Witness [A First Contact Romance]-COMPLETE

45. Thieves (Part 1)

Earth

2027

Rory switched out her hand mods as she ran away from the clash of gunfire and shouting deeper in the base. Families rushed through the neighborhood in speeding vehicles or ran to their cars, carrying their children and pets. While some soldiers helped with the evacuation, many civilians headed out on their own. After Rory made sure her boys escaped the base safely, she'd have to return to check on the others in the neighborhood before returning to the active combat.

As she neared the house, she tested her hand mods by simply drawing upon a small amount of energy. Already she could tell these were a huge improvement to what she had designed on Earth. Commercial grade would always be better than what she could make. Jace had even brought her the ones designed specifically for her. They were an upgrade on the normal bioengineer mods. After he had started helping her with combat skills back on Lumiea, she'd needed something more than what she had. If only she'd had more time to hone those skills.

A loud explosion rocked the ground beneath her. An older couple who hurried for their car grabbed one another and cried out.

"You'll be okay," Rory yelled. "Just go."

They looked at her, seeing who she was for the first time. For the past few years, they'd said hello to her every time they saw one another. Now they looked confused and fearful as they stared at her, reminding her of the neighbor who shot her, even though they lacked the hate that woman had.

This had finally felt like home. How could she forget that she was an alien here? Even if she returned home to Lumiea, she'd probably feel like an alien there too after being away for so long. She just didn't have room for one more upsetting thing in her life right now, so she moved on past the couple without offering any more reassurances.

As she neared her house, Rory heard Benji howling and barking. Fear spiked in her chest as she burst through the door. "Theo?"

"In here."

Relief flooded her at the sound of Theo's voice. Her body wanted to sink back against the wall, but she jogged to the living room.

"I saw neighbors driving east," she said. "You need to head in that–"

As soon as she entered the living room, she froze. Benji barked from his dog bed while Chip sat on the ground right beside Theo with his ears tucked back. In one hand, Theo held hand mods he'd must have been boxing up and in the other a knife.

Across the room, staring cooly at them, stood Trin.

It was with such clarity that Rory could remember losing her friend to the Replica and being forced to still see her every day. Another loss on top of a loss. The anger was too deep and too strong to actually feel. The tension of it wound through her muscles, coiling them, and lighting her skin aflame with the blaze of unanswered retribution.