The Starborn Saga (Books 1, 2, & 3) (12 page)

Sometimes I don’t know what would be worse: to live your whole life without ever knowing what it means not to struggle, or to have a life without worries, and then have it taken from you.

In a few minutes we come to an enormous building. It’s taller than all the others, and the base is wide and the walls are thick. 

“This is the Center,” Rob says as he parks the truck in the street in front of it. “It’s not really the center of the city, but it is the center of everything that goes on in Jeremiah’s city and his empire.”

“Empire?” Aaron asks from the back.

Rob looks at him through he rearview mirror, but ignores his question. “It is also where the two of you will be sleeping tonight, and where you will meet Jeremiah in the morning.”

As we get out of the truck, I instantly feel the need to stretch my limbs as far out as possible, and I reach for the starlit sky. I follow Rob and Aaron up the stairs where we are greeted by more Screven guards. My spine tingles at being here. I can’t decide if I’m nervous or excited. 

There is one guard who steps forward and extends a hand to each of us. His blonde hair is shaped perfectly, and his smile never wavers. 

“Welcome to the Center,” he says, finally getting to me. “My name is Trevor and I’ll be taking care of you while you stay with us.”

His smile is too flashy. If he tried any harder it would be an obvious act. But as it stands, I’m not sure if Trevor is really genuine or not. 

“I’ll show you to your rooms, Mister Aaron and Miss Mora.”

I look back at Rob, but he apparently has other plans that don’t include us. That doesn’t bother me in the least bit. 

Trevor takes us through several dimly lit hallways, telling us useless information about the architecture and art throughout. I tune him out as I just take in the beauty of it all. 

“…and there’s even access to a nice balcony at the end of your hallway.”

Finally, after about ten minutes of a one-sided conversation, Trevor brings us to the hallway with several rooms lining the two sides. 

“There are no guests with you tonight, so you will have the floor to yourselves.” He hands us each a key. The number engraved on mine is 315. “Is there anything else you need before you go to bed for the night?”

Aaron and I shake our heads. “Thank you,” I say. 

Trevor smiles. “If you need anything at all, please feel free to contact me on your room’s telephone. Just dial zero.”

I thank him again and he heads to the elevator, leaving Aaron and me standing in the hallway.

Aaron looks at me and lets out a breath. “A little stuffy in here isn’t it?”

“I think it’s nice,” I say. 

“Well, of course it’s nice, but it’s not real. This isn’t how anyone in the world really lives. Only in this city.”

“But we can live like this for the night,” I come back, feeling myself starting to get irritated. 

“I almost don’t feel right about it,” he says. “Salem is one of the many colonies that pays for things like this. It’s because of colonies like mine that we’re sleeping in some fancy building.”

“Well, it won’t last forever,” I say. “No use trying to feel bad about it. You’re forced to be here. Make the best of it.”

“You don’t understand,” he says. “You can’t understand.”

My breathing becomes quicker as I get annoyed at him for the condescension. Of course I understand where he’s coming from.

“My village is far worse off than your colony,” I tell him. “Don’t tell me I don’t understand. I understand that you can sleep at night without worrying about a greyskin herd attacking you. I understand that my village can barely grow food in the wasteland of the plains. Don’t tell me that I
don’t
understand, or that I
can’t
understand!”

My hands are shaking as I stomp away from him and try to open my room door with my key. I drop it on the ground and have to bend down to pick it up. My vision blurs with the tears that I’m not expecting.

I can’t let him see me cry. Please don’t see me cry. 

The key finds its way into the hole and I swing the door open and slam it shut as I storm into my room. Then I spin around and lock the deadbolt in place. I rest my back against the door and slide down until my rear touches the carpeted floor. The tears are free flowing and there’s nothing I can do to stop them.  

 I don’t even really know why I’m crying. This whole thing was supposed to be so simple.

Minutes go by. 

I rest my head on the door as my body begins to calm a little. For the first time, I actually look at the ro [ooktand whereom. It’s as nice as every other part of the building. There is a large four-poster bed near the middle, and enormous windows on the other side, providing a view of the entire city. I barely take notice of the paintings and decorations throughout because my eye has caught something else. 

