“You’re sure there’s no risk of an attack?”
“Trust me. I’m sure.” She nods at the stage. “It’s almost time.”
Next thing I know, Lucy is walking across the stage from the other side, and Max glides by me to meet Lucy in the middle. The crowd roars. The sound alone nearly knocks me off my feet.
They clasp hands and walk together to the front of the stage. This is really happening.
“Welcome to the Lost Heroes Homecoming Tour!” Lucy says, waving her hand in the air.
More screams and claps and wails. The EFAN cameras pan the crowds then refocus on the stage.
I want to cover my ears.
“You know you’re our first stop, right?” Sheek asks the crowd.
Even louder.
“That’s because Eurasia East knows how to throw a party!”
The crowd swells in a sea of noise. I can barely hear myself think.
“You sure like your parties, Officer Dugan.”
“As do you, Officer Sheek.”
Their onstage banter goes on for a few more minutes. Then Jayne is tapping my shoulder and steering me into line in front of the lost aeronauts. She raises a hand and whispers, “We’re a go, folks.” Then she leans forward and kisses me on the cheek. “You’ll be great!”
Lucy’s voice rings out our cue. “Now welcome Jasper Adams and the lost aeronauts!”
Sheek and Lucy part and turn to face us. Jayne gives me a gentle push, and my feet start moving across the stage, just as we practiced in rehearsal. I focus on my breath like Mom used to make me do when I was nervous. Eight steps. Now I turn and wave at the crowd. Another breath and . . .
Oh. My. God.
I stop moving.
The crowd goes back as far as I can see. And they’re screaming. For us. For me.
Denver places a hand on my shoulder. “Keep going, kid. You’re doing great.”
I suck in air and force my feet to move. I focus on the chair waiting for me across the stage. If I can make it there, I’ll let myself look again.
I get to my chair and sink down. Denver slides in beside me. The other aeronauts fall in behind him.
Sheek is saying something, and Lucy is laughing. It’s a joke they rehearsed, the joke that comes right before they introduce me and Denver.
And now they’re turning and smiling at us—our cue to stand.
Denver nods at me as he rises. “Just follow my lead, kid.”
When I walk past Lucy, she squeezes my wrist. “Remember, enjoy it!”
And then I’m standing in front with Denver, all the cameras pointed right at us, just a meter of stage between us and the screaming masses.
“Thank you so much for coming out today!” Denver says. “One of the things that kept us going all those years is knowing you were pulling for us!”
The crowd erupts in applause. Denver keeps running through the script. It’s almost my turn to talk.
“. . . thanks to this kid right here, Jasper Adams.”
The crowd roars. I stare out at the sea of faces. A girl in the front row catches my eye. For a second, I think it’s Addy. I do a double take. She’s grabbing her friend’s arm and screaming.
Of course it’s not Addy. What would Addy think of all this? She’d hate it. She’d call it for what it is: another piece of Earth Force propaganda.
But Addy’s not here. I’m here, for better or worse. So, like Lucy said, I might as well enjoy it.
I’ve missed my cue. I can almost hear Lucy silently screaming at me from behind. Fortunately, Denver was the face of Earth Force before Lucy was even born, so he knows how to get us back on track.
He swings his arm across my back. Then he balls his other fist and gives my shoulder a gentle punch. “Don’t be shy, kid. They want to hear the story. Tell them how you saved us. Tell them how you brought us home.” Denver sounds so genuine. No one would ever guess how hard he argued against the lie I’m about to tell.
The crowd roars again, and then they’re shouting my name, over and over. My nerves start to fade as I’m lifted by the wave of their chant. I feel like I’m floating high above the crowd. They’re calling to me. All I have to do is give them what they want.
I glance to the side and see Jayne. She’s chanting my name, too.
Raising my hands to the sides to quiet the crowd, I take a deep breath, and then speak my line. “I was just doing my duty.”
This obvious attempt at modesty stokes the crowd even more. They clap and cheer and chant my name even louder.
