Earth's Scattered Children

Chapter 5- A New World

Everything was black. I tried to move, but my muscles wouldn't work. I tried to think, to remember something, but my mind was just a giant blur. My first instinct was to call for help, but I couldn't make a sound. The air was humid and I could smell smoke. It was hard to breathe, and radiation seemed to pound at my skin. I felt something on top of me, something warm and gentle. It seemed to be breathing. Slowly the darkness faded and I began to see shapes, eerie silhouettes standing like worn tombstones in a foggy graveyard. As my vision returned, I realized they looked like parts of a ship. Suddenly my memory returned. I remembered the ghostly little girl staring at me with that little metal object in her hands. I remembered Peter's panicked expression as he gazed down at the ship piece. I remembered the voice in the speaker and the fear rushing through me. I could almost feel the hot tears that ran down my face and Peter's gentle hand over mine. The words he had said to me flashed through my head.

"I promise, whatever happens, I'll..." You'll what? What was he going to say? It seemed important, but I couldn't figure out why. Suddenly I realized Peter was on top of me. He must have fallen over when we crashed. His arms were still around me the way they had been when he hugged me. My muscles started working again, and when I had gathered enough strength, I pushed Peter off of me gently and sat up, rubbing a sore spot on the back of my head. I was aching all over, but I didn't care. I stared at Peter, waiting for him to wake up. I must have sat there for an hour before I finally got up and looked around.

The ship was in ruins. A large portion of the roof was caved in, most of the walls were destroyed, and all of the equipment around us was smashed to pieces. The ship seemed to have taken more damage than it should have. Suddenly it struck me that I didn't see any other form of life. I began searching for someone, anyone who was still alive. Hundreds of limp bodies laid crushed or impaled by the wreckage of the ship, many of them torn open with organs hanging out and gushing large quantities of blood. I could describe them in vivid detail, but it makes me feel sick just thinking about it.

Everyone seemed to be dead.

Shocked and slightly traumatized, I headed back to where I left Peter. When I got there he was sitting up against what was left of the wall with a tired expression on his face. I ran to where he was sitting and knelt down next to him, making sure he wasn't hurt. Other than being sore and stiff and suffering from a migraine, he seemed to be in decent condition.

"Did we survive?" He asked, "Are we really alive?" He looked up at me with his catlike eyes, looking either scared or in pain, but I couldn't tell which.

"Yes Peter," I answered, "we're alive... But we're the only ones." Peter looked slightly shocked.

"What about Stan?" Just then I realized I didn't check the remains of Peter's quarters. Peter tried to stand up, but fell back down and clutched his head in pain.

"Just relax," I told him, "I'll go look for Stan." I sprinted down the used-to-be hallway to where Peter's quarters had been, pushing aside a piece of wall to get in. I searched the area thoroughly, looking in every crevice, but I couldn't find Peter's brother- dead or alive. After searching the area around the quarters, I headed back to Peter, not sure what to tell him. When I got there, he looked at me expectantly, but I just stood there silently, feeling sort of awkward.

"He's not there?" He asked, as if he had read my mind. I shook my head. Peter's mouth twitched into a slight smile. "He's still alive." He murmured.

"How do you know?" I asked. He shrugged his shoulders.

"I just have a strong feeling." I sat down next to him, feeling strangely exhausted. We must have sat there for hours, neither of us saying a word or attempting to interact in any way. We just stared into space, probably still recovering from the shock of what had happened. Everything was so confusing. Why was the wreckage as bad as it was? Why were we the only ones who survived? What really happened here? Before we knew it, the sun was setting and the light was getting dim.