The wind blows hardest at night, she thought. The sound of it distracted Presley from thinking about Camden. Her obsession with him had almost become unhealthy.

  The thing people probably didn't get about Camden was that Presley had never met anyone like him. They'd met in kindergarten after he'd selected her for his kickball team. That in itself was a miracle, considering she'd been extremely uncoordinated in elementary school and typically chosen last. Over the past decade, they'd become a fixture in each other's lives, their birthdays and milestones celebrated together. Camden's mom emailed her constantly. The correspondence was heartbreaking.

  Every few days, she'd ask, "Do they think he'll walk again?" And of course, Presley had no idea. She wasn't even allowed to visit Camden, which, honestly, sucked. There had never been anything romantic between them. Presley would never date Camden, but she couldn't imagine a world without him, either. So, she welcomed the howling wind outside and the chaotic buzz of the rec room, inside.

  Sloan was sitting on the floor typing an angry email to her mother, who'd apparently done something stupid to her brother. Trevor and Mia sat on the couch beside Presley, engrossed in a movie, while Edward, Mary Jane, Kai, and Alex played Uno at the game table. Max stood behind them, laughing and judging their decisions. Lilly sat alone on a second couch, busy on her laptop, the screen facing away from everyone.

  "Is anyone else beginning to hate going outside?" Alex asked.

  "Yeah, it's a lot of work," Trevor responded. "And my suit smells like ass."

  Presley glanced over at Trevor. She wasn't surprised by his comment. Her suit had begun to smell, too. What was it about him that was so off? Trevor was definitely a different boy than the one she'd met on day one of quarantine. He was agitated and tired all the time. She wondered how Mia felt about it.

  "I'm good with going outside." Mary Jane said, laying down a wild card and changing the color to yellow.

  "That's gonna screw everyone but Edward," Max blurted out.

  "Not helpful," Edward said.

  "I'm not trying to help. All of you SUCK at this game!"

  "You're just salty because no one asked YOU to play," Alex said.

  But then Alex stopped talking because a high-pitched alarm filled the rec room, followed by a recorded message broadcast throughout the pod. The robotic voice repeated itself while the students sat frozen.

  A fire has been detected in the hub. The pod doors are now locked for your safety. Please remain in the pod and wait for instructions. A fire has been detected in the hub. The pod doors are now locked for your safety. Please remain in the pod and wait for instructions.

  "Ms. Lawrence is with Camden right now, isn't she?" Edward asked, panicked.

  "Yes," Mia replied.

  "Will they be able to get out?" Presley asked.

  "Why can't shit ever be normal for even five minutes?" Sloan asked.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  "We've got to do something," Trevor said. "We can't stay here."

  "The system locked the doors, dude. Pretty sure we're not going anywhere," Alex said.

  "I can override the system," Lilly said, watching as every eye fell on her.

  "How?" Sloan asked.

  "I found a way to hack in as General Stone. We know Red Rock is hiding stuff from us, so what better way to find out than to have access to everything Stone sees?"

  "Damn, I'm impressed," Alex said. "Unlock the pod, then. Let's get Camden!"

  "We can't just get Camden. He's in a coma," Mary Jane said.

  "But we can't let him die," Presley said. "I'll go with you, Alex."

  "Everyone suit up," Edward decided. "Once we disarm the pod, it won't be long before someone overrides us. We'll probably only have two or three minutes."

  Edward didn't wait for agreement, tearing away from the group who followed him to where their space suits hung. The next few minutes passed quietly except for the occasional bang of a dropped space boot. Edward turned to Lilly.

  "Disarm the pod and report back immediately."

  Lilly left to retrieve her computer, which she'd abandoned on the couch. Still logged in as General Stone, she searched the home screen and clicked a folder labeled "emergencies." The folder contained over 500 alphabetized documents. Lilly frowned, her eyes darting back and forth until, luckily, two words caught her eye: fire protocol.

  Bingo! The document contained a code to unlock the pod. The code was really long, though. Lilly ran to Mary Jane's room and ripped a page from one of her journals.

  "Sorry, Mary Jane," she said aloud. "One less page for you to gush on and on about how much you freaking love Edward."

  Quickly, she scribbled down the code and sprinted back to the group.

  "Try this," she said, handing the code to Edward.

  Edward nodded appreciatively, looking down at the code.

  "Is everyone ready? Do each of you remember which group you're in?" he asked.

  "Lilly, you're with me," Alex said protectively.

  Edward stepped ahead of the group, then turned to face them.

  "When the doors open, move! It's going to be dark and windy. Meet at the hub's front entrance ASAP. Do you understand?"

  Presley nodded emphatically, although no one had prepared her for fires. This was dangerous, but it was for Camden. She had no other choice. On the count of three, Edward entered the code, and a second alarm went off. Despite the noise, the doors did open, and everyone quickly exited the pod.

  Upon arrival, they found the hub was equally noisy, red lights flashing from its roof. Edward touched the door to see if it was hot, then gestured to the others that it was safe to open.

  "Team A, go straight to sick bay. If we encounter any obstacles or the fire blocks us, stop moving and wait for a new directive from me. Team B, take the back way past the research lab. If anything stops you, come right back here. The goal is to get to Camden. Which team gets there first is irrelevant. Do you understand?"

  Presley watched as the others nodded and began forming groups. She was on Team A with Edward, Mary Jane, Sloan, and Max. Sloan high-fived Mia before leaving her with Team B. The smell of smoke was overwhelming, but Presley and the others made their way into the hub. They'd not gone more than fifty feet before General Stone appeared, blocking their path. Everything that happened next happened very quickly.

  Edward used one hand to pin Stone against a wall so forcefully that metal molded around the General's body, while he used his free hand to signal the others to keep moving. Presley felt Mary Jane's gloved fingers wrap tight around hers. Max was leading now, and they were struggling to keep up.

  Three left turns lay between Team A and Camden, but visibility was becoming an issue. Presley concentrated on sucking the air from her helmet when, suddenly, she realized just how dire the situation was.

  "OMG, Mary Jane. We're attached to oxygen inside a burning building. Oxygen is flammable!" Presley screamed.

  "Don't think about it. Camden needs us. He'll die if we don't get to him."

  "Just keep moving," Sloan said. "No one's dying unless you keep yapping and I decide to strangle you."

  "What if we get to Camden and we kill him by taking him off the machines?" Presley asked.

  "Commander Mitchell will be with him," Sloan said. "She'll know how to take him off the machines."

  "But what if taking him off the machines kills him?" Presley repeated.

  "Then it kills him," Sloan said. "Did you honestly think all eleven of us would make it home?"