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  I grabbed my camera and locked my bedroom door. Then I climbed out the window and onto the trellis.

  Halfway down the trellis, I remembered Rikki’s frightening eyes and voice at the rink. I almost climbed right back into my room.

  No, I told myself. Swallow your fear. You’ve got to do this. You’ve got to save the town. You’ve got to save your friends.

  I jumped quietly onto the grass. Then I climbed on my bike and rode to Rikki’s house.

  Rikki’s house was a small one-story ranch house at the edge of an older development. Her neighborhood had been built across the woods from mine. It was kind of run-down.

  Luckily, there were a lot of trees and bushes around, and a lot of cars parked in the street, so I had plenty of places to hide. I left my bike behind a hedge and crouched beside a white van to watch Rikki’s house.

  A man in a dirty white T-shirt came out of the house. He had long sideburns and his belly stuck out over the top of his jeans.

  That must be her father, I thought.

  He grabbed a garden hose and turned on the water. He stood in the yard for a few minutes, watering some plants near the house.

  Then Rikki appeared. She wasn’t dressed as strangely as usual—just jeans, a flannel shirt, and white sneakers.

  I watched her walk around to the side of the house. What’s she going to do back there? I wondered.

  A few seconds later she returned, walking a girl’s bike with a banana seat. She jumped on her bike, waved to her father, and pedaled off down the street.

  Perfect, I thought. Now I’ll see what she’s up to.

  I hurried to my bike and followed after her, careful to keep a safe distance away. She headed toward town.

  She pedaled down Main Street and stopped in front of a row of shops. She chained her bike to a parking meter and went inside the grocery store.

  I locked my bike a block away. I crept up to the grocery store and stared through the window. What was she buying? What did aliens eat, anyway?

  A few minutes later, she came out of the grocery store with a plastic bag in her hand. I pressed myself flat against the wall. She didn’t notice me.

  She turned left and headed down the street. Very carefully, I followed her, keeping about a block behind her. She ducked into a plant shop.

  Interesting, I thought. What does she need from the plant store?

  I crept up to the shop door. I could see her inside, talking to the clerk. The clerk nodded and walked into a room behind the shop.

  Rikki waited until he was out of sight. Then she reached into a bag of fertilizer.

  She grabbed a handful of it and stuffed it into her mouth.

  Oh, wow! I thought. She’s eating fertilizer!

  Is that what the aliens eat?

  Hungrily, she reached into the bag for another handful.

  I raised my camera to the window to snap a picture.

  At that moment, she turned toward the window.

  I tried to duck down. Too late.

  Did she see me?

  Her eyes flared, bright blue again. A blinding flash of blue, bright as laser light.

  Did she see me?

  Did she?

  18

  My heart thudding in my chest, I hurried around the corner and plastered myself against the wall of the building.

  I heard the front door of the plant store open and shut. I peeked around the corner.

  Rikki came out of the store carrying a small bag of fertilizer. She glanced to the left and the right. I shrank back against the wall.

  And waited.

  Waited holding my breath.

  Finally, I let my breath out in a long whoosh. I peered around the corner again.

  Rikki was unlocking her bike. She mounted it and rode away down the street.

  Whew, I thought. That was a close one.

  “What are you doing?” a voice called sharply.

  I whirled around. Summer and Jeff were standing behind me, eating ice cream cones.

  “Oh, wow. I’m so glad to see you two!” I cried breathlessly. “You guys—you have to listen to me. It’s not about warning signs and musical rocks anymore. This is real. The aliens are here! You’ve got to help me! They’re invading the planet. They’re going to take over everything!”

  Jeff glanced at his sister. “Should we say something?”

  Summer nodded. “You’re getting too weird, Ben,” she said. “I’m so sick of hearing about aliens, I could scream. I can’t take it anymore.”

  “No, please—” I turned to Jeff.

  “You’ll help me, right, Jeff?” I asked. “You believe me, don’t you?”

  Jeff shook his head. “I’m sorry, Ben,” he said. “I’ve got to agree with Summer. I’m tired of talking about aliens. It’s not right. You need help. Really.”

  “No!” I cried. “You don’t understand! If you’d only listen to me—”

  Summer shook her head. “Give it a rest, Ben. Call us when you get over your alien thing.”

  They turned and walked away down the street, licking their ice cream cones.

  I couldn’t believe it. My last two friends. The only two people who had stuck up for me all along. And now they were telling me to forget all about it.

  What’s going on? I wondered. Everyone is abandoning me! Just when I need help the most.

  Well, they’ll be sorry they ever doubted me, I thought. All I need is a picture of Rikki eating fertilizer or doing something weird. If I can show them that, they’ll change their minds. They’ve got to.

  But for now I’m on my own. I’ve got to prove that aliens are here.

  And I’ve got to do it alone.

  I stared at the people I passed as I rode my bike home. If the aliens are invading, any one of them could be possessed, I realized. And I wouldn’t know it.

  No one would know it.

  I passed a man sitting in his yard, pulling up clumps of grass. Was he eating the grass?

  I blinked.

  Did I just see him eat a handful of grass?

