THE END

Chapter 19

"Get up." One of the men barks at us. I open my eyes slowly, confused. Why haven't they shot us?

"Get up." He says again, hitting Neil with the butt of his gun. We stand up slowly. Neil nudges me behind him, putting distance between me and the men.

"What do you want with us?" Neil asks cautiously.

"You know full well why we're here." Another one says. "You have committed treason, and for that, you will pay the price."

"So shoot us." I say. "Get it over with already."

"No, no. You see, the officers back on Mars want us to bring you directly to them. If killing you was all they wanted us to do, we would have done it ages ago."

"Follow us." The first man says.

"And if we don't?" Neil asks.

"See this little button?" He asks, gesturing to the button of a small device he's holding. "That's the signal that blows up Jupiter. We could have done it months ago, but where would be the fun in that?"

"You're sick." I say, my idea confirmed. They really had been just toying with us. Seeing how long we would last, before they pulled the plug for good.

"Follow us, or we blow up your planet and make you follow us."

Neil takes my hand and we take a step forward together. The circle of men closes behind us until we're completely surrounded by them. "Hands behind your backs at all times." Reluctantly I let go of Neil's hand and do as I'm told. The entire circle moves as one, out of the Metal Head, past everyone else on Jupiter.

They're dead silent. Confused, angry, at a loss for words because they don't understand why we're being taken. It almost makes me mad that they aren't trying to fight the Mars men and save us, but I know they wouldn't stand a chance. And if I know it, they must know it too.

Neil gives me a look, as if to say, What if we never get back? I can't leave Tally...

We reach a group of three pods, each big enough to fit 100 people. They lead us to the center pod. The other two are filled with more Mars men, to escort us through space.

We board the pod and the door immediately seals behind us. It's much fancier than the pod we came to Jupiter in. With control panels everywhere, all kinds of machinery, and more screens than I can count, it's definitely a step up.

The men push us to the back of the pod, where there's a white, metal door that appears to have no doorknob. One of the men enters a code and the door slides open vertically, disappearing into the ceiling. They push us inside and shut the door before I can get my bearings. The door gives a "click" as it locks in place, trapping us here.

I look around and see that we're in an entirely white room, that's shaped in a perfect cube. There aren't any panels, or any breaks in the walls. There's nothing to break up the pure, never ending white that goes in every direction. It's enough to blind a person.

Enough to make you go insane.

I sit down on the floor, seeing nowhere else to sit and no hope of getting out. Neil paces the room for a bit and finally comes to sit beside me.

We sit in silence, each left to our own thoughts. I look around the blank, empty room and wonder what we'll do. I hear the roar of the engine starting up, and feel the pod rise from the ground. Soon the sound of the engine steadies, and I know we've made it out of the atmosphere.

We fly for hours and hours without any change. Finally I just lie down and try to sleep. There's nothing else I can do.

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