Getting accepted into Earthlight Space Academy is just the first step. After Earthlight comes the Starlight Space Academy where we’ll need to declare our permanent career choices. So far, I excel in piloting and bioengineering. That means I could work on any of the space stations or try out for one of the specialized outer space academies like the Jupiter Station Academy where short distance and long-mission pilots are trained. It would keep me in school longer, but I’d have more options. And more pay with which to feed Cam and our mother.
My head spins at all the choices. I step off the path and let the others go ahead of me. I put my hands on my knees and take deep breaths of cool evening air. One thing at a time, Anja. First you need to pass prep school and get into the Academy. Slower this time, I head down toward the weathered tent where my brother and mother wait for me.
2
Prep School
The first person in class to sneeze in their space suit during simulations is forced to clean the whole team’s suits for the day. Because it’s gross. Seriously. Where else can your sneeze go except all over the inside of your helmet? It’s one of the odd but important lessons our instructors want us to learn before we get up in space where something seemingly minor like a sneeze could jeopardize a whole mission.
I make sure I never sneeze. Even with my allergies from working in the fields, I’m determined not to be the one given that punishment.
However, Kai is now scrubbing everyone’s sweaty, stinky suits, and I feel like I should help.
I watch him from the shadow of the doorway. Since he was raised in Beijing, the sagebrush around our school is hell on his sinuses. I’m sure his plush house on the other side of the border has major air filters like they do inside this sparkling new prep school.
But they made us run outside in our suits today. Run. Outside in the August heat. When will we ever have to run in gravity in our suits? So not only did we get sweaty, we were breathing outside air, since they don’t allow us to use air tanks yet.
I shake my head and take a deep breath before stepping into the scrub room to help him. I owe him.
“You need to be studying,” he says without looking up from the helmet he’s sanitizing.
I plop down next to him and grab a sanitizer spray and a helmet. Gross. I reach for some gloves as well. The scrub room is humid from the hot water and san machines.
“I know, but I can’t let you have all the fun.” I look over at him, his usually perfect hair sticking up at all angles with sweat.
He just grunts, not wanting to open his mouth again while he wipes out the helmet.
“Besides, your chauffeur is waiting outside for you. All the other students are already loaded.” I wipe sweat off my forehead with a sleeve.
He hurries to put the clean helmets on the laser drying rack to give them a final sanitizing. “What about you? Aren’t you missing your ride?”
I shrug. “I need the extra run time, anyway. Finals are less than three months away, you know.” My heart races. And if what Instructor Terry insinuated is true, it’s a lot closer than that. A shiver goes up my spine.
“Can you meet me tonight?” Kai washes his hands and grabs his school bag.
I shove the one suit I helped with onto the rack. “Yes, but I’ll have to bring Cam.” I try to frown, but I just can’t manage to maintain it when he turns his million-dollar smile at me.
He steps close so his focus is completely on me. When he looks at me like that with those deep brown eyes, I get goose bumps. Like I’m the only person in his whole world right now.
My heart races as I feel his hand on my arm, not just because he was the highest paid teen model back in Beijing.
“Excellent. I haven’t seen your little brother in weeks.”
Because of that. Yes, Kai is the best-looking guy in our school. But he cares about my family and me as a whole.
I grin and hold up my hands. “I know he’s cooler than me and all that, but I feel a bit like you’re using me just to see him.”
Kai pretends to look hurt as he bumps shoulders with me and turns toward the door. “Now that you know my secret you won’t want to come.”
I fold my arms and try to look serious. “I guess I can forgive you. Anyway, it’s a good trade-off for me. I get Cam off my hands for a few hours and we get fresh food as well.” Despite cleaning suits for the last few hours, Kai looks perfect, even with sweaty hair. “I think I’m actually getting the best deal here.” I grin. “But you guys can’t play too long, we need to work on some stuff for our tests.” My smile fades. I hope he’ll take me seriously tonight.
He flashes a smile and opens the door of the scrub room. When he turns back toward me, his expression is serious. “You guys just be extra careful tonight, all right? More spaceships have landed at our base from the mainland.”
I bite the inside of my lip. China’s military have been tasked with protecting their newest border. The last few years they’ve pretty much left us alone, but now with the completion of the Earthlight Space Academy on our side last year, they’ve been bringing more troops in. I’m not sure why. Those of us who make it into the Academy don’t want their land anymore, we just want to live and work in space.
“We’re always careful. You just watch yourself. You’re more likely to be followed than Cam and me. Unlike you, my government doesn’t care what I do.” I shrug.
He just nods in silent acknowledgment that I’m right.
I follow him outside. The heat hits us in waves. I breathe through my nose and turn away from the fireball in the sky. It’s going to be a hot harvest season.
Our school is the only building around for miles. It’s unusual with our newly crowded states to have this much open land, but lucky for us we’re still an agricultural state. Our high-tech prep school is surrounded not only by sagebrush, but also by corn, sugar beet, and potato fields.
The black stretch limo with the oval New China symbol on each door idles in the otherwise empty parking lot. We’re the last to leave school, again. An armed guard waits for Kai in the heat. He waves his weapon toward the car door, frowning in the full uniform that must make the heat nearly intolerable.
