The screen blacks out.
“Will this halt your father’s plans?” I ask Vin.
“Your guess is as good as mine. I can’t predicate what he’ll do.”
“I need to speak to the president,” Logan says, pressing a delicate kiss to my temple. “Stay here. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Vin steps forward. “You need to watch your back, Logan. My father hasn’t relinquished his desire to see you and your brother dead.” He eyeballs me. “And he’s not overly enamored with you either, Sadie.” Sad, shameful eyes meet mine.
“If he dares to come near her …” Logan growls like an out-of-control wild animal.
I reach up and pat his face. “We won’t be here. Relax.”
“Oh?” Jarod says, tipping forward. I perch on the edge of the couch and fill him in on our impending trip. Logan excuses himself, vanishing in the blink of an eye. A light ripple distorts the empty space where he stood. “Damn,” Jarod whistles when I’ve finished talking. “Not that Dante doesn’t have it coming, but that’s …”
“I know.” I get up and stride to my bedroom. I swipe my D-pad off my desk and re-enter the living room. “Did you find anything?” I ask Jarod as I power it up.
“No. I’ve tracked him using all the usual ways and it’s like the VP’s dropped off the face of the earth. I don’t know where he is or where he’s taken her.” He puts his head in his hands. Vin gets up, kindly offering to make coffee.
“Jarod,” I rasp. “There’s a message waiting.” His eyes spring wide, and we jointly stare at the flashing message icon. I had all but given up hope of the VP replying to my D-pad message. He rests his arm alongside mine as I open it up and read the response.
Something vital ruptures inside me.
It’s as if someone has a hand inside my chest, ripping the life from my organs, one at a time.
My body is shutting down, too stressed out to function.
I stare at the screen in a daze, far too numb to speak. Jarod shudders, and I know he’s feeling it too.
The VP’s written words split me right down the middle.
New deal. Kill Logan and I’ll release your sister. You have twenty-four hours before I put a bullet through her brain.
CHAPTER 23
I run to the bathroom and throw up in the sink. An inherent trembling takes hold of my body and I’m so cold. I shiver repeatedly. My breathing is troubled and I’m audibly panting. One. Deep breath. Two. In and out. Three. Breathe, Goddammit, breathe, Sadie. Four. Jarod steadily holds me as a hacking sob travels up my throat and escapes my mouth. I have to keep it together. I can’t fall apart now. There has to be a solution. Think, Sadie. Think fast.
My brain continues to spool, desperately spinning for options.
I allow Jarod to comfort me for another few minutes, swaying in his embrace as he gently rocks me. His steady warmth and solid body mass ground me in reality.
Stepping out of his embrace, I brush damp strands of hair back off my face. “You have to find her, Jarod. Please. Find her and get her out of there.” Stress laces my tone.
“I won’t stop until she’s back in my arms,” he says, matching my moist eyes. “She already means the world to me.”
“What’s going on?” Vin asks from the doorway. I go back to the living room and show him my D-pad. He visibly pales. “Shit. What are you going to do?”
I can’t kill Logan or let him sacrifice himself. Not purely because I love him from here to eternity, but because the fate of his world and mine lies in his hands. I sniffle as I trek a path in the carpet with my pacing. “I can’t kill him, and I can’t let him leave for Saven without me. I can’t lose them both.” Misery explodes in my stomach, and a metallic taste spears my mouth. I slink to the floor in front of Vin. “Oh, God. Please, Vin. Please get the rebels to help us. Jarod can’t do this by himself.” I rest my head on his knees, and he smooths a hand over my hair.
“I won’t be able to do anything officially, but there are a few individuals I can trust, men I know will help us. We will do everything we can to find her. I promise.”
“Thank you,” I say as the screen powers up for the second time tonight.
A blacked-out blurry form with no identifiable facial features fills the screen.
“Crap,” Jarod and Vin say in unison.
