Page 23 of The Red Woman on Mars

“Only one or two hours ago, no longer.” Luz’s face was grave. She’d known how desperate Vivian had been to hear from her parents.

Vivian sat down on the console chair, and her sister brought another chair over from a table in the dining room. With a shaking hand, Vivian located the message. She recognized the woman who appeared on screen as Miranda, a Sumter aid worker who’d snuck them extra food and books.

“Vivian,” Miranda said urgently. “Evie’s dead.” Vivian’s stomach dropped to the floor. Beside her, Delilah hissed. Vivian reached out and gripped her sister’s hand tightly. “She tried to continue your work with the children’s food supply, and theykilled her. Beatrice took in her little boy. I’m sorry.” Miranda bit her lip. “Your parents asked me to record a message and send it to you, but I couldn’t let you think everything was all right. The truth is, they are in danger. Terrible danger. I thought you should know.”

The video cut to her parents, standing side by side near the aid shelter where Miranda worked. “We’re rolling,” came Miranda’s voice.

“Vivian, Delilah,” her mother began. “Thank you for telling us you arrived safely.”

“We’re doing just fine here,” her father cut in. “Everything’s a-okay.” He gave two thumbs up.

“We love you, girls,” her mother continued. Vivian studied her face for clues. Tufts of gray hair stood out from her mother’s head, and the lines on her leathery face seemed deeper. “You must be having a wonderful time on your adventures.”

Her father put one arm around his mother’s shoulders. “Don’t spend one more minute thinking about us. We’re fit as a fiddle over here.” He looked away from the camera. “That’s a wrap, Miranda.”

“Don’t you want to tell them about—”

“No!” both her parents said in unison.

“Okay then.”

The screen went dark.

“The Rinaldi brothers.” Delilah rubbed a trembling hand over her face. “There’s no other explanation.”

“Why did she try to continue our work after everything that happened?” The eggs and cultured bacon Vivian had eaten for breakfast at the Hayes’ dining table sloshed in her stomach. “We have to do something.”

“We all left people behind,” Felicia objected behind her. Vivian turned in her chair to see all the women gathered in the large dining room. “What are you going to do about it from here?”

“Who killed your friend?” someone asked.

“Camp men.” Vivian swallowed. “The Rinaldi brothers. We were creating a stockpile of nonperishable food, to make sure the kids never went hungry during the lean times, and they didn’t like it. Said it interfered with their business.”

“Vivian was brilliant,” Delilah added. “She convinced all the younger women in the camp to pool our resources together. There was a whole distribution system and the most detailed security plan.”

Vivian swiped at her eyes. “If my plan was so brilliant, how were we overpowered so easily?”

“Because men will always be stronger than women,” Shiloh said bitterly. “Did you know I earned a black belt in karate when I was a kid? Didn’t do shit for me at the camp. Not when it counted.”

“My momma said that when she got off second shift at the hospital, she’d walk to her car carrying mace in one hand and her keys pushed through her fingers in the other,” Camille added. “But by the time we got to the camp, she didn’t have mace or keys to give me.”

“Trust me, it wouldn’t have helped,” Shiloh told her. “Anyway, it’s easier if you don’t fight back. Fewer bruises. Higher chance you’ll survive.”

Luz made a sound low in her throat, but Vivian couldn’t tell if it was an agreement or denial. Vivian had been lucky, in some ways, compared to many of these women. She’d never been raped. But it would have only been a matter of time if she’d stayed. A choice between proactively giving into Max Rinaldi’s pressure in the hopes that he would treat her gently or waiting for him or another man to take her by force.

Vivian rubbed her bare arms with her hands. Evie was dead. If she’d stayed, maybe she would be dead too.Are Mom and Dad next?

She thought about what Xavier had said. Constance Yarrow hadn’t been able to recruit local Earthborn women to bear the genetically modified children. They needed to find women in more desperate circumstances. And she was grateful, absurdly grateful, to be here in safety. Surrounded by her friends. Well-fed. Rested. Delilah, healthy and sparkling with life, by her side.

But Evie was dead.

“There’s nothing we can do today,” Delilah said to Vivian. “We need to complete the egg retrieval cycle before we can select a spouse. But we’ll get them out, Viv. They just need to hold on for a few more weeks.” Then, she leaned forward with a wicked glint in her eyes and whispered conspiratorially, “Let’s get out of here.”

Without waiting for a response, Delilah rose and walked in the direction of their bedroom. Vivian caught up with her just as she slipped into the room. Delilah pulled her hat from a hook on the wall and adjusted it in the mirror.

“What are you doing?” Vivian was so tired. She hadn’t slept well at Hayes House, and now the combination of adrenaline, fear, and grief was too much to bear. All she wanted was to curl up in her bed and cry until she fell asleep. “You’re weak.”

“I’m perfectly healthy. I’ve done nothing but rest for two days straight.” Delilah’s bottom lip stuck out in a playful pout. “Mom and Dad think we’re on an adventure. So, let’s go on one.”