Dr. Lenoir shook his head, lowering his voice. “I had noted several anomalies on this flight, you being one of them. Civilian cosmoships normally do not carry prisoners or the head of the Mazdaar High Council.”
“You didn’t know all those soldiers were on board?”
He sighed, shaking his head again. “Not until we landed.”
Grey rested her arms on her knees, staring at the floor. If she had any doubts about them killing her father, she didn’t anymore. If he came for her, he would die.
“We’ve had our suspicions about Mazdaar for many years,” Dr. Lenoir whispered.
Grey met the old man’s gaze. His shoulders were hunched, his chin a sea of white stubble, but in his eyes something still sparked. She waited for him to explain. He came over to her side of the cell. Tessa did the same until they were sitting on either side of Grey. Tessa still looked shell-shocked, but she was paying attention to her husband.
Grey glanced back and forth between the couple. “Thank you for helping me.”
“I can think of no crime to justify why a girl your age should be treated like this.”
And Grey noticed that even now he wasn’t asking her what she’d done to end up in the clutches of the Mazdaar army.
Tessa reached out and gently touched Grey’s battered face. Her lip and nose were still swollen and she hadn’t yet been able to clean the dried blood from her face.
“They hurt you again,” Tessa said.
“I’m bait for my parents.” Grey was ill with the realization. “That’s why I’m here. They want Tanner and Sue Alexander, and I have no idea why.”
Dr. Lenoir abruptly turned toward her. “You’re Tanner and Sue’s daughter?”
She hesitated. “Why, do you know them?”
“I worked with your father,” he said. “A long time ago.”
“How did—”
“It’s best you don’t know about that,” Dr. Lenoir said, lowering his voice. “General Yurkutz can do far worse than macro-shocks.”
“But—”
“Trust me, Grey.”
She didn’t exactly have a choice.
* * *
Chapter 23
After Tevah stabilized into a steady flight pattern, Dana helped Rin to the lavatory where she tried to clean her flight suit and get rid of the awful taste in her mouth with a few gulps of water.
“Easy.” Dana waved the tap off.
Rin steadied herself against the sink. “Doesn’t it bother you at all?”
Crossing her arms, Dana just smiled. “Welcome to space travel.”
“Right. I forgot. You probably learned to walk in one of these.”
She reached around Dana to wipe her hands on the towel attached to the wall. Everything was smaller and more cramped on the cosmoship.
Luckily, the lavatory had airtight seals to keep sewage where it belonged when pilots took their passengers on stomach-roiling rides into the heavens.
“We’ll be there before you know it,” Dana said. “You might want to rest up.”
She shook her head. How could she have been living with a cosmoship in her home for this long and not realize it could fly her to another planet?
Dana didn’t seem bothered by the motion of the floor as the ship flew at speeds Rin couldn’t even fathom. In a way, Dana reminded Rin of Grey. They both had the determination and confidence Rin wished she had, but something in Dana’s eyes betrayed an inner turmoil Rin had never seen in her sister. She could only imagine what it must feel like for Dana to know her own mother wanted her dead.
“Do we have any idea where Grey is on Jupiter?”
“Orion settlement lies in the very center of the Eye, but until we get under the cloud cover we won’t be able to get any visuals.”
“Are there really Mazdaar settlements?”
“You sure don’t know much, do you?”
Rin swallowed hard. Her stomach was settling, but her emotions were not. Grey was out there on that foreign planet, and she had to find a way to help her when they got there. Mazdaar could be torturing her again at this very moment.
“They started bringing the convicts first,” Dana went on, and Rin focused on her. “It was a way to test the Jupiter environment. Not much was known about it forty years ago, and the Mazdaar army wasn’t going to volunteer their troops for a death mission on a planet they weren’t sure was habitable.”
It sounded like a logical Mazdaar plan.
“They were the test subjects,” Dana continued. “Since they were all connected, it was easy enough for Mazdaar to track them from orbit and observe whether they survived and how they did it.”
“How many lived?”
“More than you’d think.” Dana fingered her braid. “But they banded together and declared themselves sovereign. They figured out they were being tracked and cut out their chips. Mazdaar doesn’t know exactly where they are on Jupiter anymore. It’s a huge planet, and there are lots of places to hide. They don’t know where your father is either, and that’s why they need Grey.”
Rin walked back to the bridge, leaning on the walls as she went. She returned to her seat to find that Mrs. March had turned off the viewing windows and was flying the ship by instruments.
“Won’t they see us approach when we enter the atmosphere?” Rin asked.
Mrs. March turned and gave her a smile. “That’s what the shields are for.”
Leaning back into her seat, she wondered if Grey was now another one of Mazdaar’s guinea pigs.
***
Grey awoke with a start.
Dr. Lenoir knelt beside her and held a finger to his lips. “Shhh . . .”
His shadowy face stared down into hers, and Grey slowly sat up. She must’ve fallen asleep. Faint light slipped through the slit in the door, creating a huge yellow line on the floor.
“Listen carefully,” Dr. Lenoir whispered. “We have ten hours of daylight here. And while there is some oxygen, it is strongest around the trees. The further from them you travel, the harder it will be to breathe. There are other people out there. You’ll need to find them, and then you will have a chance.”
