The long walk is made longer still by the prisoner's lack of strength, and the size of the structure makes the distance difficult to perceive. Any fight I think I have left is subsequently snuffed out when all ten thousand of us finally reach the monstrous crash. All the jet-packers line us up in pairs a few paces away from the ship, stretching in both directions in two lines, one behind the other. As both lines get into position along the hull, all jet-packers fly up and stand on top, waiting. Moments later, a platform buried under the sand lifts both lines into the air, sand streaming down from small holes in the platform. The huge elevator brings us to the top, where five thousand jet-packers step forward one by one, severing the connection between the ankle clamps attaching each pair. When Nat is disconnected from me, I instantly feel alone, yet somehow stronger, and I'm sad to lose the odd connection with Nat that the clamps provided. Even so, I feel my energy returning slowly.
Is my bodily energy powering my ankle clamp and the connection between us?
I see life come back into Nat's eyes, and my heart leaps. But just as soon as my heart is light, it gets crushed. I watch as the same guard who separated us picks her up and flies her down between both halves of the spaceship. The person I am so attracted to disappears into a void of darkness, and I now have the strength to feel sad. And just as quickly, the jet-packer returns, and I am flown as well between the vast expanse of both sides.
About thirty or forty feet below the top, there is a ledge spanning the length of one of the walls. But before I can remember that I have the strength to fight back, I am firmly attached to the wall, standing on the ledge. I can't move, and I am angry at myself for not taking action when I had the opportunity. I look to my right and left and witness the rest of the helpless teens being secured to their own demise just as I am. Demise? I don't actually think we will be killed. After all, it seems like the most peculiar and bizarre way to execute a bunch of teens. Or will our lives still be lost in the end, regardless of whether or not the Vexon want us to die?
For some reason, I keep feeling more powerful and charged. What's going on? The strong urge to reconnect with Nat after being severed, the odd sense of new power, ankle clamps… like magnets.
An unseen connection links and grows between Nat and me.
"Macky!" Nat is calling me. I look across the void at the only person who exists. Her cry for help is more than I can bear, and I can't help but feel an enormous surge of love. What is this tingling—my ankle, the clamp. Pulling? I look upon thousands of Compatible Ones calling to each other from across the darkened expanse, but Nat's beautiful voice is the only one I really hear.
"Macky!" Nat calls again, and a lump grows in my throat. I just want to hold her and tell her everything will be okay, but I know that's not honest. I take in her beautiful face, trying to capture every amazing detail. But at this distance, they are hard to make out, especially as the daylight continues to grow dim.
"I love you, Macky." I can hear the sob in her voice, and I don't know what to say. I don't know if I can tell her how much I love her without dying. "These things!" Nat motions as best she can to the clamp that holds her ankle. "Something is happening!"
"I know!" I call back. "There is nothing more powerful than love. That is why we can't win—there's no stopping this!"
It's an annoyingly clever strategy. Using the love bond between two individuals for an inconceivable plan. The love bond between me and Nat is too strong, and so are the bonds shared between the rest of the prisoners.
An immense groaning fills the air, and we all watch as the starship is slowly brought back together by the power of love.
Everything that happens next is a dull blur, except for the strong feeling of love and a cacophony of disturbing sounds from both human and machine. I vaguely make out screams of panic as some or most of the pairs become melded together as one being. The strength of a bond between two individuals, used for evil. I can faintly hear Nat's crying, again and again. Then, the sensation of being tossed like a wind-blown leaf to the ground. How am I still alive? Then everything goes black.