Chapter 1

Two monthsago

Maeve

Sweat trickles down my back and nausea churns in my stomach. I take measured breaths, positive that everyone around me scurrying like a colony of ants can hear my heart pounding. A loud voice calls out to someone who replies back equally loudly, and I jump both times.

The area near the cargo hold of the Exodus Voyager is teeming with red uniform-wearing crew members loading supplies as well as the luggage of the passengers embarking on a two-month journey. I roll my shoulders and keep my chin tucked trying to make myself smaller.

Invisible.

A shadow stretches across the ground before a body crashes into me. I nearly cry out in pain and my fist clenches tightly around my suitcase handle. I bite my lip so hard the far-too familiar copper flavor fills my mouth.

"Watch where you're going," a rough voice complains.

I keep my head down and there's a moment of regret that I no longer have my long hair to hide behind. "Sorry." The apology is a reflexive whisper.

The man grunts and his footsteps fade away. I lift my gaze only long enough to gauge how close I am to the pile of luggage waiting to be loaded. Almost there. Reaching down, I make sure the name tag looped around the handle is still there. Maeve Anderson. That's who the suitcase belongs to. Or belonged to rather. Now it's mine.

Finally, the mountain of cotton sacks and suitcases similar to the one I carry appears in my line of sight and I add mine to it. With a final glance to make sure no one's paying attention to me, I make my way to the long winding ramp that will take me into the belly of the ship. The atmosphere is almost morose and no one has that jittery excited expression. Well, maybe a couple people do. But the number is so few they almost don't count.

Parents grip children's hands tightly as they funnel into the lined-up crowd at the base of the ramp that's my destination. I slide in the narrow gap between what I assume is two separate families—one with a single child, the other with two—doing everything I can to make it appear as though I'm with one of them. While I suspect there are plenty of lone passengers boarding, the more I can blend in, the better.

Still, there's a niggling feeling of dread low in my stomach that I'm not going to make it onto the ship. I clench my fingers together at my waist to stop them from trembling. We're moving way too slow. If I can get inside, I can disappear. Hide out, until all the doors close and no one else is allowed to board.

"Are you excited?" a voice whispers next to me.

My head whips to the side and my heart jumps into my throat. One of the young girls, maybe eight or nine years old, stares up at me. Her long blonde hair falls in a braid on either side of her head and she's missing one of her bottom teeth.

I nod, clear my throat, and lie. "Yes. Are you?"

She glances at the two adults in front of her and leans in closer. "I'm scared. What if I don't like Tavikh? What if I don't make any friends?"

I'm not sure why she's asking me. Maybe I'm safer to talk to about her fears than her parents. I stare down at her and see myself. My old self. The young girl I was before my parents died and we'd all been happy. I don't want her to wind up like me, so I put on my best smile. Hopefully she can't tell it's forced and not even real.

"Think of it as an adventure. When you grow up and have kids, you'll get to tell them about this amazing trip you took on a spaceship across galaxies. You can tell them how much fun it was growing up on Tavikh where we get to have real houses and yards to play in. What's not to be excited about that?"

Slowly a twinkle enters her eyes and she bobs her head slightly. "You're right. I bet all the girls from our sector would be jealous if they knew what they were missing out on."

I'm not sure I'd go that far, but I agree with her anyway.

"Thank you. I'm Lucy," she introduces herself.

"Ka—" I cough. "Maeve."

Luckily, she doesn't notice my slip up. I check to see if anyone else might have. No one appears to be paying attention to us. Some of the tension leaves my shoulders and I unclench my fingers. Apparently, her mind eased about our journey, Lucy widens the gap between us and walks next to her mother. I take another step and my foot lands on the threshold of the ramp. This is it.

Keeping my head slightly facing toward the ship and away from the throng of people moving around the outer edges of the massive landing pad I make my way up. The journey is painstakingly slow. I keep waiting for someone to call out my name and drag me off the ramp.

The darkened interior of the ship grows closer and larger until, at last, I'm inside. It's not as dark as it appears from the outside. Recessed lights in the ceiling cast a warm glow over the metal walls and floor. We travel down hallway after hallway making so many turns that there's no way I could find my way back to the entrance. After another turn, the passageway opens into a large, high-ceiling room with rows of seats that stretch from one side of it to the other. There's a narrow aisle breaking each row in half.

I continue following Lucy and her family until they find a group of seats together. Yanking my crumpled ticket from my pocket, I read over it and search for a seat number or anything to designate where I should go. The only thing it says is general seating. I'm going to take that to mean we can sit wherever we want. I search for an empty spot. Preferably in the back and away from others.

Finally, I settle into a seat that faces the entrance. I don't want to be caught unaware if someone shows up looking for me. Maybe hours or only minutes go by, but the number of people trickling in slows. I don't make eye contact with anyone. Instead, I keep my head down, my hands in my lap, and pray we take off soon.

At long last the ship rumbles, and the seat beneath me vibrates. The vibration triggers pain that reverberates through my cracked ribs, and I clench my teeth hard enough I worry I might break them. There's only the slightest downward pressure, and then it levels out. The room is windowless, so I can't even look outside to confirm we left the ground.

Ten, maybe fifteen, minutes pass, and the ship shakes and rattles again, significantly more than it had before. I close my eyes and take deep breaths through the pain—willing myself not to get sick everywhere—until the motion smooths out. Seconds pass and static crackles from the speakers overhead.

"This is Captain Blanchard speaking. We have exited Earth's atmosphere and begun our flight to the planet Tavikh. Staterooms and the dining hall are located on the second level. You will find a fitness room and passenger rec room on the main level. Crew members will be circulating through the ship if you have any questions. Otherwise, enjoy the trip."

