by Caryn Lix
We drifted to the front of the store, our bags bursting at the seams, and Rune’s fingers played over what looked like an electronic food scanner. At her touch, a light shimmered across the screen.
“Wait,” I said. Did I imagine that? “Rune, touch the scanner again.”
She blinked at me, then laid her hand on the screen. Nothing happened. “What’s up?” she asked.
“It’s nothing, I just thought … when you touched it earlier, I thought something lit up.” I smiled ruefully. “Stupid, right?”
“Maybe not.” Rune set her bag down and frowned, closing her eyes in concentration.
I stared into the inky-black depths, willing them to come to life. Other people’s abilities were changing. Why not Rune’s? And if she could power tech …
I jumped as a light flickered on the screen, but at the same moment Rune shook her head and stepped back. “Nothing.”
“Are you sure? I thought …” I glanced from her to the screen. “Try once more?”
Rune arched an eyebrow, then narrowed her gaze, her jaw set in determination as she slid her fingers over the screen. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, all at once, the screen sputtered into life, revealing some sort of unfamiliar corporate logo and beeping loudly. We both jumped in surprise. The moment Rune cut contact with the screen, it went black.
We exchanged looks, and Rune stepped forward again. She rested her hands on the screen, and it returned to life. “Well,” she said. “This is new.”
Excitement surged through me. “Rune, if you can power tech now … that could be important. You might be able to get vehicles moving. Maybe even space transport, if we can find some.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” she said, but her eyes sparkled. “I need some more time to explore this ability, to figure out its limitations.”
“Still. It’s a good thing. Maybe the first good thing to happen in—”
Something crashed in the back of the store. We pivoted as one. My heart leaped into my throat, and I was instantly back on Sanctuary, on Obsidian, where every sound could mean an alien stalking me around the next corner. But that was ridiculous. I’d transported us away from the aliens. It was probably something settling, something …
A loud string of cursing erupted.
And I broke into a smile.
FOUR
I’D NEVER THOUGHT SWEARING WOULD bring me this much joy.
Rune’s smile mirrored my own. “Mia?” she shouted.
A long pause answered her, and then: “Rune?” Mia’s dark hair appeared around the shelf at the end of the aisle.
“Mia!” Rune shrieked, and launched into motion. She leaped through the air and threw her arms around the other girl’s neck.
Mia, caught off guard for once, staggered, then patted Rune awkwardly on the back. “Hey,” she said, as casually as if we’d met her out shopping one Saturday afternoon. “We’ve been looking for you.”
“Is everyone with you?” The words spilled out of me in a rush, my heart scrambling against my stomach in a violent combat.
“Jasper is in the back room, and those idiots from Legion are scavenging the rest of the street with Lex running point.” She hollered over her shoulder, “Jasper! Get out here! ”
I had never been so happy to see anyone in my life, so happy I was choking back more tears. I hadn’t killed or lost my friends. They were here somewhere, and Mia stood in front of me, flesh and blood and a face of stone. I even briefly wondered if I should hug her too, although one scowl from her stopped those plans in their tracks.
“Oh my God, Mia?” I hadn’t even heard Cage approach, but now he was at my shoulder, setting my heart stuttering again. A broad grin spread across his face. “I knew a little jump across space couldn’t get rid of you.”
So he was scared I’d killed them. I glared at him, but I couldn’t muster up a lot of anger, not with relief surging through me so hard that I wanted to sag to the floor. We had food. We had water. And most importantly, we had our friends. All of them, reunited.
Of course, those friends also included a team of bounty hunters who’d been sent to capture us. Mia clearly hadn’t forgotten that fact. I sympathized with her, but I also remembered how they’d worked with us on the ship. Omnistellar had betrayed them just as much as they’d betrayed me, and anyway, no one was transmitting orders to wherever we were now. Somehow I didn’t think Legion held much threat any longer—at least, not to us.
