It wasn’t long before I had managed to completely lose track of time. The tenebrous grey walls stared back at me, carelessly. I tossed and turned in my bed, which really wasn’t anything special. It was larger than the one that I had in my shack, that was for sure. It actually fit my whole body! However, the bedsprings dug into my skinny frame at every single opportunity, preventing me from falling asleep.
Well, what else was new...?
It was “lights out” as the guards called it, which meant bedtime for everyone. I would have never known if the message didn’t holographically show itself on my wall. It was so bright, so just incase something happened no one could use the excuse “they didn’t know”, or something like that. The guards were just as antisocial as the prisoners here. It’s impossible to hear anything while inside of the cell. Everything is sound-proof. I saw the guards speaking outside of my cell, but I was not very good at lip reading.
The walls were keeping me from being free, and that happened to be what was causing me to completely lose myself in thought. I was always one for imagination, for some reason. I always found it easy to zone out and get lost in the inner complexities of my head. I’ve been known to completely phase out of reality at the worst of occasions, although I liked it. My brain worked in ways that I honestly hadn’t been able to fully understand, yet.
I lied in my bed for what seemed like hours and stared hopelessly at the gray concrete that rested on my eyes. A few blasts of chilled air coming from some of the cracks in the ceiling hit my body, causing me to bring my razor-thin blanket closer. I tried to bring myself into a warmer embrace, but I failed. I was freezing, and I didn’t think that there would be anything that I could do about it. The guards probably didn’t care about how I felt. I was technically a prisoner, after all.
I couldn’t help but wonder about the woman from before, and how she was doing. Of all the cells to be put in, why that one? The cells were soundproof, she could be... dead! She could be dead right now! Those three guys who were in there with her didn’t look very kind to be around. I’d gladly trade places with her in a heartbeat, but it’s too late for that now. It took me awhile to finally convince myself that she was fine, although I had had many doubts.
I turned back on my right side, listening to the bed creak softly. I raised an eyebrow when I felt something tough in my jeans pocket. Both corners of my mouth twitched upwards as I remembered something completely grand! I sat up and quickly pulled my sack of gunpowder out of my pocket, giving it a brief– yet silly– kiss.
“Oh! I still have you at least!” I cheered. I had a good idea. I stood up from my bed, grabbing my blanket in one hand and my gunpowder in the other. I was suddenly ecstatic, for once feeling some sort of inner joy that I hadn’t felt in months. I dropped to the ground, letting out a weak cry as my knees banged on the floor.
“Oof...” I groaned, rubbing both of my knees stupidly. Well, I totally could have thought that through a little better, but that didn’t matter.
Let’s just cut to the chase. I deemed the usage of gunpowder to make fire a terrible idea, and figured that it’d be better to conserve it in the first place. I dug into my pocket, sighing happily as I realized that I also still had my spare lighter. Lucky for me, the blanket was made of wool. They’re harder to catch on fire, and didn’t burn too long, but it’s better than nothing.
Usually, I have more supplies on me. If I’d been back in my shack, I could have made a fire within minutes, rather than an hour. I’m still happy that I’d had my beloved gunpowder. It was something to keep me from going insane; something to remind me of all the good things in life. Things like that have become rare, so I tried to hold onto as much of it as I could, whether it’s possible or not.
I knelt close to the rather large fire, rubbing my currently frozen hands together. It didn’t make much sense since it was absolutely scalding outside, yet I felt like I was diving headfirst into an ice cooler when I sat in there. I let out a small moan as the heat of the blaze hit my skin, warming me up like a sauna. It was rather orgasmic, even though that’s something really weird for me to say. I like the warmth, as long as it’s a nice kind.
I listened to the crackling of the fire, and let a small smile grace my lips for the first time in a while. I could not tell you exactly how long it was that I’d looked into the fire, but I knew it was for far longer than I had thought.
After what I’d guessed what thirty minutes, I jumped at the sound of the blue barrier which incarcerated me disappearing, and how it seemed to disappear into thin air.
“Hey! What are you doing?” hollered a single soldier as he stepped into the cell with me, bearing a sort of high-tech gun and pointing it right at my face. For the second time in twenty-four hours, I raised my hands over my head.
I realized that I’d made a very stupid move. I’d forgotten that just because I couldn’t hear through the doors, that that hadn’t meant that people couldn’t see into it. We’re in a jail, not an asylum. I should have seen it coming. My own stupidity blows my mind sometimes.
“Wait! I just got cold,” I explained quickly. The last time I was held at gunpoint, I hadn’t gotten the time to explain myself at all, so I figured doing that first would be the right course of action.
The soldier was dumbstruck, his face softening for a few moments before he stared back down the sights on his gun.
“Y-You’re burning Chicago Penitentiary property...!” He sputtered, having still been attempting to prove his dominance over me. I found it strange that he had stuttered; what did he have to be nervous about?
