The Star Dwellers (19 page)

I don’t want to shoot a gun, but if I have
to, I will be the best at it.

“Sure. A lot of the soldiers get additional
help on the side at the things they’re not natural at.” I make a
face, and Brody says hurriedly, “Not that you’re not a natural—I
mean, given your proficiency at archery you might be just as good
with a gun once you get the hang of it.”

I crack a smile, finally releasing some of
the tension I’ve felt all day. “I was just giving you a hard time,”
I say, and Brody grins, pushing his dark hair away from his eyes.
For the first time I notice just how good looking he is. Perhaps
it’s because I’ve let my guard down, if only for a moment. The blue
and green in his eyes seem to swirl around, sometimes mixing,
sometimes separated. With his smile, a dimple forms in one of his
cheeks and his strong cheekbones rise high on his face. His
longish, wavy hair suits his face perfectly. Between his looks and
his personality, he’s the type of guy I’d like to have as an older
brother.

I realize I’ve gone into a daze thinking
about Brody as a brother and he’s looking at me funny.

“What?” he asks.

“Nothing. What’s next?”

“That’s it,” he says cheerfully. “No
mandatory training until tomorrow. Meet me here tomorrow morning at
oh-six-hundred hours for
personal
gun training.” The way he
emphasizes the word
personal
sounds odd. And then I realize:
he’s flirting with me.

Without a word, I spin and walk away, hoping
it didn’t come off as too rude, but hoping I’m sending some pretty
strong signals Brody’s way. I’m not interested.

As I meet up with Tawni, I try to push all
thoughts of Brody out of my head.

“You were amazing!” she says as I walk
up.

“Yeah, but only at the things I’ve done
before,” I point out.

“You’ll improve with those nasty guns,” Tawni
says in a way that makes me smile.

“Don’t count on it,” Trevor says. “You can’t
be perfect at everything.”

“What is your problem?” I say, letting my
anger get the best of me. I know he’s not worth the effort, but I
just can’t seem to push down the heat when I’m around him.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” he says
snidely.

“You two bicker like you’re brother and
sister,” Tawni says, shaking her head disapprovingly.

“We do
not
!” we say simultaneously.
The laugh comes before I can stifle it, and I realize Trevor’s
cracking up, too. It’s a weird moment, but I see a burst of
humanity in him, like he’s not such a bad guy.

In an instant, his sneer wipes out the laugh
with the speed of a cave-in. “For your information,” he says, “I
don’t trust you.”

“But my mom’s a general,” I say, hating to
use my mom like that, but feeling the need to point out where my
loyalties lie.

“That means nothing,” he says. “There are
rumors that you and Tristan Nailin were seen together in the Moon
Realm. I don’t trust him, so I don’t trust you.” I don’t want to
talk about me and Tristan, and I know it’s not worth arguing, so I
don’t.

“It’s not like I trust you either.” There’s
just something strange about Trevor, and I can’t put my finger on
it. It’s like he doesn’t belong in this place. If anyone might be a
traitor, it’s him. “Why are you always hanging around us, anyway?”
I ask, my voice sounding as rough as the cavern roof above us.

“The General’s orders,” he replies
simply.

“Which general?”

“General Rose.” What? Really? Why would my
mom give us a babysitter, especially one like Trevor?

I huff, but don’t respond. I’ll speak to my
mom about getting a new escort the next time I see her.

As we head toward the office building, a
soldier comes around the corner, wheeling a cart. It’s full of
weapons, black and silver and new and shiny. Guns mostly, but bows
and slingshots, too. My mind races back to the first time I touched
the gun during target practice. I don’t know much about guns, but
it looked like a nice weapon. The star dweller army seems extremely
well-equipped. First the bombs used during the attacks on the Moon
Realm, and now a seemingly unlimited supply of high-quality
infantry weaponry. Seems strange for a people who are living in
poverty—I mean, I’ve seen the poverty on the streets; they’re at
the bottom of the food chain.

“Where are all the weapons coming from?” I
ask. Trevor is probably the last person I should be asking, but I
can’t help myself. The answer to that question suddenly seems like
the most important thing in the world.

Trevor cocks his head to the side and gazes
past Tawni, who’s walking between us. He chews on his lip for a
moment, as if he’s mulling over the question, or perhaps how to
concoct a believable lie. “That’s none of your damn business,” he
says.