  A car pulled up next to me when I stopped for a red light. A little girl in the backseat pressed her face against the window and glared at me. Then her eyes changed just as Rikki’s had! They grew big and bright and flashed bright blue!

  I almost fell off my bike. The girl laughed at me as the light changed and the car pulled away.

  Did that just happen? I wondered. Was it real, or did I imagine it?

  No. It was real.

  These things I’m seeing—they’re all real.

  The aliens are invading, I realized.

  And they’re everywhere.

  19

  On Sunday, my parents took Will to a hockey game. I sneaked out of the house once again.

  I rode my bike around town. The farther I rode, the more terrified I became.

  I saw people sitting on their front lawns, eating clumps of grass and dirt. People on the street gazed at me with flashing blue eyes.

  A group of kids hissed at me as I rode by. They hissed and giggled and rolled on their backs in a puddle of wet mud.

  Finally, my legs were shaking too hard to pedal my bike. I climbed off and walked it home, leaning on it for support.

  The aliens are everywhere, I saw. Everywhere.

  Somehow they have possessed nearly everyone in town.

  Am I all alone now? Am I truly the only one not possessed?

  I can’t be, I decided. There are still people like me who can be rescued—if they find out the truth in time.

  Who could I talk to? I had no friends left.

  Suddenly, I thought of Ms. Crenshaw. The only teacher who never laughed at me about aliens. The only teacher who encouraged me, who was nice to me.

  Ms. Crenshaw. Was she my last hope?

  On Monday morning, I rode as fast as I could to school. I locked my bike and ran straight to the photography room.

  The lights were out. Ms. Crenshaw must not be in yet, I decided.

  At the back of the classroom, Ms. Cre
nshaw had a big darkroom. I knocked, to make sure she wasn’t in there developing photos.

  No one answered, so I opened the door.

  I flicked on the light.

  “Oh, no!” I cried. “Oh, no!”

  20

  I couldn’t believe my eyes. I blinked to make sure they were working okay.

  I stared at a wall of metal cages. Dozens and dozens of cages.

  And inside the cages…

  …inside them…

  Creatures! Weird-looking creatures! Living creatures!

  What were they?

  I had no idea. But one thing I knew for sure.

  Those creatures were not from Earth.

  Trembling, I stepped into the long room. The metal cages were stacked one on top of the other, lining every wall.

  My eyes moved from cage to cage. Inside each cage sat an egg-shaped thing, covered with fur, about the size of a tennis ball.

  Eggs, I thought. Eggs with thick fur.

  The furry eggs had three blue eyes and small jagged mouths that drooled a greenish slime. They didn’t seem to have any arms or legs.

  My stomach churned. I struggled to breathe.

  What were these things? Were they alien food?

  The furry eggs clapped their mouths open and shut, making tiny squeaking noises. Like baby birds.

  In a corner I spotted a larger, golden cage. The brown egg-shaped thing inside that cage was bigger than the others—a little bigger than a softball.

  It pulsed with energy. Its fur glowed with a strange blue light. It opened its mouth, and I saw bigger, sharper teeth than the others. It drooled a constant flow of blue slime onto the bottom of its cage.

  The pulsing blue light reached out through the cages to the smaller eggs. They all seemed to lean toward it the way plants lean toward the sun.

  Are they feeding on it? I wondered.

  I stood frozen in the darkroom, gazing at these creatures in amazement. For so long, I had wanted to meet an alien. It was my dream, my obsession.

  But now that I was finally staring at alien creatures, I felt only terror.

  I started to back up to the door. Then I gasped when I heard voices outside—in the photography room.

  Who is it?

  I have to hide!

  But where?

  I glanced around the darkroom, searching for a hiding place. I saw a door at the far wall. I yanked open a door—and discovered a small bathroom.

  I heard footsteps. Someone was about to enter the darkroom.

  No time! I squeezed into the bathroom and silently pulled the door, leaving it open just a crack.

  I hid behind the door, peeking through the crack.

  A second later, I recognized Rikki’s voice. “We don’t have much time,” she said. “Come and see for yourselves.”

  Who was she talking to?

  “We’ll do whatever we can to help,” a boy said. That voice sounds very familiar, I thought.

  Rikki walked into the room and sat down. Two other kids followed her.

  At first I couldn’t see them clearly. It seemed to be a boy and a girl. They both had light blond hair.

  “We need a plan,” Rikki said. “We need to work fast.”

  “Ben Shipley should be next,” a girl said. “I’m tired of his spying. He is a big a troublemaker.”

  “Yes, Ben should definitely be next,” the boy agreed.

  I nearly choked. My breath caught in my throat.

  What did they mean? Why were they talking about me? Who were they?

  Then the girl turned toward the bathroom door. And I could see her face clearly.

  Oh, no, I thought.

  Not you. They haven’t gotten to you, too!

  Sitting next to Rikki I saw Summer and Jeff.

  21

  Summer walked along the room, studying the weird, egg-shaped things in their cages.

  “They look weak,” she said.

  Rikki nodded. “They won’t survive much longer. They need human hosts.”

  My mind spun.

  The egg creatures—they weren’t alien food. They were the aliens!

  But they needed to be inside humans to survive on earth.

