Invasion (Alien Invasion, #1)

by Sean Platt

she in the damned park?” “Easy, tiger.” Tiger, worse than kiddo. “Well, why is she?” he demanded. “I had to go to school, and she can just ditch?” “Don’t worry

park?” Piper nodded. A traffic jam loomed ahead, so she jockeyed around, heading down the next block. There was an abandoned cab to one side. Piper swerved into approaching traffic just long enough to get around. “Yeah. I told her to meet us outside the museum. I think she’s with Raj.” “Fucking hell.”

school, a fleet of UFOs is coming, and it’s bad news that I’m swearing. Well fuck that.” Traffic eased long enough for Piper to glance over. She’d gone full manual before the cab maneuver, and as far as Trevor could see without looking up, she looked flushed with the stress of driving. “You okay, Trevor?” “Peachy.” “You scared?”

filled with a comforting third voice, droning on about something neither of them probably wanted to hear. “It’s okay to be scared, Trevor.” “I’m fine, okay?” Again she glanced over,

Assuming we can make it to the park, we’ll get Lila and then head home. Everything will be fine after that.” Trevor found the statement insulting, but said nothing because Piper was probably saying

his father, with all his paranoia, had the penthouse in mind as their final plan. He probably had survival gear stowed somewhere, and they’d head into the subway tunnels to live like well-equipped hobos until the overlords had enslaved the world

investigations during class, when word about the Astral app happenings had first started to spread: that current projections, crowdsourced by the civilian eggheads watching Astral, seemed to think humanity had only five days left to pretend

would arrive. Then shit would really hit the fan. Piper reached out and tapped the radio to turn it off, her finger shaking.

penthouse with a sense of foreboding. Somehow without knowing at all, he’d been sure this was coming. All the

she’d put into her body and brain. She’d never been truly addicted to anything through all her dalliances, so it seemed ironic to Meyer — who’d really only cared for that most expensive drug of all — that he might have been the addicted one. Not to the chemicals, but to the puzzle his mind had been slowly solving since

fact that he’d practically memorized his packing lists and kept whatever he could spare already packed, stowed, and ready to go. Only last-minute items took time, and he was already done. Meyer checked mental boxes in his mind as if on an

campaign on Meyer’s crowdfunding platform had birthed her Quirky Q clothing line — and, eventually, their relationship. Piper was too tentative for New York streets, and today was no

you little shit!” “Lila says hi.” “Where are you?” Meyer repeated. “On 77th. We just picked up Lila and Raj.” “Raj? You have Raj?”

On 77th. But Dad, it’s going to be pretty hard to get all the way around the park and home. It’ll take some time.” “Don’t try. We’re headed to Jersey anyway. Cross to Weehawken. I’ll meet you at that gas station where we bought the Twinkies that made you sick. Do you remember it?” “I remember it,” said

panic. He’d bored his kids to tears discussing concepts that the ceremonies had slowly helped him absorb — a distinct feeling that the universe was far more connected than most

“Online.” “Oh. No. I didn’t think of it. Should I?” Meyer sighed.

Heather’s reply sounded annoyed, but at least she was being

than staying in LA.” “I don’t know. Right now I have friends nearby. And the basement looks like

sent them over the bridge and am going to meet them in Weehawken.” “They’re not with you?” Now Heather sounded near panic. He’d never heard her like this. It was disorienting, almost terrifying. “They’re fine. They’re in a better

Saying the words made Meyer’s blood prickle. He resumed frantically packing. Extra socks. Identification papers. Taser. “Shit, Meyer. I am so not into this.” “You’ll be fine. You’re outside the city, already facing the right direction. Just start driving. Check the traffic first and avoid the bad spots, but don’t rule out the expressways if they seem clear. Just

“Good. So just …” “Almost.” “Go. You may not be able to reach me on the road, so head for Vail, and we’ll meet you there. Even the foothills are better than

up.” “I will.” “Take care, Heather.” He thought she’d hung up and was about to tap his earbud when Heather said, “I love you, Meyer.” “I know.”

One, Afternoon Weekhawken, New Jersey It took Meyer an hour from the time he loaded the duffels into the JetVan and drove out of the garage until he reached the

respected private citizens. He’d ridden half on and half off of curbs; he’d annihilated two flimsy trash cans to circle obstructions; he’d nearly cut a homeless man in half when he’d been trying to sneak around some asshole who’d decided to load a U-Haul in the middle of fucking Hudson. As he’d passed, some other angry motorists had been arguing with the U-Haul’s owner — a man who seemed to be rather flagrantly loading flats

populace must be thinking about the strange spheres drawing ever closer to Astral’s radio telescopes. There was no time for any of it. The only way out was to be prepared and get the hell out of Dodge without flinching. Only about an hour had passed since Meyer first heard the news. He’d already

well on their way out of town, packed and prepared, by the time Manhattan’s slow sigh began. Traffic was slow, but in a strange middle ground: normal workaday flow had dimmed due to the news, but panic was creeping. He took the Lincoln Tunnel, feeling nervous. In concept, there was little difference

east side and circling around, but the loss of time outweighed the bridges’ superior open-air advantage. Besides, he knew Piper would take one of the tunnels. If there was a backup, he might

into the gas station

read, LEAVE EMPTIES OUTSIDE PAY INSIDE FOR NEW WITH DEPOSIT. Beside the fence, below the sign, was a picnic table. Lila was sitting on its top with her feet on the bench, eating a sandwich. Trevor was on the far side, possibly pondering something. Piper was emerging from the station carrying a coffee. Beside

