Peyton sat on a couch in the rec room, every kid within ten feet of her. Their first three weeks on Mars had been hell. Surely, things would settle down now.

  Thankfully, the fire, which could have killed someone, hadn't spread past the kitchen. She'd since learned that both the hub and the pod were designed so each space could be sealed off from the rest of the structure in the event of an emergency, and there was a plan to use 3D printers to restore everything they'd lost.

  She'd been speechless when Edward found her waiting with Camden for the medic rover. Not only had she believed all the kids were locked in the pod, but it had never crossed her mind that her role as academic advisor would include assisting someone out of a coma.

  None of it would have been possible without Commander Mitchell, who'd delayed evacuating, frantically helping Peyton disconnect Camden from everything unnecessary, systematically decreasing the anesthesia keeping him in a coma. Honestly, there hadn't been another option.

  The medic rover housed everything they'd needed to monitor Camden. But General Stone had taken it on a routine perimeter check just minutes before the fire, so she'd waited, anxiously watching Camden's chest rise and fall. When Stone did return, he swiftly took charge, entrusting Camden to Peyton as he left to extract the others from the fiery hub.

  Everything that might have gone wrong ran through her mind on an endless loop. But the fact was they'd made it. Camden had responded beautifully, shockingly, to the decrease in meds, the transition taking hours instead of days. His first words upon gaining consciousness were clear and discerning.

  "Am I going to die?" he'd asked.

  "Absolutely not," Peyton had said.

  "It's your lucky day, bro!" Camden said, his eyes landing on Edward.

  Edward had carried Camden to his bedroom that night, the kids, Peyton, and Commander Mitchell following behind, a moonlit procession. General Stone had missed Camden's homecoming, courtesy of the 12-foot fall he'd endured earlier, thanks to Trevor. The kids hadn't asked how he was doing. They'd decided he was an enemy, which was worrisome. Peyton knew they felt responsible for saving Camden, but Lilly's hacking into the system had endangered everyone. Stone had asked Peyton to speak with Lilly about the incident.

  "It's irrelevant now," she'd said. "He's changed his login credentials."

  "Why did you feel like you needed to do that, Lilly? It made the night of the fire way more complicated than it should have been."

  "Because you're lying to us. We're not the first kids to come here, and people get cancer on these missions. There are twenty cancer files on General Stone's desktop. Commander Mitchell has cancer, and she's up here with us. Does that make sense to you?"

  Peyton had been dumbfounded. Of course, she'd always known about Rebecca Timberland, but this was the first time she was hearing about cancer.

  "Why do you think Commander Mitchell has cancer?" Peyton had asked.

  "Because I read about it in her file, and there's a bunch of infusion equipment in the research lab. I bet she's not the only one here with cancer."

  The fact that Peyton and two of her students were developing superpowers seemed mundane in light of this new information. And why was she debriefing Lilly? Didn't Stone want to hear this?

  Stolen novel; please report.

  "I have no more information about what's happening here than you do, Lilly. I promise," Peyton said.

  Lilly had looked at her skeptically. "You knew about Rebecca Timberland, though."

  "I did, you're right. That felt off, but I never really questioned it. I've always wanted to go to Mars, Lilly. That's my only motive for being here. I'm beginning to realize other people might have secondary motives."

  "You think? "No one trusts you. You'll be lucky to get us to do anything you ask."

  "I hope that's not true because it's easy to die up here."

  "I'll take my chances," Lilly had said.

  Peyton had visited General Stone shortly after that conversation with a long list of questions. He hadn't seemed surprised to see her. Commander Mitchell walked in shortly after, carrying a tray of food.

  "Peyton, come in. I'm so glad you're here. How are the cadets?"

  Peyton had steadied herself before answering.

  "Physically, they're fine. Camden is out of the coma and thriving. The kids insisted he move into his bedroom, and Commander Mitchell agreed to supervise that."

  "I'm aware and very pleased. Have other superpowers surfaced?"

  "No," Peyton stammered. The idea of "powers" was so bizarre that she didn't know how to discuss them.

  "I hear you're well," she'd said, trying to change the subject.

  "I'm good. Not a fan of the sick bay, but thankful to be on the mend."

  "The kids don't trust us," Peyton blurted out. "They think we're hiding stuff from them."

  "What would we be hiding?" Rocky replied.

  "Well, superpowers obviously, and Rebecca Timberland. They know they're not the first kids to come here."

  Rocky smiled briefly and then nodded calmly.

  "Rebecca Timberland was a test to see how younger people might adapt, Peyton. It wasn't ethical to keep that or the superpowers from the kids, but it was necessary to get funding."

  "Lilly found your cancer files. She thinks Commander Mitchell has cancer. They think other people might have cancer, too. What are these files, and why do you have them?"

  Commander Mitchell stood and left the room.

  Rocky touched his throat. He's either going to tell the truth or deliver the performance of a lifetime, Peyton thought.

  "Commander Mitchell does have cancer. We both do. She's currently in treatment. I'm in remission."

  "You both have cancer, and you're in remission?"

  "Yes. Along with hopes of colonizing Mars, we're also studying how living there affects cancer. Promising data is showing that everything from lower gravity to the minerals buried here lengthens the duration of our remission. We currently have 20 active studies. Ten patients are here with us, and the other ten are back on Earth. Of course, we abide by International Law. Red Rock follows HIPAA practices regarding medical records. I can't share much more with you than that. I'm sure you understand, Peyton. This is all highly classified."

  But Peyton didn't understand. There was no way twenty random people with cancer decided they also wanted to help colonize Mars. Lilly was right. Stone was hiding more. The question was, how much more?

  Peyton looked past General Stone, trying to hide the fact that she was attempting to read his mind. The best she could get was something about an email to Nigel, the subject line: URGENT.

  "I'm not sure what to say," Peyton had finally said. "This is a lot to process. I'm going to head back to the kids now. I'm glad to see you're feeling better."

  Her words had been robotic and empty, but Peyton saw that Rocky liked them. He'd smiled at her and nodded.

  And now, Peyton was back in the rec center, as if everything was fine. Camden was still in a wheelchair but learning to put weight on his legs. Commander Mitchell insisted that he stay seated unless she was there to assist.

  In many ways, the drama of the past weeks had cemented the kids together, but now, Peyton was solidly on the outside. How would she get back in? She'd figure it out. Yeah, she'd get there eventually. At the moment, everyone was safe. That's all that mattered, and it was way past her bedtime.

  Peyton's tiny room beckoned her as the noise of the rec room faded away. Her t-shirt and joggers morphed into pajamas as she slid her bra off and out through the armhole. The transition from wakefulness to rest was almost perfect except, alarmingly, the voice returned.

  They're all going to die because you didn't listen. I told you not to land. I told you what to do a million times. You think the fire was an accident? Don't you know whose mind you're reading, Peyton? It's me, Mars.