Strange Skies (9 page)

“They’re not dumb, they’re arrogant,” James whispered back. “The Consulate thinks they can control everything around them. They believe that if they declare English the only acceptable language, no one would dare think otherwise. Alec told me one guy was overheard saying
hola
back on Earth and was shot on sight.”

“So Alec hid his Spanish from them?”

“Yes.” James nodded. “But he wasn’t typical Consulate. When I was in the containment center, Alec told me that the Consulate believes the new city is exactly what they envisioned. Everyone believes what they want them to believe and speaks how they want them to speak.”

I stared ahead and tried to latch on to the few words I knew.
Muerto. Sangre. Consulate
was the same in both languages. Edgar’s intense speech was a far cry from my sister and me discussing our pretend swimsuits on a virtual
beach in broken Spanish. If only Edgar would count to ten or name some colors, I’d be golden.

Most of the others in the room were about my age, and most were boys. I glimpsed the red hair of the girl from the bar a few rows ahead. She turned to glance back at James a few times, totally ignoring me. Anger welled up when I thought about her walking her fingers up James’ arm.

Edgar continued for a few more minutes and then he called out to James in English. “Anything to report?”

James stood. I understood the words,
Alec
,
Consulate
, and
pistolas
, and guessed he was telling the group what Alec had overheard in the containment center about the Consulate preparing a widespread search for Resistance troops and the bioweapons.

Sonya turned to face him when he finished and spoke in crystal clear English. “Then where is Kale with those weapons? Has he been in touch through the com? We need him.”

I bit my tongue. Those were
my
weapons. And I needed Kale about as much as I needed a sun storm.

James stared at her calmly. “Kale should be back soon. We’ll be fine.”

She eyed him a moment longer, then flung her hair over her shoulder. “If you say so.”

He gestured for me to stand. “One more thing,” he said to the group. “This is Tora Reynolds, the girl I told you about who was being held in the containment center.”

Several
holas
and hellos echoed around the room. I hated being the focus of everyone’s stares and gave a quick wave before sitting down again. James told them about my dad and how he was recently discovered to be a Consulate prisoner. His relaxed posture belied the confidence and strength in his voice. “Long story short, we’re going to get her dad back. When we meet again, I’ll be asking for volunteers and we’ll discuss a rescue plan.”

I stared at James, openmouthed. I had hoped he’d help with my dad, but I hadn’t realized how much power he held in this group or that he would use his influence to help me. James flashed me a quick smile when he sat. I wouldn’t forget that he’d shot me, but he’d just earned a little more of my trust.

A few other people in the room stood and gave brief updates, also in English. I found these reports interesting. They included plants, nuts, and fruits that had been discovered since the prior meeting. Three people had vomited, and one almost died, after eating the same berry, so the Resistance was compiling a list of unsafe foods that would be posted on the Net. James told me that they’d been able to secure several Infinities from Consulate spies and kept one in the command center for common use.

When the meeting ended, the red-haired tramp immediately marched back to us. I found the sharpness of her nails disturbing and the defiance in her face unmistakable. Her eyes bored into mine. “I don’t believe we’ve been
properly introduced.” She cast an accusing glare at James before settling her focus on me again. “I’m Sonya.” She extended her long nails toward me.

I wanted nothing to do with her, but didn’t want to look weak. “I’m Tora,” I said as I took her hand.

Her nails dug into my wrist. “I know exactly who you are.” She smiled sweetly, which contradicted the death grip she had on my hand. “You killed my brother.”

Chapter
EIGHT

I
WRENCHED MY HAND FROM HERS
. “E
XCUSE ME?
I
DON’T
know what the hell you’re talking about.”

“Sonya, you know that’s not how it happened,” James said. “It was a sun storm.”

Sonya crossed her arms. “A sun storm wouldn’t have thrown my brother into a cactus in the first place if it wasn’t for her.”

I remembered the guilty relief I’d felt when the soldier flew through the air and was impaled on a massive cactus spike. It had taken down one of the five people who had been shooting at me. “Not to nitpick, but your brother was trying to kill me at the time.”

