Author's Note
Before you read my book, there are a few points that I must make clear:
1 This book is not finished! Names are not final, and titles such as INSERTHOSTAGEBUILDING are certainly not going to be in the final edition.
2 Formatting is iffy. Please bear with me through this preliminary draft.
3 I will be working on this for the foreseeable future.
4 Do not feel obliged to make corrections on my behalf. Simply reading this through and possibly bringing any plot holes to light already greatly puts me in your debt.
And lastly,
Thank you!
Metrodorus of Chios
"To consider the Earth as the only populated world in infinite space is as absurd as to assert that in an entire field of millet, only one grain will grow."
Prologue
8-14-2000, 4:17, EDT Earth Time
A ship soars by many of Earth’s satellites. It is elegantly designed, and even after fifteen light years of travel, it is scratch-less. As it passes the man made machines, it disturbs the electric patterns. Their cameras stop filming for just a second, allowing the craft to pass by undetected. The directors on Earth pass off the blame of the disturbance to a conveniently timed shock wave from the sun, which has also resulted in the appearance of the northern lights. The view from space is stunning, ribbons of coursing light dancing across the atmosphere of the blue planet. The lights are in sync with the Perseid meteor shower, making the view from Earth stunning.
An observer in space would notice the ship stop for a second, as if to admire the view. But then suddenly, it lurches forward. Something’s wrong. It swings wildly, shuddering like it was capable of fear. The tip of the craft tilts downwards, towards the Earth. If there were air in space, the resulting outburst would have been loud enough to cause permanent hearing loss. Instead, the explosion is silent. It starts at the tail of the craft, which had been modeled to look like a barbed tail. The path of destruction works its way to the middle, where the tail meets the bulk. Security doors close there, and the head of the spaceship is unharmed. Left with no engines, the ship halts for a few seconds, riding off the little momentum it has left, and then succumbs to Earth’s gravity, heading straight for North America.
This was the beginning.
Part 1
Sic Parvis Magna
~Sir Francis Drake
Hunter
The door was open. Why in the world would it be open? Beatrice and Robert weren’t supposed to be back until seven, and it was only three. Someone was inside our house. My mind went into panic mode and quickly went over my options. I could call the police. I took out my phone and dialed 911. But what if Robert had just worked from home today and left the door by accident? How awkward would that be?
No, it was better to check it out myself, but keep a finger on the call button. With my right hand holding my cellphone, I carefully pushed the door open further with my left. Five years of coming and going through this door, and I had learned exactly where it began to squeak. I stopped pushing right before it could announce my arrival. I could then barely squeeze through the crack.
The house was quiet. There was no way that Robert had been working from home. He constantly has online meetings, and speaks really loudly. I crouched down low and untied my shoes. They would be too noisy. Immediately I began to suspect what was actually happening.
The way the house is formatted, after you come in through the front door, you can take one of three paths. You can turn left to the dining room, or right to the living room, which then branches off into a studio which Beatrice uses to paint in. Going directly forward, past the staircase, will put you into the kitchen. From there, there are extra hallways which again lead to both the dining room and the living room. On a blueprint, the design of the first floor would look a bit like a club from a deck of cards. I figured that if there were intruders in the house, they would be taking stuff from the dining room, where the porcelain is displayed, or the living room, where many of our electronic devices are. It wasn’t likely that they had broken into our house just to steal our sandwiches.
Following this chain of logic, I crept into our kitchen, then ducked low and peeked into the living room. I was right. There were people in the house, and they were doing exactly what I had thought that they were doing.
Lucas
Digital journal, 11:11 AEST
Well, today sucked. My dad’s boss wants him back in the States again because their senior software developer has been missing for a week now, so our trip to Australia has been cut short. Again.
Okay, I’m probably being a little ungrateful.
Fine, I'm being really ungrateful.
But the thing with being homeschooled is that you at least get to spend more time with your parent, or parents if you’re lucky enough to have both. My dad’s business trips means that I get to discover new places, make new memories, and then come back to the hotel and get to spend time with him. But when we’re back home in Boston, he’s at work until nine, and instead of exploring, I find myself at my computer, doing homework (what other kind of work would it be if you’re homeschooled?) or playing video games alone.
If anyone ever reads this journal, if they play video games, I swear they’ll hate me forever.
I mean, video games are fine, but you really can’t replace your family with them, especially if your dad is your only family. Video games offer an escape from life, but sometimes life is the last thing you want to escape from.
Oh, and not to mention, it’s my birthday, and I’ll be spending the rest of it on a plane. Sometimes I wish my life wasn’t so dull.
Oop, I’m boarding in a few minutes. I gotta go. Bye kangaroos... ;(
Hunter
So, they weren’t the bandits that you would probably expect them to be. Five of my closest friends were crowded behind a couch, whispering to each other. Seeing this, I figured that Beatrice and Robert were hiding in the dining room somewhere. I went back to the kitchen and peeked into the dining room. Yep. Beatrice and Robert were hiding behind the wall close to the front door. They had been waiting for me to walk in, but they hadn’t heard anything.
So, I stealthily tiptoed up to them, and, because they hadn’t thought that I had even entered the house yet, they didn’t notice me standing right next to them.
Beatrice tapped Robert’s shoulder and asked, “Why is it taking him so long?”
“I don’t know, honey.” Robert replied. “It’s possible Tony saw the wrong person?”
I smiled, and then whispered, “Or maybe Hunter's already inside.”