“I’m sorry! But I was going to freeze to death in here!” I exclaimed. The guard did not seem to be much older than me: he was probably in his lower twenties, but then again I’m not too good when it comes to judging ages. His blond, spiky hair was ruffled in messy disorder and his oceanic eyes stared into my own muddy ones. In all honesty, he’d just looked tired, and cold. Maybe that was why he’d been stuttering.
“Kid, put out that fire now and go back to bed! It’s lights out!” he ordered. An idea flowed to the front of my mind, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take my own advice or not. Maybe just listening to his orders would be of the best course of action.
Oh, screw it.
“You want to join me?” I asked, scooting over a little bit to give him some room. I saw his finger move to the trigger, and twitch.
“Don’t move!”
“Sorry! Jeez...” I said sadly. I still made sure that he could sit down, there was plenty of room for a few people around the fire. “I’m just saying, you look cold. I’m not a murderer or anything like the rest of the people in this hellhole. You can even look it up my record.” Alright, I kind of bullshitted on the last part. I didn’t even know if they keep records of us anymore. With that, I went back to holding my palms up towards the fire.
The soldier nervously looked away from me, taking one hand off his gun to rub his shivering arm. He quickly holstered his gun and sat on the other side of the fire, taking off his gloves and tossing them on the floor beside him. “Fine. No funny business,” he stated. To that I nodded.
There was a horrifyingly long pause that was filled by the ambiance of the fire. It provided decent light that reflected ominously off of the soldier’s face, sparking my curiosity. He was rather young; what was he doing here? I guess he was wondering the exact same thing about me.
“So... my name’s Oliver,” I explained. The soldier raised an eyebrow in my general direction. “Oliver Gremley,”
The soldier sat up a little bit in his seat. The more he leaned into the fire, the younger he looked. “Private Kelly,” he mumbled. He suddenly leaned over to me, making me to rethink my original idea of having him join me. However, that was before I actually saw his face, which was of pure and utter concern. “Look, it’s been awhile since I’ve actually been outside, what’s it like out there?”
I practically choked on my breath as I stared at him wide-eyed. Did he really not have any clue? “W-What?” Kelly gave me a half-lidded stare, letting me know entirely that he did not wish to repeat himself. “Well, I’ve spent my whole life out there, and I can truthfully tell you that it’s not good. People are dying– suffering out there, man. Homes are burning, towns are rioting, gangs are rising. Don’t go out there, if you can help it,” I answered. I decided to withhold the information about the gang that I was delivering fireworks to. I didn’t think it was a good time to do it.
“Really? I wouldn’t have known. I’ve been in here guarding these people for the last year or so. I haven’t been outside these walls, either. Hard not to feel like a prisoner myself, you know?” he said, moving a little closer to the fire. I nodded sympathetically.
“Yeah,” I said. I didn’t know what else to say. I wasn’t entirely good at keeping conversation. I scoured my brain for something that I could use to keep our little chat going. Before I could, he cut into the silence yet again.
“So, I heard you were busted for trying to smuggle fireworks into a St. Paul evacuation center,” he began, leaning over to me again. “What in your right mind prompted you to do that?” I reeled back a little bit, and looked away. “I’m not interrogating you, I’m just curious.” Oh, well that actually made me feel a little better. “Those were pretty advanced fireworks, where did you even manage to find them?”
“Uh, well, you see... I made them myself.” Officer Kelly’s jaw dropped. Well, that seemed to have gotten his attention. Good! Maybe I wouldn’t have to explain why I had them in the first place. I knew I should have told him about the gang, but...damn. I hated my conscience sometimes.
“You made fireworks? And you’re what, fifteen?” he asked, making me squint at the soldier. I had a strong feeling that I really didn’t need to be so passive towards him, but I still liked to be polite.
“Seventeen, and yes. I’ve always have a passion for them. I studied up on how to make them, and how to work with gunpowder. I’ve always loved it. The pretty colors, the feelings that it gives me. It’s the only thing I have left that makes me happy.” I told him. The soldier was, surprisingly, dumbstruck. He turned his gaze back to the ground, as if he were lost in thought about what I’d just told him.
Officer Kelly and I spent what seemed to be the hours simply chatting. I talked about my life, and what it was like outside, and some of the things I’d seen. Kelly talked about life as a guard, and how he was pretty much forced to be a soldier by the government. The guy was only nineteen, though. He said earlier that he’d been in the game for only a year. It made me feel a bit bad for him. It turns out that nothing was as it seemed. The military treated their lowerclassmen like dogs. Kelly told me of all the grunt work that he’s had to do.
“He was yelling at me, ‘Kelly! Shoot this man or I’ll have you demoted’. Stupid general. Because of him I’ll never be the same again. The look on the face of his wife as my bullet passed through him...” He was beginning to choke up, and he wiped a tear that was forming in his eye. “The little girl was just screaming...asking ‘why’ over and over again as she pulled on my pants leg.”
