“Are you sure?” In the dark I’m not sure which one of the guys asked that.
I grin. “Fairly sure.”
I hear his breathing increase and the metal post groan as he tightens his grip.
“Don’t worry, I’m just teasing. Cows may not be the brightest animals, but they have good survival instincts.”
“You’d better be right,” mutters the girl.
I laugh as the noise of the herd’s hooves get louder. “I can’t believe you guys are scared of some cows after all the spec ops training you’ve had.”
“It’s not like we have cows in space, Anja.”
I turn toward the male voice. “True. I’m sorry I teased you. Now everyone hold on, here they come.”
The herd, one by one, starts running past us. I can smell their muskiness, and I have to pull my shirt over me to block out the dust they’re kicking up. Soon we are surrounded by large, powerful bodies running past us. Every once in a while, one will get too close and brush up against us. One of the guys curses and another yells as a cow brushes past.
I raise my voice above the noise. “We need to follow along with them to stay hidden. I’ll go with you as far as the neutral zone. Then you’re on your own.”
“What? You’re going to leave us among these animals?” The girl’s voice cuts through the air.
“No, I’m going to help you through this herd and show you where you need to go once you get to the Wall.”
“You’re not supposed to go that far with us,” says a male voice on the other side of me.
“He’s right, Miss Toland,” comes a gruff voice in my ear. The general.
“They don’t know how to get through this herd safely, general. This is the only distraction we’ll get before the Chinese realize what we’re doing.”
I listen to the snorting cows stampeding past us as I wait for the general’s reaction.
Finally, I hear a low, “Fine. But get back into that tunnel and back here as soon as they make it to the Wall.”
I let out a breath. “Yes, sir.” I let go of the railing and move to the front of the group.
“Follow me single file and watch my every movement. These cows aren’t trying to hurt you, but we need to watch how we cut through the herd. Keep your arms out so they know where you are.”
I can’t see their faces in the dark, but I see their heads move as they each nod. “Let’s go,” I say as I turn in the direction the herd is running. I wait until a cow comes up next to me and start running alongside it. I glance back and can see the outlines of heads running next to cows behind me. I turn back and concentrate on moving toward the Wall, my hands out, touching cow after cow as they stomp ahead of me.
There are less cows as we reach the outer edge of the herd. I see the old fence line and hold a hand up to point to the others where we need to go.
I make it to the wooden fence and climb under the barbed wire. Safe from the herd, I turn back and anxiously look for my team. Soon I see heads bobbing toward me. I help each one under the barbed wire.
“Everyone all right?”
“I think I stepped in cow poop,” complains the girl.
I grin. “Cow pies. Some say that’s good luck.”
“Whatever. Now where do we go?”
My smile fades. I turn toward the Wall, feeling my pulse quicken. This is the worst part of this whole plan. I remember the anxiety of crossing the barren land.
“Do you see the closest satellite tower on the Wall?”
“Yes,” they all answer.
“Below that is where the entrance is hidden.”
“There’s also a spotlight there,” says one of the guys.
“Right now, that spotlight is trained on the cows. You see there’s a gap between spotlights? You need to time it just right as you run for the cover of the Wall.”
“Then what?”
“Get behind the large boulder directly underneath the tower and find the entrance. Don’t pull out your light sticks until each one of you is in the tunnel. Crawl as fast as you can. At the other end is a log covering the entrance. Check carefully for guards before you climb out.”
They each acknowledge that they understand.
“After you get out, zig zag across the empty space, using the debris to hide behind. Once you get to the old gas station, you know what to do?”
“Yes, we have maps to guide us to the Tangs’ residence. The general will let us know what to do once we reach them and assess the situation.”
I take a deep breath. “Good.” I study the spotlights and the men on top of the Wall. “Get ready to run.” I narrow my eyes, counting silently to myself. I feel the others tense on each side of me.
“Go!” I whisper harshly.
All four take off running, and I crouch down next to the fence and watch them. My whole body tingles, and I can’t breathe. Come on, you can make it.
A movement up on the Wall catches my eye, and I watch in horror as one of the spotlights starts turning our way. If they don’t make it to the Wall soon, they’ll be in its direct sight.
“Hurry!” I whisper into the comm. “One of the lights is tracking toward you.”
I watch as the team presses on, running around sagebrush and rocks. I hold my breath as I watch helplessly.
The last of the four dives behind the boulder just as the beam cuts across their path. I breathe out and fall forward on my hands and knees. I feel bile try to creep up my throat.
“We’re safe and entering the tunnel,” says the girl.
My legs and arms feel like jelly, but I force myself up. “Great job,” I whisper to them. “And good luck with the rest.”
Back on the other side of the fence, I sprint toward the lava tunnel. The cows are gone so I feel naked and exposed as I run. I look south to see the herd lit up on both sides by the caravan’s lights, and the spotlights from the Wall. I grin as I watch their progress through the dust. I hope this was enough distraction for the team to get across the other side safely too.
I reach the tunnel and quickly climb down. At the bottom I lean against the cool rock to catch my breath. “General, I’m heading back now.”
