by Caryn Lix
“Or,” said Cage, “we can see where this ship takes us. Rune and Kenzie figure they can keep us afloat for a few months at least. That’s enough time to consider our next step. The area is dotted with space station merchant colonies, and there are mining colonies nearby on Mars. We should be able to avoid them as long as we want to, but it’s not like we’re drifting aimlessly through space. If we need to dock, we can.”
An uncomfortable silence met that suggestion as everyone weighed the options. Return to Earth, almost certainly to prison? Or head into the unknown on a dark alien ship meant to serve as our destruction? “Both ideas have merit,” I said with forced cheer.
I got a hollow smile from Imani. Mia rolled her eyes. “Why are we even talking about this?” she demanded. “You guys can do what you want. I’m not going back to prison. Not now, not ever.” She pointed at me. “If you were really one of us—if you’d ever spent a day not living in privilege and luxury—you’d agree.”
“Take it easy,” Reed replied. “I spent three years on Sanctuary, and I’m not sure I prefer this ship.”
“It’s trading one prison for another,” Cage admitted. “But at least we’re in charge of this one.”
That seemed to sum things up. No one voted for a return to Earth—not even me, although as the vote passed, I closed my eyes against the memory of my father. I’d blocked him from my mind for the last day, but soon enough he’d learn about Sanctuary and go wild with worry. I’d find a way to contact him, I vowed, without compromising everyone on the ship. I still hadn’t read his messages—or Mom’s. I was sure there was a stockpile by now. Part of me was afraid to look. But Dad had to know the truth about what happened to me. And what happened to Mom.
My dad had some questions to answer too.
* * *
Six days after Sanctuary’s destruction, I finally walked the ship’s corridors, taking in the excited buzz of laughter and conversation. The thrill of freedom hadn’t let up. Kids were sad, frightened, missing their friends, but also hopeful. They didn’t know where we were going, and they didn’t care. They trusted us—or more accurately, Cage, who could talk his way up one side of the ship and down the other, leaving everyone encouraged and excited, even if he was chastising them. And of course they were happy not to have their every minute structured and bookended by the prison’s routine.
I discovered a private spot in the inner ring and sank against the wall, staring at the empty chambers where the creatures had slept. It didn’t take long before Cage found me. “Hey,” he said, dropping beside me. “You finally escaped the control room.”
I cleared my throat. Why did things feel so awkward between us now? I still hadn’t been able to tell him what I’d overheard, to ask him who he’d killed, and when, and why. Maybe that was the unspoken barrier. Or maybe it was something else. “Yeah,” I replied. “Rune and I have things running pretty smoothly at this point. The ship’s on autopilot, but it’ll alert us if something unexpected happens.”
“I’m impressed. You two figured out an alien spaceship in an alien language in less than a week.” His arm brushed mine. He was still wearing the bottom half of the prison jumpsuit and Dad’s T-shirt, but he’d washed them at some point recently. They were faintly damp and smelled clean. I imagined what I probably smelled like and surreptitiously put a bit more space between us.
“What can I say? We’re gifted.” I meant it as a joke, but it came out hollow.
Cage nodded, picking at a loose spot on the hem of his shirt. “Has Rune . . . ?” He cleared his throat. “She’s still pretty mad at me, huh?”
Mad wasn’t the word. She didn’t talk about it much, but every time Cage’s name came up, hurt and confusion glinted in her eyes. Cage shielded her from the darker side of their time in Taipei, and she’d never had to confront what he was willing to do to protect her. Now that she had, it threw everything into question—the foundation of her family, her life. I understood the feeling. “Give her time,” I said.
“Yeah.” He glanced aside, then back at me. “I’d better tell you. I found this.” He reached into his pocket and produced Mom’s missing pistol.
I gaped at it, and at him. “You . . . what? Where?”
“In one of the storerooms. Either it fell from her uniform when they took her, or . . . well. Or they knew what it was and grabbed it.”
“That’s a comforting thought.” We had two guns again. Problem was, I’d been looking for a way to get rid of mine. I never wanted to shoot anything again, and certainly not anyone.
Cage hesitated. “And us?” he asked. “Are we okay?”
I examined him. Did I really blame him for wanting to kill the aliens, or was that Rune’s voice in my head? I wasn’t so sure he’d been wrong. But what about the other deaths? What had Cage done?
The worry in his eyes softened my heart. Whatever he’d done in the past, we could come to terms with it later. I might not know everything about his life, but I knew Cage. I’d seen the core of him, and that core was good. I didn’t have to trust him blindly, but I would trust him, and not just because I didn’t have any other options. I smiled and tipped my head onto his shoulder. “Yeah,” I said softly. “Yeah, we’re good.”
