US (Formerly The After Effect - Book 2)

6 - Perspective

//always subject to change// 

"I thought you said we didn't land on the beach? Look at all the sand!" Zeriah cheers and charges forward onto the white, powdery snow before I can even gasp at the sight.

A foot-high layer of snow blankets our surroundings as tiny specks mist from the trees. Everyone behind me is frozen as I take a step forward down the small, metal ramp. Zeriah is now confused when he senses the chill of the "sand."

So much for me going first, I think.

"Whoa, this sand is freezing!" Zeriah shrieks as he sifts the power between his now-pink fingertips.

I ignore his silly commentary, and lack the drive to correct him. Instead, I take this moment to observe. In a way, I expected to see a demolished forest filled with scorched black trunks and ash for leaves. I expected a sky with a distorted orange hue with no clouds and a strange-looking sun. I expected the earth beneath us would be crumpling, sinking in on itself. I expected no sounds at all.

My predictions could be deemed far-fetched to some, but four and a half years is a lot of time. I could never be more wrong.

The trees are absent of leaves, but only because it's the dead of winter. If I squint, I can still spot some remaining, shriveled up on the tips of wet, snow-covered branches. The sky is a muted blue, the sun covered by a sheer sheet of clouds. It's as if nothing ever happened here.

The ramp vibrates beneath me as others begin to edge out into the cold, so I take the opportunity to progress into the snow. It crunches beneath my boots and causes me to sink in deep, instantly freezing my calves. I dip down and grab fistfuls of the white powder, letting it turn my fingers to ice. It's surreal. Not only did I think I'd never return to Earth, never did I expect it to be like this. Normal. Because what happened to it was anything but.

Am I dreaming?

Two hands land on my hips and I flinch, but don't turn around. Travis rests his chin on my shoulder and nuzzles his face into my neck. "We're back," he says, his voice unrestrained by the lack of his face mask. It didn't take him long to remove the thing. He pecks my jaw gently and gives me a quick hug from behind. "Can you believe it?"

I exhale and shut my eyes. No. No I can't believe this for a second. This is anything but real. It can't be.

I shake my head and stare out at the bright, black-and-yellow person buzzing around like a little kid at a playground. This is home. We're back. We really are back.

Travis intertwines our fingers and leads me further into the small clearing. "I thought it would all be gone," I whisper to him as I scan the continuous woods all around us, seeing the valleys and hills the mountain range created.

"Me too," he says without looking at me. Neither of us peek at the other. We're too entranced to turn our eyes away from the sparkling winter wonderland before us.

The revolutionaries pull me out of my daze when their bodies infiltrate the area like flies, many of them fascinated to be on Earth, others unimpressed, like Jada.

Meanwhile, the rest of my special crew filter out of the ship and stop when they reach my side. "It sure has been a long time, huh Brink?" Stella questions telepathically.

He merely shakes his head in disbelief and chooses to not answer verbally from what I can hear.

"This is it. New mission, new plan, new goal," Travis states, keeping his eyes forward.

"New way of life," I add.

"You're right, sweetie," a new voice pops up behind me. My mom.

I turn and immediately run to embrace her as I get smacked by an unsurmountable sense of relief. Her presence makes me feel ten times better. Safer. Hopeful. Less terrified about taking on this journey.