Strange Skies Read Online Free

missing … again,” I said.
    My legs churned sluggishly beneath me, but I was determined to get to the forest. It killed me that I had to leave my dad so soon after discovering he wasn’t dead. Sorry Dad , I thought. I’ll be back for you as soon as I can . I would get him out of there somehow, and the Consulate was going to pay for what they’d done to him.
    Alec didn’t let go of my arm. My feet tripped over themselves as I tried to keep up.
    We hit the tree line just as the building door opened. Alec pulled me behind a large tree and we looked into the clearing. Sylvia was bent at the knees and looked as though she was about to throw up. Next to her was the shiny-coated, fake-glasses-wearing Dr. Sorokin, who had treated me on the Consulate ship. He turned around in a slow circle, peering into the trees that surrounded the building.
    I stared at the ugly, bleak building in the center of the lush forest. They’d obviously cut down some of the trees to make room for their makeshift prison. Leave it to the Consulate—they’d found an amazing, beautiful planet and had already started to wreck it.
    After a minute, Dr. Sorokin reached into his pocket and pulled out a tele-com device.
    Alec tugged at my sleeve. “He’s calling for Consulate backup. We have to go,” he whispered.
    Cold sweats, fatigue, and nausea warred for control of my body. Though another visit with the shiny coats was the last thing I wanted, I was pretty positive I couldn’t move another step.
    “Where are we going?” I asked, swaying.
    Alec’s eyes bored into mine as he steadied me. “Somewhere I know you’ll want to see. Callie City.”

Chapter THREE
    M Y SISTER ’ S NAME PERKED ME UP . D R . S OROKIN HAD MENTIONED Callie City back on the Consulate ship. Just after I had awakened, he’d told me that my rescuer, a.k.a. James, had said Dad’s guns would be found in Callie City—a place named after my dead sister. A city that couldn’t have even existed at the time, since I’d only just told James her name. I didn’t know why James had made up such a blatant lie—not that he’d ever win any honesty awards—but maybe that meant I’d find James there and could get some answers. I’d start with why he shot me, and where my dad’s guns were.
    “What’s Callie City?” I asked, feigning ignorance as I wiped a fresh batch of sweat from my forehead.
    “A Resistance settlement set up to fight the Consulate. James named it.” Alec gripped my arm. “Now no more questions until we’re out of here. Let’s move.”
    I straightened up as best I could. “Okay, let’s do this.”
    We headed deeper into the forest. Despite my cold sweats, I stared in awe at the towering trees around me. All I’d known for years was the confined, underground bunker my dad had built. Before that, I’d lived under a dome and never seen any live thing except other humans and some mutant cacti. Even though I’d seen pictures of plants and animals on the Infinity, it was hard to believe those things had really existed. I reached up to touch one of the green leaves. It was smooth and soft under my fingertips. Brightly colored winged creatures, smaller than the birds I’d seen on the Net, zipped to and fro, making a strange musical sound. They didn’t seem bothered by us at all. The air smelled sweet and clean. “Do you even realize how amazing this is? We’re breathing air. Outside. Without helmets.”
    Alec tugged at my arm. “You wouldn’t even believe all the things I’ve seen here. But if we don’t hurry, all you’ll see is the containment building again.”
    Sure enough, a ship roared overhead not far from us.
    “Looks like the backup is here,” Alec said. He raced ahead about ten steps and craned his neck toward the sky. “The ship shouldn’t be able to spot us if we stay in the trees and the land cruisers are too big to navigate in here. Our problem will be the ground units they’re probably dispatching right now.”
    I grunted.