The Gender End by Bella Forrest (the giving tree read aloud TXT) 📕

“It has something to do with the sunlight, that much is for sure,” I said, my eyes going up toward the ceiling. The red-hot metal had turned dull again, but the grated ceiling was no longer lying flat. In fact, it had warped inward, in a track as wide as the palm of my hand. “Extraordinary.”

Whether they were channeling the sun, or had somehow managed to replicate its heat in order to create a weapon, the implications were mindboggling. If all the panels on the tower could be controlled like that, it made for a pretty formidable defense. Just watching the other ship get destroyed… the ease with which the beam of light had done it… Terrifying. Yet fascinating. Especially now that we were—hopefully—out of range.

“Solomon!” Violet gasped, and she immediately jumped for the cargo bay, pulling away from my embrace. Her knees were shaky. If there was one thing I knew about my girl, it was that she didn’t particularly enjoy flying, not since that one time she had accidentally crashed a flying motorcycle into The Green. But of course she didn’t let it stop her.

I moved behind her and found Solomon where we had left him on one of the benches in the back, a blanket draped over him, with three thick red strips wrapped around his chest and looped through an exposed support on the bulkhead below, fixing him in place.

“Logan and I strapped him down, just in case,” Amber called from the cockpit over the noise. “Is he okay?”

Violet quickly checked his pulse, and then nodded, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose and exhale. “He’s fine,” she shouted into the cockpit, clearly relieved.

“And you?” I asked, taking a step closer. Her silver eyes dragged up to me, and I saw sadness there.

“Kathryn and Belinda are dead,” she said. “I’m not even sure how I’m supposed to feel about it, but I feel… I feel…”

I cupped her cheeks between my hands. “Baby, it’s okay. Feel however you want. I’m sure whatever happened on that ship between the three of you wasn’t easy, but I know you, and you would never wish death on anyone who didn’t really deserve it.”

“We helped save each other’s lives,” she murmured. “And now they’re gone. If they had only come with us, we could’ve…”

“Violet. If they had come with us, there would’ve only been one ship for them to target, and we would’ve all been dead before we even knew to run.”

She nodded, but I could tell that answer didn’t satisfy her. It didn’t satisfy me, either. It just seemed so wasteful, what the residents of the tower had done. If they were doing it to send a message… it was a cruel one. A shudder ran through me as I realized this was the same thing KC Alexander had said before they’d seen us off—“a waste of resources.” Had this been what he was talking about? He’d been angry they’d healed us, only to decide to kill us off at the last minute? Anger rose in my gut, but there was really nothing to be done about it, so I let it go.

“Belinda’s sister might have been at one of the guard posts,” Violet said. “Last name Carver. When we get close enough, can you have Henrik look into it? I… I owe Belinda that.”

I nodded, and she seemed to ease up a little bit. Looking her over, I took in the bags under her eyes and the glazed look in them. “Why don’t you lie down and close your eyes for a bit? You look like you could use a few minutes’ rest.”

“You could too,” she argued, her words barely distinguishable from the yawn that seemed to catch her unawares. “You’ve been up just as long as me.”

“True, but I got some sleep on the heloship.”

“No you didn’t,” she said, and I shook my head at how well she knew me, but she allowed me to guide her over to one of the benches and sit her down. I quickly pulled out a few blankets and made a makeshift bed for her, complete with a pillow made out of a folded blanket. I helped her take off her boots, and had her lie down on her side, spooning up behind her, knowing she needed to feel some human comfort right then.

It was a tight fit with the two of us on the little bench, but we made do, and within minutes, Violet was fast asleep, her breathing deep and heavy. I lay with her for a few long minutes, absorbing her warmth, and then, before I could fall asleep too, carefully pulled away, moving to the cockpit.

“How bad is the damage?” I asked, closing the door partially to keep our voices from waking Violet up.

Amber flipped a switch, and then swiveled around, her mouth opening to answer, but it was Vox who got there first. “It could’ve been much worse,” he announced, cleaning oil from his fingers with a stained red cloth. “A lot worse. None of the wings were hit, and that area is actually pretty armored for defense purposes. The shaft that controls the wings and the propeller movement is warped, but only slightly, so we have close to ninety percent functionality.”

Amber looked at him, her lips pursed, and then she looked back at me, giving me a nod. “What he said.”

“How far do you think we are from The Green?” I asked.

“At least a few hours. It’ll probably be early evening when we get in. If not later. But we’ll get there. You can go grab a few hours of sleep if you want. And maybe use some of those cleansing wipes from my bags. No offense, Viggo, but you reek.”

“None taken. I’m well aware,” I replied dryly. “But it’s been a long… I don’t even know anymore. What time unit do you think would be appropriate?”

She gave me a droll look and then turned back to the helm. “Whatever it is, it’s