The seething pain in my forehead tugged me back to life. Lifting my head, I held in the puke as fatigue blinded me. I pushed myself up on pure willpower. My arms were too weak to do it alone. How did I get here? What had happened? It felt like my head was shrouded in fog. I couldn’t recall what had happened, but I remembered something loud. Laura! Her and Manning, what had happened to them?

I propped myself up on my knees. They ached, like everything else. I took a look around…fat lot of good that did. Everything was dark. Shafts of red from the windows provided light. The ship’s power was definitely drained, or disabled. Either way, it didn’t belong to us at the moment.

“Laura? Manning?” My throat ached. I didn’t get a reply. I forced myself to try again. “Laura! Come on…Manning!”

I rose to my feet but stumbled. I had to grab my chair just to stay standing. It honestly felt like a cruiser had run me over. I scanned the room again. My eyes were adjusting, so I could make out some shapes. Every single seat was vacant.

“Ah!” Pain tore at my chest as my strength faded.

My head felt wedged between two boulders. This could all have been another nightmare. I’d never know the difference. At least then my friends wouldn’t have to suffer because of me.

“Wander?” said a weak voice.

I looked up. Nothing in the shadows, but I couldn’t have imagined that voice.

“Laura!” Adrenaline shot through me. I jumped to my feet despite the incredible pain then limped through the aisle until I saw an outline on the floor. It was her. The fiery hair and lemony scent tipped me off.

I turned her onto her back. Her mouth and nose were covered in blood. My heart went into overdrive.

“Laura, stay with me, okay?” I held her face. She groaned and slapped my hand away. I was barely able to hold in a snicker. She’d be fine. “I deserved that. What happened to Manning?”

She shook her head, then winced. She didn’t know. Did he literally stand up and walk away? From a crash? What had really happened; had he flown out a window? No, they were cracked, but none were shattered. I hefted Laura up and set her down in the chair. I shouldn’t have had the strength. Maybe it came from my guilt. First her cheek, and now this? She actually would have been safer if she’d stayed with her parents. I was a danger magnet.

My ears perked up. There was noise from the hallway. That thing led to the elevator. Not this again.

I inched toward the door with raised fists. If they didn’t have a weapon, I could reason with them: my best option. I was too awful at fighting. Ask Anderson Oak, my elementary, middle, and high school bully.

The seconds dragged on until, finally, the door opened. I was expecting a murderer. Luckily, that’s not what I got.

“Manning!”

“Mr. Locke! I’m thrilled to see that you’ve survived.” He raised a white box with a red plus sign. “Stand still. I can apply your bracelet then get right to Ms. Genki.”

“What? No, just get to her immediately. I can wait.”

My slumped, broken body probably wasn’t convincing. He looked me over and nodded anyway. He set the box beside Laura and rummaged through it. He seemed so focused. I was just the jittery mess in the corner. Every second that Laura looked like that was torment. Manning grinned as he held up a green, metal ring. A medic bracelet! Our butts were officially saved.

He clamped the bracelet around Laura’s arm. It glowed green as it did its thing. Its purpose was to provide substantial healing to one part of the body and partially mend the rest. Each one only had one charge. They were also ridiculously expensive…and slightly radioactive. I peered into the medical kit and found a whole surplus of medic bracelets. Had Frost anticipated this crash and about five more?

Laura groaned as her eyes fluttered open. “I’m…alive? Dang it! Uh, I mean, ‘Hooray!’”

“Laura!” I knelt beside her. “Thank the great forge in the sky that you’re okay. How do you feel?”

Her signature glare returned, but it was full of actual anger. I scooted away. I wanted to be healed before she hit me.

Manning clamped a bracelet around my left leg and hit a button. Pleasure washed over me. It was like walking into a warm shower. My head finally peeked out of the fog, but it was just a peek.

“Thank you, but”—I motioned to him, a man who’d just survived a crash but wasn’t even limping—“don’t you need one?”

“No need to worry, Mr. Locke. I survived worse than this in my combat days. I treated myself with traditional means while I was in the sick bay. If this is our closest encounter with death, then it’ll hold up.”

What had his combat days been like?

“Okay, and if it isn’t?”

