Page 26 of Alien in the Attic

Humming to herself, she headed to the kitchen to pop some pain medication and make some scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. Thinking about Arccoo still hurt, but the night before was a reminder that she still had a life on Earth and people who loved her right where she was. If she spent too long grieving what she’d lost, she might forget what she still had.

Elena was the first to come stumbling down the stairs. Carmen pressed a cup of coffee into her sister’s hand, and she grunted her thanks. Her youngest sister was the type of person who was almost entirely nonverbal until she had her first coffee of the day.

“Thanks,” Elena finally managed after a couple sips.

Carmen waved her off as she made up a plate for her sister. “I should be thanking you and Sofia. You guys really got me out of that awful funk.”

“I smell food,” Sofia said by way of greeting. She leaned against the doorway, looking a lot like how Carmen felt.

She stepped aside. “Help yourself.”

“Mmm, bacon,” her middle sister mumbled, scooping some, along with the eggs, on top of the toast. She made herself an open-faced sandwich and dug in.

Carmen set the ibuprofen on the counter, and her sisters cheerfully popped some in along with their food. “I was thinking of cleaning out the library today,” she said, taking a bite of her buttered toast.

Now more alert, Sofia and Elena exchanged glances. Sofia smiled. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

“You were right yesterday when you said I was moping around. I really needed a distraction, and cleaning things out might be just what the doctor ordered.”

After finishing their breakfast and getting dressed, they made their way to the library. As she flicked on the lights and took in the dusty atmosphere, Carmen fondly remembered the summer afternoons she would spend hiding in there and reading away the afternoon. The three sisters donned their dust masks and got to work.

First, because it was a crisp, clear, sunny day, they opened the windows to let in some fresh air. Elena pulled out her phone and began playing her infamous electropunk playlist. Carmen’s rulewas that they each would have an hour of their choice of music before passing the torch to the next sister. Elena won the rock, paper, scissors game, so she went first.

They spent the next hour in companionable silence as they dusted and took stock of every book. First, they would dust a bookshelf. Then they would take each book out, write down the title, and check for any signs of mold or mildew. Some of these books were valuable, so they would also write down if it was signed, a first edition, or both.

“Sofia, Grandma and Grandpa were almost as obsessed with the paranormal as you are,” Elena said. “This is the fifth signed book on parapsychology that I found. There’s also a whole shelf on that wall that’s just about the study of UFOs.”

“I found a lot of astrophysics books over here,” Carmen said, pulling out and dusting a first edition signed by Carl Sagan.

“Well, that’s nothing,” Sofia said. “I found the section with theKama Sutra.” She let out a low whistle. “Grandma and Grandpa could get downright freaky-deaky.”

Carmen chuckled and pulled the next book from her shelf. Instead of coming free, though, a mechanical whirring sound began. “Hey, guys? You might want to see this.”

Sofia and Elena came bounding to her. “What’s up?” Elena asked.

“Watch this.” Carmen pulled the book again, and the whole shelf made that same mechanical sound. This time, the shelf swung outward, revealing a hidden room.

“No fucking way,” Sofia breathed. Her entire face lit up as she let out a delighted squeal. “This is awesome!”

“Whoa,” Carmen said, blocking her adventurous sister’s path before she could explore the creepy, dark, secret room all by herself. “Let’s just hold on a second. We don’t know what’s on the other side of that door.”

“Exactly!” Sofia exclaimed. “It’s a mystery.”

While Carmen was focused on corralling Sofia, Elena slipped her arm into the room and felt for a light switch. The lights flicked on, revealing an old laboratory like something out of a science fiction movie from the 1950s.

Carmen was so startled that she let Sofia and Elena pass. The youngest immediately went to the large central computer while the middle sister rushed to a wall of photographs.

“This thing is ancient,” Elena said with the excitement of a kid on Christmas morning. “I wonder if I can get it to work.”

Across the room, Sofia let out a gasp. “Holy shit, you guys. Do you remember those stories Grandma and Grandpa would make up before bed? The ones about them going to space and meeting aliens? I don’t think they were just stories.” She pointed to a picture in the center of the wall.

Carmen approached it as though in a dream. The photograph was in color. It looked to have been taken in the early seventies and showed a man shaking hands with someone who had gray skin and violet eyes—someone who bore a striking resemblance to Arccoo. Beside the younger version of their grandfather stood their grandmother holding a strange device.

“Is-is that his father?” Sofia asked.

“I think so. Or maybe his grandfather.” She bit her lip, a feeling of bittersweet melancholy filling her at the thought of her lost love. “He never really said why he came here of all places.” She ran a finger over the dusty glass frame, studying the strange device held by her grandmother in the photo. A wave of excitement washed over her. “I think Grandma is holding the parantaa.”

Sofia tilted her head in confusion. “The what?”

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