Strange Skies (16 page)

I shifted, feeling uncomfortable. Yet I kept my hand in his. There wasn’t room for love in a world like this, was there? Love had only ever brought me pain. Love ended in death. That’s what my head said. I wasn’t sure my heart was listening. “Are you saying you think that two people who are true soul mates have the same vibration?”

“Maybe,” James said. “Something to think about anyway.” He leaned over and kissed me gently on the lips. “Now, get some rest.” As soon as he put his arm around me, I fell asleep.

“Wake up, sleepyhead.” Markus shook my arm. “Time to get stuff done. Big day ahead.”

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. James was gone. As I’d drifted off, I remembered he’d said that he was going to take care of Dad, but would be back.

Markus took one look at me and laughed. “I don’t even want to know the reason your hair looks like that.”

“What?” I fingered my sand-filled hair, which had dried as I slept and stuck out in weird angles. “Oh.” I thought of the last few hours with James and blushed. “Um, I’ll meet you outside.”

A sunny, warm day greeted me. It was hard to shake the term “day” after using it for so many years. Plus a “sunny, warm light break” sounded weird. I dashed down to the creek and dunked my head under the cool water until I could get my fingers through it. It might be my last chance to bathe for a while.

Alec was outside wrestling around with Lucy when I returned to the camp. I was glad to see him having some fun for once.

Alec threw a stick and Lucy took off after it. “Did you have a fun time?” he asked.

I met his eyes. “I really did.”

Alec sighed. “
Bueno
. I want you to be happy.”

I smiled. “I want you to be happy too. Reed seems pretty cool, huh?”

Alec grinned.

James came racing back through the woods into the clearing.

“How is he?” I asked before James could catch his breath.

“Better,” he said. “Still weak, but we’ll get the guns, get him on the ship, and move out.”

Markus emerged from the hut. “We ready to do this?” he asked. “Also, what exactly are we doing?”

James steadied his shoulders and adjusted the pack on his back. “We’re as ready as we’re gonna be.
I’m
going to town to see if I can get Sonya to tell me where the weapons are, but we need a backup plan if she won’t. Markus, I thought you could do flyovers of the area. Maybe you’ll see something from the air.”

“I can go with Markus,” said Alec. “He could use an extra pair of eyes to make sure we don’t miss anything.”

James nodded. “That’s what I was going to suggest. Bring Lucy with you. If everything goes as planned, we’ll take off as soon as we get the guns and Tora’s dad.”

I was going with James. My satchel was packed with Callie’s picture, and I’d stuffed the page with the gun formulas in there too, though I still didn’t know what I was going to do with it.

Markus slung his pack over his shoulder. “Got it. We’ll keep you posted through the com system.”

“I’m counting on you, Markus.”

He grinned. “And I’m counting on you to find a cute
señorita
or two to bring along. Preferably three.”

“Be careful, you two,” Alec said, though he looked at me. He grabbed his things and called out to Lucy. “Do you want to go for a ride in a ship?” he asked her. “Do you, girl?”

Lucy wagged her tail like it was the best idea she’d ever heard.

“Come on, then, Lucy,” Markus said. “We don’t have all day.”

She bounded over, her tail wagging at warp speed.

Markus laughed. “I’ve never had a female run that fast to me before.” He turned to leave, then walked back and hugged me.

I gave him an awkward pat on the back. “What’s that for?” I asked.

“Don’t know,” he said. “Just don’t die, okay?”

“I’ll do my best.”

Markus stared at me a second longer and nodded. “Good.” He looked at Alec. “Let’s motor, we got work to do.”

They headed farther into the woods, past our camp, toward the area where Markus remembered parking his ship. I hoped they found it quickly.

James and I headed in the opposite direction, back along the creek toward the bar. We’d discussed this part of the plan while flying back from the beach on Max’s ship. Originally, James didn’t think it was safe for us to separate and wanted me to come with him to see Sonya. I figured she’d be more likely to give him information without me there. He’d already used his com device to set up a meeting at the command center.