“My fellow citizens. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is G, and I am the leader of an organization committed to freedom for all. Our main focus is removing control from the tyrants who continuously suppress us.” I manage to smother my gasp of surprise. Vin and Jarod focus on the screen with nervous expectation. “The president would have you believe he is acting in the interests of public safety by virtually imprisoning you in your homes. But he’s a liar. He’s been lying to you for years. The entire administration has.”
He leans in closer to the camera, his features still masked. “How many of you have seen loved ones fail to return from Sector Twenty? How many of you were there and can no longer remember what happened because the authorities have altered your memories to ensure you forget? This government don’t care about you! They’ve never cared about you. Year after year, they have curtailed your rights, your freedom of choice, your freedom of movement, but now they’ve gone too far. They’ve sold you out! To the very alien race who now threaten to destroy us.”
The screen flickers on and off, G’s blurry image fading in and out. “The government are trying to censure us, so I’ll be quick,” G says, his voice breaking up a little. “The government have been allowing the Saven to steal our conscience. One by one, the stars taken to Sector Twenty have been enslaved, their free will ripped away. Ask those who returned last night, they’ll tell you!” The screen completely dies.
“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit,” Jarod says, blasting his forehead against the wall.
The screen springs alive again. “We need to fight back!” G shouts. “My people are, at this very minute, attacking Government Buildings, and our troops line the streets. Join us! Help us fight the Saven and take control of this country for ourselves. This is not my fight alone. This belongs to all of us. St—”
The screen dies for good this time as Logan teleports back into the room. “They have obliterated Government Buildings. I watched it live with the cabinet. There were hundreds of people trapped inside.” He snatches a cup off the table and hurls it clear across the room. Cold coffee splatters against the wall, dripping down onto the floor.
The sound of gunfire opens up on the street below. We all dart to the window and peer out. Hordes of angry people race through the streets, shouting, and pumping their fists in the air. Groups of men filled with murderous rage jump unsuspecting police officers, lashing out, their hands lethal weapons as they strike them until they don’t get back up. A steady line of soldiers dressed in khaki military uniforms troops purposefully into our sector. G’s rebels don’t hold back, firing at the police at will. Bodies drop left and right, and shrieks and screams fill the air.
There’s a hammering at our door, as running footsteps echo in the corridor. “It’s time to act! Let’s kill those alien scum! Oust our conniving government!”
Vin stuffs a fist into his mouth.
“You have to stop him,” Logan says. “There has to be something you can do. He’s going to get everyone killed.”
“I’ll try,” he says, sprinting toward the door.
“I’ll take you,” Logan offers, moving to join him.
“You can’t get near him. He’ll kill you with his bare hands,” Vin says.
“I’ll bring you as close as I can. We’re running out of time. The Amaretti and Saven have made their move. They will be here in mere minutes.”
They teleport out of the room as Jarod and I stare, transfixed, out the window. It’s gruesomely riveting. Loud rumbling and a surge of brilliant white light transforms the skies, heralding the arrival of the aliens. The apartment quivers and shakes, items flying freely off every surface. I sway on my feet. Two ginormous sp
acecraft loom large in the distant sky above New York causing momentary inactivity on the streets below. Everyone has stopped fighting to look up. As the ships descend, the illuminating light evaporates, and a blanket of ominous darkness creeps slowly along the ground, casting eerie shadows over the sidewalks and the terrified people assembled below.
Some people take off running, though most are transfixed, staring at the mindboggling view above.
Blaring music streams from the spacecraft, and Jarod and I exchange WTF looks as the strains of REM’s It’s the end of the world as we know it reaches our ears. If this is Dante’s idea of a joke, then he’s more of a sick, depraved bastard than I thought. A memory of Will Smith as Captain Hiller in Independence Day springs forth. I can picture the scene in my mind—the exact one that was the backdrop to this song. How I wish he were here today, a bundle of hyperactive excitement, chomping at the bit to whoop ET’s ass.
