MARCH 1, 2011
Boone Windsore would make Freemans burn.
They had launched an attack on Soy. They had earned the right to suffer. Lovely would never be one of them, but there was a chance she would become a High.
Boone stood tall, and he was muscular. Like Lovely and Lauren, he had orange hair and green eyes. They had pale skin, but each of them wasn't as pale as a Freeman.
Lock Tannis's people had arrived on Soy. But Boone, Lauren, and Marina Tome could soon help Lovely get to the place where Theo Majestic waited. If they succeeded, Lovely would become a High and Marina would leave Soy with her.
Boone rushed into the bedroom he shared with Lauren, then Marina did the same. The closed blinds blocked the moonlight outside. He would leave his home. Tonight, he might see Lovely become one of Soy's new leaders. He and Lauren wished for that like they wished for their family and their friends to survive this horrible invasion. Armed Freemans had come to Majestic City, the largest city on Soy. They attacked it, and they planned on destroying the entire planet. But Boone, his family, and Marina might escape Soy before its destruction.
"Marina is here!" Boone said. "We need to get her and Lovely to Theo Majestic. Our daughter needs to become a High, Lauren."
Lovely was a Soynite, and she had been born five years ago. If she were with Theo, he could've turned her into a High. A long time ago, he had made his friends into child rulers like him. Would Lovely become what he was?
She wore a blue shirt with short sleeves, and her pants and her shoes were the same color as the shirt. Like everyone else in the home, she wore a Soynite pendant. Lauren held her while standing on the bedroom's floor. Marina approached them. She had a Soynite pistol in her hand. With her other one, she caressed Lovely's hair.
"Hello, Lovely," Marina said. "Soon, you're going to meet High Theo. And he's going to turn you into a High."
Lauren nodded. "And Marina is going to take good care of you."
"I know," Lovely said.
The Freemans attacked Soy, and Theo wanted to give its people new rulers, children who might lead them well. He planned on giving up his royal authority. Long before Boone's birth, Theo had taken away Reed Pisces's High status. Tonight, Theo might stop being one. When he was sixteen, he had earned a king's power. Lovely was five. Theo could give her a High's authority before morning came.
Boone went closer to Lovely, and pressed his lips against her forehead. "We're going to try our best to get you to Theo."
"I love you, Lovely," Lauren said. She kissed Lovely on the lips. "Even if you don't become a High, I will always love you."
"I love you, too, Mother," Lovely replied. "And I have pictures of you and Father in my pocket. When I'm away from both of you, I'll still be able to see your faces."
"That's great. And you're going to be a great High."
If Lovely didn't get to Theo's location, she would never become a High.
"We need to go," Boone said. "Give Lovely to me. I'm stronger than you are."
Lauren handed Lovely to Boone. He carried her, which he had done many times before. After they departed from each other, they might be separated for years. Not being able to see her for that long would be horrible, like if Lauren died.
Boone kissed his wonderful wife on the lips. They had never given Lovely a brother or a sister. After surviving Soy's invasion, they could try giving her a sibling.
"I love you," Boone told Lauren.
She placed a hand on his cheek. "I love you, too."
Lauren took a few steps away from Boone. A bang made him flinch, and a small explosion destroyed a chunk of the living room wall. A laser rushed through the hole, sped above the floor in the living room, then entered the bedroom. It blasted through Lauren's forehead. She dropped onto the carpet.
"Mother!" Lovely screamed.
A Freeman warrior stood outside the house. Marina aimed and fired. The enemy collapsed onto the grass blades, and his corpse changed into smoke.
Lauren Windsore didn't rise. She would never see Lovely become a High. Tears descended Boone's face. Crying wouldn't revive Lauren, but he did it anyway. So did Lovely and Marina. Unlike Lauren, Theo might be alive.
"We need to go!" Boone said. "Now."
Marina looked through the hole in the living room wall. "The streets are ruined. We'll have to go on foot."
They left.
