It has been year and I still haven't gotten over the fact that I am alone with my twin sisters and the house droids. I had cried every night for six months after the news came before I finally got over my grief. I have cousins that could help me, but they live all the way in Colorado. We live in Michigan so it would take awhile to travel there, because I can't drive yet.

I am only fifteen and Marilynn and Jayden are eight. Even though the three of us are sisters, we are each different.

I have wavy golden blonde hair that shines in the sun and flows halfway down my back. (A/N this is the kind of hair I wish I had) My eyes are a dark sky blue and I have very light freckles. I have always been outgoing, inventive, and observant, seeing things others usually do not.

Marilynn and Jayden are almost identical They both have wavy brown hair and brown eyes. Marilynn tends to keep her hair shorter than Jayden, but even then it is sometimes hard to tell them apart. Both of them are playful, energetic, and full of life.

I was seven when they were born. Two years after they were born, the Maztec came and invaded Earth. The war started two years after that. Mom and Daddy were drafted a year later. Being only eleven at the time, it was hard for me to be there for my little sisters and keep up with my own life. I was lucky that my grandparents had lived down the street and that we have three house droids.

Then, the epidemic came. Both my Grandad and Gramma had died in it. The medics were able to make a vaccine, but there was only enough to administer it to one million children. So, people were chosen out of a random family lottery. The way the lottery worked was that only healthy families with children in between the ages of three and eighteen were eligible. Marilynn, Jayden, and I had been fortunate to be three of those children who received the vaccine, so we hadn't caught the disease. We received it a week before I went into seventh grade.

Anyone who hadn't received the vaccine would be dead by now because the disease is so lethal to humans. My three teenage cousins in Colorado had received the vaccine too, so I know that I can count on them whenever I need help. My oldest cousin Dakota is eighteen and promised me, when he came for Christmas last year, that he, Falcon, and Summer would come and live with us this summer, but so far I haven't heard from him.

Today is the day after my fifteenth birthday (my birthday is June 21), and I am lying on the couch, flipping through the TV channels because I am bored out of my mind. There is nothing to do because it is summer and with hardly any kids in the area I have no one to hang out with. I have already decided that I won't go to high school this fall, but to get a job instead because I will need the money for me and my sisters, even though the money my parents left me is more than enough to last us for awhile. Besides, it isn't like high school will be exciting or anything because there will be mostly droids and few kids there.

Having all these droids around me is very boring and annoying. It wasn't always like this, though. When I was younger, it was nice to have droids around to help when my parents or other adults were busy. Since I am older now, it is hard for me to be independent with droids wanting to do everything for me. Last month when I had my Confirmation, there was a droid priest. It was hardly even exciting. The part that annoyed me the most was the fact that the droid priest had a monotone voice. How can you even have a legit mass when the priest is just a programmed piece of metal? I don't want to be near any droids if I want to have a real life.

Wait, why didn't I think of that before? I could just run away from droids! That means I will have to take Marilynn and Jayden with me. I don't care, though. Because if running away means not having any more droids in my life, then I will do anything to make that happen.

I tell Marilynn and Jayden my idea and they agree with me. Then, we start packing.

While I am packing my clothes into a duffle bag, my comm link beeps startling me. My golden blonde hair whips down as I pull my comm link out of the pocket of my jean shorts. It is Dakota!

"Sorry, I haven't been able to talk to you in awhile," he says.

"That's okay," I respond. "So, when are you going to be able to come?"

"Actually, we are coming right now," Dakota replies.

"Wait, what?!" I say, surprised.

"I am sorry to spring this on you, but don't worry. We will stay with you for the night, and how ever long you want us to after that."

"Okay, when will you be here?" I ask. He told me at about 6:30 this evening.

Dakota, Falcon, and Summer came right on time. I asked the cooking droid make lasagna for our dinner. Since they were coming, I wanted it to be something great. The six of us all talked at dinner as if we had been separated for years. We thought of every funny memory we could think of and couldn't stop laughing.

Now, it is about 9:00. After I get Marilynn and Jayden in bed, Dakota, Falcon, Summer, and I meet in my parents' bedroom. It is the only place in the house I know the droids won't hear us because they don't bother cleaning in here anymore. I don't like being in my parents' bedroom though because it reminds me of what had happened to them. I look around the room. Everything has a thick layer of dust on it, from my mom's used perfume bottles to my dad's collection of old baseball tournament trophies. Even the bed is dusty. Then, a huge cloud of dust is puffed into the air out of the untouched blankets because Falcon flops down on it, causing the four of us to cough.

I examine my cousins carefully. Dakota is eighteen and tall with sandy hair that is always kept short. His brown eyes have always been watchful. Falcon shares Dakota's brown eyes and has dark blonde hair that is always hanging in his eyes. Even at sixteen, he still looks young. Summer, who is just a year and four months younger than me, has piercing green eyes that stand out in comparison to her older brothers. Her shoulder-length dark blonde hair is the exact same shade as Falcon's.

I take a deep breath and tell the three of them my plan about running away from droids. They agree with my idea. Then, I mention that if the six of us are to live out in the wild that someone needs to be in charge. Dakota doesn't want to be leader, so he tells Falcon that he should be the leader.

"Why don't you want to be the leader, Dakota?" I ask.

"Because everyone expects the oldest person to always be the person who is in charge of everyone," he says.

"And besides what makes you think that I want to be leader?" Falcon asks Dakota. Then, Dakota and Falcon get into an argument. Summer, who is usually pretty quiet, speaks up.

"Can't we just discuss this leader thing later?" she interrupts.

"Summer's right," I say. "We should be worrying about how we are going to sneak out, not who is going to be in charge."

"Okay, we'll talk about that later. My biggest worry is how we are going to get past all the police droids," Dakota says to me.

"I was able to track one earlier today to where the central computer is. I think I know a way to shut down the droids in our area of the city long enough for us to escape," I explain. "All I need is a little more time to examine the system and I'll let you know if I can shut down the police droids."

"What about the house droids?" Falcon asks.

"All we have to do for that is kill the house's central computer."

"I have got to hand it to you Crystal. You really know computer systems," Dakota comments.

I blushed a bright shade of red. I know he's right because it was like I was born with a circuit board in my head. I have always been great at programming and hacking.

Then, I give out jobs to the three of them. Falcon is to watch Marilynn and Jayden, while Summer is going to gather some things from a list that I gave her. I have already packed almost everything, but there are a few things I hadn't gotten to when they arrived. Dakota and I will break into the city's central computer and shut down the police droids in our area.

Even though I love doing things with computers, I know that the police droids were made to protect me and other kids. Before all of the adults died, the world government had reprogrammed all police droids to protect the one million of us from all danger. And that included a curfew. Usually, I can go about my day not noticing them, but lately I have been getting the feeling that my every move is being watched. Which after awhile gets kinda creepy.

Anyway, Dakota and I have gotten into the city's central computer. It only takes us five minutes to disable the police droids in the area. Once they are disabled, I tell Dakota, Falcon, and Summer that we will only have twenty minutes before the police droids would be working again. Dakota and Falcon carry Marilynn and Jayden, who are both still asleep, out to Dakota's truck along with everything that was packed into duffel bags and backpacks, while Summer and I are destroying the house's central computer. We shot up the computer with the laser pistols that my parents had kept in a safe place in case of emergencies. I made sure that when Summer and I destroyed the central computer we didn't hit the security section. I knew that as long as that part wasn't hit, the house's security system will still work.

Once we are done, I grab my old school bag from my room, Summer and I run outside, and get into Dakota's air speeder truck. I closed the garage door and locked it along with all the doors and windows before I got in. As soon as I am in the truck, Dakota starts it up and drives away as fast as he can without waking up Marilynn and Jayden. I am just glad that the police droids are disabled so we can get away. Dakota drives to the nearest grocery store, which was just outside of downtown, and parks in the parking lot.

"Let's stay here for the night and decide what to do in the morning," Dakota tells us. "Besides I haven't had a full night's sleep in over a week."

"Fine with me," I comment as I lie down on the floor of the truck. One of the things I had Summer grab was blankets so that way we will be comfortable no matter where we slept. As soon as I close my eyes, I fall asleep.

The next morning, I wake up with my back hurting. Maybe sleeping on the floor of a truck wasn't one of my better ideas. Marilynn, Jayden, Summer, and Falcon are all asleep. I glance at my watch and see it's 8:30 in the morning. Then, I notice that Dakota isn't in the truck, so I am assuming that he is in the grocery store buying things. Without waking the others up, I grab my duffel bag and pull out a new outfit and change.

I choose a pink tanktop and pink t-shirt with light blue knee-length jean shorts. I put on my star earrings and matching necklace. I didn't pack any socks because I only needed my sandals. I brush my hair and make it into a fishtail braid.

I am dressed before Dakota comes back about ten minutes later. He has some food with him. So we wake up the other four and have a short breakfast while discussing what we will do next. I suggest that we stay in Hines Park for awhile and then travel Up North. Mostly, because it's cooler Up North and there are hardly any droids.

"Since you are suggesting that we travel to some place where we won't get caught, then I really hope you know what you're doing," Dakota says a bit worried.

"Don't worry, I know Michigan and I have a map just in case," I reply.

After a short bathroom break and gathering of supplies, we hit the road. I tell Dakota where to go and we make it to Hines Park safely. I have lived in the Metro Detroit area of Michigan for as long as I can remember, so I have been to Hines Park multiple times.

It is strange to see the roads so deserted, though. Before the war and everything, there used to be air speeder cars and trucks everywhere. People went about their everyday lives, not worrying about when their lives would be ruined by some alien invasion. Now, it seems that the whole world is a huge ghost town.

Many human jobs had been replaced with work droids, and adults just owned the companies and businesses their droids worked for. I have grown up with droids being an everyday thing. But once the aliens came and everything, more droids were manufactured to take over everyday things that mostly at-home parents took care of, such as cooking and cleaning, so they could go to war and know that their kids were being taken care of. You can probably guess by now that it has been very lonely with seeing droids instead of familiar faces everywhere.

Anyway, at Hines Park there is an unexpected surprise. Apparently, lots of other kids had the same idea I did - live away from droids. By the way, one of the things that the droids don't do is take care of parks, which is the main reason why I wanted to go to Hines. There are kids of all ages, though most of them were about my age. I recognize some I have gone to school with. Dakota parks his truck in a clear area.

"Hey Crystal!" I hear someone say as I get out of the truck.

The voice nearly startles me. I turn around, see five boys standing behind me, and recognize them immediately. The one who called my name has black hair that stands out from the other four. Three of the others all have brown hair, but one is taller than the other two and has green eyes and the shortest one's hair is curly and he also has green eyes. The other brown haired one has brown eyes that match his hair. The last one has light blonde hair and blue eyes that seem to light up the world.

"Oh, it was just you, Zody," I say coolly to the black haired one.

"Hey Crystal," he repeats casually.

"Wait, you two know each other?," Falcon says.

"Yea, more like used to know. He cheated on me, long story," I reply folding my arms and glaring at Zody.

"Why are you still holding a grudge against me?" Zody asks me.

"Because you are a jerk," I retort angrily.

"Would you two stop arguing and continue later?" Dakota asks. "Crystal, could you tell us who these people are?"

"The jerk is Zody," I say still glaring at him. "Those three are his friends Leo, Hayden, and Niles." I say pointing out the two of brunettes and the blond. "The tallest is Zody's older cousin, Lucas. I've known all of them since kindergarten."

"We have been traveling like you guys, and we saw you arrive and wanted to team up with you," Leo explains.

"Well, how about you stay with us for the night, and we can work things out in the morning?" Dakota replies. The five of them agreed to stay with us for the night.

Then, we set up a small camp for the night. Throughout the rest of the day, I avoid Zody as much as possible. As I am gathering firewood later in the evening, I see Falcon approach me.

"You need any help?" he asks.

"Yea sure," I reply.

"I don't want to make you angry or anything," Falcon says as he picks up a couple small logs, "but what ever happened between you two?"

"Well," I sigh and give in, "back when we were little, Zody and I were best friends. Then, in sixth grade, we started dating. We dated through almost all of seventh grade. Then, my best friend found out he was cheating on me and told me."

I felt tears in the back of my eyes when I said 'best friend'. Shortly after seventh grade, my best friend Lela had died from the disease. Everytime I mention or even think about her now, I become upset. I force myself to hold the tears back.

"What happened?" Falcon asks, shaking me out of my thoughts.

"Let's just say I found out he was being a jerk by cheating and I dumped him. End of story," I say quickly.

"Why don't you just apologize to him?," Falcon asks.

"Why should I apologize for dumping him?! He was the one who cheated on me by dating the richest and most popular girl in the grade!!" I yell angrily. "And besides if he wants to get back to together with me, then he will have to apologize for cheating."

I walk away from Falcon and go back to the campsite with my load of fire wood. He doesn't say anything to me for the rest of the day.

Later at night, I am sitting in front of the last embers of the fire, reading something on my LapPad. I put on a hoodie because summer nights in Michigan can be cold. All the others are asleep. Then, someone sits down next to me. I don't even have to look to know that it was Zody. We sit there for a few minutes without either of us saying anything. Zody finally breaks the ice.

"Look, about earlier-"

"I don't want to talk to you," I say coldly not looking at him. I try to focus on what I am reading.

"Why won't you to talk to me?" Zody asks.

"All I said was I don't want to right now. I didn't say I'm not willing," I respond almost grinning and turning off my LapPad.

"I miss your sense of humor," Zody says smiling. "And I almost forgot how beautiful you are." His hand brushes against my right cheek. I blush, but I don't think he sees it because it's dark even with the moonlight.

"I know I never should've cheated on you, but...I didn't have a choice," Zody explains.

"You didn't have a choice?! You choose to cheat on me!!" I exclaim.

"Look, I never intended to cheat on you. It was a set up to get me to dump you. Some of the other kids didnt want me to be with you, so they tried setting me up. I tried telling them no, but they wouldn't listen. They were forcing me to dump you....I knew I couldn't do it without hurting you. I was going to tell you on the last day of school, but you found out and decided to get me first. I was very upset to find out it was a trap, and I wish that I had never fallen into it. I've been wanting to take back what I had done ever since then. I would do anything to fix my mistake."

"Crystal, please," Zody pleads with me. "Give me another chance to start over again."

I sit there for a minute to let what he had said sink in. I haven't said a word to Zody since the last day of seventh grade. When I dumped him, I didn't even let him tell his side. All through my eighth grade year, I acted as if he didn't exist. In fact, up until today I had almost completely forgotten about him. It was only when he had called out to me earlier that I had started thinking about him again.

"I...I understand what you are saying. But I will never forgive you for breaking my heart," I tell Zody. I stand up with my LapPad, walk to my tent, and fall asleep without thinking of Zody again.

The next morning, Dakota, Falcon, Lucas, Leo, Niles, Zody, and I discuss what to do next, while Summer and Hayden watch Marilynn and Jayden. I tell the others that I had been doing research on my LapPad last night about the government droids. I explain that if we are able to destroy the central computer, then maybe we could convince other people to form a new government. If we could make a new government then we would be able to rebuild the world.

"I have one question," Leo interrupts. "Where is this central computer?"

"That's the problem," I sigh. "The central computer is all the way in a cavern in Puerto Rico. That means it could take forever to get to the computer just so we can destroy it. The fastest way would be to take an air transport, but we don't want it to look like we are doing anything suspicious. Otherwise, we could get caught."

"So what you are saying," Dakota says, "is that we need to find a safe way to Puerto Rico, shut down the computer, and we will go from there."

"Mostly, yes," I reply.

"So, what is our first plan of action?" Niles asks.

"Find a safe way to Florida and go from there," I reply.

"I say we just drive down there. That seems like the best way to start," Dakota suggests.

We all agreed and packed up our campsite. Dakota is going to use his air speeder truck and Lucas will use his. The twins, my cousins and I will be with Dakota, while the four other boys go with Lucas. By midmorning, we are on our way to Florida.

The drive is long, and of course on long drives little kids need to be entertained. Otherwise, they will be annoying. So, I let Marilynn and Jayden watch movies on my LapPad. One of the things I love best about my LapPad is that it's powered through solar power, so of course I usually don't run out of battery on it. In fact, most things are powered by solar energy.

After about nine hours of driving, we are about halfway through Tennesse when Dakota says that we should stop for the night. I tell him that we need to keep going, but he insists that we should get some rest.

So, we stop at the nearest rest stop. It is a clear and warm night so I decide to sleep outside in the back of the truck. I see Zody get a sleeping bag for himself so he could sleep outside. Knowing that if he sees me he would only try and talk to me again, I stayed down in the truck. Like I had said the night before, I don't want to talk to him so I know it is better if I just avoid him.

Lying in my sleeping bag, I stare at the stars that I have always been so fascinated by as a little girl. When I was younger, I had dreamed of traveling through space and exploring, though the thought of leaving Earth always gave me a weird feeling.

Suddenly, I see a shooting star. I want to make a wish, but I can't think of anything to wish for. I fall asleep still thinking about what I should wish for.

The next morning, I wake up only to find that it is well after nine o' clock. I immediately see that no one else, except for Marilynn, Jayden, and me, is awake. I am thinking about waking everyone up right away, but I realize that I have nothing to worry about. It isn't like we are racing against time or anything so there is no need to rush.
Instead, I change into new clothes. I put on a yellow-orange tank top with a white and orange striped t-shirt that says 'dream' on it and tan knee-length shorts. I change my earrings to dangling, clear jewels and put on my necklace with the snowflake. Then, I brush out my hair and put it in a low side-ponytail.
Then, I ask Marilynn and Jayden if they want to play swinging-kickball since the rest stop had a small playscape. It has been awhile since I have played with them, so they are excited that I had asked. We play until the others wake up, which is about an hour later. After a short breakfast, we all get back on the road.
We drive for nine hours until we reach upper Florida and stop at rest area that night. The next day we drive another nine hours before we finally reach Miami, Florida late at night. This time, Dakota suggests that we stay at a hotel for the night since we have reached our final destination before Puerto Rico. The rest of us agree. I, for one, am glad that I will finally be able to sleep without getting up in the morning to my back hurting because I have been sleeping on a hard surface every night.
The next morning, we all go down to the breakfast room. Another reason I am glad we are staying in a hotel is that I could have a real meal since I had left home. While we were driving, we had stopped at fast food places. The television in the breakfast room is on the news channel. The reporter droids are saying that kids across the world are starting to fight over trivial things. I know this is definitely not good.
"Looks like I was wrong about us taking our time," Dakota comments.
"Yea well, we are gonna have to hurry before World War Five starts because of all of these little fights," I say annoyed because of what is happening.
"Oh come on," Leo replies, "we all know another full scale war won't break out."
"One could. And who knows, it could be the one that gets rid of humanity completely," I respond even more irritated. "This is why we need to destroy that central computer."
"What I don't get," Leo says changing the subject, "is why you are even worrying about this situation. You should be worrying about your sisters, and let us handle this without your judgment of every single thing we do."
"You know, I would be caring about Marilynn and Jayden if I didn't already know what you don't." I narrow my eyes in an angry glare.
"And what is that?"
"It was my idea to go on this mission. It was my idea that got us here. It was my idea…that we can change the lives of everyone in this world if we worked together. But apparently you dont care about others…, you only care about yourself." I give a quick glance to Zody. I stand up, throw away my trash and go back to the room.

