Description: CHAPTER ONE "KEEP GOING! DON''T LOOK BACK!" Vivian Harlow wanted to stop and find a place to hide, but the sound of explosions mixing with her mom''s commanding voice told her to keep moving. Around her, the few humans still standing attempted to hold off the horde of alien creatures that had overtaken the world''s most top-secret military base--Area 51. Vivian nervously scanned the room; it was massive, and she couldn''t remember the way out. Viv ran as fast as her legs could carry her, looking for a door or an exit sign . . . anything that could lead her to safety and out of this chaos. But someone--or some thing --rushed up behind her. Before she could react, whatever had been chasing her grabbed ahold of her shoulder and pushed her against the wall. Viv''s head whipped back, and she saw her mom''s face. A wave of relief washed over her, and all she wanted was to jump into her mother''s arms and hug her, but she knew there wasn''t time. She watched as her mom frantically punched a code into the control panel on a low air vent along the back wall. The door to the airshaft unlocked with a clunk, and the metal gate flung open. "Quick! Get in and start crawling!" she shouted at Viv, fighting to be heard over the roaring booms and explosions. She lifted Viv into the open airshaft. "But what about you? You can''t fit in here! I''m not leaving you!" Viv cried out as her body tumbled into the tight air duct. The icy metal of the vent burned against Viv''s skin as she tried to climb back up. The lights from the hall bounced off the platinum walls that now surrounded her. Viv squinted up at her mom, and their eyes locked. "I''ll be okay," her mom said. "Your friends are already in the airshaft. Go look after them." For the first time in her life, Viv could see her mother was frightened. Viv''s jaw trembled, but before she could choke a few last words out, her mom''s body was wrenched backward by some unseen force. "NOOO!" Viv screamed, struggling to climb back out of the airshaft. She froze in horror as she saw her mom levitating over a pile of unconscious bodies. Her arms dangled by her sides, and her whole body went limp. Nearby, Viv could see one of the creatures with its arm extended, using its mind to hold her mom in the air telekinetically. Viv took in the creatures, the aliens , in their true form. Standing three times the size of any human, they were utterly terrifying. And there were dozens of them. Viv didn''t know what to do. She desperately wanted to climb out of the air vent and save her mom, but how could one kid stop all these aliens? Around the room, the aliens began to rise toward the ceiling, their eyes scanning for any remaining humans. One turned in her direction. Viv couldn''t tell if it saw her or not, but a frightened squeak escaped her throat as she ducked back into the vent. The creature floated past without stopping. Close call. The others were already in the airshaft, and she had to find them. Scurrying farther along the metal floor, she found her two friends huddling and terrified. Charlotte and Ray sat motionless. Their eyes filled with tears as they looked to Viv. "What do we do, Viv?" Charlotte asked, her voice low and trembling. They''re waiting for me to take charge . . . But I''m just as scared as they are! CHAPTER TWO One day earlier . . . Viv stared into her locker for the last time. All around her, she could hear the other students of Groom Lake Middle School celebrating, throwing pencil cases into the air and tearing up essays. She pulled off the Marvel comic book covers that lined the sides of her locker like wallpaper. Her vintage postcard of computer scientist Alan Turing had faded over the past year, but she stashed it in her backpack, anyway. Finally, one by one, she peeled off the dozens of astronomy stickers that covered the locker door. A photo of Albert Einstein sticking his tongue out came loose and fluttered past her. As she bent down to pick it up, her locker door slammed shut just above her head. " BOO! " "AH!" Viv clutched her heart and looked up to see a familiar wave of snowy-blond hair. "HAH!" Charlotte cackled, her icy-blue eyes sparkling. "You should''ve seen your face! You look like you peed your pants!" "Geez, Charlotte! Don''t scare me like that!" Viv shouted. "Wait. Did you pee your pants?" "What? No!" Viv replied, though she couldn''t help her cheeks getting red with embarrassment. Charlotte let out a big snort. It was so loud that other kids in the hallway turned their heads to stare. She had always been a bit of an oddball, and