Chapter 1: New Winner for Bad Mondays
“Hairline fracture along the main shaft! It’s enlarging! Send the repair crew!”
“The main frame’s down! Deploy the emergency energy packs!”
“The hull has cracked! 15 minutes till energy failure! Prepare to evacuate!”
I heard noises and frenzied shouting below me. The sirens were wailing and lights were flashing everywhere. The sound of many many pairs of standard issue military boots pounded on the metal floor and rattled the walls of the corridor. What’s going on? Was it another drill? My eyes blinked hazily. Suddenly, I was out of the comfort of my warm sleeping bag and upside down and dangling by one foot in the frigid air. I dropped down to the floor with a thump and glared upward. “Sam!! What the hell?!” He didn’t grin down at me. Today, his face was dead serious as he jumped down from the ledge he was on, pulled me up, and started running.
“What’s going on? Why are the sirens on? Where are we going?” I asked as I tried to keep up with his longer strides.
“Something happened to the ship and everyone was ordered to evacuate. Come on!” He said.
As we ran, people from all sides joined us in the mad dash for our lives. It was hard enough keeping up with Sam in the suffocating crowd. Imagine doing it without shoes. My jerk of a best friend hadn’t even given me time to pull on my shoes. As we were running, only about 50 people stamped on my feet with their metal capped boots. I’m almost positive they did it on purpose.
Soon, we had arrived at the nearest ejection chamber. I think my toes were about ready to see Jesus. I glared around at the others. My friends Callie and Ace were already sitting in the pods and putting on their oxygen masks. Ace winked at me and grinned, that cheeky bastard. “Hurry!” Sam shouted. He was helping several other people pull open the hatch to the emergency exit. He shouted something else to me but it was lost in the noise.
The intercom crackled and then came on. The robotic woman voice began speaking:
“10 seconds till the ship self-destructs. Prepare for ejection”
“9”
“8”
Frantically, I looked around the chamber and found that there were no more spaces left. Pods were already starting to eject! Thinking fast, I smashed my fist into a glass container holding the extra emergency oxygen masks and quickly strapped it on. No easy feat to accomplish as my hand was bleeding profusely from the jagged glass.
“3”
“2”
I ran to the gaping void in the side of the ship and leaped forward, launching myself through space, just as my time ran out.
“1”
BOOM!
I turned around in time to see the USS naval starship 6th division 4th regiment, Pavo Pyxis explode in a bright red supernova of color. It billowed out like a beautiful stage curtain and too late, I realized that I was within its blast range. The flames scorched over me and I screamed soundlessly, unable to move without a propeller. I saw the space pods in the distance shooting towards our home planet Albireo and I hoped Sam was in one of them. I wasn’t sure if he had made it on time. I stared through swollen and burnt eyes as various pieces of the once glorious ship dropped out of the inferno and sped on towards never ending space. It really was breathtaking. My fingers itched for my sketch pad. Suddenly, a shadow passed over me and pain exploded at the back of my head. The last thing I remembered thinking was that this probably topped my list of bad Monday mornings…
Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep …………………………
open, close, Open, close, OPEN!
My eyelids magically unglued themselves from my eyes and I gazed around, taking in my surroundings. I appeared to be lying in a dome made from leaves. Looking at myself was pretty depressing. I was bandaged from head to toe in dark fleshy plant material and there were so many wires and patches attached to me that I could barely move without disconnecting one of them. Not that I could’ve moved anyway. There was a huge bug of some sort hovering near my end with its posterior giving off a bright blue light. Heh, its butt is blue, I thought deliriously to myself. Blue butt, blue butt, blue blutt, blue blood…
Suddenly, one word appeared in my mind. “SAM!!” I screamed. I immediately jumped out of the bed (sort of. It was more like a gradually tipping off of one side) only to scream again as soon as I hit the floor. Word of advice, when 95% of your body has been extremely badly burned and you’ve also suffered a severe concussion (causes dizziness, vomiting, memory loss…),\ don’t get out of bed, you will probably die. At least, that’s what it felt like to me. I also happened to disconnect most of my wires and that immediately set off a round of aggravating beeps. My vision blurred and I blacked out again.
<Wake up child.>
A voice, clear as a brook and bright as a bell, resounded in my head. I tried to lift my eyelids, but this time, my body refused to listen. I tried harder. As if sensing my struggle, the voice said, <Calm> then, <Try again> Slowly, my eyelids rose and I just about died all over again.
Authors Note:
Hi guys, this is my new story and I'm still working out the details. I need some help on coming up with a good title. Any ideas?
XOXO,
Maggie