Fantasy Vs Reality | The Withering

32: Explanations

THEY MUST NOT FIND-

~~

Kay was in the Bridge with Marcus and the others, waiting silently for something to happen. Shin looked on the borderline of exhaustion, and the ship was shaking so violently, everyone would've been thrown off their feet had there been any gravity. 

The poor Omineon was trying her best to keep going. After what Kay heard in the Engine Room, she knew that it could only keep going for so long... same with the pilot based on his physical states. Shin was strapped into his chair to prevent from being thrown around as the ship continued to shake so vigourously.

"Shin, it's time for us to hide." Marcus said after a long while, "The Omineon is in disrepair and we cannot keep running forever." 

Without acknowledging Marcus' comment the ship began to turn slightly. Marcus swung around his chair and sat down in it. He buckled in and nodded to the others. Dun and Elva buckled into their chairs too and K9 planted himself on the ground somehow. Kay moved to sit in a spare seat and buckled herself in as well.

The ship turned more and shot forward, back to the same speed it had before. It only lasted for a few moments before a sun appeared in front view. The ship slowed down and approached, the sun glared into the front window. It was the first real light anyone had seen or felt in... a long time.

Shin brought the Omineon closer to the sun and fell into a small asteroid ring around the sun. The Omineon groaned as it slowed to a near halt. Kay was so used to moving that she got sick from the sudden slow in motion. She gagged from the feeling and watched through teary eyes as the Omineon settled down on the shadowed part of an asteroid, in complete darkness. 

Within moments the humming that the Omineon was giving off faded away and Kay's ears rung with the silence. The ship sagged and the lights came on and the gravity snapped everyone into place. Shin slumped heavily into his chair and everyone unbuckled.

Marcus approached Shin, unbuckled him, and swung one of the pilot's arms over his shoulder. He approached the elevator and left without a word. Elva spoke into her mic, "Chloe, we've entered stealth and I need you to turn the shields up to full capacity. Turn the windows to dark mode. We can't let our artificial light be seen. Mo, it is safe now to turn all engines off for maintenance. I'll send someone down to aid you in repairs. Elva out."

As everyone started going about their business, a thought suddenly struck Kay as she stood up... Storm! She raced for the elevator door and hopped in after it came back up from Marcus and Shin using it. She stood inside and smashed the buttons aggressively as the elevator shot upwards. The doors opened and she raced down the hallways, trying to remember where Storm had been.

As she rounded a corner, she ran right into a black cat. Stumbling backwards, Kay blinked, finding herself staring at a slightly disgruntled Storm. Coal was standing next to her. They were watching Kay closely.

Kay blushed, feeling ashamed, "I meant to come back for you, Storm! It's just that Marcus-"

"It's fine." Storm said, her voice sounded like it definitely wasn't fine, "The main part is that I got out of that damned room and we are now safely hiding."

Kay flinched at the strong words, "I... I really am sorry-"

Storm sighed, "Look, it's fine. Let's just drop it." She walked passed without another word. Kay looked up at Coal as he walked by and he gently patted Kay's shoulder. He gave her a comforting expression.

Kay closed her eyes for a long moment, squinting them as tightly shut as she possibly could until she felt dizzy. She opened them again and raced for her room. She ran inside, closed the door, and jumped into her bed.