The Stardust Effect (The Stardust #1)

Chapter One

January Twenty First

Roxtyn

Roxtyn stepped out of her place of work with the few other girls, they lived north of the building and she headed south. A blonde man kicked off the wall next to her work. “Do you mind if I take a moment of your time?”

She kept walking, thinking he was some religious missionary until he said her name. “Roxtyn.”

She stopped dead in her tracks and turned to look at him. “How do you know my name?”

He stepped towards her, “I’m Jay, I've been watching you lately.

You're broke, your boyfriend is a jerk, I want to say you tried killing yourself last week or you at least thought about it.

Let me make this quick and clear, I have a place far from here, with people like you.

You have no one to lean on and there is no end to your pain, except death. I can promise you a better life.

Unless you want to stick it out with that guy and always be wondering what girl he's sticking it in. Pros: we got safety for number one, relatability, maybe make some friends, consistent income, you wanna get compensated for your skills right? And lastly, a great community. It's also warm all year round. Cons? You got none. You want to think about it kid?”

She gripped her bag that contained what little she owned, “How long do I have?”

“I'll give you two days, you want a clean escape? Keep this quiet.”

Roxy nodded and turned her back to start walking home, she knew if this place existed, she had to go. She had to join his community, and each step she took she knew in her gut what her outcome was. If he killed her instead? She didn’t care and looked back to see the man still staring at her and paced back, “okay.”

He stared blankly at her one word. “Okay?”

“I'll go.”

“That's great, you know that McLellan airport? Come alone January Twenty Third. I'll pick you and a few others up. See you then kid.”

January Twenty Third

At the small empty airport, Roxy looked over her shoulder towards the parking lot, for the third time.

A tall woman caught her eye from a distance, startling her. The handful of people on the asphalt made her anxious and she threw her jacket hood on, balling her hands into the pocket.

The cold air caressed her pale cheeks as she ignored the smell of the pollution. Roxy turned, cupping her hands against the window along the parallel wall.

The clock ticked towards seven am, Jay would almost be here. She placed her back against the wall again and questioned to herself what she was doing.

She didn’t know Jay, she didn’t know what his proposal meant, and she didn’t know what would happen when Ben finally woke up to find her gone.

She fiddled with her necklace, the only thing she had left from her mother was a simple, emerald pendant. The original gold chain had broken and she had to replace it a year ago.

She dropped it back into her shirt as the tall woman approached Roxy, “Can I wait by you?”

She asked.

Roxy’s mouth pulled to her ears in a forced awkward smile, “Sure.”

“I’m Maci, are you waiting for-”

She paused and Roxy nodded before Maci could finish.

“I’m Roxtyn.”

She was polite to respond to her name but wasn’t one to keep small talk going. Her eyes followed someone across the lot approaching a short round man and they shook hands, then started walking together. “Is that him?”

She kept her stare, Jay was tanned, almost dirty looking, with short blonde hair.

Maci looked up from her nails, “Hm? Oh, yeah, I think so.”

“Should we head his way?”

“I think he’s already coming over.”

She launched herself off the wall. “Let’s go.”

Roxy followed two steps behind. Her mind racing with what if’s, ‘What if Ben follows me? What if he is also part of this group and shows up? What if he put Jay up to this, to see if I would leave?’ she thought, mentally shouting at herself feeling her brow furrow, ‘Stop it! There's nothing here for me! My family is gone! This guy could kill me if he wanted, I don’t care, I have nothing to live for. I. Am. Alone!’ She took note of Maci slowing down and looked up to see Jay and four others and her face relaxed.

“Maci,”

He made eye contact, “Roxtyn.”

He began explaining the process of departure as Roxy focused on breathing as her thoughts continued. ‘What am I doing? Ben is going to kill me, it should be pretty obvious that I cut ties. What if he thinks I got kidnapped and comes looking for me? Oh hell.’ She zoned back in noticing the two extra faces that have joined.

“This way.”

Jay directed them as they grouped behind him down the tarmac towards an old, Mid size jet ready on the runway. He stopped at the cascaded stairs, “Last chance if anyone is having second thoughts.”

Roxy swallowed hard as she took her first step up the stairs.

