by David Estes
My heart is thundering and I can’t hide my excitement. “Really? When? How?”
Anna laughs again. “We’ll get to all that. But first we need to get everyone up to speed.” The next hour is an exchange of information. First Ben tells our story of escaping subchapter 26 and our flight to the Resistance headquarters. Then he talks about the political challenges we’re facing, the animosity amongst the VPs, the pressure being added by President Nailin. When he talks about my father, I look away, chew on the side of my mouth. He doesn’t mention what my father told Roc and me.
When he’s done, I look back at the screen and Adele’s eyes meet mine. My breath catches in my lungs and I feel pulled toward her. I’d give anything to just hold her hand again, like that night. I can almost feel the beautiful shivers in my arm, caused by the simple act of her running her fingers up and down my hand. Almost.
“What happened to you after we left, Adele?” It’s my voice, but I didn’t plan on saying anything.
There’s no awkwardness between us anymore. It’s like we’ve known each other for years. She recounts her story as if she’s talking directly to me, and I find myself unable to release her gaze. When she tells about the sun dweller soldiers passing so close to where she and Tawni were hiding, I feel my heart racing in my chest, hoping against hope that the next scene isn’t one of violence. Thankfully, the sun dweller soldier passes from the story like a wraith in the night.
I find myself gripping the table as she tells of their bout with the Bat Flu and their unexpected awakening in the Star Realm infirmary. When she finds her mother I feel tears in my eyes, which I fight away. She finishes with, “We did it, Dad.” She glances at Tawni and the two girls smile at each other with purpose, like their bond has been forever strengthened by what they’ve been through together.
“I knew you would, Adele,” Ben says, pride in his eyes. His expression changes and he’s all business. “So you’re telling me what Nailin is saying is true—that you’ve seen sun dweller soldiers in the Moon Realm?”
Adele nods. “I swear it. But the generals don’t believe us.”
“Don’t, or won’t?”
I miss the subtlety of the question, but Anna nods in understanding. “I’m not sure and I may never know.”
“So what’s the plan? How do we find a solution before the three-day”—Ben pauses, looks at the ceiling—“make that two-and-a-half-day deadline?”
“We’re coming to the Moon Realm,” Anna says firmly. There’s a twitch of excitement in my chest.
“Who?” I say.
“All three of us,” she replies, and I can’t keep the grin off my face.
“The generals?” Ben asks.
Anna shakes her head, her lips pursed. “Unfortunately not. The others won’t support a trip to the Moon Realm. We’ll be leaving secretly. Maybe having one star dweller general in person will be enough to convince the moon dweller VPs.”
“It’s a long shot.”
“It’s our only choice.”
Ben nods grimly in agreement. “How will you get here?”
“The Resistance train line from subchapter eight here. But to get there we’ll have to go through the tunnels. We can’t risk using the public trains. They’re being watched.”
“Be careful.”
“We will.”
I can tell the call is wrapping up and there are so many things I want to say to Adele, but I can’t bring myself to do it in front of everyone. I wish we could talk privately.
“Mom, Dad,” Adele says. “Can Tristan and I have a minute?” It’s like she read my mind.
“Of course,” Anna says. “Ben?”
“No problem from my side,” Ben says, giving me a wry smile.
Anna and Tawni stand up to leave and I swear Tawni flashes Roc a grin before moving out of the picture. I watch Ben and Elsey walk out the door. Roc lingers for a minute, waiting for them to exit, and then says, “Now, I don’t want any funny business in here. I’ll leave a shoe in the door.”
I’m glaring at him, but I hear Adele laughing. “Don’t worry, Roc,” she says, “no funny business—I promise. And I’ll do some probing with Tawni, see what she thinks of you.”
Roc’s brown skin flushes and he moves to the door. “Uh, thanks,” he says before scrambling out.
“Thanks for getting rid of him,” I say when Roc is gone.
“I knew that would do the trick.”
I smile at her. “I really have missed you,” I say, feeling more comfortable sharing my feelings with each passing second.
