I sit cross-legged on my bed, staring down at my notebook. In less than twelve hours, my secrecy might go down the drain.

I don't want to be a part of this. I want to go full-human. An alien lab that might be working for Simon won't get Calypso Hel'trakah. They'll just get Callie Everett.

I take my power into my hand and yank on the chain. It snaps.

There.

I take the locket into my hand, then pause. This isn't a tie to my alien life. It's a tie to my family. A mother who thinks I'm dead, a sister whom I've never met, and a father who betrayed me. Do I really want to get rid of them?

My father, yes. But Momma and Artie? Do I really want that?

 I leave the locket on and store the power under a loose floorboard along with the notebook. I consider throwing them out or flushing it, but I might still need them.

I curl up in a ball on my bed. Why did I agree to this? Why did I want to meet with them? What possessed me?

I didn't know my father was gonna give me up. I didn't know that Simon would already be on his way. I didn't know I didn't know I didn't know...

My brain is in a thousand places right now, and I can't make sense of anything. Even back on Azera, everything was simple. Wake up. Do work. Worship the Gods. Go to bed. The war didn't affect that.

Until the Training Base collapsed and Simon took me captive and I escaped to Earth. Until I spent three months adjusting to a culture that I knew nothing about beyond names. Until I found out that there are humans looking for aliens, beyond tin-foil wearing, Star Trek watching nerds (although they are right that aliens exist, their views on us are completely off and insulting).

Oh where, oh where, has this world gone?

I pull the sheets over my head and sing quietly to myself, so softly I can barely hear it. It's the lullaby that my parents taught to James, who then taught it to me, many nights when I was little-little and had just arrived at the Training Base. I was only one and a half then, and Simon was six- the oldest a Keeper has ever received their power. Less than 10 years later, he dragged four races into a battle over a girl.

A girl.

A girl with the ability to open up a gate between universes, yeah. But a girl nonetheless. A single person that he killed millions for. 

I continue to sing the lullaby, perhaps with a bit of desperation in it. It hits me then, just how much I changed. Five months ago, I was this happy, sarcastic bookworm who didn't have much that bothered her.

Now, I'm this irritable, scared, indecisive girl. Refugee. Whatever.

I don't sleep for a second that night.

***

I'm sitting in the kitchen, eating cereal, when Callie stumbles in. I didn't sleep too well last night, but Callie looks like she didn't sleep at all. There are bags under her eyes and she's unsteady on her feet.

"Hey, Callie," I say. "You ready for today?"

She shakes her head.

"Me neither," I admit.

"I'm scared," she whispers.

I don't quite know what to say, so I get up and hug her. "Thank you, Mark," she mumbles.

"For what? A hug?"

"I need one."

I squeeze her, then pull away. She bites her lip and brushes past me to the window.

"When will they arrive?" she says.

"Hopefully never," I mutter under my breath.

"What?" Callie says, turning to me.

"Nothing."

In the front of the house I hear Mom and Dad's bedroom door open. "Morning!" I yell, making Callie jump. "Sorry," I say quieter.

"It's okay," she mumbles.

Though I had hoped the snow delayed them, the scientists arrive at noon. They show up in an nondescript white van. Mom greets them as Callie, Dad, and I sit at the dining table. Soon, she leads an elderly woman with wrinkles long grey hair and a young man with pale skin, freckles, and messy red hair. The woman introduces herself as Elizabeth Casey, the man as Matt Wilson- "I was here before," he explains as he sits down across from Callie, who makes eye contact, blushes, and looks away. I roll my eyes slightly.

"Callie-may I call you Callie?" Dr. Casey begins after a few moments of silence.

She nods dully.

"Callie, don't be frightened by the "doctor" title. We're not here to hurt you, we're here to help you," Dr. Casey says. "We are...concerned for the future, and you may help."

"What do you mean?" she mumbles. Her hands are twisted together, and Dad reaches over to pull them apart. I notice that he keeps a hold of the hand closest to him.

"May we talk to her in private?" Dr. Casey says. "This may involve information that you're not disclosed to hear."

"We're not leaving her," Dad says shortly.

Dr. Casey hesitates, then sighs and looks down. "I expected that," she mutters. "Of course you won't. Alright, here goes."

She looks back up at us. "Are you aware that about six years ago, several hundred people from various armies suddenly disappeared, along with classified information about nukes?"

Callie inhales sharply through her nose. "What?"

"Have you heard of it?" Dr. Wilson asks suspiciously. "Anything at all about it?"

Callie bites her lip and shakes her head. But I can tell she's lying. And so can the doctors.

Callie, what are you doing? This is serious. This could jeopardize our safety.

"Callie, this is a matter of national security," Dr. Casey says. "Lying will makes things a thousand times worse."

"You think it's aliens," Callie responds.

"We're not a, uh, a cult. We're a science lab dedicated to discovering extraterrestrial life. We have the government backing us, and we're not a bunch of crackpots. Yes, we investigate many UFO sightings and disappearances-without people knowing, most of the time-but a case has never before caught our interest like yours," Dr. Casey says. "Especially when we think you and those disappearances might be related."

"Why don't you ask Area 51?" she asks mockingly.

Dr. Casey purses her lips. "Callie, this is serious. Area 51 has nothing to do with this." 

"We just want to know what you know," Dr. Wilson says.

"She has the right to remain silent," Dad retorts. Mom, who has been lingering in the doorway through this whole exchange, nods.

Dr. Casey sighs. "Mr. Everett, may we please speak to your child in private?"

Dad throws them an angry look, then says, "Fine. Emily, Mark-let's go."

After my foster family goes to wait outside, I turn to fix Dr. Casey with a cold stare. Dr. Wilson I can't bring myself to look at- I don't trust myself not to blush.

"Callie, why can't you tell us anything?" Dr. Casey asks.

Now that it's just me with them, I'm terrified. But I know the answer. "It's for my safety."

"Why? Have you had interactions with aliens in the past?" Dr. Wilson asks. He's not joking, either.

James has always told me that I was the worst liar he ever met. "Are you crazy? No."

I swear to God my face is bright red- a dead giveaway.

"You have, haven't you?" Dr. Wilson says. His eyes shine with excitement. "Can you tell us, Callie?"

Oh shit.

Ohhhh shit.

What do I do now? I'm so used to having guidance-from the Everetts or James or the occasional nice Trainer-that I don't know how to answer. To answer truthfully, I have to run the risk that they're on my side. And lying's not quite an option at this point in the game.

What other choice do I have?

"I won't tell you," I say evenly. "I already said it was for my own safety. Take it or leave it."