“Good. See you soon.”
I push off the wall and pull out the light stick. I turn east and start jogging. My pulse races not from the exercise, but from anxiety about the team I just sent under the Wall.
When I reach the command center, I throw open the door to find that The Seven have joined Kai, Cam, and the general. Cam almost knocks me back out the door as he tackles me in a hug. I hold onto the doorframe with one hand as I hug him back.
He pulls away and lets me in. “You smell,” he says, grinning up at me.
I roll my eyes. “You try to run through a herd of cows without getting dirty.”
The general comes and shakes my hand. “Great job, Miss Toland.” He wrinkles his nose.
“Have we heard anything from them? Are they out yet?” If it takes Cam and me a half hour to cross, they should be out soon.
“Not yet, but I’m tracking them and they’re still in the tunnel. Why don’t you get changed since we have a few minutes?” The general pins me with a look.
I look down and see I’m not only dusty, but I too, stepped into a cow pie. “Sorry, sir.”
He takes me to the back where there’s a bathroom with lockers and a stack of Earthlight Space Academy uniforms. I hesitate, my hand hovering over the uniforms. He shuts the door.
I clean up and change. I look in the mirror and smile. Although we’re in a horrible situation right now, I’ve lost my mom, and I don’t know what to do with Cam yet, I’ve succeeded in making it into the Earthlight Space Academy. I brush my fingers across the Earthlight logo. My breath hitches as it hits me that despite all of it, I did it. I’m going to live in space. Just need to figure out something to do with Cam.
My smile fades as I hear voices out in the main room. I hurry and shove my dirty clothes and shoes into a bag and rush out. On the main vid screen glows a map wi
th blinking red dots. They’re clustered practically on top of each other.
I take out my earpiece as the general has the audio on the speakers surrounding us.
“What are our orders, sir?” comes a whispered voice.
The general turns and looks at me. “Anja’s here now. Tell her the situation.”
“It looks all clear, no spotlights on this side. But we can’t see much farther than a few feet, it’s so dark,” answers the girl.
I look at Cam, who nods at me. “Head straight out, ninety degrees from the Wall. You’ll come across an old truck on its side. That’s your first stopping point. From there, face directly west. At your two o’clock mark run another ten yards or so until you come across a tractor. Let me know what you see when you get there.” I look at the General who seems to have aged in the time we started this mission.
“Will do. By the way, we heard you got lucky, too,” says the girl. I can hear in her voice she’s grinning.
Everyone turns toward me with quizzical expressions. My face warms and I glance at Cam who has his hand over his mouth trying not to laugh. “I told her that stepping in cow pies is known to be a sign of good luck.” I shrug.
Cam can’t hold it in anymore and bursts out laughing. Everyone ends up doing the same. My face burns. Kai grimaces as he stands and walks to me. His arm is in a sling now and it looks like they’ve changed all his bandages while I was gone.
He puts his good arm around me and leans in, his breath tickling my ear. “I’m the one who’s lucky to have you.”
I grin like a fool.
“All right, we’re here. Just as she described,” comes the disembodied voice around us.
I turn in Kai’s arm so I can see the map and dots. “Great job. Do you see any lights, or hear anything?”
I wait as the team assesses their situation.
“Nothing.”
“Good. Now once you’re on the other side of the gas station you can take out your tablet and follow the general’s directions.”
“Will do.”
Kai and I sit next to each other as we watch the dots move toward the large white one, which I assume is his house. “I didn’t realize you lived so close to the Wall.”
He reaches for my hand and squeezes. “Yes, my father chose a location that was close enough to your country, but still hidden among trees. He’s been determined that the border schools succeed since we were selected to move here.”
“Really? He sounds like an amazing person. And it must be beautiful over there.” Just that much farther west turns into mature forests. So much difference in landscape just within a few hundred miles.
Kai’s face freezes.
I squeeze his hand. “We’ll get them back safely.”
He squeezes back, but keeps his eyes glued to the vid up front.
“We’re at the perimeter,” comes an out-of-breath voice. One of the spec op guys. They made really good time in the dark. I’m impressed.
Kai sits up straight next to me.
“What’s the situation?” asks the general. The Seven stand up and move closer to the vid screen.
You could hear a pin drop in the thick silence as we wait for the team’s answer.
“We’ve planted the cameras and are spread out around the house. The Year Twos report ten military vehicles in front, four guards visible outside. I have four more in the back.”
Kai groans beside me.
I look at the general. “Sir, that’s a lot of soldiers. Our four can’t handle that many, can they?”
The general shakes his head. “They won’t have to. Commander, switch on the cameras please.”
Commander Svell presses a few buttons on the console in front of him, and the main vid screen splits into four.
My eyes roam over the images, which are green and black night vision live video. The military vehicles aren’t just SUVs or command centers like this one.
“They have VT-5 tanks,” Cam exclaims.
My stomach twists as I stare at the newest Type 15 tank. This is very bad.
The commanders start talking all at once. The general holds up a hand to silence them.
“Watch.”
As we stare at the images, they switch to daylight mode. I crane my neck to look out the one window in the command center. The sky is turning a light shade of pink. “Sunrise,” I whisper.