Denver waves them down again and says to me, “Tell them what happened, Jasper.”
I launch into the carefully rehearsed story about how Earth Force was ambushed by our alien enemy. The attack was swift and deadly. The Youli executed all of our superiors and took Mira and me hostage. While imprisoned by the Youli, we made a startling discovery. The lost aeronauts from the Incident at Bounding Base 51 weren’t dead, they were being held captive. Mira and I formulated a plan to break them out and bring them home. The mission was successful, but Mira paid the ultimate price. She was killed by the Youli during our heroic escape.
Behind me, a giant screen displays Mira’s face, the one from the posters. It’s meant to elicit sympathy from the crowd. I can’t bear to look at it. If I do, I doubt I’ll be able to keep up this farce.
Denver takes over, recounting their shock at our arrival. He describes how unexpected it was to be rescued after all that time, and especially by kids.
As Denver talks, I start to relax. I gaze out at the crowd, at the thousands of faces staring up at me, looking at me like I’m the hero Earth Force wants me to be.
“We owe so much to this Bounder,” Denver is saying, clapping his hand on my shoulder. “It is my honor to serve with him.”
“The honor is all mine,” I tell the crowd. “I grew up worshipping these men and women, our lost aeronauts. They’re the reason I wanted to serve in Earth Force. I am so grateful I could bring our heroes home!”
The crowd goes wild. Lucy leans over and whispers in my ear, “You’re fabulous! A natural! They love you!”
Our story is fiction, but there’s nothing fake about the smile spreading across my face. I wave at the crowd as Lucy, Sheek, and Denver say some parting words. Lucy grabs my hand and leads me to the wings, officially ending our first rally of the Lost Heroes Homecoming Tour. As soon as I step offstage, I’m desperate to do it again.
14
I CAN’T RELAX. I TRY everything to distract myself—web shows, snacks, a nap—but I can’t keep my mind off today’s rally. I can see the crowd, hear them chant my name. Hear isn’t quite the right word. It’s like I can feel them calling for me. I throw on my street clothes and creep down the hall to Jayne’s room.
I lightly knock. No answer. I’m about to head back to my room when the door swings open. Jayne is wearing black shorts and a purple T-shirt. The front of her hair is piled on top of her head with a stylus stuck through to keep it in place.
“Hey,” she says. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just . . . Sorry to bother you.”
“Oh, no bother. You can come in, just hold on a second.” She closes the door so it’s almost shut and heads back to her room.
I press on the door to sneak a peek at her room. Jayne is at her computer, collapsing a transmission projection. I only see it for a second, but something looks familiar about the location of the transmission.
She heads back to the door and waves. “Come on in.”
“Who were you talking to?” I ask.
“No one important.”
“Where was the transmission from?”
“The space station.”
That did not look like the space station.
As if Jayne can read my suspicions, she adds, “I was just going over some details for the next stops on our tour.”
That must have been it. “The Americanas, home of Lucy Dugan.”
“Not like she’d let any of us forget it.”
; “Coming home to Americana West as the face of Earth Force? I honestly think Lucy’s been dreaming of this her whole life. I hope it’s as great as she’s expecting it to be. And okay, I’ll admit it, I’m pretty excited about our stop in Americana East.”
Something dark crosses Jayne’s face, but she quickly turns away. She grabs her projection screen and tucks it inside the pack she always carries.
I wonder why she doesn’t have a blast pack like the rest of the Bounders. Does she even know how to use one? What about the gloves? In fact, why isn’t she training now? I understand why Earth Force wants Lucy and me to be on this tour—Bounder propaganda and all—but what about Jayne?
“How come you’re not training with the other Bounders?”
“That question came from nowhere.” Jayne pulls the stylus out, and her hair falls in curls around her face. “I used to think your mind was blank when you had a zone-out moment, but I guess it’s just jumping through random topics.”
I shrug. “Pretty much. Really, though, how did you get this job? Why does Earth Force have you stationed in communications rather than defense?”
