The Seventh Element

by Wendy Mass

  “Shouldn’t we wait for them?” Piper asked. “You know, to be polite?”

  The three boys all had forks heading toward their mouths.

  “Oh, never mind,” Piper said, reaching for her favorite—a peanut-butter-and-Nutella cookie. “You snooze, you lose.”

  —

  “If you won’t tell me what you know about me, then tell me this—why did you guys really take Piper?” Dash demanded. “You knew we wouldn’t leave you behind. We’d proven that each time. And then when you got the Pollen Slither and we didn’t, you had your ‘insurance’ right there. So why do it?”

  Anna knew he’d eventually ask her point-blank. She could blame it on Ike Phillips, and Dash would probably believe it. But lies had a way of coming undone, and she didn’t want to risk it. She had no desire to be stuck on the sidelines while the Alpha team completed their mission. She took a deep breath. “Making sure you guys didn’t get the Pollen Slither was Ike’s idea. He wanted to make sure you needed us. I guess I wanted to one-up him. To come up with something even bigger and bolder.”

  Dash didn’t say anything. Anna felt her cheeks grow hot. Saying it out loud made it sound pretty bad. She cleared her throat. “The others didn’t know about it. I knew they wouldn’t want to, so I didn’t give them a choice.”

  “And you’re surprised they wanted to leave?”

  Anna shrugged. “My father always said that successful leaders don’t have friends; they have employees.”

  “You talk a lot about your dad and his opinions.”

  Anna crossed her arms. “Don’t you listen to your father? I’ll bet he—”

  “My dad is gone,” Dash said, his jaw hardening. “I don’t know how he’d feel about leadership or success or anything, really.”

  “Oh,” Anna said, taken aback. “Sorry.”

  Dash could see in her eyes that she meant it. He softened. “Look, it’s over now. Piper’s back, and we have a chance to make a new beginning, as one big team. If there’s something you know about me, just say it. If we’re going to work together, we have to be open and honest with each other.”

  “Is that what you’ve been doing?” she asked. “Being honest with your crew? Do they even know?”

  “Do they even know what?” He was pretty sure he knew what secret she’d been referring to, but how did she know? He had planned to tell the Omega team about his situation but had hoped to do it later on in the trip so they didn’t question his ability to lead the team.

  Anna sighed dramatically. She could keep him guessing, but the smells drifting in from the dining hall next door were really amazing and she was starving. “Fine,” she snapped. “Does your crew even know that you have approximately sixty-five days left to live?”

  Dash cringed. “Do you have to put it quite so…bluntly?”

  “How else should I put it?” she replied.

  “Yes, they know,” he said. “Admittedly I didn’t tell them for a long time because I didn’t want to worry them or make them think anything was wrong with me. But now…” He trailed off.

  She assessed him carefully. Not much got past her. They all looked exhausted, but Dash had deeper circles under his eyes, almost like hollows. And his light brown hair—usually so full and wavy—was matted to his head. She finished his sentence. “But now you’re starting to show signs. You’re breaking down.”

  “I guess I am,” he admitted. “It’s not too bad, just a tiredness that sweeps over me sometimes. I take shots every day that keep me healthy, but as it gets closer to the deadline, they’ve started to be less effective. Anyway, how did you know about this? Did you eavesdrop when Commander Phillips told me about it?”

  She shook her head. “Nope. I knew you guys had some private talks, but I put the puzzle pieces together myself. When we first got to the base and I finally met my competitors, I looked everyone up on the Internet. Knowledge is power, you know. I saw everyone’s birthdays but didn’t think anything of it. One day, Colin mentioned Chris had developed some kind of serum that allowed older people to survive Gamma Speed. Then I remembered what the commander had said about why they needed kids our exact age, and I remembered your birth date. I’m smart that way, remember?”

  Dash rubbed his eyes. So tired. “You’re smart in a lot of ways, Anna,” he said wearily. “I just wish you’d use your brain for good, instead of…well, the opposite. If we’re going to work together—and I hope we are—then no more games.”

