“I can’t leave Thomas,” her voice quavers softly as a tear slips down her cheek. “I can’t, Lilly.”
I grip her forearm. “He’s gone, Skye! We have to leave! Now!”
Her gaze meets mine with a faraway look as she nods shakily. Carefully, she removes Thomas’ head from her lap then leans over his still form. She reaches out and gently closes his eyes before placing a tender kiss on his forehead. “I love you, Thomas,” she whispers. “I’m so sorry.”
Tears of pain and anger stream down my cheeks as I stare down at the lifeless form of my best friend’s brother. Why him? How can fate be so cruel?
Another loud boom reverberates along the hull, snapping me back to alertness. I take Skye’s hand in mine and meet her eyes steadily. “We have to go. Now.”
She stands and I tug on her arm, dragging her along behind me as we rush down the hallway.
The caustic burn of adrenaline pumps through my veins, granting me sharp mental clarity amid the chaos that surrounds us when we reach the escape pods. People are injured and bleeding, their expressions frozen in shock. Officers rush back and forth, herding and loading what’s left of the crew into the vessels we hoped never to use.
Perhaps it was hubris, but I know I wasn’t alone in the belief that nothing could ever touch us. Our ship was designed by the best minds our planet had to offer. No expense was spared in the construction of the strong and formidable colonization fleet. Our mission’s cargo was the most precious thing our dying planet had left.
We are the last of our kind. Earth has been destroyed and our civilization is gone.
“Lilly!”
My head snaps toward the sound of my name and relief fills me when I find Anna.
“Over here! Quick!”
Pulling Skye’s arm, I guide her toward the escape pod. Still in shock, she offers little resistance as I drag her behind me. I place her in the seat next to Anna, strapping her harness tightly across her chest.
Anna’s green eyes snap up to meet mine. “Where’s Thomas?” she asks, knowing Skye would never leave her younger brother behind. He was the only family she had left.
Emotions lodge in my throat but I somehow manage to speak around them. “He’s not coming.”
Her gaze sweeps back to the door as if expecting him to show up. “What are you talking about? What do you mean ‘he’s not coming’?”
I shake my head slightly, biting my lower lip to stop it from quivering.
Anna is a doctor. Death is nothing new to her. With a slight clench of her jaw, she blinks back tears. “What about Talia and Milo? Did you see them anywhere?”
I curse under my breath. I didn’t think to even look for them. My sole focus was on finding Skye and Thomas. We’ve looked out for each other since we all lost our parents three years ago.
The four of us—Skye, Anna, Talia, and I—have been best friends since childhood, shortly after we set out on the mission.
Of all of us, Talia is the only one whose family is still intact. I expected to find her here with her parents and brother, Milo. “You haven’t seen them?” I ask in alarm.
She shakes her head. “I thought they’d be here,” she says. “Her dad is one of the officers, so I just assumed—”
She breaks off abruptly as her gaze sweeps to the door behind me. I spin to find Talia and Milo rushing toward us. Her eyes are wide in fear. “Have you seen my parents?”
“No,” I reply quickly. “They must be in one of the other escape pods.”
“They wouldn’t leave us behind,” she snaps, and then turns to her brother. “Milo, we have to go back! We can’t leave without them!”
He shakes his head. “We can’t, Talia. The corridor to our quarters has already been sealed.”
I inhale sharply as the gravity of his statement hits me. Parts of the ship only seal off when there’s been a catastrophic hull breach. My dad, who was an engineer, told me it was one of the many safety functions built into the ship’s automated systems. If their parents were in a breached sector, they’re already dead. Milo’s eyes meet mine and it’s easy to see that he’s reached the same conclusion. Talia, however, refuses to believe it.
“Let me go, Milo! We have to go back!”
He grips her shoulders firmly. “We can’t, Talia! It’s suicide to go back there!”
“I don’t care!” she cries out.
I take her hand and meet her gaze evenly. “Your parents might have made it to one of the pods that already left.” The words are like bitter acid on my tongue. I know I’m probably only giving her false hope. Milo’s eyes meet mine and an unspoken understanding passes between us. He knows what I’m doing and why. Their parents would never have evacuated without their children. However, I need to convince Talia to stay here. Rushing back into the ship could kill her. “The pirates have already boarded, and we need to leave before they reach us. Alright?”
She nods reluctantly and takes the seat beside Skye. Both watch the door as if half-expecting the people they love to appear at any moment. I swallow against the lump in my throat, put there by the knowledge that they never will.
Reaching up, I tie my long crimson hair in a loose knot at the nape of my neck. My gaze sweeps over the cabin, trying to determine who else has made it.
On this colony ship, everyone knows everyone. We’ve been traveling together on the same vessel for years. I think of all the crew I found dead on the bridge and wonder how many friends and colleagues I’ve lost.
From what I could tell in the chaos, at least three other pods had already ejected by the time we arrived. The escape pods are meant to fit sixty people and this one is a little less than half-full.
My green eyes reflect
