by LM. Preston
“Open your eyes, Shamira. It’s what my mother used to do to me to take my mind off the pain whenever I got hurt. I didn’t mean to offend you,” he said sincerely.
She felt his gaze on her but didn’t want to open her eyes to see him, but just to get this over with, she slowly opened her lids and saw his beautiful, kind face.
“It’s fine. Thanks for the thought,” she said, ending in a hard swallow. She stepped back out of the reach of his hand. Breathe, inhale, she told herself, trying to regain control of her emotions. Part of her wanted him to grab her and kiss her, to give her the first kiss she had so yearned for since she was twelve. She never thought any boy would want her beyond her difference, so she pushed those hopes from her mind. Valens had been around and kept coming around even knowing she was blind. He didn’t seem to care about my anomaly; at least, that is what appeared to be the case.
He relaxed and smiled at her. She could tell he was as nervous as she was. She smelled a bit of perspiration building on him, and it enhanced his alluring scent. His eyes slightly dilated, but she noted that he recovered well. The fact that he was a bit nervous made her feel more comfortable, and she smiled back.
“Beautiful. I hardly ever see you smile. Tonight, I hope to see it more often. Let’s go in the room with the gang. Uh, you go ahead… and, Shamira, I better take that ring,” he said and grabbed her hand. She looked at him and held his gaze while he slowly slid Thor’s ring off her finger.
She didn’t say a word when she slid her hand from his firm, soft grip. Ending eye contact, she turned and walked out of the lab as calmly as she could fake it. At this rate, he’ll have me crying in a puddle of tears when I’ve served my purpose and he leaves me for someone beautiful and alluring like Hedi. He won’t want to stay with a freak with an anger problem—someone like me.
“Hey, what the heck is this junk?” Shamira heard Hedi say.
She walked in on them opening the box that Valens told Hedi to bring in the room.
Anthony towered over Hedi while looking in the box. “I don’t know. I thought we were going to play a videogame or something. What the hell is this archaic crap?”
Valens came from behind Shamira, and stood beside her. “It’s playing cards. I know it’s an old game, but my father loved it. He made sure we had lots of decks, and he collected them over the years from Earth antique auctions. I think they discontinued this game over 100 years ago in the year 2060. My father was fascinated with this game and chess, but tonight we’re going to play a game of cards.”
Mitch cleared his throat. “You’re kidding, right? ‘Cause, dude, I don’t like to play old games.” He crossed his arms over his chest.
“You’ll like it if you give it a chance. Besides, the winner gets a prize,” Valens said. He walked around Shamira, pulled out a chair for her, and sat down next to it. She didn’t budge.
He grabbed her hand and tugged her forward. Pulling her hand away, she walked around to another chair and sat down. She saw Valens smile from the side of the gaze she landed on Anthony, who had pulled up to sit across from her. Hedi walked around the table and with an indecisive frown, turned toward Shamira and sat down next to her. Now what is this a bout? Shamira wondered. Why would Hedi, who has been chasing Valens ah this time, want to sit next to me? Mitch decided to sit next to Hedi after he quirked an eyebrow up as the scene played out before him.
The game started slowly with a grunting Mitch, who didn’t like to lose. Anthony joked most of the time, Shamira figured as a way to get everyone’s mind off of the dire situation. Hedi squealed like a child whenever she won a hand.
Shamira studied her hand and picked out a card. “We need to find out who this Renu really is. He’s the head of Monev, from what Thor says. Also, something is up with Thor. He shouldn’t have been considered for rehabilitation here on Mars. He was too violent an offender with a history of brutal crimes. But, he mysteriously cleaned up his act five years before they started evaluating candidates for the Mars New World project.” She threw down her card with a slap.
Anthony smiled and picked up the hand. “Oh, yeah, baby, this is my game. Kiss my butt! That prize is as good as mine,” Anthony said with a wink to Shamira.
Hedi smacked her teeth. “Stop teasing. We girls are still up by two games, meathead, so don’t count your winnings before you get them, sugar,” Hedi added with an exaggerated wink to Anthony.
