42

Our ship rockets away from the moon, back to Kiel. I see the stars in the rearview monitor and picture Oliver’s body floating among them. But in truth, his body is broken. He’s gone someplace I can’t follow.

I cry until I have no tears left. I imprint his face in my head because I don’t want to forget it: his messy brown hair; the eyeglasses he insisted on keeping; his wide eyes the color of a blue sky.

I hope he’s someplace better. I hope he’s safe, wherever he is, maybe even happy.

I hope Laila and Ella will take care of him.

*   *   *

We’re nearing Kiel’s atmosphere when I see it: a shimmering dome enclosing our bluish-golden planet. The acid shield is back up.

But beyond the shield, the sky is still riddled with acid. It paints the clouds a dark pink color, like a deadly sunset. I wonder how much acid seeped into the atmosphere before Charlie turned the shield back on. I wonder how long it will take for all of it to clear from the air.

I wonder how many people already died.

Not Logan, please. I swallow hard and count to three hundred to fight back the worry.

The mountains below us grow larger through the window, until I could touch the snow on their peaks if I could reach the glass.

“Where are we going?” I ask Beechy.

“A rendezvous point in the mountains,” he says, easing the clutch sideways so we won’t hit the snow. His jaw is tense, and his eyes red. “Whatever rebels are left will meet us there. And we’ll figure out what our next step is.”

I stare at the acid shield in the rearview monitor, my stomach churning with acid of its own. I already know what I’m going to do. I’m going to kill Charlie.

I’m going to make him pay for everyone he stole from me, and all the lies he told.

Below us, the mountains dip to form a river valley lit by rays of red sunlight. White rapids swirl in the water, tumbling over rocks. Trees with black leaves and thick, gnarled branches form a small forest.

This valley looks untouched by humans, almost impossible. Like something out of a dream.

We hover to a landing in a forest clearing beside the river. Beechy turns the engine off, and the cockpit falls silent.

My heart still beats too fast. One hundred and thirty-two beats per minute, I count, and breathe to try to slow it down because it’s not good for me. I must continue to focus.

“Could we wait for them outside?” I ask. It seems like it’s been a long time since I’ve felt wind or sunlight.

“Okay, but we’ll need safety suits first,” Beechy says, pushing out of his seat, “unless you want to fry in that acid. There should be several on board.”

I follow him down the passageway, along the corridor with the bunk room and the engine room. Inside the bunk room, he opens a cupboard in the wall and pulls out two white suits that look like space suits, but lighter.

We pull them on over our clothes and zip them up. The fabric feels smooth and cool against my skin. He helps me secure the clear helmet over my head, and I help him put on his. I press a button on the suit, and the small machine attached to my back lets oxygen flow into my helmet.

For a second I’m back in the Core room with the water tank, about to dive down deep to visit the vul. Oliver is alive again.

I blink and he’s dead.

Back in the main passageway, Beechy uses the control panel on the wall to open the cargo lift. As the door zips open, wind whips into the ship. I half expect it to carry me away, high up into the sky, back to the moon maybe. I almost wish it would.

But Beechy’s gloved hand grips mine, keeping me from flying away.

We walk down the ramp onto the grass. The clouds are darker than they should be. Rain might be coming. Even with the protective suit on, the wind is cold. I shiver and Beechy puts his arms around me, pulling me as close as he can with these bulky suits on. My eyes scan the sky for flight pods or hovercrafts. I listen for the sound of their engines.

“What if they don’t come?” I can’t hide the crack in my voice.

“We’ll find them,” Beechy says. “We’re almost out of fuel though, so we’ll have to get more. There’s a place within walking distance where we can get some.”

“What sort of place?”

“A camp. A hidden base where some of the rebels have been staying, preparing to fight Charlie.”

I almost don’t believe him. A place like that sounds safe, and I didn’t think there were any safe places on the Surface, except maybe the adult city.

A drop of water hits my helmet. Then another, until the rain drenches us and the grass and I’m grateful for the suit. It might be my imagination, but the water seems to have a pinkish tint to it. Acid.

It’s not going to be safe to walk outside without these suits for a while.

The whir of a sky engine reaches my ears.

I pull away from Beechy, every nerve ending raw. It might not be Logan. It might be Cady or one of the other rebels, but it could be him. I need to see him. He needs to be alive.

Please.

Please.

Please.

The flight pod slows, hovering lower and lower until it lands not far from us in the grass. The wind from its rotors rustles the fabric of my suit.

And I see him.

Logan scrambles out of his seat, wearing a suit like mine. He fumbles to open the door.

I’m already running.

I reach the pod at the same time he emerges from it.

Then he’s here and holding me again. There’s blood clotted in his hair and too many scrapes on his cheeks, but he’s alive and he’s touching me and we’re both shaking because we can’t believe this. I wish we didn’t need these stupid helmets. I want his lips on my mouth and his hands in my hair. I want to kiss him forever and ever and ever.

“I didn’t think we’d make it back.”

“I thought you were gone,” he says. “I thought you blew up, or the acid got you. What happened?”

Tears well up in my eyes, and I don’t stop them. “We flew to the moon. We destroyed the generator. But Oliver’s gone, Logan. He was my friend, and he’s gone.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s Charlie’s fault—we have to stop him. He’ll try something like this again—I know it.”

“We will.”

Behind him, Beechy climbs into the pod, and Sandy throws her arms around him. Her laughter mingles with her tears.

Logan slips his gloved fingers through mine, and we move to join Beechy and Sandy in the pod. We’re going to the rebel base now. The others are already there, waiting.

Inside, I slip into the passenger seat beside Logan and take off my helmet. He takes off his.

We kiss as the pod lifts off the ground. His hands tangle in my curls. Our breaths mingle. He tastes like hope, like every good thing I’ve ever lost.

I am never letting him go.

I lean my head against his shoulder and clutch his arm. I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth until my heart isn’t skipping beats anymore.

Until I can almost believe everything is going to be okay.

But I know this won’t last. Charlie will come up with another plan to bring war to Marden, one that might involve too much death.

He’ll realize I didn’t die up there. He’ll come for me or he’ll send Sam to put a bullet through my head.

But I’ll be ready.

*   *   *

Outside, one of the mountains rises like a giant before us. Its peak is too high for me to see it through the clouds, but I’m sure there’s snow up there. We hover low above the trees, making for the mountain wall close to the ground.

I’m almost afraid we’re going to crash into it, but there’s an opening in the rock. A gap where a skinny branch of river slithers into the mountain.

The opening is just big enough for us to enter. We fly slowly into the darkness. The blue lights of our pod flash on the cave walls, onto places where water drips on the rock, onto narrow entrances to passageways where bad things might be waiting.

Then there’s a speck of light ahead. It’s as small as a star at first, but it grows in the window, until I see that it’s not just one light but many: a row of lights dotting the cave walls on either side. These walls are made of steel.

There’s another wall at the end of the tunnel. A giant doorway with words written on it. The letters look like someone painted them, but it must’ve been a long time ago because the paint has faded.

With the help of the other tunnel lights, I can piece together the words:

K.I.M.O. CORPORATION

EST. 30 RC

WE FIGHT TO JOURNEY HOME