Chapter 1: Rough Landing
A bright light flashed across the sky, signaling the end of another world. But it wasn’t just any world, it was her world. Infernus Prime: the last surviving home of the Tertio Oculus. It would soon be nothing more than a collection of floating space-rock.
She was running, her feet pounding on the marble streets as she dashed past all manner of Oculus. There wasn’t enough time! She had to get back! She had to tell him!
The sound of cloth tearing filled her ears as the searing pain that came with it ripped her back open. She pushed on, jumping into the air and zipping to her destination in an instant. Colors and sounds faded past as the one house she searched for.
Right as she reached the door, placing her hand on the handle to open it, the ground shook and a great booming sound was heard. The ground fell out from underneath her, taking the house along with it. ‘No, I’m too late! LOGAN!’ she screamed in her thoughts, having no voice as she fell through the inky blackness of space. All the air left her body, when suddenly she was caught by a tractor beam and boarded onto a simply transport ship.
‘Why can’t I just die? I just want to die.’ She cried; streams of red pouring down her face. As she opened her eyes to plead with her savior to simply let her drift into the void until she perishes, she was met with the red eyes of her best friend. Remy knew the reason for her tears, and he held her close. Together they mourned the loss of a precious person.
The ship they were on suddenly jumped, and the hull was ripped in half. Remy was torn out of her arms, and she watched with tear filled eyes as he was sent flying into the depths of space.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Nahl awoke with a start. It had been a long time since she had that dream, and just like every time; the wounds were still fresh. 'They say most of your brain shuts down in cryo-sleep, all but the primitive side; the animal side. It's no wonder I'm still awake.' She had been dozing on and off the whole trip, but it wasn’t right. Cryo-stasis was supposed to put you in a coma-like state until someone altered the chemical compound or opened your chamber. Yet, for some reason, Nahl would only get light sleep.
She wasn’t the only one still awake. The man across from her, in the high-security chamber, was also awake. And he was silently observing the other passengers from his remaining senses, since he was blindfolded. He was of decent height, and every inch of his body seemed to be pure muscle. It wasn’t the overly buff kind of muscle though; it was the lean pink muscle wear most of a man’s strength actually lies. His head was shaven, and his skin was a rich bronze tone, which seemed even darker due to his black wife-beater and the flashing red lights.
Suddenly several small asteroids were sent throughout the cabin. Two people ended up slamming out of their cryo-cambers and dashing into what appeared to be the cockpit. The captain was dead, and the scarlet haired woman could smell the fear as if it was her own. She slammed free of her own cryo-camber and clambered forward before latching onto the camber in front of hers, the one with the bald man from before.
“Well, hello there.” A deep and slightly raspy voice called. The man had managed to spit out his gag, and was directly facing Nahl through the glass of his cryo-chamber. “Mind getting me out of here?” He asked in a surprisingly pleasant voice. The hull shook and a flash of her dream came to her again. The man seemed to sniff the air, only to realize he couldn’t properly catch her scent through the plexy-glass.
“Mind if I join you in there? It looks a lot safer than getting the tail end of a comet trying to fry my ass.” She joked, trying to brush off the bad feeling she was getting. Nahl pulled the switch that released his chamber only to feel the hull shake again. Instantly she latched onto the man, trying desperately not to be thrown to the other end of the cabin. “Shit! I wish she would land this thing already!” She snarled as she almost lost her grip.
