Free The Battle by Jennifer Torres Page A

window.”
    â€œWhat did you say?” yelled Max above the roar of the engines.
    â€œIt’s normal, Max,” Canary called out. “We’re going to be just fine.”
    Tim’s whole body was so stiff from sitting in the chair. He could barely lift his hand in order to shield his eyes from the terrifying descent.
    The ship shook and rumbled. It began to feel as if the whole thing might break apart into a million pieces. He could just picture his chair ripping free, spinning him deep into space where he would float aimlessly away to his ultimate doom.
    Tim closed his eyes and tried to get the image out of his head.
    Things had changed so much in such a short time. He already missed his parents—or more correctly—he missed the people who had raised him. He would be meeting his real parents soon—on Earth. What would they be like? Did he have brothers and sisters? What if they didn’t like him? What if he didn’t like them? Thoughts swirled randomly around his brain, a welcome distraction from the current situation.
    Nina was so far away now, and even though he knew she had betrayed him—had betrayed all of them—he couldn’t stop thinking of her.
    Was she okay? What did she remember? Why had she lied to them?
    The ship took another dip, and Tim began to think he might need that throw-up tube himself.
    â€œEverything is fine,” Rusty shouted back at the kids. He tried to calm them by explaining that the wild ride caused by Earth’s atmosphere is actually a good thing for them because it’s caused by particles of air rubbing against their ship, causing it to slow down so they can approach Earth at a safer speed.
    â€œIt’s called friction,” he continued. “It might not feel good right now, but you should certainly be thankful we’re experiencing it.”
    The words had barely been said when suddenly a shrill alarm sounded overhead.
    â€œWe are going in a bit hot,” Canary said to Rusty in a low voice.
    Without another word, Rusty closed the door to the cockpit.
    Tim looked over again at Max, Emily, and Luke.
    â€œWhat did he mean . . . hot?” asked Emily.
    â€œProbably referring to the fire outside the window,” said Luke, who appeared somewhat calmer than the others. Probably, Tim thought, because he had been through it before.
    â€œWas it like this when you came to Earth the first time?” Tim asked.
    â€œWell sort of,” Luke replied with some hesitation. “But . . .”
    â€œBut what?”
    â€œWell, I don’t remember seeing fire—and we didn’t have an alarm go off.”
    Tim closed his eyes again and held on tight.

Chapter 2
Do They Look Like Us?
    Are we dead?
    When you actually have to ask the question and you really don’t know the answer, you can bet you’ve been though something intense.
    Impact was sudden.
    The spacecraft appeared to nosedive toward the bright blue water of Earth before plunging deep under the glassy surface before coming to a full stop on the murky ocean floor.
    â€œAre we dead?” Tim managed to ask again, certain that because no one answered the first time, he probably was.
    Canary laughed.
    â€œNo, Tim,” he said as he put a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “You are decidedly not dead.”
    Canary and Rusty had opened the cockpit door moments after landing and were now helping everyone undo their safety belts.
    â€œWe’re going to take the ship to the underwater docking station, but there’s no need to be buckled in any longer,” Rusty said. “Is everyone feeling okay?”
    They all nodded in response.
    Tim stretched his arms up in the air and walked up to a window. Looking out, he could see an ocean that looked very similar to his on Indus—except for what appeared to be something alive out there.
    Wait. What the . . . ?
    â€œLook out here,” he called toward his friends.
    They all huddled around