“I…wish you were here,” Adele says. Her words sound sincere, but I can sense tentativeness behind them. “Look, Tristan, something happened I need to tell you about.”
Here it comes, she’s not interested in me, I think, but I reply, “Adele, whatever it is, we will get through it together.”
“There’s this guy…”
My heart sinks into my stomach. “Oh,” I say.
“No, Tristan, it’s not like—”
“No, it’s okay. I understand. You barely know me, I chased after you like some crazy stalker, I shouldn’t have expected—”
“Will you shut up!”
The power in her voice makes me stop talking and just stare at her. My heart hurts and my mind is blank. I wait quietly to hear what she has to say about this guy.
“I like you,” she says, and her simple words send tingles through my skin. I ignore them, waiting for the but…
Instead she says, “You, Tristan. Only you.”
Huh? “Maybe you should have started with that,” I say and she laughs.
“I’m not very good with words,” she says, “a side effect of not talking to humans for almost six months.”
“So you were talking to animals then…or aliens?”
She laughs again, even though I know it’s not one of my best jokes. It makes me like her even more. “Mostly myself, and even then I only spoke in my head.”
I smile. “I’m not great with words either,” I say. “Sometimes I just stick my foot in my mouth before I start speaking to save myself the trouble later.”
I’m enjoying the conversation and I’m hoping we can just keep talking like this, and not go back to the thing about this guy, whoever he is. Or not. “So this guy…” Adele says, and I cringe, waiting for the hammer to drop. “Stop it! It’s not bad news, I promise.”
“Okay, just hit me with it quickly.”
Adele sighs. “There’sthissergeantnamedBrodyandhetriedtokissme,” she says in a rush.
I heard everything she said but only four words really register: tried to kiss me. “What do you mean, ‘tried’?” I ask. Fire is pumping through my veins as I picture a little squirt of a guy puckered up and leaning into Adele, trying to sneak a kiss. And then my knuckles collide with his face, knocking him into the next Realm.
“He was teaching me to shoot a gun—you know, as part of my training—and then he just thought there was something between us, so he tried to kiss me.” She rushes on, “But don’t worry, I didn’t let him. I pulled away. It was nothing.”
“Then why are you telling me?”
“I just thought…we should be completely open with each other. That is, if we’re serious about seeing each other.”
I let out a deep breath that I realize I’ve been holding in my chest. I’m relieved. It really sounds like it was nothing, and she’s just trying to be honest with me. “Thank you. I…I’m sorry if I overreacted. I’ve just had a lot of anger in me lately. Because of my father.”
She smiles. “It’s okay, sorry about how poorly I handled telling you. So we’re okay?”
“Most definitely. Now if we could just bring peace to the Tri-Realms, perhaps we could go on a proper date.”
“Oh, is that all we have to do,” she jokes.
“Yep, that’s it.”
The door opens and Ben says, “Sorry, we’re out of time.”
“Adele, I have to go, but I’ll see you soon, right?”
&
nbsp; Her jaw is as firm as truth. “You can count on it.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Adele
My heart is beating with all the strength of a miner’s sledge. Talking with Tristan was incredible and reminded me all over again why I almost kissed him back in the Moon Realm.
Tawni and my mom are waiting outside of the conference room, chatting like best friends. My mom’s telling stories of me as a kid and Tawni’s laughing. “There were mashed beans all over the ceiling,” my mom says, her words mixing with her laughter.
Tawni shrieks with laughter. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” she chuckles.
“Ha ha. I can hear you, ya know.”
“Oh, hi, honey,” Mom says, pretending she just noticed me. “How’d everything go with…Tristan?” She raises her eyebrows twice.
“Fine,” I grumble, wishing I’d never opened up to her about my feelings for him. For some reason I thought now that she’s a general she’d be cooler about boys. But no, she’s still just acting like a mom.
“Well, you two are very cute together.”
“Mom! You haven’t even seen us together.”
“Call it Mom-dar. There are some things that a mom just knows.”
“She’s right, you know,” Tawni says, not helping things.
