It took a little bit of time to work with Sally to find my little gated community back in Nebraska. I used the GPS app on my phone that had my home location saved, matched it up with the rotating Earth image on her holoscreen, and after what felt like three hours of debating if it was the right place, she finally agreed to teleport us. Truth be told, I didn’t even think it was me confirming a hundred times that it was my home that did the trick. We both heard the universal sound of police sirens and hightailed it out of that sweltering desert.

We ended up about half a mile down the road from the entrance. The area was still small, so we avoided the issue of random people driving by and seeing us pop into existence on the side of the road. The weather, while still unseasonably hot and a little muggy, was infinitely better than what everyone in the Phoenix area subjected themselves to in the late summer months. Without any trees to cover us, we all hoped no one would think anything of us if they drove by. With the group’s shoulders slumping a little, we walked the half mile that no one wanted to.

As we got closer, I double-checked my phone to make sure we had the right place. We’d always had a little gate that was normally open to let everyone in without any trouble. That was still there, but in front of it was a small building and one of those barrier gates that was painted red and yellow. There was an unassuming black truck parked behind the barrier gate. We were still too far away from the tinted windows of the security booth to see if anyone was in there.

When we got close enough, I tapped on the window. I still couldn’t see inside the little booth.

“ID please.” A man with a shaved head and dark mustache slid a small window open and jabbed a hand in my face, impatient for my identification. My own patience was running extremely low. So close to the finish line, I didn’t like having the new roadblock in my way, and I liked the guy’s attitude even less.

“I, uh, okay.” I patted my pockets, unable to find my wallet. Taking a second to think about it, I couldn’t even remember the last time I had my wallet. It certainly wasn’t any time since I’d been off Earth. “Look, I had a bit of an issue and I got stuck out of town for a while. I don’t have my ID, but I live here and know others who do too. They can vouch for me.”

“No ID, no entry.” He pulled his hand back and started reading some fantasy novel. “You need to leave the premises.”

“Come on, man. My sister is next in line to be head of Luna and probably signs your check at this point. If I can just talk to her, she’ll tell you-”

“Right, and my sister is the president.” He shook his head, not taking his eyes off his novel. He started to run his index finger under the words. For some reason, that made me extra annoyed.

“Huh, believe it or not, I just ran into her. She’s not the nicest person.” I paused for a moment. “That makes sense, actually. I can see the family resemblance.”

For the first time, he looked up at me and glared. “Listen, kid, no one is allowed in without identification or specific approval.”

“How do I get approval?”

“Go to our website, fill out a form, and within three to five business days, someone will-”

“I'm sorry, man, I just don’t have that kind of time.” I put up my hands and tried to play a small sob story. “I swear to you, I live here. I’m Ethan Harper and my sister is Michelle Harper. Something went really wrong, like, wrong-er than you could possibly understand, and I was stranded for a while.”

“You don’t look anything like Ethan Harper. He had long hair, no beard, and was a string bean.” He narrowed his eyes at me. The fact he knew my name was a step, right? Then again, if he thought I was dead, it probably wasn’t a good step. “Vanished a few months back and was ruled dead not long after.”

“Yes! Well, no, he didn’t die. I mean, I didn’t die.” I took a deep breath and tried to calm my fried nerves. “I cut my hair and put on some muscle when I was gone. I promise I’m the guy who vanished back then.”

“Kid, there’s nothing I can do. If you won’t make an appointment or pull out some ID that lines up with your story, you need to go.”

“Please, if you could just take a few minutes out to call someone.” I took a step closer to the booth and the little security gate that was installed. There was a flash of black and my right index finger felt like it had been crushed.

“Not a step farther.”

“What the hell is your problem?” I threw out my left hand in an exaggerated gesture, which turned out to be a bad move on my part. My entire left hand met the same fate. “Dude, calm down!”

“You need to get out of here!” He pulled out two nightsticks and held them up, ready for a fight.

“Maybe I’ll just go through you instead,” I grumbled.

