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I shake my head. “You don’t know how Orion played with us. It was all a game to him, always a game. ”
“And this . . . whatever . . . that Orion has hidden is supposed to be some sort of way to . . . fight these ‘aliens’?” Bartie sounds skeptical—of both the clue and the threat on the planet.
I sigh, looking up at the concrete face of the Plague Eldest. The truth is, I don’t know. At all. Maybe it is. Maybe it’s not. I wish Orion was here to tell me himself . . . but now it’s too late. “I don’t like your odds of survival. ” Bartie leans forward. “But I think they’re better than ours. ” He jerks his head toward the statue of the Plague Eldest. “So what do you think is inside?”
“No idea,” I say. “Maybe a vid recording or a book. Maybe another frexing clue that will lead us down another ‘rabbit hole,’ as Amy likes to say. ” I grin at him, but the smile’s really for Amy, even though she can’t see it. “Either way,” I say, “let’s find out. ”
61: AMY
I sprint to the meadow, dirt raining down on me as one of the glass bombs explodes in the hill above. I cover my head with my arms and run as fast as I can, holding my breath when the smoke blows in my direction. I hope the latrines can provide me with a little cover before I dash to the lake, then up and around the forest to the compound. If I can make it to the communication room, I can lock the aliens out. That was what the biometric lock was for, to make sure that only humans got through.
I think about the big windows in the communication building. I hope they’re made of something stronger than glass, or else the aliens will just smash their way inside. I shake my head, refusing to think about this. I will go to the communication building, and I’ll talk to Elder, and we’ll figure out a way to stop the aliens, and everything will be fine.
I jog in place a few steps, ready to kick off and sprint to the lake, when someone grabs my arm. I nearly scream, but I’m yanked back, a hand covering my mouth.
“It’s me!”
I struggle free and turn to see Chris, his blue eyes shining.
“What are you doing?” I gasp, slinking closer to the shadows at the latrines. The tall meadow grass does little to hide us.
“Shh!” He looks around him.
There’s so much noise from the battle that I doubt anyone can hear us, but I lower my voice. “I was going to the compound,” I say.
He nods. “Good idea. I’m going with you. ”
I start to protest. I was able to make it to the latrines because they’re close and there was so much chaos. But there’s nothing to cover me as I run to the lake, and two people will stand out more than one.
Chris raises his gun, a high-powered rifle. I pull out my own . 38. If it came to bullets, I’d rather have another gun with me.
We both run straight for the lake. I keep turning my head, trying to see if anyone’s following us, but there’s so much happening at the colony that we’re ignored. Smoke billows up from the first couple of buildings. My heart breaks for a moment. The aliens have completely breached the colony. A group of people are running up the mountain, a line of soldiers at the bottom, trying to protect them. It won’t be much longer before they’re all taken.
Or killed.
“Ready?” Chris asks when we reach the lake, his voice still low.
I nod. We don’t have time to stop.
I’ve never run faster than now. There is no pacing to the way I run, no method. I just race, as fast and hard as I can, until I reach the asphalt of the compound.
Sweat drips off my body, making dark circles on the black asphalt. I lean over, my hands on my knees, gasping for air.
Chris stands at the communication room door. “What are you going to do?” he asks.
“See what Elder’s discovered, first,” I say automatically. If he’s solved Orion’s last clue, he might have the information we need to stop the aliens. And even if he hasn’t . . . I want to hear his voice again.
“And then?”
“Activate the weapon, if I have to. ” I swallow hard. I don’t want to be responsible for a genocide, even of alien creatures who are trying to annihilate us. But I’m not going to let them kill my father and my friends, not when I could stop it, not when they’ve already killed my mother.
I open the biometric lock, and Chris follows me inside, his rifle still at the ready. I holster the . 38 and go straight to the communication bay.
My hair sticks to my brow, and my shirt is drenched. The air inside the communication room feels stuffy and humid. I lift my shirt away from my chest, flapping the cloth as I try to cool down. “I don’t know how to operate any of this,” I say, staring at the control panel.
Chris steps forward. “It’s not that complicated,” he replies. “I already programmed Elder’s auto-shuttle into the network, here. ” He flips a switch, and static fills the air. Another press of a button, and a steady beep-beep-beep interrupts the static. “I’m hailing him. He should answer as soon as he sees my signal. ”
I move over beside him, looking down at the control. “I wonder which one of these operates the weapon,” I say.
