Race to the Next World

Sirus and I completely ignored our trackers. When I woke up again, it was still vibrating. Its been thirty minutes. I reached over on the floor and picked up my tracker that was laying on my clothes. There was black light flashing.

Well, that’s not good.

“Sirus, we have to go.” I shook him and got out of bed. When he didn’t move, I talked louder, “Sirus! Let’s go.” I said and grabbed my suit, putting it on.

“Go without me.” he murmured.

“You need to go, too.” I tossed his clothes on him as he began to move. He rubbed his face and rolled his eyes before he fell back into bed again.

Honestly, we shouldn’t be messing around like this. The fact that our trackers are still vibrating means that we’re in a lot of trouble. We have to be somewhere. I zipped up my suit and got into his bed, taking his arm so I could pull him out. There’s no reason for him to be that tired. He has to be all energized and what not. That’s why he’s a Flyer, because he has too much energy.

“Sirus, come on, we’re already late.” I complained as I yanked on him. At this rate, I’ll just drag him on the floor. His arm pulled down, and brought me down on him.

His arm moved around me as I tried to get up; he kept me down to him so I wouldn’t move. “We can spend an hour doing something else.” he said quietly.

“Do you want to get in trouble?” I asked.

He sighed and let me get off him. I picked up my tracker and put it on my belt as he got out of bed. Why is he so lazy? I thought he liked all the super serious jobs because he gets to do stuff.

He murmured curses as he put his suit on, but he barely fixed himself enough to at least look presentable. I rolled my eyes and made my way out of our room. He followed me slowly, rubbing his hair and wincing at the lights.

“What the hell is this?” he groaned.

“If I knew I would tell you.” I said to him. He just pushed me out of the way and continued walking without me. I guess my comment went too far, even for him. I walked behind him. He wasn’t in a hurry to get anywhere. I just followed behind him.

There was a small group waiting. One of the Coordinators I recognized; I went over to him and he made a face while I stood next to him.

“What took you so long?” He whisper yelled. “You’re so lucky Picses isn’t here yet.” he said and turned away.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“I don’t know, but its something huge apparently.” The person next to him said quietly. “Its like so bad that no one knows how to deal with it.” he said.

Well.

Sirus was standing on the other side of me. I looked up at him to see if he was awake. I glanced at his hands. I had to remind myself to get him new bandages because he won’t do it.

Picses had made his way in the room with others following behind him. If its something bad that’s happening, why would he only call a small team of us? If its a big deal, shouldn’t he take precaution? Lately, things haven’t been going our way. I wonder what he’s doing about it now.

Carsus whispered to Picses quietly, and turned away as Picses moved in front of us. “Japan has decided to take action against Russia for the damage caused while we decided to remain neutral.” he said.

“I fucking knew it.” Sirus said under his breath, getting upset. I elbowed him just so he wouldn’t go on whispering curses about how much he hates this.

“But we have an important mission to take care of.” Picses said and Carsus whispered something again behind him. What are they talking about? Picses waved him back so he could talk to us. “An hour ago, Russia’s Mother Ship’s thrusters had been shot.” he said.

It was Japan wasn’t it? I bet they are that angry with what’s going on and they just decided that it was okay to let all of Russia suffer. No one wanted to believe this was happening. I had to keep in my reactions but I was shocked too.

What are we going to do about that? Its pretty serious and I think we should get involved to help them.

Then again, we got raided, so it's kind of hard to be sympathetic that Japan had to get revenge for us.

“Even though we are against them, we will not let millions of people die out in space unlike what Japan plans to do.” Picses said. “The Americas will be taking over Russia,” he said.

We’re offering our services to Russia, the nation that raided us and gave us problems. I pulled my lips in to keep in my outburst. I was bitter, but at the same time, I knew this was the right thing to do. I was still upset about what happened, I just had to ignore it.

“We will not be fixing their thrusters. For now, we will only anchor them with our lines.” Picses said as Carsus began whispering to him again.

Now I really wanted to say something.

We can’t just go out there and do that! Is he out of his mind? If Japan see us, they will kill us like its nothing. I wanted to say something, anything, everything. I couldn’t. My voice was caught in my throat and I couldn’t protest.

We’re going out in space.

I’m going out in space. Again.

This is not fair.

