The Final Six (The Final Six #1) - Alexandra Monir Page 0,93
leaving me wondering, hoping, that my plea made the right impact.
It’s here. The morning of the announcement. The moment all of us have been simultaneously dreading and waiting for. My stomach’s been turning somersaults all night from nerves, and as I glance in the mirror while getting ready, I notice the dark circles under my eyes, the sleep-deprived pallor of my skin. Lark had instructed us to show up “camera-ready,” but I’m barely thinking about the press and the public, who we’ll be facing for the first time in weeks. All I can think about is the impending decision.
The finalists reconvene at the top of the Hab-floor staircase, and as soon as Naomi spots me, she cuts through the others till she’s by my side.
“I feel sick,” she moans. “I can’t take this kind of nerves.”
I hold her gaze, aching to touch her, to comfort her with more than just words. “I know. I feel the same. But it—it’ll be over soon. And hopefully we’ll be celebrating.”
A hush comes over the finalists, and Naomi and I turn to see Dr. Takumi and General Sokolov striding toward us.
“Good morning,” Dr. Takumi greets us. “Is everyone ready?”
Of course we’re not. But we all nod and follow the two of them into the elevator, down to the official entrance that we haven’t seen since arrival day—a lifetime ago. Stepping off the elevator, we can hear the same marching band from that first day, too. They’re playing “The Star-Spangled Banner” as Dr. Takumi pushes through the doors to the ISTC front steps, the rest of us following in his wake. Naomi and I move slightly closer as we walk together into the roar of the crowd, the two of us blinking against the blaze of flashbulbs.
General Sokolov instructs us to line up on the steps, behind the makeshift podium and microphone set up for Dr. Takumi. I stand between Naomi and Ana Martinez, and as Dr. Takumi steps up to the microphone and the crowd quiets, Naomi brushes her fingertips against mine. In this moment, with tensions running so high, we’re both forgetting our unspoken rule: to never touch in public, never give ourselves away.
“Are you all ready to discover the names and faces of the Final Six?” Dr. Takumi shouts out, pumping up a crowd that doesn’t need any more energizing. “Here we go!”
Naomi turns to me. “I’m too afraid to watch,” she whispers.
“Me, too. Just look at me,” I murmur back. “It’ll be okay.”
“Your lieutenant commander is Dev Khanna from India!”
The crowd erupts while the band launches into the opening notes of the Indian national anthem. I smile to myself, happy for Dev. He’s one of the good guys here.
“The mission medical officer is Sydney Pearle from Canada! Copilot is Jian Soo of China!”
I try to keep my eyes on Naomi, to stay calm, as the terror builds within me. It’s down to the wire now. If we’re not among these last three names . . .
“Our science officer is Minka Palladin from Ukraine. And the underwater specialist—”
I stand up straighter as Naomi grips my hand tighter.
“—is Beckett Wolfe of the United States of America.”
No. No.
My vision blurs; all the blood rushes to my head. This can’t be happening. He didn’t take my spot—he couldn’t have.
“It’s okay, it’ll be okay,” I hear Naomi say, looking up at me desperately. “We’ll go home together, we’ll find another way to help the Final Six. You’ll meet my family, and we can have the kind of life—”
She stops suddenly as the unthinkable happens.
“Last but not least, our communications and technology specialist is Naomi Ardalan, also from the United States!”
I want to shout, to scream—but I can’t make a sound. Naomi’s legs buckle beneath her, and she grips my arm, my own horror reflected in her eyes.
This can’t be real. We can’t be separated forever, she can’t go to Europa while I stay behind, with nothing left but her memory. It’s like losing my family all over again. Just when my world seemed to be opening up, all hope is gone.
Just like that.
Twenty-Six
NAOMI
THE WORLD STOPS WHEN I HEAR MY NAME. THE SOUNDS around me distort, the scene freezes, and I can’t hold myself up—
A guard grabs me by the shoulders, tearing me away from Leo. Leo. I take one look at his devastated face, and my heart crumbles. There’s no way I can leave him. This is all one giant mistake—it has to be.
The security guard pushes me up front with the other five, and I