Sleeping

Chapter Eleven

When we pulled away, the feeling of his lips still lingered, and I reveled in it. “Well that,” Ashton began “was a very good kiss.” He smiled and we found ourselves kissing again. We leaned against the wall of the pool and, resting my head on his shoulder, I asked “Who else knows about this place?”

“No one that I know of. Just you and me.”

“Then why did you tell me?”

“Because I really wanted to kiss you.”

I laughed and just as I was about to respond, a loud boom echoed through the cave. Pieces of the ceiling plopped into the pool, splashing me and Ashton. “Ashton,” My voice quivered. “what the hell was that?”

“I have no idea.”

As we ran through the halls looking for Ashley or Cora or Martha or just someone who knew even the slightest bit about what that was, I tried to get my thoughts together. Whatever it was, it wasn’t good—that much I knew. But what was it? A bomb? An explosion?

That was when Ashton stopped behind me and I turned to him. “Why are you stopping?”

“Don’t you hear them?”

I shook my head. “Crappy Isarian hearing, remember?”

“Come on, this way.” I followed him. Everyone in camp was crowded in the Council Room, where I had my trial two weeks prior. Ashton gripped my hand and we quickly located Ashley and Cora.

“Do you guys know what that was?” Cora asked us.

“It sounded like an explosion.” Ashton said.

“Shh! Len’s about to talk!” Ashley hissed.

“Attention!” Len spoke. Everyone quieted down and looked at him. “All of you heard the attack a few minutes ago. We have confirmed that it was the government. We will not stand for this, but we need to get everyone to a safe place. We have developed a plan. Nathaniel,” Len turned to my uncle and he came up to the stage.

“People of our camp! I have a confession to make about myself and my niece.” Everyone found me with their eyes while Nathaniel took a long deep breath. Way to go, Nathaniel. “When I first found our camp, I was looking for a way to hide from my father, Juc’m Riwsow, the king of the Isarian people.” Everyone openly gaped at both me and my uncle. My heart dropped to my stomach. No, no, that can’t be true, that would mean that I’m—that my father was…

“As most of you know, Isarians can communicate with their family quickly and effectively through what we call the Rez. With the permission of the Council, I have contacted my father and ships can be ready to beam us up in approximately three hours.” Nathaniel surveyed the crowd and locked his eyes on me. “Unfortunately, more attacks are coming within the time the ships can get here. So all of us will stay in the Council room unt—”

“How do you know we’ll be safe with them?” someone called out in a disgusted voice.

Nathaniel was silent for a moment before saying “We don’t. We just know it’s just as safe as here. These caves could collapse at any second, especially with the bombings. Len will answer any more questions you may have.”

The next few hours were probably the most terrifying of my life. Every single explosion that rocked the room, I wondered if this was going to be the one that made the walls crash down and kill us. Ashton and I clutched each other’s palms like a lifeline—I swear I had bruises on my hands. Ashley and Cora did the same, talking to each other.

Despite the many things we had to talk about, me and Ashton were silent. I distracted myself thinking about all that’s happened. What were we? Does he still like me now that he knew what my family’s Isarian position was? What had been the research Ty had been talking about? Did I even want to know? What had our kiss meant, if anything?

Ever the optimist, I tried to find the good, but there was none. My life had been totally uprooted too many times for me to even try anymore. I just wanted everything to end—just settle down. Or go back to my old life—with my normal mom, at home in our normal apartment in normal L.A. with my normal friends at my normal school…

I sniffed as tears streamed down my face. I hadn’t even noticed I was crying until now. “What are you thinking about?” Ashton said and looked at me.

I shrugged. “Home. What’s going to happen next.” I hesitated before saying “Us.” I looked at Ashton.

“What was your life like before all this?” he asked.

I smiled ruefully. “Happy. It was just me and my mom in our little apartment downtown. It was still really, really nice—my mom was the head hair stylist on TV sets—with two bedrooms and a decent living room and all that, but we didn’t need much space. I could see the Hollywood sign out my window.” I sighed, remembering.

“And there was my best friend, May—you might have heard of her. She eventually became President of the United freaking States of America. Sometimes, my mom would take a movie deal somewhere and I would have to stay at my Aunt Tanya’s house, but over the summer, I would go on location with her and I would be able to bring May with me for a week or two  sometimes.” I sobbed.

“I wish she was here.” I thought of last summer. We were so happy to finally be thirteen, and we were going to spend the first two weeks of summer vacation in Hawaii with my mom, but we got on the wrong plane and went to Minnesota. The whole time, all May did was keep me in stitches laughing. I tried to think of what she would say right now. Suck it up, alien girl.

Ashton hugged me tight and I cried on his shoulder.

For some reason, I thought of my last birthday, with Viola.

“Happy birthday Snow!” Viola said to me as I opened up my present. Inside was a small credit-card looking thing. I lowered my eyebrows in confusion. “It’s a keycard. No more guards. You can go where you please.”

I smiled, shocked. They trusted me. “I-I don’t know what to say. Thank you.” I looked Viola in the eyes. “Hey, I didn’t know you had blue eyes. I always thought they were grey.”

“Hazel—they change colors.”

“May’s eyes were like that and she had red hair. Weird coincidence.” Viola nodded.

All of a sudden, my thoughts raced. I pulled away from Ashton and he looked at me curiously. I thought of another time, when Viola was showing me around Trier.

“How’d you get that giant scar on your wrist?” I asked Viola.

“I was in a really bad car accident was I was six. Why?”

“Just curious.”

Oh my gosh, how hadn’t I put all this together yet? No… No… No, sh-she wouldn’t do that to me. Another memory came to mind: Viola, walking next to me, a large pear-shaped birthmark on the side of her neck. All the pieces clicked together in my head

I now knew what May would do if she was here—she would try to kill me.

Because May had red hair.

May had hazel eyes.

May would’ve known my favorite color was light yellow.

May had a giant scar on her wrist from a car crash when she was six.

May had a pear-shaped birthmark on the side of her neck.

And I knew: May was Viola.