Alex lagged as they walked back to Hameel’s store. Lizzak and Enyst weren’t coming to the meeting.

  “So what happens at these meetings?” asked Lilly.

  “They are quite dreadful,” Hameel replied. “Tonight, there will be much arguing and hurt feelings.”

  “I hope we find Edward there. This oxygen won't last forever. We’ve been gone for at least twenty-four hours.”

  Lilly looked at Alex, her face full of surprise, as if she'd just realised they would leave once they found Edward.

  “I’m almost certain someone found him, and if not, I'll make an announcement and ask for help. Will you return to where you came from for more air and then visit again?” Hammel asked.

  “I’m afraid if we go back, they’ll lock us up until it’s time to launch,” Peyton sighed.

  “I do not understand your leaders. It sounds like you are their prisoners.”

  “That’s because we are,” Alex said.

  “But how can they mistreat their own?”

  “Colonizing Mars is a huge flex,” Alex said. "And the people who brought us here are dicks. We're disposable."

  “I know this type of person, this dick person you speak of. Some Merricks are also dicks," Hammel said.

  “Okay. Let’s change the subject," Peyton said. "What's your role tonight, Hameel? Where should we wait? I’m not sure Merrick is ready for spacesuits and helmets.”

  “You are quite right, Ms Lawrence. I'll provide you with cloaks. Please stay hidden until I explain who you are.”

  Hameel opened the door to his pharmacy and watched them climb out. He was sick about tonight's meeting and unsure he could keep his new friends safe.

  “Here are the cloaks."

  “Nice!” Lilly squealed, twirling around. “They cover our boots.”

  “When we get to the arena, sit on the left side of the Orb. I give my speeches there," Hameel said, and they nodded compliantly.

  Then they walked silently toward the arena, already flooded with light and people. Hundreds of Merrick were gathered, talking and flying, many wearing the same brown cloaks Hameel had given them.

  “It is time for me to leave you, friends,” Hammel said. If anything goes wrong, go back to my home and wait.”

  “I’m ducking under the Orb if anything goes wrong,” Alex said.

  “Nothing is going to go wrong,” Peyton said, looking at Lilly.

  “I'll go back to Hameel’s,” Lilly said, walking away from Peyton and Alex to sit on the left side of the Orb as instructed.

  “She is sad,” Hameel said. “I read her mind. I am also sad you are leaving.”

  “You’ve got a meeting to start,” Alex said, shaking Hameel's hand. “Best of luck, man. Thanks for everything.”

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  And then Hameel watched Alex and Peyton go, turning his attention to all of Merrick waiting for him. But he didn’t have the answers they wanted. The Orb hadn't given him any.

  “Good evening, Hameel,” said Bartholomew. “It's nice weather for the meeting, yes?”

  “Yes,” said Hameel, distracted.

  “Will you speak first?”

  Hameel always spoke first, and the question unnerved him. Was tonight the beginning of the end? The visitors came from a world with no record of Merrick. Their demise seemed inevitable.

  “I will speak first,” Hameel answered, nodding at Bartholomew as he passed him.

  The crowd thinned as Hameel walked through. He pretended not to notice that some clapped while others remained silent. Lilly, Peyton, and Alex were seated just as he’d instructed, and for this, he was grateful.

  “My dear, dear Merrick,” he started, pausing to look around the arena. “Thank you for sharing your time with me tonight. You've either rushed through your dinners or skipped them altogether, so I will try to be brief. I stand in front of you, a servant. But I'm an informed servant; the benefit of being a reader, I suppose. Hameel waited for laughter, but none came. He cleared his throat and started again. I am aware we are not feeling as one these days. Many of you are angry and worried that I don’t value you, and maybe entire factions of our people. The fire has left us segregated from each other. I am no better than a strength or a mover, nor have I ever been. I beg you, dear Merrick, to see things as I do. We are a family that belongs together.”

  “Well, this is an easy speech for someone who has not lost his home. I was told that Strengths were to relocate close to the fields in case of another fire, so my family will have to vacate our home,” an unknown voice called out from the arena.

  And then, Hameel felt the gentle pulse of the Orb, and he quieted, waiting for guidance.

  “Is it true? Are Readers and Movers surrendering our homes to the Strengths?”

  And then, the crowd became very loud, and Hameel heard a voice telling him to look for Solomon. He scanned the arena and found Solomon sitting close to a tall boy dressed in typical Merrick clothing, though the boy's face was unusual. Suddenly, Hameel knew he was looking at Edward, and he knew what to say next.

  “There has been no final ruling on having Readers and Movers abandon their homes for the Strengths,” Hameel said confidently because the Orb had calmed him, coached him, and led him to Edward.

  “But it should happen,” Solomon shouted, standing on a bench to be seen. “I have seen the future of Merrick, and it is bleak.”

  “What does that mean?” someone called out.

  “It means I am certain that the future of the universe is linked to the success of Strengths,” Solomon said.

  “Sit down, silly man,” a voice said.

  But Solomon did not sit down. He was walking towards Hameel, followed by the tall boy.

  “If I’m so silly, how can you explain this visitor from the future who has made his way to Merrick to inform us that our species is all but extinct? He is from another planet, and also a Strength.”

  “Fuck a duck,” said Alex, turning sharply to look at Peyton. “We should go. You grab Lilly, and I’ll get the future man.”

  But Peyton wasn’t listening. She'd pulled off her helmet and gasped for air, which she found easily.

  “We don’t need helmets,” she said, dazed.

  “We don't need helmets,” repeated Lilly, looking back at Alex, who was already removing his.

  “Omg, Lilly,” Edward said, having spotted her, his voice carrying over the people between them.

  But the reunion went unnoticed because the people of Merrick were fighting each other viciously and relentlessly, their voices high and desperate. The Orb wasn't pleased. It stretched three times taller and launched blue sparks into the skin of the Merrick people, paralyzing them intentionally. The sight was horrendous.

  “You're alive!” Lilly said, hugging Edward’s neck, crying.

  “Wait, who are you and what have you done with Lilly?” Edward said, smiling. “Where’s Max?”

  “There’s so much to tell. But we must go now. On the count of three, everyone under the Orb,” Peyton said.

  “Got it,” they said in unison.

  Then they ran through the frozen bodies of those being punished by the Orb and past Hameel, who was muttering something with his eyes closed, and Solomon, who looked angry and confused. And they ducked, rolling under the Orb just like before, and it worked because they found themselves lying on the cold floor of the dig site, the first Orb still flaming.

  “Holy absolute fucking, what the fuck,” Alex roared.

  “Yeah,” gasped Lilly

  “Did that even happen?” asked Edward.

  “It happened,” replied Peyton.

  “And one last thing,” Edward said, reaching up to feel his face. “Your noses are jacked. Please tell me I have a regular nose.”