Burn Out (22 page)

Markus moved Britta to the area near the hatch door behind a thick red line. Her hand fell out of the blanket as he set her down. He took her hand. “Good-bye, Britta. I’m sorry.” His voice broke. “I wish I knew you longer is all.”

He rearranged her hand under the blanket and stepped back to join us. Kale pushed an interior button in the room
and a clear panel dropped down, enclosing the area behind the red line. A second later, the hatch door opened and Britta’s body was sucked out into space. Her hand escaped the blanket once again, and it almost looked like she was waving to us as the door closed behind her.

“Good-bye,” I whispered.

Markus downed the rest of his flask, which Kale had refilled several times using his own supply, and his eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot. Everyone had been drinking, except for myself and James. Whatever happened next, I didn’t want to die drunk. I’d even kept my suit on, minus the helmet, as if that could protect me from death. We sat in the small room used as a sort of combination dining hall and rec room.

Alec sat next to me, with Lucy settled between our chairs. We accidentally brushed hands a few times as we petted her, but there wasn’t the electrical charge I felt when James had touched me.

“You know what I liked best about Britta?” Markus said out of nowhere. “You always knew where you stood with her.”

James couldn’t help but smile. “There’s the understatement of the year.”

Alec stroked Lucy’s head. “I still can’t believe how Lucy took to her so quickly. She can spot the good ones, that’s for sure.”

No wonder Lucy stayed far away from Kale.

“You really had a lot in common with her, Tora,” Markus said, turning to me.

“Minus the whining. No one could complain the way she did,” said James. His eyes locked with mine a second before he turned away.

I bit my tongue hard to keep from agreeing with James. “She told me you saved her life,” I said to Kale. Maybe I could keep him talking long enough to figure out an escape plan.

Kale scoffed. “That’s true. It’s rough for survivors out there. Not everyone had the money your daddy did.”

Bite me
. I wanted to tell Kale all the good my dad did by protecting his family and keeping his lethal guns away from the world. That even though my mother hated leaving the comfort of a pod city and all it provided, and even though her depression grew worse every week after, my father knew it was best for us, for humanity, in the long run. But Kale wouldn’t care about that.

Alec reached under the table and squeezed my hand. His touch was warm and comforting.

“Kale saved me too.” James addressed me directly for the first time since we were in the med room. He ignored Alec entirely. At least he was finally answering my question. “I would have died if it wasn’t for him.

“I first heard about him from Britta,” James continued. “She said he attempted to stop some of the Consulate W.A.R. machine retrieval missions.”

I couldn’t help but notice Kale’s clenched jaw
whenever Lucy wandered over to her bowl to slurp up some Caelia Pure. Like every drink she took was a form of stealing from him.

James’ eyes flickered in my direction. “Anyway, one night the Consulate came to our pod and killed my family.” This was the ultra brief version of the story he’d told me in the weapons room. “After my sister was killed, I closed my eyes and waited for it to be my turn. I heard more blasts but felt no pain.”

Alec slammed his hand on the table.
“Asesinos!”

James said that when he opened his eyes, the officials lay dead on the floor. Kale and Britta stood before him, armed to the hilt. The rumors were true. A rogue ex-Consulate operative was taking on the government. He’d learned that the Consulate was planning to sweep the pods outside the city walls to take what they wanted from the weakened survivors. It was exactly what Alec had described. Since Kale lived on the outside, he cared.

“That sucks.” Markus was nothing if not succinct.

“Now you know our story,” said Kale, no trace of emotion on his face. “See, I’m not such a bad guy after all.”

Yeah, you’ve got a heart of gold
. He’d probably done something to cause his fall from favor with the Consulate. If he’d remained inside the pod city, he wouldn’t have given a damn what happened outside city walls. He likely would have helped them. His efforts were only in order to survive at all costs. Saving James and Britta allowed him to recruit more soldiers.

Soldiers that would owe him their lives.

“So you never intended to give them the guns then?” I asked Kale.

He smirked, clearly feeling the effects of Markus’ drink. “No, ma’am. I intended to collect payment and then use the guns to take those burners out. Finding out that only you could fire them put a small wrench in the plan, but I’m used to overcoming obstacles.” He made eye contact with James.

