Fast as Six is, she isn’t faster than this thing. The centipede draws even with her and then jerks sideways. Its back half—the tail—pivots upwards, the bulk of it towering over Six for a moment before crashing down.

Six throws herself to the side just in time to avoid being crushed. Chunks of ground spray out from where the tail landed and made a huge indentation in the ground. Six is quickly back on her feet, driving her sword into the centipede’s body. It hardly seems to notice, its twisting body recoiling with enough speed to jerk the sword out of Six’s hands.

“How are we supposed to kill that thing?” Five asks, taking a step back.

My mind races for an answer. What advantages do we have over this one-eyed worm thing? It’s fast, but bulky and confined to the ground. . . .

“You can fly, right?” I ask Five.

“How’d you know that?” he asks, his eyes locked on the beast. “Yeah, I can.”

“Pick me up,” I tell him. “We need to stay above this thing.”

As the centipede rounds on Six again, I see Bernie Kosar leap onto its back. He’s back in panther form, digging his claws deep through the monster’s hide. With an annoyed squeal, the centipede rolls through the dirt, forcing BK to jump off or be crushed beneath its bulk. The distraction is enough for Six to create some distance between her and the beast. She turns invisible.

“It’ll be easier if you’re on my back,” Five says, kneeling down in front of me.

I’d feel goofy hopping on Five’s back piggyback style if it wasn’t a life-or-death situation. As soon as I’m on, Five shoots into the air. It isn’t like the shaky levitation we can all manage using our telekinesis; he’s fast, precise, in control. Five gets us about thirty feet in the air, right above the centipede. I start bombarding the creature with fireballs, tossing them down as fast I can generate them. Charred sores open up on its back, a horrible stink rising up in the air.

“Disgusting,” mutters Five.

The centipede roars in pain, coiling in on itself. Its huge eye sweeps frantically across the battlefield. Its tiny brain can’t really register where the pain is coming from. I keep up the assault, hoping I can kill this thing from above before it even knows what’s happening.

My next fireball flies wide of the beast as Five dips suddenly towards the ground. Jostled, I grab onto the back of his shirt until he’s flying straight again. His shirt is soaked through with sweat.

“You all right?” I ask, shouting to be heard over the rushing wind and the howling centipede.

“Not easy carrying around a flamethrower,” he yells back, trying to joke, but his voice sounds strained.

“Just another minute. Hang in there!”

The centipede’s eye rolls back in its head and up, spotting us. It roars again, this time almost gleefully, and then its body lances upwards, all its tiny arms grasping at the air. Its hideous face shoots towards us, teeth gnashing. Five screams and we zip backwards in the air, the beast swallowing empty space where we used to be.

The sudden change in direction throws me off Five’s back, my hand clutching a ripped piece of his T-shirt. I’m falling.

I’m able to push against the ground enough with my telekinesis to somewhat cushion my landing. If not for that, I probably would’ve broken a leg hitting the ground. Still, the wind is knocked out of me. And, to make matters worse, I hit the ground right in front of the beast.

Distantly, I can hear Six and Sarah shouting at me to run. It’s too late for that. The centipede is just forty yards away, rumbling towards me. Its mouth is wide open, a foul stench emanating from the darkness of its gullet.

I brace myself and ignite my Lumen all over my body. If this thing wants to make a meal out of me, I’m going to make sure I burn going down. As long as I can jump past those rows of teeth, I can probably burn my way right through the thing. Getting swallowed by a Mogadorian centipede isn’t my best plan, admittedly, but in the seconds I have before it’s right on top of me, it’s the best I can come up with.

As it gets closer, I see a red dot reflected in the centipede’s eye, like the beam from a laser pointer. Where is that coming from?

A single gunshot explodes from somewhere behind me.

The monster’s eye explodes. It’s just a few yards from me, and I’m splashed with foul-smelling eye goop. It shrieks and rears up, forgetting all about me. I use the opportunity to backpedal, lobbing fireballs at the creature’s underbelly as I go. The beast starts convulsing, its tail thrashing with enough force to make the ground under my feet shake. After one last, massive spasm, the centipede collapses into the dirt and begins to slowly disintegrate.

Five lands next to me, both of his hands on top of his head. “Dude, I am so sorry I dropped you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I reply distractedly, pushing him aside and spinning towards the Monster Mart. No one with us was packing a sniper rifle. Where did the shot come from?

Six and Sarah rush towards a tall middle-aged man with a beard as he climbs down from the top of a beat-up old car. He’s holding a rifle with a laser scope. At first I think maybe he’s just a Good Samaritan—who wouldn’t shoot a giant worm creature if it was rampaging through their neighborhood? Then again, there’s something about him that seems really familiar.

