I gestured around me with Trigger, still holding their guns in my other arm. “This obviously is the kitchen and energy packets are locked in the cabinet there.” I wiggled my thumb at them. “And I’m the only one that can open it. Same with the button that operates the W.A.R., so you can forget about sneaking water.” Not that there was any to sneak. The container was dry as dirt.
I gestured for them to move down the hallway ahead of me. My room was the first on the right. I stopped and placed my thumb on the red square in the door. An audible click preceded my door swinging open, and I tossed their guns inside before locking it again.
“I couldn’t help noticing the double-sized chamber in there, Tora. I’m willing to share with you, if it’ll help.”
“In your dreams, Markus. Keep moving.”
Across from my room was the sole lavatory. Aside from the small unit that evacuated waste, there was a small cabinet filled with waterless soap for washing clothes—and bodies. Thinking of how much sweating I’d done in the last few hours and how fantastic I must smell, I couldn’t wait to steal a few moments in there. An energetic wand, called eTeeth, used high-frequency vibrations to eradicate plaque and bacteria from your mouth. I’d have to hide that in my room. I didn’t want my wand in anyone else’s mouth.
“The bathroom lock is the only generic one in this place. It’s triggered by any thumbprint. All the others were keyed to our individual thumbprints, so you can’t lock—or unlock—anything else in here.”
Next to the lavatory, farther down the hall, was a small study. It was intended as a place for my father to continue his work. Not his weaponry work, but his work in the antigovernment movement. It was a small space containing his writing station, a stack of thermoplastic-fiber notebooks, and a padded bench. The furniture had been brought in from the pod city. It wasn’t much, but it was my favorite room in this godforsaken place. After his death, I would lie on the bench either watching old videos or reading archived books on the Infinity, escaping to different worlds for hours at a time. I could make the three-dimensional screen as large as I wanted, so, at times, I literally surrounded myself in words. It was the closest I felt to happy.
I looked back at the room. “Someone could have the bench in here, I guess.” I hated that someone else might have my favorite space. “But the couch up front is probably more comfortable than this.”
We turned the corner and continued down the narrow corridor. My old room, the one I’d shared with my sister, came next, about halfway down the hall. It contained two twin sleep pads. Mine had been the one closest to the door, like I could better protect my sister that way. I had no idea what I might be protecting her from, but I’d foolishly thought she was safer with me as the first line of defense. There’s no defense against Mother Nature—she’s one fatal bitch.
I stared at the group. They didn’t deserve to sleep where she did. But they sure as hell weren’t sleeping with me. I sighed. “Two of you could sleep in here.”
“Great. Guess I’m stuck with one of you, since James needs his space, and I’m not about to sleep on the couch out in the open,” said Britta to Markus. She glared at me like I had developed a master plan to kill her while she slept.
Kale nodded at them. “You two take this room, James can have his space, and I’ll take the couch.”
James needed his space? What did that mean? Maybe he and Britta had been an item and now he wanted to get away from her. If that was the case, he had some serious bad taste in girlfriends.
Across from this room was a small recreation room, with a motion machine and several other pieces of equipment. My father deemed it important to stay healthy since we had no access to medical care aside from our first-aid kit. His long-term plan involved our relocation to a magical new planet—I think he overestimated the chances of finding one just as much as he overestimated Markus. In the meantime, Dad said forty-five minutes of exercise per day was optimal, so that’s what I did. I didn’t do a second less, but I didn’t do more either. And in truth, my activity on the motion machine was more what I would call creative walking than running. I didn’t see the point of running if someone wasn’t chasing me.
The hall ended at a small closet. I didn’t want them to get suspicious, so I took them there. It contained assorted blankets, linens, and towels—all made from a variety of the plastic fibers that everything else in our world was made of. If the inventor of heat-resistant thermoplastics had survived, they’d be a bazillionaire. “Extra bedding if you need it. Nothing exciting.”
