Haley DeVough was not normal. With her freakishly white hair, pallid complexion, and violet eyes, she could unnerve even an undertaker. When she strode through the halls at school, even the football-playing seniors-the Kings of the School- stood by to let her pass. Teachers avoided calling on her in class, and when they passed back anything, they did it swiftly without so much as a glance in her direction, their discomfort obvious. All except for Mr. Loxley, our history teacher.

For some unknown reason, Haley was his favorite student and he called on her frequently to answer obscure questions about whatever we were talking about that day. This odd behavior was the subject of much of our school's rumor mill: Mr. Loxley was really an alien sent to earth to prepare us for an invasion Haley was his sidekick, he was secretly her dad, and she had mind control powers and was using them to manipulate him. (That one was definitely NOT possible-why would she do it to only Mr. Loxley?-but the others? It wouldn't surprise me. I could just see her dragging some of us onto her starship and dissecting us. Shudder.) Those are only a few. But whatever the reason, I didn't mind, because as long as Mr. Loxley was focused on Haley, he wasn't paying any attention at all to the rest of us.

I usually spent that period either finishing up my homework passing notes with my friends, but today, I gazed out the window, seeing nothing. I should clean my room today, or else Mom will get mad. Oh and I've got to baby-sit Ivi after school… Lazy thoughts drifted through my mind. And they would've kept on drifting except someone suddenly started shaking me.

"What? Huh?" My friend Darin gave an exasperated sigh. "Sleeping Beauty finally awakes. Listen man, they've called you over the pa like twenty bazillion times! 'Would Damien Cadaver please report to the main office? Repeat, would Damien Cadaver please report to the main office.'" He imitated as I got up and strode to the door.

I froze when I got to the front of the room. Haley and Mr. Loxley weren't there. In place of our teacher sat, Mr. Lazowvitch, the frumpy, old, (He had to be at least eighty.) Russian sub. My eyes trained in on Haley's desk: empty.

"Hey, man, what's up? Didn't you know we had a sub?"

"N-no." I answered Darin's question. For some reason, realizing that that Haley and Mr. Loxley were both gone gave me the jitters. My friend laughed and then scoffed, "He's deaf AND blind!" I laughed nervously along with him before scurrying out of the room.

It took me only a minute to get to the office. I spent those sixty seconds wondering what I could have done to get me sent there. Did they know about the Whiteout incident in Mr. Solano's room? No, Darin and I hadn't told anyone. Had they somehow found out about my part in the Spaghetti Conspiracy from last week? That couldn't be it-I'd covered my tracks to well. Which put me back to square one: Why had I been called to the office?

Upon reach the office, the secretary-who was in the middle of a very animated phone call-directed me with a wave of her meaty hand to the principal's office. I opened the door to see our principle sorting papers at her desk. Ms. Lanc looked up, cleared her throat, and articulated in her hoarse smokers' voice, "Mr. Cadaver, take a seat." I did so and she resumed talking.

"Mr. Cadaver, it seems that Mr. Loxley has chosen you to go on a short field trip. The permission slip has already been mailed to your parents and signed. The lunch ladies have prepared you a nutritious lunch." At this, she reached under her desk and produced a brown paper sack, neatly stapled at the top. Ms. Lanc passed it to me before continuing.

"The bus leaves in eight minutes, so go pack your things, go the bathroom, do whatever you need to do, but be outside in eight minutes." She waved her hand dismissively, indicating that I needed to leave. The whole event passed so quickly, it didn't really have time to register.

My allotted time passed in a rush of going back to my classroom, hurriedly answering everyone's questions, packing my stuff, going to the restroom, and sprinting out the school doors, making it just as the bus pulled up.

Once I was on it, I realized something. I was the only one of the bus. I sat there for about a minute trying to puzzle it out. Ms. Lanc had said that Mr. Loxley had invited me, she didn't mention anyone else. But I still thought there would be other kids. I had assumed this was some kind of teacher-nominates-a-student-for-a-prize-for-being-good kind of thing. Not that I was good, but…

"Excuse me, but is anyone else going to be coming with us?" The bus driver said nothing. "Uh…Am I the only one going on this trip?" Silence. I tried a few more times, but the driver kept quiet. Eventually, I took a seat in the back, partly because it's more fun back there and partly to get as far away from the taciturn chauffeur.

