by Belle Malory
“I have somewhere in mind. I’ll tell you on the way though. Let’s make sure we’re not being tracked or followed or bugged.”
A few minutes later they stepped outside, instantly met by a cool breeze and the warmth of the sun. They both stopped for a second, taking it all in.
“I’m home,” Davaris said, his eyes drifting shut for a short moment.
“Yeah,” Phoenix leaned back, tilting his face toward the sky. “It does feel like home.”
Twelve
Kennedy waited at the Olympian Airport in baggage claim for her family to arrive. The airport was bustling with travelers from all over the world, a constant influx and outflow of people.
She sat down on a bench near one of the conveyor belts, fidgeting with the sleeves of her shirt, and tried to people watch. She usually enjoyed the buzzing energy of airports, the way people reunited with their loved ones, the excitement of going or arriving somewhere new. A couple embraced in a passionate kiss, and a little boy was being scolded by his mother, but she didn’t really see any of it. Her eyes glazed over, and she could only think about one thing.
What was the real motive behind Ashley’s visit?
She knew her mom well enough to know this wasn’t going to be a cheerful, farewell visit. No, her mom was after something. But what? Did she plan to change Kennedy’s mind about leaving? Or maybe Ashley thought by coming here she could put a stop to it altogether. She wouldn’t put it past her mom to try to control the situation herself. Ugh, she just wished she had a heads up. She didn’t like not knowing what to expect. These last few days seemed as if everyone she cared about was against her. She promised Phoenix the time he asked for, and she would give him that, mostly because she wanted to believe there was another way. She wanted to put her faith in him.
But deep down, the idea of leaving already seemed settled. It seemed…imminent. Like there wasn’t a choice involved. Or at least there wasn’t one she wanted to make. It was only a year. One year could change her life. One year could ensure the survival of Earth. Somewhere out there, keepers had the ability to protect their planets. That hidden part of her living in denial still wanted to witness it with her own eyes. She wanted to go.
She spotted her family as soon as they walked onto the platform. Ashley and Reagan almost looked like twins from this distance, sharing the same shoulder-length dark brown hair and slender figures. Ashley held Lincoln’s hand, and Kennedy blinked at the sight of him, surprised by how much bigger her brother had grown. Jake was with them too, toting a small carry-on travel bag. He blended in so well with her family, it was like second nature. In a way, Jake seemed to fit in that picture-perfect mold much more than Kennedy ever had.
She searched for Hunter, her eyes scanning the crowd for that mop of brown curls, but he was nowhere to be found. A small sigh escaped, and her shoulders drooped. Honestly, what did she expect? After the way she left things between them, he was never going to come here.
Her family made their way down the exit ramp, and Kennedy waved, hoping to get their attention. Then she stopped, remembering she was wearing her blonde wig. They wouldn’t recognize her from way up there.
As she waited for them to make their way down, she watched them stare at their surroundings in awe, their eyes wide. The Neon City had that effect on people. She held the same starry-eyed fascination on her first day too, thinking she’d entered a massive arcade world filled with colorful, flashing lights and spheres that looked like floating bubbles. It amazed her how so much life existed inside an ocean of stars.
When the four of them got to the bottom of the ramp, Kennedy tapped Reagan on the shoulder. She seemed confused at first, then recognition filled her eyes. “Well, look at you!” she squealed as she leaned forward to hug her.
Kennedy grinned and hugged her sister back, breathing in the familiar scent of fresh magnolias. Oh, how that reminded her of home.
“We’re finally here! Can you believe it?” Reagan said, sounding like a tourist. “This place is ginormous! Everyone talks about the size of this city, but it’s not the same as seeing it in person.”
Ashley lifted a lock of Kennedy’s blonde hair. “Please tell me this is a wig.”
“Obviously, Mom.”
“This is the kind of thing you resort to in order to maintain your privacy?”
She nodded. “Only when I leave my section, which isn’t very often.”
