Aria's Planetary Prison

Chapter 1 - Sky Diving

I told Enoch seventeen times to fix the westernmost window on my spaceship, but did he? No, he didn't. As I fell out of that very window cursing him, I was ready to die. The only bright side to this was that I wasn't too high off the ground, and I had my space suit with a few fancy gadgets and gizmos.

The sky of this planet was a fair green. If this was to be my last scene to see, then I guess it won't be too bad.

I hit the ground. Blackness clouded over my vision, and the air was knocked out of my lungs. Soon, I was able to breathe again, but moving my body was another issue.

"Aria?"

Please, no.

I can't even die in peace without Spider Legs interrupting. I can't even run away to avoid him. I'm frozen on the ground. Luckily, my nerves haven't sent signals to my brain saying that I'm in pain.

"Aria!"

I could feel Jethro's cold hands on me. I still couldn't see him though. He checked my pulse on my wrists, then listened to my heartbeat.

"Can you speak? Aria? Are you well?"

I passed out, but woke back up with the sun setting. My vision returned obviously. The lovely flora and fauna of this planet was so welcoming and pleasant with the various shades of red and sharp spikes.

"How many points did I get for my reverse belly flop?" I joked.

"You're alive?"

Slowly, I sat up, but almost immediately, my aching back muscles dragged me back to the ground. I could be in worse shape if I didn't wear my jumpsuit with all the padding and shock absorbers. Thanks to my microbots in my bloodstream, any internal bleeding and other injuries are being taken care of.

"I was hoping you were dead to be honest." Spider Legs nudged my foot with his. "Are you well?"

"As well as I could be with you." I mumbled.

He ran his fingers through his black hair. It wasn't spiked up as it usually was. His spiked up hair reminded me of spider legs which is why I call him Spider Legs. I never called him this to his face.

"Why do you always have to try to capture me?" He grunted. His foot connected with a rock and broke it in half.

Displays of his strength still leave me breathless. He rarely unleashes it much to my surprise. For a criminal on the run, he's not as ruthless and desperate as I would have thought.

"What? You couldn't find your parachute, so you leapt out of the window to get me?" He exclaimed. "The dedication you have to your job is so heartwarming! What award will the space academy give you this time?"

"Spider Legs, don't flatter yourself." I put my hand up to stop him from talking, but I went into a coughing fit. It took me another moment before I could speak again. "I fell accidentally. I didn't want to be here... It's only a matter of time before my team comes back to find me."

"Then you can all team up to get me just like old times."

"You mean last month?"

"God, I hate you." He growled.

I lowered myself back down and put my hands over my heart. "Let me die then. I don't want to hear this."

He walked away.

My eyes grew heavier with each breath. I prayed that I would wake up before succumbing to the desire to sleep. I stayed half-asleep for a while, unable to wake up or fall into a deeper sleep. I felt someone take my hand and check my pulse.

"You better wake up and get better, so I don't feel like a complete asshole."

With such beautiful words, I guess I had to get better.