Rushing, Boone carried Lovely as Marina ran beside him. Gaping holes ruined the street. Lifeless Soynites littered its asphalt with their corpses, which had laser beam holes in them. A red laser had blasted into Lauren's forehead, and she hadn't stood after that.
But a Freeman hadn't killed Lovely. She lived, and she might someday die as a High. She would earn the right to sit on a throne and wear a crown. The Highs owned blue thrones that stood on a blue platform with blue steps. The six Soynite rulers possessed crowns the same color as their thrones. Those chairs might be as ruined as the wall in Boone's living room.
Theo intended on letting six High-Watcher pairs into the spaceship, not five. Boone needed to protect Lovely and Marina. And if Theo had already turned six children into Highs, Lovely wouldn't be allowed to become one. Boone hadn't seen six new Highs standing outside a spaceport. Maybe it wasn't too late for him to have his wish fulfilled. Tonight, Lovely might become one of the most important Soynites in the universe.
Boone wouldn't let a Freeman murder his daughter.
The Freemans valued power, but they despised the Soynites. After Zero Spike's death, one of the original six Freemans, Voy Nail, had made a decision. Because of that, whoever killed the present Freeman ruler would become the new one, even if they were a Soynite.
Voy Nail had been the second Freeman the Soy Maker had made. He had become the Freeman leader after Zero's death. After Voy's decision, Tok Also, the third Freeman, had tried murdering him. Voy had killed him. After Zero had murdered an original Soynite, Voy had left Soy with him and the other Freemans. But the Soy Maker had given evidence he hadn't hated Soynites.
The original Freeman females had been Juno Hick, Fauna Dam, and Killma Zone. The youngest Freeman had been Killma. Her death had made the Freemans despise the Soynites.
Boone and Marina ran, but they wouldn't do that forever. Soon, Lovely might stand in front of Theo.
A hole caught Boone's foot.
He cried out. He turned so his back would hit a nearby corpse. Holding Lovely, he fell onto the dead man. His lifeless hand rested on a Soynite pistol. The weapon had failed to save him, but Boone could grab it and use it to defend himself. Lovely moved off him.
"Boone, are you okay?!" Marina asked.
A hand smaller than Boone's grabbed the Soynite pistol. A Freeman charged, wielding a sword. A blue laser tore through his forehead. He dropped like Lauren had done.
"I killed him!" Lovely said, gripping the Soynite pistol. "Did you see that, Father?! And now he's going to turn into smoke."
Lovely wiped away a tear on her face. She was five and she had already killed a Freeman. His corpse changed into smoke.
A Freeman emerged from the gap between two buildings, and Boone set him on fire. Shouting, he dropped his laser rifle. Lovely giggled as he burned.
"Good job, Father!" she said. "Burn, you foolish Freeman."
Lovely grinned while watching the Freeman suffer. Boone took the gun from her, then put it in his pocket. He picked her up. The gun in his possession would help keep him safe. He was armed like Marina, who was willing to kill to protect him.
"We have to keep moving," Boone said, as he carried Lovely. Marina scanned the area for any enemies who weren't on fire. "I'm going to try my best to get both of you to Theo."
They continued the trip.
After arriving outside a fence, they approached a man. He stood in front of a gate attached to the fence, dressed in a blue suit that had a badge on it. He held a clipboard and a pencil. Other men and women wearing blue suits with badges on them surrounded the fence, guarding the area.
Moonlight shone against the huge blue building in the distance, and a spaceship idled on the nearby airstrip, which High Theo stood on. Soy's other rulers had gone missing, but he would make six new ones. Near him, a boy and a girl remained next to each other. Their hair was blond. Behind the boy was a man with black hair. Ken Herman stood behind the girl. He was Lilly Majestic's younger brother, and he must be the girl's Watcher.
Another man on the airstrip stood closer to the spaceship than the others did. He was black-haired and muscular. He wore a Soynite spaceship pilot's uniform, which was blue. The cap he wore showed a blue spacecraft surrounded by a white circle.
Unlike Earth, Soy didn't have airplanes. The planet had spaceships.