JetVan open beside the Beetle. The engine was still running. It was a waste of gas, but something in Meyer told him they wouldn’t want to be here longer than a minute. “No. There was traffic, of course, but it was mostly civil.” Meyer looked around. The

she’d bought the sandwich from the station. He wasn’t sure whether to take it as a good or bad sign. On the plus side, the station was conducting proper business instead of being raided. On the negative, it was a fucking gas station sandwich. Meyer stepped forward and hugged his daughter. Then he straightened and

Meyer’s eyes went to Piper. She shrugged, so Meyer turned to Lila, his eyes taking in the scene. Past Lila, beyond the big propane tank, a group of kids her age were milling. They looked over. Meyer looked away. “So, Raj,” said Meyer. “Yes, Mr. Dempsey?” “We’re taking a little trip.” “Okay.”

Meyer’s eyes fixed on the Beetle. “You can take it if you’d like.” “Take it where?” Lila picked up Raj’s hand and squeezed it. “He’s coming with us, Dad.” “His family is here, Lila.” “You want

“Dad,” said Trevor, arriving at Lila’s side. “Trevor,” he turned back to Raj, “ … in Vail.” “Cool,” said Raj. “Dad,” Trevor

can’t just fly away from your family. Not right now, of all times.” “So he should go back into the city?” said Lila. “Dad, that’s stupid.” “Don’t tell me what’s stupid, Lila. It’s right. He can take the Beetle.” He took

something to one side. Meyer followed the gesture and saw the group of teens approaching. As they neared, Meyer could see details he hadn’t noticed before: one held a bat and the other a gun. Meyer spoke to Lila and Piper without moving his eyes from the approaching

Lila was dragging Raj through the JetVan’s open side door. Trevor followed, and Piper, keeping her eyes low, made for the passenger seat. “Hey!” yelled the kid at the head of the group — the one with the bat. Beside

an almost imperceptible wave, asking her to keep it open. “Just wanna talk to you,” said the kid. “I have to go.” Edging closer. “Let us talk to you first.” “I’m sorry.” Now Meyer’s eyes were flicking between them and the door. They were fifteen yards off now, not running but moving

autodrive, and closed his eyes. He hoped things at the airport would be smoother. But he already had a niggling suspicion that this was only the beginning of an end, and that from here on out, things would only get

The drive to Morristown should have taken about an hour. It took nearly four. In the van’s lush rear, the three teens lowered the seats to beds and slept.

in case. The station was, blessedly, fully automated and fully operational. Unlike the previous station, this one had no clerk — and therefore no one to rob. Payments were electronic; there was no cash on-premises. The foodmat inside was equally

But the highways were another story, and despite what he’d told Heather about surface roads, highways still seemed like the best way to travel. The van was well-stocked,

didn’t have far to go. Sleep, for the passengers, made time tick quickly. Meyer had his running thoughts, and Piper seemed to feel her only job (which she was happy to do) was to be by his side. The time spend was fine. They didn’t have an assigned flight time like commercial fliers. They wouldn’t have

the pilot was ready to fly. And thanks to the still-functional cell network, he was able to confirm the second two just fine. As long as Morristown stayed peaceful, there was no reason for Nick to hop into the jet and fly off on his own. He was well

and as the evening had rolled on the station had taken to replaying the exact same half-hour in an excruciating loop. Ships were still approaching Earth, same as they’d been this afternoon. The president

was still saying that if not for the public availability of the Astral app, the government would be covering all of this up. They were forthcoming now, he scoffed, because there was no way to lie. Somehow this was good news, but Meyer could only intuit that from Bertrand Delacroix’s tone of voice, and the interviewer’s reaction. Ten miles from Morristown, Piper reached over and touched the radio,

“We know it. Like six or seven times, we know it by now.” “Something might change.” But Piper wasn’t listening. He’d thought she’d fallen asleep, and now she closed her eyes and looked it. She took his hand. He’d had them folded in his lap for most of the trip but had

the world.” She sighed. Piper loved music and was more current on trends than Heather ever had been. It was one of the things Lila loved about her stepmother, and a tiny source of jealousy with Heather. “All that’s happened, all this fear and fighting, and someone is still out there playing music.” “I’m sure it’s programmed.”

“The Axis Mundi is better stocked than the van.” “Why do you call it ‘Axis Mundi’? The ranch, I mean.” Meyer considered explaining, but despite her spiritual bearing, he felt that Piper didn’t understand any of the spirituality that actually mattered. She didn’t participate in the ceremonies. She