My fingers tapped over my clear helmet. I stared down at it, biting my lip, and trying to control my anxiety. In my mind, I was panicking. We have to go out there on a dangerous job. I know Picses won’t try to leave us unprotected, but its still a crazy idea. My fingers held the helmet tightly; I had taken off my bandages a while ago but I could see the feint wounds on my skin that were healing.

Connect Russia to our lines. That’s our only job.

“Gonna cry?” Sirus asked behind me. I turned around and looked up at him. Could he tell I didn’t like space. I looked down at the ground as my fingers held the helmet tightly.

“Leave me alone, Sirus.” I said bitterly.

He laughed as his hand pushed against my shoulder. “Stop being a bitch. Space is nothing.” he said and walked by me, putting on his helmet. I should’ve hit him, or yelled at him, or something.

I stayed quiet.

I put my helmet on and walked behind him. A few others had made it in behind me; the doors locked and there was a red light in front of us. We can’t get out. There’s no escape. I took a breath.

Just twenty minutes. It shouldn’t be that bad.

Picses won’t be able to get me with that cruel joke of his. We dropped from the hatch but I didn’t freak out. I’m sure the Flyer’s were planning to have their fun out here. The rest of us however weren’t that excited, especially when we can see Japan about to really destroy Russia.

There were massive ships in my view. I hadn't realized how all of us were around each other.

I could see fighter ships in the far distance. Africa, Europe, and Japan were still going at it. We couldn't help because of the blow Russia did to us.

Now we're trying to go behind Japan's back and do a good deed.

I turned on my jet pack and moved towards the large black ropes hanging from the base of the Mother ship. The closer I got, the bigger the ropes got. There were enough for each of us to take and bring down with us over to Russia’s ship. I grabbed the handle as I turned on more force on my jet pack.

I was sort of stunned with the way I saw Russia’s ship floating, slowly falling in the abyss of space; their ship wasn’t upright, it was slowly turning on its side. It would be hours before they were in a position that would really be fatal. For now, nothing was happening. Picses caught Japan in time. I kept moving towards the ship, holding on to the big rope with wires sticking out.

I could see a few ships heading towards us.

Japan knows we’re trying to help Russia and they don’t like that one bit.

My heart began to race in my chest. Please tell me this is not it for me. None of us were playing around...none of the Coordinators were playing around. We don’t want to die out here. I landed on Russia’s ship just before I was hit with one of Japan’s missiles; it just hit the side of Russia’s ship and I felt the blow back. They are going to blow this ship up if they have to.

I didn’t worry about the actual lines getting damaged, its going to take more than a bunch of hits and explosions to tear this down. However, I don't want to die.

I brought the end of the large rope down on to the ship’s metal, and it stuck on, burning through the metal and getting a good grip. My screen flashed green when the rope locked on. As the rest of them got the rope down, the ship began moving up right, our ropes pulling it up. Japan’s fighters were flying around us, and they were purposely trying to hit the ship to get the ropes off.

We won’t be getting out of here anytime soon.

I looked around and found the rest of them running. My heart tugged in my chest. I’m always the last one to do anything. I turned on the gravity for my suit, and I could feel my weight as I moved. I ran behind the rest of them, trying to get out of Japan’s view. Its not like anyone knew where to go, we were just running.

Japan had stopped following us. When I glanced back, I saw how they were flying around the ropes, trying to get them to break off but they were just doing more damage to Russia’s ship. The ropes weren’t going to come off that easily. I looked forward and saw that someone had opened a hatch. We’re not allowed to go in Russia’s ship but this is the safest place we have right now.

I got inside, falling to the ground and moving out of the way so the last person could get in.

Inside was dark.

There was just one light, and that’s where I migrated to. The blue light was flashing as I got closer. There was a button that had words on it. I didn’t know what it said but I pressed it anyway. The glass door in front of me opened, and I walked inside, the others piling on top of me to get in as well. We crawled out and the door closed behind us.

I pulled off my helmet and breathed deeply. I was so tired from running, and now we’re in an enemy ship. This is the worst thing that could happen. I don’t want to be here. How are we going to get back?

The lights were flickering, their main computer not powering on yet. I looked around. We were in a hallway, an empty hallway. I couldn’t hear anything going on. Where are the Russian forces? I know they didn’t just disappear.