Once I am in the hotel room, I flop myself face down onto the nearest bed and cry. I am angry with Leo for agitating me over the fact that I am a girl; I know that is why he said what he did. But that is only half the reason why I am crying. The other half is that I am homesick. Over the past year, I have been wishing that my parents never died,…that the Maztec never came,…and that I have a normal life. Even thoughts of Zody have been floating into my mind since we first met last week, thoughts wishing that we were still together. Now, I am wishing more than ever that all those things could be undone.
About a half an hour later, I hear someone enter the room. I am expecting it to be Dakota, but it isn't.
"Crystal," I hear Summer say. "I know that you are really angry right now and probably don't want to talk to anyone, but…Lucas told us right after you left that he and the other four boys are going to leave and go back to Michigan as soon as they're ready. I want to talk to you because I thought that maybe I could convince you that we need them if we are going to finish this."
"I dont even want to finish what I have started at this point," I say sitting up and sniffling. "I just want everything to go back to the way it was…before my world ended."
"But there are some things that no one can stop," Summer says sitting next to me on the bed. "We didn't know what would happen when we made contact with the Maztec. We didn't think a war would break out. And we never would have thought that the Maztec would bring a disease that could kill us all."
Summer paused for a moment and took a deep breath.
"Even though no one was able to stop those things, there were ways to change the outcome of it. There was the discovery of the vaccine that saved one million children, including both of us. There is the protection that the world government had enforced with the police droids that keeps us safe. And even though we couldn't do anything to stop the war, we knew that what our parents were fighting for was our lives."
"I don't really see where you are going with this," I say confused. Summer sighs.
"Look, I am going through the same thing you are. I am still trying to get over my parents' death,…but I don't let it hold me back. When you suggested that we change the world, I was totally with you and I still am. I don't want to live in a world where I know that there was no organization at all to keep us safe. I figured that if we could change the world that I would feel more safe."
I had forgotten that Summer had been going through the same thing I am—getting over my parents' death. In fact, all of us are trying to move on without their guidence. Then it hit me. This was the reason why the others decided to help me with this, because they trust me to guide and help them with this whole plan.
Summer pauses again and takes my hand. Then she looks me in the face and says something unexpected.
"I love you like a sister, Crystal. And you have always treated me like one. I look up to you and know that you are there for me."
I wrap Summer into a tight hug.
"I love you too, Summer," I whisper. "And thank you."

When I finally let go of Summer, I feel a lot better. I know that everything she had said is true. And I know what I have to do now. Summer looks at me, knowing what I am thinking.
"C'mon," I say. "Let's go tell the others."
The two of us run out of the room and down to the lobby. On the way, we run past Falcon, who is bringing the twins back to the room. When I get to the lobby, I see that Lucas is just about to leave. I slow down as I come up to him and Dakota.
"Lucas, wait!" I exclaim.
"What is it?" Lucas says turning around.
"Don't go home. Please. I am sorry about what happened and I know that we can do this, but I can't go on without the five of you. I need your help. Could you please give me a chance to make it up to you?"
"You know," Lucas says grinning, "I was hoping you would come and stop us from leaving. I knew that you would still need us, but you know how hard it is to convince Leo to change his mind about something."
"So, you'll stay with us?" I asked excitedly.
"Yes, we will," I heard Leo say.
I didn't notice that he had come back in. He must have heard my apology, because I could tell that he knew I meant what I had said.
"Look, I am sorry too," Leo continues giving me a side hug. "I never should have been rude and offended you. Its just that I am jealous of how good of a leader you are."
"You're jealous of me for being a leader?! I think I recall a certain someone saying to me in kindergarten that you were the best leader in the whole school."
"I was five at the time! Of course I would say that!"
"I'm joking. But I will say that you were the one who introduced me to the other four and got me to become a leader like you."
"Okay, okay we're even," Leo says smiling widely.
"I think I solved our leader problem," Dakota comments. "I believe that Crystal deserves to be the one in charge."
"I agree," Leo says.
"I agree too," Lucas put in.
"I guess it's settled then. Crystal is our new leader," Dakota says.
"Can we stop talking already?" Summer asks. "If we go on any longer we're gonna start fighting again."
We all laugh, breaking the last of the tension. Dakota, Summer, and I go back to the room to get our things and Falcon and the twins. Once we are packed up, we all drive to the beach for two reasons. One: I figured we could use a little relaxation time, and two: it would be away from droids and I wanted to tell the others the next part of the plan.
Once we are settled on the beach, I tell everyone about my idea.
"My idea," I say, "for the next part of the plan is that we take a boat and sail to Puerto Rico. It's about a six day travel there and back, but I don't know how long it will take for us to find the cavern."
"Can't you just search it on the Maps app on your LapPad?" Hayden asks.
"Well, I know the location of the entrance to the cave, but what I am saying is that I have no idea where exactly in the cave the central computer is," I explain. "The world government wanted to keep the location a secret, so of course the only people who knew were the most important people. I have found a way to obtain the exact location, but there is like a million encrypted codes protecting it."
"But you can figure out the encrypted codes right?" Niles asks.
"It's not as easy as you think it is to crack an encrypted code," I tell him.
"Anyway," Dakota interrupts, "how long would it take to find this cave?"
"It shouldn't take too long. The cave is in a national park not too far from the city of San Juan," I explain. "I was thinking that we would dock at a seaport in San Juan, so we could probably just walk to the park from the city. That's pretty much it on the rest of the plan."
"And we will worry about how to get back to Florida later right?" Leo asks.
"Yep, that's the plan," I finish.
Suddenly, I am wet all over and I hear giggles. I turn around and see Marilynn and Jayden running away. I jump up, run after them, and catch them. They squeal as I tackle them to the ground. I am finally able to pin both of them to the sand.
"Who's idea was that?" I demand.
"It was her idea," they say at the same time pointing at each other.
I know how much the twins love to play little pranks on me, so I let them go. Then, I decide to have a little fun. Summer and Hayden are talking nearby on the shoreline, so I sneak up behind them and splash them. They are startled, but they immediately start to splash me back and I shriek. I see Falcon, Leo, and Niles join in. Pretty soon, everyone is splashing water at each other and having a lot of fun. Even Dakota is having fun and he usually doesn't do these kind of things because he would think it is immature.
Eventually, we all become tired. So we dry off with the towels we have and change into dry clothes at the beach's public restroom. As we start driving, I search on my LapPad for a seaport where boats could be rented. I find a good place and tell Dakota where to go and the others follow.
We make it to the seaport about fifteen minutes later. The boat rental is expensive, considering we would be using it for almost a week and there is eleven of us, but Niles is able to have the boat-care droid to give it to us for a little less. Niles is really good with money and making deals with people.
We can only bring so much onto the boat, which is just big enough to capacitate all of us. So, we each bring a duffel bag of what each of us would need for six days. Food and water would be stored in an electric cooler. I also have my old school bag which holds my LapPad, commlink, first aid kit, laser pistols, pocket knife, flint/magnesium keychain, and a few other things. I keep it with me at all times.
After we pack everything up on the boat, we set sail. Our boat is half sail–half motorized. On clear days, the motor wouldn't be used and the we would use the sails to guide ourselves. When the waves got choppy, we would use the motor. And if for some reason the sails got ripped out or something then we would use the motor.
I tell Dakota and Lucas, who are the 'captains' of the boat, which direction we should start heading in. As the two of them get started with the sails, I see Zody leaning on the railing nearby. I haven't said a word to him since we were back at Hines Park, which seemed like years ago. I want to talk to him, but I didn't know what to say.


--------------------------------
On the third night after everyone else is asleep (except for Leo because he is on his watch shift), I am still awake. I can't fall asleep no matter how hard I try. I can't stop thinking about Zody. I decide to go out onto the deck for a walk. As I climb out of my bunk, I feel a strong wave hit the boat and I am thrown off my feet. I have the feeling that a storm is brewing.
"Guys," Leo says over the boat's intercom, "I need you all up on the deck. Like, right now!"
Dakota, Lucas, Niles, Falcon, and Zody all jump out of their beds and run out to the deck at the same time. I tell Marilynn and Jayden, who are both woken up (along with everyone else) by the wave hitting the boat, to stay with Hayden and Summer. Hayden asks me what I am doing and I tell him that I am going to help the others. I can tell that he is surprised by this, but I grab my bag and leave before he can protest.
Up on the deck, the wind is blowing huge gusts and rain is pouring so hard that my t-shirt and shorts are soaked in less than two seconds. I guess I am right about there being a storm. I make sure that my bag is secure on my shoulder and I go help Leo and Niles use a few buckets to keep as much the water off the deck as possible. My arms are hurting really bad after a couple times, but I keep at it. The waves are rocking the ship wildly and are very high. I feel as if I am trying to walk during an earthquake.
Then out of nowhere, a wave slams into the deck of the boat and pushes me across the boat. I reach for the railing, but as soon as I grab it I lost my grip. I am pushed into the ocean and kinda freaking out. I guess this would be a bad time to say that I am not a very good swimmer. I tread water as best as I can to keep myself above the waves. Lucas throws me a life ring, but the waves are too strong and I can't reach it. By now I am exhausted and I can hardly tread water. Just then a huge wave comes towards me and the world goes dark.

The next thing I know, I am coughing up water. I open my eyes and see a clear night sky and Zody kneeling over me. Under me there is dry sand and I shiver from my soaked t-shirt and shorts
"What happened to me?" I gasp taking in air as I sit up carefully.
"There was a wave that pulled you under," Zody explains. "I jumped in and grabbed you, but I realized that there would be no way for me to get back to the boat safely. So I just held on to you. I let the waves push us, and we were led out of the storm. Then, I saw land so I swam here."
"Is everyone else alright?"
"I don't know," Zody says. Even though I hear his answer, I don't respond. Something inside me breaks. I feel tears in the back of my eyes. I realize that Zody gave his life so he could save mine. He still loves me.
"What is it Crystal?" Zody asks, reading the expression on my face.
All I do is lean over and kiss him on the lips. Kissing Zody is the most beautiful thing in the universe. For those few seconds, the only thing I can think about is him. Every memory I have of him flashes through my mind. I feel as if the world stops around me.
Then, we finally break away from kissing.
"Thank you…thank you for saving my life," I breathe softly. "Because you saved me, I know that you still love me. I was foolish to hold a grudge against you when I knew that you had never meant to hurt me. I forgive you completely for cheating on me. I love you."
"I love you too, and I couldn't live without you," Zody said he leans over and hugs me.
I hug him too, and I dont want to let go.
"Looks like we're stuck here for the night at least," Zody comments after we break from our hug.
"Yea…wait!" I exclaim. I almost hadn't realized that I still have my bag with me. Somehow, I had managed not to lose it. I pull my LapPad out and see that it is completely dry. Thank goodness my bag is waterproof.
"I had attached a beacon to the boat the other day, so that way I could track where we were," I explain to Zody. "Since we aren't in the storm anymore, there shouldn't be any interference so I should be able to find the boat."
Once my LapPad is booted up, I go to the GPS app and see that I am still able to track the boat. The last time I had checked my LapPad, we were heading straight for Puerto Rico. But now the boat was going northwest, away from the island. Then I notice something different that hadn't been there before.
"Wait a minute…," I say trailing off.
"What is it?" Zody asks looking at the map. Apparently, I have the 'find my location' option on my LapPad turned on, and it is showing that Zody and I have actually made it to Puerto Rico. We aren't too far from the city of Dorado, which isn't too far from San Juan. Zody sees what I do because he asks me what we should do next.
"I think we should contact the others and tell them where we are," I respond closing down my LapPad and placing it back into my bag. "But I am tired, so how about we do it in the morning."
Zody agrees with me and we take some palm branches and made a sort of bed for ourselves. Since I am still shivering from my wet clothes, Zody builds a small fire with some dried grass, sticks, and the flint/magnesium keychain I have so the two of us can stay warm. I secure my bag to a nearby tree branch for the night. Then I lay down on the palms and Zody lies down next to me. I feel his hand on mine and I move my hand so I could hold his. I close my eyes and the two of us fall asleep, hands entwined.

——————————————
I wake up the next morning and I almost forget about the night before. What had happened seemed like a dream, but I knew it wasn't and that Zody and I are really on our own.
"How are you doing?" Zody asks me. He is already up and using my pocket knife, trying to open a coconut.
"Well," I say sitting up in my still damp clothes, "I can say that last night changed our plans. I mean now that the others aren't with us, we're kinda on our own."
I stretch my arms and legs to loosen them up. For some reason, my whole body kinda aches and my chest feels a little tight, but it probably was because I had been sleeping on the ground. I wish I could change out of my light blue t-shirt and white jean crop pants and put on something that is dry. I look at Zody. His hair and clothes are still damp too.
"Oh, that reminds me," Zody says. "I contacted the others a little while ago, and Dakota said that they were going to head back to Florida. Mostly because, last night Niles slipped on the deck and broke his ankle."
"Guess we're on our own," I sigh. "Do you need help with that coconut?"
Zody hands me the coconut and I open it in one try. I take one half of the coconut and give Zody the other half. I drink the sweet, tangy coconut milk in my half and then shave off some of the white insides and ate them. I hand my pocket knife to Zody so he could do the same.
Back when I was about ten, I had watched a survival show and I had become obsessed with "survival in the wild" as they say. I had read books, watched more shows, and even used my savings to buy myself things that I would use to "survive". Because Marilynn and Jayden were only toddlers at the time, I would play outside on the swing set almost every day by myself, pretending it was my treehouse and that I lived in a land I had made up. I had grown out of the survival phase by the time I went into sixth grade, but I still kept the books and things I had for one of those "just in case" situations. Now I am glad I had put some of the things in my old school bag because I know that Zody and I would need as much help as we could get.
The one main thing I had forgotten to keep in my bag was snacks. I make a mental note to put some snacks in there once we reunited with the others. So once the two of us are finished with our coconut halves, I suggest that we get a couple more for later.
"I agree with you," Zody says. "But this was the only coconut I could find that was on the ground and not rotten."
"Well," I say as I stand up, "then I guess we will have to climb a palm tree to get a couple."
"Are you crazy?! You could fall out of the tree and break something."
"Trust me, Zody. I know what I am doing. I've climbed trees lots of times."
"I know, but you've never climbed a palm tree," Zody protests.
"For the sake of the sun, Zody!! Which is more important right now, getting food so we can survive or falling from a tree and hurting myself?"
"Okay, okay. I get the point."
"Good," I say as I start my ascent into the palm tree.
Climbing the palm tree isn't as hard as I thought it would be, but it doesn't help that I am wearing sandals. Even though palm trees don't have branches, the bark of the palm trees is easy to grip so it made it easier for me to climb. Once I get to the top I pull off a couple coconuts and toss them down to Zody. But as I start my way back down, my right leg slips and I cut my calf on the tree bark. When I make it to the bottom, Zody sees my leg.
"I told you it wasn't a good idea," he says
"Yea," I say wincing as I sit down in the sand. "Maybe trying to climb a palm tree wasn't one of my better ideas. I'm just glad that I was able to get the coconuts and didn't fall and break a leg."
Zody pulls a piece of cloth off the bottom of his t-shirt, wets it with ocean water, and uses it to clean the cut.
"Hold still Crystal," he says.
"It's kinda hard to when you are touching the spot that hurts," I say as I flinch again. It isn't helping that the rag has salt water in it because it only stings worse than if it isn't salt water.
"I know, just stay still until I get the cut clean," Zody tells me.
I try not to flinch again as Zody finishes cleaning the cut and bandages it with some cloth from my first aid kit. I stand up carefully and take my bag off the tree branch it is on. Just then, I hear some rustling in the bushes nearby.
"What was that?" I say nervously.
"Probably just the wind," Zody replies.
"But there is no wind," I respond alarmed
Then, I see a nearby bush move. Zody sees it too.
"Get behind me," he says as he takes out my pocket knife.
Then a figure comes out of the bushes.

It is a Latino boy, who looks no older than Marilynn and Jayden. He is wearing a worn out white soccer jersey that is loose on his skinny body and dark blue shorts. His hair is dark brown, curly and unkempt with leaf bits in it. He has big brown eyes that look at us as if he is surprised to see us, though I know he had been listening to Zody and me talking. Zody puts the pocket knife away in the pocket of his shorts, so the boy wouldn't be scared.

"¿Quien eres tú?" the Latino boy says in Spanish. (Who are you?)

"Nosotros somos Crystal y Zody," I say pointing at myself and Zody. (We are Crystal and Zody.)

"Wait, you understand him?!" Zody interrupts.

"Well, I've had four years of Spanish classes, so I can understand him pretty well."

Back in fifth grade, we had the opportunity to chose what language we wanted to learn. I had chosen Spanish, but Zody decided to learn Mandarin Chinese.

"¿De donde eres tú?" the Latino boy asks in response. (Where did you come from?)

"Nosotros somos de Estados Unidos." (We are from the United States.)

Then he asks how we got here. So I explain to him about how last night's storm had brought us here. I wonder if the Latino boy knows any English, but if he knows he doesn't show it. I also tell him how Zody and I are looking for the cave system with the central computer. His eyes light up when I tell him that. The Latino boy then tells Zody and me to follow him. I start to walk away with the Latino boy when Zody grabs my arm.

"Crystal, I know that you can understand him and everything," Zody says. "But I have no idea what that boy and you have been talking about."

"I told him that we were looking for the cave system with the central computer," I respond. "And he said that he can help us."

"Well, it's great if he knows where it is, but we don't want this boy to get in the way of what we promised the others we would do."

"He isn't in the way," I protest. "He is trying to help us. Don't you want to get this done and over with?"

"Yes, I do, but—"

"Then let him help us." I pull my arm out of Zody's grip. "If you don't want him to help, then you can stay here and wait for me to come back."

"I don't trust you to go with—"

Then the Latino boy interrupts.

"Come," he says in English.

Both Zody and I are stunned. We stand there and glance at each other.

"Come," the Latino boy says again grabbing Zody's hand. "I help you, come."

I guess that is all Zody needed to hear because he starts following the boy.

I grab my bag and the two coconuts, which had been forgotten since the Latino boy appeared, and follow them. The Latino boy is leading Zody, who is still holding his hand, down the beach to the east. I don't know what time it is, but I can guess from the sun's position in the sky that it is about six-thirty.

As the three of us walk down the beach, I start a conversation with the Latino boy. He speaks good English with some Spanish mixed in. I tell Zody the things he says in Spanish. His name is Tanner and he has just turned eight. He has two older sisters and younger a brother and sister who are twins. He lives in San Juan. Tanner says that the place he had found us is where most of the coconuts on the island grow, and that he was out to find a few when he had heard Zody and I.

