We reached Qriosity with ten minutes to spare, and we crowded into Ops to watch the fold drive tear a hole in the universe. When the countdown clock reached zero, the floating school vanished and was replaced by another empty patch of space in the middle of nowhere.
Jenny gave Ty a tour of the ship, DJ and I made out while MediQwik repaired my leg, and eventually we met up in the galley, where I made French toast. I even crumbled Nutreesh on top of Jenny’s.
When we’d had a chance to eat a little, Jenny said, “So are you going to tell us what that school was or not?”
Ty hadn’t said much since boarding Qriosity, which I figured was due to the stress of our escape and his relief at finally being away from that place. I kind of expected he’d be a little reluctant to talk about it, but that he’d eventually tell us. I was surprised when his lips twisted into a cruel half smile.
“Why don’t you tell me?” he said. “Or better yet, why don’t you tell them.” Ty motioned at me and DJ.
Jenny had just stuffed French toast into her mouth; syrup dripped from her bottom lip. “What?”
“Enough with the games,” Ty said. “I know what you are.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out what looked like a pistol. He aimed the deadly end at Jenny.
She swallowed. “What are you talking about?”
Ty sneered. “If you won’t tell them, then I’ll show them.”
I screamed. DJ leaped across the table. But we were too late.
Ty pulled the trigger.
Jenny’s chair flew backward. She hit the floor.
DJ tackled Ty, and I rushed to kneel beside Jenny as a quickly spreading pool of blood ruined her beautiful dress.
BACK IN TIME
NOA
JENNY SLEPT IN A MEDICALLY induced coma while MediQwik repaired her injuries. DJ was napping in the corner. A ribbon of drool ran out of the side of his mouth, and he made little piglet snorts every few minutes. I should have woken him so that he could shower and change out of his ruined tux, but he’d had a long day and needed the rest.
According to MediQwik, Jenny had a 73 percent chance of survival. The projectile had torn her aorta, and she had technically died from blood loss. DJ had scooped her up and carried her to the med suite quickly enough for MediQwik to revive her, but she was now part of a club of which I’d been content to be the only member.
Quietly, so that I didn’t wake DJ, I sneaked out of the room and followed the congealed drops and splatters of blood down the corridor to the galley. Mostly eaten French toast had cooled into a sludgy mess on our plates. The sickly sweet smell of butter and syrup and blood hung heavy in the air.
If I left it alone, cleaning bots would do as they were programmed and the mess would disappear, but I couldn’t bear to wait. I cleared the table and washed the dishes. Then I found a bucket and hot water and soap and set about scrubbing the blood off the floor and the walls. Drops had splattered onto the table and the chairs. The galley had been my favorite place on Qriosity, but now it would always be where Jenny had died.
Anger bubbled in my chest like a geyser on the verge of bursting through the surface. Before I knew what I was doing, I found myself marching through the ship. Standing in front of the head where I had initially found Jenny. Opening the door to stare down at Ty, his hands and feet bound. Kicking him in the stomach over and over. Ty hardly cried out. He didn’t beg me to stop. I might have kept kicking him until he hurt as badly as I did, but my leg began to ache where I’d been shot.
“She’s going to live,” I said between breaths.
“Pity for you.” Whoever Ty had been at Beta Cephei High, he was someone else entirely now. He was calculating and equable and British.
I pulled back to kick Ty again, pleased when he flinched. “If you want to live, I suggest you convince me why I shouldn’t throw you out of the airlock.” I had already lost my temper once, and I fought hard to keep it in check.
“Untie me and I’ll explain.”
An explosive laugh burst from me. “Not a chance.” DJ had taken the weapon that Ty had used to shoot Jenny. A pistol that looked like it had been cobbled together from spare bits and pieces of other devices; cruder than his EMP, which DJ had also confiscated. Even if I’d had the pistol on me, I wouldn’t have trusted Ty enough to free him. And he shouldn’t have trusted me, either. It was probably for the best that DJ had kept the gun.
Ty shrugged. If he felt any fear, he hid it well. Bound and completely at my mercy, he looked like he believed he was still in control. That triggered a warning voice in the back of my mind. Either Ty was an absolute psychopath or he knew something I didn’t.
“Tell me why you killed Jenny,” I said. Before Ty could open his mouth, I added, “This isn’t a negotiation. You don’t get to suggest terms. Answer my question or I’m leaving.”
“You honestly haven’t the foggiest idea what’s going on, have you?” His laugh made me cringe inside.
“Goodbye.” I backed out of the room.
“Beta Cephei High School isn’t the only school like it,” Ty shouted. “It’s not even the first you’ve attended.”
I paused in the doorway. “I’m pretty sure I’d remember going to a high school in space staffed by robot teachers.”
Ty’s smug expression slid into pity for a moment. “No,” he said. “You wouldn’t.”
“Maybe spending a couple of days alone will make you more talkative.”
“You don’t remember how you arrived on this ship, do you?” Ty must have sensed my hesitation because he added, “You only remember what they want you to remember.”
“Who’s ‘they’?” I asked. “Tell me what the hell is going on!”
Ty exhaled a weary sigh. “None of this is real, Noa. You’re one of the leads on a program called Now Kiss! It’s currently the most popular show being broadcast throughout the galaxy.”
“Okay, yeah. Whatever.” Ty’s story was ludicrous. Sure, I’d been abducted, had woken up on a spaceship, had spent a couple of months trapped in a single day, had narrowly escaped being eaten by an alien but had nearly died of radiation poisoning, and had just broken out of a floating school with murderous Teachers, but Ty’s story was absolutely bonkers.
I expected Ty to backtrack. To tell me he was joking. That he was messing with me. But he didn’t. “Trillions of viewers are obsessed with you and DJ. They’ve been watching you from the moment you woke up, shipping you, rooting for you and DJ to survive the horrors of space, fall in love, and maybe find a way home. DJ’s the sweet but resourceful soft boy who would do anything for you, and you’re the stubborn hero with the gritty and tragic backstory who uses sarcasm to hide his wounded heart.”
With every word that came out of Ty’s mouth, my disbelief grew, and when he finally finished, I said, “Right. So you’re clearly suffering from a mental disorder. I get it now. But don’t worry. I’m sure MediQwik can treat whatever is wrong with you.”
“I’m not delusional,” Ty said.
I shouldn’t have been listening to him. I should have shut the door and walked away. But I needed answers, even if they were nonsense. “Fine,” I said. “Pretend I believe DJ and I are the stars of a weird program. That still doesn’t explain why you shot Jenny.”