Page 26 (2/2)

On one of those afternoons, as the vibrations from an enormous plane overhead shook the leoing to visit randparents next month I can’t wait! Have you ever been on a plane?’ Ashley was always talking about all the places she went and things she did with her family She knew Katarina and I stayed close to ho

‘Not really,’ I said

‘What do you mean, “Not really”? You’ve either been on a plane, or you haven’t Just admit it You haven’t ’

I ree hit its mark I finally said, ‘No, I’ve never been on an airplane ’ I wanted to tell her I’ve been on so much more impressive than a little airplane I wanted her to know I came to Earth on a ship from another planet called Lorien and the trip had covered h, because I knew I had to keep Lorien secret

Ashley laughed at ood-bye, she left to wait for her dad to come home from work

‘Why haven’t we ever been on a plane?’ I asked Katarina that night as she peered out the blinds of my bedroom

‘Six,’ she said, turning to erous for us to travel by plane We’d be trapped up there You knohat could happen if ere thousands of s had followed us on board?’

I knew exactly what could happen I could picture the chaos, the other passengers screae alien soldiers barreled down the aisle with swords But that didn’t stopso normal, so human, as to fly on a plane from one city to the next I’d spent all e took for granted We rarely even stayed in one place long enough for me to meet other kids, let alone irl Katarina even allowed over to our house Sometimes, like in California, I didn’t even attend school, if Katarina thought it was safer

I knehy all this was necessary, of course Usually, I didn’t let it bother me But Katarina could tell that Ashley’s superior attitude had gotten under h her, because to ht us two round-trip airline tickets to Denver The destination didn’t matter – she knew I just wanted the experience

I couldn’t wait to tell Ashley

But on the day of the trip, standing outside the airport, Katarina hesitated She seeh her short black hair She had dyed and cut it the night before, just beforeherself a new ID A faage, and to hters I wanted nothing more than to join in, to be a part of this everyday scene Katarina watched everyone around us while I fidgeted impatiently by her side

‘No,’ Katarina finally said ‘We’re not going I’m sorry, Veronica, but it’s not worth it ’

We drove hoines of the planes passing overhead speak for us When we got out of the car on our street, I saw Ashley sitting on her front steps She looked attowards our house and mouthed the word liarThe humiliation was almost too much to bear

But, really, I was a liar It’s ironic Lying was all I had done since I’d arrived on Earth My name, where I was froht at another girl’s house – lying was all I knew and it hat kept me alive But when Ashley calledsory I stormed up to my room, slammed the door, and punched the wall

To h

Katarina sla a kitchen knife and ready to strike She thought the noise she’d heard s When she sahat I had done to the wall, she realized that soed with me She lowered the blade and set on a plane, but it is the day you’re going to start your training ’

Seven years later, sitting on this plane with Marina and Ella, I hear Katarina’s voice in my head ‘We’d be trapped up there’ But I’m ready for that possibility now, in ways that Katarina and I weren’t

I’ve since flown dozens of tione fine However, this is the first tiacy to sneak on board I know I’er by the day If a couple of Mog soldiers charged atwith a irl I knohat I’m capable of; I am a soldier noarrior I am someone to fear, not hunt

Marina lets go of her knees and sits up straight, releasing a long breath In a barely audible voice, she says, ‘I’et in the air ’

‘You’ll be fine,’ I say in a low voice

She smiles, and I s ally with aacies on the battlefield yesterday She can breathe under water, see in the dark, and heal the sick and wounded Like all Garde, she also has telekinesis And because we’re so close in order – I’m Number Six and she’s Number Seven – our bond is special When the charadorians would have had to get through otten through me

Ella sits silently on the other side of Marina As we continue to wait for Crayton, she opens the biology book on her lap and stares at the pages Our charade does not demand this level of concentration and I’m about to lean over and tell her, but then I see she isn’t reading at all She is trying to turn the page with her