Sloan stared at the trap door that led to Solomon's house. She’d come and gone through it no less than four times today, and he still wasn't back. Maybe it was time to branch out and meet more people. There was nothing for her to do in Merrick. The boredom only amplified her anxiety surrounding who she'd become, a murderer, a felon. But worse than that was the nagging feeling that it should have been her, not Trevor. If she had died on Mars, Michael would eventually receive some payout.

  And Solomon was a problem. He was convinced they were kindred souls, twin flames destined to heal each other’s wounds. Replaying this morning's conversation gave her major ick.

  “Morning, Sloan,” Solomon had said, holding a clutch of crackleberries right above her nose while she still lay in bed.

  “Morning,” Sloan had said, ignoring his gift.

  “Have you thought more about our trip to Mars?”

  Sloan had shifted slightly, the skin on her arms dotted with goosebumps. Bringing Solomon through the portal was the last thing she wanted to do.

  “Yes,” she'd said.

  “Good, I have been conversing with other Strengths, and they believe the answer to preserving Merrick lies in the future.”

  “I don’t see how,” Sloan replied flatly.

  Solomon had studied her angrily but then chose to ignore her comment and push on, relentlessly.

  “You remark there are no remnants of Merrick in the soil on Mars, but I don’t believe that. Humans may not be able to recognize the past as I would if you took me there. I may have a better eye for my ancestors. Whatever destroyed my people can be stopped. We need more information. You must understand?”

  Sloan nodded to shut Solomon up, but disagreed completely with Solomon's assessment of himself as the type of person who would start or stop anything important.

  “Won’t the Orb know you’ve left Merrick?”

  Solomon stood straight before responding, “If you pull me through the portal, there is no proof I left on my own will.”

  "You literally said the Orb knows everything. So he knows you just said that to me, right?"

  "You are new here, Sloan, a guest in my home. Do not believe that you understand the Orb better than I. I am part of the Orb, and it is part of me."

  Sloan thought Solomon's allegiance to the Orb was stupid. Merrick people treating it like a God was somehow connected to why so many of them were slaughtered in her vision. But Solomon and his people were limited by their current understanding of the world. She’d not been able to determine the exact time period they were living in, but the absence of electricity, indoor plumbing, and wheeled transportation was worrisome. Taking Solomon to Mars would be dangerous. How would he process the technology without drawing attention? What did he think he'd find in the sand?

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “What happens if the Orb realizes you disobeyed it?” Sloan asked.

  Solomon stiffened and looked around as if he were a cast member in a reality TV show.

  “No one knows,” he said.

  “No one knows, as in they died before they could tell you, or no one has done it?” Sloan asked.

  “I don’t think anyone has ever disobeyed the Orb,” Solomon replied, swallowing hard.

  “Why you then?”

  Solomon had a quick answer for this. “In every species, there is an individual who turns the tides of fate. I am that person. My mother always remarked that there was something different about me. I believe it is this purpose that she senses.”

  Sloan forced back a smile. So Solomon’s own mother thought he was a weirdo. How fitting.

  “I just think it's risky to go against the Orb, Solomon.”

  “The cost is the death of our species, Ms. Sloan. Surely you would lay down your life for the human species? What would you have me do, let every Merrick die?”

  Sloan would let every Merrick die. She’d let every human die, too, if it brought her home to Michael. Maybe not Mia, but that didn't matter now.

  “Just go without me then. All it requires is you rolling under the Orb,” said Sloan.

  “Oh, I’ve considered this. However, your species is ruthless. You've killed two humans during your short stay here. What do you think they would do with a winged man?”

  “Shoot you between the eyes.”

  “Exactly. I need you as proof that I come in good will.”

  “The problem is, Solomon, they’ll shoot me too.”

  Solomon cocked his head to the side as if to consider the validity of Sloan’s statement.

  “What do they still need from you, Sloan?”

  She had not considered this before. The answer was easy. They needed her visions. She hadn't had any since her predictions around Lilly dropping Trevor mid-flight the night everything had gone so wrong. There must be more visions brewing inside her. If she opened her mind to them, perhaps a movie of how to get home might unfold.

  "If I take you to Mars and they catch us, you have to pretend I've had a vision about us returning home safely.”

  “I can do that,” Solomon said.

  “That's the only way either of us will make it back to Merrick if they find us on Mars.”

  “What will you tell them about the vision?”

  Sloan rolled her eyes. She had no fucking clue.

  “I'll say the Orb intends to grant us passage back to Earth through the portal."

  “Please don’t spread lies about the Orb,” Solomon said.

  “The Orb is what kills you, Solomon. In the end, it is your precious Orb that squeezes people to death. Their organs come out of their mouths. I've seen it. Why do you believe it wants to protect you? ”

  “Most Merrick will not believe your vision, Slolan. The Orb has never shown us anything but kindness.”

  “Do you believe you may be wrong?”

  “Yes, but I would deny it if asked.”

  “Well, you don’t have much time left, Solomon.”

  “Neither do you,” he said.

  He was right, of course. Back on Mars, they had no ship, limited food, and rationed oxygen. It made sense for them to come here, as Merrick's air was suitable for humans. It was only a matter of time before they found her on Mars or in Merrick.

  “If I can summon a vision of how we escape Mars, the others will listen and protect me no matter what I've done. I believe they'll agree to you being on Mars if they want to keep me as an informant. You can search the sands and return with a plan to save your people.”

  “See, I knew you would see it my way,” he said. "You and I are meant to alter the fates of our worlds."

  But Sloan had stopped listening. She hadn't paid attention to where Solomon had mentioned he would go after their conversation. His whereabouts were of little use to her. A novel vision was the key to getting back home, and she’d produce one real or imagined. What she really needed to put some thought into was how to keep Solomon believing she'd bring him back to Earth right up until the moment she left him behind.