“It’s a simple question,” I say. “It takes
money to buy weapons, or resources to make them—neither of which
the star dwellers have. And yet, you’ve got more shiny, new weapons
than the freaking Moon Realm.” I’m practically growling now, sick
of putting up with Trevor’s crap.

“The Star Realm’s got plenty of resources,”
he says.

“Yeah, all of which you hand over to the Sun
Realm. You really think they wouldn’t miss a few tons of ore? They
keep track of everything. They’re not stupid.”

“I never said they were!” Trevor yells, and I
stop. His quick temper, the snarl on his face, his unwillingness to
tell me anything: all of it makes me hate him.

“I want to see my mother,” I say.

“She’s busy.”

“Just tell her.”

“Fine,” Trevor says, stalking off and leaving
Tawni and me alone for the first time since we woke up next to each
other.

“You still think he’s okay?” I say once he’s
gone.

“I don’t know,” Tawni says. “Maybe you’re
right.”

“I
am
right.”

“You think he’s involved in something?”

“Yep.”

“Your mom will know what to do.”

“Yeah,” I say. My stomach grumbles. “You
hungry?”

“I could eat,” Tawni says, and we laugh
together. It’s what Cole always used to say. Her laugh turns sullen
and I see moisture in her eyes. “I really miss him,” she says.

“I know. Me too.”

She grabs my arm at the elbow, her touch
feeling warm and safe against my skin, and we enter the building
together. First we stop at my mom’s office, but the door’s closed
and locked and there’s no answer when we knock.

“I guess she’s out,” I say.

“I wonder where the food is.”

“It would have been nice of Trevor to let us
know before he stormed off.”

“We’ve got some food left in our packs,”
Tawni says thoughtfully.

I’m not particularly interested in the stiff,
cardboard-like wafers we’ve got in our packs, but I don’t have a
better option. “Okay, let’s go.”

We retrace our way through the narrow
streets, stepping over the beggars—who seem to have multiplied—and
stray dogs sleeping on the cobblestone. We see a guy defecating
against the wall and my stomach turns. Horrible. This place is
horrible. And I thought the Moon Realm was a hard place. I don’t
know how my mom stands it.

We arrive at the medical building without
interacting with anyone, and slip through the maze of sick beds.
Instinctively I hold my breath, not wanting to breathe in the raft
of potential disease and bacteria that flavor the air like an
invisible cloud. I know it’s silly, especially because I’ve been
sleeping in this room for days, but when I do breathe, I cover my
face with my hand like a mask.

Just before we reach our beds, Tawni shrieks
as a woman grabs the side of her tunic, her hands clenched and
gnarled and pale. Her gray skin is covered in sores and blisters,
but beneath the flesh-eating disease I can tell she’s young. Older
than us, but probably only in her mid-twenties. A soldier,
possibly. I’m still not sure if the wing is military only.

Tawni tries to pull away, but the dying
woman’s hands are stronger than they look, latched onto the cloth
like pincers. “Help…me,” she croaks through chapped lips. Her eyes
are so bloodshot I can’t determine the color.

“What do I do?” Tawni asks, her mouth
contorted with horror.

Tawni is too pure, whereas I am not. I’ve
killed already. I’m a bad person already. I kick the lady’s arm,
not too hard, but hard enough that I know she’ll let go. Her hand
snaps back and she cries out, tucking her hand back beneath the
thin white sheet that covers her.

I slink past, hating myself. There’s nothing
I can do for the woman. I’m no doctor. And I certainly don’t want
to catch what she’s got.

Tawni sits on the bed, breathing heavily.
“Thanks,” she says, looking up at me.

“I’m good at kicking,” I say, trying to make
a joke.

She gives me a courtesy smile, but I can tell
she’s not up for humor right now. The thing with the woman really
affected her. “What can we do for these people?” she asks, her
light blue eyes questioning.

“Nothing for them individually,” I say. “But
perhaps a rebellion could help us all.”

“I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem like more
violence is the answer to anything.”

I know what she means. “The star dwellers
should never have attacked the Moon Realm,” I agree. “That was the
wrong way to go about things. But maybe my mom and dad can set
things right. If we can just unite the two Realms like my father
said, then maybe…” I trail off, unsure of where I’m going with
it.

