Survivors

Chapter 5: Trust

Eliza Danvers walked into the kitchen at 8 AM to prepare breakfast. She customarily slept in on Sundays and still customarily had to drag Alex out of bed or she would sleep till noon. To say she was surprised to find a note from her daughter on the counter would be an understatement.

Gone hiking. Packed a lunch. Be back later. Text me if you need me.

"Thats...weird."

"Whats weird?" Jeremiah asked, walking in, kissing his wife on the cheek.

"Alex is already up."

"That is weird."

"And she has gone hiking."

Jeremiah laughed. "Seriously, where is she?" Eliza handed him the note. The smiling face gave way to confusion.

"She actually went...no, she probably went to the beach."

"The water is too cold and you know her friends aren't up yet. Or at least those miscreants she wants acceptance from." Eliza finished. The mother knew her daughter was special, intelligent, inquisitive and brave. She had no social problems but Eliza knew how hard it was for a smart kid to be accepted. Alex strove for acceptance though. The people she wanted acceptance from were idiots however, both figuratively and literally.

"Maybe your encouragement for her to get out in nature actually worked." Jeremiah shrugged. "Want me to mix up a couple ham and cheese omelets?"

"That would be great, dear."

Jeremiah opened the fridge, confused immediately. "I know I bought two packs of ham two days ago. The cheese is nearly all gone too."

"And the sticky buns." Eliza added. "I could swear the container was full yesterday. Surely Alex didn't take all of them.There was a bag of chips in the cabinet that is gone. Have you been snacking at night again?"

Jeremiah threw up his hands. "Nope. I have not been snacking. I guess I can go to the grocery store and buy more ham and cheese. We must have had less than I thought. Unless Alex has suddenly started smoking pot and has developed the same massive munchies you had in college."

"Jeremiah! Alex would never. And we don't talk about those days...in the house. Who knows when she could sneak back in."

"Oh, but those days were so fun." he joked, holding her from behind and tickling her ribs.

"Stop it! Stop..." she finished squirming out with a grin. "I can just mix up some scrambled eggs and toast."

"Nope, bread is gone." her husband pointed out, looking at the top of the fridge. "I think someone may have broken in and ate our food last night."

Eliza's smile was gone when she looked at the fruit bowl that had been full yesterday. "You may be right or Alex has developed a very healthy appetite. The bananas and apples are gone."

"Maybe she got picnic together for some early risers or lunch. I'll run to the store and we can ask her later. I guess eggs it is for now?"

Eliza looked at him and Jeremiah knew he had not gotten away with anything. "I'll have the coffee ready when you come back with the ham, cheese and bread. Did Alex seem...off to you last night? Her mind seemed to be a million miles away."

"She is growing up, out of school, about to be in 8th grade. I would imagine we are going to have to get used to her mind being a million miles away. I'll be back."

Alex was not a million miles away, only two miles actually. She had a large bag, packed with her sneakers from last year that she had grown out of, fresh clothes she had that were slightly to small for her now, boxes of plastic spoons and forks and a lot of food. The girl hoped her parents wouldn't notice the food that was gone. If they ever try to feed an alien in the future maybe they will understand.