I didn’t want to go through anyone. I was hot, tired, angry, and in desperate need of a shower. I needed to be home so I could see my sister again. I needed to see Rebecca and Megan again. I was right outside my home, just to be blocked by some guy who would barely put down his novel for me. I was not in the mood for anyone’s shit anymore. When he got out of his security booth, his head came up to my chin. Looking at his unimpressive body, I wasn’t going to judge a book by its cover. Not after what he did to my hands.

Ethan, maybe we should come back another time, Magnus said in my head.

This guy isn’t going to let us in later, and I need to tell people about McLeod.

I put my armor on and sent a couple of test javelins at him. He bobbed, danced, and slid around them masterfully, breaking each one before they fully got past his body. Even with my injured hands making for two very annoying distractions, I put up small barriers to catch his attacks. He was good, and I was tired, but he wasn’t much compared to Sven. Still, he wasn’t going at full force. Since I didn’t want to hurt the guy, I wasn’t either. We were still feeling each other out, probably trying to figure out the best way to end the fight before it even began.

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I must have missed the sound of the approaching car. When the sound of the door slamming shut filled the air, I jumped a little. I gasped a little when I turned and saw a familiar face. Out of everyone I’d been expecting to see when I came home, she was not one of them.

“Carl, what the hell’s going on here?” The girl moved her dyed green hair out of her face, not looking too concerned that we might tear down the entire community if left to our own devices.

“Chloe?” I asked, letting my armor fade away.

“How do you know my name? Have we met?” She cocked her head to the side and got a better look at me. Then, her eyes went wide and she ran up to me with a huge smile on her face. “Ethan? No way, is that you? What are you doing here? And why were you all pink? Holy shit, those scars on your arms! When did you get hot?”

“I can’t believe you recognized me.” I scratched at my beard with the good fingers on my right hand. I tried not to blush at her unexpected compliment.

“No matter how much muscle you put on, how much hair you cut off, or how impressive of a beard you grow, I’d never forget those dopey eyes of yours. There’s still a babyface under that gruff facial hair.” She held my right hand and winced at the rapidly swelling index finger on it. “Do you have powers?”

“Yeah, sorry I didn’t tell you back when we first met.”

“Dude, are you kidding? I would have kept it to myself too.” Her eyes got a little sad and she looked down. “I come from a lot of money, so after the attacks got worse, our parents pulled some strings to get us out here. They thought it couldn’t be any more dangerous here than it was back in Ohio. With all the powers here, they thought it might even be a little safer. I tried to point out it wasn’t like living next to a police station, but they weren’t listening to any protests. Is Megan here too?”

I hesitated, only for a second. It was enough. A strange look came over Chloe’s face. “Yeah, she’s here. Lives with me, believe it or not. Hey, can you help me get in? Mister Mustache isn’t having any of it.”

We sat there for a few minutes while Chloe explained the situation. Carl still didn’t look pleased, but after she batted her eyelashes a couple of times, stuck out her hip and put a hand on it, and threw in a fair bit of pouting, he finally relented. Rebecca had told me that a lot of my friends were attractive women—mostly by accident or against my will—and I appreciated it right there.

“You need to get your hands looked at.” Chloe stood in front of me and planted both her hands on the hips she used to get Carl to relent. “That hand is broken and that finger makes me want to puke.”

“Later,” I said, trying not to betray just how much the injuries hurt. “How much do you know about...well, me?”

“Well, I know now you have superpowers. I can’t believe I haven’t seen you around once! Some luck, huh?”

“About that...” I explained to her what happened and that my friends were real, genuine aliens. I emphasized just how much of a secret that was and how much of a secret it needed to stay. Just to confirm it, Sally lifted her helmet and gave Chloe a thumbs-up. I thought the poor girl was going to pass out. Hey, she didn’t puke like I did when I realized I was around aliens, so she was doing better than I did.

“I’m an idiot. How did I never guess that Michelle was your sister? Now that you say it, it’s so obvious that you two are siblings.” That confirmed that Shelly was there and alive, which gave me some hope about the others. “She never mentioned a brother. Not publicly anyway. Then again, I only moved here recently. It’s not a conversation she’d be eager to have. Oh man, I can’t imagine what she’s been through. She works at home on Fridays, so she should be easy to find for you.”