“Seriously, though, this Renu dude is so far underground we won’t get him unless we bring down some of his head cronies. I know where they all hang out, and I know who can help us get them too,” Anthony added and slammed down his card.
Mitch stood and slapped down his card. “The first one I want to bring down is Fisher. If he gave my sister to Slasher, he should die. I want to be the one to do it to him,” Mitch said when he scooped up the hand he’d won.
“Slasher may be one of the untouchables. He’s usually well guarded, at least that’s what I heard from the underground,” Valens said and then threw out the next card.
Hedi bit her lip while searching for her card. “If we get Kimble and Fisher, we can get the information we need. I bet Fisher knows about the head guy because he was part of the original gang. He just ticked someone off and got demoted. He was supposed to be running their hunt and capture division… you know, the one that Strong took from him when he cut off Fisher’s ear. Lucky for Fisher, that could easily be repaired, but everyone that sees him without his hair long can tell he has a totally different ear than the other. It was a chop job I heard, done before Mars got licensed surgeons here to do reconstructive surgery.” She snickered and threw out her card.
“Well, girls, it looks like your lead has come to a bitter end. Bam!” Anthony chided when he threw out the last card that made him the winner.
Hedi leaned close to Shamira’s ear. “Shamira, I’m going to snatch the prize, and you run with it. We can’t let these guys have the last laugh, can we?” Hedi whispered.
Shamira jerked her gaze to Hedi. She didn’t trust the girl. Hedi had been putting moves on Valens since she met her, but Shamira figured she would play along just to see what Hedi was really up to. “Fine, I’ll play along for now,” Shamira replied cautiously.
Valens got up and left the room to go get the prize. They all looked around, and their eyes landed on Anthony, who was grinning from ear to ear.
Anthony leaned back in his chair. “Don’t hate me, ladies. I can’t lose a challenge. Let’s face it; I haven’t gotten a present in over eight years since I was captured by Monev.” Then his face clouded over with a grim look. He looked intently at Shamira and said, “Shamira, by the way, there’s something I need to tell you. Thank you for saving Mitch. By saving him, you saved us all.”
He sniffed and turned away from them, then stood up and walked to the wall, which he hit with his fist. “Damn, to finally be able to taste revenge. I’m afraid to wish it, but now I can start to believe in justice again. It seemed so unattainably impossible before,” Anthony said, then dropped his head and turned around.
Mitch stood and walked over to Anthony. “Shamira, you don’t know this, but the night you came, they were going to kill me. I threatened to leave and tell the Security Force what I knew. Stupid, stupid, I know. I let my anger make me slip. When you and Valens came, you were like angels.” He looked Shamira directly in her eyes.
Shamira looked at Hedit who said nothing. She lifted an eyebrow in disbelief to see tears streaming down Hedi’s face.
Hedi leaned forward and hugged Shamira and whispered to her, “Don’t forget, grab the prize and run.” Shamira smiled, thinking, Hedi may be a watering pot of tears, but the girl definitely has grit. She could appreciate that.
Valens walked back into the room. “Hey, what happened? I go get a prize, and everyone cries because they’re mad they didn’t win? Well, get over it. One winner per game, and that’s Anthony this time. Here… the keys to my dad’s car. This car is fully equipped with enough firepower to bring down Olympus Mons
, and I haven’t even started to go down the list of other gadgets,” Valens said then slapped Anthony on the shoulder while handing him the keys.
Shamira didn’t hesitate. She snatched the key and ran to the training room. There were many places to hide in there, and she felt the thrill of a fun chase in her first ever game of hide-and-seek with people she had begrudgingly started to think of as friends. Hedi, her accessory to the crime, was right behind her, laughing along the way.
“Get her!” she heard Anthony yell with a sliver of laughter in his command.
Hedi came up beside her. “Shamira, take this. It’s a water gun. Valens’ dad had a ton of these in the play closet in Valens’ sister’s room,” Hedi said and threw two small water guns at her.
Shamira pumped the guns, which pulled moisture from the air, filling the small barrels up with water. She entered the training room, with Hedi right behind her.
