Lunch Outside the Solar System

Fifteen

The Lunar Equation functioned perfectly due to Gunther's upgrades he kept the vintage look and feel of the model but with enough recent add-ons giving Layla no problem to control it, she jumped around the light roads trying to hide their route from Barry. When she felt they were safe enough, she started the stealth autopilot mode realizing she had forgotten Ariel completely who was sitting in a corner looking at her hands.

- Ariel, are you ok? – Layla approached her.

- I'm disappearing Layla, I'm just dissolving, I don't know what's happening to me- Ariel's voice started to break a little.

- Now c'mon Ariel, you're talking nonsense, you can't be disappearing, you are here with me, maybe it's some PTSD because of the shooting. Now let me help you – Layla took her gently while Ariel's crying eyes crossed her sight taking her to the lunch table cleaning tears from her cheeks. After a while, she addressed to Ariel.

- So you are saying you are disappearing? Does this happened after the attack?

- Yes – Ariel got more stable and inhaled deeply – I got into the ship after you told me to run, I started the engine introducing some random coordinates when I saw my hands disappear, like becoming transparent, then I saw my body flicker and then you got in, but please believe me, I saw my hands and body disappear for a moment, I couldn't feel myself. I'm so scared Layla, I don't know what's happening to me – Ariel started to cry over Layla's shoulder.

They stayed that way until Ariel relaxed a little more while Layla rethought Barry's attack and what had happened back there. She got worried for Gunther, she didn't know if he had survived the blast, got injured, or worse. She was certain that the guy who attacked them wasn't Barry, it was something else, Ariel's voice interrupted her thoughts.

- Thank you Layla, I feel much better – Ariel looked into her eyes and gave her a soft kiss in the lips taking Layla by surprise but not enough to not respond the affection – so what happened over there? I remember you called that guy by his name, you know him? – Ariel asked while pulling some hair behind her ears.

- Well, yes and no. At first, I thought it was Barry, the one I told you who wrecked my ship, remember? But that guy wasn't Barry, maybe it was his body, but it wasn't him at all.

- Meaning...What?

- Yeah, it was his body but someone took, or better put, "something" took his body and snatched it. It wasn't Barry, I'm sure it, it was the Communal Force.

Ariel was about to ask her about the Communal Force when both got distracted by Ariel's hands becoming translucent, Ariel instantly started to enter again into shock, Layla tried to hold her but when she tried to touch her she passed through her. Layla was stunned, she couldn't believe it, she ventured to touch her again getting the same result, she left her hands inside the semi-corporeal body of Ariel feeling a blow in her whole body putting her unconscious.

Layla regain consciousness and she felt floating in space, she couldn't see her body, she could only feel herself in open space. She perceived Ariel being next to her, but then again, no physical or visual body; both of them existing and sensing each other in space.

When Layla went through her body, Ariel felt how she got inside her incorporeal body; she felt a pressure coming from the deepest corner of her mind striking directly into Layla and then blackness. Ariel senses awoke and she became aware of both their presence into the openness of space without getting stressed, she felt a very calm and peaceful embrace, with a Holistic sense of perception she perceived someone communication with them.

- Expanded consciousness into a perpetual and immutable structure. Resounding. Pounding. Taking away physical senses turning into existence. – An Entity shared with them.