Authors: Nick James
“Pearls.” I look over at Cassius. His arm goes limp, giving up on trying to break free.
“You were still growing,” the voice continues. “We needed bodies that were malleable enough to survive the triggering process. I would have done anything to keep you here, but you were our only hope of getting safely off-planet in time.”
Energy continues to erupt around us, feeding the man the next words. And with each new phrase I grow more and more certain that this is her. This is our mom speaking.
“The Authority is everywhere,” the voice continues, “and now that they’ve discovered your father’s energy transfer, this civil war is getting bloodier by the hour. They’ve already attacked Earth, leaving us free to jettison you to safety among the ruins. From all we’ve been able to assess, the planet should provide you with stable living conditions. And when this war is over and we have won, we
will
join you. I wish there was another way. I hope you will be able to understand. And forgive. Your father and I love you very much.”
Mom. It’s Mom.
The man releases our wrists and staggers backward. The voice stops. So do the coils of energy.
Cassius and I stand in silence for a moment, dumbfounded. As loony as it all sounds, everything fits together like some messed-up jigsaw puzzle. A few days ago I would have laughed it off as some elaborate joke. But I’ve seen too much.
And then the dread sets in. Every fallen Pearl an extinguished life from our home planet … wherever that is. Madame knew, and still she kept Cassius from me. Pearls were more important to her than the truth … than
lives
.
Suddenly the thought of her buried beneath a pile of rubble isn’t so horrifying. Screw this so-called “Authority.” People like her are the real enemy, trading lives for energy to power Chosen Cities. One of those lives could have been my mom’s. Or dad’s.
The guy stumbles to the ground, hand over his face. Then for the first time he speaks in English. Two words. That’s all it takes.
“All gone.” His face crumbles as he crawls into the darkness. “All gone.”
Cassius shakes his head. “We can’t just leave him here.”
I consider my options: grab the guy and take off on the run again, or contact Alkine and head back to the Academy. As angry as I am at Alkine, he was there when it counted back in Seattle. The Surface is too dangerous right now, with or without Madame.
“I’ll take him up to the Academy,” I respond. “It’s the only safe place.”
I wait for Cassius to argue, but all he does is nod.
I glance over at the invader, face still buried in his hands, then turn back to Cassius. “You should come with us.”
He scoffs. “That’s not a good idea.”
“Why? Don’t you think our parents would have wanted it?”
“I can’t go up to a Skyship. I belong down here.”
I frown. “With the Unified Party?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Look,” I step forward, “if I’m gonna start freeing these people, I’m going to need your help.”
He glares at me. “I just spent the past few days trying to kill you. Do you realize what you’re asking?”
“People change.”
He gives a cold laugh. “You’re optimistic. What happened to that scared little kid hanging off the rooftop?” He walks back to the side of the cruiser.
I follow him. “Are you saying we’re supposed to be enemies?”
“Fisher, you and I
can’t
be enemies anymore. That doesn’t mean you should trust me.”
“But our mother said—”
He bangs his fist on the dark metal. “That was just a recording. A trick.”
“That wasn’t a trick, Cassius.”
He shakes his head, keeping his face obscured by darkness. “You wanna believe it, don’t you?”
“You’ve seen what’s happened.”
“It’s ridiculous.” He sighs, staring at the ground. “They abandoned us,” he mutters. “Left us with this stupid, impossible mission. They should have known we’d be separated.”
“They’re still coming,” I lean against the side of the cruiser. “They’ll be here.”
He glances up at me, eyes slit. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I ignore him, peering inside the cabin. “You got any long-range CPs that could tap into the Academy’s frequency?”
He nods, steps into the cruiser, and comes back with two palm receivers. He tosses one to me.
“They’re closed circuit,” he mutters, “but you can change the frequency. Play with the dial at the bottom.”
I look up at him. “Are you gonna keep the other one?”
“Why?”
“If we need to get in touch … ”
“And what? Plan parties while the parents are out of town? Get real, Fisher.”
I keep my eyes locked on him. “Promise you’ll keep it.”
He says nothing, but slips the receiver into his pocket. Then he moves to the door handle, preparing to pull it shut.
“Wait.” I hold out my hand. “What are you doing?”
“There’s something I wanna take care of,” he replies. “You said you knew how to contact the Academy. Is there anything else you need?”
