Page 151 of Sky Song
“I lied.”
She fell to the ground on the other side, and the Zen garden’s soft sand cushioned her fall. Rolling away from the house, she came to a stop near a strategically positioned mossy boulder that she well remembered from her Hipper rescue mission. Coming to a crouch, she peeked from behind it at her house.
Mr. Sulys was still standing by the broken back door, looking in her direction. Even in the dark, the perplexed expression on his smooth-cheeked face was unmistakable.
“You’re a moron,” she said succinctly.
His head jerked as he peered into the Zen garden. He couldn't see her in the dark and probably thought the boulder was talking to him. “But I only wanted to be a good citizen. They told me they were reporters.”
Cricket silently rolled away in the sand until she reached the opposite row of the houses. Springing to her feet, she ran in the cover of shadows, sprinting down the street, putting those alien genes to test, and they held up beautifully.
She made it back to Ren and Rosamma’s apartment in a ridiculously short time.
“How was it?”
Cricket lowered onto the floor, her back to the wall, imitating Lyle.Lyle. She needed to go to Atticus and check on him, but suddenly her body refused to obey. Whether she wanted it or not, she was going to take a nap.
“Eventful,” she replied to Paloma’s question. “And pointless. He can’t help Lyle.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. He said to keep him sedated.”
“That shouldn't be a problem. Zaron can get the meds that we need.”
“Great, I’ll ask him. Thanks again for sending that message to Dr. Ragberg.”
Paloma made an inarticulate sound. “Hey, I wanted to ask, have you seen that screen scraping device? The shiny one. I can’t find it.”
Cricket moved her head from side to side.
“Oh, bother.” Paloma’s hair stood up around her head like a mop. Her peachy cheeks reddened from vexation. “Where can it be?”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why? Lyle will kill me if I can’t find it. Gosh, I hope it turns up before Lyle comes ‘round.”
Rosamma came out of her room, a small duffel bag in hand. “Well, I think that’s it.” She looked around the room and adjusted her ever-present shawl. “It’s strange to leave everything behind, isn’t it? I’m a little scared.”
“A little?” Paloma’s eyebrows rose, disappearing under her fringe.
“Wait, wait.” Cricket pointed at the bag. “Where are you going?”
“We’ve decided to move closer to the spaceship depot and make a camp nearby. Didn’t Paloma tell you?”
“Paloma didn’t.” Cricket looked pointedly at Paloma.
“Yeah, we all decided it would be prudent to stay close to the spaceship,” her neighbor confirmed. “The second Lyle feels better, we need to be ready to haul ass. Minutes will count, and Rosamma can’t make the journey from here to the spaceship depot fast, and neither can other women. We don’t want to risk a delay.”
“And we won’t be discovered,” Rosamma inserted cheerfully. She beamed at Cricket, all ready to go on anadventure. “There is a secluded park nearby. We’ll hide there and stay real quiet.”
Cricket looked from one woman to the other. “How long can you stay out there?”
“However long it takes,” Paloma assured them both. “Better be over prepared than under prepared.”
Cricket separated her back from the wall. “That’s very wise, Paloma.”
“Laugh all you want.”
