The Face of Earth by Kirsty Winkler

fontanel, puncturing his brain and killing him instantly. His body turned to fluid and fell. She turned to the controls and slowed the ship, turning it away from the comet.
    Once she was no longer headed into certain death, Megg took her time dealing with the mess. She mopped up Luvian’s death fluid with the cloth. When she was sure she had all of it, she wrung the cloth over the bowl, squeezing every drop of the syrupy liquid out of it. When it was dry, she set it aside and wrung out his clothes as well.
    Megg transferred the fluid from the bowl to one of the bottles. She smiled as she corked it, thinking that if she gave it to Agnar, he would live thousands of years longer than the thousands he was already living. She enjoyed having him in her universe. She set course to rendezvous with Agnar’s ship. It would be a century or so before the Earthlings would be able to leave their solar system. Their termination could wait.
    By the time Megg caught up with Agnar, he had parked his starship on the far side of Earth’s moon. She put in a call to his ship, confused at his proximity to her project. His pilot answered.
    “How can I help you?”
    “I’m looking for Agnar. Where is he?”
    “He’s down on the planet.”
    “On Earth, you mean? Why?”
    “He has some business there.”
    Megg was shocked and amused. “With the Earthlings? What profit could there possibly be in that?”
    The pilot shrugged. “You’ll have to ask him. I don’t discuss his business.”
    Megg eyed the youthful pilot, recognizing him as the same man who flew with Agnar hundreds of years ago. The pilot stared back at her unflinchingly. She shrugged. If Agnar chose to share the elixir with his crew, that was his business.
    “Very well,” Megg said. “Let him know to call me when he returns.”
    The pilot nodded. “I will.”
    Megg disconnected and steered her ship toward the surface of the moon, setting it down next to Agnar’s. She hoped the wait wouldn’t be long.
     
    *           *           *
     
    Fearing pursuit after her terrifying alien encounter, Karina ran until her legs shook with the strain and she gasped for breath. She slowed her pace, breathing heavily. She tasted blood in the back of her throat as she sucked in each lungful of air. She kept glancing behind as she walked, searching the sky for UFOs and the forest for aliens. As daylight faded and none appeared, she relaxed enough to stop.
    Karina lay out her sleeping bag in an indentation under a granite boulder. She felt more secure with solid rock over her head. She slept fitfully, unable to rest with the looming threat of abduction. When she awoke, she ate a hasty meal of beef jerky before continuing her trek down the mountain.
    Her legs wobbled as she took her first steps. They ached from yesterday’s run and the extra weight of her pack. She ignored them, knowing they’d loosen up with exercise. She saw Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in the valley below and hurried down the trail toward it, anxious to reach her truck and leave the wilderness behind. She wanted to surround herself with people, to feel the safety of numbers.
    Karina finally arrived at her truck and threw her backpack into the cab. Climbing in, she locked the doors and started the engine. The Dodge roared to life. She drove away from the reservoir toward civilization, merging with the weekend traffic. When she reached the freeway and was able to blend in with hundreds of other vehicles, she finally felt safe. She turned on the radio to take her mind off her near abduction.
    “Of the four backpackers that set out on that fateful trip, only one returned,” the announcer stated. “John Miller claims to remember nothing and can give no explanation for the disappearance of his friends. Police are now using dogs to scour the area for clues to their whereabouts. While they haven’t found the missing campers, they have found the dead body of a man who appears to be in his fifties. They have a