The man in the suit remained in front of Boone.
"Government agent," Lovely said, reading the words on the man's badge. His name was on it.
Macksen Mime.
As Boone carried Lovely, Macksen inspected her face with his brown eyes. The warm wind brushed against his black hair. He looked at Boone.
"What's this child's name?" he asked.
"Lovely Windsore," Boone said, telling the truth.
"How old is she?"
"Five."
Macksen inspected Lovely with his eyes again. "How do you spell her first and last name?"
Boone answered him.
Macksen wrote on the sheet of paper resting on his clipboard. "Which one of you is Lovely's Watcher?"
"I am," Marina said. "And my name is Marina Tome."
"Go to the airstrip with her," Macksen said. "Talk to Theo Majestic. He will turn her into a High. When all six children are on the airstrip, the process will begin. Marina, you and Lovely have to bid farewell to this man. He can't leave with the two of you."
Boone had a name.
"My name is Boone Windsore," he said. "And I'm Lovely's father."
"I'm sorry, Boone," Macksen told him. "Say goodbye to Lovely and Marina."
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It wasn't guaranteed Boone would reunite with Lovely or Marina after they left him. He stopped carrying Lovely, then approached Marina. They hugged.
"Take care of Lovely," he said. Tears came from his green eyes. "I love you. Thanks for everything you did for my family."
"I love you, too," Marina said, as her voice trembled. The hug ended. "Try to survive."
"I will."
Boone kneeled in front of Lovely. He kissed her on the lips before kissing her forehead.
"I love you, Lovely," Boone said.
"I love you, too, Father," Lovely replied.
Tears descended her face, and Boone wiped them away. After Theo made her into a High, whenever she cried, her tears would be royal ones. The blond children on the airstrip would rule Soy with her and a few other children.
Boone and Lovely hugged. After their embrace ended, he stood. Marina picked her up. She carried her while running toward the airstrip. Soon, she and Lovely were on it. Marina positioned herself behind her.
As time passed, other children and their Watchers came. The last pair was a man and a baby. He gave information to Macksen. Boone listened. The baby's name was Kara Ascend, High Don's daughter. Her Watcher's name was Victor Valley. After speaking with Macksen, he went to the airstrip, holding Kara. Don was her father, but Victor would raise her. Macksen joined him and the others. He gave the clipboard to Theo.
The ceremony to make new Highs began. After it ended, Theo used a camera to photograph the Highs. The blond boy was the eighth one. The blond girl was the ninth. Lovely was the tenth. She and Marina looked at Boone. He waved at them, and they waved back.
When would he hug his daughter again?
After the Highs, their Watchers, and the pilot boarded the spaceship, it left. So did Boone.
Time passed.
In a meadow, Boone ran as two Freemans pursued him. His enemies wielded strife swords. He had lost the Soynite pistol Lovely had used to kill that Freeman. A spaceship remained ahead of him, and the outdoor lights in the forest glowed against its blue metal.
A woman stood outside the spacecraft. She was as tall as Boone, and hands that didn't belong to her clenched her blue dress. Like her, Boone struggled to survive. She would have to let him board her spaceship.
"Duck!" the woman shouted.
Boone ducked. The woman took aim, then a blue laser launched through the space above Boone. A Freeman grunted, and the woman opened fire again. After standing straight, Boone turned. The Freemans lay on the grass, bleeding from holes in their heads. They stopped breathing. Their corpses changed into smoke.
Boone stood too close to the strife swords, weapons that prevented him from using his Save. He couldn't set any enemies on fire, but there were no living foes in this meadow. How long would that be true for?
"Are they dead, Mother?" a voice asked, as smoke moved toward the night sky.
"Yes, baby," the woman said. Boone faced her. "What's your name?"
"Boone Windsore," he replied. He walked toward the woman. When he was close enough, he stopped. "My daughter is Lovely Windsore. She's one of the new Highs."
"I'm Misty All," the woman said. "You need to get inside my spaceship, Boone. Unless you want to die, of course."
