d just spoken them. “It’s going to be alright, little sis. I’m going to make this all right.”

  Then there was that moment when he’d locked eyes with Emmaline and it seemed as if he was trying to convey something to her without speaking it. A message there for her to see if she’d been willing to see it. She hadn’t. Emmaline didn’t want to know what he was about to do, but in her heart she knew. She had known all along.

  And then he’d said, “I love you forever, baby girl.”

  All Emmaline could do was respond with, a Love you forever, because that was always her response when he said that to her. That’s all her words had been––an automatic reflex.

  Then he nodded toward Mom. “I need you to look after her for me. Can you do that?”

  And all Em could do was nod.

  “Good.”

  Michael then turned away and walked toward the garage, but he hadn’t opened the door right away. He had paused a moment at the small table right near the garage door, and it looked like he’d reached inside Mom’s purse for a moment. Then he opened the door and was gone.

  “He took it from Mom’s purse,” Emmaline whispered.

  It was the best she could do with all the emotions running through her in that moment. They felt heavy and hard, like they were crushing her from the inside out. God, she missed Michael. If only she had known that moment in the kitchen was going to be the last time she’d see him, maybe forever, Em would have said something else, done something else. Why did it have to end like that?!

  “What?” Eric asked, bringing Emmaline out of her gloomy thoughts.

  She looked up at her older brother as she attempted to bring herself back to the present and answer Eric. She spoke up a little louder so she could be heard over the wind whipping through the trees.

  “Michael took the taser from Mom’s purse before he left the house. I didn’t realize that was what he was doing at the time, but he paused at the table where Mom’s purse was before walking out. I think Michael was hoping we wouldn’t notice what he was doing.”

  Eric pressed his lips together as he looked down at the personal weapon, then he looked back at the trees they had just come through. Em looked too. She could just imagine Michael walking through the patch of trees, maybe even using the exact deer trail they had used minutes ago.

  “He probably thought he could sneak up on Dad and use it to incapacitate him,” Eric deduced. “A little ambitious there, little brother. Dad isn’t so easy to take down.”

  “Well, he must have done something right or maybe wrong for Dad ended up like he did,” Emmaline put out there.

  Eric was about to say something when the sound of a gunshot blasted through the crisp afternoon air.