“No … ” I start. “I mean, is this it?”
He sighs. “You start breaking Pearls again, you know where to reach me.”
I nod. And without a goodbye, he pulls the door shut and moves to the driver’s seat.
I back away from the cruiser, over to the alien, and watch as the landing gear retracts and the ship rises into the sky. Another moment and it retreats into the darkness, rippling my battle-torn visitation suit as it speeds away.
I clutch the com-pad in my hand, holding it in front of my face and taking refuge in the meager light provided by the touch screen. He’s angry, that’s all. In shock. I’ll see him again.
But for tonight, it ends on a rooftop between Cassius and me. Just as it began.
47
Cassius Stevenson snuck through the shadowed hallways of the Lodge, looking over his shoulder with every corner he turned. He had changed into a fresh suit upon arriving, eager to leave the dirt and dust of the Fringes behind.
It was three in the morning, much too early for most to be awake. Without Madame, the Lodge was quieter—less of a fortress and more of an old, lonely mansion.
His mind rushed back to childhood memories. Birthdays. School. Training.
It would be the last time he’d walk these hallways.
After changing clothes, he’d broken into the student infirmary and managed to run a full body scan. Ever since he’d seen Madame reduce Fisher’s girlfriend to a puddle with the press of a button, he knew he’d need to make sure she couldn’t do the same to him.
Sur
e enough, the scan detected a chip. Not in his head, luckily, but in his wrist, directly below
his identification code. He’d stuffed his pockets with supplies. The chip would have to come out. Not now, but soon.
His next stop was the Office of Research and Discovery. Last time he’d entered, it’d been to leech the energy from a Pearl—to destroy the life inside. Now he was heading straight for the central radar system used to track Pearl landings. He wouldn’t be able to stop the Unified Party outright, but he’d be able to slow them down.
He paused at the doorway, questioning if he was on the right side. It had certainly been easier following orders, working toward a clear goal. Right and wrong.
But he had been lied to. Now it was impossible to know who to trust. The only action that made sense was to level the playing field.
He locked in the code on the wall beside him. The door clicked open. He grabbed the handle, pulled, and slipped inside. The security crew would have spotted him on the cameras already. They’d be down in minutes to see what a trainee was doing inside the office.
He didn’t worry. All he needed was a few minutes anyway.
He passed by the long bank of computers on his way to the radar system at the far side of the room. Rounded bookcases bordered the tight space. Kindling.
The ce
ntral computer sat on a raised platform in front of the far window. Without it, the six remaining radars around the country would lose their connection to
the Lodge, making Pearl discovery infinitely more frustrating until it was repaired.
Upon arriving at the platform, he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, summoning up the fire inside him. Ever since the alien girl had drawn out his power in Seattle, he found it much easier to control. But a tiny flame wasn’t going to suffice now. He needed a blowout.
So he closed his eyes and let all the revelations of the day flood into him. The angrier he became, the more intense the burning inside of him. He conjured up emotion—betrayal, jealousy, rage—and dared his body to teeter on the brink of destruction.
Madame knew. She knew he had a brother and she would have been content to destroy him. All she wanted was power. She never cared. Not really.
When the fire inside of him reached its breaking point, he lifted his hands and channeled it, concentrating on the tips of his fingers.
Boom.
Streams of fire shot from his fingertips, lighting up the room in torrents. The force of it sent him staggering back. He crashed into the nearest computer, pushing it off the table.
Within seconds the entire room was ablaze. Wood and paper went first, joined by computer systems and file cabinets. Explosions ripped through the office as hardware went up in smoke.
The room became more unrecognizable by th
e moment, folding in on itself like a crumpled piece of paper. Cassius felt woozy, drained from the inside out.
He clenched his fists and shut off the fire. Then he reached for the central computer, yanking it from its station and throwing it into the hungry blaze.
The warmth inside of him dissipated, spreading out into his system until his body temperature normalized. The flames triggered the sprinkler system, but they were too late. The inferno was ten times more powerful than the one he had set off in his dormitory. It would take human intervention to contain it. Serious manpower.
Alarms blared in the background, but Cassius was protected by a wall of fire. No one would find him. No one would know who was responsible.
