The Lofties (The Echelon Book 2)

him.
“I’m going to Sky,” I said. “Did you hear?”
“I heard.” He went tight all over, like his skin had shrunk two sizes. His Adam’s apple bobbed and twitched.
“Maybe we’ll be neighbors.” I smiled, sweet as honey. Miron went purple.
“You’ll be—you and me—”
“Yeah?”
“Get out of my stairwell.” He stepped back at last, and I swept past him. I felt dirty doing it, like I’d stooped to his level, but I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face. I beamed all the way down, straight into the cameras. I didn’t care who saw.
My glee faded slowly as I waited for Ona. Despite what I’d told her, I didn’t feel like saying goodbye. I wasn’t close to anyone the way she was, and besides, goodbyes sucked. I’d come to scope out my exit, and there was none—not through Sky Station, not for me. Even here, patrols were up. A lone watchman passed me as I bought water from a vending machine. Ten minutes later, he passed by again. He had a blaster, I noticed. That was new.
Miron came off his break and stalked past me without a word. Ona joined me soon after, bubbling with good spirits.
“Nina promised she’ll find me,” she said. “The minute she Ascends. We made a pact, me and her and Sarah. We’ll move in together, some place above the Stars. That way, when Mom and Dad look up, we’ll be right there.”
“Yeah? That sounds nice.”
“You’ll be there too, of course.” Her expression turned worried. “I didn’t mean we’d leave you out.”
“’Course not.” My chest went tight. Ona was a kid, still, in every way that mattered, just a kid eager to please. “Hey, your friend up there, Nina. Is she okay?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“She had blaster burns on her vest.” I patted at my own ribs, where Nina’s patches had been. “Did something happen out there?”
“Oh, they took out some filcher camp, a day or two back. She’s fine, though. Her vest caught the worst of it.”
The air went out of my lungs, leaving me breathless. “Filcher camp? What’s that?”
“Just where the rebels sleep, when they’re out stealing gretha. Like where they kept Lock.” Her lip peeled back in a sneer. “They kept him in a landfill. Did he tell you?”
I clenched my fists. My legs felt weak. “Only after he tried to get away.”
“I don’t get how you defend them.” Ona made a disgusted sound. “They shot me. Did you forget?”
“Did you forget they fed you? Let you out of your cell?” I spun her around to face me. “What about Jasper? What was wrong with him? He let you play with his radio. You babysat his kid. You ate his fruit every day, hung out in his lab. What’d he ever do to you? What’d Ben do, or Jetha?”
“Jasper was okay,” said Ona. She fidgeted with her cuff, avoiding my eye. “He reminded me of Dad. But anyone can be nice when they’re getting something in exchange. I was his guinea pig, so he was nice to me. But if it was just me and Jasper and the last tank of gretha...” Ona shook her head. “You knew them a few weeks, and you knew them at their best. Us Decemites, it’s different. We know things you don’t.”
“Like what?”
Ona turned and walked away. I grabbed for her again, but this time, she dodged me. “I don’t want to fight,” she said. “I just—Nina’s not just my best friend. The way you are with Ben, that’s me and her. I can’t act like I’m fine with her getting shot at.”
“Fair enough.” I fell in beside her, and we headed back across the catwalk. I didn’t want to fight, either. Mom and Dad would be up by now and wondering where we’d got to. The least we could do was come home smiling.
“Oh, that training thing, with all the Decemites?” Ona paused at the top of the stairs. “I heard B-team talking. It’s something to do with rigur. So whatever you’re thinking, relax. It’s not that.”
I smiled to keep from screaming. Every Decemite in Echelon, hunting down rigur, and Ona thought that was good news? Whatever Lazrad had planned, she was ramping up her efforts. Soon, the Outsiders would have nothing to offer her, and she’d exterminate them like rats. I was sure of it now, more than ever. Prime and subprime, she’d called us, and she’d looked right through us. She’d promised us rewards and snatched us from our home. She might’ve been human once, but she was something else now, something cold and empty.
I couldn’t let Ona Ascend alone.
Ona stood in the middle of the street, head tilted back, arms out to the sides.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, and she did a slow spin. The stars lay scattered at her feet, sunlight dappled on stone. They blinked in and out as she caught the light in her hands. Not so long ago, I’d have joined her, but today I hung back. I watched her dance under the grate, and I felt my heart breaking.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, thinking of Ben. Mom shot me a narrow look.
“What?”
“Nothing. She’s so happy.”
“Aren’t you?” She set down her bags and took my hand in hers. “You’ll be together,” she said. “That was always our worst fear, the two of you losing each other. Your father and I—we love you, but Ona’s your sister.”
“She is.” I willed myself not to cry. Whichever way I looked at it, I couldn’t run to Ben. The risk was too high, the reward too uncertain. At best, I’d arrive in time, and warn him of... what? Decemites hunting rigur? A brewing attack? I had nothing but rumors, nothing he couldn’t guess for himself. Worse still, I couldn’t help much. I couldn’t harvest gretha, not without Lock. I couldn’t fight off an army, or keep one alive.
“Myla! Get over here.” Ona held out her hands. I ran up and joined her, and she spun me around. “That’s ours, up there. Well, Mom’s and Dad’s.”