And then I notice someone else standing next to the car. He’s helping the older man down from his sniper’s position. When Six gets near she almost tackles him with a hug. My jaw drops and I immediately break into a run.

It’s Sam.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

SIX HUGS ME SO HARD THAT I ALMOST FALL over. Her arms are wrapped around my neck, and my hands are splayed across her back. The back of her shirt is sweaty from the battle the Garde just fought, but I don’t mind that at all. I’m more focused on the way her blond hair brushes gently across my cheek. Those daydreams that I occupied myself with back when I was being held prisoner? A lot of them featured a scene just like this one.

“Sam,” Six whispers, stunned, holding on to me like I might disappear, “you’re here.”

I squeeze her tighter in response. We hold on to each other for longer than is probably appropriate with everyone else around. Next to me, I hear my dad clear his throat.

“Hey, Six, why don’t you let someone else have a turn?”

It’s Sarah, sidling up next to us. Six lets me go, suddenly looking sheepish. I’m not sure I can remember seeing her tough exterior crack that much. I feel a blush creeping up my own cheeks. I’m glad it’s dark out here.

“Hi, Sam,” Sarah says, hugging me too.

“Hey,” I reply. “Fancy meeting you here. It’s a long way from Paradise.”

“No kidding,” Sarah replies.

Over Sarah’s shoulder, I watch John jog over to us. He’s joined by a stocky brown-haired guy who I assume is the Number Five who posted that message online. It’s what brought Dad and me to Arkansas, his internet-scanning program having picked up the news story. We drove nonstop from Texas to make it here in time for the end of the battle.

While Five lingers at the back of the group looking nervous to be meeting so many new people, John strides right towards me. A grin splits my face—it’s more than just being united with my best friend, it’s the feeling that we’re going to be part of something great together. We’re going to save the world.

John grins back at me, clearly excited that I’m here, yet there’s something in his eyes that I can’t really decipher. He clasps my hand tightly.

“Just answer me one question,” John says abruptly, not letting go of my hand. “Do you remember that day in your room, when you first thought I might be an alien?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“What did you do?”

I squint at John, not really sure why he’s asking me this. I glance back at my dad, who is watching this exchange curiously, waiting for me to introduce him to the Loric. “Um, I pulled a gun on you. Is that what you mean?”

“Oh, Samuel,” my dad mutters reproachfully, but John grins at my response. Immediately, he pulls me into a hug.

“Sorry about that, Sam. I just had to make sure you weren’t Setrákus Ra in disguise,” John explains. “You have no idea how good it is to see you.”

“Same here,” I reply. “I’ve really missed having to fight giant worm creatures.”

John chuckles, taking a step back from me.

Five tentatively raises his hand, stepping forward. “I’m lost. Setrákus Ra can shape shift?”

That’s news to me too. I find myself subconsciously touching the burns on my wrists. I know firsthand the kind of evil Setrákus Ra is capable of. “How do you know that? Did you go up against him?”

John nods solemnly, glancing in Five’s direction. “Yeah. I’d call it a draw. I’ll bring you both up to speed, but first . . .” John’s gaze moves to my dad. “Sam, is this who I think it is?”

My smile grows again. It feels like I’ve been waiting years to introduce my friends to my dad. “Guys,” I say, pride in my voice, “this is my father, Malcolm. I can confirm that he’s definitely not Setrákus Ra either, if you’re worried about that.”

My dad steps forward, shaking hands with each of the Garde and Sarah.

“Thanks for the help out there,” John says, motioning to my dad’s rifle. “Glad you brought some hardware.”

“Looked like you had it under control,” my dad tells John. “I’ve just wanted to shoot something Mogadorian for a very long time.”

“Under control,” chuckles Six, shaking her head. “Looked to me like you were about to get swallowed, John.”

“So, it wasn’t my best plan.” John shrugs, smiling. Sarah pats him on the back encouragingly.

Five is studying my dad and me. “You’re not Loric,” he says matter-of-factly, like he’s just put it together. “I thought for sure you must be a Cêpan, being so old and all.”

My dad chuckles. “Sorry to disappoint. Just an old human, hoping to help.”

Five turns to look at John, nodding. “You’ve got a real army here.”

Six and I exchange a look. I’m not really sure if this new guy is being sarcastic or if he’s really just kind of dense. Judging by her face, Six isn’t sure either.

“There’s the six of us here, and four waiting for us back in Chicago,” John says patiently. “I don’t think ten people really qualifies us for army status, but thanks.”

“I guess not,” mumbles Five.

“I want to hear everything about how you guys found each other,” John says. He looks at my dad almost cautiously, like he just knocked on our family’s door and asked if I could come out and play alien invasion. “First, Mr. Goode, I just want you to know that I never meant for Sam to get wrapped up in all this. I’m sorry I’ve put him in danger, but I don’t think we would’ve made it this far without him.”