Family, page 24
McKenna shrugged. ~Sounds good to me. Perc, you ready?~ The man in question had a plate of bacon and pancakes.
~Yep. Will I be able to eat while we do this or need to concentrate?~
[You may find the experience is a bit overwhelming,] Elao said, a hint of apology in the AI's tone.
~So be it.~ He took three large bites of pancakes, then shoved in two pieces of bacon. ~Go for it.~
Toni rolled her eyes. No wonder the kids’ table manners sucked.
~Wefor, if you would assist with the location of the satellite that is closest? This will require intense concentration to keep the portal moving with the satellite without disrupting it or causing it to fall out of orbit. I don’t know how easy this will be. Ships and planets are much larger than satellites,~ Rarz said and Toni tuned them out. This wasn’t anything she could help with. She headed into the kid's bedrooms, picking up the little things they hadn't grabbed, and searching out a brush and elastic to deal with Jessi's hair.
"Mom, I don't want my hair braided," Jessi whined as Toni worked the brush through the explosion of snarls that Jessi had collected during the night.
"Fine. Do you want a ponytail? A twist? What do you want? We can leave it loose, but then you'll have it in your mouth and catching on everything. A braid is the easiest if you want to go in and out without it tangling on things." Toni provided in a logical list of options. This fight had happened more than once over the years.
Jessi heaved a sigh, one that seemed to come from the bottom of her soul. "Fine, braid it. But no silly scrunchie at the end."
"Okay." Toni took advantage and braided her daughters long black hair in quick efficient movements. The jangle of McKenna's phone grabbed her attention as she wrapped the elastic to finish off the braid. She rose to grab it, glancing at McKenna and Perc. They were like frozen statues, strangely unmoving. If it wasn't for the occasional blink and slow breaths, she might have worried.
The caller ID said DB Sec. Frowning, she answered it. "McKenna's phone."
"Get out now. They had people waiting. They signed the order to appear twenty minutes ago. If you aren't gone in the next thirty, they'll be there. I think it got signed faster than they expected, so everyone isn't in place. They were expecting another day or two but you need to go now." He paused and signed. "Toni. They have a rider to put the children in supervised houses, to make sure they aren't being brainwashed by their parents’ deviance. It's a small section but you'd never get them back if they get your kids. They have your home addresses, names, and jobs, but not much else. They were still researching. Get out now while you still can. Run. All of you, run." Fear and worry created acid grooves in his tone.
It took three full seconds for Toni's brain to catch up to what Doug Burby was all but shouting through the phone. "Oh fuck. Got it. Thanks." She hung up, dropping the phone in the pocket of her shorts. The curse had everyone looking at her. Kids with wide eyes and Sorrel confused.
"Everyone grab your stuff; we’re bailing now. They’re coming for us. Get to the portal area." She snapped out. The kids looked at her for a heartbeat then sprang into action. Sorrel wasn't much slower. Toni spun to look at the frozen figures on the couch. Rarz stood next to them, frowning a bit in concentration.
~Guys, Wefor? How much longer?~ She didn’t stand there waiting, instead she went through the house like a whirlwind grabbing everything and stuffing it in bags. The boxes would have to wait, but the suitcases and important stuff needed to go now.
Shit. Portals. Rarz is busy and we need one now. Dammit I knew we should have fought to learn how to use them. If I could create them now this wouldn't be an issue.
[At least another ten minutes. This code is complicated, and the satellite moves out of range quickly.] Elao sounded distant and preoccupied, which she probably was. Literally and figuratively.
~Bad things incoming. We need out of here ASAP or everything is going to be for naught. Move it as fast as you can.~ Toni rattled it off even as she finished grabbing McKenna and Perc's stuff.
[Understood.]
~JD, Cass. We're burned. Get out. Take what you need and bail. They know the location of Cass's house so get out of there and don't go back.~
~Got it.~ JD didn't say anything else, but she could feel the panic spurt from Cass before it was shut down.
Portal, what do I do about the portal?
The rest of the people in the house were headed towards the garage, the kids with their backpacks on and their suitcases being dragged behind. Sorrel and Eliah had grabbed all their other bags and were quickly moving everything left in the house into the garage.
Argh, what a time for those three to be unavailable.
Toni stared at McKenna and Rarz, her thoughts spinning in a frantic circle. The idea of those government idiots taking her kids, of anyone breaking up that group made her want to rend flesh from bone. Granted, they would be gone in the first hour but still, it wasn't something that she would ever allow to happen. She'd see them on an alien planet first.
Alien!
For some reason Rarz didn't register as 'alien' anymore, but his mother had. And she had tapped into their little mindspace group. Toni reached for that light in her mind. Since that day it had been an odd purple color. Toni hadn't thought anything about it as the female Drakyn had never spoken to them again, but now everything rested on that. She hit that odd light with a mental finger and all but screamed into the mindspace.
~Alinis!~
A heartbeat, a breath, the sound of sirens in the distance approaching as she jacked up her ears.
Shit, shit, shit, what else?
