The Call of the Others

Chapter 25

The school group had, at last, reached their hotel.

“Alright, kids,” Mr. Robinson ordered, “sit down on the floor and be quiet. We’re working on getting a radio to work so we can figure out what’s going on.”

Alice obeyed. She knew that the aliens most definitely had something to do with it. She hoped her friends were okay, wherever they were. Mr. Woodward would take good care of them. He just hadn’t found the school group in the chaos. Yes, that was it. At least, that’s what Alice told herself. Suddenly, the radio turned on.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” said the radio broadcaster, “we are in a state of emergency. A foreign threat has been found in Cincinnati. Stay indoors and away from windows. I repeat, stay indoors and away from windows. The water supply has been temporarily shut down, so do not panic. As soon as we are sure that it’s sanitary and safe to drink, it will be turned back on. Until then, don’t try turning on any sinks or showers; you’ll only be disappointed. We’ll keep you posted if anything changes.”

Alice leaned against a coffee table and breathed heavily as she tried to ignore the sound of her heart beating loudly. What if the water never came back on? Ugh, she thought. This is all stupid Cassandra’s fault anyway. Bitch.

Her pessimistic pity-party was interrupted by an update from the radio.

“Stay indoors! I repeat, stay indoors! A—”

Just then, the power went out in the whole hotel, leaving Alice and the rest of the school group in the dark in more ways than one. The radio refused to work and finish the update. It was obviously a warning that the electricity may be turned off unexpectedly—at least that’s what Mr. Robinson told the kids—but just to make sure there wasn’t anything else, the hotel clerk urgently tried to resurrect it.

Alice heard the sound of anxious whispers being exchanged, but she somehow heard a knocking sound above all that. She turned to where the only light filtered into the room, through a small window. For some reason, the sky had turned dark, probably because a storm was erupting, and the sky was only a few shades lighter than the room itself. Alice strained her eyes trying to see out of it, but all she could see was a silhouette. But it wasn’t a human silhouette. Alien #3 was just outside of the hotel.

If I die, Alice thought, it’s all your fault, Cassandra.

She could almost hear the maniacal giggling accompanied by Cassandra’s annoying voice saying, “I know.”

Mr. Woodward looked up at the darkening sky.

“If you’re going to be asking any questions, you better hurry. We have stuff to do,” he said.

“Um… What the heck is going on?”

“Ever since the first alien escaped in your town, the agency’s kept an eye on you kids. When Cassandra came into the picture, talking about other aliens that might exist and secret bases and top secret files that she stole, we were…concerned. We didn’t think any of you would act on it, so we let it be. But somehow—that girl must be mighty persuasive—you did, so we sent Martina to keep you out of trouble.”

Preston snickered. “She did a terrific job.”

“Exactly. So I got sent down there, but the agency doesn’t really like the Woodward family, hence Scott.”

“Scott?”

“The impersonator. My ‘clone.’ He poisoned me, I guess—I really don’t remember. But those pills you gave me were a special type meant for the agency in case of any… accidents. They act as the antidote for any poison.”

“How on earth did you do that?!”

“You ask too many questions.”

Cary looked around at the television broadcasts, mobs of panicking people, and lights flickering on and off in the buildings towering above them.

“This would make a good Twilight Zone episode,” Cary commented.

“Um, Scott?” Charles asked gently.

“Yes…?” Scott was still dizzy and irritable after the blow to his head. “Wha—What is… What is it?”

“If we’re going to be killing all the aliens, why didn’t you just kill the one in the cage while you had the chance?”

“What?  Oh,” Scott said, speaking slowly, “you mean the one with the broken leg. He was already going to die, anyway.”

“Huh?” Charles asked, devastated.

“Yeah,” Scott laughed, becoming slightly delirious. “One of der aliens, he clawed him on his bad leg and he done-durn poisoned him!”

And, at last, Scott heard the sweet, sweet sound of stone silence.