A Prologue Part Two ~ Growing Up(sample)

Chapter Seven ~ Today, We Fly:

Reine woke suddenly to a loud clashing sound. When she jolted up, she noticed her dad standing over her with two tops to cooking pots. She gave him an annoyed look.

Since she had started staying up late to study, and she did not quite feel upto rising early. Regardless, this was the earliest that she had ever been woken up. It was barely four am, and she seriously thought, 'I'm gonna kill my father.'

Zaül spoke loudly, as if he had not even gone to sleep, "Wake up, git! Today, we fly."

She spent another moment or two and just glared at her father. She threw the covers off herself and lulled her legs off the side of the bed. She stood up at the edge of her bed and stretched tiredly.

She replied slowly and rubbed her eyes, "Okay..."

Her previous thought process was completely struck from her mind, as a lapse in sanity. The young pilot started to walk slowly towards the bathroom. Her father did not waste any time, as he started up the stairs and spoke.

"Gonna go get your breakfast started, git."

His little girl did not reply, as she walked into the large bathroom and started the shower. She stayed in the shower until she was not tired anymore. She started to dress and decided on sweatpants with a t-shirt; however, there was a one-size-fits-all spacesuit placed where she left her clothes.

She left the bathroom, as her father appeared with food and waited on her. She ate quickly, and they left without talking. Excited about flying a spaceship for the first time, she practiced all night in the simulator to make sure her training was fresh in her mind.

Zaül looked nervous again, but she paid no attention to it. She had become quite confident over the past few months of training and only worried a little about what she was about to do. They walked out of the cellar, then out of the front door.

After they reached the elevator, Reine noticed her father pressing a key for the fifth tier; which was a tier she had never visited before. On the long ride up the elevator, her body became numb with something akin to excitement mixed with anticipation. She barely noticed, as the large cylinder elevator slowly filled up with people; by the time they reached their floor, the elevator was packed, and the air was hot from the crowd.

She noticed a drop of sweat rolling off her forehead, as her father reached down and grabbed her hand; which snapped her out of a haze. The elevator doors opened. Zaül pushed his way through the crowd towards the exit and pulled her close behind.

They walked onto tier five of the city and down a street that led to a large building; before they entered the small craft hangars, she noticed her father entering a code into the door. The huge building went on forever and had a high ceiling. She noticed many small spacecraft parked on rectangles.

They walked at a brisk pace, as Reine noticed that only the rectangles with people near them had spacecraft; while she observed a man pressing keys on a terminal. The man did so next to one of the rectangle pads, as they walked past. She turned to watch, as the rectangle next to the terminal opened up and a small spacecraft emerged.

Zaül did not stop until he reached two free terminals. He started by leaving her by the first terminal, as he spoke firmly and walked to the other terminal, "Stay here."

He pressed a few keys and returned shortly, before doing the same at the terminal he had left her at. She watched carefully and noticed: he first entered a username and password, before he selected the ship from a list. The first ship was already delivered to the previous pad, and the second ship would soon be delivered as well.

She felt a pit in her stomach and rubbed it trying to feel better. When the second ship rose up from the floor, she swallowed hard; her father picked her up and carried her towards the cockpit with one arm. She heard a clicking sound and looked up to see Zaül, as he gripped a handle beneath the canopy and popped it open.