Who Does Raychel Nevada Think She Is?

Chapter 1 - Pillows and Storms

The safest place to ride out a storm was from under your pillow. Raychel thought so anyway. She'd become pretty good at that particular technique. And didn't Dad always say she should stick to what she was best at?

She smiled even though her efforts to get left behind had failed today. So here she was, on her way to Nan's place in the countryside, stuck in the back of the car with her little sister Trixie, who was currently doing her best impression of a screech owl. Trixie, with her dark curls and big eyes looked a bit owl-like too. Raychel looked out the window at the green and yellow fields rolling by. Spring sunshine after the rain made everything look fresh and brand new. All that space, empty of people, gave her a funny feeling for some reason. The same couldn't be said of the motorway, as usual packed with bank holiday-makers. She could see Dad's fingers drumming on the steering wheel.

“How long till we get there, Dad?" asked Trixie.

"Hmm, probably about half an hour."

Raychel hadn't wanted to go to Nan's. One, she was in no mood for rushing around and having to get ready to go anywhere, not on a Sunday. It had taken ages to tame her wayward and wavy blonde bob into the super straightness she liked. Make-up? Don't even go there. Two, her Nan gave her the creeps and would probably go on about mum being missing again. Three, being stuck in the car with Trixie the pixie and Dad's terrible singing was hardly anyone's idea of a good time.  And last but not least, she'd planned to go on MyFaceSpace and find out exactly what Matt was up to. Boys. You couldn't trust them. His text dumping her for her so-called best friend Beth was harsh to say the least.  She was thinking of ways to get even, knowing she'd probably avoid doing anything about it in real life, when Trixie started pulling on her sleeve and pointing out the window.

"What?”

"Raych, what's that?"

She looked and at first couldn't see what Trixie was on about. The sky was a clear blue with only a few wispy white clouds. Then she saw a tiny, shiny silver speck pass behind one of the clouds.

"It's a plane Trixie. Big deal. Leave me alone."

"Okay, but I don't think it's a plane."

"Whatever."

She lay back, closed her eyes and leant her head against the glass, noticing it was vibrating a little. 

"Raych, it's not a plane. I'm not stupid, I know what a plane looks like. Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me?"

Sighing, she took another look. Her eyes suddenly widened. The silver speck had grown into a shiny silver ball and now looked like it was sitting on top of the cloud like a massive ball bearing. The other odd thing was that as the car drove down the motorway it left the other clouds behind, but the silver ball sitting on it's cloud bed seemed to be keeping pace with the car, as though it was riding the cloud.

"Dad? Don't take your eyes off the road cos I don't wanna die, but there's a freaky ball thing over on the left. Can you see it?"

"Nope, no idea what you're on about. I'll have a look in a sec. Everyone's slowing down for some reason."

"Yeah, I think I know why that is. What the hell is that thing?"

Raychel wound the window down and squinted to get a better look. She'd swear the thing was bigger now. Trixie was pressed right up against her now, sharp elbows digging into her side.Traffic was coming to a stop, and she could see everyone peering out their windows and pointing up at the sky. Without a noise, the silver ball rolled off the top of the cloud and flew high and fast, streaking across the sky from left to right and coming to a sudden stop directly over the motorway, huge now it was closer, but silent and hanging. It was at least the size of house, that is if your house happened to be perfectly round, smooth and hovering in the air.

She saw that traffic was stopped on the other side of the motorway too. Her heart was beating fast now, mouth dry and metallic. Heat rushed to her face. Everyone was getting out of their cars. Not Dad though. He was peering through the windscreen watching the silver thing carefully as if it might suddenly pounce. She could see his furrowed brow and the sweat damped dark-blond hair curled on his forehead.

"Stay where you are girls, I've put the central locking on."

"I'm scared Dad," said Trixie, snuggling into Raychel's side.

"Don't be, you'll be fine, Raychel will look after you."

She caught Dad looking at her in the mirror and she nodded, realising whatever was happening meant she better act her 15 years for a change, older preferably. She felt a sudden stab of anger. Where was mum at times like these?

The silver ball was changing shape, getting longer at the edges, flattening on the top and bottom, now looking like a CD with a swollen centre. A vibration started in her ears. The suspended object wasn't so shiny any more either; it had become a dull gunmetal grey, matching the now darkening sky.

"Dad, what's happening?"

"I don't know. I don't believe what I'm seeing. Not here. It can't be."

"Can't be what?"

Raychel could hear sirens in the distance. Thank God for that! People were abandoning their cars now, streaming on to the verges by the side of the motorway, some even starting to run. Raychel realised the vibration wasn't just in her ears now. It was getting louder. The air around the thing in the sky was shimmering, giving off heatwaves.

"Dad! I think we should get out of here."

"I don't know, we might be safer in the car."

"How do you know?"

As she looked, something was being extended down out of the now disc shaped thing. A short, stubby cylinder. Trixie started to cry, which made Raychel feel like she was about to cry too. Then there was an enormous silent bright white flash from up above, like the universe's biggest camera had just taken a picture. For a brief instant she could see Dad and Trixie's bones under their flesh like a pink x-ray. Then the light hit her eyes and she was blinded.

She blinked away the red-white afterimage and her vision cleared. A headache like an icepick from nowhere throbbed and she jolted in her seat, eyes darting everywhere. But Dad and Trixie were gone. So was the thing in the sky.

She was alone.