“We’re not getting out of here easily.” Zik said quietly beside me. I heard talking somewhere else, and I think that meant some Flyers were huddled together.

Oh. Where’s Sirus? Is he over there?

“There has to be a main computer somewhere.” Tibi said and moved against the wall.

“Its probably shut down. Nothing's on.” I said quietly and walked behind them.

“This is going to be tough. We won’t be able to pass Japan’s forces.” Zik said. I pulled out my tracker, seeing the flashing green light. We’re still in range to call for help. Our forces would have to get through to Japan first before they could come get us.

My collar was pulled on and then I was yanked up fiercely. Only Sirus would do this to me. If anyone else had touched me, he would’ve hit them. I didn’t move as he grabbed on to me.

“Lets go.” Someone said, talking loudly. That’s not a good idea. I know there’s no Russians here, but we don’t want them to find us if they end up coming down here.

“We can’t go anywhere, Kaisus. We have to find a way out without Japan killing us, first.” Zik said.

Sirus pushed me forward without a word. I didn’t know where he was taking me, let alone if I should let him take me anywhere. But his arm made it around my waist, pulling me on where he wanted me to go. I didn’t like how he held me like that. I would have said something but then others would notice and I don’t want to deal with the attention. Sirus didn’t say anything as he kept me going.

I heard murmurs and mumbles as they passed by. Tibi was trying to read something on the wall. She sounded out the words and tried to put them together in her head. As we kept going, she would stop and get close to the wall, trying to see in the dark and reading what it says. Then finally she whisper yelled us over.

“This is it.” she said.

There was supposed to be a system that tracks who goes in and out. That wasn’t working. I tapped on the black glass, wondering if it would turn on but it didn’t. Sirus pulled me back, and the rest of them moved us away.

When the system is down, its okay to just kick doors down apparently. It was metal, but one Flyer was smart to use the armor in his suit so it was enough force to kick down the door. So with the others, they definitely got the door down.

I heard the dented metal hit the ground. There were big dents in the door. Here I thought that they wouldn’t be strong enough to kick it down, but they managed. Flyers have nice suits. I have to talk to whoever has been engineering them, I need an upgrade.

I walked around the Flyers who were excited about being obnoxious and kicking a door down, trying not to get close as they just about started yelling. Someone behind me shushed them because they’ll be the reason we get caught.

The lights flickered slightly which means their computer system is trying to reboot. We walked as quietly as we could, our boots hitting the floor and echoing. No one was coming for us yet, we might have a bit of time to get help, or at least get ourselves help. I wonder where there officials went, or where anyone went. Its odd to not see someone down here. Where would they go?

Maybe everyone is sleeping.

Or they’re dead.

“So this is their control room.” Someone said as we walked inside. The lights kept flashing on and off as we walked around the spacious room. There were a bunch of computers around, and a big one in the middle. If I turn it on, I bet it would look the coolest.

“This is ridiculous.” Sirus said under his breath.

Tibi went up to the big computer first and found something to read. She continued to sound out the syllables, putting it together till she was saying the words.

“This is the captain’s room.” she whispered to us.

This is where I come in.

I set my tracker down on the glass table. I touched around the computer, looking for a manual way to turn it on. There was a button that I felt against my finger under the glass. When I pressed it, the lights on the computer turned blue and flashed more screens up in front of me. I picked up my tracker and changed the settings so I could get in their computer.

“Dobro pozhalovat.” it said, just as other computers spoke to the rest. Sirus snickered behind me, getting more and more irritated. I looked at Tibi quickly and she translated for me. “Instruktsii.” It said.

“Put in a command.” she said when someone nudged her. I just handed her my tracker. She knows what she’s doing and she knows the language well enough to get by.

She was trying to sound out words to herself, figuring out what she wanted to say. “Vzyat’ na... se..bya sistemu.” she said hesitantly. The Computer loaded and the settings changed. It was in English too.

It waited for a password.

Sirus moved in front of me and typed it in. I tried to peak over his shoulder to see what the password was but he shoved me away when I was being overbearing.

Another screen showed up, wanting Captain Iris’ password. I rolled my eyes and sighed. What’s with this system wanting so many passwords? Why did they change everything? Sirus put that in as well as other Coordinators sighed with frustration. I thought Picses would at least be smart enough to change all the passwords.

