Cory and Thomas, friends since elementary school, planned a quiet, relaxing summer. That was before they met Tobias. Tobias was not quite from this Earth. And he was not alone.

 

How about a little from the book? Here's an excerpt. Sixteen year old Lori, soon to be Cory's girl friend, has just met 14 year old Tobias. With heavily armed strangers trying to capture them she tries to find someone to help at the local Frosty Freeze drive in.:

 

     Lori felt Tobias grab her hand, and recognized the protective nature of his grasp. He started to pull, and she yanked back gently.

     "The back door," she whispered harshly. "There! It's always open!"

     Before she got the last out, Tobias was already dragging her toward the entrance. The smell of rotting food was around the back door, the dumpster was close and the early summer sun had done its duty to the leftovers that were stored there between trash pickups. The old battered screen slammed behind them, and the short, dark hall opened quickly into the kitchen of the place.

     "Hi, Lori!" the cook shouted.

     Max had graduated the year before, and was just waiting for classes to start over at the college in Cedar City. He was always friendly, and attached to Rachel Covens.

     Lori breathed deeply. Those two sentences seemed to always go together with the boys in the town. He’s attached. Pick any two names. She followed Tobias through the kitchen.

     VerDean turned around when she saw Lori push out of the kitchen toward the dining area. She slapped her hands on her hips, the stub of a pencil sticking out from between her fingers, and whistled.

     "Geese, Louise!" she said. "Hey, Lori! That one’s a little young even for you, ain't he?"

     “He’s my cousin,” she said weakly as they passed the older lady.

     She saw Thomas and Wendy still in the corner booth, and pulled Tobias with her down the row of booths. Thomas looked up at them and then stared at the boy.

     "Hi, Lori," he said. "Hi, Tobias. What are you doing here?"

     Cory immediately turned around, and smiled at Lori, then looked at the boy.

     “You have a habit of disappearing fast,” he said. “Where did you go the other day?”

     Tobias said quickly, “These are your friends?”

     “It’s a small town,” Lori snapped. “You’ve met? Look, we . . . I need your help. There are these guys…"

     "Guy trouble is your middle name," Cory cut in, only half smiling at his insensitive joke.

     Lori grimaced, and said, "I'm not kidding. Tobias, I could use a little help here. What’s wrong with you, Wendy?"

     Wendy had started to open her mouth, but gasped instead. She stared past Lori, toward the main entrance. Lori turned around.

     Five men had entered, spreading out to cover both the front and back entrances to the diner. They all wore black jumpsuits and dark glasses. They had weapons strapped to their waists, with several other utility pouches strapped to the same belt. They wore black berets. One, the apparent leader, had a headset on with a tiny microphone suspended at his right cheek. They stood as if they were waiting for something.

     There were only a dozen or so teens left in the diner. They turned, almost as a unit, to face the intruders. The noise level dropped immediately. The room became silent. Lori pushed Tobias behind her. Thomas, sensing her attempt to protect the younger boy, reached out and pulled him into their booth, pushing him all the way to the back. Then he stood to provide a shield for the boy to hide behind.

     "What's going on?" he whispered.

     "I wish I knew," Lori almost cried. "I don't know who they are, but they seem to want Tobias for some reason. They grabbed his sister a while ago. We need your dad, Thomas, but we can't get there. They blocked the road."

     "What do you want?" VerDean asked, stepping out from behind the counter.

     "Two teens came in here a few minutes ago," one of the men said casually. "We just want to talk to them."

     "The place is full of teens," VerDean said. "They come in and out a lot. Why don't you take off your sunglasses so we can see your faces? Then order something. This is a restaurant, not a public park."

     "These two, a boy and a girl," the man said carefully, "came in through the back entrance."

     VerDean smiled, and said, "Then I can help you."

     Lori felt her heart skip a beat.

     "No one came through the kitchen, but kids are all the time ducking in to use the restroom. They leave it a mess. I get to clean up after them. Lord knows I don’t have anything else to do."

     The leader nodded to one of the others. He paired off, and the two went into the kitchen.

     "You just wait a minute!" VerDean snapped.

     "Ma'am, just stay put," the leader said evenly. "We have every right to search you place, and we will do it. When we find what we are looking for, then we will be gone."

