Free Vanish by Tom Pawlik Page A

couldn’t—or wouldn’t—talk. “You know what’s going on, don’t you?”
    The boy just stared at him. He could obviously hear Conner but didn’t seem to understand what he was saying.
    Conner tried again. “
Habla Español? ”
    The kid didn’t look Hispanic. His black hair and dark eyes made him look more Middle Eastern, maybe… Iranian or Palestinian.
    Conner tried to focus his attention on the road, but his thoughts returned to the creatures in the cemetery. Were they after them? Was it both of them they wanted or just the kid? And why couldn’t he get a clear look at them? They seemed to be wearing some kind of camouflage. It had all happened so fast, but still… it was as if they were out of focus. Just enough to prevent him from making out any identifying traits. Maybe it was some sort of high-tech camouflage device. And why not? Anyone who could make an entire population disappear would certainly be able to do something like that. Conner’s mind reeled.
    He recalled the repairman on the roof. That had been
before
the storm. Before everyone had disappeared. Maybe it wasn’t an illusion after all. Maybe this was some sort of orchestrated attack.
    But an attack by whom?
    As irrational as it all seemed, was there something extraterrestrial at work? What else could explain the bizarre cloud bank? Or cause his hallucination of Matthew?
    He turned onto the highway and headed back home. Maybe he’d be able to find some way to communicate with this kid. He obviously knew something about these creatures. Maybe he had been captured by them and had just escaped.
    Conner shook his head. He was a skeptic’s skeptic and now here he was, entertaining theories of, what? Government conspiracies? Alien abductions?
    Up ahead, sunlight glinted off of something metallic, coming toward them. It was another vehicle. He saw a single headlight.
    A motorcycle!
    Conner flashed his lights and slowed down. A knot tightened in his stomach. What if it was just more of the creatures? How many more of them were out here? What if they were tracking him or following him?
    The motorcycle passed by. The rider was a muscular guy in a black T-shirt, jeans, and a leather jacket. A long blond ponytail fluttered behind him. He slowed down and peered at them from behind dark glasses; then he turned around and came back.
    They both came to a stop on either side of the median.
    “Stay put.” Conner motioned to the boy while he got out of the car.
    The other man had gotten off his bike and reached behind his back. A moment later he had produced a handgun and pointed it directly at Conner. “Don’t move!”
    Conner swore. Just his luck—the second person he came across today was some freak who was going to shoot him!
    “Whoa, whoa!” Conner put his hands up. “Take it easy!”
    The man scowled at Conner. “Who are you?”
    Conner stared at the gun. “Uh… my name’s Conner. I… uh…” He wondered how much to tell this guy. “I live right up in Lake Forest.… Look, I’m in the same predicament you are.”
    The man leaned forward, keeping the gun pointed at Conner’s face. “How do
you
know what kind of predicament I’m in?”
    Conner forced a grim smile. “Well, let me guess. You woke up this morning to find everybody had disappeared.”
    “And what do you know about it?”
    “Nothing. That’s just what happened to me. I’m out looking for answers, same as you.”
    Conner could feel the stranger’s gaze boring through him from behind the dark glasses. “Look…” Conner softened his voice. His lawyer skills were kicking in. He needed to persuade this guy to put his gun away. “Look, I’m freaked out here too, okay? But let’s not do anything rash. I mean, we’ll both do better if we can work together, y’know? I just want some answers. Same as you.”
    The man lowered the gun slightly. “What’d you say your name was?”
    Conner nodded. He was making progress. “Hayden. Conner Hayden. I… I’m a lawyer. What