Stari swiped the card across the control panel on the far wall.
“Computer,” she said, “unlock cell number seven.”
The door hissed open and the soldiers filed inside. They approached carefully and kept their rifles trained on them in case they needed to unload another shot. Drool seeped from their lips as the soldiers hefted them up and carried them out of the room.
The soldiers left, leaving me alone with Stari. She turned to me.
“What happens to them now?” I said.
“Now, we see if you’re right and these guys are hiding a secret as you said,” she said.
That was good. There was no chance they would listen to me. As far as they were concerned, I was as bad as the Changelings.
A moment passed between us. Stari cocked her head to one side.
“She cares a lot for you,” she said. “I don’t know why. I mean, you’re attractive enough but I don’t get what the big draw is.”
“I care a lot for her too,” I said.
“I know that. Half the Yayora would give their right arm to be with her. For some reason, she chose you. You’d better treat her right.”
“I intend to.”
Stari looked me over and, apparently seeing something she liked, nodded.
“None of us knew or understood why you did what you did but Maddy believes your story. We assumed you were a Changeling in disguise or one of their pets.”
The thought alone sent a shiver up my back.
“We might not believe you but Maddy does,” Stari said, “and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters. She has agreed to accept full responsibility for you. I’ll have someone release you from your cell but if you put one step wrong, if you give any of us reason to think you’re dangerous, you’ll be locked up again so fast it’ll make your head spin.”
“I understand,” I said.
Stari turned on her heel and marched out of the room.
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding and fell back onto my cot. Maddy had done it. Not only did she make them investigate the Changeling siblings but she’d worked out a way to get me out of there.
I shook my head. What a woman.
Was there anything she couldn’t do?
My skin itched and I scratched it. Fast healing made your skin feel like it was on fire. But even a Titan’s ability couldn’t overcome scars. And not only the ones on the outside.
I would be left with light scars across my chin and cheek. We had some ointments and salves that could work wonders back on my home planet. I’d need to hunt them down when I returned.
When I returned.
I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. I was going home. After all this time, I was going to see my family again.
My heart leaped in my chest. I was so excited I couldn’t stay sitting any longer. I hopped onto my feet and performed a little dance.
I would introduce Maddy to my family. They would get to learn about the woman I’d fallen head over heels in love with.
And then… what?
What would we do? Would we live with my parents and help them out on their farm? Would we return to her planet and meet her friends and family? Where would we set up our lives? Where would we choose to be?
I didn’t know. And that was what made it so exciting.
Anything was possible.
So long as I was with her, everything would work out. So long as she was by my side, nothing else mattered.
Even sooner than that, we would be in each other’s arms again. I could share a room with her, kiss her, taste her…
And no one could stop me.
This time, there would be no secrets hanging over us. No threat of death, no fake shuttlecraft sitting ready and waiting to destroy us the moment we reached it.
We would be free.
And that made everything I’d gone through worth it.
Thump.
Something thudded on the other side of the back wall of my cell. A fountain of dust dribbled onto the floor at my feet.
What the hell?
I bent down and rubbed the dust between my fingertips. It was soft and spread like paint.
Thump.
Another shower of dust cascaded to the floor.
I stood up.
That dull ache in the pit of my stomach I felt when something didn’t feel right was going haywire.
Deep rumbling vibrations rose from the soles of my feet and up my legs, making my entire body shake.
A stone tumbled from the back wall and thudded on the tile floor. I approached the wall and placed my hands on it. Beneath my palms, I could feel the same rumbling vibrations.
Whatever it was, it was coming from behind this wall.
I pressed my ear to the cool surface.
There was something else there…
Something just beneath the rumbling, almost inaudible…
Almost.
It was the grinding screech of metal against stone, and earth being shoved aside. It grew louder even than the rumbling.
I stepped as far away from the wall as I could, until my back pressed against the front wall of my cell.
From this wider angle, I noticed the dust wasn’t only falling within my cell, it was cascading in a flood along the entire back wall. Dirt swelled in growing mounds.
I turned and shouted.
“Somebody!” I said. “Something’s happening in here!”
It was no good. I was drowned out by the loud grinding.
A tile slipped off and smashed on the floor, then another, and another, until it was raining ceramic tiles. The wall bent inwards, giving in to some unseen force.
But there shouldn’t have been anything on the other side. Nothing but solid rock.
Nothing could travel through this material. Not even a sand serpent.
Then something alien and lifeless reared its head. Metal teeth gnashed gears and ground to a crescendo as the entire wall fell, smothering the room with dirt and dust. The cell walls fractured and exploded into metal shards.
A pair of bright red eyes glared at me.
A single metal pole smacked me across the head, knocking me
