Species Traitor: A Science Fiction Dystopian Novel by Kate Mary (universal ebook reader .TXT) 📗

skin against mine, to take comfort in the memory so I could cling to it while I faced whatever came next.

“Are you okay?” Finn asked, looking me over, his gaze focusing on my still throbbing cheek.

“I’m okay,” I said. “Ione? Do you know where she is?”

Finn’s attention moved from me so he could search the humans crowded into the open area on my side. “I don’t know. I lost track of her on the walk here.”

“Find her,” I said, drawing his focus back to me. “Tell her I’m sorry. Tell her I wish I could have been there for her.”

“What are you saying?” Finn’s eyes, now back on me, widened. “Why can’t you find her?”

Brentwood was at my side before I could answer. “Now, Ava.”

His hand wrapped around my forearm, and he began to pull me away.

“No. What are you doing?” Finn slammed his body against the fence. “Where are you taking her?”

“She’s a species traitor who committed treason by putting the life of an uninvited alien above the lives of her human brothers and sisters,” Brentwood said, the statement coming out like a line he’d been forced to memorize. “The mayor is going to make an example of her.”

“No!” Finn shouted, crashing into the fence again and making it rattle. “No!”

Brentwood pulled me farther away without saying anything else.

“Find Ione!” I called, sobbing by this point. “I’m sorry, Finn. I’m sorry.”

Even after he’d disappeared from sight, his shouts echoed in my ears. Long after Brentwood had pulled me through the crowd of humans and to the other side of the stadium, I could hear them. Even after we’d reached a door where two armed guards stood and I was dragged into a dimly lit tunnel, and it only made me cry harder.

Brentwood said nothing until we stopped in front of a closed door. There two more guards stood, each holding a pulse rifle. The one on the right stayed where he was, his weapon at the ready, while the other unlocked the door and motioned for us to pass. Brentwood dragged me inside.

The room was musty and dank and all cement. It held nothing but a chair, which Brentwood shoved me into with as much gentleness as he could manage while also trying to appear tough in front of the others. Where his softness came from, I didn’t know, but I was grateful for it. He’d allowed me to say a quick goodbye to Finn. At least this way Ione wouldn’t wonder what had happened to me.

“What now?” I asked when Brentwood didn’t leave.

“You wait.”

“For?”

He lifted his eyebrows but said nothing.

He didn’t need to, because I knew what I was waiting for. Mayor Waters.

I swallowed when fear bubbled up inside me, threatening to clog my throat. “How long will I have to wait?”

“I don’t know,” he said then hesitated. “Not long, I’m sure.”

“Okay.” I tried to keep my back straight and my legs from shaking but failed.

Brentwood took a step backward. “Good luck to you, Ava.”

“Thank you,” I said.

Then he walked out, the door slamming behind him, and I was left alone.

The sob that had nearly clogged my throat burst out of me a second after the door shut, bouncing off the walls and coming back to taunt me. I wanted to appear strong in front of the mayor, but before that could happen, I had to allow myself a few minutes to fall apart. If I got it all out now, if I let the fear and anguish out while I was alone, then maybe I would be able to hold it together later when it really mattered. Maybe.

I cried until my throat was raw and my eyes burned from the tears, shaking and wishing my hands were free so I could hug myself. It felt like I was crumbling to pieces on the inside, and the pain was more intense than any physical pain I’d ever experienced.

At least so far.

Eventually, my sobs tapered off and I was able to control my breathing. I did what I could to wipe my tear-streaked cheeks with my shoulders, although I doubted it did much good. Anyone who saw me would immediately know I’d been crying, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was appearing strong from here on out. Especially in front of the mayor.

Brentwood had been right, and less than twenty minutes had gone by before the door clicked. I sat up straighter, waiting to see what would happen. When it was pulled open and Mayor Waters stepped into the room, I wasn’t the least bit surprised.

“Ava Mendoza.” She overly pronounced my name, making a face like it left a bad taste in her mouth. “Seeing the recording of you risking your life to save that alien boy was enough of a surprise, but imagine my shock when I learned being a species traitor ran in your family.”

She waved to the guard who’d stepped in behind her, and he moved forward, a portable viewing screen in his hand. Once the device was in her hand, the mayor held it up. On it was a paused image of three men standing in front of the government building. Blindfolds obscured their faces and their hands were tied behind their backs, but their outdated clothes made it was obvious it wasn’t a recent recording. Still, there was something almost familiar about it.

The mayor tapped her fingernail against the man in the middle. “Your father.”

I swallowed, my mind suddenly conjuring up an image of Arch standing in this same place then flipping back to the picture in front of me when the recording began to play. A man with gray hair and a severe expression stood in front of a crowd, speaking in a booming voice about what it meant to be human. As he talked, guards forced the three men to their knees. My stomach tightened, knowing what I was about to witness and not wanting to see it but unable to make myself look away.

“These three men have been found guilty of