Alex sat in the front seat of the rover, waiting for Max. Apparently, they were building a gigantic mirror to let Earth know they were still alive. The dumbest fucking thing ever, Alex muttered under his breath. They weren't Matt Damon in The Martian.

  "Sorry, dude," Max said, sliding into the passenger seat. "Presley wants to come, too."

  "Absolutely not," Alex said, putting the rover in drive.

  "Bro, what's the problem?" Max said, facing backwards to see if Presley had followed him out of the Hub.

  "When Ms. Lawrence assigned jobs, she said you and I were on panel patrol. You can make out with Presley on your own time."

  "She's an extra set of hands, Alex. I don't see the big deal."

  Alex didn't respond to this. No one thought anything was a big deal anymore. Sloan was in a parallel universe. Trevor was dead. He'd strangled General Stone, and no one had a clue that eleven humans were living on Mars, with absolutely no way to communicate with the outside world. As stupid as the heliograph was, it was the only idea anyone had come up with outside of hacking into the system.

  "Yeah, you wouldn't," Alex said.

  "What does that mean?" Max asked.

  "Just that you're as far up Edward's ass as everyone else is."

  "What does that even mean, Alex? What ideas do you have to get us home?

  "None. I have zero fucking ideas. But you know what I do think? I think they've got ways to tell we're depleting the supplies. I don't think Nigel is stupid enough to say we all died months ago and they just failed to tell our families. I think Nigel will tell them we refused to come home, which is exactly what happened."

  "You think Nigel is going to tell them we refused to come home and then let people ask us why we did that?"

  "Maybe. He might have gotten what he wanted from us. Our bodies aren't immune to radiation. We get superpowers, and once we're home, that shit will probably turn into cancer. He was looking for one of us to react like Rebecca. He won't give up on finding more humans like her. There are people out there who will fund that. They'll write our families huge checks to keep us quiet. My Dad, for one, will take the money."

  "Mine won't," Max said. "My family won't take a cent."

  "Nigel will find a way to shut you up, Max. He'll release months of psycho emails between you and your family to prove y'all are domestic terrorists or something crazy like that. I'm telling you, we don't need to build a DIY flashlight. Eventually, someone will come to get us. We need to focus on monitoring and rationing our supplies.

  Max said nothing. Alex wondered if he'd somehow struck a nerve.

  "I guess we agree to disagree then," Max finally said. "How many reflective blankets should we bring back?"

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  "All of them," Alex said, pulling into the digsite. "I don't intend to repeat this useless errand."

  ?Max nodded. "I'll start with the rovers on the far side of the digsite and work my way back to you," he said, slamming the door behind him.

  Alex watched him walk away. If he'd been looking for a fight, that wasn't going to happen. Max wasn't the kind of guy who took the bait. His composure was annoying as fuck.

  The first rover had three reflective blankets inside, which meant they should come back with twenty-one total. Edward would love that. He'd probably have them begin sewing them together immediately. Alex stuffed them under his arm on his way to the next rover. He walked by the gigantic chasm in the ground that held the Orb. He could be in Merrick in under thirty minutes. The pull was suddenly palpable.

  The next rover held only one reflective blanket, which was alarming. The rovers were identical in every way. Where were the two missing blankets? Was it possible someone from Merrick had traveled through the portal to Mars? Alex straightened to scan the digsite for visitors. He saw no one. Where was Max?

  "Max?" Alex yelled, walking towards the rover that was farthest away from where they'd parked.

  Max didn't answer. Alex stopped moving forward and listened intently. He could hear people talking, but wasn't sure where the voices were coming from.

  "Max?" Alex called out again, this time more quietly. "Where are you, man?"

  Still nothing. Then he saw them. Sloan and Solomon were no more than twenty feet away-Solomon's wings dragging through the sand as they walked. Alex instantly dropped to his knees, the blankets falling to the ground. From his lowered position, he could see Max, also crouched by a rover, a finger over his mouth, gesturing for Alex to be quiet.

  Why would Sloan bring Solomon here? He hadn't known he could hate her any more than he already did. Solomon was actively digging in the sand, his wings flush against his back. Sloan had moved away from him as if acting as a lookout.

  Alex inched closer on his hands and knees. What was Solomon looking for? What could be so important that Sloan would risk coming back? She had to know everyone wanted her dead. Even Ms. Lawrence couldn't save her.

  He was close enough to hear them now, although he couldn't see Max anymore. Solomon was still digging frantically.

  "We've been here almost ten minutes," Sloan said nervously. "I told you there's nothing to find."

  "I did not agree to a timed exploration, " Solomon retorted quickly. "Why do you feel we are not safe?"

  "Oh, I don't know, Solomon, we're out in the open, exposed, up against my old friends who now hate me and have guns."

  "I have a bow, Solomon added, touching it under his cloak.

  "Yes, I'm sure they'll give you time to draw it and make the fight fair," Sloan said.

  But Solomon wasn't listening. He was holding something up. Alex watched the little man turn it over and over against the sunlight.

  "Our ancestors are here," Solomon said, extending his palm to Sloan.

  "What is it?" Sloan asked, examining what lay in Solomon's hand without touching it.

  "A fossilized feather," he said. This one is from a Strength."

  "That doesn't look like a feather,' Sloan said. "That's a rock. Mars is full of rocks."

  "That's because Mars is Merrick, Sloan. It is our home. Pieces of my ancestors surround us. We are not missing from the soil here. Humans are simply unable to recognize the artifacts of another species."

  Sloan grabbed the rock and looked at it closely. She saw lines on an etched surface with nothing to indicate that this once had been a feather.

  "What about this makes you think it's a feather?" she asked.

  "It is the shaft of a Strength, Sloan. Can you not see? I will burn off the vane of one of my feathers once we return to Merrick. You will find the imprint of this shaft and mine to be identical. Each faction has a unique shaft. It is how we identify our ancestors after death."

  Sloan stepped back, as if she were disgusted. "So what does this prove, Solomon? In what way does this help your people?"

  "It is most helpful, Sloan, don't you see? We did not go extinct as you say, our bodies crushed into nothingness. I wonder if we did not leave this planet as you left yours? In fact, I do not believe yours to be the superior species. I wonder if you, in fact, are an ancestor of mine?