Sonya’s eyes were cold and calculating. She didn’t respond.

James sprang in between us. “Sonya, let it go.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “So, this is how it is,
James?” Her eyes were filled with hatred when they turned back my way.

I had flashbacks of when Britta stuck me inside a transport container. At least I’d liked her in the end. I had a sneaking suspicion that Sonya would never grow on me.

“Tora’s on our side,” James said. “And, like I’ve told you before, we’re together. Got it?”

Her eyes flashed with anger, then softened. “Got it,” she mumbled.

Edgar stepped up to us. “Everything okay here?”

James nodded. “Yes. Tora, this is Edgar. Edgar, Tora.”

Edgar’s intimidating build was offset by his kind eyes. “Nice to meet you,” I said, trying to ignore the steady gaze of Sonya who hadn’t moved.

Edgar smiled. “You too. The little I’ve heard about you from James has been glowing.”

Yeah, James would never be accused of being verbose but I was still surprised he had talked about me at all. Getting him to string more than a few sentences together constituted a miracle.

“Hey there, remember me?”

The pilot who’d rescued Alec and me from the beach joined us, standing near Edgar. “Sure, good to see you again, Max.” At least some faces were friendly.

A girl with straight blond hair stepped forward timidly. “I’ve heard so much about you,” she said. “It’s great to meet you. I’m Reed.”

Sonya snorted.

“Hi, Reed.” When I shook her hand, she leaned in and whispered in my ear, “Don’t worry about Sonya.”

I smiled and resisted the urge to tell her that Sonya was the one who should be worried. “So when do we meet again? Do we need to do anything?”

James cleared his throat. “You just need to stay safe and keep your ears open. We’ll meet back here same time tomorrow.”

Edgar nodded. “I think we’re almost ready, sir … with or without Kale, no disrespect. It sounds like a Consulate search is coming sooner rather than later.”

I’d prefer never having to set eyes on Kale again, but I still had to find my father’s guns. I wasn’t sure exactly how to destroy them yet, but I’d think of something.

James studied Edgar. “We’ll give Kale another few days; still you’re right that we need a backup plan. Let me think and we’ll discuss it at the next meeting.” He turned to me. “We should get going.”

The group dispersed and James turned to Sonya. “Are you on board, or what?”

She twirled her hair. “Of course, you’re the leader. I’m just one of your minions. That’s all I’ll ever be, right?” Pain flashed through her eyes before the defiance returned and she stormed out the door.

“She’s pleasant,” I said. “Might want to vet your minions a little more carefully in the future.”

James touched my arm and a shiver ran through me. “Don’t worry about her. She and her brother were really
close. She’s just looking for someone to blame.”

We headed out the door, and I was still awestruck by the beauty of the vibrant flowers and trees. I hoped we could take care of the Consulate and Kale once and for all, because I never wanted to leave this place.

“Are we headed back to Markus and Alec?” I asked.

James shook his head. “Not yet. I need to talk to a few of the men stationed at the bar first. It’ll only take a few minutes.”

What I wanted to say was that he needed to talk to me and explain some things. Instead, I said, “Sure, no problem.”

He told me that some soldiers were always on guard outside to watch for Consulate ships. So far, none had been spotted on this side of the planet, but if Alec was right, that would change very soon. We reached the bar and he squeezed my arm. “Be right back.”

He walked over to two men standing near the side of the bar. They bent their heads in conversation with James, and I studied the sinking light in the sky. I’d spent so many years underground in the bunker that I’d barely known the difference between light and dark then anyway, aside from the screeching of the night storms.

“Tora! Come here.” Reed was leaning out of a small makeshift window.

James was still in deep conversation with the men, so I ducked into the bar’s entrance. Reed was sitting with some of the people I’d seen at the meeting. She patted the bench
next to her. The others nodded at me and smiled as I sat down.

I smiled back. “I only have a few minutes.”

Reed pushed a mug my way. “Here, have some water. Isn’t that cool to say? ‘Have some water.’ I can’t even believe I’m living on a planet where there’s water to drink everywhere. We’ve been here a few months now, but it still feels like heaven.”

