Rocky arrived back in the classroom to find every kid gone. Several landing manuals lie abandoned on the table. Perfect, he thought. Talking to them in small groups was probably safer than addressing an unsettled mob of teenagers. Peyton was precisely where he wanted her. Hopefully, she'd be good as new in the morning.

  The kids' living space was close to the classroom. As he approached, a collection of voices bounced off the walls of what would soon be an abandoned home. His boots clicked softly as he walked.

  "I say we just agree to stay on the ship," Kai said. "Mary Jane had a dream that one of us died."

  "Nice, Kai," Mary Jane sputtered. "Remind me to suffocate you tonight. Then no one has to wonder who it was."

  Alex reached up to ruffle Kai's hair before speaking, "Slow down, big guy. No one's dying. Wanna to hear about my dreams?"

  "No," several female voices said.

  "Imagine a tall blonde with legs for days jogging on a beach. Her entire bikini fits in one of my hands, and her boobs are bigger than Sloan's."

  Lilly stuck her finger down her throat while Presley frowned at Camden, who stood and gestured to his chest, bouncing big imaginary breasts with excitement.

  "And things just keep getting better," said Edward, not bothering to hide his contempt for Camden. "If tomorrow's success depends on him, we're all screwed."

  "You're a pig, Alex," Sloan moaned, sliding her socked feet up the wall.

  General Stone observed them, a pile of drama spread on the floor of their housing deck, pillows and blankets strewn underneath them like a sea of chaotic cotton. He counted nine of them, of course, Mia and Trevor were missing. Two guesses what they were up to, he thought.

  "Good evening. I see most of you are here. Let's pick up where we left off earlier. You'll need your landing manuals tonight. If you left yours behind, I have it here."

  Nine sets of eyes rapidly tracked the direction of General Stone's voice, and before she could stop herself, Sloan dropped the F-bomb.

  "Language, please, Sloan," Rocky said.

  "Are you kidding me? What does it matter what comes out of my mouth? Ms. Lawrence has gone insane, and these kids think Trevor has damn superpowers."

  "Who thinks Trevor has superpowers?" Rocky asked, calmly.

  "He does," said Kai.

  "Go on, Kai," Rocky said.

  But Kai didn't go on. He sat on the floor, slowly diminishing eye contact with General Stone until he focused solely on his feet. Rocky let the silence grow, knowing each second chipped away at the boy's confidence.

  "Where is Trevor?" Rocky asked.

  "With Mia," Alex said.

  "You don't know that," Mary Jane said quickly.

  "Oh, I think everyone knows that," Alex responded.

  Sloan said nothing, although Rocky could see the comment bothered her. The kids seemed to dislike Alex unanimously.

  "Trevor said he can use his mind to move things. He got Ms. Lawrence's landing journal to slide across the table without touching it."

  "And he told you this?" Rocky asked.

  "He told Max," Kai said as if hoping to garner support.

  Max whipped his head around to glare at Kai. They were starting to turn on each other, which was exactly what Rocky was hoping for.

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  "Max, what did Trevor tell you?"

  Max paused before answering General Stone. He didn't look afraid. If there was any emotion on his face, it was annoyance, maybe anger.

  "Trevor thinks he can move things with his mind," Max replied coolly.

  "And you believe him?" Rocky asked.

  "No," Max said. "I don't."

  "I'm not here to judge you," Rocky said after a long pause. "This pre-landing phase is hard as hell. It's substantially more difficult than launching. Do you know why? Because launching is exciting. Launching is a new beginning. It's getting to tell people you went up in space. Hell, you were headed to Mars when you launched. We've been headed to Mars for over 6 months. But this next part is dangerous. Very soon, you'll leave this spaceship and step onto another planet, breathing oxygen through a helmet far away from the people who love you most. You could get hurt. There's a chance you'll die. You haven't thought about dying this much since those 8 minutes it took us to leave Earth's atmosphere. This is tough. It does stuff to people. I'm talking about good people like Trevor and Ms. Lawrence. It might be messing with your minds, too, and you're trying to hide it. But there's no need to worry. Everything is fine. Your friends and your teacher are fine. Tomorrow is going to be absolutely fine. Do you understand me?"

