Beneath the Blind Sky

Chapter 18

A cold laugh confirms my fear, and the Captain of the ship begins to walk towards us. A gun cocks in his hand, and a scream from Mina confirms that he's pointing it right at us.

"How nice of you to join us," he laughs.

Us?

Small sniffles from behind us make me tense up, and I shudder as I realize that it's Orchid. "What do you want?" Mina snaps.

"That's a long story that I'm not quite sure we have time for-"

The captain stops talking as a blow to his head is struck by Mina's fist. He crumples to the floor and she pins him down with her foot. He quickly recovers, though, and shoves her off of him. Mina falls to the floor and doesn't move. I almost scream, but her small whimpering tells me that she's still alive.

"Don't hurt her," she whispers. And that's when I realize that the gun is pointed at me.

"The resources on the ship are dwindling. We've been having to remove parts of the ship to keep us moving, but it's no use. We have one escape pod, but it doesn't have enough fuel to get us to a planet. There's not enough fuel anywhere, though. We're miles away from anywhere. It's a suicide mission. The Earthlings sent us to die," he snarls. "So now, we're going to kill all of you to ensure enough food for the rest of us to survive. You were useful once, but now...you're useless."

The gunshot sounds.

I can't move. I don't move. I just stay in place; I'm going to die. Trying to picture Mina's face, I scream at my fingers to retrace every bump and curve of her face. A loud scream comes from in front of me, snapping me from my thoughts. A loud thump fills the air and Orchid screams even louder. But I'm not dead. I shake with confusion. I should be dead. Why aren't I-

"Charlotte...I'll be in the stars. Waiting for you," a soft cry calls to me. I drop to my hands and knees, rapidly trying to find the bullet placed in Mina's body. No. No. No.

"Mina! Mina, stay with me. Please. Stay with me. Mina!"

I'm scrambling, but I know it's too late. The gun cocks next to my ear and I turn to face the Captain. Pure anger and rage fills my body, and with one hard smack I send the man sprawling to the floor. "You killed her," I scream. "You killed her, and now I'm going to kill you!"

Before I can move to hurt him, the doors on the other side of the room burst open and the group of workers charges in, led by Caddy. They attack the captain while Orchid pulls me away from the crowd. She leads me back to the Nannies Headquarters, but I hardly notice. The only thing I can think of is Mina's cold body on the floor.

"He killed her," I whisper. Orchid just nods her head, but I can't stop talking.

"He killed her! Like she was nothing. Nothing!"

I scream and jump, scaring Orchid as I run back into the Control Room. Tears stream down my face as I desperately push my way through the crowd towards the Captain. "You killed her," I scream in his ear. But he doesn't move. Doesn't breathe.

"He's dead Charlotte. When we barged into the room he had a heart attack. He's gone," Caddy mutters. Then he grabs my hand and tries to pull me into a hug, but I push back. "Where's Mina? Where is she?"

One of the workers sighs behind me and gives me a pat on the back. "We removed her body and put it in the capsule. She's with the stars now." Then he moves away and the workers quietly leave, their job done. I sink to the floor and begin to sob. She's gone. Mina's gone forever and it's all my fault. I should have told her I had a bad feeling. I should have moved so that she wouldn't have had to die. It's all my fault.