Beyond Our Stars (7 page)

I grabbed his hand and held him close to my side, and gave anyone who came near a death stare.

Finally, we were all in Chief's quarters. He had a large living space which he'd filled with all manner of tools and liquids and spare engine parts that he wanted to have on hand at a moment's notice. It was hard to sit on any surface without getting a wrench up your ass.

“Alright, I'll start by saying I know that none of you were expecting this and are just as in the dark as I am, so we'll take this slow. We're not going to let anything happen to you.”

There was a tangible ease of the tension in the room as Chief's deep, booming voice took control.

“Now, first, and please don't feel uncomfortable I'm only trying to sort this out, please go and stand next to people who have the same…symbol as you do. This one can be here…” he started gently moving people to different parts of the room.

I let out a gasp when Chance came walking right towards me. I hadn't noticed him before. He had my marking.

“You too?” I asked, suddenly upset.

“Me too.” His usual distance was gone, but he didn't hug me. He held my eyes and I wanted nothing more than for him to hold me tight.

“Hey, guy,” he said, nudging the small boy who was still holding my hand. “So, me and you are in this together, huh?” Chance gave the boy a small smile.

“I guess so, but I don't know why you're so happy about it,” said a tiny, but very intelligent sounding voice I'd never heard until now. Chance and I both laughed. I squeezed the boy's hand again and he gave me a cautious but grateful look.

Before people were even done moving it became clear that there was order to the different markings.

I looked around me. We were all near the same age.

The little kid's group was to my left. Some had parents, some had an older sibling or someone else who had brought them aboard. I couldn't imagine what their guardians must be feeling right now.

Despite my best efforts I was starting to panic too.
This is bad, what is this?
But I tried to look strong for everyone else's sake.

The younger kids had a line on their forehead that weaved in a circle, curving and curving to make smaller and smaller spheres. To my right there was a group of adults who had two vertical lines with two dots on top, and then further right were a bunch of old-erly, with wavy lines that formed a crescent shape. My eyes went to Chief as he held out his hand and began counting.

“One, two, three, four, five…”

Yes, of course, how many? He counted ten old-erly, and while he counted the adults I counted us up. Only nine? Was that right? I double-checked. Yes, only nine.

Chief didn't count us, he looked at me. “Nine,” I said.

He frowned, “Hmm.”

The door to Chief's quarters slid open again and a man with polished black hair and the straightest posture I had ever seen walked in, with Legacy's arm firmly gripped in his hands.

Legacy had the same three lines and three dots on his forehead, and he scowled at the man holding his arm, and then at the rest of us.

“I apologize for my son's tardiness,” the man said, shoving Legacy ahead of him into the room.

“I don't apologize for it,” Legacy chirped, with a sardonic smile.

Chief waved his hand to call Legacy over. He pointed to our group. Legacy's eyes got big when he saw us but his surprise was quickly masked with a mocking, apathetic expression.

His father stayed in the room.

“You may go, Cole,” Chief said.

“I thought you might want me to bring some news to the people, they're eager to know the minute by minute…”

“They'll have to exercise some patience for the time being. I don't need you right now, Cole,” Chief said, very politely.

Cole hesitated but then decided against whatever he wanted to say and turned to go.

“That's right. Not gonna be the big man today,” Legacy said. But he said it quietly, so only those really close to him could hear it.

Chief came and stood in the center of all of us. “So, then it's exact. We have ten of each, seemingly divided by age.” He looked thoughtful.

“Yeah, it's some big mystery,” Legacy said, “Somehow, aliens came in here and put this shit on us, and it's probably a brand to signify the first ten to get slaughtered and barbequed.”

“Now, son. Making other people afraid won't make you any less afraid,” Chief said.

“Whatever, I don't care. Not about any of this,” Legacy said. He moved away from the group.

Chief's eyes followed Legacy but he resumed. “And only people from the Reflection, that's interesting.”

“Maybe because we lead the fleet,” I offered.

“Perhaps,” Chief nodded. “I don't know what these symbols are. But I agree that they were probably made by whoever lives here, and that means we need more security than the guards posted outside the ships. I think we should create a stronger outer line of defense, if we can get volunteers. That will at least give us some warning if they come back.”

We all agreed with that, even the old-erly. Chief told us to wait in his quarters for now. I assumed it wasn't so that he could keep us all in one place, but more because if we went our separate ways right now we'd be accosted by people. He went to order preparations for the extra guards.

We all tried to make ourselves comfortable, which wasn't easy given that between the Chief's stuff and forty people, space was cramped.

Legacy went to sit in a corner of the room but the rest of our group stayed and sat in a semicircle with a few crowded into the middle. I guess we were all curious about who was in this with us.

“I'm Hope,” I started.

“I think they all know who you are,” the blonde girl from lunch said in a barely audible voice. What was her name again?

“Oh, everyone knows me?” I asked, not understanding.

“You're only the most popular girl on Reflection,” the girl answered.

That shut me up. I was? Not to my knowledge.

I rolled my shoulders. “Okay, well, regardless, my name is Hope. How about everyone else introducing themselves?”

“I'm Chance,” said the boy who hated me.

“I'm Pilgrim call me Grim,” said the small boy next to me without pausing between the words. He had shiny dark brown hair and wide eyes.

“Faith,” said the dark-skinned girl who had mysteriously taken third at the slamming final.

“I'm Gaia, and we're sisters, so I don't think they chose any of us by accident,” she said.

The girl who'd told me I was popular glanced to her left and said, “I'm Marseille.” Right! That was her name. I made a mental note to ask Marseille why she thought I was so awesome. Sure, people thought I was a strong kid. But no matter what she said, I was not some kind of celebrity. I noticed that like at lunch the day I met her, she kept her lips in a constant pout and incessantly fiddled with her hands.