She found herself across from Maci on the plane, comforted, she also hoped she wouldn’t talk her ear off. As she adjusted in her seat, Roxy took note of the passengers, tall brunette male, older bald male, male with beard, dark skinned woman. No Ben.

Jay came over the intercom speakers, “We have about a seven hour flight into the pacific. Get comfortable.”

The engine roared and the lights flickered. There were beeps and dings in the background as we moved around the runway. We slowed down on what Roxy assumed was the beginning. Her heart pounding, she rubbed her hands together and intertwined her sweaty fingers. The trembling in her seat grew as the jet sped towards the end of the asphalt to take off.

In an instant the seat stopped rattling and she knew she was in the air. She looked over at Maci who was looking out the window and felt a slight relief. Staring at Maci, she wondered what her story was. Was she escaping also? She seemed happy almost. Her eyes closed as she inhaled deeply through her nose.

*****

The salty humid air hit her face. Roxy squinted as she exited the plane and questioned where she was. It was warm and sunny for being the middle of January. The six strangers followed Jay inside a gate towards a large, one story building budding up to a mountain side. They spilled into a room with leather seats and irregular shaped coffee tables dividing the chairs. “Alright, go ahead and get comfortable, you’re going to go in one at a time when your name is called and we will get everyone situated, it may take a while.”

Jay dipped his head and left the room through the same doors we entered.

Roxy occupied the empty seat next to her and noticed the bald man to the right. The overhead music was soft and the sun spilled into the room from the atrium windows straight ahead. Looking at the other wall Roxy noticed a map of the Pacific Ocean, she observed the state lines were the original borders, making her realize they have been here at least fourteen years, that’s how long her dad has been gone. The map showed how far off the coast of the Old U.S. we were. She could barely see Hawaii from where she was sitting and saw a small red star some distance south of it. She figured that was where we were. ‘Comforting’ She thought, ‘Can’t leave now. Jay wasn’t joking.’ She looked up realizing, ‘Ben can’t find me here!’ Roxy wanted to jump out of her seat in excitement.

A young thin woman came into the room calling the bearded man back and they both retreated from the room. An hour and a half later and four different scenarios of what could have happened played out in Roxy’s head, she was the fifth one called back.

Entering a long hallway, looking over her shoulder, the woman asked Roxy, “How are you doing?”

“Uh, fine I guess.”

Roxy could feel her shoulders pull in and tried to resist closing off.

“Hopefully things turn around for you here, I’m taking you to meet the lady in charge, Margaret. Do you have any questions?”

Roxy shook her head. The woman knocked on an open door, “Margaret, here’s Roxtyn.”

She sat at a desk in the middle of a decent size room, a man stood off to the side from her, looking stiff and aggressive. Margaret smiled at her, “Come in!”

She shuffled into the room, folding her arms and sitting down. “Welcome,”

Margaret was warm and didn’t take her eyes off of her. “I am sure you’re wondering what is going on, and I am glad you decided to make this scary step.”

Her soft gray hair framed her face.

Roxy nodded in agreement.

“Well, many years ago, my husband and I discovered this island and with the amazing modern technology, it doesn’t show up on radars and we are out of aircraft routes. We banded with a few friends and built a community, but we couldn’t grow and survive with the few people we had and needed to recruit people. When the last war started we began pulling people who looked like they needed help, a rescue of sorts. Jay is pretty good at that, isn’t he?”

“Yes”

She softly responded.

“We really wanted to give people who have been struggling and give them a second chance.”

Margaret opened a folder.

“That’s exactly what I needed, thank you.”

Roxy looked at the desk papers but couldn’t read them upside down from that far away.

“My pleasure,”

She smiled back at her, “I’m going to go over these papers to help get to know you, see where you fit and get you in our system. Since this is a fresh start, you’ll get a new name, you will get a chip injected into your hand, will there be a problem with either of those?”

“No,”

She swallowed and thought how she has had it worse and pulled down her sleeve more to reassure her yellowed bruise was covered.

“Okay, let’s get started.”

Margaret picked up a pen, “Do you mind if I choose the name, it helps not having too many Briannes or Jacksons?”

“Uh, no.”