I put a hand of his shoulder, and I had to keep from crying myself. “I... I’m so-”
“Private Kelly! What’s going on in here!?” A gruff voice behind us yelled. Officer Kelly bolted upright, and saluted the figure behind us. The person in question was obviously some sort of lieutenant. I could tell from his weird hat and the multitude of badges on his vest.
“Checking to make sure everything is a-okay, Sir!” Kelly said rather loudly. The lieutenant, if that’s what he even was, stared at me, putting his hand on his gun which was safely holstered at his side.
“He started a fire?” he asked Kelly, who nodded and replied with a “yes sir”.
“He is a danger to this entire facility! He could have burnt this place down!” The ‘lieutenant’ was about to pull his gun, but Officer Kelly stepped between him and I. The look on his face was priceless, but it was happening all too quickly for me to be able to read either of their faces.
“Private! How dare you!” he screamed, pointing his gun in the air.
“Sir, I must speak with you first!” And with that, Kelly actually managed to bring the lieutenant outside of the cell to chat. They were speaking very softly, before the lieutenant actually brought the barriers back up, preventing me from listening in anymore. Although a few words I did manage to hear. I thought they were “fireworks”, and “mission” or something like that. Although I really had no idea after that. Like I said, I was terrible at lip reading.
A few moments later, the barrier dropped and the lieutenant stepped in, practically stomping over to me as Kelly stood sadly in the doorway. The look on the face of the lieutenant was terrifying, like that of a stone cold man. If that didn’t make it worse, he pulled out his gun again.
“Hey, wait! No! Please don’t!” I screamed, putting my hands in front of my face as I leaned back so that my spine was touching the corner of the bed. The light of the fire flickered off his sadistic face, making it so I could only see the right side of his visage. He brought the gun over his head, and swung it down on top of mine.
My vision turned to absolute darkness in an instant.
***
“Yo, kid... kid...you okay?” I heard a playful voice to my right say. I clenched my eyes shut as I slowly began to regain consciousness. The room was excessively silent, save for two voices conversing somewhere within the confinements of the room. I lifted up a hand and brought it to my throbbing forehead. Oh man, well that was a little harsh, wasn’t it? Did he really need to knock me out?
“Kid? Kiiiiiid?”
I opened my eyes and lifted my head lethargically, only to cause a small round of applause from the rest of the people in the room. “Finally!” The voice from before exclaimed.
I was in some sort of... I didn’t know. Some sort of meeting room? My left ankle was chained to the seat that I was sitting in, making me realize my butt was asleep. It didn’t feel pleasant. I tried to swivel in my seat, but I still couldn’t get myself comfortable. In front of me was a circular table with seven other occupied seats. Everyone in the room stared at me, although I didn’t know if they were curious or angry.
“Ah, finally! Everyone is here, accounted for, and awake!” Another voice from the corner of the room said. Everyone turned their heads to the man in the corner of the room. An extremely tall man wearing an army uniform stepped forward. His ebony hair was mostly concealed underneath some sort of military hat, a bit like what Officer Kelly was wearing, except it was more...official? I guessed? I didn’t know the names for those type of things. His jacket was covered in medals, badges, and everything of the sort.
A smirk appeared on his light-skinned face as he began to wander around the table, observing each and every one of us intently. “I thought that little one was never going to wake up!”
Little one!? I huffed at his statement, crossing my arms vexingly.
“Uh, excuse me? But who the hell are you?” I turned to my right to hear the familiar voice that had been prodding me awake not even a few moments ago. There sat a rather large, muscular man. His large biceps practically busted out of his grey-shirt. He ran a hand through his short brown hair. At first, I was pretty intimidated by him: I mean, come on, the guy’s seriously double my size! I made a mental note not to get on his bad side...
“Good question!” said the man, before slamming a hand on the table, creating a loud bang that caused everyone in the room to jump, save for the big man to my right, and another man who was sitting at the other end of the table, reading a large book. “My name is General Thomas Elderson, and I was in charge of bringing everyone here.” That guy was creepily cheery, and it made me a little nervous.
Another masculine voice on the other side of the larger man spoke up. “Where are we, exactly?” he asked, raising a finger in the air as if he was in a classroom. He had a slight British accent that I found just a little bit charming. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get too much of a good look at him.
Before Elderson could speak up, another man, who only seemed to be around two or three years older than me, spoke up. “We’re in some sort of Military Facility,” he said monotonously, setting down a few playing cards of which he held in his hand. I wasn’t sure what he was doing, studying them or something? These people are a little... weird. Elderson snapped his fingers and gave him a knowing smile. Meanwhile, I was struggling to fiddle with the handcuff around my ankle. What the hell was going on here?
“Correct! But, the real question is why!” Elderson said. I was really starting to get a little creeped out by all of this. I was practically harassed, only to wake up here? In some kind of military facility?
“Well, make this quick. I have a plane at the San Francisco airport with my name on it,” said the same british voice. He was a tan and skinny man with a pretty face. His hair was combed back stylishly and he wore a very nice brown tuxedo that was just a few shades darker than his skin color.