  Anna put out her hand. “No more games,” she said.

  Dash hesitated. Could he really trust her, after everything she’d done? But Chris had told Dash that he wasn’t going to have enough strength to go on this last mission. What if Anna had to replace him as the leader? He was going to need someone who could make tough decisions. And Anna had a history of making some really tough decisions….

  Dash finally took Anna’s hand and shook it firmly. “Okay, then,” he said. “Now let’s go see if they left us any food. Piper’s been known to eat all the cookies if you don’t get there fast enough.”

  Anna’s eyes brightened. “You have cookies?”

  Dash grinned. “Race you?”

  “I don’t know,” Anna said. “In your present weakened condition, it might not be a fair fight.”

  But Dash was already gone. Anna smiled. For the first time that she could remember, she would let someone else win.

  Everyone sat around the long table in the training room the next morning, waiting for Chris. Dash checked the time. “He’s usually very prompt,” he assured the new crew members. Having a meeting like this was unusual for the Alpha team. Unless there was a lot of specialized training necessary, Chris usually didn’t bother to brief them about their next mission until they were much closer to their destination. The earliness of this meeting was making everyone feel a little on edge.

  While they waited, Niko asked Piper to show him the medical bay after the meeting. Dash knew it would be fun for her to compare notes with someone. Ravi and Gabriel had a total nerdfest talking old video games, new high-tech stuff on the ship, fantasy novels, and how they would beat the other in chess and Pac-Man. Siena sat quietly. Dash could tell she was churning something over in her mind. Only one scowl and a grunt had passed between Anna and Carly. He decided that was progress.

  In fact, it almost felt like old times. Back at Base Ten, they’d shared a feeling of camaraderie. And at dinner last night, Dash could sense that feeling start to return. They still couldn’t help exchanging stories and joking. On a serious note, Niko had admitted that he only got through the nine months on the Light Blade by meditating whenever he was alone. This time no one made fun of him. Dash asked him if he’d show them how to do it, and he’d agreed. But all Dash heard before he fell asleep was Niko instructing, “Now close your eyes and relax your body.” Dash looked forward to catching more of the lesson that night.

  Finally, Chris hurried into the room. “Thank you for waiting. I’m sorry I’m late.”

  “Let me guess,” Gabriel said. “Dealing with your evil alien clone took longer than you expected?”

  Chris looked surprised, which for him was a big deal since he didn’t often show emotion. “Yes!” he said. “Colin is proving to be quite difficult.”

  “He thinks he should run the ship, right?” Anna asked. “It must be killing him to be kept in one room like that, away from all the action.”

  “Yeah,” Piper said. “That must be the worst.”

  Anna turned to face her. “Hey, I said I was sorry.”

  “Did you really?” Piper asked. “I don’t seem to recall that.”

  The two stared at each other until Anna said, “Well if I didn’t, I’m saying it now.”

  When Anna didn’t say anything else, Piper asked, “That was it?”

  Anna gave a groan. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry times ten. Is that good enough?”

  Piper grinned. “It’s okay. You actually did me a favor.”

  “Huh?” Anna (and everyone else) said.

&
nbsp; Piper nodded. “Yup. I was lying in bed last night thinking how happy I was to be back on the ship, with my team and Chris and STEAM and Rocket.” She paused to bend over and scratch the dog behind his ears. He hadn’t left her side since her return.

  She continued. “And suddenly I realized something. I was the right person to go over there. Niko was seriously ill from being hit by the Stinger spore, and my training and his instincts helped cure him.”

  Dash looked at Niko in surprise. He hadn’t known he’d been hit by a spore. Wasn’t that supposed to be fatal?

  Then Piper said, “And anyone else—anyone whose legs actually worked—wouldn’t have been able to fly up to the ceiling to discover the slogger was leaking. The crew wouldn’t have had those few minutes of warning. And when they forgot me, I was the only one who could have traveled through outer space without a spaceship.” Piper leaned back in her chair. “I was meant to be there. Maybe I should be thanking you for the opportunity to help.”