  I pressed myself against the door and listened hard.

  I saw Jeff studying the bigger egg in the golden cage. “But what about the leader?”

  “He is keeping the others alive,” Rikki explained. “He is keeping us all alive.”

  “But he cannot continue if the others do not find human hosts,” Summer said. “We have only a day or two to find them hosts.”

  I couldn’t believe it. I felt so dizzy I could barely keep on my feet.

  Summer and Jeff! They were helping Rikki and the aliens! They were possessed by the aliens!

  And all along they’d been telling me I was crazy! Telling me to forget my alien obsession.

  Where is Ms. Crenshaw? I wondered. Does she know that they are using her darkroom to hide the aliens?

  “There are dozens of aliens here,” Jeff said. “How can we find that many hosts so fast?”

  “Think about it,” Rikki said. “That’s why we’re keeping them here at the school. We have hundreds of healthy young host bodies here. We just need to figure out a way to get the aliens inside the students.”

  “Don’t worry, my brothers and sisters,” Summer cooed to the furry eggs. “We won’t let you die. We’ll find a nice host body for every one of you—just like mine.”

  “And mine,” Jeff added.

  “And mine,” Rikki echoed.

  It took all my strength not to scream out at that moment. I wanted to scream. I wanted to run. To push right past them. To leap out into the hall and warn the other kids to escape—before it was too late.

  But before I could move, the darkroom door opened and Ms. Crenshaw walked in.

  Thank goodness, I thought. She’ll see what they are doing. She’ll stop them!

  But no.

  “How are they doing?” Ms. Crenshaw asked.

  “They’re weakening,” Rikki said.

  “We must take care of that quickly,” Ms. Crenshaw said. “We don’t want the mission to fail.”

  22

  Ms. Crenshaw…my last hope. She was an alien, too!

  “We must find host bodies. And we must find The One.” Ms. Crenshaw said.

  The One?

  Who was she talking about? One of the aliens?

  The alien leader?

  Find The One?

  I shut my eyes, my brain spinning.

  The warnings had been true. These egg-shaped aliens had invaded earth. And each one needed a host body.

  Ms. Crenshaw, Rikki, Summer, and Jeff were already host bodies to aliens. And they had a plan. They were going to plant the others inside the kids at school!

  I’ve got to stop them! I thought. I can’t let them get away with this!

  I’ve got to get out of here and warn everyone! I realized.

  But for now I was stuck in the bathroom.

  And that’s when Jeff said the words I dreaded most.

  “My host body ate something sticky for breakfast,” he said. “I’ve got to wash my hands.”

  I backed away from the bathroom door as Jeff moved toward it. There was no place to hide in here. Just a sink and a toilet.

  I flattened myself against the wall behind the door. I knew it was hopeless. If Jeff pushed the door open, it would hit me. He’d have to be an idiot not to notice me.

  I swallowed hard. What if they catch me? What will they do to me?

  Jeff pushed open the door. The bottom of the door bumped against my sneakers and bounced back at Jeff.

  He peeked around the door.

  He saw me.

  I was trapped.

  23

  I smiled meekly and gave him a little wave.

  He wasn’t happy to see me.

  “Ben!” he growled. He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me out of the bathroom.

  “He’s been spying on us!” Jeff cried.
/>   Rikki glared at me. “You pain! I warned you to stay away! What are you doing here?”

  “Summer!” I cried. “You’re not really one of them—are you?”

  Summer nodded. “Don’t be afraid. It is your fate.”

  I tried to back away, but there was no room.

  “Don’t be afraid,” Ms. Crenshaw repeated. “It doesn’t take long.”

  “One day, all earthlings will host our kind,” Rikki said. “You are powerless against me.”

  “You’ll never get away with this!” I cried. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to stop you!”

  “Oh, no, you won’t,” Rikki said. “Because you’re next.”

  I started to run for the door.

  Rikki and Jeff grabbed me. Rikki pushed me into a chair. She, Jeff, and Ms. Crenshaw kept me pinned there while I squirmed.

  Summer opened one of the cages. She carefully took out a round, furry alien.

  “What are you doing?” I screamed, struggling to get away. “Let me go! Let me out of here!”

  Summer carried the alien to me.

  “How can you do this?” I wailed. “Summer—it’s me! Ben! You’ve known me since first grade! Remember? Remember how we met? At lunchtime?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Summer said. “Now be quiet!”

  She lifted the furry egg toward me.

  It isn’t really Summer, I realized. An alien has taken over her mind and body.

  Jeff reached for my mouth. “Noooo!” I screamed. He pried my jaw open.

  “Okay,” Rikki said to Summer. “Shove it in.”

  I tried to scream. I tried to pull away.

  But they held me tightly in place.

  Summer held the furry egg in front of my face.

  I stared at the green drool running down the creature’s furry front. Its three eyes stared at me, not blinking, not moving.

  The whole creature throbbed excitedly. Its thick fur bristled.

  Then Summer shoved it into my mouth.

  24

  I struggled and squirmed, trying to escape. I tried to clamp my mouth shut, but Jeff held it firmly open.

  I shot my tongue forward, trying to push the horrible creature away.