The students under the spell stared obediently at Mrs. Bourg. "Notice that being in the present is okay," Mrs. Bourg said. "No matter how much emotion you experience, it pa.s.ses. And fairly soon you pa.s.s to that future you worried about. To worry about the future incessantly destroys being in the present. It is wasted thought energy. To think about the future creates the emotion of anxiety. To think of the past creates the emotion of depression. So stay present, always. Concentrate on the task at hand."

Strange, Kaila thought, her mother with her yoga and meditation said similar things. She had dismissed her mother as an eccentric old hippie.

Jordyn's whole being radiated a tangible power. Kaila could feel all of him, as if obscuring storm clouds had evaporated, opening a channel of clear sky. His energy emanated outward like heat from a burning star-and she realized he radiated out to her, for her and her alone.

Overcome, she averted her gaze. Don't look away, his mind entreated. His hip and arm touched hers. But she could not meet his eyes. She wished the moment would hang in eternity. Yet, now, basking in this incredible silent communion, she grew shy, afraid to yield completely to his alluring and foreign power. Why was she so bold one moment, then so meek another? She toed the white floor with her black shoe. She wished she had the confidence of these people.

You do already. She peeped at Jordyn. He was smiling. Kaila looked down, embarra.s.sed he'd seen her insecurity. He took her hand and squeezed.

"Enough," said Mrs. Bourg. "We do not need to get to the star today. Today's lesson was mind potential. Kaila, you did well. You got interrupted with worries; but you realize the importance of staying present and having a clear focused mind, don't you?"

"Yes, ma'am," Kaila said.

"Do you think you could guide this ship to that star?" she prompted.

Kaila looked at the blinking red, green, and white lights. In reply, the ship moved. Glided at hypers.p.a.ce toward the star.

Jordyn, Lucius, Viktor, Antonia, Echidna, Toby, turned their heads simultaneously, one unit.

The ship shot through s.p.a.ce.

In another moment, they had blasted through a wormhole. The ship hovered above an alien planet.

"We have just traveled thirty-nine light years from Earth to the Zeta Reticuli binary star system," Mrs. Bourg stated, "Yet we'll make it back for after-school extracurricular activities. In another cla.s.s, we may visit Draco and Orion. Who knows how we travel through s.p.a.ce so fast?"

Douglas raised his hand. From his hypnotized state, he spoke mechanically. "When you collapse s.p.a.ce, say you have a drawing of Point A at the left end of the paper and Point B on the right end of the paper. When you fold the paper in half and Point A meets Point B you create a wormhole. Add to this heightened electromagnetic energy and you form a dimensional portal that you can travel through anywhere in the universe."

All six hybrids turned to consider Douglas. Suddenly he was not the nerd in the dumpster.

"I am proud of you Douglas," Mrs. Bourg said. "Come to the controls. Let your mind guide the ship back to school."

Douglas went to the controls, c.o.c.ked his head, and squinted through thick gla.s.ses. Then, the ship began to move.

Kaila felt a powerful precognition that Douglas was being groomed for a future mission.

"Stay present," Jordyn said, squeezing her hand.

But glimpses of the future fell into her mind like meteors dropping from the skies. "Oh my G.o.d," Kaila said.

Viktor approached, his blue eyes glinting like lightning. "Never say that," he said.

"What?" Kaila asked.

"Go aside," Jordyn said to Viktor.

"I will not be commanded by you," Viktor replied. He sidled next to Kaila. "Look at you with your sweaty hair, your pumped up shoes." He regarded her with alien eyes. "We are in the middle of s.p.a.ce. Total darkness." He pushed his face to hers. "Where is your G.o.d now?"

Kaila's mind lapsed into another reality-a slip, a blasting through another time and place, a wormhole as Douglas had called it.

"All I said," Kaila said, hearing her words from far away, "was oh my G.o.d."

The ship vibrated.

"There is nothing out here, or anywhere," he replied. "That is your controlling lie."

Kaila became aware of a thickness invading the ship. There was another alien force in here-something she hadn't yet experienced.

She was wide open as the heavens and she detected a growing, unseen presence, sure as the barometer dropping before a storm. It wasn't quite here . . . she closed her eyes. It was nearby. She ran to the interior of the ship.

The room was circular and empty, the light white with no identifiable source. Yet here an unseen force cl.u.s.tered. It was thick and dark the way gray clouds gather and hang before culminating in thunder and lightning.

Then Kaila grew aware of this force becoming filmy and transparent, yet large and dark, maybe nine feet tall, a shadow that appeared reptilian. It had red glowing eyes, the pupils slit like a snake's. It hovered over her. She couldn't make sense of it-the presence was here above her, yet this pit in its shadows was like the brain of a creature, reaching, spanning, invading the entire ship.

It was everywhere.

Kaila felt it creeping inside of her mind. She grew so frightened, she could not move.

She trembled, panting, unable to decipher the creature. It defied conventional reality. It was a shadow, dark and pervading, but seemed as if it wasn't even truly here . . . merely a projection of its potential horror. She inhaled an acrid odor, something like burning sulphur.

Kaila was aware that the presence inspected and inhaled her. As if it knew everything about her down to her atoms and the s.p.a.ces inside the atoms. It traveled inside her, through her, into the reaches of the s.p.a.ce and eternity between those atoms, gleaning her essence in entirety.

She grew dizzy, her thoughts whirling like black oil down a galactic drain.

Its immense power sucked her being and mind down inside of it, yet occurring in another physical reality. She chilled with horror realizing that it was actually feeding on her fear.

She heard a low hiss and rumble, again emanating from another heretofore unknown reality. As she was sapped of strength, her knees softened; she could barely stand. In a moment, she would sink to the floor.