Roxy began to think of what name she looked like she had. Margaret looked at the screen in front of her and scrolled down with her finger.

“What about Joan?”

Roxy could feel her face scrunch down. “That sounds like a grandma's name.”

Margaret laughed and looked at her screen, “you’re right.”

Delaying her look back at Roxy, “How do you feel about Juniper?”

They stared at each other, “You could shorten it to Junie or June.”

“I think I can make that work.”

Roxy seemed to like the change.

“And a last name?”

Juniper responded with another shrug.

“How about Jensen.”

“Okay.”

She softly responded.

“Great, when is your birthday? If you want to change it you can, it’s just something that is better for health reasons, so keep it in a six month range from your original.”

“My birthday is September twenty third.”

She was honest.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty Five.”

Margaret didn’t look up, “Do you have any surviving immediate family members?”

“No.”

Juniper mumbled.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

She set her pen down and looked up giving Juniper her full attention. “How long have you been alone?”

“Since twenty.”

June averted her eyes.

“I’m so sorry. That must be hard,”

Margaret expressed her sincerity. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No thank you.”

She exhaled in one breath.

“I’m here if you need anything, we also have great support groups if you’re interested. We have some great therapists on the island as well, free of charge of course.”

Margaret picked up her pen. “It’ll be in your packet that we will send home with you if you change your mind.”

“Thank you.”

“So, you worked with clothes? Tell me about that.”

“I worked as a seamstress in a clothing shop for the last three years.”

That’s where I met Ben, June excluded and pulled her hair to the right side.

“Okay, we do have a need for that. Do you think that is something you can continue doing here?”

“I guess.”

Juniper's awkwardness didn’t subside.

“Juniper, I try to understand the life you left from, every person I interview struggled in some way. My goal here on the island is to bring back what the world took away. I know what we can make in this community. Do you trust me?”

“I don’t think I have a choice, but I’m optimistic.”

Juniper pressed her palms together and squeezed them between her knees.

“Can you tell me if there’s anything we need to know? Allergies, mental health illnesses, or could you be running from someone?”

She guessed it.

“Yes.”

June’s eyes locked into Margaret's with fear. “The last one.”

“From who?”

Margaret’s eyes stayed soft.

June inhaled and looked at the wall. “My now ex boyfriend.”

“Can I know why?”

“He abused me.”

Her eyes glazed over staring at the table.

“I don’t want him here, and the chance he may come in contact with Jay, what is his name?”

June’s bottom lip got heavy refraining from a quiver. “Benjamin Calderon.”

She looked up and Margaret noticed her eyes watering.

“I won’t let him near you Juniper, he’s not welcome here. I really think you should see some of our therapists.”

“Okay.”

June dabbed at the corners of her eyes in effort to push her tears back in.

“We’ll get you where you need to be mentally, these things take time and I’m here for you.”

She closed the folder. “Your roommates will be expecting you, there are three of them, very sweet girls.”

“Okay.”

June thought about how she had never had a female roommate. She had her sister when she was younger and maybe it was like that.

“Are you ready for the next step?”

“I think so,”

June stood up after Margaret.

“Come here.”

Margaret wrapped both arms around Juniper, “You’re so welcome here.”

She whispered in her hair.

Pulling away June had a teardrop down her face, “Thank you.”

“If you need anything, call me. My number will be in your phone.”

She comforted her as she dabbed a tissue on her cheek. Margaret stepped into the hallway leading June deeper into the building. “You’re about to meet Amy. She is the one who will set you up with your essentials.”

She turned a nob and opened the door with her body showing her age. The large room was warm and colorful. There was wall to wall clothing, hygiene items, shoes, and electronics all smashed together. “Amy?”

She shouted.

A tall blonde came out of a side room finishing her bite, “I’m sorry Maggie, I always get so hungry on Placement Day.”

“I understand Amy, this is Juniper, she is ready for you.”

Margaret gestured at June .

“Hello Juniper, I am here to set you up with clothes and all that fun stuff. Are you ready?”

Amy’s smile ran from June to Margaret.

“I’ll see you Juniper.”

She touched her arm and Margaret escaped out the door she entered in an opening just big enough for her to slink through.