They couldn’t see the small lock on the back wall of the closet. It opened up into a large room. “The room of lethal weapons” as I called it. I shut the closet door and turned to the group. “And this concludes our guided tour for today. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get some sleep.”
I started to move down the hallway when Markus cleared his throat. “Seriously, Tora, I’d like to keep you company. You must be lonely having spent all this time without people around.”
He sounded shockingly sincere. I didn’t respond to him or even acknowledge him as I headed to my room. When safely inside, I pressed my thumb against the square to lock the door and exhaled, my head leaning against the door. I climbed onto my sleep pad and curled up. Markus was right, in a way. But it wasn’t about being lonely. Despite being surrounded by more people than I’d seen in years, I’d never felt more alone.
Chapter EIGHT
A WHIRRING SOUND INTERRUPTED MY DREAMS AND I SAT UP with a start, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Although there were no windows, I knew it was night without even glancing at the clock. No one had knocked on my door. Maybe they left to retrieve their water without me. Maybe they decided to try their luck and run for it, see if their ship could outrun the government ones. I jumped down, powered up my gun, then pressed my ear to the door but heard nothing except the faint noise.
I tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear and pushed my thumb to the lock. The soft click sounded loud to me, but after a minute, I moved into the hallway. Kale snored loudly from the couch, but the front room was otherwise empty and so was the bathroom. As I moved slowly down the hallway, the whirring sound grew louder. Turning to my left, I noticed the empty study. Had James changed his mind about needing space?
As I got closer, I recognized the sound. The motion machine. So that’s what it sounded like when someone actually ran on it. Someone had decided that extra exercise was more fun than sleeping. I knew these burners were crazy. To my right, I heard someone grunting in their sleep. Markus. The room looked dark underneath the door. At least one of them was sleeping. I reached the half-closed door to the recreation room.
I peered through the small opening in the door and saw James. James with his shirt off, running as if an army of rabid soldiers was chasing him. His body was solid muscle. Sweat dripped down his face, his chest, his arms … he wasn’t just sort of cute, he was hot. My gun bumped against the door and it swung open. James’ head jerked toward the door, where I leaned in an obvious spy pose. Blood rushed to my face.
He pressed a button, turning off the power to the machine. “Sorry, I thought I’d get a run in before tonight. Did you want to use it?” Although he looked like he’d been running for hours, he barely sounded winded.
I stood up, trying to regain my composure. “No thanks. Holding on to rocks in gale force winds is enough exercise for the day in my book.”
A hint of a smile crossed his face, which caused that strange fluttering sensation again in my stomach. Ignoring it, I pressed him. “Didn’t you sleep at all? Aren’t you tired?”
“Nah, I don’t get tired. And yes, I did sleep … a little.” Sweat continued to run down his body, a body I was trying very hard not to look at. He grabbed a towel he must’ve found in the linen closet, and rubbed the sweat from his face and hair.
He was just a guy, like Markus, so why couldn’t I seem to take my eyes off him? It’s not like I had any trouble keeping them off Markus. James stopped wiping himself and stoo
d there, watching me watch him.
He smiled and stepped closer. “What about you? Sleep well?”
I racked my brain for a flippant remark but came up blank. Where was my sarcasm when I needed it most? My heart thudded like crazy. Walk away from him, now. My body wasn’t listening to me. “Uh, I guess.”
James eyed me as he ran the towel through his hair a final time. He took another step toward me and spoke in a low voice. “Look, I know it might not seem it, but I’m not one of the bad guys.”
“Then I’d hate to see what the good guys are like.” My trusty defense mechanism had kicked back in just in time. I’d been in danger of letting my guard down and actually talking to the guy.
Kale’s booming voice startled me. “Well, it’s about that time. You two ready?” I’d been so busy trying to tear my eyes away from James that I hadn’t heard Kale come down the hall.
“Yes, sir.” James walked toward me, and I felt frozen in place. He touched my arm lightly, and I inhaled the scent of his sweat. It reminded me of the ocean. Or at least like the smell of the digital ocean I’d spent hours of my life enveloped in. “You ready?”