While James was talking to Sonya at the bar, I’d meet with a small group at the center. That way, Sonya wouldn’t be able to report our plan back to Kale if she wasn’t really on our side. James had only invited to the meeting those Resistance members that he thought would be open to
leaving with us. We’d have them help move Dad once the guns were loaded on Markus’ ship.

Anxiety knotted my stomach. It didn’t seem so simple now that we were doing it. I tried to think about all the things that could go wrong—which pretty much involved everything.

If Sonya had been swayed by Kale’s bravado and grand plans regarding a Consulate takedown, I doubted she would be an open book about the location of the guns. Yet, she’d bragged about seeing the weapons and had tried to tell James something important the night before, so maybe there was hope.

I was also consumed by guilt. Guilt that the people we were forced to leave behind would be defenseless against the Consulate. Their measly guns wouldn’t stand a chance against Consulate ships. Dad’s guns could help them, but it was too dangerous for us to stay with them. At least that’s what I’d told myself.

The wildflowers were in full bloom and their scent wafted through the trees as we walked toward the center. As beautiful as they smelled, they sent pangs of pain through my heart. If everything went according to plan, I had no idea how long it would be before I could smell real flowers again.

“Hold up a second,” James said. I hadn’t noticed that he’d plucked one of the flowers. He tucked it behind my ear and smiled. “Alec can find someone else to give flowers to. That’s for good luck. Now Callie will be with you.”

I wiped a tear away. “Thanks. That means a lot.”

He gave me a brief, tender kiss on the lips. “I still think about Autumn a lot and know how much it hurts. We’ll get through this.”

I touched his cheek. “I hope so.”

We hurried toward the bar and stopped when we reached the clearing. “Be careful,” I said. “I don’t have a com device, so you better get your ass to the command center soon. Don’t make me worry.”

James gave me a quick kiss. “I’ll be right there. What could possibly go wrong?”

I groaned. “You can’t say that. It’s like tempting fate.”

He smiled. “You never struck me as someone who believed in fate. Now get going. See you soon.”

It took so much effort to get my feet to move away from him. “See you soon.” He jogged toward the bar and I watched him before I headed toward the command center. It had grown so warm that I sweated in my light T-shirt and pants. It was nothing compared to the blistering inferno back on Earth, but I couldn’t help my momentary flicker of fear. I glimpsed the yellow sun through the trees and relaxed. We’d have billions of years before we had to worry about that again.

The command center looked deserted when I approached. No guards stood outside. I knew James had relayed the plan to Max on the com system, but wondered if Max had gotten the word out fast enough. The windows and door were shut tight. I crept up to the door and pulled.
It opened easily and I peeked inside. Everything was dark.

“Tora!”

I jumped a foot in the air as I scrambled for my gun.

“Sshhh.” A hand grabbed my arm and pulled me inside. “It’s just me, Reed. James said this should be top secret.”

My heart raced. “It just would have been helpful if I’d known
how
top secret ahead of time.”

I looked around at some faces that I recognized, like Edgar, Trent, and Ian. There were others that I didn’t know, including a few girls. Markus would be thrilled.

Edgar came to stand at my side and started speaking Spanish to the group. I held up my hand. “You lost me at
hola
. I think we’re good as far as the secret thing, so can we please talk in English?”

“
Sí, lo siento
,” Edgar said. He cleared his throat and addressed the room. “We are gathered here to discuss a plan to move to a new location. If Kale is to be believed, the Consulate is close to finding us and plans to wipe us out as soon as possible. We could stay and fight, but then Kale would maintain control of the weapons, and some members of the Resistance—myself included—believe that he has lost his way.”

“So what does that make us?” one man asked. “The Resistance against the Resistance? We’re just going to give up everything we’ve been fighting for?”

“No, Connor,” said Trent. “We’re still resisting the Consulate, but Kale’s methods have become too similar to theirs. I don’t consider Kale the leader of the Resistance
anymore. That title goes to James, in my opinion.” Trent looked to me. “No disrespect meant to your dad, of course, but I don’t think he’s interested in leading a revolution anymore.”

He was right about that
.

“Yes,” agreed Reed. “James.”

