Inhuman

Chapter 21 - Escape

Escape

verb – 1. break free from confinement or control. 2. elude or get free from (someone). 3. succeed in eluding (something dangerous or undesirable). 4. fail to be noticed or remembered by.

The dictionary's never going to get it right...

"No..." I whispered as the golden flames engulfed the hall. How many people would be dead by the time the fire engines and ambulances arrived? I felt my eyes fill with tears. Xandrell lowered his hands from my head to my middle to hug me tightly.

"There's nothing you could've done that you didn't do." he said comfortingly. "It's their own fault for not listening to you."

"No..." I repeated. "I could've been more persistent. I could've forced the out. I could've dragged them out. I could've..."

I continued coming up with suggestions which as seconds passed became more and more insane, until I was burbling about forming a conga line and leading them out. Xandrell held me tighter and made little shushing noises until I quieted.

"Uh, Amy? Xandrell?" We turned to face the confused expressions of our friends. "How did you know something was going to happen?" asked Sophie, looking slightly scared.

"Yeah..." said Charlie also looking concerned. "You guys didn't..."

"We didn't start it Charlie, no." said Xandrell quietly, before looking at me. "Should we tell them?"

"Tell us what?" asked Ceci, almost eagerly.

I stared at him. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "I don't see any other way out of this..." he said slowly.

"What the hell is going on?!" cried Tasha.

I took a deep breath. "You guys won't believe this, but here goes. That fire was caused by aliens. They're about to attack Earth."

My words were met with disbelieving stares. "How do you know?" demanded Lucy.

"Yeah..." stammered Ceci. "How do we know you're not making it up?"

"Because Xandrell isn't a human orphan that we've taken in." I said almost hysterically.

They all turned and stared at him. He took a deep breath as I had done. "No, I'm not." he said calmly. "My parents are very much alive. They are the Dahlan and Stagreen, or the rulers in your language, of the Lokah people on Maleof Stagri, a planet as yet undiscovered by your astrologers."

There was a short silence. Then James shook his head. "It's official. You've lost the little marbles you had."

"Uh, it's just occurred to me." I interrupted, as my friends stared at Xandrell and me with open mouths. "Shouldn't we be fleeing the alien invasion?"

Xandrell shook his head, glancing up at the sky again. "They won't arrive for twenty minutes yet I shouldn't think. They like to give their target time to die."

My eyes went wide at his words. "Time to... what..."

"Then they scan the destroyed area." continued Xandrell as if I'd said nothing. "You know to check that their target has been acquired." he paused, a tiny smile creeping onto his lips. "Huh, I never thought my Maleof education would ever come in handy here."

My jaw dropped. "Oh, well how about that." I muttered sarcastically. "Well, forgive me for not randomly dancing happily, Xandrell, but their target has most definitely not been acquired." He bit his lip and shook his head in agreement. "So then what? What do they do if you're not dead?"