“Cairo,” said the handsome boy with dark hair sitting next to Marseille. He had a thick accent and his words came out a little stilted. “My father brought me to America from Egypt.” So he was another transplant. Again I felt bad for the people who uprooted their lives in search of a safe place they would never find on a doomed planet.

“Name's Weeks,” said the one person I was actually glad to see.

“I'm Boston,” said a young man with super-short dark brown hair who was sitting on the outskirts. Sure enough, he also had a slight accent.

I sighed, knowing who was left. “And that's Legacy in the corner,” I pointed.

After introductions we were silent for a moment. I could hear the other groups making awkward introductions as well, except for the children, who were pretending to build things with Chief's parts and tools.

“So, anyone want to share what they think is going on here?” Chance offered.

Nobody had time to answer, as Legacy's dad came bursting back in. His eyes scanned frantically for Legacy, then he grabbed him and started pulling him out of the room.

“What?” Legacy protested.

“Now you want to stay? Or just always the opposite of what I want?” Legacy's dad pulled him roughly. At the door, he turned and called out, “They've got us trapped! We're like lambs to the slaughter.” There was a wild look in his eyes.

That was enough to make everyone scramble to get out of the ship and see what was going on.

“This way, Hope. It'll be faster if we climb our way down,” Chance called to me, pressing a pad to open a shaft entrance in the corridor as others swarmed past us.

“You go,” I said. I tipped my head back motioning to Pilgrim who was struggling to stay by my side. Chance paused, but then he jumped into the shaft. I jogged with my new friend down the decks since the elevators seemed to be jammed.

When we made it outside I skidded to a halt with Pilgrim beside me, and felt the crushing squeeze of his hand. My brain couldn't comprehend the sight before me. Haven was gone. And now there was only metal, strangely shaped metal…

I walked with Grim over to Faith and Gaia, who were pointing. I could hear some people screaming.

“What is it?” I muttered softly.

Legacy came running up to us, “It's all around. We can't get out.”

Now
, he looked worried.

***

Each cylinder was an eighth of the height of our bigger ships, and row upon row of these strange, giant metal monstrosities had suddenly appeared, encapsulating our landing site and cutting off our view of the planet. They formed half a circle, bowing slightly in to make a half-moon shape around us, with a force field between us and the sky. Four tunnels at equidistant intervals protruded into the landing site from the curving wall of the Stacks.

Closer inspection revealed that each of the four tunnels bore one of the markings on its side. I had managed to get most of the sticky substance off, but it still felt burned on my skin.

Someone spotted them approaching through the tunnels. No one wanted to be too close, but we could see them through the openings that were also sealed by a force field. I stood in the crowd watching the one in our tunnel and I knew he was coming for
me
.

Legacy was still by my side as the tall gray aliens walked halfway down each of the tunnels and then waited. They didn't look directly at us, their heads titled down slightly. They didn't come closer.

I was afraid. I was so afraid.

“They hate us. Can't you see it in their eyes?” Legacy asked me. He stood close to me, our shoulders touching. I couldn't see anything in their downcast eyes.

“They want us to go in those things,” Legacy said. My eyes traveled up the Stacks. I swallowed. They'd marked us, they'd been close enough to kill us already and they hadn't. I pushed my fear aside.

“So we go,” I replied, trying to sound brave. I even took a few steps forward before Legacy put his arm out to stop me.

I didn't understand his look of disbelief. I was scared, yes, but I wanted answers.

“Are you crazy?” he said. “There's no way I'm going in there!”

It turned out I didn't think the way most everyone else did.

Some of the marked protested. Some were afraid but willing. Everyone was worried. After a long and heated deliberation out in the grass it was decided that we should do as the aliens asked. While this greeting wasn't exactly welcoming, they hadn't killed anyone.

The groups of ten gathered by their tunnel entrances, some people shaking and holding hands. We heard a sound like a faint buzzing hum, barely as loud as a rush of wind, and the shield was gone.

The adults went inside. We were next. As we began to walk the Local turned to lead us. The other two groups filed in as well.

A second later Legacy started to run back outside. He made it a few feet into the grass when the same soft buzzing hum originated in front of him. He smashed into a force field, falling onto his back. He started to lift himself up and then we watched as the field forcibly pushed him back into the tunnel.

He didn't scream. He stood up, picking grass off his clothes and out of his hair, and met my eyes with a knowing look.

“I don't know if these creatures are worthy of your trust, Hope. We have to think of strategies if their intentions are hostile.” Chief Up was very concerned by the latest session. Every time he looked at me, I could see him as worried as if he'd watched me fall and get sucked into the water. I shifted in my seat in the Chief's quarters and hid my bandaged hands under my thighs.

“I'm okay,” I answered.

I could take it. I mean, there was a reason, I was sure. I didn't want anyone to see how tired and scared I really was. And the last thing we needed was more talk of revolting.

We'd brought a stockpile of weapons with us, of course, enough to arm everyone, and we hadn't brought them all out. The thinking was that we shouldn't reveal all of our cards yet. But I was sure now that our weapons were useless, anyway.

“I don't think there's any other way than exactly what we're doing. I don't like being at their mercy any more than anyone else, but we simply have no options. We have to see this through, and hope that they decide to let us…” I stopped talking, searching for the words.
Let us come out? Let us live?
I didn't know how to finish it.

Chief knew, and he didn't push me. He sighed, rubbing his wedding ring. Even in his sixties, he was still a handsome man. Chief Up had no wife, not anymore. She'd died back on Earth. People knew not to ask about her. There were those that wanted to commemorate things, but Chief Up was so devastated by her loss that he found it impossibly painful to even have her mentioned.

He was saying, “Hope, they've made no attempt at direct contact. Those things ignore us. If they even
tried
to communicate…”