Elderson gave the person, whomever it was, a glare. “Well, I was going to make this all fun and dandy, maybe play a few party games first, but it seems that no one is it the mood. So I’ll just cut to the chase.” A few of the people in the room rolled their eyes, but none harder than the blonde woman on the other side of the table.
“Each of you possess something that America is in desperate need of.” He slammed both of his hands down on the table again. This time, unfortunately, I was the only one who jumped. Damn, these people probably think I was a weakling now. Well, whatever. I wasn't there to impress anyone anyways...
“And what would that be?” The same blonde woman asked, quite rudely. I could tell that she was very unwilling to be here, much like everyone else. I, on the other hand, was much more curious. What were we doing here, and what the hell could I possibly possess? I lived in a shack! If anything I was the least qualified.
“Talent,” whispered Elderson. I raised my eyebrow. Talent? Wait, was he talking about me and my fireworks? I wouldn’t really count that as a talent, just some extra basic knowledge that I happened to pick up when I was younger. “Each of you possess some sort of special talent, or knowledge, that has brought you here.” Oh.
“Really? What’s my talent?” said the man to my left. He reeked of oil, and the front of his shirt was absolutely covered in it. I didn’t know about anyone else, but I couldn’t stand the smell of oil. I didn’t know why, but it just really bothered me. I wished I could trade seats with someone else. Every now and then, however, I could see his eye twitch.
“I’ll get to that,” said Elderson, pointing at the man in question. With that, he grabbed his arms behind his back and proceeded to walk around the room, his nose in the air. My first initial thought was about how stereotypically...army, he was. “As you know, America is on the brink of disaster, none know more about this than the little one here,”
Oh, come on! I wasn’t little! I was just short... and kind of skinny... but other than that! I was really starting to hate this guy.
“Lucky for us, NASA is still intact and functioning to this day.... sir?” Elderson stopped cold, and turned to the man who was still fully engrossed in his book. “Sir!” he repeated, hardening his voice in an effort to gain the man’s attention. I couldn’t really see the man’s face, just his brown hair. What I found peculiar was the small blue streak in his hair that came right over his left eye. Mighty weird hair, I must say. The man hummed a little tune to himself as he nonchalantly flipped a page.
Elderson was quickly losing his patience. He stomped over to the man, grabbed his book, and slammed it shut, all right in front of his face. The man’s cheeks puffed out as he stood up in his chair, practically swinging. Lucky for everyone else, his ankle was chained to his chair as well. “What the hell, man!?” he yelled. The general poked his chest, hard.
“Pay attention, dammit!” Elderson said, putting a hand on his holstered gun. The man turned from his book, to the gun, and then to Elderson’s face before he sat back down in his seat. I couldn’t understand him, but he was mumbling something to himself. Most likely curses, if I could take a wild guess. “Anyways,” he continued. I didn’t know why, but I felt a slight discomfort in my stomach.
“NASA has been getting strange signals off of Callisto, one of Jupiters moons. We believe that America is the only country to have received and to have taken note of this. That’s where you all come in,” he said. Oh no. What was he trying to say?
“Wait, you kidnap us here, chain us to chairs while there’s practically a war going on, just to have us play spacemen!?” yelled the man who had previously been holding the cards, which still lay face down on the table.
There was a cough. The man rolled his eyes.
“...and woman.”
Elderson cocked a cheeky smile, one that gave us an answer before we he even opened his mouth. “Yes.” A few of the people in the room started to get antsy, either arguing or screaming at the general in unison. Elderson pinched the bridge of his nose. This was one of the things that I couldn’t stand: when everyone wanted to be heard and the room is just filled with unintelligible noise. One of my pet peeves, actually.
Everyone’s shouts died down when a gunshot rang off in the room, echoing off the walls and practically blowing out everyone’s eardrums. Although, I was used to the sound of gunshots by now. For once, I didn’t end up jumping. “Now, if you all would kindly shut your mouths and let me talk...” Elderson spat, putting his smoking gun back into his holster.
The oil-covered male to my left whimpered a little bit.
“We need a few people to go to that moon and investigate. Now, trust me, we did not plan on using any of you. It’s just that we’re short on people, is all.” It took a single glance at the rest of the people in the room to tell who was and wasn’t already afraid. “Your mission is simple: go up there, investigate where the signals are coming from, and come down. Capiche?”
“And if we refuse?” said the man from before. His hands were now impatiently on his book. Little did Elderson know, but he had been trying to find his page damn-near this whole time. I took my mind off of him, although his actions so far were really starting to bother me. I wasn’t good at understanding people, but the attitude and the aura he gave off wasn’t necessarily bad, just...I didn’t know if I wanted to be around him for too long. The raised his eyes at me, after noticing that I had been staring at him. Even his eyes made me nervous. They were almost staring into me. I quickly turned back to Elderson.
