"Pedro lost his temper then, and the beating began. It did not stop until long after Jade had lost consciousness and Pedro had run out of breath..."
Alone in the world, Johnny Roberts has to face his worst fears, and overcome his greatest obstacles...
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This was beyond Johnny's wildest dreams; the feeling of power and control he felt at the helm of this ship was like nothing he could ever have imagined.
He looped the loop. Wow! he thought, this is too easy! He decided to land somewhere and map out some kind of plan. The terrain was flat, brown, covered with grey-green shrubs and trees, and dried-out rivers – not a soul for miles in any direction, and he realized he was north of the border, in Botswana.
He landed the ship near an isolated salt-pan, and removed his hands from the controls. The ship became silent again. The lights were still on however, and Johnny knew instinctively that whilst he was on board this ship, it would continue to generate power.
He needed to choose his next course of action. Looking down at himself, he realized just how dirty and threadbare his clothing really was. He decided to look around downstairs and see if he could find anything that would fit him.
Reaching the second level, Johnny went through several rooms before he found what he was looking for. In a closet, he found clothing that seemed to be of about the right size, but it wasn't like any clothing he had ever seen before. It was black in colour and the material looked as though it were some kind of Lycra or Spandex. It felt and looked like leather, and had intricate designs etched into the surface. It looked hardwearing and durable, yet soft and comfortable. He climbed into the one-piece suit and found a pair of boots in the next room that fitted as though made for him. Looking down at himself, he smiled as he realized that he struck an impressive figure. He had noticed robes of different colours and designs in most of the closets, but figured they must be for the girls and decided against choosing one to wear.
Already feeling better about the situation, he thought of his next move. He was hungry; he had not eaten since the previous day, so he decided to investigate what he had thought was the kitchen, on the fourth level.
Climbing the stairs, he looked around. It wasn't very big and he was surprised that he didn't recognize anything at all. There wasn't even a sink – no stove, no oven, no pots and pans that he could find. As he searched further, he noticed an object that looked similar to a microwave oven – only this contraption didn't have any buttons or dials; instead, it had a single handprint. Johnny placed his hand over the imprint and closed his eyes. He started laughing softly to himself.
The image he saw in his mind was like a menu – an unusual kind of menu – and all he had to do was make his selection. He scanned the options in his mind, registering all the different flavours and tastes on offer on his tongue. Within a few seconds, he made his choice. He opened his eyes and watched as a soft, yellow glow pulsed from inside, and within moments it delivered his meal through a slot in the front. Johnny examined the plate; it looked like some type of plastic and he assumed there would be some means to dispose of it, and that the ship would take care of the rest. He didn't know what he was about to eat; all he knew was that it smelled delicious.
He took his food downstairs to the dining area and sat down. As he took his first bite, he realized there was no meat in his food. He wasn't sure if it was because this particular meal was vegetarian, or if meat was too difficult to preserve, and was omitted from the menu for this reason – or if the original occupants of this ship avoided eating meat as a rule.
