Stars Gods Wolves by Dan Kirshtein (good books for 8th graders .TXT) 📗

as it used to; this was more like coming to terms with a new roommate.

The clothes that were lent to him were akin to something from a star-port souvenir booth. The powder blue T-shirt and red shorts felt crisp and thin. They were not like the well-worn and oiled rags he came in with.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel slightly refreshed as he walked to the door and opened it. He walked out, towel and old clothes bunched in his arm, and heard a slight commotion. Three figures in white coats rushed into view, stopping at the other end of the hallway to stare at him excitedly.

Collier stared with one eyebrow raised, frozen with a mix of confusion and fear. Finally, one of the three figures waved, leaning forward as he called out across the hall. “It’s an honor to work with you, sir!”

Martin raised a stiff hand to wave back and a nervous smile appeared on his face as he slowly made his way into a private room. “Did you see that?” he heard a voice squeal in a whisper. “He’s wearing my shirt!”

Doctor Collier quickly closed the door.

Sabile:One-and-a-half long and unfortunate miles from Research Station 2

On their walk back to the Atticus, Harper kept looking back at Ox, who walked the whole way, looking at things that weren’t there. Harper thought it was finally something to talk about. “What are you seeing?”

“Heruleans,” Ox said calmly over the coms, despite his answer unnerving Harper. “Millions of them. The dead come to my people as guides to leave the mortal plane, but I cannot help all these people.”

Harper pushed through the gray snow, finally being able to make out his ship: a beautiful sight, considering the arduous walk. “You look like you’re looking for something.” He panted as he spoke and decided that he was out of shape.

“The souls of my parents.” Ox was having a much easier time navigating the environment. “I’ve yet to see them since I left my kind.”

“Must be rough.” Harper approached the wing of the vessel and patted it. “Or freeing.” He shrugged, worried he’d said the wrong thing. “I don’t know.”

Ox shrugged as well, the expression on his wide face calm and pensive. His response was quiet and hesitant. “I fear they disapprove of me.”

Harper smirked as he pulled open a hatch. “Yeah, join the club.”

The ship started up with no trouble, for which Harper was grateful. Before long, they were in the air and back on their way to the research station. When they arrived, Harper saw part of the station’s roof open up. It was a roofed landing station that opened to greet and receive the Atticus. “Wait,” Harper said to himself as he squinted in disbelief, leaning forward. “Was that always there?”

Once the rest of the team was aboard, Mitch was their guide. He sat in the co-pilot’s seat, after being made to promise he wouldn’t touch anything, and advised Harper to follow the red, blinking beacons. The wind, while it wasn’t quite as bad as when they arrived, provided some slight need for course correction as they flew, but it was easy enough to keep track of the beacons. Frankly, he was relieved to be able to even see out his window.

Gally leaned in the doorway to the cockpit, silent and serious, as she watched the Atticus fly over each beacon. It was only about a mile and a half’s distance between Station Two to Four. Doctor Lee and Doctor Howlette surmised that if there had been an attack, they were lucky not to have been hit as well.

Harper took a moment to clean his glasses, as they should have been able to see it by now. He checked the sonar for any indication of a building, but there was none. Rather than express his concern, his eyes shifted to Mitch, and he watched him react in the same way. The last red beacon flashed in the gray snow, but it guarded nothing. “It—what the hell?” Mitch leaned forward, wiping the window with his sleeve as he looked closer. “Where is it?” Harper looked at the assistant, expectantly. “No, it was right here. It’s supposed to be here!”

Lee and Howlette came to investigate as well. While they didn’t help to calm Mitch, they stared out the window, saying nothing while Mitch carried on, as if in an argument with reality.

Gally tapped Harper’s shoulder with a fist. “I want a closer look.” Harper nodded without looking back at her.

Sabile:Research Station 4—at least, where it ought to have been

Boots on the ground, Nitro’s tense eyes scanned the area from the safety of his helmet’s visor. These things did not just disappear. Buildings did not disappear. From Nitro’s experience, either the kid was mistaken, or whatever attacked the station had come back. The captain secretly hoped the lab assistant would realize that he’d missed a beacon somewhere. But he never did.

“Stay close,” the captain said over the coms, masking his nerves. They all had their own environment suits, but the better armor was saved for the Company, and Nitro found himself wishing they had more sets. The wind brushed cold bits of gray across his face, and he wiggled his nose. His hair still standing on edge, he gave an order. “Shepherd Protocol Gamma.”

“Acknowledged,” Boomer was heard over the coms. Each member of the Company assigned themselves to a certain number of crewmates, and kept themselves within a triangulated position of their charges.

The team approached the big empty spot where the station should have been. Howlette plopped his hands at his side, turning around a few times in amazement. “I don’t understand,” he said quietly.

Gally explored the space, careful not to stumble over the rocky, snow-covered terrain. She looked up and watched Boomer trip over something, only able to shout half a curse before falling flat. She stepped forward to help him, but something crunched beneath her feet that was not snow.

Mitch walked over with an