my shoulder.
I duck as the windows and blinds behind me shatter. Shards pelt my back. Again with the glass. Good thing I’m wearing my jumpsuit.
“Out the window,” Jarren orders. “Now!”
Going outside the base through the chem lab, I message. I crunch over the debris and climb over the sharp shards still clinging to the window frame. Then I hop down onto the sand. Jarren thumps next to me.
“This way.” He grabs my wrist and tows me along the outer wall of the base.
I’m not sure where we’re going until we reach the end. Three shuttles sit in the sand like giant beetles. He tugs me toward the closest one.
Oh no. If we fly away, I’ll never see my parents and Niall again. I glance back. Two sets of footprints trail behind us. No one is in sight.
Heading toward a shuttle on the west side of the base, I message. Follow tracks. This is probably an exercise in futility, but denial is a survival instinct. Right?
We reach the shuttle. Jarren keys in a code: seven, two, five, one. The door opens, slowly settling on the sand. He pushes me up the steps. The pilot is standing in the aisle, aiming her weapon at us, but she lowers it when she recognizes Jarren.
“What happened?”
“Walked into a trap. Get this bird in the air and tell the others to take off. We’re going back to our base.”
The woman hesitates. “What about—”
“They’re caught and we will be soon if you don’t—”
“On it.” She hurries into the cockpit.
Jarren pushes me down into a seat right behind the pilot’s seat. “Buckle in,” he orders.
In the shuttle, I message. Code seven, two, five, one. I pull the straps over my shoulders and hips, snapping in the five-point harness. Jarren pulls a thick plastic ring from his pocket. Then he grabs my forearm and puts it on the armrest. Before I can move, he clamps my wrist to the seat with the plastic ring—it must have a hinge. Then he does the same thing for my left arm. Between the buckles and the rings, I’m effectively secured. When the shuttle’s engine roars to life, breathing becomes difficult and tears threaten to leak.
He crouches so he’s at my level. “This is so you don’t run off again.”
“Why take me?” I’m physically unable to say, why not just kill me out loud.
“I could have sent another missile after I destroyed the satellite—we have plenty of weapons—but I just couldn’t.” He peers at me as if I’m a strange creature he can’t quite figure out. “I had to come get you. My ghost in the Q-net who has been giving me such trouble.”
“Ghost?”
“Yes, layering in extra security, fixing the camera and satellite feeds, getting through my blockade all without making a ripple. Drove me crazy trying to figure out who was ghosting through my programs.”
“How did you figure it out?”
His derision is clear. “Do you really have to ask?”
“DES.”
“Inept DES. They clued me in and then it didn’t take me long to find you in the Q-net.” Jarren gives me a patronizing smile. “I’m very curious how you managed to get past my defenses. And how Officer Tight Pants took care of the hostile aliens. And lots of other questions.”
“You’re a murdering looter. I’m not going to tell you anything.” My words are brave, but inside I’m terrified.
“Yes, you are. And do you want to know why?”
This sounds bad. Do I? Not really.
“I’ve lots of cool toys to play with, including this pretty pink liquid. Once it’s injected into the bloodstream, the person just can’t stop talking.”
Not good. Not good at all. “Where did you get all this stuff?” I ask. Perhaps he’ll be too busy talking to me to order the pilot to take off.
“I’ve partners in crime, Little Worm. Very rich and well connected partners who get me anything I need.”
“Incoming,” the pilot says. “Three dune buggies.”
My rescue!
Jarren whips around. Standing, he goes to the front window. I crane my neck, trying to peer around Jarren. Who’s here? Radcliff? Morgan? Bendix? Jarren shifts slightly as he taps on a few of the controls.
When I spot the drivers of the buggies, it’s too much drama for my heart. It gives up and cowers in my chest. Niall, Zaim, and Rance are in the buggies. Somehow, they’ve been monitoring my messages. And instead of recruiting others to come to my rescue, they decided to save me. Three people who are recovering from severe injuries.
Of course Jarren doesn’t know that. My survival