Juniper turned her attention back to Amy, “Um, yes.”

Her fingers laced together in a ball in front of her.

“Alright, you will get four outfits including underwear, two pairs of shoes, shampoo, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, lady products of your choice and your phone. After all that we will get your chip inserted.”

She smiled down at Juniper.

“Okay.”

She looked around the room taking it in as she followed Amy line the four walls.

“You look to be a medium, what do you think about these two tops?”

Amy handed her two hangers, a black blouse and a navy tee shirt.

Her hands ran along the two fabrics at the same time. “They’re nice.”

June shrugged, “I haven’t ever really picked out my own clothes.”

Her eyes locked into Amy’s for a moment. After meeting Ben he had a part in what was deemed attractive or not on her body.

“I think they will look great.”

Amy’s smile was warm, soft and she felt drawn to her.

“What am I supposed to wear at work?”

“They are not too strict with a dress code.”

She placed the tops in an oversized tote bag.

“Oh, okay.”

June felt her walls shift downward, “What about pants?”

“Let's finish with the tops first,”

Amy turned and reached for a top just over her head, “You know, I have this nephew, I think you two would look cute together. But, he hates when I play matchmaker, so.”

She rolled her eyes and handed June the top with a shoulder shrug, “This would look gorgeous on you.”

It was a dark teal blouse similar to the black one.

“Okay, I trust you.”

Juniper kept her hands to her side.

“Great, but here,”

She motioned June to step back and opened a drawer as she did, “Pick out your personal items,”

she pointed to the socks, underwear and bras. June pulled out some underwear and assumed the size would fit as it strung from her fingers. She piled her findings on the counter. “Alright,”

Amy walked back over and swooped up June’s pile and turned back over to her bag. She zipped it shut and opened the front pocket along with a drawer next to her, “This bag has your toothbrush, paste, shampoo, soap, you know, all those goodies.”

She stuffed it in the pocket, “When you run out, you can find more at the supply store, you will have to pay for them then.” Amy opened a cabinet behind her, “This is your phone and charger.” She added it to the front pocket and zipped it closed as well. “Okay, are you ready for your chip?”

June, feeling all the energy from Amy spinning around the room, responded, “Yes.”

“This way,”

Amy waved her to follow her into a room. Amy asked June to sit in the opposite chair of her and began typing on a computer. A moment later a tiny pill shaped metal chip fell into a tray, Amy snapped on some gloves and reached for a sterile syringe in the drawer.

“Wait, you’re doing it?”

June was shocked.

“Yeah,”

She hitched her thumb to the framed document on the wall, “I’m certified.”

Amy picked up the capsule and pushed it in a small vial with clear liquid. inserting the needle into the bottle at the perfect angle she withdrew the chip and set down the syringe. Amy sanitized Juniper’s palm below her pinky, “Ready?”

June nodded and looked away when Amy picked up the syringe again, “One, two, three!”

She blurted out quickly in an attempt to throw June off. A sharp pinch shot into June’s hand. She resisted to jerk away as Amy finished. “Alright,” She strapped a band aid on June’s hand. As Amy looked at June she tossed her gloves in the bin. “You are good to go, and the way the chip works is if you need to pay for something, you’ll press it to the scan pad at checkout. If you take the bus, you’ll press it to the scan pad. You’ll use it for clocking in and out at work. Oh, which you get paid daily. You can check your balance or any other info with your phone, it tells you how to do that when you set it up. Let’s see, it’s also your house key and the shared household vehicle key. The chip has your address, age, money, pretty much anything you would need in a purse, except you still have to carry your lip balm around. Bummer.”

Amy stood, grabbed Juniper’s bag and handed it to her, “The bus is here, are you ready?”

“I guess.”

Juniper’s heart felt like a bird trying to escape her rib cage.

Exiting the last doors and entering the island Amy stopped her, “Everyone is helpful and understanding, don’t be afraid to ask, come here.”

Amy hugged June tightly as her bag fell off her shoulder weighing her arm down. “You already have everyone who can help you on your phone.”

“Thank you.”

She replied.

“Welcome home Juniper.”

Amy smiled and stepped away as June turned towards the bus.