His arm encircled my shoulders, his lips brushing my dirty hair. I closed my eyes and nestled closer, absorbing his warmth. We stayed there a long time, the ship drifting slowly on its path to nowhere, the other kids’ voices a soft buzzing in the distance.
I didn’t know where we were going. I did know we couldn’t run forever. At some point I had to contact Dad, warn Earth about the aliens, find some answers.
But for now . . . for now, I was content to rest against Cage, our fingers entwined, letting the silence wash over us. He’d fought for this freedom. The other prisoners went along with him—some willingly, some reluctantly, some dragged kicking and screaming in his wake. And although I hadn’t realized it, I’d fought for the same thing. For the first time in my life, I was free: free of my parents’ expectations, Omnistellar Concepts, the chip surreptitiously controlling me.
After everything that had happened, I deserved a few days to experience that feeling.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I AM ONE OF THOSE rare individuals who actually reads acknowledgments. So if you’re like me, welcome. I acknowledge you as you acknowledge me, acknowledging the many people who brought this book to life! And thanks for being here.
Sanctuary is the result of tireless work by so many people. First and foremost, they include my family (Audrey, Lanny, Chris, Kim, and Emmett), as well as my amazing family-by-marriage (Brian, Elizabeth, and Erin) and my incredibly supportive husband, Dan, who has never been anything but there for me. They also include my cousin Sarah, whose life goal is apparently to be mentioned in a book’s acknowledgments. Glad I could help.
They include the bewilderingly supportive friends who have stood by me through thick and thin, the teachers who have encouraged me through the years—particularly Mrs. Rochester, Mr. Feschuk, and Mr. Montalbetti, all of whom put a pen in my hand and said, “WRITE.” They include the teachers I work with now, more like family than colleagues, who have been my cheering squad since day one.
In a special way, they include my students. Your smiles when I read to you, your excitement when we talk about writing, the way you embrace every day as a challenge—you are the people I think of whenever I sit down to write.
Of course, in a more practical sense, there are many, many people who had a direct hand in this book. I never could have written a word (sometimes literally) without the support of my critique partner, Timanda J. Wertz, an amazing writer herself, and all of the other writers who have supported me through the years. My agent, Caitie Flum, and #TeamCaitie, as well as all the staff at Liza Dawson Associates, have been amazing from the start.
My editor, Sarah McCabe, and the fantastic staff on the Pulse team at Simon & Schuster, as well as all the other people who had a hand in putting this book on paper (or, as the case may be, on y
our device)—thank you. You never realize the people who go into making a book until you try to make one: Tricia Lin, Mara Anastas, Liesa Abrams, Rebecca Vitkus, Catherine Hayden, Amy Hendricks, Katharine Wiencke, Mike Rosamilia, Tom Finnegan, and Samantha Benson all deserve a huge shout-out. And of course, there’s Sarah Creech, who designed the beautiful cover art that I hope blew your mind as much as it did mine!
And then, above all, there is you. Yes, you. You know who you are. You’re the person I forgot to mention by name, but without whom this book never would have been written. You’re the one who supported me tirelessly and gave me all the love and encouragement I ever could have needed, and, wouldn’t you know it, I’ve gone and forgotten you. But I haven’t. Not really. Because if you think this statement refers to you, I’m going to tell you a secret: it most certainly does.
Last but not least—writers write so readers can read. If you read this book and enjoyed it even a little bit, and especially if you’ve come this far with me: THANK YOU. From the bottom of my heart. Thanks.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Author photograph by Tanya Plonka
CARYN LIX is a sixth-grade teacher with a master’s degree in English literature, specializing in children’s literature and fantasy. She and her husband are proud Canadian nerds and live with their annoying (but lovable) dogs.
CarynLix.com
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/teen
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Caryn-Lix
SIMON PULSE
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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First Simon Pulse hardcover edition July 2018
Text copyright © 2018 by Caryn Swark | Front cover art copyright © 2018 by Jacey
Jacket art on spine, back cover, and flaps copyright © 2018 by Thinkstock
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Jacket designed by Sarah Creech | Interior designed by Mike Rosamilia
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Lix, Caryn, author.
Title: Sanctuary / by Caryn Lix.
Description: First Simon Pulse hardcover edition. | New York : Simon Pulse, 2018. | Summary: “Prison-guard-in-training Kenzie is taken hostage by the superpowered criminals of the Sanctuary space station—only to have to band together with them when the station is attacked by mysterious creatures”—Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017038614 (print) | LCCN 2018007740 (eBook) |
ISBN 9781534405356 (eBook) | ISBN 9781534405332 (hc)
Subjects: | CYAC: Correctional personnel—Fiction. | Supervillains—Fiction. |
Hostages—Fiction. | Science fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.L5853 (eBook) |
LCC PZ7.1.L5853 San 2018 (print) | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017038614