Imani and Reed joined us as Jasper emerged from the rear of the store. He whooped loudly as he swept me into his arms and off the floor, ignoring my shriek of protest. “Kenzie, I am so happy to see you. You have no idea. We thought you’d killed yourself saving us.”
“Thanks,” I said dryly, working my way free. “I appreciate the vote of confidence.” But I still couldn’t keep the stupid grin off my face. Part of me wanted to grab Mia and Jasper and tuck them behind me where nothing could hurt them ever again.
Of course, at least one of them would probably have some pretty strong objections. “Come on,” said Mia. She’d acquired a backpack somewhere, and she finished shoving the last of the edible food and water inside. For some reason, she seemed to be avoiding my gaze. Was she still angry that I’d lied about Matt? Or that I’d tossed her across the galaxy and lost her along the way? Or was it just the simple charm that was Mia? “Let’s go find the others.”
It didn’t take long to locate them—they’d been halfway to the store. We must have just missed them outside. My reception here was a bit more subdued. Priya and Hallam kept their distance, and although they greeted us in a cordial-enough fashion, they were obviously preoccupied, scanning the horizon. Was that occupational paranoia? Or had they seen something the rest of us missed?
Matt stayed with them, but he spared us all a smile and seemed more interested in the babble of conversation than his new compatriots. He hovered between us, torn, and really, who could blame him? After all, I’d fired the bullet that killed him—in error, to be sure. I’d been aiming for an alien. His power had saved him in time for him to hook up with the mercenaries tracking us. And even though I’d forgiven myself for that and had thought Matt had forgiven me, well, it makes things awkward when you’re staring down someone you shot to death a few weeks before.
Hallam came close to matching Alexei’s bulk, but my friend still dwarfed everyone around him. He took in the sight of us with genuine pleasure, letting us chatter without interruption. Their story was much the same as ours: I’d somehow dropped them in the middle of the city. They had indeed set off the sparks we’d seen the day before. That was Alexei’s pyrokinetics, an attempt to signal us. But not knowing where we were or if we were even alive, they’d spent the day scouring the city neighborhood. “It’s run-down and abandoned,” Mia confirmed, indicating our surroundings with a sweep of her hand. “But we found a few reasonable apartments nearby. They’re furnished and everything. It seems like whoever lived here abandoned it quickly.”
“Did you find food and water?” Priya interjected. “That’s our first priority.”
Mia and Jasper pointedly ignored her, continuing to chat with Rune, while Cage asked, “What did you find?”
“Oh, we hit the jackpot,” said Hallam in his easy, laid-back way. He tapped the big army-type backpack slung over his shoulders. “Food, water, and weapons. The three essentials of life.”
Mia perked up. “What kind of weapons?”
“Let’s get off the street and discuss it,” said Priya with a nervous glance toward the expanse of desert, now fully illuminated by the morning sun.
“Have you seen anyone or anything besides us?” Cage jolted to attention, as if assailants might leap from the shadows.
“No, but it’s best to be sure. Besides, it’s getting hot already.”
She was right about that. The sun had fully dissipated the chill of night, and my shirt was getting clammy already. I made a mental note. Now that we had the basic necessities—food, water, and weapons, acco
rding to Hallam—we should try to find a few little luxuries, things like toothpaste and clean clothes.
We slipped into a nearby building, probably a café. Tables and chairs lined the walls, and Imani, Reed, Jasper, and Rune promptly headed for them, clearly grateful for the relatively cool interior. That left me, Cage, Priya, Hallam, Alexei, Mia, and Matt grouped around the counter.
Hallam dropped to his knees and rummaged through the shelves. He came up with nothing except an assortment of drinking glasses, plates, and cutlery—again, all of it bearing a remarkable resemblance to what you’d find on Earth. In all of humanity’s years of searching, in all of our space travel, we’d never encountered any aliens until the monstrous creatures attacked us such a short time ago. If we’d now stumbled across a near-human species, well … exactly how far had I transported us? I considered Rune’s theory, that we could somehow connect with an alien race, no matter how far away, if they were enough like us. That was impossible . . wasn’t it?
