The Earth Dwellers

“See, there you go again,” Lin says. “People don’t talk like that up here.”

I look out the window, but it’s not a window anymore, it’s a black screen, spotted with static.

“The a

The window-that’s-now-a-screen suddenly blazes to life, filled with a man set against a blue background. He’s wearing a dark coat with a dark shirt underneath. The only splash of color is a red flower in his breast pocket. His face is lined and weathered, like he’s been through a lot in his life but come out on top. He’s not that old, but has silvery hair, parted just to the side of center, accented by blue-gray eyes. He wears an easy smile, but it doesn’t look natural, like it’s been pasted on.

This is President Lecter? He could be someone’s grandfather. He probably is somebody’s grandfather.

“Citizens of the New City, earth dwellers, pioneers,” he says slowly, like each word is of the greatest value and deserves perfect pronunciation and attention.

“Why does he always start that way?” Avery asks, almost to himself.

“Because he’s a tool,” Lin mutters.

Staring right at me, Lecter continues. “We’ve won a great victory today in the fight for our children, for our liberty. The savages that call themselves the Icers have been destroyed!” My heart blinks, once, twice, thrice, stuttering before returning to normal speed. Not the Heaters. Not Tristan. I hate myself for the excitement that flutters through me because other people have died.

“We couldn’t let any of them live, because even with their last dying breaths, the bloodthirsty natives were trying to kill our soldiers. They even brought their children to fight, arming them with guns stolen off the bodies of our loyal protectors.”

They killed them all. Wilde had talked about the Icers like they were their only ally. So where does that leave them? A bubble of pressure forms in my throat. My mission has just become even more important. I ca

“But we suffered losses too,” Lecter says, his face softening. “Twenty-two of our brave men and women were killed in the battle, and many more were injured. Let us have a moment of silence for them and their families.” The president bows his head, clasps his hands. We just stare at him.

I speak over the silence. “Do people here really believe the natives are savages?” I blurt out.

Lin stares at me and I know I’ve been too obvious. “Who are you?” she says.

~~~

I wait until Lecter concludes the a

“I—I’m a moon dweller,” I say, desperately trying to decide where to go from here. Can I really tell them? Can I really trust them? I said it myself: Avery and Lin are different. But are they allies? If I just leave, walk out the door, will they forget about me, that I ever existed? They know my name—my fake name, yeah, but the one that the damn chip in my arm is linked to. They could tell someone about me.

“Yeahhh…” Lin says, urging me on. “But you’re not just a moon dweller, are you?”

At some point, I’m going to have to trust someone, or I’ll never learn the ropes. And if I don’t know the ropes, I’ll stick out more than a star dweller in the Sun Realm.

I stare at Lin, mulling over my decision.

She rushes on. “Look, we have NO love for Lecter, for the way things are run around here. Whatever your game is, I want in. I can’t take another second of this creepy, God-forsaken city. I know Avery thinks things are worse down below, in the Star Realm, but they’re not. Not really. At least down there we can live life the way we choose. Whatever you’re hiding, tell us. You won’t regret it.”

The conviction behind her words is as hard as steel. Either Lin’s a really good actress, or she’s being honest.

I take a deep breath. This is it. My best or worst decision. My gut says I can trust these people, and I’ve learned to trust my instincts. The truth.

“I snuck into the New City because I’m helping the natives,” I say, holding my breath.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Siena

Tristan’s staring at the prisoners and they’re staring back up at him.

And then Tristan jumps on the guy, right on top of him, like he might strangle him to death. Only he’s not strangling, he’s…well, I think he’s hugging him. “Roc,” he says. “You crazy son of a—”

The prisoner—I s’pose I hafta call him Roc now—groans and says, “My gut, you’re go

Tristan rolls off of him, shifts to the girl with the su

“What’s with the mask?” Roc asks Tristan.

“Like we always knew, the air’s not good up here,” Tristan says. “Especially for people like us who aren’t used to it. We’ll need to get both of you masks too.”

“What the burn is goin’ on?” Skye says. At least she and I are thinking the same way.

“These two,” Tristan says, getting up and pulling the girl, Tawni, up after him, “are my friends.” He helps Roc to his feet, too.

“I say kill ’em anyway,” Skye mutters, but no one pays her any attention, and for once I think she’s joking.

“And why are they here?” Wilde asks.

An arm ’round each of ’em, Tristan says, “Now that’s a good question.”

Roc, the one with the brown skin who almost looks like he could belong with us if not for the strange britches and shirt he’s wearing, says, “To find you. It was easy. We just spoke to the scientist you introduced us to before you left, arranged transport to the surface. You put me in charge, so he couldn’t refuse me.”

“We were worried,” Tawni adds.

Tristan shakes his head. “You shouldn’t have come.”

“What? We were just going to do nothing when you and Adele didn’t come back?” Roc says. “It took all of two days for everything to start falling apart again.”

Tristan smirks, pushes Roc’s shoulder. “So you came to get me because I’m needed below?”

Roc’s eyebrows lift and he pushes Tristan back. “Oh, wait, you didn’t think we came because we were worried about you? No, no, no, the Tri-Realms, Tristy. Personally, I was hoping you were taking an extended vacation, that maybe I could kick back, sit on the throne for a while…”

“Bastard,” Tristan says, but there’s no anger in his voice and I finally realize they’re joking, like friends do.

“Roc,” Tawni warns, using her eyes like weapons. Turning to Tristan, she says, “We were worried about you and Adele both, regardless of what my idiot boyfriend says. He could barely sleep when you didn’t come back.”

“That’s the last time I share my secrets with you,” Roc mutters, but he moves over and puts an arm around Tawni. Not a “friend” embrace, like the one Tristan gave her, but something more intimate. “Speaking of Adele, where is she? Not as light a sleeper as you, I guess?”

Tristan’s chin falls to his chest. His eyes close. “She’s…not here,” he says.

“What do you mean, ‘not here’?” Tawni asks, her voice about as hard as it’s been since she started speaking.

Tristan doesn’t seem as talkative all of a sudden, so I figure I can be helpful and I blurt out, “She’s in the Glass City.”