The Star Dwellers

“This has nothing to do with her,” I say, my jaw clenched. Despite the gun in my face, I’m feeling fierier all of a sudden. He can do what he wants with me, but not Tawni. I won’t watch another friend get hurt.

“Au contraire, my moon dweller friend. You see, Tawni’s been beating herself up for a while because her parents turned your parents in to the Enforcers, right? I mean, that’s what started all of this. The Enforcers kicked down your door, blah blah blah, grabbed your parents, blah blah, threw you in prison, blah-blibbety-blah.” My fists clench and my leg muscles tighten. The pleasure he seems to be getting from all of this is really starting to piss me off.

“Get to the point,” I growl.

“Now, now. Temper, temper. My point is: Do you really think Tawni’s parents figured it out all on their own? I’m sure they’re very smart people, but no one knew your parents’ true identities except the Resistance. Well, it just so happened that I’ve been an honored member of the Resistance for more than a year now.”

I freeze. He did it. He tipped off Tawni’s parents. I’m two seconds from rushing him, from taking my chances with the gun, when I realize something.

“Why are you telling us all of this?” I blurt out.

He grins. “Now you’re catching on. I just wanted you to know what I’ve accomplished. And in a minute it won’t matter anyway, because you’ll be dead. Both of you.”

He’s going to kill us. My mind is whirling. Everything he told me before now was a lie. Even—

“Was all that crap about everyone in your family dying a lie?”

“Ha ha ha!” he laughs. “I’d forgotten about that. No, they died, all right, but not the way I told you. You should have seen the look on your face when I told you the story. Pathetic, just like them. They were useless pawns with no ambition, so I killed them.”

It’s not until I hear him say it—no remorse in his voice—that I know what he truly is: a psychopath. We have no chance to talk our way out of it. The only option is to take our chances fighting. Even if I get shot, if I can just distract him enough for Tawni to escape, to tell my mom what happened, maybe…

“No more questions? I’m weary of this conversation anyway. Say goodbye to your friend, Adele.” His finger tightens on the trigger as a smile flashes across his face.

One second before I die. Make the most of every opportunity. My dad’s words. I leap to the side, hearing the crack of the gunshot, followed by a muffled thump and a groan. I feel nothing. No flash of pain. No searing heat spreading through my body. No tickle of trickling blood. Nothing.

More thumps and groans—the sounds of a struggle. The gun booms, much closer to my ear this time. I roll to my feet and spin around, trying to take in the scene before me with just a glance. Brody is on top of Trevor, who’s lying in a pool of blood. The crimson rivulets are meandering toward me and instinctively I twist away from them, regaining my feet.

Tawni is next to me, screaming, her face contorted with fear and disgust. Brody has killed Trevor, and we’ll be next if I don’t do something. Our only chance is now, right now, no time to think, to plan, to strategize.

With a horrific yell I charge Brody, slam my shoulder into him, thrust him off of Trevor. At the same time, I search frantically for the gun in his hands, ready to wrench it from his grasp. To my surprise, his hands are empty, and I naturally scan the stone floor for the weapon.

“Adele,” a voice says next to me. “It’s over.”

My head jerks to the left and I see Trevor pulling himself to his feet, my gun dangling loosely from his fingertips. His tunic is covered in red, slick and splotchy. Blood. But not his. Brody’s. I turn back to Brody, who I’m straddling, nausea rolling in my stomach, churning and heaving. His dead eyes stare lifelessly at me and I notice the hole in his temple. Frantically, I roll off of him, throw my head to the side, vomit all over the floor. My hair is in my face, mingling with my regurgitated breakfast, but I don’t care.

The guy who was so nice to me when I met him, who taught me to shoot, who nearly kissed me just this morning, is now dead. “You…you killed him,” I manage to blubber, still staring at the floor.

“I had no choice,” Trevor says.

“No—I didn’t mean it that way.” I pull back from the putrid scent of my upchuck, wipe my mouth with the top of my tunic, push my soiled hair away from my face. “Thank you. I meant to say thank you. You saved my life. Both of our lives.”

Trevor’s eyes are steely. “I’d do anything for your mother.” Implying what? He only saved me because it’s what my mother would have wanted?

“And for me?”

“Eh, I guess for you too, by default.” There’s humor in his words, barely betrayed by a wry smile he can’t hide.

“Trevor, I’m, I’m—”

“She’s sorry,” Tawni interrupts, moving between us. “She’s always had trouble with the S-word.” Although I can tell my friend is freaked out, her face ashen, her lips thin, she manages to put a smile on my face with her words.

“I’m sorry—really sorry,” I say.

“Don’t worry about it,” he says, thankfully not giving me a hard time. “I know you both must be in a bit of shock, but we don’t have much time. We still need to leave for the Moon Realm soon, but given what’s just happened we’ll need to brief General Ro—I mean, your mom—right away.”

“Can we get cleaned up first?” I say, motioning to Tawni. When I look at her, I realize she’s perfectly clean and tidy and looks ready to go. It’s me who’s a mess. A nervous laugh escapes my throat. “I mean, can I get cleaned up first? Oh, and you’ll probably want to change, too,” I add, trying not to look at Brody’s blood all over Trevor’s clothes.

“Of course. I’ll take you to your mother’s personal quarters for all that.”

“What about…the body?” I say, looking away so Brody’s dead corpse is out of even my peripheral vision.

“Don’t worry about that—I’ll take care of it.” Trevor’s voice is so firm, so calm, I wonder how I never saw this side of him before, how I never trusted him. But then again, after what happened with Brody, I may never trust anyone again.

* * *

It’s one of the best showers I’ve ever had. Not only am I scrubbing away the dried blood, my own filthy bile, and sweat, but I’m exfoliating away Brody’s lies and treachery. Although I’m shaken up, I’m alive, and I feel like it’s a new begi

After toweling dry, I leave my dirty tunic in a pile in the corner of the bathroom, where my mom told me to. She said we’ll probably never be coming back to this place anyway. My new tunic feels wonderful against my clean skin. When I move back into her bedroom, she and Tawni are waiting for me.

“Tawni told me everything while you were getting ready,” she says.

“Mom, I’m sorry I didn’t trust your judgment. You too, Tawni,” I say, looking at the floor. I’m ashamed of myself.

“It’s okay. I am completely shocked it was Brody, too,” Mom says.

“Yeah, even though I didn’t think it was Trevor, I was surprised it was Brody,” Tawni agrees.

“You are?” I say, looking up.

Mom answers for both of them. “Yes, I never would have guessed him, which is probably why Trevor and I couldn’t figure it out.”

“About Trevor…” I say.

“That’s okay, too. You’d only just met him, and it was perfectly normal for you to be skeptical of him, especially because I know he can be quite…grating sometimes.”

“Someone must be talking about me, because my nose is itching something fierce,” Trevor says, pushing through the half-open door. He’s smirking in that way that I used to find so irritating, but now seems somewhat endearing. It’s amazing how much difference a change in perspective can make to how you view someone.