"I'm leaving this planet with you, then."
Misty had long brown hair and brown eyes. She was slim like Lauren had been. Someone's hands still clenched her dress. The girl who had called her Mother stood behind her, as if keeping Misty in front of her were the best way to protect herself.
"It's okay, Zoey," Misty said. "Get from behind me. I want you to meet Boone. His daughter is one of the new Highs."
The girl stopped clinging to Misty's dress, and she moved from behind her mother.
Boone smiled at her. "Hello, Zoey. My name is Boone Windsore."
Zoey smiled.
"Hello," she said, as she looked at Boone with her brown eyes.
She was thin like Lovely, but Zoey wasn't pale like her. Her long brown hair touched the fabric of her short-sleeved shirt, which was blue like her pants. Her white shoes pressed against the grass beneath her. She didn't wear a pendant. She looked like she was Lovely's age.
Misty ran her fingers through Zoey's hair.
"Get inside, Zoey," she said. She forced Zoey to face the spaceship's open door. She stepped into it. Still outside the vessel, Misty looked at Boone. "You too, Boone."
He entered the spaceship. He, Misty, and Zoey would survive Soy's invasion.
MARCH 2, 2011
Hours had gone by.
In a lounge room inside the spaceship, Boone stood in front of Zoey. No Freeman could hurt them.
Misty had gone into the spaceship's bridge. Last night, she had killed two Freemans who might have grinned if they had slain Boone. Like the fact Lovely was a High, having Misty as an ally was great.
Soy's invasion had ended, and a new day had come. Like the wonderful Lauren, Soy was dead. The Freemans had destroyed the planet. The Soy Maker had the power to revive it, but Boone didn't possess that object. It could bring Soy back to life, but it couldn't make a dead person's heart beat again. A certain High's mother would be dead forever. That fact was as dreadful as the attack on Soy had been. Lovely didn't know Boone had survived Soy's invasion. Neither did Marina, who took care of Lovely while he couldn't.
Zoey was five years old, and her father couldn't take care of her. She had never met him. She wasn't Boone's daughter, but he could protect her. His daughter had left with her Watcher and other people. Lovely had gained royal authority over Boone, Misty, and Zoey. They would have to kneel for her if they found her.
"If you ever meet Lovely, you'll have to kneel for her," Boone told Zoey. "She's your ruler. She's our ruler."
"I will," Zoey said. "I'll kneel for her. What does she look like?"
"She has long orange hair and green eyes. She's pale, too. Maybe you'll meet her one day. I really hope you will. If you and her were together, I'm sure the two of you would get along. I don't know when I'll be with her again. It's going to happen, though. I'm alive. And because of that, I can reunite with Lovely one day. If your mother hadn't let me leave Soy with the two of you, I probably would've died there. You have a good mother, Zoey. I'm glad that she's in your life."
Boone couldn't be with Lovely. He was the only parent she had, but he had been forbidden from going to Earth with her and Marina. If he had been permitted to leave with them, he would have.
"Me too," Zoey said. "I love her. And when she let you come with us, I loved her even more. I'm glad that you didn't die on Soy, Boone."
Frowning, she rubbed her arms.
"But Freemans still exist," she said. "They're out there."
Boone looked at the round window. "Unfortunately, they are, and we might see more of them again. But me and your mother will protect you from them. The ones that she got rid of didn't do what they wanted to do to us. We're alive, and the Freemans are never going to kill us."
A sharp weapon had never ended Boone's life.
When he last saw Lovely, she had been alive. He couldn't speak with her. He had become friends with Misty and Zoey, but he missed Lovely and Marina like he missed Lauren. She had seen her mother's corpse. Boone couldn't comfort her. Marina should be able to, though. She had known Lovely for years. When she was a newborn baby, Marina had held her for the first time.
Lovely had escaped Soy with a woman who would try her best to protect her. Even if she weren't a High, Marina would defend her.
"How many Freemans have you killed?" Zoey asked.
