Stellar

Chapter 9

We walked through the doors that led from the spacecraft to the bunk room. Nothing had changed; the same beige walls and shiny black floors. The bed Beau should have slept in. The kitchen, the couches, and the bathrooms all left untouched. Made to have us feel safe, but they sadly failed.

Seven of us walked through the door to the second leg of the race, and only four returned. Four unfortunate souls. Walking into the bathroom for a hot shower, I hummed the song "unfortunate souls" from the Little Mermaid.

Scrub my skin raw. Shampoo my hair. I repeat this process for who knows how long until my skin tingles and burns slightly. I dried off, dressed, then made my way back to the bunks.

I spotted Mary sitting on the couch, her orangutan picking at its toes. Her blonde hair had grown longer in the last few weeks of being here, as if her hair alone had been put on steroids. Her eyes were red and fresh with tears, indicating she was still crying. I would be too. The only reason I wasn't completely crushed from losing Beau is because he was never here. At least, not my Beau.

I jogged over to Mary, my sweatpants rubbing together. I beelined around her orangutan and sat next to her.

"She loved yo-" I started.

"I could have saved her," she said stiffly and aggressively.

"No, she would've gotten hit with lightning either way. If she was fighting with us, she would have died even sooner." I said softly.

She started sobbing again, burying her head in her hands. She hunched over, but then winced in pain.

"What's wrong?" I asked alarmingly.

"It's nothing," she said quickly, "Don't worry."

"It's something alright," I said firmly, "Let me see."

She slowly sat up, grimacing widely. She lifted her black shirt slightly to show a swollen, bloody gash right next to her belly button.

I gasped and said, "What the hell, Mary?! You should have told someone! David! Leo!"

They raced over and asked what was wrong. I told them about Mary's wound and had her show it to them. Leo immediately jumped to action, retrieving the first aid kit. He opened the box and dug through the contents, retrieving a bottle of rubbing alcohol and some gauze.

"I didn't want to be a bother....." Mary said, "Tate needed our help." She sniffled, her nose red line Rudolph.

"Bother or not," Leo said, "You're important to this team. You need to take care of yourself."

He unrolled the gauze and took the cap off of the rubbing alcohol. He tipped the bottle onto the gauze, soaking the bandage in alcohol. He told Mary to sit down and pull up her shirt. She blushed furiously, but lifted her shirt so the gash was exposed.

He pressed the soaked gauze to the gash, making Mary cry out in pain. A little bit if pain would be better than an infection. I offered her my hand to squeeze, and she didn't pass that up. Tears poured from her eyes profusely. How much water dose this chick have in her?

He took the gauze away and handed her a pink pill to help her go to sleep.
She took it with some water and gulped it down with a pained look. Leo held her arm and carried her to her bed, tucking her under the plain beige covers. Her orangutan followed her, crawling up right next to her.

Leo took off to the showers with a ghostly look on his face. I looked to David and he took my hand.

"You okay?" He asked me.

"Yeah, a few bumps and bruises but I'll be okay." I replied.

"No, I don't mean physically." he said, tapping at his temple.

"Oh....." I said, "Well, losing Beau was hard....... but it would have been worse if he had actually been here. I wouldn't have been able to let go."

"I understand. I had a little sister back at home......" he said sadly.

"Really?" I asked. I don't know why, but it surprised me quite a bit. He never talked about his family, not until now.

"Yeah.... her name was Nina.... she was only seven." He sounded sad, but I would be too. Beau and my other sibling, Jazmine, also died
Back on Earth.

It's so strange to think of Earth, as if it's a foreign place. It's hard to think a smalltown girl from North Dakota could end up here.

"That's so sad... I had a little sister also...... she had enough confidence to fill a room. If she wanted something, she had to have it right then and there. Beau was exactly like the alien made him out to be." I said.

"I can believe it...." he said with a chuckle. "I bet the real Beau was great."

He looked up at me, daggers blazing straight into my eyes. His own eyes actually held some visible emotion for once. He started leaning in towards me slowly.

Oh God, was he going to kiss me? I mean, I don't not want him to kiss me, but I didn't expect it. But before I could think any more, be pressed his lips to my forehead softly.

All time seemed to stop. I felt like I was falling, but in a good way. I closed my eyes as goosebumps spread down my arms. I felt weightless in that moment, like I could walk on water. And just like that, he pulled away.

"I umm.... think I'll go to bed. You should too. You need as much sleep as you can get." he told me, his face redder than a strawberry. He squeezed my hand briefly, walked to his bed, and closed the curtain around his sleeping quarters. His bear stayed on the couch, probably because he can't climb the ladder to David's bed.

The kiss had left me numb. I sat alone on the couch, with Sunil as an acceptance. He was laying on the floor, using my feet as a pillow.

Leo walked out of the boys showers, towel drying his hair. His feet squeaked on the floor, indicating they were still wet.

"G'nite Erika." he said across the room.

" 'Nite Leo." I replied. I didn't want to leave David's bear alone, so I grabbed the comforter from my bed and dragged it over to to the couch. I laid down on the stiff leather with Sunil cuddled up right next to me. The grizzly was sprawled out on the other couch, barely leaving enough room for anything else.

I closed my eyes and tried counting sheep, but they all turned into Tate's goat, prancing along with a little purple ribbon on one of her horns.

I sighed and tried to fall asleep, preparing for the day ahead.