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.
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When our group had stumbled into Levi's quadrant, he'd made it clear that no trespassers were allowed without his strict permission.
The Black Zone needed no such statement to be made. There were no guards to tell us not to enter. No signs instructing us to turn back now. It didn't need signs or guards, because no human in their right mind would even consider walking through that sinister, towering wall of thick, dark cloud, not unless they were being forced to by the Greys.
I could only imagine how it must have felt to all those humans – men, women, children – being marched through the ashen barrier of the Black Zone, unable to fathom what horrors awaited them on the other side.
And yet, here we were, voluntarily about to do just that.
I crouched low, nestled into a spot between Tom and Jace, looking across the expanse of St. James's Park where the edge of the Black Zone cut across the park, severing it almost halfway. Without any street lighting, the park was a province of silhouettes and gloom, but it was suprising how the Black Zone seemed to absorb even the darkest of shadows, like a slash of vantablack across the landscape.
Jace whistled low between his teeth. 'Well... shit,' he said, seemingly unable to muster up any other words.
I got it. Being this close made me feel a little breathless. The thought of walking through it – touching it, breathing it in – made my pulse quicken and my stomach tie up in knots.
'What the bloody hell is that thing?' Jace whispered.
'Some atmospheric effect created by their crafts, I guess,' Tom replied, as if he didn't know, which of course, I knew he did.
'And you and Lena walked through that and lived to tell the tale?'
'We lived to tell the tale,' Tom said, nodding, not taking his eyes off the wall.
Maybe they lived because they're both Greys. Maybe you're all about to be marched to your death. Maybe that fucking wall of cloud is going to swallow you all whole and spit out your bones.
I swallowed hard, trying to shake of that cold touch of doubt. 'And you're sure we can't use the tunnels?' I asked.
'I'm sure,' Tom said. 'The tunnels into both Westminster and St James's are blocked. There's no way in underground.'
'Not the kind of adventure you were hoping for, Lara?' Jace said, his tone lightly-mocking, even if his face displayed none of his usual playfulness when he went into joke-mode.
'I'd live through any of Lara Croft's adventures rather than go through that,' I said. 'It's like it's alive. Like one of those two-way mirrors where we can't see in, but someone is on the other side watching us.'
'Terrific,' grumbled Jace. 'I feel so much better after that pep talk. Cheers, Evie.' He glanced over to where Taj and Lena were waiting, together with Levi and Mr. Warren – who we'd discovered was actually called Seb – and nodded in their direction. Taj held up a fist and motioned for us to start moving forwards, which we did, staying close together as we headed towards the next copse of trees for cover, cutting through the long, uncut grass that now grew wildly across the park.