it didn''t help that she''d inherited a slight Australian accent from her dad that made her loud voice stand out even more. Nobody at school really appreciated Charlotte''s brashness. But to Viv, she was wonderfully weird and awkward in all the right ways. "It''s summer vacation, baby! Are you stoked or what?" Charlotte exclaimed. "Oh yeah! Totally!" Viv replied, smiling half-heartedly. As glad as she was to be done with classes and homework for the summer, she couldn''t deny that the thought of leaving middle school--and her friends--was freaking her out. "Well, you better be excited," Charlotte continued. "Because next year you''re going to that boring school for magnets." "It''s not a school for magnets, it''s a magnet school. As in, a specialized high school for kids that are good in math and science." "Is it called a magnet school because it pulls you away from all your friends?" "No," Viv replied. "Or . . . ugh . . . maybe." "Well, I know what I''m going to do this summer," Charlotte said, twirling her hair between her fingers. "I''m finally gonna master playing guitar with my feet!" Last week, when Viv was over at Charlotte''s house for dinner, she found a welcome pamphlet from Bartram School for the Arts, a school for musically talented students. It came as no surprise that Charlotte had been accepted. She was the best guitar player Viv had ever seen, and was already so good at playing regularly that strumming with her toes had become her latest obsession. Viv was happy her friend was following her dreams, but deep down Viv wondered if their friendship could survive four years apart. "Plus, this summer we have to plan you the best thirteenth birthday party!" Charlotte pretended to wipe a tear. "You''re finally growing up!" "Hey!" Viv said, "It''s not my fault I started kindergarten early! You know my mom--" "STOP RIGHT THERE, YOUNG MAN!" A high-pitched voice bounced off the metal lockers and clanged in Viv''s ears. A screech like thatcould only be coming from one source--Mrs. Agner, the crotchety old geography teacher. Viv turned toward the commotion, and a disheveled young boy darted toward them in a whirlwind of flailing arms and ill-fitting clothes. "It wasn''t me, I swear!" the boy cried. "I''m an innocent man! I was framed!" Viv quickly sidestepped as the boy brushed past her, sending her curly black hair fluttering. "GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!" Mrs. Agner roared after him, clomping down the hallway in her bright green heels. After a few moments of muffled shouting, Mrs. Agner walked back in their direction, with the young boy marching dejectedly by her side. He let out a heavy breath as his scruffy brown hair flopped over his fogged-up glasses. At eleven years old, Ray Mond was the youngest kid in the entire eighth-grade class, but he was also the smartest. He was Viv''s next-door neighbor, and they had been traveling to school together every day since he had skipped a few grades in elementary school. Viv had hoped that Ray would be going to her magnet school, too, but her mom had hinted that his family couldn''t afford it, which Viv found strange, considering Ray''s dad and her mom both worked at the same place. "I''m telling you, I''m a scapegoat! It''s all a setup!" Ray shouted, trying to reason with the infuriated Mrs. Agner. She finally let go of her vise grip and whipped around to face the shaking boy. "Mr. Mond!" the fuming teacher said. "You''re lucky if I don''t suspend you right now!" "Technically, since the bell already rang and it''s the last day of school, we''re all suspended until September," Ray whispered under his breath. Mrs. Agner turned cherry red. Viv braced for the explosion, but there was no arguing with Ray''s logic. She marched off with a huff that sort of sounded like a deflating koala bear. "Ray!" Charlotte said. "What''d you do that made her so angry?" Ray took a few deep breaths and tucked his wrinkled shirt into the waistband of his underpants, which were riding up a few inches higher than his pants. "I was in the physics lab testing out the propulsion capabilities of my meatball catapult. It''s not my fault that she didn''t read the ''Experiment in Progress'' sign!" He pointed toward Mrs. Agner, who was still stomping down the hallway. Sure enough, caught in a chunk of her frizzy red locks on the back of her head was a fair amount of marinara sauce and chopped meat. "Oh, I forgot to mention," Ray continued. "The catapult works! First meatball to break the sound barrier."

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