Kai gazes at the cloudless sky as he walks.
I turn before he gets in trouble for talking to me. “See you tonight,” I whisper. I tighten my backpack and jog across the parking lot, my shoes crunching on gravel. Once I hit the dirt road that leads south, I hear the limo moving in the opposite direction behind me. I increase my speed toward Hells Canyon.
I follow the tractor path between fields, so I don’t run into any of the semi-trucks blowing up dirt in their wake. I increase my speed to get my heart rate up. The test for the Academy is not only science, engineering, flying, and space subjects, but physical fitness as well. Working in the fields has made me stronger than I look, but I still can’t beat Kai in the running competitions. He’s fast, so my goal is to try to beat him at least once. I grin to myself as I jump over potholes in the road.
I reach the canal, deep with fast flowing water. I follow it until I get to the makeshift bridge. Carefully, I step foot over foot across the flimsy wooden boards, my arms out for balance. When I make it to the other side, I stop to take a drink out of my water bottle.
I’m watching the flowing water when I’m suddenly tackled from the side. I hit the ground, roll away and back up into a crouch to face my attacker.
“Titan’s dust, Cam!” I stand up and push my little brother hard in the chest, sending him sprawling onto his butt in the dirt. He’s laughing so hard he can’t talk.
I brush the thick dust off my uniform and glare at him. Thank goodness the pants are tan, but I’ll have to wash the white shirt. I frown knowing how cold the river feels even in this heat.
When he can finally speak, he says, “Should’ve seen your face. Priceless. Thought you were trained to be aware of your surroundings at all times.” He breaks into laughter again.
“Stop reading my schoolbooks. And what are you doing here, b
esides trying to give me a heart attack?” I turn my back on him and start walking without waiting for an answer. I keep ahead of him, so he doesn’t see my grin. I’m actually kind of impressed he was able to sneak up on me out here. He’s right, I’m usually very aware of my surroundings. Between living in a tightly packed area with hundreds of thousands of people and my space training, I’m the top student in my stealth class.
“You were late, and I couldn’t wait to tell you the news.” Cam’s charm and humor is infectious. Anyone who is around Cam for any amount of time can’t help but to like the kid.
“All right, fine. What’s so important that you couldn’t wait until I made it home?”
“There’s a new kid in camp.” He looks at me in triumph.
“That’s it? A new kid?” I throw up my hands. “That’s just another person to help protect and feed.”
“But this one is your age. And I think he’s competing for the Academy.”
I stop in my tracks. Cam runs smack into me. I turn and grab his shoulders. “Why do you think he’s here for the Academy? He could just need field work.”
Cam shakes his head. “No. He came with a horse and a ton of supplies. He doesn’t need to work in the fields. He told me he was here for the Earthlight Space Academy.”
“He did, did he? Where’s he from?” I frown.
The Great Migration started five years ago when we were given notice to move, but both governments only gave us less than a year to get out of the coastal regions. There haven’t been many new faces around here for a long time.
“Old California.”
We start walking again. “That’s a long way to travel north on a horse.” I look sideways at Cam. “And he told you all that?”
Cam’s long, blond hair bobs up and down as he skips beside me. “Yes. He’s super strong, too. And he showed me how to set fish traps.”
I narrow my eyes at Cam. “You already know how to set traps.”
“He has newer ones. He let me borrow one for a few days.”
My heart sinks. Cam gets attached to people quickly. His way of coping with everything bad that’s happened to us is by being a social butterfly.
I love this kid so much it makes my heart hurt. I watch as he skips ahead of me, being carefree for a few stolen moments.
Now we have a stranger among us. And one that could be another competitor for the few slots open at the Earthlight Space Academy. I growl under my breath.
“They have their own space academy prep schools down south. Why in the world did he come all the way up here?”
Cam shrugs. “I don’t know.”
I make a mental note to find out. Something doesn’t sit right with me already with this newcomer. And I haven’t even met him yet.
Cam and I come to the edge of the cliff.
“Race you,” Cam slaps my arm and starts down the rocky, steep slope.
I head after him, my arms out for balance. Going up this hill every day is exhausting but going down is terrible on our knees.
But I’m not going to let my little brother win.
He slips and slows down to catch his balance around a corner, just long enough for me to speed by him. I use the soft lava dust to help propel me downward as I hear Cam yelling behind me.
I grin as I reach the bottom, slowing down to catch my breath in a puff of dust.
“No fair,” Cam says when he reaches me.
“Totally fair. You slowed down; I took advantage of it. That’s how races are won.”
Cam makes a face at me. “I know, I know. Races are won by inches, not miles.” It was something Dad used to tell us, and I’m actually surprised Cam remembers. He was only three when Dad left. That was eight years before the Migration.
The trek here was brutal for Mom, Cam, and me after our car broke down. Only our determination to keep Cam alive kept Mom and me going one mile after another.
Until Mom got sick. Then it was just me keeping the three of us motivated until we found the camp down in Hells Canyon. She wouldn’t have made it any farther. We’ve been here ever since.