"I not heard other voices before meeting you," Tanner says in his English.

"What do you mean you have not heard other voices before?" I ask Tanner.

"No one else here. Just mis hermanos and us."

Zody and I glance at each other surprised. Is Tanner saying that the only people on this island before we came were him and his siblings? I thought. Tanner looks at the two of us, curiously.

"How long will it take us to reach San Juan?" Zody asks changing the subject.

"Five hours, long way. But three hours short way," Tanner replies. "We taking long way to not be near droids. Must leave early in morning to find coconuts, but must return before son las doce."

"Why must you return before twelve?" I wonder.

"If not back by then…, droids may find us."

"Why don't you just get rid of the droids?"

"Don't know how. Try to find way to make gone, but never works."

"So you have tried to destroy them before?" Zody asks.

"Yes. Mi hermana mayor says when droids are gone, we will leave island." Tanner replies with a smile.

"I don't understand," Zody says. "Haven't you left the island before?"

"Well…," Tanner says slowly, "we trying to do same thing you are. We trying to destroy computer, too. We don't know way to destroy. Try new things everyday. Nothing works. Maybe you can help."

I remember the conversation I had with the others a few days ago, which seems like a million years. I had mentioned there being a bunch of encrypted codes protecting the central computer. Chances are Tanner and his siblings have no idea it is the encrypted codes protecting the central computer. I know that the only way to destroy it is to crack all the codes, which will destroy the core. Once the core is destroyed, then it is easy to destroy the rest of it.

"Yes," I say grinning slightly at Zody. He grins back. "We can help."


——————————————

It is close to noon by the time we make it to San Juan. We had stopped a few times along the way to catch our breath. Just as we reach the outskirts of San Juan, my bandaged right calf starts hurting badly. Every step I take feels like a knife is stabbing into my leg. I tell Tanner and Zody about my leg. Zody has to support my right side the rest of the way because I can't walk on it.

As soon as we make it to the house, Tanner runs in to get his older sisters. I sit down carefully on the top porch step with my back to the wooden railing. Tanner's house is a small two-story with pale yellow plastisteel and a rain-worn roof. The pale yellow paint on the plastisteel is chipped and peeling. The porch in front of the house is painted white and the railing on one side is missing. The wooden steps connected and leading up to the porch are cracked and bent with dozens of places, where you could easily receive a sliver if you aren't careful.

"I don't get why my leg is bothering me," I say turning my attention away from the house. My leg is really throbbing now.

"Well, you were just walking on it for five hours, but I don't think that would be the cause of it hurting," Zody says sitting down on the porch step below me. "Chances are it's most likely infected."

"Great," I groan. "Another thing that could possibly slow us down."

"Crystal, you'll be fine. Trust me." Zody takes my hand and squeezes it a little. He flashes a smile at me.

I remember that Zody would always do that to me whenever something bad happened to me. I wish I hadn't broken up with him before my parents died. He would have been there to comfort me. I'm just glad things are back to the way they used to be.

Just then, Tanner comes out of the house with his two older sisters and younger twin siblings. He looks worried.

The oldest has dark brown hair that is the color of coffee, perfectly straight, and goes down to her waist. Her eyes, though, are a dark blue that contrasts her hair and dark tan skin. Her face has a kind, but concerned expression.

The second oldest resembles her sister, except that she has brown eyes and lighter skin. On her face, she has an anxious look.

The twins, unlike their older three siblings, have dark blonde hair. Their blue eyes are the same exact shade. Their skin is a dark tan like their oldest sister, though. The two of them don't seem to have the same concern their older siblings have.

"Would it be okay with you if I took the bandages off your leg?" the oldest sister askes me, sitting down across from me on the porch step.

I am surprised how good her English is compared to Tanner's, especially since she has an accent. I nod my head, too surprised to say anything. She takes the end of the bandage on my right calf and starts to unravel my bandaged leg.

The second oldest sister leans against the porch railing with an arm around Tanner, who is standing next to her. The twins are sitting in front of the door, whispering to each other. Zody, still sitting on the next step, takes my hand again. I am still trying to get used to him holding my hand, but I don't pull away.

The oldest sister gets down to the part of the bandage that is on the skin of my leg. It takes all my self-control not to flinch when the bandage peels off my skin.

When the cut itself is revealed, it doesn't look that bad. But the oldest sister must have noticed something that I didn't, because her eyes widen and she gasps.

"What?" Zody says letting go of my hand and climbing over me to look at my leg. "What's wrong with her leg?"

"It…from what I can tell, it looks like her leg is infected," the oldest sister says.

"I don't see what you mean," Zody replies.

"Well it's swollen, that's for sure, and when the cut heals the swelling will go down. But there is definitely an infected part, right here." The oldest sister points to the lower half of the cut.

"Is there anything you can do about it?" I ask her.

"Yes. I can keep it so nothing else will make it any worse,…but as for getting rid of the infection…I really don't know what I can do about that." She turns to Zody with a look of major concern. "Did you clean the cut right after it happened?"

"Yea, I cleaned the cut with a cloth soaked with salt water," Zody answers.

The oldest sister draws a sharp breath. Her expression changes from concern to fear.

"You probably haven't heard, but there was an accidental gas leak into the ocean about a week ago—"

"I think we heard something about a gas leak, didn't we Crystal?" Zody interrupts.

I pinch Zody in the arm. "Let her finish what she is saying," I tell Zody, trying to keep how annoyed I was out of my voice. Even with all of his good qualities, and there is many, Zody tends to interrupt other people when he thinks he knows something that can help in a situation. I get annoyed when he does this because it usually isn't something that is really important.

"As I was saying," the oldest sister continues, "the gas went into the ocean about a week ago, and we have been making sure it has been staying away from the island. Well, at least our part of the island that is. The leak wasn't too large and it was gradually going away on its own, so we knew the ocean itself wouldn't be harmed. We certainly didn't think about what we would do if one of us were to accidentally come in contact with it."

"So, is the gas dangerous?" I ask.

"Only…if it enters the body."

Hearing that makes me anxious. I glance at Zody, very worried. I can tell he's trying to not show how upset he is about this.

"Look," she continues, "I know you two came all this way to get rid of that central computer. Tanner told me. But we can't do anything until your leg is healed. I know I can heal you, and once you are better, we can help you destroy the computer. All I am asking, is that you will trust us."

I look over at Zody. He hasn't said a word, since I silenced him. But I can tell he has been listening. He gives me a reassuring expression and a small nod. I wonder what Dakota, Lucas, and the others would think about my decision. They would probably agree with me.

"Alright, I'll let you treat me, but on one condition. Whatever you are going to do it won't involve any amputations," I say holding out my hand.

"Don't worry," the oldest sister says shaking my hand and laughing. "I won't have to do anything like that."

Suddenly, we all hear a siren, which makes me jump out of my skin. I have heard the siren before and I know exactly what it means. Police droids starting their daily route.

"Hurry, we must get you inside," the oldest sister says to me.

She and Zody start to help me up, but as soon as I move my right leg, pain shoots up it. I grunt and squeeze my eyes shut, as if I could hold back the pain.

"I can't…I can't move my leg," I say breathless from pain.

"I'll carry her," Zody says.

"Here, I'll take your bag," the oldest sister says taking my bag off my shoulder.

Zody slips his arms under my legs and around my back, and I wrap my arms around his neck. At first, I am not so sure he can carry me, but then I remember that he was able to keep me from drowning last night. With that in mind, I know Zody can carry me. He lifts me up carefully, while keeping his arms locked in place. He carries me into the house just as I see a flashing light out of the corner of my eye.

The oldest sister closes the door behind Zody and I then motions Zody to follow her but keep quiet. We go to the upper floor of the house and into a small, dark room. Zody, still carrying me, goes into the room. The oldest sister makes sure the door is closed, then locks it.

The only light in the room is from a small glowlamp in one corner of the room. I am confused by why we are all in here. Zody carries me over to where the other five are sitting around the glowlamp. He sets me down gently and I let go of his neck. My right leg is now numb.

"Why are we in here?" I ask.

"Sometimes the police droids check in the houses," the oldest sister says. "So, we wait in here until we know they are gone."

"Here is your bag," the second oldest sister says handing me my bag.

"Thank you," I respond taking it from her and slinging it over my shoulders. "You never told me your name."

"Oh, I am so sorry I didn't introduce myself sooner," the oldest sister says. "I am Roxanne and I am seventeen. Jozline is twelve and Mya and Morgan are five."

"Just out of curiosity, why does Tanner speak half Spanish – half English and you speak no Spanish at all?"

"Well, our parents were both Hispanic so they spoke in Spanish," Roxanne explains. "When Jozline and I used to go to school, they taught us English. Since then, Jozline and I have been teaching the other three to speak English."

Suddenly, I feel a little dizzy. I shake it off.

"How long does it take for the police droids to do their daily route?" I ask to get my mind off of my dizziness.

"Only about five to ten minutes."

Roxanne studies my face in the glowlamp's light. I try to keep my emotions hidden, but it's hard when my whole right leg is numb, my left leg is starting to hurt, and I feel lightheaded. I try so hard not to show my pain, but it is impossible. Roxanne sees through my seemingly calm expression.

"It's getting worse isnt it?" Roxanne asks softly.

All I can do is nod my head. I start to sweat and I can feel my skin growing warm. Zody puts his hand on my forehead. It feels so cold and refreshing.

"Your skin is way too warm," Zody tells me. I lay my head on Zody's shoulder because I am so lightheaded.

"I think the police droids are gone now," Jozline says.

"Good," Roxanne responds, "because we need to get Crystal to my room before it's too late. Jozline, I need you to get my things. Tanner, you take Mya and Morgan to your room. Zody, carry Crystal and follow me."

Zody picks me up again and I wrap my arms around his neck, even though they feel as if they are limp. Roxanne leads Zody down the hallway to her room. In her room, there are two beds and a dresser, but there isn't much of anything else except for what seems to be medical equipment around one of the beds.

Zody lays me carefully on the bed with the medical equipment. He takes my bag from me and drops it in a corner.

"I'll be back in a minute. Keep an eye on her, Zody." Roxanne runs out of the room.

Zody looks at me with the worst expression of fear I have ever seen on a person's face. I can tell he is trying not to have a breakdown.

"What do you think she is going to do Zody?" I ask.

"I dont know, but I wont let you die. I'll do anything to keep you alive," he responds with his voice shaking.

I see a tear slip from Zody's eyes. Never in my whole time of knowing him have I ever seen him cry. At least not in front of me. Seeing him cry though makes me start to cry.

"I'll never leave you, Zody. I promise I'll keep my strength for you." The words come out quieter than I had intended. I grip Zody's shaking hand and try not to let go.

Just then, Roxanne comes back in with Jozline behind her. My vision starts to blur so I can't see what they are carrying, but I hope that it is something that can help me.

"You'll be fine Crystal. Everything will be okay," Roxanne says reassuringly.

That is the last thing I hear before I black out.


——————————————

At first, I hear voices, but I can't make out what is being said. I strain my ears to try and hear the voices better.

"I've done everything I could for now, but I won't know anything else until I can get to the downtown hospital and find the data I need."

"How long do you think this treatment you made will work?"

"It should last at least a week. That should give me enough time to find the data at the hospital and treat the infection."

"Okay, I'll stay here and watch Crystal whenever you go to do your research."

"I was thinking about leaving in a couple minutes and I'll probably be back by ten. The sooner I find what I'm looking for, the better Crystal will get."

"And the faster we'll be able to get rid of that central computer."

The coversation between Roxanne and Zody ends and I hear footsteps leave the room. I feel someone sit down on the bed and then lips brush my forehead. I know it is Zody.

I grin and open my eyes slowly. It has gotten darker in the room than it had been before I went unconscious, so it is easier on my eyes. I look up at Zody and he is smiling back at me.

"How are you feeling?" he asks me.

"I feel like I just missed something important."

Zody laughs and takes my hand.

"I heard you and Roxanne talking," I continue. "What did she mean by treatment?"

"Roxanne was able to stop the gas infection from moving further throughout your body. She said that right now the infection is only in your legs and lower chest."

"So, it looks like I'm going to be stuck in this bed for awhile."

I look over at Zody. He seems upset about something. I can tell because whenever he is upset he bites his bottom lip.

"Zody what's wrong?" I ask gently.

"This is all my fault, Crystal."

"What is?"

"You know. When you scratched your leg on the palm tree and then I put the ocean water on it…."

"Zody, this isnt your fault. We had no idea that the gas leak was still in the water."

"I know. Its just that…it's my mistake that got you so sick. I saved you once but I dont think I can save you this time."

"What are you talking about? Look, Zody—"

I started having a coughing fit. I breathed deeply to stop coughing. That's strange, I think. Zody said that the infection was only in my legs and lower chest….

"It isnt your fault for me getting this sick," I continue. "You did the right thing by cleaning the cut on my leg. Even if you had known about the water, there still wouldn't have been anything you could do about it. The water on the cut may not have even started the infection. I mean it could have gotten into my body when I almost drowned."

"Wait! Repeat that last part," Zody says looking at me a bit alarmed.

"The gas could have gotten into my body when I almost drowned?"

"Omigosh!" Zody says jumping up off the bed. "I have to go talk to Roxanne. I'll have one of the others watch you."

"Why, what is—"

I get into another coughing fit. I take more deep breaths to stop it.

"I think I may know something Roxanne doesn't and I think it will help you," Zody tells me once I stop coughing.

"But Zody its getting late and you don't even know your way around San Juan," I protest. He doesnt know it, but I dont want him to go off and leave me here.

"Dont worry. I'll have Tanner come with me. I'm going to tell Jozline to watch you." He leans down and kisses my forehead. "Get some rest. I promise I'll be back soon."

He runs from the room. I distantly hear Zody talking to Jozline. I get into another coughing fit while I wait. A couple minutes later, Jozline comes in with Mya and Morgan trailing behind her.

"Are you feeling alright? Zody just left with Tanner." She sits down next to me on the bed. Mya and Morgan sit on the other bed, quietly.

"I'm feeling okay, except that I keep coughing."

I see Jozline look at my hair curiously. I cant guess why she would be though.

"Your hair is a mess," Jozline points out. "Is it okay with you if I brush it out?"

"Sure." I turn my body so I am on my side facing away from Jozline. It is a bit difficult considering my legs are still numb and the rest of my body aches.

As Jozline starts to brush my hair, I close my eyes and relax. I let my thoughts drift to Marilynn, Jayden, and the others. I wonder if they miss me. I wonder if they dont know what to do without me. Eventually, these thoughts escape me and I fall asleep.

When I wake up the next morning, I feel very different from the night before. The painful headaches I was having the day before are gone. I move my legs and realize they aren't numb anymore. I am in the same position I was last night, but when I sit up, my muscles still ache somewhat. There are clean bandages on my right leg. I look at the sunlight coming in through the window and guess that it's about nine or ten in the morning. I feel my hair and can tell that Jozline had braided it.

Just then, Roxanne comes in.

"I was wondering how much longer you were going to sleep, especially with the medication I gave you." Roxanne glances at one of the monitors beside the bed.

"Were you able to stop the infection?"
I ask her.

"Yes," Roxanne smiles. "When Zody came to me last night and told me about his theory, I knew he was right."

"What theory?"

"He didn't tell you? Zody told me that he thought the gas infection had gotten into your body when you almost drowned. He said that when you were coughing up the water in your lungs afterwards, it had a greenish tint to it. That led me to the conclusion of the gas filled water getting into your lungs, which went into your bloodstream giving you the infection. I knew the right medicine to use to clean the bloodstream, so I used it on you last night when you were asleep."

"Well, then what about the water and the cut on my leg?"

"The infection itself was slow moving at first, but when the poisoned water came in contact with your body again, it sped up the rate at which the infection spread."

I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding. I am glad to finally know what had been going on inside of my body. And from what it sounds like, if Roxanne hadn't known what was wrong then I could still be sick.

"You do have a bit of a fever," Roxanne points out, "but other than that you'll be fine."

"Thank you so much," I tell her full of gratitude. "If Tanner hadn't found Zody and me, I don't know what could have happened to me."

"You're welcome."

-------------

It takes me a few days to get over my fever, but after that I am okay. I am especially happy to not be confined to that bed anymore. My legs are stiff, though, so walking is a little difficult.

It is July 5th, almost two weeks since I made my decision to not live with droids. Thinking back, I didn't think, at the time, that so much could happen in such a short amount of time. I am sitting on the steps of the back porch of the house. I wear an old green and white tank top and tan shorts that Roxanne was able to find in the back of her closet. My hand brushes the edge of the bandages on my right calf. Roxanne said that I may end up with a scar even though the cut wasnt very deep.

I observe the area around me. The sunset paints the sky with streaks of red, orange, and pink with tinges of purple. On the left side of the backyard, Zody is playing soccer with Tanner, Mya, and Morgan. In the garden in the far right corner of the backyard, Jozline harvests all the ripe tomatoes, strawberries, pomegranates, mangoes, and bananas.

Roxanne comes out of the house and sits down next to me.

"I havent seen the younger three this happy since before the war," Roxanne says watching the small soccer match.

"Yea, Marilynn and Jayden would love to have someone their age to play with," I respond wistfully. A small grin forms on my face.

Roxanne looks at me puzzled. I realize I never told her about the others.

"Marilynn and Jayden are my younger twin sisters," I explain. "They, my three cousins, and four other friends were with Zody and I before we got separated."

I go on to tell her about everything that had happened before Zody and I ended up in Puerto Rico. I suddenly realize Zody and I haven't heard from Dakota and the others in almost a week. Something must be wrong if we haven't heard from them in that long. I know that Dakota would have called me by now.

Mya and Morgan come over to me with a bunch of wildflowers.

"¡Gracias! Me gustan los flores."

Suddenly, my commlink starts beeping. I pull it out of my pocket and see that it is Dakota.

"Dakota! I'm so glad to finally talk to you. Where are you?"

"In jail, long story. What about you?"

I hesitated for a second on whether or not to tell him what happened to me.

"I'm was sick, but Zody and I are fine, long story. How did you get in jail? Where are Marilynn and Jayden?"

"Let's just say that we got captured by some police droids. Marilynn and Jayden are fine, they're with Leo. Summer, Lucas, and Falcon are together, and I have Niles and Hayden with me."

"Zody told me what happened to Niles, is he okay?"

"Yea he's fine. We're able to get a cast for his ankle from the jail droids."

Something didn't seem right with that statement.

"Hold up a sec, how long have you guys been in jail?"

"Uhhh...." He sounded either uncertain or unwilling to tell me.

"Dakota, how long has it been?" I am trying to be patient with him.

"Okay, fine." Dakota sighed. "We ran into a patrol boat about a mile or two off of the Florida coast a couple days ago. I don't really know why, but the police droids decided to put us in jail. It isn't just us in jail, though. There's a lot of other kids, and from what I can tell, the police droids randomly captured them too."