“I’ve got some apologies to give out,” I admitted. I had no idea how they were going to react, and now that I was there, my stomach was trying to do a quick exit through my throat. Magnus nudged me on the shoulder and pointed at Sven. “Right! Chloe, are there any healers here? My friend needs one. Preferably one who can be discrete.”

“There’s a friendly girl, Charlie, I can give her a call.”

“Yes! Her. She healed me when I was in bad shape before.” I turned to Sven and smiled. “It won’t feel great, but she’ll get you fixed up. Chloe can take you there. Secretly, of course.”

“I can?” She gave me a quizzical look while taking out her phone. As much as I could with my eyes, I pleaded with her to help me out. “I mean, of course I can! Let me get Ethan’s number and we can arrange something.”

“Do you know anywhere they can stay?”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “I have plenty of space. Our parents are on a six-month ‘silent retreat’, which means they’re somewhere in Sweden without any technology. Apparently, they trust you guys enough to keep us safe while they enjoy their anniversary for half a year. Sometimes having rich parents who aren’t too interested in their kids’ home lives pays off.”

I thanked her and handed her my phone. Before I went home, I gave her a bit of parting information. “By the way, they don’t speak English. Magnus, my friend, he can fix that. He...well, you’ll see. Just don’t be surprised and don’t think embarrassing thoughts. If you sing naked in the mirror, I’d think of something else.”

I took off with a wave before she could ask me what I meant. I thought about using my phone to call everyone together. Holding my phone in front of me with my contacts looking staring back, I got scared. As much as I wanted to see everyone, trying to call them all was too much for me. That, and I thought revealing my triumphant return home over the phone was kind of lame, so I prioritized seeing everyone I lived with first. After all, those were the Big Three in my life, so they should be the ones I say sorry to first.

I was thrilled to find the spare key where we usually left it, which was partially buried in a little outside garden we had. With slightly dirty fingers, I unlocked my front door and pushed it open. The familiar smell of home hit me and I nearly fell to my knees in relief. I got choked up in my doorway, swallowing down the huge lump that formed in my throat. It was real. I was back home with the people I loved.

Well, sort of. The people I loved weren’t there. The entire place was dark.

I went to Shelly’s room and found her door open. I peeked my head around to find a completely empty bedroom. There was a door I didn’t recognize in the corner. I paused, unsure if that door had always been there. I’d been in Shelly’s room before, but it wasn’t like I spent hours of my day in there.

So much for working from home. The least she could have done for me was be at home in the middle of a weekday, right?

Curious, I walked through and was hit with a fancy office. A lush leather chair, a mahogany desk, and matching bookshelves furnished the place. There was a closed laptop and a bunch of scattered papers on the desk. Black curtains were drawn shut, a tiny sliver of bright sunlight bleeding through the crack. She must have had the new room added after I vanished. Given they would have only had a handful of months to get the work done, it looked impressive.

Was it really snooping if I was fascinated by the room? Shelly didn’t get to have much after Mom and Dad died, so I wanted to see what she did with a little extra space, that was all. The bookshelves were lined with titles I knew neither of us had read, but they added to the aesthetic. I sat down and played with the fountain pens she kept scattered in her workspace. It was a nice and peaceful office, something that my sister definitely deserved for all of her hard work.

I heard the front door close and muffled voices come from the living room. In a panic, I slowly shut the office door and sat back down in the chair. I had no idea why I did that. It was my home, I wanted to see my sister, and I had nothing to hide. I guess after being gone so long, it was just a bizarre reflex reaction. I blamed the desert heat. Being that close to Phoenix simply fried my brain like an egg in a hot pan.

My heart pounded in my chest. What if everyone moved out and I just broke into some stranger’s house? What if Shelly didn’t recognize me and called the cops or threw a stapler at me? A bunch of different, miserable scenarios raced through my head, but I was out of time to process them. They were right outside the door and I had to try and look cool.

It was a huge shame that my nerves nearly had me jumping out of the chair.