All the lights turned on and everything was up and running. Now America has a second ship. We never intended to do a take over, that’s what Picses told us, but we’re stranded and we need help. This is all we’ve got.

“So now what?” Zik asked.

That’s a good question.

“We have to find a way out of here.” Someone behind me said quickly, nervous and panicking.

“Japan is not going to let us leave that easily.” Tibi said, just as nervous.

“We could fight our way out, but we don’t know how to use any of their machines and weapons.” I said, and thought harder. How do we get out of here? What’s the safest way out? How can we leave without Japan seeing us?

“Then lets learn.” A Flyer said. I know that this will be different. We don’t use the same systems, I even doubt that we run things the same way. They don’t have their divisions divided by half and half. Its might be a hundred to one person.

I looked up at Sirus. “Do you want to do this?” I asked, concerned for him. I know he doesn’t like feeling uncomfortable, and I don’t want him to rage just because he doesn’t know how to do something.

“Are you worried for me?” he began to smile. What if I was? Would that make him want to stay safe? Would he stay here? I don’t want anything to happen to him because it would be my fault.

“I-I...” I had to defend myself. I can’t just tell him that I was feeling paranoid and I didn’t want him to leave because I just didn’t want him to. “Well it might be different, and I don’t want you to have a hard time adjusting to it.” I said.

He stared at me plainly for a moment as the others began getting ready to leave. I really didn’t want Sirus to say yes to this. I think this is not a good idea.

“I’ll be fine.” he finally said as he began to turn away. My hand twitched. I wanted to grab him and tell him to stay. If he gets killed, it will be on me. I stopped myself from grabbing him but I felt myself move forward, wanting to get to him anyway.

“Sirus.” I wanted to stop him.

“Baby?”

Never mind.

My face burned red as he laughed to himself, finding how flustered I was funny. He would do that. He doesn’t need to tease me, especially with all these people around. Other Coordinators were fighting with their Flyers, apparently not everyone is agreeing with the plan here.

It's either we do this or we don't.

Sirus moved closer to me, and I kept my eyes down because I know he’s staring. He shouldn’t do this with other people around. He shouldn’t do this because other people were around.

Sirus makes me incredibly nervous.

“I’m coming back.” he said lowly, his breath hitting my ear.

“I believe you.” I said nervously.

“Good.” he said and left me there on my own. I can’t doubt him because he’s been alive through all this. This will just be another one of his fun adventures. It’ll be nothing in a matter of days.

The Flyers left us. Now it's our job to keep them safe.

Most of the Coordinators huddled together, trying to figure out how to make Russia’s system accommodate for us. Russia’s computers are completely different from ours, so our take over won’t last long. The second their system reboots, we’ll be kicked out.

“This might take a bit longer than we think it might.” Tibi said. It really might; our system was taking longer to load. Our control is limited for now. We don’t have a lot of time. The rest of them put their trackers down on the counter, adding more strength for a take over.

With Japan out there, we really have to push it. We can’t just wait.

“If someone catches us here, we’ll be killed.” Someone said, honestly making the situation worse. We know that, and we don’t need to be reminded.

Everything loaded. Now we had to scramble to work.

“This is probably a Commander’s spot.” Tibi said, and looked around the room. It looked like a Commander spot. Only a large screen in the middle of the room would scream Commander. I touched down on the screen. Zik looked over my shoulder and pointed at something.

I wasn’t going to touch anything if he found something suspicious. I moved out of the way as Zik took my place. He touched everything, and then he stopped when there was a screen that looked sort of like ours.

“They don’t have a person for each fighter. Its one for every fifty.” Zik said.

There was the warning sign. Japan was still here and was not going anywhere.

“I don’t even know how to control five ships at once, I can’t do all this.” Zik said, as the computer showed our small defenses. It looks like our Flyers made it out there. Now we just have to find a way to talk to them. Zik pressed all these things and symbols, not knowing what any of them meant. He pressed things until he found the right button.

If anything, the only orders we can interpret is stop Japan from doing any further damage to Russia’s ship.

“They’ve already gotten themselves into trouble.” Someone said, just as frustrated as the rest of us. Zik was trying to handle the situation just as the Flyers were trying to.

