doze. The mom caught my eye and gave me a little smile.
“Normally, I can’t
make
her go to bed.” She shook her head, then frowned at me. “You on your own, honey? How old are you?”
“I’m fourteen. I guess I’m on my own for now, but I think my family will be at the center.”
“I’m sure they are.” She beamed. “You hungry? I have candy bars.”
I accepted a Milky Way, realizing that I’d skipped breakfast. I wondered if they would feed us at the center. It’d be a real treat to eat something other than increasingly stale sandwiches.
“I’m Mona, and this is my daughter Stephie. You just stick with us until you find your folks. Everything will be just fine now.” She grinned at me, but her smile was a little too wide. Her dress was stained with sweat under the armpits, and her hand shook when she held the pen. It was kind of her to look after me, but I wanted to tell her that I didn’t need her to bother. That I had my own mom, and I’d be with her soon. I knew this stranger was trying to be nice, but she didn’t need to act like I was an orphan or something.
“You and Stephie will get along real well. She’s been so down the last few days. It’ll be good for her to have another girl to gossip with.”
I glanced at Stephie, who muttered something and twitched a bit in her sleep. She had on those big, hoop earrings everyone had been wearing these last few months, highlights in her hair, and a beach tan. A cool kid.
She was going to hate me.
I returned my attention to my form.
Name.
Date of birth.
Address.
Occupation
and
place of employment
I could skip
.
Any contact or encounters with invaders.
Dude. That had to be a first for a government form.
I tried to explain about seeing the thing that grabbed the Novaks, and about the ship. Mona seemed to be stuck on the same section. She frowned, chewing on one of her pink fingernails. Finally, she started writing, filling the little box designated for the answer and spilling over into the margin, then going back to cross bits out and add bits in, until her form wasn’t much better than the one Stephie had started.
I sympathized. I felt like a goof myself writing down the things I’d seen, although it’s not like anyone could have written me off as a crackpot—not with all the evidence around them.
The center was a big office building with a warehouse attached, and a sign out front that read “Herman Pharmaceutical.”
“Wake up, honey,” Mona said, giving Stephie a little prod, as the bus pulled into the parking lot. A cop stood guard out front, and after our bus had driven through the massive gate, he closed and locked it behind us.
I wasn’t sure what good a fence, even one topped with barbed wire, would be against the Space Men, but it still felt good to have a barrier between us and the outside world.
Stephanie’s eyes opened slowly, then closed again.
The bus doors hissed open and we started to shuffle down the aisle.
“Come on, baby girl. You can sleep when we get inside. Have us something to eat, too.”
“Ma’am, you need to hurry it up,” said the mean cop. “It ain’t safe outside.”
“Stephie, come on now, you’re embarrassing me!” hissed Mona.
I stopped by the door, not wanting to seem rude by ditching them, but pretty eager to get inside. My family could be in there, just through that ugly brick wall.
Stephie squinted at her mom through narrow red eyes, then settled her head back down against the window.
“For Pete’s sake!” said Mona. She grabbed her daughter by her wrist and hauled. Her face was bright red. She gave Stephie’s limp arm a shake. “Come on, young lady, now!”
Eventually, Mona got her standing.
Stephie followed us off the bus with her eyes half-closed and her legs marching stiffly, like she was still half asleep.
The lobby was wonderfully cool—there must have been a generator or something, to keep the air conditioning blowing. A dim corridor stretched off ahead of us,
“Normally, I can’t
make
her go to bed.” She shook her head, then frowned at me. “You on your own, honey? How old are you?”
“I’m fourteen. I guess I’m on my own for now, but I think my family will be at the center.”
“I’m sure they are.” She beamed. “You hungry? I have candy bars.”
I accepted a Milky Way, realizing that I’d skipped breakfast. I wondered if they would feed us at the center. It’d be a real treat to eat something other than increasingly stale sandwiches.
“I’m Mona, and this is my daughter Stephie. You just stick with us until you find your folks. Everything will be just fine now.” She grinned at me, but her smile was a little too wide. Her dress was stained with sweat under the armpits, and her hand shook when she held the pen. It was kind of her to look after me, but I wanted to tell her that I didn’t need her to bother. That I had my own mom, and I’d be with her soon. I knew this stranger was trying to be nice, but she didn’t need to act like I was an orphan or something.
“You and Stephie will get along real well. She’s been so down the last few days. It’ll be good for her to have another girl to gossip with.”
I glanced at Stephie, who muttered something and twitched a bit in her sleep. She had on those big, hoop earrings everyone had been wearing these last few months, highlights in her hair, and a beach tan. A cool kid.
She was going to hate me.
I returned my attention to my form.
Name.
Date of birth.
Address.
Occupation
and
place of employment
I could skip
.
Any contact or encounters with invaders.
Dude. That had to be a first for a government form.
I tried to explain about seeing the thing that grabbed the Novaks, and about the ship. Mona seemed to be stuck on the same section. She frowned, chewing on one of her pink fingernails. Finally, she started writing, filling the little box designated for the answer and spilling over into the margin, then going back to cross bits out and add bits in, until her form wasn’t much better than the one Stephie had started.
I sympathized. I felt like a goof myself writing down the things I’d seen, although it’s not like anyone could have written me off as a crackpot—not with all the evidence around them.
The center was a big office building with a warehouse attached, and a sign out front that read “Herman Pharmaceutical.”
“Wake up, honey,” Mona said, giving Stephie a little prod, as the bus pulled into the parking lot. A cop stood guard out front, and after our bus had driven through the massive gate, he closed and locked it behind us.
I wasn’t sure what good a fence, even one topped with barbed wire, would be against the Space Men, but it still felt good to have a barrier between us and the outside world.
Stephanie’s eyes opened slowly, then closed again.
The bus doors hissed open and we started to shuffle down the aisle.
“Come on, baby girl. You can sleep when we get inside. Have us something to eat, too.”
“Ma’am, you need to hurry it up,” said the mean cop. “It ain’t safe outside.”
“Stephie, come on now, you’re embarrassing me!” hissed Mona.
I stopped by the door, not wanting to seem rude by ditching them, but pretty eager to get inside. My family could be in there, just through that ugly brick wall.
Stephie squinted at her mom through narrow red eyes, then settled her head back down against the window.
“For Pete’s sake!” said Mona. She grabbed her daughter by her wrist and hauled. Her face was bright red. She gave Stephie’s limp arm a shake. “Come on, young lady, now!”
Eventually, Mona got her standing.
Stephie followed us off the bus with her eyes half-closed and her legs marching stiffly, like she was still half asleep.
The lobby was wonderfully cool—there must have been a generator or something, to keep the air conditioning blowing. A dim corridor stretched off ahead of us,
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