Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 83946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“And if you were to help this man escape the basement, could he in turn help you escape your father?”
“I think so. He could take me to a place that father could never reach.”
Her brows furrow. “I don’t understand. Has The New Order lost some part of Earth to an opposition group?”
The New Order has no opposition. They make sure of it. But I don’t point this out. There was one when mother was committed to the sanitorium, but they were ruthlessly sought out and murdered, very publicly. But if my mother still believes there’s some hope The New Order will someday come to an end, I’ll let her keep that.
“He’s not from Earth, Mother,” I slowly explain. “Father’s prisoner is an alien. From a planet called Hallalah.”
I expect shock, but she nods. “The New Order has been trying to find new life for decades. A new planet where they do not have to deal with failed crops and polluted waters. So, you see, if your father has finally found proof of that, it will elevate his status within The New Order. And if he can find that planet, well, he would have the power he’s always dreamed of.”
This. This is why my father is willing to let his daughter speak with and touch an alien. Why he’s making me go down there each night instead of throwing me in here with my mother. He doesn’t just need answers. He’s desperate for them. He needs them to reach new levels in The New Order. That also means the stakes are a lot higher. My father’s desperation means he’ll do anything short of death to get answers out of Bothaki, and escaping with him will be harder than I first imagined.
“How did he get here?” my mother inquires.
“His ship crashed.”
“Then, how can he get you away from here?”
“His people are coming for him. There was a beacon on his ship so they can find him. I know that he won’t leave without me.”
Her brows raise. “I see. And could you leave without him?”
I know what she’s asking. Does he mean as much to me as I do to him? Do I love him? I don’t know how to answer those unsaid questions. I know he’s all I can think about. That his eyes and smile stay with me all day and yearning for his touch keeps me up at night. I know that I want to go to his planet, lay with him beneath his stars, and sleep in his embrace. What I felt I mean to him, his destiny, his fate, his everything, I am beginning to feel the same for him. So, I tell my mother the only thing I am sure of in this moment.
“I couldn’t leave without him.”
She nods. “Then, you need to make a plan that you consider every single aspect of. Your father is one of the smartest men I know, but his arrogance blinds him. Use it against him. He will think you can’t outsmart him. He will speak of things he’d do better to keep from you. He won’t kill your alien until he has all the answers he needs.”
Even her speaking the words sends a coldness rushing through me. I can’t lose him. But that would also mean losing my mother.
“I’ll never see you again,” I say low.
“But I would know you’re happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”
Her other hand comes to my cheek.
“I love you,” she tells me. “My heart will know you’re okay, wherever you go, and that will be enough for me.” Her hand gets firmer. “And if your alien wants to come back here with more aliens and bring The New Order to its knees, well, that would be nice, too.”
A laugh bursts out of me, a complete contrast to the tears filling my eyes.
“I love you, too.
“Your time is up,” the attendant states, coming to stand beside my mother.
But it’s a different attendant than the nice one who brought her in, so I hurry to hug my mother. Most of them don’t allow hugs. I wrap my arms around her neck and hers go around my waist, holding me tight, but not tight enough. Never tight enough when this might be my last from her.
Either I escape with Bothaki and never see her again, or my father catches me and puts me in here, and I only see my mother as I pass her room on the way to receive another correction.
“Be careful, my darling,” she whispers.
“I promise I will be.”
The attendant begins pulling her wheelchair back before we have even released each other. I bite on the inside of my cheek not to sob as she’s led away. She can only turn her head so much, but I see her looking at me, and I know she can feel as much as I do, that it’s our last look. That our hug was our last embrace. Our I love yous the final time the other will hear the words pass our lips.