Still, he needed to escape before he was too exhausted to run. He climbed up onto the platform beside the window and crossed his arms in front of his face. He paused a moment, taking one last look at his home. Then he jumped through the window.
Glass shattered as he flew through the air. He landed hard on the dew-stained grass outside, shards raining down around him. Without pausing to check for damage, he picked himself off the grass and ran away from the Lodge as fast as his aching body would allow.
48
Captain Alkine leans back in a large leather chair behind his office desk. A window of blue sky fills the wall behind him. It’s twelve hours since they picked me up in Kansas. I’ve barely slept. I haven’t even had time to process. And Alkine thinks it’s a good idea to pull me into a meeting.
“I’ve spoken with our medical team,” he starts. “Except for some residual energy floating around his skin, your friend seems completely normal. Human, even.”
“Who said he’s my friend?” I slouch down in my own far more unimpressive chair.
“Wrong choice of words.” Alkine pauses in thought, staring off into the corner of the room. His right arm’s bound in a dark cast. “I want to apologize, Fisher.”
“No need,” I reply. “I get it. You wanted to keep me safe from Madame and the Unified Party and all the other big bad monsters of the world.”
“That’s true,” he says, “but I should have done more. We all should have. We were so concerned about Pearls that we neglected to consider the personal effect this would have on you. When we found you down in Seattle all those years ago, I was convinced that there was some sort of connection with the government, or the terrorists even. I never dreamed that it would stretch any further than that. I should have spent more time investigating. If we had known the truth about Pearls … ”
“Yeah? Well, now you have a chance to make up for mistakes.”
“My thoughts exactly.” He nods. “Beyond your mother’s message, we’ve been unable to extract much from our visitor. His English is limited and comes out in spurts. As soon as we know more, we’ll have a better idea how safe these people are.” He sighs. “I hope you believe me, Fisher. We had no idea what was inside of Pearls. Everything would have been different if we—”
I raise my hand to stop him. “It’s okay.”
He nods. “Now that we know what you’re capable of, we can tailor our resources to help you. We’re more than able to take on this rescue mission. That is, if you’re interested.”
“You’re asking me?”
He shrugs. “After so many years of keeping things from you, it’s only right that I give you the choice.”
I drum my fingers on the armrest. “What about the Tribunal?”
Alkine sighs. “As soon as they find out I broke through the Skyline t
o help you in Seattle they’ll be furious. I’ve deci
ded to go off-grid for the time being
. We’ve already begun to move westward. By the time they realize we’re gone, we’ll be out of Skyship Territory and over the Pacific.”
I wince at the thought of it. Going against the Unified Party is one thing. We’re used to it. But running away from the Tribunal is something mass new. I never thought Alkine would make such a bold move for me. Maybe I was wrong about him. Maybe he
is
looking out for my best interests. But if he really wants to help, there’s one more thing he needs to do. “Avery,” I say. “We have to find Avery.”
“Likely back at the Lodge by now,” his voice lowers. “I had my men search the city, Jesse.” He grimaces. “Look, I know you two were close, but it’s not in our best interest to—”
“
You
don’t wanna find her,” I interrupt. “You’re afraid she’s still working for Madame.”
“That’s not it. We’re not even sure if Madame’s alive. But launching a full-scale assault on the Lodge would be a huge mistake. I’m already pulling operatives from several Chosen Cities. We need to disappear until we get this thing figured out.”
I grit my teeth, meeting his eyes. “I don’t wanna go without Avery.”
He shakes his head. “They would be expecting us, Fisher. We’re outnumbered.”
“So bring the ship down like you did in Seattle.”
His eyebrows raise. “Over a Chosen City? They’d blast us out of the sky without so much as a warning, cloaked or not. We’re not Atlas, Jesse. A Skyship this
size doesn’t s
tand a chance against a Chosen. We got away with it over a deserted area. It won’t happen again. Even so, I’ll be paying a price for it. Now it’s your turn to give something up. Avery Wicksen’s a smart girl … sneaky, too. She can handle herself. You have more important things to worry about right now.”
“My parents,” I mumble.
“Excuse me?”
“They’re coming to Earth … if they’re still alive. They could be in any of them … any of the Pearls.”
He nods. “Then you better be damn sure the government doesn’t get their hands on them first.”
I take a deep breath, realizing that he’s right. It’s a matter of time. And we don’t have much time to waste.
