The Loneliest Girl in the Universe(55)

Hoping all is well on Earth,

Commander Shoreditch and Pilot Evans


Attached message reads:

From: The Infinity Sent: 05/12/2067

To: NASA Earth Predicted date of receipt: 15/09/2069

Hi Molly!

I wish I could play in the snow with Nino. That sounds so cool!

Thank you for the software. I’ve already tested it and it’s brilliant.

Jeremy, Isaac and I are working hard to fix the transmitter here on The Infinity. I really hope we get it working soon – I miss talking to you properly!

Love, Romy


It sounds just like me. For months and months, J has been telling Molly lie after lie, pretending to be me. And who is Isaac – is he “Pilot Evans”? I’ve never heard J mention another person being on board The Eternity, but “pilot” implies there is a second in command. The ship must have launched with two crew members. So where is Isaac Evans now?

Has … has J done something to him?

Oh God. I hope Isaac is OK.

I make myself listen to more of Molly’s messages. The sound of her voice is like a hug, even with the obvious concern and worry in everything she says. I’ve missed her so much.

I wish I could email Molly and ask for help. I wish there was a way she could save me and make J go away for ever. But there isn’t. I’m on my own.

I close down the emails. I’m not going to find anything else useful there, just bad memories.

I run my shaking hands through my hair and let out a frustrated yell. I deserve so much better than this. I deserve so much better than him. He destroys everything he touches, but I can’t – let – him – destroy – me.

I’d do anything to find a way to lock him up. I would push him into a stasis pod without a moment’s hesitation, just so I never had to think about him again. I wouldn’t even feel guilty about it.

I start looking through his drawers, searching for anything I can use as a weapon. I need a way to defend myself while I work out how to end this.

If I can just get him back to The Infinity and trap him in a pod, this will all go away. He wouldn’t even see it coming. Not from needy, gullible Romy, desperate for affection. Not from the little mouse caught between his claws.

I know it’s a desperate plan, with barely a chance of success, but I need to try.

I find a pair of scissors in the desk and test the blade against the pad of my thumb. When I press it into the skin, it leaves a white line behind. It’s not sharp, but if I use enough force, it might work. Either way, it’s going to have to do. If I press it against his back, he won’t be able to tell the difference between scissors and a knife.

When I’ve searched the whole room and failed to find anything else that could be useful, I go over to the computer and say, “Locate Jeremy Shoreditch.”

I need to do this now, before I start second-guessing myself. Before he has the chance to persuade me to trust him again.

A map appears on the screen, with a glowing orange symbol showing J’s location. He’s just down the corridor from the helm. It looks like he’s waiting to ambush me. He must have found the door locked and decided to wait for me to come out. I can’t even imagine how he plans for all of this to end.

I wonder if he would admit that he’s right outside the room if I called him now. Not that I care. Whatever he says, I’m not going to listen.

I prepare myself, wrapping my fist around the scissors and putting a blank expression on my face. I take a deep breath, telling myself that I’m strong and brave and I can handle this. I have no other choice.

“Open the door.”

As soon as it begins to open, I start running.

J is standing in the centre of the hallway waiting for me. I sprint at him, fist clenched around the pair of scissors, out of sight behind my back.

“Romy!” he says, feigning surprise, but that’s as far as he gets before I run straight at him. I’m picturing driving the blade into the flesh of his stomach when he grabs me by the arms and lifts me up, pushing me back against the wall. I flail and kick, dropping the scissors as I try to get free. He holds me in mid-air like I weigh nothing, and knocks back my blows without even trying.

“Let go!” I shout, horrified that he managed to stop me so easily.

“Don’t even try,” he growls. “You’re coming with me.”

He roughly twists my wrists behind my back, holding them with one hand even as I struggle to break free. He wraps his other arm around my throat from behind.

“If you fight, I’ll break your neck,” he whispers into my ear.

I immediately go still, waiting to see what he’s going to do next. I bare my teeth but don’t risk replying.

He takes a step forward, forcing me to march in front of him, away from the scissors, which are lying on the floor.

We walk down three corridors, turning right and left and right again. I rack my brain for some way I can get free, and what else I could use as a weapon, but I’m so frightened that my mind has gone completely blank. It’s all I can do to take step after step.

Finally, J stops outside a door, his arm tightening on my throat like he’s pulling on a horse’s reins.

The door slides open. I see a hospital bed in the middle of the room and realize he’s brought me to this ship’s sick bay. I wonder if this is where he brought Isaac. Is he going to kill me the same way he must have killed him?