The Gate Hopper Series

Chapter 2

Osmet awoke to the sound of an alarm blaring into his ear. Disgruntled, he waved his hand signaling the holographic clock on his nightstand to end the irritating noise. After entertaining the thought of permanently disabling the alarm with a hammer, Osmet groggily escaped the confines of his bed and made his way to the restroom to freshen up for the day. Entering the restroom, he stared into the digital mirror above the sink and thought about the past week.

A week ago, was his 18th birthday, which was supposed to be a happy affair, ruined by his revelation to his mother about his wish to become a hopper. He knew things would become awkward between them when he gave her the news, what he was not expecting was for his mother to barely speak to him for almost a week. A whole week! The last thing he wanted to do was leave for Gate Station without a proper goodbye and the shuttle left today in only a few hours.

Once thoroughly freshened and ready for the day, Osmet left the restroom and entered his bedroom choosing his clothing for this momentous day. Not only would he be leaving for Gate Station, but it would also be his first ever time off world. Thinking of this, he dawned a black shirt with red trim and black pants with similarly colored hiking boots. While he would have loved to wear more protective clothing, the extra cost would have delayed his trip off world by at least a few months. His shoes at the very least had internal dampeners to lessen the impact from falls despite only working on drops less than 20 meters.

Osmet left his room and walked down the hallway to the stairs where he descended for one last breakfast with his family. The thought that this may be the final meal he had with his family entered his mind but was promptly shut down. As his departure day approached, more negative thoughts seemed to be appearing in his mind, try as he might to prevent them. The combination of his mother's concern and the coming voyage he supposed. He just hoped it would end soon; the silence seemed more likely to kill him than the gates at this point.

Entering the dining room, he saw that everyone in his family was sitting at the table except for his mother. Johnathan looked at him with a small smile, veiling the pride he felt at his son for coming of age. Erics seemed more subdued this morning while Rosaline occupied herself with systematically dismembering her morning cereal. He never would quite understand her reasoning behind such cruelty to her cereal, but he supposed he never would. After observing his family members Osmet took a seat next to Rosaline across from Eric and spoke to his father.

"Is mom awake yet dad? Its only a few hours until I leave for Gate Station...I really don't want to leave with how things are. The silence she's been giving me lately had been killing me."

Johnathan took another bite of his morning sausage made from some of the domesticated wildlife on Elkhorn. He chewed for a minute before he swallowed and answered his son.

"She should be down for breakfast soon. She's mostly past the shock and is now more, oh what's the right term...dealing with the reality of it I suppose? She's going to talk with you before you leave today for certain. Probably not a pleasant conversation but it's better than pure silence."

The hunter looked at his son in the eyes with a steely gaze.

"And you will speak to her about how your choices hurt her. Yes, what you decided to be was fully up to you, but she is your mother. Even if you became a baker sealed away in an underground bunker she would be worried about you, but a hopper."

Johnathan shook his head once he finished what he wished to say to his son and continued eating breakfast. Earth only knows how much the decision his son had made and his approval of it had him in the ditches with his wife. He knew it was coming, but damn was it still a hassle to deal with.