I glance out the window at the wisps of clouds streaming by. “So where are we going?”
“Eastern Siberia,” he responds. “I have contacts there. Survivors of the fallout from the Chinese-American War. Both the Tribunal and the Unified Party will be looking for us in the air. We can hunker down for a while and get this project up and running. We’ll need supplies, and a space for our … visitors to settle.”
I bristle at the word “visitors,” and wonder if that’s what Alkine thinks of me, too. A visitor. A tourist on my own planet. “You really want to go through with this, then? I mean, it’ll change the world.”
His eyebrows raise. “Is that really such a bad thing?” He clasps his hands. “I want to do this if you think you’re ready. If it’s safe.”
I nod. “It’s safe. The people I’ve met so far … they don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“We’ll confirm it, and we’ll move ahead cautiously. I’ll instruct all units to prepare for Project Pearlbreaker. And you will need to get your butt in training. Slacking off is not gonna cut it, Fisher. This is important.”
I sink down in my chair. “Project Pearlbreaker?”
“Military code name,” he replies. “Gives the people a sense of purpose.”
“No uniforms, right?”
He smiles. “Not unless you want one.”
I shake my head, pausing for a moment. “Are people gonna know? About me, I mean.”
Alkine chuckles. “Fisher, this is Skyship Academy. People are going to know. In fact, I’ve heard a few rather unpleasant r
umors filtering around the ship already. You might want to nip that in the bud.”
I tense up, imagining what people like August Bergmann are going to have to say after what happened in Seattle.
Puny Jesse Fisher needs an entire Skyship to save him from a middle-aged woman.
“I’ll keep you informed if we manage to extract anything useful from our friend down in the infirmary. No more closed-door meetings, Jesse. I promise you’ll be involved from no
w on.”
I fidget in the chair. Even though he’s being all warm and fuzzy, I still feel like I’m at a meeting with the principal. Plus, Alkine and promises don’t exactly fit together the way they should.
“Took a lot of guts going down to the Surface,” he says. “Initiative. I hadn’t seen it in you before. It suits you.”
I force a smile, realizing how strange it feels to be complimented by Captain Alkine. He clears his throat and crosses his arms. “Is there anything else we need to discuss?”
I shake my head, eager to leave the conversation on a good note.
Without a goodbye, I pull myself up out of the chair and head for the door. I feel Alkine’s eyes bore into the back of my head as I leave. Creepy. As. Ever.
––––
Late evening. A blanket of stars stretches around the ship beyond the Level Five windows. I stand in the outer corridor, hands in my pockets, and stare out into the night. I wish I had a telescope so that I could see farther.
I try to imagine hurtling through the stars, on my way from the laboratory of some unknown planet. It’s too ridiculous to visualize, but it happened. Pearls—I was inside one of those things.
I lay my fingers on the fiberglass and trace the stars. Connect the dots. There are worlds out there, maybe hundreds of them. Worlds as chaotic and troubled as our own. Worlds where people lose things they love. Worlds with families and children. Sisters.
Brothers.
I hear footsteps down the corridor. A voice interrupts the silence. “I’d kill to know what’s going through your mind right now.”
I bring my hand down to my side and turn around. “Eva.”
“Evening, Fisher. I thought you’d be in your room.”
“Nah. I needed some space.”
She joins me at the window, peering down. “Nothing but hundreds of miles of water below us. Gotta make you a little nervous.”
“Huh?”
She grins. “I know what kind of swimmer you are.”
I shrug, turning my attention back to the stars.
“Hey,” she lays her hand on my shoulder, “you did well today. What a difference a week makes, right?”
I chuckle. “Yeah, everything’s changed now.”
“Aw, don’t be dramatic,” she replies. “Not
everything’s
changed. You’re still the guy I’ve gotta look out for.”
I scowl at her. “I did all right on the Surface.”
“Sure you did.” She smiles. “But you’ve got a lot to learn. Alien or n
ot.”
I lay my forehead against the fiberglass. “Please don’t use that word.”
She laughs. “I thought you’d be used to it by now. It’s not like you’ve ever been normal, right?”
“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
She shrugs. “Take it for what it is, Fisher. At least now you’ve got a reason to be different.”
I turn to respond but notice Skandar sprinting toward us through the corridor. A heavy cast covers his right arm. He swings it around like it doesn’t hurt at all.