"Thats strange.... I thought they were supposed to be protecting us."

"Well maybe the droids were programmed wrong or decided to disobey their original orders."

"That isn't likely. The droids cannot disobey the last orders programmed into them. Only a person can change or give new orders." I knew this mostly because of my vast knowledge of programming.

"Oh, crap! The droids are coming! I'll have to talk to you later."

"Dakota, wait-"

But it was too late. Dakota had already cut the connection. I look up to find everyone looking at me. It makes me uncomfortable.

"Could you not all look at me at the same time?! Its creeping me out," I tell them. They all look away, except for Zody.

"Well," Zody starts, "considering what Dakota said, what do you think we should do now?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I don't know. I haven't gotten through all of the encrypted codes yet, and I have no idea what we should do after."

"There has to be something we can do," Roxanne says. "You two didn't come to this island for nothing."

No one says anything. I guess we could start heading for the cave, but unless we know where exactly the central computer is, there is no point in going. I become impatient and leave, going back into the house and up to Roxanne's room.

I know there is something missing to this whole situation, but I can't figure out what it is. I have always loved puzzles, but they aren't always easy. Usually, if I get stuck, I walk away from it for awhile then come back to it later. I wish I could do that now, but I have the feeling that the longer it takes to destroy the central computer, the worse things will become. I don't want another war.

Frustrated, I take out my LapPad and go to the encrypted codes. For some reason, everything I have figured out so far is just instructions on how the central computer works. It isnt that the instructions aren't helpful, but I don't get why they are encrypted.

I decrypt codes for a few hours to get my mind off of everything else. At about eleven o' clock, Roxanne comes in. No one has bothered me at all for the past few hours. They probably figured I needed time to think.

"Crystal," Roxanne starts, "I'm sorry if I made you angry earlier. I'm just trying to help you."

"I know." I sigh and turn off my LapPad. "It's just that I feel as if I am forcing others to help me sometimes."

"Well, you don't have to force me." Roxanne grins at me. "I want things to change. We need to take control of things."

"I remember Tanner mentioning that we are the only humans on this island. Is that true?"

Roxanne seems a bit startled at first, but then nods. I think she was expecting me to ask that question.

"Yes, we are the only humans on the island." She sits down next to me on the bed. "I figured Tanner would have told you. He isn't very good at keeping secrets."

"He also said that once you get rid of the droids you'll leave Puerto Rico. The way Tanner said it was as if he had never left the island."

"That is because he never did." The color in Roxanne's face drains. "None of us have."

"I don't understand," I say. "How could...? Did five of you even receive the vaccine? And if you were the only ones on the island before Zody and I came...?"

"It...it's complicated," Roxanne answered slowly. "I don't even remember what exactly happened at the time. The clearest thing I remember was waking up one day and my parents were gone."

I can tell there is something she isn't telling me. She glances at the clock.

"It's getting late. We should get some sleep," Roxanne says quickly.

She turns off the glowlamp and gets in her bed. I almost want to turn the glowlamp back on and ask her what is going on, but I don't. Something tells me that Roxanne isn't being completely honest with me. Why else would she end the conversation so quick?

Lying in my bed, I try to make sense of everything that had happened today. First, I get a message from Dakota saying he and the others are in jail. Then, when I try to ask Roxanne something, she brushes me off. She'll probably assume I will forget what I asked her, but I know I won't. If I don't know the answer to something, I never give up until I find it. The puzzle has been started, but only the edges fit together.

I don't sleep very well that night and wake up early the next morning. It is just after dawn when I get up. Roxanne is still asleep. I change the bandages on my leg. The cut is healing fairly well, but not enough for me to go without bandages yet.

I change my clothes. I put on tan capris and a light blue v-neck t-shirt. I brush out my hair and put it onto a high ponytail. I slip on my sandals, grab my LapPad, and quietly leave the room. I head downstairs and sit outside on the back porch.

At first, I thought of decrypting some more of those codes about the central computer. But then, I decide to do a little research. Dakota had said the day before he and the others were in "jail". I don't think the police droids would capture kids for no good reason. What was it Dakota had said?

"I don't really know why, but the police droids decided to put us in jail."

His statement triggered me to remember something I had read last night while decrypting one of the codes. So, I searched the Internet to find news on other kids being put in jail by the police droids. Turns out, there is a lot on the subject. Kids from not only the U.S. were being taken by police droids. I found a list of countries kids had been captured in: Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Egypt, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Morocco, China, Japan, India, Indonesia, and Australia. Every country on the list is where kids were given the vaccine. This was too obvious to be coincidental.

Then, I searched where all of the different major jails were. What I found shocked me. All of the major jails are in those same countries. I know for sure this isn't a coincidence. Something very fishy is going on. Annoyed, I decide to go decrypt some codes to get my mind off of things. While decrypting, I find the weirdest piece of information yet.

"'Warning, police droids may turn evil over time.' Seriously?! What idiot designed this thing?!"

"Apparently, an idiot who thinks droids turn evil."

I jump out of my skin when I hear Zody's voice. I look up to see him sitting on the porch railing. How long has he been sitting there?

"Could you not sneak up on me like that?" I ask him.

"Sorry, I thought you knew I was out here." He gets off the railing and sits down next to me on the steps. "Find out anything important? Besides droids becoming evil that is."

I tell him about the countries and the jails. He agrees with me it isn't coincidental.

"Have you tried reaching Dakota again?" Zody asks me.

"No, not yet," I answer. "Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking that he could find out where he is."

"Chances are he is probably back in the U.S."

"But what if he isn't."

"Zody, I have no idea where you are going with this."

"Think of it this way," Zody says standing up and starting to pace. "You said that in every country where the vaccine was given, there was a major jail. So, since Dakota and the others were technically not in the United States at the time of their capture..."

"We don't know where exactly they are," I finished.

"Exactly! That is why we need to contact them."

"Well, if you go get my commlink, then I guess I can call him."

"What?" Zody gives me a look. "Why cant you do it?"

"Because I asked you nicely. And unless you want to see me get mad-"

"Okay, fine. I'll go get it." He walks off as if he were super annoyed and I almost laugh.

Zody comes back a couple minutes later with my commlink. I am afraid that I wont be able to contact Dakota, but luckily I am able to get through.

"What is it, Crystal? It's like six in the morning," Dakota grumbles.

I can tell he isnt too happy with me for waking him up.

"Sorry, Dakota. But do have any idea where you and the others are?"

"You know, come to think of it, I dont even remember how we even got here. All I know is that I woke up in the jail cell."

Zody and I glance at each other. Neither of us know what to say about what Dakota just said.

"Crystal, are you still there?" Dakota asks.

"Yea, listen. I found out something." I tell him the same thing I explained to Zody. "Are you sure that there is no way to tell where you are?" I ask.

"I am 90% sure that we are in the U.S. Reason being that there are kids of many different races here."

"Well, those are pretty good odds. By the way, how are Marilynn and Jayden?"

"They miss you. Everyday they ask me if you are fine." I can sense Dakota's smile in that statement.

"Tell them I am doing great and that I love them."

"Alright, I'll make sure to. Oh, Crystal. Be careful, okay?"

"I will, bye." I end the call. Zody and I sit there for a minute quiet. The conversation didnt give me much to go on, but I knew we would have to head to the cave today. Zody seems to be thinking the same thing as me, because he gives a slight nod.

Zody and I head inside and wake up the others. During breakfast, I tell them that we should start heading for the cave were the central computer is. The cave is a couple hours south of San Juan, so it isn't too much of a hike.

After making a quick inventory of things we will need, the seven of us head off. I am not really sure why Mya and Morgan are with us because it isn't like they will be of much help. Tanner seems to be the navigator of Puerto Rico because he leads the group without hesitation through he streets.

As we are walking down an alleyway, I see a sort of fog in the distance. At first, I think my eyes are playing tricks on me, but then Zody sees it too.

"I dont mean to alarm anyone, but there is a fog that seems to be coming towards us," Zody says.

Tanner stops in his tracks at Jozline's command. Jozline walks ahead a little to get closer to the creeping fog. The fog is white like the inside of a coconut and has a faint smell of flowers. The fog reaches us and I instinctively hold my breath.

"It's sleeping gas. Dont fight it. It wont harm you," Jozline says.

I listen to Jozline, relax, and let myself breathe in the sleeping gas. My eyelids grow heavy and I slump down against the alley wall. I feel Zody's hand grab mine. I let my head lie on his shoulder. I don't let go of Zody's hand as I fall into a dreamless sleep.

The first thing I notice when I wake up is that I am no longer holding Zody's hand. Then, I realize I am on a cold, hard stone floor. Alarmed, I open my eyes and the light is almost blinding. I am lying on my back, so I am facing the light that is overhead. I sit up carefully and notice right away something is up.

No, this cant be happening, I think.

I am in a jail cell.

I notice that Mya and Morgan are still asleep on the floor. Zody isnt in my cell. Worried, I stand up and walk over to the bars. My hand brushes against a bar and is zapped. I jerk my hand away. The bars are electrically charged. I look at the cell across from mine. It holds Jozline and Zody. To the right of it is Roxanne and Tanner. Roxanne and Tanner are awake like I am, but neither Zody nor Jozline is awake yet.

"We walked into a trap, didnt we?" I say to Roxanne. She just nods. "Where do you think we are?" I ask.

Roxanne doesnt respond, except for a shrug. I am puzzled as to why she isnt talking. Roxanne gives Tanner a look.

"She cannot talk," Tanner tells me. "Roxanne awake and I wake up. I say, 'Where are we?' But when she try to speak, nothing. She try talking, but nothing come out."

At first, I figure it is a side effect of the sleeping gas, but I just woke up and I can talk. Something isnt right.

Zody wakes up and Jozline right after. Like what I had done, Zody notices I am not with him. He jumps up and reaches for the bars of his cell.

"Zody dont! Its charged."

He pulls his hand away in time. Jozline gets up and walks over to Zody.

"Where are Roxanne and Tanner?" she asks me.

"In the cell to your left. Tanner just told me that Roxanne cant speak."

"Cant speak?" Zody echoes.

"Yea," Tanner says. "She try talking to me, but no words."

Mya and Morgan wake up. They look at each other then at me. Noticing that Roxanne isnt with them, the twins run over and hug my legs.

I suddenty realize I dont have my bag with me.

"Hey, do either one of you have my bag?"

"I do," Tanner says holding it up.

"Give my LapPad to Roxanne. I need her to do something for me."

He gives my LapPad to her.

"Go to the maps and see if you can find where we are."

Roxanne takes a few minutes before responding. I see her type something and she turns the screen my way.

'I cant find where we are. Maybe we are being jammed.'

"Dang it," I mutter.

"Can she not find where we are?" Zody asks me.

I shake my head.

Then, a jail droid rolls into the small hallway in between the cells. Roxanne shoves my LapPad back into my bag. I realize that the seven of us are the only ones in this area of the jail. The jail droid drags behind him a dark-skinned boy with short black hair. He looks about eleven. I think he is unconscious, but I cant tell. The jail droid puts the boy into Jozline and Zody's cell and leaves.

"Is he...?" I start.

"No," Jozline tells me kneeling down next to the boy, "he got the sleeping gas, too. I can tell because that kind of gas makes your skin pale and gradually turns back. Depending on how pale he is depends on when he will wake up. He isnt too pale so he wake up soon."

I get an idea. I kneel down on the floor. There is a gap between the floor and the bottom bar - a gap that should be big enough for my LapPad to slide underneath.

"Hey, Tanner do you think you could slide me my LapPad?"

"I think. I will try." Tanner looks a bit apprehensive. He places my LapPad on the floor, stands back, and gives it a light but strong kick. His soccer skills pay off, because my LapPad slides perfectly across the floor to me.

I pick it up and check to see if Roxanne was right about what she found. She was because I cant get a signal either. But that isnt what is bothering me. I am so confused as to why Roxanne cant say anything. It's as if she suddenly lost her voice. I dont see how something like that is possible, though.

"Jozline, you seem to know a lot about the sleeping gas. Do you know if there are any side effects to it?"

"Nothing major," she replies. "Of course there is the pale skin, but that gradually goes away. Also, depending on how you inhale it can affect your body for short periods of time."

"Do you think Roxanne inhaled the sleeping gas wrong?"

"Well, considering she cant say anything, my guess is her vocal cords got messed up somehow. So, she should be fine. I cant say when she will be able to speak again."

Well, thats reassuring. Even though Roxanne not being able to talk is inconvenient right now, I am more concerned on how we will get out of this jail. I could probably hack into the jail system and break us out of here, but there is no telling how long that would take. Also, we have no idea where we are so I dont know how far from Puerto Rico we are.

I glance at Zody and he shrugs his shoulders as if he doesnt know what to next. I notice the boy with him and Jozline stir on the floor. The boy opens his eyes, and when he sees Jozline and Zody, his expression changes to one of fear.

"It's okay," Jozline says to the boy. "We won't hurt you. I'm Jozline and that's Zody. What's your name?"

"K-Kovu," he stutters. He still seems a bit fearful, but he relaxes a little.

"Where were you before you came here?" I ask Kovu.

"I-I was traveling from Somalia w-with some friends t-to the United States," he explains. "W-we made it there a c-couple days ago. Then, we s-somehow got separated. I-I got lost from the others a-and I don't really know w-what happened next."

I notice Kovu's stuttering. I dont know if it is from his nervousness or not, but I do know that people who stutter when they talk are very rare. There is something else I notice too. Kovu said he is from Somalia - one of the vaccinated countries. With this in mind, I have the feeling we are in the same jail as Dakota and the others.

I turn back to my LapPad, which has been sitting in my hands the whole time. I quickly check to see if it is possible for me to get into the jail's systems.

"W-What are you doing?" Kovu asks me.

"Trying to break us out of here," I respond.

Luckily, the jail's systems arent very secure, so it is easy hacking into it. I go to the jail's records for the number of occupied jail cells. As I expected, all of the names of the people being held are in the records. I grin when I find the names I am searching for.

"Did you find something?" Zody asks me.

"Yep, I just found the rest of our group." I dont look up from my LapPad as I continue to hack the system. "And you know what, in about thirty seconds we will be free to get out of here."

"Dang, how do are you able to hack into the system so fast?" Zody's statement shows just how surprised he is.

"Normally, a well-secure system would take at least a day for me to hack into, but this system the jail has is sooo insecure."

No one talked as I finished my hacking of the systems. Once I was for sure I had found the right controls to unlock the doors, I reached out to touch the cell bars and I wasnt zapped. I clicked the button to unlock the doors. As soon as I did, we all burst out of the the cells as if we had been held there for years. I grabbed my bag from Roxanne and Zody asked me what we were going to do next.

"First, we are going to free everyone else in this jail. Second, we need to find where we are," I tell everyone.

Then, we set off with me as the leader of the group. I carry my LapPad and get through the jamming so I can find my location. According to the map, the jail is four stories tall underground and we are at the bottom. Dakota and the others are on the second floor from the top. I disable all of the jail cells on the other three floors. We walk up the stairs to the second floor.

As soon as I see Dakota in the crowd of kids, I run to him and the others. Marilynn and Jayden hug me so hard I dont think they will let go of me.

"I never should have doubted you on getting us out of here," Dakota says with a smile.

I blush and lead my group out of the jail. Once we are above ground, my suspicions are confirmed. We never left the U.S. I can tell because the jail was hidden right under Washington DC.

So, there we were standing in the middle of the Washington Monument lawn in Washington DC. It isnt long before all the other kids in the jail come out. Even though I knew the jail was in the U.S., I probably wouldnt have guessed it being in the location it was.

Anyway, since the group has increased from eleven people to seventeen, I am not sure how we will get back to Puerto Rico. There's gotta be someway to get all of us there at the same time without any of us getting separated.

"I'm guessing our first order of business is getting to Puerto Rico," Dakota says.

"Yep," I reply. "Does anybody have an idea on how we could get back?"

"Well, we arent renting another boat that's for sure," Leo says.

"No dip, Leo," Niles comments a bit sarcastically. Dakota told me Niles has been in a bad mood since he broke his ankle.

"I think there is an subway transport here," Falcon says.

"You mean the Metro right?" Summer asks.

"Yea, sure whatever it's called."

"Wait a minute!!" I exclaim. "Why the crap did I not think of that before?!"

"Think of what?" Zody says.

"The Metro runs under the Gulf of Mexico to Puerto Rico. Since droids dont use it anymore, it is the easiest and fastest way to our destination."

"Perfect," Dakota says smiling. "Let's find the nearest station and head to Puerto Rico."

I quickly look up the nearest Metro station and tell everyone where we should go.

"Shouldnt we split up in groups to make it less suspicious?" Roxanne asks.

"Good point," I reply.

We break into three groups of four and one group of five. I am with Zody, Falcon, and Jozline. We decide that my group should go down to the subway first.

The four of us make it down to the subway without any trouble. I have been on the Metro a couple times, but I dont remember what it was like because I was young. Since Falcon has always been interested in trains and that sort of thing, he checks the subway train for anything that could be wrong. Jozline stands near the broken escalators to wait for the others. Zody and I check the rest of the station for droids, which there are none like I suspected.

But there is something else that I had been not expecting. I start to head back to the subway train when I hear a voice.

"Hello there."

Not only do I jump out of my skin when I hear it, but I also become afraid when I hear the voice. Then, two boys step out from the shadows. One has dark brown hair and dark eyes; the other has sandy blonde hair and light brown eyes. Neither of them seem happy to see me.

"You know, I wasnt expecting anyone to find our little hideout," the one with the dark brown hair said. "But since you're here I might as well introduce myself. I'm Kyro and this is my friend and second-in-command Lucen."

"Funny, you sound like the leader of a gang and yet it doesnt seem like anyone else is with you," I remark.

"Well, arent you an observant one?" Kyro says smirking. "Everyone else who was with me and him decided to abandon us."

"Are you sure they werent captured by police droids? Because I just freed everyone who was in the jail under the National Mall."

"Whatever. I dont really care what happened to them." Kyro steps closer to me. "All I care about is finding the person who plans to destroy all of the droids in the world."

What?! How does he know what the others and I have been trying to do? It must have leaked into the news somehow. Curse you stupid spy droids.

"I dont see how finding that person is going to help you at all," I reply slightly glaring.

"So, you do know something." Kyro replies smirking.

"I said nothing of the sort. But even if I did know something, I wouldnt tell you."

Without warning, Kyro pulls out a laser pistol and points it at my neck. At the same time, Zody has his laser pistol trained on Kyro. The metal of the laser pistol is cold on my neck. My expression is one of fear and determination.

"Put the gun down. Now." Kyro's voice is deadly.

Reluctantly, Zody places his pistol on the ground. He raises his hands in surrender.

"Let her go." Zody's voice has a dangerous tone to it. I have only heard him use it a couple other times. I know it means he isnt going to give up on getting me back. "I'll do anything you ask. Just don't hurt my girlfriend."

"Zody, please don't-" I start.

"Crystal, I have to."