“Excuse me? How about you try sitting in a ship that’s basically hard to control.” one of the Flyers hissed. They can hear us. I looked at Tibi as Zik slammed his hands down on the table.

“Shut up, Kaisus and do your job.” Zik said angrily.

“It really is difficult, everything is more manual than what we have.” Another Flyer commented. I have yet to hear Sirus’ boasting voice with anger and complaints. He should be the first one to find a problem with doing too much work.

“I can’t do this. Aurora, take over.” Zik said and moved. Why does he think I could do this? I can barely handle Sirus without cracking. How will I manage the rest of them?

I moved in front of the screen and saw Japan’s movements. I didn’t say anything as I looked at the screen. There’s finally something I don’t know. This is not fun. I tried to focus, but I heard murmurs behind me. Someone thought I finally cracked. I mean, I did, but they don’t have to say that for me to hear.

I watched Japan on the screen and thought to myself. They’re fast. And they have weapons on them. We need something to use.

That’s when I began searching.

As I searched for an option for the weapons, I kept a close eye to make sure the red marks stayed on my screen. We were doing okay with distracting them for now. I’m sure they’re aware that we’re still trying to figure out what we’re doing. The second they noticed, I had to figure out something quick. I stopped searching for weapons and drew a command on the screen.

I didn’t have to wait long for someone to complain about it.

“You’re crazy,” Sirus said quickly when he saw what I had in mind. I didn’t have to say anything about it because they might have a system that shows the intended path.

“Do what I tell you,” I said.

“I am not-”

“No, he’s right. This is crazy, Japan will only have a better shot at killing us if we form something like that.” someone else said quickly.

“What are you thinking, Aurora?” Tibi asked me.

“Well sure, its dangerous. But that’s only if Japan can react fast enough, plus they love good bait, so I’m sure that can give me time to find something.” I said quickly. Its just like a game of tag, that should be fun for them.

“What the hell?”

That was a Flyer.

“You heard Aurora, do your jobs.” Zik said loudly.

“Are you-”

“For Christ’s sake, just do it.” someone yelled behind me. Finally, some reinforcement. I know its a long shot but if they can just organize together, it will be easier.

“Now how does Russia lock its weaponry?” someone murmured curiously as I tried my hardest to get passed their system. If I can just find out how to get their weapons, I could use one of the my passwords.

“Computer, locate weapons.” someone else said behind me.

A bunch of options showed up on the screen. I was hesitant to go with the one marked in red. Flyers like deadly things. I don’t want them to go wild. I picked it despite knowing the consequences. I just slid my fingers down the screen, unlocking all of it.

“Aurora!”

“We need the help, its the best we got at the moment.” I said. They think its too much but against Japan, it will be enough. There’s not a lot of us here, we need to do everything we can. Some others moved away, spreading out to different computers.

“Japan is bringing more defenses.” someone said quickly.

I really don’t have the patience to keep doing this. What is Japan doing? I thought we were supposed to be neutral. They were kind enough not to even take us over which says a lot. I lost all my patience at this point. I wanted to get out of here, and with Japan causing us problems, its like that won’t happen. I drew on the screen again, a red line following as I made a different command.

“I found computerized ships!” Tibi shouted. It would be great if she would just use them! I don’t have the time to worry about the rest of them. I had a group of Flyers under my control, I’m sure the rest of them could handle a few computerized ships.

I was irritated and angry. Usually I can control it, but I’m about to take it out on Japan. I don’t like it when people do things like this. I thought they were on our side. They know we’re stranded here, yet they keep attacking us. I wanted to see everything just set on fire and blow up. A few of them were off my screen, and soon more of them were off my screen.

I didn’t stop till they were all gone.

“There’s nothing left.” Zik said behind me.

I was still pissed off.

“Always trust, Aurora, he knows best.” Someone else said behind me. I made a face. They shouldn’t rely on me so much. They’re just as capable of doing what I do. Plus, I make mistakes so I don’t need them repeating that wherever they go.

“Guys, we have to get out of here.” Someone said quickly. We all turned around, finding them by the door, looking into the hallway hesitantly. Tibi was sounding out the syllables but they were yelling too fast.

We ran out of the room and I saw them coming for us; we basically ran right into that one. We scrambled to get going the other way. They wouldn’t scream at us in English, but some of them did in attempt to get us to slow down. They were not happy. Tibi was the one that really felt the fear; she knows what they’re yelling at us. As much as I believe in no one left behind, I have to run faster than them.