  Anna opened her mouth. Carly pointed a finger at her. “Don’t you dare say you’re welcome.”

  “Who, me?” Anna said innocently.

  Siena leaned across the table to Piper. “Will you ever forgive me for yesterday? Those last few minutes were so crazy and everyone was running and Colin was shouting at us and there was no room for thought. I know it’s no excuse,” she said, not even waiting for Piper’s response. “But it’s like Colin and Ike Phillips brainwashed us or something, convincing us you guys would fail, and it would be up to us to save the world at any cost. I got mixed up.”

  “We all did,” Ravi said firmly. “But now we’re exactly where we’re supposed to be. And we’re going to make up for all the things we did wrong. Whatever we can do to help for the rest of the mission, you can count on us.”

  “That’s good,” Chris said, wearing a very serious expression. “Because there will be no room for competition on planet Dargon. Before we went into Gamma Speed yesterday, I was able to get a quick message to the base. We will be too far from Earth to send or receive messages for the rest of the voyage. I will work on strengthening the signal, but I wouldn’t count on it. I had only a minute to brief Shawn—Commander Phillips, that is—on our current situation. At first, he was concerned that you were here under false pretenses. That you were trying to sabotage the mission for us.”

  The Omega team began to protest. Chris raised his hand. “He trusts you, don’t worry. It’s his father he doesn’t trust. I assured him you all had the best of intentions to help. He always felt bad that he wasn’t able to send all eight of you originally, so he was happy that you would be working together. As we get closer to our destination, I will brief you on what will be expected of you and how to prepare. Until then, I need you all to work on becoming one team.”

  Hearing this, Dash put his hand in the middle of the table. After a beat, Carly laid hers on top. Then Siena, followed by Niko, Gabriel, and Ravi. Piper floated up in her chair so that she could lean over and place hers on top of Ravi’s. They all looked at Anna. She lifted her hand, then glanced up at Piper as if to ask for permission. Piper gave a small nod. Anna rested her hand on top of Piper’s.

  Dash tried to think of something “leaderlike” to say. He almost repeated what Shawn had often told them at base—failure is not an option. But that made his stomach twist a little when he heard it. It was too much pressure. So instead, he just said, “All in.”

  “All in,” the others repeated.

  “Good,” Chris said, nodding his satisfaction as they pulled their hands away. “I will have new uniforms delivered to your rooms this afternoon. I trust you to know how you will best serve this ship and this mission. Conserve your strength. This will be our hardest retrieval yet against your toughest foes.”

  “Don’t worry,” Gabriel told the others with a wink. “He says that each time.”

  “I do not,” Chris said, unaware he was being teased.

  “I’m pretty sure it can’t be harder than pulling a tooth out of a dinosaur the size of a building,” Piper said.

  Dash nodded. “Or dodging fireballs of molten lava in some crazy steampunk city.”

  “Or dodging pirates and Thermites and Predator Zs!” Carly added.

  “Or Stinger spores and murderous Saws,” Siena said with a shudder.

  Gabriel grinned. “You guys notice we do an awful lot of dodging?”

  Everyone laughed except Chris. He still wore his serious expression. “I admit, all those missions were challenging. But now, in order to have any chance of retrieving the element, you’ll have to convince three different kinds of species to work with you. And trust me, that won’t be easy.”

  After a few seconds of silence, Ravi said, “They’re werewolves, aren’t they?”

  “They are not werewolves,” Chris said.

  Ravi pretended to look disappointed.

  “I bet it’s ghosts!” Siena said.

  “Giant marshmallow men!” Gabriel shouted.

  “Come on, guys,” Anna said firmly. “Let Chris talk.”

  “Thank you, Anna,” Chris said. But before he could say anything else, Anna said, “It’s vampires, isn’t it? Blood-sucking vampires?”

  They all laughed again. Anna grinned.

  Chris laid his head on the table. “So this is what having eight kids on board one spaceship is going to be like.”

  “Teenagers,” Carly corrected him. “We’re all thirteen now.”

