To the Stars and Back

Chapter 7

Hazel

I can't stop smiling after Alyssa leaves. She's just so cheerful in such a terrible time and I can't help smiling every time she does. It's like her cheerfulness is contagious, and I just love being around her because she just lightens the mood. It's like she distracts me from all my problems.

After a few minutes, I turn off the light and try to sleep. I have a lot on my mind, but I manage to fall asleep pretty quickly.

I dream about mom, as usual. We're at Oakwood Lake, a memory I actually have, but when it actually happened, I was with my third foster family, with Lillian, and Frank and Liz, but in my dream, mom is there.

She dips her feet in the water. "You want to come in, Hazel?" She asks.

I was really ten years old here, but this is from my perspective, so it's like I'm sixteen.

"I- I'm not really in the mood for swimming." I look around. No one else is here.

Suddenly the dream changes to the hill where I had the other dreams. The picnic blanket is spread out, the music is playing, and mom sits on the blanket.

"Come! Sit!" She says. I walk over, but as soon as I try to sit on the blanket, it morphs into water, the dream transforming back into Oakwood Lake. I sink into the water, then quickly get up again, standing once again on the grassy hill.

"Ooh! Sorry about that, Haz! Here..." She presses a few buttons on the CD player as if that's going to do anything, then invites me to sit again.

"Um... okay..." I carefully sit down on the blanket, but this time it stays solid.

"Let's watch the sunset!" Mom says.

I watch the pink clouds blanket the disappearing sun just as it fades away behind a hill, the clouds turning grey again. The sky darkens and the stars brighten, casting a dim light on the grass.

Mom's eyes gleam in the starlight.

For a little while, neither of us speaks. Then Mom breaks the silence.

"Look, it's starting!" She says.

"What's starting?" I ask.

She doesn't need to answer. The asteroids firing down at the Earth say it all.

An enormous rock is plummeting for the Earth, surrounded by hundreds of smaller asteroids soaring down on the planet.

"It's beautiful." Mom says.

"It's-it's going to hit us!" I say.

"I have to leave now." She tells me calmly.

"Wha-no!" I yell. "Mom!"

"Goodbye, Hazel."

"Mom!!" I shout as she fades away and the asteroids start hitting the Earth, and I reach out to take her hand, but suddenly I'm back in my bed, and the shaking and banging is still there. A static announcement is coming on the loudspeaker.

<Please remain calm, we've just-ju-we've just hit a f- a few meteors, and- we've just hit- meteor- please stay in your rooms- we've just hit- please stay calm- plea->

The loudspeaker shorts out.

I run to my SafeSeat and I'm about to strap myself in when something slams into the wall from the outside, denting it and blocking my path.

I don't have time to think about the fact that my room just completely caved in because I'm running to my door and ripping it open. I sprint to the food hall. No one is behind the counter now. I run through the empty Multi, up the stairs, and to the lookout.

Outside, tiny meteors shower down.

When I say tiny, I mean basketball-sized chunks of rock hurtling toward the glass. None of the glass is cracked, but it's probably close. This is probably the safest room, but if the glass cracks, there won't be oxygen. I sprint back down the stairs and run into someone who works on the ship.

"What are you doing here?? You should be in your room!" He yells.

"My room was hit by an asteroid! It caved in! I had to leave!" I shout over the crashing of the rocks.

"Take this!" He takes out an oxygen mask and hands it to me.

I put it on while he takes out another and puts in on his own face.

He holds a little microphone to his face and speaks into it, the sound echoing through the loudspeakers.

<please put on the ga-s masks in the-in the compartments in your wall by the door. Pull -in your-compartme-pull the handle and-pull the handle and-pull-put on the mask.> He says, the sound still breaking up through the speakers.

"You're the girl who's alone, right?" He asks.

"Yes!" I yell over the noise.

"Okay, just stay in the food hall, there's SafeSeats on the wall. Is there anyone you know who could stay with you?"

"Well, I have a friend, Alyssa Hansen."

"All right, I could see if the Hansens can come here."

"Thank you!" I yell.

It takes me a moment to process this. Is she my friend? I mean, I just met her. Does she think of me as her friend?

He leaves, and I strap into the SafeSeat. He comes back a few minutes later with Alyssa, Dawn, their parents, and two dogs.

"The dogs aren't safe here or in your room, but we'll get them to a place we have in the back for animals in case of emergency. We have some people going around and taking care of that too. You'll have them back after we get through the meteor field."

"Okay, thank you!" Alyssa's mom says to the man.

"Okay, I need to go, I'm a pilot and the other pilots need help. Let me know if you need anything, or just find someone who works here. There's a call button by the mask compartment. I'm going to see what the status is of the meteor field, but we should be through soon." The pilot says, then he leaves the room.

Alyssa's family sits down in the SafeSeats.

Only a few minutes go by until another, less broken up and static message comes over the speakers.

<We will clear the field-the field in a few minutes, so please st-s-stay where you are and remain- remain calm-remain.>

A few minutes later, the crashing and banging slows and stops.

<Thank you. Please go to your rooms. If there are any problems, please message us through-us through the button by the door.>

"Is your room completely ruined?" Alyssa asks.

"No, just the window side, but it kind of hit my bed and knocked over the nightstand and a few other things."

"Okay, well, do you want to go figure that out and come meet up with me later?" She asks.

"Sure. Thanks, Alyssa."

She smiles at me as I leave. I go into my room and push the message button. Soon a woman with one of those blue suits and a badge that says "Eliese" walks in.

"Hi, I'm Eliese, I'm on the staff. What do you- need." She sees the caved-in room on the last word and her eyes get as wide as baseballs.

"Um, is there anything you can do?" I ask.

"I'll get a mechanic on that. Do you want to just hang out in the food hall or activity room for now?"

"Well, sure... can I go take a shower?" I ask.

"Sure! Just come back here when you're finished and if it's not fixed yet, you can eat some breakfast or play a game until it's ready."

"Okay, thank you." I say, relieved that I can take a shower. I haven't showered in days, and I'm kind of a mess right now. My hair is messed up from all the commotion from the meteors, my eyes are sunken and red from not getting enough sleep, and my eyes are still pink and wet from crying. I really need a cool shower right now, or some rain.

I quickly go back to my room to pick up a few things, and I head off to the showers with a towel and some fresh clothes.