     The two who had gone through the kitchen came back, and shook their heads. The leader keyed the microphone, spoke softly into it, and waited a moment. He looked around the room.

     "Not you, old lady, or the cook," he said softly. "But the girl looked like you."

     He pointed directly at Lori. She shrank back against the wall. Immediately the teens around her filled in and half hid her from the gaze of the leader. Lori stared around at her friends.

     "Max," VerDean ordered, "go in the office and call Brady."

     "Don't call Brady, son," the man said evenly, letting his hand drop casually to the handgun sheathed at his side. "He’s the local sheriff, I would guess. We don't need him. Now, your name is 'Lori', isn't it?"

     Lori wanted to hide behind the wall, but there was nowhere else to go. She simply stood stiffly, waiting for something else to happen.

     "Where's the boy?" the man said simply.

     There was silence through the room. Only the sizzle of hamburgers forgotten on the griddle broke it. Lori glanced at the booth, an almost involuntary action that filled her immediately with regret.

     The leader keyed the mike again, said something, waited, and responded. He looked directly at her. His mouth was thin, his jaw tight.

     "Your father was wrong, little girl. We heard your conversation with the boy in the car. Every word. We don't want to hurt you or the boy. In fact, we don't want you at all. Just the boy. Come on out, boy. We know you're here. You can't hide from us anymore."

There was a dread silence again.

     "You can't just come in here—" VerDean started.  Her eyes flashed.

     "We can," the leader said evenly, pointing directly at the waitress. "You don't want to go there, lady. You will lose. Just leave us to our work and we'll be gone. Boy! Come on out or I will send two of my men to get you. Now!"

     Lori glanced at the booth again, and saw Cory getting up. She felt a wave of horror sweep through her. She knew the men would eventually come back and grab Tobias, but she didn't want to think Cory would betray her or the boy!

     "Why won't you leave me alone?” Cory shouted as he got up. "What have you done with my sister? I want her back!"

     The leader spoke into the microphone again, then said, "Come over here, boy, and we'll take you to her. That's all we ever wanted to do."

     "You'd never be able to find me if you didn't have my sister," Cory shouted. "I had to stay close to her!"

     "Come on out now. It's over. We have some men who want to ask you a few questions. That's all."

     Cory crawled over the boy, and pushed into the aisle next to Thomas. He stood there a moment. Then he cleared his throat.

     "These people all know you're taking me," he said. "They all know you have my sister. They'll tell everyone, and they'll get the Sheriff to come after us."

     "By that time we'll be finished, and you'll be free to go anyway," the man said. "Come on, and let's get this over with."

     "What if they won't let you take me away?" Cory asked.

     "They don't want to get involved," the man said harshly. "They really don't."

     Cory looked around and shrugged.

     "You're probably right," he said quietly.

     “White shirt and pants,” the leader of the group said quietly. “That’s not a good outfit for someone trying to hide.”

     Cory looked down at his pants, and said, “Yes. Well, I had a date tonight.”

     “You’ve got a different one now,” the leader said. “Come this way.”

     Lori was the only one who saw Tobias start to stand up, and Cory's hand pressed against his face pushing him back into the booth. Thomas shielded the action from the strangers, and Lori from the other teens.

     "Thomas, tell my father," Cory whispered, then stared directly into Lori's eyes.

     For a fraction of an instant she was sure they were the only two in the restaurant that night. The feeling ended, and Cory walked toward the front of the diner where the men stood.

     Without formality, two men flanked him, and took him by the arms and half pushed, half carried him out the doors. The others followed. Lori ran to the front doors, and got there in time to see the men almost throw him into one of three Hummers in the lot. The men climbed into the vehicles, each apparently pre-assigned. The leader crawled into the same one Cory was in. The Hummers growled out of the lot in convoy fashion, the leader's vehicle in front, and headed west down the main street of town.

     "Cory!" Lori shouted.

     Somewhere in the background she was aware of squealing car tires. It wasn’t from the black hummers.

     The Hummers drove into the darkness, growling their way down Main Street, daring anyone to get in their way. At first only their taillights were visible, then even those swept out of sight around the curve down near the bridge.