Alien Road by M.J. McIsaac

Author:M.J. McIsaac [McIsaac, M.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781459827004
Publisher: Orca Book Publisher
Published: 2021-06-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

That night, I have the worst nightmare of my life. I stand on the deck of the Paradise II. It’s late at night. I don’t know how late, exactly. I haven’t looked at a clock. But the moon is high. It glows a strange, nuclear green. I’ve never seen the moon that color. Like it’s radioactive or something. It glints off the water. The sea is calm, sparkling with the green. Even the stars—too many to count—look green in the dark sky. And then I hear a rattling sound. I look down at my hands and I’m holding a weird calculator thing. It’s a Geiger counter. The numbers are ticking up as the rattling sound gets louder. Where did I get a Geiger counter? My palms start to sweat.

A wind picks up. It ruffles my hair, pulling me toward the water. In the sky, one of the stars is brighter than the others. It’s getting bigger. How is it getting bigger? Because it’s moving. A shooting star. And it’s heading straight for the Paradise II.

I stare, mouth gaping, as the bright glistening star zooms toward me. Somehow I know it’s a dream, but it’s so bright, it’s almost blinding. Then the light burns away, and I can see it for what it is—a giant hunk of space rock. It’s cracked in a million places. And between the cracks, the green glow burns bright inside. Before I can scream, the rock slams into the water just in front of the Paradise II. The force of the impact slams me back against a wall. The boat rocks violently, water swamping the deck. So much water. It pins me down. It’s in my eyes. My nose. My throat. I cough and sputter, the swaying boat threatening to throw me overboard. I grab the rail. I cling there, waiting for the rocking to stop.

When it finally does, I let go of the railing. My dream self decides to go find Mom, make sure she’s okay. But something moves beneath the waves.

I lean over the rail. Beneath the water’s surface, I can see the meteor, its glowing green cracks are like a beacon on the ocean’s floor. There’s a shadow rising up to the surface. A person. It breaks the surface and swims for the boat. My stomach leaps into my throat as the person begins to climb. Straight up toward me. She hoists herself over the railing with ease. Now she’s standing in front of me—sopping wet, glittering in robes of green stardust. The necklace with the Procyon symbol glows around her neck. Penelope.

She smiles at me and then looks back over the railing. I lean forward and see the meteor. It’s growing beneath the waves. Fanning out and buckling over itself, stretching out across the ocean floor. It forms a glowing green road, reaching out into the abyss. And now I can see shadows. People. Standing on the ocean floor. They walk along the road. Headed for the Paradise II.

My voice catches in my throat.

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