I sucked in my breath. Though I agreed that James was the best person for the job, I had some idea what that job description entailed, and I didn’t like it. Being named the leader of the Resistance meant you might as well paint a huge target on yourself. The Consulate would know exactly who to kill first.

“I’m not sure we need to get all formal with titles,” I said, but no one was listening to me. Their eyes were on Edgar. He certainly had a commanding presence.

“We are the hope for a new world,” he said. “There are small groups on nearby moons and planets. Imagine how we could help them if we join forces. When the Consulate attacks here, they’ll only find power-hungry people like Kale left. It will be violence and greed against the same, and we will remain safe away from the bloodshed. Upon our return, we will form a land of peace and harmony.”

It sounded great in theory, yet I still doubted whether such a small group could manage to carry it off.

Edgar bowed to me. “Tora, we are at your service. Just tell us what you need and we’ll help.” He straightened and addressed the group. “I’m going to say this one more time. It is imperative that no one speaks of this plan outside this
group. As we all know, there are those whose sympathies shift with the changing of the winds.” Edgar turned back to me. “I assure you, we are not those people.”

All eyes fell on me. I was glad I’d taken the time to wash the crazy angles out of my hair. “Basically, we need any info at all on where the guns might be. Some people are looking, and James is talking to Sonya as we speak.”

“I’m sure Sonya wishes they were doing more than talking,” said Connor.

Someone snickered across the room.

“That ain’t gonna happen,” said Reed, clutching my arm protectively. “But Sonya did say that she saw the guns, so hopefully we’ll know something soon.”

“Oh,” said a girl who introduced herself as Becca, probably the same Becca that Markus had mentioned earlier. “I didn’t hear anything about the guns, but Sonya mentioned that Kale took her somewhere
romantic
.”

Sonya had been talking about her ideal man. Hard to imagine that person was Kale …

“Anyone else have any ideas about where the guns might be?”

“No,” Ian said. “I saw Sonya and Kale head toward his ship the other day, but I didn’t know where he was taking her.”

That wasn’t a lot to go on. I really hoped that James was getting information out of her.

“We’ll see what James finds out,” I said. “And then we need to get my dad. Any ideas on where to relocate?”

Edgar scratched his chin. “There’s a nearby planet, Dais, with a small colony. I know there’s water, but it’s all underground and a bitch to get to. Heard it’s mostly rocks and dirt. Don’t know much else, but that might be our best bet.” He turned to the group. “Collect supplies and pack everything that we’ll need quickly, but don’t arouse suspicion. Kale’s men can’t know what we’re doing. Go now and only use the com system if you need to. Switch to channel twenty-one, but know that it’s possible Kale and his men could catch something on there. We’ll meet back here when the clock strikes the next groove.”

James still hadn’t arrived, and I kept watching the door. The plan was already off track. Edgar sat down on one of the benches after everyone else had left. He pulled out his com device and set it on the bench next to him. “I’ll wait here until James gets back. Why don’t you go visit with your dad?”

I didn’t want to leave without seeing James, but I really wanted to see Dad. He was all alone out there in the woods.

Edgar must have sensed my hesitation. “I’ll tell James where you are. We’ll come to help move your dad as soon as James gets here. I promise. You won’t be able to support your dad on your own, anyway.”

“Thanks, Edgar.” I opened the door and wished I’d see James running toward me through the clearing. No such luck.

I ran into the woods, even though, in the back of my mind, I knew I should have waited.

Chapter
FIFTEEN

I
TRIED TO REMEMBER THE WAY TO
D
AD
’
S HUT
. T
HE TREES
were thick and I didn’t want to get lost. We would get Dad out of here, far away from Kale’s reach.

I walked about as far as I thought I’d gone last time, then stopped and listened. A few birds sang up ahead and every once in a while a breeze blew through the trees. The hut had to be close.

“Dad?” I whispered. I really hoped Kale would be gone as long as James had thought. Still, we didn’t have a ton of time.

Another of the brightly colored winged insects darted in front of me. It flew upward and then glided down before zipping behind a tree. I walked after it to get a glimpse of its breathtaking aerial dynamics. Just beyond the tree was Dad’s hut. I forgot about the insect and raced to the door.
Please let him be okay
.