CHAPTER SEVEN
JOSHUA STARED at the words. The icon next to the text let him know it had been a voice message translated into a written message. He touched the icon, and Cristian’s voice whispered, “Don’t go home.”
A chill ran through him. He’d been through a lot with Cristian, but none of it had been serious. He almost didn’t recognize his friend’s voice, the familiar timbre altered by a hushed tone. Was it fear?
He hit call and waited. The small symbol swirled, indicating that the signal was being sent. A voice answered.
“Joshua?” Cristian’s face flickered on the small screen. The resolution was sharp enough that Joshua could see dried blood on Cristian’s mouth and one eye was darkened by a bruise. He looked like he’d been knocked around.
“Are you all right?” Joshua asked. “Are you with my parents?”
“Y-yes. W-we escaped to Saida.”
The rush of relief was so sharp it hurt, and his eyes watered. “Who attacked us? How did you escape? Why are we being chased?”
“I can’t say right n-now.”
“Where are you?”
“At my house…your parents w-went out, they were…they’re…” Cristian turned and looked behind him again.
Joshua wondered where the stuttering had come from. “What is wrong with you, man? And why haven’t they tried to contact us?”
Cristian bowed his head. “Your parents are out with m-mine right now, trying to talk to the Council. I’ll let them know right away. You should be hearing from them s-soon.”
“This is so strange. We’re being chased by someone I think. Maybe Colonial Security, and I don’t know why.”
“Is Caina w-with you?”
“Yes.”
Cristian was silent for a moment. “Maybe she shouldn’t come.”
Joshua’s red eyes narrowed. “Why not? She’s worried about our parents, too.”
Both of them stared at each other and then Cristian swallowed, looking away. “Nevermind. I’ll s-see you soon.”
His face flickered out and Joshua sat back, trying to take it all in. To call the exchange odd was an understatement. He knew Cristian inside and out. He’d seen him at his worst and his best, but he’d never seen him like this. The stuttering was especially puzzling. Joshua wanted to be relieved that his parents were all right, but part of his brain felt nothing but foreboding.
Another message arrived. From his mother.
So glad to hear you are all right. We were worried sick. Is Caina okay? There was no voice icon with this one. Confused that she would text rather than call, he tried to call but the screen never opened up. Frustrated, he spoke the message and watched the words appear. Mom, we were really worried. Why don’t you call?
The message came back instantly. We can’t. Hurry to Saida. We’ll see you soon. Be careful. The signal icon faded.
If she was so worried, why didn’t she call? If she was concerned about being tracked, a text was no safer. Something wasn’t right.
He slid his finger on the console, drawing a line across the screen, redirecting their course for Saida. He drew the line slowly, the surface of the screen smooth under his finger. He should be thrilled. What was wrong with him? It was instinct, he knew; that indefinable inner voice that haunted him in odd moments. It gave him an edge in school, even beyond all his heightened senses. It was almost a disease, prompting him to do things that didn’t make sense, and forcing him to make up explanations even he didn’t believe. Whatever it was, the voice was screaming at him to delete the line and run.
He looked back at Caina. He should tell her that their mother had contacted them, but he kept delaying. Caina had fallen asleep in the hammock, one of her legs dangling off the edge. She looked peaceful, and he didn’t want to wake her.
She slept for a little while longer and then woke up halfway to their new destination. She rubbed her eyes and stretched, her face pale and sad. He should tell her their parents were all right, but didn’t. She blinked at him and then asked, “Is that Onix?”
“Yeah. I found it. It might come in handy, now that I’m a thief.”
She sat up and looked out the window at the unmistakable green and red ring around the planet. “This looks like Saida.”
“It is.”
She stared at him. “Why are we here?”
“Cristian called me and he said…” It felt like the words were being pulled out of his guts, stretching and stringy until they broke free with a snap. “Mom and Dad are with him.”
They both sat, unmoving as her eyes filled with tears. “They’re okay and you didn’t tell me? What is wrong with you?”
“I don’t know. I just….I wanted to wait until we saw them.”
“What are you talking about? You knew they were okay and you didn’t wake me up? You…” she was gritting her teeth now. “What is wrong with you?”
It took all his restraint not to snap back at her. She had every right to be angry. He answered quietly, “Look, something about this feels really wrong. I just have this feeling…you’re going to have to trust me.”
She shook her head at him, the contempt in her face twisting her mouth. “Really? Our parents are all right and you keep it to yourself?”
Losing his composure, he turned away from her, too irritated to explain what he couldn’t anyway.
“Don’t turn away from me, Joshua. That was a complete jerk move and you know it. I don’t understand.”
If only she would listen to herself, he thought. She kept saying things like, ‘what is wrong with you’ and ‘I don’t understand’. She had all the answers right there and she just didn’t know it. There was something wrong with him, and she was right, but there was no way she could understand it. He sighed. He had to at least try.
“Okay, listen.”
Her anger seemed to freeze, which was a start. She was willing to hear him out.
He continued, “When I was at the academy, I learned some things about myself that I didn’t talk about. To anyone. Not even to Cristian. Understand?”
He could see she was more curious than angry so he kept going, hoping it would all come out right.
“You know about my sight and hearing, right?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Uh, you have them? Like everyone else.”
Startled, he had to regroup his thoughts. Had his parents kept the academy reports to themselves? He’d never talked to them about the tests. He just assumed they knew. Caina didn’t, apparently.