“Death Row.”
The entire room fell silent. It had actually stayed like that for a few minutes, until the general clapped his hands together. “Now, since you guys are going to be in space together for a good, long while, it’s about time that you get to know each other!” he cheered. Everyone looked around the room at the people in the table. A few of the people observed me longer than I would have liked, really. I didn’t blame them. I felt like the odd one out!
The general tapped the shoulder of the nearest person, who happened to be to the left of the man with the book. He was eerily pale, and his black hair came down to his ears. Something remarkable about him were his eyes. They were such a dark green that they practically shone in the light. I found it rather... odd, in all seriousness. “This here in Nautics-”
“A-actually, my name is B-”
Elderson clasped a hand over his mouth, causing him to let out a small, muffled cry. “Nope! No real names. You are to each go by predetermined code names. You may not tell anyone your real names. Got it?” ‘Nautics’, as well as everyone else in the room, nodded. Nautics put up the sweatshirt of his hoodie. Wow, I never noticed how young he was. He’s either my age, or just a year or two older than me. Next to me, he was easily the smallest person in the room.
“Nautics is here because of his supreme ability for navigation,” Elderson explained. “He’s a zoologist and knows a lot about wildlife also.” Nautics nodded approvingly. Man, this guy really didn’t like to talk much. But this was when I realized something.
“Uhm, if we’re going to a different planet, why do we need a zoologist? I thought life on other planets didn’t exist?” I asked. Elderson rolled his eyes, making me immediately feel stupid.
“Well, we lied,” he said, making me gulp. “We actually have no idea, which is why we’re bringing him and Omega along.” Omega? Oh, right, codenames. Elderson answered everyone’s next question when he pointed to the tan britishman from before, who looked rather appalled with his name.
“Omega? Why Omega? That’s a terrible and lackluster name!” Omega complained. Elderson let out a fierce snarl, giving him a look that screamed ‘deal with it’.
“Your name is Omega because of your multilingual skills and your ability to understand cultures. You are a traveler, no?” Elderson asked, giving a sly grin. Omega jumped at this opportunity to boast about himself. Great, one of those people. People who are so full of themselves that they’ll pause a meeting with the actual military just to talk about themselves. I made a mental note not to confide with him. He didn’t seem like a person who would really help the group anyways. Well, unless we came across some kind of alien. Hah! I doubt the guy knew how to speak Klingon.
Elderson continued to move around the table. “Next is Windstrom.” He pointed at the blond haired woman from before, who groaned upon hearing the general uttering her permanent codename. Her hair was cut raggedly, kind of like an organized mess. Her body was rather slim and toned, although I tried not to stare.
“Really?” she exclaimed. No one paid her any mind. Personally, I didn’t find Windstrom to be that bad of a codename. If anything it was unique, although it left me wondering what her talent was. Oh well, I was sure that the general would explain any minute. Maybe she was an expert with technology or energy? Because wind-strom? I didn’t know!
“Yes, really,” said the general, he walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder, to which she quickly shrugged off. “Which reminds me, Windstrom is your leader.”
The man with the cards and the man with the book all stood up and protested. “What!? No way!” said both of them. Leader? Who cares who’s leader? It’s space! A giant freaking rock. There’s going to be nothing to lead there! The only thing she’ll have to say is ‘don’t fall into a crater’. I really hoped that this wasn’t going to become a drawn out thing, although in the back of my head I knew that it was. Those two didn’t look very... forgiving.
“You heard me. She’s leader because she’s known for it. She saved the lives of a hundred people last year at Mt. Rushmore,” Elderson explained. By this time, both protesters had taken their seats. The one with the book literally growled, while the other quickly mellowed out. I’ve taken supreme note of their reactions. If I was going to spend time with these people, I want to study up, although I was not very good at it. So far I made a mental note not to get too close to the britishman, and to stay away from the big guy, and the other two guys with their assorted items. Hm...
I was not shallow! I was just careful!
“I’ve heard of that. There was a suicide bomber and she managed to distract him long enough for people to escape. Quite a feat, I must say,” admitted the man with the cards. Oh, yeah! I think I’d heard of that before. It was this huge thing and she became some sort of national hero. She was only twenty two at the time. To be honest, I had no idea of the details about what went into that. Huh, maybe she would be a decent leader. Although her attitude was showing otherwise. She was extremely... unamused. She had a hand rested on her chin, boredly. The large man to my right was tapping his foot, eagerly.
“Blah, blah, blah!” The large man next to me uttered, raising up a palm while opening and closing it like it was a mouth. “I’m next, let’s get this moving.” Everyone in the room, including me, stared at him. But none more harder than Elderson, who looked like he wanted to smack the guy in the face. Not only did this guy have a big bicep, but he also has a big mouth. I understand he was trying to lighten up the mood, though, and I appreciated that. I believe that a little humor could go along way, sometimes.
