Spaced Out

Chapter Six

I sprinted out of the room, pushing past Lucas and Sasha. My fingers curled into fists as I decided which direction to run in. I took the way to the headquarters of the captain. I kept running, my mind running faster than me. I think about what just happened about five seconds ago...
I shake my head, trying to clear my mind of the thought pouring into my mind. What just happened? Is this real, or just another bad nightmare? With sirens blaring, red lights flashing all around me, and the chaos of everyone emerging from their compartments frantically running around, I crashed into somebody, and we both fell in a heap on the floor, all the people running over us without a care. Our eyes met and all of a sudden, it was as if time slowed down. We stared into each others eyes, and I knew he felt the same connection. But, as fast as the moment had came, it was gone. It was the boy from the library, the boy from my nightmares, the boy stuck deep inside my memory trying to push through all of the others. I remember him now, the question is, does he remember me?

"What will we do? This could cause all types of rebellion! Especially since you noticed it so late!" As soon as he said this, Sasha sprang up from her chair.
"Are you insinuating that she is responsible for all of this? We were also watching over the monitor, it wasn't in the territory surrounding the ship, it was too far to be on the map." Sasha said. We are currently sitting in a conference room with the captain, three of his generals, and the control room team. The captain sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. I glanced over to Alex who I could tell was strategizing a solution.
"We have to go on complete lockdown. Everybody stays in their compartments until further notice-" one of the female generals interrupted Alex's idea, "We have rescue ships, we could easily escape and go around. I think that's a little wiser rather than trying to steer this massive ship away from this asteroid," the woman chuckled to herself.
"Are you saying that we can fit and live in these small ships for seven more years? I can't see that happening. There's only so much food we can store in the rescues until we run out of supplies, then what?" Alex had a good point. I wanted to laugh at the woman in mock disgust, but instead I chose to be mature.
"Initially that would be the idea, Alex, but we have no time to get all of these people on the ships. I think your strategy is best for now," the captain said, making a final decision. We stood up from our chairs and walked out silently. After Sasha's cue, I pressed a large red button that set off a deafening alarm. We ran out into the hallways helping the generals escort the people as a repeated announcement played over the intercom. I caught a woman who was holding a crying baby and escorted her up a stairwell.
"What's going on? Where's John?" The woman asked, completely distraught.
"I have no idea, but you need to go to your compartment right now and must remain there until told to. Understood?" The woman nodded as she tried to silence her infant child, but poor thing was too afraid to stop crying. As I push through everyone, trying to ignore the alarms and the rush of the people's footsteps, I feel something push against the sole of my foot from inside my shoe. I try to ignore it, but I can't seem to be able to.
When I arrive at the control room once again, I sit on a chair, and throw my shoe off in irritation. What is it that's bothering me? I stick my hand into the shoe and pull out a round silver ring with the words Never Forget engraved in black. I gasp as a chain of images passes through my mind, I identified them as memories. The shackles wrapped around my mind finally snapped, and set the memories free.
"Never forget." He whispers. He looks up and I see a single tear making its way down his face. "Never forget," I repeat. The dreams and memories of the mysterious boy, the boy I crashed into at the library, the same boy I crashed into about 5 minutes ago. My eyes start to blur, and I don't realize I'm crying until a small, tiny teardrop plops onto my hand. "Matthew" I whisper.
Lucas runs in and yells, but I don't hear him. All I can hear is the single word, a single name, I repeat. "Matthew" I say, softer than before. "We need to get it our compartment Cheryl!!! C'mon!" Lucas yells, but it's all just a small noise at the back of my head. Then, Lucas picks me up and carries me all the way to my compartment, but I don't feel anything. He lays me gently onto my bed, and says "Stay here". I nod slightly, which is enough to make him leave. The sirens that were blaring a second ago sounded like mice crawling on the floor. The flashing red lights were a blur, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get him off my mind. "Matthew" I mumble, breathing in his name.
