Extraterrestrial Invasion: Annihilation

Chapter 8: Betrayal

The escape pods were losing altitude as they fell from the skies and into the seas.

"We're dead! We're dead!" the boys screamed.

The pods plunged into the Pacific Ocean, but they were also watertight, floating back to the surface. They opened the hatch and were relieved to smell fresh air again.

"Where are we?" Eddie asked.

"Let me check," Jason said. He opened the GPS system on the pod and located their positions. "We are 1189 miles south of Hawaii."

"There's no way we can swim that far," Eddie said. "And the pods can't go anywhere at command."

"Our food supply is only for a week," Jason said. "But we can cook the seawater."

"We're doomed," Eddie said.

"We can still wait for some passing ships," Jason said. "Of course they'll help us."

They waited all day in the pod. No ship passed their location. Soon, it was dark. Jason and Eddie ate together. They had tied a small rope so their pods would not get separated.

"So what happened between you and Josh?" Eddie asked.

"I cheated and he noticed it. He said he was going to tell Mr. Jones unless I frame myself for every misdemeanor he caused."

"And why were you sent to the principal's office?"

"Because Josh rigged the water dispenser with ink."

"If we—"

"When," Jason said, trying to sound optimistic.

"When we are back home, you will—"

"The school is gone," Jason said. "We can start over. No more cheating. Promise?"

"Promise," Eddie said, and they hooked each other's pinky.

That night they slept in the pods. Jason had insisted that they take shifts to look out for passing ships, and he took the first shift until midnight.

Two hours later.

"Eddie! Wake up!" Jason called. "There's a ship!"

They flashed the lights on the pods to get the sailors' attention, but nobody saw them. The ships sailed away, and they felt so disappointed.

"They left us..." Jason sobbed.

Feeling utterly defeated, both of them slept that night, canceling the shifts agreement.

***

The next morning, they had breakfast and Jason cooked the seawater for them to drink.

"Hey, what's that?" Eddie said, pointing at a shooting star in the sky.

"Oh, no," Jason said. "Did they track us and now they are hunting us down?"

The shooting star turned out to be another escape pod. It fell into sea and floated to the surface.

Jason and Eddie prepared for the worst, but they were relieved when Don climbed out of it.

"Don!" they said.

"I'm glad you boys are alright," he said.

"What happened?" Jason asked. "We thought you were staying."

"I, uh, got caught letting you go," Don said. "So I have to escape too."

"Sorry for troubling you," Eddie said.

"Alright, now where are we?" Don asked.

"The Pacific Ocean," Jason said.

"How far until we find civilization?"

"We are over a thousand miles from the nearest land," Eddie answered.

"That's good," Don said.

"What?" Jason said.

Suddenly, a spaceship flew next to them and landed on the water. Its door opened and Jason saw the spider again.

"Good job, Don," Colonel Rick said.

"You-you betrayed us!" Jason shouted at Don.

"I'm sorry!" he apologized. "They-they forced me to."

"Enough of that!" Colonel Rick said. "Take them back."

"No!" Jason said. The boys grabbed their helmets and put them on.

"Don, you better stop them or you know what will happen," Colonel Rick said.

"Boys, please," Don begged. "Please, just come.  I-I will make sure they don't do anything harmful to you. Please."

The sad expression in the Quatrodius's eyes softened the boys. Colonel Rick crawled to the pods and was ready to grab the boys.

"I'm sorry too, Don," Jason said, and they plunged into the water.

They swam as quickly as they could. The spacesuits were light, so they did not drown. Colonel Rick forced Don to chase them, thinking his slender body would give him a speed advantage.

"He's getting closer!" Eddie said.

"Wait!" Jason said, looking back in horror.

It turned out, Don had sacrificed himself. He stopped chasing and Colonel Rick was shouting vehemently at him.

"No!" Jason yelled as Colonel Rick pressed a button on a remote control and Don got an electric shook that made him look like his whole body suffered a very severe seizure.

"Let's go!" Eddie said.  "Don't make his sacrifice go waste!"

They swam away.