I might as well have a neon light across my head flashing the word
obstacle
. I tried to catch Markus’ eyes, but they were off in a distant, painful place. He had to pick now to turn into a human being with feelings? It would have helped me more if he’d stayed an asshole—and sober—just a bit longer. I didn’t have a gun or my Infinity. I rubbed the empty spot on my wrist where the Infinity used to be. I needed help. Even Alec seemed drunk and barely able to keep his eyes open.

Kale banged his hand on the table in front of Markus. “Soldier, you’re not lookin’ so good. Maybe you should get yourself some shut-eye.”

Markus rose unsteadily to his feet. I attempted to help him, but he shook me off. “I’m f-f-fine. I got it. Just need some time to sleep off this nightmare.” He made an attempt to look at me through heavy-lidded eyes. “Get me if you need me. I’m”—he tripped a little—“here for you.” Markus stumbled out of the room and down the hall.

Alec’s head tipped forward and his chin touched his
chest. He seemed to be mumbling but lifted his head with great effort. “I’m beat too. Tora, you can crash with us.” Except his words slurred together and sounded more like torayoucancrashwithus.

My heart sank. I wanted to kick myself because it had taken me so long to realize that they were drugged. Kale must have added something special to that last batch from the flask. I hadn’t noticed that he’d stopped drinking.

“Wait, Alec,” I called, playing along like he was just drunk. I brought Lucy to him. “Here, take Lucy with you. She needs some sleep too.” I ran my hand through her fur one last time. I’d miss the dog most of all. I stood and whispered in Alec’s ear. “Lock your door.” Though I was hatch bound, at least maybe Lucy would be safe for another day.

Alec attempted to look at me, but his eyes remained cloudy and unfocused. “Okay.”

Lucy turned and licked my hand before trotting off behind Alec’s staggering body. Alec and Markus would sleep through Armageddon tonight. No screams, cries, or even explosions would permeate their stupor. They would wake tomorrow, likely with a headache from hell, and wonder what happened.

I could already hear Kale’s explanation for my absence:
Tora was more broken up about what was in that journal than we thought. Remember how upset she got? She must have thrown herself out the hatch
. Then Kale would read aloud from the journal and nod sympathetically.
Oh, see here, she killed her
sister and her mother committed suicide. No wonder she killed herself
. My stomach lurched, because it was actually believable. I’d thought of overdosing too—it was the first time I’d thought of the meds as a means of suicide rather than simply a practical way to avoid burning to death.

Kale must have been thinking along the same lines. “So, it’s just the three of us now.” He stood, clearly not as drunk as he’d seemed a few minutes ago. “I’d like to have a look at that satchel of yours, Tora.”

Here we go. My eyes darted to James. It would be so easy. Hand over the bag and let them shoot me. It would be over within minutes, and I wouldn’t have to deal with these burners or this crap world ever again. But my hand tightened on the bag. My dad’s voice filtered through my head.
What’s it gonna be, Tora—die or die trying?
His voice told me that it wasn’t my fault they died, that I had a responsibility to live for all of them.

I took a small step away from Kale and James. “No.” It wasn’t a great option, because it’s not like I had a lot of places to go. My only choice would be to go back deeper into the ship.

James stood and folded his arms. “Maybe you misunderstood the commander. It wasn’t a request, it was an order.”

The coldness in his voice shook my resolve.

Remember who you are
. There was Dad’s voice again, reminding me that I was the only one who could stop the guns from being used for mass destruction. I thought of
Markus and Alec, and realized I still had people in this world I could trust.

I took another step backward, trying to control the shaking in my legs. “My answer is still the same. Hell, no.”

“Last chance.” James spoke in a low, hostile voice. He pulled his weapon from his waistband and trained his gun on me. Seriously? The boy who had touched my ribs like they were the most fragile thing on Earth must have been a figment of my imagination. It’s a shame I wouldn’t live long enough to win the worst-judge-of-character award.

My first instinct was to cry—the second one was to run. I went with the second and took off in a zigzag pattern down the hall.

