“I don’t know,” I said, and the tears finally came, rolling down my cheeks in slow lines. Graham put his arms around me, and held me, and if he noticed that my tears were thicker than they should have been, he didn’t say a word.

Neither of us did, as all around us, the night—one of the last nights of a free and human world—went on.

Chapter 8

Tucson, Arizona: July 21, 2031

Seventeen days pre-invasion

1.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Some of you may have noticed that we’re a little off-course. We have been diverted to Tucson due to an equipment problem. We’ll have this taken care of and get you back in the air as quickly as possible. My apologies for the inconvenience.”

Our plane, filled with weary travelers, emitted a collective mumbling groan. Some people had been asleep until the loudspeaker’s announcement. Others were trying to focus on their tablets, their books, anything to keep them from remembering where they really were, and being jerked back into the harsh reality of air travel was not comforting to them.

Toni, nestled against David’s side in the row across from ours, continued her open-mouthed snoring, even as David blinked blearily at the speakers. “What the hell?” he mumbled, just loud enough for me to hear. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“What about it?” I asked.

“If we’re making a landing for a technical issue, it shouldn’t be in Tucson. That’s entirely in the wrong direction.”

“Maybe there’s a flying unicorn outside, and the pilot’s changing course to keep it from being sucked into the engine. Now shut up so I can get some goddamn sleep,” muttered Jeff, not opening his eyes.

I had been sandwiched between him and Graham since we boarded. I wasn’t sure exactly how Toni had been able to seat us all together and get an open middle seat on her side of the plane, but I was willing to bet her credit cards and family fortune had a lot to do with it. Why fly first class when you can just as easily annoy your alien acquaintances in coach?

Graham didn’t say anything. His eyes were open and alert, and he was eyeing the speakers with the wariness of a man who knew nothing good could come of a mid-flight announcement dripping with that much tension.

“Folks, I apologize, but it seems we’ve developed a small problem with one of our fuel couplings, and will be making an unscheduled landing in Tucson,” continued the captain. “It’s nothing to be alarmed about, and you’ll be compensated for your time with a drink on us as soon as we’re back in the air. We expect to be on the ground for thirty minutes tops while our engineering team does a quick but thorough repair, and then it’s back in the air and on to Seattle.”