“All just so you can go out in public? Seems bothersome.” Her mom shook her head, subtle traces of her pity.
Kennedy shrugged. “It’s really not that bad.”
There were a few long moments of awkward silence before Ashley finally said, “Well, come here and give me a hug.” She wrapped her arms around Kennedy, squeezing her so tightly she could barely breathe. “I’ve missed you, baby.”
“Missed you too, Mom.” She waved to Jake over her mother’s shoulder who stood behind smiling awkwardly. The last time Kennedy had seen him, he was just their next door neighbor. Now he was so much more than that. “Hey, kiddo. How’ve you been?”
“Busy, but good.” She leaned down to pick up Lincoln, who seemed to be acting shy. Hmm…odd. Usually he ran right up to her, shouting her name.
“Hey, Linc. Don’t you remember me?” She asked him, lugging him onto her hip.
“He’s tired,” Ashley told her. “He hasn’t slept since we left the house this morning.”
Lincoln whined and reached for Ashley. Kennedy pressed her lips together, feeling her heart ache a tiny bit. He had never acted this way around her before.
“He’ll be himself by tomorrow,” Ashley promised, and took him out of her arms.
If Lincoln reacted this way after only a few months, what would it be like when she returned home in a year’s time? She couldn’t stomach the thought of her baby brother forgetting her completely.
“I’m sorry Hunter couldn’t make it,” Jake said. “I tried, but lately that kid has been nothing but a stubborn pain in the ass. I left the plane tickets on the counter for him though, in case he changes his mind.”
Kennedy nodded, swallowing. “Don’t worry about it.” She looked around at all of their faces, noticing Reagan seemed to be the only excited one among them. Ashley was expressionless, the sparkle gone from her big doe eyes.
“So are you guys hungry?” Treating the awkward tension with some food seemed like a good idea. “I know a great place we can go to eat inside the city—”
“I think we’re going to check-in to the hotel first, sweetheart,” Ashley said. “We’re all jet lagged, and Lincoln needs a nap.”
“You’re not staying with me? My apartment has more than enough room.”
“No, we don’t want to be a burden.”
“You wouldn’t be a burden at all! I’d be happy to—”
“I’d like to stay with you,” Reagan cut in. “If that’s okay.”
“Of course. I’d love that.”
Ashley shook her head. “We talked about this, Rea. Kennedy has training everyday. She’s too busy to entertain you.”
Reagan rolled her eyes. “You’re being ridiculous, Mom. We came here to visit her. I, for one, would like to see what her life is like.”
Ashley’s gaze traveled back and forth between the two of them. Kennedy wasn’t sure why her mom had such a problem with it; she had trouble believing the excuse about being a burden.
“It’s fine,” Kennedy stressed. “I promise.”
Lincoln started whining again, and Ashley sighed. “Okay,” she agreed. “Now show me how to work one of those sphere contraptions everyone around here is using.”
~ ~
Reagan rapid-fired questions from the moment they exited their spheres, and continued as they entered Kennedy’s apartment. Her sister wanted to know about every facet of a keeper’s life, and she wanted Kennedy to describe it in detail. Talk about nerve-racking. She’d never stuttered so much in her life. She couldn’t exactly tell Reagan about the biggest secret they were keeping, and almost found
herself slipping up a few times, once in particular when they were talking about the pool in her apartment. Reagan knew that pools were rare, that they weren’t even common in the homes of the super wealthy. When she asked her how she got to be so lucky, Kennedy said without thinking, “Oh, that? It’s for training.”
As soon as the words were out, she felt her face grow hot.
“Training?” Reagan asked curiously. “They want you to swim?”
“Uh, yeah, you know. S-swimming is the best exercise. It’s good for your joints and stuff.” She ran her fingers through her hair and chewed on her bottom lip. Thankfully, Reagan wasn’t paying any attention to her, too busy checking out the apartment to notice.
“This place is amazing, Kenn.” She walked over to the window, her eyes growing wide as she spotted Earth below them. “Whoa, what a view!”