I know he is giving up himself so I can live. It touches me to know that. But it also upsets me. I couldn't live without Zody.

"Alright, then," Kyro says smirking again. "First of all how did you manage to find our little hiding spot?"

"We are heading to Puerto Rico," Zody responds calmly.

"What for?"

"That I cant tell you."

Zody shouldn't have said that. He should've just told them.

"Lets see if I can make you tell me." Kyro turns to Lucen. "Get the handcuffs."

Tears stream down my cheeks as Zody steps forward to be handcuffed. His hands are tied to the pillar with his back facing me. I watch helplessly as Lucen flips the switch on the electric whip he is holding and starts whipping Zody. He cries out in pain whenever the whip hits his back. I struggle to break free of Kyro's grip, but he only clutches me tighter.

"The more you struggle," Kyro breathes in my ear, "the worse he will be whipped."

I force myself to stop moving. I can't let Zody die. I look away from the scene, trying to stay still. I squeeze my eyes shut to rid of the images of Zody being whipped. I try to ignore Zody's cries of pain, but they only get louder. Then, I remember something my mom had once told me.

"Faith, hope, and love are the three greatest things known to man. But only love can prevail forever, even when there is no faith or hope."

My mom's words give me a new strength. My eyes flash open and I use my strength to elbow Kyro. The force of it causes him to let go of me. I run forward to reach Zody. I catch Lucen's arm as it comes down for another strike, twisting it backward and pulling the electric whip out of his hand. Surprised, Lucen falls to the floor. I hit Lucen with the electric whip twice before I feel someone's arms wrap around me. Thinking it is Kyro, I use the electric whip, still in my hand to hit the person's legs.

"Crystal stop!" I ignore the familiar voice and continue to struggle in the person's arms. The arms are stronger than Kyro's.

"Crystal! Listen to me!" I am turned around only to find it was Dakota who was holding me back. "Crystal, calm down. Let go of the whip and calm down."

My anger melts away and I let the electric whip drop to the floor. I break into sobs as Dakota wraps me into a hug. I let him hold me until I am too tired to cry anymore. My breathing slows down as I open my eyes to look up at Dakota. He wipes the tears from my cheeks with his thumbs. I can tell he is trying hard to not get angry at me.

I notice Zody lying unconscious on the ground out of the corner of my eye. I let go of Dakota and walk over to get a closer look. Roxanne is kneeling over Zody, already working to clean the whip's wounds. From what I can tell, Zody was whipped at least ten times. I force myself to not look away.

"Will he be okay?" I ask with my voice cracking.

"He didn't lose too much blood," Roxanne responds without even a glance at me, "but it's hard to tell at this point if he'll survive. As long as the wounds don't become infected, Zody should survive." Roxanne looks up from what she is doing with an expression of worry. "But even then, I can't guarantee he'll live. Unlike when you had the cut on your leg, you hardly lost any blood, but with Zody.... I just don't know."

Zody stirs as I kneel down next to him. I brush his overgrown bangs out of his eyes as he struggles to look up at me. I can tell he is in pain, so I try hard to hold my tears back. I have never liked seeing him so defenseless, but seeing him in so much pain hurts me so much I can feel it in my heart. I should've been the one who got whipped, not him. Zody struggles to grin at me, but hardly manages to do it. He tries to say something, but instead groans in pain. I say the same thing he said to me when I was sick with the infection.

"I won't let you die. I'll do anything to keep you alive." It somehow comes out as a whisper. I lean closer to his face and kiss his cheek.

"I promise I'll keep my strength for you," Zody mutters. His hand grips mine before he slips unconscious again.

The tears start to fall again as I see Zody's face relax. By this point, I have lost all of my composure. Normally, I am able to handle my emotions with situations, but my heart hurts so much that I can't take it anymore. I feel a hand on my shoulder and find Summer kneeling next to me.

"We need to get out of here if we're going to save Zody's life," she says softly.

I take a deep breath and stand up. I look at the others' faces and remember my duty as leader of this whole operation. I wipe the last of the tears from my face and tell everyone to go ahead and board the subway train. Lucas handcuffs Kyro and Lucen together and leads them onto the train, too.

As we start the long ride to Puerto Rico, I sit down next to Dakota.

"I'm sorry about whipping you like that," I mumble. "I thought you were Kyro."

"It's okay. I know you didn't know it was me. I forgive you." Dakota grins at me. "Besides, I kinda deserved it for not making it to the room in time."

I grin back weakly. I'm really not in the mood to joke right now. All I can think about is Zody.

I won't fail you Zody, I think. I promise I will save the world, even if you die.

I am quiet the rest of the ride back to the island. I try to decrypt more about the central computer, but my mind cant focus. All I can think about is Zody.

It takes a few hours to get to Puerto Rico, and it is dusk by the time we make it. From the station in San Juan, Roxanne's house is only a few blocks away. I am tired and impatient by the time we make it there. Being that all of us wouldn't fit easily into one house, we divide up the group in half and use the house next door, too.

Lucas is still holding Kyro and Lucen, so I decide to set something straight.

"Listen you two killers," I tell Kyro and Lucen. "If you dont cooperate with what Lucas says, then you will be dealt with my way. If you are still resistant, then I will personally torture both of you so much that you will regret ever hurting my boyfriend. And I am sure you do not want to feel my wrath."

Kyro seems apprehensive, but I can tell that Lucen is frightened. Kyro and Lucen glance at each other. Then, Kyro smirks at me.

"Well, I am not afraid of your wrath. So, I dont care what you do to me. Besides what are you going to do?"

I cant think of anything else to say, so I tell Falcon and Lucas to put Mr. Rude and Mr. Scaredy-Cat in the basement. As turn to head upstairs, I hear Kyro yell something up the basement stairs at me.

"If your wrath is so bad, then maybe it was worth hurting your boyfriend."

Hearing that tips me off. I run down the basement stairs and slap Kyro's face so hard that I thought I saw sparks.

"Dont you dare say anything like that again to me! Now, shut up and stay that way."

I feel as if I am walking on lava when I head back upstairs. I say a word to no one as I head to the shower. If Kyro wants to play this game that way, then I am going to make sure that he doesnt win.

I didnt notice the whip mark on my left arm below the shoulder until I am in the shower. The warm water drains away my anger and I relax. But when the water hits the whip mark the sting of it is almost unbearable. I must have gotten it when I took the whip out of Lucen's grip. I try to keep my arm out of the water as I finish my shower.

Once I am dressed in a tank top and pajama shorts, I head to Roxanne's room. It isnt surprising she hasnt gone to bed yet. When I walk in, Dakota is in there, getting his leg bandaged from where I had whipped him. I try not to make eye contact with him.

"Hey, Roxanne. I have a whip mark on my arm, so could you bandage it?"

"Sure, give me a minute."

I kneel down next to Zody, who is in the bed I used to be in. He is lying on his stomach so that Roxanne can get to his back easily. I comb my fingers through his hair as he lies there. I dont want to leave Zody's side; I want to be there when he wakes up, like he did for me.

Roxanne comes over and starts wrapping a bandage around my arm.

"How is he doing?" I ask.

"He came back to consciousness a little while ago. I think he said something about you, but I couldn't really tell. After that, he fell into a deep sleep. As for the wounds, I won't be able to determine anything until tomorrow."

"I...I don't know what got into me earlier," I say. "I shouldn't have let them do it. If anything, I was the one who deserved it.... Not him."

"Crystal, there was nothing you could do. Even if you did give them the information, Kyro still could've decided to do it."

"That's the worst part. If I had just told Kyro and Lucen what they wanted..., this probably wouldn't have happened." I feel tears in the back of my eyes, wanting to break loose. "This is all my fault. I-"

"Crystal, don't do this to yourself," Roxanne tells me.

"What do you mean?"

"Hurt yourself. Just because you couldn't stop Zody from getting whipped, doesn't mean that you can't save the world."

"I know, but-"

"Crystal, listen to me. You're losing faith." Roxanne looks away. "I've heard you talking in your sleep saying, "no, I can't do this," but I know you can. All you need to do is believe in yourself."

I take in what Roxanne tells me. I know she is right, but somehow it wasnt what I wanted to hear. I can't think of anything else to say.

"It's pretty late. You should get some sleep," Roxanne says.

"I don't want to leave Zody."

"He'll be fine. Don't worry."

I stand up and leave the room. I go out on the back porch, hoping the cool air will clear my mind. After a few minutes, I head back in. The light in Roxanne's room is gone, so I sneak in and sit on the floor next to Zody's bed. I rest my head on the mattress and feel for his hand. He must have been half awake because he laces his fingers into mine. I fall asleep with a grin on my face.

-----------------------------

The next morning at breakfast I ask Lucas if Kyro and Lucen are behaving properly.

"Yea, they're cooperating with whatever I tell them," he answers. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"Now that you mention it, I need to go talk to them."

After I get dressed in a sky blue tank top and knee-length jean skirt, I head down to the basement to interrogate Kyro and Lucen.

"I hope both of you are comfortable because I need some answers," I announce to Kyro and Lucen.

"Why should we tell you anything?" Kyro sneers. "You didnt tell us what we wanted."

"Because," I say leaning into Kyro's face, "I dont think you want a taste of your own medicine."

His expression flickers to fear for a second before turning back to its normal apprehensive self.

"Alright," Kyro responds, "shoot."

"Why do you and Lucen want to stop me from getting rid of the central computer?"

"Let me make this simple. Why do you think I whipped your boyfriend?"

"I'm the one who asks the questions here not you!" I yell. "And I believe that you whipped Zody only because you wanted to scare me into telling you what you wanted. But I'm not scared very easily."

"You know, ya could've just told me the reason why you were going to Puerto Rico. Then, I wouldnt have to take one life to save everyone else's."

"What?!" To be honest, I have no idea what the heck he meant.

"He means," Lucen says, "that we will only be able to survive if we listen to the droids and do as they say."

"THAT IS A LIE!" I holler. "THE DROIDS ARE EVIL AND YOU ARE TOO. YOU ARE A SENSELESS, MINDLESS IDIOT THAT CARES ABOUT NO ONE!! AND I DONT CARE ABOUT YOU EITHER!!"

My fists are flying and I am vaguely aware as to what I am doing. No one stops me until my right wrist is grabbed by someone. I look behind me and see Hayden holding my wrist. I look back at Kyro and Lucen. Kyro's nose is bleeding and he has a black eye. Lucen has blood coming from his lip and right ear.

What the heck is wrong with me?, I think as I breathe heavily.

I stare at what I did, not believing what I had just done. Without thinking, I run from the house, stopping only to grab my bag from the hook beside the door. I run out, letting the screen door slap closed behind me. My sandals smack the pavement as I jump off the porch steps and onto the sidewalk.

"Crystal, wait!" I hear someone call.

I don't look back to see who it was. I keep running. I run through the streets of San Juan until I find the path Tanner had led Zody and I on when we first came to the island. I slow down to a walk as I head down the path.

It is mid-afternoon by the time I reach the ocean. I recall the night Zody had saved my life when the wave had pulled me under. I sit down on the beach, staring at the waves as they crash into the shoreline and recede back to the ocean.

I don't know why I let my anger get the best of me. But I can't deny that I am starting to become something I am not. I can no longer control my emotions. Everything has become so complicated that I am always stressed. Almost anything anyone says to me makes me angry. Even before Zody was wounded, I knew that I couldn't handle all of this. Everyone is counting on me to lead them through this whole plan I came up with. I guess I didnt realize it isn't easy to save the world from certain destruction.

I'm not going back, I tell myself. At least not for a day or two.

I'm afraid that if I go back, nothing will have changed. I don't want to feel this way. I know I can change this, but....

I sit there on the beach the rest of the day until sunset. I check my bag and see that I dont have my commlink with me. I'm glad I dont since I dont want anyone to bother me. I go through everything that has happened the last few weeks, but eventually it becomes too painful and confusing that it gives me a headache. I lie down in the sand to relax. But before I know it, I drift off to sleep.

---------------------------------

When I wake up the next morning, I remember immediately yesterday's events. I feel like the only thing I can do now is run. I no longer have the urge to destroy the central computer.

I take out my LapPad and look up the nearest city to the west. Surprisingly, it is only a few hours away. Since I dont have any food or water with me, I decide to leave right away, so I can find some substance to keep me alive. I havent eaten since yesterday's breakfast.

With my bag on my shoulder and LapPad in hand, I head off for the city of Vega Baja. As I walk, I come up with a plan. Once I am able to find some food, I will find a boat and get back to Florida. From there, I could take the Metro back to Detroit. Maybe even some place else.

I dont want to come back to Puerto Rico ever again. The others can get rid of the central computer without me. I have probably about 90% of the encrypted codes decrypted, so it doesnt matter if the rest isn't. They can figure out the rest and do what needs to be done. As for me..., well I won't be coming back.

By the time I make it to Veja Baja, I am very hungry. I'm just lucky that droids still happen to maintain public buildings. That means I can get into one of the grocery stores. The only problem is that I could get caught. I dont want another dose of sleeping gas. Then, I remember my laser pistol in my bag. If a police droid or any other droid happens to see me, I just shoot them down.

The streets of the city are eerily quiet and it kinda scares me. I slip my LapPad into my bag and pull out my laser pistol. Before putting my LapPad away, I had located the nearest grocery store, so I know where to go.

Moving silently through the deserted streets, I make my way into the city. I see something out of the corner of my eye and flatten myself against the dark wall of the alley way. I watch as a maintenance droid rolls by, cleaning the street. As soon as it's gone, I dart across the street to the alley on the other side.

I make it to the store without any other droid sightings. I slip into the store undetected and take only five minutes to get some packaged food.

As I am heading out, a police droid unexpectedly turns a corner a spots me. I fire two quick shots with my laser pistol and run. I can feel the police droid following me as I try to evade it. I think the police droid called for some if his little buddies because I almost run into one. I shoot the police droid down in one shot without losing a beat, but not before the police droid manages to shoot me in the left thigh.

I push the pain away and dont stop. My mind races and I know the only way to evade the police droids is to hide in one of the apartment buildings. I find the closest apartment building and duck inside. I dont stop running as I find the nearest flight of stairs and fly up them. Being that the apartment building is fairly tall, I make it to the tenth floor before stopping.

I catch my breath before finding a suitable unit for me to stay in. Once I find a unit that has running water and no electricity, I lie down on the dusty couch in the living room. Getting back to Florida is gonna be harder, now that the police droids know I am here. I take out my LapPad and see if there is a Metro station nearby. There isn't.

I sigh and take out something to eat. Once I am done, I go into the bathroom and drink some of the tap water. As I look up at myself in the mirror, I almost don't recognize myself.

My face is streaked with dirt and sweat and my wavy hair is coming out of the braids I put it in last night. When I see the bandage on my left arm, an image of Zody being whipped flashes in my mind. I sqeeze my eyes shut to force myself to not think about him.

I suddenly dont want to leave the island now. What would Zody say if he found out I ran away? What would everyone else say about me running away? I sink back down onto the couch as I feel tears falling slowly down my cheeks.

What am I doing? I ask myself. Why am I running?

Roxanne's words from the other night find their way into my thoughts.

"All you need to do is believe in yourself."

She's right. That is why I am running, because I didn't believe in myself. I can do this, I think. Only I can set things right now.

Since police droids don't come out until seven in the morning, I make up my mind and decide to head back as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.

I wake up to the sound of my LapPad alarm going off. I quickly turn it off and roll off the couch. After a brief washing at the sink and rebraiding of my hair, I leave the apartment building, quiet as a leaf fluttering in the breeze.

It is shortly after five in the morning and I am already wide awake. I am hoping that I will make it back to the beach before the police droids come out. I have just enough time to escape.

With my very good sense of direction, I make it out of the city easily. I look at my surroundings in the rainforests that over took the suburbs for anything familiar that will lead me back to the beach.

After a couple hours, I am still not to the beach and I start to panic. Just then, I come to the shoreline. I breathe a sigh of relief and head down the ocean shoreline.

As I walk, I ponder what I will say when the others see I have come back. Nothing I think of seems right to say. My biggest worry, though, is facing Kyro and Lucen again. I really don't want to get angry like I did before.

When I come to that familiar beach spot, I suddenly become aware that I am not alone. I pull out my laser pistol and set it to stun. Luckily, it is just Tanner and Kovu coming out of the rainforest from collecting coconuts. As I slip my laser pistol back into my bag, Tanner notices me. His face lights up when he sees me. He drops his coconuts and runs over and hugs me.

"I was knowing you were coming back," he tells me, happily.

"I'm glad to see you too," I respond hugging him back.

"A-are you n-not mad anymore?" Kovu asks me.

Great, someone must have spilled the beans on what had happened.

"No, I am doing much better, Kovu."

After I am able to pry Tanner off of me, the three of us start to head back to San Juan.

"Crystal, me and Kovu somos amigos." Tanner says excitedly.

"How did you become friends?" I ask.

"We both like to play fútbol."

"Did you make friends with Marilynn and Jayden?"

"Yea, w-we were playing s-soccer last night, a-and Marilynn and J-Jayden beat us! They are r-really good," Kovu responds.

I smiled to myself. Even though Marilynn and Jayden have different interests, the one thing they both like is soccer. I have been watching them play it since they were three years old. Thinking about the past makes my heart hurt, so I change the subject.

"Is Zody doing any better?"

"Sí, Roxanne told us he is getting better. Zody esta en no dolor."

I am relieved to know that Zody hasn't gotten worse from the whip wounds. Finally, something has gone right in the last few days.

The closer we get to San Juan, the more nervous I get about explaining myself to everyone. Kovu notices the worried look on my face and asks me what is wrong.

"I don't know how to explain to everyone why I ran away."

"W-Well, if I w-were you, I would j-just state the o-obvious."

"Which would be what?" I say questioningly.

"Y-You know, something l-like "I ran away b-because I got mad.""

I can't help but smile at Kovu's advice. Giving a straightforward answer isnt a bad idea, but I know the others will probably want more of an explanation.

By the time we make it to San Juan, it is after noon. While walking, I came up with something pretty good that I could say. All I have to do now is to see what everyone will think of my message.

Tanner and Kovu run ahead to the house, coconuts still in their arms. I quickly go over my message as I walk the rest of the way to the house. I take a deep breath before walking up the porch steps and through the screen door.

I find everyone in the living room, where they all seem to be waiting for me. Zody isnt in there, but I can tell him everything later. I blink in surprise when I see Kyro and Lucen in there, too. But I ignore their presence and start to speak.

"I know that you all probably think I am still angry," I start, "but I am not. I realized that it was wrong of me to not only run away, but to do so without an explanation. I let my anger get the best of me and I know I shouldn't have." I give a quick glance at Kyro before I continue. "I know I can do better if you all are willing to let me rejoin the group. I promise to not make any more rash mistakes. I apologize to all of you for not being the leader I should be, and I ask for your forgiveness."

