Alpha

“Should I text him back?” Bethany said, lounging on her bed. Darla sat on the edge of the bed beside her. The fairy lights strung over the headboard glinted overhead. Darla adjusted her beaded bracelet, then looked up with a grin.

“Do it,” Darla said.

“Oh my gosh, girl! You’re going to get me in so much trouble!” Bethany laughed and sat upright. “Okay. Fine. But you have to tell me what to say.”

“Um…I don’t know.”

Bethany laughed. “What? You don’t know? You’re the one pushing me to do it!”

“Okay, okay! Um–” Darla sat up and brushed back her hair as if she were preparing for a job interview. “You could say, um–wait. Do you want to go out with him?”

Bethany kicked her feet excitedly. “I don’t know!”

“Okay, then let’s leave it open-ended. You could say…Steve, I’d love to, but I’m doing stuff with my aunt tomorrow.”

“What? What kind of stuff?”

“So, um…you’re running errands. But you could say, if I get done early, I would love to hang out.”

“Okay! Sure.”

As Bethany typed a response on her smartphone, Darla peered at the screen, holding her breath. Bethany’s thumb hovered over the “SEND” button. When she tapped the screen, Darla yelped and clapped her hands to her mouth.

“I bet he’ll text you back in, like, a minute,” Darla said.

“No way!”

“Yeah. I know he acts like he’s cool, but he’s not.”

“Girl, how would you even know?”

“I can tell. I know things.”

“Okay, well–” Bethany glanced over at the window for a moment, then stopped. She paused.

“Wait,” Darla said. “He’s not outside, is he?”

“No, he’s not. I thought I saw a flashlight or something for a second. I bet he–” Bethany looked back at the window. Her eyes narrowed.

“What?” Darla said.

“Wait. There is something out there.”

Bethany walked to the window and pulled back the curtain. A beam of light shined a spotlight on the front yard, illuminating a patch of grass in the darkness. Darla’s eyes traced the beam as it ascended into the sky and faded out of view.

“Weird,” Darla said. “I bet it’s part of Steve’s love confession.”

Bethany laughed. “Oh my gosh! Stop!”

“That’s his love light. He’s showing you how much he loves you.”

“Stop! No, he’s not!”

Bethany laughed as she flopped down on the bed. Darla sat beside her and leaned against the headboard. The memory of the light quickly faded from their minds as they scrolled through social media. Eventually, Bethany turned on the TV that sat on her dresser. Darla fiddled with her bracelet as a sitcom played on the screen.

“I’m going on a snack run,” Bethany said. “Do you want anything?”

“No. I’m good.”

Bethany stood up, then paused when something caught her eye. She walked over to the window and pushed the curtain back. Darla watched her, chewing on a bottle lid.

“That light’s still out there,” Bethany said.

Darla shrugged. “Maybe it’s a helicopter.”

“Okay, but–why would it be shining right on my parents’ lawn?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they’re criminals.”

Bethany laughed. “No. They are definitely not criminals. My mom freaks out if I go one mile over the speed limit.”

“Hey, you don’t know what they do all day. I bet they’ve got a drug ring.”

Bethany laughed and rolled her eyes, then headed down the hallway. When she returned, Darla lay flat on her back, flipping through the TV channels.

“Are you getting tired already?” Bethany said.

“No. I’m just bored.”

Bethany tossed a bag of chips on the bed and sat down. Her mind wandered as an infomercial jingle played. When she glanced at her curtains, the light glinted through the fabric.

“Is that light still out there?” Darla said.

“Yeah. This is seriously starting to creep me out.”

“Are you sure it’s not from a streetlight?”

“No! This road doesn’t even have streetlights.”

Darla paused, then walked over to the window. The beam shined steadily on the grass.

“It’s so weird how there’s, like, no source,” Darla said.

“Right! That’s what I’m saying. It just goes up into the sky.”

After studying the beam, Bethany shook her head and hurried to her closet. She slipped on a pair of sandals over her socks.

“Are you going out there?” Darla said.

“Yeah. I’m going to find out what it is.”

“You’re going to wake up your parents, though.”

“No, I won’t. I’ll just go out the window.”

“They’re going to think you’re sneaking out.”

Darla laughed. “So? If they see me, I’ll just be like–uh, do you see that giant light in the middle of our yard? I’m trying to figure out what it is, thanks.”