  Mary Jane lowered her head to rest it on her knees. Rocky couldn't tell if she was crying, but it wouldn't surprise him. Edward put his arm around her protectively.

  "Then how'd the notebook move?" Camden asked.

  "I'm not sure. I didn't see it," Rocky said. "We are on a ship hurtling through space, perhaps they were testing the thrusters as part of the pre-landing audit."

  "We would have felt that," Presley said. Her face was ashen.

  "I guess you're right," Rocky said. "I'm just trying to think of scenarios that would cause it to appear as though objects onboard this spaceship can move spontaneously. It's hard to imagine."

  "So what you're saying is the whole thing with Trevor and Peyton is just fear?" Sloan asked. "You're not at all worried Trevor can move things with his mind?"

  "I don't believe humans move things with their minds," Rocky lied, his face flushing a bit. "But I am worried you feel unsafe and therefore hesitant about landing. I can't have you hesitant tomorrow. I need you ready and focused."

  "How is Ms. Lawrence? Is she ready and focused?" Mary Jane asked.

  Rocky registered this small defiance and turned his head in Mary Jane's direction. He'd pegged her as a quiet follower, nerdy but intelligent. Would she cause him a problem tomorrow? The red-headed boy obviously liked her, his arm draped stoically across her shoulders. She spent most of her time with Mia and Sloan, who Stone considered influential inside the group. But, taking offense to clarifying questions wouldn't further his goals here. These were children. He was the adult.

  "I'm glad you asked, and yes, Ms. Lawrence is well and resting. A lot of her issues stem from sleep deprivation. Peyton's vital tracker shows a steady decline in nighttime recovery over the last month. I'm fairly certain we'll see the same with Trevor. It could happen to any of us. We're a crew. It's our mission not only to explore Mars but to take care of each other. I need to ask you a pointed question. Do you trust me, and do you trust each other?"

  "I don't trust anyone here," Lilly said.

  Rocky let the statement hang uncontested. He wasn't a guidance counselor. It didn't matter to him that they didn't trust each other, but they had to trust him explicitly.

  "That's just unhelpful right now, Lilly," Edward said. "Don't make it worse."

  "So you trust Camden?" Lilly fired back.

  "No," Edward said bluntly. "But I trust there are guidelines to keep us safe."

  "Do you think that kid cares about guidelines?" she asked.

  "Stop," Presley said. "He's sitting right there. You're so rude! I've known him forever. He's a good person."

  "Do you think it's possible to delay the landing?" Edward asked. "I have concerns we're not ready to do what you're asking of us tomorrow."

  Again, the group fell silent. Rocky took the opportunity to regain control of the conversation, moving closer to Edward, who seemed primed to trust him.

  "We're a mid-sized group here. With eleven of you and twenty senior crew members, we need to decide how to cohabitate peacefully. Are we going to agree on everything? No. Do you have to like me or each other? No. But we do have to think and act for the good of the group. Logic must prevail over fear and emotion. Over the course of this mission, each of us will struggle. It's important to see that struggle as our humanity. So far, we're the only known life in this universe. And as amazing as mankind is, we are not without weakness. You may not understand what a fellow crewmate is experiencing, but we have to honor it as part of the hardship of exploring the galaxy. You're here for the greater good. There will be moments you'll have to be strong when others aren't. Tomorrow is one of those moments. There is no plan to delay landing."

  "Doesn't Mia need to hear this speech?" Sloan asked.

  She'll hear it shortly. What I need from you is an agreement that you trust me to get you safely to Mars, and in return, you'll abide by all directives and orders. It could save your lives.

  Several students mustered up a yes, sir, but most, including Sloan, just shook their heads agreeably.

  "Good, finish selecting the items you intend to bring down in your rucksack and get a good night's sleep. If you're curious about tomorrow's schedule, it's all laid out in the landing manuals," Rocky said, preparing to leave and tell the same lies to Mia and Trevor, cementing his place at the gates of hell.