“What are you talking about?”
Dr. Lenoir knelt inches from her, but she could barely see his face. Fabric rustled, and she felt him press something metallic into her hand. “This is a skelette. It will unlock the cell door and most other locks in this building too.”
She remembered the strange instrument he’d used to undo her restraints. This felt about that size.
“You’re young, strong.” Dr. Lenoir curled her fingers around the skelette. “You can survive out there.”
Grey slowly realized what he was saying. “But what about the two of you?”
“We would only slow you down.”
“They’ll kill you for helping me.”
“Grey.” Dr. Lenoir’s voice became firm as he stood up. “We have hope. Even if we die, we will be at peace. Can you say as much?”
“I . . . I can’t leave you here.”
“You must. But there’s not much time. They will be changing the guard soon.”
She climbed to her feet and began to protest again, but he continued, explaining how the skelette worked. Something about exciting the atoms within the metal chamber of a lock.
“Head for the trees. If you can make it to the forest, you’ll be able to hide when the winds come. It will be to your advantage.”
“Winds?”
“They come several times each day, and the soldiers are nervous about going off base because of them. Many of their comrades have been killed by the animals.”
“What—”
“Meganeura, epicyon, entelodon . . . the winds invigorate them.”
Great. If she wasn’t killed by Mazdaar, she’d be eaten by unknown wild animals whose names she couldn’t even pronounce. How could she get past the guards? And what would happen to this sweet, old couple? Grey thought of how they’d treated her and how their kindness had comforted her. She’d seen first
hand what Mazdaar could do to objectors, and she knew what would happen when they opened this cell and found her missing.
Grey made up her mind. She handed the device back to Dr. Lenoir. “I’m not going without you.”
“It’s the only way.”
“No.” She stepped closer to him until she could smell his faint aftershave. “I will not leave you here.”
* * *
Chapter 24
Grey stood her ground. She could never live with herself if she abandoned the Lenoirs.
Dr. Lenoir and Tessa seemed to be communicating with each other just through eye contact.
“All right,” Dr. Lenoir said. “We will come with you.”
“But we must hurry,” Tessa added.
Grey held her breath as Dr. Lenoir worked on the lock. His fingers trembled. They’d have only seconds to make their escape as the guards changed shifts.
Holding the skelette directly over the lock, Dr. Lenoir muttered under his breath. When it emitted a faint hum, he grimaced. “Ready?”
Grey could only see a few soldiers, and they had converged in a corner room of the warehouse. Even from here she could hear raucous laughter as they ate their evening meal. This was their chance. The soldiers’ backs were turned.
Dr. Lenoir handed Grey the device. “You lead the way. The moment the cell door opens, we’ll slip silently past the other cells and make the run of our lives to that door over there.”
Both Grey and Tessa gave Dr. Lenoir quick nods, and he cracked the door open.
“The Lord be with us,” Tessa whispered.
Grey hadn’t realized how sweltering the cell had been until the cold air of the dome hit them. She could almost see her breath. As one, Grey and the Lenoirs crept along the wall of cells. Could they possibly escape from this armed fortress?
She shook away her fears and focused on placing one silent foot in front of another. The door. Head for the outside door.
Grey could barely breathe, feeling like the soldiers would hear even the minuscule sound. If anyone looked up, they’d be in full view, and she was sure there were cameras. How long before someone sounded the alarm? Would the other prisoners keep quiet?
At the end of the cell row she glanced back to see the soldiers still facing the other way. A few were sitting at tables playing some sort of card game while they ate.
The door to their freedom seemed unguarded. Could the guards have grown lax with them all locked in cells?
Grey tensed, like one of Kildare’s cats. The Lenoirs were right behind her.
“Remember what I told you.” Dr. Lenoir rested his hand on her shoulder. “Godspeed.”
Before she could reply, Dr. Lenoir and Tessa took off running back toward their cell. Away from the door and directly toward the soldiers.
In one horrible second, Grey realized what they were doing. Everything in her wanted to chase after them to divert their suicidal course.
They were creating a diversion. To save her.
“Hey!”
Grey ran.
The scuffing of chairs, the shouting of soldiers and prisoners alike became a blur of noise and gave her enough time to make it to the door. Grey glanced over her shoulder to see a mass of military heading straight toward the Lenoirs.
A whoosh of laser fire sounded. Tessa went down.
Frantic, Grey held the skelette device over the lock, desperately hoping it would work. Had they killed her?
Please, no.
“Stop the girl!”
Shouts rang through the cavernous room. They were coming to get her.
The lock snapped, and Grey flung the door open just as a volley of laser fire shattered the air, hitting the metal wall beside her. Sparks flew into her face, but she ran anyway. The Lenoirs’ sacrifice could not be for naught.
Grey flew through the exit and out into the Jupiter air.
She didn’t expect it to be dark outside.
Or for a sentry to be stationed right beside the exit.
Without warning, an armored form grabbed her from behind and pinned her arms to her sides.
“I got her!” It was a female voice.
