Fallen + Marli & Lalo (Fallen Invasion, #3) by Mia Mitns Page B

of the details, it was great to hang out more with Kallen.  We had become friends during my stay in Millsee, what little month of it I had.  But we weren’t even friends that long.  He was gone most of the time during the previous week.
    Around 4 p.m. Kallen dropped me off at my house.  My job, most of the time, allowed us to finish earlier during the day.  That also meant we began way too early in the morning.
    Once inside, I expected to have to probe for Lalo again, but he was sitting on the couch, watching the news.  How did he know Kallen wasn’t coming in?  After putting up the groceries, a yawn initiated my teary eyes.  I shuffled to the couch where my brain told me to go to sleep.
    Fluttering my eyelids to fight the darkness, I tried to face Lalo to ask what he did that day.  He smiled and said, “Go to sleep Marli.”  With that I was out.
    —-
    I was underground, or above it, in some dark, stone building.  The sound of the city wasn’t too far away.  For a moment, sirens passed by.  I tip-toed down the long hall.  In advance of reaching an opening, I heard voices.  I froze.  I checked behind me to see that I was alone then peeked around the stone wall.
    “We have to find him!”  A tall, extremely strong, warrior type of man said.  Never had I ever seen someone that couldn’t pull off a pair of regular jeans.  They were too normal for him.  Too informal.  His muscles bulged up under a black tee, adding to the unfitting outfit.  I missed some of the conversation due to my impression of the actual man.  But something wasn’t right.  A chill twisted through my body.  This place wasn’t safe for me.  “Before he becomes lost,” the man continued.  “Like the others.”
    “I know he is part of the plan, but why?” another warrior guy said.  “We are as strong as him.  Is it really that important to waste so much time?  He’s not of the highest blood.”
    “It is not for me to discuss with you,” the tall man said.  “They are orders.”
    “All of these millions of people and you expect to find him,” the second man said and huffed.
    “With the signs he will know,” the tall man said.  “Do you feel that?”
    “Feel what?” the second man said.
    “There’s no way.  He couldn’t have.  Unless they—”
    The second man wore a puzzling expression.
    “A human,” the tall man said.  “A human knows of us.  They are listening.”
    He surveyed the room.  As he was about to see me I gasped, and my eyes opened then shut down from the light in my living room.  The news was on again.  The reporters were a broken record, back on the topic of the missing homeless people.
    “Marli,” I heard Lalo say.  He rubbed my shoulders.
    I panted as I struggled to calm down from my dream.  I didn’t think it meant anything specific to Lalo, but it was scary.
    “Bad dream?” he asked.
    “Yes.”  A laugh escaped my mouth.  “It was a conversation.  Some men were nervous that a human was listening, and I was the human.”
    Lalo took too much time to think about the dream as he lie back into the couch.  “Tell me more,” he said.  Lucky for him I remembered it exactly.  Most dreams I forgot.  Some, I remembered the subject.  It was rare for me to remember the scenes.  Remembering the word for word conversation was a miracle.  It was like the thing downloaded and stored itself in my brain for future reference.
    Lalo’s concern became clear when he made me detail the description of the two guys.  He said he didn’t remember anyone like them.
    “So you think this has something to do with you?” I asked.
    “I need to find out,” Lalo said and changed the subject.  “So I’ve been watching the news, and this story, all day.  I don’t know exactly why, but the fact that these people who don’t have a home are vanishing... My memory is fighting to come back, but it can’t.” 
    He refocused on the news show.  The camera panned away from the reporter