“I’m kind of Lucy’s understudy, actually,” she says, taking a seat on the edge of her bed. “Lucy’s job isn’t without some risks, and I’m prepped to step in if anything happens.”
“You mean a Resistance attack?” I know it’s risky to ask, but Jayne brought it up when we talked in the pod room.
She scrunches up her face like she’s thinking, probably deciding how much to tell me. “The Resistance is gaining strength. There are lots of people out there who would love to see Earth Force fall. That’s what this tour is all about. The Force has to generate support for the war and keep people rallied around their cause.”
“So Lucy’s job is dangerous?” I ask, sitting down next to Jayne.
“Yes, and we have a long list of death threats to prove it.” She places her hand on top of mine. “You’re probably targeted, too.”
“Well, that takes my mood down a few notches.” Not really. I’m too focused on the feel of Jayne’s hand over mine. Her fingers are warm and solid. She feels so different than Mira. Mira’s hands are always cold.
Jayne jumps up and claps. “That means we need to do something fun. I’m sick of working all the time. We’re in an amazing place. Let’s explore!”
“You mean, like, leave the building?”
“Exactly. It’s time we took an actual tour of Eurasia East. But first, hold on.” Jayne runs over to her trunk and rummages through her things. When she comes back, she’s holding a hat and a pair of sunglasses. “For you.”
“You want me to wear those glasses? It will be dark out soon.”
“I know, but people might recognize you otherwise.”
“In this?” I look down at my gray sweatpants and Americana East futbol tee. I was psyched when I found them at the bottom of the trunk Jayne had sent to my room.
“You’re a celebrity, Jasper! No one will have a clue who I am, so I don’t have to worry about it.”
I take the hat and glasses from Jayne and put them on in front of the mirror. I look ridiculous. The hat is orange. If you ask me, it makes me stand out more than blend in, and not in a good way. Plus, I would never pick these sunglasses. They’re humongous. I basically look like an orange-headed bug.
“Let’s go!” Jayne is already at the door.
We head down the hall and take the elevator to the lowest floor of the parking levels. That way we can skate around the area where the hovers are parked and walk out the exit ramp, hopefully avoiding the EFAN cameras, not to mention the Earth Force guards. With all the paranoia about the mole these days, they definitely wouldn’t let us out to roam around Eurasia East on our own.
When we reach the top of the ramp, it’s clear there’s still a crowd outside. I’m guessing there will be until the guards enforce curfew. We find a side door. No one notices Jayne and me slip outside, hang a left, and head to the end of the block.
Jayne illuminates her wristlet. “If we take the air rail, we can make it to the Summer Palace in twenty minutes.”
She grabs my hand and takes off running. Her grip is strong. Life pulses through Jayne. She’s vibrant and grounded and more real than most people. When I’m with her, I feel confident, like everything will go our way as long as she’s in charge. I can see why she connected with Addy.
We weave through the streets, trying to avoid the armed guards on every corner. When we can’t avoid passing them, I put on the hat and glasses and keep my head down, hoping they don’t look too closely at us. When we finally make it the air rail stop and through the metal detectors, I slip the glasses back on and pull the brim of my hat down low. We blend into the crowd. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt like I fit in this much in public. Before the EarthBound Academy, I was basically a nobody, but I still always felt like everybody was looking at me, like they could tell what a loser I was with just a glance.
When the next rail car arrives, we climb on and find seats. We plant our feet on the clear, plastic floor. Eurasia East spreads beneath us. It looks a lot like Americana East. Rows and rows of high rises. Still, it beats being stuck in my room with Florine Statton.
“I can’t believe we’re out,” I say. “I was feeling pretty cooped up on the Lost Heroes Homecoming Tour.”
“Not enough excitement for the big celebrity, huh?”
“Cut it out. I’m hardly a celebrity.” I know that’s the right thing to say, but the truth is, I am starting to feel like a celebrity, and I love hearing Jayne say it.
