Chasing Stardust

Chapter One

I’ll forever remember the look in my mother’s eyes the last time I saw her… right before the explosion took her from me forever.

If I’m truthful, it’s haunted me all of my life. It’s been almost fifteen years now, but when I close my eyes at night, it’s all I see.

I never tell anyone. I let them all think I’m fine.

But I’m not.

How can you be after something like that?

I know my dad’s not okay either, but he never talks about her. Sometimes, though, when he thinks I’m not around, I hear him talking to her as if she were still here. I see the sadness in his eyes and wonder if other people recognize that same hollowness behind the brown in my eyes.

That night.

It’s like I’m chained to it.

I can never get away.

Everything can be wonderful, I can be hanging out with Jace and Ariana, laughing over some dumb thing and then all of a sudden, there it is again, her face, the explosion, that color of red-orange mixed with black, and that sound of our house being torn off its foundation as the blast rolls through every piece of furniture, every floorboard, every window, until there was nothing left but the hole in the floor that my mother shoved me down into that fateful night. Saving my life, but at the cost of her own.

I was five.

And I was forever changed.

My name is Lexi Corazón, I’m nineteen, and I’m writing this to leave some kind of record. Someone or something is trying to erase my existence, but this time I’m not hiding in a hole in the floor… I’m fighting back.

* * *

Jace! Wait up!

Lexi held the fabric of her skirt up off the ground as she ran, trying to catch her best friend. He was going too fast for her, though, as he moved down the road on an ice blue hovercycle, kicking up dirt and leaves as the bike silently flew low to the ground faster than she had any real hope of catching him.

"Jace!"

Her heavy boots and long skirt made it difficult to run, making her regret her wardrobe choice for the day. She almost felt the ancient tall trees laugh at her as she ran past them. Not that she had many clothing options, but the long patchwork skirt was definitely impeding her progress.

In fairness, she hadn’t planned on trying to chase down a hovercycle when she’d left the house that day. It was mere happenstance that he passed by her at all, given she was out in the middle of nowhere.

Of course, it was the silence that came from being in the middle of nowhere that was her only real hope to catch him. If he heard her, he’d stop. Otherwise, she was out of luck. So she tried one more time, drawing as much crisp, cool air into her lungs as was humanly possible and released it in a scream that echoed through the air.

"Jace!"

She gave up trying to run just as Jace stopped, turned his head back towards her, and smiled.

Oh thank God.

She sucked in air, taking in the heavy floral scent wafting from the woods along with it. She started to walk towards him, but was still out of breath by the time she caught up. Before saying a word, she stopped beside the bike, bent and placed her palms just above her knees while she panted, awaiting her ability to breathe like a normal person once more.

Lexi, how long were you following me? And why are you wearing a skirt? He climbed off the bike and touched her arm, the expression on his face was something between concern and amusement.

Not long and… I don’t know, seemed like a good idea at the time. She continued to pant in short, heavy breaths as she pulled her long dark hair to the front, over her shoulder, baring her neck to the sun’s welcome heat. I couldn’t have kept that up for long. What are you doing out here? I was really surprised to see you.

You know, you could have sent me an alert. The bike would have told me you were back there. He seemed so confident.

Jace was good-looking. He kept his head sheared, leaving only about an inch of hair all around, and there were two intricate patterns shaved in either side. His body bore ink permanently bonded to the skin in ancient markings from his family line. He had sad green eyes and a sexy smile, but he was so burdened by the legacy of his father that he rarely shared that smile with anyone.

Lexi looked at him awkwardly. Her breath mostly returned, but now she had to confront the other problem she rarely liked to think about.

Jace, you know I don’t have…

She started awkwardly, only to have him interrupt.

Oh God, Lex, I’m sorry. He rubbed his forehead hard as if trying to push something through his skull into his brain, then looked at her like he’d done something truly terrible.

That only made her feel worse.

The fact that her dad and she were on a temporary downturn with currency wasn’t Jace’s fault, and she really wished she hadn’t had to remind him of it. Jace’s father was one of the richest men on Earth, and that could turn to a sore subject for either of them at any moment, but as he was one of her two closest friends, she was always honest with him. She hadn’t sent an alert because she had no device that would have sent one to him. Her father had sold almost everything last month to make the taxes, and now they were just hoping for a miracle so they’d be able to eat and keep the house for another semester.

It’s not your fault. She shrugged and tried to smile.

Truth was, if the overseers discovered that she and her dad were destitute, they’d be removed to one of the camps. And as far as she knew, no one came back from that.

