The Unknown

ONE | alarm.

Together, Tess and Kyle raced through the streets, slicing through trenchlike alleyways. They avoided light at all costs—as if they were vampires and it would scorch their flesh. Light was danger. Street lamps were searching spotlights, and the brightest streets crawled with armed guards, their eyes like scanning cameras.

Tess's dress flared out behind her, high heels clicking and clacking against the pavement. Kyle suddenly gripped her hand, his big fist nearly encapsulating her slim fingers. He swung her around in a full circle before coming to a halt, hands pressed against the brick building on either side of her head. Their exhilarated eyes lingered on each other before he leaned in and crushed his hot lips against hers. They drew apart and smiled deeply at each other.

"I love you," she said.

Kyle opened his mouth just as a blaring alarm infiltrated their ears, resounding across the entire sprawling city. Their wide eyes shot upward.

The sound choked off, then came a voice. It was calm and feminine, almost soothing. But underneath its pleasant cadence was a commanding edge that threatened: if you don't do what I say, there will be consequences, and you won't like them.

Tess listened carefully, memorizing the words. "Attention, lockdown protocol is to commence immediately. All citizens are to stay in their residences beginning at midnight, indefinitely, until further instructions are given. Thank you for your cooperation."

The pair gazed into each other's eyes again, this time with surprise that quickly hardened into cold resolve.

"What do we do?" she whispered into his ear, leaning onto her tiptoes in high heels.

His eyebrows drew together like they always did when he was thinking hard. "They might be searching for us. We can't stay anywhere obvious like your parents' house." He put an arm over her bare shoulders and steered her through the cold night. "We should keep moving and find somewhere safe to stay. Somewhere long-term where they wouldn't think to look for us."

"How about," she thought, "a building where we already converted everyone. So people will cover for us if soldiers come looking."

He nodded slowly. "What about the others?"

"Maybe we should tell them all to hide in different places." Her voice was both hushed and rushed, the vapor of her breath curling into clouds in the icy air. "Not put all our of eggs in one basket, so to speak. Then if one group is found, the rest will be fine."

He nodded in agreement, pulling out his communicator and entering instructions for Rosalie, Jessie, and the others. Kyle often acted as their strategist, thanks to his body's background in the military. The instincts were still there.

Just as he sent the message, Tess spotted a soldier in the darkness behind him, black mask glinting in the moonlight.

Before Tess could move or scream, the soldier smashed the butt of a huge gun against Kyle's head. Kyle collapsed, his skull taking another hit as it bounced off the pavement. Tess gave a deep, shuddering gasp, her hand flying to her mouth.

The soldier aimed the barrel of the gun at her forehead. "You're coming with me."

Tess gave a half-smile, hiding the strain and raving thoughts behind her eyes. "Fine," she said, stepping forward to comply.

The soldier roughly grabbed her wrists and fastened handcuffs around them. They were painfully tight, digging into her flesh. She walked obediently as the soldier led her back into the alleyway—a strange choice. Now she'd have the opportunity to fight back without being seen.

She trailed slightly behind the soldier, watching as the shadows swallowed their form. Then, discreetly, she reached beneath her dress where she had tools stashed, secured around her thigh.

Rule number one: always come prepared.

She carefully selected a plastic cylinder and reached up to uncap it with her teeth. The soldier heard the jangling of her handcuffs and turned, but it was too late. She'd impaled a needle into their neck. Their gun lurched upward, but the soldier sunk helplessly to their knees, eyes fluttering shut.

Tess searched the soldier's body until she found a key, then freed herself from the cuffs. She seized the signaler from Kyle's pocket and sent word that the Species, as humans had taken to calling them, should pick up the body, along with its exact coordinates. In seconds, the soldier was gone, vanished from thin air. There was no trace left behind but the gun, which Tess slung casually over her shoulder.

She went back to Kyle, kneeling down at his side, and assessed the damage. There was crimson blood drying in his hair. She knew he'd be fine, but the sight of him hurt still made her heart flutter. If he hadn't been more than human, this injury might have required weeks of treatment and recovery—or outright killed him, if he was unlucky.

He sat up, smiling faintly at her. "I should be completely recovered in about six hours."

"You're getting quicker already," she breathed.

He stood carefully, shrugging. "It's just a concussion and a minor gash. But it does help as we grow into their anatomy. It feels like I've reached every crevice"—he clenched his fingers into a tight fist, then gracefully extended them—"every nerve and synapse under my control."

She took his arm. "Let's get you safe so you can heal."

They continued trekking through the city until their surroundings blurred into the chaotic downtown, streets backed up with traffic. Everyone wanted to be home in time for the lockdown. On the sidewalks, wide-eyed people were walking or stumbling home, voices buzzing with speculation about what was happening. Shop and restaurant workers herded customers outside and locked the doors behind them. Tess and Kyle blended into the frenzy of bodies with ease.

The towering city skyscrapers had always impressed her former self, but now they seemed unimpressive or even insignificant. She knew there were feats of engineering and technology looming above the unassuming city, greater than its citizens could ever imagine.

Tess guided a dizzy Kyle, his arm slung over her shoulder for support, to the Kade Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the city. There was a restaurant on the first floor, various other businesses higher up, followed by luxury apartments on the highest floors. Tess knocked on a back door and was allowed inside by a worker.

Inside, all of the employees were in a placid daze, focused completely on their work, like mindless drones. None of them paid the couple any mind as they passed through the noisy kitchen and into a back elevator, then up to the top floor and into the penthouse suite. They kicked off their shoes and toppled onto the massive king-sized bed. In moments like these, it was easy to believe that the world would soon belong to them, and no one could get in their way.

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It's -15°F (-26°C) outside as I'm writing this...haha. Hope your weather's nice!