Meghan grabbed the collar of my dress and literally lifted me from the couch, dragging me across the living room and down the hall like a rag doll. Just as we reached the entrance to the hall, the house shook, an impact that rippled through the floor, knocking Meghan off of her feet and sending me sprawling back toward the couch. My head hurt. I could see a pool of red seeping onto the tile around me. It would heal, but god damn it hurt. Through my blurred vision I saw Meredith standing there, confronting the giant, but she looked different, so very different.

That there was a total look of disbelief on Randy's face would be an understatement. "Mother of Mary, that thing really thinks better than we do?"

He stooped over to see if he could find any answers under or behind the desk. Picking up the keypad he felt along the top of the desk.

"Please Mr. Shells, if you must call me something, I would prefer you call me the same thing Karen does. My name is Henry. Although 'thing' may be appropriate in your mind when you refer to the unknown, it does not endear you with me. I understand the nature of humans to do name calling when they’re mad, frustrated, and scared. It serves no useful purpose to do so at an inanimate object."

In this chapter, you learn a bit more about what has happened to Jill and Carol. You also learn more of the politics and plans of the aliens in Brazil...

“Again,” Meredith said coldly. As always, my body responded to her command; I ran back to beginning of the obstacle course, bow in hand and gripped the rope net, hurtling up and over the obstacle as I raced toward the next.

“Meredith please,” I sobbed as I ran, completely out of breath and barely able to keep upright. “Please just let me stop for a minute.”

Less than an hour after leaving the base camp, we said goodbye to the RSM outside Abergavenny Railway Station. He gave both of us a big hug and said,
“Watch your backs ladies. You never know who is really a bad guy in disguise.”

Jemma had a hard time keeping a straight face but we both gave Jock a kiss on his cheeks and then made a hasty exit.

I looked back at him in the rear-view mirror and saw Jock give us a wave. It made me go all gooey inside for a few seconds.

Twigs snapped, feet pounded, the forest whizzed by in gasps as I dodged from tree to tree, palms outstretched to make sure I didn’t plant face first into a trunk. Aleah said I’d know it when I saw it. What was I looking for? I inhaled as I ran, forest air scraped through my throat and barely inflated my lungs. I thought the endless expanse of trees and briar patches would extend forever, but I was wrong. It ended. I burst into a clearing, stopping short as if I’d just found myself on the edge of a cliff and pressing my hands to my knees as I bent over in exhaustion.

[The following January]

“Come on you laggards. Just because you are effing women does not mean that you can slack off. There is still six miles to go. Then it is only a few more hours then, you can have that hot bubble bath that you females all love so much!”

Rebecca shivers as she hides in a group of bushes and watched one of the men she had been hired to investigate. The perp she had under surveillance was inside some woman’s house having sex. She glances at her watch to see what time it was and couldn’t believe he’s been in there for at least two hours now.

[At a second floor flat in Chelsea around 21:00 on a Monday evening.]

“Hello?”

“I’m sorry, there is no Roy Meier on this number. I’ve only just moved here so he might be a previous occupant.”

“Yes, I am sure that he does not live here.”

“No, I won’t give you my name. I don’t know who the hell you are. You could be a serial rapist for all I know.”

“Goodbye.”

I put the phone down. I was shaking like a leaf. I had been named this Roy Meier but in a previous life. If the caller really had put 2 and 2 together then I was well and truly up shit creek big time.

“Come on Tammy, you need to improve on your fighting skills.” Greg swings his Bo staff at Tammy.

Tammy brings her Bo staff up in time to block and strike back at Greg. She twirls it and manages to whack him behind his head. She put some power behind it because they were wearing protective gear.

“Good, your doing better.” Greg attacks some more and is blocked each time.

Tammy keeps attacking and finally sweeps Greg’s legs out from under him. She spins her Bo staff and put the end under his chin.

“I surrender.” He was impressed with Tammy’s weapon handling.

“Come on slow poke.” Haylee turns around in her saddle to watch her cousin Arabella.

“Hey, I’m still recovering from being sick.” Arabella was bundled up in her warmest winter clothes.

Arabella knew her mother wasn’t sure about her going out in the cold. She just recovered from having bronchiolitis. She catches up to her cousin Haylee.

She was two years older than her cousin, Haylee. Haylee was ten years old and she was twelve years old. They were out horseback riding on the property that belonged to their family.

—Excerpt from Presidential Security Council Meeting 3/5/35–

Yes sir, we’ve received our first reliable reports back from the zone in Nevada and initial reports from the Amazon region in South America. As you can see from the aerial and the first on-ground photos, these Probability Singularities we’ve seen in the atmosphere continue to be significant, even catastrophic threats.

Chapter 12 Buffy's POV

High Notes had just about finished their set when Trish came to us and asked us to follow her.

“What's wrong?” I asked her.

“Lisa has asked me to get you. Drew has disappeared.”

“What happened?”

“Lisa will tell you, I don't know.”

We rushed back to find a frantic Lisa, holding a crying Mia.

“What happened?” I repeated, this time to Lisa.

“I'm so sorry. We thought it would be alright, but then Aaron was an idiot and Drew ran away and I tried to follow, but he disappeared.”

Synopsis: Instead of writing anything useful here I’m just going to complain about the keto diet I’m on and how I haven’t had a potato in three months….

“I am sooo excited,” Laura said as she bounced around me at the concession stand “I’ve been wanting to see this movie for ages!”

“Yeah,” I said. “It’s just too bad Remy couldn’t come.”

“Good grief,” Laura laughed. “It’s not like she has to come everywhere with us.”

“Yeah, but, I mean…” I trailed off a bit, she gave me a kind of knowing grin.

Stage 7: Wayward Pilot’s Mission