Earth's Scattered Children

Chapter 2: The Boy On Board

My head wouldn’t stop spinning. I’d never gone into outer space before, and the takeoff was terrifying. The ship twisted and turned, making its way through the thick atmosphere. I felt sick by the time we finally got out into the vast space, and watching the Earth moving farther away through the window didn’t make me feel any better. I couldn't bear to look at the sun-it was so big and bright, I was afraid to look in the direction of the fiery mass. Soon my home planet would be gone, and that hideous ball of gas would be to blame. I must have looked horrible, because a boy not much taller than me walked up and asked,

“Are you alright?” He looked as if he was afraid I might pass out or something.

“I'm fine.” I replied, even though I really wasn't. I couldn't stop thinking about my family. I sat there in complete silence, gazing aimlessly out the window, my vision turning fuzzy as my mind wandered off into a world of pain and torture, the world of the awful thoughts that swirled around in my head as I looked at my home for the last time. Then I realized the boy was still there. He stared at me with a stupid-looking, childish, worried face as if he couldn't decide if I was really okay or not. I looked out the window again, ignoring his presence. Suddenly, as if he read my mind the strange boy asked,                  

    “Did you leave loved ones behind?” I looked at him, startled, and quickly he explained, “My family got left behind. I'm here with my older brother. I heard a lot of people left relatives down on Earth.” There was a sad look in his eyes, and I wondered if I looked like that, too. I didn't know what to say, so I just sat there, studying those depressed-looking eyes. They were a dark, chocolatey brown, sparkling in the dim light and partly covered by his messy brown hair that was a few shades lighter and looked like it could use a bit of a trim. His pupils were sort of slit, reminding me of a cat. I thought it was a bit strange, but I didn't mention it. I began to take in his fancy jacket and expensive-looking clothes, which didn't match with his unkept hair. I was tempted to play with the little plastic tassels on his jacket, but I let my eyes wander back to his face to resist the temptation. His expression had changed- he didn't look depressed anymore, but rather curious and confused. Perhaps he was wondering why I was scanning him over. Really it was because I had nothing better to do, but because I didn't want him to get suspicious I discreetly looked away and went back to the window. For a moment there was an awkward silence, then the boy asked,

 “What's your name?” For some reason, I felt weird telling my name to a complete stranger, even if he was just a dumb kid. Nevertheless I answered, without even looking at him, “Ellie...Yours?”

“Peter!” He replied, reaching out his hand. I took it hesitantly, and he gave me a nice, firm handshake. He smiled at me, but I didn't smile back. It must have upset him, because that stupid little smile quickly turned into a frown. “You're not very happy, are you?” He asked, and the only response I gave him was an angry glare. You would think the dummy would've figured that out by now! How could I be happy after everything that had happened? He quickly apologized, although I'm not quite sure what for. There was a long pause in which neither of us knew what to say. Finally Peter spoke up,

“You wanna be friends? We could... you know... hang out some time.” He sounded ridiculous. Even under normal circumstances he sounded like a stupid little 2-year-old, but this was no time to talk such nonsense.  Here we are, our planet dying, we're fleeing for survival as our left-behind families await their       doom and he's asking to be friends as if we just met at a party or something. The least thing I wanted was a dumb guy like him following me around. I wanted to yell at him that I didn't need friends and to leave me alone, but for some reason I told him, “Yeah, that would be great. I could use a good friend.” I bit my tongue in frustration. I didn't mean to say that and I'm not sure why I did, but I couldn't take it back. Peter's face had lit up instantly, his eyes sparkling with excitement. He looked so happy, you'd think he'd never had a friend before. He started actually talking, and I realized that was probably true. He rambled on and on until I got so sick of his annoying voice I felt like screaming at him. Instead I focused my attention on a random button panel on the wall next to him and imagined what might happen if I were to press one of the buttons, and slowly his voice drifted off until I couldn't hear him at all. Then I wondered why I didn't just walk away and leave the fool there by himself. I thought about this for a while. It didn't make a difference to me what happened to him. Heck, I'd probably laugh if he got himself killed. Yet for some reason, I couldn't bear to hurt his feelings. Maybe I felt bad for him. I knew what it felt like to be alone. Perhaps I really did want a friend? No, that couldn't be it. I'd never cared about having friends before. Although, I did have seven brothers to keep me company. The thought of my brothers led me to wonder if Peter got along with HIS brother, and then I wondered how old this brother of his was. I could tell Peter was around my age, possibly a little younger, but was his brother old enough to take care of him? Either way he was better off than I was. Here I am, all by myself, not a penny in my pocket, with the possibility of being caught hitchhiking. Who knows what they'd do to me? At least Peter had someone to look after him and, by the look of his fancy clothes, a descent amount of cash. Peter's voice came back to my perception, but I ignored it. I stared out the window the way I had before, watching the gray Earth – home – slowly fade into the distance. Suddenly I felt terrible again, and I felt my eyes tear up as my temperature seemed to rise slightly. Peter must have noticed, because he stopped blabbing abruptly and just sat there looking at me as if he didn't know what to do. After a short pause he asked hesitantly, his voice quivering slightly as if he was frightened,