“You sure?” She pulls the glasses off my face and the hat off my head. “Just wait.”
I roll my eyes. What exactly does she think is going to happen? I’m not even wearing my uniform.
At the next stop, the doors slide open and a crowd of people spill in. They fill up the other end of the rail car. Before long, one of the girls catches my eye. She whispers something to the girl next to her, and then they’re both staring.
Soon, their whole group of friends is gawking at me. They giggle and steal glances.
The first girl to spot me heads in our direction. She’s older than me by a few years and incredibly beautiful. She has midnight hair that hangs to her waist. Her face is a perfect oval, and her lips are painted rose red. A girl like her would never have noticed me before I returned from the rift.
“Excuse me,” she asks with a shaky voice, “are you Jasper Adams?”
Before I can answer, Jayne pipes in. “Yes, he is, and I’m his publicist. Can I help you?” Her voice is so snooty and businesslike. She kind of sounds like Florine Statton.
The girl twirls her hair around her finger. “Oh no, nothing. Sorry to bother you.” She glances back at her friends, then takes a deep breath. “It’s just . . . can I have your autograph?” She lifts her wristlet.
“Sure.” I press my thumb onto the screen. Identified: Jasper Adams.
“Oh my God!” she claps her hands and smiles. “Thank you so much!”
She runs back to her group. They giggle and squeal when she shows them my thumbprint.
“What did I tell you?” Jayne says as the air rail pulls into the next station. She hands me the hat and glasses. “This is our stop.”
I follow her off the air rail, and we dash through the crowded platform. We hurry down a few city blocks until we reach a heavily guarded, brightly colored gate with ancient Chinese lettering across the top.
“How are we going to get in?” I ask.
“Leave it to me,” Jayne says.
She marches up to the guards and whips her tablet out of her pack. “We’re here from the Earth Force public relations department,” she says, showing the guards something on her tablet. “We’re scouting sites for next year’s rally, and we need immediate admittance to the grounds.”
The guards laugh. “Sure you are. Go home, little girl. It’s almost curfew.”
Jayne waves me over. “Take off the hat and glasses,” she says to me then turns to the g
uards. “Don’t you know who he is?”
The guards don’t respond, but they don’t mock her, either.
“Run his face through recognition. Or don’t, and I’ll report you directly to the admiral tomorrow.”
The main guard is clearly mad at being called out by a “little girl,” but he flashes his scanner at my face. Once it registers, he straightens and raises his hand in salute. “I . . . I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you immediately, Officer Adams. It’s an honor to meet you. Right this way.” He escorts Jayne and me to the gate. “Take as long as you need. I’ll personally ensure that no one else is admitted.”
Once we’re inside the grounds of the Summer Palace and out of earshot of the guards, I stop Jayne. “You could have let me in on your plan.”
She grins. “I could have, but that wouldn’t have been as fun.”
I follow her along the path leading deeper into the grounds. “This place is amazing.” The Summer Palace sits on a wide lake surrounded by gardens. The buildings are all preserved in the classic Chinese architecture. The colorful, tiered structures look straight out of a fairy tale. In all my days in Americana East and even my days in space, I’ve never seen a human-made place that was as beautiful as this.
We walk down a long, outdoor corridor with magnificent painted ceilings. Everything is quiet except the gentle lapping of the water against the boats in the lake. Jayne and I slow down and exhale all the drama of the day, all the stress of the tour, all the expectations of the Force.
Jayne cuts off the path, but I continue, enjoying a few moments of peace.
Peace.
I haven’t even thought about the Youli message today. What am I supposed to do with it anyway? Admiral Eames won’t listen. Even Cole brushed me aside.
I keep walking. Soon, I’m looking at my own face. One of the old propaganda posters is tacked up on a pillar.
PROTECTING OUR PLANET COMES AT A PRICE.
Mira’s face stares back from the next pillar. I stop in front of it.
Why did you leave me, Mira?
How many times have I asked that question? I’m no closer to an answer.
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