Holly was running. Faster, faster, faster through the main deck of the ship and down past the oxygen tanks, bursting through the bunker doors and out into the blue-tinted hallway—

Holly skidded to a stop. “Hey!”

“We haven’t found the cell,” Kell called back, jogging towards Holly.

“Damn it,” Holly muttered. She tried to hide her shock. “You know what? I’m not giving up yet. We’re going to the observatory—we can talk alone there. Come on.”

She pulled her best friend forwards, down past the next flight of metal stairs, the blue LED’s flickering above them.

“I haven’t seen Damien anywhere,” Kell said as they descended deeper into the ship. “He must’ve found the cell.”

Holly shook her head. “We would’ve gotten a message.” She pointed to the watch on her wrist. “This thing has been dark since we split up.”

“But how do we know his watch wasn’t confiscated?”

“We don’t. We just pray he’s fine and keep moving.” Holly pushed forward, ignoring the idea that Dame might be dead already.

The two girls jumped off the staircase, rounded another bend, and sprinted faster.

Kell cleared her throat. “Haven’t seen any guards yet? Or Ace?”

Ace, Kell’s boyfriend, had also gone missing last week, along with Holly’s brother.

“Sorry. I didn’t see his cell light come on like my brother’s did,” Holly said, holding up her watch, which she’d also hijacked to watch the cells’ security lights. “I have no idea if they’re holding him captive.”

They skidded to a halt in front of the massive doors of the observatory. Kell held up her watch and clicked a few buttons, bypassing the scanner.

A chill blew in as they pushed open the door. The only light was a tiny bulb, dangling precariously from the ceiling.

“Dame?” Kell called nervously into the shadows. “Ace? You here?”

“I can’t believe they still keep this place functioning,” Holly said, her voice low. “Odd they haven’t converted it into some kind of storage facility or something.”

She turned her gaze to the towering telescope that took up most of the room. “Earth is a total wasteland. Why would they care about observing it?”

She jumped up onto the silver platform and risked a glanced into the telescope’s eyehole. It was dark. Even more strange.

“By the way, make sure you close the door, Kell. And lock it,” Holly added. Kell hurried back and slammed the metal frame shut. “Now let’s think. If he’s not—“

BEEEEEP!

An alarm suddenly went off, blaring like an earsplitting siren.

“What the hell?!” Holly yelled over the noise. Then it clicked, her face turning pale. “Crap. Lock sensors.”

She and Kell scrambled together, back to back in the center of the room, readying the laser beams on their watches. It wouldn’t do much against the guns, but it was better than being defenseless.

Steam suddenly erupted from a door in the back of the observatory, making Kell and Holly jump. As it cleared, it revealed a gagged boy tied back in a chair, his body limp.

“DAMIEN!” Kell screamed. She began to run, but her friend held her back.

“Could be a trap,” Holly whispered.

Shaking, Holly turned her attention to the doors, where a silver-eyed man in a sweeping black cape had entered, flanked by two burly guards. With guns.

One blast and both girls were shot with shining red ropes made of light: laser binds. Holly fell to her knees as her binds burned, the man in the black cape strutting forwards.

“Where is my brother?” Holly demanded. “Tell me where you’re keeping him!”

“Ah ah Ah,” the man tutted, walking closer. “Criminals don’t deserve answers.”

“I’m not a criminal!” She screamed. “I came here to rescue my brother!” She struggled to her feet, leaning her face close to the silver-eyed man. “I know he’s here, you piece of filth. I saw his cell light. That’s his intergalactic ID tag, 013. I know you’re keeping him hostage!”

The man laughed, a deep, hollow laugh that made Holly’s blood run cold.

“My, we are feisty,” the man crooned. “Did you honestly believe the most powerful empire in the universe would be hunting down and capturing that pathetic excuse for a thief? No, my dear,” he smiled icily. “We care about someone… else.”

“Cell 013 is full! I saw the security light go on!” She repeated, panic running through her. “That’s my brother’s ID! I, I don’t understand…”

“I made a deal,” the man continued. “I didn’t want to waste my energy on finding your brother. So I did the next best thing.”

He snapped his fingers, and Kell’s binds fell.

Holly stuttered. “What the—“

“I’m sorry, Holly,” Kell said, rising to her feet. She walked over to the silver-eyed man, her voice breaking. “I… I didn’t know what to do…”

“What’s going on?!” Holly heard a rumbling from the other side of the room, and realized the telescope was shaking. Looking closer, she realized it wasn’t a telescope at all. It was a cell.

Cell 013.

Outside of it stepped Ace. He looked sick and weak, like they’d been torturing him for far too long.

Holly whirled to her friend, panic sinking in. “Kell?”

“It was the only way,” Kell whispered, tearing up. “He said Ace wouldn’t die if I turned you in.”

Holly turned a shade whiter. Anger burned inside her, and she fired it on the man. “You foul, horrible creature—“ Her binds tightened, squeezing the air from her lungs.

“For ten years, you have been trying to undermine me,” the man sneered as he watched Holly struggle. “Ten years of pain. Of watching you tell yourself you were doing the right thing, fighting the big corporation like the strong little rebel you are. Well,” the binds squeezed tighter, and black spots clouded Holly’s vision—

“Your little game is over. Goodbye, Holly.”

The last thing she heard were Kell’s desperate pleas as everything faded to blackness.