pours out from within. I grasp a handful of soil and breathe in deep. It is compost, something I’m very familiar with from growing up in the forest.
I peer around the edge of the container and listen. Boots slap the sidewalk as they approach. There’s no time to run.
Glancing back at the rusted hole, I decide to take my chances with the dirt. I wiggle inside headfirst, scratching my hip as I pass. I tuck my lower lip behind my teeth as I grip the floor and pull myself through. The edges of the metal hole scrape layers of skin from my sides and I bite down hard on my lip to still my cry.
Shouts rise from the end of the alley, and I rush to bury myself in the garbage remains. The soil is cold and the metal floor frigid against the narrow swatch of skin at my waist where my shirt has risen up. Goosebumps rise along my body as I wiggle down as low as I can go.
I manage to get my lower half completely covered but my top half will be difficult. There isn’t enough soil left to completely hide in.
“Any sign of her?” My head whips up as I struggle to hear through the thick metal box. The voice is loud but muffled by the walls.
“I could have sworn she came this way.” The alien’s tone is raspy, hardened with age. If he were human, I would’ve said that he’d smoked one too many dogwood bark cigarettes.
“Maybe she doubled back? I heard Commander Drakon was close to getting his hands on the boy. Maybe she went back for him?”
The second voice is higher in pitch, not all that unlike a girl’s voice. I’ve always wondered how young the Caldonians start out their soldiers. By the sounds of it, the boy can’t be a day over fifteen.
Suddenly, a tickle begins in my nose as the dirt shifts. My pulse shoots up as I plug my nostrils and pray that I can hold off my sneeze until the aliens leave.
“Think we should head back?”
I can hear their boots shifting on a mixture of glass and rubble out on the street. I close my eyes and hope that they’ll just leave.
“The Commander will have our heads if we’re wrong.” The older soldier’s gruff response sends my hopes plummeting into cold oblivion. I suck in a deep breath and wait.
The sneeze escapes before I can stifle it. I cup my mouth and clamp my eyes closed, straining to hear.
“What was that?” Footsteps shift on the street and I’m sure that they know exactly where I am. “Came from down there. Let’s check it out.”
I rip my shirt over my head and rub dirt into the material, tearing at the frayed ends of the shirt to create long, wide ravels. I scrub the dark compost all over my face, chest and abdomen to hide my pale skin. I rub my head along the floor, matting my sweaty hair with refuse.
Their approach is slow and cautious. I can see the bouncing light of their lasers as they draw near. Draping my torn shirt over my chest and head, I sprinkle compost over it. I bury my arms into the soil and focus on taking tiny breaths. I wish I could see myself from above to know if any part of me is visible.
The scrape of a boot beside the dumpster and the rattle of the chain steal away my breath. Terror roots me to the metal floor as I suck in my stomach and pray that my concealment looks natural.
“I don’t see anything.” The man’s voice is loud enough to sift through the hole at my feet.
My lungs burn but I continue to suck in only partial breaths. I can’t risk another sneeze now that I’m buried in this shallow grave.
I clamp my eyes tightly closed as a bright light pierces through the hole. “See anything?”
Shifting just enough to get my arm behind my back, I pull out my gun. My finger hovers over the trigger, ready to take out these aliens the instant I’m discovered.
Seconds seem to drag by with agonizing indifference to my predicament. “Nah. Just some dirt and crap. She’s not here.”
I
I peer around the edge of the container and listen. Boots slap the sidewalk as they approach. There’s no time to run.
Glancing back at the rusted hole, I decide to take my chances with the dirt. I wiggle inside headfirst, scratching my hip as I pass. I tuck my lower lip behind my teeth as I grip the floor and pull myself through. The edges of the metal hole scrape layers of skin from my sides and I bite down hard on my lip to still my cry.
Shouts rise from the end of the alley, and I rush to bury myself in the garbage remains. The soil is cold and the metal floor frigid against the narrow swatch of skin at my waist where my shirt has risen up. Goosebumps rise along my body as I wiggle down as low as I can go.
I manage to get my lower half completely covered but my top half will be difficult. There isn’t enough soil left to completely hide in.
“Any sign of her?” My head whips up as I struggle to hear through the thick metal box. The voice is loud but muffled by the walls.
“I could have sworn she came this way.” The alien’s tone is raspy, hardened with age. If he were human, I would’ve said that he’d smoked one too many dogwood bark cigarettes.
“Maybe she doubled back? I heard Commander Drakon was close to getting his hands on the boy. Maybe she went back for him?”
The second voice is higher in pitch, not all that unlike a girl’s voice. I’ve always wondered how young the Caldonians start out their soldiers. By the sounds of it, the boy can’t be a day over fifteen.
Suddenly, a tickle begins in my nose as the dirt shifts. My pulse shoots up as I plug my nostrils and pray that I can hold off my sneeze until the aliens leave.
“Think we should head back?”
I can hear their boots shifting on a mixture of glass and rubble out on the street. I close my eyes and hope that they’ll just leave.
“The Commander will have our heads if we’re wrong.” The older soldier’s gruff response sends my hopes plummeting into cold oblivion. I suck in a deep breath and wait.
The sneeze escapes before I can stifle it. I cup my mouth and clamp my eyes closed, straining to hear.
“What was that?” Footsteps shift on the street and I’m sure that they know exactly where I am. “Came from down there. Let’s check it out.”
I rip my shirt over my head and rub dirt into the material, tearing at the frayed ends of the shirt to create long, wide ravels. I scrub the dark compost all over my face, chest and abdomen to hide my pale skin. I rub my head along the floor, matting my sweaty hair with refuse.
Their approach is slow and cautious. I can see the bouncing light of their lasers as they draw near. Draping my torn shirt over my chest and head, I sprinkle compost over it. I bury my arms into the soil and focus on taking tiny breaths. I wish I could see myself from above to know if any part of me is visible.
The scrape of a boot beside the dumpster and the rattle of the chain steal away my breath. Terror roots me to the metal floor as I suck in my stomach and pray that my concealment looks natural.
“I don’t see anything.” The man’s voice is loud enough to sift through the hole at my feet.
My lungs burn but I continue to suck in only partial breaths. I can’t risk another sneeze now that I’m buried in this shallow grave.
I clamp my eyes tightly closed as a bright light pierces through the hole. “See anything?”
Shifting just enough to get my arm behind my back, I pull out my gun. My finger hovers over the trigger, ready to take out these aliens the instant I’m discovered.
Seconds seem to drag by with agonizing indifference to my predicament. “Nah. Just some dirt and crap. She’s not here.”
I
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