Gamma Stellaris

Chapter 4

        Leanne pressed forward confidently, acting like she knew where she was going even though she had no idea what the hell was going on. Still, it was time for her to act like a leader, she knew it. She needed to take charge because everyone else was too afraid to.

         "Where are we going?" Kassidy asked softly, starting to calm down. After a few moments of silence, she sighed. "You have no idea, do you?"

         "No. But someone had to do something."

         Stefanie let out a moan. "Let's just find somewhere to rest already, my feet are absolutely killing me. How long have we been walking anyways?"

        "Twenty minutes." Kassidy answered.

         Leanne rolled her eyes. "I told you not to wear those sandals. They have no support."

         "But my feet look so good in them! And this is a sandals outfit!"

         "This is terrifying." Kassidy whispered after a few moments of silence.

         Stefanie slowly nodded. "Leanne, how are you so fine dealing with this?"

          Leanne shrugged. "I just don't feel scared. Sure, I know the situation is bad but I'm not afraid."

         "God, I'd kill for that." Kassidy muttered. "You know, it's a shame these circumstances are so scary because this place is actually kinda beautiful."

          Leanne didn't reply as she made her way further down the hallway. She peeked around the corner before continuing forward. Her foot hit something that skid across the floor.

        She looked down and saw what looked like a blaster from a scifi movie. She slowly bent down and picked it up.

        "Is that a gun?" Kassidy whispered.

         "I guess." Leanne answered, tucking it under her belt.

         "You're bringing it with us?!"
         "We might need protection. How difficult could this thing really be to use?"

         Kassidy shook her head. "You'd better know what you're doing."

           Leanne slowly nudged a door open and looked around slowly. It looked like a classroom. There was a small circle of desks in the center of the room with a larger desk in the corner. There was a chalkboard with a bunch of letters on it, none of them forming actual words.

         "Where are we?" Leanne whispered.

        They branched off to look around the room. Leanne studied the chalkboard, trying to decipher what it was supposed to say.

         "Guys." Kassidy whispered in horror.

        Leanne rushed over and froze beside Kassidy. There were stacks of fish tanks, each filled with water. Inside every tank was a small baby, the umbilical cord still attached. Some babies had pink tentacles starting to grow off of them, others having a yellow glow pulse off of them like a heartbeat.

        "Oh my god." Stefanie said slowly.

        "They're turning humans into them?" Leanne asked softly, lightly placing two fingers against one of the tanks.

        The door knob turned and the girls went rigid for a split second. Leanne quickly grabbed the blaster before hiding behind a book shelf. Kassidy quickly slid under the teacher's desk as Stefanie scanned the room. She went slightly pale before picking a desk up, hiding her face behind it.

         Leanne and Kassidy both groaned.

         A woman walked into the room, humming cheerily as her blue heels clicked against the floor. She smoothed down her short brown hair before freezing, spotting Stefanie.

        Leanne quickly turned to no longer be hidden by the shelves, aiming the blaster at the woman's chest. "Don't move!"

         "What are you kids doing here?" She asked softly. "We can talk this out. There's no need to react so-"

        A guy walked in through the door, holding a jam jar with a goldfish in it.

        "Don't move!" Leanne said, narrowing her eyes.

         The guy studied her in shock for a moment before looking to the woman. "What's going on?"

         "Leanne, maybe we shouldn't be so hasty." Kassidy hissed softly.

        Stefanie dropped the desk, a loud thud filling the room.

         "Who are you?" Leanne asked.

        "Charity Velles. This is my boyfriend, Lonnie Heath."

        "And what are you guys doing here?" Kassidy asked.

        Lonnie sighed. "About twenty years ago, Charity and I accidentally stumbled upon the ship. We snuck on, thinking we'd have a fun time and well... we haven't made our way off. Since Charity has a teaching degree, the leader of the aliens, Xkmotg, agreed to leave us alone if Charity ran a school for the kid aliens."

        "How do we leave?" Leanne asked.

        "You have to get an exit key card or an override card." Charity answered. "Both are almost impossible to get your hands on. I was never given one."

        "Great." Stefanie muttered.

        "What's happening with the fish tanks?" Kassidy asked.

        Charity sighed. "Those kids are being turned into aliens."

        "And you're just letting them?!" Kassidy hissed.

        "What do you expect us to do?!" Lonnie snapped. "We're lucky that they even let us live! We can't go trying to mess with them!"

         "Well... we're looking for somewhere to stay." Leanne said softly after some silence. "Think you guys could help us out?"

        "You can stay here. This is the summer semester, so until school starts again you're free to stay here." Charity said softly, smiling.

        "Thanks." Leanne whispered. "That means a lot. And uh... sorry for pointing a gun at you guys."

        Kassidy pulled her phone out to call Jared as Charity shrugged. "Water under the bridge."