~Yes?~ The voice sounded distant thin.
~Alinis, we are found out. We need off our planet now and Rarz is occupied. Can you help?~
Please for my children be willing to help.
The voice suddenly became strong, clear. ~Show me where to open the portal. I will bring you into my home. How many?~
Toni thought her knees might buckle, but she pictured the carefully taped area in the garage. ~Four adults, five kids, plus Rarz and all our stuff. We need to get through asap. I can hear the people coming for us getting near.
~Opening the path now. You were lucky to get to me. There was a tiny path open from one of the embassies to our world, otherwise you would not have reached me. As soon as the path is established, I will come to your world. Then you can start moving your belongings through.~
Toni looked at the space with everyone around her as they watched the swirl of light, a paler pink gold than Rarz's silvery light snapped into place and Alinis stepped out. Eliah muttered under his breath, eyes wide, but they had no time.
"Sorrel, everything through fast. Kids, your stuff, move it. We need to get all the supplies on the other side. They'll watch this place for weeks." Toni and Alinis helped. In under two minutes they had all the boxes, duffels, and suitcases tossed through the portal. The last one had been tossed through when they could all hear the cars and sirens coming to a halt outside the garage.
"Eliah, help me grab them, I want them here at the portal." Toni ordered while she ran into the house towards the others on the couch.
Alinis followed them into the house. "What are they do?"
"Too long to explain. Sorrel, can you grab the other side of McKenna? We need to get them right on the edge of the portal."
With Alinis helping, they got all three of them into the garage just as the banging on the front door started.
"McKenna Largo. Please come to the door. We have a subpoena for your attendance at a hearing." The voice was loud, male, and not very friendly.
"Yeesh, since when do they do this crap for a subpoena. What happened with 'Hi, you've been served' and disappearing." It was obvious something else was going on. This was coming across like a scene from POLICE!
Toni made a decision. "Sorrel. Go through. We'll follow. I'm sending my kids after you." She caught his eyes in a glare that was half terror, half determination. "I'm trusting you. GO!"
With a shaky nod he headed through, Eliah following. Toni turned to her kids, Nam, and Charley with wide panicked looked on their faces, standing near McKenna, their bodies trembling. "I love you. Now get. I'll be along in a minute."
Jessi and Jamie's lips started to quiver, and the banging came again. "We don't have time." Toni reached down, hugged Jessi, then threw her into the portal. Moving with a speed born of terror and need, only Charley wasn't caught off-guard as she tossed him in.
"This is your last chance. If you don't open this door, we will break it in." The bellowing came again. Toni crept over and shut the kitchen door. It would give them one more minute she hoped.
~Alinis. Go. I’ll wait here and pull them in.~
~Can we not move them in now?~
~Not without risking what they’re trying to do. Go, I'll follow and bring them with me.~ Toni assured her, hoping that she wouldn't prove herself a liar.
~Very well.~ With a nod of her elegant head she stepped into the portal and disappeared.
~Hurry up!~ The desire to shake them, to pace, to run, to do something ate at her, but she stood, as silent as possible.
[Forty-five seconds,] Elao sounded like she was slurring, but Toni held her breath, listening, her hearing jacked.
"Okay. No answer. Break it down. Everyone, get back."
Please have reinforced the door. Please make it take them more time.
Toni didn't know who or what she was praying to, but she held her breath, every second, one more gained in the race against time.
SLAM
SLAM
SLAM
CRACK
Toni could hear the door splintering on that last hit.
"Back! Clear the place." The voice again.
Shit, shit, shit. We're out of time.
Toni turned. They had positioned the three of them in their weird trance to be in front of the open portal.
Rarz, sorry. But I'll leave you if I have to. You can get home from anywhere.
"Living room clear. Check the kitchen and the bedrooms."
~Guys?~ Toni held her breath, her body shaking with tension.
[Done!] The exultation of joy barely registered as Toni shoved with all her strength and Perc and McKenna went flying into the portal. Someday the startled looks on their faces would probably make her smile, but for now she just hoped they didn't land hard.
"Checking the garage," a voice said. Toni grabbed Rarz. She tugged and dove into the portal at the same time, her mind screaming out to Alinis.
~Close it, now!~
The world spun and she landed hard on her back, what little air she had was knocked out of her. Toni lay there, breathing hard. She listened to the voices and the chatter in her mind, McKenna and Perc were exclaiming and being brought up to speed. The kids were babbling. Sorrel was remarking on things softly and being very gracious to Alinis.
She sensed more than saw Rarz crouch over her.
"Are you well, Tonan?"
"Just recovering from the excitement." She opened her eyes to see him staring at her. "It got a bit intense there at the end."
"So it seems." He stood and offered her a hand. For reasons she didn't understand, she took it and let him pull her up. "While this was not the original plan, you are now in the home of my birth. Would you like to see my world?"
She could tell the kids were already outside, and since no one was screaming in pain or struggling to breathe, the odds were there wasn't anything that was going to kill them.
"Sounds good." She moved towards where he had pushed open an arched door, the scene seemed more Moroccan than anything she'd seen much in California.
