Mia laced her fingers in Mary Janes, running her free hand back and forth over Lilly as she lay on a cot. They were all back together now. She'd never let herself believe they were coming back.

  "I told you, nothing hurts," Lilly said, swatting Mia away. "Go help Max. His face is wrecked."

  "He won't let me," Mia said, dropping her hand away from Lilly.

  "What do you mean he won't let you?" Lilly asked.

  "He says he deserved it," Mia said.

  Edward pinched his nose as if highly frustrated. Although Mia was thrilled they were back, the mood was darker, which almost made things worse. Alex's play-by-play retelling of General Stone's assault on Ms. Lawrence had been sickening. Everything they'd come to know about living on Mars for almost a year had vanished instantly. Sticking together was all they had left. Ms. Lawrence couldn't save them. She hadn't been able to negotiate releasing Camden from solitary confinement, and Sloan might as well be locked away with Camden, as she refused to talk to anyone.

  "We can't go home," Edward said. "I can barely be in the same room with Stone right now."

  Mia felt Mary Jane's grip tighten. No one believed Edward had written the letter Stone planted, but the idea of boycotting the launch was growing. Trevor hadn't said yes or no to missing the launch, but he had mentioned staying on Mars wasn't a horrible idea. He also believed there were enough supplies to last two or more years on their own. Mia didn't want to stay on Mars another second, but being trapped in a spaceship with Stone for six months felt dangerous. At least now, they could get away from him. There wasn't an easy answer. Sloan would leave even if Mia stayed. And, maybe that was fine. Why should anyone have to stay? Staying meant possibly never getting home, and Michael needed Sloan home.

  "If we boycott, they'll send another spaceship in six months. It will be obvious we're still here," said Mary Jane.

  "Rethink that math. It would be no sooner than twelve months, six to get back to Earth, and six to return here," Lilly said, annoyed.

  "It's still well within the two-year time frame," said Edward.

  Mia looked at Mary Jane and smiled weakly to show her it was doable. But inside, Mia was terrified. Her mother would be devastated.

  "What if they send him back to get us?" Lilly asked.

  "They won't send him. Stone is smart enough to disappear forever if they let him off the hook for leaving us," Edward said. "He knows we won't go anywhere with him, not ever."

  "He'll convince everyone we stupidly decided to stay, knowing about the extra supplies, and retire quietly. Red Rock's not going to deviate from their plans to colonize Mars."

  "He'll never convince our parents we didn't want to come home," Mia said, fighting back tears.

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  "Are you kidding me? They modify every piece of communication we send out to fit their agenda. Mary Jane, you've probably learned how to speak Italian by now. Who knows what they're telling our families about us? But it doesn't matter. I can hack the system. If our families can't help, I'll reach out to NASA, to China, hell, I'll put the whole world on blast," Lilly said.

  "I think there's an excellent chance we'll be able to communicate," said Edward.

  "There's also a chance General Stone will tank the communication system before they launch and sabotage our supplies," Mary Jane said.

  "Yes, there are risks involved," Edward admitted.

  "What does Trevor think?" Lilly asked, turning to Mia.

  Mia gulped. She wanted to say, "I dunno, why would I?" but no one would buy that. They'd discussed the boycott after finding the letter. Mia wanted to say, "Trevor will do whatever I decide to do." But that was stupid and a lie. Why would Trevor do anything she wanted to do? She wasn't his girlfriend anymore. She was Sloan's girlfriend. How had that happened, she wondered?

  "I think he's still debating," Mia said.

  "Well, which way is he leaning?" Lilly asked.

  "I have no idea. He's not running around calling himself M7 like Camden."

  "I am," Lilly said firmly.

  "Yeah, you, Alex, and Camden," Mia snarked.

  "And me," Edward said, turning to face Mia.

  "Great! I guess the four of you can make two years of supplies last forever."

  "You're not going home, Edward?" Mary Jane asked.

  "Not with him, no."

  And suddenly, Mia knew Mary Jane would stay without having to hear her say it. That left Max, Presley, Kai, Trevor, and herself to decide. Would Peyton go if some of them boycotted the launch? Mia had no idea how Ms. Lawrence would navigate that, other than cutting herself in half. She hoped Stone wasn't hurting her anymore. As much as she'd initially mistrusted her, Ms. Lawrence was and always would be in their corner. She'd do the hard thing, whatever it was, every time.

  "We need to get as many of us on board with boycotting as we can, minus Sloan. I know she won't stay. Alex is also a problem," Edward said.

  "Yeah, he can be," Lilly said.

  "The thing about Alex is he needs a job."

  "Like a herding dog?"

  "Just like a herding dog," Lilly replied.

  "What kind of job?" Mia asked.

  "You know what we need? We need to find out exactly what General Stone has planned for this launch. We need an inside man to tell us what he's thinking. I mean every detail, down to how far in advance he plans to go to the bathroom before he assumes we'll board that ship."

  "What's that gonna do?" Mia asked.

  "Create opportunity," Lilly said.

  "You're right," Edward said, smiling.

  Mary Jane sighed, pulling her hair behind her ears. Edward and Lilly had become much closer since their escapade. Mia could see it bothered Mary Jane.

  "So, how does Alex fit in?"

  Edward sat down beside Lilly, making Mary Jane squirm even harder, but his eyes were fixed ahead in thought.

  "He's going to have to convince Stone that he was wrong to run away."

  "But we didn't run away," Lilly said.

  "I know, but that's how Stone sees it."

  "Might as well find another plan," Mia said scoffingly.

  "He's not only going to have to pretend he was wrong to leave, but convince Stone he agrees Ms. Lawrence should be punished. He can argue that he never wanted to leave. It makes sense because he wasn't involved in planning the breakout room. Alex can say she singled him out and threatened him."

  "General Stone is a pretty smart. Why would he believe that?" Mary Jane asked.

  "He's also a complete control freak who likes to be worshipped," Lilly said.

  "It could work," Mia said, wishing Trevor were there to chime in.

  "It's got to work," Edward said, standing, which prompted Mary Jane to breathe again.

  "Let me think about my first steps, and then I'll approach Alex."

  "Good idea," Lilly said. "But don't take too long. We don't want Alex going rogue and getting locked up with Camden."

  "I have a feeling Camden is working on his own first steps," Edward said.

  "What do you mean?" Mia asked.

  "Camden came to see me right after he escaped," Edward said.