He chuckled, but it was hollow. “I told you I don’t plan on reentering the battlefield. Try not to crash the Eachtra again, and I’ll have nothing to worry about.”

“It’s not called that. Anyway, I don’t plan on fighting either, but we need that generator back. If I have to hit someone to become an explorer, I’ll…hesitate slightly less before doing it. How are you holding up, Lau—”

I’d seen every expression her face had to offer. Or so I’d thought before I saw this one. The fire in her eyes burned brighter than the Sun as she rose. Her glare threatened to melt me.

“You sound pretty relaxed for a guy who almost killed his friends.” Laura’s voice was weak but still laced with fury. I was getting flashbacks to the previous day, in the park. “You even realize what you did yet? I made ‘dummy’ your nickname, but maybe you really are an idiot.”

“Ms. Genk—”

“I’m only here for you; don’t you get that?” Her scowling face was inches away. “What do I get in return? No details, no plans, and this is the second time in the past twenty-four hours that I’ve gotten blood on my face!”

I clenched my fists. “I’m not the one chucking javelins at the ship. Why don’t you blame the Martians?”

“Probably because I didn’t even know there were javelins or Martians until right now! That would have been good to know while my seat was shaking. All you do is keep things to yourself, and…all I do is ask you to share.” Her shoulders slumped; her gaze went straight to the floor. “I’m done asking. You’re never going to open up. Why did I ever try?”

She turned away, so I grabbed her shoulder. “Wait! I’m sorry, but you’ve got the wrong idea. I’m sorry I didn’t mention the Martians, but what would you have done if I did? I’m the one at the controls!”

Laura whacked my hand away. “If that’s how you feel, then you shouldn’t have let us come. If you can do all this by yourself, then what are we good for? Meat shields?”

Manning pushed us away from each other. “That is quite enough! Both of you need to clear your heads! We’re stuck in a perilous situation and haven’t even begun to plan our way out. We need to…”

The hallway door opened and shut as Laura passed through. She walked away from one of Manning’s lectures. What had I done?

“Fantastic.” Manning shook his head, out of frustration or disappointment. Either way, it was aimed at me. “I’ll be in the engine room. Perhaps there’s some way to fix this from there.”

He walked out too. The sound of the door closing shut was louder than thunder. I was all alone, with only the darkness to keep me company. Felt just like those months after my parents had died. That was the loneliest that I’d ever been. I shut everyone out to mourn, but I never let them back in. It was time to. Especially if I was trying to be better than my grandfather.

I trudged over to a red-tinted window and peered out of it. The ground was a few floors down. So this was what it felt like to live in a multiple-story house. Red and orange shapes wandered around their red vehicle. I assumed they were making small talk about downing ships with nothing but pointy sticks.

Manning’s cruiser and mine were our only forms of transportation now. Then again, they’d never let us leave. I didn’t think so. Actually, what did they want with us? They couldn’t have been stealing power for fun. If I could get them to leave, it’d be the start of making things up to Laura and Manning. Assuming they still held any respect for me.

The door slid away for me, just as it had done for my friends. The elevator was as spacious as Frost’s. It must have been made that way for robots. Too bad I’d never let them on my ship. The elevator rumbled before it opened up to the parking bay. It smelled fresh even though our cruisers were old. I’d have fun breaking in this garage. I froze when I saw my cruiser. It had someone I didn’t expect to see leaning against it.

“This seems more like where I’d cool my head, not you,” I said in an attempt at humor.

Laura didn’t even look at me. It was like her eagerness to berate me had never existed. I’d take the insults over this tense atmosphere any day. I cleared my throat and reached for my phone with jittery hands. I called upon the cloud’s light to get my keys. Then I held them up to the Columbus, which beeped as it unlocked. Laura finally made eye contact with me as we both stood over the cruiser.

“You’re confronting the Martians, right?” Laura inquired, reading me as usual.

I thought hard about my words. “Yes. We’re stuck here if I don’t, right? I got us into this, so I’ll get us out.” I paused for a reply from her. She didn’t offer one. “I’m sorry, by the way. For not sharing. For being a jerk. For…everything.”

She sighed and climbed into the Columbus’ front seat. “Get in here. Hurry up.”

It was a start.