I didn’t forget what happened before.

I don’t want to be torn apart.

I darted into another hallway and they followed me behind me closely. There were so many incoherent screams and Tibi was crying. I was panicking. I don’t know where we were going. None of this was familiar. We have to find our way back the way we came; our helmets were still there. That’s the only way we’re getting back out into space.

As we ran, I could hear more yelling behind us. There were a lot of corners we turned in an effort to lose them, but then I saw a black helmet laying on the floor. I can’t just stop and get it. The last person will have to swing by and pick it up. There was another helmet, and a few more.

Then I saw that one door we came through.

I picked up a helmet on the floor as I ran by and put it on. I was hoping we were all ready to go out there because I was not going to wait.

We ran to the door, and Tibi tried to unlock it, pressing the blue button so the door would open. Those men were coming. She was screeching as she pressed it faster. Others were banging on the walls as the doors opened. We piled inside and locked the door. Those men ran up against it, and the only thing stopping them from punching through the glass was the fact that we had already opened the hatch.

We got sucked into space, and I finally breathed out, feeling my heart race in my chest.

I have never ran that fast before in my life. I could never do that again.

There were a few white ships that circled around us, getting closer and closer until we could grab on. There was a place I could put my hand. I’m sure its not meant for that, but I put my hand there anyway, and held on as the ship moved.

I saw all the debris of broken and damaged ships from before. Japan was hit brutally, but that does not mean they won’t come back. I want to personally take care of them if they do decide to come back. I won’t have a problem putting them in their place. Their Mother Ship is not far from ours, and I know that in a while, we’ll be getting a few threats from their Commander. I stared back at it as we moved up. Then I thought of how we were going to actually land these things into our own Mother Ship. Its not like we have places for them to go with these.

I didn’t want to stay out here anymore.

I wanted to be in the safety of my own room...No, Sirus is there, that’s not safe. I wanted to be somewhere that wasn’t space. I can’t stand it out here.

We were almost killed out here before.

I also didn’t have a lot of oxygen left. This always happens. Whoever is cruising in this ship needs to stop. I kicked down on the metal, letting them know that I’m actually dying. If its Sirus, I hope he pictures me yelling at him.

They flew around near the open hatch but they couldn’t get in. The rest of the Coordinators got off and we made our way up to the top of the hatch, giving them room to move. I put my hand underneath the railing and held on so I wouldn’t float away. They got creative with landing in places that was not a landing site. These ships would honestly get sucked away but the way the Flyers landed made sure that the ships didn’t have the space to move.

I didn’t have time to wait for them to be all fancy and artistic, I was almost out of oxygen. The other Coordinators were climbing around, trying to get inside as the large hatch began closing. I held on to the railing, making my way to the doors. The warning sign showed on my screen and I wasn’t close enough.

Someone turned on the gravity so I was left dangling in the air. My hand gripped tightly on the railing so I wouldn’t just drop. I looked down at the ground, that’s a long fall.

That’s a really long fall.

Some help would be great right now.

I held my breath as the warning got brighter. I was screaming in my mind. When can I stop holding my breath? My chest was starting to cave and it felt like I was going to choke. I haven’t been in this situation before so its not like I would know how to not die. I didn’t want to look down, none of the other Coordinators wanted to look down.

Our Flyers were running our way. My fingers were slipping from the railing. I tried to lift my other arm up, but the second I put too much strength on it, I felt the pain from my healing wound, and I let go of the railing.

I was falling.

I couldn’t scream, I didn’t have the strength or the oxygen. That wasn’t going to matter now since I’m about to hit the ground.

I landed in Sirus’ arms before I could hit the ground. He staggered back, almost dropping me and I clutched on to him so he wouldn’t do that. I was shaking from the fear. That was a long fall, a very long fall. I can’t believe he actually caught me. In fact, I thought he wasn’t going to make it over to me.

I pulled off my helmet and took a deep breath. I was holding it in for so long that I forgot that I needed to breathe to stay alive. My chest was burning and my heart was beating so fast that I thought it would explode out of my chest.

“You owe me.” Sirus said.