“Check the kitchen,” Priya ordered Hallam. “Matt, you go with him.”
The two men nodded and slipped through the swinging doors, leaving the rest of us alone. Instinctively we’d chosen sides: Cage, Alexei, Mia, and I faced off against Priya, and tension suffused the air. It wasn’t anything serious, not yet, but I had a feeling it would erupt if we weren’t careful. “We found some food and water,” I said to break the silence. “Mia, what did you and Jasper come up with?”
She glared a moment longer, then reluctantly cut her cool gray gaze in my direction. “More of the same,” she said. Alexei stood behind her, his fingers resting lightly on her arms as if he could hold her in place if she decided to attack. That was foolishness, of course. No one held Mia back, something Alexei knew as well as anyone. “We found a few emergency blankets in a camping supply store of some sort, and we grabbed some clothes off the racks.”
“We also found rations,” said Priya.
“You mentioned weapons.”
“Hallam mentioned weapons.” Her eyes flashed in annoyance. Had she planned to keep that to herself? “Yes. We found some knives. Different weights and sizes. They’ll be good to have if this place isn’t as deserted as it seems. And that should be our next priority, by the way: establishing a secure perimeter and—”
Mia snorted loudly. “This isn’t a military operation, Commander. We don’t have a perimeter.”
“The group of you,” she replied coldly, “have so far survived on luck and pleas. You barely escaped the aliens on Sanctuary, and then only by killing one of your friends.” I cringed as her gaze found me, but the other three drew closer around me, lending me their strength and support. “And if the aliens hadn’t attacked Obsidian, we would have dragged you back to face the consequences.”
“Congratulations,” Cage drawled in a slow, easy tone I was coming to recognize as his most dangerous. “You almost succeeded in turning us over to a treacherous corporation right before they stabbed you in the back and threw open the doors to an alien threat—all to pad their bottom line.”
Priya raised her hands in acknowledgment. “I’m not going to debate who was right and who was wrong. We all did the best we knew at the time. But the fact remains that your current strategy of hurling yourselves into danger and hoping for the best is going to get you killed. I’m a bounty hunter with twelve years of experience, and I am very motivated to find my way home.” Something flashed in her eyes. “You have no idea how motivated. I’m qualified to keep us safe.”
“We’ve got a bit of experience with that on our own.”
Priya snorted. “There could be all sorts of threats on this planet you’ve never encountered.”
“Then you haven’t encountered them either,” said Cage. “Besides, the five of us spent the night trudging through the desert and didn’t see so much as a space coyote, and you spent the whole day and night stomping around this neighborhood without arousing suspicion. And you had Mia, so I know you weren’t being quiet.” He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes, although with no real heat. Mia could be more than quiet when she wanted. She just usually chose a different path. “If anyone or anything is here, they’re far off. We’re safe. There’s no need to declare martial law quite yet.”
I hesitated. Was Cage deliberately leaving out the sound we’d heard in the desert to keep Priya off our backs? His cheerful expression gave away nothing. I let it go. After all, I didn’t want Legion pushing us around any more than anyone else, and we hadn’t seen or heard anything strange since last night.
Priya exhaled through her lips, clearly exasperated, but at that exact moment, something crashed in the kitchen. We all jumped. I collided with Mia on one side and Cage on the other and they both grabbed my arms. At the same time, everyone at the table shot to their feet, expressions of alarm on their faces.
As one, we spun on the kitchen door. I opened my mouth to call Matt’s name, but before I made a sound, he appeared in the opening, his hair disheveled and his arms clenched into fists. “Priya,” he said, “you need to get in here, now!”
We almost tripped over one another in our hurry. Priya got there first but barely, the rest of us on her heels and Rune, Imani, Reed, and Jasper on ours. My heart stuck with every beat, wrapping around itself like my feet as I stumbled through the sudden crowd. We’d just escaped the aliens. Had they followed us here? Were there some sort of other monstrous creatures lurking in the kitchen? Or—maybe worse still—were the human-like aliens still around, maybe ready to kill us all? Because if Omnistellar had taught me nothing else, it had showed me that sometimes, what humans do to one another is a thousand times worse than anything a monster might inflict.
