HalfWorlder #Wattys2017

Chapter 5-I meet Neter

I never thought entering a dark, deep fathomless pit would be on my top-10 list. But I had to say, I was looking forward to this.

We hadn't even unpacked yet, and I was being sent on my first spaceship ride. No wait. Alexandra called this a planetary vehicle. It seemed spaceship enough for me though. We were taking it to see Neter, the real ship that brought my mom here to Earth from their home planet, Oases. Mom waved at me rather encouragingly for someone who didn't like to fly. Talk about throwing me right in.

"Come on newbie. This is going to be fun." Alexandra put on her gold pilot's helmet from the cockpit above me.

It was amazing to think she'd only been flying this vehicle for three days. Apparently, a lot of Neter's ancillary functions, including these ships, hadn't worked so well – or even at all – since the crash. Then three days ago, they woke up when Neter tapped into a power surge centered squarely in Palenque, Mexico – the city where my father had gone missing.

When people started putting two and two together this morning, that's when words like "Aten" started getting thrown around. Dad had always been fascinated by it. Pictures of it even adorned our home, but I wasn't sure why everyone was so up in arms about a hieroglyphic representation of the sun.

I started up the ladder that folded out of the ship's cockpit, only to stop and rub away the tension in my neck. So much had happened, and I was still in the same clothes from our overnight flight. My shirt and jeans hung loose on my frame. My t-shirt stretched low to the point where my collar bone stuck out. I yanked it up, but it fell again, lower this time, if that was possible.

I felt someone's eyes on me. Alexandra's baby blues studied me from the cockpit.

"What?"

She bit her lip. "Nothing." She squeezed them closed. "Come on." She patted the seat beside her. "We don't have a ton of time."

She took a quick breath and sat down.

A calm voice echoed out from the ship's interior, but I couldn't see her anymore. "First Neter, then they want you in the arena to train with Ryan. He's the ship's language expert, but he's got a real knack for training us halflings."

"Cool," I said and started to climb. At the top, I peered in. I was living every sci-fi fan's dream. The interior of the ship was clean-lined and curved, similar to the upholstery and styling of a boat. The seats were a kind of golden tan plastic leather lined in black and inside were two rows of bench seats in the snug cockpit for four flyers. But I was riding shotgun. Awesome.

Alexandra sat inside, her eyes locked on something straight ahead.

"Lost in thought about something?"

"What? Oh, no." Her eyes drifted to mine, then snapped back straight ahead like there was glue there. "Just anxious to get going. Come on." She patted the seat again.

Well, I guessed if I was getting in an extraterrestrial planetary vehicle with a girl who had only been flying for a few days, it would have to be with this one. Good grief, she was gorgeous. I hopped in the cockpit with my best jumping-over-the-door of a convertible move and slid into the seat beside her.

Man, I thought I was coming off cool.

"Really, hotshot." She rolled her eyes.

Guess not.

But I caught her smiling as she turned away.

"Okay. Buckle up. We don't want to kill you on your first day here."