The windowpane screeched in the frame as Bethany pushed the window open, then removed the screen and stepped outside. Lightning bugs floated in the air. She folded her arms across her chest and stepped forward, a chill hovering in the breeze.

The illuminated patch of grass looked bright green as if it were daytime. Bethany slowed her pace as she walked closer. When she approached, a quiet hum started to murmur in her ears. Warmth fluttered inside her body. Something drew her toward the light like an invisible string pulling her forward.

Suddenly, Bethany was darting back to the window. She jumped inside, then yelped and stumbled forward onto the bed. Darla jumped back and shrieked.

“Oh my God!” Darla said. “What happened?”

“I don’t know! I was just walking toward it, and then I’m running back here!”

Darla slammed the window shut and closed the curtains. She draped a blanket over Bethany’s shoulders, then sat next to her. Darla shivered and tightened the blanket around herself.

“You looked so creepy for a second there,” Darla said. “You looked like a zombie.”

“Oh my God. What? No way.”

“Yeah. You were walking really slowly, and then you lifted your hand, and then–boom.”

Bethany buried her face in her hands. “Oh my God. I’m not going back there. Did you close the window?”

“Yeah! I just did.”

“Okay. Let’s just forget about the light.”

“Okay. I’ll probably be gone by tomorrow anyway.”

Bethany sat back against the headboard and focused on the TV. Fear lingered in her eyes. Darla fiddled with a bottle cap as they watched a black-and-white movie in silence.

The moon hung high in the sky when they changed into their pajamas. Bethany lowered the volume on the TV set to a low murmur, then climbed into bed. Darla slipped into the sleeping bag near the closet. As Bethany gazed at the wall in front of her, memories of the light flitted in her mind. She imagined the light hovering outside her window, peering into her bedroom like an eye. As the night wore on, she tossed and turned before eventually drifting to sleep.

Bethany’s eyes opened.

A quiet hum filled the air as the light shined in front of Bethany’s face like a signal. Bethany and Darla stood in the yard, gazing into the warmth. A house across the street was faintly visible through the beam. Up close, the light appeared to glow in a rich buttery yellow.

Darla slowly lifted her hand. When she touched the light, she shrieked and stumbled back, then turned and darted down the sidewalk. Bethany watched her disappear into the darkness before turning back to the beam. She sucked in her breath as she lifted her hand. Her nose hovered a centimeter from the warmth. She spread out her hand, then pressed her palm against the light.

In an instant, her entire body went numb. Images flashed through her mind: darkness, volcanoes, oceans, forests, deserts. She saw cities, crowds and unrecognizable faces. Imperceptible voices flitted through her consciousness. Slowly, the images began to disappear, overcome by a shining light that grew brighter like an exploding star. Something started to solidify in her mind. As heat rose inside her body, Bethany’s frame tingled as if she were about to float into the sky.

Bethany jerked awake.

Daylight filtered through the bedroom curtains. When Bethany peered over the bed, Darla was still asleep in the sleeping bag. Her hands trembled as she grabbed her smartphone. The time read 7:46 A.M. When she sat upright, she realized for the first time that her clothes were soaked in sweat. She shakily drank from her water bottle, then pushed back the blanket and stood up.

Her heart raced as she approached the window. When she pulled back the curtains, the light was gone. A woman across the street knelt in front of her garden as she pulled weeds.

Bethany closed the curtains, then sat on the edge of her bed and rubbed her forehead. Darla stirred and opened her eyes. She squinted in the sunlight, then glanced up.

“Hey,” Bethany said, still clutching the water bottle.

“Morning,” Darla mumbled. “Um–what time is it?”

“Quarter to eight.”

Darla nodded groggily before sitting up. Her hair stuck up at dark angles. They sat in silence for several minutes.

“Is Sherry making us breakfast?” Darla said.

Bethany shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t know if she’s even awake yet.”

“Okay. I’m going to hit the bathroom.”

She scratched her hair as she opened the door and trudged down the hallway. Bethany studied the doorway, then tapped the water bottle lid against her lower lip. She jumped when the air kicked on, rustling the curtains above the vent.

Darla trudged back into the room. “Forgot my toothbrush,” she mumbled.

Silence hung in the air as Darla searched inside her duffel bag, then walked back to the bathroom. Bethany tilted back the bottle and drained the last of the water. When she glanced down, she noticed for the first time that she was still wearing sandals. Grass stains darkened her socks.

Darla rustled around in the bathroom down the hall. Bethany glanced at the window again, a single word echoing in her mind.

Omega.