"Morning," a woman said.

Bright lights burned Alex's eyes. She blinked rapidly, tears blurring her vision. Where was she? She sat in a white room, with smooth, nondescript walls and a tile ceiling. A metal chair pressed against her back, and her legs were hidden beneath a white table. Will slumped in the chair beside her. He was still asleep, and he would've fallen to the floor if it weren't for the thick binds holding him in place.

Shit, Alex was bound to. She tried to lean forward, but rough fabric straps snaked around her chest, tying her to her chair, and her arms were cuffed to the table.

Damn it, not this again. Already she'd been restrained by David. Then held in a cell at the sheriff's office. Who'd captured her this time?

A woman sat across the table. Loose strands of brown hair dangled by her ears, framing her angular face, and she wore black tactical gear. Her eyes burned bright blue. The sight of those blue eyes sent a spike of clarity through Alex's mind. It was the flying woman. The one who'd chased down their car, who'd knocked Alex out after that.

"Hello," the woman said. "I wanted to ask you some questions."

Again with the questions? Already, Alex had been interrogated twice in the last twelve hours. Neither time had gone well for her. However, this environment was a stark contrast to that dingy laundry room or even the interrogation room at the sheriff's office. With the sterile walls and bright lights, this place looked almost like a lab.

That didn't make any sense. With her flying powers and blue eyes, Alex had assumed this woman was working for Owen. But this place looked far too fancy to be anywhere near that cultist's rotten farm.

No, with the look of this room, only one place in Shelby came to mind: Torch Labs.

That had to be it. Jess's notebook had explicitly said not to trust Torch Labs. Now Alex knew why. They were involved with the parasites as well.

The woman waved her hands in front of Alex's face. "Hello? Are you listening to me?"

"Sorry," Alex said. She nodded toward Will. "Are you going to wake him up?"

"Not right now. I wanted to have a civilized conversation, and I think you're a bit more… level-headed than he is. Which is good, because I have a proposition for you. One I think you'll appreciate."

Alex frowned. She doubted she'd appreciate anything this woman, or Torch Labs, had to offer.

"But we'll get to that later," the woman said. "First, a few questions. I'll start with an easy one. What were you doing at Eldridge Creek?"

That again. Why was that always the first question? Alex considered for a moment. Should she freely answer this woman's questions? What did this woman, or Torch Labs want with her?

In the end, Alex relented. There wasn't much she could do right now, and the information wasn't particularly useful anyway.

"For my film class. I was supposed to film a documentary on the Shelby Fireball, and I'd arranged an interview with Jess Harris. She was the only witness who would talk to me, and she only invited me to the farm as a trap. Well, not a trap. I suppose she was trying to blow the whistle on Owen's cult, but it didn't go very well."

It wasn't fair to blame Jess, as much as Alex might want to. This whole time, Alex had wondered why Jess had never gone to the police. After the events at the sheriff's office, the answer was clear. She'd known the Sheriff was in Owen's pocket. So she'd invited Alex and her "documentary crew" instead, hoping to get some of Owen's illegal activities on camera.

"Okay," the woman said. "Before arriving at Eldridge Creek, how much did you know about the meteorite?"

"Nothing that wasn't in the newspapers. Nothing supernatural. But the meteorite has to do with these parasites, doesn't it? What are they? Aliens?"

The woman smiled but ignored Alex's questions. "What about Seth Mayhew? Why was he there?"

"Hold on," Alex said. "I'm tired of answering question after question and getting nothing in return. From now on, you won't hear another word out of me until I have a bit of incentive. Why don't we take turns with the questions? I answer one of yours, you answer one of mine. Does that seem fair, miss… what's your name?"

"Casey Andrews. And I agree, this should be a collaboration, not an interrogation. However, there are some things I'm not allowed to say. That is, not without clearance from Grace."

Wow, Alex had not expected that to work. Maybe this interrogation would end in her favor for once. Though, something Casey had said stuck out to her. The name Grace. She recognized that name. Back when she'd first encountered Earl, he'd accused her of working with Grace. This whole time, she'd wondered who that was, and now it finally clicked.

Grace Godwin. She was the owner of Godwin Farms, after inheriting the property from her grandfather. Alex only knew her name because she was one of the Shelby Fireball witnesses, one of the more talkative ones. Alex had hoped to interview her, but she'd moved away a few months after the Fireball and Alex couldn't get in contact.

The Godwin house was where David had locked Alex in the laundry room. That place had looked long abandoned, an empty shell. It was no wonder why Grace had moved out. But now she was working with Torch Labs? Why? There must be something more going on.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Casey drummed her fingers across the table. "You asked for my name, remember? That counts as your question. If you want to know about the parasites, you have to answer mine."

Right. What had she asked again? Something about Seth? "I don't really know Seth. We hired him to help with the documentary because he had a drone. I found him at the aerospace club at Shelby State."

The chair squeaked as Casey leaned back, considering. She brushed her hair behind her ear, then shrugged. "Okay, fair is fair. So, the parasites. There are only three true parasites. One yellow, which inhabits Owen. One blue, which inhabits Grace. And one black, which inhabits Seth. These three are called the primes.

"The prime parasites came down in the meteorite. So yes, they are aliens. Our current understanding is that the meteorite acted as a sort of egg, incubating the parasites on their interstellar journey. They crash-landed at Eldridge Creek, and you know the rest."

Alex absolutely did not know the rest. Learning where the parasites came from was one thing, but what did they want? And what was the First Shadow, or the Holy Signal, and how did the parasites grant their wishes? There were too many questions. Unfortunately, Alex could only hold her tongue and wait.

"Did Seth mention anything about his computer?" Casey asked.