“You OK?” I felt furious for absolutely no reason. Without even thinking I yelled at him, burning anger filling me to the brim as I wiped a hot tear from my face. I'm not sure what I said, it just came out of my mouth randomly. Probably something awful, seeing as Peter looked like he might start crying himself. Suddenly I felt guilty, then felt strangely sick and feverish. I started shaking and could barely keep myself up, so I sat down on the floor and stared at the wall across from me. Peter leaned over and put his hand on my shoulder, attempting to comfort me, but it didn't work. I felt dizzy and light-headed, and my vision got fuzzier and fuzzier until I couldn't see anything. Peter's voice seemed very worried as he tried to get a response from me, but soon his voice faded and my mind went blank.

I woke up in a small bed with two blankets neatly laying on top of me. My vision was still fuzzy, but I could barely make out the shape of a man a few feet away from me. He seemed to be sitting lazily on a chair next to my bed.

“Peter, she's awake.” Said a voice. 

“Where the heck am I?” I yelled, “Who are you? Where's Peter? What happ-”

“Just shut up,” Came the voice again, “You're almost as annoying as he is. No wonder he likes you so much.” I didn't pay much attention to what he said. I was too busy observing my surroundings. My vision was almost back to normal, and I could see the strange man glare at me from where he sat on his little chair. Then I realized he looked more like a teenager than a man. He had the same chocolatey eyes and messy brown hair- though a few shades darker- as Peter, but his expression was much different. He didn't have that ignorant, childish look that the dumb kid always displayed. He looked more mature, and definitely taller. I couldn't tell if he looked angry or depressed, but it was obvious he wasn't happy, and the dark, uncut hair that covered nearly half of his face didn't help. Then, all of a sudden Peter rushed into the room, startling me.

“Ellie!” He exclaimed, “Are you all right? You scared me earlier-” 

“What happened?” I interrupted. He looked worried as he answered,

“You passed out right in front of me. I didn't know what to do, so I got my brother.” He looked at the guy sitting by my bed with a little, thankful smile. His brother just glared at him as he scowled,

“Just get her out of here as soon as you can.” It was obvious he didn't like me. Although, it looked as though he didn't like anyone. Judging by the fact that his clothes were sloppily worn and didn't match and his long hair was constantly in his face, he probably didn't even like himself. It made me angry, but at the same time I almost felt bad for him. I sat there wondering what made him so unhappy and what him and his little brother's lives must have been like on Earth. The room was silent until Peter declared it was too quiet and turned on some music, which was instantly turned off by his brother who apparently didn't like his taste of music. Peter gave him puppy eyes in hopes that his brother would let him turn the music back on, but even I didn't think he was cute. He soon gave up on the puppy eyes and started yelling at his brother about how he never lets him do anything, but nobody was listening. I was getting the feeling the two of them didn't get along very well. I yawned as my eyelids began to droop and I wondered what time it was. I was suddenly so tired I felt dizzy, so I curled up in a more comfortable position and let my eyes slowly drift shut. I could hear Peter shooing his brother out of the room and then complete silence. After a few seconds I felt peter's hand gently tuck the soft blanket over me before he turned off the lights and left the room, closing the door behind him. Then all noise disappeared as if the sound waves themselves had fallen asleep. I couldn't remember ever feeling more comfortable than I was nestled under the covers of that warm bed, and for some reason I felt happier than I had in ages. I couldn't help but realize how similar Peter was to my younger brother, and even though he annoyed the heck out of me, it was rather comforting to know he was looking after me. I guess I hadn't noticed until that very moment how lucky I was, and for the first time since my parents had told me I had to leave Earth, I smiled.