"Not enough," Boone said. He looked at Zoey's shirt, which a pendant didn't touch. "And there's something I've been wondering about. Where's your pendant?"
"Don't answer that question, Zoey," Misty said.
She stepped into the room. She didn't hold her Soynite pistol, the weapon she had put to good use during Soy's invasion. The spaceship the three of them were in didn't have Freeman enemies within it. Even if some were inside the spaceship, it would've been foolish to fire a laser gun in it.
Misty walked closer to Zoey, and kissed her forehead.
"You don't need a pendant, baby," she said. "Pendants don't make us what we are. We're still Soynites without them."
Boone nodded. "That's true."
"Another thing that's true is the fact that your daughter is a High. I've never met Lovely, but I hope I do. You deserve to see her again, Boone. If I was separated from Zoey, I would want to find her. And if I do get separated from her one day, I will find her. I know I will."
On Soy, Boone had gotten separated from his Soynite pistol. He hadn't found his weapon, but he had found Misty. She had helped him. He had boarded her spaceship, the one he stood in. Lovely and Marina had gone into a different one. They had left with her co-rulers, their Watchers, and a pilot.
Lauren had died inside the home she had shared with Boone and Lovely. Lauren didn't have the opportunity to reunite with her in the future. Boone did. He was with Misty and Zoey, but he would be with Lovely and Marina someday.
Misty sat on one of the sofas hugging the wall. "I also know that Boris Endman is alive."
"How do you know?" Boone asked.
"I had a vision of the future. It happened before Zoey was born. I saw myself and Boris, and that vision hasn't come true yet. That's how I know that he's alive. I'm going to meet him."
"We don't know where he is, but at least we know he isn't dead."
Zoey sat next to Misty on the sofa. She had seen herself and Boris in a vision of the future. She would meet him. Last night, Boone had seen his co-ruler Theo. They used to rule Soy together. Boris and the other former Highs used to kneel for Theo. He had been their leader.
Who would become the next Supreme High? Had Lovely and her co-rulers already decided which one of them should lead the Highs?
"I wonder who the next Supreme High will be," Boone said. "Lovely and her co-rulers are going to have to choose which one of them should lead them. They will have to take a vote."
"That probably hasn't happened yet," Misty said. "The Highs are going to separate from each other after they arrive on Earth. It will be clever of them if they take the vote after they reunite. They will find themselves in terrible situations. The Supreme High will be the High who has the best chance of helping them survive this war. When they're older, they will realize who that person is."
"How much older?" Boone asked.
"Probably ten years older. Ten years older, at least."
"Lovely will be fifteen ten years from now. And she's five, but she already fought in this war. She killed a Freeman. Maybe that will increase the likelihood of her being elected as the Supreme High. And even if she doesn't become the leader of the Highs, I will still love her. I always will."
Misty looked at Zoey. "I'll always love my daughter, too. Me and you are alike, Boone."
He and Misty had survived the Freemans' attack on their home planet. They had five-year-old daughters. They weren't in love with anyone.
"I've noticed," Boone said.
Misty smiled. "Good."
"I hope that Theo Majestic and the other former Highs are okay," Zoey said. "I really hope that Theo is."
Misty placed a hand on Zoey's shoulder.
"Theo was Zoey's favorite High," she told Boone. "And now he's one of your daughter's royal subjects. Just like the other men who used to rule Soy. I wonder where they are. In my vision, me and Boris were on a gray planet. I didn't know what planet it was back then."
"What planet do you think it was now?" Boone asked.
"Soy."
The Freemans had destroyed Soy's trees and grass. Its water was gone. Boone, Misty, and Zoey had looked at a screen that had shown them the planet's devastation. Soy hadn't lost its surface, but it had been ruined like the street where Lovely had shot that Freeman.
"I'm going to go back to Soy at some point," Misty said. "And I'm going to meet Boris there. I have to. You can't fight fate. When Lovely was born, it was her destiny to become one of Boris's successors. It was her destiny to become a High. But she didn't know that. Neither did you."
