“So, what now? You get your dinky-assed implant taken out and then go back to using a wrist unit? And then what’s going to happen to you?”
“It worked before.” My words were mumbled. I knew I couldn’t go back to that. I’d stick out, and I already looked too Aunare as it was.
“It worked because we were kids. We all had wrist units back then. But in a few days, you’re going to be eighteen. You can maybe pass for sixteen—maybe—but not once someone talks to you. You act and sound much older than you are. And I get it. You’ve been through shit. But babe, by sixteen most people already have the neural net. You need this implant or you’re going to get caught. And we both know what happens then.”
He was right. I knew it, but I still wanted the implant gone. It’d been a couple of weeks, and the burning pain was getting worse. Maybe if I—
“No way. Stop it.” Roan cut off my thoughts. “I know that look. You’re about to argue with me, but you’re just being stubborn and you’re wrong. You’re just going to have to suck it up. SpaceTech will kill you if they find you. Your family and your friends. Anyone who spent any significant time with you. Which means me. You have to get your shit together and stop cussing every time that thing gets an alert. People will start to notice. Not everyone is as smart as you, but not everyone is a freaking moron either. And you’re not some ordinary halfer. If they find out exactly who you are, there will be war.”
I rubbed the bridge of my nose, trying to find my Zen. “I know. I know. I’ll figure something out and—”
Someone tapped on my shoulder, and I spun. One of my newest students—Hillary—let out a gasp at my too-quick movement and I winced.
Shit. Shit. Just fucking shit. I’d moved too fast. Aunare weren’t like Earthers. They were an elegant race built for speed and fighting. It’s why I taught the class. Fighting for me was like breathing. But I couldn’t show these kids who I was. What I was.
When I taught my classes, it was painfully hard not to give in. Not to let my body move like it could. And in that one second, I’d given myself away.
Roan was right.
I hadn’t lived this long to be stupid now, but the implant was distracting me. It was making me too on edge, and I couldn’t afford to forget my Earther façade for even a for even a second.
Hillary’s eyes were wide as she stared up at me. She’d had a close call a couple weeks ago and ended up in my class a little battered and bruised, but I saw the will to fight burning in her. I wanted to make sure that next time, she’d fight and win. “Are you— Was that—” She was too afraid to ask what I was.
“Sorry. You startled me.” I’d found that if you explained a movement away as being scared or excited or some other extreme emotion, most Earthers dismissed it. They didn’t want to find an Aunare living on this planet, especially if it’s someone they’d been spending significant time with. Hillary had been here every night for three weeks.
“Oh. Sorry,” she said, and her shoulders relaxed. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“We only have twenty minutes left in class.” She swallowed. “I need the practice.” Her words were barely audible.
I immediately felt guilty. “Of course. I’m so sorry I got distracted. Apparently, I’m having a day.” I shoved through the curtain. “Okay, everyone. I promise to stay focused on your training the rest of class.” My finger burned again and I bit my tongue. I swallowed the coppery tang of blood in my mouth along with another curse that was begging to slip out.
This had to get easier. Didn’t it?
Maybe not. At least not for me.
These girls? I could help them. Volunteering here three hours a day, six days a week took its toll on me. Especially since I also had my shifts at the diner. But if teaching them to survive was the only thing I did before I got caught, then that was something I could be proud of.
“We’re going to work off of bunkai number eight—the one you were just practicing—while sparring with Roan. Each movement in the bunkai is something that can be used to fend off an attacker. Roan is covered in padding, so don’t be afraid to let loose,” I said as I settled back into teaching.
Everything was going to be fine. I could do this. I could stay hidden, teach my classes, and save my money. One day, I’d be light-years away from here and safe. Until then, I’d dream about making my escape from this godforsaken planet.
* * *
Chapter Two
* * *
About an hour after all the students left, I waited for Roan while he changed. He’d stayed through my intermediate and advanced classes to spar with me, sans padding. It was nice of him, especially since he knew I was going to kick his butt every time. It’d been good, but I was still on edge. I needed a second to relax. I needed to let my body really move, but I couldn’t do that, even with Roan. He could barely keep up with me at half-speed. I needed to actually unwind for one goddamned second. But now that everyone was gone and Roan was changing, all I wanted to do was go home and hide.
It was getting harder and harder to hold myself back, and I felt like I was fighting a losing battle. One of these days I was going to slip up—I was going to do something I couldn’t talk my way out of—and that one slip up was going to be the death of me and everyone I loved.
I sat at my desk in the dark and watched the news on the vidscreens. I could always tell my mom I was sleeping here if there was a riot or the police were out searching for their latest target. She wouldn’t love it, but spending the night in this shithole of a warehouse was better than risking my life to get home.
Supposedly, it hadn’t always been this dangerous. Way before I was born, SpaceTech—the biggest corporate conglomerate—took over all of Earth’s government. I didn’t know the specifics of it, but I hoped whoever thought that was a good idea was rotting in hell because it was an unmitigated disaster for everyone on Earth. As long as it didn’t hurt SpaceTech’s bottom line, they didn’t care what happened to us. Which meant we lived in a world with too much violent crime, corruption, and poverty.
But SpaceTech was good at one thing—expanding to grow a stronger power base. Their colonization and trade routes spread across the galaxy and they’d found dozens of other species to exploit along the way. But in all their greed to find more profits and colonize more planets, SpaceTech finally met a race that was stronger, smarter, and had better tech than them.