"I don't want to say goodbye," My voice trembles. I pull away from his embrace, and look into his eyes.
"I don't either," I see fear taking over in his eyes.
Memory after memory comes pouring in about Matthew, and I don't try to stop it. After sitting on my bed for about fifteen minutes, I hear a knock on the door. "Cheryl? Are you in there? It's Sasha. Please open the door" I hear her voice through the thick metal door. "Go away" I said, barely enough for her to hear.
"Cheryl please. What happened? Are you okay?"
"I don't think so," My was voice dry from the crying. Only I could open the door because the doors were opened using hand scanners. I was too weak to get up and open the door, and I didn't want to see Sasha right now.
I see Ava standing in my usual spot where I look at the stars. Her loose hazel hair is flowing with the wind, and she is dressed in the same black suit as everybody else and I. I want Ava, my real friend, not Sasha, who I met seven days ago. The only thing I could do was find them, but where? Would they remember me? Or would they just be like everyone else, brainwashed and having no memory of what life on earth was like?
I convinced myself that I can make them remember, and reach deep into their memory, breaking the locks that secured them. Right now, the only reason I wasn't falling apart was because I had hope. Without hope, I would rather die than be on this metal piece of transportation, but because of hope, and because of fate, I am still existing, not letting this world crush my heart.
I weakly stand up from my bed and open the door. Sasha opens her mouth to say something, but I push past her and turn around to tell her, "I'm sorry, but I have to go." She stands there, shocked by what I just told her. "I'll be back soon, I promise." I repeat, trying to be more convincing. I walk through the halls, trying to locate Matt and Ava. One obstacle stands in my way. As I am ignoring the swarms of people and the alert, Alex grabs my arm tightly, and pulls me aside.
"Where did you go? We need you in the conference room. Now," he said with an angry edge to his voice. "I went to my compartment, like everyone said we should've done." I said, annoyed with the fact that I followed directions and he's scolding me. "Also, Lucas carried me cause I was too tired" I added. Alex's face changes from anger to sadness. "Is everything okay?" I ask, worried from the way his expression changed so fast.
"Cheryl... There's been something I wanted to tell you..." He starts, clearly getting nervous. He shifted from one foot to another, shuffling his feet around. "Every time I lay eyes on you, my heart melts. Every time you walk into a room, the atmosphere changes. I really like you, but I want to be more than friends." He finishes. I stood there, astonished by what he was saying. Apparently, my face said otherwise. I closed my eyes, trying to clear my mind.
"But you're with Sasha," I look up at him with glassy eyes. I can't do this to my friend. More importantly, I can't do this to Matthew.
"I seem to have feelings for both of you." I swallow hard, my heart rate starting to increase. Without warning, he leans in and brings his lips to mind. I immediately pull away and run out, repulsive from the events that just occurred.

☪

"Are you mad? What logic is there to that plan, we can't simply go around!" Lucas exclaimed. I tapped my fingers on the table, trying to strategize a solution for the sake of everyone on this ship including myself. And Matt.
"We could always turn away from it far enough not to get hit but close enough to keep it on the map. When it passes we get back on track," I suggest. I wait for the yelling to start but all I hear is complete silence, and the time slipping away through the cracks. I looked at the captain, dark circles underneath his eyes and his short gray hair was not neat. He let out a loud sigh and rested his hands on the table.
"No there isn't time. It will hit us on the side." I sighed, sinking deeper into my chair losing hope. Silence follows the next few moments while we gather our thoughts.
"I've got an idea" Sasha whispered, and everyone turned to her. "What is it?" Alex asked, urging her because there wasn't much time. "We could use the emergency rockets at the bottom of the ship to propel the ship over the asteroid, and the go back on track using the ones on the top." Sasha said in one long breath. The room was pin-drop silent. Then, the captain nodded his head slowly. "That could work." He said. Then, all of a sudden, the ship hurtled to the side, and we all crashed into the wall. "WHAT HAPPENED?" The captain yelled at his assistant. "The start of the small asteroids are coming! We need to listen to Sasha's plan!" She exclaimed.