Hedi ran and slid under a small table near the entrance to the room. Shamira ran to the room just past the entrance that looked like a utility closet. She tucked the water guns in her pockets and looked around for something soft she could throw at them when they got there.
“Hey, I bet they came this way,” Mitch said. The guys stood in front of the doorway.
Anthony’s deep voice cleared. “Wait… we need a plan. These girls were up to something before the game started, I bet.”
“Oh, I got it. This is what we’ll do,” Valens said. Then, they didn’t say a word.
What are they up to? Shamira wondered. Valens must’ve been aware of her above average hearing, because they definitely weren’t talking or whispering. Shamira tucked the key in her bra. Hey girl’s have great hiding places! She frowned. He better not even think about going to get it. If he does, I’ll break his fingers.
She heard them tiptoe deeper into the room, and then Hedi attacked. Shamira pushed her sight past the walls of the closet to see Mitch fall forward flat on the floor, breaking his fall with his hands.
“That’s it! Hedi’s mine!” Mitch said, and then pushed up quickly to catch a running Hedi. Mitch and Anthony caught her and mercilessly tickled her feet and under her arms. She was laughing so hard she barely got out a cry for help.
“Sha-Sha-mira! Get… get them before I pee my pants. Stop! Not my toes! Stop it! Mitch! Ha ha!!” Hedi laughed.
Shamira smiled and turned around to grab a few of the soft one-pound foam training balls. This will do. She took a quick look through the wall and saw that Valens was looking around for her while Mitch was sitting backwards on Hedi’s legs and tickling her feet. Anthony had one of her arms up, still tickling her unmercifully.
“Give up the information, Hedi! Where are Shamira and the key to my damn superhero car?” Anthony laughed.
“I’ll, never… nev-er sell out my be-best friend. Ever! Ha hee… oh my God, stop with that foot. Oh, Shamira, hurry! I ca-can’t hold out much longer,” Hedi laughed.
Shamira figured she needed to take out Valens first, since he would be the first one to try to get her. She giggled to herself because she had never had this much fun with anyone besides David. At this rate, the ice around her heart would melt, and she would be hurt again, but in this very moment, she felt so good that it didn’t matter. It seemed worth it even if it would not last.
She slid out of her hiding place and threw the first red weighted ball at Valens’ left foot, causing him to lose balance and slide to his knees. Valens recovered and ran toward her. Shamira giggled as she faked him out and ran to the side. She slid forward and threw the blue ball at Mitch’s head.
“Ouch! That’s it! Get Shamira!” Mitch yelled, and then he, Anthony, and Valens were in hot pursuit. She scrambled up, then did a fake-out to the left. Sliding toward Hedi, she came to a stop and grabbed Hedi’s hand, yanking her to stand. They ran out of the room and down the hall. Shamira looked through the walls to find another good hiding place for them and found a small hidden closet in a little girl’s room. She jerked Hedi around the doorway and pulled her into the tiny door in the closet of the bedroom.
They were both breathing heavily and laughing at their escape. Hedi held up her finger to her mouth and said, “Shh.” They looked at each other and grinned, feeling completely safe and hidden.
Shamira heard the boys running up and down the hall. They paused to rummage through all the rooms. They even split up, but they still couldn’t find them. The girls started to feel safe since the boys took off toward the other end of the hall to search for them.
Hedi turned to Shamira and smiled hesitantly. “Look, Shamira, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t thank you for saving us. I’m also sorry for throwing myself at Valens. I know he likes you, and I can see you like him too.”
Her eyes lowered in shame. She took a deep breath and returned Shamira’s gaze. “I… well, it’s just that I thought he was the one to save us. I had a bit of hero worship for him, I guess. I’ll stay out of it. He really does like you, and he put me in my place about how he feels about you that first day. I just, just didn’t want to listen.”
She reached out and lightly touched Shamira’s arm. “Will you be my friend? I never had one with Monev. I was too scared to get close. So many kids were killed since I was captured that I didn’t want to cry when I lost another friend. Mitch and Anthony promised me they would find a way out and would come back to save me. I had to believe them. It was the only way I could get through the days in that hell. But, the hell I was in is nothing compared to the hell those kids are in now—the kids we plan to set free. You have no idea how grateful we all are to you. Say you forgive me, Shamira. Please?” Hedi begged, more tears streaming down her beautiful face.
