“All right, let’s do this,” Six says.

Sam offers his hand to her a little too enthusiastically. I stifle a laugh.

“What?” he asks.

I shake my head. “Nothing. I’ll follow you as best I can, but don’t get too far ahead.”

“Just cough if you can’t follow and we’ll stop. The truck is only a few minutes’ walk from here, behind the abandoned barn,” Six says. “Can’t miss it.”

As the door flings open, Sam and Six disappear.

“That’s our cue, BK. Just the two of us now.”

He follows me out, trotting happily with his tongue dangling. Aside from quick bathroom trips to the small plot of grass beside the motel, Bernie Kosar’s been cooped up like the rest of us.

The night air is cool and fresh, carrying a scent of pine, and the wind on my face brings me instantly back to life. As I walk I close my eyes and try to sense Six by combing the air with my mind, reaching out and feeling the landscape with telekinesis, the same way I was able to stop the speeding bullet in Athens by grabbing everything in the air. I feel them, a few feet ahead of me and slightly to the right. I give Six a nudge and she startles, her breath catching in her throat. Three seconds later she shoulders into me, nearly causing me to fall. I laugh. And so does she.

“What are you guys doing?” Sam asks. He’s annoyed with our little game. “We’re supposed to be quiet, remember?”

We make it to the truck, which is parked behind a dilapidated old barn that looks as though it’s ready to collapse. Six releases Sam’s hand and he climbs into the middle of the cab. Six jumps behind the wheel, and I slide in next to Sam with BK at my feet.

“Holy crap, dude, what happened to your hair?” I goad Sam.

“Shut up.”

Six starts the truck and I smile as she steers us onto the road, flicking on the headlights when the wheels touch the asphalt.

“What?” Sam asks.

“I was just thinking that, out of the four of us, three are aliens, two are fugitives with terrorist ties, and not a single one of us has a valid driver’s license. Something tells me things might get interesting.”

Even Six can’t help but smile at this.

Chapter Four

Chapter Four