I turn back to the vids. The camera that shows the front yard of the large brick home seems to darken. I frown as I lean forward in my chair.
“Wow,” says Cam.
I narrow my eyes trying to see what he saw. The shadow gets darker and a shape forms. “An Osprey,” I breathe out. I turn toward the general. “But how? Won’t that create political issues?”
“The New China government is allowing this. As long as we use the old Osprey planes it doesn’t look like too much of a threat.”
We all turn back to watch as several more Osprey tilt rotors land and troops pour out. Soon Kai’s three-story house is completely surrounded by our troops. I squint as I watch the Chinese Unit soldiers pour out of the house with their hands over their heads.
A collective sigh goes through the room. I turn to Kai. He’s crying. I wrap my arms gently around him and let him cry as we watch his parents being led out to one of the Osprey. They soon all take off, only one heading east.
“Where are the others going?” I ask the General.
He sits down hard into a chair. “To their capital. The New China government will deal with them there.”
“And Kai’s parents?”
The general looks away.
Kai stands up. “General? What about my parents?”
The general pulls himself up and walks to Kai. “Their citizenship has been rescinded by your government.” He frowns.
Kai steps back and I stand to steady him. He holds onto my hand tightly. “What does that mean exactly, sir?”
“It means they can never go back home. Neither New China nor mainland. I’m sorry, son.” He pats Kai on the shoulder and turns to give us some privacy.
28
A New Beginning
A week later finds me briskly walking across Gowen base. I try to stick to the areas I’m allowed. I’ve had quite a few guns pointed at me when I’ve taken the wrong turn. There’s more to this base than I ever saw during school flying times.
I push open the door to the men’s barracks. Then I ride the elevator up to the third floor. As I exit, I’m attacked by Cam from the side.
“Oof. What the heck?” I wrestle him to the floor and give him a good pinch on the arm.
“Hey! I’m just practicing some of the moves Rand and Kai have been teaching me.” He looks upside down at Kai, who stands above us, smiling and shaking his head.
“What’s so funny?” I use my weight to keep Cam pinned to the floor.
“Pinning a helpless eleven-year-old, that’s what.” He’s practically giggling now.
“Helpless? Am not!” Cam struggles to get free.
“I agree. I’m just showing you I can still take you to the ground. You know, before you grow bigger than me. Right?” I twist my expression into a goofy face at my little brother, making him laugh. He stops struggling.
I get up, letting Cam go. “Besides, he tackled me first.”
Kai grabs me and hugs me tight. He buries his face in my hair and whispers, “I love seeing you every day.”
I squeeze back, thinking the same thing. “And you look very handsome in your uniform.”
I hear someone clear their throat, and step back from Kai. Rand stands there, now being tackled by Cam. Except Rand doesn’t budge as Cam tries to take him down.
I laugh as Cam tries everything. “Good morning, Rand. Ready for today?” I can’t help but notice that he fills out his new uniform quite well. We all wear the same Earthlight Space Academy cadet uniforms, but his has an extra pin on the collar for leadership. Kai has one for bravery, and I have one for service to our country. We’ll be ahead of our First-Year class fro
m the beginning.
“Hell yeah. Been ready for this day since I left the South.”
“I bet you didn’t think it would be quite like this, though.”
Rand pulls his hand through his hair. “No, that’s true. I didn’t think I’d ever have to put up with an eleven-year-old.”
“Hey! I’m right here.” Cam stops trying to get Rand to budge and crosses his arms.
“I’m kidding, big man.” He reaches down to mess Cam’s hair up. “I’m pretty sure I never imagined that I’d make such good friends up here.” He smiles at Kai and me.
I nod. “Right? You’re so lucky to have met us.”
Rand laughs, a deep rumble that makes me smile. “And you’re lucky to have met me.”
“All right, we can agree we’re all lucky.” Kai grabs my hand and squeezes.
“And it’s a good thing your parents have friends in such high places.” I squeeze his hand back.
“I think my parents are more thankful to you and Cam.”
I tilt my head. “What do you mean? It was President Rush that granted them citizenship here in the New American Republic.”
Cam comes to stand next to Kai.
“Yes, but you and Cam have given them a chance to be parents again.”
I grin. “They do love having Cam around, don’t they?”
“You have no idea.” Kai laughs. “I think they like him better than me.”
Cam gives Rand a high-five.
“Hey, I doubt that’s true,” I say and pin Cam with a glare.
He just sticks his tongue out at me.
We all laugh. “With a face like that, I’m wondering why the Tangs have adopted you at all,” I tease.
Kai tugs me back toward the elevator. “Speaking of which, they should be back from New DC tonight so you can get settled into your new room, Cam.”
Cam jumps up and punches the air with his fist. “Yeah!”
I place a hand on his shoulder. “But in the meantime, we need to join our classmates at the graduation ceremony.”
He nods, grinning.
“Careful, you’re going to break that pretty face of yours smiling so much,” Rand says as he ducks away from Cam’s reach.
Earthlight Space Academy Boxset Page 19