“Alright, since you’re so excited...” Elderson moved down the table so that he was standing right above the silly man, who was smiling proudly. I couldn’t help but realize that the longer and longer this gets dragged out, the more and more Elderson got frustrated. It wasn’t subtle either. I could see him clenching his fists and speaking through his teeth often. “This large man right here is Turbo.” ‘Turbo’ fist pumped in the air, almost hitting the general in the face. Luckily for him, Elderson held back his urge to stab the man. “He’s there for physical support, to put it short.”
Turbo used this as an opportunity. “Yep! I’m a champion in weightlifting. I’ve won tons of Iron Man competitions, and I have a decent credit score!” Heh, I was pretty sure that I was the only one in the room to laugh, well besides for the oil-covered man next to me. Elderson rolled his eyes, while everyone else practically ignored him and turned to me. Oh right, I was next. To be honest, I was slightly excited to hear my codename. I hoped it was cool!
“Then, the youngest of you all, we have Firework.” Awh, man! How original. If they were going to give me a code name based off my skill, Gunpowder would have been much better, although I wasn’t complaining. Firework... I could get used it. “He’s here because of his knowledge of survival and his ability to scavenge. He is also an expert in, you guessed it, fireworks and gunpowder.” Wait, scavenger? I wouldn’t count that as a talent either! If anything, I was terrible when it came to attention to detail and looking for things. It’s the original reason why I was there in the first place! Eh, oh well. I’d explain myself when the mission actually began.
“Exactly how old are you?” asked the man with the blue streak in his hair. I didn’t really expect anyone to ask me questions, and I had accidently hesitated.
“Uh, seventeen,"I replied, nervously.
The man nodded, and sat back in his chair. As if he was pleased with my answer. Elderson took this opportunity to introduce the last three people in the room. He was now behind the man to my left who smelled of oil.
“This right here is Jolly Rogers. He’s in charge of vehicle maintenance," Elderson grunted. I tried to get a better look at Jolly Rogers. He seemed to be a big fan of the color green. His long sleeve work shirt was a dark emerald, minus for the blotches of black that stained some parts of it. He was also wearing a very old baseball cap, which was turned backwards on his head.
“Yep, I’m a mechanic nowadays,” Jolly Rogers explained. Elderson’s jaw dropped in disbelief, causing me to furrow my brow. I wondered what his deal was.
“Are you kidding me? This man built a whole army tank on his own! From scratch! If you weren’t going on the mission I’m sure the military would have hired you themselves!” he explained. Really? A whole army tank? How does he do that? Well, I guess that’s what makes him so suited for the mission. So far, he seems like the most useful person, save for Nautics and his navigation skills.
“Wait, something doesn’t make sense.” Windstrom put an elbow on the table and leaned forward, waving a single hand towards Jolly Rogers. “If he’s a mechanic, then why is his name Jolly Rogers?” she asked. Actually, I think she had a point. Isn’t Jolly Rogers the name of some pirate?
“Eh, just found it fitting,” said the general, as he moved down to the second to last person to be introduced.
Jolly Rogers’ eye twitched again.
“Then we have Spades, regional card player and champion,” Elderson explained, walking behind the man from earlier with the cards. He didn’t seem to be much older than me, though, which gave me some relief. With a sigh, Spades carefully stuffed his cards into his sweatshirt pocket. Almost immediately, I felt conflicted. Something about him made me curious. I had no idea what, but he was a little off to me. I couldn’t explain it, though. It’s just like the emotion that he gave off was unclear. He stared off into space, barely paying attention to the generals words.
“What kind of cards?” said someone in the room. I wasn’t able to tell from whom, but I know just from the way they spoke that it wasn’t Omega or Windstrom.
“Every kind. Blackjack, Poker, Rummy, War, Go-Fish, you name it," Spades replied. It was obvious that they guy was smart, that was for sure. That’s all I was able to read off of him, but I decided to drop thinking about him. I was sure I’d learn more later. Spades proceeded to flip his unkempt, black hair and take out his cards from his pocket. I didn’t know why, but he just began to flip through them, again. Weird.
Elderson moved over to the last person in the group, and the one who I had been the most curious about. Like I said, I already feel iffy about this guy. “And the guy with the insanely large book has the fitting name of Tome. Care to speak about yourself? My throat is beginning to hurt,” said the general, who mockingly clearing and rubbed his throat. I wondered what the purpose of that was...
“Nothin’ to know. I’m a scientist,” replied Tome, flipping his book back open after secretly finding the page he had left off on. A few of us looked at each other. Yeah. I didn’t like him. He’s off. Really off.
“Well, what kind of science? Chemistry? Biology?” Turbo asked, scratching an itch on his tricep. There was an excessively long pause. Tome simply stared at Turbo, who looked around wildly. “What?”
Tome leaned in over the table, tapping a finger it. His voice was low and grave, and it kind of scared me. “I didn’t come here to answer questions. I came here to do the mission, got it?”