Here, hop on. I’ll give you a lift. Are you headed to city center? He took a step back to give her access to the bike.

She looked down at her skirt and back up at him.

Um… not sure that’s going to work, but no. I was really just out walking when I saw you speed by. Are you in a hurry? She hoped he wasn’t. She didn’t realize how much she was craving the company until she’d seen him go by.

He looked uncomfortable for a minute, then a smile showed up in his eyes.

Actually, no. Jerod’s up in the hills hiding moonshine. He got sick of my charming company and sent me to make sure the workers aren’t ripping him off. He leaned in a bit and lowered his voice. But you know what? I don’t give a fu─ He smiled. You know.

He winked at her and she laughed.

Jace was his own person, sort of. He lived under his dad’s iron fist, but over the years, he’d found ways to skirt around it and not get caught. Sometimes, though, he made her nervous because he called things too close and she feared what would happen to him if Jerod ever caught him.

Life hasn’t really changed much, has it? She wondered out loud.

Not really. He tensed.

I don’t know what I expected. The regime is the same, just with a different name. Maybe I just thought growing up, I don’t know, I thought I’d have more options maybe.

She tried to push away the melancholy that forever chased her.

Jace put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze. She loved his warmth, and she loved how he smelled like the woods and cloves.

I don’t know what I expected either, just from life. I thought I’d get away from my dad. I thought maybe I’d go to the other side of the planet, have daring adventures, save the world with my math prowess. He laughed. Save a damsel in distress? I don’t know. Kid dreams, I guess. But this is reality. We live in a sucky world with no real freedom and the constant threat of losing everything. I don’t honestly see the point much of the time.

His tone was dark with notes of hopelessness, and it scared her.

She knew too many who’d taken their own life to escape the world. She, too, struggled with what the point to it all was. But at the end of the day, she’d never leave her father. She’d never put him through that pain or that stigma, but Jace didn’t have that worry.

I fear for you sometimes. She bared her heart to him. "I’d be crushed if you ended this existence. I know you probably think your dad deserves the consequences of having a family member break that particular law, but Jace, I’d be lost without you. And Ariana would be too."

Hey. He tugged her chin, forcing her to look up into his eyes. "If it weren’t for you and Ariana, I’d have let the river have me years ago. You two are my sisters, blood or not. I promise I won’t leave you."

His promise comforted her when very little did these days. It had been so long since she remembered any real love or happiness. Her dad tried, and she knew he loved her, but he was so tense all the time. He was always worried, always looking over his shoulder. Most of the time she couldn’t even get him to smile and it broke her heart.

She’d give anything to erase the day of the explosion. Most would think it only killed her mother, but in truth, it had killed them all. Just she and her dad were still breathing.

"Let me just hide the bike and I’ll walk you back home." He started to push the bike into the trees before she could protest.

Dumb skirt. She looked down at the skirt that was old, worn, and faded and prevented her from simply getting on the back of his cycle.

She wasn’t sure she was ready to head home yet. She’d been so restless all day. It was like something was calling her away. That would be a foolish notion, yet there she was, walking in the woods, all alone until she’d run across Jace, and she truly had no reason for it other than that compelling sensation she had to walk, move, be anywhere but home.

Lexi, have you eaten? Jace came back from the woods and looked at her with such tenderness that she couldn’t lie to him.

She shoved her hands in her pockets and twisted the fabric of the skirt within her fists.

No. She held any more of an explanation to herself. Let’s start walking.

She began to move down the road, keeping her head down, not wanting to continue this particular conversation.

He quickly caught up with her and looked down with his brow raised. She saw it even in her peripheral vision, though she refused to look at him directly.

"When was the last time you did eat?"

She bumped him playfully with her shoulder.

There’s no answer I can give you that you’ll like, so just let it go.

He was quiet for a moment, then he sighed.

Fine. I know I can’t fix your world, Lexi. I can’t even fix my own.

For a while they walked in silence, their boots leaving a small dirt cloud in their wake. A few birds flew overhead, but mostly it was simply quiet. Being together without having to fill every spare moment with conversation was one of the things she liked about him. They’d been friends since she was seven and he was twelve. He’d been assigned to watch her class that summer, and while everyone else wanted to play, Lexi’s heart was still too broken from losing her mom, so she would just go and sit with him. They wouldn’t talk, just sit. Like he knew. And since then, they’d spent countless hours in nothing but shared companionship, no words necessary. It was like an understanding of some sort, and she found great comfort in it.

You know, Lexi… He spoke hesitantly.

She instantly tensed. The tone of his voice told her whatever he was about to say, she wasn’t going to like.

