I answer the phone and immediately my good mood evaporates. I can hear rushing air, distant blaster fire and way too much screaming. I think that’s Mark and he sounds absolutely out of his mind, shouting at someone to wake up. My stomach drops.

And then, Sarah starts talking.

“John . . .” Her voice is shaky, weak. “Listen, I don’t have much time . . .”

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FIVE

“HOLD ON!” LEXA SHOUTS OVER HER SHOULDER from the pilot’s chair, and the ship rocks violently to the side. Blaster fire sizzles through the air outside, close to hitting us. She takes another evasive maneuver and banks us hard to the right.

The Anubis chases us, unloading its energy cannons anytime it has anything close to a clear shot. I have faith that Lexa will get us clear, though. Our ship is smaller, faster, and she’s a damn good pilot.

“What’s going on back there?” she yells, sweat dripping down her face as she dips us lower to the jungle, using trees for cover. “Six? Talk to me, Six!”

I can’t talk.

Across the aisle from me, Ella sits with her back against the wall, her knees drawn up tight to her chest. She hugs herself and rocks back and forth, crying. Her face is smeared with that oil-like garbage, but at least it has stopped flowing out of her. There’s still the occasional crackle of Loric energy around her head.

“I warned him,” she whispers to herself over and over again. “I warned you all what would happen.”

Marina lies on a cot towards the back of the ship, unconscious and in a bad way, her body strapped down so as not to be jostled during our hurried escape flight. I don’t even want to guess how many of her bones are broken, or if she’ll ever wake up again.

That doesn’t stop Mark, desperate and crying, from violently shaking her by the shoulders.

“Wake up!” he yells in her face. “You’re the healer, goddamn you! You have to wake up and heal her!”

Adam lunges at him. The Mogadorian slams Mark hard against the wall of the ship and presses his forearm right up against his throat. Mark struggles against him, so Adam just slams him against the wall until he stops.

“Stop! You could kill her, shaking her like that,” Adam growls.

“I have to—” Mark pleads. Adam shakes his head firmly.

“There’s nothing you can do,” he says, trying not to sound cold.

Mark presses his forehead against Adam’s and screams, “We never should have come here!”

All the chaos doesn’t seem to bother Sarah. She looks up at me and smiles peacefully. She’s paler than I’ve ever seen her. A second ago, I gave her my satellite phone to call John.

“John . . . Listen, I don’t have much time,” she says, her voice thin and weak.