Across the Universe | D. Djarin

Four times

The skin on my right hand tinged painfully as I sat down in my seat. While I was helping Din repair the cockpit I accidentally touched biting hot metal that had been sealed shut by a blow torch. It stung badly but it wasn't the worst injury I had. I placed my index finger in my mouth and gently sucked on it to try and ease the pain. Though I'm not entirely sure how it would.

"Okay, repair's all done." Din said as he entered the cockpit with the child and sat down in the pilot chair.

"Let's see if we can get this thing going once and for all." Din said as he turned started the ship up and the engine on. The ship hummed to life and shook as we raised up off of the ground.

Suddenly, the ship shuddered as Din crashed into the side of the cave. I couldn't help but flinch at the impact. Praying that it wouldn't stop us from taking off. The ship was already fragile enough.

Din steered them away from the side of the cave and proceeded to bash the other side of the ship against the side of the hole they had made in the ice.

"Careful." I muttered. Unable to stop myself from wincing again.

"Sorry." Din replied quietly.

Finally, he steered the ship upwards and out of the hole. I squinted against the bright sun as the light finally hit my eyes again. I felt blinded by it for a moment before my eyes adjusted to the light. We had spent far too much time in that cave.

The razor crest flew out of the planet's atmosphere and back into space. I felt a jolt of joy run through me at the familiar sight of space. There was a moment in that cave when I never thought I'd see it again. And I'm more than happy to have been proved wrong.

"Wake me up if someone shoots at us. Or that door gets sucked off its rails." Din said. The lady spoke in her language, she sounded afraid at his words and I couldn't blame her.

"I'm kidding. If that happened, we'd all be dead. Sweet dreams." Din said before he crossed his arms and settled down.

"He's kidding." I tried to reassure the lady, but I knew that it was a possibility. Let's just hope that doesn't happen.

I closed my eyes and settled back into my seat. It took me a while to start to fall asleep as my mind was running with different scenarios, but I eventually drifted off to sleep. Which was unfortunately not as restful as I would have hoped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My feet ached as I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I could hear the tapping of multiple legs chasing after me, thousands of spiders were on my tail. I had a brief moment where I realised that didn't make any sense. I recognise this forest, I'm home, there shouldn't be spiders here.

But I kept running. My lungs burned for oxygen as I kept my arms and legs pumping. Tears were streaming down my face and I kept trying to hold back a sob. This made my breathing even more arduous.

The adrenaline that was running through my system made me practically unaware of the pain that was shooting through my bare feet. Everytime I stood on a stick or a rock I hardly even noticed.

The forest where I usually feel safe felt haunted. The darkness made it far more terrifying than it ever has been. Tall trees leered over me and eyes glowed in the dark like headlights. The fear of the unknown tightened my chest and made me wish to be back home, in my bed. Where I was safe.

But I couldn't go home. I had to keep running. I promised my mother that I would keep running. My heart ached at the thought of my parents. They couldn't be gone, they just couldn't. It didn't make sense.

Suddenly, the loud roaring of an engine grew overhead. Bright lights appeared in the sky accompanied by the massive shape of a starship. An imperial starship. I froze up. Stumbling to a stop and falling to the ground. I cried out in pain when my hands and knees hit the hard ground.