Starseed by Liz Gruder

Kaila,” Pia began. “Why do you wear that wig?”
    Kaila tried to pull her hand away.
    “Don’t do that,” Pia said clutching her hand. “You have to open up, tell us everything.”
    Kaila went silent.
    “Look,” Pia said. “We heard them telling you to take it off, so the secret’s out. And it’s okay, Kaila. We want answers. Because we have something to tell you.”
    “Okay,” Kaila said. “My mom and grandma always made me wear this plastic stuff on my head.”
    She pulled off the wig. The night table light reflected on the black plastic. Pia and Melissa drew back, startled.
    “Are you scared of me?” Kaila asked, confused.
    “It’s not you,” Melissa said. “It’s seeing your big head and eyes.”
    “I’m gonna tell you a secret,” Pia said. “And then I want you to tell us everything, okay?”
    Kaila nodded.
    “Something weird is happening. To us. To this town,” Pia began.
    Melissa stared at her lap.
    “Melissa and I get this high-pitched ringing in our ears, mostly the left ear. We wake up some mornings exhausted, like we’ve been out all night. We have strange dreams, of black cats and owls.”
    “Owls?” Kaila asked.
    “Well, we figured it’s not really an owl or a cat. It’s a projection. They make you see what they want you to see.”
    Kaila hugged herself, chilled. She thought about how Jordyn had manipulated Mrs. Bourg’s mind to make her believe she saw a bandage and bruise on her knee. How he’d made everyone in the hall think she’d tripped.
    And then, what about that owl dream? Wake up, Jordyn had said.
    “You gotta help us,” Melissa said. “One night I woke up and I was standing outside the woods in the backyard. I had no idea how I got there.”
    Pia added, “One night I was walking home from Melissa’s. It was dark and I had a flashlight. I looked at my watch and it was like eight-thirty. I was hurrying because I knew my parents would be perturbed.” She peeked over her shoulder, lowered her voice. “I saw this bright white light in the sky. Next thing I know it’s after ten p.m. and I’m at another part of the road. I couldn’t remember anything about that lost time.”
    “And look at this,” Melissa said, extending her leg. She pointed to an indentation, as if someone—or something—had scooped out some flesh on her calf.
    “I’ve got one too,” Pia said, turning her upper arm.
    “We’ve both woken up with drops of blood on our pillow,” Melissa said. “We get creeped out.” She whispered, “Like we’re being watched.” She glanced over her shoulder. “But you can’t see what’s watching you.”
    “I went on the Internet,” Pia said. “Did some research on alien abductions. All the pieces fit.”
    “You think aliens are abducting you?” Kaila asked.
    “We know it sounds crazy,” Melissa begged. “But you’ve got to believe us.”
    “I’m starting to realize anything’s possible.”
    “Can you help us?” Melissa asked.
    “I don’t know. I’m trying to figure it out myself.”
    “You have to know that all that New Mexico stuff is bullshit,” Pia said. “They’re not from anywhere near this planet.”
    Kaila licked her lips and swallowed. Though butterflies fluttered in her stomach with Pia’s pronouncement, she was relieved to get this out in the open.
    “They have special powers,” Kaila said. “Wade Stoops started making fun of my hand. Jordyn came and . . . helped me,” she added. “They have a power that they use with their eyes.”
    “We know that!” Pia cried. “How do you think they take us from our beds at night and leave us with no memory of it?” She sighed. “Okay we spilled our guts. Now tell us why you wear that thing on your head.”
    “It’s protection,” Kaila said. “To protect my mind.” Once said, she knew this with certainty. “You know what? I think what happened to you is what happened to my mother . . . maybe my grandmother too. That’s why they always made me wear this stuff