Page 74 of Aviatrix

The words hang like a noose. I sit up straighter, a chill threading down my spine.

If this wasn’t just alien chaos… if this was planned… by us…

My stomach turns. I’m not sure if it’s fear, rage, or both.

“That’s not a possibility, is it?” I ask quieter now. Uncertain.

Eli turns down a long dirt driveway. A white farmhouse appears on the ridge, sunlit and still.

He looks over at me. “If you wanted the president dead, and aliens just happened to show up and level a secret base, wouldn’t it be pretty damn convenient to blame the whole thing on the extraterrestrials?”

“Or,” I say, the realization sinking in my stomach, “someone invited the aliens here and used the chaos as a cover.”

Eli brings the old junker to a stop in front of the farmhouse. A cloud of dust swirls around us.

He looks at me, calm. Cold. Detached in a way that makes me feel stupid.

My mouth goes dry. My gut clenches. He’s not surprised. He’s not even rattled.

How long has he known?

“It’s about time you finally figured it out,” he says.

He gets out of the car like he’s done talking. Like none of this shocks him.

He doesn't flinch. Doesn't soften. Just walks away, leaving the rest unsaid.

And that’s when I realize Eli hasn’t just been keeping secrets. He’s been watching to see when I’d finally catch up.

SEVENTEEN

THE PRODIGAL SON

I don’t have time to process the bombshell Eli just dropped. I’m out of the car, feet pounding against the packed dirt as I chase after him, heart hammering like a chisel inside my chest.

“Eli!”

To my surprise, he stops and turns. His face is taut with something caught between regret and resolve.

“I need you to hear this,” he says. “I never keep things from you because I don’t trust you. Quay, you might be the only person I do trust. But I’m bound by duty—by my word, by oath—not to endanger anyone else. Especially you.” He looks at me like he’s carrying a hundred locked secrets behind his eyes. “Do you understand?”

“I do,” I say. “You’re bound by oath. We all are.”

“I would never keep anything from you unless there was no other way.” The words land with a heavy thud. There’s a desperation beneath them. Why is he so adamant about this?

“I get it,” I say, softer this time. “I really do.”

Eli takes a slow, sobering breath, and then swallows hard, like the next thing he was about to say might break him.

“You can trust me,” I promise. “With anything. Everything.”

“I know.”

I nod, but a part of me aches. He doesn’t have to say the words for me to feel their weight.

“Alright,” I exhale, nudging his shoulder with mine. “Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s head inside.”

“These people are all I have,” he says quietly.