Chasing the Stars by Malorie Blackman Read Free Book Online

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. He was a head and more taller than me, and his body looked like it knew the meaning of hard work. This guy was staring at me, his gaze intense, his expression unreadable. Self-conscious heat rose up from my neck to wash over my face. The younger guy’s face didn’t wear the same belligerence as his older friend, but maybe he was just better at schooling his features. Then, to my surprise, the younger guy smiled. It was the first sign of friendliness I’d seen from any of them. I tentatively smiled back. Whoa! He was gorgeous. Realizing that I was probably staring, I averted my gaze.
    ‘You!’ said the older guy as he pointed at me. His voice was gruff and deep, much deeper than my brother’s. ‘Did you give the order to abandon Barros 5?’
    ‘Yes, I did.’
    ‘Turn this ship around,’ he demanded. ‘There are still people on that planet. My family are back there.’
    ‘I can’t.’
    ‘Damn it. Turn this ship around at once.’ The man was a mad dog, howling at me – and just as terrifying. I stood up straighter.
    ‘I’m afraid I can’t do that,’ I replied quietly.
    ‘Darren, I’ll handle this,’ Catherine told him, but he stepped forward, completely ignoring her. His focus was solely on me as I was the one standing before the captain’s chair.
    ‘If you won’t turn this ship around, I will,’ said Darren.
    Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Aidan’s hands moved swiftly over the controls, making sure that no one would be turning our ship or taking it anywhere without my explicit say-so. Saying nothing, I merely watched Darren warily. The man looked from my brother to me again.
    ‘Please,’ said Darren, trying a different tack. ‘My wife and son are down there. We have to rescue them.
Please.
’
    ‘We can’t rescue anyone from the planet, because they’re all dead,’ said Aidan.
    Oh. My. God! I glared at my brother. For heaven’s sake! Couldn’t he find a better way to let this guy know than just blurting it out like that?
    Darren stared at Aidan. ‘What’re you talking about?’
    ‘What my brother is trying to say is the Mazon detonated a proton bomb on the planet surface,’ I replied before Aidan could. ‘They didn’t just kill all the people down there but every living thing is now dead – trees, flowers, animals, insects. Their bomb took out the lot. I’m so sorry.’
    Darren’s eyes misted over, but it didn’t last long. He pressed his lips together until his mouth was just a gash across his face. Behind him, the cries and sobs of some grew louder.
    For so long, I’d yearned for the company of others. Selective memories told me that people brought happiness and laughter.
    How strange I’d forgotten that with people also came grief.
    ‘You should’ve waited to pick up more people,’ Darren accused. ‘You just left all those people back on that planet to die. My wife Ellie and my son Martyn are gone, thanks to you.’ The daggers in Darren’s eyes shot straight through me and every single one of them exited my body taking a piece of me with them. I held my breath, drowning in the hatred of his cold stare, lashed by the venom in his voice.
    ‘I tried to help,’ I protested.
    ‘You should’ve stayed longer, given them a chance to make it to the ship,’ Darren insisted.
    ‘I stayed as long as I could . . .’
    But I didn’t get any further before the guy standing next to him interrupted. ‘Darren, if she’d stayed longer, none of us would be here now.’
    ‘Stay out of this, Nathan. You didn’t lose anyone. Your mum is right there.’ Darren pointed to Catherine. ‘None of your family got left behind to die.’
    ‘I left it until the last possible second before taking off,’ I said quietly.
    ‘Vee did everything she could to save as many of you as possible,’ said Aidan.
    Mutters and whispers sounded at that. All those crowding onto the bridge were staring at me. The weight of their gaze almost made my knees buckle.
    ‘Vee, you