Abigail had her eyes closed and her palms aimed up toward the sky. I knew she was using her air-thickening trick to hide us. Fiona prowled around ahead of me, her knife twitching in her hand. She was more than a little mental, Gilling had told me quietly while the rest gathered. When he’d found her, she’d killed her own parents by accident, slashing at the air. He’d taken her in and taught her to control her object. I thought it was a clear testament to the power of these objects upon the human mind that she had refused to give it up even after the knife had brought her so much grief.
As Abigail’s shield began to take hold, Old Red finally stepped out of the rip. He was a cagey one; I had to give him that. He had held back inside the safe zone to see if we all died first. He stepped up to my side, his head swiveling this way and that. His hunter’s cap remained firmly planted on his head.
“Don’t pull anything out of your hat,” I told him. “I might need every bullet.”
Old Red gave a raspy chuckle. “Don’t worry, bud.”
“Someone’s coming,” Fiona said.
My head whipped around. Behind us, a single light shone. The light was bluish in color and very bright. It was moving toward us—moving fast.
“They saw us,” Old Red said. “Let’s go home.”
I hesitated, staring at the approaching light. It was like the brilliant eye of a cyclops. Some army we were. The first time a Gray Man even poked a nose in our direction, my “combat team” wanted to run for it. The worst of it was I wanted to run too.
“We can take them,” Fiona said.
“How did they see us? Abigail? Is your little trick working?”
She didn’t look at me, but pointed upward. I did and saw the wavering stars. It was the same effect I’d seen back home.
“I bet they saw the rip when it first flared up,” Old Red said. “Gilling made it a big one.”
“They’re slowing down,” Fiona said. “They can’t see us now. If we wait, they’ll probably drive right by.”
I thought about it. “Can we close up this rip if we go to the far side and tell Gilling to turn it off?”
“Doesn’t work that way,” Old Red said. “Takes time to die. You’ve seen them, haven’t you?”
I had indeed seen more than my fair share. I decided to wait around. We were supposed to be scouts, after all. “Let’s see what they do. We can always step back out to safety. We have an army on the far side to back us up.”
The others were nervous, but willing to go with my plan. We waited. The enemy vehicle did not make a straight path toward us. Instead, it drifted westward as it drew near.
“See?” Old Red crowed. “They can’t see us. They’re going to sail right by.”
I could tell he wanted very much for that to happen. But it didn’t. When they got close, they suddenly slowed and began to circle. They drove in a full loop around us. I glanced back and saw Old Red was about one foot from backing into the rip. I couldn’t really blame him. He was an old homeless guy who stole coins with his trick hat. He hadn’t signed on for a fight to the death with aliens in a strange desert. He’d probably joined Gilling’s group for the free food.
“Can you thicken the air up enough to stop them?” I asked Abigail.
She shook her head, concentrating on her task. She was doing a good job. The Gray Men clearly didn’t know where we were. But they knew they’d seen something out here. It occurred to me that we couldn’t retreat easily now. Abigail’s barrier would vanish if we ran, and then they would see the big rip. They would come through right into the mansion, and not in the wine cellar this time. The cultists would be in even more danger after that. This was exactly the kind of thing the enemy seemed to be looking for.
“Just hold on, everyone,” I said. “They haven’t spotted us yet.”
I shouldn’t have said those words. The vehicle turned away, then swung around and plowed right into the region of space we were in. The blinding headlight swiveled and bathed us in light.
I could have ordered everyone to step back right then, to retreat. Maybe I should have done it. But I wanted to let these gray bastards know they were in a fight first. I was tired of running like a rat. When leading the living, it’s probably best to think of them rather than the dead, but I couldn’t help it. I thought of Holly, and I wanted revenge.
“Fire!” I ordered. “Knock out that light!”
Everyone opened up. I felt a gush of heat go by me and the van-shaped vehicle rocked with the impact. Here and there the smooth metal vehicle puffed flame and white sparks.
I squeezed off rounds one at time. Fiona worked her knife in the air like a Japanese chef, and Old Red loosed more blasts. The light did go out, and I was never sure afterward which of us nailed it. If I had to guess, I would give the honor to Old Red. Whatever the case, we were cast into gloom again. Several shapes piled out of the vehicle. They were Gray Men, I was sure of that. They didn’t talk or shout. I’d never heard one utter a word up until now, and this occasion wasn’t any different.
They were carrying those big beam weapons of theirs, but they didn’t have a chance to freeze us. Old Red let go first and his next puff caught three of them. They were staggering, burning. Like inhuman torches, they clawed at the sky and fell into the sands, thrashing.