Her fingers still curled around the skelette, Grey fought against her assailant with every instinct she had, jamming her elbows up into the soldier’s gut. The sentry wasn’t much bigger than she, and Grey took advantage of it.
She kicked back as hard as she could with her foot, hoping to knock out a vulnerable knee. She knew she’d hit her mark when the guard groaned. She wasn’t a drone. Drones couldn’t feel pain. The sentry’s grip loosened, and Grey twisted to escape.
Kicking again, this time she caught only air.
“Out . . . here!” the guard called.
Throwing her head backwards to headbutt the soldier’s nose, she slammed instead into the helmet, jarring her own skull. But she couldn’t give up.
Grey suddenly made her entire body limp. Her weight slipped out of the guard’s grasp, and Grey tumbled to the ground, free again. Rolling, she tried to climb to her feet, but the soldier kicked her in the side. Pain rocketed through her ribs and sucked the air from her lungs.
Grey forced herself to roll farther away. That gave her enough space to get her legs under herself, only to have the guard close the gap again. They faced each other, and in the dim light of the doorway she stared into the woman’s eyes, surprised to see they were wide with fear.
The soldier hesitated.
That was all Grey needed. Using both hands to make one big fist, Grey struck the woman in the face as hard as she could. It was enough to send the soldier to the ground, but she righted herself so quickly Grey couldn’t get in another hit.
She turned to run again, but the soldier ripped a gun from her holster, leveling it at her chest.
Grey froze. The violetflare handhelds might not blow her in half, but they were deadly. One squeeze of that trigger, and she was gone.
It was over.
But the soldier didn’t fire. Instead, she waved the gun at Grey, whispering the one word that saved her life.
“Run.”
Grey did, wincing as each stride stabbed her between the ribs. The huge hulk of Genesis blocked her path to the right. The weird trees Dr. Lenoir said to head for loomed on the other side of the clearing.
Grey was halfway to them when the rest of the guards burst from the dome. Shots flamed through the night, slicing into the dirt around her, sending up plumes of dust. She’d almost made it without being hit, but then it felt like a blow torch burned her left arm, and she held back a cry. And kept running. She had to survive for Rin!
She imagined the soldiers fanning out behind her. She could hear them yelling into the darkness, their steps matching hers in intensity. The trees. Where were the trees?
Grey stumbled once, catching herself. She almost dropped the skelette but managed to stuff it into her pocket as she ran.
Pitch blackness surrounded her as she blindly ran across the open field farther from the lights of the dome. All she could see now were shadows. At least the soldiers would be having the same problem if they weren’t wearing night vision masks.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when a flash of cloud-to-cloud lightning sliced through the sky, illuminating her surroundings. Did that mean the winds were coming? There was no time to be startled by the display. She spotted the trees with their shiny leaves and sprinted toward them.
Another volley of laser fire came from behind her. If one of those beams hit her in the head or torso she wouldn’t have a chance.
Grey reached the trees as another flash of thunderless lightning spread through the mass of twisting clouds above her. She stumbled and fell but landed on her hands and knees. A soft, mossy texture met her fingers.
She had no time to ponder the strange flora of Jupiter as she climbed to her feet again and crashed through the grove. The soldiers had to be right behind her, but she didn’t hear any more shots.
She flew through the trees with her arms outstretched to protect he
r face. Branches clawed at her with no mercy. Soon Grey could run no further and collapsed at the base of one of the trees, its tangled roots breaking her fall. Gasping for air, she shut her eyes and waited for the soldiers to inevitably catch up with her. There was nothing more she could do.
But their shouts grew fainter, even as her pain sharpened. The fight-or-flight rush that had pushed her to safety was quickly fading. Clutching her arm with a trembling hand, Grey felt the warmth of blood soaking into her sleeve and between her fingers. She didn’t know how bad the wound was, but for now she was alive.
She thought of the Lenoirs running toward what she hoped was a quick and painless death. Why had they sacrificed their lives for her? Surely, as doctors, they’d seen Mazdaar’s cruelty before. She couldn’t have been the first patient they’d treated who had suffered at Yurkutz’s hand.
Ten-hour days. That meant morning could dawn soon. If she waited here until daylight, Mazdaar would find her for sure.
Another flash of lightning gave her a chance to check her wound. Each heartbeat made her arm throb. She couldn’t see how deep it was, but in the stillness of the strange Jupiter forest, she could hear the steady dripping of her blood as it fell to the dried, fallen leaves on the forest floor.
Grey ripped off the end of her sleeve and pressed it as hard as she could on the wound, muffling a gasp at the fiery sting it caused. Hopefully, that would stem some of the bleeding. Hadn’t Dr. Lenoir said something about finding other people out here?
With the next lightning flash, she peered through the trees, hoping to see how much distance she’d put between herself and the dome.
Grey gasped.
A figure loomed over her.
* * *
Chapter 25
Grey scrambled, slipping in the leaves, but finally managed to get to her feet. She backed away, clutching her wounded arm.
Run!
She couldn’t just stand here and let herself be captured.
A burst of lightning illuminated what was before her—an armored Mazdaar soldier. Grey gathered the little strength she had left and took off again through the woods.
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