The Navigator Read Free

that one day Lorien would face destruction and death. Some kind of global calamity. It’s the entire reasoning behind our society’s setup—with our super-poweredchildren trained to be soldiers against some unknown enemy. I’d always thought it was a scare tactic. But as I stumble forward, stepping past the remains of a man dressed in the colorful robes of the Quartermoon celebration, I realize I might have been wrong.
    “Lexa,” Zophie continues before I can ask anything else. “You have to come to the museum. Right now. It’s the only way you’ll be safe. I need you. I have a plan.”
    “What?” I ask. My brain isn’t functioning on all cylinders. I’m not sure if it’s shock, or the cave-in, or both. “What are you talking about?”
    “Just meet me there. I’m on my way now. As fast as you can, Lex. Run. Don’t let anything stop you.”
    There’s some kind of interference on her end of the line, and then the connection drops out. I look down at my cuff, thinking about who I should contact if the world really is going to shit. Who I should check in on. That’s when I realize I have no one else to call. For the past few years I’ve been alone, refusing to get too close to anybody. Secluding myself. Making sure I had no strings, no one tying me down.
    No one to worry or care about.
    I look to the sky. The smoke from my neighborhood has created a layer of smog far above me, all but obstructing the Quartermoon and whatever else is out there causing this.
    Who is attacking Lorien? Why? How could—
    Beside me, the scarce remains of my building collapse farther, filling my basement apartment with fire and debris. I stumble away, coughing through the miasma of dust and ash that’s kicked up.
    This stirs something in me. A switch is flipped, and before I know it I’m running. On instinct. It’s not until I’m at a full sprint that I realize my body is following Zophie’s orders and that I’m headed towards the museum. My home is destroyed. My planet, flawed as it may be, is under attack. I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do. I just have to focus and keep moving, heading towards the next goal.
    The chaos is everywhere, widespread. Most people I pass are preoccupied with their own survival or with trying to find or help out their loved ones. They yell, asking no one in particular what is happening. I hear a short screech somewhere to my right—blocks away? Closer?—followed by an explosion and a rumbling beneath my feet that almost knocks me to the ground. Capital City is still under attack. And even after everything we did to prepare, we weren’t ready. We were caught off guard.
    The museum. It’s not that far away now. Ten blocks or so. I just have to keep my legs moving and concentrate on the sound of my feet hitting the ground and . . .
    Out of the smoke in front of me charge half a dozen figures unlike anything I’ve ever seen. They’re pale,dressed in black and carrying blasters and swords that seem to glow with a light of their own. Dark circles ring their black eyes. Their gaping mouths are full of sharp, jagged teeth. The one in the front is huge, taller than me and three times as wide. He has a long black ponytail, but the sides of his head are shaved. Tattoos wind around his skull.
    These monsters are definitely not Loric.
    I stop too fast, and in doing so trip over a smoking tree branch, hitting the pavement hard. I’m trying to catch the breath that’s been knocked out of me when one of the men—no, creatures —raises a blaster and fires at a woman crying over a lifeless body on the other side of the street. She falls forward.
    My heart goes into overdrive as I fight the urge to vomit.
    I stifle a cry and half-crawl to a nearby bush to try and get out of sight. The creatures continue forward. I look around to find something to protect myself with, but there’s nothing. I’m alone—I don’t even have a utility knife or anything with me, just the clothes on my back. I’ve