I wait for more, but the voice that had come from the ceiling remains silent. Blessedly, the pain lessens and I breathe easier. Several people release their safety harnesses and head out of the cabin, I guess to explore the massive ship that's our home for the next two months.

Trying not be obvious, I take in the other passengers. No one looks familiar. Of course, New St. Louis is the home of over two million people, and more than half of them live in the bottom tier like me. The chances of someone I know being here are slim. It's one of the reasons this was my escape plan. Well, more like Chelsea's escape plan. She's the only person left on Earth that I trust.

I remain seated until my rear goes numb, and I'm almost the only one left within the passenger cabin. I take out my ticket again where I'd been told my room number would be located. All I want to do is go hide there. I need to find out if there are scheduled meals or if we're free to go to the cafeteria whenever we're hungry. If that's that case, I'll plan my visits for when there should be the least amount of people.

After unlatching my safety harness, I slowly rise. I'm stiff and achy from sitting so long, and there's a throbbing pain in my ribs. A bruise covers my entire side, and if history is any indication, it will be there for a while.

I make my way down a hallway, reading each placard I pass to guide me in the right direction. After only getting turned around once, I come to a stop in front of room fifteen-oh-one. I pause before placing my hand on the bioscanner. I'd freaked out when Chelsea took me to pick up my ticket for the trip, but she assured me everything would be okay.

When we stepped up to the counter, and I laid my clammy hand on the cold glass so it could scan my palm, the woman seated behind it glanced first at my friend and then at me. I still can't be certain, but I could almost swear Chelsea gave a nod so slight no one would notice.

"Maeve Anderson," the woman said. "One-way ticket to Tavikh. Here you go."

She stamped the paper and passed it over to me. With trembling fingers, I took it and quickly stashed it in my pocket before she realized she'd made a mistake. That had been a week ago. Every day since, I worried someone would come pounding on my door, but they never did. Taking a deep breath, I lay my palm on the bioscanner, and the door opens with a whoosh.

A glaringly bright light automatically turns on inside the room, and I freeze at the sight of a woman lying in the bottom bunk.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize anyone was in here already." I didn't realize anyone was in here at all.

She sits up and pushes her hair back off her face."It's okay. Hi, um, I'm London. I guess we must be roommates."

I'll look like an idiot if I just keep standing here staring, so I step inside and wrap my arms around myself, not quite meeting her eye. Remember your name."Maeve." Having to be in the same room as someone means always keeping my guard up. How am I going to do this for two months?

"It's nice to meet you.My bag was already on this bed, but if you'd rather have it, I'll take the top one."

I shake my head. "No, it's fine."

Other than Chelsea, I don't make friends. They always wind up dying, or I get screwed over in some way.

An uncomfortable silence settles between us.

"Um, would you like to unpack your things? You have first dibs on which side of the dresser you want. I haven't put anything in there yet," London says.

Silently, I pad across the room, and without looking at her, pull my suitcase off the top bunk, set it on the dresser, and put away every possession I own. It doesn't take more than a minute. I close my now empty suitcase, not sure where to store it. The room is small with no closet.

"You can slide your empty luggage under the bunk if you want. I promise I won't bother it." London stands and moves a few steps away.

Briefly I hesitate before I take it over, carefully squat, and slide it under her bed. "Thanks."

"No problem. So, is this your first time in space? It is mine, and I thought I was going to barf before we even made it through the outer atmosphere," she babbles without pausing between sentences, and for the first time I relax.

I guess London's just as nervous as me. The thought makes me feel better, and I manage a small smile."Me too. I hadn't expected so much shaking."

"Oh my god, it was the worst. I'm glad it didn't last long. I would have embarrassed myself," she admits. "You can have a seat if you want."

"Thanks."

We both head to the small table at the same time, and London's sudden movement makes me jump away instinctively. She freezes and gives me a strange look. My cheeks heat and I stride over to the chair, trying to act as nothing weird just happened. She finally moves and sits across from me. Another short, awkward moment, but I scold myself for treating her this way. She's perfectly nice. I relax slightly and try to make up for my shortness with conversation.

"Have you been anywhere else on the ship yet?" I'm pretty sure she'd been sleeping when I walked in.

"My friend Remi and I did a little exploring shortly after takeoff," London says. "We scouted out what they called the training room. I'm not really athletic, so I don't think I'll get much use out of it, but Remi seemed excited about being in there. Afterward, we ate in the cafeteria. I must have fallen asleep when I got back here, so I'm not sure how long ago that was. Oh, and we met another woman about our age. Zara. Her room is actually next door, and Remi is on the other side of her."

"Did you and Remi come together?" I ask.

She shakes her head with a little laugh. "Oh, no, she sort of adopted me, I guess. We were sitting across from each other during takeoff. Pretty sure she was afraid I was going to throw up all over her."

I chuckle because there'd been a moment where I thought I'd do the same thing. "I'm sure she's glad you didn't."

"No more than I am." She pauses and I stiffen, a sense of dread settling in my gut. "I take it you're going to Tavikh for a…change of scenery like the rest of us?"

Fear that she'll find out my secret makes my vision go dark, but I quickly blink it away and try to smooth out my expression. "Something like that."

"I promise I won't pry," London rushes to assure me. "Whatever reasons you have are your own."

I nod shallowly and slightly roll my shoulders forward like I do when I try to stay invisible, but don't say anything else.

She clears her throat."If you want, I can show you around the ship. Maybe we can find the passenger rec room the captain mentioned. Remi and I missed it during our search."

For several seconds, I weigh my response. I'm going to spend two months with this woman. I don't want things being weird between us the entire time. I want to be able to relax. Maybe even let my guard down for once. Maybe make a friend. "That would be nice."

"Great," London says and gets up.

I let her lead us out of the room, and in that moment, I decide to stop being afraid. Maybe this time, it'll stick.