Arrival Read Online Free

guards?’ I asked as we passed another guy in a black uniform.
    â€˜They work for Mr Shackleton,’ said Peter. ‘We have them here instead of cops.’
    â€˜Instead of cops? Is that even legal?’
    â€˜Must be.’
    â€˜But doesn’t the government make sure there’s police everywhere?’ I asked. ‘Isn’t that a rule?’
    â€˜I dunno,’ said Peter. ‘But it’s not as if we need both. Phoenix has, like, zero crime.’
    A bit further up the road, Peter stopped at the big fountain in the town square. ‘This is my stop,’ he said, thrusting a thumb over his shoulder at the tall, black building I’d noticed on my way in. ‘My dad’s finishing work early today and I’m supposed to meet him here.’
    I stared up at the building. ‘What is that place anyway?’
    â€˜Shackleton building,’ said Peter. ‘Just offices and meeting rooms and stuff. Like our town hall, I guess.’
    â€˜Pretty big town hall,’ I muttered. I knew I was probably starting to sound paranoid, but I couldn’t shake the feeling there was more to the building than that. ‘Is that all that goes on in there? Just meetings?’
    â€˜Uh-huh,’ Peter said blankly. ‘Well, just that and the alien autopsies.’
    I rolled my eyes and his face broke into a grin.
    â€˜Mate, just because a building’s big and black and shiny doesn’t mean there’s something suss going on inside.’
    â€˜All right, all right,’ I said, slightly frustrated but trying not to show it. ‘Sorry.’
    â€˜It’s all good,’ said Peter. ‘But just try to relax, will you? I know Phoenix can seem a bit weird at first, but it’s an okay town once you get used to it.’
    â€˜Yeah. Well, see you tomorrow, okay?’
    â€˜Yeah, see you.’
    I flipped my mobile open for about the hundredth time that day. Still no reception.
    How long would it take Dad to start worrying that he hadn’t heard from us?
    I hopped on my bike and rode the rest of the way home, my frustration building. As soon as I got inside, I went into the kitchen and tried the landline. No dial tone. The lines were still down.
    Unbelievable. How much longer did they think this place could keep functioning without phones?
    Get a grip, I told myself . They’re working on it.
    Maybe Peter was right. Maybe I was just stressing out over nothing. This place wasn’t all bad. As far as first days at a new school went, this one had been pretty good.
    By the time I got to the top of the stairs, I was almost ready to take his advice and forget about the few little things that had been bugging me about Phoenix.
    But then I opened my bedroom door.
    Have you ever had one of those moments where all of a sudden you just know that something really, really bad is coming? One of those moments where, somehow, even though there’s no real sign of anything being wrong, you just feel it in your gut that there’s major trouble on the way?
    As I walked into my bedroom and glanced at my bed, I was punched in the face by one of those moments.
    Someone had been in here.
    Someone had come into my room and made my bed.
    Sitting on top of the pillow was a small, unmarked yellow envelope.
    And before I opened it up, before I even touched that envelope, I knew there was nothing but trouble inside.

Chapter 4
    W EDNESDAY , M AY 6
99 DAYS
    Hang on, I told myself, glancing around the room. Calm down. Maybe this is normal. Maybe we have a cleaning service.
    But no, nothing else in the room had been touched. My pyjamas were lying on the floor in the corner. A half-empty glass of water was still sitting on my bedside table.
    Whoever had been in here hadn’t been invited.
    I gritted my teeth and grabbed a textbook from my desk to defend myself. Because clearly their guns and meat cleavers would be no match for my Studies in Geography.
    I walked back out into the