The Girls Guild Guide to Universe Hopping

S

We're coming down from space, I train my eyes on the Milky Way as it merges into crunchie, and, literally, in the blink of an eye, earth and the rest of our solar system disappear behind a cloud of smoke. "Look," Alex says pointing at the planet. It's a sight to behold, the dusty smoke billowing up and covering the stars, it's odd in crunchie you see, there's no cloud layer or ozone, so we can get down there without any interruption or change in the atmosphere. 

We all marvel at it for a while, "that's what earth will like soon," Harriet says extremely passive-aggressively. And little did she know she was right. I turn and look at her - she's drawing, a whole roll of colors next to her. I place myself down next to her, "you really think so." 

She glances up and lifts her head, eyebrows raised, she retrieves something from her upper shirt pocket, "Robin sent me this," she passes me a picture of earth from above. It glorious the magnificent blue of the ocean threatening to spill over at any minute. The green and white of different land holding the many secrets of yore, fossils buried deep below, suffocated by soil and building and the vast encryption of urban destruction. But my awe is disturbed as she explains what it truly shows, "see the holes." I see them, the edges engulfed in fire. "That's the layer protecting the earth burning out." My eyes widen, suddenly this mission had to go right. If we die it could be another thousand years before someone comes up with a way to live in alternate universes. If the world truly was coming to its end, now was the time to start leaving it. And we, our small ship in nowhere, were the only ones who knew how to do it. Our thoughts are disturbed, "get ready" Beatrice instructs, moving the map to the front of the ship. 

Harriet gets up and stumbles back, dizzy, "want to start a club?" I look at her, addle curving my brow, I just stare at her I know she has somewhere she's going with this. "For explorers like us." I move my mouth and raise my eyebrows in obvious contemplation. She leans upon the edge of the ship, "how about? The girls guild." That's when she loses me. "Think about it, me you and Lula, Hattie we can form a club and write down our discoveries of the universe." I think about it, but I'll have to get back to her on that one. 

The air grew dense and the smell of musty horror lingered callously in the air. Cody's hand, pallid as ever, placed gently on my shoulder. My hand traces the lining of my coat and I entwine my fingers against the tweed. Looking up, I clasp to the brightness of the stars to savor it, a cloud of fear concealing my view as we land. Sticking my eyes shut, I say a silent prayer and look down and survey the wooden deck, we decided to sit in the lookout hole while we landed, just in case, it was a faster escape route. Everyone stood: solemnly, stiff-backed, scared. Can we do this?

I traced the plan indecently, all we had to do was retrieve the keys. But the threat of death plastered the anticipation. A shout from Alex alerted the senses, "we're here, there's the castle and the village." Running over my finger proffered forward to a point onward from the immense stone figure of turrets and archways. "The dark forest, I mean death," I see Harriet look at me, a returning look of addle, "the death forest, that's where Lula and the others are." A cloud of confusion pondered vehemently in my mind, stabbing sharply into my thoughts. 

Surveying the landscape of oppression and despair, Beatrice ran around; pressing buttons, pulling levers, and swathing rope around the scantlings. We were coming into land and then the mission would begin, for better or worse. I felt us hit compacted dirt and the whole boat rattled. Swiftly turning my head she smiled despondently, she knew we may not return, and if we did it would never be the same. She mouthed a watery, "go." Her lips waving goodbye. Plummeting towards her my arms secured around her waist in a tight embrace. Her fingers fumbled through my hair and I could hear the others dismounting by the ungraceful scuffling of boots. I knew I couldn't hold her for much longer. Her body ripples as her heart vibrates. "Cody you and Ruth head to get the keys, the rest of you we'll take back off and head to the forest," she says assertively.