Before we left, I needed one thing. I slid my hand along the parking bay wall until I touched a hatch. I yanked on it, opening a compartment that most would call “hidden.” Inside was a blue pistol and its holster. It had two options: blast and the only one I’d be using, stun. It used plasma energy, like the AI, but not nearly as efficiently. That was good seeing as I wasn’t looking to disintegrate anyone.

“Where did you get that?” Laura asked as I climbed inside with my new pistol in hand. “I thought you hated guns. Guess I really don’t know you anymore.”

I revved up the Columbus, ignoring the pang in my chest. “You’d be surprised how many shootouts can happen in a parking bay. Not to mention this is the last part of a ship. That’s why they started installing little gun-hiding pockets in here. Find the compartment, grab the gun, and go. Also, it’s not a real gun if you’re just gonna stun people.”

Laura rolled her eyes and leaned against her window. Good talk. As the Columbus finished humming to life, I took out my exploration ship key. I clicked the button to the ramp. The groan of metal filled the air as a huge section of the wall leaned away from us. Red invaded the parking bay courtesy of New Earth. I’d imagined my first trip to New Earth would be less stressful than this.

“Activate your helmet; ‘dust in the eyes’ is a cool band name, but it feels terrible,” I said as I willed mine to form.

Laura stifled a snicker and then coughed, probably to cover it up. I hid my smile. She was mad, but not furious. That was fine. As long as she didn’t hate me, everything was fine. I still had to make it up to her, though.

My suit clicked as the helmet began its ritual. Small metal bits shot out of my collar before snapping together to form my helmet’s outline. Energy trickled in from all corners to form the visor. The HUD flooded in, along with all the worthless information it brought. I willed that crud to go away. After Laura had assembled her helmet, I took a deep breath and stomped on the pedal.

We glided down the ramp, which was just a long driveway at that point. I kept a twitchy eye out for the Martians. Getting jumped by them would spell instant defeat. We rumbled as the Columbus adjusted to New Earth’s sandy terrain. Red sand (dust?) everywhere, the stench of iron in the air, and giant buildings in the distance. They would swallow any building on the Moon.

The unmistakable hum of a cruiser snuck up on me. “Duck!” I pulled Laura down with me.

She yelped as a spear soared overhead. It wedged itself in the sand. The spear was silver, but it had red glowing bits on it. My heart sped up like a cruiser as I imagined it sticking out of my chest. That had been a close one. Hopefully the only close one.

“That…was impressive leadership,” Laura said in a shaky voice. “Could you be more like that all the time?”

“You, stay down. I’ll see if I can reason with them. No arguments.” I hopped out of the cruiser and headed toward the dusty red cruiser circling the ramp. It slid to a halt as its passengers pointed at me. The cruiser had ten seats, and Martians had filled them all. They were red and orange, and all of them wore brown cloaks. A few pointed their spears at me.

Tell me those things don’t shoot lasers too.

“What do you want with us?” I asked. “Don’t pretend you can’t understand me. My helmet acts as a translator.”

“Stay!” said a Martian as he raised his spear. His voice had an electric hum to it. That meant my suit was carrying out its translation function properly. “You are to remain in that ship until it is time.”

“Time for what, exactly?”

“Silence!”

The Martian reeled back his spear. I whipped out the pistol, aimed at his chest, and squeezed the trigger. A blue burst of energy shot out and dissolved against his chest. He yelped and collapsed beside his allies. The thud was sickening. His friends huddled around him, murmuring words of concern.

My hand trembled around the gun as I shoved it into its holster. What had I done now? Even if it was set to stun, I couldn’t believe I’d shot him without hesitation. That wasn’t who I wanted to be. If he were human, would I have done the same?

I hit the ground as a spear narrowly missed my hip. I’d ponder this later when I wasn’t under attack. If that time ever came. I hurried back to the Columbus as spears shot past me. One nicked my shoulder. It threw me off balance, but I fell into the cruiser door, so the joke was on them.

“New plan! We’re driving to Red City. Take this.” I handed Laura my pistol as I jumped back into the Columbus. “Shoot at them while I drive, okay? I know it sounds nuts, but I trust you!”