“Whatever,” I say, trying to brush them off the subject. “When do we leave?”
“Anxious to go see Tristan?” Tawni says, refusing to let it go. But this time I’ve got the perfect comeback.
“How did I miss the sparks flying between you and Roc?”
The crimson on Tawni’s face is worth every word. “What? There’s nothing…we’re just friends.” Her voice is about as believable as a politician’s.
My mom’s tone is back to business. “We’ll leave immediately. There’s no point in trying again with the generals—they just won’t budge. Go get your things and don’t tell anyone where you’re going.”
“What about Trevor?” I say, not trying to hide my sarcasm.
“He already knows and will be coming with us. He’ll help you get ready and escort you to meet me.”
My face feels like it’s about to explode. How can she trust that creep? I’ll be shocked if all the generals and half the army aren’t waiting to arrest us. “Let’s go, Tawni,” I say coldly.
I grab her hand and leave my mom without saying bye. I’m just too angry.
We pass a few soldiers in the hallways but they don’t speak to us, barely look at us. We’re just a couple of random girls. We make it back to the bunkrooms, which are empty, with all the female soldiers off doing whatever it is that they do all day. Training, I guess.
For us, packing is like a thirty-second process. Tuck everything into our small packs, fill our brand new army-provided canteens, splash a little water on our faces, and we’re ready to go. As we head for the door, I realize I’m missing one important thing: the gun. The gun my mom gave me, the gun I hope I never have to use. I’d rather just leave it hidden under my pillow, forget it ever existed, that my mom ever thought it wise to give it to me. But I can’t. It’s got her name on it. My name.
“One sec,” I say.
I throw the pillow back and reach for the gun, but—
—it’s not there.
I pull back, alarm crossing my face. “What’s the matter?” Tawni asks.
“My gun—it’s missing.”
Tawni’s brow furrows in that way that could only look cute on her. “Maybe you already chucked it in the bag and just forgot.”
I know I didn’t, but I check anyway. It’s not there. Or in Tawni’s pack. Someone took it. No, not someone…
“Trevor!” I exclaim. “He must’ve stolen it when he realized I was on to him. We’ve got to tell my mom right away!”
Squinting, Tawni says, “Hold on a minute. We don’t have any evidence. I know he’s been acting strangely, but it’s quite a leap to say he’s stealing weapons now.”
She’s the voice of reason, as usual, but I won’t be deterred—not this time. “I know it’s him, and I’m not going to sit by while he screws up everything for us.”
I whirl around and storm toward the door, not caring if Tawni follows.
I gasp and my eyes widen when I see him standing before me, gun leveled at my head.
I freeze, my heart thudding in my chest.
Time seems to stop for a moment and I wonder if it will be my last.
“Adele, you shouldn’t just jump to—” Tawni starts to say and then stops, letting out a tiny squeal.
“Hello, ladies,” Brody says, standing in front of the open door. I didn’t even hear it open when he came in.
“You?” I breathe. I’m in shock. Why is Brody of all people pointing a gun—no, not a gun, my gun, I realize—at my head?
He laughs, deep and not at all friendly. Not at all like the kind laugh I’d heard from him over the last two days. “For being the daughter of such a smart woman you’re pretty dense,” he says, sneering.
“I don’t understand,” I say.
“How could you?” Brody says. “I’ve had you wrapped around my little finger from the moment I laid eyes on you. I tend to have that effect on women.”
The arrogance on his face is chilling. Even when faced with rejection, he thinks I was into him. “You’re the spy,” I say, as I finally realize what’s happening.
“Obviously. You’ve been thinking Trevor the whole time, right? You really should have trusted your mother’s judgment more. But alas, hindsight is twenty-twenty.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“I’m not a complex person, Adele. The sun dwellers just pay more, that’s all. They buy weapons, food, clothing, all of it.”
“You work for the sun dwellers? But why would they want to fund a rebellion?” My mind churns through the facts, trying to fit them all together.