I spent the ride pondering my situation. Where was I going? Why was I the only one on the bus? Where were Haley and Mr. Loxley? After about forty-five minutes, the yellow vehicle screeched to a halt. I peered curiously out my window, not really sure what I was going to see. But I could never have imagined the sight that greeted my eyes: a junkyard.

"Uh…excuse me, but I think there's been a mistake." The bus driver made no reply except to open the doors. Realizing I had no other option, I grudgingly stepped off my ride and watched it peel away down the road. I did a three-sixty. Junk one way, road the next. Like it or not, I was stuck here.

I walked through the open, rusty gates of the junkyard. I might as well have a look, seeing as I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. I meandered through the twisted path of the yard until I suddenly heard voices up ahead. There were still to far away to make out, but after I'd crept closer, I was able to hear clearly what was being said, but I couldn't see them. It sounded like a man and a girl were having some sort of argument. I crouched down behind the nearest heap of scrap, praying they wouldn't notice me.

"-can't wait any longer, Erusis! We're running out of time!"

"I know that! But we need him!"

"People are dying, Erusis! My people!"

"I know that, Lady Ivari! But, let's just give him a little more time. If Damien Cadaver doesn't show in five minutes, we find someone else, okay?" I backed away slowly. Just who were these people and what did they need me for? I probably would've kept backing away, except that I had the misfortune of stepping on a brittle, rusted out piece of metal. Under the weight of my foot, it instantly cracked, sending a-not loud-but clearly audible sound through the vicinity.

Silence.

And then the girl's commanding voice again-Ivari or whatever her name was. "Show yourself!" I froze. Should I make a run for it? "I said show yourself!" Not knowing what else to do, I slowly rose only to find myself looking into the violet eyes of Haley DeVough, and right behind her? Mr. Loxley.

Fifteen Minutes Later

"So let me get this straight," I said looking directly at Haley, "You're really an alien princess named Ivari-"

"Princess Ivari the Valiant Evening Star of Rosaval."

"Whatever. Anyway, your planet's people are dying of some horrible disease-"

"The Red Death of Decay."

"-So they sent you here along with your dad's advisor Mr. Lox- I mean Erusis to find the cure. And for some reason I'm supposed to help you with that even though A.) I don't really know you, B.) You're probably lying. In fact you are lying, and C.) You pretty much kidnapped me and took me a stinkin' junk yard!"

I glared accusingly at my teacher. "Hey," he protested, holding up his hands in show of defense. "You're parents signed the permission slip. Complain to them."

"And where did t hat permission slip say I was going?" I was expecting him to mumble something like the science museum, but instead, he gave a wry grin and answered, "Here of course!"

"What do you mean?"

"You see, Damien, there's something we haven't told you yet," Haley or Ivari or whatever her name was, articulated, stepping towards me, "Something you need to know. Your mom is from my home planet. She came to earth fifteen years, met your human father, and had you."

"What-?"

"Yes, Damien, you're half-alien. You're half Rosavalian."

"You're lying!" I stumbled backwards, trying to scramble away, but Erusis caught me. He had a death grip on my elbows. "Let me go! LET ME GO!" No matter how I wormed or wiggled, my teacher wouldn't let me go. "Please, just let me! I get you're aliens! I am too! I won't tell anyone! I swear! Just please let me go!"

"But, you see Damien, we can't let you leave," Haley, no Ivari purred. "You are the cure, Damien, the cure my people have been waiting for. Your blood-Human and Rosavalian-is the only remedy for the Red Death of Decay. Me people need you, Damien."

"What! No! NO! I won't do it! I won't!"

"Ah, but that's the beauty of it, you don't have a choice. Here on earth, your parents just have to sign a slip of paper-one mere slip," she said this part about an inch from my face, clearly rubbing it in, "and we can do whatever we want with you. And that's what we're going to do. We're going to take you back to Rosaval and harvest your blood."

"WHAT! NO!"

"Don't worry, you'll still be alive. You'll just be in cage with blood collecting tubes connected to your body."

"No, no, no…"

"You'll be fed, watched for, taken care of. You'll be saving people. Damien. Saving people." Ivari had a maniacal glint in her eyes, when she said this and I knew there was no escape. But that didn't stop me from struggling, while Erusis tried to inject me a hefty dose of muscle relaxant. He finally succeeded. All that was left for me to do was watch in mute horror as Ivari summoned her starship and her partner loaded me on. With grim unease, I watched the door of the ship slam shut. I would've given anything to still be in that junkyard.