“I’ll get her,” James yelled and lasers bounced off the walls around me.

I tore down the ship’s corridors, looking for a place to hide. Kale’s ship was nowhere near as large as the Consulate ship. This was officially the worst game of hide-and-seek I’d ever played.

I thought of my family as I leapt through a doorway and ran faster than I had in my life. It was amazing how athletic I became when death was on the line. Still, I was no match for James. Footsteps pounded behind me, closing in. If I continued going straight, I’d end up at the end of the ship and I’d be trapped. I veered down a smaller hallway to my left and looked to my right.

Several doors were open. I picked one in the middle and jumped inside. I wedged myself between the open door and
the wall, hoping that if he turned on the light, he’d think the room was empty. My throat and chest burned from the exertion. I tried to calm myself and not dwell on the fact that the person chasing me was James. Footsteps raced by at a distance and I figured he’d taken a different hallway.

I sagged against the wall. If only it were my sister looking for me, and not someone who made my stomach flutter despite the fact that he wanted me dead. Someone who didn’t care about anyone other than himself.

The footsteps circled back, slower now, more deliberate. They grew louder as they neared my hiding spot. Trying not to make noise, I slid my hand inside the satchel, unzipped the inner compartment, and gripped T.O. I might not be able to save the new planet from the Consulate, but there was still a chance I could keep my father’s guns out of the equation. No wonder he regretted creating something that only brought destruction. I couldn’t remember anyone describing what a great time they had on the receiving end of a gun.

The footsteps stopped in the hallway outside the door. I couldn’t tell if the rapid breathing I heard was mine or his, as I pulled T.O. out of the bag. The light turned on. My heart skidded in my chest as James stepped through and swung the door shut behind him. An involuntary gasp caused him to swivel around and face me. The twinge of relief I felt at his being alone was erased when he raised my own gun at me. I sucked in my breath. He held B.K. in his hands like he owned it.

“Move out here in the center of the room.”

I moved but held T.O. in front of me like a sword.

“Is your com system on, James?” At least if it was on, I’d understand a little better why he was doing this.

“No, I told Kale I would do the job but that you deserved a private death. Consider this a favor, because he wanted to kill you himself, and he’d have done it using the hatch.”

Private death? Was I supposed to be grateful that it was an exclusive event? Next he’d tell me about how this was part of his master plan. I stood and took a step toward him. “James—”

“Step back. Now.” He raised B.K. higher.

I couldn’t believe this was happening. “If Kale doesn’t need me alive, he must know that you can fire the weapons too. You told him. I’m an unnecessary complication—just like Britta was.”

“Pretty much, except I didn’t tell him. He figured it out that day—said we both looked scared out of our minds.” James looked torn, but kept checking the door. As if he thought if he stayed too long, Kale would come bursting through it.

“You’re admitting he killed Britta?”

He confirmed what I’d only guessed. “I knew as soon as I touched the Consulate guy’s gun that it hadn’t been fired recently. Also, that soldier had been dead a while. There was no blood.”

No blood. Of course. I’d noticed the blast holes in the
soldier’s chest when I’d run into the room, but there wasn’t any blood gushing from his chest. He’d died soon after the ship crashed.

My heart sank. James knew all this about Kale, yet still refused to go against his commanding officer. “Why are you doing this? What about that time in my room?” I could barely squeak the words out, afraid of the response.

He hesitated, “It’s not that simple. I told you Kale is part of something bigger. I need him to find—”

“So you’re in this for your own gain.” Anger rose redhot inside. “Why should I be surprised? It’s what everyone else does around here. Well, go ahead. Take me out, you burner.”
Come on, James, this is the time for you to tell me how this is all an act
.

James didn’t respond. At least he had the decency to look ashamed. His jaw clenched and he placed his finger on the trigger panel. I heard the familiar hum as B.K. powered up. Even though it was my gun, it would destroy me the same way it did those boulders or that stack of books. T.O. was the only weapon my father felt the need to design special, since it was a bomb and all. T.O. couldn’t hurt anything at my vibration, but my gun? My gun had no freakin’ loyalty. Yet I still couldn’t make myself pull T.O.’s trigger.