Kaila staggered from the room and limped toward the front of the ship. She felt faint and thirsty as if it had drained her life force. Woozily, she wrapped the plastic on her head and yanked the blond wig back on.

"You will not have me," she stammered.

She drew a breath, summoning strength. Be d.a.m.ned, nothing ever would have her. Never. "You will not have me!"

"Kaila," Jordyn said, reaching for her. "Don't let your mind go crazy."

She thought, I am not crazy. In that moment, she wondered what had control of the hive. The hive submerged her mind, she knew, but she realized now that there was something else beyond them.

She floated in a dream, yet begged, please, let me remember. She knew she was affected, but there was something beyond, controlling them.

She needed help. She needed answers. She folded her hands, bowed her head. "Protect me," she prayed.

Mrs. Bourg shrieked, "Hive, to Earth. Now! Go!"

Mind-split.

They were on Earth, in the cla.s.sroom, everyone seated at their desks.

They had a lesson on wormholes, hypers.p.a.ce, and s.p.a.ce travel with hand-written notes to prove it.

It was two-fifteen.

"When is your party?" Jordyn asked.

Kaila tried to remember something. But she couldn't think of it. She had had an interesting cla.s.s theorizing on wormholes and hypers.p.a.ce. Einstein had been right about the reality of four-dimensional s.p.a.ce time. Tesla had been a genius.

The party. Yes.

"I'll send you an invitation," she murmured.

Viktor, behind Jordyn, said, "We love an invitation."

"Open the gates," Lucius mocked.

Jordyn directed his huge black eyes at them. Not another word was said.

As the bell rang, Kaila wondered what was real, what was not. She had just lost an hour and a half of conscious time, she was certain. And she had come away with something she couldn't quite remember. But she had tons of notes on wormholes and hypers.p.a.ce.

Douglas Lafarge hitched his backpack on his shoulders.

"Good cla.s.s," he said to Kaila.

Viktor approached Douglas, tapped his shoulder. "Good cla.s.s."

Kaila noted the way Viktor devoured Douglas with his eyes. But on another level, she was glad to see Douglas not in the dumpster, instead earning respect. She wondered what these aliens would do to bullies like Derek Mendoza and Wade Stoops.

Kaila walked through the hall, gripping her backpack straps in front of her shoulders. She wanted to get on the bus, go home, regroup, eat, and then see Melissa and Pia.

She needed to talk to someone about all this or she would end up in a wacko ward.

"Here she comes!" Wade leered at Kaila.

Instinctively, she grew guarded. Wade was a large boy, a linebacker on the football team, with huge shoulders and muscular arms. He had a buzz cut and a ruddy complexion.

He peered at her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, his eyes slit like a frog's. He stood with Derek, Brandy, and Tara. Brandy whispered in Wade's ear.

"C'mere," Wade said, grabbing Kaila's arm.

"Let go of me!" Kaila cried.

She hated his energy, didn't want him near her let alone touching her.

"What, you too good for me?" he asked, jerking her closer. "You're a hick. I saw you yesterday. And now you're trying to be a prep." He pushed his wide face close. "So. What are you, little poser?"

Kaila wanted to shrink back, but his arms were twice as wide as hers and he held her fast. He loomed over her, his narrowed eyes displaying such calculated malice, she grew terrified of what might come next.

Wade clamped Kaila's left wrist with both hands. His eyes widened in astonishment. He turned to Brandy and Tara and nodded. "Whoa, you all were right. Hey Derek, check this out."

Derek examined Kaila's four-fingered hand. Wade firmly gripped her wrist as she struggled to free herself.

"Stop it! Please, let me go!" Kaila shrieked, realizing her worst fear.

"Looks like we got a claw monster here," Derek p.r.o.nounced.

Several students stopped to look.

Kaila panicked, cherry bombs of embarra.s.sment exploding. She tried to yank her hand away, but Wade held it fast.

"Look at the claw monster!" he shouted, holding up Kaila's four-fingered hand like the torch in the Statue of Liberty, for the whole world to see.

Chapter 6.

Wade humiliated Kaila in front of the whole school-everyone snickering, pointing, and jeering. Brandy and Tara giggled, collapsing against each other, pleased with the outcome of their private joke.

Kaila's mind split in panic. Help, she called out. Help me! She yanked her wrist, trying to free her hand, all the while conscious that her lifted arm raised her pink blouse so her midriff was revealed. Wade restrained her wrist like a manacle. Help me!

Instantly, Jordyn appeared by her side.

"What are you doing?" Jordyn shouted, as he quickly a.s.sessed Wade holding up Kaila's hand and everyone laughing. His hazel eyes turned to solid black.

"Oh my G.o.d," someone said, seeing Jordyn's eyes.

"Shut up!" Jordyn commanded. "All of you. Animals!"

Wade released Kaila. "I never liked you alien freaks," he said. "Skinny, spineless-wearing those gay p.u.s.s.y suits."

Jordyn's eyes went wider and blacker.

Wade blanched, clearly taken aback. He snarled as he pulled back his fist to swing.

Before Wade could punch, Jordyn thrust his head forward, slamming an invisible force at Wade who went flying into the air, his back crashing against the wall.

As Wade crumpled to the floor, Jordyn leaned over him, saying, "May you have your worse nightmare."

Jordyn stared at Wade, commanding, "Look at me. Look at me!"

Wade could not look away from Jordyn's entrancing eyes. A moment pa.s.sed. Then Wade held his ears and screamed. His scream was so shrill, penetrating, and filled with terror that all the students backed away.

"Cry like a baby," Jordyn said. "You think you are so strong, but you are sc.u.m."

Wade squeezed his eyelids shut, his face twisted in agony.