Chapter 4: The Wormhole

64 2 0
                                    

We were all excited about going to a circus in space. Well, everyone except for Debra who seemed more concerned.

"Excuse me," Debra said to Zara. "I hate to be a party pooper but do you really think that's a good idea? I mean, we do have that meeting with the Cosmic Order. Shouldn't we be rehearsing what we're going to say or going through orientation?"

"There'll be plenty of time for that," Zara assured her. "But now is not the time for that. Now is the time for fun."

"Yeah, take a chill pill," Brian told Debra.

Debra glared at him.

"Everything is taken care of," Zara said with a grin. She turned and left.

After Zara was gone Debra chewed her lower lip. "I don't trust her," she said.

Brian rolled his eyes. "Oh, please, if we had met Santa Claus you would say you don't trust him because he breaks into people's houses."

"I don't trust her either," Tak interjected. "Then again, I really don't trust anyone."

"You trusted me when you gave me my Zeron Crystal," I pointed out to her.

Tak gazed at me. "Who says I've ever trusted you? Your Zeron Crystal chose you, not me."

That stung like a knife through my heart.

"Maybe we shouldn't call each other by our real names," Judy suggested.

"I think you're all worrying over nothing," Brian said. "Now, let's check out that food dispensing machine."

Brian went over to the machine and pressed a yellow button on it. The machine dinged and an orange cube popped out of a square opening on it. Briand picked it up and sniffed it.

"Is that cheese?" I asked.

Brian took a small bite out of it, then made a face. "It's not cheese," he replied. "Whoever invented this food must have come from a planet where the people don't have tastebuds."

I then noticed Debra heading in the direction of Zara

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

I then noticed Debra heading in the direction of Zara.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"I'm going to ask Zara about the Quantum Device," Debra replied. "At least we can get that out of the way before we waste time at a circus."

Debra/Emerald Warrior P.O.V

I went through the ship looking for Zara. But the ship was built like a maze. No matter where I go everything looked the same with silver walls and sliding doors.

Where could she be? I wondered.

I saw a few of the crew members dressed in silver uniforms and helmets. When I asked them if they know where I could find Zara they totally ignored me.

They either didn't have a universal translator or they were just being rude.

I turned a corner to another long corridor.

Boy, I wish this place had a wall map like the one at the Mall, I thought

As I was passing a door I heard a grinding sound coming from inside. It sounded like metal grinding up in a machine.

I then saw two red and yellow buttons by the door. I guessed one button opens the door and the other shuts it. I decided to try pressing the red one first.

Just as I was reaching for the button the door suddenly slid opened and standing there was Zarawith a big creepy smile, her blue eyes burning into mine.

"You're not supposed to be here, Emerald Warrior," she said, still grinning.

"Yes, well, I just wanted to--"I started, but Zara cut me off.

"We have rules on this ship," Zara said. "Rules that everyone is expected to follow. And the most important rule is no one may ever enter this room!. These rules are there for a reason and it can be quite hazardous for those who break the rules. It'd be such a pity if something unforeseen were to happen to you."

As she was telling me all this her smile never left her face and I've got the eerie feeling that she was threatening me.

Before I was able to say anything Zara waved her hand and said, "Goodbye," then the door slid shut.

Before I was able to say anything Zara waved her hand and said, "Goodbye," then the door slid shut

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

Well, I guess there was nothing more I could do, but return to the others. Though I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something not right about Zara. Something sinister. Or I could just be paranoid. At any rate, I'm going to keep my eyes on her."

As I began the long walk back I wondered if I should tell the others about my suspicions. Then I decide against it. They would just say that I'm worrying over nothing and they'd be probably right.

Toby/Zeronia P.O.V.

Judy, Brian, and I were trying to get the food dispenser to dispense something other than orange squares. We discovered that it can also dispense little cups of blue liquid that taste like paint remover.

Tak was studying the machines on the ship and saying that their technology didn't match. That they came from different worlds.

Debra soon strolled back, looking very concerned about something.

"How did you do with the Quantum Device?" I asked her.

Before Debra could reply Zara's voice came from overhead.

"Hello, this is Zara speaking," she announced cheerfully. "I am required to inform you that the ship is about to enter a wormhole. For those of you who've never been through a wormhole before it could be quite nauseating. So, for any of you who have to vomit there is a waste chute on the left wall. Please do it in there. Have a nice day."

"What did she mean about that?" Brian wanted to know.

Suddenly everything turned a fiery red color. The walls and floor began acting as though they were made out of rubber as they moved back and forth as though they were breathing.

Then my whole body began stretching like taffy, my stomach-turning. I felt all kinds of nausea.

Then I saw a thick piece of spaghetti floating past me. Then I realized that it wasn't spaghetti. It was Brian.

We were all being stretched as though we were cartoon characters.

Just when I thought I might die it ended. The walls stopped moving back and forth and we all snapped back to our original shape.

My stomach was still turning and I could feel my lunch coming up. I raced to the waste chute and as I was blowing chunks into it Zara's voice came from overhead again.

"We just left the wormhole," Zara said. "We should be arriving at our destination in about an hour. Just about the time, it would take for you to recover... I hope."

Everyone looked as sick as I felt. Brian didn't even make it to the waste chute before he lost his lunch.  The only one who seemed unphased was Tak, but that was probably because she went through wormholes many times before.


Zeronia And The Circus At The Edge Of The UniverseWhere stories live. Discover now