“Yes,” I answered. I fought a strange urge to touch a drop of sweat rolling down his neck. Get ahold of yourself. I guess not being around boys much explained the attraction, but how could I think someone was hot at a time like this? Just because the world is ending doesn’t mean you’re blind.
Britta complained she’d barely slept but kept throwing coy glances at Markus. Oh, good God, no way. He must have worked his magic on yet another female survivor.
We made our way up to the front room, as Markus stretched and yawned. He touched Britta’s arm with a sly smile on his face. They apparently had quite the night. Remembering my promise, I stopped in my room to get their guns. While donning our suits, Kale went over the basic points of the plan. The only part that really caught my attention was when he said I’d be with James. Britta and Markus would be paired—now there was a match made in heaven. Kale would go first and provide cover for us.
“What about her weapons?” Britta asked.
Um, did she not understand the part where I said I wasn’t giving over the guns?
Kale shook his head. “My ship is too far and I’m guessing the weapons would weigh us down.” He looked at me. “Are there a lot?”
I nodded. He had no idea.
“We’ll be lucky to make it as it is,” Kale said.
“But—”
“Enough, Britta.” Kale didn’t leave room for more commentary.
It made me glad his ship wasn’t close or I’m sure they would have overpowered me in order to take the guns.
I grabbed my helmet. Even though we wouldn’t be fighting sun glare at night, the oxygen levels weren’t great and we’d need the extra oxygen in our suits if we had to run—which I’m guessing we would. Also, they would shield us from the weather. The nights were as cold as the days were hot, and the sturdy helmets would provide some protection from flying debris. With this thought, I noticed the howling of the wind outside. “I hate to point out the obvious,” I said. “But how exactly are we supposed to get through this night storm?”
James looked calm as he answered. “We wait for it to end and run for it. And hope we get to the ship before the next one starts.”
The look on Britta’s face was of pure horror. I’d wager this whole mission was a tad more than she bargained for.
“Look at the bright side,” added Kale. “There’s no way their ship is out flying in this storm. It would get torn apart. They’d likely find a valley or someplace safer to wait through the night.”
Markus laughed as he zipped up his suit, the zipper seam instantly disappearing into the fabric when he finished. “Yeah, it’s not like they’d think we’d be freakin’ crazy enough to run for the ship at night.”
He was right about one thing. We were crazy to try this. It’s amazing what one would do for water. Speaking of, only inches of it had accumulated in the W.A.R. machine in the last few hours. “Wait!”
Everyone stared at me. I ran to grab the cups from the table. “We should drink what we can before we leave. Who knows what will happen out there?”
Markus eyed me with suspicion as I handed him his tiny ration. He even sniffed it first, which made me chuckle. “You can’t blame me, Tora. Your sudden generosity is a little surprising.”
Maybe I was getting used to having company around, no matter how dysfunctional they were.
I felt James watching me, and my cheeks grew warm. He rested his empty cup on the table. “Thanks, Tora.”
I met his gaze briefly, then dropped my eyes, embarrassed that he could somehow see the effect he had on me.
The raging winds subsided above us. Silence filled the air. Kale grabbed his helmet. “Okay, this is our window. Is everyone good to go? Use the com system in the helmets to communicate—I don’t want you taking off your helmet unless it’s an emergency. Got it?”
The others nodded. James walked over to me, my helmet in his hand. He held it out to me. “Here.”
“Thanks.” His fingers brushed mine as he handed it to me and an electric charge ran up my arm. I blushed.
Kale studied me a second, then put his helmet on. I’d go along with the plan but he wasn’t my commander and I sure as hell wasn’t taking orders from him. I put on my helmet. The others headed up the ladder behind Kale, and I followed. After everyone was outside, I shut the door behind me.
