Peyton sensed her blood slowing as the distance between each one of her cells grew. Maybe her body splitting apart would only hurt for a millisecond. Surely, shortly, pain wouldn’t have a proper pathway to reach her brain. Her eyes shook violently.

  Was she falling, or was it gravity? What was at the bottom of this? Lilly and Edward’s lifeless bodies? Alex and his metal shank? And then everything went still. She was done moving. Her eyes scanned for anything familiar. They found nothing but light.

  The Orb towered in front of her, but instead of it being buried deep within the dig site, it flamed openly in a large outdoor arena, flanked by stone benches. She'd never been here before, but Peyton immediately recognized the place as Mars. A different version, but unmistakably, Mars.

  “They’re not here,” Alex said.

  “Oh my God, Alex, thank God,” she said, forgetting about the threats, touching his arm. “They're alive. We can find them.”

  Alex nodded in agreement and turned entirely around before facing Peyton again.

  “What is this place?”

  “It's Mars. I don't know how I know that, but I do.”

  “So there are two Orbs?”

  Peyton considered the question. She gazed up at the Orb, looking for something to set it apart from her first experience with it at the digsite.

  “I guess there could be two. It's also possible there's only one. A way to travel from one part of the planet to another?”

  But before Alex could respond, Peyton clamped her hand over his mouth, motioning for him to drop. Two figures had joined them in the arena.

  “Don’t move,” Peyton whispered.

  Alex, now on his knees, crouched behind Peyton, who was using a bench to shield herself. The visitors wore long brown robes and no helmets. They weren't human. Gigantic wings trailed behind them, making intricate lines in the sand.

  “What the fuck?” Alex said softly.

  Peyton shook her head at him in confusion. There was absolutely no chance they'd lived on Mars for almost a year without detecting life. The figures were walking toward them now.

  “Stay put unless they see you. If they see us, run. Don’t think about me. Just run.”

  “Not a problem,” Alex said.

  As the figures moved closer, their conversation became audible.

  “It’s not like the readers to make so many demands on the group,” the taller figure said. “They typically negotiate easily. They can read our minds after all.”

  “They don’t care what we're thinking. In the last meeting, there were no concessions for strengths or movers. Readers believe their ideas are most evolved. They want to decide every law and decision,” said the shorter figure.

  “What’s wrong with their faces?” Alex asked.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Peyton gazed at the figures, trying to make sense of their features. A pinched bulge of skin lay between their eyes and mouth. She'd seen that face before in her nightmares.

  “I don't know?" she said. "Maybe it's how they breathe?"

  “Wings and a snout? Sign me up!” said Alex.

  “Sloan saw winged people,” Peyton muttered.

  “What?”

  “In a vision. She saw winged people in one of her visions," Peyton said.

  “Honestly, I thought she made up the visions thing. I mean, a couple of the kids don't really have special powers. Camden’s telepathy is pretty sus.”

  “Oh, Sloan sees visions. I witnessed one while reading her mind. Camden has difficulty processing anything since the accident, much less what other people think.”

  Alex said nothing, watching the figures closely. The Orb burned brightly behind the two winged men.

  Wait, the portal must have taken them into the future, Peyton thought. The beings were talking about reading people's minds. But that didn’t make sense. Humans wouldn't grow wings and snouts after colonizing Mars? What were they witnessing? The discussion seemed intense.

  “Let’s ask the Orb for guidance. We can’t have another chaotic meeting. The factions will surely turn on each other,” said the short figure.

  “If we continue to ask for help, there will be consequences. You know this.”

  “Hameel must take control of the readers! They’ll listen to him.”

  “I’m afraid he’s tried, and they’re reluctant to follow him. This new generation of readers wants power, influence. They believe themselves to be the most valuable of our factions.”

  “That’s ridiculous. Nothing gets built or harvested without strengths. We are most valuable.”

  “Oh, really? Movers do everything that strengths can do and more.”

  The taller figure’s hands flew up, activating his wingspan, which prompted the shorter figure to step back reflexively.

  “It does no good to argue about whose powers are best, dear friend. Merrick depends on us to bring the people together.”

  “But we need the Orb's guidance, Solomon. That’s its purpose. Hameel says the Orb is not pleased with us.”

  “Even more reason to ask for help,” the shorter figure said.

  “I won’t summon the Orb unless tonight’s meeting goes badly. We have to restore faith in our ability to lead. The Orb needs to witness this.”

  Peyton’s legs had gone numb from crouching so long. This wasn't the future. It was the past, a slice of Mars' history that included lifeforms with powers. Where had they gone? Why hadn't the digsite produced any fossils? Sloan’s vision depicted these very people being slaughtered. Why?

  “These guys think this fireball is a God,” Alex whispered.

  “Yeah,” Peyton replied. “We need to find Lilly and Edward.”

  “You think the Orb dumped them out here?”

  “It dumped us here. Why should we assume anything different?”

  Peyton and Alex sat quietly in the sand. The figures had wandered away from the Orb, deep in conversation. And now they were gone.

  “Where do you think they went?” Alex asked.

  Peyton had no idea. She walked over to the Orb, putting her arm inside. Orange flames wrapped lightly around her fingers, sliding off as she withdrew her hand. Where were Lilly and Edward, she wondered, looking past the benches.

  “Is that a town?” she asked.

  “Maybe the first town in the history of all towns,” Alex said.

  The town was primitive. Its buildings were red like the dirt.

  “Do you think we’ve gone back in time?”

  “Yeah, I do,” Peyton said.

  “Wait, actually?”

  “Yeah.”

  Alex stared at Peyton in horror. She didn't blame him. The idea of traveling back in time through a tower of fire was ridiculous. But everything about their time on Mars had been unfathomable, like the fact that Lilly and Edward were currently missing. Was it possible they were inside the town? The adobe-like buildings looked empty. Were the bird men inside them?

  "Is that a fox?" Alex asked, jumping back unexpectedly.

  The question caught Peyton off guard, taking her attention away from the ghost town. She stooped to get a closer view. Upon further inspection, the animal wasn't quite a fox, but was, without a doubt, an ancestor of one. Its fur was mesmerizing.

  "Oh my God," Peyton said.

  "What?"

  "It read my mind."

  "Ok, you're doing too much, Ms. Lawrence."

  "It's telling me to be extremely careful, that Lilly and Edward are here, and we should go find them quickly."

  "Sounds more like you're reading its mind."

  "No, I mean yeah, I am. But it read mine first. It knew our names."

  Alex looked at Peyton. She could tell by the look on her face that he wasn't buying it.

  "Makes perfect sense. We're trying to colonize a demonic planet with magical foxes."

  "It's asking me to tell you there is good here. That there has always been so much good."

  "Well, as much fun as this is, we need to ditch Mr. Fox and go find Lilly and Edward."

  Peyton wanted to stay even though Alex was right, but then a blood-curdling scream rang out, and both she and Alex recognized the voice instantly.

  “That's Lilly," they said.

  .