The Remnant by Laura Liddell Nolen

Author:Laura Liddell Nolen
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780008113636
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2016-08-05T04:00:00+00:00

Twenty-one

The battleground wasn’t anything like I’d pictured. When we stepped into the cargo hold, Mars held up a hand, stopping me. I hadn’t heard an explosion for awhile, but the evidence was everywhere. The air in the hold was smoky and electric. The light was diffused, making it darker than usual, and creepiest of all, it appeared to be deserted.

Going by the look on her face, it wasn’t what Mars had pictured, either. “The lockies are that way,” she said. “It wasn’t this bad half an hour ago. There must be some soldiers, too, but we haven’t located any. Everyone’s hiding. So keep an eye out.”

Hiding from what, I wondered. But I nodded and crept along as fast as I could, letting her lead me through the rows at her chosen path and pace.

Our route was straightforward, and we passed only Remnant locks on the bins. The air had a smell, too: like rain and melted plastic. Seconds later, I found out why.

A long yellow bin lay marred and partially open. Its bright color was muted to a charred black at one end, and the roof was, for lack of a better word, melted down over the opening. “Is this what the bombs are for? They’re trying to open bins? Is this a fight among the lockies?”

“No. I don’t know. I don’t think so. For one thing, lockies work for their governments. They won’t fight without orders. They’re barely armed. For another, look. No one’s been here. Nothing’s been taken. You’d have to lever off what’s left of the roof first. No one can fit in there. It’s gotta be something else.”

For an instant, I watched her mouth move, and the sound was progressively muted. Even the noises around us, the sounds of our feet, for example, stopped making noise. And there was pressure in my ears, just for a second, until they popped.

Then everything returned to normal.

I looked around nervously, trying to see in all directions at once, but when I glanced at the ceiling, I grabbed Mars’s arm. “Look up. What is that?”

The cloud above us was slowly swirling into a defined circle. My brain was engaging in a similar endeavor—mixing around and around, searching for the answer that was right in front of me.

Or rather, right above me. I was so close. What was I missing?

Think, Char. Think.

“Hey, Mars,” I hissed again. “Is it just me, or is it, like, crazy cold in here? I can see my breath in the air.”

“Shh,” she said. “That’s just the smoke from the bombs.”

I nodded. “That’s kinda what I figured, except for one thing. Have you actually seen a bomb go off?”

“What? What are you talking about? Didn’t you see the bin?”

“I did, and it made me think. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a bomb before. Have you?”

Marcela shrugged and kept moving. “Yeah. Combat training.”

“But not in space.”

She stopped hustling through the bins long enough to give me a truly withering glance. “No. That wasn’t really in the budget.”

“Mars. Listen to me.

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