For a couple of seconds, PJ struggled to breath, and when she managed to form words the only thing she could say was, "You-you're the thief."
Asher nodded. "And?" He probed.
"How —- why?"
Asher shrugged. "I said I'd do something to level the playing field. It all would've worked out even better if Matthew didn't talk too much, the book I chose was perfect."
"Did you make Adah sick?" PJ asked.
"Huh. Didn't think you'd ask that, but no. It was a lucky coincidence," Asher said. Somehow, he was managing to seem perfectly cool despite just leaking his guts out to PJ.
"Oh, good," PJ replied.
"So you draw the line at poisoning?" Asher chuckled.
PJ narrowed her eyes, "No, I draw the line at hurting people."
She heard the noise of engines in the distance. She knew she could easily rat him out, tell everyone what he did. But instead, she pinched her thumb and pointer together and drew them over her lips.
Asher nodded. "Thank you," he said as the other vehicles rolled to a stop beside them.
"What're you two talking about?" Adah asked as she took of her helmet. Her long black hair shone in the sun.
"Just what to expect," Asher smoothly said.
How did he learn to lie like that? PJ asked herself.
"I can tell you more!" Cain said, springing up.
"Okay. I probably do need more information," PJ replied.
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over her. She stumbled forwards and into Cain. Her eyes closed and she let out a small gasp.
"Whoa, whoa," Cain said. "Lean on me. I'll support you, but we have to get you inside."
"I know why you were in the bathroom now. This is terrible," PJ told him. This is worse then any cramp I have ever had before.
They set her up in the living room and turned on the TV to see it was a quarter way through "Hunger Games: Catching Fire". Despite her sickly state, PJ focused on the screen because it drew her attention away from the pains.
PJ couldn't think of any more questions for Asher. He'd betrayed them, but he'd told her afterwards. Surely that meant something? But, he had lied to them all, and it was about something big and dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands.
All of the worrying about whether or not to trust and truly ally with Asher was making her head hurt even more, so eventually she looked back up at the movie screen as the mist was beginning to converge around Katniss and Peetah.
When the movie ended and the channel switched to a fifteen minute commercial break, PJ sighed, "I'm going upstairs now."
"Okay," Adah said. "Text if you need us."
"I will," she promised. She padded upstairs, leaning on the railing as she went up the staircase and into Adah's room.
She kept trying to sleep, kept trying to close her eyes and force up at least some feeling but no it wouldn't come. The only thing that arrived was more questions of allegiance - who to trust with what. She knew Adah and Miriam would do nothing to hurt her if she told them, but could she even say the same if the roles were reversed?
PJ felt like she should have never agreed to see the meteor that one day two weeks ago and maybe then she wouldn't be here with the whole world feeling turned upside down. But either way, she knew she was going to eventually be dragged into this.
And it would always follow her.
A spaceship wasn't something you could hide in your closet.
I don't want this anymore, but Asher would be so angry if I left him, PJ thought. And she didn't want to make her crush angry.
After tossing and turning for a couple of hours, she finally fell to sleep.
It was all purple. A color she hated. It was too neutral for her tastes, too cool. She preferred pink, as it was more energetic. Trees with cotton-candy leaves bloomed out of the purple ground with a blue-and-violet sky above her.
She could see Asher - only it wasn't quite him. His face was obscured, but she knew it was him.
"Asher!" She exclaimed. He didn't respond, but his eyes widened in fear. She spun around, or rather the ground under her did, and she saw Cain behind her, carrying an axe.
"Hey, Cain," she said, though his eyes were beady, like a bears.
PJ screeched as the axe came down into her head. The ground under her pulled her down like quicksand and both the lavender soil and her crimson blood obscured her vision.
Suddenly, she dropped into a cavern. She looked around, and saw on the wall hieroglyphics. She reached out to touch them, and as she swiped her hand against the cool stone, it began to change into English, only it was a dream so she couldn't quite read it.
She punched the wall and fell again, falling into lavender soil. She looked up to see Asher with a shovel and a bear next to her, and as lavender soil fell onto her once more, she woke up.