Journey

Elijah

I keep pondering over what our colony is doing right now. We are the children of two very high up people in the government. It has been a few months. No doubt in my mind says that they don't know where we are. They know where they were going to land. They can track our coms. So I don't know how to feel about this. I've tried to talk to Alaina about this problem but her mind is elsewhere right now.

"Whats on your mind?" I ask.

"Indio." She sighs.

"There is something off about him," I rant.

"Yea maybe." She sighs.

"That's not what you were talking about isn't it?" I ask.

She shakes her head.

"What is it then?" I ask.

"A few days ago. When they couldn't find you or Lorelei they asked me to talk to him," She says.

I nod at her and she continues.

"I talked with him for hours," She explained.

I allow her to continue.

"You say he seems different, but I don't see it. Talking with him made me feel the most normal I've felt since this whole mess started," She said.

I look at her. She thought he was normal. Maybe if Alaina and Lorelei think he's normal than maybe he is. Maybe I had what my dad would call an overactive imagination.

"Do want to talk to him again?" I ask.

She nods.

We get up and go towards the ship. I pass Lorelei while she's leaving. I feel like I haven't seen much of her lately. She always seems so busy. I have a feeling it's Tove doing this to her. She wasnormal until Tove told her she was doing a sucky job at being commander. We walk the many flights of stairs in silence. There was another thing that changed when Lorelei and I got back from the picnic. Alaina and I have been awkward. It sucks. She is my best friend and suddenly I can't find anything to say so I stay silent. It is the loudest kind of silence. When we get to the Brig, Akia lets Alaina into the chamber. She and Cyrus block my path though.

"Sorry Elijah but we received orders from Tove to not allow you in." Cyrus explains.

I am about to protest when Akia touches her hand to her gun. They mean business. I walk away but not before catching a glance at Alaina and Indio. She is laughing at something he says. I suddenly feel nostalgia and sadness. It had been a long time since she had laughed at my jokes like that. She was happy. I smiled a watery smile and left. She was happy. I wasn't going to step in the way of her personal happiness I kept having to say to myself. I crumpled myself in a supply closet. I wasn't needed. Alaina had Indio and Lorelei had an entire colony to back her up. It was me who wasn't needed. I had nobody. Silent tears dripped down my face. I couldn't make them stop. I silently wished we hadn't gone here. I collapsed even further down the wall. I fell asleep with tears still falling.

The empty chamber is extremely small. I feel claustrophobic. Voices I don't recognize talk quietly outside the door. I try to rush over to where the door is. Hand bindings prevent me from making it there. They talk in a tongue not identifiable by me but somehow I understand.

"We are we taking them?" One voice asks.

"The general said something about spicing up the trials," The other voice.

"Why did we take five. Aren't trials only supposed to be four kids?"

"Do you have the identities of the captives?" A new voice asks. 

"Yea hold on."

There is a long pause and some paper shuffling.

"Got 'em.

Lorelei: Female 5'7 Child of the Moon.

Indiana: Male 6'0 Child of the Moon.

Kourtni: Female 5'5 Child of the Sun.

Elijah: Male 6'2 Child of the Sun.

Alaina: Female 5'6 Child of the Sun." The person said.

Child of the Sun? What was that supposed to mean? I sat back down on the mattress on the floor. He tried to think but my head was pounding to loudly.

It took me a minute to fully wake up. Someone was standing in the doorway. He tensed.

"Elijah?" A soft voice asked.

I don't want to answer her.

She rushed to my side and Lorelei fills my vision.

"What are you doing in the supply closet?" She asks.

"Trying to be alone," I say still not very awake.

"I can see that," She says.

Even though I can't see her face I can tell she's judging me.

"You can go back to whatever commander-ish thing you were doing before you found me." I tell her.

She stares at me intensely.

She stares at the wall I was slumped against.

"Elijah are you okay?" She asks.

Am I ever okay?

"Yes," I say kind of hollowly.

"Well this wall begs to differ," She says pointing at the wall.

I look at it and see the wet stains on it.

"I know you have more pressing matters," I say.

"No," She says.

She wraps her arms around me.