Turbo gulped and nodded. Jeez, for a big guy he sure was quick to back down. That brought up the question that I couldn’t help but think. Turbo and Tome were the biggest and oldest people in the room. I wondered who would win in a fight. Eh, it’s not important, but my money’s on Turbo.
Elderson cheered, happy that everyone had gotten to know each other a little bit. Working around the circle, starting at Tome and ending at Spades, he uncuffed us from our chairs, to which most of us immediately stood up and stretched. Including me, my back was killing me! A few other soldiers took the liberty of entering the room to make sure that we all didn’t attack Elderson and escape or something. I didn’t worry, I had a strange feeling that we were all going to be obedient.
“Okay, you have one hour to collect you things that you would wish to take. Any personal items or things. Just make sure that there is a specific purpose for bringing them. Don’t need any extra baggage, ya hear?” Elderson said, before leading everyone else behind the room. I didn’t move. I simply looked around, exasperated. I threw my hands up in the air just as the last person walked through the door.
“What things!?”
***
About an hour later... yeah, you really wouldn’t believe how quickly those guys there at the military work. We were all decked out in some sort of black spacesuit. I had to admit, it was extremely comfy. When this was all over, I really hoped that we could keep them. It was the least the military could do for us, you know?
The last hour was a completely blur. It was full of arguing, screaming, complaining, and even a little bit of crying. I really couldn’t remember who exactly did what, but either way, it really wasn’t pleasant.
We were all lined up outdoors, facing some sort of vehicle. It was a shining alabaster, space ship that gleamed in the sun. It was actually very impressive. It was...like nothing I’ve ever seen before! It was almost like some sort of bus, and the inside was made exactly like it too. The windows were tinted black, and the inside practically glimmered. In the back and the bottom of the ship, were some kind of rockets. Gah, I wish I knew more about technology. I wasn’t sure if the term “rocket boosters” is correct, but that’s what I thought they were. Either way, the general told us that that was how the ship flies.
A few soldiers got us situated in the bus, while the general spoke to us over some sort of PA. “Welcome aboard to the PK-435! A wonderful intergalactical traveler that will take you straight to Callisto!” Oh, good. An autopilot. For a second I thought that’d we’d have to fit one more person on board. Now that would have been a little painful. I sat in the front row with british guy, Omega. In the second row was Windstrom and Jolly Rogers, then Tome and Turbo, and in the last row was Nautics and Spades. I think that they specifically made seats for us. If anything, they were observing our behavior back in that room, and placed us near people who we most likely wouldn’t have had a problem with. After buckling us all in, the soldiers quickly left the vehicle.
Everyone else was speaking to the people around them, and I decided to eavesdrop a little bit. I really didn’t feel like talking to Omega. “So, what do you think this is going to be like?” I heard a voice behind me say. I couldn’t turn myself around to see, so I had to take guesses at who was speaking. I believe the person who had just spoken was Nautics.
Spades shrugged his shoulders, slightly peeved that he wasn’t able to fiddle with his cards. “Psh, this ridiculous. I’m sure this is all for nothing,” he replied. But that prompted Jolly Rogers to grab the back of my seat in an attempt to pull himself upwards, as if he was asking me instead of Spades himself.
“But what if it isn’t?” he asked playfully. Spades shook his head, annoyed. He even let out a groan to go along with it.
“Yeah. What if we come across some kind of space aliens?” said Windstrom, followed by a smack as she clapped her hands together, enthusiastically. “Then it’s up to me to kick some ass!”
“Oh, please,” Turbo followed up. I couldn’t see, but just from his tone of voice I could tell that he was rolling his eyes. I had to admit, it was slightly entertaining listening to Windstrom speak. I didn’t know why, though. “If anyone’s going to save the day, it’s this guy!” He then proceeded to kiss what I presumed were his biceps.
“But, really. We’re all so far away from home-”
Tome interrupted from the third row. “Can you all shut up? I’d much rather this ride be in peace!” he bellowed. As much as we’d all like to talk about what’s on our minds, especially me, a few of the others, like Omega and Spades agreed with him. I had a bad feeling about all of this. I really wasn’t a big fan of going into space. It was really far away... and really high. Like... what if there’s a hole in the ship? What if we all got sucked out and drown in the airless wasteland that is space? Our bodies would never be found, and-
...Nevermind.
“Prepare for liftoff in ten... nine...eight...” said the voice over the PA, emotionlessly.
Oh man... here it goes... I was freaking out inside of my head.
“five... four...three...”
I did a silent prayer.
"one... blast off!"
Not even a millisecond later, the feeling of weightlessness hit my body. I stared out the window, only to see the ground get farther and farther as I no longer felt the loveliness of earth under me. The feeling in my gut dropped lower and lower. A few of the people, like Turbo and Windstrom were able to fully enjoy the experience, whooping and hollering the whole time.
My head was throbbing from the air pressure as we went higher and higher. My heart rate was increasing at a horrifying rate. The lightheadedness was creeping in as we flew towards the stars.