The heat and the hard journey on foot wrecked her already weakened immune system. Cam hasn’t been the same since. He feels responsible to take care of her at all times.
We weave around the tents, saying hi to our friends and neighbors along the way. I shade my eyes from the sun and scan the sea of tents. “So, Cam, where is the new guy?”
Cam motions behind us. “He set up on the other side of the dam.”
“By himself? And without a permit?” I turn to look, but we’re too far from the dam to see what’s past it. No one gets permits for that side.
“Yep.” Cam starts ahead again, but I grasp his arm and tug him close. We’re almost to our tent.
“How’s Mom today?”
“Same.” Cam’s happy expression wavers. “I read to her from some of your schoolbooks. She seems to like your engineering texts.”
I nod. “She misses—” I look up as a large military plane flies slowly over the canyon, the loud engines drown out all conversation.
Even our own military have been more active lately. Something’s happpening in the political world. Again.
When the plane is gone, I lean in closer to Cam. “She really misses her job up on the space station.”
Cam nods, but then gets stopped by one of his friends. I motion that I’m continuing on. He knows all about Mom’s top-secret past, and the loss of her job because of her illness after he was born. But in order to not forget or get frustrated with how she is now, we try to remind each other of how she used to be. Happy, vibrant, and always telling us about how amazing it was to live in space.
As I approach our tent, I close my eyes for a second. I then fling back the outer flap and step into the thick canvas tent.
As usual, she’s sleeping in her bag along the back wall. Her knees are bent, her joints stiff with arthritis. And she’s tucked herself into the corner to leave more room for us.
I kneel and shake her gently. “Mom, I’m home.”
No response.
“I’m going to make something quick to eat before I head to the fields.”
I lift an almost invisible rip in the floor of the tent to reveal a sunken cooler. I open it and take out a few wrapped semi-frozen burritos that the Mitchells’ dad made for us. He leases one of the food trucks and makes the best food. Except for Angel. Her tamales and fresh tortillas are heavenly.
When I step out of the tent, I see Cam has the fire started. “Thanks, Cam.” I hand him the burritos and he nestles them down into the coals.
He then comes to sit next to me. “Are you really working tonight?” Cam knows I don’t usually work on flying days.
I lean closer to him. “No, we’re going to visit Kai.”
Cam’s whole face lights up and he squirms on the log. “Will he bring his games?”
“I’m sure he will. He’s pretty excited to see you again.” I chuckle.
Cam elbows me hard, grinning.
I push him off the log.
He gets back up, laughing. Although he annoys me sometimes, he knows I love him. For the situation we’ve found ourselves in, he’s pretty well adjusted for all of his eleven years.
He pokes the embers with a stick. “You didn’t take me the last few times.”
I glance at the tent. With the flap open, I can see through the mosquito netting that Mom hasn’t moved. “I know. I’m sorry. But I feel bad leaving her alone so much. You and I are either at school or in the fields.”
“I did get her to eat a little today after school,” Cam says.
“That’s great, Cam. And how many hours did they let you stay at school?”
Cam makes a face. “Only about three. Then we had to glean potatoes.”
I look over at him. “So, you got some?”
Cam grins again and bobs his head. “Yep, they let me take as many as I could carry.” He points over to the entrance of the tent where a huge bag of potatoes sits. I was in such a
hurry to check on Mom I missed it.
I whistle quietly. “That’ll feed us for a while. Great job little bro.” I ruffle his hair, and he scoots away. We finish our dinner in silence as we watch the moon crest over the edge of the canyon. Crickets and owls can be heard along the canyon walls even over the din of so many humans getting ready for the evening.
3
The Tunnels
After we eat our burritos, I hide the potatoes underneath our tent in another hole I dug for fresh veggies. All we had left was a few soup onions, so I smile as I dump the potatoes into the hole. The tent now smells of fresh dirt and potatoes.
Having fresh potatoes now is great timing, since I need the energy to keep up my training. Instructor Terry’s serious expression and possible hint crosses my mind. I hope I still have a few months left to train.
Cam and I both change into old, dark clothes. I grab flashlights and shove them into my pockets. I also grab a small pack I’d stuffed in my sleeping bag. Mom hasn’t moved, so I whisper in her ear that Cam and I are going fishing. She just smiles at me and falls back asleep.
We zip up the tent and make sure the fire is out. I stop at a faded green tent a few rows over and smile as a dark-haired woman greets me with a tight hug.
“How are you, Anja?”
I wait until she lets go, so I have breath to talk. “I’m good, Mrs. Mitchell. Three more months until we test.”
“Your mom will be so proud of you.” She wipes something brown on her apron.
“Yes, I’m sure she will be.” If she ever gets out of bed to notice. “Could you keep an eye on our tent for a few hours? Cam and I are going fishing.”
She leans toward me, resting her beefy arm on my shoulder. “If you can get some of that antibiotic cream again, I’ll have Dan make you all some more tamales,” she whispers, grinning. Medicine is the highest sought commodity after food and water down here. And she knows what we’re really doing. She’s the only adult around here I can trust with my secret.
Earthlight Space Academy Boxset Page 2
