Chapter 4

Chapter

Four

Allie

I stood in the middle of my apartment, my heart racing as explosions rocked the world outside. The walls shook with each deafening blast, and I couldn't help but wonder whether this was how it was all going to end. People talked about the end of the world but always flippantly. No one ever believed it would actually end, and I didn't know anyone who'd had an alien invasion on their "how I might die" bingo card.

If this was the end, I did not expect to be going through it with a total stranger. Not that I had a ton of friends or deep roots in the town, but the guy in the black suit was even more out of place. Even so, there was something trustworthy about him, something that made me think that maybe things might be okay. There had definitely been something when he'd touched me.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. Now was not the time to get distracted by a hot stranger. "A hot, crazy stranger."

You had to be crazy to run into a violent alien invasion, even if you were trained to handle aliens. I rubbed my head. Was he seriously a Man in Black? Aside from the urban legends and pretty decent movies, that stuff couldn't be real, could it?

"Well, aliens are apparently real," I told myself as I breathed in the smoke drifting in from my broken window and tried to stay calm.

But staying calm was easier said than done. Every time an explosion rattled the windows, my chest clenched. What if the building collapsed? What if the invaders reached the surface and started going house to house?

I paced back and forth, impatient for Maxxon to return. My pulse jangled at the thought of him out there. What if he didn't return? Then a horrible thought washed over me. What if he'd lied about returning? What if he'd run off to fight and had no intention of returning?

The tang of bile teased the back of my throat, the familiar taste of betrayal and abandonment bitter. He wouldn't be the first to leave me. I choked back a mirthless laugh. Actually, not leaving would make him the exception.

I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself not to dredge up thoughts of my father, my mother, the series of ex-boyfriends. But standing alone in my apartment did nothing to keep those old memories at bay.

Another tremble of the floor snapped me back to the present. If I couldn't count on Maxxon to return, maybe I should hide somewhere. The bathroom? The closet? Under the bed? But then again, what good would hiding do if the entire building came crashing down?

Maybe I should make a run for it. I could try to find somewhere safer, somewhere far away from the city and the chaos. But then I remembered that my car had been towed for too many parking tickets, which was why I'd been walking to the store in the first place.

Shit shit shit. Even if I could make it out of the apartment and onto the streets, I wouldn't have any way to escape. The roads were probably jammed with traffic anyway as people tried to leave town.

And you told him you'd wait for him.

I groaned. I had promised Maxxon I would stay put, but I barely knew the guy. Why did I feel like I owed him anything? It made no sense, but my gut told me I could trust him. There was something about Maxxon that made me feel safe, even in the midst of all this madness. It was irrational, I knew, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd encountered him for a reason.

My door flew open, and my heart leaped. He was back! But it wasn't the big guy. It was Bryce with a backpack slung over each shoulder

"I'm out of here. Are you with me?"

I hesitated. The rational answer was yes, but what about Maxxon? "I told Maxxon I'd wait for him to come back."

Bryce blinked at me. "Maxxon? Oh, the big hottie?" Then he glanced toward the exit of the building. "He left? He's out there?"

I nodded, the absurdity of me waiting around after the guy left seeming more and more real. "He's coming back."

Bryce cocked his head to one side. "Are you sure? Why don't you come with me?"

I eyed my friend, who probably didn't have a single weapon in his go bags. "I'm okay. But you be safe."

He bit his bottom lip as the building shook again. "I'm heading for the rec center if you change your mind."

Then he pulled me into a quick hug, released me, and ran out, leaving me alone again. I cursed myself under my breath and wondered if I would regret staying behind. Would I end up following Bryce anyway?

A plaintive mew made me turn on the spot. Dinah! Of course I couldn't leave without my cat. What had I been even considering? I dropped to my knees searching for her, crawling around the floor and avoiding the glass, until I finally spotted her cowering under my dining table.

"Come on, sweetie." I made soft clicking sounds as I extended one arm, grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, and pulled her toward me.

Dinah wasn't a fan of my methods, which she expressed vocally with series of yowls, but once I'd cradled her against my chest, she relaxed.

"See? We're not alone. We have each other." I kissed her furry head, the warmth of her small body comforting.

Then the door to my apartment swung open again. I jumped, Dinah sunk her claws into my arm, and I bit my lip to keep from screaming. Then elation flooded me as I saw Maxxon standing in the doorway. But the elation was followed quickly by shock.

His clothes were torn and dirty, and there was a gash on his forehead trickling blood down the side of his face. His dark sunglasses were gone, revealing eyes that were more amber than brown or hazel. But I was distracted from this by the fact that his neatly tied back hair now fell loosely around his face, giving him a wild, untamed look.

My heart tripped in my chest. He looked very different than he had when he'd run out the door, and I was suddenly reminded that I knew nothing about the stranger. Nothing but my gut telling me that he might be more dangerous to me than anything descending from the sky.