Journey

Elijah

The second missing person report came in last night. It was Cyrus. He didn't show up for duty and we searched for him but couldn't find him. This seemed to really frighten Lorelei. She wouldn't tell me why though. We sent out other search parties. Cyrus' parents went on one and some other shippers went on another. Both came back with nothing we didn't already know.

The whole colony is on edge. We are putting in place laws that say you can't be out past 1800. You can't walk places without someone with you.

"I don't understand. Cyrus was on edge he was ready for an attack. He's the strongest person I know," Tove sighed.

"Tove, we think it might be an inside job," Akia told her.

Tove considers this.

"You're right. This person has to have inside connections. They must have gained Cyrus' trust."Tove said.

She turns around and looks me dead in the eye.

"He must have gained the affection of someone very high up." She growled.

"Wait hold up. Are your trying to accuse me of something?" I ask.

"Yes Elijah of the other colony. I knew you shouldn't be trusted and now look at what this thing did. It stole our precious colonists," Tove said to me.

I am absolutely disgusted by Tove.

"I say we throw him in the brig," Tove yells.

"Wait wait wait. You can't do that," Lorelei says.

"I am Commander here. You can't throw Elijah into the brig." She yells.

"The little girl pretending to be commander has emotional ties to this thing which means I am in charge of this situation," Tove smirks.

I can't believe this.

"Throw him in the brig," Tove yells.

A few of the shippers walk forward and drag me to the brig.

"I'm sorry Elijah," One of them whispers.

"It's okay," I sigh.

I sit in the brig. Lorelei walks in two hours later. Her eyes are red with tears. She collapses next to me and sobs.

I place my hand on the glass. She places her hand on the glass as well. She looks into my eyes. She looks so beautiful. She looks like a broken angel. Her eyes look like melting jade. Her tears continue to spill down her cheeks. When they finally slow I ask what's wrong.

She stays quiet for a minute.

"We did a vote," She says her voice slightly trembling.

I wait for her to continue.

"We did a vote to see if I should stay Commander. It was between me and Tove. I lost." Her voice cracks.

"Lorelei. I'm so sorry," I say.

My heart breaks for her. She has lost so much in a short span of time.

"They told me to go to my tent but I couldn't do it. I needed to see you."

"Can you come in here?" I ask her.

"They took away my access. I'm not even considered a shipper anymore." She sighs.

"I love you Lorelei. Whatever happens we will get through it together, okay?" I ask.

She laughs a sad kind of laugh. She places her pinky against the glass. I do the same.

"Pinky promise?" She asks.

"Pinky promise," I reply.

She wipes her wet cheeks.

"See Lore, things aren't so bad," I say.

"Can you stay here?" I ask.

She nods.

We talk until late at night. We fall asleep on the floor of the brig. When I wake up Lorelei is still sleeping. When she is awake she feels the sadness of what she's lost. She looks so peaceful that I wish in this moment I had my sketch pad so I could draw her. When she wakes up she gets a com. She looks worried about it. When it ends she sighs.

"What's wrong Lorelei?" I ask.

"Tove says that she won't feed you. She said that I need to work for extra food tickets for you," She sighs.

Just like that I am placed on her list of worries. You can plainly see how this is weighing her down.

"Lorelei please don't work to much. I can live on a meal every two days." I tell her.

"No you can't do that to yourself," She says.

"No Lorelei this will kill you."

"I will get as many jobs as I can. You will eat whether you like it or not," She demanded.

She rushed out of the brig to go find jobs. I worry about Lorelei. She has so many things to look after. I sit in the brig all day. I pass the hours by counting the minutes. Lorelei drops in to give me dinner. She tells me the news.

"Another person went missing today," She sighed.

"What does that mean for me?" I ask.

"Not much. However I think you might get a room mate."

"Can you try to keep Alaina out of here. Please?" I ask.

She nods.

Two hours later. The guards opened the door and Alaina stumbles in.

"Hi Elijah," She whimpers.

"I'm sorry you got put here." I whisper.

The heat of our fight not a day before is completely gone.

"When did they throw you in jail?" She asks me.

"Last night," I sigh.

"I thought Lorelei would've protected you from getting thrown in here."

"She tried. She got thrown out of power," I say hollowly.

"Ouch. That sucks for her."

"It sucks for all of us."