But there was almost nothing in the kitchen. Only us, and Hallam, lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Pots, pans, and a shelf littered the floor beside him.
Reed shoved past us in an instant and dropped to his knees, all business at the sight of blood. He felt under Hallam’s head and, as the rest of us watched, he closed his eyes and channeled his healing energy until Hallam groaned and twitched. Then Reed sat back, his face slightly drawn as it always was after he used his abilities.
“Hallam, Matt,” said Priya sharply, “report.”
“What the hell happened?” demanded Mia.
Matt gestured frantically. Death had done nothing to hurt his good looks, but now that I knew they were there, I could see the signs of the genetic and physical manipulation he’d been subjected to as part of his initiation into Legion: scars along his temples, an artificial bulk to his muscles, a slight tremor in his limbs. “I have no idea. I heard Hallam shout and then …”
“Something hit me from behind.” Hallam rolled unsteadily to his feet and gave Reed a nod of thanks. He shook his head, then winced. “Hard.”
Rune slipped in behind him and examined the capsized shelf. “This must have been unstable,” she said, indicating something at the base. “You see? One leg’s a bit shorter than the other. Maybe you bumped into the shelf and …”
Hallam scowled at her. “Who do you think you’re talking to? I didn’t ‘bump into’ anything. Someone hit me.”
FIVE
PRIYA JERKED TO ATTENTION AT Hallam’s words. “Check the outer perimeter,” she barked, and Matt and Hallam shouldered past us, off to follow her orders. Priya herself snatched a knife off a nearby counter and made to go with them.
“Hang on a minute,” Cage interrupted, arresting her movement by stepping into her path. The look she shot him could have frozen a volcano. “We’ve seen no signs of life anywhere. Just because someone thinks they’re too good to trip …”
Priya’s eyes drew into a tight, narrow band. “He doesn’t think he’s too good to trip. We are genetically engineered to be faster, stronger, and more agile than you can possibly imagine. If Hallam says someone hit him, then someone hit him.”
The rest of us exchanged glances. Imani and Jasper were both sitting on a counter, their expressions worried as they hovered between Cage and Priya. Mia and Ale
xei lounged near the door, seeming almost bored. The rest of us remained near the shelf. “Listen,” Rune said now, glancing up from where she still knelt on the floor. “There’s no other sign of anyone being here. Nothing on this counter is disturbed. I know Legion is genetically engineered to be the best, but I really think we might chalk this one up to fatigue. How long has it been since any of you ate or rested properly?” She offered Priya a conciliatory smile, a Rune special, and even Priya seemed to struggle to resist its power. If Cage led through charm and energy, Rune was learning to lead through compassion and kindness.
At that moment, Matt and Hallam returned. “We can’t find any sign of anyone,” Hallam grumbled, rubbing his hand along the back of his neck. It came away sticky with blood he was no longer shedding, and he looked at it in surprise. “Golden Boy here even scrambled up the building next door to get a bird’s-eye view. Nothing.”
Priya glanced between him and Rune and Cage, her expression inscrutable. “All right,” she said at last. “I guess there’s nothing more we can do at the moment. We’ll keep exploring the area, but keep your eyes peeled. And no one goes anywhere alone.” She swept out of the kitchen, Matt and Hallam on her heels, although Matt frowned over his shoulder in our direction. For a second he hesitated, as if he wanted to say something, and then he was gone.
I closed my eyes and released a shuddering sigh. Part of me had been scared Hallam and Matt would find someone, yet another threat I needed to stand against. I glanced over my friends, the fierceness of my protective impulse catching me off guard yet again. When had I become so dedicated to these people? I guessed survival situations had that effect.
But no one was here. We were safe, at least for now. I met Cage’s gaze and shrugged. “We might as well go with them.”
He sighed and shook his head, then smiled ruefully. “We might as well,” he agreed, and we set off.