  Before someone could point out that they’d celebrated everyone’s thirteenth birthday during their voyage except his, Dash quickly jumped in. “Sorry, Chris. We’ll try to be more mature. Won’t we, guys?”

  Everyone grumbled good-naturedly, but agreed. “So what’s so bad on this planet?” Dash asked.

  “Well, you need to gather fresh dragon cinder. That is going to require working with the various life-forms of the planet. First there are the elves, whose trust you will need to gain right away.”

  “Elves?” Ravi repeated. “Like the gentle woodland creatures with pointy ears?”

  “Yes,” Chris answered. “You will need them as allies. Fortunately, their language is not that different from your own, so communicating with them won’t require the use of your translator.”

  “That sounds like a cakewalk,” Ravi said. “What else ya got?”

  “Ogres,” Chris said.

  “Sweet!”

  Everyone turned to look at Gabriel as though he’d lost his mind.

  “What?” he said with a shrug. “That Shrek guy is cool, right?”

  “Actually,” Chris said, “ogres are terrible creatures. They attack the peaceful elves on a whim and will do anything to hoard as much silver and other metal as they can. They are cruel, angry, and spiteful.”

  “They sound lovely,” Piper said. “Let’s steer clear of them, shall we?”

  Chris shook his head. “Unfortunately, you will need them. They’re the only ones who can lead you to the dragons.”

  Niko sat up straight. “Dude! Did you say dragons?”

  Chris nodded. “That is the third and by far the fiercest creature you will encounter.”

  “Awesome!” Niko replied, giving a high five to Gabriel and Ravi. “You were right, Siena!”

  Chris looked puzzled. “Siena, you knew there’d be dragons?”

  Siena nodded. “It’s a gift I have, seeing the future.”

  “Interesting,” Chris said, typing into his Mobile Tech Band. “That wasn’t in your profile material. I’m going to have to speak to Shawn about being more thorough. Anyone else have a surprise talent they’ve kept hidden?”

  Piper glanced at Niko. When she was helping him recover from the Stinger poison, something extraordinary had happened. Niko’s health had turned around overnight, but she couldn’t quite attribute his rapid recovery to the medicine she’d cooked up.

  “I’m kidding,” Siena told Chris. “Of course I can’t see the future. Niko has a thing for dragons, and we were talking about it one day, that’s all.”r />
  “Oh,” Chris said, clearly disappointed. He reached back over to his MTB and hit the delete key.

  Niko saw Piper looking at him, and quickly looked down at the table. Piper shook her head. She’d learned that Niko was too modest about his gift—the way he’d been able to speed his own recovery through acupressure was truly amazing. It was like his hands were filled with magic!

  “Anything else we should know now about the mission?” Dash asked. He knew he wasn’t going—he couldn’t risk that his worsening condition would put the others at risk. It was a big blow, but what choice did he have? He was trying to focus on their journey right now, not their destination. There would be plenty of time for that. Before Chris could answer, Dash added, “I’d really like to get everyone started with their new jobs on the ship.”

  Chris hesitated before answering. There was more he could tell them about his history with the elves. He looked around the table and noticed the anxious faces staring back at him. He sighed. Why steal their last moments of relative safety? Let them have fun while they’re in this last period of Gamma Speed. Without the Source, it wasn’t only Dash who wouldn’t live to see home again. It was all of them.

  So Chris shook his head. “I’m done for now.” The kids jumped up, like it was the end of the day at school and they were sprung. “One more thing,” he said, ignoring the few groans he heard. “Here.” He handed a Mobile Tech Band to each of the Omegas. “We made extras for the Alpha team in case one was damaged on a mission. Now you should have them.”

  He showed them how to slip them on and adjust them to the size of their forearm. “Totally cool,” Niko said, already programming it to monitor his pulse and heart rate. “Thanks!”

  “We had something like this,” Anna said. “A little smaller and not as comfortable. But Colin never let us wear them unless we were on a mission. I think he didn’t want us to be able to communicate with each other behind his back.”

  Dash stood back and watched everyone playing with their MTBs. Chris joined him. “Time for your injection,” he said quietly.