"Welcome to my world, Tonan Diaz." His voice rumbled, but it seemed to take place far away and in her head as Toni stepped out onto a paved walk and looked up at a lavender sky with two moons hanging it in. "Welcome to my home."
Home. I'm home.
Epilogue
The news that is setting the globe on fire, the Drakyn have announced they are looking for settlers for many of their planets. They would prefer Shifters or what they call The Changed. When asked why, they responded as follows. "Drakyn do not age as you do, and our worlds are significantly different from yours. We would prefer those with the ability to heal from smaller injuries and be willing to create something that will last their lifetimes, not the short lifetimes of humans." When pressed for details they said they would allow family members of Shifter families, but at this time are not accepting any all-human families or individuals. ~TNN News
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"What do you mean you can't find them?" Raymond wasn't mad, but he was concerned. In the three weeks since the orders to appear had been issued, not one of the Shifters had been found.
"I don't know. We've inspected all their houses and they’re empty. Most of their homes were already sold before the orders had been issues. The marshals can't find them, neither can the secret service. We have them on watch lists and actual warrants are out as persons of interest, but nothing. It's like they've disappeared. " The senator sighed with annoyance. "At this point we've had to shelve the hearings arranged for them, as we can't provide any estimate of when they will be found."
"I thought we had arranged emergency pick-up the day the orders were issued?"
"We did. They arrived at ten in the morning. There were even pancakes still in the microwave, warm. But they were gone. Now I will say this came up as a surprise. The original agents on scene noted suitcases and boxes, food, little things like that. They stayed there for about three hours, then left the house setting up a watch for anyone coming in. They watched for a full week and never saw anyone or anything, yet when they went back in to clear it out one more time, the place was empty."
"Yes, you already said that. They weren't there," he bit out the comment, hating when people said the obvious.
"No," this time the senator sounded a bit annoyed and Raymond pulled back on his attitude. "I mean it was clean. All the suitcases and boxes were gone, the food cleaned out and there was no sign of anything left that the original team reported."
"Oh. What about their vehicles?"
"Still sitting there. Including one for a Sorrel Narrio. But we checked and the vehicles had all been sold in the last week. The keys were mailed to the dealer after the house went under watch. The house has been handed over to a management company, the keys dropped off a few days ago. That company is planning on furnishing it next month and renting it out. They've prepaid for five years of management. If they are still in the country, I have no idea where they are."
The newest news story, the immigration offer from the Drakyn, was the headliner of the day and hung on the screen of his computer.
"Yeah. I might. Thank you for your time, Senator. I think you’re right. We need to shelve it for now and see where we can gather other information. I’m starting to think the that this new Australia might be the answer to all our concerns about the Shifters."
"New Australia?" The Senator barked a laugh. "That’s an interesting way to put it. Maybe we can get a tax on anyone leaving, make some money off it?"
"I wouldn't mind, but we’ll have to move fast to get it done before most of the people leave. Maybe we don't say anything to encourage them to get out?"
"Either way, it’s not like they can take their money with them. They can't actually spend it on another planet."
Raymond didn't respond that there were ways. If you included cutouts, proxies, there were more than a few ways for anyone to still spend their money, but it might not be a battle to fight right now. "True. Well, we tried. We'll have to make sure any deals we make with this group of aliens are profitable. But think of how much better our world will be with this problematic element gone. It will be better for everyone. The dregs of society are leaving because of their own choice. It sounds like the perfect solution to me." He kept his voice light and positive, knowing the senator would respond to it.
"True. With that, I guess the New Australia is accurate. Getting rid of the dregs of our society and we don't even need to do anything. They'll self-elect to go. This sounds perfect to me."
He ended the phone call, leaning back and looking at the screen. "So somehow you set this all up, didn't you, Largo. I guess Willard was correct about how much of a pain you are. But…" he trailed off still staring at the alien dragon on the TV talking about the opportunity they would offer Kaylid. "You aren't my problem any longer. But if I'm really lucky, something out there will find you very tasty and you won't be anyone's problem anymore."
With a final sigh, he mentally checked that one off and moved on to other problems, making sure he never got tagged as a Shifter and prepping his fictional identity in a few years. He planned to be president in about forty years. The world would never see him coming.
Afterword
I hope you enjoyed book one of the Kaylid Chronicles. This series has a lot more in store for McKenna, JD, Toni, and the kids.
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Visit my website at www.badashpublishing.com to sign up for my newsletter and find out about the next books coming out in this series. If you enjoyed, please leave a review – it makes a huge difference to authors!
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Kaylid Chronicles:
No Choice is available now!
Commander is available now!
Incoming is available now!
Allies is available now!
Family is available now!
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Kaylid Novellas:
New Games is available now!
Home Alone is available now!
Decisions is available now!
Trust is available now!
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Read my other series if you want something a bit darker and more military:
Blood War: Rage
Blood War: Fight
Blood War: Power
Or if you like Urban Fantasy try my Twisted Luck Series.
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