I’ve seen how John Grant looks at you. He’s got a good family and reputation. Your dad could broker a bonding between you and you’d both be better for it. He kept his gaze on the road ahead of them.

She was speechless and drew a deep breath before she said something she’d regret.

What she wanted to do was bend down, pick up a rock and throw it at his dumb head!

In a moment, after composing herself, she stopped walking.

He stopped as soon as he realized and turned back to look at her.

"Let me be clear, Jace Crown. I will not couple with anyone, ever. I will not bring babies into this Godforsaken universe. And I will not be sold like property. And you of all people… how dare you?" She kept her fists clenched by her sides, seriously considering punching him.

Lexi, I’m not trying to hurt you and I’m not being obtuse. I know the state you and your dad are in and I know what will happen to you if the wrong people discover it. If I could broker for you I would, but my dad would never sign off on it He looked down and a great sadness swept his expression. He’s got his eye on the Sulpher family for me. It would be a strong alignment.

She screamed and kicked the dirt. The bottom of her boot became dislodged and her foot scraped the earth through the holes in her sock.

"It’s not right! It’s not fair! It shouldn’t be like this! We get sold into bondage because of laws written before we were ever even born and nobody thinks that’s not okay! We all just do it. I refuse to be bonded to anyone!"

She felt tears start to well in her eyes when Jace pulled her into a hug.

Hey. Hey now. It’s okay. You’re lucky. Your dad won’t bond you against your will.

She felt terrible because it was true, but it settled on her that his dad would, and was going to, and her best friend would be shackled to one of those horrible Sulpher girls. They were beautiful, but that beauty did not go deeper than the surface.

Oh Jace, I’m sorry. There was nothing she could do but hold him and treasure every second they had to be friends together, knowing once he was bonded, she’d probably only ever see him in passing. She couldn’t bear the thought.

A loud buzzing pierced the air and the ground began to vibrate, causing pebbles and small clumps of dirt to bounce along the dirt path.

They pulled away and looked into the air to see a large silver ship flying slow and low to the ground, getting even lower as it proceeded overhead.

That’s a prison ship. Lexi’s mind was slowly putting together the awful truth. The only thing out here is our farm.

She looked to Jace as panic rose within her, then she grabbed her skirt and took off running towards home.

Chapter Two

The entire way home, all Lexi kept thinking was why had she been so dumb, so selfish? Why had she left her dad that day? What was that stupid urge to walk and why had she listened?

By the time she finally neared home, her lungs were on fire and her legs were collapsing beneath her. To her horror, she saw the exact thing she feared most.

The ship, a metal, partly flat, part torpedo-shaped contraption, had landed in the dirt in front of the old house. Their house was old, falling apart, there was nothing of value to be had, yet the ramp was extended and about sixteen guards looked to be in formation before it.

The crushing blow was seeing her dad, on his knees by the porch, with one of the guards holding a ray over him. Her dad wasn’t a frail man, but he wasn’t large either. He was old, his beard greying, his eyes so sad. He was tall, but no one would consider him a threat.

She came to a dead stop as the guard turned on the ray, sending voltage through her dad’s body. He shook and cried out in pain before falling to the ground. The guard kicked him and told him to get back on his knees, which he struggled to do.

Her instincts kicked in and she began to run towards him, her mouth open to scream, but Jace grabbed her from behind. He clamped his hand over her mouth and swung her around, landing her in the dirt behind a tall hedge along the side border of the property. Before she could even respond, he had her on her back, straddled her body with his, and with his free hand he pinned her hands above her head, leaving her immobile in the dirt.

Fury unlike anything she’d ever felt before filled her body. She tried to scream, to fight him, but it was no use. She kicked hard, but that only caused him to push the heels of his boots deep into her legs, holding them as still as death.

He was too strong for her.

He shook his head fiercely, silently telling her to be quiet, but all she cared about was getting to her dad.

Nothing else mattered.

His gaze pleaded with her to stop, to trust him. But she couldn’t.

She wouldn’t.

You can’t help him, Lexi. He whispered forcefully. And I’m not letting you get taken too.

She tried again unsuccessfully to get away from him, but she was powerfully out-muscled. Her body was no match for his, and though he had no intentions of hurting her, he was keeping her from the only thing that mattered, and in so doing, he was breaking her heart.

He looked through the shrubbery, assessing the situation. She watched his face, trying to glean any information about what he was seeing. She was going to kill him when he let her up. Her dad needed her. He was right there, only a few feet away and he needed her.

She’d already lost her mother, she couldn’t lose him. She just couldn’t. Jace would never