His computer? What did that have to do with anything? "I know he was working on a project for the career fair. Outside of that—wait, there was something about his laptop. Back at the barn, he said something about the parasite needing his laptop or else his powers would stop working."

Casey raised her eyebrows, and she opened her mouth, presumably to ask another question.

However, Alex cut her off. "It's my turn. Why do you care about Seth so much."

"That's an easy one. I just told you, he's one of the primes. All the other parasites are children of the primes, and they are inherently weaker, subservient. Owen has his cult, Grace has her subordinates, and Seth has, well, you and your boyfriend."

"So what, I'm just a pawn to you?"

"I didn't say that. But I answered your question. Why wasn't Seth with you when you left the sheriff's office?"

Oh shit, they knew what had happened at the sheriff's office? How long has Grace been watching them? "Look, Seth and I had a bit of a moral disagreement. After what went down with the Sheriff, I wanted to go to the police. The real police, not someone controlled by Owen. I figured it would be better if Seth wasn't with us."

"So, where is he now?"

"Why do you need Seth?" Alex asked.

"I just told you."

"No, you told me why you cared about him. Which was a dumb question on my part. But what do you need him for? And what about us? Why did you capture Will and I?"

Casey sat back in her chair and twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "Look, I'll cut to the chase. Grace wants your help in the fight against Owen. Not only is he one of the primes, but he was the first person to be infected by a parasite, and he's nearly evolved to the final stage.

"That is bad news for us. Which is why we want Seth. He's the newest prime host, and yet, his growth has been extraordinary. Even with the help of the First Shadow and whatever's on his laptop, he shouldn't be as strong as he is. To be frank, we need him."

So, the truth was out. Grace was trying to take down Owen. It shouldn't have been a surprise. Owen was clearly a bad dude. He'd kidnapped Alex, enslaved others, and he'd killed the people he couldn't control. He deserved to rot in jail, or worse. But why did Grace want to stop him?

"What does Owen want?" Alex asked. "I know he has his cult, but what's his end goal? Is it just power?"

"No, he has something specific in mind. Owen has a… unique sense of justice. He considers the world a place of sin, and he believes he is God's chosen warrior, charged with cleansing the earth and wiping the slate clean. Obviously, we can't let that happen."

Hmm. That seemed too easy of an answer. There had to be more going on with him. After all, Owen's followers were no saints. Earl and David and Riles were murderers. Pete was a fucking cannibal. There was no way Owen could see his cause as a righteous one.

"Now, my question," Casey said. "Where's Seth?"

"I don't know." A lie, technically. Alex did know where he was, or she had a sense of the right direction, due to her Pinpoint ability. But it wasn't like a map or a GPS, the feeling was closer to a compass, and Alex doubted that Casey would be satisfied with a vague direction.

"So," Alex said, "what's next? If we agree to help you, that is. What do you want Will and I for?"

"That depends. To be honest, Grace already sent two of her agents to scope out Seth's apartment. Turns out, he was already there, and they got into a bit of a scuffle. Seth killed one of them, and the other ran away. Which is why we came to you."

What? They already knew where Seth was. Then why ask? More importantly, it seemed their diplomacy needed some work. Getting into a fight with Seth was stupid. Though, she supposed it checked out. Since he'd gotten that shotgun, Seth had been a bit too trigger-happy for Alex's taste.

"When did this happen?" Alex asked.

"I got word about it ten minutes ago, right before I woke you up. We don't think Seth's going to come quietly, which is why I'm asking you for advice. Does he have any weaknesses? Any drawbacks to his abilities?"

Is that what this interview was about? They'd only woken Alex up so she could help them capture Seth? What a load of bullshit. "Listen, Seth's already fought a bunch of Owen's cultists, and every time I thought he'd die for sure. But Seth's like a cockroach that just won't stay dead.

"Killing him is one thing, but capturing him will be even harder. He has an ability that multiplies his strength whenever he's restrained. If you want my advice, I say leave him alone. At least for now. Once his mind has cleared a bit, he might be more open to hearing you out."

Casey cocked her head to the side, trying to hide the smile creeping up her cheeks. "I appreciate the warning, but I think I'll be fine. Seth might have bested Griffin and Perkins, but that's not surprising. They're complete amateurs. At least, they were, in Griffin's case. But my hypnosis ability will have Seth knocked out cold before he can even blink."

"Then why'd you ask my advice."

"Because Grace likes to be meticulous. Annoyingly so. She doesn't want to send me out without intel. Still, that tip about his strength multiplier is helpful."

Casey scooched her chair back and hovered into the air. She floated forward, index finger aiming straight for Alex's head. She'd gotten the information she needed, and now she was going to knock Alex out again.

"Wait!" Alex said. "Hold on! I have an ability as well. Pinpoint. It helps me find things. I can help you find Seth."

"He's at his apartment."

"Ten minutes ago, he was. But he was just attacked. No way he stays put after that. You need me. Besides, what's all this about fighting anyway? Let me talk to Seth. I'm sure he'll be happy to help you take down Owen."

Casey leaned back, and she stared into the corner. She waited for agonizing seconds, thinking. "I need to get clearance from Grace."

"Then get it. Trust me on this, you'll want my help. Seth is not someone who should be taken lightly."

"Fine."

The handcuffs released, all on their own, as well as the binds holding her to the chair. Alex puffed out a stale breath, and she shuddered, her muscles sore from the tight binds. The locks must have been electronic, somehow.

"I thought you needed clearance?" Alex asked.

Casey smiled, and she pulled her hair to the side, indicating toward her ear. Inside was a small black earbud. Grace had been listening the entire time. Of course, she'd been.

"Let's go," Casey said.