Page 75 of Bound By Stars
The captain’s dynamic speech trails us down the empty hall. “There are many journeys in this ship’s future, but there will never be one as historic as the first. You are all a part of the history of this glorious vessel.”
Applause pours out of the room behind us.
“Here.” She yanks my arm, pulling me into a windowed alcove.
Unlike the brightly lit dining room, the little viewing deck is on the usual nighttime pattern, painting her in dull white mock-moonlight. Her dress is like a starry camouflage against the glittering darkness outside.
The captain’s voice, faint from here but just as clear, trickles into the small space around us. “Today we were meant to arrive at the midway point between Earth and Mars by the standard of the thirty-six-day passage. But I am proud to announce that according to our adjusted calculations…”
She turns to face me, her bottom lip slipping from between her teeth as her eyes meet mine.
Gently taking hold of one of her loose curls, I let it run through my fingers. I shift closer until we’re pressed together like we’re lost in a crowd of dancing and color and darkness, only this time it’s just the two of us.
“Wes…” I say through a breath that fades into a string of unspoken words. Something has shifted between us tonight, but I’m too afraid to name it.
My heart races as she slides her hands up my arms.
I skim my fingers along her jaw and cup her face in my palm.
“Jupiter…” She exhales.
The captain’s words barely penetrate the sound of my drumming pulse, my heavy breaths. “We are due…Mars station…eight days ahead of schedule.”
I look up. My lungs seize and my heart plummets into my gut as I stare back toward the dining room.
“Not only is theBoundlessthe most luxurious ship in the galaxy, but it is officially the fastest!”
Clapping and cheering erupt again, thunderous and enthusiastic, echoing through the hallway.
Eight days faster. Only ten days left. Less than two weeks until we each step onto Mars and continue along our separate paths. Weslie could even be heading back to Earth. I don’t know what she plans to do after her presentation to the board, what her choices will be, what she wants.
Weslie grips the fabric of my sleeves. There’s more urgency in her eyes. Of course she’s done the math, too. But am I imagining she feels the same?
She slides a hand around the back of my neck, searching my face.
I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her against me like I can stop time if I hold her close enough.
Leaning in, she barely brushes my lips as a piercing scream cuts through the ship. We both flinch, turning our attention toward the noise, but I hold her tighter.
More screams. People are shouting. Something is wrong. My parents. Curran. They’re all in there.
“Asha,” Weslie whispers, pulling away and running toward the chaos.
We both sprint back down the hall. I catch a man in an emerald suit as he stumbles backward out the doors, holding his chest. He rights himself and waves me off.
In the dining room, a distorted voice booms over the speakers.“Eight lives were forfeit to build your ship. Eight dead. Eight forgotten. Eight more added to the hundreds who die to support your greed and luxury every day.”
I nearly crash into Weslie, catching her shoulders, as she freezes just inside the doors.
The chandelier light flickers overhead. A gray-haired woman to our left cries out, half shrieking, her hand fluttering in front of her face as she stares at the wall. The starry wallpaper is gone, replaced by a new projection like dripping blood, casting a sickly reddish glow over the entire room.
“You rob us. You take from our home like it is yours, but you abandoned it long ago, threw away one planet for another. Earth is for those who endured. We will protect what has survived at all costs.”
The captain glares at a porter at the side of the stage, furiously signaling for her to cut off the feed, but the wild-eyed woman shakes her head. They’ve lost control.
Earth for Earthersruns across the walls in repeating lines of scrolling text from floor to ceiling.
E.F.E. Earth for Earthers. Earthers. I have to get Weslie out of here.
