Replacement

Chapter 1

      891 days.

      I have been on this spaceship for that long after losing every single contact because the devices are starting to die down. My team members have joined the dead devices. Nothing felt worse than waiting endlessly for a place where I could finally bury all my team members that had been cryogenically frozen while drifting through the galaxies.

      This sucks.

       I waited for the ship to finally catch on a sign of a planet. After all, the universe is vast and I can't just waste any more fuel. It was too risky. I got closer to the computer and started typing down the passwords and the command for the universe map with a canned cola in my other hand, slurping down the last of its fizziness while waiting for the screen in front of me to load.

       My eyes widened when something unbelievable happened. The universe map was finally showing something useful for once- a blue marble in the vast galaxy. I quickly zoomed in on it and gasped realizing that...IT WAS EARTH!

       I dropped the can on the ground causing a clinking sound with the coke just spilling on the ground. The sticky feeling on my feet didn't bother me because I was too busy jumping happily at that moment. If only I had some rock music to celebrate this moment, I would play it, all day, the entire journey home.

        In the midst of all the joy, I frowned realizing what I needed to do. I sighed as my head slowly turned to look at the coffins of the friends I've lost during the journey.

         "Eddy, is the fuel sufficient for us to travel there?"

        The program loaded as I held my breath, hoping there was enough fuel for me to travel there. I bit my nails in fear as the screen bar loaded, afraid there wasn't enough. When the program finished loading, it told me the greatest news I heard in three years.

        "Sufficient."

          I cheered once again. It had been a while since I smiled. I quickly typed the protocols needed as I got ready to travel to that planet. Finally, I could return home to my favorite planet among the stars, feeling my tears in my eyes. I got my spacesuit on and looked at the planet in front of me through the windows of my spaceship. The sight of the blue earth being reflected by the sun never failed to mesmerize me.

           I hopped into my seat putting my seatbelt on and turned back at the empty seats where my friends used to sit before I left. It felt lonely, but I closed my eyes, preparing for the landing as I felt that I was descending back down to my home planet.

    Unfortunately, it wasn't the home I used to have.

         The moment the spaceship finally landed. I found myself in the ocean, floating around. When I peeked through the window I noticed that we were near land. I managed to pull the spaceship towards the land, stepping on the soft and hot sand. I took a moment and looked around, the same scenery that I wished to see. I took a deep breath as I started going back inside the spaceship and pulling the coffins out from the spaceship. After all, I wanted to give them a proper burial despite everything.

     As I grabbed my shovel I felt someone tap my back and as I turned around to see a familiar face. The sight of his dirty blonde hair and his blue eyes perhaps even shocked me.

      Luke?

       "Hey, what are you doing here?"

       I took a step back feeling like my heart dropped, every moment made caused me to get more nervous. He was my spaceship captain but wait a minute, the coffin is behind me. It didn't open or anything, wait, where am I?

      "Uhh, uhh?"

        "What's that behind you?" He tried peeking and I stretched both of my arms out nervously.

        I turned behind me to see the coffins, it would be awkward for me to tell him that I was burying graves at the beach.

      "N-NOTHING! I AM JUST BURYING LIKE, UH, A REALLY EXPENSIVE TIME CRATE."

      "COOL!" He said cheerfully.

       What is Luke doing at the beach? Also, why is he wearing a Hawaiian shirt? Also, is that a surfboard he is carrying? The heck? This is confusing.

      "Uhh Luke, uhh."

      "How did you know my name? Oh, I must be pretty famous around here."

      What?

     Luke had a big wide smile on his face, "what's your name cutie?"

      "Dawn...?"

      He doesn't know me? I grew up with him just like how I grew up with everyone else in the crew. We were very close, and even though the question he told me had sounded light if anyone else were to ask me but it sounded heavy hearing him telling that to me.

       After a while, I managed to bury the coffins with his help. We chatted for quite some time before he brought me to the city, it looked different from what I have known. The one thing I noticed was, some of the people here were the people who had died on my earth. 

      I turned to see a restaurant I never have seen before, it had a fancy sign on it and I wanted to walk in because the food smelled delicious. I tried stepping forward but Luke grabbed my arm and shook his head.

      "Don't go there, the restaurant owner is a bitch."

      I looked at him in disbelief. I never thought the cute Luke would ever say that about anyone. Not even me, despite the fact that I had been disturbing him for years since kindergarten.

     "Come on, can't be that bad!"

     "Edward always thinks he's the best in town just because he got a pretty face, don't go there!"

    Huh.

     I managed to pull my arm away as I ran towards the restaurant. Inside, the restaurant was decorated elegantly with its lights, then my eyes met someone, familiar, Edward, who then turned to me, looking at me with his brown eyes, he then approached me.

     "Hello, do you need--"

    "GODDAMMIT LADY!"

       I turned around to see Luke pulling my arm, Edward started glaring at Luke who seemed to be doing the same. I got confused while watching the two arguing non-stop. I couldn't hear their voices clearly and I walked out feeling guilty for the mess I made. This doesn't happen, Luke and Edward used to be best friends, wait they are not the same person. Their faces are starting to confuse my thought.

       It started raining, and I ran. I thought perhaps my house would still be there. However, it wasn't there, it was a run-down house almost looking like it got burned down. I don't understand why everything was so different yet alike. I will try to get an answer, a pattern for all this madness that was happening all around me.

       I walked around trying to find a place to sleep, I know one thing, I don't have the money to rent a hotel and that made me sad. While I was leaning at a wall of one of the shops in the street, I saw my friend Kayla, she was running away from paparazzi who were trying to get her picture.

      Then it came to me, I don't exist in this world.

      Is this my punishment for holding everyone down?

      Or is this a second chance for me?