Chapter 36
Maggie
After the fateful day I realized my cover was blown, I spent my time traveling to Earth worrying over what Evan would think, praying to the gods that he wouldn’t try to contact me, which would only deepen the hole we are in.
But it is now Friday on Earth, the day before the barbecue the neighborhood mom’s are planning. All the girls are supposed to be there, which will be very fortunate for us. Evan said he was going to try to break the news to at least one of the girls, two of them already know, so that’s... three out of five. Good. We’ll only have two shell-shocked girls to deal with.
To try and cure my boredom, I walk out of my bunkroom and to the cockpit to check our progress yet again. Last I checked we were a billion miles from Earth’s atmosphere, between the planets Uranus and Saturn.
“Hello Silvion,” I say to the pilot. He doesn’t even flinch. “How close are we no-“ I halt mid-sentence and gasp involuntarily as I take in the fantastic sight in front of me.
We can only be a mile or two from the tip of Earth’s atmosphere. The sight is quite beholding. I have view of the entire Western hemisphere, from Hawaii to Nigeria.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathe. Silvion doesn’t respond. I stand gaping for a while, until I am startled by the captain’s voice, which is seldom heard, I’m sure you have guessed.
“The sun has set for the people of Arizona. We will land in the Grand Canyon. You will have to find your own way to your next destination,” he says.
“But... why? Why can’t you land in Tempe?” I ask, perplexed.
“The Grand Canyon is the only suitable landing location for the Lightning. Even then, I can only land at night to avoid detection.”
“You can land in the park at night near their house!” I exclaim, anxious to not do any extra traveling, and waste more time. But apparently Silvion has finished his speaking for night, for he does not respond.
I sit in the cockpit for the rest of the flight, peacefully taking in the spectacular view of Earth. It must take a few hours, but it seems like only minutes until I can pick out the geography of the land. Although it’s dark, I can tell that Arizona is a desert, and a very mountainous desert at that.
We land quietly and gracefully, which is surprising for a rocket like the Lightning. I say goodbye to Silvion and thank him, and he waves to me with zero emotion. I shrug and start walking to find a transport to Tempe. This might take a while.
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Andrea
I watch Jake grin from his side as we near Earth. His excitement is infectious, and I start to smile as well. He is such a child at times.
“Victory is so close, I can almost taste it!” His grin turns wicked and I shudder in the coldness of his stare. I know it’s not directed at me but still, it’s quite frightening. He turns back to the window. “How much longer?”
“Until we reach Earth’s atmosphere? Another day, at least. And even then we have to wait until dark to land, and the only suitable landing spot big enough for our ship is the Grand Canyon, and to transport the whole army to Tempe will take another day or more, and-“
“Enough! I get it,” Jake pounds his fists against the glass. “We’ll never get there in time for their little ‘barbecue’. Maggie and her twin idiot brother will get to the girls first. The mission is as good as failed.”
I look at him sympathetically. I try to save his mood, before he gets too grumpy and starts breaking more of our crew’s bones. “Well, maybe there’s another way, you never know, you just have to think rationally,” I say. Unfortunately, he’s already grumpy.
“RATIONALLY?! I AM RATIONAL! I’M ALWAYS RATIONAL!” There’s a popping sound and a chatty officer falls to his knees as Jake twists the man’s ankle. “GET BACK TO WORK!” By now, my mind is whirling furiously trying to fix Jake’s mood. An idea dawns on me just as Jake prepares to yell at more helpless officers.
“WOULD YOU JUST LISTEN TO ME, FOR ONCE-“
“Jake!” He swivels on his heels and turns his glare to me.
“WHAT NOW?!?!”
“The escape pods!” This clearly catches him by surprise, because his volume drops twenty decibels.
“What?” he asks, at a loss of how else to respond.
“We’ll go down to Earth using one of our emergency escape pods! It’s quite simple, really. We’ll leave the ship in charge with someone responsible to land the ship and unload everyone, and we’ll-“
“Oh no, no, no, no. Nobody on this ship is ‘responsible’. You stay on the ship and land it; I’ll go down in the pod alone. Besides,” and evil smile clouds his face, “I have plan on how to get the powerful one without your help.” I understand who he’s talking about. One of the half-bloods is extremely powerful, and a mind-power at that. She’s the one we want most on our side. I have an idea on how he’ll win her over, too.
“Are you sure Jake?” I ask. It’s an empty question though. I know when his mind is set on an idea.
“Oh, I’m sure. She’ll be mine in a heartbeat.” He abruptly comes back to attention. “When will we be in an opportune spot to drop from the ship?” he asks. I check a nearby screen.
“In an hour. You’d best get ready. How will you disguise yourself? Maggie knows what you look like in human form,” I say.
“Disguise? No, that won’t do. If they see me, all the better. I’d like to see their faces when they realize they’ve lost,” Jake says in the same sinister tone as before. He sure looks evil when he gets like that. Something I can’t help but be attracted too... oh, there he is, saying something to me.
“...and you’ll be in charge when I’m gone. Well, I’m off to crush a new generation of Almnerixians! Wish me luck!” He calls, sounding eager and childish once again.
“Goodbye Jake!” I holler after him. As the doors slide closed behind him, I whisper, “Good luck.”
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Stormy Skies (On Hold)
Science FictionThis story is being put on hold in order to be edited and rewritten. Feel free to read it anyway.
