Amber had been keeping it together with minimal fuss, until she hears it. Just a whispered suspicion, a lone voice uttering a scared belief that something was out there. She couldn’t leave Harold, but she would stay no longer.
“Harold, we are leaving, now.”
“Amber, I’m so close. I can see the ship.”
“Yeah, well I can see their guns. We need to leave.”
He thought of Shante, out there alone, worried about them.
“We can’t leave here empty handed.”
“My life is in those hands, Harold. I don’t wanna die.”
“They’re not gonna shoot us.”
Amber slides gracelessly out onto the floor.
“You heard what he said, that thing could still be out there.”
“It’s lost and alone Amber, it didn’t land here, it’s not invading. It crashed.”
“Invaders crash too. They crash into the woods, then they come here looking for their ship, find us and eat our faces. We’re leaving!”
Even hushed words slid through gritted teeth leave a trace. They don’t see the guards, but they do hear them.
“Exit quietly with your hands up and we won’t shoot.”