Terrestrial Alien ✔

Chapter 55: Freedom or Capture

Hernandez glowers at Sundo and me from the driver's seat, while he moves to unbuckle his seat belt.

Adrenaline rushes through my head, shakes through my hands and feet, and I move in the split second that I have, before I lose it. Sundo is a step behind me, following before he even knows what I'm attempting.

Rushing at the car, I dart around it just before Hernandez gets the door open, shimmying between the edge of the alley and the nose of the car. Pressing a hand into the hood, I vault over it and leap to the freedom of the street.

Behind me, Hernandez is caught in the door in his rush to stop Sundo, and the agile alien skirts his grabbing reach as he leaps over the hood entirely. His face is bright but shaken with the same adrenaline shaking me, and excitement and incredulity have me grinning back at him.

The road ahead of us is clear, and Sundo is beside me as we make a break for it.

Then a strong hand latches onto my arm and yanks me back, whirling me around and slamming me into the hood of the police car. My cry of surprise is cut short as the breath is knocked out of me, and my other arm is yanked painfully behind my back.

"You have the right to remain silent." A familiar voice growls behind me. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you desire an attorney and cannot afford one, an attorney will be obtained for you before police questioning. Is that clear?"

Reality crashes down on me, and the pain is worse than the ache of Maggie's slap, of my jaw, of the strain on my shoulders.

I tilt my head as best I can, straining to look at the woman behind me.

It's Lynch. Her makeup is as statuesque as always, and she's dressed all in black save for the white brace around her neck, keeping her head immobile.

"Am I clear?" She repeats when I merely stare at her in shock. She presses down on my arms and the strain has my shoulders screaming.

"Yes!" I gasp, slamming my head back onto the hood of the car.

"Good," she says, and then begins to fasten the metal handcuffs around my wrists.

"Don't move." Hernandez barks from the other side of the vehicle. "I don't know if what they say about you is true, but I'd stay put if I were you."

He has his gun raised, aimed across the car, where Sundo is frozen in place, his hands in the air. His eyes are wide, his face pale, and he darts glances between me and the barrel of the handgun aimed at his chest.

Reality is cracking like an egg around us. My head is spinning, and it's not quite easy to breathe.

Why isn't he shifting? He could easily take out all of them if he does, and I know he can control it now, at least a little bit! He's clearly scared enough shift! Why isn't he?

The gun.

    If... Hernandez shot him in the chest... would it kill him?

    Time feels frozen in place, my heart feels like it's unable to keep going. I try to meet Sundo's gaze, and the fear in those eyes crushes me.

"I'm sorry," I mouth, and he grimaces

"Your friend will be fine," a new voice tells him. Townsend. "Stay where you are and no one gets hurt."

He shares a meaningful look with his partner before stepping past the larger man, slipping through the gap left between the building and the car. As he approaches Sundo, the alien slowly lowers his hands, and I realise where the map went. It's been crumpled up into a ball in his left hand, and he nervously tries to hide it from Townsend as the cop bears the handcuffs.