Mia stared at the ceiling in the rec center. She was going to die here. Not because there wasn’t enough food, not because she didn't have access to basic medical care, not even because they still hadn’t figured out how to communicate home. She’d simply run out of hope.

  Trevor’s family didn't know he was dead. None of their families knew shit about what was happening to them. Red Rock had to be sending them fake emails, but in less than sixty days, the gig would be up. Mia's mom would learn the ship had landed without her. General Stone and Trevor would never return, although no one would know that right away.

  Most of what happened now happened in the Pod. Outside of preparing food or scavenging for supplies, the Hub was useless. Nigel had shut down every avenue they'd considered for communicating. The reality was they'd have to wait for help to come to them, and Red Rock wouldn't want that. Ms. Lawrence believed Nigel would make up some catastrophic accident to explain their absence. But her mom would want proof. And at some point, whatever story they cooked up would be questioned, and unless no one ever visited Mars again, one day someone would find them here, dead or alive.

  “What's rolling around in your head?” Mary Jane asked.

  “When they’ll figure out we’re still here.”

  "Not as soon as we'd like, unfortunately," MJ said.

  “Lilly thinks there’s a code they used to lock the system. She's working on some algorithm.”

  Everyone knew Lilly was working on an algorithm, so Mia shrugged and smiled. Edward was better at coding than any of them, and he’d confided in her weeks ago that the algorithm was a shot in the dark. But saying that out loud was cruel. Even if Mia had no hope, who was she to rob anyone else of it? She'd let Mary Jane hold onto the algorithm for as long as she needed.

  “Presley is dying to go through the portal,” Mia said, changing the subject.

  “I suggested doing that the day they left us here. Ms. Lawrence won't let us," Mary Jane said.

  "Fucking Sloan," Mia said, looking away.

  She knew she was getting ready to cry. She hated thinking about Sloan. Sloan was in Merrick. That's why they couldn't go there. She'd run away like a little bitch after killing Trevor, and now Ms. Lawrence thought it was best they leave her there. Peyton's goal was to end fatalities. But why did Sloan get to go to another world where she didn't have to wear a helmet? Where she wouldn't have to face what she'd done to Trevor, to all of them.

  "Maybe one day soon her vitals tracker will read deceased, and we can go," Mia said, coldly.

  They'd found the vitals tracker data in the Hub, which negated Commander Mitchell's false concerns over whether Edward, Lilly, Alex, and Ms. Lawrence had been injured or even killed during their exploration of the digsite and brief trip to Merrick. Mia had secretly hoped her data would report she was pregnant with Trevor's baby, even though she couldn't remember the last time they'd had sex and knew Red Rock used microbots to flood her body with birth control.

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  “Do you want to go?” asked Mia.

  “Yes, because going changed Edward. I feel like I don’t know him as well now. It’s stupid, but I don’t like anything standing between us, and that experience took part of him away from me.”

  “Edward is still Edward,” Mia said. “At least your boyfriend is still alive.”

  Mary Jane flushed as if Mia had slapped her. “Sorry, Mi. I know I’m being an insensitive asshole.”

  "No, you're not," Mia said, dropping down onto the couch to cover her face. She knew throwing Trevor’s death in Mary Jane’s face was unnecessary. They all missed Trevor. Everyone but Sloan. Fuck Sloan.

  “It's time to eat,” Mary Jane said, placing her hand on Mia's back.

  “Fabulous. I wonder what bullshit flavor smoothie we're getting tonight. I love Ms. Lawrence, but she's the worst lunch lady ever.”

  Mary Jane laughed and grabbed Mia’s shoulders. “We’re gonna get out of here,” she said. "And when we do, you'll never have to drink another smoothie again."

  Mia smiled, sitting up and sliding into her shoes. The girls ran down the narrow hallway of the rec center, their feet echoing loudly. Peyton met them as they came in from the Hub.

  “Have either of you seen Lilly’s laptop?”

  “No,” Mia said. "Why?"

  "No reason. She just wanted to show me something earlier. "

  “What's on the menu, Teach?” Alex said playfully, swatting Mary Jane's butt as he walked by.

  “Alex, I swear to God,” Mary Jane said, “Touch my ass again, and I’ll slit your throat.”

  “Ok, that's too much,” Peyton said, exasperated. “Alex, stop touching people. All people.”

  “I may not live to see another day, Ms. Lawrence,” Alex said. “I take opportunities to annoy when I see them.”

  Peyton opened her mouth to speak, but Alex was already kneeling in front of Mary Jane, asking for forgiveness.

  Mary Jane's face stilled momentarily just before a coffee mug flew through the air and smacked Alex hard against the head.

  “She used her powers on me!” Alex wailed, falling to the ground dramatically.

  “I can’t with you guys,” Peyton said. “Go eat dinner. It’s waiting in the Hub.”

  Mia waited for MJ and Alex to follow her to where their spacesuits hung. Trevor’s spacesuit was missing. He'd been buried in it four months ago.

  Trips outside were a luxury, as oxygen was rationed. Of course, going through the portal would solve that, but Ms. Lawrence kept saying no. She did allow them to explore weekly, never for more than an hour, and always in groups of 3 to 5. Currently, Lilly, Presley, Max, Edward, and Cameron were out. Mia wondered where they were and hoped it wasn’t the dig site. Going through the portal would be so easy. Sloan coming back through the portal would be easy, too.

  “Do you ever wonder what Sloan's up to?” Alex asked as they walked towards the Hub.

  “Shut up, Alex,” Mary Jane said, stepping in between him and Mia.

  “Nope,” Mia answered. “Ruining someone's life, I imagine.”

  “She's stupid to stay there,” Alex said.

  “Why's that?” Mia asked.

  “Well, first of all, her superpower will get her killed if she yaps about it to anyone, and secondly, everyone there is going to die.”

  “What's so special about her superpower?” Mary Jane asked.

  “She's the only one other than the Orb who can predict the future, and she's predicting imminent death. I doubt she's making friends.” Alex said.

  Mia thought about this and felt nothing. Sloan was nothing to her. If she ever did come back, Mia might end her life.

  “Look, they’re back,” Mary Jane said, pointing to a group walking in the distance.

  “She’s in Merrick,” Lilly said once she was close enough. “We found Sloan's helmet at the dig site, which means she went and came back.”

  “I know you hate her, Mia, but we have to bring her home. She’s a human being. Her little brother needs her,” Presley said.

  "Ms. Lawrence says no," Mia said.

  “Listening to adults hasn't really worked out for us up here, Mia. We don't all have to go," Lilly said.

  "Ms. Lawrence will know who's gone to Merrick when they come back with this sexy nose," Edward said, touching his face.

  "Not if we've already gone," Lilly said. "I'll go find Sloan. I need all the help I can get with the algorithm.

  ?

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