Soren.”
I tried to hide my worry. If he had been that enraged then, there was no telling what would happen when Soren came bursting through the door of this place.
“I tried to hide my feelings,” June said, “but I was thrilled. Dylan was finally outside of Praznoor’s influence, and now that I didn’t have to worry about him... Well, you know, maybe I could start thinking about making an escape. That’s why I spoke up when you dialed my Holopad, remember?”
“I remember.”
“But you’re here now.” June pursed her lips, and by now the tears were running freely. “You’re trapped here with me. There’s no way for us to leave or communicate with anyone.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m not much of a rescuer, am I?” How I wished I could tell her we had hope, though…
June’s voice broke as she said, “Oh, Maya, I just wish you hadn’t come.”
“I had to,” I said. “You know that. You would’ve done the same for me.”
“But the life you’ve left behind…”
“It was a good life, I won’t lie.” I leaned back, thinking of how happy I had been with Soren. Before I knew it, I was telling June all about the fantastic man that had brought sunlight into my life.
June smiled. “Judging by what you’ve told me, Soren’s a good man. I know that maybe I’m to blame here, since I’ve warned you not to trust any alien, but...Soren’s different, isn’t he? You should trust him, Maya. Trust isn’t always a bad thing.”
I sighed. I only wished I could tell her that in the end I had trusted Soren—and she could, too. That as soon as they saw an opportunity and my signal, they would make their move.
But for now, we had to wait, biding our time until I knew how best to approach things. Until I knew more about our captor and how to fight him—and how I would actually signal Soren when the time was right. Not an easy task. I had yet to figure out that last piece.
I missed Soren desperately and couldn’t wait to be reunited with him. I missed them all.
Brittany, Niall, and Carlin, their easy smiles and loud laughter always filled the room. Aiken, Rahl, and Wisteria, their constant conversations about some obscure science subject never failing to baffle me. Kain and Abby, the metallic bands they carried showing the world how much they loved each other, and I…
“That’s it!” I rose to my feet so fast that I knocked my chair back. June looked at me, eyes wide with surprise, but she didn’t say a word as I reached inside my pocket. I fished out the tiny metallic wing that Dylan had given me and held it up. The metal reflected the candlelight, making it dance across June’s face, and I felt hope dawn inside me.
Maybe the answer had been right there in front of me the entire time.
Maybe this was the way to signal Soren and make our stand.
23
Soren
“So then you run from first base to second base,” Dylan said, tossing a baseball up in the air and catching over and over. “And if someone catches the ball before you get to the base then you get ten seconds of extra time.”
I narrowed my gaze, fighting back a smile. He was teaching me the rules of baseball, but I had a sneaking suspicion he was intentionally fudging some of the rules. Spending time with Dylan was good for me—it helped distract me from the lack of contact from Maya. Every day that passed, my fear and worry grew. We had a solid plan, and I was confident we would be able to succeed. But not hearing from her still made me feel like I was going crazy.
“Are you sure about that?” I asked Dylan, trying to focus.
He nodded solemnly. “That’s what Aunt Maya said. And we watched baseball games on her Holopad all the time.”
“Hmm, if you say so. So what were you saying about the pitches?”
“Oh, yeah! So, the pitcher gets to throw the ball to the batter over and over again until the batter hits the ball, even if it takes like fifteen tries.”
I wasn’t going to contradict him, even if this was just the latest in the string of rules that surely couldn’t be accurate. If so, baseball was the craziest Earth sport I’d ever heard of. We had something similar on Hollander, but there were much more strict rules than what Dylan was teaching me.
“So do you think you’ve got it now?”