At the end of the bed is a large wicker basket, overflowing with food and treats. I hadn’t felt hungry before, but my stomach growls loudly at the sight.

I pull myself off the ground and walk to the basket. The red bow at the top easily unties. There’s bread, cheese, condiments, and sweets that I’ve never seen before. There are even various sandwich meats that are still cold to the touch. A little note on the inside of the basket instructs me to put the meat in the cold box below the mirror when I’m finished.

I look around the room until I spot the mirror. I walk to the box below it and open the door. The cold blast of air hits me, and I let my fingers press against the inside. I’ve seen these plenty of times, but never one that actually worked. 

On the bottom shelf are several bottles of dark liquid with the word Cola on the side. I almost gasp at seeing them. My grandma gave me one of these when I was a little girl. It tasted so sweet and I wanted another one, but she told me that was the only one she had. 

I grab one and twist the cap from the top, ready to taste the beloved drink. I’ve never had a cold one before. 

I bring the bottle to my mouth and take a large gulp.

What I don’t swallow lands on the floor as I cough out in surprise. The liquid is burning my throat. What is this? The pain only lasts a few seconds, but the taste is wonderful. I decide to drink more, only this time I sip it instead of gulp. The result is much more satisfying. It’s not exactly the same drink I remember from my childhood, but I think it’s actually better. I take the bottle with me as I spend the next hour looking through the basket of food, trying just about everything until I start to feel sick. I look at the clock on the wall and can’t help but feel that I should be going to sleep, but I know I won’t be able to. The anticipation of tomorrow’s meeting makes my heart sink every time I think about it. I don’t know what I will tell everyone back home if Jeremiah rejects my plea. Of course, I don’t really know what I will tell them if he agrees either. 

About halfway through my second ham and cheese sandwich, I remember Trevor saying something about access to a balcony. Perhaps a good long stare at the sky will help me get sleepy. 

I set the sandwich on a tray and wash it down with the rest of my Cola. My stomach has never felt so full, but I like it. I slip the room key into my pocket and walk out into the hallway. I stand for a moment, trying to hear if Aaron is in one of the rooms, eating away. Knowing him, he’s probably shunned the food and refuses to eat until he’s back home.

I’ll take a full belly any time I’m offered it. They are few and far between where I’m from. 

I make my way to the end of the hallway, open the double door and step out onto the balcony. As it closes behind me, I notice another figure lying down with his arms cradling his head as he stares up at the stars. It’s Aaron. 

I know he must have heard the door, but I have no desire to stay and talk. As I turn to leave, but his words stop me in my tracks. 

“I was an idiot, and I’m sorry,” he says. I turn back to look at him and he sits up to see me more clearly. “I was frustrated with the situation. I didn’t mean to insult you.”

I don’t say anything at first. I wasn’t expecting an apology. 

“You know i [“h="t’s a beautiful night out here,” he says, looking up. “I shouldn’t be the only one enjoying the stars.” He pauses for a brief moment and looks back at me. “You shouldn’t leave.”

Aaron’s been anything but a friend to me. Regardless, I’m here now, and leaving wouldn’t help anything. I walk to the middle of the balcony and sit about five feet away from him. I hook my arms around my knees as the night wind blows my hair. 

“You know, it’s hard to see the stars when you don’t look up,” he says. 

I’m not interested in the stars. I might have been before I saw him out here. I can feel him staring at me, but I don’t return it. 

“We got off on the wrong foot,” he says. 

“We didn’t really get off on any foot,” I snap. “You’ve barely spoken two words to me before now.”

“I know,” he says. “I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

“So have I.”

“I’ve really tried to keep my gift a secret,” he continues. “Having people find out about it, especially Jeremiah, is the last thing I wanted to happen.”

“So, why did you shoot lightning from your hands then?” 

“People were going to die,” he says. “At least, I thought they were. I saw you using your gift, but I didn’t know if it would be enough to stop them.”

