Trevor sat up slowly. The shape of his body behind him in the sand.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t move,” Mia said.

  “I’m fine,” Trevor said, trying not to whimper. “Ribs heal, right?”

  "Right," Mia said softly.

  Ms. Lawrence let out a sigh, and then suddenly, Trevor was on his feet, his hands up in disbelief. Peyton stepped forward to hug him.

  "How?" was all Trevor could get out, his voice small.

  Mia moved closer to Peyton. Every inch of her wanted to hug Trevor, too. He was alive. He was alive because of her.

  But Trevor was rapidly losing control of his emotions.

  “You're a good person, Ms. Lawrence, but Red Rock is shit. We shouldn't be here. We can’t go home right now. It’s fucking wrong. You literally almost died tonight. I’m so sorry he hurt you. I’m sorry about everything that's happened,” he said, crying.

  "You know none of this is your fault," Ms. Lawrence said, turning around slowly to extend the statement to every kid. "We're all victims here. If you guys want to boycott, I'll stay."

  Trevor’s words touched Mia. She’d been wrong about Peyton. She'd been wrong to get romantically involved with Sloan. Sloan was right. She didn't know who she was or how to trust people. But she didn't have to stay this way; she could change. Ms. Lawrence could be trusted. Trevor could absolutely be trusted. And neither of them wanted to launch. Mia would boycott the launch regardless of how it impacted Sloan. Sloan could go home. Mia didn't really care.

  “I'm not willing to let Red Rock get away with this,” Mia said softly, looking at Trevor. “We’ll figure out how to communicate, and someone will help us get home safely.”

  “That doesn’t work for me,” Sloan said, joining the group again. “You're all gonna take your happy asses up that gigantic ladder, buckle up, and go launch with me. You can tell everyone you know what’s happening here once we're home, but I can’t stay here.”

  "You don't have to stay here," Peyton said. "You should go home, Sloan. We all understand."

  “Sloan, I know you’re worried about Michael, but he'll be okay,” Mary Jane said, her eyes filling with tears. "I don't want you to go home alone. They'll treat you horribly."

  “She's not wrong,” Edward said.

  “We killed General Stone,” Presley said. “If we go home, they’ll charge us with murder."

  “I killed General Stone in self-defense, and you’ll all corroborate that story,” said Peyton, firmly.

  "What does corroborate mean?" Kai asked.

  "It means you agree that I killed Stone and I'm responsible for his death," Peyton said.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Silence filled the space between them. General Stone was dead.

  "Where is he?" Presley asked.

  "In the ground. Where he belongs," Edward said.

  But Mia didn't care about Stone. She couldn't wait any longer. “I love you, Trevor. I’m sorry for what I did. All I want to do is take you to Olive Garden and eat breadsticks.”

  “We’ll get home,” he said, slipping his gloved hand in hers. "I'm not afraid to stay here. I'd love it if you stayed."

  "Get a room," Kai said, shoving Trevor gently.

  ?“Looks like we're staying,” said Max.

  “I'll stay,” Presley said, looking at Max.

  “Yeah,” Mary Jane nodded.

  The others nodded silently.

  “We’re staying,” said Peyton, looking out over the crater. “Right now, we need to find Lilly and get her and Trevor to sickbay.”

  "You should probably join them," Edward said. "A bullet to the shoulder usually requires attention."

  Peyton nodded and yelled upward. "We're heading back, Lilly. Meet us there. I want Mitchell to check your bites."

  "I'm not staying here," Sloan said loudly, backing away from the group.

  "Oh well, Lilly said, landing beside Alex. Her face was red and sweaty.

  "Are you okay?" Alex asked, grabbing her arms to see the bites.

  "No, I'm not okay," Lilly bellowed, offering her arms up for everyone to see. "Trevor ate me like a snack!"

  Why'd you stay up so long?" Alex asked, still holding Lilly's arms.

  "To watch her," Lilly said, pointing at Sloan. " She has Stone's gun in her space boot. Somebody ought to get it."

  Mia felt the blood drain from her face. How many times had Sloan threatened to kill anyone who stood in the way of her going home to Michael?

  "We're gonna need that gun," Edward said, walking towards Sloan.

  “Stop, or I’ll kill you both,” Sloan said, pointing General Stone’s gun at Trevor’s helmet, her eyes wild and glistening.

  ?"Can we get a halftime show?" Camden said, sarcastically. "One murder and two near-death experiences all in the same night requires at least an intermission."

  "All you have to do is go home like we initially agreed," Sloan said. "Don't make it hard, Camden."

  "Put the gun down," Max said calmly. "Don't let this get out of hand, Sloan. You can go home. No one's asking you to stay."

  "But that's the problem, Max. They're not going to let you stay. Once they find out Stone is dead, we're all getting locked up. This isn't a movie."

  "Sloan, there's a portal to another world here. The visions you saw were actual events from the past. The people who live in this alternate universe have wings. They're real. They'll help us. We can disappear through the portal, and once they tire of looking for us, you can go home," Peyton said. "Everyone gets what they want. Hand me the gun, Sloan."

  "You're lying," Sloan said, shaking her head. "If I can't go home now, Trevor will never go home."

  "SLOAN," Mia screamed out. "Let him go!"

  But Sloan didn't let go, prompting Alex to lunge forward, causing Sloan's legs to shift just enough for Mia to slide in between them, the barrel of the gun pointing at her now.

  “Give me the gun, Sloan.”

  “You know I can’t do that. I don’t want to kill you, Mia. Don’t make me,” Sloan said, swerving unsteadily.

  “Michael won't understand why you’re in jail for murder instead of with him, where you need to be. There are nine witnesses out here."

  "I have to kill you," Sloan said, sobbing now. "I have to leave. He has no one. My brother has no one. I don't want to go to jail, Mia."

  Mia thought for a moment that her words may have registered with Sloan because she was lowering the gun and stepping backward. But then came the sound of the gun cocking, and Mia braced herself. She imagined her body floating off the planet and out into the universe, an indefinite, bloody satellite orbiting Mars forever or until every atom in her body had dissolved back into the universe. But instead of floating, Mia felt her body thrust downward so Trevor could take her place. She witnessed Alex hold Lilly back as Ms. Lawrence rushed forward. Everything went silent except for the sound of the speedy bullet leaving the chamber on its way to Trevor's heart, where it would rip through his left ventricle and send blood up his throat so forcefully that the spray of it inside his helmet was the last thing Mia saw before she passed out.