“Hold up! We can’t leave Instructor Manning here with them!” She motioned to them with the gun. Then she studied it as if she’d just realized what it was. “You want me to shoot them? Why are you so crazy all the time?!”

I stomped on the pedal, propelling us forward. “We have about two days to save the universe; I’m absolutely leaving him. For now, I mean. We can call him later, but that ship needs repairs anyway. As for the ‘shooting them’ part—”

“The part I’m most concerned with!”

“You’ll do great, don’t worry so much. There’s no one I’d trust more to shoot someone for me.”

It was a compliment, but judging by her scowl, she could’ve done without it.

Wind rushed through my hair as I maneuvered poorly through the desert. “Bumpy ride” didn’t even begin to describe this. I glanced at my side mirror and spotted the Martians not too far behind. Specks of red flew off their cruiser, revealing a hidden layer of brown. So their cruiser was just caked in red dust? That better not happen to my cruiser!

A Martian stood and raised his spear. This was Laura’s chance at a counterattack.

“Laura, now!”

She paused before she leaned over the back of the seat. She aimed the gun…but she didn’t pull the trigger. The Martian yelled and chucked his spear. It whizzed through the air, whistling better than I ever could. The spear sunk into the back of the Columbus, where the trunk was. Impale my cruiser again and see what happens, you Martian jerks.

“Hey, Redhead? Pulling the trigger is usually how you fire a gun. Just saying.”

“Shut up! Just holding this thing freaks me out. You sure it’s on stun? Oh, I found the knob. Okay…here I go.”

I swerved to throw off their aim. There were about five Martians, but I was sure they had more than enough spears. They had good aim, but they tossed their javelins way too frequently. If I could get them to run out, we might win by default. As long as I could dodge them all. I gripped the wheel tighter as I tried not to imagine a javelin piercing my back.

Laura shook so hard that her suit clattered against the cruiser. She tried to keep her aim steady, but it was in vain. I hated seeing her so nervous. I couldn’t even tell her that she was aiming too high. Even though firing the pistol that close to her face would—

ZWOOM!

“OW!”

Blue filled my mirrors. When it faded, I saw a swerving cruiser instead. The Martians’ screams of confusion faded as they fell behind. Laura had got them! Too bad she hadn’t accounted for recoil. She rubbed her forehead while grinding her teeth.

“I hate this stupid thing!” Laura reeled back the pistol with the clear intent to chuck it.

“No, no, wait! That’s our only chance of survival here!” I said. “Everyone makes mistakes, but at least you hit them. That’s the important part.”

“I didn’t. My shot flew right over them. They just swerved to avoid it, I guess.” She slumped in her chair. Her frustration was written all over her face. “How am I even supposed to hit them when they’re all blurry anyway? How do people do this? Why aren’t glasses mandatory?”

“Blurry?” I glanced at my mirror. The Martians had recovered from their swerve and were growing in the mirror. They weren’t blurry at all. What was Laura talking about? “Are they the only ones who are blurry to you? How long has this been going on? If the crash did it—”

“Let me answer a question! Jeez! Anything that’s too far away is kind of blurry to me. That’s how it’s always been, so the crash had nothing to do with it. I thought it was like that for everyone. It is, right?”

“No! Laura, you’re nearsighted! Oh, my goodness, all this time? Look, I’ll take over the position of gunner. You can be the new driver.”

She made a grunt like she was being strangled. “I don’t even know how to drive!”

“This would barely be driving! There’s nothing to crash into. Unless you find a way to crash into sand. Just keep your foot on the pedal, and turn the wheel every once in a while. I know you can do that.”

She shook her head. “You thought I could shoot too, but see how that turned out? Now I’m nearsighted!”

“You were always nearsighted!”

CLUNK!

Another javelin wedged itself in my cruiser. We were running out of time, and Laura saw it too. She sighed and reached for the wheel. I took the gun from her as I climbed into her seat and she into mine. She kicked me twice during the process. Then I bumped into her, and she shoved me. Good thing I landed in the right seat. I climbed up so that I was leaning over the seat’s back like she had been.

Laura slammed on the pedal; the jolt brought the seat barreling into my stomach. If I had eaten anything, it’d be on its way back up. I coughed and pushed up, which was when I came face to face with one of the spears. This one made it into the actual cruiser, between my chair and the next row. It came way too close. It was silver, but it was slowly filling with red. Was that the power being stolen?