“Maybe it will make a difference,” Tawni
finishes.

I shrug. “Maybe.” I don’t even convince
myself. Everything seems so out of control—like a lost cause.

“Why were you asking Trevor about the guns?”
Tawni asks.

My dark mood disappears as my focus returns
to my thoughts from earlier. I lay back onto the bed, thinking
furiously. Something jabs me in my lower back. “Oww!” I yelp,
turning to the side to grab at the thing. My hand closes on the
steel and I remove the gun from beneath my tunic.

Tawni lies down next to me and we both stare
at the weapon, as I turn it over and over in my hands. It’s
different than the gun I fired earlier. Older, marred by time, with
scratches on the handle and barrel. And etched just above the
trigger:
Rose
.

Tawni notices it at the same time as me and
says, “It was your mom’s gun.”

I rub my fingers over the engraving, tracing
the lines of each letter. “From the Uprising,” I say thoughtfully.
It’s like she’s passing the torch to me. She’s done her part—now I
have to do mine. I wonder how many times she’s fired this gun, how
many times she’s killed with it.

“You would think all the guns would be old
like this one,” Tawni says. She’s smart—Tawni. Not only a good
person, but a real thinker.

“Exactly,” I say. “Something’s going on, and
I think Trevor’s involved. That’s why he got so defensive when I
asked him about it.”

Sitting up, Tawni reaches down and retrieves
our packs from underneath the bed. “Can we eat somewhere else? This
place is depressing.”

We take our packs with us, as we won’t be
coming back to the medical ward to sleep again. On the quiet balls
of our feet, we weave our way back through the beds, careful to
avoid any reaching hands, and exit back into the shadowy cavern. I
know it’s the middle of the day, but it always seems like night is
falling in the Star Realm. The amount of electricity they’re
rationed is unforgivable.

“Where should we go?” I ask. The thought of
eating in the streets with the beggars isn’t ideal. But I also have
no desire to go back to the military buildings—not yet.

“Are you starving? Or can we explore a bit,
maybe find a better spot?”

I’m used to being hungry—I’ve been hungry my
whole life.

We move through the streets, passing dozens
of homeless people, who seem to be the majority. Although we should
be paying attention to where we’re going, we don’t, making a left
turn, then a right, then another left, zigzagging through the
subchapter. Every street looks the same. Narrow. Dirty. Beggars.
Stray animals. The smell is awful, but I’m getting used to it. I
guess it’s what it’s like to be a garbage man—at some point you
just adapt.

The next street is a light commercial
district, although most of the shops are boarded up and empty. The
sides of the buildings are covered with spray paint. Some of it’s
pretty good actually, showing that even delinquents have talent.
One in particular catches my eye, a massive, colorful mural of a
red dragon. The message is dark, with the dragon breathing bright
orange flames on a group of people, setting their clothes on fire
before they can flee. Their expressions are filled with horror. I
shiver. But most of it is just random scribbles, or obscene
messages about someone’s mother, or where to go for a good
time.

A couple of grizzly men light up cigarettes
as we pass by, staring at us with dark eyes cast in shadow by their
hats. The tips of their smokes appear bright against the dim
backdrop. When I look back at them they remove their hats and I
cringe as their fully tattooed faces are revealed, gleaming with
metal piercings in their eyebrows, noses, lips, and chins. They
laugh at me, deep and throaty, and I usher Tawni forward at double
the speed.

We make another left and enter the narrowest
alleyway of all. To our surprise, it’s deserted. After the other
streets, which were jammed with beggars sitting shoulder to
shoulder, this one seems peaceful, serene even. I was hoping for
some kind of a big plaza, with high-backed stone benches and the
soothing sign of a bubbling, decorative fountain, but I don’t think
that exists in this world, so I stop.

“Want to eat here?” Tawni asks, reading my
mind.

“It’s as good a spot as any, I reckon,” I
reply, sliding my back down the wall. I look up and see the
building rise three stories before connecting with the low cavern
ceiling. All the buildings are built all the way to the top of the
cavern, out of necessity, I expect. With a growing population and
limited space, the star dwellers are forced to use every last
square inch. I thought we had it bad in the Moon Realm, but at
least we had space to spread out. The subchapter 14 cavern feels
like a land of plenty compared to this foreign country. My heart
beats rapidly as I realize how spoiled I’ve been.