Aaaaaaand I passed out.
Shit.
***
I woke up to an insane amount of screaming, and a hand or something, on my shoulder. My eyes snapped open, only to see impending terror in the distance. We were heading straight for a bright green planet, a beautiful hue that contrasted with the blue of some sort of ocean. It looked a little like earth, but I knew it wasn’t. It was too gorgeous, and we were already caught in it’s gravitational pull.
I brought a hand to my head, only to feel something strange. It was more... furry, than I would had hoped, and blue. I removed the appendage from my head to take a look, and I swear I almost passed out again.
Hooves. Light blue hooves replaced my arms.
“What the... what’s going on!?” I shrieked over the never-ending cries of the people in the back of the ship. I turned to my side to take a look at the only accomplice of which I could see. But I let out a sharp scream at what I saw. Omega had been turned...into a horse? His coat was a dark brown, like that of the tuxedo of which he was wearing earlier, and his mane was a light tan. He gripped onto the seat, flinching as the plane rapidly descended.
“Firework! Prepare for impact!”
What!? Just... just what happened!? I stared in horror, my mind unable to wrap my head around what was possibly going on. I didn’t have time to think. I was a horse, Omega was as well, we’re about to crash! One of my worst fears are about to be met! My whole world was spinning.
I let out a sharp scream as the earth of the planet that we were about to crash into got closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Until I eventually saw nothing.
***
Day 1
11:24 AM
"Firework"
My entire body was spinning. Every single vein in my being was throbbing with a horrifyingly strong velocity. I couldn't feel anything. For a moment I believed I was dead, but I forced that terrible thought out of my head. I was lying on my side, and I felt extremely weird. I didn't feel the same at all. I tried to move my head, and I only succeeded slightly. To my surprise I felt something soft in my face, kind of like hair. I was going to question it, as my hair was normally cut very short, but I didn't. I didn't care. I didn't like pain, although I guess no one ever did.
"Ahh..." I moaned as I opened my eyes. Oh man, did I feel weird, my legs especially. I was surrounded by woodland. Trees and large bushes littered the area within my view. Speaking of that, my view was also covered by red and blue strands of... hair?
I tried to get on my feet, but for some reason, I couldn't stand correctly. For some reason it was very natural for me to stand on all fours. My headache was still killing me a little bit inside, but I had begun to ignore it.
I was very surprised that I was able to stand. I was... just in a crash, right? I believe our space ship crashed. Wait, so, I was on some sort of new planet? Hah, Oliver, you've gone crazy. Well, that was what I tried to tell myself, at least. I knew in the back of my mind that that was exactly what had happened. There was no doubt about it, I could still vaguely remember.
I looked down at my rather bruised self. I had a multitude of cuts on my forelegs.
Wait, what?
I had forelegs!? I turned around to look at myself wide-eyed only to realize that my body was no longer than of a human. I was a horse, but that wasn't the only thing that startled me. I had wings.
I was a horse with wings.
I tried to stretch them, but the pain that occurred was too much to bear. I let out a shrill cry as I almost keeled over in pain again. I let the wings sit at my side until further notice. I wasn't a doctor, but my left wing, or whatever, was either really bruised or broken.
I took a look at my surroundings, greenery was everywhere, preventing me from seeing very far. Luckily, it was still daytime. At least I had something on my side. The sky was a beautiful blue, although there were absolutely no clouds in the sky. Everything around me was beautiful. The fruited trees, the soft green grass, the small stream...
My eyes widened yet again.
I tried to walk, I tried as hard as I could, but I tripped over my legs. Oh, right, horse legs. It took me a minute to get back up so that I could try again. Uhm, how do I walk? I was so thirsty, and the stream was only ten feet away. I put my right foreleg first, and then my left, making my fore and hindlegs stand extremely far apart. Before I lost my balance, I moved my left hingleg upwards, and then the other. Okay, I was getting the hang of it... slowly.
It took me the about fifteen minutes to get to the stream, gaining even more bruises in the process. I leaned my head down to drink some of the sparking clear water, almost losing my balance and topping over headfirst. I drank, and drank, and drank. I was absolutely parched and the water was completely pure. It was the best water I've ever tasted.
I took a deep breathe as my lips parted with the water. I groaned with distaste as some of the cuts on the bottom of my hooves mixed with the liquid, but it was the good kind of pain.
With reluctance, I looked down at my reflection that was practically gleaming below me, and I let out a small gasp. I was light blue; a light blue horse, with a rather long mane. Half of said mane was a dark blue, just a few shades lighter than my coat, which the other half was a scarlet red.
The only part of me of which I still had were my dark brown eyes, which stared back at me in absolute fear.
"Firework!" A familiar voice shouted behind me. I quickly turned my head, a little scared of what was to come. Who was it? Please tell me it was someone from the ship, which was no where to be found at this point. Windstrom? Tome? Spades?
"Who's out there?" I asked.