“Are we supposed to be going this slow?” Laura asked. I was ready to reassure her, but then I saw how close the Martians were. “The javelins might be weighing us down.”

The red bits stuck in my mind. If they were stealing power, that explained the slowdown. My adrenaline spiked as a Martian raised another javelin. I fired the gun and struck him square in his cloaked chest. He yelped and collapsed. His spear fell on top of him. Only three Martians were left, and they were too close. I could clearly see the inside of their cruiser. I took aim again.

Something black in the distance caught my eye. I searched the dusty background and found something hazy. It was like a dream, but it was there: a black figure riding a black motorcycle. Its blue headlight cut through the dust and illuminated some of its features: features such as the sharp edges decorating its suit. It was like…armor. The knight! He was here? How?

CLUNK!

Laura shrieked as a spear plunged itself into the Columbus’ hood. Three strikes. The cruiser clicked violently as it rumbled. The dusty, red cruiser pulled up beside us. My body began to shake, but I forced it to stop. This distance offered me an advantage too. I aimed the pistol, but before I could fire, the Martian…leaped into the air.

He cast a shadow as he blocked the Sun. Then he crashed down on the Columbus’ hood, which was all I saw before I was thrown from my seat. I lost my footing, my center, and my sense of gravity as I flipped through the air. Then I heard the cruiser slam against the sand. My world continued to spin until I crashed too. Pain shot through me like electricity. My legs throbbed with searing pain. I couldn’t move them. If it wasn’t for the pain, I’d assume they’d been severed.

My head was light from the dizzying pain. Was Laura okay? I heard her groans, but I couldn’t see her. I was looking up at the sky. Its blue was too peaceful for the horror I felt. Both from agony and from fear.

“Humans never know when to stop,” said a Martian as he stomped around me. I pushed through the pain and turned my head toward him. He plucked a spear from the Columbus. It was completely filled with the red. “Always challenging those above you. That concept you cling to, known as ‘luck’? It is finite.” He drove the spear into the ground and sauntered up to me. “We have our orders, but this runs deeper. Last words, so that they may be carved on your stone?”

Another Martian chuckled. “As if we could ever tell a human about this.”

I turned my head to find Laura and realized she was behind me. Good. I examined the field before me…in my head. A Martian in front, the spear behind him, more Martians past that, and their cruiser next to them. My mind slowed as I chose my next words carefully.

“Your spears—those spears. They siphon energy from vehicles. That’s how you downed my ship and how you slowed my cruiser.”

“Those are your last words? Seriously?” Laura groaned behind me. The Martian lifted his foot over my head. “Correct. Farewell.”

“I didn’t need you to confirm.” I lifted my arm with every ounce of strength I had. I switched the pistol from “stun” to “blast,” and aimed at the sunken spear. I squeezed the trigger.

ZWOOM! BOOM!

The blue bullet mixed with the red to create a purple explosion. I was tossed into a red sandstorm, judging by the sand that rushed past my helmet. The fog that had previously enveloped my head made its triumphant return. I’d taken one too many explosions. Darkness followed that fog as every feeling besides pain left my body. If I went out now, would I wake up?

“Oh, no you don’t! Get up!” Laura demanded, her voice coming from all directions.

At least she’d survived. Someone’s arm snaked around mine and hefted me up. Laura grunted as she balanced me against herself. I couldn’t see her, but I could feel her.

“I don’t know if you can hear me, but you did it!” I could hear the smile in her voice. “You beat them all at once by shooting that spear! Don’t worry, I was behind you, so it didn’t hurt me much. I hope your future plans are less life-threatening, but this is a start! So, if there’s anything you need before I go get a medic bracelet, say the word. If you can even speak.”

I pried my eyes open. They stung like hot oil had been splashed into them. Martian bodies were scattered all around us. Silver liquid dripped out of them. Their blood, I assumed. They let out the occasional groan, and they had heaving chests, so I knew they were alive. That was great. I wanted to be an explorer, not a murderer. With that in mind, I had my request ready.

“Don’t get a medic bracelet. Get all of them.”