Prologue
Before the invasion…
I was sixteen years old when my father took me to live with Uncle Ben. Why? Because General Saul Jones needed him for a special project in the Middle East. Dad would be gone for an entire year, and no, I could not go with him. When I asked why not? Dad simply said, “Your uniqueness would draw too much interest, Lexi.”
My uniqueness? What the hell was he talking about? Okay, I was tall for a girl, I had honey-gold eyes, and my copper skin was unusual, but my mother had been of Hispanic heritage. I was telepathic like my mom, but so were the Jones’ family. I had some telekinetic abilities, and I could heal minor injuries. Also talents shared by the Jones family. The only unique power I had was that I could knock the shit out of people using just my mind. For some reason, Dad was afraid of what would happen to me if General Jones discovered mycombattalent.
After my mom died in a car accident, my father became a bit paranoid. Okay, he lost his friggin’ mind. The world was suddenly a dangerous place, and I needed the proper skills to survive in it. My kindhearted father morphed into a SEAL Team drill instructor. I was home schooled and, on the weekends, instead of going to the mall, I was taking bomb making classes and learning to become a sniper. Hooyah! By the time I was fifteen, I was an expert in hand-to-hand combat and weaponry. Hooyah! Dad had me play video war games to learn battle tactics, critical thinking and how to persevere in the face ofoverwhelming odds. Like these evil aliens were going to invade us? Pleeze.
Uncle Ben lives in a converted underground bunker in the middle of the Nevada desert. The nearest town is two hundred miles away. No schools, no malls, nothing but sagebrush and sand. To say I wasn’t happy would be an understatement, but Dad was adamant. I was staying with Uncle Ben. His bunker could withstand a nuclear blast and the copper, iron oxide and graphite in the soil blocked scanners. Yep, that would keep those pesky aliens from finding us.
The only time I had met Uncle Ben was at my mother’s funeral. I was twelve at the time and all I remembered about him was that he had wild, white hair, and smelled funny.
The man waiting for us at the bunker doors was in his fifties and looked nothing like my father. My dad was tall, muscular and quite good looking.
With Uncle Ben it was hard to tell what he looked like. His bushy beard hid his features. His hair stood out from his head in a wild halo. Adding to his unkempt appearance was the stained white overall he wore. I really didn’t like the calculating expression in his eyes as he studied me.
“This isn’t going to work Dad.”
Dad took my suitcases out of the trunk. “You’ll be safe here.”
“I’ll go crazy with nothing to do,” I snapped.
Shutting the trunk, Dad kissed my forehead. “You’re Ben’s new lab assistant.”
“I’m his what?”
“You’ll learn a lot from him.” Dad said and carried my suitcases toward the bunker.
I threw up my hands in disgust. “I want to go to college and study to become a veterinarian.”
“Ben uses rabbits, mice and such in his experiments.”
My eyes widened in alarm. “What kind of experiments?”
“He’s building a portal.”
Consider me confused. “A portal that does what?”
“It instantaneously sends a test subject from one location to another by converting them into energy,” Uncle Ben answered.
“Kinda like that old TV show’s transporter?”
Uncle Ben grimaced. “There are some similarities.”
“Do all your test subjects survive?”
Ignoring my question, Uncle Ben led us to an elevator and placed his hand on a sensor pad. The doors slid open. “Your quarters are on level two, Lexi.”
“Okay. How many levels are there?”
My uncle stepped into the elevator. “Three. My laboratory is on level three and access is restricted.”
“Restricted? Why? Do you have an evil alien stashed away?”
Dad placed my suitcases inside and hugged me tightly. “Behave. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”
“You’re just going to drop me off and leave?” The sense of utter abandonment shook me.