No one speaks for a few minutes after I am done. I don't make eye contact with anyone, but I can feel their eyes on me. The silence makes me anxious and worrisome. What if they don't accept me back into the group? I look up from my sandals and see Dakota and Roxanne exchanging glances.

"I think that was a very well thought out apology," Dakota says. "What do you think Roxanne?"

"Well, I think it is inevitable that we would make this decision," Roxanne replies.

I brace myself for whatever is coming next. Dakota looks me in the eyes. He has never intimidated me before, but somehow I feel like a mouse and he is the cat.

"Crystal, it is decided that we accept your apology and forgive you." I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. "But," Dakota continues, "on two conditions: that you do not run away again and will not use your anger to hurt others. Is that understood?"

"Yes, I promise."

--------------------------------
After that, we decided to take a few days off from our main concerns of the world. It really helped me out because I became much more relaxed.

On the fourth day after I came back, I am sitting outside on the railing of the back porch watching the sunset. The warm air is relaxing and I almost fall asleep sitting there.

My eyes snap open when I hear the back door close behind me. I whip my head around and see Kyro walking over to me

"What do you want?" I ask without making eye contact with him. I glance at him anyway, noticing the black eye I gave him still healing.

"Can I talk to you for a minute without you beating me up?" Kyro says leaning on the railing next to me.

"As long as you don't say anything that will piss me off."

Kyro takes a deep breath.

"You were right about me being an idiot that doesn't care about anyone. And about the droids being evil. After you left, they explained to Lucen and I what is really happening. I had no idea that I was being brainwashed by some stupid droids."

Kyro pauses and looks up at me. By the look in his eyes, I can tell he is sorry.

"I am really, really sorry," Kyro continues, "for everything that I have done, including whipping Zody. The others have agreed that Lucen and I can stay, but we have to get approval from you."

"It's okay. You can stay."

"Thanks. It was hard for Lucen and I to be alone with no one to help us."

I look at Kyro, puzzled.

"I thought you said there had been others with you," I remark.

"That's not really true. I lied just so I could persuade you to work with me. Apparently, it didn't work."

I laugh because I know it is true. But my laughter falters and I bite my lip.

"What's wrong?" Kyro asks me.

"I suddenly know what it feels like to not have anyone left to turn to."

"What do you mean?"

"When I ran away, I was alone. I felt as if no one was left in the world...and I was the only one left." I look up at Kyro. "I'm glad I decided to come back. I needed the others to help me. I just didn't know how to ask them."

"And you didnt know how to manage your anger either."

I laugh again.

"Yea, I think I learned my lesson about that."

Just then, Leo runs out onto the back porch.

"Crystal, we need you. Something has happened."

"What is it?" I ask, hopping off of the porch railing.

"I think you better come see for yourself," Leo replies. "You better come too, Kyro."

As the three of us head in, I wonder what possibly could happened for Leo to be alarmed like this. He is usually more of a calm person in bad situations. It must be really bad if Leo is panicked.

We go into the living room, which is our main meeting area. As soon as I walk in, I spot Zody leaning against the wall. I run to him and throw my arms around him. My hands feel through his shirt to where the scars on his back are. Zody's arms hold me and he whispers in my ear.

"I told you I wouldn't die," he tells me.

"Actually, you told me you would save your strength," I laugh, letting go of Zody.

"Whatever," he says with a playful smirk.

I hear Dakota clear his throat behind me. I remember why I was brought here in the first place.

"What seems to be the problem?" I say to no one in particular.

"Yesterday," Dakota starts, "when Roxanne was checking Zody's wounds, she found this."

Dakota places a tiny piece of metal the size of a small rock in my hand. I recognize what it is immediately.

"It's a tracking chip," I tell him.

"Yes," Roxanne says. "When I saw it, I had no idea what it could have possibly been. So, I searched online what it was earlier and I found something very disturbing."

"What did you find?" I ask.

"Anyone who was captured and put in jail by police droids has a tracking chip in them," Lucen says.

"That's why," Jozline continues, "we were all given the sleeping gas when we were captured. With no one being conscious for a long period of time, the police droids could safely put the tracking chips inside the captives and they would never know what happened."

"I can see where this is going," I say crossing my arms. "All of us have tracking chips somewhere in our bodies."

"Actually," Leo puts in, "only two of us don't have tracking chips."

"And that would be Lucen and me," Kyro finishes.

"Is there anyway to locate the trackers and take them out or somehow neutralize the trackers in ourselves?" I ask.

"Yes," Roxanne replies. "The chips are so small that it would take forever to locate them inside one's body, but I know a way the trackers could be neutralized. I'll need your help to program the controls to do it."

"Okay, I can do that," I reply, "but we have to get started on it right away. The police droids most likely already know we are here."

With that, the meeting was over and Roxanne and I left to go find a way to neutralize the trackers. The two of us spend most of the night working to make a system would do what we want.

It is almost 2:30 a.m. when Dakota comes in to the kitchen where Roxanne and I are.

"Do you have that system up and running yet?" Dakota asks. He walks over to Roxanne and places his hand on her shoulder and she flinches. I pretend not to notice.

"Yea, we're pretty much finished," I tell him without looking up from my LapPad.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Dakota running his fingers through Roxanne's dark, long hair. I thought I saw a glint of silver in her hair, but it's probably nothing. Something tells me they have a thing for each other. I really hope it doesn't distract them from our main mission.

My mind snaps away from these thoughts when I catch something suspicious on my LapPad. I read through it again and gasp.

"What is it?" Dakota and Roxanne say at the same time.

"No..., no this can't be happening." I jump up out of my chair and start pacing.

"What can't be happening?" Dakota asks. "Crystal, what did you find?"

"I...I can't.... Just read it," I stutter anxiously.

I pace more while Dakota and Roxanne read my findings.

"We need to tell the others about this," Dakota says when he's done.

"It'll have to wait until morning. We can't wake everyone up now," Roxanne tells him.

We agree that first thing after breakfast is when we'll tell everyone. After that, the three of us go to bed. Too many thoughts are spinning around in my head that I can't fall asleep. Whenever I get close to sleeping, another thought finds its way to my consciousness and keeps me up.

By dawn, I have to force myself to stop thinking. I clear my mind of all thoughts and I fall asleep. But I am still tormented in my dreams.

I dream that the Maztec have captured me and are torturing me, trying to get my secrets out of me. One of them flips a switch that sends an electric charge through my body. I scream out as I feel the pain of the electricity going through me. Then, a pair of hands reaches for me to hold me down. I only scream more.

"Crystal. Crystal!"

Someone is yelling my name. I open my eyes and see Zody above me, sitting on the bed holding my arms down. I am breathing hard and my heart is racing as if it was trying escape my body.

"It's okay, Crystal. I'm right here. It was just a bad dream."

I sit up and wrap my arms around Zody. I feel him hug my back as I start to cry.

"It wasn't a bad dream," I sob. "It was a nightmare."

I don't let go of Zody until I stop crying.

"Feeling better?" Zody asks me.

I nod as I wipe the last of my tears away. I change my clothes and head downstairs with Zody.

No one seems to notice that I had been screaming out loud in my sleep ten minutes ago. They probably don't want to make me mad or anything.

I sit down and start eating the scrambled eggs Lucas gives me, even though I'm really not that hungry. I try to get the nightmare off my mind, but it wont go away, so I ignore the images in my head and think about last night's findings.

When I am done eating, I gather everyone in the living room. After a quick head count, I explain what I found last night on the trackers.

"The trackers were put in kids so that the police droids could track them," I start. "It turns out that this is just the first step to a larger plan." I take a deep breath to hold back the tears in my eyes. "The police droids plan on tracking down every child in the world to kill them."

I expected some sort of outburst, but I got an uncomfortable silence.

"I don't understand," Jozline says, breaking the silence. "I thought the trackers were just supposed to...track the kids. Not for this reason."

"I don't get it either," Lucas puts in, combing his fingers through his hair. I know it is a sign he is just as bewildered as I am. "I mean, yea, everyone is being brainwashed into thinking the droids are superior, but why would the droids want to kill us?"

"Whatever the reason, it doesn't matter right now." I stop staring at my feet and face everyone. "Guys..., this could be the end of the human race."

Everyone looks at me as if I told them the sun was about to burn out. There is only one emotion on all of our faces: pure fear.

If we don't succeed, everything will be lost. And not one human will ever walk the Earth again. All that will be left are droids and animals, nothing else. I can't imagine what Earth would be like without humans.

"Well, is there anything we can do?" Summer says quietly.

"At this point, the only thing we can do is destroy the central computer," I reply.

"What about disabling the trackers?" Roxanne asks.

"It's too late for that now. Even if we did disable them, the police droids would already know where we are."

"So, we are finally tackling the central computer problem?" Leo says.

"Yes, and from what I can tell, we will be able to make to the central computer by tomorrow of we leave today," I tell everyone.

"Wait, what?!" Zody says. "Why leave so quickly?"

"We have to leave today to get there?!" Dakota asks.

"And you are saying that all of us are going?" Kyro puts in.

"Would you shut up and let me explain? I can't think when you ask me a bunch of questions at the same time."

Everybody shuts up. My breath is shaky as I start to tell them the plan.

"I have finally cracked all of the encrypted codes and found the precise location of the central computer. It is located five kilometers below sea level away from the entrance. The cave system is pretty direct, meaning there are only a few tunnels that don't lead to the main chamber. I have calculated that if all of us leave by 3:00 this afternoon and make it to the cave without any trouble, we will be to the entrance by 8:00 tonight. Then, we will set up a camp for the night."

"That's it?" Lucas asks puzzled. "Doesn't seem too hard."

"And what about after we set up camp?" Lucen remarks.

"I'll tell you the rest of the plan once we get to that point," I respond crossing my arms.

"Question," Dakota says, "how are we going to avoid the police droids?"

"Easy, we don't. If we happen to run into them, we'll shoot them down."

"Are you crazy?!" Hayden asks incredulously. "You know that once someone is wanted that the police droids will do everything in their power to get that person."

"Wait a minute, how do you know that?" I ask Hayden with a puzzled look.

"Sometimes it helps to have your dad be a police chief," Hayden says with a smile.

Right, I knew that. Dang it, how could I forget something like that?! Then again, I am not the best at remembering trivial things.

"So you're saying," I continue, "without disabling the trackers, we won't stand a chance against the police droids."

"Yes, we need to have the trackers disabled before we leave," Hayden replies.

Without another word, we all start getting ready to leave for the cave. We try to pack as light as we can with making sure we have the essential things. Leo found a stash of laser pistols hidden in an old shed from one of the houses on the street. There were just enough for each of us to have one.

After lunch, Roxanne and I disable everyone's trackers. It was super easy to do because the farther the range, the harder it is to disable trackers.

I am nervous about heading to the cave, though. I'm worried the police droids will be waiting for us when we get there and the plan doesn't work.

But it has to. No matter what, the only thing I am focused on is destroying that computer. I think about how it has been two weeks since we started having problems in the plan. And now we are finally doing the thing we came for in the first place. My only wish is that we have more time.

We are on our way to the cave by 3:00 in the afternoon like I said. Unlike last time we tried going to the cave, we are more cautious. Each of us has their own partner, so it is easier for us to stay together but separate if needed. Niles, Mya, and Morgan are staying back at the house in case we need them to help us with something from there. Besides, Niles can't do much with his broken ankle and Mya and Morgan would only be two more people to keep track of.

Since Tanner knows the streets of San Juan better than the rest of us, he and Lucas are at the front of the group. I carry my LapPad as we walk so I can use the sensors it has to see if there are any traps.

It takes about three hours for us to safely make it through the metro area of San Juan. On the edge of highway San Juan's metro area ends, we stop for a rest. Across the highway, I spot an air freight truck stop. I check my LapPad to see if it is the right one we are heading for. I direct the others across the highway to where the air freight trucks are. Leo hot wires one of the trucks so we can use it for the rest of the trip to the cave.

We are all quiet as Dakota drives the air freight truck. Zody is sitting next to me, his hand holding mine.

"You nervous?" he asks me.

"A little bit, I guess," I admit.

"Don't worry. At least we made it farther than last time."

I can't help but grin at his humor.

"All I care about is seeing some action," Kyro comments.

"Why do you say that?" Jozline asks.

"Because," Lucen replies, "we plan on getting revenge on those idiotic droids that manipulated us."

"Remind me to let you handle the droids when the rest of us are destroying that computer," I reply.

Everyone laughs and Kyro's face turns red.

"Do we even know that there are droids at the cave?" Hayden says to no one in particular.

I had never actually thought to find any info on that topic, so I don't know what to say.

"Chances are there is," Lucas replies. "I mean, this is the central computer. How else would it be guarded?"

We make it to the national park where the cave is a little earlier than I expected, so I suggest we walk to the cave to set up camp there.

It takes a little over half an hour to make it there and we don't have any problems on the way. But once we're there, I suddenly get the feeling we are being watched.

"Stop," I command in a low voice. "No one make any sudden moves."

We spread out quickly and quietly to patrol the area. I pull out my laser pistol as I walk towards a bush I thought I saw rustling. I am right.

I take aim and shoot the guard droid before it can even register I am there. Unfortunately, this causes all the other guard droids to start shooting at us.

I swear under my breath at my mistake and then tell everyone to retreat into the rainforests.

I spot Kyro a short distance away and ask him if this was what he wanted to do.

"Not even close," he says with a laugh, taking down another droid.

With all the blaster fire, it is hard to avoid getting hit. Luckily, the rainforest foliage helps with cover. I stand behind a tree, wait until there is a pause in the shooting, and run out to another tree. Unfortunately, I am not quick enough before the droid starts firing again. I tried getting out of the way, but I was too late.

I am not aware of a laser bolt hitting me until I feel the pain. My right hand clutches my left side where I am hit. I can feel the blood on my hand, wanting to escape, but I know I can't let it.

"Zody!" I call out before collapsing on the ground. I lie on the ground staring up at the darkening sky as I hear Zody running through the trees, calling for me. I breathe heavily as Zody kneels down and moves my hand to look at my wound.

"Zody," I say and he looks back at me, "promise me that if I die you will finish what I have started."

"Crystal, no! Don't do this to me. Stay with me!"

"Just promise me!"

Zody clutches me hand and holds it tighter than ever before.

"I promise," he says with tears in his eyes.

I close my eyes and try to keep breathing until I lose consciousness.

A/N: this is from Zody's point of view

I can't bear to see Crystal like this, lying on the ground wounded. It takes all my strength to hold my tears back. I start to panic when she passes out. I lift her into my arms, scoop up her blaster, and run through the rainforest, trying to at least find someone if not make it back to the truck.

I come to a small clearing just as Falcon and Jozline come into the clearing too. Both of them take one look at Crystal in my arms and ask what happened.

"She got hit by a laser bolt. It doesn't look good," I tell them.

"We need to get back to the truck quick before she loses too much blood," Falcon replies. "Here, I'll take her. You two go find Roxanne."

Falcon runs off carrying Crystal one way and Jozline and I head the other way. We call for Roxanne and find her with Dakota back near the cave.

"Crystal is wounded," I tell them while shooting down a droid.

"How bad is it?" Dakota yells back.

"Really bad. We need Roxanne back at the truck," Jozline responds

Dakota gives Roxanne a look and tells her to go with Jozline and me.

"No, not without you," she breathes as a another droid falls over.

"Roxanne-"

"No, find everyone you can and bring them back to the truck."

Roxanne shoots one last droid before running off with Jozline and me. We make it back in five minutes,which is faster than I would've thought possible.

Falcon already has Crystal lying on a blanket. I see that Hayden and Summer made it back safely with the twins, but other than that no one is back.

Roxanne tells us to stay back as she inspects Crystal's wound and starts to clean it and bandage it.

"Miraculously," she starts, "the laser bolt just missed her rib cage without hitting anything but a couple vertebrae. The bone will regrow, but I am more concerned with blood loss."

She finishes and looks up at us, but I can tell Roxanne is mainly looking at me.

"She lost more blood than when you got whipped Zody."

Hearing that sends a shiver down my spine. I rub the scars on my back nervously, wondering how one little shot could be worse than having an electric whip hit you ten times.

The eight of us start to unpack what we have for our camp. We put up the only tent we brought and place Crystal inside. I brought in her bag so she would see it when she woke up. Then, I start to build a fire with Falcon.

"Hey, um...I'm sorry about what you and Crystal went through," Falcon says awkwardly.

"What do you mean?"

"She told me about the two of you breaking up."

"Oh yeah, that. It's not a big deal, now that we're back together." Or not, I think nervously, she could die.

I shake my head to forget that thought.

"So..., did you ever have a girlfriend?" I ask Falcon as I put a marshmallow in a stick.

"Yea, I did for awhile,... but then she died from the disease, so I mean...." Falcon just shrugged in the firelight.

"How were you able to get over it?"

"I still haven't," Falcon chuckles. "Sometimes I have dreams about her, but most of the time I try not to think about her."

"Sounds like you really loved her," I remark, staring at the fire.

"I still do. That's the funny thing about love; it never dies. No matter how much hate or death may be around you, love will always be there." Falcon inspects the marshmallow he is cooking then looks over at me. "Your marshmallow's on fire."

"Dang it," I mutter as I pull it from the fire and blow out the flame.

It is about an hour after sunset when Dakota makes it back with the others except for one.

"Where's Tanner?" Jozline asks.

"W-we don't know," Kovu stutters with a scared look in his eyes.

"You can't find him?!" Roxanne says alarmed.

"We looked everywhere we thought possible, but there isn't any sign of him."

"He'll probably turn up," I suggest. "Tanner couldn't have gone too far."

"Right," Dakota responds. "How is Crystal doing?"

"The wound wasn't bad, but she lost a lot of blood," Roxanne explains.

"Is there anything you can do?"

"Not really. We'll just have to wait."

"But we don't have time," I interject. "The remaining droids are probably searching for us right now, and if we don't shut down the computer soon, the blood of hundreds of kids will be on our hands."

"I would agree with you Zody, but Crystal is the one who knows most of what we're up against," Dakota tells me. "There isn't anything we can do right now."

"Crystal made me promise to get you all to the computer if she doesn't...survive." It hurts for me to say it, but I had to.

No one says anything for a few minutes. I'm worried I said the wrong thing.

"Okay," Dakota sighs, "I'll give Crystal three days to recover, but if she doesn't, then you, Zody, will replace her and we'll destroy the central computer."

"Dakota," Roxanne protests, "three days isn't enough time for her to recover. It will be at least a week before Crystal would be able to do anything."

"Let's worry about it later," Dakota tells her. "I'm tired and I'll bet the rest of you are."

We quickly figure out a watch shift of two people; one person will watch Crystal, the other will watch for droids. I agree to take first shift for Crystal.

I sit down next to her in the tent. She looks so peacful lying there, but I know when Crystal wakes up, she'll feel the pain of her wound. I know I did. I shudder thinking about this. I don't know what getting hit by a laser bolt is like, but I'm sure it couldn't hurt worse than having the feeling your back is on fire.