Shamira’s heart wasn’t that cold, and the ice around it broke when she felt Hedi’s trembling hands on her shoulders. “Forgiven. Now, please, please stop crying, or you will make me cry, and I stopped crying a long time ago,” Shamira said hoarsely.
“I didn’t cry before I escaped. I thought I had no more tears, but now it seems I can’t stop. That’s why I wanted to have some fun. I haven’t played since before Monev took me. It feels like heaven,” Hedi said, then grabbed Shamira’s hand and raised a finger up to her lip.
Shamira heard it too. Someone passed by the room and doubled back. Her heartbeat sped up, and the thrill of the chase was back on. She heard one of them enter the room. He hesitated, and Shamira peeked through the wall to see that it was Anthony. He took a moment to motion for Mitch and Valens to enter.
The lights were on in the room, and they moved quietly throughout, lifting blankets and moving chairs to look for them. She noticed slight smiles on their faces and smiled as she realized that for the first time, Mitch wasn’t frowning. Hedi doesn’t realize how much we all needed this. Hedi’s body was shivering with excitement, and she turned to Shamira with a grin on her face. Then, she leaned over and whispered to Shamira, “They’ll never find us in here.”
Shamira doubted that, because as soon as those words left Hedi’s lips, Valens pointed to the closet that held the door they’d slipped in. Not wanting to give her secret sight away, she held her tongue while she watched Mitch tiptoe forward to the open closet door. She could’ve kicked herself for not closing it, but she thought if she left it open, they wouldn’t think it was their hiding place. Oh well. The gig is up. Mitch threw open the door and grabbed a squirming, yelling Hedi by the foot to drag her out.
Shamira grabbed Hedi’s hand and pulled. She and Mitch were now in a tug of war, and Shamira braced her feet on either side of the door for leverage. Valens joined in and pulled, jerking Hedi’s hand free from Shamira. Mitch swung a squealing Hedi over his shoulder and put her on the floor for another tickle interrogation with Anthony.
Shamira slammed the door to the hiding place shut and then turned the lock she’d just discovered. Spotting Valens heading in toward her, she struggled to keep her excitement at bay.
“It’s no use, Shamira. I have the key to the door. You know what? It’s opening right… now
!” he said. With frustration and a rush of pleasure, the door opened, and Valens held it casually while smiling his usual cocky self-assured grin.
“Well, I’m not ticklish, you know, so don’t even try making me confess,” Shamira said, then crossed her arms protectively over her chest where the key was hidden.
“You know, I know your weakness. I could threaten to kiss you,” Valens said and winked.
“And I could threaten to punch you in the face.” Shamira winked back. He laughed out loud, and then threw his head back as he held his stomach in laughter.
“I don’t doubt you’d punch me, but a kiss from you would be worth the pain,” he said and winked at her. He grabbed her foot and pulled her out. She spread her arms out to grab the frame of the door and struggled not to laugh when he started to tickle her bare feet. Then, she felt someone tickle her other foot, and she couldn’t hold it in. She giggled.
“Where is my key, Shamira? Your friend over there is doubled over in laughter. Now give up the key!” Anthony choked out a laugh.
“Fine, fine! But you have to let Hedi go first,” Shamira said between giggles.
Valens tugged at her foot. “Let’s pull her out and put her next to her partner in crime.”
She let them pull her out and escort her over to Hedi, who was still trembling with residual laughter. “I won’t talk,” she giggled.
Hedi fought her foot away from Mitch, but it was jerked back. “Okay, okay! She’ll only give up the key if you promise to let us girls drive it after we kick Monev’s butt!” Hedi wiped a tear from her eye with the back of her hand as she struggled to hold in her laughter.
“Deal. Now give me the key,” Anthony said and reached out his hand.
Shamira struggled to hold a straight face. “I can’t. I put it… well, it’s somewhere that I have to take it out in private.” They all stared at her with a shocked look. Hedi’s look of recognition turned into a grin.