I wiggled out of his arms and shoved him away. I save his life every day, I don’t owe him anything. Catching me was the least he could do for always watching his life. I stumbled my way over to the doors and the other Coordinators just wanted to get out, just like me. We can’t take this anymore. Someone just get us out.

Tibi put her hand up on the scanner and the doors opened. We just fell to the ground, breathing heavily. This is not fun. This is why I hate space. I stayed on the ground, feeling my body shake. I couldn’t move. I was that shocked.

“You guys over react too much.” A Flyer said as he stepped over us.

“Its not even that big a deal.” Another said as he walked by.

They don’t know what its like for people that barely go out there on a regular basis. We don’t do our jobs out there. We’re not going to act all normal about it. And then they have to consider that we almost died. I don’t care that they get this thrill all the time, we never experience it. I never experience it. So excuse me for believing that almost dying is a big deal. This was the worst day of my life, I hope I never go through this again. I can’t stand being in space.

I heard Picses voice down the hall. The other Coordinators scrambled to get up, but not because our Commander was coming and we have to be obedient soldiers. No. They were angry. They had things they needed to get off their chests.

“You’re back.” Picses said to all of us.

“Did you not notice a storm of Japanese fighters out there, our Flyers were almost killed.” Tibi said quickly, getting mad. I was livid. I’m just shocked that Picses didn’t even asked if we’re okay. Didn’t he notice us struggling?

“Yes. I did notice. But there was some malfunctions with the Main Computer, something about a transfer.” he said. We all drew back our anger, its our fault we didn’t get help. Our system was moved over there. That’s a mistake.

“Commander Picses, what are we going to do with all of them knowing passwords to everything?” Carsus asked, glaring at us.

“I’ll ask Iris to change them, but for now, we might as well go set the Computer again. Its time for a complete take over.” he said as he walked by with his officials. I sighed, running my hand through my hair.

We did a pretty dangerous job.

And we survived.

I stayed around, waiting on Sirus who decided to just talk to one of the Flyers. Tibi stood next to me quietly, and I could hear her breathing. She was still freaking out.

“Are you okay?” I asked her quietly.

“I’ll be fine.” she said. “You?”

“I’ll get over it.” I said plainly.

We didn’t mind waiting patiently for our Flyers. I wanted to say something else to Tibi but we’re barely that close. If only Taurus was here, I would complain about how unfair life is. I wouldn’t be able to shut up if Taurus was here. I sighed to myself and closed my eyes.

Sirus finally walked by, not saying anything. I walked beside him, staying just as quiet. I wonder what his problem was now. He doesn’t just not talk. Was he nervous? What’s he thinking about? I didn’t ask. I just stared at my hand, and wondered about all these things.

“You’ve been quiet for a while,” I murmured as we walked back to our room.

“I didn’t know it bothered you.” he said half heartedly. That was enough to make me stay quiet. If he’s mad, I won’t push him any further than I have to because it will make it worse. “What’s your problem, Aurora? Its clear you have something to say.” he said and stopped walking.

“N-no, I was just curious.” I muttered. He kept his eyes on me, waiting for me to say more. I didn’t have anything. My silence irritates him.

“Well-”

“I told you I was just curious about why you’re being so quiet, there’s nothing to it.” I explained myself quickly.

“All you have to know is that I’m pissed off.” he said and turned away from me, walking again.

“Si-”

“What?” he said sharply.

“I-I...never mind.” I said and looked around a bit. This time he wasn’t taking it. He looked down at me, and he wasn’t going to turn away. He waited but I didn’t say anything. All the staring was making me uncomfortable. “I’m just going to...go.” I said, just about to leave.

He pulled me back quickly, and his hands moved to my face as he kissed me roughly. He does that unexpectedly now. I didn’t have time to react. I didn’t have time to think if I wanted him to treat me this way or not. I was in shock. His hands were pulling me forward, and he didn’t give me a chance to pull away to ask what was wrong. He was being hesitant.

Before I knew it, he pulled away from me, and without a word, he walked on without me.

I was stunned.

I watched him walk away but I didn’t move. Why is he always doing this? Its not fair. He never gives me time to react. Now I was alone, thinking about what I was going to do because its clear that I was a bit confused.

Is he that nervous?

Was today that much for him?

I stared down at the floor. It took me a while, but I ended up walking again, following behind him without saying a word.