As soon as he’s within striking distance, he grabs my shoulder and spins me around, using me as a human shield. “Is he coming?”
I yank my shoulder free. “Is
who
coming?”
“Bergmann.” He crouches. “He was talking trash about you, Jesse. I nailed him right in the jaw.” He shakes his bandaged arm.
Eva rolls her eyes. “You punched him with your cast?”
He smiles. “Duh. It’s a lot harder than my fist.”
She shakes her head. “That arm doesn’t deserve to heal.”
Skandar stands up straight, staring over my shoulder. “I think I lost him outside the library.”
I wince at the thought of August Bergmann coming after us. “You don’t have to defend me.”
He grins. “Oh, don’t worry. Bergmann won’t be coming for you. I told him you could explode his head. You know, like a Pearl.”
Eva leans against the window. “That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Skandar shrugs. “Seemed to believe it.”
She sighs. “You’re a moron.”
My front pocket buzzes. Skandar notices it first. “That you, mate?”
Confused, I reach into my pocket and feel smooth pla
stic.
The com-pad. Cassius’s com-pad. I’d nearly forgotten about it.
“We’ll have to talk later.” I step away from the window.
Eva’s eyes narrow. “Jesse, what do you have in your pocket?”
I back away across the corridor, heading for the elevators. “Just trust me for once, okay Eva? I’ll … uh … see you guys tomorrow.”
She steps forward, intent on following me, but Skandar juts out his uninjured arm and holds her back. I turn and race through the hallway. When I reach the elevators, I pull the com-pad from my pocket and answer it.
“Hey.”
There’s a pause, long enough that I figure the connection cut out. Then I hear Cassius’s voice, small and quiet coming from the
tiny speaker.
“Hi.”
Another pause. I struggle to come up with something to say.
“Is there something wrong?”
“No,” he replies.
“Okay.” The elevator doors open and I arrive on Level Three. I crane my neck up and down the hallway, looking for agents. It’s empty for now. Still, I hurry toward my room.
“Listen,” he clears his throat. “Can we talk?”
I plug in the code to my room and open the door, slipping inside. “About what?”
He sighs, voice still low. “You know, just …
talk
. About things.”
“Yeah.” I slump face down on my unmade bed, turning the speaker’s volume up and setting it against the pillow.
Time to meet my brother. For real this time—without Madame or Alkine telling us what to say or do.
Two kids standing on opposite sides of a cold war. And still we managed to find each other. Now, linked across thousands of miles by little more than a shared frequency, we’re united. It’s just like our mother said. We need the time to build trust. After all, we’ve got twelve years to make up for.
I close my eyes and focus on his voice … imagining a future where all of us are together. Cassius. Our parents. Avery.
“I took down the Lodge’s central radar system,” he mutters in a tone that doesn’t sound quite happy
or
sad. “They’ll be off your case for the time being.”
“Thanks,” I reply. “Where are you heading?”
He clears his throat. “I’m gonna try to sneak through the Canadian Border … maybe head up to the Polar Cities until I can figure out what to do next.”
“We’re on course for Siberia,” I start. “You’re welcome to—”
“Not yet,” he interrupts. “You go ahead. I need some time to think.”
“Is it safe? I mean, what if Madame’s still alive?”
“You let me worry about that,” he replies. “Just … if you find them … if one of those Pearls you break is our mom or dad, let me know. Okay?”
“Of course.”
“Even after all I’ve done,” he continues. “You’ve gotta let me know.”
“Yeah,” I say. “Sure.”
Sirens blare through the com-pad’s speaker, interrupting Cassius’s voice. Then rustling. Panting.
I grab the receiver and hold it to my mouth. “Cassius, are you okay?”
The response comes seconds later. “Fine. I’ve gotta go, all right?”
“All right. I’ll talk to you—”
The connection fractures. I set the device on my pillow and sit at the edge of the bed.
As Skyship Academy drifts over the Pacific, away from Fringe Towns and Chosen Cities, I try not to think about what lies ahead. Siberia’s only the start. Getting away with this … breaking Pearls while the Unified Party remains strong—I can’t do it alone. Cassius can’t either.
They’ll want to shut us down, come at us from every angle until we’re both under their control. Or worse yet, dead.