ELE

Chapter 3: Scrap Ship

"Groan..." I shuffle out of my bed, stepping onto the cold steel below.

"Look who's up." Shell greets me as I walk out my room.

"What are your beds made out of? My back feels like it's split in two."

"You got the one Zilla broke."

"I get the scraps?"

"Yes you do."

"Well, I better say good morning to everyone else."

"Let me give you some advice, don't go into Zillas room."

"Why?"

She just walked away while throwing me a key.

"What's this?"

"Give it to Jon!" She yells from another room.

I walk to the broken doorway, key in hand.

"Jon?" I see a red light flashing near the front of the room.

"Oi, just bug away will ya?" A small voice emanates near the light.

"Got a key for you."

I throw the key towards the light, backing away as to not bug Jon.

"Come over here, will ya?"

I walk over to the light, seeing Jon's face for the first time.

Jon was a bird-like creature, with human-like hands and wings on his head.

He had a scar on his forehead, reaching his nose then stopping. He was sitting on a chair.

"Woah, did not expect to see a bird today."

"Hey kid, did not expect to see someone as nauseating as you today." Jon tips his head over and laughs.

"Are you an air controller?"

I have only heard legends of air controllers, known for their culture of not using their hands and becoming elders at very young ages. Also, they were all birds.

"How'd you guess?" Jon laughed again while elbowing the air.

"Anyways, what did you need me for?"

"Just needed to see yer face."

"So, that's all?"

"What'd you think, I was gonn' kill ya?" Jon laughed yet again, almost falling out of his chair.

"What is this place anyways?"

Jon turned around in his chair, facing the red light.

"Here, lemme show ya!" Jon slaps the light, making a loud buzzing noise as lights turn on around me.

"Woah..." Around me were massive amounts of buttons and levers, all with flashing lights. And a huge window overlooking the _____

"Welcome to the cockpit son!" Jon gets up in his chair, his dwarfish height really showing.

"So you pilot the ship?"

"Yes sir."

"Wait, what are you doing now?"

"You know how a ship works?"

"No?"

"It's on autopilot kid."

"Oh."

I do not know what autopilot means, but I'll trust him.

"Kay, now bug off will ya? And get me some cof-e while yur at it!" Jon motions for me to leave, spinning his chair around to me and back to the light.

I walk off into the living room, running to the kitchen to get some "cof-e."

"Oh, hi." Olo comes from the pantry, his hands filled with food.

"That's a bit of food."

"Just a bit." Olo pushes past me, running into his room.

As I waited for the world's smallest "cof-e" maker, I made an astute observation.

"Shell!" I yell.

"What?" Shell runs into the room, looking very concerned.

"Where is your bathroom?"

Shell just points to a door and leaves.

I pick up the "cof-e" and run it to Jon.

"Oi, thanks kid." Jon looks up at me with probably the worst smile I have ever seen.

"Your...Welcome..." I tiptoed out of the room, not sure whether that smile was a smile or not.

I realized I needed to check out their "bathroom."

The door was rusty, a small window looking out into space.

This is a bathroom, right?

I open the door, the lack of oxygen hitting me like a truck.

"GASP!" I breathe in nothing as I shut the door.

"SHELL!"

"WHAT?" She yells from her room.

"THAT WAS THE EXIT?!"

"YOU PEE INTO SPACE!"

"WHAT?"

"GET A BUBBLE AND PEE INTO SPACE!"

I should have never got stuck in space limbo.

After what seems like hours, the ship comes to a halt, shoving me into the wall.

"Hey, we've arrived!" Jon screams from the cockpit.

"Finally." Olo struts out of his room, food all over him.

"Clean up a bit Olo." Shell also struts out of her room, nothing on her.

"Let me get my stuff!" A loud voice emanates from the top of the ship.

"Oops! Let me shrink you." Olo grabs a remote and presses a button a few times.

"Thanks." Zilla slams open the exit door, slithering into the ship.

Zilla slithers past me, into a room with double doors.

He literally comes out with a massive backpack, signaling for Olo to come.

"Let me help you with that~" Olo runs over to Zilla, putting the backpack onto his back.

"How did you carry that?" I question.

"I control space-steel, a massive pack means nothing to me." Olo scoffs as he skips over to the door.

"Alright, we ready?" Jon comes out of the cockpit with a huge double-barreled shotgun strapped to his back.

"For what?" I shiver.

"For sum MAYHEM."

Oh god.