I took a long sip from the mug. She was right. Chronic thirst had been a staple in my life. A place where I could drink water anytime I wanted sounded like heaven to me too. “Thanks.”

It appeared that most of the meeting attendees had stopped in here afterward. Luckily, Sonya wasn’t anywhere in sight. It seemed like the majority of the people weren’t drinking water … I hoped Markus stayed away from this place in the future. He’d be useless if he fell back into his obliterated ways.

“Look,” Reed said, “we just wanted you to know that we’re really glad you’re here. James told us all about you.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure I want to hear what he said.”

A boy farther down the table laughed. “It was all good, I promise. Mostly about how kick-ass you are. I mean, taking down a Consulate ship on your own is awesome.”

“Yeah, tell us about taking down that ship,” another girl said.

I squirmed in my seat. James might think I was tough,
but I felt anything but when he was around. “That’s nice of him,” I said, “but I really only shot the wing and the ship crashed. Not a big deal.”

Reed shook her head. “That’s totally a big deal. I want to be more like you—tougher, I mean.”

I studied her. “So how did you end up with the Resistance?”

Reed shrugged. “Same as most people here, I guess. Dead family, little hope, and then I got lucky when I ran into fellow survivors who shared their water and air. They turned out to be Resistance members, and I was all for joining a group that would destroy the Consulate.” She looked around like she was worried someone might overhear. “But I prefer to be more of a helper, errand runner. I can’t stand violence and hope I never have to use my gun.”

I smiled. “We’re not that different. I’ve just had to use mine, is all.” If Reed really was an errand girl, maybe she’d have some good info. “What do you know about Sonya? Aside from the fact that she hates me?”

Reed scooted closer. “Personally, I don’t think her issues are totally about her brother. I mean, they were close and all, but being a soldier means you could die. They both knew that.” She lowered her voice even more. I had to strain to hear her. “I think it’s more because of James.”

My stomach lurched, and not from the meat. I’d been right. The way Sonya had smiled at him and touched his arm earlier had said it all.

“She met James back when he and her brother, Saul,
were recruited to the Resistance by Kale. She was always going on about how smart James was. Cute too.”

I swallowed. I knew exactly how smart and cute he was. And deadly.

“Anyway,” Reed said. “I think she had hoped that something would happen between them when he returned. After James escaped from the containment center, he showed up out of the blue one day. I’ve never seen Sonya light up the way she did when he walked into the command center that first time.”

Reed took a sip of her water. “James doesn’t say much, but everything he did say in those first days was about you. I could tell that it pissed her off royally. But when you didn’t show and you didn’t show, I think she thought you might never get out. She started flirting with him again. Told him to wait a little longer when he started talking about going back for you.”

“Thanks for telling me,” I said. “It explains a lot.” You’d think I would be used to people wanting me dead by now.

We drank our water and reminisced about our lives on Earth.

“I never thought I’d live to see a place like this,” said a husky boy named Web. He looked like he could lift the entire table up with one finger if he wanted to. “Seemed like the last view I’d have was of that giant blazing ball of hell. When Trent and Ian hit me up through the com and told me about Caelia, I’ll admit that I cried like a baby.”

Reed patted Web on the shoulder. “I think we all did.”

When the table fell silent, I took a chance with the group. “What do you know about Kale and this Resistance leader he’s looking for?”

Web scoffed. “Between you and me, I think Kale’s an asshole. James never said why Kale wanted to kill you, but I can’t say that I’m surprised.”

“Yeah,” another guy added. “Honestly, I think the whole search thing is a cover-up.” He leaned into the table. “Think about it. This supposed Resistance leader is the perfect scapegoat. Whenever Kale tells us something we don’t want to here, he just says it’s ‘orders’ from his leader. Kale supposedly didn’t even know where this person was when he went off to find him. Weird, no?”

He had a point. I raised my eyebrow. “Then where do you think Kale is if he’s not searching for the leader?”

The boy shrugged and Web answered. “Beats me. Maybe it has something to do with all those guns of yours he took. That sucks by the way. James told us all about it.”