Among Them All

Chapter 1 Welcome to Skeld

It was quiet, a bit too quiet for my liking. The whole ride was nothing but silence and blank stares. There seemed to be a dark cloud hanging over the shuttle. Everybody seemed to be in their own little bubble, buckled up tightly in their seats. I'm sure they were all hoping to get to the ship as quickly as possible. Me on the other hand, I was really hoping to get to know my crew members. I mean, if I'm going to be stuck up in space with them for a few months I might as well, right?

I looked around to see who the best person would be to start a conversation with. I figured the easiest thing to do was to start with the people right next to me. To my right was a towering, muscular young man. I figured he might be a good first start.

I turned to him and said, "Hey there, it's pretty cool being out here, isn't it?" He looked down, his face shadowed by his hair. He didn't seem to be interested in talking or maybe he didn't hear me?

"Quiet guy hm? I understand. Maybe a little nervous or-"

His head jerked up; his eyes shifted to mine. His dark chocolate brown eyes suggested that I stop while I'm ahead.

"Got it..." I decided to give someone else a try, but this time I just spoke to the whole group. Someone out of the twelve of us might be interested, at least I hoped so.

"So, uh... Why did you all decide to join the crew?" I asked out loud, my voice a little hesitant but loud enough for someone to hear from across the room. Only two heads turned to me. Everyone else continued their staring contest with nothing.

Directly across from me sat the epitome of angst, swoopy hair and all.

"Who cares, we are all here for the same reason. Quit the chit chat and wait till we are assigned what to do." His red suit and his low gravelly voice seemed to match his anger. I could barely see his eyes but by his reaction, this is the second person I have seemed to piss off.

"Geez, ok then. Well, I care. If we are all going to be working together and living with one another for a while, it would be best to get to know one another. You get what I mean?"

"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." A young lady in a light green suit spoke up, chuckling to herself. She sat a couple seats away from him. Not only did she seem to have a little sass, but she also had an accent, French possibly?

"I know right? It's okay though, I'm not one to judge on first impressions. What about everyone else?" I asked.

"Aww, we have a softie on board, don't we?" The girl next to her interjected with snark. She also had a French accent. They both gave high school drama queens. I could tell it was going to be a long ride.
"I wouldn't say-" Before I could even finish, the red suit guy cut me off.

"Can you all just shut up? We haven't even arrived yet and you are already giving me a headache" he groaned, while holding his head in his hands. I looked around, unsure how to respond to any of them. It seemed these three were going to be hard to get along with.

Then in the middle of the awkward silence a screech from above exploded from what looked like a speaker.

"Welcome all new crewmates. We are excited for you to start your new everyday lives here onboard. Welcome to the Skeld" a ladies voice plainly stated.

"About time," the red suit guy said, sitting back up from his knees.

"Please note, we are to inform you that all of your names are to be kept confidential. If you must, please call each other by the color you were given before boarding the pod. This is for safety purposes only." I looked to the person who was sitting to the left of me. I would have sworn on my sister's life that he was Mr. Crocker from Fairly Odd Parents.