Chapters (48)
- Cover
- Dedication
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- Copyright
TEN
NOTHING HAD EVER FELT AS good as that shower. I stood under the hot water, washing three weeks’ worth of filth, blood, and dirt down the drain. The hotel provided abundant shampoos and soaps. I used an entire bar scrubbing myself raw. Part of me screamed at the delay. We should be destroying the alien ship right now, or at least making a plan. But we couldn’t go much longer without rest. We had a deadline: less than twenty-four hours until Omnistellar arrived. I didn’t think the aliens would show up before that. At least, I hoped they wouldn’t. If we took a few hours to bathe and eat and recharge, well, was that so terrible? I’d never been someone to put my personal well-being above my duty, but I’d never faced challenges like this, either. Even in the brightly lit bathroom, I had trouble closing the shower. I couldn’t stand not seeing the entire room. What if something lurked in the corner, waiting for me, stalking? I knew I was safe. I knew that. And yet I left the shower door open.
At last I emerged and let the sonic beams brush me dry, my hair settling into a curly mess. I couldn’t face the thought of putting on my filthy guard’s uniform, maybe wouldn’t have wanted to even if it had been clean. The Omnistellar logo was no longer a mark of pride but a symbol of my own gullibility. I’d accepted everything the corporation said without question. I’d toed the company line. My mom had drilled that into me. She’d been a true believer herself, and she’d molded me in her own image. In another thirty years, would I have sacrificed my own child for company regulations? I bunched up the uniform, shoved it into the garbage chute, washed my hands again, and wrapped myself in a thick robe.
I took a moment to stare at myself in the mirror. I’d turned my back on Omnistellar. Seventeen years of defining myself as a guard out the window. What did that make me now? Outlaw? Anomaly? Reject? All of that, yes. But maybe more: friend, fighter, planner. I brushed my hair behind my ears and nodded at myself.
My experience with the aliens had left marks on me. Physical marks, yes, but something deeper. I used to walk through the darkest silence without fear. Now, every muscle tensed, every nerve in my body constantly ready to flee. I’d faced a formidable enemy, one no amount of training or expertise or maybe even anomalous powers could defeat. If it returned . . . Blood drained from my face, and I clutched the counter to keep from falling. Before Sanctuary, I would never have believed there existed a threat Omnistellar couldn’t conquer. The rest of the corporation might believe that too. Dad seemed to. How did you argue against blind allegiance? No amount of facts would convince them of Omnistellar’s fallibility, nothing but the sight of bodies torn to shreds.