Earth: Population 2 (Paradise Lost Book 1) by Aubrie Dionne Page A

head.
    They hissed in unison, their wispy white hair blowing in the wind. My target was almost bald, with teeth longer and blacker than the others. Its unblinking oval eyes stared at me as though I was an ant waiting to be squashed.
    I held my ground. “Tell me where my people are, and I’ll let you live.”
    The one on the hood crept toward me, and I pointed the gun in its direction. They’d called my bluff. I used to capture spiders in cups and release them outside so I didn’t have to watch them die. Did I have the guts to fire on a living creature?
    Spiders hadn’t taken my mom away. They didn’t plan world annihilation. These creatures did.
    One of them lunged at me from the hood of the car. The moment slowed, and I watched the alien soar through the air, pointy fingers spread. A gut reaction tightened my finger on the trigger. The gun fired, and I stumbled back with the recoil. The alien fell at my feet, oozing clear, gelatinous fluid.
    My hands shook. I’d just killed something. The reality of my actions hollowed my stomach and dizzied my mind.
    Despite the ravaging guilt, I managed to keep my balance and lift the gun toward the other two. I gritted my teeth. “Now, tell me where the others are.”
    They hunched in silence. No horror, sadness, or anger filled their abysmal gaze. The Sparkies in the gun shop had run, but these two held their ground. Would I have to shoot them as well, to get to the car?
    Suddenly, movement to my right caught my eye then their plan came together like the end of a detective show. They’d held their ground as another one crept toward me.
    Smart. Too smart.
    As I whirled around to face the Sparkie, its tail whipped out, stinging me in the leg. A painful current of electricity zapped my calf, and I cried out. Before I could recover, the tail hit me again in the back. I fell to the ground, jerking uncontrollably, and the gun slipped from my fingers.
    This is it. Some hero I was.
    They circled me, holding their tails in the air like cattle prods. I reached for the handgun at my waist, and Baldie zapped my arm. I cried out again, holding it close to my chest. I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of knowing they hurt me, but every zap stung so hard it felt like my tendons tore apart from the inside out.
    The shotgun had fallen out of reach below their elongated feet. I eyed the handgun at my waist, wondering if they’d see me reaching for it. The other one was in my backpack, still strapped to my back. Panic seized my chest, squeezing out my courage.
    Baldie reached down to his stomach and pulled something from the folds of his skin. I cringed, thinking it was another torture device. When I opened my eyes again, he held a rock similar to the one in my backpack.
    He hissed then clicked his teeth together. Behind him, his tail emitted static pulses as if threatening me.
    They wanted the rock.
    What the hell was I going to do? I’d just shot one of them. If I gave it to them, they’d kill me. But, if I didn’t, they’d keep stinging me. In some silly part of my brain, I heard a voice. What would Captain Jay Dovetail do ?
    He’d endure the pain until he could find a way out of it. But there was no way out of this for me. Another Sparkie held its tail over my face, and I flinched, wondering how much the electric current would hurt if the tail stabbed my eye. One of the suction cups dripped, and a pearl of ooze fell on my cheek, traveling down the contour to my neck.
    A popping noise came from behind them, and I wondered if one of them had somehow stolen one of my guns. Baldie and his friend went down. The third one—the one who’d zapped me in the first place—stared at me for a second before scampering into the building.
    “What the?”
    A hooded figure darted from the bushes. A human! He ran by me in a blur, chasing the last Sparkie away. His hand closed on my arm, and he pulled me up with surprising strength. “Come on!”
    “No.” I yanked him back, but he didn’t