“No, not like everyone else. I can see and hear farther than most people. A lot farther.”
“Okay.” She wasn’t impressed. She didn’t get it.
“What I didn’t tell anyone was that I also get…feelings, or premonitions.” He stopped, watching her reaction. The confusion on her face didn’t change. Either she didn’t believe him, or she didn’t understand what he was trying to tell her.
“Something about Cristian’s call is not adding up.”
The confusion cleared on her face, but now she seemed alarmed, her eyes suddenly wary. “I see. So finding out about our parents is creeping you out, not making you happy.”
“I’m creeped out because I know Cristian is lying about something—possibly about our parents. I swear you have to trust me. I’m not crazy.”
Her face didn’t move, but a tear trickled down her cheek. “You think they might still be in trouble. Didn’t you talk to them?”
“Texting. I couldn’t talk to them, even though I talked to Cristian. It’s strange. Bad strange.”
“Why can’t they call? And Cristian would never lie.”
“I don’t know why they can’t. But I do think Cristian is hiding something, maybe even lying. Everyone is capable of lying.”
“He wouldn’t lie,” she insisted, another tear falling. “He’s your friend. I know him. He would never, never do anything like lying about our parents being all right. Never.”
He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. “But he is, Caina.”
She flipped her wrist over and called their parents, but like Joshua’s attempt, the screen did not open. Words came on the screen from their mother. Are you here?
Caina looked over at Joshua, and he thought he saw a hint of belief in her eyes. She answered back, aloud. “Yes! Where have you been? Mom, I was scared.” The text dutifully appeared and was sent, though Joshua knew the words couldn’t match the intensity of her fear and suspicion. The fear and suspicion he had planted. His instincts had better be right.
The answer returned in words on the screen. We’re okay. I’m sorry we couldn’t call earlier but everything is all right.
“I love you, Mom. Tell Dad I love him.” Her voice wavered on the words.
We love you, too.
She stared at the words and then back at him. “Why can’t they call?”
“Can you trust me?”
“No.” She said, crossing her arms and her legs, a bundle of defiance. But it was false defiance—the kind built around fear. She was afraid he was right.
He guided them down into the atmosphere, thinking about what would happen when he met Cristian. He couldn’t even guess. His thoughts were interrupted by Cristian’s voice, and he looked over at Caina, startled. She’d called Cristian.
“Caina?” Cristian was the picture of shock, his face pale.
“Hey, Cristian. I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Uh, yeah. It’s good to s-see you.”
She peered closer at the screen and her eyes widened. “What happened to you? You’re hurt!”
Cristian looked behind his shoulder, a movement that was eerily familiar to Joshua. What was Cristian looking at all the time? “It’s n-nothing. I got banged up when I left Huron. I’m okay.”
“Pretty rugged,” she teased.
Cristian’s response lagged. “Oh, yeah. That’s me.”
“We’ll be there in one minute. Can’t wait!”
There was a slight pause at this cheerful assertion and Cristian responded, “Be s-safe.”
“See you later.”
The screen closed and she sat there, staring at the pale blue screen. “I didn’t know he stuttered.”
“Yeah. I don’t know what to make of that. Maybe he did it when he was younger, before we knew him, and stress is bringing it out again.”
She sighed, looking out the window and crossing her arms. She felt it now, he knew—the inexplicable unease.
The land masses on Saida grew closer, and then the Suki sank into the air above Bephis, Cristian’s home city. They reached the landing port, a bone white, multi-level structure built for interspace craft.
The planet Saida had the only monarchy in the Alliance. The Verde Colony was actually a figurehead monarchy with a parliament, but they had a queen, nonetheless. The colonists liked the stability, and most of all, the historic pageantry. They had a particular pride in their colonial history that most other colonies didn’t have.
Travelers and space craft filled the port. Engines whined down, and people called out to each other, some of them in loud reunions and others disembarking quietly. A few of the transports had the symbol of the crown on them, marking them as official vehicles.
The sky was red and black, the signature sunsets that were peculiar to Saida. The wind blew into the port, gentle and muted by the walls.
When they stepped out of the sleek black craft, a lone figure in a long black coat was waiting for them. Cristian’s eyes widened. “W-where did you g-get the Suki?”
“Borrowed it,” Joshua answered.
Caina pulled her hood over her hair, taming the wind whipped strands. “Where’s Mom and Dad?”
“They’re not b-back yet. They’ll meet us at my home.”
Joshua scanned his friend’s face. He could hear Cristian’s heart beating too fast.
Caina stepped closer to Cristian. “You really got hurt, didn’t you?”
Cristian answered lightly, “It’s no b-big deal.”
“Are my parents all right?” Caina asked, her hands gripping the strap of her backpack on her shoulder, her knuckles turning white.
“They’re f-fine.”
Joshua heard Cristian’s heartbeat speed up again.
They reached the wall where the transports were retrieved, a big red “D5” marked on it. Cristian put his hand on a small screen next to the rail, and the name of his transport flickered on the wall. Cristian tapped the small screen to confirm and stepped back. A low rumble sounded behind the wall and the doors slid open, Cristian’s transport rolling out, hung on a robotic cage of moving arms that slid it out to the platform.
Cristian opened the door for Caina, staring back at Joshua for a moment before he turned away.