Darting silver shapes spill out of the ships at enormous speed, like giant metal birds. Hundreds hurtle through the skies, dipping and diving, soaring and maneuvering. The crowd is moved to action below. Panicked screams and shouts can be heard as they flee in all directions. The destroyer spacecraft come closer and open fire, shooting strips of blue lasers indiscriminately. Buildings explode, sending massive fireballs soaring into the sky, as they crumble into mounted piles of broken stone, concrete, glass, and mirror. Heavy dust clouds make visibility poor.
I’m frozen stiff as I survey the horrific scenes outside. People evaporate into thin air the minute the laser beam touches their skin. Others are flattened by falling wreckage. Some emerge from the dense smog coated in ash and debris, blood streaking their faces, clothes torn, and missing footwear as they try to stagger away.
A spacecraft lowers into our block, and Jarod and I meet eyes in shared understanding. We’re darting for the door when Logan materializes in front of us. “Quick, both of you,” he says, arms outstretched.
We teleport to a small military hangar in the middle of nowhere. It’s a high-ceilinged steel-constructed warehouse. A supply of military planes and other unidentifiable aircraft surround the large sleek spacecraft over on the far side of the hangar. Miles and miles of barren, sandy terrain stretch out in front of the warehouse. Logan grips my hand and starts walking. “Wait,” Jarod implores. “I need to get back to my apartment. I need my technical equipment.”
“That’s way too risky,” Logan says, shaking his head as he propels me forward.
“Just get me home, and I’ll take it from there,” Jarod pleads.
I want to tell Logan to stop. That Jarod is going to look for Ella, but I can’t be that selfish. I can’t ask Jarod to head back into that. He could easily get killed. Besides, I can’t tell Logan the reasons why it’s so urgent now, because he can’t know what the VP has asked of me. The responsibility he shoulders is too onerous as it is.
My limbs ache, heavy with pressure, lined with the weight of my decision. The VP is forcing me to pick a side, and I guess I’ve just chosen. Except the choice isn’t simply the sister I cherish or the boy I love. It’s personal sacrifice versus the fate of the world. I know what Ella would say: That I have to think of the bigger picture. And if the choice were offered to her, she wouldn’t hesitate.
Tears threaten to put in a performance, but I swipe them away before either boy notices.
My heart is a corrosive lump in my chest, and I falter, trying hard to resist Logan’s indomitable allure. No. I can’t do this. I need to go back for my sister. It’s my fault that she’s in this predicament. I have to try to save her. “Logan, stop. Wait.” I tug on his hand, trying to pry myself free.
He turns and looks at me, frowning. “I can’t g—”
“No.” Jarod levels me with a ferocious look. “I’m doing this. You are getting on that Goddamned spaceship.” He stabs the air with his finger. “I’m the only one who can do this. You’ll be more of a hindrance than a help. Go with him, please. I’ll find her. I promise.”
That sounds familiar. The penny drops with Logan and his face softens. “Ella.” I nod.
“Can you teleport me or not?” Jarod demands, slanting an “I’m not to be messed with” look his way.
Logan scrutinizes both of us. “I’ll have Rylan bring you. I need to get the engine started. Ships are moving in over various states, and we only have a short window to flee.” Rylan emerges from the craft, walking in quick, long strides toward us.
“Here,” Logan says, removing a small black pouch from his back pocket. “This should come in handy. The circular discs are powerful bombs. Moisten the underside to activate, and you have thirty seconds to get the hell away. The vials are sleep smoke. Throw one and it’s enough to cover a two-mile radius. Ensure you have the silver rod between your teeth or you’ll black out too. Good luck.”
Jarod takes the pouch. “You too.” He turns to me, yanking me forward. “Look after yourself, and I’ll see you soon. Don’t worry, I’ll find her, or die trying.”
I almost choke on my fear as I cling onto my best friend. “If you get yourself killed, I’ll personally track you down in the next life and make you pay,” I threaten. Jarod nods with a weak smile, and then he calmly hands me over to Logan before walking to Rylan’s side. They are gone in a flash.