“Why were you stranded in the first place?” I ask, finally looking in his direction. I’m actually taken aback by the genuine smile he has on his face. I can’t help but notice his muscled arms as he leans his torso off the ground and props himself up on his elbows. I close my eyes briefly and shake my head. “Couldn’t you have blasted them away from you long before Connor and I found you?”

He waits for a moment as if he’s thinking about the answer then says, “No.”

I look at him with a questioning stare. 

“My gift isn’t what you or my brother think it is. It’s not quite that powerful.” He sits himself up and crosses his legs and I turn toward him now, more open for conversation. 

“But I know what I saw.”

“You saw electricity,” he says. “You didn’t see me create it. My gift is that I can use electricity from another source. It’s like I can absorb it into myself and then use it as a weapon. Before the vehicles came in behind you, I had no electrical source. Just a gun.”

It made sense. That must have been why all the batteries were dead in the vehicles.

“Believe me,” he says, “I wish I could just create it. It would be a lot easier. That’s why we first lost communication with Salem. We were attacked by that same herd. It was a much larger herd than when you got there. I ended up having to use the power source from the vehicles that we had. I even used the power from our wristbands. It got a couple of us out, but it wasn’t enough. Eventually I was the only one left. I was able to hide from them for a couple of days, but I got lost in the woods. I stumbled upon the same herd and I knew I was done for. That’s when you showed up.”

“What were you and your group doing out there anyway?” I ask. 

He looks from side to side, almost as if to make sure no one is listening and then closes his eyes. The one light that is on the balcony begins to flicker in and out until the bulb smashes. I let out a short scream, startled by the loud pop, followed by the tinkle of shattered glass falling to the balcony floor.

“Why did you do that?”

“My gift allows me to seek out electrical sources,” he says. “I wanted to make sure there wasn’t some kind of listening device up here.”

“You’d be able to tell if they were listening in on us?”

“Their devices use electricity, so yes. I wanted to check, because I’m about to tell you the truth.”

I sit straighter and lean toward him to listen as his voice lowers. 

“Officially, we were looking for a part to a tractor,” he says. “We knew the area had abandoned farm lands, so it was a good reason to go that direction. But really, we were looking for a specific type of satellite dish.”

“For what?”

“Surveillance,” he says. “If I could get the right type of dish, we would be able to spot herds from miles away. And we could deal with it accordingly. It’s just the first step towards becoming free of Jeremiah and Screven.”

Again with this? I have to keep myself from rolling my eyes. 

“Anyway,” he says, “I had done my research. I knew there would be a satellite receiver of this kind out there. I’m pretty sure we were close. Given one more day, I might have found it. But the greyskins got to us first.”

“They always seem to be in the place you want to go most,” I say. There are a few moments of still silence between us.

“It’s all kind of funny, don’t you think?” Aaron finally says.

“What is?”

“That you’re doing everything you possibly can to get protection provided by Screven, and everyone you’ve come across is doing everything they can to escape it.”

“Not everybody,” I say, thinking of Connor. “But it does get annoying.”

Aaron nods. “Yeah, I suppose it does.” He lets out a sigh and lays his back down to the balcony floor. “You can see even more stars without that light.”

It’s an obvious invitation for me to lie down and look up, and at first, I don’t think I’ll do it. But then I realize that Aaron may be able to tell me more about my powers. With only a little hesitation, I lie on my back. 

Aaron is right about the stars. They look amazing tonight. They are beautiful when I watch them from my home in Springhill too, but I never get over it. I’m always in awe of how vast the universe is. I often wonder if there are other worlds out there with people like us. Do they have a constant fear of being eaten? Do they know the pain of loss like I do? Like so many people of this world?

Aaron’s voice breaks into my thoughts. 

“What is it that drives you?” he asks. “Seems to me like the universe is working against you, but here you are, one night until your big meeting.”

“It’s not the universe that’s against me, it’s the people of your colony. But I’d say it’s my brother and grandma that drive me. They’re all the family I have left. I need them to be protected.”

“Your parents are gone too, huh?”