“Yeah, it’s pretty awesome. Hey, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
“The legendary Matilda?” Reagan guessed, and spun on her heel. “Where is she? I’ve been dying to meet a Series Seven android in person ever since you told me about them.”
“I’m right here,” Matilda replied, strolling out of the kitchen. “Hardly legendary, dear, but thanks for the title.”
“Wow,” Reagan said, completely floored. She stared at the android, her gaze traveling down her very human form from head to toe. “You’re so…lifelike.”
“Marvelous, isn’t it? Would the two of you care for some chocolate chip cookies? I’ve just taken a tray out of the oven.”
Reagan rubbed her stomach. “I can’t turn down cookies.”
“Yes, Kennedy mentioned that once before.” Matilda pointed to her head. “My memory chip allows me to keep a record of everything noteworthy. Here, let me take your bag and help you get settled.”
“Help me get settled? It’s official,” Reagan declared. “I’m taking her home with me, Kenn.”
Matilda laughed. “Your sister would never admit this out loud, but she needs me too much to ever let me go.”
Kennedy rolled her eyes. “What a gross exaggeration. I wouldn’t mind the break.”
“If you say so.” Matilda took Reagan’s bag and left the room.
Kennedy went into the kitchen and poured a glass of milk for her sister, and almond milk for herself. She carried the glasses and a plate stacked with cookies into the breakfast nook and set them down on the table.
“Now that we’re alone, tell me what mom is really up to.”
Reagan sat down across from her and shrugged. “To be honest, I have no idea. She’s been royally pissed off ever since you broke the news, so it’s anyone’s guess.” She glanced out the window, distracted, and shook her head in awe. “I don’t think I could ever get used to this view.”
The stars shone brighter up here, surrounding Olympus with its stark black and white beauty. The views were incredible, but they all seemed to blend together after a while.
“Trust me, it gets old fast,” she said, bored with it all. “It’s nothing compared to watching a sunset. Or a rainstorm. Or feeling the wind blow against your cheek…when you live up here, you begin to feel homesick on another level. Humans weren’t meant to live in space. Earth is our home, and I’d bet my life there’s no other place in this universe that compares.”
In fact, she hadn’t realized just how much she missed it until this moment. And soon, very soon, that wondrous blue and green globe would be even farther away—much farther. Had she lost her mind for wanting to leave it all behind? Sometimes she thought so.
“The grass is always greener right?” Reagan asked, then took a giant bite of her cookie.
Kennedy snorted. “Except grass doesn’t grow here.”
“True. So what really happened with this whole alien attack thing?” her sister asked between bites. “Or are you allowed to talk about it?”
“Haven’t you been watching the news?”
“You and I both know how often the waves skew the news. Tell me the real story.”
She shrugged, shifting in her seat. “They sent their machines, and we fought them off.”
“Oh, come on, there had to be more to it than that.” Reagan scooted closer to the table. “What were the machines trying to do? Kill everyone?”
“Basically.” She drummed her fingers against the tabletop, trying to decide how much to say. This was Reagan though, and her sister was pretty good at keeping secrets. She didn’t mind telling her, and honestly, it would feel good to get it off her chest. “They planned to poison the water supply and wipe everyone out. Luckily, we stopped them before they made it that far.”
Okay, that was mostly true. Those grimy little bots made it to the water supply, but she couldn’t tell Reagan that part without explaining how they managed to remove the poison.
“Damn.” Reagan sipped from her milk, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “So give it to me straight, should we be afraid? Because everyday we hear more and more fear mongering stories while government reps swear everything is okay. So what’s the truth? Are we safe?”
Kennedy met her sister’s direct gaze, knowing it was useless to lie. “No, we’re not safe. The Sae-yers will be back. They want something from us. No one knows what that something is, but we do know one thing for sure. They have no problem killing us to get it. I think if it came down to it, they would wipe out the entire planet to get whatever they’re after.”