“A rebellion? Ha! Hardly. The only thing that’s happened so far is the Star Realm fighting with the Moon Realm. A perfect opportunity for the Sun Realm to come in and reestablish peace, stabilize the Tri-Realms, play the heroes. And at the end of it all, the Sun Realm is stronger than ever and the others…well, they’re more pliable than ever.”
My mind is racing. All along I thought we at least had a chance if we could just agree on a common enemy. The sun dwellers. The President. But now I find out the entire thing has been orchestrated by the Sun Realm? I’m in complete shock—and angry at myself for not putting two and two together; I knew something wasn’t right about how well-supplied the star dwellers were, if I only had more time I could have figured it out…
But I don’t—and I didn’t.
My feet are frozen to the ground. They may never move again. And even if they could, what could I do against Brody and my gun? If I tried anything he’d just shoot me between the eyes. Suddenly it all makes sense why he offered to train me to shoot. I thought he was being nice, trying to help me; but no, he just wanted to show me that he doesn’t miss his target, so that when the time came for this confrontation, I’d be afraid, frozen, exactly like I am now. How could I be so stupid? So trusting?
Brody laughs again. “I see those cute little wheels spinning, Adele. Have I blown your mind? I had no choice. You were going to ruin everything with your rogue trip to meet with the Moon Realm leaders, so I thought I’d just stop by and share some information. You know, like any good friend would. And guess what? There’s more, and this bit is for Tawni too.”
“This has nothing to do with her,” I say, my jaw clenched. Despite the gun in my face, I’m feeling fierier all of a sudden. He can do what he wants with me, but not Tawni. I won’t watch another friend get hurt.
“Au contraire, my moon dweller friend. You see, Tawni’s been beating herself up for a while because her parents turned your parents in to the Enforcers, right? I mean, that’s what started all of this. The Enforcers kicked down your door, blah blah blah, grabbed your parents, blah blah, threw you in prison, blah-blibbety-blah.” My fists clench and my leg
muscles tighten. The pleasure he seems to be getting from all of this is really starting to piss me off.
“Get to the point,” I growl.
“Now, now. Temper, temper. My point is: Do you really think Tawni’s parents figured it out all on their own? I’m sure they’re very smart people, but no one knew your parents’ true identities except the Resistance. Well, it just so happened that I’ve been an honored member of the Resistance for more than a year now.”
I freeze. He did it. He tipped off Tawni’s parents. I’m two seconds from rushing him, from taking my chances with the gun, when I realize something.
“Why are you telling us all of this?” I blurt out.
He grins. “Now you’re catching on. I just wanted you to know what I’ve accomplished. And in a minute it won’t matter anyway, because you’ll be dead. Both of you.”
He’s going to kill us. My mind is whirling. Everything he told me before now was a lie. Even—
“Was all that crap about everyone in your family dying a lie?”
“Ha ha ha!” he laughs. “I’d forgotten about that. No, they died, all right, but not the way I told you. You should have seen the look on your face when I told you the story. Pathetic, just like them. They were useless pawns with no ambition, so I killed them.”
It’s not until I hear him say it—no remorse in his voice—that I know what he truly is: a psychopath. We have no chance to talk our way out of it. The only option is to take our chances fighting. Even if I get shot, if I can just distract him enough for Tawni to escape, to tell my mom what happened, maybe…
“No more questions? I’m weary of this conversation anyway. Say goodbye to your friend, Adele.” His finger tightens on the trigger as a smile flashes across his face.
One second before I die. Make the most of every opportunity. My dad’s words. I leap to the side, hearing the crack of the gunshot, followed by a muffled thump and a groan. I feel nothing. No flash of pain. No searing heat spreading through my body. No tickle of trickling blood. Nothing.
More thumps and groans—the sounds of a struggle. The gun booms, much closer to my ear this time. I roll to my feet and spin around, trying to take in the scene before me with just a glance. Brody is on top of Trevor, who’s lying in a pool of blood. The crimson rivulets are meandering toward me and instinctively I twist away from them, regaining my feet.
