Vai

Spencer blinked at me with a blank expression on his face. I wasn't sure what to say - wasn't sure why I came. The silence stretched out between us.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about your mom," I said.

The muscles in his jaw tightened. I couldn't determine anything from his eyes. I didn't know if he hated that I was there or if he was grateful or something else completely. It didn't occur to me until that moment that Spencer might be infected by the Corruption too.

"I know what it's like to be without a mom," I said.

Moisture sprang to his eyes. He looked up at the ceiling. His adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed.

"At least you know what happened to your mother," he said without looking at me.

"That's true," I said. At least I knew my mother was dead. I wasn't left wondering if she was alive somewhere - if she would come back - if she was suffering. I knew Spencer's mom was dead and not suffering anymore, but I couldn't tell him that.

When he looked at me, there was no sign of the moisture I had just seen. "Thanks for stopping by," he said. He took a step back into his quarters and the door started to close.

"Wait." I put my hand in the doorframe. The door stopped and slid back fully open.

"What is it?"

I was sure he didn't have the Corruption inside him. With as emotional as he was at the moment, I was sure I would have seen the pink glint in his eyes if he was infected.

"If you think you ever see anyone with a pink glint in their eyes - even if it's for a brief moment, even if you think your eyes are playing tricks on you - stay away from them."

His expression changed and he took a step forward. He had seen the pink glint in someone's eyes. I was sure of it by his reaction. Maybe he had seen it in his mom's eyes.

"What do you know?" he asked.

I was going to say I didn't know anything, but what came out of my mouth was, "I can't tell you."

That surprised him and his whole being paused. I surprised myself too. I hadn't meant to reveal even that much.

"My mom was different before she disappeared," Spencer whispered.

I nodded.

"Do you know what hap...nevermind. I don't want to know."

I wanted to tell Spencer everything then. He must be suffering not knowing about his mother - knowing she had been different. He might have even seen the pink in her eyes. I wanted to protect him - to open the light inside him and let him protect himself. But I couldn't do any of that without speaking with the others. And I wasn't sure how Spencer would feel if he knew what we did to his mother. He already didn't like Owen. Past grievances over chocolate seemed so futile now, but Spencer might see it differently.

"Thank you," he said.

I nodded.

He stepped back into his quarters and the door shut between us. I stood there a moment longer. I didn't know what I had expected from that encounter. Maybe to feel less guilty about Adi Pines's death. That didn't happen. If anything I felt worse because not only did we kill Spencer's mom, I also wasn't giving him the one thing he could use to protect himself from the Corruption.

I finally stepped away and headed back to the elevators. Warpaint was silent by my side. We went to level 7. Hani's quarters were near Shel's so I knew right where to go.

I knocked and waited. The little girl I saw on the shuttle bay opened the door. "Unni," she said, "that tall boy you have a crush on is here."

My ears suddenly burned with embarrassment.

Hani rushed to the door and pulled the little girl away. "I don't have a crush on him," she said, but her cheeks were flushed pink. "I don't have a crush," she said to me.

"Yes she does," the little girl whispered from behind her.

Hani turned around and pushed - not hard - the little girl towards the bedroom door. "Go away," Hani bit out quietly.

The little girl retreated, but only to the space behind the couch. Hani turned back to me.

"I don't know, sir," Warpaint said. "She is too young for you."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Warpaint, she's 17. I'm 17."

"No you're not, sir," Warpaint said in a tone that made me think he was trying to mimic a whisper, but not quite making it.

I quickly decided to ignore any indications of a crush. I was not ready for a relationship. It had been over a year since I woke up, but I still missed Callie - still had to come to terms with the fact that she led a full life without me. And there was the Corruption to deal with, the training, trying to figure out the powers of my light and the fact that I would soon see an Awakened One for myself.

"I just came by to see how you're doing," I said to Hani.

"Fine," she said. "I miss Rebecca. I don't really have anyone to hang out with here."

I couldn't exactly invite her to hang out with me and my friends as we spent our time training with a stowaway who killed people. I killed someone. Rebecca and Mingao must have the Corruption inside them by now.

"Maybe you could contact Minmin sometime to hang out," I said. I knew that would be difficult though as Minmin always trained with us.

I could see the disappointment in Hani's eyes, but what else could I do?

She nodded. "I like Minmin."

"Well, I've got to go." I waved to her little sister. She waved back.

"Thanks for stopping by," Hani said.

"Sure," I said. "I'll stop by again." She must have felt so alone.

I took a step away, but stopped and turned back around. "I think Spencer has been really lonely too. Especially since his mother...disappeared. Maybe you could stop by sometime just to see how he's doing." Maybe the two of them could be lonely together.

"Maybe I'll take Nathan with me and we can go see him."