I watch Crystal for an hour then go get Jozline for her shift. As I lie on the ground staring up at the stars, I wonder what I would do without Crystal. I could probably find another girl if I wanted, but I don't think I'd love her as much as Crystal. There are things I love about Crystal that I could never find in other girls: undying courage and determination, unconditional love, and eternal forgiveness.

I fall asleep thinking of these things, hoping that Crystal will wake up soon.

Crystal's pov

The first thing I think of when I wake up is how much my side hurts. It's like a bunch of knives are stabbing into it. I open my eyes and see Zody to my left, who has evidently fallen asleep sitting up. He must have been watching me when he did.

I don't know how long I have been out, but I can tell it is just after dawn. The blanket I am lying on helps me to not feel the hard ground beneath me. I notice an area on the left side of the blanket is stained with blood- my blood. I can't bear to look at it, so I turn my head away.

I spot my bag sitting near me and reach for it with my right hand. It hurts to twist my back, so I know I can't reach over with my left. As I pull my bag closer to me, I try not to make a sound so I don't wake up Zody. Once my bag is close enough, I slip out my LapPad quietly and boot it up.

It doesn't have much battery power since it hasn't been in the sun a lot, so I make a mental note to charge it later. My LapPad has just enough battery in it, though, for me to find out what day it is: July 19. Something doesn't seem right about that.

"Thank goodness you're awake. I almost thought you were dead."

I jump out of my skin as eyes dart up at Zody, who is evidently awake.

"How many times have I told you to not startle me like that?!" I ask him a bit angry. I turn my LapPad off and put it aside.

"Sorry," Zody replies, smiling weakly. "It's just that you've been out for three days and-"

"Three days?!" I guess that would explain why the date isn't right.

"Yea, Dakota told us we should wait for awhile to see if you showed any signs of life."

"Thank you for making me feel better," I say giving Zody a smirk.

"Does it hurt?" Zody asks, indicating my wound.

"Yes, it hurts a lot. And don't even think about touching it to see what my reaction is."

"Okay, I won't," Zody says, faking his disappointment.

He reaches over and brushes the hair out of my face. My skin warms at his touch. I suddenly have the urge to kiss Zody, but with the burning pain in my side, I know I can't sit up. Zody must have noticed my expression because he leans closer to my face. I try propping myself up on my elbows a little to get closer, which doesn't end up hurting. I close my eyes as I feel myself kiss Zody.

I am so startled when I hear the tent suddenly rustle that my arms give way and I land hard on my back. Pain shoots through my body on impact, causing me to groan. I open my eyes to see Leo entering the tent and Zody trying to keep an innocent look on his face as if he wasn't kissing me five seconds ago.

"How are you feeling Crystal?" Leo asks, glancing at me. "Zody your shift is over. You can go back to your sleeping bag now."

Then, he realizes what he said.

"Wait a minute, when did you wake up Crystal?"

"Uh, like ten minutes ago," I guess.

"Roxanne will be glad when she sees you." Leo breaks into a grin.

"I'll bet she will," I say returning his grin. "Hey, could you get me water?"

"Sure, no problem."

He leaves and I look over at Zody, who is sitting next to me like a statue.

"What are you doing, Zody?"

"Sorry," he answers, breaking out of his trance. "It's just that...I was thinking about the last time I saved your life."

"What about it?"

"I don't know...." He rests his chin on his knees. "Just thinking that...if I hadn't jumped in to save you..., would someone else've done it?"

"I swear you contemplate on the past way too much."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do. Look, Zody, you really shouldn't be so harsh with yourself. Stop thinking about what could have happened, and focus on what has happened. You want to know why you keep having to save me? Because you love me. I don't know if you realized that, but I did."

I reach for his hand and he lets me hold it.

"Being negative won't get you anywhere," I continue, "which is why I ran away. Because I needed to sort out my negative feelings from the positive ones."

Neither of us talk for a few minutes. I'm worried Zody didn't hear what I said.

"If you don't want to talk to me right now, I understand. I'll give you time to think. But, please, figure out what you think is important right now."

Zody nods and leaves the tent without another word. A minute later, Leo comes back in with a bottle of water.

"What's wrong with Zody?" Leo asks puzzled. "He seems upset."

"He just needs time to think."

I prop myself up again and Leo holds the water bottle like you would for a baby so I can drink.

"Thanks," I say when I'm done. "When do you think the others will wake up?"

"I don't know. None of us have slept well since you were hurt. Roxanne has been worried sick about your condition. Marilynn and Jayden have been constantly asking if you have woke up yet. Dakota, Kyro, and Lucas can't agree on how we'll make it past the droids again. And Tanner's missing, so we've been searching for him. Basically, everyone is a mess without you."

"Well, I'm glad to make your day."

I am surprised to hear Tanner is missing. I don't see how he could have gotten lost very easily, not with his great navigation skills. I'm worried for him; I hope he's okay.

Leo and I stay in the tent talking for a couple hours about pretty much whatever, mostly about our pasts. I realize how much I don't miss what the world use to be like. I've gotten used to being on my own, but I know it won't always be that way. I've gotten this far because of the help I have. I find myself wishing I will always have my friends and family to turn to.

Roxanne comes in at about midmorning to check on me. She tells me that Zody told her about my progress in healing. I am glad to hear that I'll be able to "get back into action" within a couple days. But this also worries me. If we don't do something soon, then hundreds of kids could die.

After charging it, I use my LapPad to check the records of all the kids being tracked minus us. It doesn't look like anyone has been killed yet, but this doesn't make me feel any better. I feel helpless that I can't do anything but keep an eye on the tracking records until I am well enough to finish the job. Looks like, in a couple days, it will be the beginning of the end of the slaughter of mankind.

When I wake up a couple days later, I notice my left side no longer hurts. I check the time and see it is about 8:30 in the morning. I decide that today will be the day we finally destroy the central computer.

I sit up carefully, still afraid I may accidentally make my wound start hurting again. Luckily, it doesn't hurt. I stretch carefully and stand up. My leg muscles hurt because I haven't stood in a few days. My knees almost buckle beneath me, but I regain my balance. With my LapPad in hand, I head outside the tent.

The only people awake are Kyro and Hayden. Tanner still hasn't shown up and I'm really starting to get worried about him, though Roxanne keeps reassuring me we'll find him.

I'm surprised Zody isn't awake; he's an early riser. But then again, we were up late talking last night. I smile to myself, thinking about our conversation. I don't think there will be any more problems between us for quite awhile.

"'Morning Crystal," Hayden says as I walk up to the smoldering fire. "Feeling better?"

"Yea, still a bit sore, though."

"So," Kyro starts as he walks over, "it's cave day, right?"

"Yes, it's cave day," I laugh.

I had mentioned to the others a couple days ago that since droids could be nearby listening, we should use code words for our plan. Jayden had suggested "cave day" for the day we destroy the central computer. For her and Marilynn, this whole mission has been an adventure. Neither of them really understand what we are doing.

Everyone is up by 9:00, so I give them the final plan on our mission.

"This cave system," I start, "has many different tunnels that lead to dead ends. Only one path will lead to where we want it to. I have remotely turned on the ground lights to the tunnel that will lead us to the chamber with the central computer."

"So, we should get to there without any trouble?" Dakota asks.

"The only thing that could possibly go wrong is if we run into droids."

"Basically, it should be a normal day for us," Kyro says.

"If you want to view it that way, then yes."

-------------
An hour later, we head back to the cave. We packed up everything that we couldn't bring and put it all back in the freight truck

When we make it to the cave, there are no droids to be found. I find it strange that there aren't any droids, but I know that chances are the droids are hiding, waiting to ambush us. I am nervous about entering the cave for one reason- I am deathly afraid of the dark.

Yes, I know I turned on those ground lights, but I have been in a cave before. I was seven and my parents had taken me and my sisters to a tourist cave in Wisconsin. It was pretty cool at first, but then the tour guide turned the ground lights off for five seconds, and I freaked out. My mom used to tell me how I couldn't stop shaking with fear. That night, I started sleeping with a nightlight and haven't stopped since.

I stand there, a few feet from the entrance, staring into the darkness, scared of what could be in the cave. I feel Zody's hand slip into mine and I remember I am not alone.

"Alright," I start, "Dakota and Roxanne, you two will stay at the front and watch for anything that seems to be moving besides us. Kyro and Leo, watch the back in case something comes from behind. Everyone else stay in the middle and do not wander off."

With that, we all walk into the cave.

Being in the cave actually isn't too bad. The ground lights are still in prime condition, so they illuminate the cave very well, chasing away almost all darkness. But everytime we walk past a tunnel that isn't lit, I have to squeeze Zody's hand and not look just so I don't freak out.

Unfortunately, the cave isn't very terrain friendly. In my research of the cave, I hadn't been able to find anything related to the cave's terrian. Why the government had decided to not make a map of the terrian, I seriously have no idea.

But anyway, without any knowledge of what we would come across in the cave, it slows our progression. Multiple times, there are ledges that either go up or down and there aren't any stairs or anything, so that is pleasant.

About half of the first hour we spend in the cave, we are trying to find an efficient way to through all the ledges. Since Dakota, Lucas, and Roxanne are the tallest, they help the rest of us climb over the ledges. Getting down from them is much easier.

After an hour, we take a break from walking. Mostly because Marilynn and Jayden are starting to complain. We start handing out water bottles, when I get the feeling we're being watched. I signal to the others to be quiet. Zody seems to read my mind because he hands me a flashlight. I flick it on and follow the wet trail I had found on the floor up the wall. Just as I suspected, a camera droid is sitting on the wall, in a dark corner near the ceiling. My laser pistol is still in my hand, so I immediately shoot it. One hit is enough to kill it.

"Do you think there's more?" Leo asks.

"I really don't know, but we need to keep a better lookout for the camera droids," I respond.

"Hey, did you hear that?" Roxanne says quickly.

"Hear what, Rox?" Dakota replies.

Roxanne's ears turn red. She points to a dark tunnel nearby. I divert my eyes, so I don't have to look into the darkness. Then, I hear it: pebbles running across the ground accompanied with the sound of bare feet on rock. The sound gets closer.

"Tanner?!" Jozline exclaims, when he steps into the light.

"Oh my gosh, thank goodness you're okay," Roxanne says wrapping him into a hug.

"How did you manage to get into the cave, Tanner?" I ask him.

"Droids shooting everywhere," Tanner says. "No other place to hide, so I run into cave."

"But how did you manage to get this deep into the cave without light?" Zody asks.

"I used this."

Tanner pulls out what looks to be a normal flashlight, but I know it isn't. He actually found a heat-source flashlight. When you shine the light on an object, the light changes color depending on the amount of heat.

"Want to know what I did?" Tanner asks us. "I found it!"

"You found what?" Lucas says questioningly.

"The computer! I found the central computer!"

"But how-" Kyro starts before I cut him off.

"Because of how powerful it is," I explain, "the central computer is a generator in of itself. It generates so much energy that it lets off some as heat and light. It also has a very weak gravitational field around it, but the gravity isn't strong enough to throw anything off balance. So, with the heat-source flashlight, Tanner must have found a path of heat that led to the central computer chamber."

"Yep," Tanner replies nodding. "I found shortcut, too. Can get there faster with shortcut."

"Well, duh that's what shortcuts do," I hear Leo mutter behind me. I elbow him in the stomach.

"Could you lead us to the shortcut?" I ask Tanner.

"Sure, follow me. ¡Vamos a la computadora central!"

With Tanner leading the way, we start walking again. Everyone seems less tense now that Tanner is back. But I'm still somewhat paranoid. I use my flashlight to search the walls for any more camera droids. I only find a couple in the twenty minutes before we get to the shortcut. Unfortunately, the shortcut involves walking through a dark tunnel.

"Are you sure this is the right way Tanner?" Roxanne says, glancing at me.

"Yea, the heat goes this way." Tanner points into the tunnel.

Roxanne and Dakota give each other looks of nervousness. They both know, along with everyone else, how afraid I am of the dark. I realize they want to make sure it is okay with me to go into the tunnel.

"Do you think you can handle it, Crystal?" Dakota asks me.

I shake my head profusely. "No, I don't think so."

Just looking into the darkness while still standing in light scares the crap out of me. "You guys can take the shortcut. I'll just go the other way."

"Not alone," Dakota responds. "If you are going to go the normal route, then you need to take at least one person with you."

"I'll go with her," Kyro volunteers. "I'm not a big fan of the dark either."

"Anyone else going with Crystal?"

No one responds.

"Okay, Kyro and Crystal, we'll meet you two at the computer by 2:30 this afternoon, if we don't catch up with you along the way."

"Got it, DK," Kyro remarks.

Dakota just rolls his eyes.

----------------
So, Kyro and I head off down the lighted path while the others take the shortcut. Zody was a bit reluctant to leave me alone with Kyro. I hadn't realized that Zody still doesn't completely trust Kyro. I reassured him I'd be fine, though.

It gets boring after awhile, just having Kyro. I feel the need to talk to him, but I have nothing to say.

The path we are on narrows until we find that it winds around a rock wall. I check the map on my LapPad and see there is no way around it. The rock ledge has got to be no more than three feet at its widest point. I look at Kyro and he just shrugs, so we start around the wall.

This probably wouldn't be so scary to do if it weren't for the seemingly endless drop past the edge...into the darkness

Halfway to the other side, my foot suddenly slips and I almost fall into the abyss.

"Whoa, I got you," Kyro says as he grabs my arm.

"Thanks, Kyro."

"It's Kristoff. My real name is Kristoff."

I give him a side smile. "Doesn't sound very intimidating."

"Yea, I know," he laughs. "That and I never really liked my real name. My parents were Scandinavian, and they moved to Australia for my dad's job. I was born there."

"When did you come to the U.S.?"

"I was about eleven. It was shortly before the invasion. My dad got promoted in his job, so we moved to Washington D.C."

"Who'd he work for?"

"The NSA."

"Oh good God. You're kidding, right?"

"Uh, no. Why?"

"I despised the NSA." I shake my head. "Trying to spy on the lives of every American. How did your dad work for the NSA if you had used to live in Australia?"

"I really don't know. I never cared much about his job. Besides, my dad was never around enough for me to have much of a relationship with him. That's why Lucen and I are best friends."

"Did you meet him when you had moved?"

"No, actually, we met when I lived in Australia. Then, after the invasion, he and his family moved to the U.S. We were able to convince his parents to live near D.C. so we could still be friends. Then, the war happened and they had to move across the country."

"That's why you were hiding out in the Metro station. Because you knew that he could take it to meet you in D.C."

"Partially. We ran away after the war started."

"Why did you run away?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

We make it to the other side and I am glad we did. If it weren't for that conversation, I would have been more scared than I was.

Kyro and I continue down the path, talking on and off the next hour and a half. Most of it is about him when he was being manipulated by the droids. I didn't realize how hard it is for some people to keep away from droids.

Finally, the two of us make it to the central computer chamber. The others are already in there, but that isn't what catches my eye.

"Holy living crap," I mutter.

I knew the central computer is huge, but what I see is even more massive than I had imagined. The chamber itself is probably half an acre in size with it being at least a kilometer in height. The central computer takes up most of the space, allowing a walkway just large enough for one person at a time to walk between it and the wall. There are so many different monitors in each section of the computer that it takes me a minute just to figure out where each starts and ends.

"You look like your eyes are about to pop out of your head," Dakota comments.

"Sorry, it's just...I have never seen anything so powerful in a single room," I breathe, still staring at the computer.

"Hey, Crys, snap out of it," Kyro says, snapping his fingers in my face.

I flinch and blink.

"So, what do we need to do?" Roxanne asks.

"First of all," I answer, "does everyone have a laser pistol?"

A collective yes goes up.

"Okay, second. Have any of you found the droid-control section?"

They all look at each other nervously. I am surprised that none of them had thought to even glance over the central computer.

"Seriously, guys?" I remark, giving them a look. "You didn't even think to do something as simple as that?"

"Crystal, cut us some slack," Zody says back. "We got here, like, five minutes ago."

"Okay, fine."

Then, I hear Tanner's voice from farther into the chamber to the left.

"Hey, Crystal! I found it!"

"At least one of us knew what to do," I mutter under my breath, as I head down the small pathway to Tanner.

He is standing in front of a recessed desk-like area. Just from glancing at the monitors and desk area, I can tell Tanner found the right spot. There are three large monitors built into the computer. The desk part is actually a giant command console with a keyboard in the middle and hundreds of other buttons on either side of it. The monitors show the statuses of all the droids that are programmed specifically to the central computer. Believe me when I say that there are a lot of registered droids. And it isn't just police droids; there are all the maintenance droids, security droids, medical droids, etc. I could probably go on forever on how many different types of droids there are.

"I'm guessing you know what you're doing?" Dakota asked.

"Well, sort of." I pull my LapPad out of my bag. "I found the instructions on how to shut the droids down without killing the rest of the computer, so as long as no one touches anything, this should work."

"Then, why did you ask us if we have laser pistols with us?"

"Oh, that's if this doesn't work. We shoot up this section. Not the best alternative, but there wouldn't be any other solution."

With that, I get started on disabling the droids. No one says anything as I take ten minutes to shut down the droids. The instructions are super complicated, so I have to be really careful. Luckily, I do everything right and I successfully shut down all of the droids controlled by the central computer. I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. After almost a month of setbacks, I have finally completed my mission.

"Well, I'm glad that is over," I say to no one in particular

"Yea, about that," I hear Falcon say to my right.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Look..."

I walk over to where Falcon is standing in front of the security camera monitors. What he shows me frightens me. I look up at the others more bewildered than I have ever been before.

"We're dead," I murmur under my breath.

"What did you find?" Lucas asks.

"The Maztec," I respond. "They're still here. They are in orbit above Earth. They are the ones who have been controlling the droids. The Maztec still want us dead. That's why the droids were set to turn on us. This whole thing has been a test to see whether or not we are worthy to stay alive."

"Well, what are we gonna do?" Zody questions.

"The only thing we can do. Make contact with them."

"Have you gone mentally insane?!" Kyro squeaks surprised. "Don't you remember what happened the last time humans contacted the Maztec?"

"Yes, I know, but this is our only chance. We have gotten this far. Like I said, the Maztec are testing us to see if we are worthy enough to be left alone. Remember all of those stories about great war generals who would never stand down to protect the human race? We have to do what they did. Look," I point to a section of dialogue on a nearby screen, "the Maztec have even said themselves that the humans are a persistent race. We can't let them think we are weak. The moment we show weakness...is when they won't stop at anything to kill us."

Everyone is quiet for a minute. I can only think of one thing left to say: "Who's with me?"

"I am," Zody says slipping his hand into mine.

"Rox and I are," Dakota adds.

"The four of us will be with you," Hayden voices for himself, Summer, an the twins.

"I'm in," Lucas says.

"Me too," Leo joins in.

"Me and Kovu are gonna stay," Tanner says.

"Kyro and I are with you to the end," Lucen finishes.

"Great," I smile. "Let me hook up my LapPad to the screens and we'll finish this once and for all."

