Chapter Twenty: Marc

May 21st

We stay the night in the clearing, mostly because I’m not going anywhere soon. I’m still convinced that Jaz is still out there, looking for me. But deep down, I know the truth. She’s gone. I still look over to the side, expecting to see her recording this misadventure on PostBook or something, but she isn’t there. Only the people with the Mutation survived. If I didn’t have it, none of this will’ve happened. Jaz will still be alive.

“Marc,” someone whispers. It’s Stella, the new person from Mars 4. The other Martian, Kallie, has been silent so far, though the encounter with the MC leader seems to have shaken her.

“Hi Stella,” I reply gloomily. I’m not in the mood to talk right now.

“Listen… I’m sorry about your friend.” She sounds sincere enough. “I’m not even going to try and understand what you’re going through, I willn’t. But… I know I probably couldn’t replace her, but if you ever need someone to talk to…”

“Sure,” I say quickly, saving her further embarrassment. She’s trying to help, and it is, but she’s obviously never done this before. “I’ll think about it.”

“Okay.” Stella nods, then lies back down on the clearing floor. “This is all crazy, isn’t it?”

“Crazy,” I agree. “Absolutely insane.”

“Quiet down, you two, we’re trying to sleep,” someone quips. Probably Lucki, but I can’t tell. I welcome the silence that comes after, getting a little sleep while I can.

I wake up to chaos.