RETREAT .

H U M A _ _ _ _

My boots clank on the grate, drowned out by the loud hum of the cafeteria as the doors slide open: triggered by my movement.

WE ARE NOW APPROACHING 260,245,345,000,000 MILES AWAY FROM EARTH.

The overcom blares, and I think of Xyte. What is he doing right now? What is he thinking? I walk past the cafeteria.

I travel down a hall around the back of the cafeteria, watching a cook slip out to breath. She smiles to me, I just look down at my feet as they move. My feet stop at the grey door of the infirmary. I press a button besides the door. "Name?" It blares.

I clear my throat. "Miles." The door hisses open, and my eyes dart to the bed in the corner, where Theo lays. I quietly walk over. I notice a new nurse besides him, talking away. His face looked anxious and a bit constipated, I snort.
He goes silent when my presence appears. He smiles up at me, and jumps up from his seat, holding his hand out.

"Hi! I'm Desto, you are Miles?" His eyes look straight at me. Through me. He knows me. I raise my chin, and smile politely. "Yeah, are you Theo's new doctor?"

The stare between us shatters, breaking to ashes and dissolving to nothing. He laughs softly, and shakes my hand. "Nice to meet you, Miles." He says, I blink away his denial and nod. "Same to you."

His eyes are bluer than Theo's, and if I didn't know any better I would question his seeing abilities. He walks back to Theo's side, who's laying quietly.

"He's pretty drugged up right now... We noticed something a little unusual in his natural levels, but it shouldn't be anything to worry about." I nod reluctantly.

Theo's eyes roll over to me, and I smile. He smiles back. "Hey.." He slurs. I take a breath I just realized I was holding, and sat down. I planned to get comfortable and chat for a while.

The door opens, and Gore stands in the doorway, a sly grin on his face. "Hey potato." He giggles.

I look up at Gore, and Desto shushes him. He smiles sheepishly to Desto. I look back down at Theo. I open my mouth to say something, but Gore takes my turn.

"We're partnered again, Miles. Let's go," he hums, walking up besides me. I look up at him, then over at Theo.

Theo looks away. "Okay.." I say quietly, standing. Gore leads me out. In the hall, it's silent; almost ominous. I don't like it.

Suddenly, my shoulders hit the wall, hips pushed foreward. My eyes search the air in front of me. There's warm, no- hot. Hot air on my neck.

"How many times have you been persued, looked at, touched?" He asks. "Stop it, we're not really on a job, are we?" Gore laughs. "No." He lets go and backs away. I don't question what just happened. It was thin ice, and I'm afraid of the depths below.

Spur of the moment, I'll convince myself. There's hardly any time or privacy for personal moments. It's hard when the ship is run by teenage boys and girls.

We walk along the halls, his hand occasionally smashes into mine as his arms swing. I stare at the grate below my boots. What are we even doing? This is pointless.

"Why'd you drag me out here?" I ask aggressively. His sapphire eyes slide to me. "Because. You're going to stress yourself seeing Theo in that condition." He says unsurely. Like the ground below his words is soft and crumbly. He's hesitant to walk on it, he might sink.

"That's not true. I'm going back." I announce, turning on my heel. I lean forward, planning to speed walk. Gore catches my sleeve. "Don't. Please." He says, eyes wide.

I glare back at him, and clench my jaw.

Gore sits across from me, kicking my ankles. We eat in silence. The cafeteria is practically empty and I can see the lunch helpers glaring us down. He looks up at me, and a smile peaks at the corners of his lips.

"Thanks for coming with me." He whispers. I shrug, and eat another "fry" off my tray we were eating early lunch. Xyte would kill us if he knew we were here... But the food manager likes me, so we made a deal. I'll be dish duty tomorrow. Great.

My day is pretty uneventful after that, I spent the rest of the day with Theo after me and Gore ate. I showered and went to bed pretty early.

I sigh when I look over at the bed next to me, and no one is here, or someone I don't know has taken Theo's place. Even Gore wouldn't sleep there, he respects me. And I respect that. (Respectception.)

My dreams are pitch white. Blank and tedious. I would yawn if I wasn't unconscious. How funny am I.