Lost Among Stars

Chapter 1

The stars have always been my home. They always will be my home. this is what I think as I sit on the porch of my big house on Argentiah. My mother sits beside me, sipping on some pure water. We are one of the wealthier people here, in my city. Most can't afford pure water.

"Min," My mother says to me.

"Yes?" I respond.

"I just wanted to say I love you," She says. "But I need you to go clean the dishes. It's your night."

"Okay." I get up, kissing my mother's head before doing the task she assigned me.

My mom's really nice. She's pretty much the mom everyone would want. But she's sick right now. I wish I could get her the treatment she needs, but it's on some other planet really far from here. As soon as I'm done with the dishes, which are blue today-they change every day-I sit back down. I'm just getting comfy when the alarm rings.

My mother turns pale. Her skin is almost as white as the stars we are looking at. "Min," She says. "Get your brother and get to the docs. Now."

There's fear in my mother's voice.

When I hesitate, she yells, "Now! Go, Min!"

I run up the stairs, shaken by my mother's outburst. She's never this scarred before. or this angry.

"Jazin!" I yell. "JAZIN!"

"What?!" My brother calls down to me.

"The sirens!" I reply. "We have to go!"

He runs down the stairs, in his pajamas.

"Come on, you dork!" I say. "We have to go!"

"But what about mom?!"

"The house had defense mechanisms! But all the children have to go to the docs! You should know this!"

He puts his shoes on. "Okay, I'm coming!"

I put my shoes on too. Then I grabbed my backpack--My one I packed in case this happened--and went for the door.

"Wait!" Jazzin called. "I have to pour the milk!" He's holding some cereal.

"What are you doing?!" I insist. "We need to go!"

"I'm hungry!" He shovels the food into his mouth and puts his coat on, fumbling with the zipper. Then he searches through the top drawer in the kitchen.

"Jazzin Violet! We're not going to make it if you take so long!"

He found his pocket knife and stuck it in his pocket. Then I grabbed him and sped out the door.

"Wait!" My mom calls.

I stop and run back toward the house.

"I love you." She says.

Then the meteor hits.

It's only the size of a car. But it rocks the ground so hard I fall to my knees.

The door to my house automatically slams shut, and all the locks that were programmed there click into place.

"Come on!" I say, out of breath. "We have to get there before one of the bigger ones come!"

We bolt across the fields of Moonsilk, the normal lacy plants used to make clothing and fabric. The docs are close, but not close enough. A meteorite lands in my path, and I run around it, dragging Jazzin along with me, though his legs are a lot shorter. We finally make it there. the doors are just being cranked shut.

"Wait!" I scream.

The doors stop, just wide enough for me to squish through. Jazzin comes through behind me.