Logan hands me a tissue as we dash across the warehouse. “He’s a born survivor, Sadie. He’ll be okay. And if anyone can find your sister it’s him.”
I sniffle. “I know. But I feel so guilty that I’m leaving her behind.”
He stops dead in his tracks. “Please don’t do that. I know I only met her one time, but it was enough to see the love shining in her eyes. She wouldn’t want you risking your life to save hers.”
Neve sprints out of the ship as we approach, pulling me away from Logan and up into the cabin. Logan strides confidently into the ship, tossing Haydn a wordless command as he passes. Haydn acknowledges me with a cautious look before he gets up, following Logan into the cockpit. Rylan pops into the cabin with Fern and Alex. Neve visibly relaxes in her seat. Logan looks back, pursing his lips at the new arrivals. “They’re safer with us than out there,” Rylan offers by way of explanation.
“Good call,” is all Logan says as he refocuses on powering up the craft.
A few minutes later and we’re soaring swiftly through the sky, up beyond the clouds, out through Earth’s atmosphere and into the strangely comforting blackness of outer space.
It’s quiet up here. Too quiet. There’s more than enough time to chastise myself for my selfish decisions. I’ve left my sister and my best friend behind, abandoned New York to its fate. I know what we’re doing is important, and if Logan succeeds, we can call a halt to the attack, but those thoughts do nothing to appease my conscience.
I feel like the biggest coward in the world.
The worst sister in all of mankind’s existence.
Logan emerges from the cockpit. “Everyone okay?” Several heads bob up and down, but no one speaks. It seems I’m not the only one struggling to deal with recent events. “Rylan, can you disable the hyperdrive ID now?”
“Of course.” He scrambles up, unearthing a wide bronze box from an overhead press.
“Can I talk to you for a few minutes? There’s something I need to ask you.” He extends his hand, and I let him pull me up.
“Sure.”
Haydn shoots a curious look our way as we step out into the narrow corridor. Logan leads me to a small bedroom on the farthest side of the ship. “I need a hug, first,” he says, hurling himself on the bed. He stretches out fully and widens his arms. I crawl into his embrace, craving the feel of his arms around me. His lips nuzzle my hair. “That was some heavy stuff back there. Are you okay?”
“Are you?” I deflect the question back at him as I angle my head so I’m looking directly into his eyes.
He moves me over onto my side, both our heads resting on pillows, as we face each other. “I’m not okay with any of it, but we are doing the right thing. We had no c
hoice but to leave. I know you’re worried, and you feel guilty, but this is the best course of action. The Saven loyal to me are already working with your government, and Dante’s attack confirms my initial suspicions. That was a soft approach. He wants to terrorize humans into submission, but he won’t risk too much destruction, or risk too many lives. I wouldn’t be surprised it the attack has already ceased.”
If that’s a soft approach, I’d hate to see the alternative.
“Can I ask you a question,” he asks, threading his fingers through my hair.
“You can ask me anything.” I close my eyes and savor the wonderful sensations coursing through my body at his touch. Logan has always been my ideal kind of distraction.
“Did you ever seriously wonder why or how your appearance changed?”
My eyes flash open, and his fingers pause in my hair. “Not really, no,” I admit truthfully. During difficult periods at home, I actually rejoiced in the fact that I looked nothing like my family anymore, using it to distance myself further. “Why do you ask?”
He sweeps his lips against my crumpled brow, removing the edge of my apprehension. “When I first saw you—besides noticing how stunningly gorgeous you were—I thought your look was a little … recognizable.” His statement triggers an instant reaction as my cheeks burst cherry red, virtually matching my lips. He cups my face and kisses me gently. His shirt bunches in my hand as I lure him closer. Clamping my mouth on his, I deepen the kiss, wanting so badly to lose myself in the taste and feel of him. I want to forget everything else, if only for a few minutes.
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