"Hopefully, it's my destiny to reunite with Lovely," Boone said. "Because I really need to. My daughter needs to see me again."
Lovely had left home with two photographs. One showed Boone, and the other showed Lauren. But a picture of him would never be the man himself.
When Theo turned Lovely into a High, Boone and Lauren hadn't stood beside each other. A Freeman's laser had ended her life, but her daughter's reign had begun.
"I wish her mother had seen her become a High," Boone said. "We both wanted to see it happen. I saw it, but Lauren didn't. One of those foolish Freemans made sure of that. Now our daughter has to rule a planet with some children she didn't even know before the Invasion started. But I'm happy for her. And when I kneel for her, it will be an honor. I'm going to show High Lovely respect."
"So will I," Misty told Boone.
"Me too," Zoey said. "You're going to see Lovely again, Boone."
Misty placed her arm on the sofa's armrest. "A lot of our people will protect your daughter. She's a High, and Highs deserve to be protected. We need them. They're our leaders. All six of those children rule Soy and its people. Lovely is one of the Highs, and she needs to be kept safe."
"One day, I'll keep her safe, Mother."
Boone smiled. "I appreciate that, Zoey. And it looks like me, you, and your mother are a team now, and I hope this team finds Lovely. I think we will, actually."
"If there was a Bloodhound on our side, we wouldn't have to worry about whether or not we will find Lovely," Misty said. "Bloodhounds make great friends. If you have a missing loved one, a Bloodhound has a good chance of finding them. They don't always find everyone they look for, of course. The ones who searched for Alice Endman never found her. A Bloodhound should be able to find Lovely, though. Eventually. She's in a moving spaceship right now. But she won't be traveling forever. She will settle down somewhere, Boone. After she does that, a Bloodhound could find her. I really hope that happens. You deserve to be with your daughter."
Boone had spoken with Lovely last night. How long would he have to wait to have a conversation with her again? One year? Five years? Ten years?
"I wish my last conversation with her had lasted longer," Boone said. "But she needed to get to the airstrip, and the Freemans were destroying Soy. Lovely needed to go. So did I. But I couldn't go with her and Marina. I'm the father of one of the Highs, but that didn't get me any special treatment when I was outside of that spaceport. I wasn't allowed to escape Soy in that spaceship Lovely boarded. Still, I knew that it had to be that way. And I knew that there were other spaceships I could use to escape our planet."
Misty looked around the room. "It's a good thing you found this one."
"I'm always going to appreciate what you did for me. You killed those Freemans who were planning on killing me, then you let me escape with you. This is a great spaceship. It's the one that saved all three of us."
"It's not just a great spaceship," Misty said. "It's a great home. For years, it was just me and Zoey living here. That changed last night. You're with us now, Boone. And I'm glad you are. I hope you stay with me and Zoey for a long time. You can protect us, and I can protect you. But we won't just protect each other. Me and you are going to be great friends, and I don't need to have a vision of the future to know that."
One of Boone's great friends had left with Lovely. Like Misty had defended him, Marina would defend Lovely. They had gone away from him. But they would reunite. Misty had seen a vision of herself meeting Boris, something that hadn't happened yet. It would, though. She would meet Boris. Boone would reunite with Lovely and Marina.
"I'm looking forward to having you as a great friend of mine," he told Misty. Zoey remained seated next to her. "And maybe our daughters will be great friends with each other, too. Lovely has the other Highs. She has her co-rulers, and she might be making friends with some of them right now. But it will be nice if she becomes friends with Zoey someday."
Misty stood. "I'm going to take her to her bed. After that, we'll talk some more."
She approached Boone, then hugged him. He hugged her back. Like the moment when Lovely became a High, the embrace was wonderful. After it ended, Misty grabbed Zoey and lifted her off the sofa. She held her like Lauren had held Lovely in their home last night. She would never carry her daughter again.
Carrying Zoey, Misty said, "I love my daughter more than I love anyone. That's the truth. But I hope I end up loving you almost as much as I love her."
"I hope so, too," Boone said.