The honesty may have been more than her sister needed to hear, and she wondered if she’d said too much.
Reagan swallowed and set down her glass, her hand shaking as she pulled away. “I didn’t realize…”
Guilt immediately struck. “Sorry,” Kennedy sighed. “You’re here to spend time with me, and I’m ruining it.”
“No, that’s not it at all. I want to know about your life, even the difficult parts. It just amazes me that you deal with this kind of stuff everyday.”
“This involves your future, too. It can’t be easy to hear.”
“I admit, it’s a little terrifying, but I’m glad you told me. I just wish the rest of the world knew what we were up against. This shouldn’t be on the shoulders of a few. It doesn’t seem fair.”
“Fear changes people. Sometimes not for the better. Anyway, it’s not my call. The higher-ups in DOE decide what to tell the public.”
“So is that why this mission is so important to you?” Reagan asked.
She nodded, choosing her words carefully. “We think this other world can teach us how to better defend ourselves.”
“But why do they want to send you? That’s what I don’t get. You’re still a newbie. Why not send a more experienced keeper?”
Questions like those were tricky, and she had to scramble to come up with a believable answer. “The other keepers have obligations. And if you think about it, why would they want to send away the most experienced keepers? We need them here in case we’re faced with another attack. Sending me is the best option because I can collect information and resources just as easily as anyone else.”
“I suppose that makes sense…it’s just…” Reagan let out a small sigh. “I’m worried for you. Mom is really worried. She doesn’t want to lose her baby girl anymore than she already has.”
Kennedy shook herself and reached for her glass. “She’ll never lose me. I guess I need to make her understand that.”
Reagan reached for another cookie. She dunked it into her milk, licking gooey crumbs from her lips. Kennedy smiled. Reagan was enviously thin, but she could eat a whole plate of cookies in one sitting. “Okay, enough with the heavy stuff,” Reagan said with a wave of her hand. “Moving on.”
“Agreed. What’s your life like right now? Didn’t you mention something about a having a crush on a guy you work with? How’s that going?”
“My supervisor, and he doesn’t know, but I have juicier gossip than that.” Reagan pressed her lips together, her face brightening. “Guess who showed up while I was at work the other day?”
�
��Who?”
“Dean Cooper.”
Kennedy’s mouth fell open. “Seriously?”
Reagan nodded. “Someone must’ve told him I didn’t move out of state.”
This wasn’t good.
Just the sound of her sister’s ex-boyfriend’s name was enough to make her blood boil. Dean was a straight up douchebag. He broke up with Reagan after graduation, because he claimed a long-distance relationship was too much pressure for college freshman. It was a legit excuse, one that Kennedy could understand. She’d been in a similar situation with Hunter when she left for Olympus, except they never dated. Distance made things harder. But Dean was Reagan’s high school sweetheart. She found out later that he started dating someone right after they had broken up, someone from their hometown.
The guy shattered Reagan’s heart, leaving her depressed for months on end. The fact that he was coming around now, when Reagan was finally back to her old self made Kennedy so angry.
“What did he want?”
“To talk. He says he misses me,” Reagan said, rolling her eyes. “Apparently the single life wasn’t everything he thought it would be.”
“Please tell me the two of you aren’t back together.”
Kennedy had always despised the perfect crispness of Dean and Reagan’s relationship. The way they sparkled like a freshly scrubbed floor. Something about it smacked of insincerity.
Reagan crinkled her nose. “Of course not, although I did let him drive me home after work that night. That’s when we had this conversation.”
“So he drove you home, and that’s it?” Somehow she didn’t believe that was all there was to the story.
“Yeah. Well, he asked if we could hang out sometime.”
“And what did you say?”
Reagan shrugged one shoulder, trying to pretend indifference. “Told him I’d think about it.”
She narrowed her eyes on her sister, seeing straight through the hardened wall Reagan was hiding behind. All an act. “I know how much you loved him, but don’t go back there, Rea. It took you forever to get over him. What happens if he breaks it off again?”
