"I'll kill anyone who tries to keep me here," Sloan said, glaring at Trevor.

  Mia glanced at Sloan and believed her wholeheartedly. But she wouldn't let it come to that. Bringing Sloan to the crater had been a huge mistake, just as Mia predicted.

  "Don't think people would think twice about putting you in the ground," Trevor replied coolly, watching the shadows.

  The waiting had become almost unbearable, even before the snarky back and forth between Sloan and Trevor. Mia's chest felt tight like a knot. Where the hell were Presley, Max, and Mary Jane?

  "I think something is wrong," Mia whispered. "They should have been here by now."

  The crater's darkness felt suffocating, with no sound to clue them in on what might come next. Mia kicked at loose gravel to hear something.

  If General Stone were open to anything outside of Nigel's direct orders, their mission might be salvageable. Humans could figure this out. There was more than one way to colonize Mars. Other countries had put their faith and funding in Red Rock. How much of what was going on up here did the company's most prominent investors understand?

  With each passing second, Mia felt that returning to Earth as planned looked less and less likely. Stone would lose his mind when he found out they'd all broken curfew on top of Alex freeing Ms. Lawrence. He'd try to punish them, but they were done with punishments. It was time to fight back. Sloan would have to adapt. She'd see Michael again, six months later, perhaps a year later. And that would be okay. It wasn't like someone was dying. In fact, staying together and away from Stone seemed the best way to keep everyone alive.

  "He did it," Trevor said, stepping out of the shadows, offering his moonlit face as a guide.

  Mia saw Max appear small but sure, walking quickly across the crater, followed by the girls, who were holding hands. Max seemed to acknowledge Trevor and turned sharply to communicate with Presley and Mary Jane. Then, the three of them began to run.

  "Mia," Presley screamed when she was less than five feet away, tackling her so hard that both girls lost their balance.

  "Jesus, Presley! Why don't you send up a flare and let everyone know we're here? Did Kai get her?" Trevor asked.

  "Last time I saw Kai, he was on his way to General Stone," Mary Jane said.

  Mia knew that out of everyone, Alex, Kai, and Peyton were in the most danger tonight. She'd been wrong about Ms. Lawrence. And she intended to admit that as soon as she got the chance to speak to her in person. She trusted Peyton Lawrence to do the right thing where the launch was concerned, where anything was concerned, really. What Stone had done to her teacher was unforgivable. And the truth was, all Peyton had ever wanted was to keep them safe and get them home. Her dreams of colonizing Mars were all but a distant memory now.

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  "M7, we're ready," Trevor relayed into the transponder.

  "Already here," Alex's voice pinged back.

  "Nice," Trevor responded, his head swiveling around.

  "Where?" Sloan demanded, grabbing the black box from Trevor and pressing it against her mouth.

  But Sloan swiping the walkie-talkie wasn't a problem because she immediately dropped it after realizing her body was levitating upward.

  "What the fuck, Trevor?" Sloan spat.

  "Hey, you have visions, and I can move stuff. Thanks for the transponder," he said, holding it up.

  "Put me down, you dick!" had barely left Sloan's mouth before he'd dropped her back into the Martian soil.

  "We need some ground rules before Ms. Lawrence gets there. Has everyone agreed to the boycott?" Alex asked over the transponder.

  "I'll never agree to that," Sloan said.

  But before Trevor could respond, Mary Jane yanked the transponder away and pointed to where Kai and Ms. Lawrence stood bound and gagged beside Stone, a gun holding them in place.

  "Oh God," Presley whispered, "There's nothing redeemable about that man."

  "Don't hurt them," Trevor yelled, stepping out to be seen. "Think about what happens next, Stone. There are rules back on Earth."

  "Trevor, STOP!" Kai mumbled, loud enough that both Peyton and General Stone turned to face him.

  "Don't move, son," General Stone ordered, pointing his gun toward Trevor this time. "I have direct orders to eliminate any distractions to the success of this mission."

  "If you kill them, you're signing your own death certificate. I'll use that gun on you, and it won't be fast. I'll shoot your fingers off one by one and then your ears, your nose…."

  Mia watched Rocky's body for a reaction, but saw nothing. Could General Stone even hear what Trevor was saying? Where were Alex, Camden, Lilly, and Edward? A surprise attack would really help right now.

  "I won't boycott, you pieces of shit!" Sloan screamed into the expanse of the crater. "Get these fucking kids under control, Stone. I'm not staying here one fucking day longer than I have to. Throw me a gun. Let me help you."

  "Sloan, calm down. Look at me," Max said, his hand sliding into hers.

  "Don't touch me," Sloan bellowed, jerking her hand away as she stumbled back and fell. "None of you touch me. I'll kill anyone who tries to touch me tonight.

  Max observed Sloan, who remained seated on the ground, her face wet with rage.

  "I'm not going to touch you," he said, sitting down beside her, calmly. He took his finger and traced two large circles in the orange sand. Inside one, he traced the letter E, and inside the other, he traced the letter M.

  "We're here," he said, pointing to the circle with the letter M inside it. "And Michael is over here, in this circle with the E. He's back on Earth."

  Mia watched Sloan go into a catatonic state, rocking back and forth silently. She wasn't looking at Max's drawings, although it was impossible to determine if she was listening or not.

  "You are safe on M, and Michael is safe on E," Max said matter-of-factly. "As long as those two things are true. We can figure this out."

  But Mia didn't think there was anything safe about what was unfolding at the crater. Trevor was back on the responder now, but he was whispering. Who was he talking to, she wondered.

  "General Stone will kill us before he lets us boycott," Mary Jane said. "That's what Nigel wants."

  "Sloan wants us dead, too," Presley said, crying now. "Why is Max being nice to her? She only cares about herself. She's a monster!"

  "She's not a monster," Mia said before she knew what she was saying. "She's scared to death. Just like you. Just like me."

  But before Presley could argue, Stone started yelling, and everyone, including Sloan, looked his way just in time to see Peyton drop to her knees and begin to fight against the rope that bound her hands and feet.

  "Now," Trevor shouted into the transponder. We need you now. Ms. Lawrence created a diversion."

  "A hero till the end. I'll always remember that about you, Peyton Lawrence," Rocky said right before firing his gun into the back of Peyton's helmet.