It only takes me a minute to connect my LapPad to one of the monitors. My LapPad has a front facing camera so that way I could do a camera chat with the Maztec.

I tell the others to leave only allowing Zody, Dakota, Lucas, and Kyro to stay with me. I then contact the Maztec, but don't even have much of a conversation with them. Instead, they want to meet with us in person on their space cruiser. Though reluctant, I accept the invite.

"You are definitely crazy, Crystal," Kyro comments after I cut the connection.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. It all depends on whether or not this works."

"What is next on the agenda?" Dakota asks. "The Maztec aren't coming for another couple hours at least."

"First, we need to send a message to everyone about everything that has happened. Then, we'll head back to the cave entrance."

"Well," Dakota says running his fingers through his hair, "it takes awhile to walk through the cave, even with the shortcut."

"Do you think there are any sort of land transports stored in this cave?" Kyro questions.

"How about you and Lucen find that out while I do this message," I tell him without looking up from my LapPad.

I hear him walk off, and then I tell Dakota, Lucas, and Zody to let the others know about the plan. Once they are gone, I take a deep breath, press the spacebar, and start.

"This is an important message to all surviving humans. My name is Crystal Galaxia. Most of you have probably noticed that all of the droids have been shut down. That's because I did that. The droids have been being used against all of us...by the Maztec. Yes, the Maztec are still here. I plan to make contact with them. All I ask of the rest of you is to not panic when the Maztec messenger ship comes. If my mission fails, another message will be sent out. If all goes well..., then we'll see what happens. No matter what happens, though, never give up on staying alive."

I stop the live stream, hoping some people saw my message. I'd hooked up my LapPad to stream it to all available screens it could find, so chances are mostly everyone did. Whether or not I know they got the message, at least I tried.

After packing up my LapPad, Zody finds me and tells me Kyro and Lucen were able to find a landspeeder just large enough to fit all of us. When I say that, I mean all of us have just enough standing room with Marilynn, Jayden, Kovu, and Tanner being carried by the four oldest of us.

Luckily, we make it back to the cave entrance in under an hour, and that was taking the long way. We would have gone through the shortcut, but from what the others told me, there is a shallow pool at one point. From the cave entrance, we all head back to the freight truck. Then, we take that back to the edge of San Juan and walk back to Roxanne's house. Basically, it takes us a couple hours to get back and it is early evening when we finally get to rest.

I suddenly realize I have to go meet with the Maztec, so Dakota, Lucas, Kyro, Lucen, and I go to the airfield in San Juan, which is where the coordinates I gave the Maztec lead to. Zody wants to come with me, but I convince him to stay and watch the twins. The four boys are basically my body guards, though all they are equipped with are laser pistols. I don't carry one with me, but Dakota has a spare in case I need it.

The Maztec ship lands a few minutes later. I have never seen a Maztec spaceship, at least not in person. The messenger ship is roughly 10 meters in length and 13.3 meters in width. The height is taller than I expected, about five meters. It's shaped like an oblong pancake with pincers. The color is a bluish-purple with a silver coating.

The landing ramp extends and three Maztec come out, two guard either side of the ramp and the other walks over to us. An average Maztec is between two to three meters in height, but I've heard they can be as tall as four meters. That would explain why the ship is a bit higher than usual. The Maztec's humanoid features include ocean blue skin with sliver tattoos all over, a thin but strong stature, dark thin hair with beads and braids, and pointy ears. The Maztec wears a toga-like robe that is colored red with golden swirls and hem. Unexpectedly, the Maztec before us is barefoot.

"Are you the ones we are to meet with?" the soft masculine voice of the Maztec asks.

"Yes, we are," I respond.

"Very well. Follow me to ship so we may meet with one you wish to speak."

The five of us follow the male Maztec to the messenger ship. I'm really hoping this isn't a trap. Kyro falls into step next to me and quietly asks, "You nervous?"

"A little. I'm worried this won't work."

"Don't worry. It will." Kyro squeezes my shoulder.

Once on the ship, the male Maztec leads us to a main hold area where we sit. The two guards from the ramp stand at either of the two entrances to the room. As I feel the ship lift off, the male Maztec speaks to us.

"It is not normally necessary to have our guards here," he explains, "but we do it for safety of both peoples. Please excuse my unability to speak perfect English. Even with as long as we been in contact with your people, still have not mastered language. My name is Kli'k and I am head ambassador to Maztec people."

"I'm Crystal and this is Dakota, Lucas, Kyro, and Lucen." I point out each of us. "I'm the one who sent the message."

"We were not expecting a female to be the one to lead your group. Where I come from, male leadership is valued, but only female can rule all Maztec."

"Why is that?" Dakota asks.

"She is the mother of all Maztec. All male advisors have children with her. Which ever one of us has daughter first will be next mother, unless she dies then position passes on to next daughter. She is not mother until mature."

"So," I start, "do you think your Maztec mother would be willing to talk to me? You said male leadership is valued, and yet the ruler of your whole race is female."

"If you are leader of your group, then yes." Kli'k pauses and listens to something from the little earpiece he has. "We have arrived at mothership."

"Wow, that only took like five minutes to get here," Kyro comments as we exit the messenger ship.

"Not to, what's the word, boast, but our technology is more advanced than human technology. As you can see, speed faster, gravity artificial, and systems infiltrate."

"Yea, we noticed," I hear Lucen mutter. I punch his shoulder and give him a look.

Kli'k leads us throughout the mothership to the chamber where the Maztec leader waits for us. I have never been in outer space, let alone seen the inside of an alien spacecraft. The messenger ship was simple, but the mothership is immense. The whole inside is the same bluish-purple as the outside, but lighter and less shiny. Maztec are milling around everywhere, going to and from different areas of the ship. Some look like they are working, others just taking a stroll. Surprisingly, we are hardly noticed. I'd expected all the Maztec we passed by would stare at the five humans walking in the mothership. The only ones that really notice us are the guards. Every time we walk past them, Kli'k speaks to them in his Maztec tongue, probably saying we are supposed to be there. At one point, we come to an empty corridor.

"I apologize for guards questioning your presence. They are least fond of humans, compared to rest of us," Kli'k explains. "We are almost to Maztec mother. Before we enter, I must tell that if negotiating doesn't work, I have few guards on my side. They will lead you escape pod bay, so you can go back to Earth and warn your other people."

"Thank you for all your kindness towards us," I tell him. "To be honest, I didn't think there were any Maztec that could be sympathetic to humans."

"Not all of us wanted war started," he replies. "I was one of them. Part of reason why I came to bring you here."

"What's the other part?" Lucas asks.

"Maztec mother requested I should be person to go. Knew I was most capable, so I fulfill request."

At the end of the corridor is a closed set of doors. I gulp nervously.

"One last thing, eye contact is valued," Kli'k says before opening the doors.

I suddenly wish I had let Zody come with me; I want to hold his hand right now. We walk into the chamber where the Maztec mother is. Two guards stand on either side of her throne. Behind her is a large window looking out into space with Earth to the lower right. It feels so strange to look down on the Earth, knowing that everyone else is down there.

I don't even know how to begin to describe how the Maztec mother looks. Like all Maztec, she has ocean blue skin with silver tattoos, but in different, more ornate patterns. On top of her head rests a sort of tiara with tiny colorful jewels embedded on the front and strings of the tiny jewels dangling down off the edge, framing her face. Her long, dark hair is fashioned into millions of little braids all gathered at the top of her head into a bun with the ends hanging down. Her pointy ears have earrings all over the earlobes. The toga-like robe she wears is a deep purple with silver lining. Around her neck sits a single silver necklace with some sort of symbol. Her hands and wrists are covered with rings and bracelets.

Even though I am amazed by the beauty of the Maztec mother, it doesn't quell any of my nervousness. Kli'k brings us forward to the throne. He stops at the steps and bows. I can feel the Maztec mother's eyes seeing into my soul. Lucas and Kyro stand to my left and Lucen and Dakota to my right. I give them an almost unnoticeable hand signal to keep careful watch.

"My mother, queen, and wife, to you I present five humans of Earth," Kli'k says to her with a surprisingly deep voice. "I, now, ask for your permission to let them speak to you."

"I give my permission," she replies in a strong tone.

Kli'k steps aside, and I am left staring at the Maztec mother, every emotion known to man running through me. I have no idea how to start; I want to yell, cry, and laugh all at the same time. Once again, Roxanne's words speak to me: "all you need to do is believe in yourself."

"I am Crystal Galaxia and I speak for the children of Earth," I start. "We have been struggling to work together after the ruin that was caused by the war two years ago. With my group of friends and family, the nineteen of us have successfully shut down all of the droids on Earth--- the droids you have been controlling. We discovered it was never your intent to leave us alone, but to use our own droids against us for complete annihilation of the human race. We have decided to not let you take our world, and we will fight for it if we have to. But we do not want to start another war. If you are willing, we would like to negotiate an agreement between the humans and Maztec. Our terms are simple: help us rebuild our society, and we will ensure you have an area of land on our planet on which you can establish a colony. If you do not agree, we will defend our planet to the best of our abilities, even if it does mean the end of the human race. All we ask is for your help to revive the human race."

I never broke eye contact with the Maztec mother when I spoke. It's hard for me to read the expression on the Maztec mother's face, but I have the feeling she is impressed. I don't know whether or not that is a good thing. The Maztec mother doesn't speak for a few minutes, and when she finally does, I am expecting her to deny my request.

"Kli'k and my guards, take the four males and leave us. I wish to speak to this girl alone."

"Yes, my queen," Kli'k replies. He motions to the guards and they lead the four boys out of the chamber. Before following the others, Dakota murmurs into my ear: "Please don't get yourself killed."

I hold back a grin. I keep my eye contact with the Maztec mother until I hear the doors close behind me and the Maztec mother speaks to me directly.

"There is no need to be afraid. I can see the fear in your eyes," she tells me.

Embarrassed, I look away with my face burning. My eyes find the view of Earth from the window. I wish I was back there right now with Marilynn and Jayden, not afraid of what the Maztec mother will say to me. She stands up and walks down the steps leading to her throne.

"Come, walk with me," she says.

I walk with her over to the window. I lean against the window and look down at Earth.

"I assume you have family," the Maztec mother says.

"Yes, younger twin sisters." I suddenly remember how I have hardly cared for them in the last month. The last time I'd played with Marilynn and Jayden was that one morning at a rest stop. I've been so caught up in everything I have practically forgotten about them.

"You wish to be with them right now, no?"

"Yea, I do. How do you keep reading my mind?"

She smiles at me. "Maztec don't read minds; we read expressions. It's a very unique quality about us that can tell us many things about a person." She studies my face for a moment. "There is something about you I haven't seen in a human before. I have no way to describe it."

I feel my face get warm from the compliment, even though I have no idea what she meant.

"You haven't told me your name yet," I mention.

"You can call me Reina," she tells me.

"Hablas español ¿no?" I ask her. I knew that Reina means 'queen' in Spanish, so I wondered if she knew Spanish.

"Sí, hablo español. Pero no sé mucho."

"Do you know any other languages?"

"Yes, but not enough to be very fluent in any of them," Reina answers. "I just learned from when I talked to the adults of your race. That is why I speak English so well."

"If you could communicate with us so easily, then why did you try to destroy the human race?" I am really hoping didn't just ask the wrong thing.

"Ambition and greed got in the way of what was right," she says sadly. I can tell by the pained expression on her face that she is telling the truth. "After we were helpless to save our world from a black hole, some of us wanted to place blame. I actually was born on this ship. You know that Maztec grow twice as fast as humans, right?"

"Yes." I can't really tell where she is going with this.

"My mother was queen at the time our planet was lost," Reina explains. "She was so pained by the loss that she wanted to cause others pain. When she found Earth, she saw it not only as a place where she could cause destruction, but also habitable to re-establish our own race. It was not I who started the war; it was my mother. She died shortly before the war ended. Once it was over, I became queen."

I think there are tears in Reina's eyes, but she tries keeps her expression as neutral as she can.

"I wanted to fix my mother's mistakes, but I knew it was too late. I knew only a human could save what was left."

I suddenly understand why all of this happened. It wasn't fate, it was destiny. The Maztec chose me to save mankind.

"So," I start slowly, "you found me to save what was left of us."

"Not exactly," Reina shakes her head. "Someone else did. One of your own did."

I have the feeling I know who it is she's referring to, but I won't know for sure until I get back to Earth.

"I guess there is only one thing left to say: do you accept my deal?" I ask holding out my hand.

"Yes, I accept," Reina says shaking my hand in return. "I'll talk to my advisors about what we can help you with and get back to you as soon as possible."

"Thank you," I smile. "I have the feeling this alliance will last for a long time."

"As do I, Crystal."

-------------------
After my conversation with Reina, I go back to Earth with Dakota, Lucas, Kyro, and Lucen. Dakota is relieved to know I didn't get myself killed. I don't talk about my meeting with Reina until we are back at Roxanne's house in San Juan. Then, I tell them all about what Reina had to say.

"Looks like it was all worth it then," Zody comments when I am done.

"Yea," I grin. Then, I remember something. "So, which one of you told the Maztec about me?"

The only person who seems to be hiding something is Roxanne. I can tell because of the look of fear on her face.

"Rox, what's wrong?" Dakota asks gently.

"I'm a spy for the Maztec," she says shakily.

"I don't believe you," Dakota blurts out.

"Please, let me explain," she says quickly. "When the epidemic came, my siblings and I weren't on the list to be vaccinated. I was desperate to find a way to duplicate the vaccine for us. I ended up accidentally infilitrating the Maztec's systems and I was abducted. It was hard to convince them it had been an accident and my only intentions were to find a solution to my problem. They finally let me go, but had implants put in that connected from my ears to my brain so I could be monitored as their spy. The Maztec were able to give me the vaccine since I agreed to be their spy, but only because it was to save my family's lives."

Roxanne pauses for a moment before continuing.

"After the war ended, the Maztec wanted to kill off the one million survivors, but I couldn't let it happen. I made a deal with them: if I could find someone who was determined enough to save mankind, then they would leave us alone. But I had to find someone by the beginning of July, so deal almost fell through. I knew from when Tanner told me about Crystal that the Maztec needed to let me save her so she could save all of us."

At this point, Roxanne's eyes are filling with tears. I know she is telling the truth, but the others don't look too convinced.

"When we were stuck in jail, though, the Maztec lost faith in me and remotely shut down the vocal part of my brain, which is why I couldn't speak. They wouldn't let me speak again until they were convinced Crystal could break us out of there, and she did. Things were fine up until our first trip to the cave. I knew it probably wouldn't work the first time, so I secretly took Crystal's LapPad and found out how to shut down the droids protecting the cave. When we were all battling the droids, I had Tanner slip into the cave to find the computer first and shut down the guard droids. This was all on my part and I did it so we could safely make it into the cave together. I knew the whole time the Maztec were manipulating the droids and I had to keep begging them for more time. They almost killed Crystal because of me."

By now, tears are flowing freely down Roxanne's face. I thought Dakota would be angry with Roxanne, but even if he is he doesn't show it when he holds her as she cries. Once the crying subsides, she speaks again.

"Every one of you has the right to not trust me anymore. I take full responsibility for my actions. All I wanted was the same thing Crystal did: to save the world from destruction. Even if I hadn't been used by the Maztec, I still would have done everything I have done."

No one says anything for a few minutes. I want to say something, but I don't know what. Zody seems to know, though.

"Roxanne, you did the right thing," he tells her. "Without you, we wouldn't be here. We may not even have been able to complete the mission if it weren't for you."

"So, you forgive me?" she asks.

"Yes, we all do," Dakota responds, speaking for all of us.

I suddenly feel like hugging everyone in the world. Maybe, it's because everything is finally over. No more evil droids, destructive Maztec, or dark secrets exist. Through everything, I never lost hope that we would survive, even the two times I almost died. Come to think of it, I feel like I am the savior of the world. Probably because I dared to to save the world. And it worked.

5 months later

"Crystal! Look, how Jayden, Mya, Morgan, and I decorated the Christmas tree!" Marilynn exclaims excitedly from the living room.

"It looks beautiful," I tell her as I walk in to look at it.

"Hey, Crys," Kyro calls behind me, "can you help me with the light syncronization?"

"Sure." I walk back to the kitchen table where Kyro sits with my LapPad. Lately, I have been teaching Kyro how to program and hack since he showed an interest in it.

Kyro and I sit on one side of the table, while Jozline, Falcon, Hayden, and Summer make Christmas cookies on the other half. The four of them share the rest of the kitchen with Niles, Leo, and Lucen, who are making apple pies. Zody, Tanner, and Kovu are out buying presents and food for Christmas.

Dakota, Roxanne, and Lucas should be home in awhile. They have been taking the Metro all the way from Detroit to Washington D.C the past few months, which if you ask me is a crazy long commute even if it takes only little over an hour round trip. They go there everyday to work with the Maztec to rebuild the world.

Just in the Detroit area alone, we have convinced people to live here, and we spent a lot of time forming the New World Government, or NWG for short. I had invited everyone in the group to stay at my house for as long as needed. At first, coming back home felt weird since I had orginally told myself I wouldn't come back. But eventually, I was glad I decided to.

Being it is December 21, we are rushing to have everything ready for Christmas. We've been so busy with all of the reconstruction that we almost forgot about Christmas.

After about ten minutes of programming the light sync, Dakota, Roxanne, and Lucas show up. We wait for Zody, Tanner, and Kovu to get back before we have dinner. We all laugh, talk, eat, and play as if we are all a family, and guess we are. I don't think I have ever had such a great night since before the war.

A slight shiver runs down my spine whenever I think about that now. For some reason, when I think about my days before the war, I feel like something is missing. Almost as if something was there then, but it left so suddenly that it was almost as if it had never existed.

Zody notices my contemplation and pulls me outside onto the deck, away fromt the others. The coldness grabs me immediately and I begin to shiver. Maybe wearing a short-sleeve dress wasn't such a good idea. Zody holds me in his arms, though, to keep me warm.

"What's wrong? You seem bothered by something," he whispers.

"It's my memories. Something is wrong don't know what it is."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm missing something," I tell him, "like the piece to a puzzle. Everything else is there, but there is that one piece I lost and can't find."

"I'm sure whatever it is you'll find it. I'll help you find it. We'll keep searching, even if we die before we do."

"This is why I love you so much," I smile at him. "You never want to leave me in the dark."

"How could I after we kept saving each other's lives?"

"Zody, I don't want to wait until we're older to get married. We don't know what the future will bring, and I want to have a family while we are still alive."

"Ask me again in five years and maybe I'll say yes."

"Maybe?"

"Okay, I will say yes," he laughs.

I look up at the stars. The Maztec mother ship is still up there, and we're still down here. Reina has a daughter now, who she is taking care of and will help us someday. Even though I have no idea what will happen in the next year, week, or even tomorrow, I do know that we aren't alone. No matter what happens, I'll always have confidence in the Maztec, the ones who wanted to destroy us, but now have saved us.