"That's a good idea," I said. Then I turned and went to Shel's quarters.

I didn't bother to knock - none of us did. Well, I meant neither Owen nor I knocked. Esther was living with them now. She was more comfortable as she didn't need to hide from parents and she could learn 24/7 from her hero, El.

I stopped as soon as I walked in. Lieutenant Tanpo sat on the couch. El sat next to her. Minmin sat in one of the black chairs. Shel stood near the door. He looked at me when I came in, but didn't say anything. I didn't see Esther or Owen.

"All right, friends," Owen said behind me. "I'm here. Let the fun begin. He squeezed between me and Warpaint. "Why are you blocking the door, my friend? Do you need . . .?" He stopped when he saw Lieutenant Tanpo.

"Good," El said. She stood up and came to me and Owen. She circled behind us and gently pushed us forward into the room. The door shut behind us. "Now that we are all here, we may begin."

"Begin what?" Owen asked.

El went and sat next to Lieutenant Tanpo. Owen sat on the arm of the black chair Minmin sat in. I stood next to Shel.

"I requested Lieutenant Tanpo to be our pilot to Doussix," El said. I knew that Lieutenant Tanpo was our pilot because my father told me, but I didn't say anything. El's eyes went to each of ours and finally landed on Lieutenant Tanpo. "Once we're there, she'll see what we are really up to."

Lieutenant Tanpo's eyes widened slightly at this. "What will you be up to?"

El smiled. All of her smiles seemed like there was something behind them. This smile for example almost seemed dangerous like she was expecting us to go into a grand battle that we would all enjoy, but would probably die. I looked at Shel to see if he was affected by El's smile too, but his expression didn't change at all. And why would it? This was his mother, he probably didn't know most mothers didn't smile like this.

"I like you, Lieutenant," El said. "Say what you will about Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa, but he is always an excellent judge of those who can be trusted and help him with his agenda."

"My father has an agenda?" I hadn't meant to speak it out loud.

"Of course he does," El said. "It's the same as ours. He just goes about it differently."

"To stop the Corruption," Minmin said.

"Correct," El said easily.

"What is the Corruption?" Lieutenant Tanpo asked.

When El explained all about the Corruption - the miasmids - Lieutenant Tanpo nodded easily as if she had expected something like that.

"I knew Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa was keeping something from me," she said. "And I really became suspicious after Mechanic Wilson disappeared. I mentioned his strangeness to the Lieutenant Commander and then he suddenly went missing. I thought he had done something to Wilson."

El took in a deep breath. "That wasn't Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa," she said. "He knows about me. I've worked with him in the past, but he doesn't know his son and my son and the rest of them know anything about miasmids and how they are involved."

Lieutenant Tanpo looked at all of us one at a time, me last.

"You took care of Wilson? On your own?"

"Not exactly," I said.

She looked at Owen. Owen shook his head.

"But El and the others weren't on board yet," Lieutenant Tanpo said.

"No," El said. "There is more to tell you. A weapon that gives us a tremendous edge. A weapon that even the Lieutenant Commander doesn't know about. I would like to give that weapon to you, too. Do you want it?"

"Yes," Lieutenant Tanpo said without hesitation.

"Come out, Esther," El called out loudly.

The master bedroom door opened and Esther walked out.

Lieutenant Tanpo stood up. "The mystery girl," she said. "We need to report . . .," but she stopped when she saw El and realized that El had taken in the mystery girl.

El took Lieutenant Tanpo's hand and guided her to sit back down beside her. "Esther is from the Lion of Judah Research Station. They were attacked by the miasmids. She is the sole survivor. And I don't mean the miasmids took over the rest of them like they did with Wilson. I mean they killed them. All of them."

"Why?" Lieutenant Tanpo asked.

"Because of the light and the Awakened One," Esther said.

El explained all about the light and our different powers - except mine. She skipped over me since I didn't know what my powers were. She told her about the Awakened One and that our real reason to go to Doussix on our own was because there was an Awakened One there.

"Would you like the light too?" El asked.

"Yes."

El stood and Esther sat in front of the Lieutenant. I had expected El to open the light in Lieutenant Tanpo herself. I wasn't sure why she didn't. Maybe it was to get the Lieutenant to trust Esther faster. Maybe she wasn't sure she could do it herself.

Esther's hand circled around to the back of Lieutenant Tanpo's blue head. Both closed their eyes. It didn't take long before Lieutenant Tanpo was washed over in an apricot light. She opened her eyes and stared down at the light that surrounded her.

"Don't tell Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa about the light or his son's involvement," El said.

The Lieutenant nodded. "He wouldn't like Vai being involved in all this."

"No," El said. "He wouldn't."

We moved the furniture and began training. The lieutenant didn't figure out her power right away either, which made me feel a little less like a failure.