When Earth is conquered by the sinister Greys and the alien who killed Evie's husband returns seeking her help, she must find a way to enact her revenge and fight the growing feelings for the creature who is an exact replica of the man she loved.
*...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
'What are we thinking, people?' Taj whispered, his back pressed against the edge of what was once the doorway of one the buildings directly opposite the Saudi Embassy, his eyes shrewdly scanning the surrounding area. It was another scorching day and sweat glistened liberally above his brow, plastering wispy strands of his dark hair to his forehead.
'Well, the welcoming party isn't doing it for me,' Jace replied grimly, nodding towards the three bodies impaled on the spikes lining the top of the wrought iron fence of the Saudi Embassy. Bullet holes ravaged the bodies, as if they had been cut down by gunfire as they'd attempted to reach the other side. 'Remember how they used to impale the heads of traitors on spikes on London Bridge as a warning to anyone who might dare to oppose the Crown?'
'You think it's a warning?' Gav said, gazing uncertainly at the grisly scene.
Jace turned to look at him, one eyebrow raised, amusement tugging on the corners of his mouth. 'No, superstar, I think it's three unlucky bastards who didn't climb the fence quick enough. Let's hope you can run faster than them, eh?'
Gav looked Jace over and rolled his eyes. 'As long as I can run faster than you, that's all I need to worry about.'
'The dead don't worry me one bit.' Abby inched closer, her elbow nudging my side. Her gaze barely touched on the bullet-peppered bodies. 'It's the living that we need to watch out for. Especially any with grey complexions and an ability to climb the buildings without the need for rope or a ladder.'
I took a sidelong glance at the Grey, trying to detect a hint that this kind of talk bothered him, but he seemed mostly unfazed, apart from a slight tightening of his jaw and a cold steel in his eyes that was so unlike the Tom I knew. I'd been doing that a lot on the journey here – categorising all his little mannerisms and behaviour into Tom and Grey. I needed him to be more Grey now, less Tom. I needed to look at him and see what he really was underneath, instead of the man he was pretending to be. I marked the hard look in his eyes as a win for the Grey list and gripped my SA80 tighter, my hands damp with sweat. It was uncomfortably hot out here and I was desperate to scratch at the small of my back where the perspiration was sticking my t-shirt to my skin.
'I won't argue with that.' Taj smiled at Abby's observation and nodded. 'Okay, we all know the drill by now. Jace, you go with Lena. Evie and Tom. Abby and Gav. Len, you're with me.'
Any other day and I might have bristled at the prospect of being paired with Tom, but today it felt like a godsend. A twist of fate turning finally in my favour. I resisted the urge to smile.
'Let's go,' Jace said, moving out first, with Lena close behind.
I let my gaze snap back and forth between them and our surroundings, examining every possible hiding place where our enemy might be concealed. It was pretty normal to feel like you were being watched when topside. The city wasn't ours anymore. It was theirs. We were nothing but trespassers in an alien world, and yet today, that creeping sensation that made my flesh break out in goose-bumps seemed heightened. Sharper. Bringing everything into focus in a way that made my muscles pinch tightly.