We stood in the darkness, the moon nothing but a dim spot in the distance. No sight of the huge Consulate ship. A slight breeze stirred the air, reminding me that our time was short. It was also damn cold. I jumped up and down, trying to keep warm. Kale ran to the rock he’d hidden behind when they first attacked me. After checking to make sure it was clear, he motioned us onward then took off again toward the next rock. “All clear,” he said.
I jumped at the sound of his voice in my helmet. Markus and Britta went next, while James and I brought up the rear. I made sure to keep clear of the cactus grove. The blue light panel of my gun glowed reassuringly in the dark, though I hoped I wouldn’t have to use it. It was ironic that Trigger was the closest thing I had to a pet, but I never wanted to use it for its intended purpose.
Running alongside James, I realized he had to be slowing his pace for my sake. We’d gone maybe a hundred yards and I was already breathless. My forty-five minutes a day on the motion machine were clearly no match for his kamikaze workout routine. Maybe I should have done more jogging and less walking after all.
“You okay?” James’ voice penetrated my ear, his husky words burning into me through the com system.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” I managed between gasps. At least there was no wind, so I didn’t have to worry as much about inhaling dust on top of my pathetic sprinting skills. Kale glanced over his shoulder to check on us.
Kale’s ship remained out of sight, over the ridge, about five hundred more yards away. Running there and back was going to count as my exercise for the entire week. Still no sign of the Consulate ship. Markus was right. They wouldn’t think we’d be nuts enough to go outside at night. They were probably bunkered down enjoying a good night’s sleep, certain we’d come out waving a white flag in the morning.
Another two hundred yards and I was panting harder than I had in my life. Making matters worse, the cold penetrated every fiber of my being and my toes were numb. The night had grown almost pitch-black, the light provided by the moon, minuscule. My feet pounded the ground, twisting a few times as I stepped on several small rocks.
The sound of my own breathing, loud and erratic, filled my helmet, punctuated by the occasional expletive from Markus. I noticed Markus had slowed his pace as well. He’d never struck me as much of an exercising kind of guy. At least I might be able to outrun him if necessary, though I could never outrun James or Kale.
We’d almost reached the ridge and aside from my bruised ribs screaming at me, things were looking pretty good. We were almost th
ere. The night didn’t seem quite so scary after all.
I didn’t notice at first. I’d been breathing so hard, I didn’t hear it. It wasn’t until a rock skittered across my foot that the whooshing of the wind registered. James was a short step ahead of me, and he turned, tugging on my sleeve to hurry up. I heard Britta’s panicked shrieking in my ear. “Run!”
I cranked my legs, trying to move faster, but they burned in protest, practically shouting that they were doing the best they could. They felt like rubber appendages beneath my torso. My lungs were on fire, the icy cold air like a vise clamping around them. A rock hit my calf as the gusts grew stronger. Unfortunately, this last stretch contained no large boulders—nothing to hold on to when things got worse. Which they would. Very soon.
Finally Kale’s ship came into view, maybe a hundred yards away. Crap, it was so freaking cold outside that a hundred yards seemed like a mile. The wind whistled through my helmet, almost rhythmic in its deadly hum. Please let me make it. James dropped back and placed his hand behind my arm, propelling my numb body onward. He yelled something that sounded like “hurry,” but I couldn’t hear him clearly over the howling of the wind.
Another gust ripped through the air and my feet lifted briefly off the ground. Only James’ firm hold of my arm kept me anchored to Earth.
Kale made it to his ship and the hatch door opened. My eyes fixed on that door; it beckoned yet mocked me with its distance. Thirty yards away. A bowling-ball-sized rock flew past, narrowly missing my head. Britta and Markus rushed through the ship’s door. The air around me screamed.
Fifteen yards. Almost there. A second later, my feet weren’t touching the ground. James literally pulled me through the air toward the door. Markus and Britta stood in the entrance, making desperate motions with their arms. Their screams mixed with the shrieking winds in my ears. They moved back as Kale gripped the door frame with one hand and reached out to James to pull us inside. The safe haven of that doorway was a few feet away.
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