Forlot: My Friend is a Human - Book Ten

Chapter Thirty-Two

TRIS' P.O.V.

When I spotted them, I grasped Wendy's wrist and whispered, "There they are."

What we were looking at were our classmates. They all were lying lifeless on the floor and had the colors sucked out of them. Their skins were pale, and every piece of their clothes was black.

Wendy and I were about to hurry over to them and gently shake them, attempting to wake them up, when we toppled over and slid to where they were.

"Whoa!"

Why did that happen?

You see, we discovered a few minutes later that the alien ship had landed on its base. Wendy and I gave our temples good massages, for we both were beginning to receive headaches, and surveyed the group of students.

Wendow and Triso were not with them.

Then I remembered and reminded Wendy that our alien friends were at the top of the ship. They were with those other aliens who did the abduction.

The bottom of the ship was huge! Both the floor and walls were white with gray lines for patterns. And other than us and our classmates, there were boxes on either side of a white staircase.

Hmm. Where did that staircase lead to?

Wendy and I gasped as we suddenly heard the sounds of footsteps. Aliens were coming down here! And if we were caught by any of them, we probably would be doomed.

As if Wendy read my mind, she scurried over to the boxes and hid behind them. I was right on her tail and hid with her. We covered our mouths so that the aliens would not hear our heavy breathing. We were nervous, and our bodies tensed. I do not think that I have ever been more terrified that my life was on the line.

Soon, the aliens entered and ran to our classmates. They wielded these white weapons that shot out electricity. It was cool - and horrifying at the same time.

None of them looked like 3-17 and C-Teen. In fact, they did not look like each other! Some were different colors or had different styles.

It made me wonder what Wendow and Triso really looked like.

The aliens surrounded the students and discussed what they were going to do with them. And yes, fellow readers. We could understand them.

"I say that we throw them into space! They are no use to us."

"Lord Pompus specifically said that he wants to keep them. We can study them, and they are Wendow and Triso's pets."

"Agreed. And hopefully, Wendow and Triso will not run away again."

Huh? Run away again? To our planet?
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Wendow and Triso glanced at each other, and then fell onto their knees. They began pleading with us.

"Please do not make us go back! Please!"

"Huh?" Tris and I looked at each other, and then back at them.

"We hate it there," Wendow confessed. "It is a prison."

"Yeah," Triso agreed. "We came to your planet to learn how to behave like humans."
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I remember now. They despise their own home. But the question is...why?
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"I am going to stop you there for a minute," I cut in. "You are saying that at the age of ten, you have to get married?"

"Yep," Wendow confirmed. "And they are always arranged."

"That is just terrible," Wendy commented. "And how old are you two?"

Triso was brushing her fingers through her hair. "We are unfortunately ten years old. That is one of the main reasons why we left our home."
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Arranged marriages, but there had to be more.

I desired to hear more of their conversation as to why Triso and Wendow were unhappy here, but Wendy broke me free of my thoughts.

"We need to make our move and leave. They will surely see us once they take our classmates."

She was right. It was now or never.

We slowly and quietly got up, our backs sliding up the boxes, tiptoed to the staircase, and dashed up the stairs. Of course, we made plenty of noises when we were running, but we did not care. We just had to get out of there and find a secure place to hide until we devised a perfect plan.

Wendy and I reached the top of the stairs and realized that we were now where 3-17 and C-Teen had been. There were the controls...

...but no aliens. And sadly, no Wendow or Triso. The aliens must have already taken them. But to where?

Outside of the spaceship, the coast was clear. However, we could not get out because the window that flips was closed.

I hurried up to the controls and searched for the button that would open the window.

"What are you doing?" Wendy asked. "You should not be pressing any buttons."

"Relax, Wendy. I know what I am doing. I know exactly which button to press."

"You sure about that? This is an alien spaceship. With alien buttons. There is no way—"

Beep!

I had pushed a button and smirked. "You can thank me now. Or you can thank me later."

"Or you can tell me why you are using the communication system."

That did not come from Wendy, and we both turned our attentions to a yellow hologram.

A hologram of...that lawyer?!

Remember those two lawyers? One of them was a hologram. It was Cara. She had her hands behind her back and a blank expression. Her eyebrows were lowered.

"I told you to never use this communication system," Cara spat. "Lord Pompus will be disappointed in you."

Before Wendy or I could muster a word, Cara squinted at us and gasped.

"It is you. Those two girls. Hold on. How did you even get ahold of this communication system? Unless...you are the ship!" She held the sides of her head. "Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. Your friend Kara is going to kill me."