A Spark of Hope

Can A Heart Be Turned to Stone?

Warning for death and body horror. Proceed with caution!

Mirror, mirror, what's behind you?

Save me from the things I see

I can keep it from the world

Why won't you let me hide from me?

Often when she was focused on her work, she would zone everything else out so it was hard to get her attention. It was a major advantage for Hope since she was able to get a lot of progress done faster but as a result, she would block out her friends trying to get her attention. This tended to happen a lot so most of her friends learned by now not to interrupt her unless it was an emergency.

For the past week, she was nearing the completion of the shuttle, so she was extra focused on it. She was finishing up the controls and tuning the seatings, after that the aircraft would be finished. During this time, she skipped meals but kept in mind to still cook something in case her hunger got the better of her. She even played loud music to help block out any distractions.

Eclipse wasn't used to music or anything being this loud, so the best he could do was leave and hope by the time he came back, the music was off. She didn't mind, so long as he was being safe outside and making smart decisions.

She cleaned her hands and opened the garage door before entering the shuttle with joy, she sat on the driver seat pressing a few buttons and pulling back a lever. The shuttle and its lights turned on with a whirr, slowly lifting off the ground, she pushed the wheel forward and the aircraft flew in that direction. The force of the moving vehicle pushed her into the seat. Pulling the wheel, the shuttle flew up into the night sky, barely missing the trees.

Upon first notice, the wheel was sensitive to the slightest movement, it didn't take much turning or pulling to get the shuttle to turn in the desired direction. Above that, she realized that she may have accidentally made the aircraft too fast, then again it's not like everyone has a personal aircraft. So she didn't have to worry about crashing into anyone, especially for Eclipse, whom she will have to teach.

Steering the device, she pulled it up into the sky for a few practice aerial tricks to test how it withstands. Going through the clouds allowed her to use the windshields, which worked perfectly. When she rolled the shuttle for almost a minute, she found that the engine was holding together perfectly as it should. Before landing she took it for a few more rolls and spins for extra caution.

Eclipse barely noticed from afar the shuttle spinning in the air and recognized it as the same one Hope was working on. He watched the speed of the vehicle, jumping and yelling in excitement, his children joining him.

Hope took it for a couple of laps around the field testing it further before she landed it back at the house where she met an ecstatic alien. "It works! It works brilliantly!"

"Of course it does, I built it!" Hope said, her hands on her hips. "You wanna have a turn?"Eclipse didn't need to say anything for Hope to get her answer. She let him in, having him sit on the driver's side while she showed him the basic controls from the passenger's seat.

"Ok, so to go up, you'll pull the wheel towards you and to go down or land gently push it away from you. Make sure your lights are on before going out." Hope pointed out.

"I know, I know, it's dark outside," Eclipse said back, pushing a few buttons that turned on the lights outside and inside the vehicle.

Following Hope's instructions, he slowly steered the shuttle into the air. "All right, cool. Now, try going a little faster."