Outcast (Camp NaNo 2015)

Chapter 7

"Wh-what is this thing?" Blair stuttered, shocked.

"Our ticket out of here." I beamed. I put a hand to my throat, searching for the seskrenta silver necklace charm which I had worn for over five hundred consecutive Earth years, but I didn't find it. I was still in a hospital gown and underwear. Great.

I could assume that money was on reason that the taxi driver had taken us anywhere, what with me looking like an escaped hospital patient and Blair appearing like an escaped mental patient with his crazed facial expression, dirty clothes and wild hair.

"Deskaanisxkd!" I swore as I marched up towards the ship. So much for a majestic entrance. I guess we'd have to settle for Plan B: overused sci-fi entrances. I held my hand up to halt Blair who had followed me like he was attached to an invisible string. I placed my hand on the metal door and my hand-as well as the area around it-glowed a bright, slightly orange yellow. The door started to open and I took my hand off of the cold metal surface.

The interior of the ship was lit with a soft blue light and looked like the concept art for a high budget 21st century space travel show. It had all the bells and whistles of conventional space travel along with things I had never seen on Earth. I closed my eyes and breathed in the familiar scent of old machinery. It was home away from home. Blair looked like he as about to faint. The human race had't gotten that far yet with their technology. They might have sheep clones, but they hadn't gotten time travel down yet.

He raced around the main console, thankfully only looking but not touching. He was grinning like a maniac and I found myself copying his look of delight as I watched him. There was the main console near the front of the ship, but to the left and right were long hallways, each with over one hundred rooms. I chuckled as he examined the large assortment of buttons, switches and levers that were hooked to the console, seemingly at random.

I walked up to Blair, leaning against the console coolly and said, "What do you say I take you home to meet my dad?" It sounded worse than I was intending, that was for sure. But it was a genuine offer and I could only hope that my expression portrayed that.

Blair froze, "What?"

" You know," I shrugged, "you... me... off Earth? Go to Saturn?"

"Saturn? Won't we... it's space! We won't survive in space! How do we even get there? Do you know how to even work this thing?" A quick study of my face and Blair continued to ramble, "You do know how to work it! It's true! You aren't...you aren't... human!"

"No, I'm not." I admitted, "But that doesn't matter, not really. Does it?" I gave him my best half-pouty face, trying to convince him. He took a step back from the console.

"They're right! They're all right and I tried to side with you! You said that you were human. You lied to me when you said you were like me. I... I can't.... How do you expect me to just go along with you? I've only known you for a few years, but still you neglected to mention that you're some other worldly... thing? Isn't that kind of important?" Blair ranted in panic and anger. I wanted to comfort him, but I didn't know what to say.

How did I comfort a man whom I had built a lie-based relationship with? He wouldn't trust me now, but he was the only friend I'd had over the past four years. But now I was trying to convince him to leave everything he had ever known for what was literally another cold-blooded world! I couldn't make him accept it, but I was selfish and wanted to help myself get through the long journey with someone other than an AI for company.

I couldn't. I stared at Blair, the silence and the tension growing thicker by the second. After a minute, I was nearly sure that I could have built something from it using a 3D printer. I sighed and reluctantly opened the door once more.